Chapter Two: To Party or Not To Party
Disclaimer: Story mine; characters not mine; reviews are yours to give.
If you want to know the time this takes place, it is about ten years before the fellowship start the quest, when Pippin is about eighteen: kind of young in hobbit years.
It was early evening before they reached Brandyhall and everything was buzzing with excitement. A party was to be held in honor of the good harvest collected in the early fall, and everyone was too busy to stop and chat.
Merry opened the front door and let Pippin inside the front hall. The servants of Buckland ran around trying to set up last minute preparation before the guests would arrive.
"Come on, Pip. We had better stay out of the way until tonight. Let's go to my room," Merry suggested as they walked through the extensive halls of the holes that made up Brandyhall.
Once they arrived in Merry's bedroom, both flung themselves onto the bed and sighed.
"So, what do you wanna do?" Merry asked.
"I don't know. What do you wanna do?" was his answer.
"All right, let's not start that again. Remember how the last time went?"
Pippin smiled. "I remember that all right, Merry. How about we take a nap? I'm tired."
Merry nodded. "I am too. A nap sounds nice."
Pippin closed his eyes and hugged the blue pillow that he had declared his. "Mum's going to take me home after the party tonight. Too bad I can't stay another day."
"You have already spent three days here. Your family needs to see you sometime, ya' know!" Merry replied as he stroked Pippin's curly hair gently.
Pippin grinned again and purred as Merry's fingers stroked his earlobe. "Mmhmm," he agreed and soon was softly snoring as his older cousin curled up beside him.
Most of the guests had already arrived by the time the two best friends had awoken. They scrambled into clean clothes and went outside to join the party.
"Well hullo, Melilot! I didn't know if you were coming or not. Can I get a hug?" Merry asked the five-year-old hobbit-girl. She smiled and leapt into his arms, her light blue dress frills flouncing behind her.
"Sure, Merry. Can I get a dance?" she asked and dragged him out by the hand to the ring of dancers on the lawn.
Pippin was also talking to some of the guests near the tables of food that lay out on the white veranda. Colorful decorations were found everywhere. Vines of red and gold leaves wrapped around the white columns and orange lamps on strings were tied to the lowest branches of the small oaks surrounding the yard. The tables had yellow, orange, and red tablecloths.
The setting anyone could call beautiful, but the food was beyond words. Pippin could barely see an inch or two of the table underneath the enormous stacks of delicacies. Salads, sliced meats, vegetables, fruits, cakes, cookies, drinks, pastries, the occasional wine bottles, and many other things lined the long tables.
"And I says to him, 'Sir, you need a guard dog in that kitchen' and he tells me he already has one: his wife! Well, look at that! If it isn't Andwise Gamgee and the Gaffer."
Pippin only smiled as the older hobbit rambled on about something or another, not really listening. He looked over to where Merry was dancing with that little girl in the blue dress. What was her name again, anyway? Mentha. no, no. Melilot. That was it.
He turned to his left and suddenly became very pale. Pimpernel! "What is she doing here? I thought she was grounded, and because of me." Pippin muttered and slipped away into a crowd of dancers.
He was in no way ready to face her wrath just yet. "Not tonight. Not until I at least leave this house!"
After much wine had been drunk and food eaten and dances danced and music played the party came to an end, but all of the guests stayed for ten minutes more and thanked Saradoc and Esmerelda for a wonderful time that evening.
Pippin had had trouble finding Merry throughout the three hours of the grand party, and when he did find him those two times Merry was too busy greeting guests to talk.
So, for most of the time, he stood near the adults and listened to their conversations without them noticing him.
"Esmerelda, you do not know how charming your Meriadoc is! He is such a little gentleman!"
"Oh, why thank you. I do not know whom he gets that from, really. Saradoc never behaved in such a manner unless he was told to!"
"That Pippin is quite a charmer too. That one takes right after his father, no doubt about it!"
At that comment Pippin smiled. So those phrases Merry taught him did help...
"Pippin and Merry are inseparable! It is good to see such a close knit friendship like theirs."
"Yes, quite. I hope they stay that way for the rest of their lives. It is always good to have a person to share everything with. It has helped Merry so much. Pippin is his only best friend, besides that Frodo of Bag End and that Sam Gamgee. They are nice little gentlemen too. And there they are now!"
