Seven Swans A Swimming #7
Title:  "Wagers in Rivendell"
Fandom:  Lord of The Rings
Characters:  Merry, Frodo, Aragorn, Legolas, Pippin and Sam
Rating:  G
Brief Summary:  Merry gambles on his knowledge of his younger cousin.

“Look, Merry,” Pippin whispered, as he pointed out onto the water.  There, swimming amid the reeds and other water plants, were the graceful, white birds with their long necks extended.

Merry smiled.  “They’re beautiful.  I’ve never seen so many at once.”  He followed his cousin’s gaze to the lovely birds gliding past them on the silvery surface of the water.

Frodo, who had been asleep in the tall grass beside of them rolled over onto his stomach and looked out at the water.   “Swans,” he sighed, contently.  “Everything here in Rivendell is so graceful.”

“It’s almost too beautiful,” Merry agreed.

Pippin had inched his way closer to the water and was now squatting down next to the edge of the peaceful river dipping his fingers into the water.  “They’re so close to us,” he said, softly.

Sam, who was also sitting near the water’s edge looked over at Pippin and frowned.  He then looked back at Frodo and Merry who were huddled together a few feet behind Pippin.  Merry leaned over to Frodo and whispered something in his older cousin’s ear and Frodo laughed quietly.  Sam sighed, sensing trouble in the making, and turned his eyes back to the lovely birds.

Legolas and Aragorn stood on the hill just behind the hobbits, enjoying the sunshine and the gentle breeze of the afternoon wind.  “It would seem that the hobbits are enjoying their time here in Rivendell,” Legolas smiled.  He had only recently met them and did not know them well.  He was curious about them.

“They needed the rest, my friend,” Aragorn said.  “We all did, but sadly, we must soon leave.”  He watched as Pippin leaned forward and gently dipped his hand into the water while looking at the swans.

“What do you suppose those two are up to?” Aragorn asked, noticing Merry and Frodo with their heads together, snickering.

“I do not know,” Legolas said.  “Must they be up to something?”

Just then, Pippin’s voice sang out, “Look!  There’s another one!  That’s seven!”  He stood to point toward the latest arrival on the water and turned to look back toward Frodo and Merry as he spoke.  Suddenly he was leaning to one side and fighting for balance.  One of his feet shot up in the air and his arms waved wildly as he tumbled backward into the water sending the swans swimming for the opposite shore.

Merry and Frodo fell against one another in helpless laughter and Sam groaned as Pippin splashed into the water.  Legolas and Aragorn couldn’t help but join in the laughter as Pippin bobbed to the surface, hair plastered to his face and water dripping down the end of his pointed nose.  The hobbit sent a stream of water spurting from his mouth as he splashed about in an effort to reach the shore.

“You owe me five shire pennies, Frodo,” Merry grinned, slapping his older cousin on the back.  “I told you he’d manage to fall in.”

“If you knew, why didn’t you stop him?” Legolas asked, as he and Aragorn came over to join the two hobbits.

“It seemed harmless enough,” Merry said.  “He can swim right enough.  Besides, if I had stopped him, he’d have only gotten into something else.”

“You just wanted to make a bit of money at my expense,” Frodo laughed, giving Merry a gentle shove. Legolas watched as Pippin nearly made the bank but found it too slippery to climb up onto and splashed backwards, awkwardly into the water a second time.  Legolas frowned as Merry and Frodo laughed again.  The elf thought that these two were enjoying this far too much.

“Oiy!  A little help might be nice!”  Pippin yelled, as he surfaced again.

Frodo and Merry continued to laugh as Legolas strode past them toward the water. He couldn’t understand why none of the hobbits were helping Pippin. Even Sam did not attempt to aid the floundering hobbit. 

“I wouldn’t unless I wanted to get soaked, Legolas,” Merry called out between giggles.

Aragorn knelt down beside of the two hobbits.  “You don’t seriously think that Pippin will manage to pull Legolas into the water do you?” Aragorn asked, looking at Merry.

“Five pennies says he will,” Merry said, extending his hand and grinning up at the man.

Laughing, Aragorn shook Merry’s hand.  “You have a bet.”

The three of them watched as Sam stood, still shaking his head and trying not to laugh while Legolas bent over and extended his hand to Pippin who was now splashing about ungainly and shaking water from his hair.  The elf patiently leaned forward and extended his arm a bit further.

Aragorn found that he was holding his breath in anticipation, while beside of him, Frodo and Merry were snickering.  “Get ready to lose your money,” Merry said.

“That is an elf that you are betting against, my friend,” Aragorn reminded Merry as he watched Legolas lean over even further still as Pippin bobbed about and flailed his arm in an attempt to reach the elf’s hand.  “Elves are able to react quickly in all situations.  They are naturally graceful.”

Sam stood on the bank and rolled his eyes skyward.  Across from them, the swans gracefully exited the water and stood looking back toward the floundering hobbit and squawking.

“This is deeper than I thought,” Pippin sputtered, and pushed off toward Legolas hand with a jerk using his feet to propel upward with a sudden burst of energy.  Legolas was, surprisingly, caught off guard by the suddenness of Pippin’s movement and as Pippin caught him by the hand he felt himself being pulled face first toward the water.  Frodo and Merry were practically howling by this time and Aragorn allowed his own laughter to escape as the smallest of the hobbits somehow managed to pull Legolas into the water with him.

There was an enormous splash and Sam found himself soaked by a fountain of water as Legolas hit the surface and went under.  “Do elves swim?” Sam asked, looking back toward Aragorn a bit worriedly.

“I told you,” Merry giggled at Aragorn and fell over onto the grass.

None of them realized that a crowd had gathered on the far bank near the swans to watch until they began to hear laughter coming from across the water.  Aragorn looked over to see a large gathering of elves and one very amused Dwarf watching as Legolas, dripping wet, stepped onto the bank carrying Pippin effortlessly, under one arm.

“At the moment, not everything in Rivendell is graceful,” Merry whispered as Legolas strode up the bank and deposited the dripping Pippin next to Frodo’s feet.

“I do not wish to discuss this,” the elf said, looking definitely at Aragorn and then continuing to walk up the hill and out of sight. 

Merry grinned broadly at Pippin and then glanced over at Aragorn and smiled.  “And now you owe me five pennies.”

“I didn’t think that elves ever fell,” Pippin said by way of a greeting as he looked over at his cousins and Aragorn.  “I wasn’t expecting that at all.”  He shook his curls splattering everyone with water and then began to wring out the tail of his shirt.

Aragorn threw back his head and laughed until he fell onto his back on the grass as Merry and Frodo began to tease Pippin good-naturedly.

The swans, taking note that the water was again calm, slipped back into the lake and began to swim gracefully.

 The End

G. W.     01/01/2005