Chp.2

Lily woke to sunlight streaming through her windows. She yawned and dragged herself out of bed. She dressed, this time in periwinkle. A knock at the door made her jump slightly. She opened it and wasn't surprised to find Merry and Pippin standing there.

"Lil, have you just woken up? It's past noon!" Pippin said shocked.

"No wonder why I'm starving!" she said as they walked into her small kitchen/living room. She put on some water to heat up for tea, as they sat down and talked, while munching on cheese.

"So, what brings you two to the outskirts of Hobbiton? Did Olo fall into the lake again?" Lily asked, getting up to put the ribbon in her hair, but with no luck, it kept getting stuck.

"Help!" she said as Merry came over and put the ribbon in her hair. The kettle whistled and Lily poured three cups of tea and set them to cool on the table in front of them. Merry and Pippin, unable to wait, picked up the cups and took a sip, only to spit it back out.

"So, what are we doing today?" Lily said. She was just itching to go cause some mischief, being the naughty Hobbit lass she is.

"Well, Mrs. Gamwhich just set a pie on the window to cool, its blueberry…your favorite" Merry said, with a small, evil grin. At once, Lily was on her feet and grabbing her cloak, for it had grown quite cold overnight. They set off, Merry smoking his pipe, and Pippin still eating the cheese. They crept silently past the Hobbits, busy at work, like they should be. They came to a halt under a small window, tiptoeing, Lily came to a halt underneath of it. She felt around and touched a soft, bread crust, quickly she grabbed it and they ran.

"STOP YOU THREE!" shouted a voice that sent chills of excitement and fright through their spines. They turned to find a man dressed in white, and knew exactly who it was, which was clearly obvious to anyone who had lived in Hobbiton for a while.

"Gandalf… how lovely to see you!" Lily said charmingly. Frodo and Sam appeared from behind either side of his white cloak.

"Don't try to talk your way out of this one Lilian," Gandalf said sternly, taking the pie from her. "You know what your punishment is" he said with a slight frown, he was sad to have to punish Lily, he'd become quite fond of her. Pippin, Merry and Lily groaned.

"Dishes?" Merry sighed

"Dishes" Gandalf said. And off he walked, with the 5 hobbits trailing after him. They came to an inn, which they were all familiar with. Merry, Lily, and Pippin sulked after Gandalf, with sheer displeasure painted on their normally joyful faces. They reached the sink, and started their punishment. They washed, dried, and stacked quietly, knowing quite well that talking would only lead to more trouble. It didn't take them too long, since there was hardly anyone there. When they had finished, they said goodbye to Gandalf, who was going to visit Bilbo. They sat at a table, and talked. When Merry and Pippin had gone to get more drinks, Frodo lowered his voice and started talking to Lily.

"So Lil, you know it's time to start thinking about marriage, you're 38 years old, it's time to start a family, you know?" he said

"Yes, I know, I know, but I'm waiting until I find a Hobbit that I think is right." She said, deep inside she knew who she wanted to marry, but dare not say a thing, it could ruin one of her best friendships.

"You know, Bolo's got an eye on you," Sam stepped in. "though with your looks, I'm surprised the hole Shire isn't begging for your hand." He smiled. Lily was never really one to focus on looks; she wasn't one to focus on much of anything else too. She was always too busy outside, running and having fun with Merry and Pippin.

"Bolo…who'd want to have that?" she said, wrinkling her nose.

"What about Merroc Chubb?" Sam suggested.

"No, too serious, there is someone I've been thinking of, but I don't know if he returns my feelings, plus I wouldn't want to spoil a good friendship." Lily hinted.

"Merry? You like Merry?" Frodo whispered with pleasure.

"Yes, yes, now keep it down, I don't want the whole Shire knowing my personal life." She hissed.

"Well, this is great, we leave for two seconds, and you've already formed a little group." Merry joked setting the ale down on the table and sliding in next to Lily, who glanced at Frodo. They sat and talked and it was late afternoon when they said their goodbyes with Frodo and Sam.