Pippin grew tired of their conversation. So he looked to where Frodo was and went to join him.
"Hullo, Frodo. What are you up to?" Pippin asked.
Frodo turned around at his voice and smiled. "Pip! I'm good. You?"
"Good. Merry is busy so I have just been wandering around for a while. I'm a little bored."
"Really? Merry has been looking for you for a while now. But I guess he is really busy with greeting guests. He is going to be the Master of Buckland someday, after all."
Pippin looked down at the ground and sighed. "I guess so."
Frodo noticed his sudden despondency and put an arm around his shoulders. "But he will still have plenty of time for the future Thain of the Shire!"
"Thanks, Frodo," Pippin replied with a smile. "I hope he will... Isn't it time for the party to end?"
"Peregrin! We must go home now," Pippin's mother, Eglantine, said as she walked up behind him. "Go get your bag and come out to the carriage. We will be waiting. Oh, why hello, Frodo. My, you look handsome! It seems I could not find Saradoc or Esmerelda, but please give them my thanks."
With that she turned and headed across the lawn to the carriage.
Four minutes later, Pippin hurled his overnight bag onto the back of the carriage.
"Hurry, Peregrin. It is getting late," his mother urged him.
"All right, can I just say good-bye to Merry? Please?" Pippin asked.
Eglantine hesitated for a moment, but complied. "Go ahead, but be back within five minutes!" Pippin nodded his thanks and ran to find Merry, but did not need to run far. Merry was standing on the front porch gazing at him as he raced across the front yard.
"I have to go. But I will see you soon, Merry," Pippin said and stepped closer to his older cousin to be pulled into a warm embrace.
"All right, but it has to be soon!" Merry replied into Pippin's curls of brown of hair. He let go of him and watched him run to the Took's carriage. "Bye, Pip!"
"Bye, Merry!" Pippin shouted as he ran across the lawn.
Inside the carriage Pippin's father, Paladin, sighed and twiddled his thumbs as he watched his son be embraced by Merry.
"I'm going to have to talk with him soon," he muttered to himself before Pippin hopped in the carriage and the driver urged the ponies to leave.
Disclaimer: Story mine; characters not mine; reviews are yours to give.
If you want to know the time this takes place, it is about ten years before the fellowship start the quest, when Pippin is about eighteen: kind of young in hobbit years.
It was early evening before they reached Brandyhall and everything was buzzing with excitement. A party was to be held in honor of the good harvest collected in the early fall, and everyone was too busy to stop and chat.
Merry opened the front door and let Pippin inside the front hall. The servants of Buckland ran around trying to set up last minute preparation before the guests would arrive.
"Come on, Pip. We had better stay out of the way until tonight. Let's go to my room," Merry suggested as they walked through the extensive halls of the holes that made up Brandyhall.
Once they arrived in Merry's bedroom, both flung themselves onto the bed and sighed.
"So, what do you wanna do?" Merry asked.
"I don't know. What do you wanna do?" was his answer.
"All right, let's not start that again. Remember how the last time went?"
Pippin smiled. "I remember that all right, Merry. How about we take a nap? I'm tired."
Merry nodded. "I am too. A nap sounds nice."
Pippin closed his eyes and hugged the blue pillow that he had declared his. "Mum's going to take me home after the party tonight. Too bad I can't stay another day."
"You have already spent three days here. Your family needs to see you sometime, ya' know!" Merry replied as he stroked Pippin's curly hair gently.
Pippin grinned again and purred as Merry's fingers stroked his earlobe. "Mmhmm," he agreed and soon was softly snoring as his older cousin curled up beside him.
Most of the guests had already arrived by the time the two best friends had awoken. They scrambled into clean clothes and went outside to join the party.
"Well hullo, Melilot! I didn't know if you were coming or not. Can I get a hug?" Merry asked the five-year-old hobbit-girl. She smiled and leapt into his arms, her light blue dress frills flouncing behind her.
"Sure, Merry. Can I get a dance?" she asked and dragged him out by the hand to the ring of dancers on the lawn.
Pippin was also talking to some of the guests near the tables of food that lay out on the white veranda. Colorful decorations were found everywhere. Vines of red and gold leaves wrapped around the white columns and orange lamps on strings were tied to the lowest branches of the small oaks surrounding the yard. The tables had yellow, orange, and red tablecloths.
