I do not own any of these characters or places or things. I am simply borrowing them from Tolkien, as many others here are. THEY ARE NOT MINE.
Please also do not make me, myself, & I , mad by suing us for any reason. We are innocent precious... Once again, for all of you conspirating lawyers out there, ME, MYSELF, & I DO NOT OWN ANY OF MASTER TOLKIEN'S CHARACTERS, PLACES, SETTINGS, PLOT, OR WORK. They ARE NOT mine.
Now, please read& review. : )
I used a bit of algebra to find out that our age of six is equivalant to the age eleven of hobbits.Frodo glanced at his two conspirating cousins as he threw in the last mushrooms into the mushroom soup.
"What are you two conspirators up to now?"
"Nothing Frodo. Pippin just asked me if you're mushroom soup ever tastes good."
"And you told him?"
"It depends, on what you like-" Merry began to explain in detail, but quickly stopped when he heard a loud clash in the bathroom. "Frodo! I think Sam broke something! Go tell him to stop, Pippin and I still need our baths." Frodo rolled his eyes and lifted up the pot to pour the soup into three bowls, but before he could there was a loud clash in the bathroom, followed by a 'ow!', "Frodo, I think Sam really needs you to help him out right now." Frodo sighed and turned to leave, but as he did he noticed Pippin whisper something into Merry's ear, "Frodo? Pippin's wondering if he can add a little something or other to the soup."
"It is okay Merry, as long as you watch him and make sure he doesn't spoil it."
When Frodo slowly opened the bathroom door, he found Sam sitting on the tiled floor rubbing his head.
"Sam? What ever could you have done? I leave you alone in here, and it sounds like the whole place falls down."
"Well, you see Mister Frodo..."
"Sam." Frodo stated simply while looking around the room. It was perfectly clean, but a large bruise was visible swelling on the back of Sam's head, and broken pottery surrounding him.
"Mister Frodo, it's like this, I figured I would get out through the window, and fix the lock later. Only that lock is stronger than any lock I've ever opened, and I pulled so hard, and my hands slipped, and I fell backwards, and then my head, sir, it hit the shelf, and everything fell down on it." Frodo listened while picking up the tidbits of glass.
"Sam, do me a favor, relax, don't do that again, and now that you owe me for breaking my vases," Frodo smiled mischeviously, "I demand that you take a bath to pay the debt. You were scaring Pippin, and I will not allow you to leave this room until every piece of dirt, no matter how small is removed from you." With this Frodo turned and began closing the door behind him.
"Devious Baggins." He heard Sam muttering under his breath, "More like a Took, evil one at that."
"What was that you said Samwise?" Frodo asked, grinning from ear to ear.
"Nothin' Mister Frodo. Nothin' important anyways." Frodo closed and locked the door after this, and smiled again as he heard Sam mumbling under his breath some more.
"Sam, dear Sam, whatever are we to do with you." Frodo breathed.
As soon as Frodo entered the kitchen, he knew something had to be wrong. Flour wasn't everywhere, there wasn't a mess to be seen, and no racket. Merry had obviously poured the soup into the three bowls, because they lay on the table, one was ready for him, and the other two were being intently occupied. There was not a sound in the room to be heard but the intense slurping of soup.
"Merry...there aren't any...traps in here, are there?" Frodo looked tentatively at the ceiling, and floor for any stray ropes.
"Nope Frodo." Merry replied, and then returned to slurping his soup. His was halfway empty, and young Pippin's was two thirds empty. Frodo walked over to his seat and cautiously sat. He eyed the table, the cupboards, and the ceiling.
"Is the soup good?"
"Yes. Pippin out did himself."
"Merry....I made it...."
"Go ahead, Frodo, try it, you'll like it." More slurping. And so he did. But he instantly regretted it.
Pippin stared into his soup, and glanced up at Frodo. Frodo's face had contorted the moment the delicious remedy had touched his tongue, and tears were falling from his eyes. His jaw was clenched, and with his watery eyes he was glaring at Merry.
