Any journey that is not the Quest.  Your starter sentence is: "Well, this doesn't bode well."

Disclaimer:  All hobbits and Middle-earth belongs to JRR Tolkien, but in my dreams, they belong to me.  Nobody in their right mind would pay me for this.

Summary:  Paladin takes Pippin on a little journey to discuss the possibility of a different future.

Betas extraordinaire:  Marigold and Llinos

Journey to the Crossroad

Early Halimath, 1402, S.R.

"Well, this doesn't bode well," thought Paladin.  He was utterly exhausted from reaping the summer harvest and something important - no, something very crucial was about to happen.  In spite of his anxiety he began to nod, and just as the steaming cup of tea started to blur together with the edge of his breakfast plate, Paladin felt his wife brush her lips against his cheek.

“Wake up, love!” he heard her say with a chuckle, rubbing his arm to jolt him back to his senses - which it did, making him wince.  “Pippin will be here any minute and then there will be a contest between you, him, and those scrambled eggs and mushrooms Dahlia just laid on the table.  I’d be quick if I were you.”  Their twelve-year-old son could give his father a run for his money of late when it came to eating. 

Paladin grinned wearily at his wife as she sat down across from him, doing her best to conceal her unease for the sake of their perceptive children.  

Hearing a couple of voices enter the hallway, Paladin looked up.  Children certainly have a way of recovering quickly from a day of hard labour, Paladin thought to himself as he observed the children pass through the hallway with exuberance.  A good night’s sleep was all the younger Took children needed to recover.

Pervinca tried to walk past her brother, but Pippin playfully blocked her way, to his sister’s feigned disgruntlement.  How youngsters could manage that much energy after plucking countless bushels of apples was beyond Paladin.  The harvest was finally finished and Paladin felt it in every bone and muscle in his body.

Seconds later, they were joined by the two older lasses and then breakfast was soon underway.  After a while, when Paladin perceived the meal slowing down a pace, he decided to lay out the plans for the morning and afternoon that he and Eglantine had agreed upon.  

“Eat up, Pip,” he said, “You and I will be engaged all the day long.”

Perplexed, Pippin asked around a mouthful of eggs, “What are we going to do, Papa?”

Eglantine glared at her son.  “Pippin!”

Undaunted, Pippin swallowed his food and then repeated his question.

“We’re taking a walk around the borders of the pastures.  Summer is over and winter will be here before we know it.  I’d like to have any repairs completed before it gets too cold.”

“Aren’t Mr. Deno and Mr. Renny coming along?” Pippin asked.  They were the two regular labourers who helped year-round on the farm. 

“Not today,” Paladin answered, “Today it’s just us lads.”

Paladin watched Pippin smile; he knew his son envied Deno and Renny in years past.  Until this year, the lad had always been too young to go with the grown-ups and had to stay behind with his mother and the lasses to help with things around the smial or the barn.  Furthermore, on this day of all days, Paladin did not wish for Pippin to get suspicious of why he was being considered for a “grown-up” task, so he added, “I feel you’re old enough to take on more complex responsibilities -- a little bit at a time, of course.  After all, you’ll be turning thirteen in the spring.”

“Father,” Pimpernel spoke up, “will you not need more than just one person to help with repairs?  I can help, if you wish.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Paladin saw the disappointment in Pippin’s face, yet the lad said nothing.  Obviously, Pippin was excited to have his Papa all to himself without any interruptions.  “Thank you, Pim,” Paladin replied kindly, “But I think Pippin will be all I need today.  I believe you will be needed more here.”

After breakfast, Paladin and Pippin made haste in getting ready for the jaunt around the family’s vast holdings by packing a picnic lunch and getting the ponies and waggon ready.  It would unquestionably take until tea to properly cover the west and east pastures alone, not including the south grassland.  This would be the right amount of time for Paladin to spend quality time with his exceptional lad before breaking the news to him.  Paladin wondered if he was doing the right thing, as Pippin was on the cusp of learning the finer points of farming.  Indeed, this past spring and summer, Pippin had finally grown strong enough to wield some of the heavier tools used to cultivate the soil and engrossed enough to learn the best way to irrigate the crops.

