CHAPTER FOUR - HOPE TURNS TO NEW FEAR

A/N – This chapter was written for Marigold's Challenge #35, where the theme was to write a hobbity story that includes any sort of creature such as a dragon, unicorn, or even a hippogryf or a gargon.  The elements that I had to include were a valuable piece of jewellery, a deep, dark, scary ravine, and a document/missive or letter from King Elessar (included in the course of Chapters Four and Five).

Finally! At last, I get to use the element that SlightlyTookish so graciously allowed me to borrow from her starverse. I’m sure you can guess what element it is! I am absolutely thrilled that she let me use it in this story and cannot thank her enough.

I was extremely fortunate when writing this chapter – not only were Dreamflower and Marigold there for me, as always, with their suggestions and phenomenal beta, but SlightlyTookish also betaed this chapter, providing me with her insight not only into her starverse, but serving as beta and giving me lots of great suggestions. And last but certainly not least, I had countless discussions with the amazing beyond belief Elanor, who was my muse in shaping my idea of Pippin’s and Diamond’s relationship. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to each and every one of them. (I rewrote this last sentence to put it into active voice. My poor betas! Not only did they have to put up with my love for the passive voice, but with more “shimmer and glow” than you could imagine. LOL!)

Lastly, I give a long overdue thank you to Professor Tolkien, for allowing me to play in his amazing world. All of the unbelievably wonderful characters in this story are his; all the average characters are mine. I’m sure you know the difference.

CHAPTER FOUR - HOPE TURNS TO NEW FEAR

Pippin pressed his ear softly against the partially closed door to Diamond’s room and listened. Only when he heard the murmurs of two hobbitesses speaking was he satisfied. Good, she was awake. He rapped his knuckles lightly on the door and waited, only popping his head inside her room when given leave to do so by Diamond’s mother, Holly, who was sitting in the chair beside Diamond’s bed knitting. Both Holly and Diamond turned toward him, a lovely smile upon Diamond’s face.

“I do hope I am not interrupting anything, but I was wondering if you were well enough for another visitor.” There was a light in Pippin’s voice that Diamond had rarely heard since Pippin had come to her side during her illness. It relieved her to hear it.

“Even if I were not stuck in this bed, I should always be glad of a visit from you.” Diamond’s eyes shone as she gazed at her intended, ignoring the persistent pain in her side.

“Well, I am relieved to hear you say that, otherwise I should worry that you had come to your senses after all and decided not to marry me,” Pippin chuckled. “However, the visitor I meant was not me, although I still do mean to come and sit by your side.”

“I believe this particular visitor is the one we have been expecting, is it not?” Holly asked him, gathering her knitting needles and wool. Diamond turned to her mother with a wondering expression, and was met with an unreadable grin.

Instead of answering Holly’s question, Pippin merely opened the door fully so they could see the visitor.

“It is indeed, Cousin Holly,” replied a grinning Meriadoc Brandybuck. “How are you, Diamond?” he asked. His grin upon seeing Holly’s reaction was replaced by an expression of concern as he turned toward Diamond.

Despite his best efforts and Pippin’s warning, Merry still jumped a little at the sight of her eyes. They did indeed look like Frodo’s had when he had been so dangerously ill on the anniversary of his stabbing at Weathertop. Pippin placed a reassuring hand on Merry’s shoulder, a meaningful glance passing between them. Merry quickly regained himself and forced a smile onto his face as he looked again at Diamond.

“Merry!” Diamond’s enthusiastic greeting was interrupted as she put her hand over her mouth and coughed.

“I think I shall leave you young-folk alone for a while,” Holly said as she rose and moved toward the door. “It is good to see you again Cousin Merry; I shall go get you a cup of tea to help remove the chill after your long journey. And I believe I will check on Myrtle while I am at it and see if that chicken soup will be ready soon.”

