A/N: Hello! Sorry the chapter took so long! It's just really hard to write something like this when your basis is fading… i.e. I hardly spend any time with Julia and Tran any more. And also, homework! DX But never fear, I will not give up this story! :D
I just finished reading Percy Jackson and The Last Olympian, so now they can have arguments about Percy Jackson! Yaaay! Just needa read the Hunger Games now… I also watched the Percy Jackson first movie… why the hell is Grover black? And why does Annabeth have brown hair? And why do they never see Ares or Hermes? And why are they, like, sixteen when they're meant to be eleven? And why is the entire plot different?
They completely screwed that movie. DX
Today we actually get to see the Fellowship! But we don't meet up with them yet, sadly. Next chapter, hopefully.
Mr Precious: Review time!
That was the dancing llama with a hat full of tacos from last chapter. I hope you're happy, Kyle! ;)
Melissa: Glad you liked the chapter—Lola (i.e. me) doesn't like Harry for multiple reasons I will not list all here (mind you, I've only seen the movies, but know quite a lot about it anyway). Some of them are:
-Everyone always goes on about how kind he is, but he seems to be always taking things out of Ron and Hermione.
-I overall don't enjoy his character very much.
- 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'. 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'. 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'. 'Harry Potter and the…' 'Harry Potter and the…' 'Harry Potter and the…' 'Harry Potter and the…'
So yeah. ;)
Brightpath2: Technology, eh? So sensitive! It usually obeys me, but… it doesn't like Ginny quite as much. XD I hope it's still going well, is it fair to assume it will be done soon? :) I'm really excited to see it!
In other news: Haven't heard from Tran, ditto Julia, Ginny's still more enthusiastic about high school than me… and me, my sister and my dad are still trying to complete the Star cup on Mario Kart wii! (My sister, dad and I are pretty much obsessed with Mario Kart. I play Peach, my sister plays Daisy, and my dad plays Funky Kong.)
On with the chapter!
…..
[25th December, T.A. 3018]
"The more mature the cheese, the sharper."—Shire proverb
Pippin was hungry.
That could have been an understatement. Pippin was absolutely starving, the feeling intensified, as he had never in his life been actually hungry before.
It was night. The ground was hard and grassless. The Fellowship slept in a camp that had no fire.
They could not risk fire out here in the wild at night. Their dinner had been both cold and pitifully small, so Pippin thought.
But the young hobbit had held his tongue. He had not complained. He was not weak, he could survive like this. He was small among these tall men whom had seen so many dark mighty beautiful things he would never see, Aragorn heir of Isildur, Boromir of Gondor, Legolas of the Woodland Realm, Gimli son of Gloin, even the wise wizard Gandalf; but he tried to ignore that. He could be Peregrin son of Paladin of the Shire, the future Thain and brave companion to Frodo Baggins.
Pippin was hungry.
He sighed, muttered a few sharp words to his grumbling stomach, and rolled over in his blanket.
He knew deep down this would never be so.
What was he doing here, on this quest? He was simply a pain, a piece of luggage. What could he contribute?
Peregrin son of Paladin of the Shire was not worthy of the title. Peregrin son of Paladin was simply Pippin, the spoiled, rich child from Tuckborough. The bratty Thain's son who sprinkled spiders down girls' dresses and laughed as they squealed.
Pippin sighed. Pippin turned over. Pippin thought of home and his, nice comfortable bed.
But it was Peregrin who ignored the hunger pangs and fell asleep.
…..
[26th December, T.A. 3018]
Ginny rolled over and sat up wearily. It was early morning; the sun had only just begun to rise, and Tran, Julia and Lola were not awake yet.
She kicked off her blanket and stood up on shaky legs. She could see mountains in the distance—the Misty Mountains. She wasn't sure how far away—a day or so walk?
Glancing over at her sleeping companions, she strode around the campsite. It appeared that Lola had been on watch, but had fallen asleep on the job.
Ginny sighed. They could have easily been attacked in that time. She was very lucky they hadn't, but Ginny forgave Lola. They were all tired. It could've happened to anyone under the circumstances.
She checked their water satchels and their food supplies, before returning to her blanket and sitting cross-legged on top of it.
It was now fully light. Tran stirred, and Ginny watched as he slowly came to his senses, pushing back his bed-hair as he did so.
