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The Brandy Hall Incident  by Dreamflower

CHAPTER 6

Now that they had found Pippin, and knew he would be all right, Merry was very quiet. A feeling that he had not wanted to acknowledge was coming to the fore. While Pippin was still in danger, he had pushed it to the back of his mind, but now he could not help but to admit it to himself.

He was furious.

Pippin had endangered himself, could have lost his life, because of his curiosity. He had disobeyed Merry, and gone where he had been told not to go. Two days of fear and misery, because of it. Two days of wondering if Pippin was alive or dead. And worst of all, was the feeling that he could not trust Pippin anymore.

He went into his room without speaking to anyone, and got ready for his bath.

His mother knocked on his door. “Merry, do you want to take your bath with Pippin?”

“No. I’ll wait.”

Surprised, she said, “All right. I’ll be finished with him in about twenty minutes.”

Merry did not think he could stand to be around Pippin right now. Not with this feeling of anger, sitting like a great heavy lump in his stomach.

_________________________________________________

Cousin Dody had tended Pippin’s scratches, with something that stung at first, but then made them feel better. Pippin had taken another cup of water, and a cup of fruit juice, and was then spoon-fed a bowl of chicken soup by his relieved Aunt Esme. He had not been so eager to take the tonic that the healer brought, but under Dody’s stern eye, he wilted, and with a wry face, swallowed it down.

Merry had come out of the bath, and had his own scratches tended to. Then he had retreated to his own room and gone to bed.

Esmeralda and Frodo fussed over Pippin, and tucked him up. But the lad kept looking past them, seeking in vain for the beloved face and grey eyes. “Where’s Merry? I want my Merry!”

His mother and Frodo exchanged a puzzled glance, wondering themselves at the absence of the usually solicitous Merry. Esme went next door to Merry’s room and knocked softly.

“Merry? Merry, Pippin’s asking for you.” She cracked the door slightly and peered in.

But Merry was turned towards the wall, and he pretended to be fast asleep. Esmeralda shook her head, perplexed, and went back to Pippin.

“I’m sorry, Pippin, but Merry is asleep right now.”

Pippin looked disappointed, but he was drowsy and sated from the first nourishment in two days, and he allowed his heavy eyelids to close, as he drifted off to sleep.

Merry lay awake for a very long time, trying to sort through his feelings of resentment and betrayal. He had never been this angry at Pippin before in his life, and the unaccustomed emotions twisted in his stomach and made him feel sick. Finally, sheer exhaustion caught up, and he fell into a dreamless sleep.

_______________________________________________

Later that night, Pippin awakened. At first, the dark frightened him, remembering. But he knew he was in his bed in his aunt’s apartment, and he soon calmed the hammering of his heart. He climbed out of his bed and padded into Merry’s room, and made his way into Merry’s bed.

Merry woke up. He stiffened, but lay still, and didn’t say anything. As soon as Pippin was asleep, he got out of his own bed, and made his way to Frodo’s. Frodo didn’t wake up. He seldom did when Merry joined him, but would automatically turn in his sleep to put a protective arm over his younger cousin. Merry finally relaxed in Frodo’s presence.

__________________________________________________

The next morning, he felt persistent little hands, pushing at him. “Merry! Merry! Wake up.” He ignored it.

Frodo sat up. He could see Merry’s eyes were squinted shut and he was biting his lip. For some reason, Merry was turning his back on Pippin.

Pippin gave another impatient push. Exasperated, Merry twisted over, glared at his younger cousin, and then twisted back.

Pippin took a step backwards, frightened at an expression of fury that he had never before seen aimed in his direction, and cried “Merry!”

Without turning over again, Merry spoke his first words to Pippin since he had been brought out of the tunnels. “Go away!”

Frodo was shocked. What on earth had got into Merry? He had never heard Merry speak to Pippin that way before.

Pippin burst into tears.

“Leave me alone!” Merry shouted. He jumped from the bed, and fled back to his own room, slamming first one door and then the other, behind him.

Frodo took Pippin into his arms to comfort him.

“Merry hates me!” he cried.

Frodo rocked Pippin back and forth, patting his back. “Merry doesn’t hate you, Pippin. Truly he doesn’t. But you frightened him very badly.”

“I frightened *me*, too, Frodo,” he sobbed. “I’m really, really sorry! I am!”

_____________________________________________

Esmeralda saw Merry shoot into his room and heard the bang of the door.

She pushed open the door and went into his room without knocking. He had thrown himself on the bed, and was weeping his heart out into his pillow with great gulping sobs.

She sat down next to him. “Merry, what is the matter? Pippin is safe now.”

Merry did not at first answer, but she persisted. Finally, he turned over and burst out: “Until the next time he does something stupid! I *told* him not to go in there! I trusted him with mine and Frodo’s special place! I trusted him to do what I said! I can’t trust him anymore! What if the next time, he is hurt really bad, or even dies, because he would not listen to me?”

Merry sat up and looked his mother in the eye. “How can I bear to be around him, when I might lose him again?”

“Oh, Merry!” she said, and enfolded him in her arms. “Can you truly say you don’t want to be around him ever again?”

Merry was silent for a moment, contemplating the idea of being without his Pippin. But he was too near having come to that already. It could have happened. It very nearly did happen.

“Maybe it would be better. He doesn’t listen to me anymore. How would I keep him safe?” For that was what lay at the root of his anger--the feeling that he had failed to keep Pippin out of danger.

Frodo and Pippin stood in the half-open door. Pippin’s little face was ashen. He raced over to the bed.

“Merry, please don’t hate me! Please! I’m sorry! I didn’t *mean* to disobey you! Oh, please, please love me again!” He put out a trembling hand, but did not quite touch his cousin, afraid it would be rejected if he did. The tears rolled down his face.

Merry stared at him. This was not like the mock sad faces Pippin made when he wheedled; this was true misery, and he couldn’t stand the sight of it on his little Pippin’s face. His anger broke and melted. He reached out and took the hand with both his own. “I still love you, Pip. But don’t scare me like that, ever again--please.”

“Oh Merry, I’ll try ever so hard not to scare you again.”

Pippin leaned into Merry’s embrace, and Esmeralda and Frodo exchanged relieved glances, glad that this storm was finally over.

__________________________________________

The next day, Merry was sitting on Pippin’s bed with him, telling him silly stories. He had reduced his cousin to helpless giggles with them, when Frodo entered the room, carrying a familiar box.

“Hullo, cousins.” He held the box out. “Anyone up for a game of ‘Rule the Shire’?”

Merry and Pippin grinned at one another. “Of course,” said Merry, “but you know Brandybucks are the masters of that game!”

“Only Tooks can ‘Rule the Shire’!” Pippin crowed.

Frodo sat down and placed the box between them on the bed. “Well, why don’t we just see how well a Baggins may fare?”

THE END





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