Chapter 3
The next morning I woke up feeling more alive than ever before. It was my
birthday, my coming of age! I jumped out of bed and quickly got dressed. I
spent a wonderful morning with my family, receiving a huge birthday
breakfast. My parents gave me a beautiful necklace, with sapphires and
diamonds. They said they had been saving up little by little to get it and
couldn't wait to see my face. My sisters gave me a new dress and my older
brother came home to give me my favorite book. He found it in a shop in
Bree, and I thanked him for traveling so far to get it for me.
I ran outside, meeting my two favorite hobbits, Meriadoc and Peregrin,
carrying birthday food and gifts. I hugged and thanked them both, and we
went to town, where I surprisingly found all my friends in the pub, each
wearing a smile and bearing a gift. I'm sure my face lit up as I felt that
the day before never happened. Merry and Pippin sang a song and Rosie's
mother baked a huge cake (which, might I add, was quite delicious).
A little past luncheon Diamond arrived wearing a new dress and, of course,
Pippin's ring. I scowled secretly. She ran up to him and hugged him. She
was a good actress. I walked over to see her.
"Diamond! Hi!" I welcomed her.
"Willow! Happy Birthday! I would've come sooner but I was busy. Wow! You're
thirty! An adult!" She seemed very happy. She was always rambling on like
this. I didn't understand what Pippin saw in her. I smiled in return to
her response, but left as soon as possible to talk to Merry.
"Well? Have you decided when to do it?" I asked.
"Do what?" A voice came from behind us. It was Pippin.
"Pip! Hey! I didn't see you there, cousin!" Merry said.
"Do what?" he repeated.
"Oh, uh, Wil here was asking if I checked to see if more ale was coming,"
he lied.
Pippin seemed convinced, "Oh. Merry, can I talk to you alone?"
Merry was confused. What would he want to talk about that didn't even me?
"Sure. Excuse us, Wil." He walked over to Pippin.
"Well?"
Pippin searched for the right words, "Merry, you and Wil, is there anything
going on?" he stopped to Merry's shocked face and explained himself, "It's
just that you two have been talking alone more than usual. Like last night
at the pub. Fatty told me he saw you two leave and you didn't come back for
quite a while."
"No, Pip. We're just friends. Willow just needed some air last night and I
went to talk to her, is all."
Pippin seemed unusually relieved. "Oh, okay. Sorry for asking."
Merry returned a smile, "No problem. Now, if you excuse me, I think there's
some of Mrs. Cotton's cake around here."
He walked into the crowd and met up with me again. "Well?" I asked, "What
did he want?"
Merry smiled, "He wanted to know if I was interested in you."
I blushed, "Oh, why would he think that?"
"He said that Fatty told him we snuck away last night and didn't come back
for a long time." I let out a laugh. "What? I'm not your type?" he joked.
I answered him sarcastically, "Ha ha. Now when are we executing our plan?"
I asked mischievously.
He laughed, "You always were one to hatch plans. We'll do it tomorrow.
You'll meet up with Diamond on the road to Pippin's. I heard she was going
over there to plan the wedding. I'll stall Pip."
"Great. Do you think it will work?" I asked concerned.
"Do you really love him?" I nodded. "Then of course it will."
I hugged him. What a great friend; such an admirable hobbit. What I didn't
know was that Diamond, Pippin, Samwise, Rosie, and several others were
watching us converse and hug in suspicion.
