Chapter Fifteen: A Little Help in the Right Direction
A/N: For one thing: I apologize about my evilness for putting the cliffhanger last chapter. And... Wait a minute! 60 reviews?! Oh my... Oh my... I can't zank yoo enuff! *Achoooo* Don't yoo jus' hate colds? Anyway, Renagird is my creation for this chapter.
~()~
Berilac Brandybuck waltzed around the room for a bit, seeming to dance with an invisible partner. He twirled and spun absently to the music, letting the sweet melody take him away and guide his feet as he closed his eyes. However, his little dance was interrupted when he tripped over a table leg and collided with another hobbit, knocking both of them down. Berilac winced as he hit the wood floor, both from the slight pain in his bottom and the knowledge that the incident would draw attention to him sooner or later. He hesitantly looked to whom he knocked down and smiled, jumping back to his feet and holding out his hand to help the other up.
"Well, if it isn't Mr. Frodo Baggins! How have you been?" he chirped as Frodo stood.
Frodo smiled back at him. "Oh, I was fine until you sent me sprawling, Berilac." He paused as he looked at Berilac, the smile fading from his lips. Realization struck him a moment later, and he glanced up at the Brandybuck in disbelief. "Berilac, what are you doing here?"
Berilac only grinned, unfazed by Frodo's surprise. "Why, joining the party, of course! You think I would sit around the house and do nothing, especially when my cousin's whole social status is in peril?"
Frodo's jaw dropped. "You mean that you-"
"Are helping Merry with some broken relationships. He's my cousin, Frodo. Of course I would help."
Though usually not being one to spite others, Frodo's face clouded over with slight anger. "He's also *my* cousin, mind you. And *I* was helping him until now it seems." He took a breath to calm himself. "You do know that if any of you are found, Merry has less chance of seeing Pippin, don't you?"
Berilac shook his head. "Oh, Frodo, you old worrywart! Hildibrand and I have this all down to a perfect art, you know. Our plan is going as smooth as butter."
Frodo raised an eyebrow. "And how is that?"
Giving Frodo the usual half-smirk that he was famous for, Berilac spun him around by the arm and pointed to the table where Paladin Took sat. "You see that hobbit sitting to the left of Paladin? That is Hildibrand's uncle, Renagird. He's an old friend to the Brandybuck family, though Paladin doesn't know it. You see, he keeps Paladin busy while our little operation is going on."
Frodo nodded. "All right, then. What else?"
Berilac turned him to the dance floor and pointed out Pervinca. "She's keeping some of the older hobbits busy and standing watch. You know, when it comes down to it, she's a right old conspirator, no doubt about it. And Hildibrand over there," he began, motioning to where the mentioned hobbit stood, "he makes certain that our little Took finds Merry."
"Well then, what do you do?" Frodo asked, slightly approving of the plan.
"Me? Well, until later, I'm just here for the party. But when the time is right, I find some way to get them alone. If that needs to be done, anyway."
"And how would you do that without letting them know your little plan? Or for that matter, if your first plan fails completely, what will you do?"
"Um... Well, I..." Berilac mumbled, growing slightly embarrassed.
"You mean to tell me that you haven't thought of a plan B?"
"Well, no... Not exactly."
Frodo nodded and glanced across the dance floor, spotting Pippin standing there, and looking over to the side, he also spotted Merry. "Well, if that's the case... I'll help."
"How?"
Turning back to Berilac, Frodo's face took on a sly expression. "Just watch."
~()~
Partially hidden by the shadows of the room, Merry leaned against the wall, wondering why in the world he had agreed to come in the first place. Within the past few minutes, he had slipped around in the dark parts of the room and tried to find Pippin, but he had eventually stopped looking when he didn't catch sight of him.
Though rational thinking said it probably wasn't true, he could have sworn someone was staring at him earlier, but when he looked over to the spot in which he thought it came from, no one stood there. In his mind, Merry blamed a certain sense of paranoia for the brief space interruption, but as time grew on he felt it again, only this time closer to him. His head turned this way and that as he tried to find the source as worried thoughts popped into his mind. 'I couldn't have been spotted, could I?' he hastily pondered. He ruled that out as he looked around, finding none of the Tooks near him. His imagination must have been acting up, he concluded, stopping at a safe spot near one of the thin wooden columns and leaning against it. He despondently sighed and muttered, "I'm never going to see Pippin at this rate."
