Fic Update: A Different Kind of Mary Sue
A DIFFERENT KIND OF MARY SUE (A WEE!HOBBITS AU)
Here's some more of Wee!MarySue. This is the rest of the main part of the story, and I will post a brief epilogue tomorrow...
Rated G.
Summary: A very unusual visitor comes to Bag End.
Part 1:
http://community.livejournal.com/wee_hobbits/30167.html
Part 2:
http://wee-hobbits.livejournal.com/30465.html
Part 3:
http://wee-hobbits.livejournal.com/68176.html
Part 4:
It had been three days, and Gandalf found he was no closer to thinking up a solution to the problem than he had been the day he arrived. While he knew that if he could think of nothing else, he would take her to Rivendell, the journey would be difficult with a little child of that age. There were still many dangers to be found in the Wild. He would probably need to stop at Bree and send for an escort of a couple of Rangers. But it would still be a slow journey. It would be good if he could hire a goodwife in Bree to come along and care for the little one, but he knew that would never happen--no respectable woman would go into the Wild with an old wandering conjuror and some of those "stick-at-nought" Rangers.
He still wondered at what he could sense from Marisu. She had been sent by someone, and seemingly by accident. Perhaps whoever had done it would be able to come up with a way to retrieve her; but he could not count on that.
He sat on the bench by Bag End's front door and watched the children in the front yard.
The Took lasses were skipping rope; Merry and Frodo sat upon the front step playing at stones.* A blanket had been spread out upon the soft lawn, and Marisu and Pippin were playing upon that. Eglantine sat with them, doing a bit of tatting as she watched the little girl with Pippin. Marisu played with the baby as though he were a doll, or perhaps a kitten. She was surprisingly gentle with him as she coddled him and cooed at him, singing wordlessly.
Now she had found a new game to play. She had seen Frodo do it to Pippin earlier in the morning, and so she would hold him up and blow raspberries against his little tummy, saying "Pip-pip-pip!" Pippin squealed with laughter as it tickled him. Eglantine smiled, but watched carefully, knowing that while Marisu would not mean any harm, she could drop Pippin or hold him too tightly. Still, she had seldom needed to intervene.
However, she had just such a moment as Bell Gamgee with young Sam assisting her, appeared at the front gate with a basket of clean laundry. Marisu stood up abruptly and would have dropped Pippin if his mother had not moved like a flash to catch him from her. Marisu squealed and toddled quickly down to greet the new arrivals, almost knocking Bell over in her enthusiasm. She had grown to quickly love the hobbitess who came and sang to her at night and held her safe.
Bell had to drop one end of the basket to return Marisu's hug. "It's good to see you, lass," she smiled. Sam attempted to pick up the basket by himself, but Frodo had moved quickly and took up the other end. These were the towels they'd been using for nappies, as well as the chemises they had been using to dress her in. Today she was once more wearing her original clothing, save for the shoes and stockings. Frodo and Sam took the basket indoors, and soon came right back out.
Bilbo and Paladin had been talking, and now they asked Gandalf, Eglantine and Bell to come into the smial, for they wished to have a discussion about the situation without the children listening in. Eglantine put Pippin back on the blanket.
"Watch your little brother, Pearl," she instructed, as she went inside.
In the parlour, Bilbo gestured for all to sit, and he brought out the teapot and teacups that were so much a part of any hobbit conversation. As he poured out and passed around the tea, Paladin spoke.
"We put it off when you arrived, Gandalf, but I am afraid we cannot put it off any longer. I am afraid that Lalia and Fortinbras will be annoyed at the delay of informing them as it is. If we put it off much longer, they will be angry. And I would much rather not have to face an angry Lalia."
Gandalf sighed and nodded. He had not been welcome at the Great Smials since the death of Thain Fortinbras II. Lady Lalia had never liked him, and once her son became Thain, she made certain that Gandalf would not return.
xxxxx
Frodo was now sitting on the bench reading a book about Westernesse. He had barely noticed all the adults going in, out of the corner of his eye. Marisu and Pippin were back on the blanket, and Marisu was wordlessly humming at Pippin as she rocked him.
Pearl sat on the blanket as well, making a daisy chain. Merry ran up to Frodo, followed by the other younger children. "Frodo! Enough reading! Let's play hide-and-go-seek!" He tugged at his older cousin's book, and laughingly Frodo put it aside. He knew Merry's persistence. "Very well. I shall be the Seeker, then."
