Disclaimer- (I forgot to do this for the first chapters, so *sighs* I guess
I am making up for it) *bored* Don't own this, just my storyline, own some
characters, basically don't own Took family, Brandybuck family, Diamond and
Estella. There. Please don't sue. It's not nice.
A.N.- THIS CHAPTER HAS SPOILERS FOR RETURN OF THE KING. Did I get your attention? Good! I will put the spoilers inside little asterisks, and if you have read the last book, feel free to read them. If not, then well, all I can say is to please have common sense! Merry late Christmas to all, and to all, a good day!
The Great Smials looked beautiful from the outside. Hills and valleys continuously interloped with each other, alternating back and forth so that it seemed like the ground itself couldn't make up it's mind whether to be raised or depressed. The paths that led around the hole were fair teeming with hobbits, going this way or that, and I couldn't help but wonder at this.
"Pippin, are all of these hobbits normally here?" I asked, motioning to the traffic of carts and the occasional pony.
"Not at all! This is family, all family. Not a single hobbit lives within half a day's walking distance of the Great Smials that isn't related to us by blood or marriage. But considering the size of our family name, we are certainly not sequestered. It seems like every day, there is a new visitor, a great-aunt, or a cousin of some sorts, or an uncle. But there hasn't been this much activity here, Pim told me, since I was born. It's the wedding, Diamond." He put his hand on mine gently and looked at me. I nodded, as if everything made sense now.
"Diamond, I- I never felt worse than I did at that Festival. Da said that I had to find someone to marry, someone decent, or else he would find someone for me. He said Merry would have no trouble finding twenty lasses who would be lined up to just see him. Oh Diamond, do you know how badly that hurt?" Pippin stopped, and looked down. He obviously looked like he felt bad for pouring out his heart. I didn't want to put my hand on his and say "there, there, it's alright. Tell me everything." I felt like that was something that Peridot would say, and therefor, it was something I would NOT say. Truth be told, I didn't quite know what I wanted to say. So I just sat there. And Pippin opened up for me.
************ "Diamond, Merry has always been perfect, or at least, perfecter than me. On the Quest, he killed a Nazgúl! No living man could do that, but Merry could. Merry and a woman named Eówyn. Merry never looked into any palantir, he didn't drop anything down the well. No one ever heard Gandalf call Merry 'Fool of a Brandybuck'. Merry didn't eat as much as I did, so everyone in the Fellowship called me gluttonous, while Merry was 'restrained'. Merry was quieter, more behaved, less rash, the list goes on and on!" Pippin paused, and wiped his eyes with the backs of his hands.
************
"Diamond, in Moria, I heard Gimli telling Legolas how the Fellowship would have been better off with two Merry's instead of a Merry and a Pippin. It wasn't my fault! I was growing still, and needed more food than all of the adult members of the Fellowship. Besides, it's well known, in the Shire at least, that The Great Smials have more food to go around, because there are less hobbits and more farmland, while Brandy Hall sits near water, not land, and the place is flooded with hobbits all the time. I am used to more food, and it wasn't fair that I was singled out for my shortcomings, while no one else was.
" Tooks are generally more rambunctious and well, active, than other hobbits. If the Fellowship wanted to call that loud, then fine. And I didn't mean to knock the stone down the well, honestly. My hand slipped, it could have happened even to Gandalf, but he yelled at me. Fair shouted down my throat, if you asked me, which made more sound than one small stone. Gandalf never liked me. He preferred Frodo, that was obvious, or even Strider, who is king now. Not stupid Pippin and his foolish ways. Don't misunderstand me, I love Merry as a brother, and Gandalf was like a father, but oh!-" Pippin choked back a sob, and then he looked up at me.
"I'm sorry Diamond. I'm acting as if I were nine and twenty again, not a grown hobbit who's supposed to have responsibilities. But do you mind?" I smiled, and shook my head.
"Pippin, if I can't be your bride, then I would dearly love to be your friend," I said quietly. It was all I could think of to say, but as soon as I said it, I regretted it. He lowered his eyebrows, and looked into my eyes.
"Diamond, aren't you going, wouldn't you please? Please Diamond. I feel like I have known you forever, not just a day, and you are so much more wonderful than those ninnies at the Festival." I swallowed, avoiding his gaze, and looking at the ground.
"There is something you need to know about me, Pippin." He laughed wryly.
"You aren't male, are you?" I smiled weakly, and shook my head.
