Disclaimer: Not mine, drat it.

Different Cousins

It's pretty common knowledge that Gollum used to be a creature similar to a hobbit and that he lived by a river with his family. One day he and his friend Deagol were out fishing when Deagol chanced upon the Ring, lost for centuries in the river. Instantly caught by it, Gollum (known as Smeagol) bargained with him for it but when he was turned down, strangled him and took the trinket for his own. And the rest, as they say, is history. But what if history were to be re-written? What if the Ring were to be lost in a different river, or a completely different part of Middle Earth? And what would happen if it were found by a completely different set of cousins? This will require some seriously imaginative geographical rearranging, but - bear with me- what if the Ring were to be found in the Brandywine River… and not by Smeagol…

Pippin Took dangled his toes lazily in the cool water of the Brandywine River, occasionally leaning over to prod the dozing Merry with a reed stalk. He had discovered that Merry had a ticklish spot just behind his ear and if he wiggled the stalk in just the right place-

"Pippin!" Merry groaned, batting playfully at the stalk, "It's far too hot." Grinning, his younger cousin withdrew his arm and lay idly on the bank for a while, until he heard Merry fall asleep again. Then his irrepressible mischief resurfaced, he couldn't resist it. Moving quietly he positioned himself by the edge of the river beside his cousin's ankles and began to tickle Merry's feet with the reed. It took a few seconds for Merry to realise what was happening and he sat up with a start.

"Pippin!" he began. "Stop playing around. The weather's too-" then he stopped with a gasp as Pippin sent a fountain of cold water into his face. Pippin lay on the grass giggling madly at the astonished look on Merry's face. The young Brandybuck gingerly shook off the water and then leapt on Pippin, rolling him around in the grass and tickling him.

"Splash me would you?" he laughed. "Tickle me? Well now you'll have to pay Master Took!" The play-fight went on for a few more minutes, sometimes Pippin was on top, sometimes Merry, until finally the older cousin rolled Pippin straight off the bank and into the river. He surfaced choking with laughter and thoroughly soaked.

"Are you alright?" Merry called from the bank, still grinning broadly. Pippin nodded. "A little cold but other than that I'm FINE!" On the final word he leapt out of the water and grabbed his cousin by the arm. With a yelp Merry tumbled into the water and began splashing Pippin as soon as he came up.

"You're for it now!" he laughed and ducked his cousin under the water.

Pippin wormed free of Merry and went down, down through the water until he hit the bottom of the river on his hands and knees. The river was shallower near the bank. He drew his feet up under him, gripping the riverbed for support and felt something come away in his hand. He hung onto it and propelled himself up towards the bank with his feet, bursting out of the water. Exhausted he collapsed on the grass, still giggling childishly to himself. A few moments later Merry joined him and they both spread themselves out on the warm grass to dry.

After a while Pippin remembered the thing he had picked up in the river and he opened his palm. It felt just like a stone and was covered in mud but for some reason he just wanted to look at it before he threw it back, just to see what kind of stone it was. He found his reed again and began swishing off little clumps of mud. Then he rubbed off the rest on the grass and was left holding a little band of gold.

"Oooh," he muttered as he inspected it. It felt a little heavy in his palm but he took that to mean it was really made of gold. Weren't all gold things heavy?

"What have you got Pip?" asked Merry over his shoulder.

"Nothing," he replied, closing his hand around it.

"Can I see?" Merry persisted. A little grudgingly Pippin opened his palm. In Merry's eyes the sun glanced off the gold, making it sparkle invitingly. Automatically he reached out his hand for it.

"Hey," protested Pippin, pulling his hand back, "you can't just take things. I found it."

"I just wanted to hold it," Merry replied, rubbing his hands. "I couldn't see it too well."

"Well you only had to ask," said Pippin and carefully gave him the little circlet of gold, keeping his eyes on it. Merry turned the thing over in his hands. It was only a smooth gold band but somehow it felt nice in his hands. And he was sure it was just the right size for his finger too. So nice it looked. So nice- but it was Pip's.

"Here," he said, a little sullenly and held it out to Pippin who picked it up maybe a little quicker than he meant to.

"What did you do that for?" asked Merry suddenly.

"Do what?" Pippin said blankly.

"Snatch it back like that. Don't you trust me? I wasn't going to anything to it," he said, suspicion rising in his voice.

"I- I didn't know I had snatched it," Pippin said casually. "I just picked it up when you held it out to me. I'm sorry." He made to put the thing back in his pocket but Merry stopped him agitatedly.

"Maybe I should look after it, after all I am older."

"It's alright. I can do it," Pippin said firmly but he didn't put it in his pocket, he gripped it in his hands.

"But I'd like to look after it for you," Merry admitted. "I want to look after it for you." His cousin didn't answer but his closed fist moved a little bit further away from the intense stare Merry was giving it. For a while neither said anything. Pippin lay back down on the grass and Merry tried to copy him but his hands twitched with a strange longing and he kept glancing at his cousin with wide eyes.

"You know," he said eventually, "my birthday is only a month or so away." Pippin nodded sleepily.

"For a…present," Merry continued, "I think I'd like something more… more…" He paused, searching for the word he wanted. Somewhere far back in his head he wondered why this little trinket mattered so much. He was very fond of Pippin, why couldn't he just let his young cousin keep it if that's what he wanted? On the grass Pippin chuckled. "You're babbling Merry," he grinned. Merry tried to laugh but it wouldn't come. He locked and unlocked his fingers, frustrated. Why shouldn't he take it, keep it for his own. He was older, and his birthday-

"Give it to me," he said quietly, the words being forced out of his mouth.

"What?" said Pippin.

"Give… give it to me. I want it."

"No!" protested Pippin.

"As…as a gift, a birthday present," implored his cousin. "I want it. Can't you see how precious it is?"

"Yes, of course I can. But why should you-"

"Because I WANT it!" yelled Merry in anger. "I should have found it; why should you be the one to have it. It's MINE! Give it to ME!" and he made a frenzied leap at Pippin, pinning him to the ground and scrabbling at his hands, trying fervently to unlock their beautiful inmate. Pippin clenched his fists together tightly, sure now that Merry wasn't playing games any longer. Kicking madly he managed to force Merry back and he scrambled away until he had his back to a tree and hid his trinket behind his back.

He watched, truly scared now, as his cousin came towards him, huge eyes glinting in an unnerving light. They were not Merry's own eyes but some other creatures, blown large and unworldly. No one had eyes like that.

"Merry," he said, trying to sound calm, "Merry, what are you doing? What's the matter with you? Merry it's me, it's Pip!" But it made no difference. With a terrifyingly natural motion, Merry's hands reached for his cousin's neck.

End of Part One