Chapter A Gift
Faramir's POV
Goldi and I were in her room with the kitten. We had found a small piece of yarn and the kitten would tumble trying to attack it. Suddenly, someone was shouting for Uncle Merry. Goldi and I both glanced at each other before I got up to see what was going on.
I leaned out the door to see a servant go by. He was running so fast his feet would skid on the polished floor and he almost ran into the wall or fell over as he continued down the hall.
"Hey! What happened?" I called out. He skidded to a halt and spun around.
"Mistress Estella has gone into labor!" He shouted back. "Do you know where Master Merry is?"
"No." I called back and he started to run and shout again.
"Aunt Estella went into labor. They probably have her in her room." She quickly put the kitten back on the ground and stood up, brushing her green skirt off.
"I hope they find Mister Merry in time." She muttered. "I'll leave her in here by herself. She can entertain herself." We started to one of the main guest rooms at a jog. We were met by Ada who was standing outside the door every so often looking at the door.
"How's Aunt Estella?" I asked, walking up to him.
"Good." He answered.
"How long has it been?"
"About five minutes. Merry and Bo should be here soon." Ada said. A sudden scream from the bedroom caused the three of us to jump.
Uncle Merry ran into the room and almost collided with Ada who jumped back in time. Bo quickly followed but Uncle Merry wasn't as quick as Ada and Bo was knocked to the ground.
"How is she? Is everything okay? How long has it been? Can I go in?" As he asked the questions he waved his arms franticly and walked quickly to the door and back again.
"Fine. Yes. About ten minutes. And no." Ada smiled and led Uncle Merry to a chair. "Sit. She'll be fine."
Bo was also casting anxious glances at the door but had his arms crossed over his chest. Whenever something bothered him he would just ignore it.
"Where'd you get the scarf Far?" He asked and I glanced down to see I was still wearing the scarf.
"Goldi made it for me."
"It's nice." He smiled but his eyes flickered to the door.
"A scarf?" Ada leaned over to see it better. "I had a scarf though the first part of the journey. It lasted through Moria, our captivity, and traveling to Mirkwood. I had to take it off because of the uniform, I still have it somewhere. It's a very nice scarf Goldi, good job."
She grinned and again everyone jumped at Aunt Estella's scream. They were louder and more frequent. Then, there was a long sharp shriek and it was silent. The wailing of a baby broke the quiet and Uncle Merry grinned brightly.
The door opened and Nana walked out smiling. "Well Merry. It seems you have a daughter. Go on in." Uncle Merry was gone in an instant and Bo was quick to follow.
"A girl?" Ada asked and Nana nodded. "Come on, let's go see her." We stepped into the room to see Aunt Estella holding a tiny bundle of blankets in her arms.
"Pippin! We decided since you've named almost every child here. Could you think of a good name?"
"Well," Ada hesitated. "Are you sure?"
"Yup." Uncle Merry nodded.
"Well, she was born on Yule. That makes her, kind of a gift. Anna is Sindarin for gift."
"Anna. I love it." Aunt Estella smiled down at the baby. "Welcome Anna, the perfect gift."
Pippin's POV
"Oh," Estella gasped in pain. "Ouch, I think it's coming." She wrapped her arm tightly around her swollen stomach.
"What?" I looked at her sharply. "What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said." She snapped back before moaning in pain.
"After this contraction, let's get you into the guest room." I felt the feeling of panic begin to grip me but tried to force it away.
"Are you in here Estella?" Diamond walked in and froze. Her eyes widened then she ran over to Estella.
"Are you in labor?" She asked and Estella nodded tearfully. "Alright, let's get you into the guest room. Pippin, find Merry and Bo." Then they started to the guest room.
I ran into the kitchen and saw Bo eating an apple.
"Bo! Your mother went into labor, go find your father and fast!" He look startled then dropped his apple and ran out of the room. With nothing else to do I walked back to the guest room. The sudden adrenaline rush had left me feeling tired.
Eventually I got to the room and a few minutes later Far and Goldi ran p
"How's Aunt Estella?" he asked.
"Good." I answered.
"How long has it been?"
"About five minutes. Merry and Bo should be here soon." A scream from inside the room made me shudder.
I heard footsteps running then narrowly avoided being trampled to death by Merry and Bo.
"How is she? Is everything okay? How long has it been? Can I go in?" His eyes were wide and he was franticly waving his arms and walking back and forth.
"Fine. Yes. About ten minutes. And no." I tried to calm my cousin down by leading him to a chair.
"What if something goes wrong?" he whispered as if not wanting to scare Bo.
I heard Bo behind me say something about a scarf and turned.
"A scarf?" I leaned over to see it better. It was actually a very nice scarf. Blue and green. "I had a scarf though the first part of the journey. It lasted through Moria, our captivity, and traveling to Mirkwood. I had to take it off because of the uniform, I still have it somewhere. I guess I had it because it reminded me of home. It's a very nice scarf Goldi, good job."
As she smiled a long shrill shriek came from the room followed by an awful silence where Merry went as white as a ghost. Then, the small cry of a baby.
The door opened and Diamond walked out. She was smiling but looked tired "Well Merry. It seems you have a daughter. Go on in." Merry shot into the room again followed by Bo
"A girl?" I asked, wanting to be sure. "Come on, let's go see her." We walked into the room and saw Estella lying in the bed, looking lovingly at the child.
"Pippin!" She smiling exhausted. "We decided since you've named almost every child here. Could you think of a good name?"
"Well," I paused. I didn't want to take the privilege of naming a baby away. "Are you sure?"
"Yup." Merry nodded enthusiastically.
"Well, she was born on Yule. That makes her, kind of a gift. Anna is Sindarin for gift."
"Anna. I love it." Estella smiled. "Welcome Anna, the perfect gift."
Author's Note: Again, sorry. I have no excuse except for pure laziness. Sad I know. You would think since because I have no social life I would have time but I guess not.
Reviews:
Ice Ember: Well, I have two cats and love them both to death, even though one is fourteen pounds and a blimp, and I have a dog. I think a little fluffy kitten is adorable too!
Cherryfaerie: Snow does sound good. Course, I live in Texas and it reached record century high temperature this week. It's also so humid that you can't get your mail without wanting a shower. Sorry if I'm complaining. I've been doing that a lot lately.
Araphin: Alas for you hast bad eyes! No I'm kidding! I forgot but added it in. I think I explained it to you earlier but I don't know.
Alright, I don't know when my next post will be. Maybe not until late July. I have a family reunion to go to in Wisconsin and will be able to write a lot over the long car trip when my sister is putting her feet in my lap and spilling food everywhere.
I better stop complaining soon.
