Frodo and Merry One-Shots

Don't Be Afraid

"Aghhh!! Help! Help me!" I cried out, in agony. I felt a giant pain in my legs. I saw that they were dripping with thick, red blood.

"Someone help me!" I slowly felt the air being sucked out of my lungs. The world around me was pitch black. My vision was hazy. My glasses must have slipped off. I had no idea where they were. I groped at the hard forest floor, trying to find them.

The pain in my thin, frail body got worse and worse. I fell on my back and landed with a thud. It felt like a bullet had been shot into the side of my head. My cheeks were dripping with tears. I was almost ready to submit to death. My world was falling into shadow.

Out of nowhere, a bright blue blinding light shot out from the heavens. I saw someone running towards me. I thought that God was coming to save me and bring me to the kingdom of Heaven. But, it turned out to be Frodo.

Frodo gently placed his hands upon my cheeks and asked me if I was alright. I didn't know how to respond. I let out a loud groan. "Help me! Help me!" I cried. The pain was becoming unbearable.

"Do not worry. I will take you somewhere safe. I will look after you." Frodo whispered softly in my ear.

I woke up in a panic in the middle of the evening. Sweat was beading down from my forehead. I felt my heart beating, rapidly. My body was trembling in fear. I couldn't get up. I found it difficult to breathe. Tears were quickly streaming down my face. A giant lump grew in my throat, which made me feel like I was going to throw up. I felt vulnerable and weak.

"H-H-Help!" I screamed aloud. "H-H-Help!" My voice got quieter. "Somebody...p-p-please help. S-S-Someone...help. H-H-Help."

All of a sudden, my bedroom door opened wide. I heard Merry calling out my name a couple of times. "Brianna? Brianna! Are you alright?"

Merry quickly sat down beside me and reached for my arms. He carefully lifted me up from my bed and held me, protectively.

"Oh, Merry! I-I-It was so horrible!" I sobbed. "I-I-It felt so real! Oh, M-M-Merry! Help me!" I buried my head in his chest. "H-H-Help me, please!"

"Hey, hey." Merry soothed. "Shh. It's alright now. It's alright. It's over. It's over. I'm here for you, Brianna. It's alright. It's all over now. Shhh." Merry massaged my back in slow, relaxing, circular motions.

"I've...I've never had a nightmare like that before." I snivelled. "It felt so real." I shut my eyes and tried to take a deep breath. There was a shakiness in my voice as I spoke. "It was so horrible, Merry."

Merry nodded his head. "I understand, Brianna. I understand. Would it make you feel any better if you told me about what happened in your nightmare?"

I shook my head and continued to cry. I didn't have the strength to tell Merry about what happened in my nightmare. I've never told him about the evening when Frodo found me in the Eastfarthing Woods. It was a traumatic experience for me. There was only one person that I felt comfortable talking about this with: Frodo. I trusted Merry, but I was afraid that he wouldn't be able to empathize with me. Merry's never been in the same situation that I was in.

Merry is a lot stronger than me, physically and mentally. He's more assertive than me. I remember Merry telling me that I shouldn't be afraid of fighting back. But, I thought that fighting back wasn't the right thing to do. I'm too gentle and soft to fight back. I always feel like I have to have Merry protect me all the time, because I can't stand up for myself. One day, I'm going to eventually have to.

"That's fine. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." whispered Merry.

"Thank you, Merry." I replied, while wiping away my tears.

"I know that Frodo is probably better at this than I am." Merry continued. "But, I am here for you, Brianna. As long as I'm here, you don't need to be afraid. I swear that I won't let anything happen to you. Nothing is going to get past me. Nothing. Why don't you try relaxing for a while? Take a few deep breaths. Wipe those tears away, too. Relax. Relax."

I nodded my head. I slowly closed my eyelids, inhaled through my nose and exhaled out my mouth. I repeated this a couple of times.

"Thank you, Merry. That felt a lot better." I sighed. I was tired and drained. There were dark purple bags underneath my eyes. I needed to rest, but I didn't want to. I was afraid because I thought that I'd have another horrible nightmare. There was no way that I could fall back asleep again.

"I think it might be best if you rested for a while, Brianna." Merry suggested. "You can't be staying up all night and neither can I."

"I don't want to rest. I'll have another nightmare." I murmured. "I don't want to, Merry."

Merry cocked his head. "You don't want to fall asleep? You think you'll have another nightmare? Brianna, did you remember what I said to you earlier? You don't need to be afraid anymore. I'm here now. Nothing's going to happen to you. I reassure you. Why don't you try lying down and closing your eyes? I can lie down beside you. I'm sure that will make you feel better."

"I don't know if that's a good idea, Merry." I hesitated. "Won't you..."

"Brianna, I'm not going to do anything to you." Merry reassured. "I'm not going to hurt you. You have to trust me. You'll be a lot safer with me. Do you want to be alone?"

I shook my head. "No. I don't want to be alone. You're right, Merry. I will be a lot safer with you. I know that you won't hurt me. I do trust you."

Merry smiled. "Good. Now, let's get some shut eye." Merry got up and walked over to the other side of my bed. He lifted himself onto the mattress, and rested his curly head on my pillow and shut his eyes.

I turned around, looked over at Merry and smiled. I moved in closer to him. I felt protected. That feeling of fear inside me was now gone. A smile grew on my face.

Merry slowly opened up his eyes and smiled back at me. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and kissed my cheek, softly and affectionally.

"Good night, my angel. I love you so much." he whispered, in a soothing voice.

"Good night, Merry. I love you, too." I replied.