Chapter 14: Reunion at The
Prancing Pony
Sam
thought his lungs were going to seize on him when he finally reached the door
of The Prancing Pony. He was certainly not up to running, but he had not
stopped. Part of him sternly believed that he would find his daughter and son
at the Inn, and that belief would not allow him to stop, despite the pain.
Meriadoc and Peregrin were in no better shape. Panting, the three of them
stumbled into the Inn.
Ellouise
Butterbur greeted them kindly as they entered. She must have had more helpers
that night, for she was not as run off her feet as usual. “Good evening, sirs.
How can I help you? Rooms for three?”
“Well,
actually,” Sam stammered, trying to find his breath to speak. “We wanted to ask
you…”
“Lou?
Lou!” a voice interrupted Sam. “I need you, Lou!”
Ellouise
looked apologetic. “You’ll have to excuse me for a moment. Why don’t you go to
the Common Room and make yourselves comfortable? I’ll find you as soon as I can.”
And with that, she had disappeared.
“Strange
lass, that one,” Sam mumbled. “Must be a relative of Mister Butterbur.”
“I
think it may be his niece,” said Meriadoc. He had visited Bree more recently
that his companions. The Common Room was warm and inviting. A group of hobbits
noticed the newcomers, and greeted them gladly.
“I
say, it’s the Master of Buckland!” one hobbit declared, recognising Meriadoc.
“And
that’s the Thain and the Mayor with him,” another added.
Sam
had almost hoped that they would not be recognised. He knew it had been quite
foolish to think so. Their faces were known from Gondor to the Grey Havens.
Soon, the three Travellers were badgered by questions about their coming to
Bree. While Meriadoc and Peregrin tried to answer all the questions and even
find space to ask a few of their own, Sam remained silent. He had the strange
feeling that they were being watched. Sure enough, in a darkened corner of the
room, three cloaked and hooded figures sat. One was of much smaller stature than
the other too, and a cloud of smoke seemed to hover above them. From beneath
one of the hoods, Sam caught the twinkle in the figure’s eyes, and a glimpse of
an all too familiar smile.
He
staggered a few steps forward, as if drawn to the mysterious onlooker. Meriadoc
and Peregrin saw Sam walking away. Their voices caught in their throats as they
saw what he had seen.
“It
can’t be…” Peregrin whispered.
“Well
met, Master Samwise,” the smiling figure said quietly, as the three hobbits
drew near. He and his companions made space for them at their table. “Though, I
would appreciate your discretion. We have gone unnoticed and unrecognised
completely this night. A shame we cannot say the same for the three of you.”
“Strider!”
Sam finally managed to whisper.
“Will
you ever cease using that derogatory name for your king?” one of the other
figures asked.
“Oh,
Sam will call Aragorn whatever he likes, Legolas!” Meriadoc snorted.
Legolas
laughed, but quietly. Though the other patrons had let the hobbits alone once
they had sat down with the strange hooded travellers, Aragorn still wished for
his presence to remain unknown.
“Yes,
Legolas,” the third figure – the smallest of the three – grunted. “Just be glad
that they have not yet come up with pet names for you and I.”
“You’re
right, Gimli!” Peregrin cried. “We’ve known you all this time, and have never
given you nicknames.”
“And
let us hope it will continue to be so for another long time.”
“Strider,
what are you doing here?” Sam asked, seizing the split second of silence. “And
with Gimli and Legolas, no less.”
“To
be honest, Master Samwise, we came to see you,” King Elessar answered. “Lady
Arwen wished to visit her brothers in Rivendell, and Legolas, Gimli and I came
with her. We decided that we greatly desired to see our little friends again. I
have sent a confidential message to Bag End requesting that you come to meet me
at the Bridge of Baranduin, but I suppose it shall now arrive to an empty
house.”
“No,
not empty. Just a house of anxious wives and children.”
“Then
this is not just a pleasant walking trip for you to reclaim your youth?”
Legolas asked. “You have urgency in your voice.”
“We’re
following Pippin, Faramir and Goldilocks. You should know of them, if you have
not met them. Pippin is my third son, and Goldi my third daughter. Faramir is
Peregrin’s only son.”
“Following?
Where have they gone?”
“We
believe they are headed to Rivendell, following the paths that we took on our
own journey. We were hoping to maybe find them here, but as yet, we have not
been able to ask…”
“They’re
not here,” said Meriadoc. “We managed to ask a few of the guests here. One of
them said he saw three hobbits matching our description of them leaving two
days ago.”
