Chapter Nine: Blood.
Ok, please read and review! I have worked really hard on this and I think I deserve it!
__________________________
'Right, who's got the matches?' said Kavamir with an armful of kindling. He dumped it in the middle of the pile of stones that served as a hearth.
'Err, Sam I think' said Merry with his own mini armful of kindling, which he dumped on top of Kavamir's.
'Yeah, I haven't seen him for a while.' Said Estel bringing out some tins of soup from his bag.
'Or Froda.' Said Pippin with firelighters+++.' She's set up her camp bed, but she hasn't got out her food or anything.'
' Hey, some one mention my name?' said Froda with Sam, coming from the forest.
'Yeah.' said Pippin, 'Go get some of your food, maybe get some wood. We're having a feast tonight. Sam?'
'Yes mistress?' he said wearily.
'Go get your matches.' She ordered.
'On one condition Sister dear.' He said, 'I'll cook. I don't trust the rest of you with dinner.'
'All right!' said everyone present.
'Hey, who wants tomato and leak soup, sausages, potatoes and prunes, and to finish off custard and strawberries?' said Froda looking at her food with everyone else's, 'Because that's what dinner is at the moment.'
'Ok.' Said Sam taking over, 'Who got the tomato soup?'
'I did' said Ledron.
'Anyone with pasta shells?' said Sam
'Here' said Thorin throwing it over to him.
'Ok, how does this sound. We have pasta, then we have custard.' Said Sam.
'Ok.' Said Froda. This was better than meals at home.
'Custard on it's own?' said Merry flabbergasted.
'Ok, does anyone have a pudding with them?' said Froda sarcastically.
'I've got Lembas.' said Mr Greenleaf, who had been listening.
'Mr Greenleaf? Are you and Mr Gimli joining us for dinner?' said Sam, shrinking slightly.
'Don't worry Sam, no one can cook worse than me, and I usual cook.' He said, 'But Lembas is the only thing I can cook. To perfection.' He held out a piece of Lembas. Sam took a corner and tried it. He smiled. 'This is perfect! Thank you Mr Greenleaf.'
Sam was given nine pieces of Lembas. He put them beside him and shouted at Throin. 'We've got two more than we expected. '
Thorin ignored him and Sam looked for anyone who was free. Froda brought him some more pasta.
'Ah, Sam, it isn't the same as the other stuff, but I think there should be about enough.' She smiled at him.
'Hey, Froda, could you do me a favour?' he said.
'Anything for you Sam' she said naughtily.
'Could you go and fill this pan with water?' he said thrusting the pan at her. She seemed more than a little disappointed. She walked on into the forest on her own. He stoked the fire with a twig, watching it crackle and spit. Pippin sat next to him.
'Hey Pipster.' He said smiling.
'Sam. You know that you're an idiot.' She said casually.
'Pardon? What the hell are you going on about?'
'You know about the birds and the bee's and I also know that you like her.'
'Like who?'
'Froda you div.' She said hitting him gently on the arm.
'Pippin, how the hell would you know who I like?' He said defensively, 'I don't see you being the love guru.'
'Well, let me put it like this: I have to sleep in the same room as you.' She said nastily, 'I have heard you shout out her name in the night and you've been practically shagging your bedcover when you've been shouting her name.'
'So? That could be a different Froda.' He said.
'How many Froda's do you know? I know Frodo's a common enough name, and I know at least eight….' Then she got a horrible mental image,' Oh no! Have been hearing a different….'
'NO! You're right.' He said. 'I'm not into that stuff….'
'Right. But what the hell have you been doing? You've been pushing her away.'
'Me? She's the Goth.'
'Not like that' Pippin waved away,' She's been flirting with you so badly. I mean, just now' Pippin put on a squeaky girl voice,' "Anything for you Sam." That was not a comment, it was a hint.'
'At what….' He said, then stopped. 'Oh.'
'See what I mean? You're so innocent.' She said slapping his arm.
'So is that a bad thing?' he said.
