Chapter 4
A Shortcut to Mushrooms
"Thanks for letting me visit." Estella said to Diamond.
"Of course!" Diamond replied. "My parents love you!"
Estella and Diamond were walking throughout Longcleave, taking in the beautiful trees and scenery.
"Tookland is beautiful." Estella commented. "Not as beautiful as Longcleave."
"Oh, please." Diamond said. "You're just saying that."
The two continued their long walk, only to be nearly ran over by two other hobbits.
"Oi! Watch where you're going!" Merry snapped.
"You watch where you're going!" Estella shot back.
"Hey! Glad to see you two!" Pippin said. "You two can help us! We're going to Farmer Maggot's and-"
"No!" Diamond cried, hiding behind Estella. "No, I don't want to get involved in your schemes again!"
"Farmer Maggot has dogs!" Estella said.
"That's why we need someone smart and stealthy." Pippin said.
"That's not going to work a second time!" Estella replied before turning to Merry. "I thought you and Farmer Maggot were friends. What are you planning to do to the poor old hobbit?"
"Nothing." Merry replied. "Just picking up some…snacks."
"You're stealing from his garden?" Estella gasped. "You're mad!"
"Just a couple of things." Pippin replied. "Things he won't miss."
"Why not just ask him for things?"
"It's easier to just…go in and get it ourselves."
"And furthermore, it's quite a walk."
"Then we'll go to my place." Merry concluded.
"Your father will have a thing or two to say." Estella said.
"Maybe." Merry said. "But I understand if you don't want to. Having your brains will make it easier…but you may not be as stealthy as Pippin thinks." He smirked.
"Ella…" Diamond said softly.
"Not stealthy enough?" Estella asked.
"Uh oh…"
"Of course!" Said Merry. "You couldn't possibly sneak in and out unseen."
"You want to bet on that?!" Estella challenged.
"No Ella, please don't!" Diamond pleaded.
"It's a bet!" Merry said, tugging proudly at his vest.
~jb~
May walked carefully through the corn, trying not to get any of the leaves near her eyes. She came across a path through the corn and realized she had been separated from everyone else.
"Sam?" May asked, glancing around. "Rosie?" She began to walk faster before sprinting through the fields. "Mr. Frodo? Frodo!"
She paused when she saw Frodo running toward her, his face filled with concern.
"Where's Sam?" May asked.
"He and Rosie are just up ahead." Frodo replied. "Are you all right?"
"I thought I lost you…" May admitted.
"What are you talking about?" Frodo asked.
"It's just something Gandalf said."
"What did he say?"
"He said, 'don't you leave him, May Gamgee.' And I don't mean to."
"May, we're still in the Shire, what could possibly happen?" Frodo reassured before May was nearly ran over by a hobbit with dark brown hair. Before he could react, someone else ran into him, and he looked up into the face of Pippin.
"Frodo?" He asked. "Diamond, look! It's Frodo Baggins!"
"Hello, Frodo!" Diamond greeted. "This is actually kind of fun…"
"I told you!" Pippin said. Sam and Rosie had heard the commotion and ran to check on their friends. Sam quickly grabbed Pippin.
"Get off him!" Sam snapped, throwing the disheveled hobbit off his friend. He helped Frodo to his feet and began to brush off his coat.
Rosie helped Diamond and May to their feet as well, but once they were all standing, Merry had crashed into May, and Estella crashed into Pippin, and like dominos, they all went crashing to the ground.
"Ow!" Merry grumbled. "Oh, May Gamgee, right? Sorry, didn't see you there-"
"Hey!" Sam snapped, shoving Merry off his older sister.
"Oof!"
"That's what you get for being so stupid!" Estella shouted.
"Here, take this!" Pippin said, handing sacks of vegetables around.
"What is the meaning of this?" Frodo demanded.
"You're stealing from Farmer Maggot's crops!" Sam accused, glancing down at the sack of carrots.
Before anyone could say anything else, they heard barking in the distance and a hobbit yelling.
"Get out of here, you young rascals!" He shouted. "Meriadoc! I'll be having a word with your father! Stay out of my field!"
