Disclaimer: J.R.R.Tolkien's. Not mine.
"Pippin! Pippin! What are you doing?"
Pippin glanced over his shoulder at Merry who was sitting up in confusion.
"I just want to have another look."
The hobbit edged his way around sleeping Rohirrim and a snorting dwarf who was twitching and muttering "Bring on the ale!" every so often in a quiet mumble. He nearly tripped over a pair of outstretched legs however and was about to fall over when a pale, calloused hand grabbed his shirt.
"Master Pippin? Hobbits shouldn't be up at this hour. Not with travelling in the near future anyways."
"Lady Eownthiel?" Pippin pulled away from her grasp, "I was just going to have a little look, nothing more."
Thiel raised a dark eyebrow but lay back slowly. She didn't know what that stone could possibly do to harm the hobbit.
Pippin sneaked the rest of the way down the room and stopped, in terror, beside Gandalf.
His eyes were open.
….Wait…. The wizard still remained silent. Pippin breathed out again and grasped the cloth covered stone, dragging it out of Gandalf's grip and gently placing a jug in its place.
He scurried back down again to Merry and unwrapped the Palantir. Merry looked on as his cousin grinned slightly, put both hands on the Palantir and, several seconds later, screamed.
Out on the steps, Aragorn's head snapped up. He paused and leapt up, Valar knew what had caused it. He quickly pinpointed the noise and came crashing through the sleeping quarter's door.
Seeing Pippin writing on the floor in agony and clutching a glowing red stone, Aragorn sprang forward and snatched the ball. He instantly slumped forward as darkness seeped into his mind and let the Palantir roll out of his grip. Gandalf simply scooped it up with the cloth and stuffed it under his pillow.
"Fool of a Took!"
Pippin didn't move. Gandalf shoved an extremely concerned Merry out of the way and grasped the hobbit's hand in his own.
"Tell me what you saw!"
No response.
"Peregrin Took! Tell me what you saw!"
The terrified hobbit's eyes focused again.
"There was a white tree in a courtyard of stone. It was burning. Everything was burning. Then, he came. I saw him…."
"What did you tell him?"
"He said nothing of the Ring to Sauron. He may be a fool, but he is an honest fool."
Pippin tried to become invisible as the group's eyes swept over him. As he scanned their faces, the only look of reassurance he got was from Thiel, who twitched one of the corners of her mouth up at his bedraggled appearance. She didn't look much better. Gandalf had soundly told her off for letting Pippin near the Palantir – once she had confessed of course.
"Now we must consider this – Gondor will need our aid. Are you prepared to give it?"
Théoden fell silent. He looked at everything that wasn't Gandalf or Aragorn's face before meeting the wizard's gaze head on.
"Where was Gondor when we needed them? Where was Gondor when the Deeping Wall fell? Where was Gondor? Where was…!"
He threw his hands up in desperation.
"You must respond if the beacons are lit."
"Why should we go to the aid of those who did not come to ours?"
"They must be warned at least!" snarled Aragorn.
"We have no riders to spare," said Théoden.
"Then I will go!" Aragorn was losing his temper quickly.
"No. I will go." said Gandalf coolly, "And I won't be going alone."
Gimli and Thiel had watched it all from the steps to the Golden Hall. The hobbits' final argument, Pippin's almost purposeful misunderstanding, Gandalf and Pippin riding off on Shadowfax and Merry's distress that was only partly soothed by Aragorn.
Gimli knew how the little hobbit felt. Legolas' absence was becoming unbearably difficult to ignore.
"You knew the laddie?" he managed to croak out at last.
"The laddie?" Thiel looked up at the dwarf, confused.
"Legolas." Gimli stretched himself up; aware that this could be the only time he was taller than an elf, even if she was sitting two steps below him.
"Oh, yes. We were like family for a bit."
"So, has the lad had any adventures with ladies?" The question sounded disrespectful, yes, but talking about him made it less painful.
Thiel choked slightly,
"He's petrified of she-elves. Elbereth knows how many have made sneaky suggestions to him."
"What about you and him?"
"NO!"
The elf turned around on the thin step and somersaulted over.
"I mean, no. He's handsome, I shall give him that but we were like brother and sister. I intend to remain unmarried anyway. It makes life easier."
Gimli stopped sniggering as a blast on an all too familiar horn sounded.
"Ai…." whispered the she-elf, dusting herself down.
Out of the Golden Hall ran Théoden, Aragorn, Merry, Eowyn and Eomer to stand beside Gimli. Thiel remained very un-elflike, sprawled on the ground under the steps.
Up the path came at least a hundred horses, the riders carrying two different banners: a swan and a white hart. The leaders drew their horses to a stop in front of the Hall and two of them leapt off their horses.
"Eownthiel? Pick yourself up, now, and try to look like you are an elf," said one of them. Everyone one but Aragorn and Thiel gasped, it looked like Legolas, it sounded like Legolas but it wasn't. This person gave off an air of being much older.
Thiel blushed and bounced up, bowing to both elves in turn.
"Lord Thranduil. Lord Celeborn, I apologise."
She turned around to the others and smiled,
"I seem to have forgotten a particular point."
This time, I'll admit it. There is sooo no excuse for me not updating so long. What can I say, I'm a damn cold-hearted bitch, but, hey, I'm good at it.
Here's a cool saying:
'Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and good with ketchup.