Chapter Two
The battle was over, and Estella realized that she had lingered there too long. While she had been rooted to the spot by the action that happened in front of her, something horrible could have happened to Fatty. She had to get to him right away. She would have to ask how to get to the Lockholes.
Sam Gamgee was close by and was walking away. He was the only one in the crowd of hobbits that Estella knew, even though she didn't know him very well. She hurried over to him. "Sam?"
Sam looked at her in surprise. "Miss Estella! What are you doing here? You shouldn't be here with all the fighting going on."
"Sam, they're keeping hobbits prisoners in the Lockholes! My brother is in there and I have to rescue him. Do you know how to get there?"
"Sam!" said a voice. "Sam, we're about to ride back to the Cottons! Come on!" A hobbit was walking towards them. A hobbit wearing armor and green and white. Estella stared at him, her eyes wide. She recognized that hobbit.
"Merry?"
He looked at her with the same surprise that Sam had shown. "Estella? What are you wearing? And what are you doing here?"
She was so shocked that she was unable to speak to him in the usual haughty tone she always reserved just for him when he was getting on her nerves. "Trying to save Fatty."
"Oh," Merry said. "We heard about what he's done. It was brave of him, but a pity he got caught. But what do you mean when you say you're going to save him?"
"I need to go to the Lockholes and rescue him from that place," she replied. "Do you expect me to just let those ruffians arrest my brother and then not do anything about it?"
"I'm glad we found you before you tried anything," he said. "You wouldn't have been able to accomplish anything. The ruffians would catch you and then they would beat you and throw you into a cell of your own."
She could feel frustrated tears starting in her eyes and she willed them go away. "But we've got to get him out of there!"
"We will," Merry promised her. "Fatty will be fine for the time being, and then we'll all go to the Lockholes and get him. Please don't try anything on your own, Estella."
She didn't say another word to him. He was behaving just like Rosco had. Everyone acted like she was incapable of doing anything.
"Come on, Miss Estella," said Sam kindly. "We'll take you with us to the Cotton farm." They walked her over to two other hobbits, and she didn't have a choice but to go along. One of the hobbits she knew right away was Frodo Baggins. He seemed the same except he was dressed in strange fine clothing like Sam's and there was something in his eyes that chilled her heart. There was pain in those eyes. What had he been through?
The other hobbit took her by surprise. He was the knight wearing black and silver. She had thought he was a stranger, but she realized that she knew him.
"I can't believe it!" she cried. "Pippin!"
He nodded. "What? Thought you'd never see me in armor?"
They were all so different. Sam and Frodo had only changed somewhat, but Merry and Pippin had changed considerably. They were taller than she remembered, and they had fighting skills and were able to take care of the ruffians. Where had they gotten the armor? Where did they go and what happened?
Someone suddenly seized her by the wrist and was pulling her behind. "Merry, let go of me!" she said.
He didn't though. He pulled her over to a pony, and then picked her up and helped her mount it. "What are you doing?" she asked him. "Get me down from here!"
"Fine then," he said. "We'll all ride to the Cottons and you can walk."
She felt angry with embarrassment. "In that case I'll ride. But I'd better not fall off. And if I become saddle-sore, then I'm blaming it on you."
"All right, all right," he said. He swung up onto the saddle behind her and took hold of the reins. Sam was on his pony and was already walking, and Merry followed. Frodo and Pippin mounted their ponies and went after them.
Throughout the ride, Estella's mind was overwhelmed with thoughts, feelings, and questions. She thought she would never see Merry again, but here he was, all dressed up like some hero from a story. She couldn't believe she had actually been thinking about him in an almost love-struck way. But that was back when she didn't know who he was. He was a just a heroic stranger and she admired him and had even liked him the way a lass will like a lad. But now she knew his identity and was just embarrassed with herself for thinking such things.
When she had first seen him, she had completely forgotten about all the hard feelings they had had towards each other. All this time she had thought he was dead. She had completely forgotten her hatred and was just happy to see him. While he was gone, there was nobody to argue with her and harass her.
Merry was silent throughout the ride. She wondered what he was thinking about. Did she want to know? She finally broke the silence and asked a question. She had so many of them but knew she couldn't possibly ask them all, so she had to settle for just one. "Merry, where did you get the armor?"
"The Lady Eowyn gave it to me," he replied. "She managed to find some that would fit me and I wore it in the battle. I had started as esquire to king Theoden, but then Eowyn made sure I was made into a knight of Rohan."
What? she thought to herself. She had no idea what he was talking about. Where was Rohan? And who were Eowyn and Theoden? There was so much she didn't know about him; about where he had been and what he seen and the things he had done. As soon as there was time, she was going to make sure she got the whole story from him.
She spoke again. "So you're a knight then. A hobbit knight. I never dreamed such a thing would ever happen."
He laughed. "Everyone is probably going to stare at Pippin at me. He's a knight too now. A knight of Gondor, though he started out as a guard of the citadel."
He was doing it again. Going on about things she didn't understand. She wished she knew where Gondor was. She felt so foolish compared to him. He had seen so much and she had never seen anything outside of the Shire.
