Chapter Four

Estella followed Merry and Pippin through the Lockholes prison, followed by Frodo and Sam. The ruffians guarding the Lockholes had been driven away and it was now time to rescue the prisoners. Estella walked faster, eager to get to her brother Fatty.

Pippin opened up one of the cells. Estella could see someone crouched inside, muttering in a weak, frightened voice. "It's all right, Fatty," Pippin said calmly. "It's all right. I'm no ruffian. It's me, Pippin. We've come to get you out."

Estella pushed Pippin aside and flung herself onto the floor at her brother's side. The sight of him frightened her. This was not the Fredegar Bolger that she remembered. Was this terrifyingly thin hobbit really her brother? Or was he a stranger? "Fatty?" she whispered.

"I don't think we'll be calling him 'Fatty' anymore," Pippin muttered.

Fatty looked up at her. "Estella? Is it really you?"

She took his hand and was horrified at how bony it was. It was dirty and was covered in bruises. "Yes, it's me. Everything is going to be fine. You're getting out of here."

Fatty slowly sat up and tried to get to his feet. He made an effort, but he sank to the ground each time he tried. He was simply too weak. Estella was deeply saddened to see him diminished to such a state.

Merry and Pippin went into the cell and helped Fatty up. They were able to walk him out of his cell and outside into the fresh air and sun. It was rather cold, and Frodo gave him his cloak. Merry and Pippin helped him over to a patch of grass and he sat down. Estella sat herself beside him.

Merry, Pippin, Frodo, and Sam all went back into the prison and freed all of the others, though Estella did not pay attention to who they were. She sat silently next to her brother and stared down at the grass, wishing and hoping that Fatty, or Freddie as she would probably have to start calling him, would be all right.

The prisoners were soon all out of the Lockholes, and friends and family came and escorted them home. Pippin walked his pony over to Estella and Freddie. "Fa- er, Fredegar? Freddie? Do you think you can ride?" he asked.

Freddie nodded. "I'll ride." Pippin, with the help of Merry and Sam, got Fredegar mounted onto the pony and Pippin sat behind him.

"Sam and I are going back to the Cotton farm," Frodo announced, as he and Sam mounted their ponies.

"Pippin and I are going to take care of the rest of the ruffians, right after we deal with Fredegar," Merry said.

"What about me?" Estella said.

"We won't leave you behind," Freddie said in a faint voice. "You'll look after me, won't you?"

Estella nodded. "Yes. Yes, of course!" She suddenly felt a hand take her by the arm and she was brought over to the only pony that didn't yet contain a rider. "Merry, do you always have to drag me every time you want me to go somewhere?" she demanded.

"Well, if I asked you then you probably wouldn't obey," he replied. He helped her onto the pony and got behind her. "Sorry you're stuck with me. I'm going to hate this ride as much as you are."

The ponies started to walk; Frodo and Sam going in one direction towards the Cotton farm, and Pippin, Freddie, Merry, and Estella going in another, headed for Budgeford. They couldn't ride as fast as would be desired because of Freddie. Freddie seemed to be in shock and barely spoke, and he didn't eat when food was offered to him. Estella worried about him.

It was getting later and it would be night soon. "We'll have to stay somewhere for the night," Pippin said. "But all of the inns are closed or destroyed. We'll have to find someone who will take us in."

"I would to hate to impose myself upon strangers," Merry said. "Since Freddie is in the state that he's in, I'm sure anyone will be willing to offer hospitality to him. But I don't know if they would be willing to put up with four of us. Pippin, you and Freddie can find a house to spend the night at, and I'll ride to his parents' home to tell him that everything is fine and that he'll be coming to them shortly. They'll probably want news of their son right away."

"Excuse me," said Estella, "but what about me?"

"Well, I hope you won't mind some more time in the saddle," was all he said.

They rode off, this time at a much faster pace, and Estella didn't speak for a while. He could have at least asked her if she was willing to keep on riding. He seemed to have no consideration for her whatsoever.

Merry finally broke the silence. "Why are you so silent? Are you angry with me and are sulking?"

"I didn't know you wanted to talk," she said coolly.

"Only if you feel like it."

"Well," she said, "I would like to hear about what you've been doing all year while you were away. You know you'll have to tell me sooner or later."

"All right. I'll tell you bits and pieces for now. There isn't time to tell you much and some of things that happened are things you don't need to hear. I'll just tell you about the good things."

She was about to protest and say that she could handle hearing about everything, but she stayed silent. What he had to say would be better than nothing.

Throughout the ride, Merry told her about the different places he had seen and the people he had met. He told her about Rivendell and Lothlorien, and Rohan and Gondor, and briefly mentioned a couple of other places. He didn't go into detail about those places he briefly mentioned. She assumed that things had happened there that he didn't want her to know about.

Then he talked about the people he had encountered. He told her all about the fellowship. The two men named Aragorn and Boromir, the dwarf named Gimli, the wizard Gandalf, and the elf named Legolas. He quickly mentioned the death of Boromir but didn't tell her how he died. She didn't ask.

