Well, finally here it is – the Pippin/Diamond story I’ve hinted at for so long. For those who’ve read When We Have Fears you already got a little taste of what’s to come, and for those who are reading my Merry/Estella story Flowers, Gems And Estella, this is going to be concurrent with that. So read on, and enjoy!

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A Light In Dark Places – Chapter I

Careful not to wake the inhabitants of the hole, most of which were still asleep in the early morning hours, Diamond Took rose from her bed, and carefully made her way towards the circular window in her bedroom – slowly inching open the glass pane, she detected the faint smell of smoke on the September air, but could not see the fires from which they came. The faraway pinpricks of light of the rebelling hobbits, shaking off their backs the chains of repression, placed there by the Ruffians. She had no possible way of knowing that their regime was coming to an end – they were most powerful in the East and West Farthings, and had barely touched her little village of Long Cleeve, thinking it not worth their time. The families of the Thain and the Master of Buckland were the ones they were after, the ones to suffer most – distant family of hers, but still kin.

Even the Ruffians themselves were a dark mystery to her – she had only ever seen any of them once or twice, and had never wanted to repeat the experience. They’d been taller than any other hobbit she’d ever seen, over five feet, with long, greasy hair and dark stubble on their chins, above which misshapen noses were and bleak, lifeless eyes. Most of the ones she’d seen looked the same, and they were mostly all dressed in black, with long swords – disgusting beings with no honor whatsoever. Beings that had no right to be in their Shire at all.

The darkened landscape of the North Farthing at that moment looked calm and peaceful – trees swayed gently in the nighttime breeze, the black hills in the distance blending with the dimly lit sky overhead. The stars above her glittered beautifully like diamonds, the most precious of all jewels – and her namesake. You were named for them, my Diamond, she could hear her grandmother’s gentle voice saying in a soothing tone – you were named for the stars, because it is like them that you shine, even in the darkest night. She smiled to herself, remembering the fairy tales told to her in her youth – magical princesses and beautiful orphans, swords with inspiring names that strike fear into the hearts of evil, a faithful steed to carry the hero to his lady fair.

Like something out of those stories was the insight she felt, though she could not explain how she knew that something extraordinary was going on, far to the South – it was a clash of wills, of hobbits against men, one side fighting for freedom, the other for power – she could not have known and would never see the struggle going on, but could somehow sense the encounter. Forces that were nowhere near her, but would ultimately decide the fate of her family – as if in response to her pondering, a great wind blew, ruffling her hair through the open window and blowing it about her face – a new wave of smoke met her nose, stronger than ever, as if the forces were coming closer. But more than the smoke was the very wind itself – the winds of change, blowing about the whole Shire at that very moment, on the faces of the grief-stricken hobbits that for months knew nothing but hardships. It was a stirring thought – but one that gave her much hope.

Such intuitions had she felt often in the past few months – as if forces far away, which had no effect on her, were struggling for power, and their pains were no different than the ones she felt. These instincts were never anything to concern her, though – a fleeting feeling of doom that passed from her mind as soon as she identified it, the memory of which could not pass. Great wars that took place between the people and places she’d read of in her books – men unlike those that now occupied her Shire, great and noble Men that fight for honor and truth, handsome kings that rule over their lands with a knowledgeable hand, whose honored guests were the graceful Elves of the far North, and the Dwarves of the Misty Mountains. Creatures that she would give anything to meet, to talk with, creatures from places she’d never seen – beautiful forests of perpetual green, great halls under snowcapped mountains –

“Diamond!” a shrill voice shrieked from the door of her bedroom. She looked around to see her mother, Camellia, dressed in a pale lavender gown and a stern expression on her face. Her arms were crossed in sleepy anger and her hair lay about her face in a disheveled mess. “Yeh needn’ be openin’ windows at all ‘ours of the nigh’ – yeh’ll be catchin’ yeh death from the cold!” Her mother rushed forward and wrenched the window closed with a loud squeak, the sound of which probably woke her up in the first place. Afterwards, she turned to her daughter, silently demanding an explanation for her after hour excursions.

“Sorry, Mum. I just – needed some air, was all.” She stood before her somewhat nervously, looking down at her feet, shuffling them on the wooden floor. “I suppose I just smelled something on the air, and opened the window to see what it was.”

Camellia sniffed the air slightly, and wrinkled her nose at the unwelcome smell. “Hmm – smells like smoke, I suppose, mus’ be from far away,” she said, looking out the window, “I don’ see any fires in the distance.”

“Actually,” Diamond said, as if mentioned some offhand subject, “I was thinking maybe it had something to do with the Ruffians – perhaps there’s something going on to the South.” After she’d said this, she looked to her mother, hopeful, that maybe she felt the intuition as well.

Her mother only shook her head though, dispelling the whimsical fantasies from her own head. “If there were somethin’ goin’ on, it would hardly affect us – we should consider ourselves lucky we’ve been left relatively untouched,” she said, wiping dust off the top of a bookshelf with her hand, “There are families down there who are sufferin’, and starvin’ – why, some of ‘em are bein’ locked up even!”

“Why don’t we help them, though? If we’re able, and we still live fairly safe up here, why can’t we do whatever we can to help those less fortunate? The hobbits here, they’ll do what Father says, they’ll listen to him!”

“Oh, Diamond – I would love nothin’ more than to expel those awful Ruffians from the Shire! But to do tha’, we would have to challenge ‘em – would you be willing to do tha’, when so many others apparently haven’?”

“But maybe they have! Maybe the smoke, it’s from some sort of battle – maybe they’re being liberated as we speak, Mother!”

“Tha’ is possible, my dear – but you must understand, we are nowhere near such places. Our little corner of the Shire may not be especially close to the rest of the population, but we are safe in our seclusion.” Noticing a book slightly out of place on the shelf she had dusted off just seconds before, she involuntarily pushed it back into place. “Now it’s time for you to sleep – it’s nearly dawn, my dear. Wha’ would lead you believe these notions, anyway?”

“Oh, just a feeling, I suppose – a feeling that something was happening.”

“Perhaps, Diamond – but are you sure tha’ you weren’ jus’ up too late at night, readin’ and fillin’ your head wit’ stories of nonsense?”

“They’re not nonsense, Mother,” she said, moving towards her bookshelf and taking a thick leather hardback from it. She flipped through the pages of it, the flowing script and beautiful illustrations catching her eyes.

Her mother took the book from her hands, and replaced it on the shelf. “Wha’ever they are, Diamond, it is time for you to sleep,” she said, smiling, and gave her daughter a gentle kiss on the forehead before retreating from the room.

Diamond sighed, and pulled back the covers on her bed before snuggling under their welcome warmth – she knew her mother was wrong, about her and everything. There is something going on, that smoke isn’t just coming from some accidental fire – great events are happening, and may even involve the lost travelers! The lost travelers, the brave deserters – whatever their reason for leaving the Shire, it must have been daring. Diamond often found herself wishing, that one day she could just drop everything and leave – not to leave the Shire permanently, but to go off and see new things, new places. To see the things she’d read of in her books, see them come to life before her eyes, and they would be even more amazing than the authors had described them. She knew they would, knew they had to be.

It had been many months since the disappearance of the four hobbits, most of which Diamond knew not – Peregrin Took, her cousin, was the only name she recognized from the conversation between the Thain and her father. “No one knows where they’ve gone.” Paladin had a sad look on his face as he said this – his own son, lost in the unknown wilderness, as well as his nephew – gone, but not forgotten.

They will return. It was the fault of another intuition that she knew this – her mind was charging at the moment, awake and alive because of something her eyes did not see, something her mind could not imagine. It seemed unfathomable that in her excited state she could ever sleep that night – but eventually, she fell into silent slumber, unaware of the forces at work in the world.

Here’s the next installment! Enjoy!

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A Light In Dark Places – Chapter II

It was late morning when Diamond awoke, not of her own accord, but of the sounds of many pounding feet outside her door, which raced through the hallway, down the large flight of stairs and into the living area. Several watchful pairs of eyes, of which Diamond’s was not included, gazed upon the sight of a stranger talking with the leader of the household, a Mr. Fastolph Took – the stranger had the look of a long journey upon him, evident by the dust all over his riding clothes, and the mud which caked his feet, and indeed, did not stop at his feet, but covered halfway up his leg and was nearly to his knees.

“It’s happened!” he said shakily, in an excited tone that was the result of events long hoped for, “They’ve beaten back the Ruffians! Down in Hobbiton, it was, and Bywater, too – the Battle of Bywater, they’re calling it!” He waved his arms about as he said this, his eyes wild with expression.

The hobbits gathered in the foyer let loose a collective gasp, and begun to whisper amongst themselves before Fastolph spoke above them. “How many were there? Were any hobbits hurt?” he asked pensively.

“A few, I heard, though I saw it not. But I heard it from one who did – like two forces meeting in the darkness, they described it, and when they clashed it was like the booming of thunder – there was death on the air, but more than that was hope, and freedom!” His eyes were wild with excitement as he waved his arms through the air.