The hobbits took off, leaving Sam frozen for a moment before he dropped the carrots and took off after the group.
"I can't imagine why he's so upset." Merry said. "It's only a couple of carrots!"
"And some cabbages." Pippin added. "And those three bags of potatoes that we lifted last week, and the mushrooms the week before!"
"Yes Pippin!" Merry continued. "My point is, he's clearly overreacting! Run!"
Pippin had taken the lead and came across a steep hill. He abruptly stopped, not wanting to fall down the edge. Diamond crashed into his back, followed by Merry, Estella, Frodo, Rosie, and May. Sam, not quite looking where he was going ran out of the corn, checking to see if the dogs were following. He turned, only to crash into May's back. The whole group went tumbling down the hill, landing in a pile at the bottom, next to the road. May found herself at the bottom of the pile, staring into the face of Frodo.
"Oh, that was close." Pippin said, staring at what appeared to be a cowpie. Estella was spitting grass out of her mouth.
"I think I've broken something." Merry winced, pulling a broken carrot out from under him.
"Trust a Brandybuck and a Took!" Sam grumbled, sitting up and brushing himself off.
"What?" Diamond asked, looking at Sam with large, brown eyes.
"Not you, Diamond." Sam said quickly. "You're one of the smart Tooks." He continued before helping Rosie to her feet.
"What?" Merry asked. "That was just a detour. A shortcut."
"Shortcut to what?" Estella questioned.
"The mushrooms!" Pippin yelled. The group went to rush toward the small gathering of mushrooms, greedily picking them and adding them to the bag of carrots. All, except May and Frodo. He was looking down at her in shock, as though he couldn't believe what was happening. May was equally shaken, as she made no movement. Her cheeks were red, contrasting with her hazel eyes. Frodo finally stood and helped May to her feet.
"Oh, when I crash into May, I get yelled at by Sam, but when Frodo does it-" Merry grumbled, noticing the pair.
"It's because you're dumb!" Estella interrupted.
"And Mr. Frodo is a gentle-hobbit!" Sam added. "Maybe you should spend more time with him, you could learn something!"
Estella laughed. "Thank you, Samwise!"
But May and Frodo didn't hear their conversation. May recognized the look of concern on Frodo's face as he looked down at the road. He walked into the center, examining their surroundings carefully.
"I think we should get off the road." He said to May. He turned back to the road, staring down as the wind blew through the fallen leaves. "Get off the road!" He shouted. "Quick!" The eight hobbits listened, scrambling to get off the road and hiding under a large tree-root. Merry, Pippin, and Diamond were looking into the bag, examining their spoils. Estella sat between Rosie and Sam. May and Frodo sat next to each other. Everyone paused when they heard the footsteps of a horse. It wasn't any regular pony. It was one that sounded heavy and dark. The horse breathed out of his nose, sounding like a thunderstorm.
Frodo turned to look from under the root. On the road, he saw the hooves. The rider jumped from the horse, feet covered in dark, filthy metal. He turned back just as the figure approached the tree, clamping an iron-spiked hand on the roots. It made a strange noise, as though it were sniffing the air. The fear in the air was overwhelming. A spider crawled onto Merry's shoulder, Pippin spotted worms coming out of the ground and began fleeing, as though they were aware of the creature and wanted to be as far away from it as possible. May spotted a centipede crawling out of the roots and she had to cover her mouth from screaming.
She looked over at Frodo, noticing beads of sweat on his forehead. He closed his eyes and had pulled the ring out of his pocket, holding out his other finger. He looked like he was debating putting it on, but from how his hands were shaking, and the way his eyebrows furrowed, May could tell he was resisting the ring. She reached for his hand and grabbed it, taking it firmly in hers. His eyes shot open, and he looked over at her in gratitude.
Merry threw one of the bags of vegetables away, causing the creature to rush towards the sound. The eight hobbits ran until they were out of breath.
"What in the Shire was that?" Merry demanded. Frodo didn't answer immediately. He could only look down at the Ring he still held in his palm.