'Sam, it means that you have less idea of sex than Bilbo Baggins did.' She said, leaning over to him.
'Oh Pippin, that was painful. Very, very painful.' He said, stoking the fire again.
'Sorry, but I couldn't resist.' She said, 'I've been saving up that one for a long time.'
'Ah, forget about it.' Sam poked the fire again.
'YO, Sam' shouted Kavamir from the forest, 'Where do you want these logs?'
'Logs?' exclaimed Sam.
'Yeah!' said Merry,' Heavy logs. For sitting on?'
'Just put the down next to the fire.' He said. They pushed the log next to the fire and Estel pushed another log from another angle. They stopped in exactly the right place.
'Hey, where did you get the idea for this?' said Sam to Kavamir.
'Mr Gimli suggested it.' Said Merry. Mr Gimli sat next to his tent smoking a pipe. 'He said it would be better than sitting on the ground. '
'Hey, where's the water?' asked Kavamir.
'Oh, there's a river down there…' said Sam pointing with his thumb.
'Hey, Froda's been a while. I'll go check on her.' Said Pippin. She got up. Sam also got up, but sat on the log Kavamir had just rolled beside him.
____________________
The knife gleamed in the setting sun light. The cheap steel gleamed like the teeth of a predator, a bear maybe, or a human. Froda brought the knife down slowly on her arm. It wasn't near the artery, but it bled. The scarlet coloured liquid slowly seeped out of her arm like water trying to escape a bridged up damn. She breathes slowly, as she watched a drop weal up and fall into the river.
It sped along with the slow running river and was unnoticeable in the mixture of the pure water and happy woodland animals. Froda was crying again. She hated doing it, as it hurt so much, but sometimes she needed the rush of adrenaline. She breathed heavily again, watching it bled.
SLASH!
The noise wasn't loud, Froda, under normal circumstances wouldn't have even heard it, but it filled her world. It was a bigger cut and produced more blood. The blood weald up in one corner and slid down her forearm in a small stream. It also dripped slowly, like a tap.
She looked with disgust at her arms. They were covered in angry scars and bruises, criss crossing in parts.
'I'm sorry I can't be beautiful for you darling…' she said in a whisper, a desperate whisper, 'I'm sorry that you have to find me like this.'
She slashed the side of her arm.
This time she watched as it bled fast. The pure blood. Nothing else she knew was like love. So pure, yet so dirty. It always left a stain, but it tied people in so many ways. So many ways, she knew of nearly all. She liked to see herself suffer. It confirmed the belief that she knew was true. That she wasn't even worth the pain. Somehow, even though it hurt, she felt happy, as if she were on a cloud floating away.
She thrust her hands and arms into the running river. She loved the sigh of her own blood. She always knew that it wasn't someone else's blood on her hands, but her own, to which she was responsible. She was spilling it, not some one else.
She took her arms out of the river. The blood was now diluted. In each drop of water, blood swirled like pollution on a reservoir. She licked one of the cuts like a dog. Her tongue rasped along the cut skin like a grater along soft cheese. She tasted the iron in her blood. She swallowed it.
She felt the sudden rush of adrenaline. It was almost orgasmic; a tingle going through the whole of her body. But, what was going on? Her wounds weren't bleeding any more? They were filled faintly with a clear yellowish liquid. She wiped it away, but she knew that they wouldn't bleed any more.
Hadn't she promised mum not to do it any more? Yes, but mum wasn't ever home, she was never there to stop her, she was just saying that because having a daughter like her wasn't fashionable. A child like Pippin would suit her down to the ground. A happy, fashionable child with long curly blond hair. A child with a hope. A child that filled her world with happiness and light. Not like her, like Froda Baggins. A child who hated herself and the world with equal passion and failed her parents. That's why Roland was the favourite, the winner and the one that everyone wanted.
Well, at least there was one less one to worry about. But she knew she would never have the guts to cut the big one, the main vein. The vein you cut when you are serious. She washed the knife and then cut her other arm. It stopped hurting. Everything did. The whole world seemed to have been numbed. It was like salvation was just a cut away.
