Title: The Trip
Author: Melilot Hill
Beta: Llinos
Summary: Eleven year old Pippin walks to Bag End alone, but his trip doesn’t go exactly as planned.
Rating: G
Disclaimer: The characters and settings belong to J.R.R. Tolkien
Note: Written for Marigold’s challenge #8.
Plot bunny 12: Write about the first journey a hobbit takes on his or her own.

I want to thank Llinos for beta’ing this story and also for (her great help with) the last paragraph.

The Trip

Chapter 1, Field and Meadow

“Mum?” Pippin asked.

“Yes dear,” Eglantine answered.

“Don’t you think that Frodo must be very sad? He’s all alone since Bilbo left.”

“I’m sure he will really miss Bilbo, son.”

“Can I go to Frodo for a visit?” Pippin asked. “So I can cheer him up?”

“Yes dear,” his mother answered.

“Mum?”

“Hmm?”

“Can I go there very soon?”

“Yes dear, I expect so,” Eglantine answered absent-mindedly. “Can you go and find something to do now, Peregrin? Mother is busy. Besides, it is time for you to go to bed.”

Pippin skipped from the parlour to his bedroom. In his young mind 'very soon' equalled tomorrow and he was very excited about his visit.

Once in his bedroom Pippin pulled his bag from under his bed and started to pack immediately. He stuffed a nightshirt in his pack and took some clean clothes from his wardrobe. He decided one change of clothing would be enough. Frodo was a lad too, after all, and would probably not be as firm on being clean as his mother was.

The last item to disappear into his pack was Tom, the wooden horse. Tom was Pippin’s favourite toy, because it had a ‘real’ woollen mane and tail. Satisfied with his preparations he crawled into bed.

A little later his door opened and his mother came in.

“Did you wash yourself?” she asked when she saw her son already buried deep beneath the blankets.

“Yes, I did,” Pippin lied.

“Let me see those hands, then,” his mother requested.

Pippin took his hands from underneath the blankets and held them up for inspection.

“I don’t think those grubby paws of yours saw any water recently,” Eglantine scolded lightly. “Come on, out of bed and have a proper wash.”

Pippin climbed out of bed and walked over to the washstand to have a real wash this time.

“Don’t forget to scrub behind your ears!” Eglantine ordered her son.

Pippin made a face behind her back, but complied without complaining.

“What’s your pack doing there?” Eglantine suddenly asked her son.

“That’s for when I visit Frodo,” was the answer.

“You weren’t thinking about leaving tonight, were you?” his mother asked.

“Of course not!” Pippin giggled. “That would be very silly.”

“Listen, Peregrin,” Eglantine said while tucking in her son. “Pearl and I will go for a visit tomorrow morning and we will leave early. So you probably won’t see us at breakfast. Will you behave when I’m gone?”

“Yes, mother,” Pippin answered. “I always behave.”

“Yes,” his mother laughed, playfully swatting her son’s leg. “but I’m not talking about behaving badly.”

Eglantine gave her son a goodnight kiss and left his bedroom.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Next morning after his breakfast Pippin went looking for his father, to ask if he could take him to Bag End. However, he couldn’t find his father anywhere. Pippin went back to his room and sat down sulkily next to his pack. His mother must’ve forgotten to ask his father to take him to Frodo. Maybe I am supposed to go alone, Pippin mused. Father is obviously busy. Yes, that was probably it. He was a big lad. He was eleven going on twelve, after all.

Pippin put on his coat and eyed his cloak. He didn’t really like to wear his cloak, it was bothersome and he didn’t like its colour at all. But it was almost November and it could be quite cold outside. And what if it rained? He decided to put his cloak in his bag, so he could use it if he wanted to. Pippin shouldered his pack and went outside.

He remembered Frodo telling him that the journey was so much shorter if you walked across the fields, so that was exactly what Pippin was going to do. He didn’t remember if Frodo ever told him how long the journey would take, but surely it wouldn’t be more than a few hours? He climbed the fence into the cow pasture and started on his way.

