Authors: Two of The 3 She-geeks.
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: The characters in this story or even the universe they evolve in do not belong to us but to J.R.R. Tolkien. Just in case this really needed to be stated...
Summary: It all began with a gift... Just an innocent gift, really... A gift a bit special of course - like all gifts have to be - that was supposed to help his friends cheer up... How could Pippin know it would bring such doom upon them? Set after RotK. Features all remaining members of former Fellowship.
Autors' notes: You will probably find in this story a mix of both book-verse and movie-verse Middle-earth. One of us usually writes book-verse wise, while the other has a tendency to make allusions to the movie-verse, to the first's greatest despair as well as to her greatest pleasure I have to admit… (now try to guess which one is writing those lines…)(if you find out, today's prize is a wonderful pressure cooker all in stainless steel)(aren't you all excited, huh?). There might also be some humor in the first chapters (sometimes out of place, but there are times when one just can't help it...), but it won't last, as the next ones will soon get much more angsty.
Please also note the following anachronism. In this story, set several years after the end of the War of the Ring, Frodo and Gandalf have not left for Aman, while Bilbo has. We know, it's strange. But we needed both characters, so… No offence intended, and deepest apologies to anyone who feels shocked by the freedom we took. We hope you will like the story anyway.
As Gandalf had not left Middle-earth, we agreed to have him settle in Orthanc Tower, which would have been converted into a place of knowledge - think "library" for instance.
In a little Hobbit hole, just after dusk, a group of young Hobbits were waiting restlessly; they were muttering to each other and when the door was opened, they suddenly stopped talking. Another Hobbit came in, and he was still wearing the leaf-shaped brooch Lady Galadriel gave him all those years ago in the Golden Forest. He smiled as usual and took off his scarf, and when he sat down in the couch next to the fireplace all the kids sat down in a circle around him.
"So, what new story about the Ring do you want to hear tonight?" Pippin asked with excitement. "How Merry and I joined the fellowship? How Merry and I managed to involve the Ents in the fight against Saruman? How Hobbits saved Middle-earth? How…"
One of the young Hobbits, a cute little girl with wide blue eyes, interrupted him: "Can you tell us about something else?"
Pippin looked at her, a bit confused. "Something else? Like… Errr, have I ever told you about how Merry and I stole the -"
Another young Hobbit, one with a scarf, curled brown hair and a really strange resemblance to Pippin, stopped him. "No, something *really* different. Something that is not about the Ring of Power or one of your pranks. I am sorry daddy, but… we know all of them by heart…"
"Oh…" Pippin uttered with a disappointed tone.
Another Hobbit adult came in and took Pippin's place. Then he was asked by one of the kids to start storytelling, hence he began to talk about a stupid myth in which a young and sleeping woman was waiting for her first kiss of true love. Pippin rolled his eyes and walked away to go to Merry's. Pippin was obviously upset and his friend tried to calm him down.
"What happened?" Merry asked.
"It's horrible! I have bored them!"
Merry looked at his friend a few seconds with puzzlement before going on. "Have you told them how Gandalf defeated Saruman in Theoden's mind?"
"At least four times! They know all our stories by heart! Even my *own* son told me to tell them about something different!
The older Hobbit patted his friend's shoulder. "We knew we would have to face this one day. The Quest for the Ring is far behind us and now we are like any other Hobbit."
"No, we're not!" Pippin denied. "Even before all those adventures we have never been like other Hobbits! We've always been feared for our pranks and now that we have done something heroic and brave, we can't boast any more?" He paused a few seconds, and finally sighed. "Maybe you're right; our lives have been so intense, I feel almost empty now…"
"I know, I feel the same." Merry answered. "So must feel all the others I guess…"
Pricking up his ears, Legolas turned towards the southwest and slightly narrowed his eyes. "Orcs!" he finally declared.
At his side, Gimli turned as well to face their coming enemies, preparing his axe for battle. His hands tightened around its hilt, and despite he could not see any Orc himself yet, he trusted his elven friend's keen eyes. His shoulders' muscles tensed in anticipation as adrenaline began to flow through his veins.