They walked quietly around the Shire, most Hobbits were napping by this time, worn out from a hard days work, they passed many houses with men snoring in chairs outside, while little ones played games in the dirt. They kept walking until they reached the edge of the Forest. They stopped, and peered into the silence that encased the trees. They walked into the woods, not scared, but curious, like most Hobbits are. Merry, knowing fully well the dangers that could be lurking in the woods, kept a close watch on Lily and Pippin, because both of them were able to wander off and get lost. Lily stayed close to Merry and Pippin; she too knew what terrible things roamed in this forest. Pippin, who'd heard the Hobbit's tales of the forest creatures, passed them off as naught more than a tale told to scare little ones from playing in the woods. He noticed berries hanging from a bush about three feet away. Pippin walked closer, not noticing the ground, he kept his eyes on the berries, he was close to them, at least a foot, when the ground gave out on him, he shut his eyes and braced himself for the fall, but didn't feel himself fall, opening one eye, he found Lily holding onto a strap on his pants. Looking down, he saw a bed of spearheads. With much grunting, Merry and Lily managed to pull him out of the hole. They were about to continue walking when they sound of footsteps made them freeze, their stomachs turned to stone as they listened to the sound of footsteps draw near. Lily could see them, she, having the best eyesight of all three of them, spotted them far off, but closing in fast, she watched them running. These were the same creatures, the same Orcs that had slaughtered her family years ago. Hatred, Agony and Rage crept into her heart, but she found herself being dragged away by Merry. Together they flew, out of the woods, through the meadows, and straight to Bilbo's house. Knocking hurriedly, they found themselves face to face with Gandalf.

"Gandalf…Orcs…." Merry said between deep breaths.

"Where?" Gandalf asked alarmed, there had not been an attack in years.

"The….the…forest…." Lily stuttered, she was having the most difficulty breathing, her dress prevented her from breathing too deeply. Gandalf showed them inside, though they need no tour, they'd been here a million times before. They sat themselves on the seats, each trying to calm the racing heart and racing head. Lily found this very difficult, seeing the Orcs like that had brought memories out of hiding, memories she thought she'd left behind…Bilbo brought them tea and they sat and explained everything to Bilbo and Gandalf. When they had finished, it was a while before Gandalf spoke, he sat, puffing thoughtfully on his pipe.

"It is a good thing you saw them, who knows what they may have done if we were unarmed." Gandalf said slowly.

"However, I think it would be wise to find Miss Knotwise a bed for tonight.

"Why Gandalf? What's wrong with my cottage?" Lily asked.

"It's too close to the forest for comfort my dear, no, tonight you will stay with Merry." Gandalf said. Merry, Pippin, and Lily were escorted to their homes, for it had grown dark. Gandalf was on his way to warn the other Hobbits of the sightings. Merry chopped wood to feed the fire. The last thing he wanted was for Lily to wake up in a cold house. Lily sat on his bed, head in hands, fighting off the tears that threatened to course down her cheeks. The memories brought fear into her heart, and fear was a feeling she didn't often have. She felt the soft touch of Merry's hand on her shoulder, and looked up. Merry's eyes were dancing with concern and she felt her eyes well up with tears.

"Lil, what's wrong? There's no need for tears, come on, tell me what's wrong Lily." Merry whispered softly, sitting next to her and placing an arm around her.

"Seeing the Orcs today, just brought back memories of my family." She whispered, she was losing the fight against the tears, for one trailed down her cheek, only to be wiped away quickly. Everyone knew what had happened that day, it was a story passed down from generation to generation, and Lily could remember it like it was yesterday.

FLASHBACK: Lily was a child of 6, the youngest of three, her brother Drogo was 10 and her sister May was 16, though her 17th birthday was 4 days away. Lily had been sitting in the garden, playing in the dirt as usual. May and her mother were hanging the laundry to dry and Drogo and her father had gone to work in the fields. She was singing softly when screams and shouts pierced the silence of Hobbiton.