"Merry." Frodo rasped, his voice all but gone, although a certain furociousness lingered in it.
"Yes dearest cousin?" Merry looked up from his soup and was immediately taken aback. "What's wrong Frodo? Sam is alright, is he not?" Merry leaped from the chair and it clattered behind him.
"Sam is fine. But I thought I told you to watch what Pippin put in the soup." Frodo coughed, while wiping away his tears. He was sweating now, the foul concoxion made his whole body feel like he was running under the sun. His nose began to run, and he quickly wiped his nose with his sleeve.
"I did. Pippin and I both agreed that it needed the whole bottle."
"Bottle?! Bottle of what Merry?! You don't just go marching around Uncle Bilbo's house and taking all of his ingredients!"
"We thought you would like it, it added a new adventurous twist to things." Pippin muttered. Frodo stared in awe as Merry lifted up his entire soup bowl and drank the reamining 1/8 of it without so much as a wince. As Frodo watched, he licked his lips and sank his spoon slowly into the mixture. Then he lifted it back to his mouth, flinched at first, and then drained his spoon. It was sour. It was delicious. It was addicting.
"What did you put in here Merry?"
"I didn't put anything in, Pip is the master chef."
"Pippin?" Without saying anything, Pippin winced as the hot soup touched his lips, and then pointed at a bottle. Frodo's spoon fell with a clatter.
"VINEGAR?! THE WHOLE BOTTLE?! IT WAS BRAND NEW!!"
"The older types are the better, no wonder we had to use the entire bottle, right Pip?"
"Yep Merry."
"Merry, better doesn't mean bitter, and you shouldn't be messing up his taste buds with it." Frodo scolded, although he found himself raising the spoon once more to his mouth.
"I didn't. He is the one who introduced it to me." Merry shrugged, and got up, quickly placing his bowl in the sink.
"Pippin?"
"Yes. You'll never guess how funny it was Cousin Frodo!! He was unbelieveably cautious at first. Merry made an even worse face than you. But now he's fine with it." Pippin winced, "But not as good as me! I'm the ruling champion for vinegar! I once drank a whole table-spoon of it straight and-" Merry reached across the table and clamped his hand over Pippin's mouth, Frodo looked at him curiously, to which Merry smiled back. Then Frodo caught it. Pippin was still talking. Frodo began to laugh to himself, and Merry slowly removed his hand and sat back in his seat. "-You should have seen the look on his face. I mean that was a horrible loss anyways, if you lost you had to help your mum with the chores." Pippin breathed in deeply to continue, but quickly stopped. "Merry? Where's Sam? That's got to be the longest bath he's ever had. I'm going to go check up on him." Without waiting for a response, Pippin lept down from his chair, the other two watched the top of his curly head full of hair as he dissapeared into the hallway.
"He's going to do something."
"How do you know that Merry?"
"I just do." As if on command a loud yell and splash came from the bathroom.
"GIVE THAT BACK YOU IMP OF A TOOK! WHAT ARE YOU DOING! GIVE THAT HERE MISTER PIPPIN! WHY I OUGHTA-" More splashes.
"MISTER PIPPIN! THAT IS MISTER FRODO'S!" A murmured reply came that they couldn't hear.
"Mister Pippin! That wouldn't be fair! Blaming me! What did I do but bathe? It wasn't even my choice, you three devils forced me to." Pippin said something to softly for them to here. "MISTER PIPPIN! YOU GET BACK HERE! NEVER EVER SAY THAT!"
"I didn't mean it Sam honest!" Another splash was ommitted, and Frodo and Merry began laughing jovially. But then came something different. A shrill scream. When Frodo looked up he saw Merry's face turn pale white.
"Pippin." Merry whispered under his breath and then jumped up, running at full speed to the bathroom. Frodo quickly followed behind.
Bookworm2000: Sam isn't exactly the luckiest hobbit in this.... he's setting the stage for the next chapter, orriginally he and Pippin were going to trade places, but it's better if he is there when Pippin...well, let's not give it away, shall we?
Thank you SO much for the review!! And thank you so much for compliments!