"Is this my punishment?" Faramir demanded when they entered their burrow. "I'm sorry I was late for lunch, but I caught got up--I lost track of the time."

"I knew he'd be upset," Pippin muttered. "But you wouldn't listen to me."

"Quiet!" Diamond snapped. Faramir rolled his eyes. "You should be happy to be promised to such a lovely young hobbit. Besides, you won't have to worry about it until you've come of age."

"I don't want to marry at all!" Faramir protested childishly. "Your marriage wasn't arranged."

"That was a different situation entirely," Diamond replied shortly.

"How?" Faramir shot back.

"For one," Diamond said, her cheeks beginning to flush, "everybody thought your father was dead--"

"Some tradition," Faramir interrupted sarcastically. He stalked out of the room.

"Faramir. Faramir!" Diamond called after him. "You come back here right now!" She heard a door slam. "Fine! Then you can just stay in your room for the rest of the day!" She glared at Pippin, who was sitting in an armchair nearby and fingering his scarf. "Some help you were."

"Eh?" Pippin looked at her, but she refused to reply. "Diamond, he'll understand someday." He stood up and put an arm around her waist comfortingly. "If my parents had told me my future when I was sixteen, I would have been angry as well. And don't even say you wouldn't have been. Don't worry about it." He kissed her cheek softly. "Well, it's a good thing we told him early on. It might take him seventeen years to come to grips with it."

Diamond sighed and peered down the hallway towards her son's bedroom. "Maybe I should go and talk to him," she said quietly. "I feel awful now, having sprung this on him so suddenly."

"No, no, no," Pippin said quickly. "I will." He slowly padded down the hall and knocked on the closed door. "May I come in?"

"What's the password?" came Faramir's sullen voice.

Pippin smiled. "Mellon." He waited a moment, and then pushed the door open. "We know this is sudden, but we wanted to be open with you from the beginning."

"And you had to be open with the rest of Tuckborough also?" Faramir glared at the floorboards. He didn't want to even look at his father.

Pippin sat down on the edge of the bed. "If my parents had done that to me," he began, lowering his voice, "I'd have run somewhere where no one could ever find me. Foolishly, possibly." Faramir looked up at him. "But we are sorry that our decision has upset you."

"Father, tell me about Minas Tirith again," Faramir said abruptly.

Pippin was confused for a moment at this sudden change of subject, but replied, "Minas Tirith is the largest city I have ever seen and ever will see. The white tower glints like a jewel in the sunlight. You wouldn't believe how beautiful it is, Faramir."

"Will you take me there?" Faramir asked, his green eyes wide.

"Ah." Pippin hesitated. Even at twenty-eight he had been too young to embark on such a journey. Faramir was only sixteen. "Ask me again when you're older."

"Why? So you can say 'no' with absolute certainty? How am I supposed to believe it if I never get to see it?" Faramir turned around angrily, now facing the window. "Are you done now?"

Exhaling heavily and trying not to let his anger get the better of him, Pippin stood up and left the room. Almost unintentionally, he slammed the door, causing Faramir to flinch and turn around. Furiously, he grabbed the nearest object--in this case, a book--and threw it out the open window. In a few minutes, however, he realized what he had done and reached down to retrieve it. When he caught sight of it, he found the book was open to a map--one his father had drawn. It outlined his path from the Shire to Minas Tirith and back. He stared at the sky; the sun was just beginning its descent. With a quick glance back at his bedroom door, he climbed out of the window.


There was a soft knock at the door and the Thain turned around. "Good morning," Diamond said. "Working already?"

Pippin nodded. He scribbled something and asked, "Is Faramir awake?"

"No, he's still sleeping," she replied. "Hasn't made a peep since yesterday afternoon."

"Send him in, would you?" He put the quill into the inkbottle and contemplated what he would write next. He had been putting off writing this letter for weeks and had finally told himself this morning that it had to be sent out or Strider--Aragorn--King Elessar would think he had either not received the letter or that he had entirely forgotten about it. He wasn't very happy with what he had written so far, but Faramir would surely give him an idea or two. Lord Aragorn, I was very pleased to receive your inquiry, but I regret to report that I will be unable to attend. Having become Thain, I unfortunately have little time to do much of anything, let alone travel to your fine but rather distant land. If it would please you, I will send someone in my stead. He sighed, reading it over again.

At that moment, Diamond burst into the room, her face as pale as a specter. "What is it?" he asked.

"Faramir's gone!" she cried, tearing already in her eyes. "I can't find him anywhere--not in his room or anywhere else in the burrow! I looked outside and I called and called, but he didn't answer!"

She leapt into his arms and he did what he could to comfort her. "I'm sure he's just out playing with his friends," he said over her wailing.

"He doesn't having any friends!" she sobbed.

"All right," Pippin said, thinking quickly. "Then he's off on his own. Round the hills. He does that a lot..." He gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze and hurried out of the room and into his son's. He looked around, searching for anything that was missing, anything out of the ordinary. "The book," he muttered. "My book is missing." He stopped.

"Pippin," Diamond said worriedly. "What does that mean? Pippin?" she repeated.

"Oh no," he breathed. He walked to the window and rested his hands on the frame. "I was speaking to Faramir yesterday, about Minas Tirith...He begged me to let him go. I told him 'no.' Oh no." Pippin turned to look at her. "He could be halfway across the Shire by now."


Pippin fastened his cloak about his shoulders with the Elven brooch he had received in Lothlórien. Diamond handed him his pack and helped to put it onto his back. "Please, I must go with you." Pippin said nothing but shook his head. "I can't just stay here and wait to hear from you!"

"It's too dangerous," he said.

Diamond stamped her foot. "He's my son too!" He merely looked at her sadly and walked past. "Pippin. Peregrin Took, don't you walk out that door!" She ran after him.

"Diamond," he said slowly, "I'm going alone. If you need someone to talk to, my sisters are just a few steps away." He gave his sword a pat. "I'll be perfectly fine."

"You know as well as I do that that sword isn't even sharp." Pippin gave her a weak smile and had just turned the doorknob when she threw her arms around him. After a rather long moment, she kissed him and sent him on his way. Sighing, she closed the door and furiously dried her eyes with a handkerchief. What would she do without him? What would she do without them both? When Pippin had gone away before she had always had Faramir for company. Now she had no one. Pippin's sisters were all well and good but they had never shown much interest in anything save themselves and their husbands. She sighed heavily again and left the room.