Chapter Twenty Seven - What the Future Beholds

Four young hobbits sat by themselves at a table inside The Prancing Pony having an early supper. Pippin had met with Dori while his cousins and Berry shopped for unique Yule gifts found only in Bree, or purchased from merchants who hailed from as far away as the Misty Mountains to the east or Lond Daer in the southwest. Afterward, Pippin did his own Yule shopping, meeting up with his friends at the town’s inn. Beside each hobbit on the benches were sacks filled with whatever toy or frill they could buy from the friendlier tradesmen for their loved ones back home in Shire.

“Let’s have another look at it,” said Berry. He grinned, remembering his first view of Pippin’s trinket.

While Pippin obliged, digging deep into his breeches pocket, Merry cautiously glanced about the common room. “Not here,” he said to Pippin. “Let’s look at it when we get back to our room.”

As eager as he was to show off his most precious gift, Pippin let go of the little box in his pocket; he, too, gazed about at some of the more sinister-looking folk. “Sorry, Berry, I have to agree with Merry--I’ll be happy to show it to you in our room.”

Fredegar was somewhat indignant that they could not indulge themselves with a look at Pippin’s gift from where they sat. “Sharkey didn’t spare Bree when he sent out his ruffians to bully hobbits,” he commented, “One should think that Bree-folk would be a bit more discerning about who they let inside their gates.”

“Some people never learn,” Merry replied and then drained his mug. “I’m going to find Nob while you lads take your sacks to the room. Berry--will you see to mine?” Merry didn’t mention anything about his suspicions, not wanting to worry his friends, but he wished to talk to Nob about the goings-on in Bree of late. Hopefully, he’d find out some information about the recent incidents on the East Road.

Merry signalled Pippin with a slight nod as to his intentions; Pippin responded with a near imperceptible nod of his own. There were plenty of folk in the common room that reminded Merry of Bill Ferny. If Merry found out anything important, he would pull Pippin aside later to share it.

“What was that all about?” Freddy asked Pippin, grinning as the group headed toward their room. “Something’s going on between you two.” He was indeed perceptive enough to notice the unspoken language between Merry and Pippin that his they developed over the years. Actually, it was something that had emerged while the young Knights worked closely together to chase the ruffians out of the Shire, subsequently perfected while on duty in the south and training for their respective positions.

Pippin wasn’t so sure if he should answer Freddy directly--fearing he’d upset Berry. At least Freddy was seasoned in the way of leading a band of hobbits in a rebellion. Pippin answered as best he could. “Merry’s curious about some things and so he’s going to make a few inquiries to an old friend of ours.”

The following morning, the foursome rose early and ate breakfast in their room. Soon after, they were mounted up on their ponies, packs tied securely to their saddles. “I can’t wait to get home and sit with a pipe in front of the hearth with a roaring fire,” said Freddy, shivering from the morning frost. The snow that fell on their way to Bree did not stay, melting soon after it landed on the not yet frozen ground.

“Me, too,” said Pippin, climbing into the saddle upon Shadow, his chestnut pony.

“You speak for all of us,” said Merry, seated upon Stybba. After talking with Nob the evening before, his only wish was for all of them to make it safely back to the Shire. Merry was afraid that he and the rest were not very discreet about their shopping spree, unintentionally inviting trouble on the way home.

As they left the courtyard of the inn, none saw the cloaked figures moving quietly in the shadows.

* * *

Pimpernel filled Diamond’s empty glass with fresh water from the pitcher then set it upon the nightstand. Again, she sat down on the edge of the bed to see about the young tweenager hidden deep beneath the quilt. “I’ve brought you more water,” she spoke softly.

No answer.

“Diamond lass, there’s more going on here than mere illness. Donnabelle said your fever would run its course in a few days. You’ll feel much better then.” Pim sighed, “She also said that something else is troubling you, though you won’t say anything to her about it.”

Silence.