Fastolph replied to this comment, but he might as well have not, for the chatter that it set off was so great that no one even heard it – Amethyst and Garnet, the two eldest of the Took daughters, set into a rant that, as usual, involved only themselves.

“Well it’s about time they got rid of those foul demons – invading our Shire like they did, how could they expect any less?”

“If you ask me, they probably thought we were powerless little halflings, unable to defend ourselves.”

“Well, that statement would apply to you two as well,” their brother Fosco Took said from behind them, “Seeing as how you couldn’t defend yourselves against a spider if it landed on your dress.”

The two girls looked at him as though he might have been mud on the bottom of their feet – their mouths were twisted in expressions of distaste, and pointing their noses snootily into the air, they exited the foyer.

“Stuck-up brats,” he commented once they were gone, and was making to go after them with clenched fists when he was stopped by his father’s hand upon his shoulder.

“Don’t go tweaking their noses, son,” Fastolph said gently.

“But you saw the way they behaved, treating everyone around them as though they’re so much better – someone needs to tell them what’s what.”

“I suppose you may be right, but perhaps it’s something all lasses go through – have you not considered things from their point of view?”

“Diamond and Ruby don’t act like that.”

“Diamond and Ruby aren’t as old as they – you must remember, they’re of marrying age, so perhaps this is their way of attracting a husband.”

“Doesn’t seem to be working, though – I know I wouldn’t be attracted to them.”

“Either way, though, you have no reason to be provoking them – perhaps they are a little patronizing towards others, but you wouldn’t want to influence Diamond and Ruby with your own condescending behavior. Remember, you are their elder brother as well as Amethyst’s and Garnet’s – as I am their father.”

Fosco sighed, and nodded at his father’s remark before making his way out of the foyer and into the winding hallways of the hole. He passed by the various rooms and halls of the Smials – all members of the Took family could be seen out and about, preparing for the oncoming day with excitement – it seemed the news of the Ruffians’ absence had made its way throughout the hole.

On the upper floors were the quarters of Fastolph and his family, which included his wife Camellia, as well as Fosco and his sisters – it was fairly empty, as most everyone was in the dining hall for breakfast – everyone except his sister, Diamond, currently in her room, sitting before the wooden table beside her bookshelf.

“You’re not interested in breakfast?” he said whilst standing in the open doorway – she did not look up from her task, though.

“Everyone’s going to be down there, chattering on about the big news – I don’t want to be there, to be part of that chaos,” she said without turning her head.

“It’s your family, not a mess of chaos,” he said, entering the dimly lit room, “I know you prefer silence and solitude, but come down – I don’t recall seeing you at breakfast yesterday, nor at lunch – you must be quite hungry by now.”

“I’m all right – remember, I eat books instead of food,” she said, grinning.

He shook his head, and chuckled to himself, knowing her statements to be quite true. Looking down to the piece of parchment before her, he spoke once more. “Writing something?”

She grinned slightly, folding the parchment and slipping it into a desk drawer. “Nothing at all, really – just random thoughts.”

“Anything you’d like me to read?” he said, smiling – Diamond was known as quite the scholarly type, penning poems and short stories during her leisure time. Fosco was one of the few that she would ever allow see her writings, as well as one of the few who had ever desired to do so. “What’s it about this time? A story based on a dream you had? A poem that rambles on about the tree outside your window? Your writings are quite good, but they often make no sense.”

“Fine,” she sighed, and opened the desk drawer once more, “Here, read it if you wish, I’m going down to breakfast,” she said, and thrust the parchment into his hand before exiting the room.

Fingering the slip of paper gently, Fosco opened it, and read the words written in Diamond’s usual curving script.

‘From distant lands they come afar

With curling smoke upon the air

And cries of war that stretch the sky

Run cross the land on hasty wings

Oh! come the four of weary feet

That trek so far away from home

Tall both of heart and height they are

Who fight so hard for native soil.’

Like most of his sister’s writings it made little sense – most likely based on one of her many unexplainable intuitions – but it was by no means mediocre, and placing it on the top of her writing desk, he made his way down to the dining hall where there was no doubt a great host of hobbits present, unable to keep quiet about the exciting news.

Huzzah! Another chapter!

Kriszta – Thanks!

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A Light In Dark Places – Chapter III

Home looked much as it ever had, much as he’d remembered – the front door, though perhaps showing its old age by the scratch marks here and there, was the same vibrant red hue that it had always had been. Change, however, had occurred, as there was evidence of scorch marks upon the aged wood.

Did the Ruffians try to burn the Great Smials? Pippin pondered as he stood before the door for the first time in over a year – he shook his head, expelling the thought from his mind. The Smials had stood for much longer than he’d ever been alive, since before the time of the Old Took – his own life paled in comparison to it, for he would live perhaps no more than a hundred-and-ten, whereas the hole had stood for countless years. It would no doubt be here when he was gone and his sons were grown.

This hole has seen countless generations of Tooks, old and young, pass through its halls – lads who grow up to become Thains, lasses who may leave to marry, or perhaps stay and keep up the place. Entering the hole, he was reminded of how he once claimed to be able to navigate the Smials with his eyes closed – shutting his eyelids, he tested this hypothesis now. Through the foyer he marched, and into the main hall that branched off to several passages and rooms – the kitchen he recognized to his left, and could smell the familiar scent of bread baking in the oven for the day’s luncheon. Directly in front of him was the massive dining hall, its height perhaps rivaled only by

Brandy Hall’s own refectory – Pippin had never taken the effort to actually measure how big the two rooms were, but he suspected that they differed by only a few feet at the most.

To the right of that, past the entryway that lead to the living room, was a long tube-shaped passage that directed into the rest of the quarters – the bedrooms of the hole’s inhabitants, and various other rooms, such as the library and study. The quarters of Paladin and his family were on the first floor, almost directly off from the main hall. Five dormitories and a private common room, mostly for reading and smoking, and other intimate gatherings between members of the Thain’s family – it was no difficult task for Pippin to navigate these rooms, though having bumped into walls a couple times, most likely the result of his long vacation, as his sisters referred to it.

“So, little Peregrin’s back, eh?” Pervinca had first said to him, a tight, fake smile upon her face, “Where have you been, widdle bitty baby Pippy?”

It was nothing out of the ordinary, though – Pervinca had been cruel to him since the day he was born, most likely since it was his birth that made him the youngest and not she. A fact that Merry should be happy that he does not have to deal with. Now, a week later, everything was more or less back to the way it was – his sisters ignored him, and as usual, he cared not, sneaking off to The Green Dragon or to lift some mushrooms from Farmer Maggot’s with Merry.

Maggot seemed to have forgotten all about us, Pippin thought, entering his own familiar room. It was never easier to slip past his dogs than it was that time – in time, though, everything will be the same again. Sighing, he threw himself upon the soft featherbed – it quaked in the sudden weight, before settling down once more. Like our Shire – a storm of controversy has no doubt accompanied our return, but it will soon die down, though perhaps they will never truly forget it – there are those who still speak of Bilbo’s disappearance all those years ago.

“Ah, it’s so good to be home,” he sighed, and resting his hands behind his head, snuggled into the warmth – his eyes eventually closed over in slumber, and he fell asleep.

Some time later – he knew not how long, though the sun had apparently set, judging by the darkness outside – he was awakened by a knock on the door outside. Snorting, he jumped up in bed. “Whosat?” he said sleepily, rubbing his eyes, unable to see in the darkness.

“Peregrin?” a voice said from the hallway, one that he recognized as his mother’s, “You missed luncheon and dinner – will you be attending supper?”

“Yes!” he said, jumping out of bed as fast as he could and immediately tripping, falling head first beside the feathery mattress, “Yes, I-I’ll be there,” he said pitifully from his place on the floor.

“All right, I’ll see you there.” The sound of footsteps retreated from his door, and he stood up as best he could, tousled in the covers that he’d tripped over. He felt around for the candle he knew to usually be beside his bed. Someone may have moved it – during the Occupation, people were locked in their homes, and firewood was no doubt scarce. And with a little candle such as mine – it would not surprise me if Pervinca had lifted it. He soon found it though, and lighting it, rose from his place on the floor – there were several covers and sheets tangled about his feet, as well as on the bed. Sighing once more, he unraveled himself and exited the room.

Most of the Tooks were already gathered in the dining hall once he arrived – few looked up upon his arrival, perhaps long used to his absence before then.

“Peregrin, there you are!” his father exclaimed heartily as his son sat down beside him.

“You missed luncheon – everyone was worried about you, dear,” his mother said from across the table, sitting on the other side of Paladin.

“Well, maybe not everyone,” he said, looking to his sisters who were content in ignoring him.

“You’re a growing boy, lad – meat and potatoes, that’s what you need. Most unnatural it is, for a hobbit of your age and size to not want to eat,” he said, taking another sip from his ale, “That must have been some traveling that you did, for you to get so thin and scrawny while you were away!”