In the meantime, Legolas had drawn his bow and bent it, an arrow already notched on the string and ready to be shot. He scanned in the distance, and as soon as an Orc was close enough he fired. The arrow transpierced the foul creature's neck and the Orc fell to the ground with a thud, and immediately the elf took another arrow out of his quiver.
On his part, Gimli was itching to get into the heat of battle, and it was with some annoyance that he waited as Legolas shot a second arrow and prepared a new one, while another Orc fell dead.
The elf stood motionless, still scrutinizing and his bow still bent. The enemy didn't seem to be coming. After a few seconds, the dwarf put the tip of his axe on the floor and rested an elbow on its handle with a sigh of impatience.
Legolas was still immobile, but suddenly he lowered his bow, a frown on his fair face.
Gimli turned to him with astonishment. "Is that all? Only two of them?"
"I am afraid it is so, Gimli." the archer answered while putting his arrow back in his quiver. They then began to walk side by side towards the two corpses to collect the other arrows.
"There used to be more Orcs in this area…" the dwarf complained.
"Yes…"
Gimli cast a side look to his friend. "The next time, be kind and leave one for me…"
Silently, Legolas retrieved his arrows with a slight smile, while the dwarf grumbled again: "After all, the fall of Sauron made life rather boring… And honestly, I could live with some more excitement than watching you have all the fun of killing the few foes that are still around…" He paused. "I wonder how Aragorn fares…"
A young man was sitting on a chair in the middle of the biggest room of the castle of the White City. His lawyer was speaking in front of the jury, and most of the members of the latter had already fallen asleep. The King himself was quite bored by the story this man was telling. His neighbor had *dared* cut in his garden a tree that had been planted by his great-great-great-grandfather decades and decades ago. And to most of the audience despair, his lawyer could not stop explaining *how* afflicted his client was.
Aragorn had even started to wonder why exactly he had established those laws that had allowed this trial when the lawyer defending the neighbor stood up loudly for an objection.
"Objection your Honor! This tree was blocking the view to the valley. My client could not even enjoy the rise of the sun."
"But your client cut in the middle of the night something that did not belong to him!" the other lawyer retorted. "And this is the point your Honor, this neighbor," he began, walking toward Aragorn's throne, "has acted slyly."
"Slyly?" Aragorn repeated.
"Yes." The lawyer then spoke more softly. "This evil man -" he started, pointing a finger at the defendant.
Aragorn rose his gray eyes to lay them on the defendant. "Evil…" he muttered, as if the word was echoing in his mind.
"He has acted like a traitor…" the lawyer went on.
"Traitor…" Aragorn repeated again.
"Objection your Honor!" the lawyer of the defendant shouted. "The accusation is obviously trying to profit from the King's past as a warrior!"
Suddenly a hammer hit the desk in front of the throne. "This session is suspended." Arwen declared.
As everyone was leaving the room, Arwen put her hand on Aragorn's shoulder who was still a bit dizzy. Before everyone left she heard the lawyer of the accusation say "I should have gone to an Ent trial."
"Aragorn?" the elven Queen asked.
"Hmmm? Oh, sorry, I was thinking about something else." He took the following folder on the desk, "complaint about a barking dog" it read, and then tossed it on the desk with a sigh. "I am not made to be a judge; I can take good decisions under pressure, when time is precious. But in this case, I-"
"You are bored," his wife interrupted. "You have served your kingdom well by fighting for freedom, but now you have to face the daily requests."
"Only two days left… Want you not to leave sooner? I am sure they will be early as well."
"I know, I am also looking forward to go to the Shire for Frodo's birthday. Let us leave tomorrow then, but in the meantime I am sure you will sacrifice yourself and finish dealing with those cases. One is interesting."
" Really?" Aragorn asked with surprise.
Arwen patted his shoulder and smiled. "I was kidding, but I know how humor can put you in a good disposition."
In Orthanc Tower, Gandalf the White was packing his luggage. Someone came to him, obviously perplexed by this attitude.
"Mithrandir! I know you are going but why are you packing? You do not need to do so."
"I know!" Gandalf exclaimed. "And that is exactly why I am packing!"
"You have spent too much time with those Hobbits, you should take some rest."
