Chapter 29
Mud Wars
A/N: Glad you enjoyed the previous chapter. Actually Pippin wasn't in the pond with the other boys-he's still recovering from the flu so his mother wouldn't have allowed him to take part in anything too strenuous for a little while. But yes, Frodo and Merry are naked LOL. Anyway-HURRAH-only 15 more days till THE TWO TOWERS comes out! Neeeeeeeeep! I'll probably break through writers block for all of my LOTR-based stories when I finally see that. I haven't gotten tired of the first film yet-though in the SE edition I'm starting to fast forward through the old scenes to get to the newer ones. Okay-on with the chapter!
The girls were very embarassed following their scolding. Paladin had given them a good lecture about how they acted very un-lady-like (Pimpernel resisted the urge to roll her eyes) and that they should be ashamed of themselves. Little did Paladin know that the jokes didn't end there.
Outside, re-dressed and drying in the early summer sun, Frodo, Berilac and Merry were planning to get revenge on the girls. "They want a war, they'll have a war," said Frodo. He shook his head. "Ugh-I still have water in my ears from swimming. But what should we do back to them?"
Berilac's lips curled into an evil smile and he pulled his cousins into a huddle.
Pimpernel, Pearl, Pervinca as punishment were to knit a scarf for Pippin, each making a section. Not used to this type of work, Pimpernel stabbed herself in the finger with her needle twice, and had to be snapped at for using foul language.
"Where are the boys anyway?" asked Pervinca as she worked on her end of the scarf, made from a dark blue yarn.
Pimpernel looked around. "I'm not sure," She replied. "But it's too quiet around here."
"That doesn't surprise me. They're probably raiding the pantries in the kitchen." Pearl told her.
"Yes-I suppose so. But still-the look on their faces when we had their clothes!"
Pervinca, who happened to glance over her shoulder, saw Frodo and Merry coming towards them. "Oh look who it is." She said loudly and her sisters turned.
"Hullo." Said Merry, smiling way too innocently. Both boys had their hands behind their backs.
"What are you doing?" asked Pimpernel eyeing them suspiciously.
"NOW!" A voice shouted from a few feet away.
SPLUT
The girls screamed, leaping up as brown glop smashed against them. "Hahahaha!" Frodo howled with laughter as he watched them recover enough to find out what they had thrown.
"It's mud!" Pervinca squealed. "All down the front of my new dress! Frodo Baggins-I'm going to kill you!"
Frodo stuck his tongue out as he bolted off, still laughing, running away from Pervinca.
"Run faster, Vinca! Grab his ankle!" Pimpernel yelled. "That's it. This is war!"
Pervinca attempted to reach out and grab Frodo by the pant leg but fell flat on her stomach in a mud puddle.
"Vinca!" Pearl cried, hurrying over to her sister who was lying face down. "Get up-are you all right?"
Pimpernel helped Pervinca out of the mud puddle and tried very hard not to laugh at the sight before her. "Grab handfuls, girls! Let's go!"
The sisters each grabbed two handfuls of mud and rushed around the house, playing cat and mouse with their rowdy male cousins. Frodo and Berilac ducked a blow when they threw it the first time, but were able to aim perfectly back. No one noticed with Bilbo came outside until SPLUT-a handful of mud hit him directly in the face. Everyone ceased their play in horror. The three sisters had their hands over their mouths and the boys were wide eyed in shock. "U-Uncle?" Frodo asked, walking over to Bilbo who held a hand out, stopping him.
"If you wouldn't mind," Bilbo started quietly, "What is the meaning of this?" He wiped mud out of his eyes and spit it out of his mouth.
"I am so sorry," Pimpernel apologized. "We didn't mean to hit you, Uncle Bilbo. You came out so suddenly."
"Are you angry?" asked Berilac in a shaky voice.
Bilbo gave all of them very serious looks. "How dare you have a good time without inviting me to join you?" He asked teasingly. The others sighed with relief and began laughing.
"Well we started the whole thing by stealing their clothes," Pimpernel explained. "Then they hit us with mud and we're having a mud fight now. I'm not sure if you'd like to join us considering the nice clothes you're wearing."
