_{“He knows about the feast, of course,” said Paladin, “I sent him on that errand to the kitchen long ago, but he doesn’t know about the party that follows.” - Chapter 19}

Chapter 20, Out of His Shell

Degger drank deeply from his glass of milk then sat back in his chair a very satisfied (and very stuffed) byrding. The cooks had made a delicious feast of pork roast with roasted potatoes and carrots, roast chicken, a variety of cooked vegetables, a large platter of steaming mushrooms, with cakes, pies, and apple dumplings for afters.

While he wiped his mouth with his napkin, Degger surveyed the array of happy faces around the table laughing or talking amongst those seated the closest. Degger sighed in contentment; he had survived teen-hood and was now a tween. And even better than that - Degger knew that he was where he belonged; once again he was part of a family who loved and cared for him -- and his sister.

“Are you all right, Degger?” Pippin asked the lad. He had been jesting with Merry who was seated on the other side of him, but paused to enquire about Degger’s pensiveness.

Degger nodded, a smile on his lips. “I am, thank ye,” he said, then his brow furrowed in puzzlement. “But what goes on from here?”

“Sorry?”

“We’re both finished with our studies,” Degger pointed out. “You have more studies t’ do later with bein’ Took and Thain, but what happens t’ me? Do I apply for apprenticeships now?”

Paladin had been quietly speaking with Eglantine, however, the couple interrupted their own conversation when they overheard Degger’s dilemma.

“Oh no, my dear!” said Eglantine then looked to her husband. “Not for a few years at least.”

“You are indeed a bit young for apprenticing, Degger,” said Paladin, taking up where his wife left off. “However, there is still much for you to learn and some may be done right alongside Pippin. Your studies did not end with Hemlock Academy, son.”

“More exams, sir?” Degger asked timidly.

Paladin smiled at Degger’s apprehension. “It won’t be the same as the last time,” he said, “but we will speak of this tomorrow; tonight we are celebrating. For starters, you shall go to your room with Pippin to fetch the gifts you plan on giving out for your birthday. We will meet you both in the parlour.”

“I can’t wait to see what you’ve got me!” Pippin said eagerly as he walked beside Degger down the hallway. “You do have a present for me, don’t you?”

“Of course I have a present for you!” Degger laughed as he opened the door to his room. He headed straight into his bedroom while Pippin stayed in the little sitting room and shut the door. Degger casually poked his head back into the sitting room. “Why did ye shut the door? We’re only goin’ t’ be here for a minute.”

Pippin replied, “You don’t want everyone to see inside your room, do you?” He tried his best to not let too much excitement show on his face.

“What would they see?” came Degger’s muffled voice from inside the bedroom. “Except tables, chairs, and a study desk.”

Pippin leant close to the door to listen for the footfalls of his family making haste to the Smials’ main parlour. He said to Degger, “They might see that speck of dust on your desk. You ought to get rid of it quick before Father locks you up in here until it’s clean.” Pippin’s sardonic remark referenced the matter of cleaning his own room before their trip to Little Delving; a feat which took three days to achieve.

Degger had indeed spent a considerable amount of time with Pippin and Merry over the past year; their temperaments seeming to rub off onto the young tween. Without missing a beat, Degger replied, “Then I shall send that speck o’ dust back t’ yer room, Mr. Pippin - right where it probably came from.” Degger’s silly grin was still on his face even after Pippin had swatted him with a chair-pillow. Degger turned this way and that, surveying his room. “I’ve got ev’rythin’. Are ye ready?”

“All right, let’s go to the parlour,” said Pippin leading the way across the hall.

“Where is ev’ryone?” asked Degger, taken aback at what he saw - or didn‘t see. He and Pippin stood in the doorway of the family parlour and was surprised that it was empty; Mr. Paladin and company weren’t where they said they’d be.

“I think I know where they are,” Pippin offered casually.

“Where could they be - and why would they go somewhere else?”

“We’ll find out why very soon,” said Pippin, again leading the way and with a satisfied grin on his lips.