Merry nodded in acknowledgment as she left and sat down in her vacated chair while Pippin claimed the chair on the other side of the bed. Pippin leant his head down and gazed intently into Diamond’s eyes, brushing the side of her face gently with the back of his hand. The painful sound of her wheezing broke his heart as he pressed his lips gently against her forehead with a feather-light kiss.

“It is good to see you again, Merry, but I do not think you came here just to see me. Unless I am very much mistaken, you have come as Pippin’s visitor as much as mine, and for that, I am most grateful. It will ease my worries to know that you are here for Pippin.” Diamond’s voice was serious, her troubled gaze never leaving Pippin as she searched his eyes for answers. It was only a couple of days ago that Mistress Tulipa had said that Diamond’s fever had broken and that she was resting more comfortably. However, the pain in her chest and side was still there, especially when she tried to take a deep breath and the coughing and wheezing had not eased.

Diamond’s statement was not a question, but a fact that needed no answer. And so Merry kept silent. He was not going anywhere as long as Pippin needed him; there would be time enough for talk.

After a moment, Diamond turned again toward Merry and gave him a thin smile. “How is Estella? And how was the ceremony? I am sorry Father sent Tarry to pull Pippin away before you blew the horn of Rohan.”

“Estella is quite well, thank you. She’s quite fond of you and said for me to be sure to tell you that she sends you her best wishes for a speedy recovery. She also sent you these.” Merry withdrew from an inner pocket three tiny muslin pillows with colourful ribbons stitched onto them at one end and handed them to Diamond, who held them up to her nose and inhaled.

“Mmmm… peppermint and lavender. How lovely!”

“And wintergreen. They are from our medicinal herb garden. Hopefully, they will relieve some of that congestion.”

Diamond gave him a warm smile of appreciation. “No doubt they will. How thoughtful of Estella! When did she ever find the time to make them?”

“Actually, Estella had help in making them from Rosie. While Sam and I were busy with the Battle of Bywater ceremony, Rosie and Estella made the pillows. Rose said ‘Helping hands make short work,’ and it seems to be true,” said Merry. “They specifically had me get some muslin, saying that the rough open weave of the fabric would allow more of the scent to reach you.”

“My mother has told me that as well,” agreed Diamond, inhaling the clean refreshing fragrance of the pillows again. “I shall have to ask Father to bring quill and paper later so I can write notes to them.”

“Best have a posthobbit take the notes to Rosie and Estella. With as long as Merry took to get here, it would take an age before he delivered them!” Pippin teased, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “What took you so long, Merry? Were you stopped by a large fire-breathing dragon?”

Merry rolled his eyes in mock-exasperation and scowled at his cousin. “No, Pippin, I was not stopped by a large fire-breathing dragon, although if I had met one, I would have told it where it could find you. Leave it to you to think of such dramatic fancies.” It was a relief to see Pippin joking a bit;, he must be so worried over Diamond. “Here, Estella sent this for you, though you do not deserve it.” He tossed Pippin a little packet.

Pippin’s eyebrows knit in confusion as he caught the packet. But once he began to open it and saw what it contained, he chuckled lightly. “It seems I shall have my own post to send with the posthobbit. Estella is a wonder!”

“What is it, Pippin?” Diamond asked, trying to see the little packet in his lap. But Merry responded before Pippin could.

“Peppermint and ginger tea, one of the best things to calm nerves and aid a delicate stomach. Did Pippin not tell you he suffered from such tribulations?” Merry grinned with satisfaction at Pippin, before turning serious and addressing Diamond once more. “I apologise, Diamond, but I had to attend to the Bywater ceremony first, as you know, but left soon after. Now, don’t you fret,” he commanded, seeing the look on Diamond’s face. “Sam and Rose promised that they would stay with the children and have a nice, long visit with Estella, just as if Pippin and I were there.”

“Well then, what kept you?” repeated Pippin.