Bilbo chortled. "Nonsense. I have plenty of nice clothes at home. And they aren't ruined-a good wash will fix everything. Now let me see here." Bilbo reached down and picked up a handful of mud, throwing it directly at Frodo, hitting his nephew in the forehead. This sent the rest of the group laughing as Bilbo, who for his age was very energetic, chased after the others.
No one was ready to come in when Eglatine called them for supper, but she was horrified when they approached the Great Smial covered in filth and even more horrified to see that Bilbo was just as dirty as the younger set. "Well I NEVER!" She gasped. Pippin peered out from behind his mother, his lips curling into a smile when he saw his cousins. "Bilbo Baggins-are you an adult or a child?"
Bilbo smiled. "Sometimes I am both," He told her with a wink.
"Right. Well-to the privy with all of you. You'll not set a single toe inside this smial till you are sparkling."
Pippin started to follow them but "Gack!" Eglatine grabbed her son by the scruff of his neck. "Oh no you don't, love. You're perfectly clean. Go to the kitchen and help set the table."
Supper that night was a lively affair. The children sat on one side of the long table used for guests and the adults sat on the other. It was the night that Pimpernel tried her first mug of ale and wound up on the table, hitching her skirts and singing, much to the amusement of the rest of the family. Unfortunately, Frodo and Bilbo were returning to Bag-End early the next morning, which sent Pippin to tears. He clung to Frodo's leg and had to be pried off by his mother when it was time for bed. "I'm not going to leave without saying good bye to you, silly goose." Frodo teased.
"Good night, Pippin." Said Merry, watching as his Aunt led her son up to his bedroom.
Late that night, Pimpernel lay awake in bed reading by candlelight when the door to her room opened and her father appeared.
"Hullo Papa." She greeted.
"I thought I saw light coming from in here. Can't sleep?" "No." Pimpernel admitted, leaning up against the headboard.
"I see. Well-I just wanted to make sure everything was all right."
"Everything's fine."
"Good night, love."
"Good night, Papa." Pimpernel smiled when her father closed the door again and then she returned to her book.
A/N: Glad you enjoyed the previous chapter. Actually Pippin wasn't in the pond with the other boys-he's still recovering from the flu so his mother wouldn't have allowed him to take part in anything too strenuous for a little while. But yes, Frodo and Merry are naked LOL. Anyway-HURRAH-only 15 more days till THE TWO TOWERS comes out! Neeeeeeeeep! I'll probably break through writers block for all of my LOTR-based stories when I finally see that. I haven't gotten tired of the first film yet-though in the SE edition I'm starting to fast forward through the old scenes to get to the newer ones. Okay-on with the chapter!
The girls were very embarassed following their scolding. Paladin had given them a good lecture about how they acted very un-lady-like (Pimpernel resisted the urge to roll her eyes) and that they should be ashamed of themselves. Little did Paladin know that the jokes didn't end there.
Outside, re-dressed and drying in the early summer sun, Frodo, Berilac and Merry were planning to get revenge on the girls. "They want a war, they'll have a war," said Frodo. He shook his head. "Ugh-I still have water in my ears from swimming. But what should we do back to them?"
Berilac's lips curled into an evil smile and he pulled his cousins into a huddle.
Pimpernel, Pearl, Pervinca as punishment were to knit a scarf for Pippin, each making a section. Not used to this type of work, Pimpernel stabbed herself in the finger with her needle twice, and had to be snapped at for using foul language.
"Where are the boys anyway?" asked Pervinca as she worked on her end of the scarf, made from a dark blue yarn.
Pimpernel looked around. "I'm not sure," She replied. "But it's too quiet around here."
"That doesn't surprise me. They're probably raiding the pantries in the kitchen." Pearl told her.
"Yes-I suppose so. But still-the look on their faces when we had their clothes!"
Pervinca, who happened to glance over her shoulder, saw Frodo and Merry coming towards them. "Oh look who it is." She said loudly and her sisters turned.
"Hullo." Said Merry, smiling way too innocently. Both boys had their hands behind their backs.
"What are you doing?" asked Pimpernel eyeing them suspiciously.