~()~
Just like Merry didn't trust his senses, Pippin couldn't believe his eyes. He was sure that had been... He shook his head, blaming his tired senses for the supposed delusion. That couldn't have been Merry standing there just a moment ago, could it? One moment he thought he had seen him, and the next one of the dancers passed him and Merry was gone.
And he stood there like a confused and lost child in the midst of a crowd, pondering why he was standing there. He suddenly felt someone approaching him out of the throng of people, but he didn't turn his eyes away from the wall in case Merry might appear again like a haunting phantom existing only in memory. The approaching hobbit, who was now directly behind him, stopped walking and leaned towards him. Pippin stood starkly still as a whisper reached his ears. "Go after him." And like a breeze upon the air, the hobbit behind him disappeared.
The whispered words awoke him out of his trance, making him glance around to see who had spoken. Pippin's eyebrows raised as he thought, 'Odd... That sounded a bit like Frodo.' He brushed that thought aside and turned back to his previous position as the meaning of the words finally cleared.
Taking that advice, Pippin rushed over to the side of the room, dodging the cheerful dancers that suddenly seemed to surround him. When he reached the shadows, he hurriedly glanced around. He smiled when he caught sight of a head of golden brown hair and a jacket of dark green farther down the side of the room. His breath caught in his throat and thoughts raced through his head, the main few being 'Why is he here?' and 'He's actually here!'
Other thoughts started popping up in his head, ones like 'Does he still like me?' and 'Will he speak to me?' He shook his head to stop them and started walking again.
~()~
Hildibrand's smile could have lit up the room if the torches weren't already doing so. He walked up to Berilac and nodded. "That was a nice touch. I don't know what Frodo said to him, but Pippin sure got excited."
Berilac glanced to him and back to Meriadoc as his expression grew serious. "It was all Frodo's doing. I admit, it's nice to have him around for occasions like this."
"And everything is going great. Our luck has been good today."
An amused smile made an appearance, but it faded from Berilac's mouth as he spotted something, and he stood up, rigid to the bone. "We're not out of the woods yet."
A/N: For one thing: I apologize about my evilness for putting the cliffhanger last chapter. And... Wait a minute! 60 reviews?! Oh my... Oh my... I can't zank yoo enuff! *Achoooo* Don't yoo jus' hate colds? Anyway, Renagird is my creation for this chapter.
~()~
Berilac Brandybuck waltzed around the room for a bit, seeming to dance with an invisible partner. He twirled and spun absently to the music, letting the sweet melody take him away and guide his feet as he closed his eyes. However, his little dance was interrupted when he tripped over a table leg and collided with another hobbit, knocking both of them down. Berilac winced as he hit the wood floor, both from the slight pain in his bottom and the knowledge that the incident would draw attention to him sooner or later. He hesitantly looked to whom he knocked down and smiled, jumping back to his feet and holding out his hand to help the other up.
"Well, if it isn't Mr. Frodo Baggins! How have you been?" he chirped as Frodo stood.
Frodo smiled back at him. "Oh, I was fine until you sent me sprawling, Berilac." He paused as he looked at Berilac, the smile fading from his lips. Realization struck him a moment later, and he glanced up at the Brandybuck in disbelief. "Berilac, what are you doing here?"
Berilac only grinned, unfazed by Frodo's surprise. "Why, joining the party, of course! You think I would sit around the house and do nothing, especially when my cousin's whole social status is in peril?"
Frodo's jaw dropped. "You mean that you-"
"Are helping Merry with some broken relationships. He's my cousin, Frodo. Of course I would help."
Though usually not being one to spite others, Frodo's face clouded over with slight anger. "He's also *my* cousin, mind you. And *I* was helping him until now it seems." He took a breath to calm himself. "You do know that if any of you are found, Merry has less chance of seeing Pippin, don't you?"
Berilac shook his head. "Oh, Frodo, you old worrywart! Hildibrand and I have this all down to a perfect art, you know. Our plan is going as smooth as butter."
Frodo raised an eyebrow. "And how is that?"
