A hobbit lay on a small bed. Her eyes were closed. The cloths that she was wearing were dotted with dirty marks. A few holes lined her dress. The smell of smoke lingered in her dress.
Her dress was blue with a flowery under dress. The dress showed a bit of her legs and her feet. Her feet were big and hairy. The hair on her feet had been brushed the morning of the day before. The bottom of her feet were grey with muck.
Besides her, a hobbit was sleeping. His face was black and dirty. This hobbit was Hamson Gamgee. He had been the one that had saved Pimpernel from the burning house.
Candles were burning on the wall, giving off heat. Hamson snored gently. The time was now in the small hours of the morning. Snow battered the window, it started to carpet the land. Each snow flake had it's own path to taken.
The house had a sombre mood to it. There was little or no talk in the house hold. The light from the candles seemed dimmer then usual. The candles that flickered. Normally the mood would be of a gentle nature. But all was quite and still.
A man was sitting in the kitchen. His eyes stared into nothingness. Thoughts were running though his mind. Scenarios of the worst kind were strong and haunting. Many things could have happened that night.
It had only been a few hours since the incident. His mind replayed what had happened. The flames had engulfed the entire hill side. Paladin knew that he could have lost one of his daughters.
Pimpernel was much more fragile then her sisters or her brother, Pippin. The whole family would protected and tried to keep each other safe. But they had failed.
The fire had shown Paladin that he could not keep his family safe. A mug of ale was standing in front of him. The liquid stood still in the mug. Paladin took a deep breath.
The door slowly opened, the door hinges creaked as the door opened. Standing in the door way was a girl. Her eyes were glittering in the low light.
It was Pearl.
Pearl took a deep, sorrowful breath. A small hanky was held in one hand. Pearl sniffed and slowly started to walk forward. Paladin took no notice of her walking towards him. After a few steps, Pearl stopped. For a few seconds her eyes lay on nothing but her father. His eyes were not looking at her. One of his hands was wrapped around the mug. He made no sound or no big movements. His eyes darted away from Pearl.
"Dad?" she asked.
Her voice echoed around the dark room. Her hand moved and gripped the back of the chair. She slowly pulled it out from its place, trying not to make much sound. Pearl slowly sat down.
"She's going to be alright, isn't she?" Pearl asked.
It was a question that Paladin could not answer. He didn't know what was going to happen. He slowly lifted the mug of ale up to his lips. He then started to drink. He took one sip and placed the mug back down again.
But he still didn't answer. Pearl looked away, she didn't know what to do or say. None of them could have possibly seen what had happened. Never had a fire been sparked in Hobbiton. The houses in the hill side had stood there for many generations.
Neither Pearl or Paladin said anything. The silence was deafening. Words floated around, but it was not the words of tongues. There was a mute acceptance that it happened.
"It was my fault" Paladin said.
Pearl's eyes slowly looked over at her father. She could no understand what he was saying.
"No" she said.
"No, it's not your fault at all!"
Paladin took a deep breath.
"I should have gone into the house when it was…"
He stopped midsentence. His voiced echoed around the room. Small patters were coming from the window. Snow flakes were being driven against the glass. A small bit had settled on the small ledge on the other side.
The warmth was greater then outside. The road had a delicate sheet of snow building up. The county side around was slowly being covered in a white sheet of snow. Animals came out of their burrows.
Foxes slowly came out, looking at the area before coming out. Their ears were trained on any sounds that might meet him. His ears pointing in any direction that he heard sound.
Mostly it was branches or twigs snapping. The fox made small foot prints in the soft snow. Flakes continued to rain down on him. They stuck to his red fur. Yet the animal did not feel the coldness of night like either hobbits or humans.
His fur kept heat in. The burrow that he had come out of was home to his family. The fox cubs in on of the few chambers that had been dug out.
Five cubs were keeping warm together. They had now grown to half the size of their mother and father. Every so often, one of them would move to get into a more comfortable spot. They slept with head resting on fluffy paws.
The snow dared to entre the hole, the warmth fought it back.
Roots grew out of the mud. The foxes constantly bit them off and put them outside. The chambers had been filled with grass in the summer. But it had now all turned brown. Fur that had fallen off the foxes had been piled in the chamber as well.
The foxes den was a mile or two away from Hobbiton. Lights could be seen though the vast curtain of snow. the wind made the snow move in columns. It almost looked alive as it sailed though the air.
The vast fields below started to turn from black, to grey as more and more snow was dumped on it. The lights of Hobbiton looked like small jewels in a rough sea.