“I am coming to that, dear cousin, if you would be patient,” Merry said. “It was not as cold on my journey it was when you came here, Pip, and so some of the snow had melted and then frozen over the road, making it very icy. I had to go slowly in order to be careful lest Stybba slip and fall and break his neck.”

“You should have waited for better weather!” gasped Diamond while Pippin nodded quickly in agreement.

“Diamond is right. After all, what would I tell Estella if anything had happened to you because you were coming here to sit with me?” Pippin added.

“The truth, I suppose,” Merry admitted. There is nothing you could tell her that would keep her from being angry with you. She’d probably make you do the washing up and scrub the floors every day until Diamond married you and finally took you off her hands.”

Pippin gave Merry a wry smile as he thought of Estella’s no-nonsense approach to dealing with upsetting situations. “No doubt you are right,” he had to agree. “I am glad you went slowly then, even though it delayed your arrival.”

“Well, that was not the only cause of my delay,” Merry replied. “You see, it was almost dusk on the second day of my journey when Stybba whinnied and reared. Of course I pulled him up and drew my sword and quickly left the road to investigate. I was looking down a deep, dark ravine by the side of the road, making sure nobody was hiding there, when I spotted them. Some poor hobbits whose waggon had overturned.”

Both Diamond’s and Pippin’s eyes widened in surprise and Diamond shivered. Without thinking, Pippin pulled the covers tighter around her. “Were they hurt?” he whispered.

Merry shook his head. “They were most fortunate. But it was only a tweenaged lad and his mother, and they had been stuck there so long that they were practically frozen. They had tried and tried, but they could not right their waggon and get it and their draft-pony back up onto the road by themselves. So, I told them I would be back with help as soon as possible and went off as quickly as I could. I do not know how Stybba managed not to slip, the way he was galloping.” Merry shuddered and looked far off, as if he were remembering the experience. “Anyway, I found help, and we got them out, but it took the better part of a day to do it.”

“Thank goodness they were all right,” Diamond said faintly, relief etched upon her face.

“I suppose we must excuse you for your delay then, since you did a good deed.” His eyes brightened with a sudden gleam of amusement. “Then again, you probably are making the whole thing up just to excuse your dilly-dallying. No doubt you really stopped in an inn and were partaking of some of their best ale.”

Merry smiled sarcastically at Pippin. “That would be more in keeping with something you would do, Pip.” The smile died on his lips as he became more thoughtful. “Besides, I would not joke about something like that.”

Pippin became serious at Merry’s words. “No, Merry, I do not suppose you would. It was good that you came across them when you did.” His eyebrows furrowed in concern for other hobbits travelling the road. “Is anything being done so that this sort of accident doesn’t happen again at that spot?”

“Yes, the locals started building a wall straightaway,” Merry replied. “Hopefully, this sort of accident will not happen again.”

“I will write to Father and he will make certain that it does not happen again,” Pippin said.

Merry and Pippin remained in Diamond’s room visiting for a long while, even when Holly entered and helped her daughter manage a bowl of soup. The two of them took turns telling stories about each other, not a few of which were most embarrassing to Pippin. But it was worth it – anything to try to cheer Diamond and keep her mind off the Sickness. Every time that they began to say that they should leave and let her rest, she begged them to stay.

“Please, stay! I can rest ever so much better listening to the two of you and seeing my Pippin cheered up again. I promise I will rest.”

And so Merry and Pippin stayed by her side even as she rested. When Diamond woke up, she asked Merry again about the Battle of Bywater celebration, and so Merry began to regale them with every single detail he could remember of the festivities. Pippin tested his memory by asking for specific details about what certain hobbits or hobbitesses wore to the celebration, and Merry proved equal to the task by recalling the fashions in exact detail. With Merry there to help comfort not only Diamond but Pippin as well, the tension eased in Pippin’s shoulders as the day progressed.