Giving Frodo the usual half-smirk that he was famous for, Berilac spun him around by the arm and pointed to the table where Paladin Took sat. "You see that hobbit sitting to the left of Paladin? That is Hildibrand's uncle, Renagird. He's an old friend to the Brandybuck family, though Paladin doesn't know it. You see, he keeps Paladin busy while our little operation is going on."
Frodo nodded. "All right, then. What else?"
Berilac turned him to the dance floor and pointed out Pervinca. "She's keeping some of the older hobbits busy and standing watch. You know, when it comes down to it, she's a right old conspirator, no doubt about it. And Hildibrand over there," he began, motioning to where the mentioned hobbit stood, "he makes certain that our little Took finds Merry."
"Well then, what do you do?" Frodo asked, slightly approving of the plan.
"Me? Well, until later, I'm just here for the party. But when the time is right, I find some way to get them alone. If that needs to be done, anyway."
"And how would you do that without letting them know your little plan? Or for that matter, if your first plan fails completely, what will you do?"
"Um... Well, I..." Berilac mumbled, growing slightly embarrassed.
"You mean to tell me that you haven't thought of a plan B?"
"Well, no... Not exactly."
Frodo nodded and glanced across the dance floor, spotting Pippin standing there, and looking over to the side, he also spotted Merry. "Well, if that's the case... I'll help."
"How?"
Turning back to Berilac, Frodo's face took on a sly expression. "Just watch."
~()~
Partially hidden by the shadows of the room, Merry leaned against the wall, wondering why in the world he had agreed to come in the first place. Within the past few minutes, he had slipped around in the dark parts of the room and tried to find Pippin, but he had eventually stopped looking when he didn't catch sight of him.
Though rational thinking said it probably wasn't true, he could have sworn someone was staring at him earlier, but when he looked over to the spot in which he thought it came from, no one stood there. In his mind, Merry blamed a certain sense of paranoia for the brief space interruption, but as time grew on he felt it again, only this time closer to him. His head turned this way and that as he tried to find the source as worried thoughts popped into his mind. 'I couldn't have been spotted, could I?' he hastily pondered. He ruled that out as he looked around, finding none of the Tooks near him. His imagination must have been acting up, he concluded, stopping at a safe spot near one of the thin wooden columns and leaning against it. He despondently sighed and muttered, "I'm never going to see Pippin at this rate."
~()~
Just like Merry didn't trust his senses, Pippin couldn't believe his eyes. He was sure that had been... He shook his head, blaming his tired senses for the supposed delusion. That couldn't have been Merry standing there just a moment ago, could it? One moment he thought he had seen him, and the next one of the dancers passed him and Merry was gone.
And he stood there like a confused and lost child in the midst of a crowd, pondering why he was standing there. He suddenly felt someone approaching him out of the throng of people, but he didn't turn his eyes away from the wall in case Merry might appear again like a haunting phantom existing only in memory. The approaching hobbit, who was now directly behind him, stopped walking and leaned towards him. Pippin stood starkly still as a whisper reached his ears. "Go after him." And like a breeze upon the air, the hobbit behind him disappeared.
The whispered words awoke him out of his trance, making him glance around to see who had spoken. Pippin's eyebrows raised as he thought, 'Odd... That sounded a bit like Frodo.' He brushed that thought aside and turned back to his previous position as the meaning of the words finally cleared.
Taking that advice, Pippin rushed over to the side of the room, dodging the cheerful dancers that suddenly seemed to surround him. When he reached the shadows, he hurriedly glanced around. He smiled when he caught sight of a head of golden brown hair and a jacket of dark green farther down the side of the room. His breath caught in his throat and thoughts raced through his head, the main few being 'Why is he here?' and 'He's actually here!'
Other thoughts started popping up in his head, ones like 'Does he still like me?' and 'Will he speak to me?' He shook his head to stop them and started walking again.
~()~
Hildibrand's smile could have lit up the room if the torches weren't already doing so. He walked up to Berilac and nodded. "That was a nice touch. I don't know what Frodo said to him, but Pippin sure got excited."
Berilac glanced to him and back to Meriadoc as his expression grew serious. "It was all Frodo's doing. I admit, it's nice to have him around for occasions like this."
"And everything is going great. Our luck has been good today."
An amused smile made an appearance, but it faded from Berilac's mouth as he spotted something, and he stood up, rigid to the bone. "We're not out of the woods yet."