(A/N - Oh, wow. For the next month, please don't expect much from me, lol. I will be putting in many hours at school for the musical, and Mr. Molinaro has told me to make my death wish now and bring some pillows and blankets because I will be sitting in the auditorium for about seven hours after school everynight from now until the show's over. All I can say is thank god for ramen noodle instant lunches! Here's another chapter for you all! I'm far behind on writing this, and I keep taking chapters from my archive and not putting another in. I'm two behind now! But at least you're happy that I'm updating!)
. Reviews .
x) Jack.Sparrow.1245 - Hmm... Frodo getting stabbed is not just yet, lol. I've got a few in between scenes before that, mainly because I wrote this story to focus on the hobbits, and I don't want it all to constantly revolve around the War and the Ring. Frodo won't get stabbed until Chapter 16, but at least you know it happens and it's coming! Right now, I have written up to after the troll attack in Moria, and that's Chapter 23, so I'm doing good. I don't want the story to exceed 50 chapters if possible, but I know it will, lol. If I ever get time!! Thank you for reviewing, and enjoy the chapter!
x) jennyplz. - Thank you so much! I was thinking about, if I ever get done with this, writing a little story based just on the flashbacks and thier childhood since everyone loves them so much and I love to write them just as much. The response for them is amazingly better than I had hoped for! And I need to brush up on my writing some, but for the most part I'm trying to use good vocabulary and grammar that is Middle Earth appropriate. I'm glad you think I'm doing a justifiable job! Thank you again, and plase enjoy the story some more!
x) Flag - In a manner of speaking it does; the invisibility part has to do with emotional wounds that are very hard to heal, so that's what it mainly was geared toward. I understand that you don't feel like continuing, but if you ever get intrigued to read again, I'm here! THank you for reviewing all the same, and I do hope you'll came back to read someday!
x) bdrake07 - Haha... Angie doens't let them push her around! Merry and Pippin are like her brothers, so you could classify that last bit as some sibling rivalry, lol. There is plenty more of that to come, so do not worry! Hehe.. Thank you for reviewing, and have a great time reading on!
x) Frodo's girl - Le grr! I'm NEVER going to find time to write more of 24 this month, but that's why Mr. M gave us Sunday mornings off before we have to go in 1-4 starting the 11th. But OMG! I'm having so much fun helping out with your story! It's insane crazy! lol. I can't wait for youe 22 to go up! And I'm even more glad you're still writing! I'll keep helping, so don't ever be afraid, embarassed, ashamed, ect. to ask. Think of me as your personal Sam, lol. Thanks for reviewing, and I'll talk to you soon! Enjoy the chapter (again, lol)!
x) Elwing-Evenstar - Handling these relationships is as challenging (and fun) as handling my own, lol. It's a lot of fun to create it from scratch, but I have to be careful of what happened to whom and who this person really is, and that's why it gets tricky when trying to tie the flashbacks into the current story. It's totally freakin' sweet when it all woirks out, though! I hope this one did good! Thank you for the review, and I'll see you in the next chapter! Enjoy!
x) Kenny - Sorry I took down Dinner and a Dead Man's chest, but it's only until I write part two. I want to post the whole thing at one time, because I think it'll have a better effect if I do it that way. I'm working on it as a pet project at the moment, and one of these days when I have a life again, I'll write more. Or I'll just pull an all nighter one night and do some. But it will return! And thanks for reviewing this chapter! Enjoy this one, too!
x) Alissa - Hey! What's the name of your school play? That's awesome! Let me know what role you get and stuff, because I'm a huge stage lover, lol. Obviously, otherwise I probably wouldn't be the Head Student Stage Manager for the musical this year! Anyhoo, thank you for reviewing! Always nice to hear from you! Enjoy the chapter!
.:: And they never saw Frodo again, lol ::.
- Dis/Claimer -
. Chapter Fourteen .
.. The Marshes ..
Dearest Bilbo,
I'm sorry it has taken me so long to write, but I hear word that all is well in Hobbiton all the same. Angie and Sam have been writing to each other, and so I thought I might want to let you know how I am fairing thus far out here in Buckland. It has been about a month now since we arrived here. Merry and Pippin have been causing a lot of trouble as usual, but that is just what they do I suppose, especially in the house of their own family. Brandy Hall is still large and busy as I remember from being here before. Everyone has catered to us kindly, and I have remembered my manners; don't worry.
I know that you are worried about me. You don't think I should be back here so soon, do you? I'm not sure that I should have come. I have Angie, Merry, and Pippin to be with, but when I'm trying to fall asleep at night, I have dreams, Uncle; frightful ones that I don't wish to recall. I may have made a mistake in returning now. I might need to come back to Bag End and probably should, but I will inform you if I desperately need to. I think I should be fine, though. Angie has talked to me a lot, so most of my time is occupied during the day. I forget about my troubles when we spend time together. It's a nice comfort.
