"Master Meriadoc, sit up straight, and pay attention!" Mister Adam's voice cut through Merry's dream like a knife.

"Yes sir" Merry stammered, pulling himself upright in his chair. He had been sitting through the dullest of lessons all day! When will he just let me go and play with Pip? Merry thought, trying to keep his mind on the tutor this is all so boring! I have worked hard all day, with no break! Well, except lunch, but I'm still hungry and... KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK. There was someone pounding at the door.

"Enter" Mister Adams called, clearly annoyed that someone had interrupted the lesson.

"Hello Mister Adams, Merry" It was Paladin, usually he would have been delighted to see his uncle, but the look on his face told Merry that something wasn't right.

"Uncle, are you alright?" Merry asked getting up from his chair and hurrying over to Paladin.

"Well, no Merry you see..."

"I am very sorry to interrupt, but I am trying to teach this boy history, if you wouldn't mind coming back later I..."

"No, I'm sorry this cannot wait, Merry will resume his lessons tomorrow."

"Very well then, Master Meriadoc I expect you here at a quarter past eight tomorrow, Good day." And with a whirl of his cloak he left the room.

"Uncle, what's wrong?"

"You haven't seen Pippin lately have you?"

"No, I haven't seen anyone except that..."

Paladin didn't even notice the fact that Merry had been about to utter a horrible word "No one has seen him since second breakfast, we searched the whole house, and he's no where to be found. We found his cloak though, which means that if he's outside somewhere, he'll be freezing, and you know full well how sick he gets."

Yes, Merry knew. Ever since Pippin was born he had gotten every plague, sickness, or disease that passed through the shire on top of getting sick from going out in the cold, or staying wet for too long.

"Has he told you what he might be doing today, he came in to see each of us to do something, but no one was paying him much attention I am afraid."

"Yes he told me that he wanted to go look for frogs down by the stream, and I told him that we might be able to go later, after I finished my lessons, but the Mister Adams came in and Pippin had to leave."

"Oh no..."

"Oh no what?"

"The ice over the stream and pond hasn't fully frozen yet, we went out to test it yesterday, and it was only and inch thick, and if Pippin went out there by himself..."

"We have to go tell Aunt Tina!" Merry called, halfway out the door, pulling his cloak around him.

"And just where do you think your going?" Paladin called after him, Merry skidded to a halt, halfway down the hallway.

"I am going to tell Aunt Tina that you and I are going to go look for him, and that we will be back soon."

"Merry, it is starting to snow outside, and it is already supper time, besides, you are a little to young to be out looking through the dark for Pippin, however much you love him."

"But uncle..."

"I won't argue with you, but what I will tell you is that you are to go to the kitchen explain to you aunt what we have found out, then tell her that I will be calling some of the neighbors and we will go out and look for him, while you stay in the kitchen and help your aunt."

"But..."

"No buts Meriadoc"

"Yes sir" His uncle had used his full name; no one called him that unless they were deadly serious. Merry ran into the kitchen, banging open the door in his haste.

"Merry what's wrong?"

"We... think... Pip's... out.... at.... The.... Pond" Merry spluttered out between gasps of breath.

"Oh my..." Aunt Tina almost fell into her chair, Pimpernel and Pearl ran over and helped her into a seat "And he doesn't have his cloak or mittens, he left them here, and the ice..."

There was a dead silence in the room, and then everyone turned and looked at Merry.

"But why... why would pippin go down to the pond?" Pearl said, looking at merry "Surely he knows it's not safe."

"This morning he wanted to go and look for frogs, but I couldn't go because I was in lessons." Merry sat down next to his aunt "But, he'll be ok, Uncle Paladin told me to come and tell you this and also that he was going to go with some of the neighbors and look for him."

"He'll be fine, won't he mum?" Pim turned and looked at her mother tears welling up in her eyes. Eglantine looked at her children with pity, not wanting to tell him that he would die and make them all hysterical, but also not wanting to tell them he would be fine just in case he did...