"Good morning," He mumbled. Then he flopped back down.
"Oh no you don't," Ginny waggled her finger at him, "You're going to get up and do sword practice with me."
Tran mumbled a few words Ginny didn't quite understand.
She frowned, trying to work it out. Then she gasped, "Are you speaking in elvish?"
"Maybe."
"You're speaking in elvish, aren't you?"
"Maybe."
"You are."
"Ye-ep."
"How?" Ginny stared wide-eyed at him.
"I've lived with elves for five years. I'm not fluent, but I've picked up a few words," Tran shrugged, rubbing his bleary eyes.
"Cool!" Ginny cried, "So, what d'ya say?"
Silence. Tran didn't answer.
"Tran? What did you say?"
"I'm not telling you."
Ginny scowled, "You just swore at me in elvish, didn't you?"
"Maaaaaybe…"
"What did you say?"
"I'm not saying."
"Tran!"
"I'm not saying."
"Tell me!"
"Denied."
"Argghh!" Ginny cried, rushing over to Tran.
Tran stared up at her, confused. Grinning, Ginny plucked the glasses from his face and bounded off.
"Ginny!" Tran sighed, staggering to his feet and went jogging after her.
She was nowhere to be seen. Tran furrowed his brows. Where—
He jumped and stifled a scream as Ginny grabbed his shoulders from behind. Once he regained his wit, he twirled around and swatted at her, but she had already run off.
He chased after her, his vision blurry. She had a head start but Tran was fitter, and a faster runner overall.
He eventually caught up to her and grabbed both of her arms. She cried out and tried to pull them away, laughing as she did so.
They had an epic tug of war. "Tell me!" Ginny shrieked as she went down.
Now that Ginny was on the ground, Tran could easily retrieve his glasses without much of a fight. Putting them on, he held out his hand to pull Ginny up.
Ginny took it gratefully, and suddenly they were standing, facing each other, and it was silent.
Tran opened his mouth, and closed it again. He waited for Ginny to speak, but she didn't.
So he stared. He drank in her grey eyes and freckles and her carrot-coloured hair and suddenly she was no longer Ginny, no longer the eccentric, weirdly smart thirteen-year-old he had known at intermediate. She was the fiery-haired angel he had seen during the wolf fight, standing in a halo of flame.
Ginny waited for Tran to speak, but he didn't. So she stared.
She watched his careful gaze and his dark eyes and pale skin. He wasn't the Tran she had known at intermediate any longer, the gawky, gangly kid he had once resembled. He was a man now, tall and hard and beautiful.
It was Ginny who closed the gap between them. They stood, centimetres apart, studying each other wearily.
Their faces touched. It was a shock at first, but both found it was pleasant.
They nuzzled each other, barely aware of it as they locked themselves in their own private thoughts. Slowly, without their conscious selves realizing, their bodies began to move in unison.
But slowly they began to realize, and their inhibitions took over.
This is all wrong.
Their lips were millimetres apart, but they could not bring themselves to make them meet.
What are we doing?
They stepped away from each other abruptly, fearful and confused, unable to meet each other's eyes.
We're only friends.
Ginny was an expert at veiling her emotions, and Tran would stay quiet about his thoughts if he chose. But in that moment neither could think straight. They could not bear to be in each other's presence any longer.
They separated. They walked away.
…
When Lola woke it was already light out. She estimated it was about nine o'clock. Groaning, she sat up.
Tran and Ginny were sitting on opposite sides of the camp, finishing off their breakfast. Lola raised her eyebrows but did not comment.
Julia was still asleep. Lola stood up, grabbed a half piece of lembas from her pack, and sat next to Ginny.
"Hey ho!" Ginny smiled as Lola sat beside her.
"Hey," Lola took a bite out of her lembas, before looking up at the mountains. "How long do you think we have to go?"
"I think we'll have another day before we find the Fellowship. We'll continue going east towards the mountains." Ginny replied.
"What does Tran think?" Lola asked, noticing the way she had said 'I think' instead of 'Tran thinks'.
Ginny stiffened up. "What does it matter what Tran thinks?"
"Well, he's our official map-guy, right?" Lola frowned. "So, what does he think?"
Ginny said nothing.
"Ginny…?" Lola poked her, "What's wrong? What did Tran do?"
Ginny still didn't say anything.
"Ginny."