She was crying. Sometimes she just would cry for no reason when she did this. She cried, and couldn't breathe properly. She choked back a loud sob and let her tears fall into the river. They left beautiful ripples and she watched as the new cut fell with her tears. She laughed and cried. She didn't know what to do. She got the sudden kick of adrenaline and suddenly she just couldn't stop laughing. Sometimes after crying so much inside and the boiling resentment is to hard to bear, you had to see real pain. Real pain or you will just explode.
She was hysterical now, laughing like a manic. If some one had been listening they would have probably have thought that she had just been taking a drug. Someone had been listening. Pippin had watched from the time the second slash had been made. She had stood watching, to horrified to move. She watched the laughing, crying hysterical figure bleed.
'I'm sorry I can be beautiful for you darling' whispered Froda to the world, 'All you'll see are scars and blood. That's my fault. ' She started laughing again maniacally, 'I'm not a beautiful person. I'm sorry I'm not good enough for all of you.'
She raised the knife in he hand and brought it down slowly, cutting along her arm again. Pippin couldn't stand it any longer. She ran down the hill and shouted,' Froda, STOP IT!'
Froda just sat by the river laughing, the knife dripping her own blood. She just laughed and cried like she couldn't decide if she was sad or happy.
'I'm sorry Pippin, I haven't got the water.' Froda choked out between sobs and giggles.
'Sweet VALOR! What the hell have you done to yourself?' whispered Pippin grabbing both arms. Underneath Pippin's soft finger the cuts smarted like hell and bled a little onto her hand.
'I just let it all out.' She said, 'all of it.' She laughed again.
'Froda? Froda, all of what, what's going on?'
'I just let it all bleed out. I'm sorry I'm not beautiful like you. I forgot the water. I just let it all out.' Froda garble. Pippin couldn't understand. She just held Froda by the arms and tried not to let go.
'Froda, just calm down!' she said more to herself than Froda, 'I've just got to stop the bleeding.'
'NO!' Froda tried to pull herself out of Pippin's grip, but failed. 'Don't stop it! It's so beautiful. So pure.' Froda seemed to be talking to herself, garbling about stuff Pippin couldn't understand or hear.
Pippin held onto Froda's arms for dear life as Froda laughed, cried and raved like a mad hobbit. Pippin had no idea what to do. She started by looking around for something to wrap her arms in. She saw that Froda had already taken a bandage down with her as she was planning to patch herself up after wards.
Pippin grabbed it off the ground and tied it around Froda's arms. Froda didn't do a thing. She just left Pippin bandage her arms and cried.
Pippin decided to get up and get Froda back to camp. Mr Greenleaf would be better at dealing with this sort of thing, or Mr Gimli. Then she thought, what would she say? If Froda wanted to hurt herself, that wasn't her business, it would be prying. She could say that Froda had hit herself on a rock or something, but that wouldn't work. No cuts from a rock could be so clean. Pippin, for the first time in her life, didn't know what to do.
Froda seemed to have stopped crying. Her eyes were red and puffy and she pulled her sleeves over the bandages. Pippin has stepped a few steps away and turned around to see Froda picking up the pan with water in it. Froda was shaking as if she had just been run over by a truck.
'Froda, maybe…'
'No Pippin, I can carry it. No point moddie coddling me. It was my own fault that I'm hurt. I'm ok for me.' She said in a toneless, emotionless voice.
'Froda, you slit your fucking wrists! That is not something you do for no reason.'
'Please Pippin, I need to get this back to camp….'
'Froda, you slit your wrists, I want to know why!' Demanded Pippin.
'PIPPIN, LEAVE ME ALONE!' she screamed, 'I need to be alone.' Froda walked back to camp in front of Pippin.
'Froda, wait!' Pippin scrambled after her. It was no use. Froda ran up the hill fast with the water. Pippin stopped. This was something she would have to talk over with Mr Greenleaf.
