It's the chapter you've all been waiting for! It's short and kind of ends in a cliffhanger so be warned! Enjoy!
Shoutout to PushingLeePace'sDaisies. I hope this brightens up your day.
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Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the Rings.
Chapter 5:
"It's good," Merry was saying. "Definitely from the Shire." Pippin laughed in agreement and Merry blew out another smoke ring. "Longbottom Leaf." I smiled and shook my head.
"That's horrible for you, you know?" I told him. He shrugged and continued to smoke. I rolled my eyes.
"I feel like I'm back at the Green Dragon," Pippin said as he took another swing of ale. Merry made a noise in agreement and took a bite of bread.
"Green dragon." He repeated.
"A mug of ale in my hand," Pippin continued, raising his cup. "Putting my feet up on a settle after a hard day's work." He raised his legs to demonstrate.
"Only, you've never done a hard day's work." Merry interjected. Pippin agreed with a nod of his head and we all burst out laughing.
I heard a horse neigh and I turned to look at the forest. A figure emerged. A man dressed completely in white. His hair was white and so was his beard but he didn't seem old to me. Not really. He was almost regal looking as he sat high up on a horse that was just as majestic as its rider. He had a soft glow about him and I knew right away that he was a wizard. Pippin and Merry saw him as well and raised their mugs in greeting.
"Ha ha!" Pippin shouted. More figures were behind the wizard but I kept my eyes on him. Merry and Pippin seemed to be comfortable around them but I wasn't taking any chances. I stayed quiet and didn't move. I was sitting a little off to the side so most of the company wouldn't see me right away.
"Welcome my lords," Merry announced grandly, gesturing at the land around us with his wide spread arms. He then pointed at the tower. "To Isengard!"
"You, young rascals! A merry hunt you've led us on and now we find you feasting and...and smoking!" called out a gruff voice. I didn't look to see who had spoken.
The wizard was more interesting. There was something about him...He wasn't like Saruman. I didn't mean in the fact that this one clearly wasn't evil. There was something else. I gazed at him, trying to figure it out. It was something about the way he carried himself, the look on his face.
Suddenly, realization hit me. It was the look of someone who had stared death in the face and pulled through. This man had died and yet, here he was. I don't know how I knew this but I knew it was true.
"We are sitting on a field of victory enjoying a few well-earned comforts." Pippin told whoever had spoken, smugly. "The salted pork is particularly good." I smiled but was careful not to move, lest they'd notice me.
"Salted pork?" the gruff voice asked, somewhat hopefully.
The wizard shook his head and muttered, "Hobbits."
"We are under orders from Treebeard," Merry went on, ignoring the white rider. "Who's taken over management of Isengard." The wizard allowed himself to smile.
"The Ents are the true kings of the forest," he said. "And no one should get in their way."
"How did you do it?" another voice asked. I tore my eyes away from the white rider to see a handsome man with long blonde hair and a bit of a beard. He was gazing at the Hobbits in wonder.
"Well after they decided not to go to war, Pippin had the brilliant idea of leading Treebeard past Isengard so he could see all the damage for himself." Merry said proudly, putting an arm around Pippin and squeezing. Pippin looked pleased with himself. "After that, it was easy."
"And it worked?" the same man said. It sounded like a question but seemed like a statement. The Hobbits nodded. Then they seemed to remember I was there as well.
"Oh!" Pippin exclaimed. "This is Estrella, we met her on the way." He gestured in my direction and everyone's eyes turned to look at me.
"That's Gandalf," he pointed at the wizard. Gandalf looked at me without much emotion or expression. To most it would've been intimidating but I held his gaze, even if I was a little nervous.
"This is Aragorn." Aragorn was a good looking, if not a bit scruffy, man with dark hair and a weathered face. He seemed to be sizing me up.
"These are..." Pippin trailed off, clearly having never met the blonde man and the other, older, blonde man. There was also another reddish blonde man in the back but he seemed to be a guard.
"I am Theoden, son of Thengel, King of Rohan." The older one said with a nod. "And this is my nephew, Eomer." Eomer also tilted his head in acknowledgement.
"This is Gimli," Pippin pointed at a redheaded dwarf sitting on the back of a horse. There was someone in front of him but Gandalf was blocking my view of their face. I guessed that the dwarf had probably been the one to speak before.
Just then Gandalf moved and my eyes widened. It was him. He looked as startled as I when we made eye contact. He was even more beautiful than in my dream.
"And this is Legolas."
Love it? Hate it? PLEASE REVIEW! It would mean so much! Sorry it's short but I wanted to get an update in before the end of the week and I had a bit of writer's block. Tell me what you think! Reviews mean new chapters!
~Liliana