“Diamond…”

Diamond turned to face Pim, her cheeks flushed from fever and crying. “He doesn’t love me anymore,” she whispered. “He…he’s meeting with a lass in Bree. That is why he wanted to go there.”

“What makes you say that?” Pim asked, wondering what brought this on.

“I just know.”

“Tell me how you came upon this,” Pim asked firmly, giving the lass a handkerchief from her own nightstand.

Diamond explained to Pimpernel how she ended up inside Pippin’s room with Poppy. “I saw her name written in his tablet. Dori is her name,” she said, then added, “I wonder what drew Pippin to this lass.”

Mithril, Pim wanted to answer the lass, but didn’t. Instead, she replied, “It isn’t another lass, Diamond,” Pim tried to explain--without giving too much away. “Trust me on this. My brother wouldn’t do that to you--not to someone whom he’s professed to love with all his heart.” 

“How do you know this?”

Pim sighed, “Because I know my own brother--and I happen to know that Dori is a Dwarf--a male Dwarf. He’s a merchant from the Misty Mountains who stays in Bree for brief periods.”

“Really?” asked Diamond, feeling a little bit better, and utterly disappointed with herself for not trusting Pippin’s love. “I am sorry for jumping to conclusions. I suppose that bit of heartache was my just reward for reading his tablet.”

“I would agree with that assessment,” said Pimpernel, then gently tweaked Diamond’s nose, “Pippin doesn’t love anyone else--he loves you.”

Diamond smiled, thinking long and hard about what Pimpernel said, then asked, “But why is Pippin meeting with a Dwarf?”

* * *

Riding along the East Road, the four hobbits would look over their shoulders at the travellers that had been following them for a few miles. They were still mere specks in the distance, but neither Pippin nor Merry wanted to take any chances.

Freddy was also being sharp. “What do you think?” he asked Merry. “Should we make a run for it, or ready ourselves?”

“No,” replied Merry, fingering his silver horn tied to his baldric, “Let’s wait until they’re closer to ready ourselves--and as for running, we’re not even at the halfway point yet; we’d only end up tiring our ponies. Let’s save their strength for when we have the need.”

Pippin threw another glance down the road, wondering in his own mind if these were the notorious ruffians harassing other hobbits. “We should at least pick up the pace a bit.”

“Aye,” Freddy concurred with Pippin, then looked to the future Master.

“Agreed,” Merry said, then flicked the reins of his pony.

Berilac stayed quiet; he was in no way eager to meet up with any ruffians. However, he wasn’t terribly afraid of them, either. After seeing first-hand the way they mistreated the hobbits in Buckland--some who were very closely related to him, Berry wondered if retribution would be nearer to his hand this day.

For the next few miles, Pippin kept a wary eye over his shoulder as they travelled up the East Road. The distant figures kept the same pace as Pippin and his friends. Pippin did not like the looks of things.

“Merry, this isn’t--” Pippin didn’t get to finish his sentence; two horses with riders appeared out of nowhere from between a coppice of evergreens twenty feet ahead blocking their path.

“Well lookee here what we got, Gorn!” said the first highwayman, appearing to be the leader. He sneered, looking the hobbits up and down then eyed the sacks filled with gifts, “We got us a well-off bunch of Shire rats!”

“We’re goin’ to take those off yer hands,” said Gorn, starting toward Merry’s sack.

Merry backed away, loosening the sword in his scabbard. “Leave us alone and let us pass!”

Pippin cast another glance behind him; the once distant travellers were now racing toward the group, a plume of dust in their wake. He turned his full attention to this new threat while Merry dealt with the two highwaymen. Berilac followed Pippin’s gaze, taking his sling and a large rock out of his saddlebag.

Freddy stayed beside Merry, his hand resting upon the pocket that held his own slingshot. Without much thought, Merry took his silver horn in his hand and blew it hard three times. The highwaymen quailed at the sound of the blasts, putting their hands to their ears. Merry now unsheathed his sword. Fredegar Bolger took out and readied his slingshot.

