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Stars May Collide  by Rose Gamgee

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Chapter 4 - A Fresh Start

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“What were you doing out there, Diamond?”

Diamond avoided her sister’s eyes as she replied, “Oh, you know, just going for a walk.”

After a moment, her sister spoke again.  “Father’s right, you know.  You shouldn’t go wandering off like you do.  What if you catch something?”

Diamond gave a soft sigh.  “Opal, it’s the middle of July; I’m not going to catch a cold.”

“Perhaps not,” Opal yielded.  “We can’t help but worry about you, though, what with...”  She trailed off awkwardly.

“I know,” Diamond said with another sigh.  “And it’s not that I don’t appreciate your concern, it’s just that it... it can get a bit frustrating.”

Opal smiled.  “Come now, Diamond, it’s my job to worry about my little sister.”

Diamond gave her a half-hearted attempt at a smile.  “Yes, I know.  Well, I think I’ll go ahead and turn in.”

“Goodnight, Diamond,” Opal said, pecking her sister on the cheek.

“Goodnight.”

As Diamond walked down the corridor towards her bedroom, she passed by another bedroom that was filled with many giggles and whispers.  Pure curiosity made Diamond pause just before that particular room; the door was ajar, and she could hear the voices of the girls inside fairly well.

“He is quite handsome, isn’t he?”  Diamond recognized the voice of her sister, Amethyst, Diamond’s elder by only a year.

An arrogant snort followed this comment.  “I’ve seen much better in my time.”  Diamond couldn’t help but cringe at this voice; it belonged to her cousin, Petunia, who shared a mutual dislike with Diamond.  “But of course, physical appearance isn’t everything in a husband.”  Before Diamond had much time to be surprised at what could have been a thoughtful statement, Petunia continued, “You must also take into account economics and social status.”  Through the crack in the door, Diamond could just make out Petunia’s upturned nose and overall haughty expression.

Magnolia, a cousin only a few months older than Diamond, spoke up.  “But Petunia, surely you wouldn’t want to marry someone simply for their money!  What if you didn’t like the person?”

Petunia smiled in a condescending manner.  “Dear Magnolia, you’re such a simple girl.  I suppose you’re going to wait and marry your ‘true love’ or some such nonsense.  If you do that, you’ll end up marrying a poor farmer!  You have to marry well, and if that means being the wife of a dull, boring hobbit, so be it.  That dull, boring hobbit will allow you to live in the lap of luxury, and who knows - maybe you’ll meet a less-boring friend of his to soothe any loneliness you may encounter during your marriage.”  Seeing the smirk on Petunia’s face as she said that last statement made Diamond want to be sick.

“Take Peregrin Took for example - he may not be the best-looking hobbit in the Shire, but he isn’t entirely unpleasant to look at.  But that hardly matters when you look at what you would be inheriting should you get to wed him - you would be the Mistress of the Great Smials and later on, the mother of the future Thain.  There’s a chance you would even meet this king someday!  Now the downside would be actually being Peregrin Took’s wife; as we all know from his behavior at dinner, he certainly isn’t anything spectacular personality-wise...”

Diamond could bear no more.  She stepped inside the room and spoke in as firm a voice as she could manage, saying, “You shouldn’t talk about him like that, Petunia.  You don’t even know him.”

Petunia wrinkled her nose, and she looked as though a slug had just wormed its way into the room.  “Oh, and I suppose you do, Diamond?”  She laughed.  “Not that it would matter, seeing as how your parents certainly don’t want you getting married.”

Doing her best to ignore her reddening cheeks, Diamond spoke again, her voice trembling slightly.  “No, it doesn’t matter if I know him.  I know that it’s wrong to judge people when you’ve barely spoken to them.”

Rolling her eyes, Petunia replied, “When did you become such an authority on people?  It’s not as though you ever speak to anyone yourself, being the introverted little snail that you are.”  She snickered at her own analogy.

Diamond wanted nothing more than to turn around and run to her bedroom at that statement; but after having spoken with Pippin and knowing what a good hobbit he was, she felt the need to set her family members - especially Petunia - straight on the matter.  “Petunia, I’m sure if you attempted to get to know Peregrin Took as a person, not just his name and estate, then you would understand what I’m trying to tell you.  But if you would prefer to stay ignorant and shallow, then there’s nothing I can do to stop you.”  With that, she turned on her heel and walked out of the room.

After she had closed the door behind her, Diamond leaned against the wall and took several deep breaths.  She had never stood up to Petunia before in her life, and the experience was strangely overwhelming.  Diamond was wondering what had caused her to become so defensive when she heard a soft voice speak from a few feet away.

“Thank you, Diamond.”

She turned and was shocked to find Pippin leaning against the opposite wall, smiling at her.

“Oh!  Er... you- you’re welcome,” she responded shakily.  “Um... may I ask how long you were listening?”

Pippin folded his arms across his chest, his smile widening.  “Long enough to know that I’m not anything spectacular personality-wise.”

Diamond chuckled softly, glad to know that he didn’t seem to take Petunia’s words to heart.  “So you aren’t upset about... about what she said?”

He shook his head.  “No.  And besides, I think you did a fine job in defending me.”

A blush rising in her cheeks, Diamond merely shrugged, keeping her gaze fixed on her feet.

After a moment, Pippin spoke again.  “Diamond?”  She looked up to find that he now stood in front of her.  “Do you think we can start things over again?”

“You think things started out badly between us?” she asked meekly.

Pippin smiled.  “I think you’re far too nervous around me, and I’m hoping that fresh introductions will help prevent that.”  He held out his hand to her.  “Hello.  I’m Pippin.”

She returned the smile and took his hand.  “I’m Diamond.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Diamond.  I hope we’ll be able to see more of each other in the next few days.”

Diamond’s smile widened.  “I’d like that.”

Pippin nodded with satisfaction.  “Much better, wouldn’t you agree?  Well, I’d best be getting to bed.  Goodnight, and sweet dreams to you.”

“Sweet dreams,” said Diamond as he turned and walked away.

That night, the appearance of butterflies in her stomach prevented Diamond from going to sleep easily.

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