It didn’t take long for Degger to figure out he and Pippin were headed toward the areas of the Smials where the common-rooms were located. In the centre of the Smial on the main floor was the common room - where residents could sit and relax among familiar relations, and the room next to it was the main parlour where guests were entertained or sometimes private parties were held. As the pair drew near to the door of the parlour Degger lagged behind.

“What’s wrong, Degger?”

“I hear voices!” the lad replied anxiously.

Instead of laughing at his friend’s odd behaviour, Pippin kept his composure. “Of course, we do! That’s where the family is.”

“Why here, Mr. Pippin?”

“Let’s go inside and we shall see,” said Pippin. He held out his hand for the new tween to enter first.

Degger approached the set of double doors apprehensively, his sack filled with gifts pressed up against his chest.

“He’s here!” Pearl’s voice rose above the others when she caught a glimpse of the lads out in the hallway. “Come inside Degger!”

As he obediently stepped forward, Degger spied a multitude of colourful ribbons affixed to the walls and the furniture inside the room. Degger had a hunch all along while he and Pippin walked here about a possible party, yet even so, he was still quite astonished.

“That’s a good lad,” Paladin smiled, coaxing Degger inside.

“Happy birthday!” everyone shouted at once and then clapped their hands.

“Me?” was all Degger could squeak, being overwhelmed by all the attention.

“Yes, you!” Merry laughed.

“Now what about our presents?” asked Pippin, arms folded over his chest and a sparkle in his eye. “We have a quarter hour before your guests start arriving.”

Suddenly, regaining his composure, Degger began passing round the gifts he had made for everyone. Each person received the same present: a bookmark made from shaved wood Degger had obtained from the Smials’ carpenter. He trimmed them to a rectangular shape and then painted each recipient’s name on it in his or her favourite colour. On Pippin, Merry, and Frodo’s bookmark, Degger managed to squeeze in a word or phrase that best described his favouritest cousins. Frodo’s bookmark read “Wise Friend”, Merry’s had “Compassionate Friend”, and Pippin’s bookmark read “Loyal Friend”.

For Mistress Tina and Mr. Paladin, Degger had written each a note and tied it to their bookmark with a thin ribbon. Eglantine began to untie the note from her gift but was urged by the byrding to not do so.

Degger leant in between both adults. “Please,” he beseeched in a low whisper, “read them later before ye go t’ bed.”

Everyone’s attention was drawn to the doorway where there stood two lads and a lass peering inside the parlour. They were Adelbert’s three youngest children, their ages ranging from eighteen to twenty-six.

“Look - the party guests are starting to arrive,” said Pippin. “Those are cousins Berlow, Marlow, and Ella Took.”

“Come, Degger...Pippin,” said Paladin, standing to his feet. He handed Eglantine his gift to keep for the moment then swiftly brushed the wrinkles out of his waistcoat. He then led Pippin and Degger to the door to show them how to receive party guests; this would be the first of many lessons for the lads in host etiquette.

Before long, more tween-aged cousins began to arrive and Degger was by now a practiced hand at receiving his guests. Most of the guests had arrived and the party was minutes from officially starting. Pippin noticed silhouettes around the corner...and then heard the voices.

“Uh-oh,” he said.

Degger looked to Pippin. “Uh-oh? Why?”

“I can hear cousin Ferdibrand,” Pippin answered, then leant closer to Degger. “And his sister is with him - Cousin Saffron.”

Degger nodded matter-of-factly; Saffron hadn’t been very kind to him in the past - nor to Mr. Pippin or Miss Pervinca. “She’s the one who’d pinch her nose whenever ye’d walk into a room with her, sayin’ ye needed t’ go outside t’ wipe the cow patties off yer feet. She’s the one who got Miss Pervinca in trouble last autumn for calling her a beak-nosed-toad-lipped-pimple-faced-goose egg -- even though Miss Saffron deserved it,” said Degger, adding in the last part. And she truly did; after all, it was Saffron who had angered Pervinca enough to say such a thing after sticking a piece of toffee sweet into her cousin’s long curly hair.