"No. Long, long years before I met you, my sister coaxed me into taking a vow of chastity at the Well in Long Cleeve. Rumor has it that the elves themselves built this well, before the Wise gave the Shire to the hobbits, and it is indeed of elf-like beauty, if I have ever seen anything that could be called such. It has held me to my vow so profoundly that my body will not allow me to utter anything that would seem like I was trying to rev- revo- the thing. I cannot say it, Pippin, forgive me. I want so badly with my heart to marry you, and be happy, but my vow is binding me to my fate, and I am helpless. You must understand, Pippin. I love you, as a brother, as a friend, as a companion and confidant-"
"As a husband and a father?" Pippin looked as if he dared not even ask, for fear of the response. I was near tears now, and I nodded, closing my eyes.
"Yes Pippin. Were I rid of this stupid vow, I would love you as a husband. But you do not understand. I cannot marry you, not like this." Pippin's eyes lit up. "Diamond, it is a vow of chastity. From what Pearl and Pim tell me of life, and such, then we could still wed. Da doesn't need an heir. Let Merry contribute one of his assuredly to be very large family to Da. We don't ever need to, well, break your vow." His earnest face broke my heart, although at the same time, my heart started to rise.
"Yes, Pippin! Yes, I do think that would work, although so much could go wrong, and so much of it sounds wrong in its very saying, it might work! Oh Pippin, I was so afraid that you wouldn't want me!" I hugged Pippin happily, and I felt him brush his lips against my cheek. I pulled back, surprised.
"Is that against your vow, too?" I couldn't tell if he was jesting, or serious, so I just smiled and shook my head.
"Can you kiss me back?" He asked, his voice barely over a whisper, and hesitating. I had never thought of that before, so I tried. I leaned in to kiss him on the forehead, and somehow, I was allowed to do so. Pippin laughed, simply because of sheer delight, and hugged me again.
"Pippin, I wonder. I wonder, really, if you wouldn't mind something, I would like to see just- well, I don't want to sound rude- but I wonder just what the limits of my vow are?" I kissed him on the cheek, and nothing happened. I tried to kiss him on the lips, and I was just barely able to brush them when I was pulled back.
"Ah, so I see the two lovebirds are enjoying each other's company," Pim giggled as she let go of my dress. I blushed crimson, and Pippin looked down.
"Don't fret, Little Brother. I won't tell Mother, or Father, but Diamond, Mother wants to see you. Something about new dresses for the wedding, I think." Pim shrugged, and I followed her in, feeling all the more disappointed, because for once, I had thought that maybe, just maybe, I had gotten over this accursed vow.
Now, would I ever know?
A.N.- THIS CHAPTER HAS SPOILERS FOR RETURN OF THE KING. Did I get your attention? Good! I will put the spoilers inside little asterisks, and if you have read the last book, feel free to read them. If not, then well, all I can say is to please have common sense! Merry late Christmas to all, and to all, a good day!
The Great Smials looked beautiful from the outside. Hills and valleys continuously interloped with each other, alternating back and forth so that it seemed like the ground itself couldn't make up it's mind whether to be raised or depressed. The paths that led around the hole were fair teeming with hobbits, going this way or that, and I couldn't help but wonder at this.
"Pippin, are all of these hobbits normally here?" I asked, motioning to the traffic of carts and the occasional pony.
"Not at all! This is family, all family. Not a single hobbit lives within half a day's walking distance of the Great Smials that isn't related to us by blood or marriage. But considering the size of our family name, we are certainly not sequestered. It seems like every day, there is a new visitor, a great-aunt, or a cousin of some sorts, or an uncle. But there hasn't been this much activity here, Pim told me, since I was born. It's the wedding, Diamond." He put his hand on mine gently and looked at me. I nodded, as if everything made sense now.
"Diamond, I- I never felt worse than I did at that Festival. Da said that I had to find someone to marry, someone decent, or else he would find someone for me. He said Merry would have no trouble finding twenty lasses who would be lined up to just see him. Oh Diamond, do you know how badly that hurt?" Pippin stopped, and looked down. He obviously looked like he felt bad for pouring out his heart. I didn't want to put my hand on his and say "there, there, it's alright. Tell me everything." I felt like that was something that Peridot would say, and therefor, it was something I would NOT say. Truth be told, I didn't quite know what I wanted to say. So I just sat there. And Pippin opened up for me.
************ "Diamond, Merry has always been perfect, or at least, perfecter than me. On the Quest, he killed a Nazgúl! No living man could do that, but Merry could. Merry and a woman named Eówyn. Merry never looked into any palantir, he didn't drop anything down the well. No one ever heard Gandalf call Merry 'Fool of a Brandybuck'. Merry didn't eat as much as I did, so everyone in the Fellowship called me gluttonous, while Merry was 'restrained'. Merry was quieter, more behaved, less rash, the list goes on and on!" Pippin paused, and wiped his eyes with the backs of his hands.