This was unheard of by the ruffians; no other hobbits they attacked on this road carried lethal weapons. They shrank back at the sight of Merry’s sword for a few seconds before brandishing their own cudgels with renewed courage.

Pippin and Berilac waited as the following travellers approached from the rear. Pippin had also loosened his sword and now held it aloft in his quivering hand. His whole body was quaking with expectation of battle.

Berry loaded his sling in anticipation of using it. He started swinging it about in his hand when the riders were but a hundred feet away. Then Pippin caught sight of what the travellers wore as they drew nearer. “Stop!”

Berry thought Pippin was shouting to the travellers--who seemed to ignore his friend, so he reared up to let loose his missile.

“Berry--no!” Pippin made to grab Berilac’s weapon mid-swing--not a wise move, but the best one under the circumstances. As Pippin pulled on Berry’s arm to stay his shot, the winding sling swung back…smacking Pippin in his right eyebrow. The sky spun round overhead…then darkness engulfed him.

--}----- --}-----             -----}-- -----}--

“So,” said Diamond, lying back upon her pillows while Pimpernel plied at the layers of lies she fabricated over the past few days in order to preserve Pippin’s true purpose in going to Bree. “You say that this one-legged, one-eyed dwarf who has twenty children is a toy maker from the Misty Mountains?”

“Yes, and Pippin goes to visit him round this time every year to purchase toys for the lads at Yule,” Pim replied nervously, not bringing herself to look the tween in the eyes. “Dori’s family relies on Pippin’s patronage to carry them through the next year.”

“Really?” Diamond asked with astonishment. “What sort of toys has Pippin purchased in years past?”

“Uh…,” Pim stammered. She was thinking as fast as her furry feet would allow her. “Um…he’s…bought Hilly a music box…”

“That’s lovely!” Diamond smiled. “I love music boxes! Mrs. Oatbarton had a one that her husband purchased for her from a peddler at the Brandywine Bridge. May I see Hilly’s?”

“After you’ve taken a nap,” said Pim, getting up to tuck in the blankets. “Your fever only broke this morning, so I want you to rest as much as possible before Pippin’s return tomorrow.”

“All right,” said Diamond, snuggling underneath her quilt. “But I should like a look at Hilly’s music box afterward, if you please.”

“Very well,” answered Pim, taking her leave, “I’ll see what I can do.” Outside Diamond’s room, Pimpernel leaned against the wall of the little hallway in her apartment wiping the sweat from her brow. Her thoughts went back to seven years ago, when Pippin essentially came back from the dead, chasing ruffians out of the Shire, bearing great tidings of the king in the south, and the finest gifts from the White City where he lived for a few months. How am I going to explain to mother that I need to ‘borrow’ her most cherished gift in order to cover the biggest ruse I’ve ever put on in my life?

Inside Diamond’s room, the tween lay comfortably beneath her covers with a mischievous grin on her face. Now I know she’s lying! She suspected the tale of the one-legged dwarf with twenty children to feed was a fable, but Diamond had been the lads’ Minder for over six months now and knew Hilly had no such toy. The young lass snickered softly as she pondered her mistress’s tangled web of lies.

The following day, it was nearing suppertime when Pimpernel walked into the family parlour and found Diamond leaning against the sill of the great window overlooking the fields to the northeast. It didn’t afford the best view of the lanes coming directly from the east, but to Diamond, it was better than sulking in her room.

“You’ve been in here for most of the day, Diamond,” said Pim, observing the tween from the doorway. “Standing there isn’t going to make his return any quicker.”

Diamond sighed, fogging the part of the window where she stood. “He should have been here by now. You said he’d arrive sometime after tea.”

“Sometimes things don’t go as planned,” Pim answered, draping a lap quilt over the tween’s shoulders. “You should still be abed until tomorrow at least. Healer’s orders, remember?”

“I’m worried about him,” said Diamond, “I can’t sleep, sit, nor lay about in bed until I know that he’s safe.”

