Grima
There was a boy once. A pale, thin boy, but still a boy. He didn't have anything to do with the others of his age, never approached them. He had tried once, tried to be friendly, tried to make friends.
He never had a friend.
They laughed at him. They told him to go back to his books, to go back to where he came from. Nobody liked such a whiny, cowardly thing, they said.
He was hurt. But he raised himself up, and turned his back on them. He went above them, longing for power. Power that never came.
Healing Begins
Healed. That was his first sensation upon stepping out onto the silver shores. He laughed aloud, finally free from the anguish of many years. He was healed, no longer a broken fragment of his former self, but twice what he once was. He saw his memories before him. He saw his parents, Bilbo, and Sam. He saw birthdays and Yules, and every good time he ever had. But he also saw himself, stricken with grief. He saw loneliness, and he saw the pain of the quest that had torn out his soul. But it was back together. He was healed.
Different
What's gotten into that boy? they mused. Once so full of mischief, now so quiet. It comes from associating with those Brandybucks, some said. But others still wondered. That Took lad was different now. What could he have seen that could have so changed him? Only a lad, still a tween, but not so innocent anymore, not so full of fun. He was distant, lost in his own little world.
But sometimes, just when his mother would begin worrying, and his sisters to fret, he would laugh and tease. And then, just for a moment, their Pippin would be back.
Tears (AU!)
When she heard the news, she went straight to her room and would not come out. She did not cry.
This was beyond tears. He was so full of life, so handsome, so much. She couldn't believe he was gone.
But time went by and he didn't come back. And she finally sees the truth in their eyes, that he was gone.
And then and only then would Eyometh, betrothed of Boromir, allow herself to shed a tear.
She got her grief out, squared her shoulders, and faced the world. She had to go on. He would want her to.
Failure
The world was fading even as the pain in his chest was increasing. But the even worse pain was knowing he would die a failure. Images floated across his brain. His little brother, looking up to him in everything. His father, proud as can be of his wonderful son. And the Halflings, especially the younger two, who thought he was a hero from their stories. Everyone had counted on him. And he had let them down.
He closed his eyes. He had failed them all. And he would never have a chance to succeed for them. His time was over.
