Forgotten Roads--chapter the last
by Ani Ledger





[Chapter Twelve]

We were almost home. The air smelled different here: cooler, familiar. Sweet. It had been over a year since I'd last laid eyes on my home, and I was anxious to return.

Frodo looked weary, and Sam was walking with him. They might've been talking quietly; I wasn't sure. They had a greater distance to travel to their homes in Hobbiton. The Old Forest ended, and we were standing in Buckland once more.

A year and a month. That's how long it had been, if my estimate was correct. Merry and I figured that it must be the end of October, or possibly the beginning of November, of the year 1419, according to the Shire calender.

We'd heard of strange goings-on the the Shire from old Butterbur at the Inn in Bree, and Gandalf left us before we returned home to speak with Tom Bombadil. Gandalf told us before he left of a gate: a Gate at the Brandywine Bridge, and that the Buckland Gate would be difficult to pass. Merry seemed sure that it wouldn't be of any difficulty, but the way Gandalf seemed to believe otherwise troubled me. However, we made it to Buckland without too much trouble. I feared that we would not remain in Buckland for long, instead accompanying Frodo and Sam back to Hobbiton. But I put that fear behind me for now. We got through the forest and arrived at nightfall.

--

I was angry. Hurt. I never showed it on the outside, but inside I was positively boiling. For the last week, I'd finally been able to cry. Lily worried about me. I hardly moved from the couch in the living room all week. And then finally, at the end of the week, I came down with a fever. Lily had worried about me all day. I rarely, if ever, got sick. But that day, I couldn't eat, or sleep, or even move. I was tired, tired of all that had been bottled up inside of me for over a year.

The night of October the thirtieth I was woken up each hour by a new nightmare--most of them about Pippin. I didn't know if he was dead or alive. I'd had dreams of him often: dreams of his return, dreams that he'd forgotten me. But the ones I had while I was ill were particularly terrible. I woke up in a cold sweat many times during the night.

A candle burned beside my bed. The light of it helped to bring me out of my terrible nightmares, reminding me that I was still in bed. They were just dreams, my imagination playing tricks on me. Each time I woke, thinking Pippin was standing at the foot of my bed, I realized that he wasn't.

And he probably never would be.

--

I stood before Lily's house in Bucklebury with Merry. It was dark, silent. The town was quiet. There were no lights in any of the houses--except for a dull light burning somewhere within Lily's house--it came from Diamond's bedroom window, if I remembered correctly. I took a deep breath and stepped up to the door. I hated to wake anyone up, but I had to see her.

I knocked. I looked to my left, at Merry. He looked just as nervous as I felt. I remembered our talk the night before, and a feeling of dread washed over me. Frodo and Sam were up at Merry's house, resting for a while. Merry and I had headed down to see Lily and Diamond. I remembered what Merry had told me, and fought back the feelings of doubt that were filling my mind. Diamond could hate me, yes, but she might also be glad to see me. Whatever her reaction would be, I wouldn't know until she came to the door. Until I saw her face.

There was no answer. I gulped and knocked again, louder this time. Again, no answer. I reached for the knob and turned it. The door was unlocked, as if someone had left it for me. I stepped inside, and the floor creaked loudly, announcing my arrival.

Footsteps. Hurrying through the hallway, through the kitchen. A small figure appeared, holding a candle. The soft candlelight glow illuminated her face as she squinted, trying to figure out who was standing at the door, and why anyone would be entering the house in the middle of the night.

Her eyes were wide with fear, but even through her expression, the retained their bright, smiling shine. I whispered.

She gasped. The candle blew out, plunging the room into darkness--but not the terrible, unwelcome darkness we'd witnessed in our misadventures away from home. Diamond dropped the candle from her shaking hands, and it clattered loudly to the floor. She was visibly trembling in the moonlight. She closed her eyes. She buried her face in her hands and sobbed.

I said aloud, taking a few steps toward her.