“A
trait of the Tooks, running off on adventures, am I right, Master Peregrin?”
“That
you are, Lord,” Peregrin replied, with a bow, for he was still a knight of
Gondor, and Aragorn was his lord and master.
“Well,
I believe that we may now be able to spend that desired time with you, my
friends.”
“What
do you mean, Stri…I mean, Aragorn?” Sam asked.
“Do
you recall what I spent my time doing before claiming the throne? I dare say,
the three of you have little hope of catching your truants, especially if they
have decided to avoid the road. With Strider the Ranger at your aid, you may
have more luck.”
“Luck
indeed!” Peregrin cried. “It is beyond hope!”
“Nothing
is beyond hope, Master Peregrin.”
“There
you are, sirs,” Ellouise Butterbur panted, and she came to their table. “I am
dreadfully sorry; my uncle needed me…”
“Your
uncle is Barliman Butterbur, is it not?” Meriadoc asked.
“Why,
yes he is? And you are Master Brandybuck! I thought I recognised you when you
came in.” She looked at Sam and Peregrin. “I am willing to guess that you are
Master Took and Gamgee.” They nodded. “You must come with me at once, then!
Please.”
Meriadoc,
Sam and Peregrin all looked at one another, before standing and following
Ellouise. Aragorn also followed. Ellouise looked at him suspiciously. “And who
might you be, sir? I remember you and your companions arriving earlier, but I
do not see why you should wish to come with these hobbits.”
“I
am an…old friend of your uncle,” Aragorn replied. “He may be pleased to see me,
or he may not. I cannot be sure.”
Ellouise
nodded and did not question him further. She led them to the same room that she
had led Faramir, Pippin and Goldi to several nights previously.
“Back
so soon, Lou?” Barliman laughed. “Did you forget something?”
“No,
she found something,” Aragorn replied. Lou slipped out, leaving her uncle with
his guests.
“Now,
I recognise that voice, but I don’t remember where from.”
“Perhaps
we might help you to remember,” said Meriadoc.
“Why,
Mister Brandybuck!” Barliman cried. “And with Mister Took and Mister Gamgee
with you! How lovely to see you again. But I still can’t seem to place your
voice, sir.”
“That
is understandable,” Aragorn said slowly. “For it has been a while since
I last visited Bree. And even when I did so, I seem to recall you not being so
fond of my presence…”
“Strider
the Ranger!” Barliman gasped. He managed to bow. “I should be saying ‘Your
highness’, shouldn’t I?”
“You
may continue to call me Strider. I would prefer my presence to remain unknown.”
“Well,
most people in Bree have short memories when it comes to faces. Not like me.
When I see a face, I remember it to the end of my days. Now that reminds me of
something…” Barliman thought for a moment before breaking out in a grin. “Of
course, I had three young visitors just a few nights ago. Two lads and a lass,
I believe you know them.”
Sam
nodded. “My son and daughter, and Pippin’s son.”
“They’ve
gone off on their own little adventure it seems. I do hope it won’t turn out so
bad as yours did, Mister Gamgee.”
“Well,
we hope to catch up with them. The Wild can be…wild. Those children really
don’t have much of an idea of what’s out there. Stories are one thing, but
actually being there yourself is a completely different matter.”
“Well,
good luck to you, Mister Gamgee.” Barliman yawned. “If there’s anything I can
do to help you, I’d be more than happy to do it.”
“Strider’s
already offered his assistance,” said Peregrin.
“There
is one thing we could use though,” Meriadoc said, slyly. “You wouldn’t happen
to have a spare pony, would you? We ran off so quickly we forgot to bring one
with us.”
“That
I might be able to organise,” answered Barliman. “Speak with my niece, and
she’ll do what she can. Now, if you sirs will excuse me, I am awfully tired…”
“Sleep
well, Master Butterbur,” said Aragorn, turning to leave. Barliman was already
asleep. Peregrin, Meriadoc and Sam all stood quietly, and followed the King out
the door.
“I
shall speak to Ellouise about acquiring a pony,” Meriadoc offered.
Aragorn
nodded. “Legolas, Gimli and I have a room organised that should be able to fit
three more, if you care on joining us. We will have to leave early tomorrow if
we want to make a good start.”
They
all accepted his offer. Of course, that meant that none of them got much sleep.
They stayed up to the late hours of the night, exchanging stories and
remembering the times they had together.
* *
* * * *
A/N:
Another horribly short chapter, I’m afraid, but an important one! I always
wanted to have Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli make an appearance in this story.
They were going to come into it later, but it works better this way.