“Well, that does it, then,” said Pim, letting out a long breath.

Diamond turned to face her mistress. “Does what?”

“It seems I’ll just have to ask Viola to bring another tray,” said Pim, fluffing up the lap pillows on the couch. “I may as well keep you company.”

* * *

A lone rider sped along the Stock road, leaving Buckland far behind and heading west. He knew he would be late and worried how his tardiness would appear to his loved ones. There wasn’t a choice; he was forced to slow down at times in order for his pony to rest, but otherwise, the hobbit raced as fast as he could toward home.

* * *

Before long, a clamour was heard in the doorway leading into the parlour. Diamond turned from her vigil at the window to see not only Viola entering with a large cart laden with huge platters of food, but following her inside the room was Pimpernel, her lads, the Thain and the Mistress.

“We couldn’t allow you to wait all alone, dear,” said Eglantine.

“It’s almost completely dark outside ,” Diamond remarked glumly, pulling herself away from the windowsill. “I wouldn’t be able to see him anyway.”

Eglantine slipped an arm round Diamond’s waist, taking the lass toward the couch to sit. “We’re worried about him, too,” she said, “so we’re all going to sit here and wait with you.”

Diamond had not expected such a gesture from the family and so was touched by their compassion. She rested her weary head upon Eglantine’s shoulder, tears brimming in her eyes. Oh, how she wished these were her parents and sister! Diamond loved Sapphira very much, but she was far away in the Northfarthing.

Just as supper was served and about to start, everyone heard a door shut out in the tunnel with heavy footfalls echoing as the person passed by the parlour. The doors at the end of each tunnel were left open in the warmer months to aid the circulation of air, but closed in the cold, wintry months.

Thinking his family would be eating supper in the same room they did every evening, Pippin entered the dining room, however, he discovered that it was empty. Baffled, and hoping nothing was amiss, he walked back into the hallway and knocked on Pim’s apartment door. “Hullo? Where is everybody?” Then he heard his name called from inside…the parlour? The aroma of food met his hungry stomach as he opened the door and made his way inside.

“Pipp--in…!” Pim called out again, but was shocked at what she saw.

“Son, what happened to your eye?” Paladin stood up to meet his son in the entryway.

Pippin knew that after “it” happened, there would be no time for storytelling, no time for eating. He pictured him and Diamond in front of the hearth--alone for the evening (doors wide open). Pippin quickly launched into the details of what happened upon the East Road at the halfway point while his mother filled his plate. Pippin told of the distant travellers behind them, then of the highway-robbers that tried to waylay them in the road. “At first, we thought they were going to rob us as well, but then as the travellers behind us drew near, I spied the same dark cloth, green cloak, and high leather boots that Strider used to wear when we first met him in Bree. Calbared and Dioreth were their names, and they were following us on purpose hoping to catch the robbers that have been plaguing hobbits lately. I was never so happy to see Rangers in all my life!” Here, Pippin forked a mouthful of mashed potatoes with gravy into his mouth, washing it down with hot tea.

Diamond sat in quiet rapture wrapped up in a warm blanket whilst eating her own dinner. She listened while Pippin regaled them with his story. Every now and then he would look over to meet her bright eyes, then would look away, but not before giving her a dreary smile. The rift from their argument was gone, Diamond knew, however, there would have to be apologies spoken on both sides.

“But how did…that happen?” asked Pimpernel, pointing to the dark blue discolouration over and on Pippin’s right eye. “It looks painful!”

There was a chorus of “oooh!” or “ouch!” when he told of stopping Berilac’s slingshot. “It looks worse than it feels right now,” he said. “Calbared tended to my injury after all was said and done. We helped them tie up the robbers to take back to Bree to pay for their crimes. Dioreth said he’s going to ask Dori, before he departs to the Misty Mountains, to make a pair of heavy metal bracelets chained together so that in addition to their penance, those two brutes will be attached to one another for the rest of their lives.”

