The old ways

Merry spent the day brooding outside the Halls of Meduseld, watching the preparation of the troop. After a while he spotted Haldir, his movements slower than that of the others, but he held his head high and never showed that any of his injuries troubled him. His hair was for once not braided in the elvish fashion. Instead all of his hair was braided down the middle in one tight plait. He wore the tunic and armour of Rohan and from afar only his light complexion and pointy ears showed his true heritage.
When Haldir saw Merry sitting on the steps of the great hall he waved at him, smiling.

The sun was already setting when all the riders of Rohan mounted their horses, and suddenly Merry heard a voice behind him. A young warrior clad in a long cloak with hood, whispered into his ear. He was willing to take the Hobbit with him, hiding him under his cloak until it was dark and no one would notice anything. Once they were underway and a good way from Edoras, it would be too late to send him back anyway.

Merry agreed happily and the young warrior, who called himself Dernhelm, waited l nel nearly all had left.

The ride was strenuous for Merry, who had to hold the folds of the cloak tightly to hide from view. He was more than glad when they halted for the night.

He noticed that Dernhelm had chosen a spot further away from the others, in order to hide the Hobbit. Merry nearly jumped out of his skin when suddenly Haldir appeared behind him. "I told you there are always possibilities."

Merry sighed and sat down.

A short while later Dernhelm came over to them, from where he had been talking to Marshall Elfhelm and nodded to Haldir.

"You stay here and don’t make any noise." Haldir told him and handed him some bread and cheese. "We will be back shortly."

The two warriors disappeared into the night and Merry wondered what they were up to. His legs itched to go after them and have a look. What could they do now in the darkness. No weapons training that was sure. But what else.... Surely Haldir wouldn’t take comfort in the arms of Dernhelm, would he. Not with Legolas desperately waiting for him. But he was told not to move. Maybe they were only patrolling the camp. Yes, that must be it.

So he lay down on one of the bedrolls and his battered body easily slipped into sleep.

He woke the next day, hearing yet another voice near him. When he opened his eyes, he saw Dernhelm, Haldir and Elfhelm standing at their camp in deep discussion. From the way Elfhelm pointed at him, he was undoubtedly the cause of this heated talk.

After some time, Elfhelm threw his hands into the air, said something to both Haldir and Dernhelm and marched off.

"What was that all about?" Merry asked carefully, when they started packing their things together.

"Elfhelm has found out about you and wasn't too happy about it. You are our responsibility now, but you may stay with us." Haldir informed him.

Later that say Merry noticed that Dernhelm never spoke to him again. Had he done something wrong?

Merry rode with either Haldir or Dernhelm and at the second night, the mystery seemed to repeat itself. Again both of the warriors would leave the camp in the darkness. This time Merry managed to stay awake until they came back.

They appeared to be exhausted and sweating. They definitely had not only been on patrol. This was the moment that Merry decided to follow them if they disappeared at their next stop again.

And surely when they made camp that following night, he was told to stay put and they went away. Merry waited for a minute and as quietly as he could, he followed them through the thicket.