Chapter Four: Winning the Girl
Pip raced to make it back to find Diamond. He ran back to the drop-off, climbed up, raced through Farmer Maggot's crops, and headed to Bag End, where Sam had been living since Frodo left. He banged on the door.
"Sam!" he shouted. "Open up!"
Sam answered the door quickly. "Pip, what bring ye here this fine day?"
"Where's Diamond?"
"She came back here in a right mess, cryin' and such. Said she was headed to Long Cleeve - all of her relatives lives there."
"Long Cleeve.Long Cleeve.Sam, where's that? I've got to find her!"
Sam looked surprised, but said nothing of it. "It's about a day from here. North."
"Thanks Sam - I appreciate it, really must be running now - "
And with that he left a confused Sam on his doorstep.
Pippin was tall for a hobbit - thus he had longer legs than your average hobbit. He could outrun anyone, any day, excepting Merry. This helped him greatly on his journey to Long Cleeve. The sky began to darken on his journey, but the starts shone and lit his way. Late that night he arrived at an old wooden sign reading 'Long Cleeve' in flowing letters.
He came to a hobbit-hole with the mailbox reading "Hildigar, Mirabella, and Diamond of Long Cleeve."
"Must be the place," he said under his breath, and with a great fear of how he would be accepted, knocked lightly on the door.
An older hobbit with slightly graying hair but a face of great youth opened the door. "My dear sir, I'm terribly sorry, I don't mean to bother you at such an hour, but I'm here about your daughter. She was visiting Sam Gamgee and I was just beginning to get acquainted with her, and then she ran off," Pippin said in one breath.
"Well you certainly didn't do anything inappropriate, did you?" the hobbit asked with a fatherly nature.
"No I swear, sir, I didn't. She helped me get better after I got my head injured," he conveniently forgot to tell him how his head had been injured, "And I wanted to thank her one more time."
"She's in her room," said the hobbit. "I'm her father Hildigar. Come. I'll show you to her."
He led Pippin through the nicely decorated hobbit-hole to a room in the back. "She's in here," he said. "I'll let you deal with her.she's in a peculiar mood."
Pippin knocked softly, and entered. "Diamond?" he said hesitantly.
"What more do you want from me?" Diamond asked. Pippin could not see her face; she was turned around and hunched over.
"Diamond, if I did anything to offend, believe me I'm sorry," he said, and we went to sit next to her.
"I do not need to speak with you."
"Yes you do," Pippin said, and he touched her soft hair. "I really would like to get to know you better, Diamond."
"Then you shouldn't run off telling my secrets to the first person you see! Especially him!" she said, an almost loathsome note to her voice.
"Merry understands now. And truly, I did not mean to tell him. I swear. And he's a good hobbit - he won't tell. He's my friend, and he would be your friend too."
Diamond looked up, and Pippin pushed her hair out of her tear-stained face. "I don't think he would."
"Well.if you won't believe me.then thank you for doctoring me." Pippin stood up. "I would love to become friends with you, and possibly even more than that, but you've got to try."
Diamond stood up next to him. "Wait.we can try. Because.because I would like that too."
Pippin softly kissed her forehead. "There's a good girl. What's to say we head back to my part of the Shire?"
"What - at this hour?"
"Why certainly - the good part of living there is living there when the taverns are bouncing, and we're all singing. Merry and I have a good ol' time for that."
"I certainly don't think I should be drinking," Diamond said with a tiny smile.
"No need to," said Pippin. "I'll do enough for both of us - but my demeanor doesn't change much, so I think you're safe."
"I won't be delving headfirst into ale barrels at any rate, then?" Diamond asked, her eyes twinkling.
"That would be the farthest thing from my mind," Pippin assured her.
"But it takes almost a day to get back.doesn't it?"
"Not really," Pip said. "It took me about two hours. Sam told me a day, but he's a rather slow hobbit. I'm the fastest there is, 'cepting Merry o' course."
"I'm not that fast," Diamond admitted.
"With those long legs, you can hold your own," Pip said. "Come. We must hurry. They'll be expectin' me at the Green Dragon."
"Right," Diamond said, and she led Pippin out of the house, stopping only to say goodbye to her father and mother.