I touched her cheek. It was warm--unnaturally warm. She was burning with a fever. She suddenly jerked away from me. You--you left me! she breathed, looking up at me. Her eyes were filled with pain. Sorrow. Disbelief. You promised--when I came back-- She was not the sweet, smiling girl I'd left behind.

Oh, Diamond, I whispered, trying not to let myself break. I didn't know--I thought I'd--and we-- I stammered, not knowing quite what to say.

I broke. I started crying, against my own will. She hated me for leaving her, as I'd feared. She didn't want to see me. I shouldn't have even come here.

Lily heard the noise and got out of bed. She took one look at Merry, burst into tears, and ran to him. She kissed him, sobbing. She was happy he was back.

Diamond and I stared at each other for several more long moments. Do you want me to leave? I asked softly, dreading her answer.

There was a pause, as she registered what I'd said. Then suddenly, as if returning to her senses, she cried, She practically leaped into my arms, holding onto me tightly. I put my arms around her, and we cried together for several long moments. No. Don't you ever leave me again, Pippin Took, she said into my shoulder.


The End.





VERY IMPORTANT NOTE CONCERNING THE END OF THE LORD OF THE RINGS:
Hehe. Yes. It is that important. To me, anyway. I've been rereading the end of The Return of the King over and over, trying to figure out the best way to explain all of this mess. What I've seemed to get out of it is this. According to the timeline, our hobbit friends cross through Buckland and reach Brandywine Gate at nightfall, on October 30th. I've done a bit of tweaking, and rather than at nightfall, they reach the gates around midnight. According to my story, they pass through Buckland, stopping at Lily's house first. After my story ends, they proceed to the Brandywine Bridge. The irony of it all is Diamond's Don't you ever leave me, Pippin Took, is that he does in fact leave again, for a little while. All I know is that they leave that night. They have to, in order to fit in with the books. They go to visit Lily and Diamond for.. well, a few minutes, maybe a few hours tops, and then they have to continue on. It could be because they know about the weirdness in the Shire, but.. blah. There was no way around this, as I wrote my lovely last scene before I'd even finished reading The Lord of the Rings (I know, I know, very bad of me). So he does leave her, to go along with Merry to lead the Battle of Bywater. Whatever happens after my story ends is up to your own interpretation. The end of LOTR, I will admit, was very confusing to me, as it was read on a noisy bus on the way home from a trip to Chicago. I worked hard to get all the details worked out in a way that they'd fit with both stories (LOTR and Forgotten Roads). Whatever happens after my story ends.. well, I don't honestly know, nor do I care anymore. My work here is done.

Done.

Oh, my word. I completed a fanfic.

::sighs:: Wow. I am impressed, I must admit. GO ME!

One last thing: The letter Pippin wrote to Diamond... she never received it. My whole not-receiving-the-letters before was a bit of foreshadowing, heh. She left before it got to her house. I don't know why her Mum didn't send it back to her. Just one of those forgotten things that she overlooked, I suppose. Anyway. I didn't get to explain that in the fic itself.

Thanks to everyone who has read this, especially those of you who reviewed. I can't tell you how much reviews have gotten me through writing this.. really. I might write an epilogue, or maybe even a sequel if I get enough interest in it. I'd actually love to write a sequel, now that I've finished this, because I don't want it to end. I'm working on a prequel, actually, from Lily's point of view. It's really cool... it should be online soon. I have to keep putting stuff up online, because I really take my little stories seriously =) Email me at Pippin258@hotmail.com if you are interested in reading a sequel! Please!

-fin-

Forgotten Roads
by Ani Ledger

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, except for Lily. She's mine. All mine. Bwaha. The Lord of the Rings belongs to Tolkien's estate and whoever else should be creditted in this disclaimer. I am not making any money off of this. I'm just playing with the little hobbits, as I am a pervy hobbit fancier. And.. yeah. Lalala. I hereby disclaim all of the LOTR stuff found in this story. Moo.