The setting anyone could call beautiful, but the food was beyond words. Pippin could barely see an inch or two of the table underneath the enormous stacks of delicacies. Salads, sliced meats, vegetables, fruits, cakes, cookies, drinks, pastries, the occasional wine bottles, and many other things lined the long tables.
"And I says to him, 'Sir, you need a guard dog in that kitchen' and he tells me he already has one: his wife! Well, look at that! If it isn't Andwise Gamgee and the Gaffer."
Pippin only smiled as the older hobbit rambled on about something or another, not really listening. He looked over to where Merry was dancing with that little girl in the blue dress. What was her name again, anyway? Mentha. no, no. Melilot. That was it.
He turned to his left and suddenly became very pale. Pimpernel! "What is she doing here? I thought she was grounded, and because of me." Pippin muttered and slipped away into a crowd of dancers.
He was in no way ready to face her wrath just yet. "Not tonight. Not until I at least leave this house!"
After much wine had been drunk and food eaten and dances danced and music played the party came to an end, but all of the guests stayed for ten minutes more and thanked Saradoc and Esmerelda for a wonderful time that evening.
Pippin had had trouble finding Merry throughout the three hours of the grand party, and when he did find him those two times Merry was too busy greeting guests to talk.
So, for most of the time, he stood near the adults and listened to their conversations without them noticing him.
"Esmerelda, you do not know how charming your Meriadoc is! He is such a little gentleman!"
"Oh, why thank you. I do not know whom he gets that from, really. Saradoc never behaved in such a manner unless he was told to!"
"That Pippin is quite a charmer too. That one takes right after his father, no doubt about it!"
At that comment Pippin smiled. So those phrases Merry taught him did help...
"Pippin and Merry are inseparable! It is good to see such a close knit friendship like theirs."
"Yes, quite. I hope they stay that way for the rest of their lives. It is always good to have a person to share everything with. It has helped Merry so much. Pippin is his only best friend, besides that Frodo of Bag End and that Sam Gamgee. They are nice little gentlemen too. And there they are now!"
Pippin grew tired of their conversation. So he looked to where Frodo was and went to join him.
"Hullo, Frodo. What are you up to?" Pippin asked.
Frodo turned around at his voice and smiled. "Pip! I'm good. You?"
"Good. Merry is busy so I have just been wandering around for a while. I'm a little bored."
"Really? Merry has been looking for you for a while now. But I guess he is really busy with greeting guests. He is going to be the Master of Buckland someday, after all."
Pippin looked down at the ground and sighed. "I guess so."
Frodo noticed his sudden despondency and put an arm around his shoulders. "But he will still have plenty of time for the future Thain of the Shire!"
"Thanks, Frodo," Pippin replied with a smile. "I hope he will... Isn't it time for the party to end?"
"Peregrin! We must go home now," Pippin's mother, Eglantine, said as she walked up behind him. "Go get your bag and come out to the carriage. We will be waiting. Oh, why hello, Frodo. My, you look handsome! It seems I could not find Saradoc or Esmerelda, but please give them my thanks."
With that she turned and headed across the lawn to the carriage.
Four minutes later, Pippin hurled his overnight bag onto the back of the carriage.
"Hurry, Peregrin. It is getting late," his mother urged him.
"All right, can I just say good-bye to Merry? Please?" Pippin asked.
Eglantine hesitated for a moment, but complied. "Go ahead, but be back within five minutes!" Pippin nodded his thanks and ran to find Merry, but did not need to run far. Merry was standing on the front porch gazing at him as he raced across the front yard.
"I have to go. But I will see you soon, Merry," Pippin said and stepped closer to his older cousin to be pulled into a warm embrace.
"All right, but it has to be soon!" Merry replied into Pippin's curls of brown of hair. He let go of him and watched him run to the Took's carriage. "Bye, Pip!"
"Bye, Merry!" Pippin shouted as he ran across the lawn.
Inside the carriage Pippin's father, Paladin, sighed and twiddled his thumbs as he watched his son be embraced by Merry.
"I'm going to have to talk with him soon," he muttered to himself before Pippin hopped in the carriage and the driver urged the ponies to leave.