In truth, Paladin worried if he was about to ruin the child’s life, or if the news would be a welcome change.  All of the signs that Paladin had read from his son indicated that he loved to farm.  However, being an intuitive parent who understood the inner-workings of his children, Paladin recognised that Pippin would undoubtedly excel at being a scholar...or the Took and Thain of the Shire.  Paladin, a life-long farmer, wasn’t so sure he wanted those titles for himself, but in order for Pippin to inherit them, Paladin would have to bear up and accept them.  Yet Paladin would not accept this offer without, at least, talking to Pippin first.  Which was the reason for this trip.

With everything ready, picnic hamper and tools in the back of the waggon, the pair was soon riding the lanes to the farthest corner of the farthest pasture, and it didn’t take as long as Paladin had thought to make it to the far edges of the west pasture.  He brought the ponies and waggon to a stop and climbed out of the driver’s seat.

There were a few green hills in the area, though not like the ones that stretched from the Westfarthing to the Eastfarthing.  These were hills that Paladin remembered far back into his own childhood.  He never tired of the grand sight; of colourful trees dotting the hills and dales in autumn, or green leaves waving in the breezes of summer.

“Fetch the measuring rod from the back, if you please, Pip,” Paladin instructed his son.  He was stalling, and growing more apprehensive by the minute.  He paced back and forth while he filled his pipe with Longbottom leaf then lit it, drawing in deeply, letting it out slowly.  The serenity of the outdoors suddenly had no effect on poor Paladin.

“Is something wrong, Papa?”

“Well, no,” Paladin answered somewhat truthfully, “Nothing is wrong.”  Nothing is completely right, either, Paladin, you dolt!  Oh, very well!

“Put the measuring rod back into the waggon and we’ll have a small bite to eat from the picnic hamper we packed.”  Food ought to relax me.

Pippin scratched his head; he was confused.  “Sorry?  I thought we were going to measure that post over there,” he said, pointing towards a broken fence post that had fallen to the ground.

“First things first,” Paladin reasoned to the perplexed lad.  “I should like us to have a chat, however, I should like to have something in my stomach before we do.”

Pippin blinked in surprise but complied with his father’s wishes.  Besides, the growing lad was always up for a snack.

The twosome picnicked together under an elm tree that grew outside the pasture fence.  They sat cross-legged upon the blanket that many times had served as a tent in the garden of Whitwell.  Once in a while, Pippin liked to camp at night just like his famous cousin Bilbo.

After a few bites of cheese and bread slathered with butter, Paladin washed it all down with a cup of water.  He finally broached the subject that had been on his mind for the past four days.

“Pippin have you ever given thought to what you want to be when you grow up?”

The elder hobbit had to firmly pat Pippin’s back to keep the child from choking on his bread after he laughed.  “Be easy, lad!  Don’t swallow and breathe all at once!”

Seeing Pippin‘s bewilderment, Paladin continued his initial speech. “I am very serious, Pippin.  An urgent matter has recently come to the forefront in a huge family way.  It affects the entire family.  It’s rather urgent, so I must know your thoughts on this matter soon.  Here, I want you to read this.”  Paladin reached inside his jacket pocket to retrieve the letter he had received from the current Thain.   He waited as his son took the letter out of the envelope then read its contents:

“Paladin Took

Whitwell Farm

Whitwell, the Shire

Dear Cousin,

            I have officially announced that I shall remain a bachelor until the end of my days.  As I have no heir to carry on my title, your Grandfather Hildigrim’s descendants are the next line of Tooks to inherit the distinction of Took and Thain.

            Should you decline this offer, the offices will pass to Isembard’s descendants.  However, should you accept this offer, you and your family will be required to live at Great Smials, and you will train directly under the auspices of the Took and Thain.

            I will grant you one week to make your decision.

Sincerely,

Ferumbras III

Thain of the Shire

Great Smials, Tuckborough, the Shire”

“But Papa,” Pippin looked up from the letter, “what about Isembold’s family? Yellowskin shows Isembold’s family after Great-grandfather Hildigrim, not Isembard.”