It wasn’t until Gemma entered the room carrying a cup of dandelion tea for her sister that Pippin realised the afternoon was drawing to a close. “I have strict instructions from Mother for you to drink your tea while it is warm,” she said. Gemma waited for Pippin to help Diamond sit up before handing the cup of tea to her sister.

“And,” Gemma added, “Mother says it is high time that you two leave Diamond alone so she can get her rest. She also said that between your having journeyed so far,” she nodded at Merry, and then at Pippin as she continued, “and your spending so many hours in here fretting over Diamond, the two of you need to get some rest as well before dinner and that Merry owes her a long visit after that.”

Merry and Pippin exchanged surprised glances. Pippin opened his mouth to protest, but closed it after a moment, resigned to his fate. Merry, who was tired out from his journey and therefore glad of Holly’s order, chuckled lightly, a twinkle in his eyes as he looked at Pippin. “It looks like I needn’t have worried about you after all, Pip. You are well taken care of here.”

Pippin bent down and gave Diamond a soft kiss on her forehead. “Sleep then, my dearest, dearest lass. I shall be back as soon as I am able,” he whispered. Reluctantly, he followed Merry out into the sitting room, where Gemma had left them steaming hot cups of tea.

The next few days passed by in a similar fashion: Diamond fighting to regain her health while Pippin and the others tended to her and tried to make her as comfortable as possible.

Merry’s visit was like a breath of fresh air in the smial haunted by the blackness of a serious illness that had hovered over one of its most beloved. Ever respectful of Diamond’s family and Pippin, Merry stayed mainly in either the sitting room or the kitchen, chatting with whomever of his cousins seemed most worried. During the afternoons when the cold weather was not as oppressive, he would coax one of them, usually Hale, Helinand, or Gemma, into getting some fresh air with him. Rarely was he able to convince Holly, or even less, Pippin, to leave Diamond’s side.

But Pippin was comforted by Merry’s presence nonetheless. Just his being there was a source of strength for Pippin as the days went by and Diamond’s health failed to continue to improve. In fact, unless it was his imagination, it seemed to Pippin that her health was worsening again, a fear which appeared to be confirmed when Mistress Tulipa began to keep an even closer watch on Diamond once again.

After Diamond had endured a particularly bad night coughing and trying to breathe through the congestion in her lungs, Mistress Tulipa had chased everyone out of the room while she examined Diamond for an unusually long time the next day. Merry and Pippin gathered in the sitting room with Diamond’s entire family to wait, sensing that something was wrong, but waiting for the Healer’s confirmation. Hale’s arm was around Gemma, who leant against the chair her brother sat in. Holly sat between her husband and her younger son, Helinand, one white-knuckled fist grasping the hand of each of them closest to her. Pippin risked an apprehensive glance over to Merry, but found no comfort in the way Merry looked sadly down at his folded hands in his lap.

Finally, Mistress Tulipa left Diamond’s room and looked at the solemn faces before her.

“I am afraid that Diamond has developed an infection in her lungs,” she announced grimly.

With a gasp, Holly turned pale as she held a hand to her mouth while holding onto Bandigard for support with her other hand.

“Are you sure, Mistress Tulipa?” Bandigard asked anxiously, licking his lips as his eyes pled with her to be wrong just this once. “Could there not be some other explanation?” Silently, he thought of his older brother, Heldigard, who, like Diamond, had been recovering from the Winter Sickness until a lung infection had set in and taken his life at the tender age of twenty-six.

Pippin did not have to search his memories of anyone else to know just how serious a lung infection from the Winter Sickness could be. So did Merry. The two of them met one another’s eyes, and shuddered.

“I wish I were mistaken, Bandigard, but I have seen enough of the Winter Sickness and its troubles to know a lung infection when I see one. Diamond’s cough is much worse. It is no longer just water she is coughing up from her lungs. The darkened colour leaves no doubt.”

Paling instantly, Pippin’s heart leapt into his throat and stopped beating, his fingernails digging into the wooden armrest of his chair.