“Are you quite all right, Peregrin?” his mother asked of him.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine – just let me eat, I’ll be good as new.”

“Or not,” Pervinca sneered from further down the table, “The lad’s such a gaunt thing – why, I’d venture to guess that he’s no longer as tall as he is wide.”

“Now, now, Pervinca,”

Took said, “Peregrin’s always been a little small for his age – no need to make fun of him for it.”

“Aw, he doesn’t care what I say about him,” she said, and launched back into conversation with her cousin, Angelica Took, next to her. Pippin was able to catch small snatches of their talk, and paid no mind to what he heard – the two were discussing distant cousins Amethyst and Garnet Took, for reasons he did not know nor care for.

“I see they’re excited about Fastolph and his family coming for the yearly visit,” Eglantine commented of the two lasses, “What about you, Pippin?”

“Huh? What about me?” he said, looking up from his plate with a fragment of food inches from his mouth.

Took sighed – her son, though gone for over a year, did not seem to have changed in the least little bit. “The upcoming visit with our family in the North Farthing, of course – they’ll be here in less than a month, I believe.”

“You mean we’re still doing that old thing?”

“Peregrin!” his father exclaimed beside him, “We Tooks have been doing that old thing since the days of Isengrim II, visiting our northern cousins – with the exception of the previous year, it is a tradition that we have upheld, and will continue to upheld well into the future.” Pippin could tell the implication in his father’s words – that even when his father was dead and he himself was Thain, the tradition would still be in place.

“Well, why didn’t you visit one another last year?”

His father fell silent, judging his words most carefully. “As you might know, our entire Shire suffered great losses – we had family in the Lockholes at

Michel Delving, many of our crops were destroyed, not to mention other hardships.” His face fell as he spoke, as did his wife’s. “The North-Tooks, though having not suffered as greatly we did, agreed that it was not in the best interest of our families that we travel just then – it was dangerous at that time to trek throughout, what with Ruffians willing to rob and kill all who even dared to venture outside their homes.”

“Terrible, terrible times,”

Took said sadly, shaking her head.

“But now, it is important to strengthen those ties between our families – we need their assistance, as much as we need any other family’s help, to heal the wounds our Shire has suffered.”

“And that’s why I, as the future Thain, should help to strengthen these bonds, for the good of the future,” Pippin said.

“Exactly – now you’re thinking strategically, my lad.” Paladin said little more after that, apparently content with himself. Pippin, though, was a different matter – he had never seen any benefit in these visits, and tried more than once to shirk off when it came time for his family to travel to Long Cleeve. There was no relenting in Paladin’s stance, though, and Pippin was forced every spring to travel up North when he would rather spend time with Merry at The Green Dragon, or pinching mushrooms from Maggot’s fields.

He sighed, and took a sip of the potato soup before him. “It’s so good to be home,” he mumbled after swallowing.

If you’re a fan of my other hobbit romance Flowers, Gems And Estella, you might recognize a scene here from Chapter 3. Enjoy!

Larner – Thanks!

Kriszta - Don't worry, I haven't given up on it! I've just been very busy, what with work and preparing to go to college in the fall. Thanks!

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A Light In Dark Places – Chapter IV

In the days of Beren, the nineteenth Steward, an even greater peril came upon Gondor. Three great fleets, long prepared, came up from Umbar and the Harad, and assailed the coasts of Gondor in great force – and the enemy made many landings, even as far north as the mouth of the Isen. At the same time the Rohirrim were assail –

Diamond was interrupted from her reading when the carriage, encountering a large hole in the road, gave a great jolt, bouncing the passengers all around. The book flew out of her hands and almost out of the carriage window opposite her completely, had her brother Fosco not caught it at the last moment.

“Thanks,” she said as he handed it back to her, and smoothed the hair that lay in a messy state upon her head from the disturbance, “I wouldn’t like it too much if I had lost this one.”

“You wouldn’t like it too much if you had lost any of your precious books,” her brother said.

“Perhaps – but this one,” she said, stroking the spine affectionately, “This one may be my favorite. It was quite a find, really, for being among a stack of old, decaying books at the marketplace, most of which weren’t very interesting anyways – books concerning the genealogy of the Tooks, and Brandybucks, and other prominent families of the Shire. Things that no one really cares about.”

“Father cares, as does Mother,” Fosco reminded her, “It is important to most hobbits to be able to prove that they are related to one of the more respectable families in the Shire – I’m sure Father takes it as some source of pride that we are related to the Thain, as well as being ancestors of Bandobras Took.”

“It shouldn’t be an issue, though,” Diamond said, her face contorted in a slightly annoyed expression, “Hobbits aren’t dogs, with pedigrees to be boasted of in front of others – it shouldn’t matter who our cousins are.”

“You make an excellent point,” Fosco said, nodding in agreement, “But you will convince few others – I’m sure Father has it in mind to marry you and our sisters off to well-to-do families. The Brandybucks, the Tooks, the Bolgers – even the Bagginses.”

“He would have me marry Frodo Baggins? He’s quite a bit older then me.”

“Well, Father would never force you to marry against your will, of course – but if you choose to marry, oh, say Peregrin Took – well, I’m sure he wouldn’t oppose to the idea.”

“I’m far too young to marry anyone, let alone Peregrin Took,” she said.

“True – until then, he shall have Garnet and my own twin to think of. Although I pity the lad who should marry them,” he said. Although the two were in fact twins, Fosco looked no more like Amethyst than he did to Diamond, or any of his other sisters. “So what was it about?”

“Pardon?” Diamond said, looking up from her book.

“The poem you wrote the other day – said something about the four of weary feet. May I ask what it was about, and where you got the idea?”

Diamond sighed, unsure of how to answer. “I’m not really sure who those four are, though I have my suspicions – it was from a dream I had, the night I smelled the smoke on the air. It was dark,” she said, contorting her face so as to remember the details of the dream, “There was smoke, and fire – a battle of great magnitude, shadows that rushed about the land, emotion were wild – on the crest of a hill, stood four figures, hobbits they were, but two were not. They stood taller than the others, and their chests shone like the sun. Their faces, their hair, were dirty with the signs of a long journey –” She broke off.

“Who were they? Could you tell?”

“No – their faces were blurred, with the smoke and whatnot.”

“But your suspicions?”

“I think that one of them may have been Peregrin Took – and the other three who disappeared, I know not their names.”

“Perhaps it is another one of your intuitions.”

“Perhaps,” Diamond said, and opened her book to read once more.

After some time, Fosco spoke again. “So this book of yours – what’s it about then, to have captured your attention so well?”

“It concerns the old days, of when the country of Gondor was a great and noble power in the world, before even the Shire was colonized by us, and our people lived on the banks of the Great River – it concerns wars fought between the people of Gondor, and of Rohan.”

“There must be something else in there, though,” he said, a grin still upon his youthful face, “You wouldn’t read it if there were only war and death – a romance of epic magnitude, is there not?” His eyebrows rose as he said this.

“There is,” she said, and a light blush came to her cheeks, “Between Beren, a prince of Men, and Lúthien, said to be the loveliest of all Elves – though he was a mortal being, she loved him still, and swore to give up her immortality rather than walk the earth forever when he was dead.”

“Sounds epic indeed,” Fosco said, and his eyebrows rose so far above his eyes that they camouflaged perfectly with his mop of overhanging brown hair, “Though I never really found much enjoyment in the matters of romance, being not the dreamer that you, dear sister, are.”

“And we all know what you would rather read,” she sad, grinning.

“I? If I am to read at all, which my years of schooling have certainly destroyed any interest I might have, that it would likely be for pleasure, to entertain my feeble mind – not to educate it.”

“There is entertainment to be had in being knowledgeable,” Diamond said, leaning back as she opened the book once more, “If you only know how to enjoy it.”

“So what do you think of this?” Merry spoke, picking up a leather-bound book from the stand, “It’s quite a handsome one, that is.”

Pippin looked upon it and frowned. “You know I don’t like to read, Merry – I hate it almost as much as doing work.”

“Well, there’s no pleasing you then, is there?” Merry spoke with a grin, “I suppose all you fancy is a mug of ale and a pretty lass.”

“Just the mug, thanks,” Pippin commented as he and Merry strode through the marketplace at Bywater that October morning, “Tell me again, dear cousin, why we are here in Bywater when we could just go to Tuckborough or Bucklebury – I’m sure the selections there would be much more appeasing.”

“Perhaps, but will the lasses be as appeasing?” Merry questioned, and Pippin now noticed a roguish glint in his eye as he stared forward – turning his head, he saw what, or more specifically who had caught Merry’s attention so well.

“Estella Bolger?” Pippin commented upon realizing who it was, “Fatty’s little sister? You fancy her?”

Merry scoffed. “I didn’t say I fancy her, Pip – but she is pleasing to the eye, is she not?”

“Suppose so,” Pippin said with an almost bored tone of one commenting on the weather, “Bet you can’t talk to her.”

“Bet I can.”