Inside of one the houses, two hobbits sat at a table. Pearl was still quiet. The fire had been put out a few hours ago. But its effects were still burning hot.
Pearl could still see the fire burning in her mind. She knew that it would be a while before everything would settle down.
Pearl was sitting down at a table. She was facing her father.
"You did what you could, no one could have stopped that fire from spreading!" Pearl told him.
Paladin took another sip. The level of ale was dropping every time he drank. Pearl, on the other hand, had no ale to drink.
"I did not do enough" he said.
He hated himself for not doing enough. If he had just acted quicker then he had, maybe Pimpernel would have been saved quicker.
The fire flashed across his eyes. The smell of smoke and the heat of the fire. The vision lasted only a split second. Fear had been running though his veins. But he had been routed to the spot. Water was being thrown at roaring flames.
But it was not working. The flames continued to grow. The flames continued to destroy everything it touched. It did not care for the people it hurt. The fire ate everything. Paper and cloths were its favourite things to eat. Hobbits, elves and humans alike all thought that they could control fire. But, every so often, the fire would control them.
"I did not do enough to help" Paladin said.
He was going through a range of emotions. They would come and go in waves.
Anger.
He was angry because of what happened. Paladin felt like that he had not done enough. After all, he was Thain of the Shire. The others had looked up to him to make things better. But he had failed.
Sadness.
He was upset. Upset at the fact that his daughter had been involved. Everything that she owned had now been destroyed. Things that had been in the Took family for many generations.
Confusion.
He had no idea of how the fire started. That was the most important question that needed answering.
But how would he find out?
How would he get the answers that he need?
"Pearl, you should get to bed. We will have a lot of work to do over the next few days" Paladin told her.
But his daughter did not move. Paladin took a deep breath. The silence was louder then ever.
"Move now" he said.
Pearl looked at her father. She felt a small bit of anger towards him. The girl took a deep breath and slowly got up. Pearl pushed her seat back. The noise echoed the quiet room.
The house was quiet. All though out, the mood was very different from earlier in the day. All good feeling had set like the sun had earlier.
Pervinca had been sitting in the lounge all night. Her mother had sat with her for most of night. But she had gone out of the room now. The clock ticked as it hung on the wall. The time showed two thirty in the morning.
Normally, everyone would be asleep and the snow outside would be a nice surprise in the morning. But that was not the case.
There would be no playing with snow in the morning, only questions.
Pervinca looked into the crackling fire that burning merrily. Her mind was busy. Like everyone else, she was thinking about what had happened.
So much had been risked in the fire. Vinnie knew that her sister could have died in the fire. All of Pimpernel's books had been lost. Yet, they were not as important as Pimpernel.
Yes, some of the things that had been lost were family heirlooms. But that didn't matter. All that mattered was Pimpernel and her well being.
The door slowly opened. Vinnie glanced towards it. Pearl was standing there. She stood there for a few seconds before coming in.
The girl slowly closed the door. It clicked shut. She then walked slowly over to the couch and cuddled her sister. The two of them instantly began to cry.
"I thought… I thought she was…"
But Pearl couldn't say it.
"I know… I know, I did too"
The two girls were embraced in a big hug. Neither of them spoke for a few minutes.
"She'll be alright, wont she?" Pearl asked.
The two of them looked at each other. There was a small smile over Pervinca lips.
"Yes" Pervinca answered.
"Yes she will"
But Pearl was still not sure.
"But, how do you know?" she asked.
A tear ran down her face. Pervinca took a deep breath and looked towards the fire.
"Because she will. I just know it"
The clock continued to tick on. The minute hand ran though the small dots. The hour hand slowly moved around the surface of the clock. It chimed every hour.
The snow was not going to give up with a fight. The flakes continued to fall from the black sky. But the black sky was slowly turning grey.
Above the clouds, the sun started to rise. Stars that were normally seen on a cloudless night were starting to vanish. Below, a white sheet of cloud stretched for the horizons in every direction. The land was being covered in fresh, cold snow.
Forests of big trees made the pristine sheet of snow break up. Small bands ran along the land. But they did not go all the way across. They were square fields used for farming. But farming had stopped for now. The fields had been left as they were for the last couple of months. It was too cold to farm the ground.
Rivers trickled their way across the lands. Some were as old as civilisations. Even the most hardened rocks would be turned to sand.
A small party of beings were walking though the snow. The light of the sun could now be seen fighting off the darkness. The snow continued as heavily as it was a few hours ago. Flakes landed on the hair of the three wonderers.
Two were small. One was a hobbit from the Shire and the other was a dwarf. Both were shivering in the coldness. There was a tall elf walking along with them as well. His eyes scanned the area ahead of them.