_______________________
Sam poked the fire again. 'Hey, Merry, could you get me some more wood?'
Merry Stood up from was he was sitting and saluted wearing a mischievous grin. 'Yes Mr Cook sir!' he said in a liverpudlian accent and with Kavamir walked into the forest. Froda walked out of the forest looking flustered.
'You took your time!' said Sam.
Froda gave him a look that could kill. 'Here's you water.' She said gruffly, practically throwing the pan at him and walked off to her tent.
A few seconds later Sam was still holding the pan and looked shocked. 'What brought that on?' he said to the world in general.
'I dunno.' Said Thorin, 'You're a hobbit. You know about that sort of thing.'
'Ok' Sam put the pasta on the boil. Pippin walked out of the forest. 'Sam, did you see Froda come past?'
'Yeah, she went to her tent.' He said. 'Something seemed to be bugging her.'
'Thanks.' She said and walked in the opposite direction.
'That was odd.' Said Ledron sitting opposite Sam, 'What do you think is up with them?'
'I dunno, probably had a disagreement, or on their period or something.' said Sam, poking at the fire again.
'Yeah, your probably right.' Said Ledron picking at some of the stuff on the ground.
________________________
Legolas was sitting by his tent when Pippin walked over to him. She seemed a little embarrassed and more than a little apprehensive. He smiled at her and she blushed slightly.
'Err…Mr Greenleaf, can I talk to you?'
'Of course Miss Gamgee. Would you like to sit down?' she reluctantly sat down on a patch of ground next to him. He noticed that she rolled up her sleeves as she sat down. 'What would you like to tell me?'
'Well, Mr Greenleaf, I was going to ask Mr Gimli, but I didn't think that he would understand, so I'll stop avoiding asking what I want to ask you and ask.' She left a pause. 'I know someone, I'm not like their best friend or anything, but they've been cutting themselves.'
Legolas suddenly realised why she had rolled up her sleeves. To prove it wasn't her.
'Well, they've been doing it for a long time and you can see the scars and bruises all up their arms and everything. ' Explained Pippin, 'I mean I don't know what to do. They won't talk about it, but I can see it's making them unhappy.'
'Miss Gamgee, who is this person?' he asked. Maybe he could talk to them later. He could see that it was worrying Pippin.
'I can't say.' She said, turning away. 'Look, I couldn't tell Sam and the others, 'cause they wouldn't understand this sort of thing. I mean, they're BOYS, and, well, I though being older and mature, you might understand. '
'I do Miss Gamgee, but please, tell me more.' Said Legolas sucking his pipe.
'Well, I found this person doing it, Y'know cutting themselves, and I didn't know what was going on. I thought they might have done it by accident, don't ask how, but then they kept slashing and slashing, and they were bleeding and laughing about it. I mean laughing? It chilled me, but I went over to them halfway through and they were just going on about stuff I didn't understand. I tried to question them, but she just garbled some stuff about beauty.'
Pippin had to take a big breath after this. 'Well, I bandaged them up as best as possible, but after that they seemed to go back to normal and just walked off. I mean, just walked off after going crazy!'
'So Miss Gamgee, you want some advice?'
'Yes. I saw all of this, and I'm scared they might hurt themselves badly.' Said Pippin.
Legolas took the pipe out of his mouth and tapped it against his knee as he thought about what he had heard for a few seconds. 'Well, if I were you Miss Gamgee I'd confront Miss Baggins later tonight about what you saw and maybe just be there for her so she doesn't have to resort to cutting herself when she fells down.'
'How on middle earth did you know that I was talking about Froda?'
'Because of my elfish powers.' Pippin looked at him, 'deduction.' He said finally. He grinned again and Pippin tried to keep a straight face. Then she burst out laughing.
'Thank you Mr Greenleaf.' She said, 'I'm glad I could talk to you.'
______________________
+++Firelighters are used in England to start fires because everything else is too wet to burn. They are plastic looking white blocks, often used on barbecues.
Ok, thank you fans and reviewers!