“Bet you won’t get one word out of your sorry mouth, and she’ll walk away, hating you and thinking you’re a terrible bore.”

“I, Meriadoc Brandybuck, a bore? For shame, Pippin, for shame.” And with that, Merry grabbed Pippin’s arm and dragged him over to where Estella was standing before a stand selling several trinkets and other jewelry.

“Say something, if you’re so charming, then,” Pippin whispered.

Merry cleared his throat, but Estella did not look up. “Um – that piece there,” he said more to Pippin instead, pointing at one particularly beautiful necklace, “That’s most likely of Elven make – probably from Rivendell, it looks like a necklace of Arwen’s.”

Estella looked up briefly, perhaps only noting that he and Pippin were merely there, and lowered her head again.

“Say something to her, not me,” he hissed under his breath.

“Estella, right?” Merry asked of her. Pippin slapped his forehead with his hand. “What do you think about it?”

“Oh,” she said, still not making eye contact with either of them, “Well, it’s very beautiful. I suppose it is of Elven make.” Her hands twisted with the handkerchief she held, slightly nervous. “I’ve never seen anything like that made by Shire hands before.” And with that she continued on her way down the busy marketplace.

“Well, that went well,” Pippin stated once she was out of earshot.

“Yes, I think it did, as a matter of fact,” Merry said, his head held high, “I’m quite the genius with the lasses, if I do say so myself.” Pippin scoffed, shaking his head. “Well, I don’t see you talking to any lass here, Mr. Peregrin Took! You may be quite the charmer at the Smials, but that doesn’t mean you’re any better than Meriadoc Brandybuck.”

“For your information, Meriadoc, I am quite the charmer at the Smials, and if you come round this time tomorrow you’ll see just how charming I can be.”

“Oh? And why tomorrow?”

“Because I have distant relations coming in from the North Farthing, and one of them, a Miss Ruby Took, has quite the crush on me.”

“She’s a lot younger than you, isn’t she?”

“Twenty-one.”

“That doesn’t count, then – sorry, Pip,” Merry said, “Say, this wouldn’t be the traditional visit from your Northern cousins that your family has every year, would it?”

“That’s the one – every year, except last, and of course that’s when I have to be gone.”

“Either way, though, you didn’t have to see them for another year.”

“True,” Pippin said, sighing, “You think maybe if I go away again, they’ll just ignore my absence?”

Merry laughed, and placed an arm round the shoulders of his cousin. “Even if they did, you’d never have quite as much fun as if you’d have stayed.”

Pippin shook his head, quite certain that Merry was either lying or drunk.

Sorry about the wait. Dealing with all the pressures of being a freshman in college, mind you.

Larner – I hope it’s not too unbelievable that a hobbit would have – well, she’s not psychic. The best way I can explain it is that she’s like Fiver from Watership Down. She just seems to know things, and she doesn’t know how or why. I hope that makes sense, I didn’t want it to seem like too much of a fantasy. Thanks!

Grey Wonderer – Yes, Merry has a long way to go with Estella. And Pippin has even longer with Diamond. Thanks!

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A Light In Dark Places – Chapter V

It was nearly nightfall when Fastolph and his family arrived at the Great Smials, all the windows of which were aglow with soft candlelight – Paladin and his own family were there to greet them, his three daughters excited upon seeing their cousins once more, especially after the long and terrible months of the Occupation. Pippin, however, was none too thrilled about being there at all, and might have rather liked to be at The Green Dragon with Merry.

“Fastolph, welcome – I hope we find you and your family well,” the Thain said, shaking the hand of his cousin.

“As well as we can hope, Paladin,” he said, retuning the heartfelt shake, “You know my son Fosco, of course,” he said, holding out his hand to his family behind him. Having gone through this ritual before, Fosco Took came forward at his father’s bidding.

“Greetings, young Fosco – you look even more like your father than the last time we met. I hope you enjoy your stay here at the Smials.”

“I certainly hope so, your Thainship,” Fosco replied politely.

“And of course, you know my son Peregrin,” Paladin said, and held his arm out just as Fastolph had – however, there was no son that appeared behind him, and turning his head, his saw that Pippin was standing behind his sisters, completely unaware of what was going on around him. “Peregrin!” he hissed, and Pippin abruptly came to attention, scurrying up to stand next to his father. Paladin’s face bore an annoyed expression as Pippin and Fosco greeted one another in a formal manner that Pippin most often referred to as The Meeting of The Sons. It was a bore, but something that had to be done every time the two met, for they were someday to be the heads of their households, just as Paladin and Fastolph were.

“My wife Camellia, of course,” Fastolph said, introducing the rest of his family. His smiling wife came forward to shake hands with Paladin and Eglantine, her daughters behind her. “Then there’s Amethyst, Fosco’s younger twin sister.” Fosco flashed a hint of a devious smile as his father introduced his oldest daughter – it had always been the source of much hatred of his sister’s part to know that he outranked her by a few minutes of life. “Then there’s Garnet, who just came of age last year – the next one, Diamond – and our youngest, Ruby.” The lasses each shook the hand of Paladin as they were announced. This routine was done also for the Thain’s daughters, though Pippin had no intent of paying attention to any of it.

Eventually the greetings were done with, much to Pippin’s enjoyment, and the two families adjourned to supper, the day’s dinner having already occurred. Pippin, of course, was called on to sit next to his father, with Fastolph on the other side of the Thain. The evening’s talk was decidedly boring, with Paladin and Fastolph discussing the results from the year’s harvest – “A meager gathering it was, Fastolph – we barely made enough to be survive the winter.” Pippin snorted to himself at this remark – even if they had made no profit from the year’s crops, the Tooks were more than rich enough to survive several winters for years to come. The topic eventually moved to the status of the two families – it seemed both were unhappy that none of their daughters were as of yet married. “Two of my daughters are of age, Paladin, and all of yours as well – you’d think one would be married by now!”

“Aye, but yeh mus’ give ‘em some time, Fastolph dear,” Camellia Took spoke beside him, “Yeh and I, we weren’ married as soon as we met, now were we?”

Fastolph sighed. “No we weren’t, my dear – though it didn’t take long for you and your charming accent to win me over,” he said, gently patting the hands of his wife as her face blushed a light scarlet. “One should hope they won’t be long in choosing, though!” He banged his mug of ale on the table as he said this.

Eventually the meal ended, and Pippin was glad to get away to the sanction of his room – he was only in there a few minutes when he heard a soft knock on the door. He remained silent, though, hoping that perhaps his uninvited guest would think he were not present and leave.

“Open up, Pippin, I know you’re in there! You can’t fool your own cousin, you know,” a familiar voice sounded from within the hallway, and he opened the door to find his cousin Fosco.

“Frightfully dull greeting that was earlier, Peregrin,” he said, grinning, “I know it’s mandatory, but The Meeting of The Sons doesn’t have to be boring.”

“Well, I never saw fit to make anything that was mandatory entertaining – not get in here, I’d like to at least try to avoid some members of my extended family – and otherwise,” he said, closing the door quickly.

“What? You mean your sisters?”

“Not only them, but – well, Ruby. You know how she feels about me.”

“I know all too well how she feels,” Fosco said shaking his head knowingly, “The lass has talked of nothing else but this trip for weeks – quite peeved she was last year that we didn’t have it. We tried to calm her down by reminding her that you were missing anyway – didn’t work, she only got more riled up.”

“Worried?”

“Terribly – she started crying and whatnot, claiming that you had gone off and eloped with some Brandybuck lass. ‘Evil is the one that stole my Peregrin away from me!’ she yelled, quite loudly mind you.”

“She yelled that?”

“And several other phrases which were quite unbecoming to a lass her age – lucky Father didn’t hear her. Locked herself up in her room for two weeks, refusing to eat a thing we brought her – eventually we just left her well enough alone, and she came out, saying she was sorry for her outbursts. Think she just wanted the attention, though she still claims it was the result of her broken heart,” Fosco said, “By the way – while we’re on the subject of your absence, where exactly did you go?”

“Away, and that’s all you need to know,” Pippin said with a sure tone, nodding his head. Fosco, however, was not pleased, and with raised eyebrows he crossed his arms.

“Now, that’s not the Peregrin Took I used to know.”

“Well,” Pippin said, “People change, and so can I – what about you? Surely you’ve changed during the Occupation, am I right?”

Fosco’s face fell, and he uncrossed his arms, the grin dissipating from his face. “We’ve all suffered hurts, Pippin – your family, and most of the East and West Farthings as well. I’m don’t have to pretend to be sad that we in the North were spared while the rest were not – my family could have done something about, challenged them, or freed the trapped hobbits – but we didn’t. I could have done something, but I didn’t. It’ll be my responsibility someday to look out for all the North-Tooks, just as you will for those here. We will have duties to our families – duties that need to be upheld.” Fosco fell silent – Pippin’s words had hit him to the core, and they both knew it.