Silence.
"Ginny!"
Silence.
"Oh, for god's sake!" Lola sighed exasperatedly, "I am so f***ing over this! This whole thing! This whole journey! Why couldn't this be a normal girl in Middle Earth where we never even get dirty! And now you and Tran have had your little 'falling out'!"
Tran looked up abruptly at the scene. Ginny flinched.
"You're not even going to tell me anything!" Lola yelled, standing up, "You know what your problem is, Ginny Elton—you don't know when you need help! You don't think you need to listen to anybody—you're so superior! You seem to think we can have little fights within ourselves; well, guess what, there's no time for that."
Lola stomped over to Tran.
"What happened?" She demanded.
Tran swallowed and stared up at her. He could not bear to tell her what had happened; he was trying to forget it himself.
Lola flung her hands up in the air and cried, "I give up. I bloody well give up!"
And she was gone, fuming.
Ginny turned to Tran. "She'll come back."
Tran did not reply.
…..
[26th December, T.A. 3018]
Merry walked in sullen silence.
Pippin had been pestering him for ages, trying to get him to talk or play some stupid game. It had irritated Merry so much he had actually had to tell his cousin to shut up.
Pippin, hurt, had retreated, and now Merry walked in silence.
Merry sort of wished Pippin was still there to distract him, because something was playing on his mind.
That thing was none other than Estella Bolger.
Merry pushed her out of his mind, but she somehow managed to sneak in again. He bit his lip and scowled resolutely. He would not let Estella plague his mind when he was on such an important quest.
But there she was again, her rosy face framed by her tawny curls, two olive eyes and a smiling mouth. Merry grimaced, but then his lips began to tingle and he broke.
Had Estella ever been his sweetheart, he wondered. Had she ever, for a moment, been his?
No, he replied, she was stolen. That kiss was one he had stolen. It was not meant for him.
He bit his lip again and squeezed his eyes shut. Oh, how he wished she were here!
He had not even said goodbye. He may never see her again, and he had not even said goodbye.
But she was not his. He had stolen the kiss from the rightful lad.
Mosco Burrows is a twat.
Ah yes, his mind answered, But you are a thief! Does that make you any better?
Merry grimaced harder, screwing up his eyes, trying to stop his thoughts, blocking them with new ones.
My, is that a new robe that Gandalf is wearing—
Thief!
Isn't it a nice day—
Thief!
I wonder how Elrond is doing back in—
Thief!
"Shut up!" Merry muttered sharply, earning a strange look from Boromir and Aragorn, who were walking ahead.
Merry sighed and called, "Pippin!"
"Yes?" Pippin turned around.
"Would you like to play the game now?"
"Oh yes," Pippin nodded, bounding over.
Merry smiled. Hopefully his cousin would be able to push the thoughts out of his mind.
…..
"Arggghh!" Julia moaned as she sat up.
Tran and Ginny glanced over. Lola still was not back yet, and they could use someone to break the tension in the air.
"What?" Ginny asked, concerned at Julia's pained look.
Julia flopped back down. "Period cramp."
"Oh!" Ginny said sympathetically. "How bad?"
"Pretty bad," Julia groaned, "As in: 'unable to move' bad."
"Ah, crap."
At Rivendell, the three women had been given a sort of pad to use during that time of the month. This was reusable after washing. However, the elves did not have any form of magical elixir to help with the pains of being a woman.
"It's times like these when I really wish I was a boy," Julia pulled her blanket over her face. "You're so lucky, Tran."
Tran looked a little bit flustered. "How long does this 'unable to move' thing last?"
"Depends," Ginny shrugged, "It's different all the time."
"Damn," Tran frowned, "So, we won't be moving for a while, then?"
"Possibly."
"Blah." Julia muttered from her blanket cave.
…..
A/N: Hopefully you liked the Pippin and Merry scenes, they were fun to write! And making up the Shire proverb. That was cool.
The Julia gets period pains spiel was based on a true experience that left me bedridden all morning! DX They won't be moving for a while…
Next chapter there should be a Percy Jackson discussion! Excuse me while I go get the Hunger Games… *wanders down to the library*
Mr Precious: Don't forget to review!
Pippin: And get a (virtual) LIMITED TIME Phillip action figure!
Mr Precious: Review now for this exclusive offer!
Pippin: Not available in stores, so…
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