Her birthday is soon. Merry and Pippin have already talked to Merry's mum about throwing her a party. It is here in three weeks - late July sometime, I believe. I don't know if they should. No one really knows Angie from around here. She keeps her distance from the others here in the Hall, but she is very polite and speaks when spoken to. Maybe they didn't mean a large celebration. Maybe they meant just a small one for her close friends? I'm not sure. To assume anything on Merry or Pippin's actions is foolish. I've learned that. But the party does sound questionable here in Buckland. If it were in Hobbiton, I know we could give her a nice day to remember. She deserves one for those delicious strawberries of hers.
Which reminds me! If Angie hasn't told Sam, you can tell him to send us a basket of strawberries from her garden. She is supposed to tell him, but you can remind him in case she forgot to note this to him in her next letter. We found a small plant outside in the gardens growing alongside a wall here, but the berries were small and bitter. I remember there being a few plants around here, but I wonder what has happened to them? You may want to send that basket as fast as possible. Merry and Pippin are about to resort to desperate measures if they don't have some soon. Angie just laughs at them, and I do, too.
The library here has grown some. Angie and I visited it last night. She was returning a book she had borrowed, and we each took another for the time being. We share a love of books, and that is nice. There aren't too many hobbits in the Shire that are well read, and it's enjoyable to share interests with someone who is. Or at least somewhat is. The library has gotten a whole new shelf of books, and we went there first. There aren't many, but they were fascinating.
The rooms are still cozy here. The pillows are big and the beds are warm. They will do until I get back to my own bed in Bag End, which I miss. It's easy to sleep in these beds, make no mistake; but still I have a little trouble finding the right spot each night. Merry's mum has been keeping tabs on our comfort, and I feel somewhat spoiled. I know you would say that I already am, and I think I'm beginning to agree. It's all right, Bilbo. I won't come back any different than when I left. You'll still have me.
I do miss you very much. Brandy Hall may be a nice stay place, but I cannot wait to walk up to your big green door again next spring. Maybe you and Sam could come visit us on our birthday or Mid-year's Day. I know Sam is eager to come and see us. If you do decide to come, please try to talk the Gaffer into letting him come with you. I miss his company, too, along with Angie. But we must keep him away from Merry and Pippin in case they decide to go off on him again. They have a nasty little habit of cornering Sam sometimes.
Well, it is getting later now. I hope that my long letter makes up for not writing to you in a month since I left you. Please remind Sam of the strawberries and come visit one day. There are plenty of wonderful rooms to choose from still, and we all miss your stories even after a hundred telling. They never get less exciting. I don't think it's possible for any story of yours to bore anyone! I suppose that's what adventures do to hobbits... Pray I never go on one, even though I pretend I'm off on one everyday. If I follow in your footsteps, Uncle, I promise to be as reckless but just as successful. Again, I won't let you down.
Miss you, hope to see you soon, and take good care!
Frodo
x
BUMP
THUD
Frodo looked up from his letter to Bilbo and over at his bedroom door. The walls were beginning to shake slightly, and the candle flames were flickering madly, and there was screaming and laughter coming from outside in the hallway. He sighed despairingly at the voices loudly disturbing the once quiet atmosphere around him, half hoping they would not enter his room right now. He looked back down at his letter to make sure he felt that it was complete, but he had only reread the first two lines when his door suddenly slammed loudly off of the wall.
Frodo jumped in his chair with a sharp gasp of surprise and turned to the door just in time to see Pippin and Merry running into the room as fast as he had ever seen them run. His eyes filled with fear as the gap closed between them and him, and they weren't slowing down.
Frodo suddenly feared not only for himself, but his nice clean letter addressed to his uncle.
"No! Stop!" he said quickly, shoving his hands out in front of him. He shut his eyes and hoped for the best, but they came crashing into him (but not without attempting to avoid the disaster themselves, mind you). Frodo fell flat on his back with the chair under him and his cousins on top of him in a jumble. He felt dizzy.
Before he told them to get off of him, they were already scrambling up to hide on the other side of his bed as Angie came flying into the room with a profound rage in her eyes that startled Frodo and scared the bejesus out of Merry and Pippin, forcing them both to cower on the floor and cover their heads with two high squeals.
He looked over at Angie who glanced at him as to acknowledge him. She just looked instinctively over the other side of the bed and jumped on top of it with a huge leap. She stared down her foes until they screamed again and made an escape out by sliding under Frodo's bed and out the other side to run for the door. Merry made it out barely, but Pippin was not so fortunate.