Ok, please read and review! I have worked really hard on this and I think I deserve it!
__________________________
'Right, who's got the matches?' said Kavamir with an armful of kindling. He dumped it in the middle of the pile of stones that served as a hearth.
'Err, Sam I think' said Merry with his own mini armful of kindling, which he dumped on top of Kavamir's.
'Yeah, I haven't seen him for a while.' Said Estel bringing out some tins of soup from his bag.
'Or Froda.' Said Pippin with firelighters+++.' She's set up her camp bed, but she hasn't got out her food or anything.'
' Hey, some one mention my name?' said Froda with Sam, coming from the forest.
'Yeah.' said Pippin, 'Go get some of your food, maybe get some wood. We're having a feast tonight. Sam?'
'Yes mistress?' he said wearily.
'Go get your matches.' She ordered.
'On one condition Sister dear.' He said, 'I'll cook. I don't trust the rest of you with dinner.'
'All right!' said everyone present.
'Hey, who wants tomato and leak soup, sausages, potatoes and prunes, and to finish off custard and strawberries?' said Froda looking at her food with everyone else's, 'Because that's what dinner is at the moment.'
'Ok.' Said Sam taking over, 'Who got the tomato soup?'
'I did' said Ledron.
'Anyone with pasta shells?' said Sam
'Here' said Thorin throwing it over to him.
'Ok, how does this sound. We have pasta, then we have custard.' Said Sam.
'Ok.' Said Froda. This was better than meals at home.
'Custard on it's own?' said Merry flabbergasted.
'Ok, does anyone have a pudding with them?' said Froda sarcastically.
'I've got Lembas.' said Mr Greenleaf, who had been listening.
'Mr Greenleaf? Are you and Mr Gimli joining us for dinner?' said Sam, shrinking slightly.
'Don't worry Sam, no one can cook worse than me, and I usual cook.' He said, 'But Lembas is the only thing I can cook. To perfection.' He held out a piece of Lembas. Sam took a corner and tried it. He smiled. 'This is perfect! Thank you Mr Greenleaf.'
Sam was given nine pieces of Lembas. He put them beside him and shouted at Throin. 'We've got two more than we expected. '
Thorin ignored him and Sam looked for anyone who was free. Froda brought him some more pasta.
'Ah, Sam, it isn't the same as the other stuff, but I think there should be about enough.' She smiled at him.
'Hey, Froda, could you do me a favour?' he said.
'Anything for you Sam' she said naughtily.
'Could you go and fill this pan with water?' he said thrusting the pan at her. She seemed more than a little disappointed. She walked on into the forest on her own. He stoked the fire with a twig, watching it crackle and spit. Pippin sat next to him.
'Hey Pipster.' He said smiling.
'Sam. You know that you're an idiot.' She said casually.
'Pardon? What the hell are you going on about?'
'You know about the birds and the bee's and I also know that you like her.'
'Like who?'
'Froda you div.' She said hitting him gently on the arm.
'Pippin, how the hell would you know who I like?' He said defensively, 'I don't see you being the love guru.'
'Well, let me put it like this: I have to sleep in the same room as you.' She said nastily, 'I have heard you shout out her name in the night and you've been practically shagging your bedcover when you've been shouting her name.'
'So? That could be a different Froda.' He said.
'How many Froda's do you know? I know Frodo's a common enough name, and I know at least eight….' Then she got a horrible mental image,' Oh no! Have been hearing a different….'
'NO! You're right.' He said. 'I'm not into that stuff….'
'Right. But what the hell have you been doing? You've been pushing her away.'
'Me? She's the Goth.'
'Not like that' Pippin waved away,' She's been flirting with you so badly. I mean, just now' Pippin put on a squeaky girl voice,' "Anything for you Sam." That was not a comment, it was a hint.'
'At what….' He said, then stopped. 'Oh.'
'See what I mean? You're so innocent.' She said slapping his arm.
'So is that a bad thing?' he said.
