Author's note: It's short, I'm afraid, but here's the latest chapter.
***
Pippin awoke early from a strange dream. And now, in the morning sunlight, the dream was fading faster than he could recall, until only one detail remained. The voices who had been whispering about him. Had it just been a dream, he wondered.
He climbed out of bed and walked to the kitchen. An early breakfast would be just what he needed to feel better and shake the dream from his memory.
It was nice to be able to enjoy a large breakfast, the like of which he hadn't been able to eat in such a long time. Aragorn had given them good meals in Minas Tirrith, but they had been rebuilding the city and hadn't had much to spare to suit a hobbit's standards. Eating the eggs, bacon, sausage and tomato he had cooked, he reflected on everything that had happened. It was a year since they had set out from the Shire, on a journey they knew little about. It seemed much longer than a year, so much had happened. The Shire had changed in their absence, and they had been changed by their absence. Pippin felt that he had grown up a lot over the course of his adventures.
Then a thought struck him.
"Are you there?" he asked the empty room.
"Why do you ask questions you know the answer to?" the voice replied. It sounded as though he was smiling. The pressure Pippin had come to know returned to his mind with the voice.
"It's all over now. You haven't got any reason to keep talking to me."
"Nothing is ever 'all over', little prince. The consequences will keep going until the end of the world."
"Who are you?" Pippin asked, realising that he hadn't asked the customary question yet.
"You are not yet ready to know my name."
"How can I not be? The war's over and I've done far more than I set out to do. If I haven't fulfilled my potential now, when will I?"
The voice laughed, "Do not rush the future, little one. All things will happen when the time is right. I have no doubt you will be ready when the time comes, but you are not ready yet."
"So you'll still be talking to me years from now?"
"Perhaps. But there is no need for me to talk to you. You have much to do in the here and now, without dreaming of what your future may hold. I will always be here, I will always be listening, but I will most likely not speak to you for some time. Your future is your own, to share with those of your own kind."
It was strange to hear the voice talking like this. Throughout the quest, the voice had been there. An unwelcome intrusion at first, but later he had become comforting. Even when he was on his own, Pippin had known the voice would be listening.
"Why won't you speak to me?" Pippin asked.
"Because I don't need to. You can accomplish all the things you must accomplish for your future with your own strengths and knowledge. How can you fulfil your potential if I do not let you?"
Pippin thought he understood. "That is why at the battle of the black gates, you did not take control and fight through me as you did at the Weathertop."
"Exactly."
There was silence for a while, but the pressure remained in Pippin's mind.
"What great deed do I have ahead of me that you will not interfere with?" he asked at last.
"Your life."
"Pippin?" Pippin blinked and the pressure was gone. He realised suddenly that the words he had spoken had only been thoughts he his mind. He hadn't been speaking aloud during the conversation.
"Pippin?" Pippin looked round to see Merry in the doorway, a concerned look on his face. He smiled.
"I am all right, Merry," he said.
"Your eyes were mirrored," Merry said, "you were talking to that voice again, weren't you?"
Pippin nodded, "He says he won't speak to me again for some time."
"I'm glad," Merry said, "I did not like they way he could take control of you."
"He did it to protect me," Pippin wasn't certain how he knew this, but he did.
"I'm still glad he's gone. I'd rather just have the Pippin I know."
"You have."
As Merry turned to make himself some tea, Pippin thought, 'Are you still there?' experimentally. But there was no reply.
***
Pippin awoke early from a strange dream. And now, in the morning sunlight, the dream was fading faster than he could recall, until only one detail remained. The voices who had been whispering about him. Had it just been a dream, he wondered.
He climbed out of bed and walked to the kitchen. An early breakfast would be just what he needed to feel better and shake the dream from his memory.
It was nice to be able to enjoy a large breakfast, the like of which he hadn't been able to eat in such a long time. Aragorn had given them good meals in Minas Tirrith, but they had been rebuilding the city and hadn't had much to spare to suit a hobbit's standards. Eating the eggs, bacon, sausage and tomato he had cooked, he reflected on everything that had happened. It was a year since they had set out from the Shire, on a journey they knew little about. It seemed much longer than a year, so much had happened. The Shire had changed in their absence, and they had been changed by their absence. Pippin felt that he had grown up a lot over the course of his adventures.
Then a thought struck him.
"Are you there?" he asked the empty room.
"Why do you ask questions you know the answer to?" the voice replied. It sounded as though he was smiling. The pressure Pippin had come to know returned to his mind with the voice.
"It's all over now. You haven't got any reason to keep talking to me."
"Nothing is ever 'all over', little prince. The consequences will keep going until the end of the world."
"Who are you?" Pippin asked, realising that he hadn't asked the customary question yet.
"You are not yet ready to know my name."
"How can I not be? The war's over and I've done far more than I set out to do. If I haven't fulfilled my potential now, when will I?"
The voice laughed, "Do not rush the future, little one. All things will happen when the time is right. I have no doubt you will be ready when the time comes, but you are not ready yet."
"So you'll still be talking to me years from now?"
"Perhaps. But there is no need for me to talk to you. You have much to do in the here and now, without dreaming of what your future may hold. I will always be here, I will always be listening, but I will most likely not speak to you for some time. Your future is your own, to share with those of your own kind."
It was strange to hear the voice talking like this. Throughout the quest, the voice had been there. An unwelcome intrusion at first, but later he had become comforting. Even when he was on his own, Pippin had known the voice would be listening.
"Why won't you speak to me?" Pippin asked.
"Because I don't need to. You can accomplish all the things you must accomplish for your future with your own strengths and knowledge. How can you fulfil your potential if I do not let you?"
Pippin thought he understood. "That is why at the battle of the black gates, you did not take control and fight through me as you did at the Weathertop."
"Exactly."
There was silence for a while, but the pressure remained in Pippin's mind.
"What great deed do I have ahead of me that you will not interfere with?" he asked at last.
"Your life."
"Pippin?" Pippin blinked and the pressure was gone. He realised suddenly that the words he had spoken had only been thoughts he his mind. He hadn't been speaking aloud during the conversation.
"Pippin?" Pippin looked round to see Merry in the doorway, a concerned look on his face. He smiled.
"I am all right, Merry," he said.
"Your eyes were mirrored," Merry said, "you were talking to that voice again, weren't you?"
Pippin nodded, "He says he won't speak to me again for some time."
"I'm glad," Merry said, "I did not like they way he could take control of you."
"He did it to protect me," Pippin wasn't certain how he knew this, but he did.
"I'm still glad he's gone. I'd rather just have the Pippin I know."
"You have."
As Merry turned to make himself some tea, Pippin thought, 'Are you still there?' experimentally. But there was no reply.