He had met so many interesting people and Estella wished she could have seen them. He continued to go on about Galadriel the elf queen of Lothlorien, Treebeard the ent, Faramir the Captain of Gondor who was now Prince of Ithilien, and Theoden the king of Rohan and his niece and nephew Eomer and Eowyn.

Merry spoke very fondly of Theoden, Eomer, and Eowyn, and Estella figured that they had been quite close. It must have been hard for him to part with them. First he told her all about Eomer and his sister Eowyn, who had been taken in by their uncle when their parents had died and had both taken part in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.

"She could wield a sword?" Estella asked in amazement, when Merry had told her about Eowyn.

He nodded. "She was a shield-maiden. She disguised herself as a man and went to war when she wasn't supposed to, and she ended up saving Minas Tirith."

"Wow," said Estella. "She must be really brave."

"Actually, she did it because of her own unhappiness. She wanted to go to battle because she wanted to d-" He broke off. "Never mind. She's happy now. She's now a healer and is married to Faramir."

Last of all, he spoke of Theoden, and Estella noticed the sadness in his voice as he talked about the old king. He had lost his only son and when he met Merry, Merry had sort of become a replacement son to him. The way Merry talked about him, Theoden sounded like a great and amazing person. She assumed he sounded so sad when he spoke about him because he hadn't wanted to leave him but knew he had to go back to the Shire.

"I wish I could meet him," she said.

"I wish you could have too," he said. "But it's too late for that now."

"What do you mean?"

He was quiet for a few seconds. "He fell in battle."

"I'm so sorry!" Estella cried. Wait a minute! Am I actually feeling sympathy for him? For a split-second, she had almost wanted to give him a hug and tell him it was all right. She sat straight and stiffly in the saddle so she wouldn't touch him.

"It's all right," he said. "Most of the sadness has gone away now. I do my best not to forget him." He was silent for a minute or two and then said, "I think we're almost there. Not much farther now."

Well that was good news. Estella was tired of sitting in the saddle. It was completely dark now. Her parents would probably still be awake though. They often went to bed late.

Suddenly, the pony put its ears back and made a noise that sounded as if something was wrong. Merry stopped the pony and dismounted. "What you are-" Estella started to say, but he shushed her. "Stay here! Don't move!"

"But-"

"Don't ask questions and do as I say! Don't move from off of that pony!"

He wouldn't say anymore and walked cautiously forward. He drew his sword and held it out in front of him. It gleamed in the dark and Estella wondered what was going on. Was there any danger out there?

"Your leader is dead, you know," Merry called out. "Sharkey is gone!"

Estella peered out into the darkness and saw two ruffians standing in the road. She looked to see if there were any more, but there fortunately appeared to be only two. She could hear one of the ruffians speaking but he was too far away and she couldn't catch what he said.

Merry tightened his grip on his sword. "Leave the Shire and don't ever come back. If you don't cooperate, we'll have to do this the hard way, and it will most likely end badly for you."

Estella stared at Merry and saw him in the same way that she had during the Battle of Bywater. He wasn't simply Meriadoc Brandybuck, hobbit of the Shire. He was Master Holdwine, knight of Rohan.

One of the ruffians started to retreat, but his companion pulled him back. "We can deal with him!"

"I would hate to use physical force on you," Merry said calmly. "But if you don't clear off then it will come to that."

The ruffian who thought he could "deal with" Merry whipped out a dagger. "Then so be it!" The other ruffian brought out a dagger also.

Estella watched them and felt the need to do something. It was two against one. Merry knew what he was doing and probably had more battle experience than they did, but she didn't want anything to happen to him. She quietly slipped off of the pony's back and grabbed a couple of rocks. They weren't too heavy and she took one in her hand and swung her arm back.

Aiming for the ruffian closer to her, she sent the rock flying through the air. She thought it was going to miss him entirely, but before he could do anything, it struck him on the arm, causing him to drop his dagger. Estella threw another rock. It hit him on the bottom of the shin.

Merry turned around. "Estella! What do you think you're doing? Stay out of this!"

But Estella stepped forward. "I'm not letting it be two against one!"

The ruffian who hadn't been hit with the rocks laughed harshly. "The little lady thinks she can fight us!" While he was busy laughing, with lightning speed, Merry used his sword to knock the dagger out of the ruffian's hand and then picked the dagger up and tossed it out of the way. He pointed the tip of his sword at the ruffian, close enough to draw blood.

"Leave this place now!"

"Let's go," muttered the ruffian who had been hit with the rocks. He and his companion took off and disappeared. Merry picked up their daggers and tucked them into his belt. Estella continued to look at him. She was impressed with how he knew exactly how to handle things. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all.

He walked over to her. "You shouldn't have done that. If you got hurt in any way, your parents would probably kill me." He paused. "But thank you. I hate to say it, but you were actually helpful." She didn't say anything and he helped her back onto the pony and sat behind her. They set off for her home.