As the next few days passed swiftly and more people began to arrive, Pippin was grateful that Faramir was now used to the Big Folk, otherwise the poor lad would have had a panic attack at all the people in the castle. Servants were running around frantically, trying to get everything ready. Pippin was enlisted as a guard again to help greet and guide guests into the palace, and he felt a shiver of excitement when he put on his old livery again. Faramir was looked after by Arenna's nursemaid whenever Pippin had a job to do, and often he would be asked to keep the king's daughter company. The poor lass had no siblings and no other children in the palace and was desperate for a playmate. Faramir complied under strict orders from Pippin to be on his best behavior.
The highlight of the week came when Legolas and Gimli arrived, greeting Pippin with open arms and no shortage of tales regarding their adventure, some of which may or may not have been greatly exaggerated on Gimli's part. In turn, Pippin told them all about his family and fetched Faramir from the nursery to meet them.
"Ah, is this the little laddie?" Gimli asked, looking behind Pippin's legs.
"It is," Pippin said, taking Faramir's arm and pulling him out from behind him. "This is my son, Faramir Took. Faramir, these are my dear friends, Gimli son of Gloín, and Legolas son of Thranduil."
Legolas bowed a little with a hand over his heart and Gimli patted Faramir's head. "Ha ha, so this is Pippin's wee lad. Well, I got something for ye." He reached into his pack and brought forth a small wooden horse that was attached to a buggy. "This is fine dwarven craft. Watch!" He put the toy on the floor and carefully turned a little switch in the side, winding it up. As soon as he let go, the horse took off across the palace floor, pulling the buggy with it.
"Amazing!" Pippin exclaimed, watching it go. "Between Bilbo's mithril, Faramir's art set, and now this, the cleverness of dwarves never ceases to astound me."
Gimli laughed and clapped Pippin on the back. "There's plenty more cleverness where that came from, Master hobbit."
"That is debatable," Legolas said, grinning. Gimli snorted good-naturedly but didn't comment. When the horse stopped, he picked it up and handed it to Faramir.
"How do you like it, little hobbit?"
"L-l-l-love it," Faramir said, blushing. He couldn't take his eyes off Gimli's beard, and Pippin realized with amusement that this was the first time he'd ever seen one. All the men they'd interacted with were clean-shaven and of course his son had never met Gandalf. He cradled the horse and buggy in his hands, turning them over and smiling. "S-so sm-sm-smoof."
"Yes, the smoothest wood in Middle-earth," Gimli declared proudly. Legolas muttered under his breath about how many trees had been killed for that wood and Gimli barked at him to shut up.
Before Pippin could remind him, Faramir tried to say, "Th-f-f-" but quickly set the toy down and reached in his pocket for his quill and paper. Pippin frowned, but at least he hadn't needed to be told this time.
Faramir quickly wrote Thank you on the paper and handed it to Gimli, who took it. He looked a little puzzled, but thankfully didn't comment on the method of communication. "You're most welcome."
He turned to Pippin. "C-c-can I go p-play with it?"
"Sure, just mind the guards and palace staff. And share it with Arenna!" he called, but Faramir had already taken off.
The next hour was a merry one, with the three of them catching up on the Scouring of the Shire, Legolas and Gimli's trips to Fangorn and the mountain, Frodo's departure to the Grey Havens, and much more Pippin wouldn't remember afterward. At last he thought he ought to be getting back to work, but then one of Legolas's stories was interrupted by a noise that made them jump.
A scream came from the nursery, followed by a high-pitched wail. Instantly they were on their feet and heading up the stairs, with Gimli holding his ax just in case. Aragorn and Arwen came running from the other direction, meeting them just before they arrived to see Faramir sitting on the floor, hunched over and sobbing loudly. Despite his short legs, Pippin reached him before anyone else, fear gripping his chest. Faramir was rarely so vocal; when he cried it was usually quiet. The only time Pippin could ever remember him acting like this was when he'd dropped him off on the first day of school.
"What's wrong, Faramir? What happened?" He bounced his son in his arms, trying to calm him down. Arwen scooped up Arenna, who was sitting in a corner and staring at Faramir. She seemed to be all right and the room was still in order, so Gimli lowered his ax.