"NOW!" A voice shouted from a few feet away.
SPLUT
The girls screamed, leaping up as brown glop smashed against them. "Hahahaha!" Frodo howled with laughter as he watched them recover enough to find out what they had thrown.
"It's mud!" Pervinca squealed. "All down the front of my new dress! Frodo Baggins-I'm going to kill you!"
Frodo stuck his tongue out as he bolted off, still laughing, running away from Pervinca.
"Run faster, Vinca! Grab his ankle!" Pimpernel yelled. "That's it. This is war!"
Pervinca attempted to reach out and grab Frodo by the pant leg but fell flat on her stomach in a mud puddle.
"Vinca!" Pearl cried, hurrying over to her sister who was lying face down. "Get up-are you all right?"
Pimpernel helped Pervinca out of the mud puddle and tried very hard not to laugh at the sight before her. "Grab handfuls, girls! Let's go!"
The sisters each grabbed two handfuls of mud and rushed around the house, playing cat and mouse with their rowdy male cousins. Frodo and Berilac ducked a blow when they threw it the first time, but were able to aim perfectly back. No one noticed with Bilbo came outside until SPLUT-a handful of mud hit him directly in the face. Everyone ceased their play in horror. The three sisters had their hands over their mouths and the boys were wide eyed in shock. "U-Uncle?" Frodo asked, walking over to Bilbo who held a hand out, stopping him.
"If you wouldn't mind," Bilbo started quietly, "What is the meaning of this?" He wiped mud out of his eyes and spit it out of his mouth.
"I am so sorry," Pimpernel apologized. "We didn't mean to hit you, Uncle Bilbo. You came out so suddenly."
"Are you angry?" asked Berilac in a shaky voice.
Bilbo gave all of them very serious looks. "How dare you have a good time without inviting me to join you?" He asked teasingly. The others sighed with relief and began laughing.
"Well we started the whole thing by stealing their clothes," Pimpernel explained. "Then they hit us with mud and we're having a mud fight now. I'm not sure if you'd like to join us considering the nice clothes you're wearing."
Bilbo chortled. "Nonsense. I have plenty of nice clothes at home. And they aren't ruined-a good wash will fix everything. Now let me see here." Bilbo reached down and picked up a handful of mud, throwing it directly at Frodo, hitting his nephew in the forehead. This sent the rest of the group laughing as Bilbo, who for his age was very energetic, chased after the others.
No one was ready to come in when Eglatine called them for supper, but she was horrified when they approached the Great Smial covered in filth and even more horrified to see that Bilbo was just as dirty as the younger set. "Well I NEVER!" She gasped. Pippin peered out from behind his mother, his lips curling into a smile when he saw his cousins. "Bilbo Baggins-are you an adult or a child?"
Bilbo smiled. "Sometimes I am both," He told her with a wink.
"Right. Well-to the privy with all of you. You'll not set a single toe inside this smial till you are sparkling."
Pippin started to follow them but "Gack!" Eglatine grabbed her son by the scruff of his neck. "Oh no you don't, love. You're perfectly clean. Go to the kitchen and help set the table."
Supper that night was a lively affair. The children sat on one side of the long table used for guests and the adults sat on the other. It was the night that Pimpernel tried her first mug of ale and wound up on the table, hitching her skirts and singing, much to the amusement of the rest of the family. Unfortunately, Frodo and Bilbo were returning to Bag-End early the next morning, which sent Pippin to tears. He clung to Frodo's leg and had to be pried off by his mother when it was time for bed. "I'm not going to leave without saying good bye to you, silly goose." Frodo teased.
"Good night, Pippin." Said Merry, watching as his Aunt led her son up to his bedroom.
Late that night, Pimpernel lay awake in bed reading by candlelight when the door to her room opened and her father appeared.
"Hullo Papa." She greeted.
"I thought I saw light coming from in here. Can't sleep?" "No." Pimpernel admitted, leaning up against the headboard.
"I see. Well-I just wanted to make sure everything was all right."
"Everything's fine."
"Good night, love."
"Good night, Papa." Pimpernel smiled when her father closed the door again and then she returned to her book.