Angie grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him back to the bed with a forceful tug. After this, she took Frodo's bed sheet and took a good minute and a half tying him securely to the bedpost at the foot of his bed. Following this act of unruly behavior, the girl paid no attention to his babbles and pleas to release him, but he stuffed the corner of Frodo's blanket in his mouth to prevent him from shouting and protesting any longer. Satisfied with herself, she smiled at him, tapped his cheek, and turned to Frodo.
"Sorry, but I'll explain later," she said. "I'll come back for him as soon as I get Merry."
Pippin reacted wildly at this, looking to Frodo for help. He did not indicate anything to him as he turned back to Angie.
"Ten minutes at most," Frodo said. "I'm going to bed as soon I address this letter."
"Deal," Angie said. "I'll be back in ten minutes then." She looked over at Pippin who recoiled the moment she patted his shoulder with a pleased smile. "Be good now, or Frodo will have to resort to violence."
Pippin looked over at him with fear. He had not soon forgotten his punishments for messing with them.
"Is that permission?" Frodo asked Angie with an amused smile.
"It sure is," she replied. "I'll be back."
At this, she left the room in search of her other victim. Frodo looked over at Pippin smiling, and then he looked back down on him letter and his expression changed drastically.
A large, wet, black blotch of ink covered the majority of his neatly written letter to his uncle. His mouth fell open to see the inkwell dripping onto it, and he felt so powerless that he just sat and watched it drip onto his hard work for the past hour before looking over at Pippin with shock still having a tight hold of him. Pippin was afraid of the way his cousin looked at him, and he had reason to be.
"Know that you'll be lucky to be alive to see Angie reenter this room if I don't loose my head before then," Frodo said dangerously.
. x x x .
Life had been miserable that passing day in the marshlands. Nasty little gnats had plagued them all day in swarms of clouds, and each of them had had their turns in falling and slipping deeper into the soggy earth and disgusting water except for Pippin; he had received a full face of the foul-smelling stagnant water. They had all felt pity for him and themselves. Hobbits were not accustomed to long walks through bogs of bile waste with grumbling stomachs. It was nothing like any of them had experienced before. Angie remembered liking the bottom of the river in the Shire better than this grotesque place.
But as the day wore on, hunger and exhaustion began to wear on them almost as bad as being stuck in the marshes. Merry was trying hard to keep his mouth shut as Pippin began talking of breakfast back in Brandy Hall while Sam and Angie kept themselves composed after Frodo had told them not to pay any attention to him and just to keep walking. Angie frowned miserably as they marched on. It was getting darker and cooler, and now the gnats were starting to dissipate, but they were still - walking. And it was getting old.
She thought she might have found enough energy to jump for joy when Strider had told them that they were to stop and rest now on a not-so-soggy piece of land, but instead, she mustered a small smile and let herself drop to the ground soundly. Merry laughed, mimicking her method of sitting down and took a seat next to her. Angie smiled over at him.
"Tired?" she asked quietly.
"Yes," he said at her understatement. "And I think I will be for a while. Boy, do I miss my bed..."
"Likewise," Sam said from behind them. Angie and Merry looked up, and Sam sighed and dropped his pack. "I just can't get used to this hard awful ground after years of a nice soft mattress and feather pillow."
"Well you'll have to make do for now, I'm afraid," Merry said. "No comfy spots anywhere around here."
"Soft the land may be," Angie said, "but if it's a big sponge of that terrible water, it's not very comforting to anybody's thoughts, let alone their backs."
"No indeed," Sam muttered.
"Doesn't bother me!" Pippin ran up and slid in on Angie's other side, leaving a long muddy trail behind him. Merry and Sam pinched their faces together, but Angie managed another smile.
"There's nowhere to wash those pants," she told him. "Unless to want to try your luck with that rancid stuff." She nodded over her shoulder, but Pippin waved her off.
"I'm good, Ang, trust me," he said confidently.
"Sure?" she asked, her smile growing as he leaned forward to see him.
"Positive," he acknowledged.
Just then, Strider walked up to them as tall as her could possibly be, and the four hobbits shrank a little under him, but they listened to what he was to say.
"I am going to try to find us something to eat," he told them as Frodo walked up beside Sam, attracted to the ranger's voice. "The area is known for some wandering beasts. Have a fire going for when I return, but stay close. I know there may not be many dry sticks, but do your best."
All five hobbits nodded at his instructions with Angie and her two mischievous friends rising from the ground. Angie dusted off her backside as Pippin looked at his pants in disgust. Merry laughed as they all wandered off around the bushes to find a supply of twigs for the night.