“Good morning cows,” he said cheerfully.

One of the cows mooed and Pippin made a mooing sound back and laughed. This was going to be a great day! Pippin skipped, walked and ran through the fields and meadows, stopping occasionally to watch some interesting animal or plant. After a while, however, he grew tired and hungry and he sat down and opened his pack and rummaged through it.

“Oh no, Tom!” Pippin said in dismay to his wooden horse. “I forgot to pack some food. What should we do now? All the berries and apples and such are long gone. Maybe we can find some nuts?”

But Pippin wasn’t in the vicinity of any trees at the moment, so there was nothing else to do but to shoulder his pack and set off again. After trudging along for a while he came across a road. Since the fields in this part were only passable with difficulty, he decided to follow the road for a while.

“I don’t like this journey anymore,” Pippin told his horse, which he still clutched in his hand. “I wish I had waited for father to come home.”

Suddenly he heard a cart approach from behind him. Pippin stepped off the road and waited for the cart to pass.

“Hoy there,” the driver said. “What's a small lad like you doing out here on the road alone?”

“I am going to visit my cousin Frodo,” Pippin stated proudly. “All by myself.”

“And where does this cousin of yours live, if I might ask?

“In Hobbiton,” answered Pippin.

“I’m going in that direction for a few miles,” the driver said. “I can give you a ride if you’d like. My name is Tom, by the way.”

You have the same name as my horse,” Pippin giggled, holding up said horse. “And yes, please, I would like a ride.”

Tom helped Pippin up on the cart and they went on their way. “What’s your name, lad?”

*~*~*~*~*~*

When Eglantine came home around lunchtime, she could find neither her husband nor her son. She soon found out that her husband went away for some business and she thought he’d taken Pippin with him. The lad had been pestering his father about that sort of thing before. But when Paladin came home without their son, some time later, she knew she had assumed wrongly.

“I feel so foolish, just assuming Pippin was with you,” she said to her husband. “Do you have any idea where he could be?”

“No,” answered Paladin,” I haven’t seen the lad at all this day. Eg? What’s the matter? You’re looking terribly pale all of a sudden.”

“Oh Pad, I think I know where Pippin is,” she answered. “Yesterday he asked me if he could go to Frodo for a visit and I told him he could go soon. When I came to tuck him in, he had already packed his bag. Pad, he’s on his way to Bag End on his own!”

“First let us see if his pack is really gone, before we worry too much,” Paladin told his wife as they walked to Pippin’s bedroom.

Eglantine sat down heavily upon her son’s bed. His pack, coat and cloak were gone. A sure sign Pippin had left for Bag End on his own. She put her head in her hands.

“I am to blame. I saw his pack yesterday and didn’t question him about it,” she muttered. “All I asked was if he was planning to go last night and he answered me that that was a silly thought. I should’ve paid more attention.”

“Nonsense,” Paladin said, sitting down on the bed next to his wife and putting an arm around her, pulling her close. “How could you have known he would leave on his own? He should know he is much too young to do that. Please don’t blame yourself, dear.”

After comforting his wife, Paladin stood up. “I’m going to sent a rider to Bag End, to inform Frodo. Peregrin could already be there, since we don’t know at what time he left. If not, Frodo can be on the look out for him and notify us at once if Pippin arrives. I’m going to look for Pippin with a few others.”

Paladin embraced his wife and kissed her. “We’ll find him, dear, don’t worry.”

“Of course I worry,” Eglantine mumbled. “My son is out there all alone and it will be getting dark soon.”

“Mother, is something the matter?” Pearl asked.

Eglantine turned and saw her three daughters in the doorway, worried looks upon their faces.

“Pippin left for Bag End on his own,” she answered. “Pimmie, Vinca, have either of you seen Pippin this morning? We don’t know at what time he left, so we have no idea how far along he is.”

Both Pimpernel and Pervinca shook their heads. It seemed that nobody saw Pippin leave. The four of them walked to the parlour, to wait for news about the youngest family member.

t.b.c.