"Are you all right? Tell Daddy what happened," Pippin said gently. Faramir shifted in his arms and Pippin saw it. Clutched in his shaking hands was a headless Bunny. In one palm was the body and the other was the face, which appeared to have been ripped clean off. "Oh no," Pippin murmured. "How did that happen?"
Faramir hiccupped, trying to stop crying, and pointed to the corner where Arenna had been sitting. Now that she was in his mother's arms, everyone could see the horse and buggy, broken into several pieces with the horse separated from the buggy and the windup piece lying a few feet away. Upon seeing it again, Faramir burst into a fresh round of tears and buried his face in Pippin's shoulder.
"Tell me what happened, love," Pippin urged him. He sat down with him and reached for his paper and quill. "Do you need to write it down? Can you write what happened?" Faramir shook his head.
"My lord!" Everybody turned and saw the nursemaid, panting for breath in the doorway. "I am ever so sorry. Once the hobbit-child started crying, I ran to fetch Master Peregrin, but I couldn't find you. I see you've beaten me here." She put a hand over her chest. "If you'll just give me a moment, I can explain."
"Please do," Aragorn said. "And while I understand wanting to fetch Peregrin, I do not appreciate you leaving my daughter unattended."
"My deepest apologies, my lord," she said. She took a deep breath. "Well, for starters, the two of them weren't getting along so well. Lady Arenna kept trying to grab Master Faramir's paintbrushes and paints in his art set and would fuss when Master Faramir wouldn't let her. I pulled Lady Arenna away from it for fear she'd make a mess and told Master Faramir he'd have to put it away, which he did. Since he couldn't paint, he started playing with that little toy." She pointed to the horse and buggy, which Gimli had picked up and was inspecting.
"I tried to distract Lady Arenna with a storybook, but she wouldn't hear of it. She kept squirming out of my lap wanting to play with the toy. I asked Master Faramir if he would share it and he consented to that. Unfortunately, it seems Lady Arenna turned the windup a bit too hard and it broke off. When the horse wouldn't move anymore, she got angry and, well…" She trailed off, looking guilty for criticizing the king's daughter.
"Go on," Aragorn encouraged.
She nodded. "Master Faramir was upset, but he was also very understanding, considering the young Lady's age and all. So then he started playing with his little rabbit, but it wasn't long before Lady Arenna wanted that too, and that one Master Faramir wasn't willing to give up. Both of them were pulling on it at the same time and it just snapped clean off. That's when the little lad screamed."
"It's a very special toy," Pippin explained. "His mother made it for him right before she died. It's all he has of her." He turned to Aragorn. "I'm sorry. Normally he's very good about sharing his toys, but Bunny is…well, it's special to him."
"I'm the one who should be apologizing," Aragorn said. "My child has wronged yours, but I promise to set it right." He gently took what remained of Bunny and handed it to Arwen.
She reached out a hand to stroke Faramir's cheek. "Do not worry. My seamstresses can fix your bunny and have it as good as new in mere minutes."
"B-buggy," Faramir whimpered.
"Oh, it's not as bad a break as all that," Gimli assured him, examining the toy carefully. "With the right tools, I can have it all fixed up in a day or so. Dwarf's honor." He tousled Faramir's hair.
Aragorn turned to Arwen. "Take Faramir's rabbit to the seamstresses. I'll take care of our daughter." He held out his arms. Arwen looked a little suspicious, but handed her over and left. Aragorn took her to another room and those who remained in the nursery winced as they heard a loud smack and then Arenna crying. She toddled back toward the nurse with her dress hiked up a bit. Pippin grimaced at the sight of a red bottom. The nurse quickly scooped her up, shushed her, and left. Legolas and Gimli followed, saying they hoped Faramir would feel better and that Gimli would have the horse and buggy all patched up soon. Aragorn rejoined them.
"My lord, you need not have done that on our account," Pippin said uneasily.
Aragorn held up a hand. "She needs to learn not to demand what does not belong to her and to be more careful with other people's belonging. At her age a scolding would have been ineffective." He put a hand on Pippin's shoulder and met Faramir's eyes. "I am truly sorry, my friends."