Paladin smiled at the various expressions of surprise Pippin had displayed while reading the letter.  It also appeared that his son was no fool.  “Uncle Isembold married young and took his family away under questionable circumstances,” Paladin answered.  “I don’t know whether or not they have kept in touch with the family throughout the years.”

“Oh,” Pippin replied thoughtfully, “The questionable circumstances weren’t in the book you had me read last year for my lessons.” Pippin didn’t completely understand the meaning of the circumstances, but since it appeared his father wasn’t going to expound on the idea, he let the matter rest...for now.  He then held the letter up, “Cousin Ferumbras is offering you the Thainship!   What are you going to do, Papa?”

Placing his hand gently on the lad’s knee, Paladin replied, “Pippin, I want us to decide this together.  I love to farm the land -- to feel the soil running through my fingers, to feel the satisfaction of a job well done, and to give my family and others a bountiful harvest.  This matter,” Paladin indicated the letter, “weighs heavily on my heart, Pip.  But more than anything, I want you to be happy.  And this will affect you much more than it will affect me.”

“But...we’re farmers, aren’t we?  What will happen to the farm if we don’t work it?  Your assistant, Mr. Woodcot, is retiring this year.”

“Then I’ll have to hire another hobbit to administer the farm in my absence,” said Paladin, then ruffled the lad’s curls.  “The crops will continue to be sown and reaped, the cows will be milked, though by another family.  You are still far too young to deal with all of that responsibility no matter how much you try to persuade me otherwise.”

After a moment, Paladin observed his son grow pensive, almost distant.

 “Pippin, we don’t have to decide right this moment what we want to do, but we must do it soon.  I certainly don’t want you to think that this is all on your shoulders.”

“But what do you want, Papa?”

“As I said, my dearest lad,” Paladin replied, tenderly caressing Pippin’s chin, “What I want is for you to be happy.  I know how much you love shadowing my every step and learning to be a good farmer.  And you’re doing quite well starting out, I should say.  However, I can see the longing in your eyes, lad.  I can see the wonder in your eyes whenever we gaze toward the heavens at night.  I see the radiance in your face when you find the answer to a riddle I thought for certain you could not solve.  I see the sort of books you bring home from Bag End - the books about Elves, the Outlands.  Pippin, you will undeniably become a successful farmer, providing for your own family, for the community.  But...would that be enough for you?”

Pippin was silent for a while, then at last spoke up.  “Was it enough for you, Papa?”

“For the most part, I have to say, yes.”  Paladin surveyed the trees and their leaves, showing a hint of yellow or gold around the edges.  “I suppose I thought it was enough, that is, until I started giving you your lessons.  Your appetite for learning nearly surpassed your appetite for food.”  At this, both father and son smiled together.

“You will receive far more and better schooling if we live at Great Smials than if we live here, son.  The Thain will see to that; for you will be my heir and receive the title upon my death.”

The young lad winced at the last thought.  Pippin drew up his legs to rest his chin upon his knees, looking more and more thoughtful as time wore on.  “Will I be allowed to plough the fields should I choose?”

Paladin laughed heartily.  “Aye, I dare say!  However, you will still need a grown-up to help you for some years yet.”

Pippin flexed his upper arm, “I can do it by myself now, Papa.”

Paladin merely smiled, suggesting the issue was closed.  “Let’s go for a walk, shall we?”

Father and son walked hand-in-hand alongside the fence taking in the beautiful scenery.  “Do the lasses know?”

“Aye.  Well, they do by now.  Your mother planned to tell them the news while they bottle the summer fruits today.  Your sister, Pearl, is eager to prove how grown up she is when it’s her turn to attend Cousin Lalia this coming Afteryule.  I suppose the timing is convenient.”

“Perhaps that’s a sign, Papa.  It could be that we are destined to follow Pearl to Great Smials.”

Paladin let go of his son’s hand, pulling him closer as they walked.  “Perhaps we are.”

The End.