Placing a hand upon his cousin’s shoulder, Pippin spoke softly. “You’re right, of course – we will have those duties, someday – but until then,” he said with a roguish grin and a wink of his eye, before reaching into the drawer of his nightstand next to his bed. Within, Fosco heard a scurry of motion, and saw Pippin’s arm retch around to catch something – finally, he brought his arm out to reveal a large bullfrog clutched in his hand, wriggling and slippery.

“Caught him this morning,” Pippin said with a grin as Fosco stared at the creature with mischievous eyes, “And I know just whose bed to put him in.”

“Pervinca’s, I assume?”

“Like anyone else deserves it more.”

“Well, my darling twin sister has been quite snooty lately – but we can get her and Garnet later, of course.” The frog struggled in Pippin’s strong grip, and croaked loudly.

“Keep it quiet – I think I heard something,” Fosco hissed under his breath, and stuffing the frog under his shirt, Pippin stood with bated breath. Indeed, there was noise nearby, in the hallway they presumed.

“It must be Ruby,” Fosco mouthed, and Pippin nodded, making his way towards the window with the frog still under shirt, wriggling to get away. The window squeaked as he opened it, having not been used for so long, and he climbed out into the moonlit night, Fosco following behind. Closing the window behind them, they ran along the dark landscape, the lit windows of the Smials lighting their way.

Back inside the hole, a shadowed figured came close to the door of Pippin’s room – after gently knocking and receiving no answer from within, Diamond Took opened the door. A candle was still lit in the room, revealing that it had been occupied sometime earlier – but for the time being, it was empty.

“Hmm – thought I heard Fosco down here,” she said before retreating to her own quarters for the night.

The writing has been a bit slow lately, but since I’ve got several chapters already written, the writer’s block will hopefully be out of the way before it becomes an obstacle. Happy reading!

Grey Wonderer – Thanks!

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A Light In Dark Places – Chapter VI

“And t-then, Father, I felt s-something – something s-slippery fall on me f-from above!” Pervinca shrieked with tears in her eyes, “I d-don’t know what it w-was, but I looked u-up, and I s-saw him in the w-window!” She pointed at Pippin as she said this. “And h-he and Fosco were – t-they were laughing at m-me, Father! They p-put that thing in m-my bed!” She collapsed in a mess of tears, her head in her hands.

Paladin looked upon his daughter with sympathetic eyes – but more than that, Pippin could sense that he was annoyed that this problem had been brought to him at all. “And what was it that he put in your bed, Pervinca?”

She sniffled, composing herself before she spoke. “I d-don’t know, but it w-was slimy, a-and icky! It r-ran away before I c-could see, and it w-was dark in the r-room!”

“Very well,” he said, nodding, “You may leave – I’ll deal with your brother.” Pervinca, nodding, exited the room, passing by Pippin on her way out – it happened almost too quickly for him to see, but he could just barely tell the hint of a devious smile on her features.

Paladin did not speak immediately, instead stood from his armchair, making his way to the bookshelves that lined the walls of his study. “Peregrin,” he said in a calm voice, “You can’t act this way – throwing creatures into your sister’s bed and other acts of mischief. Someday, son, you must grow up – for someday I will not be here to discipline you, and when you are Thain you will be called on to make important decisions.”

“Father, I –”

“I don’t want to hear any apologies, for I know they will not be honest, coming from you,” he said, taking a book off the shelf. He thumbed through its pages before turning back to Pippin. “Do you know what this is?”

Pippin stole a glance at the title. “A Collective Census of The Shire: 1200-1300,” he read, “Suppose it’s a listing of those alive during those years, I guess.”

“Of which is included your grandfather, Adalgrim, who was Thain before myself. The book I hold now, Peregrin, is one of the most important in the Shire’s history, and this is only one copy of it that exists – there are others, of course, stored in Michel Delving and in the hands of the lesser leaders of the Shire – Saradoc Brandybuck, among others. This is important to our future, you see, because if we forget our past, if we forget where we came from, we will never know where we are going – we must learn from the past to survive the future.”

“And – what exactly does that mean?” Pippin asked.

“It means we must learn form the past, and from our mistakes – I will not punish you for this deed, Peregrin, if you apologize to your sister. But I do not want to hear of any more shenanigans from you – learn from this and other examples.”

Pippin nodded. “Yes, Father,” he said, and stood to leave. Opening the door, he made to exit, but looked back – his father was standing before the desk, now poring over the documents and ledgers that lay upon it. Business that he would someday have to tend to.

He closed the door behind him, and stood in the hallway for some time before making his way to his own room. He met Pervinca, whose face now bore no trace that she had been crying at all.

“So what do you have to do? Do the family laundry for a whole month? Wash all the dishes from dinner and supper?” she said with a devious tone.

Pippin sighed. “I’m sorry, Pervinca, for the grief and embarrassment I have caused you,” he said, his voice as steady as he could make it, which was enough to anger his sister.

“How dare you!” she shrieked, “He only made you apologize?”

“No,” Pippin said solemnly, “I did it out of the goodness of my own heart.” He smiled a bright smile for her. “Can’t we be friends, Pervinca, as brother and sister should be?”

She scoffed at his request, and scurried away from him – he saw her look back, an expression of distaste upon her features, and smiled to himself, content that he had fully annoyed her.

“So where did you go?” a calm, feminine voice said, from where he did not know. He looked around at his surroundings – there was only one doorway open to a room, his, and it was quite empty.

“Pardon?” he said to the stranger, looking around – in the corner of his eye he saw he flash of movement, and looked to see a young lass step out of the shadows he could have sworn to have seen nothing in before.

He recognized her face, though not her voice – that certain voice was a foreign thing to him, a foreign thing to most hobbits. “Diamond, right?” The lass nodded, her serene green eyes gazing into his own, ones of lightest blue. “Where did I go? Well, I was just in my father’s study, something to do with –”

“Putting a frog in your sister’s bed, I know all that. I meant, where did you and the others go? There were four of you, and you went – away, for some time. I know not where, and that is why I am asking.”

“Oh, that. Well,” he said, weighing his words carefully, sighing.

“You are not ready to tell?”

“Not all of it – let it suffice that we went away, naïve of where and how long we’d be gone. We were called away – perhaps it was our duty, as it was the duty of many others as well, to go where we had gone, and to not return, as we were lucky enough to do so.”

“It pains you to say this. You don’t have to.”

“I know,” he said, “But I feel you understand, for some reason.”

“I will try to, if that is your wish.”

“Diamond – I have not seen you around. Though I know you and your family haven’t been here long, little more than a day – I remember, you often avoid others, myself included usually.”

“Not you specifically – just general socialization as a whole. But I have spent most of the day in the library, which I must commend you for – it has a splendid selection.”

“You like books, then?”

“Yes, but I believe you already knew that.”

“From somewhere, perhaps – you, your face stuck in a book. It’s a familiar picture to me.” She smiled, perhaps the first time he had seen her do so. “How old are you?” he queried, “You’ve probably told me at some point, but I can’t seem to remember it.”

“I have told you, but I don’t mind repeating myself – I’m still a tweenager, due to turn twenty-five in April. Why do you ask?”

“You seem much older than that, or at least wiser.”

“Perhaps it’s merely a result of all the books I’ve read – my brother, who is thirty-five, has not read nearly as much as I have, filling his head only with what he learns by doing – which is not a bad way to learn, if it is one’s wish to work for the rest of their life.”

“Perhaps,” Pippin said, nodding, and making to leave, said, “So, I suppose I’ll –”

“See me around? Yes, I suppose you shall.”

“Well, I’ll definitely know where to find you,” he said, and retreated through the hallway, leaving her along.

“Just as I’ll know where to find you,” she said.

The writing has been a bit slow lately, but since I’ve got several chapters already written, the writer’s block will hopefully be out of the way before it becomes an obstacle. Happy reading!

Vicki_Turner -Thanks!

ponypetter - Thanks!

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A Light In Dark Places – Chapter VII

It had not been difficult for Pippin to find Diamond at all, though he never actually approached her during those long sessions she would spend in the library – she seemed able to read a great deal of books, though, in a very short amount of time. During the next week he would often watch her through the doorway, not saying anything – he never stood for very long, wary not to make anyone think he had a sudden fascination with Diamond.

In the time that he watched her, which was no more than a few intervals at a time, each of which lasted only a couple minutes in which he would pretend to have just been passing by, he saw her read no less than twenty books – and, he reminded himself later, that was only what he counted in the time that he had watched her. No doubt she had read many more than that, many more than he himself had ever or would ever read in his own lifetime. It was staggering to think about, and he preferred not to.

For the most part, he spent his days with Fosco, not all of which were filled with the playing of pranks on unsuspecting victims, but they were by no means lazy during this time – Amethyst and Garnet, as well as Pervinca Took were the sufferers of most of their high jinks, though they were never anything at all terribly embarrassing. Mostly pushing them down when they weren’t looking, and when they turned around in a fury of anger there would be no one behind, so they were left to wonder what had happened and whether or not they had just tripped. These were simple tricks, but Pippin and Fosco always reminded themselves that the best – or in the view of the lasses, the worst – was yet to come.