Hale stared at Mistress Tulipa, his brows knit together in confusion. “Darkened?” he repeated.

“From the blood,” Pippin replied in a faint lifeless voice. “Diamond’s coughing up blood.”

They all turned to look at him in surprise, and then to Mistress Tulipa for confirmation, who nodded before speaking.

“I shall continue to do what I can for her, of course, but…”

Merry did not leave Pippin’s side for the rest of that horrible day or night. He stayed with Pippin, reassuring his cousin with an encouraging glance or a supportive hand upon his shoulder. Helping Pippin as he watched his Diamond shiver with chills, her lips slightly blue as her breathing grew more laboured.

It was heartbreaking for all of them to watch her condition deteriorate.

One cold, frosty day was as bleak as the next, each with Diamond looking as pale as the fallen snow.

A silvery light shone through the window in Diamond’s room; it was two weeks after Merry had arrived, and Pippin was sitting beside Diamond while Merry helped Hale and Helinand with some smial task; Pippin couldn’t remember which one, but it was probably being done just to give Diamond’s brothers something to do to take their minds off their sister’s declining state.

It was quiet and cheerless in the sombre room, Diamond less responsive than she had been only a week ago.

Pippin reached for her small, fevered hand and held it in his larger one, still stunned at how frail it had begin to feel. And then he leant down and pressed his lips gently to her forehead. When only the palest of shimmers was created by their touch, a great hollow swelled inside him, tearing at where his heart had been.

“I have fought in battles, bested a troll and Ruffians. I even helped to save Faramir’s life, yet I am powerless to help you,” he whispered aloud to her in a dove-soft voice. “You, who mean everything to me. It may not be visible to most, but to me, who has eyes to see, it is clear that your light is growing more dim.”

His other hand went to her cheek and stroked it gently.

“I am not complete without you, my precious Diamond. I have not been since that day we first declared our love for each other, when you became the keeper of the other part of my heart, and even more so upon my return. The discordant world was suddenly filled with song again the moment I saw you in the garden.”

Pippin closed his eyes tightly, as the memories of that glorious day rushed forth in his mind…

After the Ruffians had been routed; it was decided by the Thain, the Master of Buckland, and the new Deputy Mayor that the newly returned hobbits who had learnt so much on their travels into the South should visit each of the Farthings. They wanted to make certain not only that all of the Ruffians were indeed vanquished, but also that the inhabitants all knew how to protect themselves in the future. While Frodo, Merry and Pippin visited all four Farthings, Sam had remained behind when they visited the Northfarthing, as his father was on the mend from a brief illness. them. Her heart raced anxiously. First to emerge was Merry, followed a few paces behind by Frodo. They looked so magnificent! More soldierly than any hobbit she had ever seen, although there seemed to be a touch of sadness about them, too. And Merry, was it her imagination or had he grown taller since last she saw him? side of the road. smial is just ahead of us, see? I don’t know about you, but I am quite ready for some tea!” Of course, being a seasoned traveller, Merry was always looking about him for any lurking trouble, and so did not turn his head back to look at his younger cousin, and so missed the sudden radiance that illuminated Pippin’s face as his cousin saw something he obviously had been looking for. smial for him. Merry, who had turned to see what Frodo was on about, was stunned to see his younger cousin’s behaviour. He was even more shocked when his eyes followed after Pippin and he saw Diamond running to meet him. smial, suffering their knowing smiles and gentle teasing.

And so it was that Pippin, Merry, and Frodo rode through the Northfarthing without their trusted friend, Sam. They stopped at towns and villages along the way to verify that the Ruffians had indeed fled and telling everyone that they would meet at a specified time at the Greenfields for training. Until then, Pippin, Merry, and Frodo had arranged to stay with Frodo’s first cousin, Holly, and her family, as they usually did when visiting this area of the Shire.

