I wiped away the tears that were dripping down my puffy red cheeks. Frodo moved in close and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, rubbing it, soothingly.

I gazed up at Frodo with my sorrowful dark green eyes. "Merry, he...he asked me if I wanted to marry him. I...I said 'yes'. Then, he...brought out this expensive ring and said that after we were married, t-t-then we would have children in no time." There was a shakiness in my voice. "F-Frodo, I don't want children! I don't even feel that way about Merry! I love him, but not like that! And....And...I don't think that Merry is fit to be a parent! He smokes too much and drinks too much and always gets into trouble! Plus, I never had a mother figure in my life! I don't even want a mother figure in my life! Frodo, when I was brought into this world, I was suffering so much! I nearly died in the Eastfarthing woods! Imagine how much pain and suffering I would have to go through to bring another child into this world! I don't want this, Frodo! I don't want this!"

A worried expression grew on Frodo's face. It looked as if he was haunted by an old memory from his own childhood or if he was haunted by the memory of him finding me in the Eastfarthing Woods.

"I...I'm so sorry, Brianna." He murmured. "I had no idea." Frodo thought back to when I said that Merry proposed to me and said that he wanted to have children with me. He paused for a brief moment, then looked back at me with his wide ocean blue eyes and he began to speak.

"You said that Merry proposed to you, is that correct?"

I nodded my head in agreement. "Y-yes, he did, Frodo. He did. And I said 'yes'."

"And he wanted to have children with you?"

I nodded my head again. I felt a deep lump growing in my throat. I swallowed hard.

"Y-Yes, he said that he wanted to. He said we'd have them in no time. I don't want this, Frodo. Please, I don't want this."

Frodo rubbed my shoulder, comfortingly. "I understand, my dear Brianna. I understand." He repeated.

"I mean...I wanted to marry Merry, but not have children with him." I rubbed my eyes with the sleeve of my shirt.

Frodo's voice drifted into a whisper. "I understand, Brianna. I understand. Brianna, my dearest, I know that you love Merry very much, but I feel that maybe you should wait until you're a bit older to get married. You are still quite young. You have a whole life to live. I love you too much to consider marrying you off. You are my daughter and you mean the world to me. I don't want to lose you, Brianna. I understand if you do not want to have children. It is your choice to make."

"I feel like Merry wasn't giving me much of a choice, Frodo." I sniffled. "He called me selfish just because I didn't want children. I'm not selfish, am I, Frodo? Am I?"

"Not at all, Brianna. Not at all." Frodo smiled, while brushing my hair back gently behind my ears.

"Merry doesn't care about what I want." I grumbled. "He only cares about what he wants. He only cares about what makes him happy."

"I don't think that is true, Brianna." said Frodo. "I am sure that he cares about you, even if it doesn't look like it. He'll always hold a special spot for you in his heart. Because he loves you."

I shook my head in frustration. "What if he doesn't anymore? What if he forgets about me? What if he meets another girl that makes him happy? What if he completely ignores me for the rest of his life?" I asked.

Frodo moved his hand from my shoulder to my back. He massaged it in slow, circular motions.
"Then it will be his loss. He will not deserve to have such a kind and wonderful and beautiful girl like you."

A smile slowly appeared on my face. "You...you think I'm...beautiful, Frodo?"

Frodo chuckled softly and kissed me on my left temple. His lips were silky smooth like velvet. "Of course I do, my dearest one." He stroked my hair back over my ears once more.

I gazed up at Frodo with my wide dark green eyes. "Frodo, I really want Merry to come back. Do you think....do you think maybe you could talk to him? It would really mean a lot. I still love him, Frodo. Would you please do that for me? I hope it's not too much to ask for."

"It certainly isn't. Of course I could talk to Merry. I will invite him over tomorrow for afternoon tea and I will have a private conversation with him. I will also ask Sam to come over, too, to talk to Merry. I'm sure that he'd be happy to help."

"You would do that for me, Frodo?" I said, in a timid voice.

"Of course, Brianna." Frodo whispered. "Of course."

Frodo turned around and looked out my bedroom window. He noticed that it was late in the evening. It was almost time for me to go to bed. I was exhausted. Maybe if I got some rest, then I would feel a little better.

Frodo looked back at me and smiled. He pressed his right hand against my cold forehead. "Oh, dear. It's awfully late. I mustn't keep you up all night. You need to rest. Would you like something to drink to help you sleep? Perhaps, a warm milk?" He suggested.

I nodded. "Yes, please, Frodo. That would be wonderful. Thank you."

Frodo kissed me on the cheek and got up from my mattress. He headed down to the kitchen to prepare me a mug of delicious warm milk with honey and a dash of cinnamon.

After Frodo came back with my milk, I drank it as quickly as I could. I felt a heaviness in my eyelids. I covered my mouth with my hand and let out a loud yawn. Frodo placed his hands against my shoulders and leaned me down into my bed; tucking me in snugly.

I took off my glasses and handed them over to Frodo, which he set down on my nightstand. Then, he placed a hand on my forehead and brushed my hair back. His beautiful blue eyes were fixed upon my dark green eyes. I was completely mesmerized by Frodo's eyes. There was something about his eyes that made me feel safe and protected. Frodo's presence gave me a lot of comfort.

"Goodnight, Brianna." Frodo whispered softly in my ear. "I love you so much. Have the sweetest dreams, dear."

"Thank you, Frodo." I murmured. "I love you, too."

"Shhh." Frodo soothed. "I know. I know."

Frodo got up from my mattress and closed my bedroom door. I lowered my eyelids and fell into a long deep sleep.

The next day, Frodo had invited Merry and Sam over to Bag End for afternoon tea. It gave me some reassurance that Frodo and Sam were going to talk to Merry. I really wanted him back. I couldn't bear to lose Merry. He meant a lot to me. He was the only one besides Frodo that truly understood me. He loved me for who I was. I was afraid that Merry would never speak to me. I was afraid that Merry would be seeing another girl in the Shire and then they would fall in love and that he would totally forget about me. I hoped that he wasn't. I wanted Merry back. I didn't want him to stay mad at me forever.

I decided not to leave my bedroom that afternoon because I was afraid that if I was wandering around Bag End, Merry might notice me and he might have something hurtful to say to me.

I was lying down on my mattress, reading a book that Frodo had written for me a long time ago. It was a book about a beautiful elvish princess. Her name was Lúthien. Frodo told me that Lúthien reminded him of me. I could read Frodo's story over and over again and never get tired of it.

As I was flipping through the pages of the book, I heard Frodo's and Merry's voice emanating from outside my room. I found it difficult to concentrate on my book. I let out a frustrated sigh and slammed my book shut.

I got up from my bed and headed towards the door. I left it open just a crack so I could hear what Frodo and Merry were saying. All of a sudden, they stopped talking. Everything went quiet for a brief moment. Then, I heard the sound of loud footsteps approaching.

My heart raced at a thousand beats per minute. I quickly closed the door and pressed my back against it. I looked down at the doorknob and I noticed that it was slowly rotating clockwise.

"Oh, no! M-Merry's coming!" I panicked.