CHAPTER TWO
The next day dawned bright and clear. Pippin squinted into the sunlight as he looked out of his window while he dressed. He stopped by Merry’s room to collect his cousin for an early visit to the kitchens of the house the hobbits shared with Gandalf. When they arrived, they were surprised to see the wizard at the table.
"Gandalf, are you going to be around today, or do you have more business to attend to with Aragorn and Faramir?" asked Pippin.
"Well, unlike certain Guards of the Citadel, wizards do not get every fourth day off." Gandalf looked behind the hobbits, and then asked, "Where’s Samwise? He’s usually up earlier than you two."
Merry was startled to hear that Sam had not yet come down to eat, but Pippin wasn’t. "He probably didn’t sleep well. He was a bit shaken up last night, though he won’t admit to it. I think he’s remembering Mordor." Pippin crossed over to get the bread out of the cupboard.
The wizard’s eyes saddened. "Yes, he and Frodo both will be remembering, as will the two of you. You’ve all been through so much, more than any hobbit should ever have to endure."
At that, Pippin’s head popped back out of the larder. His eyes narrowed and looked into Gandalf’s. "Maybe we shouldn’t have had to go through everything, but we did. And we did deeds of renown, things that will be sung of for years to come. Frodo will probably become a legend long past our lifetimes, as will Sam. So don’t ever tell us again that hobbits don’t belong, Gandalf. We may be small and unused to battle, but we learn!"
Silence reigned over the kitchen table. Merry’s eyes widened, but then his jaw jutted out as he nodded. Gandalf’s eyebrows beetled as he stared at the younger hobbit in surprise, but slowly unknotted as he, too, nodded. "You’re right, Peregrin Took. I suppose that I cannot protect you or your people any more. You can handle yourselves, as the last few months have shown." He smiled, and said, "My past remarks have come back to haunt me! I take it you didn’t like my comments during the siege, hmm?"
"No, and not to speak ill of the brave departed, but Merry didn’t like hearing the same thing from Theoden King, either! You probably told him not to take Merry along to Minas Tirith before we left, didn’t you?"
"Yes, I did. I really did think it best, though—neither of you had been in battle before, save for the small skirmishes on our journey, and I didn’t think that you should have to go to war. Of course, I was proved wrong. You both had something to do, and you accomplished your tasks admirably!"
As Merry flushed with pleasure, Pippin remained troubled. "You say that we should not have gone to war, but you still sent Frodo and Sam to Mordor—a far worse place than any battle I can imagine."
Gandalf looked down at his clasped hands. "They were the only ones who could go. I see that now, even though I intended to help Frodo as much as I could for as long as I could. Who knows? Perhaps I was able to do more good in Rohan and here than on their journey." He looked up at Pippin. "They will need both of you to help them with their memories. Good hobbit sense might well prove to be the remedy, here, instead of interference from a busybody of a wizard!"
Good hobbit sense. The phrase swirled in Pippin’s mind, since it was a trait he’d never been known to possess much of in the past. But, hadn’t they all changed? Merry had forced his cousin to realize certain truths during their journey, but he could now see things for himself. Sam needed help, and soon.