Okay, so here is the next chapter.
Robin: Woo-hoo! I'm in this chapter.
Kayden: Didn't Maethorelen say that you were going to be in this chapter.
Robin: Yeah, but this chapter is solely dedicated to me, Merry, Pippin, and the Ents!
Peyton: Wait, so what happens to me and Kayden?
Kayden: We're probably in the next chapter.
Peyton: So I have to WAIT?
Kayden: Calm down! If it makes you feel better, you can do the disclaimer.
Peyton: Fine. Maethorelen only owns Kayden, Robin, and me.
Chapter 23: The Ways of the Ents
Robin sat on a rock, staring at the Ents. They are taking forever! she thought to herself, heaving a small, frustrated sigh. Merry heard her and walked over.
"Are you alright?" he asked, sitting down beside her.
Robin shook her head. "I'm sick of just sitting here, waiting to do something," she replied. "Somewhere, out there, my friends are fighting, and all I can do is wait."
"I understand," Merry replied. "I want to help fight more than anything. I want to help my friends."
"I miss them so much," Robin remarked. "Kayden, Peyton, and I have been through a lot together. Even before this whole thing started, we were the best of friends. We would sit together during lunch and talk, laughing and joking with each other. I wonder if we'll ever be able to do that again."
The two sat silently together for a few moments. Eventually, Merry spoke. "You know, Robin," he stated. "When this is all over, I want you to come with me to the Shire. We can sit under the great big apple tree in the orchard and have a picnic. It won't be exactly like how you did it with your friends, but it would be close. What do you think?"
Robin smiled. "I think I'd like that very much."
"Merry! Robin!" Pippin called, rushing over to Treebeard, who had beckoned them.
"We have just agreed…" Treebeard began, but he seemed to doze off at this point, causing Merry, Pippin, Robin to exchange confused and frustrated looks.
"Yes?" Merry prompted.
Treebeard awoke, and continued speaking. "I have told your names to the Entmoot…and we have agreed…you are not orcs."
Robin couldn't help but do a facepalm. Merry looked extremely agitated. Pippin glanced at the two of them. "Well, that's good news," he stated hopefully.
Merry seemed to ignore him. "And what about Saruman?" he asked.
"Have you come to a decision about him?" Robin added.
"Now don't be hasty, Master Meriadoc and young Robin," Treebeard chided.
"Hasty?" Merry exclaimed. "Our friends are out there. They need our help. They cannot fight this war alone!"
"War…yes…it affects us all," Treebeard sighed. "Tree, root, and twig. But you must understand, young hobbit, it takes a long time to say anything in Old Entish. And we never say anything…unless it is worth taking…a long time to say."
Robin groaned, kicking the grass. "We can't take forever!"
The Ents ignored her outburst and continued their conversation, if you could call the groaning and swishing of branches a conversation. Later in the evening, Treebeard turned to face the hobbits again. "The Ents cannot hold back this storm," he announced. "We must weather such things as we have always done."
"How can that be you decision?" Merry exclaimed.
Treebeard sighed. "This is not our war."
"But you're a part of this world!" Merry retorted. "Aren't you?" Treebeard and the Ents all looked around at each other, unsure about the answer to the question.
"You must help," Robin pleaded. "Please! You must do something!"
"You two are young and brave," Treebeard replied, regarding them sadly. "But your part in this tale is over. Go back to your home."
"Home won't be the same without Kayden and Peyton," Robin huffed. "And guess where they are right now. Fighting a war! Possibly even dead!"
Merry put a comforting arm around her, squeezing her shoulders gently. He was also deeply disappointed in the Ents' decision and could find no words of comfort to offer.
"Maybe Treebeard's right," Pippin suggested. "We don't belong here. It's too big for us. What can we do in the end? We've got the Shire. Maybe we should just go home."
"The fires of Isengard will spread, and the woods of Tuckborough and Buckland will burn," Merry stated quietly, a hint of sadness in his voice. "And all that was once green and good in this world will be gone. There won't be a Shire, Pippin."
Treebeard put the hobbits upon his branch-like shoulders once more and begun another long, slow walk through the trees. "I will leave you at the western borders of the forest," he informed them. "You can make your way north to your homeland from there."
The hobbits did not reply, sullenly staring off into the forest. Suddenly, Pippin straightened up. "Wait!" he cried. "Stop! Stop! Turn around! Take us south!"
"South?" Treebeard asked, confused. "But that will lead you past Isengard."
"Yes," Pippin replied, a crafty gleam in his eyes. "Exactly! If we go south, we can slip past Saruman unnoticed. The closer we are to danger, the farther we are from harm. It's the last thing he'll expect."
Treebeard let out a loud hmmm. "That doesn't make any sense to me," he stated. "But then, you are very small." The Ent slowly started to turn around. "Perhaps you're right. South it is, then. Hold on, little Shirelings."
Treebeard began marching through the trees once more, but in a different direction. "I always like going south," he commented. "Somehow, it feels like going downhill."
Merry turned to face Pippin, disbelief written across his face. "Are you mad?"
"We'll get caught!" Robin exclaimed.
"No we won't," Pippin replied. "Not this time."
As they traveled through the forest, Treebeard had begun telling them more of his tree-stories. The Ent was now commenting on the animals that made him their home in the forest. "And those little family of field mice that climb up sometimes, and they tickle me awfully. They're always trying to get somewhere where they…" Here, Treebeard stopped and let out a loud gasp at the scene before him.
The sky was bleak, covered with clouds and smoke. The ground was charred, and burnt tree stumps littered the landscape. There was no sign of vegetation in sight.
"Many of these trees were my friends," Treebeard stated, sorrow filling his voice. "Creatures I had known from nut and acorn."
Pippin looked gravely at the Ent. "I'm sorry, Treebeard."
Treebeard seemed not to hear him. "They had voices of their own." His yellow eyes turned to the smoking black pillar in the distance. "Saruman," he snarled. "A wizard should know better!" Unable to find any words for his anger, Treebeard tilted his head back and let out a loud, bellowing roar that echoed through the forest and over the mountains.
"There is no curse in Elvish, Entish, or the tongues of Men for this treachery," the Ent continued.
Suddenly, loud groaning noises resounded from the forest. "Look!" Robin exclaimed. "The trees! They're moving!" The huge line of dark trees in the distance, waving and groaning, began to inch forward, a deadly force to be reckoned with.
"Where are they going?" Merry asked.
"They have business with the orcs," Treebeard informed them. "My business is with Isengard tonight, with rock and stone."
From the woods behind them emerged hundreds of Ents, all with looks of anger upon their faces. The tree-herders lurched forward, stepping towards Isengard. "Yes!" Merry and Robin cheered, each squeezing the other's hand in excitement.
"Come, my friends," Treebeard stated. "The Ents are going to war. It is likely that we go to our doom. The Last March…of the Ents."
I hope you liked it. Sorry that it was kind of short.
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Oh, and happy belated Easter!