Estella ventured to ask another question. Now that she started asking them, she didn't want to stop. "You mentioned a battle. Were you talking about the one you just fought today or a different one?" She had a feeling he wasn't referring to the Battle of Bywater.
He was quiet for a few moments. Then finally, he spoke quietly. "A different battle." There was a different tone in his voice now, a tone she couldn't place. What had happened in that battle to make him speak of it like that? "I'll tell you about it later," he said. "Now is not the time."
She was quiet after that, and so was he. They were at the Cotton farm now and the four ponies slowed to a stop. Merry got out of the saddle and tried to help her down. "I can get down myself," she insisted. She didn't want him helping her as if she was some child who couldn't do anything. She straightened out her skirt and leapt down off of the pony. There was a loud splash, and she looked down and saw she had landed right in a mud puddle. It spattered her legs and dress. At least the dress didn't belong to her.
"Why did you have to stop the pony right next to a puddle?" she demanded.
"I thought you would have had the common sense to look down and see it," he said. "Sorry about your dress. Though I must say, even without the mud, it isn't very attractive."
"That's because it isn't mine," she said. "I took it from an abandoned house. The ruffians must not have wanted it."
"So you've become a thief," he said, though there was laughter in his voice.
"No! I am not!" she retorted hotly. "It was just there for the taking. If I didn't get it, then someone else would have!" She had forgotten how much he used to irritate her sometimes.
"Well, just forget about the whole thing. Come on, we're going inside and Mrs. Cotton will clean you up." Merry started to walk towards the Cottons' hole along with the others, and Estella followed.
The Cotton hole was nice and comfortable inside and there was a warm blazing fire built up. The furnishings were plainer than what Estella was used to at home, but she liked the place for some reason. A lass about Estella's age appeared. "So you're back," she said. "The midday meal is just about ready, so you can come into the kitchen."
"Thanks very much, Rosie," said Sam, his face rather red. "We're all quite hungry after all we've done today."
They followed the girl named Rosie into the kitchen and Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin all sat down at the table. Estella remained standing. She was still covered in mud and didn't want to get it all over their furniture. She felt guilty about being in the house at all. She looked down at the floor to see if she had tracked any mud in, but thankfully it had come off of the bottom of her feet before she had entered the house.
A woman who was standing by a large cooking pot gestured at Estella. "And who is this?" Her tone was kind, as if she didn't mind having a muddy stranger in her house.
"That's Estella Bolger," Merry said offhandedly. He looked over at her. "Why aren't you sitting down?"
Estella was tempted to sigh but didn't wish to bring attention to herself. She looked at Merry and then pointed at her dress. "Oh, I forgot!" Merry said. "Estella was clumsy, as usual-" Estella glared at him. "-and had a bit of an accident in the mud. Do you think you could clean her up, Mrs. Cotton?"
"Of course I will," Mrs. Cotton, the woman by the cooking pot, said pleasantly. "Come along, Miss Estella. I'll get you fixed up."
Mrs. Cotton walked out of the kitchen and Estella followed slowly. As she passed by Merry, she pinched him hard on the arm and hissed, "I am not clumsy!" Merry may have been in battles and become a knight and saved the Shire, but he was still the same nuisance to her that he always had been. She caught up to Mrs. Cotton and followed the older woman into the washroom.
Mrs. Cotton looked Estella over. "We can clean the mud off your legs, Miss Estella, and you may borrow a dress of my Rosie's if you want to."
Estella shrugged. "All right then. This dress isn't mine anyway."
Mrs. Cotton raised her eyebrows but didn't ask any questions. Estella's legs were cleaned up and were mud-free, and the faded muddy dress was off of her and she was now clad in a soft blue dress of Rosie's.
"There, that's better," said Mrs. Cotton. "Now come on and you can have something to eat. You're probably hungry."
Estella followed her back into the kitchen and sat down in between Pippin and Rosie. She was amazed at the fact that there was room for everyone at the table. Rosie's four brothers had joined them and the kitchen was now crowded. The food was good and Estella ate in silence, not paying much attention to what was going on around her.
"I suppose we'll have to deal with this "Chief" that everyone is talking about," Frodo said. "We should start out now and head for Bag End."
"And I'm coming with you," Estella decided.
"No, you're going to stay right here," Merry ordered.
"No! I'm not! You can't tell what to do, Merry. If I want to come, then I'm going to come, and there is nothing you can do about it."
Everyone looked at her, and then looked away. "She's always like this," Merry muttered to Farmer Cotton. Estella was about to send him a death glare but thought better of it.
"I don't want to be left behind," she said as calmly as she could. "I want to go with you so I can get Fatty out of that horrible Lockholes place. I want to be the first to see him. I can't be the first one to see him if I don't come with you!"
"I understand," Frodo said. "I suppose you can come, since this is about Fatty."
"Oh, she'll come anyway even if you said she couldn't, Frodo," Pippin said. "Estella never does as she's told."
"That's right," she said, smiling at him.