It's hard to Believe, but Boredom was Worse than Being Handled by the Uruk-kai
It turns out that the White Wizard was not Saruman.
It was Gandalf.
"Gandalf!" Pippin cried, and began to weep again, after the ordeal in Moria. Merry and I joined him with happy tears. We simply could not believe Gandalf was alive; how could he leave us? And how did he survive?
"Fool of a Took," Gandalf chuckled, shaking his head, and began to speak in Entish with Treebeard. He was there for scarcely a few moments before he looked long at us and with a turn of his dazzling white cloak, was gone.
Treebeard walked on, with us resting in his branches as he hummed or told stories of old places no one had heard of and such.
"Oh rowan mine, I saw you shine upon a summer's day
Upon your head how golden-red the crown you bore aloft," He sang.
Merry yawned and triggered yawns out of Pippin and I as well.
"Such a beautiful verse, hoom," Treebeard sighed.
"Is it much farther?" Merry asked in agitation. We'd been riding for three hours and I was not only tired, but stiff from being in the same position for too long. The branches stung everywhere and my arm was ringing from being ignored.
"Hoom!" Treebeard said. "Don't be hasty. It may be far to you, perhaps. My home lies deep in the forest near the roots of the mountain. I told Gandalf I would keep you safe and, safe is where I'll keep you."
"Oh, so that's what they were saying," I said, stifling a yawn and resting my head on a particularly sturdy branch, with my arm curled around it.
"I believe you will enjoy this next one," Treebeard continued. "It is one of my own compositions. Right, ahoom…
"Beneath the roof of sleeping leaves and dreams of trees untold
When woodland halls are green and cool, and the wind is in the west
Come back to me. Come back to me, and say my land is best."
By the time he had finished, I had dozed off as well as the boys. I was only startled out of my sleep as Treebeard gently placed us beside a towering tree with a soft blanket of leaves beneath. I could see the stars and hear Treebeard's voice lull me.
"Oh, oh… Sleep little Shirelings… Heed no nightly noise… Sleep 'til morning light. I have business in the forest… There are many to call… Many that must come. The shadow lies on Fangorn… The withering of all woods is drawing near… Do not fear; sleep in peace, little ones… Hoom."
Pippin was not quite asleep and neither was I. As we laid quietly, closing our eyes and relaxing deep into our bed of leaves, Pippin sang "Home is Behind," more beautifully than ever, faltering as Merry stirred beside him. I sighed quietly, holding my arm with one hand and felt Pippin's hand brush my other.
"Sleep now," he said with a yawn. "Dream about the stars."
Entmoot—The All Night Ent Party, Complete with More Extreme Boredom
30 February 3019, of the Third Age
10 Rethe 1419, Shire-Reckoning Time...
When I awoke, Merry and Pippin were chasing each other and drinking from a stone basin, giggling, until Treebeard came into the clearing and they hid it away.
"Come," Treebeard said. "The forest is waking up… It isn't safe." He reached his arms down and gently plucked us onto his branches again. "The trees have grown wild and dangerous… Anger festers in their hearts… Black are their thoughts… Strong is their hate… They will harm you if they can. There are too few of us now, too few of us Ents left to manage them."
"Why are there so few of you when you have lived so long? Are there Ent children?" Pippin asked kindly.
Treebeard gave a sad "Hoom," and was silent for a moment. "There have been no Entlings for a terrible long count of years."
"Why is that?" Merry asked cautiously.
"We lost the Entwives," Treebeard replied.
"I'm sorry," Pippin said sincerely. "How did they die?"
"Die? No. They did not die. We lost them. And now we cannot find them. I do not suppose you have seen the Entwives in the Shire?"
"Can't say I have," I said. "Merry?"
"No, I'm sorry. Pip?"
"I don't know," Pippin said with a frown. "What do they look like?"
"I do not remember now," Treebeard said sadly and his "hoom" rang long and softly echoed through the trees.
"Look!" Merry cried suddenly. "There's smoke to the south!"
"There's always smoke rising from Isengard these days," Treebeard said.
"Isengard," I muttered, as Merry climbed higher to see over the treetops. Pippin followed suit.
"There was a time when Saruman would walk in my woods, but now he has a mind of metal and wheels. He no longer cares for growing things."
I climbed a few branches more and Merry held me tightly so that I could not fall. The tower of Orthanc rose tall and black, and the ring was completely desecrated. What seemed to be a wide black river was marching away from Isengard, off to the east.
"What is it?" I asked, shivering at the prospect that we would have been brought here to be ultimately killed.
"Saruman's army," Merry said. "The war has started."
In silence, we watched the ten thousand Uruk-kai march off towards the southeast. Pippin looked at me; his green eyes were wide and full of fright.
"Courage, Pip," I said, but my voice cracked in itself.
"The world through which we wander," Treebeard said. "Is full of great things and terrible things. Tell me about your home, Shirelings, and I shall listen, just do not be hasty."
"Our home is beautiful," I said. "There are green hills and fields and trees, untouched by the evils of technology or of the Shadow. We build our homes in the ground and work hard to keep them comfortable and warm to our hearts' content. Every hobbit knows the others and there is nothing but joy and laughter and singing and dancing, even in times such as these. And there are wonderful parties, where we gather to feast and celebrate…"
My words faltered. I could see the Shire in mind's eye. Merry reached up to my left hand and took it in his, giving a reassuring squeeze. He was crying too, with sunny memories of what seemed like an age ago. The flashbacks were smacking me in the face. I could not stop wondering whether we would make it home alive, and if Frodo was going to survive…
"We'll see it again soon," I breathed, and held my green scarf tightly in my hand; the scarf that reminded me painfully of the good days in the Shire.
