Buckland
'Master Merry!' Éowyn called, catching his attention despite the clamour of their
group preparing to ride away to Helm's Deep. He turned his head and saw her motioning for him to
follow her around the eastern side of the Golden Hall. He tilted his head and looked quizzically
at her, having already drunk from the stirrup cup and knowing that they needed soon to be on their
way. He had put on a brave face about it all, but he was pretty sure that at least one clandestine
tear had fallen into the chalice of Rohirric wine.
Éowyn's expression was insistent, so he
put his pack on the ground near his pony, being especially careful with the silver horn newly
bequeathed to him, then did as he had been bidden. Once the two were out of the sight of the
others, she looked mournfully at him.
'I have dreaded this day,' she spoke softly. 'But I
will not say good-bye, for I believe with all my heart that I will see you again, so I will only
say farewell. And,' here she fished around in a small silken bag that hung from her belt, 'I have
yet one more gift for you.'
Merry stammered, 'Lady Éowyn! My pony will be rather unwilling
to carry me should I be the bearer of any more gifts from you and King Éomer!' He shook his head
and took to readjusting his mailshirt so as to have something to do other than thinking about this
separation. He was as eager as the other hobbits in the Fellowship to return home, but the days in
Edoras had been especially heartrending for him and he still felt emotionally raw.
'Do not
make me command you.' Her face was serious, but Merry knew her quite well enough to hear the
underpinning of humour in the comment. 'Hold out your hand.'
***
Lunawyn sat hunched
over some papers at her desk, her right hand making a rather unconscious foray from a nearby bowl
of sweets to her mouth and back again. Brows furrowed, with her left hand she traced the lines of
text as she read them, her lips mouthing the words. As focused as she was on the parchment, she
did not hear her older brother come in.
'Grand-Merry is here, Wyn!' he said into the quiet
of the room, and Lunawyn jumped out of her chair.
'Wolves' teeth, Borodoc!' she swore at
him. 'Must you be so
so
shadowlike?'
He grinned at her. 'It's not my fault that you get
so focused on old tales.' As she glowered menacingly at him, he repeated his message. 'But
speaking of old tales, granddad is here.'
Lunawyn's face softened.
'And not only
that, but the elder Thain is with him! They must be up to no good, those two.'
She cocked
an eyebrow. 'Goodness only knows. I'll be there momentarily.'
Borodoc replied, 'They are on
their way to Gondor. Must have just felt like stopping by.'
As her brother left the room,
Lunawyn tidied up her papers, then popped a last chocolate in her mouth. She was a bit befuddled
as to why her grandfather and Thain Peregrin would be visiting them tonight, but she absolutely
adored the elderly Meriadoc. This was despite the fact that the effects from his rather uncommon
experiences during the War of the Ring had managed to rest upon her by the uncommon name given to
her, much to her chagrin. Why her own mother had not stood up to him, even though it was true that
Lunawyn had been born during a full moon - Lunawyn did not even sound hobbitish...
She
stopped before a looking-glass on the way out of the room, stuck out her jaw, and blew upwards so
that her fringe of strawberry-blonde curls was out of her eyes. Sighing, she tried to put the rest
of her unruly hair behind her ears. Why is Grand-Merry here, tonight? she wondered, then
blew out the candle by the door as she walked through the doorway.
***
He did,
and even as his breath caught at seeing the glittering ring she placed there, he found himself
thinking, 'Whether as Dernhelm or Éowyn, I would recognize those ragged fingernails
anywhere!'
'Lady,' he began, 'I can't take this. It is too precious - '
She cut
him off. 'Meriadoc, during those long days of riding you mentioned your home again and again. Your
future, Peregrin's future, of the woods, your meandering Brandywine, of happy childhoods. You and
I both will be thinking of our own futures, and I want you to have this to become a part of your
line. It would make a lovely betrothal gift, would it not?'
Merry tried earnestly not to
blush, but under her stern and amused gaze, he doubted in his success. He picked up the ring, and
was stunned to see that the gem was a circular diamond, set in gold. Looking Éowyn fiercely in the
eye, he repeated, 'I can't take it.'
Éowyn closed her hand around his so that the ring was
nestled in the palm of his hand, whether he wished it or no. Her face took on a hardened
expression as she said, 'The guards of the Hall found it with many other heirlooms of my house
when the Wormtongue was banished. Apparently he had quite a skill for hiding such items in his
locked chest.' Then she relaxed slightly and shrugged as she continued, 'Oddly we cannot seem to
place its heritage, so I am inclined to think that it is some liege-gift from Gondor, or maybe
even from the Dwarves to Eorl's wife, kept hidden away from prying eyes.'