'Sam, it means that you have less idea of sex than Bilbo Baggins did.' She said, leaning over to him.
'Oh Pippin, that was painful. Very, very painful.' He said, stoking the fire again.
'Sorry, but I couldn't resist.' She said, 'I've been saving up that one for a long time.'
'Ah, forget about it.' Sam poked the fire again.
'YO, Sam' shouted Kavamir from the forest, 'Where do you want these logs?'
'Logs?' exclaimed Sam.
'Yeah!' said Merry,' Heavy logs. For sitting on?'
'Just put the down next to the fire.' He said. They pushed the log next to the fire and Estel pushed another log from another angle. They stopped in exactly the right place.
'Hey, where did you get the idea for this?' said Sam to Kavamir.
'Mr Gimli suggested it.' Said Merry. Mr Gimli sat next to his tent smoking a pipe. 'He said it would be better than sitting on the ground. '
'Hey, where's the water?' asked Kavamir.
'Oh, there's a river down there…' said Sam pointing with his thumb.
'Hey, Froda's been a while. I'll go check on her.' Said Pippin. She got up. Sam also got up, but sat on the log Kavamir had just rolled beside him.
____________________
The knife gleamed in the setting sun light. The cheap steel gleamed like the teeth of a predator, a bear maybe, or a human. Froda brought the knife down slowly on her arm. It wasn't near the artery, but it bled. The scarlet coloured liquid slowly seeped out of her arm like water trying to escape a bridged up damn. She breathes slowly, as she watched a drop weal up and fall into the river.
It sped along with the slow running river and was unnoticeable in the mixture of the pure water and happy woodland animals. Froda was crying again. She hated doing it, as it hurt so much, but sometimes she needed the rush of adrenaline. She breathed heavily again, watching it bled.
SLASH!
The noise wasn't loud, Froda, under normal circumstances wouldn't have even heard it, but it filled her world. It was a bigger cut and produced more blood. The blood weald up in one corner and slid down her forearm in a small stream. It also dripped slowly, like a tap.
She looked with disgust at her arms. They were covered in angry scars and bruises, criss crossing in parts.
'I'm sorry I can't be beautiful for you darling…' she said in a whisper, a desperate whisper, 'I'm sorry that you have to find me like this.'
She slashed the side of her arm.
This time she watched as it bled fast. The pure blood. Nothing else she knew was like love. So pure, yet so dirty. It always left a stain, but it tied people in so many ways. So many ways, she knew of nearly all. She liked to see herself suffer. It confirmed the belief that she knew was true. That she wasn't even worth the pain. Somehow, even though it hurt, she felt happy, as if she were on a cloud floating away.
She thrust her hands and arms into the running river. She loved the sigh of her own blood. She always knew that it wasn't someone else's blood on her hands, but her own, to which she was responsible. She was spilling it, not some one else.
She took her arms out of the river. The blood was now diluted. In each drop of water, blood swirled like pollution on a reservoir. She licked one of the cuts like a dog. Her tongue rasped along the cut skin like a grater along soft cheese. She tasted the iron in her blood. She swallowed it.
She felt the sudden rush of adrenaline. It was almost orgasmic; a tingle going through the whole of her body. But, what was going on? Her wounds weren't bleeding any more? They were filled faintly with a clear yellowish liquid. She wiped it away, but she knew that they wouldn't bleed any more.
Hadn't she promised mum not to do it any more? Yes, but mum wasn't ever home, she was never there to stop her, she was just saying that because having a daughter like her wasn't fashionable. A child like Pippin would suit her down to the ground. A happy, fashionable child with long curly blond hair. A child with a hope. A child that filled her world with happiness and light. Not like her, like Froda Baggins. A child who hated herself and the world with equal passion and failed her parents. That's why Roland was the favourite, the winner and the one that everyone wanted.
Well, at least there was one less one to worry about. But she knew she would never have the guts to cut the big one, the main vein. The vein you cut when you are serious. She washed the knife and then cut her other arm. It stopped hurting. Everything did. The whole world seemed to have been numbed. It was like salvation was just a cut away.
