From the moment I gazed at your emerald green eyes, I was utterly enchanted. Oh sure, you annoyed me sometimes, but I must tell you, it was a battle to say no to those eyes. You only had to bat your eyes ONCE and I was a puddle. I remember you batting them as you pleaded for me to come and raid Farmer Maggot’s field with you that day. The day our lives changed. We were so… innocent back then. The greatest trial was the hour wait between elevenses and lunch. I remember you back then. Back before you were changed with hardship and death- and pain. Back then, I was always able to protect you from anything.
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Merry sat up straight, awoken from a deep slumber as lightning flashed outside his window. He sat for a moment, panting, and tried to get his bearings. He looked around at the unfamiliar bedroom, heart racing, and gradually remembered. He wasn’t at home; he was staying at Aunt Eglantine and Uncle Paladin’s. That was all.
Thunder boomed outside, but Merry paid it no attention. He was twelve now, and thunderstorms didn’t scare him that much anymore. The lightning crackled again, but Merry was calmer now. He lay back down and snuggled underneath the blankets.
Merry remembered yesterday, his arrival at his relatives, and how glad four-year-old Pippin had been to see him. It had been quite a trial to convince the lad that “Mer” would still be there in the morning. Finally, after much coaxing and several nearly-lost tempers, Pippin had submitted to going to sleep. Merry giggled as he remembered the reluctance with which Pippin had trudged off to bed, throwing pleading glances over his shoulder at his mother. Merry had stared at Eglantine in awe, wondering how she could resist that pitiful green gaze.
An especially loud blast of thunder boomed suddenly. Merry ignored it, but a second later the door to his room flew open and a small form flew into the room, onto the bed, and darted underneath the covers. Without looking, Merry knew it was Pippin. The four-year-old was trembling and with each blast of lightning, he inched closer to Merry. Merry marveled at how close he got without actually touching him. Obviously the lad didn’t want to awake his beloved older cousin. Merry feigned sleep for a while, but was unable to pretend any longer when Pippin began to whimper slightly with fear. Merry started to roll over to reassure him, when suddenly lightning crashed particularly close to the window and Pippin lunged forward, putting his icy cold feet right on Merry’s legs.
Merry yelped and sat straight up, propelling Pippin backwards and onto the floor. Merry was instantly out of bed and making sure that Pippin had suffered no injuries during his flight through the air. The little hobbit was fine, just startled. “What are you doing in here?” Merry asked with mock reproach.
Pippin opened his mouth to answer, just as the wind blew the rain against the window with a jolting pattering noise. Instead of explaining, Pippin threw himself at his cousin, wrapped his arms around him and held on for dear life.
Merry stifled a smile and he gently disentangled himself. “All right, you can sleep in here during the storm. But, DON’T make noise.” he instructed, climbing back into bed. He curled up with his back facing Pippin and waited.
Pippin paused for a moment, then slowly slipped under the covers, careful to keep his furry little feet far away from Merry and snuggled up against his back. Merry felt the faint tickling of Pippin’s cinnamon curls and gave a soft laugh. Pippin, taking this as a good sign, rubbed his curls up against Merry’s neck, tickling the older lad so badly that he burst out laughing.
Merry rolled over and began tickling Pippin in revenge. The two were shrieking so loud that Eglantine woke up and both boys were given a firm talking-to. They promised to be quiet, if Pippin was allowed to stay, and soon everyone was settled down. Merry was just drifting off, when Pippin curled up against his back and, just once, tickled Merry’s neck with his hair. Merry smiled and the two drifted off to sleep…..
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Pippin shifted slightly, trying to find some relief from the tight ropes around his wrists. No use. They were tied so tight that every time he moved they cut into his skin. Pippin sighed and glanced over his shoulder at the Orcs. They were clustered around a fire of some sort. At least they were ignoring the hobbits, and not torturing them. At this point Pippin would take what he could get.
Pippin sighed and glanced over at Merry. His back was towards Pippin and eh wasn’t moving or making a sound. His friend was obviously in pain, but he was trying to hide it from Pippin. Trying to protect me. Pippin thought ruefully. Obviously Merry thought that Pippin wasn’t paying any attention, because his back was heaving with silent sobs.
You can’t protect me forever, Mer. It’s my turn now. Pippin carefully and slowly scooted over behind Merry. One of the Orcs turned towards him and Pippin froze, hoping desperately that his actions would go unnoticed. He didn’t even allow himself a sigh of relief when the Orc returned to whatever is was doing. Pippin inched forward until he was right against Merry’s back. His friend was pretending to be asleep, but Pippin wasn’t fooled. He lay down and relaxed. Ever so carefully he nuzzled his head against Merry’s neck, like he used to when they were children.
Merry froze at the first tickle then smiled. “Thanks Pip.” he whispered. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~