It was shortly before afternoon tea one sunny day, and Diamond was still in the east garden, where, as she later told Pippin, she had been every day for the last few days, finding every excuse imaginable to be there, in anticipation of their arrival.

At last, she heard the clip-clop of three ponies trotting up the lane. Since her father and brothers were already inside the smial, she knew it had to be

Finally, Diamond calmed her nerves and schooled herself enough to look behind Frodo at the last member of their party.

Frodo and Merry had been chatting amiably with Pippin as they travelled through the long lane and noting observations about some of their friends living here in North Cleeve. But as they got closer, Pippin began talking even less as all of his thoughts centred on someone he would soon see again for the first time since they had declared their love for each other almost two years ago.

“You’re being uncharacteristically silent, Pippin!” Frodo noted, turning around in his saddle to look at his usually quite talkative cousin. Even in the days after the destruction of the Ring, Pippin could always be counted on for jovial conversation.

But Pippin was not even looking at Frodo, let alone paying any attention to him. Instead, Frodo noted with interest that Pippin’s gaze was turned not on the road that lay before them, but to the garden that lay by the

“Come, Pippin! Stop your dawdling!” Merry shouted back to him. “Cousin Bandigard’s

Frodo, however, saw Pippin shining like a beacon brighter than ever. He followed Pippin’s gaze and saw Diamond running toward them, her face shining with a radiant glow equal to Pippin’s. Frodo arched one eyebrow with keen insight and chuckled quietly to himself.

“Come along, Merry,” Frodo grinned with amusement, his eyes twinkling brightly. “I believe Pippin has something of greater importance to attend to than tea just now, but I am certain he will be along directly. Won’t you, Cousin?” Frodo said pointedly to Pippin and took hold of the reins to Pippin’s pony.

Pippin’s eyes widened, but then he realised that it should not be a surprise that Frodo should read the situation so quickly. He grinned widely at Frodo and nodded his thanks to him before dismounting Nibbles and bolting off towards Diamond, barely aware that Frodo had taken the reins of his pony and was leading it to the

Merry’s mouth dropped open as comprehension dawned upon him. The air was filled with a great peal of laughter as Frodo looked at Merry gaping after their clearly smitten younger cousin.

Pippin felt nearly overcome and he was filled with more joy and sorrows than he could contain. He felt his senses sharpen and his heart beat like a pounding drum the nearer he came to her. Yet, gazing at Diamond, who stood shining before him like the Sun on the mist, he realised with a pang that having seen so much evil and horror, he had lost something precious along the journey. He had carried home a great burden of darkness.

And yet, Pippin desperately wanted to share his journey with Diamond - he had seen so many strange and wondrous things that any Took would be curious to hear. He wanted her to understand how it had changed him, though he wondered if the song within her heart only for him would fade as her ears were filled with the echoes of the dark voices of the rest of the world that now lurked within his soul. He did not want those evils to touch his Diamond nor to taint her brilliant song.

His heart was torn asunder.

He came at last to the garden, and there Diamond stood, waiting. Out of the darkness of his thoughts he looked at her; and the music of her spirit shone in her face. Their hearts were once more complete; their spirits united in perfect harmony.

She spoke no word, but filled with love Pippin came to her and took her hand, and straightaway their song was upon him, so that they stood thus for what seemed an eternity, staring into each other’s eyes.

As the Sun began to slide toward the western sky, Pippin folded Diamond into his arms and she rested her head on Pippin’s heart. They remained there for how long they knew not.

Diamond tensed. She felt something strange stir within her as she listened to Pippin’s heart; she sensed the conflict within Pippin and read in him some sense of the darkness that Pippin had seen and the evil voices he had heard, of his dread of how that discord would not be as one with the melody in her heart.

Quietly raising her head, Diamond looked softly up into Pippin’s eyes and whispered, "I understand, but you are still my Pippin. I shall always love you."

A wave of grateful relief flooded through Pippin as he felt the melodic song of her understanding flow through him. They kissed but once, a warm kiss filled with love and constancy, both of them bathed in the brightness of their love for one another and the gift of their faerie blood.