He stood up and faced the front door, leaning up against it and burying his eyes in his arm. He started counting: "One, two, three, four..."
The children scattered to their various favorite hiding places. Pearl looked on wistfully for a moment, and then looked over at Marisu. Perhaps it was that Marisu's size reassured her, or perhaps it was the gentle way the little girl was playing with baby Pippin that made her think it would be all right. She stood up and said "Watch Pippin, Marisu!" and when Marisu grinned up at her and nodded emphatically, she grinned back and took off to find a hiding place.
Marisu stood up and looked around. Everyone was gone except Frodo, who was still diligently counting. "Fifty-one, fifty-two..."
Holding Pippin under the arms she looked at him. "C'mon Pip-pip! Us hide too!"
"Ninety-nine, one hundred! Here I come!" Frodo turned around to see the front lawn quite bare of young hobbits, and began to seek. Sam was easily found behind the rain barrel, and Pimmie and Pervinca were behind the bayberry bush near the front gate. Pearl was hiding behind the well. Merry took much longer to find, as he seldom hid in the same places all the time. Finally Frodo called out his surrender. "I give up, Merry!" he shouted. It was still a moment or two before Merry came out from behind the garden shed door.
"Well," said Frodo, "you are the Seeker now!" The children had returned to the front garden, when Pearl gave a small shriek.
"Where are they?" she wailed.
"Who?" asked Frodo.
"Marisu and Pippin!" she exclaimed, a desperate note in her voice.
"Didn't they go indoors with your mother?" asked Frodo. "I thought they did."
"No!" She looked around wildly. "They were on the blanket. I told Marisu to watch Pippin!"
Frodo resisted grabbing her and shaking her. It would only frighten her and would not find them, but he could not help wondering how she could have been so reckless as to tell a faunt to watch a baby!
"They went to hide too!" said Vinca. She could remember only too well that it had not been so very long since they thought her too young to play such games. Of course Marisu wanted to play too, and she would take Pippin with her. It's what she would have done if it had been her.
"Well, we'd better seek for them, then," said Frodo. He was not too alarmed. After all, what could happen in Bag End's garden. He turned a gimlet eye on Pearl. "Pearl, you need to go and tell your mother what happened."
Pearl blanched, but gave a shamefaced nod, and entered the smial. Frodo and the rest of the youngsters fanned out across Bag End's grounds, calling out: "Marisu! Where are you?" while Merry threw in an occasional "Pippin!" as though the baby would be able to answer.
When no answer came, Frodo began to be anxious. He was relieved to see the adults come out of the hole and join in the search. Gandalf did not call out, but stood quietly with both hands on his staff. "Frodo! Where did you say you first found Marisu?"
"Of course! The lilac bush!"
All of them raced around to the back, Merry reaching it first, followed by Eglantine. Merry peered into the hollow between the bush and the smial. He looked around. "Well, there's Pip!"
He started to go under the bush, but Gandalf held him back. "Merry, look carefully when you go in, to see what you can see."
Merry nodded, and then went in. He scooped up his little cousin, who gurgled and reached up to pull his curls. Merry paid no attention, but looked very carefully at the soft dirt beneath his feet. He looked up at the faces peering at him. "I see her footprints," he said, for her little bare feet left prints far different than those of hobbit feet, "she was here! But she isn't anymore." As if the others could not see this fact for themselves.
"Do her footprints come out?" asked Gandalf.
Merry looked once more, and shook his head. "Uh-uh. I don't see any. I might have stepped on them when I came in, though."
"That's quite all right, Merry-lad. Bring Pippin out with you now."
Merry placed Pippin into Eglantine's waiting arms.
"Perhaps we should search a little longer," said Gandalf, "although I do not believe we will find her. I think she has gone as mysteriously as she came.
That did, indeed, prove to be the case. Paladin was relieved, for it meant he did not have to write to the Thain. Bilbo was also relieved, for it meant that she was probably back with her family and he would not have to tell Frodo that they could not take her in. Eglantine was sad, and so was Bell, for they had grown quite fond of her--and the children felt the same.
They never knew whence she came or where she went.
xxxxx
*"Stones" is a popular game in "my" Shire, in which children take a handful of small stones, anywhere from four to eight depending on the child's skill level, and toss them up to catch on the back of their hands.