She was crying. Sometimes she just would cry for no reason when she did this. She cried, and couldn't breathe properly. She choked back a loud sob and let her tears fall into the river. They left beautiful ripples and she watched as the new cut fell with her tears. She laughed and cried. She didn't know what to do. She got the sudden kick of adrenaline and suddenly she just couldn't stop laughing. Sometimes after crying so much inside and the boiling resentment is to hard to bear, you had to see real pain. Real pain or you will just explode.
She was hysterical now, laughing like a manic. If some one had been listening they would have probably have thought that she had just been taking a drug. Someone had been listening. Pippin had watched from the time the second slash had been made. She had stood watching, to horrified to move. She watched the laughing, crying hysterical figure bleed.
'I'm sorry I can be beautiful for you darling' whispered Froda to the world, 'All you'll see are scars and blood. That's my fault. ' She started laughing again maniacally, 'I'm not a beautiful person. I'm sorry I'm not good enough for all of you.'
She raised the knife in he hand and brought it down slowly, cutting along her arm again. Pippin couldn't stand it any longer. She ran down the hill and shouted,' Froda, STOP IT!'
Froda just sat by the river laughing, the knife dripping her own blood. She just laughed and cried like she couldn't decide if she was sad or happy.
'I'm sorry Pippin, I haven't got the water.' Froda choked out between sobs and giggles.
'Sweet VALOR! What the hell have you done to yourself?' whispered Pippin grabbing both arms. Underneath Pippin's soft finger the cuts smarted like hell and bled a little onto her hand.
'I just let it all out.' She said, 'all of it.' She laughed again.
'Froda? Froda, all of what, what's going on?'
'I just let it all bleed out. I'm sorry I'm not beautiful like you. I forgot the water. I just let it all out.' Froda garble. Pippin couldn't understand. She just held Froda by the arms and tried not to let go.
'Froda, just calm down!' she said more to herself than Froda, 'I've just got to stop the bleeding.'
'NO!' Froda tried to pull herself out of Pippin's grip, but failed. 'Don't stop it! It's so beautiful. So pure.' Froda seemed to be talking to herself, garbling about stuff Pippin couldn't understand or hear.
Pippin held onto Froda's arms for dear life as Froda laughed, cried and raved like a mad hobbit. Pippin had no idea what to do. She started by looking around for something to wrap her arms in. She saw that Froda had already taken a bandage down with her as she was planning to patch herself up after wards.
Pippin grabbed it off the ground and tied it around Froda's arms. Froda didn't do a thing. She just left Pippin bandage her arms and cried.
Pippin decided to get up and get Froda back to camp. Mr Greenleaf would be better at dealing with this sort of thing, or Mr Gimli. Then she thought, what would she say? If Froda wanted to hurt herself, that wasn't her business, it would be prying. She could say that Froda had hit herself on a rock or something, but that wouldn't work. No cuts from a rock could be so clean. Pippin, for the first time in her life, didn't know what to do.
Froda seemed to have stopped crying. Her eyes were red and puffy and she pulled her sleeves over the bandages. Pippin has stepped a few steps away and turned around to see Froda picking up the pan with water in it. Froda was shaking as if she had just been run over by a truck.
'Froda, maybe…'
'No Pippin, I can carry it. No point moddie coddling me. It was my own fault that I'm hurt. I'm ok for me.' She said in a toneless, emotionless voice.
'Froda, you slit your fucking wrists! That is not something you do for no reason.'
'Please Pippin, I need to get this back to camp….'
'Froda, you slit your wrists, I want to know why!' Demanded Pippin.
'PIPPIN, LEAVE ME ALONE!' she screamed, 'I need to be alone.' Froda walked back to camp in front of Pippin.
'Froda, wait!' Pippin scrambled after her. It was no use. Froda ran up the hill fast with the water. Pippin stopped. This was something she would have to talk over with Mr Greenleaf.