Pippin knew Saffron had taunted Degger on many occasions. “You forgot rat-haired,” he said with a wry grin. “But tonight we shall show our manners even to Saffron.”

“Of course we shall!” Degger responded sincerely, then turned toward the door in anticipation of his guests. “You’re a gentlehobbit an’ I’m learnin’ t’ be one.”

“Well, I suppose that’s true,” Pippin whispered to his friend, “but also because Mother and Father are watching us.”

“And so am I,” came Frodo’s soft voice behind Pippin, making the teen jump. Merry, who stood beside Frodo, smiled with satisfaction at his impish cousin’s reaction.

“Good evening, Diggory!” Ferdibrand formally addressed his host for the evening. He bowed and shook hands with the byrding, exchanged pleasantries for a bit, and then Ferdibrand’s attention went to his other cousins standing nearby. Saffron gave an imperceptive curtsy and then rudely tried to follow her brother into the parlour without so much as a “hello”.

Degger wasn’t going to make a fuss, however, Pippin loudly cleared his throat to gain her attention, but still Saffron almost clung to her brother in his wake.

“Cousin Saffron,” Frodo firmly, but kindly, addressed the young lass, “You have not greeted your host yet. I’m sure it was an accident.”

Saffron froze in her tracks while Frodo spoke to her, yet said nothing in response. All at once, the chattering and laughter all around the cousins ceased. All eyes were on the lass with dark, shoulder-length curls.

“Saffron!” Ferdie admonished his sister, “Either you behave like the lady Mother and Father think you are, or I will escort you back home this instant. Degger is a friend of mine; you will give this gentlehobbit the respect he is due.” Ferdie leant toward Saffron, “And you won’t see your arrogant friend Darria for a very long time, either.” Darria was yet another Took-relation living in Great Smials who found a kindred spirit in Saffron. Together they roamed the tunnels taunting the “lesser” cousins - or servants aspiring to be more than they should be.

Saffron winced when she heard her brother’s last remark; she knew Darria had received an invitation and desired to see her best friend. Saffron then appropriately curtsied to Degger, but remained stoic. “Thank you for inviting me to your party, Mr. Greenhill.”

“My name is Took-Greenhill, thank ye,” Degger corrected her; his self-assurance taking everyone by surprise. “I am pleased that ye came,” he said, and then bowed.

Saffron and Degger locked eyes as if in a battle of wills. Many times Saffron would stare down at Degger after teasing him, and being that he was a servant and she was upper class, it was Degger who averted his eyes in capitulation. This time it was Saffron who first looked away and then sought out a corner of the room to sulk in. However, Degger did not take pleasure in this triumph; instead he pitied her.

Nonchalantly, the new tween turned to his waiting friends, “Why don’t we all go an’ get a glass o’ punch?”

The gaping blue, brown, and green eyes slowly blinked back to life.

“Yes, let’s do.”

“Punch sounds lovely.”

Yes...Degger was learning and growing by leaps and bounds. He’d be just fine.

THE END!!!

(*finally*!)

A/N: There was supposed to be an Epilogue posted later this week, but I think this ends it much better. And there is a Part II that goes with this tale also, however, Degger is begging for a reprieve. He’s tuckered out from all of the attention and wishes Pippin or Merry (or both!) to take the stage for a while.

Thank you to all who have been extraordinarily patient with me over the past nine months or so and have been ever so kind to drop a line or two and tell me how much you’ve enjoyed the story. I am used to updating at a MUCH quicker pace so I apologise for the huge gaps between the latest ones. Garnet Took was so kind as to give me a boost of encouragement through this last chapter; and I know some of you would have done the same if we had regular phone conversations, lol. After I committed to the party chapter, I suddenly realised that I’d be rehashing elements I felt I had already addressed, which annoyed my Muse, so she went off back to Mississippi to play the Slots. Then she had the nerve to come back empty-handed!

Thank you all so much for reading Fate and Destiny.