Here's some more of Wee!MarySue. This is the rest of the main part of the story, and I will post a brief epilogue tomorrow...
Rated G.
Summary: A very unusual visitor comes to Bag End.
Part 1:
http://community.livejournal.com/wee_hobbits/30167.html
Part 2:
http://wee-hobbits.livejournal.com/30465.html
Part 3:
http://wee-hobbits.livejournal.com/68176.html
Part 4:
It had been three days, and Gandalf found he was no closer to thinking up a solution to the problem than he had been the day he arrived. While he knew that if he could think of nothing else, he would take her to Rivendell, the journey would be difficult with a little child of that age. There were still many dangers to be found in the Wild. He would probably need to stop at Bree and send for an escort of a couple of Rangers. But it would still be a slow journey. It would be good if he could hire a goodwife in Bree to come along and care for the little one, but he knew that would never happen--no respectable woman would go into the Wild with an old wandering conjuror and some of those "stick-at-nought" Rangers.
He still wondered at what he could sense from Marisu. She had been sent by someone, and seemingly by accident. Perhaps whoever had done it would be able to come up with a way to retrieve her; but he could not count on that.
He sat on the bench by Bag End's front door and watched the children in the front yard.
The Took lasses were skipping rope; Merry and Frodo sat upon the front step playing at stones.* A blanket had been spread out upon the soft lawn, and Marisu and Pippin were playing upon that. Eglantine sat with them, doing a bit of tatting as she watched the little girl with Pippin. Marisu played with the baby as though he were a doll, or perhaps a kitten. She was surprisingly gentle with him as she coddled him and cooed at him, singing wordlessly.
Now she had found a new game to play. She had seen Frodo do it to Pippin earlier in the morning, and so she would hold him up and blow raspberries against his little tummy, saying "Pip-pip-pip!" Pippin squealed with laughter as it tickled him. Eglantine smiled, but watched carefully, knowing that while Marisu would not mean any harm, she could drop Pippin or hold him too tightly. Still, she had seldom needed to intervene.
However, she had just such a moment as Bell Gamgee with young Sam assisting her, appeared at the front gate with a basket of clean laundry. Marisu stood up abruptly and would have dropped Pippin if his mother had not moved like a flash to catch him from her. Marisu squealed and toddled quickly down to greet the new arrivals, almost knocking Bell over in her enthusiasm. She had grown to quickly love the hobbitess who came and sang to her at night and held her safe.
Bell had to drop one end of the basket to return Marisu's hug. "It's good to see you, lass," she smiled. Sam attempted to pick up the basket by himself, but Frodo had moved quickly and took up the other end. These were the towels they'd been using for nappies, as well as the chemises they had been using to dress her in. Today she was once more wearing her original clothing, save for the shoes and stockings. Frodo and Sam took the basket indoors, and soon came right back out.
Bilbo and Paladin had been talking, and now they asked Gandalf, Eglantine and Bell to come into the smial, for they wished to have a discussion about the situation without the children listening in. Eglantine put Pippin back on the blanket.
"Watch your little brother, Pearl," she instructed, as she went inside.
In the parlour, Bilbo gestured for all to sit, and he brought out the teapot and teacups that were so much a part of any hobbit conversation. As he poured out and passed around the tea, Paladin spoke.
"We put it off when you arrived, Gandalf, but I am afraid we cannot put it off any longer. I am afraid that Lalia and Fortinbras will be annoyed at the delay of informing them as it is. If we put it off much longer, they will be angry. And I would much rather not have to face an angry Lalia."
Gandalf sighed and nodded. He had not been welcome at the Great Smials since the death of Thain Fortinbras II. Lady Lalia had never liked him, and once her son became Thain, she made certain that Gandalf would not return.
xxxxx
Frodo was now sitting on the bench reading a book about Westernesse. He had barely noticed all the adults going in, out of the corner of his eye. Marisu and Pippin were back on the blanket, and Marisu was wordlessly humming at Pippin as she rocked him.
Pearl sat on the blanket as well, making a daisy chain. Merry ran up to Frodo, followed by the other younger children. "Frodo! Enough reading! Let's play hide-and-go-seek!" He tugged at his older cousin's book, and laughingly Frodo put it aside. He knew Merry's persistence. "Very well. I shall be the Seeker, then."