“Their crimes were against quite a few Shire hobbits, from what I recall,” Paladin put in, though he also remembered the High King’s edict about Men--or ruffians--in the Shire. “Perhaps it’s just as well.”

“Pippin,” Eglantine spoke up, “Diamond was very ill while you were gone.”

Pippin went quiet, his smile disappeared. “I--I…,” he stammered his reply. “I am sorry to hear that, Diamond.” Yes, they had an argument, but he now realised just how trivial that was in comparison to earlier events. He also remembered the talk he had with Merry. “I am also sorry for how I spoke to you the night before I left. I never intended for what I said to come true.”

“I feel the same way about your run-in with the highwaymen--although my illness was my own fault,” said Diamond. “I knew better, but I didn’t listen. I’m sorry, too, for my harsh words.”

Pippin rose up from his chair to sit beside his love, and as he did so, Diamond sprang out of her seat, flinging herself into Pippin’s outstretched arms. He wrapped his arms tight about her, holding his lass ever so close. “Oh, how I missed you,” he whispered into her ear.

“I missed you, too,” Diamond whispered back, and then felt her beloved kiss her fully on the lips.

Everyone smiled as the young couple made up. Even Gelly beamed with pride at his uncle; Tilby and Hilly made icky faces at one another.

“I have something I want to say to you,” said Pippin when he finally pulled away. He sat Diamond down in the chair that he had occupied minutes before.

“We’ll give you two a bit of privacy,” said Paladin, rising up to leave.

“No--wait,” Pippin turned to his family. “I want you all here, if you please. Please,” he added with tenderness. Pippin waited for his family to re-seat themselves about the room.

Pimpernel held onto her youngest children, knowing just how important this occasion was to her brother. “Be silent while your uncle speaks to Miss Diamond,” she admonished them in a whisper, “and pay close attention.”

Pippin knelt before Diamond, taking her hands in his.

Diamond felt the sweat in his palms upon the back of her hands.

“Diamond,” he started, his vision blurring with tears, “you captured my heart as you made your home here at Great Smials. As we have gotten to know one another--growing in friendship and love, I cannot imagine my life without you any more.” He reached into the inner breast pocket of his waistcoat, taking out the small box that he came close to losing on the East Road. “I went to Bree for this,” he said, gently placing the box into Diamond’s upturned hand and then enclosed her fingers about it.

“Open it!” whispered Eglantine, prompting the lass.

Diamond looked up at Pippin, tears falling from her eyes, her hands shaking as she took the box and untied the blue ribbon. Sensing that this was her moment…and she wanted to remember it for the rest of her life. “I love you, Pippin,” she said, though most of her voice had escaped her.

“Hush,” Pippin smiled, tenderly placing a finger over her lips. He, too, was nervous; his finger quivering as he did so. “I love you, too. Now open your gift!”

Diamond returned his smile, then fumbled as she tried to open the lid.

Pippin wanted Diamond to revel in her moment, however, he could see that she was having a bit of trouble with the lid. He lovingly placed his hands over hers, assisting her to pull the lid off. Once it was released, he let go.

Diamond gasped at the sight of her gift, her hand flew to her mouth.

This was Pippin’s cue. He smiled through his tears, “I had everything I was going to say memorised,” he told her, “but I can’t think of any of it now.” This made Diamond laugh a bit in the midst of her own tears. Still on bended knee, Pippin went on while he took the diamond ring out of the box then slowly slid it down her finger. “All I know is that I love you, Diamond North-took--I have for a long time now. You are the beat of my heart and the air that I breathe. I want us to be together always. I want you to be my wife--will you marry me?”

All eyes were upon Diamond.

Not a moment’s hesitation, Diamond fell into his arms, nodding because her breath was taken away. Cheers erupted as Pippin lifted the young lass into his arms, whirling her round in complete abandon and joy. He finally set Diamond down to kiss her--no longer as the ‘lad-friend’ courting her, but as her betrothed.

The End