Merry looked dreamily up, smiling a little, the sun met his eyes as he opened them fully and frowned. He was in a clearing, the warm sun was shining down on his face, and there was not a soul around. He sat up quickly, a little too quickly as he felt a wave of nausea hit him and an ach in his stomach. He layed slowly down again on the soft long grass and tried to piece together his thoughts. He was aware that Gandalf had spoke to him, but he didn't understand where he was or what had happened. He cast his mind back. That was it, the Uruk-hai where attacked, Sam was gone. Tears crept into his eyes. Frodo was trapped and Pippin was taken. How could he have let it happen, he just ran from the battle, he had just abandoned his cousin's? Merry couldn't control himself, what had he done. His tears where now freely flowing.
"Hoom, Master Meriadoc, do not weep!" Merry heard his voice and looked up wiping away his tears a little, what he saw almost made him jump out of his skin. Striding through the clearing was a tree, Merry tried to stand up to back off but the tree was already upon him.
"What!" Merry stuttered at the odd sight before his eyes, "You're a tree!" Merry stared at the odd creature, which stared back with rather large brown eyes.
"I'm not a tree!" said the creature "I am an Ent!" it boomed, "Treebeard is my name. Gandalf told me you would wake"
Merry was lost for words, "G...Gandalf told you. You know Gandalf?" the hobbit had never seen such a thing.
"Why yes, he told me to look after you, while he went off to find your friends!" Treebeard said slowly.
"What happened?" Merry began to relax, now knowing that Treebeard was a friend of the wizards.
"You ran in here!" cried the Ent, "Gandalf found you, you where very ill, he spent a long while just getting you to wake let alone anything else" Merry thought hard. That was it, he was stabbed, that's why he ran and. He looked down at his stomach. His shirt was stained red and underneath he found his middle was tightly and neatly bound with a soft bandage. He looked up at Treebeard.
"So what now?" he asked.
"You must recover first young halfling!" he boomed, "then the Ent's shall march to Isengard, Gandalf told me about Saruman."
"What about Saruman?" Merry's mind was piecing together his thoughts, "What did Gandalf tell you?"
"Hoom, you are hasty folk" Treebeard looked closely at Merry, "Gandalf told me that Saruman was after any hobbits for questioning and that he was felling Fangorn and building an army" Merry listened as the Ent slowly told him.
"So that's why the Uruk-hai only captured us hobbits" Merry thought hard, "That means that Pippin's gone to Isengard" Merry struggled to sit up.
"Please Treebeard sir, we must go to Isengard now." He tried to stand up, "Please?"
"Now don't be hasty." The Ent boomed, "You must rest"
"But my cousin is there" tears gathered again in the hobbits eyes, "I can't just abandon him, I promised to look after him and I failed"
"Gandalf has gone to Isengard Master Meriadoc, he will save your friend"
"But I have to help" shouted Merry, "I can't just sit here!"
Orthanc Tower: -"So you are a hobbit from the Shire" Saruman laughed in Frodo's face cutting through his bounds. The hobbit remained silent concealing all his emotions, he had been questioning the hobbit for some time now.
"I see you are quiet like the last one. So where is it?" Frodo still stayed silent as Saruman stripped him to his breaches and shirt. He snarled as he searched and found nothing.
"You shall be greatly rewarded if you tell me of its whereabouts, I can give you the Shire"
"What do you mean?" Frodo spoke for the first time, "the Shire belongs to no-one only hobbits"
"Oh, so you do not know" a smug look came across the wizards face, "I have taken it over, the Shire is mine" Frodo's heart sank, was he lying?
"NO"
"Well here's my deal" Frodo knew what was coming, "You tell me of the Rings whereabouts and I will let the Shire free, don't and pay the consequences" Frodo stood on the spot, he couldn't have the Shire, it was impossible.
"I know" Saruman whispered under his breath, "Grima!" he shouted, the pale-faced man appeared from the shadows and the wizard whispered to him. The man disappeared into the darkness.
"You don't believe me do you" Frodo slowly shook his head, "Very well" cried Saruman, "I have a much more amusing proposition for you" The wizard sat on his black throne. "Bind him!" he commanded as two Uruk-hai appeared. Frodo was grabbed roughly, his legs and wrists bound just as they were before.
"Thank you" Saruman nodded to the Uruk-hai as they left, "just wait halfling and you shall see my offer" Saruman stood up and paced around the room talking in a unrecognisable tongue. Frodo watched him as he began to laugh. The wizard walked to a small dusty windowsill and looked out. "Soon Middle Earth shall be ruled by Sauron and Saruman, the greatest rulers of this age." He chuckled to himself. "Soon" Frodo lay on the floor silently. He wished the others could come and get him. He didn't even know weather they even knew were he was. Let alone weather Sam or Merry were even alive. Tears welled in his eyes quickly and he sniffed, Saruman turned to him. "What is your simple mind thinking halfling?" he pointed his staff towards Frodo. The hobbit felt his mind being suppressed. He cut out his thoughts quickly. Saruman was probing his mind but the halflings mind was too strong. Frodo didn't know how long Saruman probed his mind but it was just as he thought he could not take it any more, as if his head was about to explode when it stopped.
"My Lord" Grima bowed and came to the wizard, "I have brought him as you commanded sir"
"Bring him in" Saruman ordered, Grima bowed and went out as an Uruk-hai entered and dumped as small pale and unconscious form on the floor.
"Pippin!" Frodo shouted before thinking. The small form groaned weakly but didn't move.
"Silence!" Saruman bellowed. Frodo stared at his cousin, he was lying face down on the cold stone floor. His hands were chained together by manacles. They were cutting deep into his skin. His shirt was ripped and bloodied, Frodo could see whip welts across his back. The halfling held back his tears.
"So hear is my proposition halfling" Saruman laughed cruelly as Frodo held his eyes on his cousin. "You tell me of the Rings whereabouts and your friend lives, if you lie, he dies!"
Frodo froze. Pippin still had the Ring, there was no way either of them where going to get out there alive. Tears trickled slowly down his cheeks.
"Get him up," shouted Saruman pointing to the younger hobbit. Frodo watched as two Uruk-hai kicked his cousin in the ribs. He groaned and rolled onto his side. The Uruk-hai roughly picked him up and stood him on his feet, only to find that he slumped back down to the black floor. He remained on his knees and opened his eyes slowly as he swayed.
"I can't" Frodo said to himself "I don't know where the Ring is!" shouted the hobbit. Pippin looked up in realisation. "I don't know!"