When they reluctantly broke their kiss and held each other at arm’s length, Diamond could feel that Pippin's spirit had been lightened.

Pippin finally found his voice, and said, "We have seen so much; there is so much to tell you. Wonders and evils I did not know even existed. But no wonder brighter than you."

Diamond smiled at the compliment, and tightened her hold on Pippin’s hand. “Do not worry about such things for now, my love,” replied Diamond. “There will be time enough for the telling of wonders. Ever since you left, I have felt so empty. For now, all I want is to hold you and know that all is right in our world again.”

And so they continued to hold each other for a while longer before going to join the others inside the  smial, suffering their knowing smiles and gentle teasing. 
 

The sudden presence of a warm hand on his shoulder brought Pippin back to the grim present. Without needing to turn to see whose hand was upon him, Pippin stared straight ahead at Diamond who was sleeping restlessly, her life dwindling before his eyes. He could not bear it anymore.

“Merry…”

“Don’t.”

“Merry…” he repeated.

“Don’t say it, Pip,” Merry commanded.

“But Merry…” he implored, and this time Pippin did turn to look up into Merry’s sad grey eyes.

Merry put a finger to Pippin’s lips to still him before sitting on the edge of Diamond’s bed to face him.

“Pippin, she will get better. I do not need your gift of the Took Sight to see that,” Merry smiled thinly, his eyes glistening with unshed tears as he removed his finger from Pippin’s lips. “I have sat at your bedside looking into the pale, thin face of my favourite cousin, a cousin whom I was sure would not survive the night, more times than I care to count.”

Merry looked pointedly into Pippin’s hopeless eyes. “I have loved you so much since the day you were born, you silly Took. Each time I sat there watching you die before my eyes, I knew that a part of me was dying, too, and that I would not survive if you were to leave me. And each time, your father or Frodo would tell me that you would make it and that I had to believe, and so I fought to believe in you.”

The tears spilt unchecked down Merry’s cheeks. “You never let me down, Pip.”

All of the pain and worry that had been consuming Pippin since his arrival at North Cleeve came coursing to the surface as he heaved himself into Merry’s waiting arms and finally broke down as he wept into Merry’s embrace.

“It is so difficult!” Pippin sobbed.

“I know it is, Pippin, but she needs your strength and your courage now,” said Merry.

“At least when we were at the Houses of Healing, Gandalf and Aragorn were there, and so I knew there was hope for you!”

“I felt the same when I finally arrived at the Field of Cormallen, though I saw three sorely hurt hobbits laid out on cots before my eyes.” Merry smiled. It was not normal for Pippin to hold his feelings in check for so long, and Merry was glad that Pippin was finally letting them out. “But, Pippin, Gandalf and Aragorn are not the only ones with the magic to heal. We each have some of it inside of us, some of us more than others.”

Pippin lifted his head from Merry’s shoulders and wiped away his tears, as he tried to puzzle through what his cousin was saying. He glanced quickly at Diamond, his eyebrows knitting together as a thought struck him that he was surprised he had not considered before.

Merry nodded his head and smiled at Pippin, who bolted outside so quickly that he did not even bother to put on his jacket.

“May they work their magic for you, Pippin,” Merry whispered after him.

Outside the dark smial, Pippin stared up into the clear, cold black night at the endless field of bright stars. His breath came out in great puffs like smoke, his heart racing as he anxiously sought what he needed so desperately.

If ever he needed such a special gift, now was the time.

And there they were.

The two most beautiful stars he had ever seen, twinkling brightly in the night sky before him. They seemed to grow even closer the more intently Pippin gazed at them.

Pippin spoke no words. None were needed. These stars were a gift to him from Gandalf when Pippin was very young and were tied to him. He knew that they could sense his need, and hoped that they would help Diamond as they had helped him.

to be continued