************
"Diamond, in Moria, I heard Gimli telling Legolas how the Fellowship would have been better off with two Merry's instead of a Merry and a Pippin. It wasn't my fault! I was growing still, and needed more food than all of the adult members of the Fellowship. Besides, it's well known, in the Shire at least, that The Great Smials have more food to go around, because there are less hobbits and more farmland, while Brandy Hall sits near water, not land, and the place is flooded with hobbits all the time. I am used to more food, and it wasn't fair that I was singled out for my shortcomings, while no one else was.
" Tooks are generally more rambunctious and well, active, than other hobbits. If the Fellowship wanted to call that loud, then fine. And I didn't mean to knock the stone down the well, honestly. My hand slipped, it could have happened even to Gandalf, but he yelled at me. Fair shouted down my throat, if you asked me, which made more sound than one small stone. Gandalf never liked me. He preferred Frodo, that was obvious, or even Strider, who is king now. Not stupid Pippin and his foolish ways. Don't misunderstand me, I love Merry as a brother, and Gandalf was like a father, but oh!-" Pippin choked back a sob, and then he looked up at me.
"I'm sorry Diamond. I'm acting as if I were nine and twenty again, not a grown hobbit who's supposed to have responsibilities. But do you mind?" I smiled, and shook my head.
"Pippin, if I can't be your bride, then I would dearly love to be your friend," I said quietly. It was all I could think of to say, but as soon as I said it, I regretted it. He lowered his eyebrows, and looked into my eyes.
"Diamond, aren't you going, wouldn't you please? Please Diamond. I feel like I have known you forever, not just a day, and you are so much more wonderful than those ninnies at the Festival." I swallowed, avoiding his gaze, and looking at the ground.
"There is something you need to know about me, Pippin." He laughed wryly.
"You aren't male, are you?" I smiled weakly, and shook my head.
"No. Long, long years before I met you, my sister coaxed me into taking a vow of chastity at the Well in Long Cleeve. Rumor has it that the elves themselves built this well, before the Wise gave the Shire to the hobbits, and it is indeed of elf-like beauty, if I have ever seen anything that could be called such. It has held me to my vow so profoundly that my body will not allow me to utter anything that would seem like I was trying to rev- revo- the thing. I cannot say it, Pippin, forgive me. I want so badly with my heart to marry you, and be happy, but my vow is binding me to my fate, and I am helpless. You must understand, Pippin. I love you, as a brother, as a friend, as a companion and confidant-"
"As a husband and a father?" Pippin looked as if he dared not even ask, for fear of the response. I was near tears now, and I nodded, closing my eyes.
"Yes Pippin. Were I rid of this stupid vow, I would love you as a husband. But you do not understand. I cannot marry you, not like this." Pippin's eyes lit up. "Diamond, it is a vow of chastity. From what Pearl and Pim tell me of life, and such, then we could still wed. Da doesn't need an heir. Let Merry contribute one of his assuredly to be very large family to Da. We don't ever need to, well, break your vow." His earnest face broke my heart, although at the same time, my heart started to rise.
"Yes, Pippin! Yes, I do think that would work, although so much could go wrong, and so much of it sounds wrong in its very saying, it might work! Oh Pippin, I was so afraid that you wouldn't want me!" I hugged Pippin happily, and I felt him brush his lips against my cheek. I pulled back, surprised.
"Is that against your vow, too?" I couldn't tell if he was jesting, or serious, so I just smiled and shook my head.
"Can you kiss me back?" He asked, his voice barely over a whisper, and hesitating. I had never thought of that before, so I tried. I leaned in to kiss him on the forehead, and somehow, I was allowed to do so. Pippin laughed, simply because of sheer delight, and hugged me again.
"Pippin, I wonder. I wonder, really, if you wouldn't mind something, I would like to see just- well, I don't want to sound rude- but I wonder just what the limits of my vow are?" I kissed him on the cheek, and nothing happened. I tried to kiss him on the lips, and I was just barely able to brush them when I was pulled back.
"Ah, so I see the two lovebirds are enjoying each other's company," Pim giggled as she let go of my dress. I blushed crimson, and Pippin looked down.
"Don't fret, Little Brother. I won't tell Mother, or Father, but Diamond, Mother wants to see you. Something about new dresses for the wedding, I think." Pim shrugged, and I followed her in, feeling all the more disappointed, because for once, I had thought that maybe, just maybe, I had gotten over this accursed vow.
Now, would I ever know?