* * * "They're just friends," Rosie announced, "They've known each other so long, it's probably just natural." Sam contorted, "But, Rosie dear, that is also something against your case. They've known each other so long and now that could be the very reason they've fallen in love." The four of them were in a heated discussion watching their two good friends. "Then why," Pippin questioned, "wouldn't they tell me? I've known them both just as long as they've known each other. Longer in fact! Why would they keep anything secret? And besides, I just asked Merry, and he said nothing was going on." "Peregrin dear, you know that Merry is a natural liar. He could be telling the truth yes, but he could also be telling a lie." Diamond debated. The four of them watched and shared their thoughts of Merry and myself. We were discussing the plan, laughing at the frequent jokes adding in everywhere. We had indeed spent most of the night deducting and concocting in secret, which by far could very well be suspicious, but Merry had told them nothing was going on. Now it was a bit sketchy that we claimed we were talking normally the whole night and it was accident that it was all night, well, okay, so it was highly suspicious, and if I were in their situations, I would have guessed the same thing. The night ended and gradually, more and more hobbits had to go home. Soon only around twenty hobbits were left and I myself was quite tired. I yawned and told Rosie, Diamond, Sam, Merry, and Pippin I was leaving. Rosie and Sam agreed and said they were going home also. Diamond said goodnight, as did Pippin. Merry asked if I wished him to escort me home. I said yes, thinking of talking further about our plans. This gained a few looks from friends. I could see Sam shift in his seat almost as if he was signaling to Rosie that he was right and we were involved, but Merry seemed to pay no heed, so I took his lead and followed him out the door, just in time to hear many whispers and some I-told-you-so's on the way out. "You know Merry, I don't think they believe our story," I concluded on the walk. "I don't either," he immediately knew what I was talking about, "But let them think what they want. They will all find out what's happening soon enough." "Then you don't mind all the rumors that are sure to be flying about?" I asked, looking up at him. I still wasn't used to Pippin and Merry being so tall. When they came back, I had to jump up to give them a good hug. "Let them talk. We know the truth. And besides," he added with a smile, "You're no that bad." I smiled and gave him a light push. We reached my hole and he hugged me goodbye. I kissed his cheek, which he obviously wasn't expecting, because when I looked back, I saw his cheeks turn red. I laughed to myself and walked inside, slipped into my room, and went to sleep with all my thoughts floating around.
* * * "They're just friends," Rosie announced, "They've known each other so long, it's probably just natural." Sam contorted, "But, Rosie dear, that is also something against your case. They've known each other so long and now that could be the very reason they've fallen in love." The four of them were in a heated discussion watching their two good friends. "Then why," Pippin questioned, "wouldn't they tell me? I've known them both just as long as they've known each other. Longer in fact! Why would they keep anything secret? And besides, I just asked Merry, and he said nothing was going on." "Peregrin dear, you know that Merry is a natural liar. He could be telling the truth yes, but he could also be telling a lie." Diamond debated. The four of them watched and shared their thoughts of Merry and myself. We were discussing the plan, laughing at the frequent jokes adding in everywhere. We had indeed spent most of the night deducting and concocting in secret, which by far could very well be suspicious, but Merry had told them nothing was going on. Now it was a bit sketchy that we claimed we were talking normally the whole night and it was accident that it was all night, well, okay, so it was highly suspicious, and if I were in their situations, I would have guessed the same thing. The night ended and gradually, more and more hobbits had to go home. Soon only around twenty hobbits were left and I myself was quite tired. I yawned and told Rosie, Diamond, Sam, Merry, and Pippin I was leaving. Rosie and Sam agreed and said they were going home also. Diamond said goodnight, as did Pippin. Merry asked if I wished him to escort me home. I said yes, thinking of talking further about our plans. This gained a few looks from friends. I could see Sam shift in his seat almost as if he was signaling to Rosie that he was right and we were involved, but Merry seemed to pay no heed, so I took his lead and followed him out the door, just in time to hear many whispers and some I-told-you-so's on the way out. "You know Merry, I don't think they believe our story," I concluded on the walk. "I don't either," he immediately knew what I was talking about, "But let them think what they want. They will all find out what's happening soon enough." "Then you don't mind all the rumors that are sure to be flying about?" I asked, looking up at him. I still wasn't used to Pippin and Merry being so tall. When they came back, I had to jump up to give them a good hug. "Let them talk. We know the truth. And besides," he added with a smile, "You're no that bad." I smiled and gave him a light push. We reached my hole and he hugged me goodbye. I kissed his cheek, which he obviously wasn't expecting, because when I looked back, I saw his cheeks turn red. I laughed to myself and walked inside, slipped into my room, and went to sleep with all my thoughts floating around.