'Don't let Gimli
hear you say that!' Merry exclaimed, 'He'll want to take it back!' A capricious look glinted in
his eye. 'Perhaps I will go and tell him right now
'
Éowyn's face fell, and Merry quickly
became serious. 'No, dear Éowyn. After all that we have been through, even if you showered me with
rubies and emeralds that would make Gimli's beard stand on end, I would hold each one dear since
it came from you. I will cherish this heirloom of your house as much as the horn of Eorl.' He
shook his head. 'Though I am feeling a bit badly for Pippin, as he seems to be returning only with
a new set of clothes from the livery of Gondor!'
Éowyn's horsey laughter soon had a bearded
face peering at them from around the nearby corner.
'There you are, you scallywag!' Gimli
bellowed, then he bowed his head at Éowyn. 'My apologies, dear Lady,' he began, but she waved her
hands to stop him.
'No, no, it is my fault,' she said. 'I have kept him, but it is only
because I am loath for him to depart, even though this is one of only many partings for
him.'
Merry nestled the ring deeply within an inside pocket of his breeches, knelt on one
knee, and took Éowyn's fingernail-bitten hands in his. He kissed them, determined to appear as
valiant as he could, then stood up. 'We will see each other again,' he said, convincing himself as
much as her, even as he heard Gimli clearing his throat nearby.
Éowyn took back one of her
hands to brush away a stray tear, then placed it back in his once more, smiling. 'Well, I for one
have a wedding that shall happen within the year.' She looked keenly at him. 'And I do not think
that you would wish to disappoint King Elessar, the to-be-crowned Prince of Ithilien, and the King
of Rohan by not attending. Not to mention the bride!'
***
Meriadoc Brandybuck
and Peregrin Took stood, their poses mirroring each other before the fire in the spacious living
room, warming their backs against the early spring chill. Borodoc and his mother, Dernhilda
(Hilda, as she was always called) had served the two large, grey-haired hobbits cups of mulled
cider, their glasses cradled in their hands.
'Luna!' Merry exclaimed warmly, and handed his
cup to Pippin as he strode toward his granddaughter. 'I thought perhaps we had lost you to your
reading!' he said, throwing his arms around her in an affectionate hold.
She nuzzled his
shirt as she tried to shake her head. 'I would never miss an opportunity to see you!'
After
a few moments she disengaged herself to bid proper greetings to her grandfather's cousin, the
br
anches of these two family trees seemingly "as inseparable as a hobbit from good earth," as her
mother would often say.
'Dear Thain,' she began, but then her brother interrupted from his
leaning-place against the wall.
'He won't put up with such titles around here - I already
tried!'
Pippin put the two cups down on a small table, then took her hands in his and
smiled. 'You may call me anything you wish as long as you put "dear" in front of
it.'
Lunawyn blushed. She was still a tween, after all, and it wasn't always easy living in
the shadow of the tremendous deeds of her famous grandfather and his cousin, the Thain, and the
recently departed Mayor Samwise, and even "Frodo," a quasi-mythical hobbit who had supposedly gone
to the elves
well, it was sometimes all a bit much even for her to believe. But the tall stature
of her Grand-Merry and the rather regal presence of the Thain made her feel even more youthful,
and she looked at the floor.
'Well, that's a first, embarrassing the steadfast Wyn!'
Borodoc said mockingly, but was silenced by a sharp look from their mother.
'Now Pippin,
still charming the young ladies, are we?' Merry walked the few steps to them and placed a hand on
Lunawyn's shoulder. 'We are both far too old for that.' He picked up the Thain's glass and
returned it to him as he winked. 'Just keep your eyes to your cider.'
Lunawyn lifted her
clear grey eyes to her grandfather's in gratitude.
'Luna, I should very much like for you
to show me what it is that you have been studying.'
At this, Hilda turned her head and
raised her eyebrows at her father, but Meriadoc only smiled in return. 'I will only borrow her, my
daughter. Surely there is some news from your relations in Tuckborough that you would care to ask
the Thain about
out of my hearing?'
She chuckled, then waved them
along.
***
Lunawyn tried to divert her grandfather to some poems of ancient Rohan that
had been recently translated so that she could tidy up just a bit more before he noticed the true
shambles of the room. It almost worked. Merry sat in a well-stuffed chair and read some of it
aloud as she stealthily reshelved some texts.
Mundburg the mighty, raised on high
by
the contrivance of sea-kings, blood-drenched,
covered in darkness, stood under
shadows.
Marvelous keystones fastened by coils,
firmly fixed by a resolute lord,
the
broad fortress wall overgrown by briars,
hall of sea-kings, best of hall-joys,*
After a few lines, however, he fell silent, and Lunawyn found herself unintentionally looking out
the window at a starry night, the crystalline lights incredibly vivid in the crisp
sky.