“I have a feeling that Merry would be most upset if he were to see me now, for once going easy on my sister,” Pippin said to Fosco, “Though it’s perhaps for the best – after that talk my father gave me, I think it’s best to keep my head down for now.”

“Don’t want to get in too much trouble, of course,” Fosco said in agreement, “Although we’ve always had a talent for getting ourselves out of it just as easily.”

And always when tormenting Pervinca became boring, Pippin would be content enough to watch Diamond from afar – however, it wasn’t long until another became aware of this.

“Why do you watch me constantly?” Diamond said one day, look up at him from her book as it often did.

“Well, I thought it would have been obvious,” he said, entering the room with a grin on his face.

She blushed a deep red and smiled. “Why you’d want to watch me I haven’t the slightest. I’m not very interesting.”

“Well, what if I said I think you’re quite interesting – what would you say?”

“I’d ask what was wrong with you to think such things as that that no one – save for my brother Fosco – has ever thought before.”

“Only Fosco? I find that hard to believe,” Pippin said with a grin that matched the one he saw on her own face, “A spirited lass such as yourself should have quite a few more friends than her own brother.”

“I wouldn’t call myself spirited – but you’re welcome to think that about me,” she said grinning, and giggled to herself as she spoke. Pippin only took it perhaps as a good sign, one that meant she might have been opening up to him. However, in the open doorway of the library stood Fosco, a similar grin upon his own face as he watched Diamond and Pippin. She grinned once more as she looked past Pippin to her brother. “Most people think I’m just a strange lass who has no friends.”

“Well, why would they think that? I understand if your sisters Amethyst and Garnet would say that about you, they’re quite scheming after all.”

“Well,” Diamond said nervously, putting down the book she had been reading, “Of course I read quite a bit, which turns most people off – and also –” She lowered her head, afraid to speak further.

“What? What is it?”

She looked up again. “Everyone has dreams – I’m sure even you do. But they never amount to anything, mostly just the nighttime ramblings of our minds, benign desires that go ignored during the day,” she said, “For me, though, I think it’s different. My brother admits to rarely remembering his dreams at night, and those that he does remember are incoherent – falling through space into a bottomless hole, or having all his teeth fall out. Mundane things like that.”

“I’ve had a few dreams like that,” Pippin admitted.

“So have I, a few times – but sometimes, I have real dreams, involving real people. Me, my brother – even you,” she said, her cheeks blushing a light red, “Sometimes they’re just little pieces of everyday life, like I’m sitting in the dining hall, eating dinner – my mother asks me to pass the salt, and I do – but in handing it to her, I let go of it too soon, it falls on the table and some of the salt spills onto her lap.”

“That’s nothing out of the ordinary. That’s happens often, and is sometimes the cause of the feeling you get when you think you’ve lived a certain moment of life before.”

“I know – but I dreamt it one night, and thought nothing of it the next morning. Then a few days later, it happened, exactly the way I had dreamt it, down to the last detail. And it’s not just everyday occurrences – my brother, when he was fifteen, fell off his pony and broke his arm. I dreamed it a week before it happened – that was the first instance I can remember of it occurring. I was only four years old then.”

Pippin pondered her words, his hand upon his chin. “So you have – intuitions, perhaps, if I may call them that?”

“Yes, you might say so – I can’t control them, though, and I can’t decide what I see – sometimes I see benign things, and sometimes not. My sister Amethyst was involved in that same accident with my brother, on another pony – she injured her leg, but I don’t remember seeing that.”

“Perhaps because you feel contempt for her.”

“Perhaps – but I have seen other incidents involving my sisters. I don’t tell them, of course, they wouldn’t believe me anyway. Fosco does, but they always seem to happen, no matter if they’re warned –” She broke off, a faraway look in her eyes. “You probably think I’m weird, don’t you? I shouldn’t have told you that, I shouldn’t have told you any of that,” she stated nervously, standing up to leave.

“No! Please don’t go!” Pippin said, standing up as well and grabbing her by the arm – he whirled her around to face him, “Whatever you have, whatever this – intuition of yours means, it is not weird. By all means, I’d think it was a blessing, to be able to see things before they happened.”

“Oh – um, thank you,” she said strangely, not quite sure how to accept what he’d said, “I’d better be going then – um, bye.” And she left the library, leaving a confused and bewildered Pippin behind her.

“Well, he took it well, I suppose,” Fosco said to her once she was out in the hallway, “See, not everyone thinks you’re weird.”

“Yeah, sure,” Diamond said, punching him gently on the shoulder.

“I noticed you didn’t tell him about the dream you had, concerning him.”

“You mean the one I told you about? He doesn’t need to hear about that,” she said, “He doesn’t like to talk about where he and the others went – it’s a sensitive subject for him, I’d rather not bring it up.”

“Well, you’d be the one to sense that, I suppose,” he said, placing an arm around her shoulder, “My little sister, the clairvoyant.”

I had a previous reviewer point out that it was not Paladin’s father who was Thain before he. I haven’t fixed this mistake on the earlier chapter, but I didn’t want anyone to think I was contradicting myself when I mentioned Ferumbras being Thain in this chapter. I’ll go back and fix that mistake eventually.

I was able to get quite a bit a writing done over the weekend – I’ve got half of chapter fifteen already done, so hopefully updates will occur more often.

Larner – Pippin will receive courage and wisdom from unexpected places – and a few expected ones as well, as I hope we’ll see in the next few chapters. Thanks!

Grey Wonderer – Thanks! I hope the relationship isn’t moving too slowly, but I don’t think it’d be realistic if they fell in love at first sight.

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A Light In Dark Places – Chapter VIII

Pippin wandered through the halls of the Smials, passing by open rooms with members of the Took family within each – little pictures of daily life flashed before his eyes each time he looked into a different room. Mothers tending to the needs of their children, changing diapers and brushing hair – small lads wriggled as they were forced into uncomfortable articles of clothing, their mothers with words of comfort to calm their restless spirits. Husbands and wives enjoyed the company of one another, as each sat in plushy chairs before the circular windows through which dim afternoon sunlight shone through. Older hobbits lay in their soft featherbeds, enjoying a short daytime nap – the atmosphere was making Pippin sleepy as well, but it reminded him that no matter what might happen to their Shire – famine and hardship – the cycle of life would continue, much as it ever had in the Smials.

Finally, he reached his destination, the carved oak door of his father’s study – he prepared to knock on the door, but his father’s voice within stopped him. “Come in Peregrin,” he heard him say, and sighed before entering the room.

“Ah, there you are,” his father said from his place behind his wide desk, “Sit down please.” He pointed to one of the armchairs, which Pippin placed himself in, feeling very much like he was one of his father’s subjects being counseled on the importance of responsibility, though such a lecture was not one that he had never heard in his lifetime.

“Whatever it is, Father, I didn’t do it – I’ve left Pervinca alone, no animals in her bed or anything –”

“No, that’s nothing to do with why I’ve called you in here – though there is the matter of the frog that was found in the kitchen yesterday,” he said with a suspicious eye.

“Hmm, no wonder that soup tasted strange,” Pippin said to himself, “Then why am I here?”

Paladin sighed. “You are aware, of course, that you’re almost of age, my son.”

“So you wanted to talk to me about marriage then?”

“Not necessarily,” Paladin said, hopeful to ease into his intended conversation, “But it is one of the duties that comes with the Thainship, and one that you will be required to uphold.”

“Not all are required to uphold it,” Pippin said cattily – it wasn’t that he was completely opposed to the idea of the marriage, but he’d gotten quite sick of being lectured about his future duties as Thain.

“True, but not all will someday take on the most prestigious title of the Shire – someday, everyone will look to you for leadership.”

“I bet Merry doesn’t get chewed out like this,” Pippin said, leaning his arms lazily over the sides of the chair.

“And I bet your friend Meriadoc most likely does get chewed out like this, since it is important that he take the title of Master of Buckland – therefore, it if just as important that he find a future wife as it is to you.”

“Merry’s never had any trouble in that department, though.”

“Never mind the details of Meriadoc’s personal life, for he is not the subject of our discussion,” Paladin said, straining to keep his voice steady as his annoyance became greater, “I called you here to talk about you – can we not speak to one another in a civil manner?”

“Fine,” Pippin sighed.

“I noticed that you’ve been spending some time with a lass – one of Fastolph’s daughters, I believe.”

“Diamond? You want to talk about her?”

“Not her in particular, but she may come up in our discussion. Have you given any thought to the matter of marriage at all?”

Pippin shrugged. “In passing, I suppose it’s not that bad – I mean, it’s something I’m going to have to do someday, so any objection to it is worthless.”

Paladin sighed, attempting to release his anger silently before discharging it in other ways. “This Diamond lass – what exactly do you think of her? In what opinion do you hold her?”

Again Pippin shrugged. “She’s all right, I suppose – keeps to herself, but she has her reasons – likes to read, so she’s real smart.”