He stood up and faced the front door, leaning up against it and burying his eyes in his arm. He started counting: "One, two, three, four..."
The children scattered to their various favorite hiding places. Pearl looked on wistfully for a moment, and then looked over at Marisu. Perhaps it was that Marisu's size reassured her, or perhaps it was the gentle way the little girl was playing with baby Pippin that made her think it would be all right. She stood up and said "Watch Pippin, Marisu!" and when Marisu grinned up at her and nodded emphatically, she grinned back and took off to find a hiding place.
Marisu stood up and looked around. Everyone was gone except Frodo, who was still diligently counting. "Fifty-one, fifty-two..."
Holding Pippin under the arms she looked at him. "C'mon Pip-pip! Us hide too!"
"Ninety-nine, one hundred! Here I come!" Frodo turned around to see the front lawn quite bare of young hobbits, and began to seek. Sam was easily found behind the rain barrel, and Pimmie and Pervinca were behind the bayberry bush near the front gate. Pearl was hiding behind the well. Merry took much longer to find, as he seldom hid in the same places all the time. Finally Frodo called out his surrender. "I give up, Merry!" he shouted. It was still a moment or two before Merry came out from behind the garden shed door.
"Well," said Frodo, "you are the Seeker now!" The children had returned to the front garden, when Pearl gave a small shriek.
"Where are they?" she wailed.
"Who?" asked Frodo.
"Marisu and Pippin!" she exclaimed, a desperate note in her voice.
"Didn't they go indoors with your mother?" asked Frodo. "I thought they did."
"No!" She looked around wildly. "They were on the blanket. I told Marisu to watch Pippin!"
Frodo resisted grabbing her and shaking her. It would only frighten her and would not find them, but he could not help wondering how she could have been so reckless as to tell a faunt to watch a baby!
"They went to hide too!" said Vinca. She could remember only too well that it had not been so very long since they thought her too young to play such games. Of course Marisu wanted to play too, and she would take Pippin with her. It's what she would have done if it had been her.
"Well, we'd better seek for them, then," said Frodo. He was not too alarmed. After all, what could happen in Bag End's garden. He turned a gimlet eye on Pearl. "Pearl, you need to go and tell your mother what happened."
Pearl blanched, but gave a shamefaced nod, and entered the smial. Frodo and the rest of the youngsters fanned out across Bag End's grounds, calling out: "Marisu! Where are you?" while Merry threw in an occasional "Pippin!" as though the baby would be able to answer.
When no answer came, Frodo began to be anxious. He was relieved to see the adults come out of the hole and join in the search. Gandalf did not call out, but stood quietly with both hands on his staff. "Frodo! Where did you say you first found Marisu?"
"Of course! The lilac bush!"
All of them raced around to the back, Merry reaching it first, followed by Eglantine. Merry peered into the hollow between the bush and the smial. He looked around. "Well, there's Pip!"
He started to go under the bush, but Gandalf held him back. "Merry, look carefully when you go in, to see what you can see."
Merry nodded, and then went in. He scooped up his little cousin, who gurgled and reached up to pull his curls. Merry paid no attention, but looked very carefully at the soft dirt beneath his feet. He looked up at the faces peering at him. "I see her footprints," he said, for her little bare feet left prints far different than those of hobbit feet, "she was here! But she isn't anymore." As if the others could not see this fact for themselves.
"Do her footprints come out?" asked Gandalf.
Merry looked once more, and shook his head. "Uh-uh. I don't see any. I might have stepped on them when I came in, though."
"That's quite all right, Merry-lad. Bring Pippin out with you now."
Merry placed Pippin into Eglantine's waiting arms.
"Perhaps we should search a little longer," said Gandalf, "although I do not believe we will find her. I think she has gone as mysteriously as she came.
That did, indeed, prove to be the case. Paladin was relieved, for it meant he did not have to write to the Thain. Bilbo was also relieved, for it meant that she was probably back with her family and he would not have to tell Frodo that they could not take her in. Eglantine was sad, and so was Bell, for they had grown quite fond of her--and the children felt the same.
They never knew whence she came or where she went.
xxxxx
*"Stones" is a popular game in "my" Shire, in which children take a handful of small stones, anywhere from four to eight depending on the child's skill level, and toss them up to catch on the back of their hands.