"What do you think I have been doing here?" Gandalf closed his luggage loudly and walked toward the window. He could see the green valley, the forest growing slowly and Shadowfax running in slow motion from time to another in the meadow. "At least when I was a grey wizard I was to explore Middle-earth, to investigate strange matters-"
"You *really* have to stop seeing those Hobbits." the other insisted.
"I have nothing more to do here. What am I supposed to do? Administrate the Tower, the power of magic? If I do not do something else soon I will turn mad and be as perverted as Saruman was." He shook his head. "Actually I understand why he turned so bad…"
"But you can not just leave like this!"
"Really? Can I not?" Leaving his luggage on his bed Gandalf walked toward the door and took one more step to be out of his room. "See? I can. And I will. I am going to the Shire. You know where to find me."
Gandalf turned back to take his luggage, and then walked down the stairs to call his horse in the meadow.
The other man looked at him through the window and shook his head. "The mushrooms those Hobbits cook must have an addictive effect…" he told himself.
Sam laid a worried look on Frodo. The latter had sat down at the table and was now staring intently at his plate, as if hypnotized by its contents. And Sam could honestly not tell why as it was just plain old Shire food. He watched his master lift his fork and use it to turn his meat with an expression of utter boredom on his face.
"You should eat, Mister Frodo." Sam said worriedly.
"Hmm…" was the only answer he got, while Frodo kept on playing with his food.
A concerned frown appeared on Sam's forehead. Frodo had been like that for days, barely eating, and he knew he hadn't had much sleep either. Watching him closely, Sam studied his face. Bags under the eyes, lost gaze, not a single hint of a smile… In fact, he looked rather… depressed.
Hopefully his coming birthday might succeed in cheering him up.
"Sam?"
Surprised, the gardener looked up. "Yes?"
Frodo pushed the plate away from him and shook his head. "I am not hungry…"
"But you have to eat Mister Frodo!" Sam exclaimed.
The other Hobbit stood up. "I… think I will have a little stroll…" He walked towards the door, grabbing his coat on his way.
"But, Mister Frodo! Mister Frodo!!" Despite Sam's calls, Frodo didn't turn round and closed the door behind him.
Sam was now more worried than ever.
Pippin was happily walking down a street in Hobbiton, humming to himself some joyful song, when he saw Frodo at some distance, walking in the opposite direction, seeming to be miles away and his eyes fixed on the ground.
"Hey, Frodo!" he called with enthusiasm, waving at his friend. The latter didn't look up. "Frodo?" he called again.
"Hmm…" Frodo finally answered, his eyes never leaving the ground, and he eventually walked past Pippin.
Pippin blinked several times, turning to watch the other Hobbit move away. An ill feeling began to grow in his heart, and he found himself hurrying to Merry's home.
Pippin burst loudly into his best friend's home. "Merry. We have to do something."
Merry looked up from his meal. "Good elevensies to you too, Pippin. It's always a pleasure to see how well-mannered you are…"
"We have no time for this, Merry." Pippin stated and took the fork from his friend's hand, provoking a cry of protestation.
"Hey!"
"Have you seen Frodo lately? He looks like a zombie. He barely acknowledged me when I called him!"
"I have to admit that it is sometimes wiser to just ignore you…" Merry suggested, trying to grab his fork.
"I am serious, Merry."
The unusual gravity in Pippin's tone made his cousin stop trying to get his utensil back. He sighed. "I know Frodo has been behaving strangely recently. Did you think I hadn't noticed?"
"Strangely? He is *depressed*! Sam told me he had even seen him down near the river, throwing stone after stone in the water for *hours*, not even caring to eat for the whole day!"
"But what could we do about it?"
"Don't you understand? It's all connected! The War of the Ring is over and our Quest is achieved. We all feel useless now. *I* feel useless. *You* feel useless. *Sam* feels… hum… Sam is a very active husband and accomplished father, so maybe he doesn't feel that useless… And finally *Frodo*, I guess, must feel extremely useless. He was the Ringbearer after all. And he no more is."
"So what do you suggest we do?"
Pippin grinned. "I have a plan… And until Frodo's birthday, we will have to prepare a few things…"
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Here we are...
Feel free to give us your opinion in a review if you wish to!
Suggestions and constructive criticism always welcome.
Stay tuned for chapter 2: "Birthday Party"!
~ The 3 She-geeks ~