“Yes, I know many of those things from Fastolph.”

“Are you asking if a possible marriage between us is imminent?”

“No, of course not – I know you well enough to know that’s not possible. But I spoke with Fastolph, and he seems supportive of the idea that it would be most helpful to the bonds of our families for you to marry one of his daughters.”

“Would it, now?”

“I doubt you have any interest in a union between yourself and one of his elder daughters.”

“Amethyst and Garnet? Yeah, you can pretty much mark them out as unavailable and unattainable.”

“Well, no one’s expecting you to get married right away if it is not your wish – there is time yet, but I want only for you to consider this prospect.”

“Father?”

“Yes?”

“A question?”

“If you wish.”

“Did your father ever give you this talk – did he call you into his study several times a week to discuss the importance of marriage with you? Did he push you to marry Mother at all, or were you just lucky and he went easy on you?”

Paladin smiled tightly. “I would like to say that my youth was similar to yours, that I was pressured to marry, almost from the day I was born. However, I have no such experience – you know, of course, that my father, your grandfather, was not Thain before I. Instead it was a distant cousin of ours, Ferumbras III, who held that title, and because there were no other male Tooks, I took up the position after he. I had not expected to become Thain, and I was certainly not born into it. Before then, I was merely a farmer, like most other hobbits. To be in the position you are in now, I can barely imagine what it is like. But when I was your age, like you, all I wanted to do was enjoy my youth. I had friends, like you do, and I was no stranger to vegetable thievery. My sisters annoyed me, and I annoyed them back, but we all grew out of that eventually,” he said, smiling as he reminisced, “I remember I was quite good friends with Saradoc Brandybuck – I suppose it is only right that you should be friends with his son – and together we would torment my sisters, for he had no sisters of his own to annoy, and we always saw his brother Merimac as being too young to be around us. My sister Esmeralda hated him for all the pranks he played on her – it’s a mystery to me still why she married him. I remember refusing to speak to him when I knew that he fancied her.”

“But he was your best friend!”

“Oh, we got over it eventually – when I saw that he truly loved her, I suppose I forgave him for abandoning me.”

“He abandoned you?”

“Not too often, mind you, but often enough for me to get annoyed – I pretended for some time that I didn’t know of it, and that he wasn’t in love with her. For that meant that he would marry her, and he would soon have no more time for me, his best friend – we thought of that as the metaphorical nail in the coffin, the end of our immature and juvenile youth. We swore never to marry.”

“But you did.”

“He had his duties, just as you and Merry do. That is another thing that separates you and I – my best friend and I grew up together, knowing that he would be in a greater position of power than I would. The best I could hope for was to be a farmer, while he was to be Master of Buckland.”

Pippin’s face fell as he considered his father’s words – his youth, and Merry’s as well, were slipping away from them, every day a little more.

“Just because you marry doesn’t mean you have to give up your friendships. Don’t think too much on my words,” Paladin said, “I too was young once, and can understand your frustrations – you’ll find your way.”

“My way?” But Paladin would say no more, and Pippin took this as a cue to exit the room, making his way to the library, perhaps to find Fosco or Diamond.

Hello again! It’s been a while since my last update, so Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Hopefully it won’t be after next Christmas before I update again.

Grey Wonderer – Well, as we know he does eventually become interested in marriage, according to the good Professor – but I think there’s such as difference between the Pippin in the book (and the movie as well) and the Pippin that I think Diamond would marry. So a change does need to occur there, which will pretty much be the whole of my story. A very insightful comment. Thanks!

Larner – True. Basically the same thing I said above, a change has to occur sometime. Thanks!

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A Light In Dark Places – Chapter IX

Pippin and Fosco lay crouched in the tall grass, wet with late October dew – a few yards in front on them sat a group of hobbit lasses: Pervinca, Amethyst and Garnet. Their cousin Everard Took sat some distance from them, acting as lookout to make sure that the girls did not become aware of the fiendish plot.

Though Pippin had been warned many times in the previous weeks not to bother his sisters or his cousins, the day had revealed a chance too good to pass up, as the three lay out in the fading autumn atmosphere, enjoying a simple picnic before the North-tooks returned home that next day. And as it had been the plan of the two lads to play their best prank on them near to the end of the visit, today was as good as any for such a prank.

“When Everard nods at us, we strike,” Fosco whispered in Pippin’s ears.

“And when they start screaming, we must make sure we’re nowhere in sight – there’s a tree with wide, spreading branches near to the Smials, not too far from here – we can climb up that and hide,” Pippin whispered back.

Slowly, they inched forward – gripped in their hands were three small bundles wrapped in cheesecloth. Whatever was within them stank highly, and Pippin feared that they would be detected by the rank stench – moisture was also leaking through the packaging onto his hand, making them slippery. The prank would have to be done soon, or not at all.

“Come on, Ev – give us a sign,” Fosco hissed nervously. The two lads were barely able to see their unsuspecting prey through the tall grass, which was why they had Everard playing lookout for them – he gazed over at the lasses, looked to Pippin and Fosco hidden in the rushes and softly nodded. The motion was barely visible, but just enough so that Pippin and Fosco knew the timing was right.

“Now!” they both said at once, and leaping out of the grass suddenly they hurled their projectiles at the unsuspecting lasses. All of a sudden a great commotion went up, as several things happened at once – Everard, hearing the cry of the attackers, immediately ran for cover, and was gone before anyone had known that he was even there to start with – Pippin and Fosco, as soon as they had leapt from their hiding place, had flung the stinking bundles at the lasses and ran in the opposite direction. This action was done so quick that they did not have time to see if their targets had been hit at all, having so little time to even aim in the first place. Their aim was perfect, though, as the three lasses who sat on the soft grass enjoying an early morning picnic were suddenly pelted with gobs of rotten fruit – apples, peaches and pears rained down on them, every one stinking and wet, and they shrieked with disgust and fury.

“Peregrin Took!” Pervinca shouted at the top of her voice, though no one answered her call – she looked around angrily for his thin figure, but found no trace of him. No grinning face was hanging out of the windows of the nearby Smials – instead, the faces that gazed out held expressions of surprise, and for some laughter, as the inhabitants of the hole looked on the scene.

“I’ll get him for this! Father’s going to be so mad at him! If he doesn’t kill him, I’ll do it myself!” she shrieked, stamping up and down upon the ground, her feet sounding a particularly squishy echo – rotten fruit now littered the ground around them, and Garnet, making to raise herself from the ground, slipped on the squishy mess and landed on her bottom with a thud.

The ones who were the cause of the muddled chaos were currently watching the scene from a safe distance, in the safety of a leafy tree with widespread branches that safely hid them from view – Pippin and Fosco, giggling with delight, waited until such a time that it was safe to leave their hiding place.

“We can’t be seen for a while, you know,” Fosco said through his mirth, “They’ll have it out with us – they know we did it, or at least that you did it.”

“I know a place where we can hide for the day, where no one will find us – look, I think they’re leaving.” And indeed, as Pippin looked through the foliage of the tree he could see his sister and cousins racing to the hole, where they assumed their attackers had gone and hidden themselves. Once they were certain that all persons were absent from the site, they inched their way out of the tree and onto the ground.

“So where is this place of yours – is it far?” Fosco said as he followed Pippin, who rushed headlong around the side of the Smials and to the front door – they did not enter the hole, however, as Pippin lead him down the dirt road that lead away from the hole and to the village of Tuckborough. After running along the road for nearly fifteen minutes, the village came within site.

“What, is your hiding place in the village? Because that’s not very secret if you ask me,” Fosco said, now out of breath, “Can we slow down yet?”

“Yes, we can slow down a bit,” Pippin said, and Fosco immediately stopped, falling down on his bottom in the middle of the road. Pippin sighed at his cousin. “It’s not in the village, where we’re going – there, over that way.” Fosco looked over to where Pippin now pointed – in the spreading valley below them a wide expanse of forest lay stretched out. All Fosco could see for miles was green trees, hit by the autumn sunlight.

“Down there? That’s your hiding place, the forest?” he said, still breathless.

“In the forest, specifically, but yes, down there is where it is,” Pippin said, and standing up, “Come on, we’ve still far to go.”

“Still?” Fosco stood, his muscles aching, and began to traverse the steep hill below him that sloped into the valley.

“Whoa, you don’t want to go that way,” Pippin spoke suddenly, catching Fosco by the collar of his shirt and pulling him back, “Look,” he said, pointing. Fosco gazed down the steep hill, and noticed that at one point it suddenly dropped off into a deep and seemingly bottomless ravine. He leaned over so as to see better – in the darkness below, he saw a great mess of tangled thorns.

“I pity the one so unlucky as to fall in that mess,” Pippin said, “Come on, I know a safer way down.” He led Fosco to the top of a more gently sloping hill, green and soft. “Merry and I would often roll down this hill – but we can walk, if you prefer.” It was much more easygoing than Fosco imagined the other hill would have been, and they were soon in the quiet tranquility of the dimly lit forest.