Pip raced to make it back to find Diamond. He ran back to the drop-off, climbed up, raced through Farmer Maggot's crops, and headed to Bag End, where Sam had been living since Frodo left. He banged on the door.
"Sam!" he shouted. "Open up!"
Sam answered the door quickly. "Pip, what bring ye here this fine day?"
"Where's Diamond?"
"She came back here in a right mess, cryin' and such. Said she was headed to Long Cleeve - all of her relatives lives there."
"Long Cleeve.Long Cleeve.Sam, where's that? I've got to find her!"
Sam looked surprised, but said nothing of it. "It's about a day from here. North."
"Thanks Sam - I appreciate it, really must be running now - "
And with that he left a confused Sam on his doorstep.
Pippin was tall for a hobbit - thus he had longer legs than your average hobbit. He could outrun anyone, any day, excepting Merry. This helped him greatly on his journey to Long Cleeve. The sky began to darken on his journey, but the starts shone and lit his way. Late that night he arrived at an old wooden sign reading 'Long Cleeve' in flowing letters.
He came to a hobbit-hole with the mailbox reading "Hildigar, Mirabella, and Diamond of Long Cleeve."
"Must be the place," he said under his breath, and with a great fear of how he would be accepted, knocked lightly on the door.
An older hobbit with slightly graying hair but a face of great youth opened the door. "My dear sir, I'm terribly sorry, I don't mean to bother you at such an hour, but I'm here about your daughter. She was visiting Sam Gamgee and I was just beginning to get acquainted with her, and then she ran off," Pippin said in one breath.
"Well you certainly didn't do anything inappropriate, did you?" the hobbit asked with a fatherly nature.
"No I swear, sir, I didn't. She helped me get better after I got my head injured," he conveniently forgot to tell him how his head had been injured, "And I wanted to thank her one more time."
"She's in her room," said the hobbit. "I'm her father Hildigar. Come. I'll show you to her."
He led Pippin through the nicely decorated hobbit-hole to a room in the back. "She's in here," he said. "I'll let you deal with her.she's in a peculiar mood."
Pippin knocked softly, and entered. "Diamond?" he said hesitantly.
"What more do you want from me?" Diamond asked. Pippin could not see her face; she was turned around and hunched over.
"Diamond, if I did anything to offend, believe me I'm sorry," he said, and we went to sit next to her.
"I do not need to speak with you."
"Yes you do," Pippin said, and he touched her soft hair. "I really would like to get to know you better, Diamond."
"Then you shouldn't run off telling my secrets to the first person you see! Especially him!" she said, an almost loathsome note to her voice.
"Merry understands now. And truly, I did not mean to tell him. I swear. And he's a good hobbit - he won't tell. He's my friend, and he would be your friend too."
Diamond looked up, and Pippin pushed her hair out of her tear-stained face. "I don't think he would."
"Well.if you won't believe me.then thank you for doctoring me." Pippin stood up. "I would love to become friends with you, and possibly even more than that, but you've got to try."
Diamond stood up next to him. "Wait.we can try. Because.because I would like that too."
Pippin softly kissed her forehead. "There's a good girl. What's to say we head back to my part of the Shire?"
"What - at this hour?"
"Why certainly - the good part of living there is living there when the taverns are bouncing, and we're all singing. Merry and I have a good ol' time for that."
"I certainly don't think I should be drinking," Diamond said with a tiny smile.
"No need to," said Pippin. "I'll do enough for both of us - but my demeanor doesn't change much, so I think you're safe."
"I won't be delving headfirst into ale barrels at any rate, then?" Diamond asked, her eyes twinkling.
"That would be the farthest thing from my mind," Pippin assured her.
"But it takes almost a day to get back.doesn't it?"
"Not really," Pip said. "It took me about two hours. Sam told me a day, but he's a rather slow hobbit. I'm the fastest there is, 'cepting Merry o' course."
"I'm not that fast," Diamond admitted.
"With those long legs, you can hold your own," Pip said. "Come. We must hurry. They'll be expectin' me at the Green Dragon."
"Right," Diamond said, and she led Pippin out of the house, stopping only to say goodbye to her father and mother.