"Aye, we shall," Merry said.
"But the war…" Pippin gulped. "The war has started!" Then he looked down upon Treebeard. "What are you Ents going to do? Defend Fangorn?"
"The Ents have not troubled with the wars of men and wizards for a very long time. But now, something is about to happen that has not happened for an age."
"What's that?" Pippin asked.
"Entmoot," Treebeard said.
"What's that?"
"'Tis a gathering."
"A gathering of what?" Pippin's eyes were round with wonder like they always were when he grew curious about something.
Treebeard did not answer as we reached a clearing, and more Ents walked out slowly to join us. "Beech…Oak…Chestnut…Ash…Good, hoom, very good…Many have come. Now we must decide…whether the Ents will go to war." He put us down, and Merry flashed a hopeful smile.
A few hours later, we were not hopeful anymore. I sighed as Merry changed the dressings on my arm for the umpteenth time. Pippin fidgeted impatiently and kicked a stone.
"It's been going on for hours," he whined.
"They must have decided something by now," I added.
Treebeard glanced in my direction. "Decided? No. We've only just finished saying good morning."
Merry glared at him and secured the makeshift bandage on my arm. "It's nighttime already! You can't take forever!"
"Don't be hasty," Treebeard said.
Merry took the stone Pippin had kicked and chucked it at the ground as hard as he could. "We're running out of time!" Then he turned to me. "Sleep, if you can, something tells me they're in no rush."
I wasn't tired, just impatient and couldn't stand to wait around much longer. Merry paced and I was busy reminiscing with Pippin, but it hurt more to remember the good times we once had than to just sit silently. Finally, after talking about how we had joined the Fellowship in the first place, I asked Merry, "Will we ever see the others again, do you reckon?"
Merry smiled. "Of course." He sat cross-legged next to me. We looked up at the stars.
"What brought us here, Merry?" I asked, beginning slowly, and then speaking quicker as my questions spilled and my curiosity overtook me. "I mean, why are we here, rather than back at the Shire? Or with Frodo? Why did I come to Hobbiton that day? I just…don't…know what made our paths cross, and forever change our lives."
"Well, each of us is guided by our own destiny," Merry said. "They all begin the same, but lead into different paths. The direction that your journey takes, however, is up to you. You choose who you want to be, and what journey you wish to take, whether you know where you are headed or nay."
"It's just…at first…I thought I would stay with Frodo and Sam, for they seemed to be the closest to me," I said. "Until the time came when everything would change and we would be divided, no matter what happened in the end. I don't know why I didn't follow him, which was what I had thought I'd do, but something held me back and kept me with you. Deep down, I knew it was right, but I just…" I looked at my hands. "It's hard to explain. It's like this…you begin a journey with someone who you think will be next to you forever, and then the person you least expect will become your inseparable companion. And I don't know how that happens."
"You will never really know who you are unless you make your journey," Merry said, and I knew he had explained everything right then and there.
"Merry," Pippin said, touching his arm, and we looked back to see Treebeard approaching.
"We have agreed," Treebeard said, looking pleased.
"Yes?" Merry pushed him on.
"I have told your names to the Entmoot and we have just agreed…that you are not orcs."
Merry's smile faded as Pippin chipped in. "Well, that's good news."
"What about Saruman?" Merry demanded. "Have you come to a decision about him?"
"Now, don't be hasty, Master Meriadoc," Treebeard warned. It was always Merry who was hasty.
"Hasty?" Merry snapped. "Hasty?! Our friends are out there! They need our help! They cannot fight this war on their own. And you cannot leave the war to destroy us all!"
"War? Yes…it affects us all…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."
Merry closed his mouth and sat with his back to Treebeard in a huff. After another long few hours, Treebeard returned to us.
"The Ents cannot hold back this storm," Treebeard said. "We must weather such things as we have always done."
Merry leapt to his feet furiously. "How can that be your decision?!"
"This is not our war," Treebeard argued.
"But you SAID it affects us all…all of us!" I cried, and turned to Merry. He was quite a good speaker.
"You're PART OF THIS WORLD!" Merry thundered. "AREN'T YOU?! You MUST HELP! PLEASE! You must DO SOMETHING!"
Treebeard waved it off and infuriated Merry more. "You are young and brave, Master Merry, but your part in this tale is over. Go back to your home."
Merry stormed off and put his jacket back on, looking lost and dejected. I didn't speak to him. Instead, I crossed my arms, convinced that there must be something more we could do.
Pippin touched Merry's shoulder. "Maybe Treebeard's right. We don't belong here, Merry. It's too big for us. What can we do in the end? We've got the Shire…Maybe we should go home."
"You don't understand!" Merry burst out, and then suddenly calmed, resting his hands on his little cousin's shoulders. "The fires of Isengard will spread, and the woods of Tuckborough and Buckland will burn. And all that was once green and good in this world will be gone. There won't be a Shire, Pippin."
The truth was out, and the horror spread on Pippin's face. "I understand," he said slowly, and began to hum nervously to himself.
Merry turned to me. "I didn't want to do it," he sighed. "But he needs to know."
"I know, Merry," I said, nodding. "I know."