Angie went off by herself with Pippin trying to make it obvious that he was secretly following her. Angie rolled her eyes and laughed as she listened to him leap dramatically from bush to bush, rustle through the leaves, and yelp openly when he stubbed his foot on a rock (all while still pretending to be invisible from her sight). Finally, Angie stopped and turned around as he hid behind another bush, staring at her with big eyes of mock fear. She suppressed another giggle, so glad Pippin had not lost his sense of humor yet.
"Get up here," she said. Willingly, Pippin hopped, skipped, and jumped to her side, and she smiled as she leaned over to pick some dead twigs from a bush. "You have too much fun, you know that?" she asked.
"Never!" Pippin said as he mimicked her actions. "There is no such thing as too much fun!"
"Yeah, and that's what you told me when Farmer Maggot's dog had us cornered at the gate of the vegetable garden," she said sarcastically.
"And when we had eating contest at Brandy Hall," Pippin reminded her. Angie made a face of disgust at the memory as someone else approached them.
"Don't forget the time we almost drowned at Bywater," Merry said as they turned to see him coming towards them.
"Well you idiots put the rocks in your pockets and then went and slipped some in mine," Angie said.
"They put them in mine, too." They now saw Sam and Frodo coming from another direction, Sam having said this statement with a rough glare at both Merry and Pippin.
"You lived..." Pippin said innocently as he continued their task.
x x x
A fabulous supper, Angie had concluded, made their trip through the bog almost worth it. Though she had never had a wild deer that... fresh... before, she still enjoyed it and the rest that she was going to get after that. The fire was small but did the job well of keeping them warm and cooking their meat. Angie ate her fill and drank little, and then she laid down next to the fire, watching its edges glow in the darkness with a content feeling. A thought strayed across her mind that things would not always be this pleasant (and who knew that they could be in a bog), but these few small things with the company of her friends made her feel safe as she let herself slip away into an undisturbed sleep.
Except for one little thing.
Late, somewhere in the middle of the night. Angie heard voices. Her eyes squinted open as she remained motionless, the voice of Strider speaking softly to someone.
"Tis the Lay of Lúthien," she heard him say with a hint of sadness in his tone, frowning somewhat herself. She listened as he went on to explain, "The Elf-maiden who gave her love to Beren, a mortal."
She had never recalled hearing this tale before, she noted, but what was more interested in was the unknown questionnaire who suddenly spoke up.
"What happened to her?"
That was Frodo's voice. Hadn't he fallen asleep yet?
She moved her head ever so slightly to see Strider and Frodo properly. Frodo was perched up on his elbows while Strider had his back to him, turning his head away from Frodo with it lowered (another way Angie could not help but notice that he was troubled about something). She watched him, waiting for an answer to Frodo's question.
"She died," he replied quietly.
Angie now understood why Strider appeared as distressed as he did. What a terrible ending to a story! But why was he telling, singing, or discussing such a sad tale?
Then, Strider looked over his shoulder to Frodo and bid him to get some sleep while the night still lasted. Frodo obeyed and lowered himself back down into his makeshift pillow as Angie continued to watch Strider with bewilderment. A strange moment it was indeed.
She hadn't gotten to ponder it much longer on behalf of Strider ("Get some sleep yourself, Miss Ridell," he said to her surprise as she quickly snapped her eyes shut tight), and after his interference with her curiosity, sleep once again overcame her.
A dream took her back into the bottom of the Fortress with her friends where they were laughing with a tall figure she recalled being Gandalf when she awoke. She remembered that they were eating and just being plain old happy hobbits in the dream, but the weather outside was wet and rainy. But nonetheless, her friends and Gandalf were enjoying the cozy underground of their tree. She smiled as they packed up that morning, but it faded. She missed Gandalf, and his unexplainable absence made its way once again to the front of her mind. It wasn't the absence part so much as the unexplainable part that bothered her. And she knew somehow that the others, and possibly even this Strider, were just as disturbed by it.
x x x
A few days had passed uneventful (unless you found walking exciting; there was plenty of that to go around). The party had celebrated their release from the marshlands with tired and lopsided grins around dusk the night after their stay, and bid the land good riddance. The land was still a little springy for about half of the next day until a wide green meadow opened up with hills enclosing it in a valley. The hobbits were lead to smile again; the green was not exactly the brilliant lush green of the Shire, but it was close enough to remind them of home. Angie had to admit that she missed the Shire even though she had always wanted to get away from it some time.
In the morning the next day, they followed Strider yet again as the routine went. Not far along, Strider had halted to study a ruin on top of one of the hills. The hobbits looked with interest while they were still weary; they had received a very early start that day. Suddenly, when they thought nothing was going to happen, Strider spoke.
"This was the great watchtower of Amon Sûl," he said as if to remind himself instead of informing the others. They had hardly heard him anyways, so she spoke louder when he turned around to them. "We shall rest here tonight."
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