'Luna?'
She turned, and was surprised to see a serious expression on Meriadoc's
face.
'Yes, grand-Mer?'
'I have something for you. Something old. Older than
anything even written about in your ever-increasing library.'
The young hobbit walked to
her grandfather somewhat hesitantly. His voice sounded rather final, and it put her on
edge.
'You haven't some big secret, do you?' she asked in as light-hearted a voice as she
could, looking innocently at him.
He regarded her shrewdly. 'We Brandybucks are full of
surprises, you know!'
Feeling much more at ease, she laughed aloud. 'Yes, yes - I will
forever have folk looking at me, wondering when I will go running off to far away lands, as
ridiculous as it sounds.'
Merry smiled, but there was an aura of sadness behind it, and
Lunawyn immediately wished that she hadn't just said what she had.
'So!' she continued. 'In
the dark of night, unannounced, you have come and wish to give me something. Sounds like one of
the tales that you used to write down!'
He nodded, then placed his somewhat gnarled fingers
into an inner pocket in his vest. As he fished about, a motion caught Lunawyn's eye, and she
quickly turned her attention to the window.
'Grand-Mer!' she said excitedly. 'A shooting
star!'
She ran to the window and leaned her head toward the glass, looking upward to see if
others would follow, as they often did. Soon her breath had fogged up the window, but there had
been no other flashes of streaking stars. Turning around, she looked abashedly at him.
'I
am sorry,' she began. 'It is very immature of me, but they are just so rare
'
Merry
motioned for her to join him, and she walked toward him near one of the bookcases. He held
something in his hand, but she couldn't tell what it was.
'Many years ago, I was told to
give this to one whom I love,' he said quietly. 'In the graciousness of my long years, there have
been many to whom I have given my heart.' He held Lunawyn's gaze, and as she tried to appear
mature and understanding, she felt goosebumps rising on her arms, though she did not know
why.
'But I have held onto this until now. You remind me so much of her - your stalwart
spirit, your honesty
' He opened his hand. 'And your eyes. Surely you have wondered why I imposed
such an uncommon name on you, my Luna.'
Lunawyn looked down, and saw a gold ring with a
shining diamond set in it. Cautiously she sent her fingers out and took it, turning it in the
shadowed light of hearth and moonbeam. It was unadorned, aside from the gem, which, while
undeniably beautiful, seemed to her cold and distant. She turned her gaze back to Merry for
security.
'Grand-Merry,' she mumbled as he enclosed her young hand in his.
'You
have Éowyn's fire in you,' the elderly hobbit said gently. 'She would have approved of my
decision.'
Lunawyn was agitated. 'But you will certainly tell me the story behind this ring
when you return, correct? You are our archivist.'
Merry nodded. 'Yes, I shall.' Then he
tilted his head and ran a hand through his grey hair. 'But you, too, have inherited my penchant
for writing down our history, much to your mother's chagrin.' A wry smile settled on his lips. 'So
consider yourself a co-conspirator, dear granddaughter.'
He stood up and stretched, joints
cracking as he did so, and Lunawyn put the ring in her dress pocket.
'Dear Luna, I need to
return to my cider, the rest of the family, and the Thain - all before tending to
bed!'
Despite her misgivings, she conjured a smile, and threw her arms around
him.
'I won't be able to sleep a wink until you come back, you know!' she said accusingly.
'Shall I tell Mother about this?'
Merry shook his head. 'No need for that. You will be
coming of age before you know it. You are allowed to keep some secrets.'
He kissed her on
the top of her head, then with a last squeeze, he left the room and headed down the corridor to
the main living room.
Lunawyn returned to the window and used a sleeve on the glass to rub
away any remnants of condensation from when she had stood there moments ago. Though her vision was
now blurred, she was still able to see that there were indeed some other stray falling stars. She
forced herself to stare at them, even as hot, silent tears coursed down her cheeks, knowing by the
intense ache in her heart that her Grand-Mer would never return.
***
'Merry?'
Pippin's voice could now be heard nearing the side of the building. 'Merry, it's time to
leave!'
Gimli turned and walked toward Pippin as Merry and Éowyn embraced.
'Your
generosity will be my undoing,' Merry murmured.
'Give it to one whom you love,' Éowyn
replied. 'Now go before I have to produce some finery for the Master Dwarf in your
party!'
The unlikely companions gazed fondly at one another, then Merry attempted a jaunty
bow and turned and joined the rest of the entourage.
***
*This is from HF's
poem Song for the Free
People and is partially quoted here with permission.
"Celestial Quartet" Author's Notes
Return to Fanfiction listings
Home