“We’re almost there, just a little further,” Pippin spoke with confidence. Fosco followed him on a winding path around and between trees, a path that often doubled back on itself.

“Merry and I feared being followed, so we would go this way to throw off anyone who might do so – I can’t remember any other path to get to the place anymore.” It took nearly half an hour to travel Pippin’s confusing path through the forest, before he finally stopped before a widespread yew with low-lying branches – the tree bore nothing out of the ordinary, except that in the bark of it was thrust an old, rusted weathervane, the top of which it bore a tarnished rooster, its beak shaped so that it looked to be permanently crowing.

“This is it?” Fosco said, surprised, “A tree house? That’s your hiding place?”

“You never had one?”

“Yeah, when I was seven – but that was years ago, Pip.”

“Yeah, but, this one,” he said with a wink, “This one is special. I mean you can’t tell it’s there, can you?”

Fosco looked up through the leaves. “No, I can’t – but it’s not that hard to conceal, really.”

“Well, there’s a reason for that,” he said, walking the distance around the tree until he reached a seemingly specific spot.

“You’re making less and less sense as you go along, cousin,” Fosco said with eyebrows raised.

Pippin only smiled. “You know why you couldn’t see a tree house from here?” Fosco shook his head in answer to Pippin’s question. In response, however, he made he felt around with his hands near to the base of the tree, where its roots came up and tangled like bony brown fingers. Searching through the weeds that lined the edge of the tree, he pulled back a particularly thick wad of grass, revealing a large hole in the earth below, through which Fosco could see steps carved into the dirt, leading down into the darkness.

“The reason you couldn’t see a tree house is because it’s not a tree house at all.”

Wow, has it really been that long since my last update?

Larner – Glad you like it. And if you think you’ve seen the last of it, just wait… Thanks!

Grey Wonderer– I’m glad I have such a perceptive reader. Thanks!

EstellaB – Well, perhaps some things just can’t be gotten rid of – but hopefully in the course of the story, he will grow up a great deal more. Thanks!

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A Light In Dark Places – Chapter X

Diamond had heard little on the matter of whether or not Pippin and Fosco were to be punished for their juvenile deed. However, Fosco seemed in no dark mood that might be the result of a good chewing out from their father, so all seemed to be well with him. Amethyst and Garnet, however, were quite peeved that they had gotten away with their crime; as there had been no evidence that the two had committed it at all, being that no one could remember their presence anyway, there was nothing to charge them with. The two sisters had questioned Diamond, who swore she knew nothing of the prank.

“You probably saw it, didn’t you, with your weird mind powers?” Garnet accused, looking at her with contempt.

“They’re not mind powers, they’re intuitive dreams – I can’t control when they occur, and they don’t happen that often. I’m no more psychic than you are.”

“Whatever, you knew this would happen, and you didn’t have the heart to warn us!” Amethyst said snootily, and the two walked off with their proud noses high in the air.

The two glared at her and Fosco the entire day before they were to return to Long Cleeve, and longer even. Fosco, though, seemed in no position to even pay attention to the two, as he related stories of his and Pippin’s juvenile pranks to her.

“You heard about how we threw the fruit at the girls,” he said under his breath; though he paid no attention to them, he was still aware of his sisters’ stares.

“Well, when Amethyst came in shrieking and smelling of fruit, I figured you’d had something to do with it.”

“Well, that was only one thing that we did. Though, they,” he nodded his head towards Amethyst and Garnet, “Weren’t always our targets.”

“Where did the two of you go after the prank?” Diamond asked.

“Ah, we left as soon as the coast was clear – Pippin said he had this secret place, somewhere we could hide out until the heat was over. It was all the way in the Old Forest, so it took a while to run there. Anyway, it’s a place I’ll probably never find again – I’d know the tree if I saw it, a big yew that had a weathervane sticking out of it. But I’d never be able to get there, as Pippin lead me on such a winding path that I have no idea of which direction from I came from, or where we went. He seemed to know it, though,” Fosco said.

“So it was a tree house, in the branches of a tree that had a weathervane stuck in its bark?”

“Well, not a tree house per say – the weathervane is only to mark where the secret place is near to, I suppose – but it is actually a hole in the ground, underneath the tree. I guess it’s all right if I tell you this – I’m sure Pippin wouldn’t mind, and you’d never find your way there alone anyway. You enter the hole down these steps, and at first you can’t see anything – but then Pippin lit a nearby candle, to reveal quite a cozy little hole. The roots of the tree come down through the ceiling. I suppose that’s what holds up the roof – they branched down the walls like fingers, forming a neat little cave. Hardly ever gets wet, Pippin said, as the roots get the moisture out and the heat in.”

“And what’s in this little cave of his?”

“Well, everything, I suppose – there’s a couple cots to sleep on, and some food of course, knowing Merry and Pippin. Rest of its mostly just stuff the two of them fooled around with when they were young – eye patches and fake swords to play pirates. Different things for different pranks. Calls it The Pit, Pippin does. Nice little hole, wonder how they found it.”

“And who dug it, as I doubt they did it themselves.”

“Mysteries abound, little sister – maybe you can figure them out. Tell those intuitions of yours to get on the job already, we haven’t heard from them in a while.”

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“Not a bad visit, honestly,” Pippin spoke before taking another bite out of his juicy apple, “I might tolerate the one next spring, when I have to go up to Long Cleeve myself.”

“See, I knew you’d enjoy it,” Merry spoke, and he threw his own finished apple in the shallow stream – it landed with a small splash, floating along until it drifted out of sight under the bridge. The ripples that had formed as result of the disturbance flowed out in wide circles, until the surface was clear again, and Pippin could see his own reflection once more as he and Merry sat stop the bridge.

“But not all of the visit was great – I had to deal with my nasty, spoiled cousins.”

“You mean Amethyst and Garnet? I thought they’d be married off by now. Not that I hold a torch for either of them, mind you, but surely there must be someone up North who’d fancy them.”

“You know those Northern types,” Pippin said, rolling his eyes.

“I know the way they talk, and that’s all I need to know – slurring every word they say, and taking out some letters altogether. Can’t make sense of what any of them say – surprised you were able to communicate with them.”

“Well, not all of them talk that way – it’s mostly those from further North than Long Cleeve, up near Scary. I know Fastolph’s wife Camellia’s from up there, and it shows. But Fastolph himself, as well as Fosco and all his sisters don’t talk like that – it’s more of a light influence you can detect in their speech, not noticeable enough to be called an accent.”

Merry snorted. “Whatever it is, they’re a strange folk.”

“You’re just jealous because Fosco’s a better prankster than you.”

“A better prankster than I? Pippin, no such being exists.”

“Well, he did come up with the idea to pelt rotten fruit at Pervinca. You and I have never done something like that.”

“Of course we’ve never done something like that – what we do is worse! Your dear Fosco’s prank was quite tame compared to some of the things I’ve concocted. Remember the one time when we snuck her pony into her bedroom while she slept?”

“I remember that one – her room smelt for days, didn’t it!” The two lads laughed to themselves, remembering better days long gone.

Merry wiped tears of mirth from his eyes as he began to speak again. “Well, you’ve told me all about Fosco – where there any lasses that you met during this visit?” Merry smirked as he said this, and his eyes held a look of mischief.

“Well, I already knew Amethyst and Garnet, and didn’t really want to know them better – but –” He trailed off.

“But?” Merry said, his eyes alight with curiosity.

“Well – I knew her to exist before the visit, and I never really had anything against her then – but I never really had a chance to talk to her before either. She’s quite nice, rather pretty –”

“And what might her name be?”

“Diamond – Diamond Took. Younger sister of Fosco, and she’s –” He debated telling Merry of Diamond’s seemingly intuitive dreams, and decided against it. “She’s different from her sisters, which I suppose is a good thing.”

“Ah, the plot thickens – and when will you be seeing this lass again? Anytime soon?”

“In the spring, I suppose – that’s when my family goes up to visit them in Long Cleeve.”

“Well, I guess that’s when I’ll have to find something else to do again – without you, Pip, things are as dull as dirt.”

“Things boring at Buckland?”

“Dreadfully – has your father been giving you talks about your future duties, and reasons why you should find a suitable wife soon?”

“Sounds like our fathers are rather alike in their topics of discussion.”

“I live for the days when I can get away to Maggot’s, or Hobbiton – but what with Sam, that hasn’t been a great thrill either.”

“And what exactly is Samwise up to these days?”

“Oh, just the usual – tending to Bag End’s garden and wooing Rosie Cotton. Made quite a bit of progress recently, I believe – actually said hello for once.”

“I shall have to see this.”

“Well, come around in the next day or two – I plan myself to accompany him to Bywater, see for myself whether or not the story is true.”

“Good idea – I need to get away from the Smials, Pervinca’s had it out for me since the rotten fruit incident. Seems determined to catch me in the act of another prank. Following me in the most outlandish places.”

“Even into the loo?”

Pippin grinned, shaking his head. “She’s not that determined.”