_______________________
Sam poked the fire again. 'Hey, Merry, could you get me some more wood?'
Merry Stood up from was he was sitting and saluted wearing a mischievous grin. 'Yes Mr Cook sir!' he said in a liverpudlian accent and with Kavamir walked into the forest. Froda walked out of the forest looking flustered.
'You took your time!' said Sam.
Froda gave him a look that could kill. 'Here's you water.' She said gruffly, practically throwing the pan at him and walked off to her tent.
A few seconds later Sam was still holding the pan and looked shocked. 'What brought that on?' he said to the world in general.
'I dunno.' Said Thorin, 'You're a hobbit. You know about that sort of thing.'
'Ok' Sam put the pasta on the boil. Pippin walked out of the forest. 'Sam, did you see Froda come past?'
'Yeah, she went to her tent.' He said. 'Something seemed to be bugging her.'
'Thanks.' She said and walked in the opposite direction.
'That was odd.' Said Ledron sitting opposite Sam, 'What do you think is up with them?'
'I dunno, probably had a disagreement, or on their period or something.' said Sam, poking at the fire again.
'Yeah, your probably right.' Said Ledron picking at some of the stuff on the ground.
________________________
Legolas was sitting by his tent when Pippin walked over to him. She seemed a little embarrassed and more than a little apprehensive. He smiled at her and she blushed slightly.
'Err…Mr Greenleaf, can I talk to you?'
'Of course Miss Gamgee. Would you like to sit down?' she reluctantly sat down on a patch of ground next to him. He noticed that she rolled up her sleeves as she sat down. 'What would you like to tell me?'
'Well, Mr Greenleaf, I was going to ask Mr Gimli, but I didn't think that he would understand, so I'll stop avoiding asking what I want to ask you and ask.' She left a pause. 'I know someone, I'm not like their best friend or anything, but they've been cutting themselves.'
Legolas suddenly realised why she had rolled up her sleeves. To prove it wasn't her.
'Well, they've been doing it for a long time and you can see the scars and bruises all up their arms and everything. ' Explained Pippin, 'I mean I don't know what to do. They won't talk about it, but I can see it's making them unhappy.'
'Miss Gamgee, who is this person?' he asked. Maybe he could talk to them later. He could see that it was worrying Pippin.
'I can't say.' She said, turning away. 'Look, I couldn't tell Sam and the others, 'cause they wouldn't understand this sort of thing. I mean, they're BOYS, and, well, I though being older and mature, you might understand. '
'I do Miss Gamgee, but please, tell me more.' Said Legolas sucking his pipe.
'Well, I found this person doing it, Y'know cutting themselves, and I didn't know what was going on. I thought they might have done it by accident, don't ask how, but then they kept slashing and slashing, and they were bleeding and laughing about it. I mean laughing? It chilled me, but I went over to them halfway through and they were just going on about stuff I didn't understand. I tried to question them, but she just garbled some stuff about beauty.'
Pippin had to take a big breath after this. 'Well, I bandaged them up as best as possible, but after that they seemed to go back to normal and just walked off. I mean, just walked off after going crazy!'
'So Miss Gamgee, you want some advice?'
'Yes. I saw all of this, and I'm scared they might hurt themselves badly.' Said Pippin.
Legolas took the pipe out of his mouth and tapped it against his knee as he thought about what he had heard for a few seconds. 'Well, if I were you Miss Gamgee I'd confront Miss Baggins later tonight about what you saw and maybe just be there for her so she doesn't have to resort to cutting herself when she fells down.'
'How on middle earth did you know that I was talking about Froda?'
'Because of my elfish powers.' Pippin looked at him, 'deduction.' He said finally. He grinned again and Pippin tried to keep a straight face. Then she burst out laughing.
'Thank you Mr Greenleaf.' She said, 'I'm glad I could talk to you.'
______________________
+++Firelighters are used in England to start fires because everything else is too wet to burn. They are plastic looking white blocks, often used on barbecues.
Ok, thank you fans and reviewers!