"ORCS!" was all that could be heard as the message was passed. Lily found herself being scooped up and rushed inside. Her mother hid her in a compartment under the floorboards. She laid there, knowing something was wrong by the uneasy silence that had come over Hobbiton. From the crack in floorboards, she could see her mother hugging her sister, and telling her to be brave. She trembled as she heard heavy footsteps on the stairs. She held her breath as the door slammed open. She wrinkled her nose, as she smelled the stench of the Orcs.

"Prepare yourselves for death, halflings!" A deep haunting voice growled.

"We do not fear death, only what we will miss by dying." Her mother said boldly. Lily's eyes widened in agony as a sword plunged straight into her mother's heart. Lily swore she could feel her heart break as well. She watched as the Orcs slaughtered May and tore the house apart, looking for food and water, as well as anything else they could find. Lily didn't bother to wipe the tears from her eyes, fear and knowledge of what would happen to her if they found her kept her still. She heard the Orcs leave, and wait for what seemed like an eternity until she was sure they were gone. She crept out of her hiding spot, and stood still. She felt her heart rip open as she saw the bodies of her mother and May. She walked over to her sister; May's hazel eyes were open, staring into nothing. Lily closed May's eyes for the last time and kissed her lightly on the forehead, May had been like a second mother to Lily, as well as a friend. With some effort, Lily made herself look upon the body of her mother. The deep green eyes that had once shined with radiance were hollow, and the mouth that had once sung her to sleep, now hung open, in a never ending scream that would never be heard. Lily closed her eyes and gently took off the necklace that hung around neck. Lily hoped her father and brother were all right, or alive. She took one last look around the place she once called home and walked out the door. She'd not walked three feet when her mother's best friend. Mrs. Took was like an aunt.

"Lily, where's your mother? Where's May?" she asked, panic growing. Lily didn't need to answer; Mrs. Took could see the answer in her eyes.

"Lily…come on, we'll go to my house and you can play with Pippin alright?" she said, knowing fully well that Lily knew what happened. They walked hand in hand down the roads, Lily couldn't help but look at the chaotic scene that was laid before her, the dead and dying lay everywhere, some houses were naught more than ash now. They walked into the house; sitting around a table was The Brandybucks, The Tooks, and the Gamgees. Merry, Pippin and Sam sat on the floor, whispering, at the sight of Lily, they hushed.

"Lily, is it true? Is your Ma and May really dead?" Sam asked

"Yea.." was all she managed to whisper. She spent the rest of her childhood, and much of her teen years with the Tooks. Eventually, she rebuilt her cottage on the edge of the forest. Hard as she tried, it took her years to stop having the nightmares, the flashbacks, and the paranoia of that terrible day. Oft she would visit her family's graves, for they had found Drogo and her father's dead in the fields. In the months following her family's death, she became herself again. She, Merry and Pippin would run in the meadows, taking care not to run too close to the woods. That day left a scar in Lily's heart, but it didn't bleed red, like most wounds do, this would bled black; this was a different kind of wound, instead of being outside, this was inside, and most wounds that bled black took many years to heal; and most never healed at all. This was that kind of wound, it would never heal. END FLASHBACK

The tears exploded out of her eyes, and she didn't bother to fight them. She knew it would be useless to try stopping them. Merry cradled her and stroked her hair. His heart was beginning to sadden, he wanted so badly to help Lily, to take her tears and her pain, he wanted to make her happy, but he knew there was nothing he could do. They sat there, rocking, late into the night. Lily finally stopped and Merry went to feed the fire, when he turned around, Lily was fast asleep in his bed. Merry smiled as he pulled the covers gently up so she'd be warm. He sat by the fire, thinking. He was 39 and it was time to think of marriage, and children, and though he wanted those things, he didn't want to give up the carefree life he'd always lead, the fact was, he was scared, what if he couldn't be a good father, or a good husband? What if he couldn't provide for his family? What then? Those thoughts scared him. He knew who he wanted to marry, it was Lily, and he suspected he felt the same way, but every time he tried to ask her, the words never made it past his lips. He looked at Lily, far away from the troubles she'd been dealt. He climbed into bed next to her, and shut his eyes, soon he was dreaming as well