His name was Legolas.
Legolas had blond hair which always seemed to be clean what ever he was doing. Elves could not feel coldness, so the snow did not bother him. Legolas had never felt tired.
Gimli, on the other hand, was freezing. The toes in his large boots barely moved. His hands were as stiff as wooden beams. Flakes had settled in his large beard that ran most of the way down him.
Droplets of ice cold water fell to the snow on the ground.
There was a third figure. He was the same height as Gimli. Yet he was younger looking. His name was Merry Brandybuck.
He lived in Hobbiton, a small village miles away from where he was now. The three friends were on their way to Bree. Between them, they had only had an hours sleep all night. Merry was still shivering. Even though he had an Elven cloak on, it did not help. The coldness was still getting to him.
"We need to… stop… now!" Merry half shouted though the wind.
The light level had been creeping upwards for a few hours. Yet it was still dark enough to slow the three of them down.
"Bree is only three days away, we will rest soon" Legolas said.
Merry grumbled something, but Legolas took no notice of it. Gimli was making no noise.
"You best not argue with the elf, lad" he said.
Merry looked over at him.
"Why?" he asked, the coldness was present in his voice.
Gimli took a deep breath.
"Because he'll always win" Gimli said.
The two of them looked over at the elf. Only two tracks of foot prints trailed behind the three of them. Legolas was the only one not making prints in the snow. He seemed to be lighter then the other two.
The light made it easier to see. To Legolas, the darkness and the light had no change. A few hundred meters down the road, a figure came out of the woods.
To Merry and Gimli, it was invisible. They would not even know it was there. But Legolas did. The fox's eyes darted around. in the distance, three figures were walking towards him. but the animal didn't move. He watched them coming nearer and nearer.
The fox then darted across the road. Legolas gave a small smirk, not visible to his two friends. Snow flakes continued to fall from the sky. The wispy clouds above were showing themselves. Yet there was still a lot of darkness. The snow still falling in curtains across the land.
Hobbiton was getting covered in more and more snow. The flowers had been cut back weeks ago, their stems were the only visible. The green grass had been covered by the mounting snow.
A large empty hole ran though the hill. It had once been a lovely hobbit hole, full of nice furniture and old books. But now, all that had gone. The remains were scattered around the floor.
Snow drifted in and settled on the black wood. Small bits of paper were scattered around the house. They were once parts of hundred year old books.
The light of day started to reveal the damage done by flames. Hobbits started to emerge out of their homes. All eyes were on the burnt out hill. Tongues started to wag as they took in the damage.
"It's a sign. Something bad is going to happen, you mark my words!" said one of the elders.
Some of the young hobbits moved closer. The gate had been closed over night, but it was now open. The snow put out what fires had been left burning during the night.
Estella Bolger yawned as she opened her front door. The whiteness of the snow made her stop in her tracks. The flakes were the largest that she had ever seen. For a moment, she was lost in it's beauty. She then started to feel something very strange.
Happiness was in short supply. No snowballs were being thrown. The flakes started to hit Estella on the face. Her eyes scanned the area. Though the snow, a group of hobbits could be seen standing there. They were standing in front of a burnt out house.
Estella then knew what had happened and why no one was happy. They were all looking at the burnt hillside. Snow now entered the area that had once had a roof.
A figure rushed out of the mist. It was a man, an old man with greying hair. He had a large coat on, his arms had been put though the sleeves.
This man was Pimpernel's father, Paladin Took. Paladin had been up for most of the night. He had had many mugs of ale. The old man was drunk, it effected his walk.
Estella closed the door behind herself and took a deep breath. She tried to warm herself. But it wasn't working. The coldness still got to her. The hobbit then started to walk forward. She reached her gate and opened it. the wind struggled to close it again. Estella walked though and let the gate swing shut.
"Paladin?" she asked, walking towards him.
The man stopped. He rubbed his eyes and looked at the girl standing there.
"I've failed them" he told her.
Estella could hear that his voice was slurred. He had bags under his eyes and they were red. Snowflakes had settled in his hair.
"Come on, lets get you home" Estella said.
She put a hand on his shoulder. But Paladin pushed it off.
"I do not need your help, girl" he said.
Estella blinked, having a snowflake land on her eye.
"Is this how your going to deal with it?" asked Estella.
"Is this how your going to help?"
Paladin stopped in his tracks. Yet he did not looked around. He was taking in what had just been said. Paladin slowly turned around. The snow was now pounding at his face. The two hobbits looked at each other.
Paladin slowly walked back to Estella.
"What do you know about anything?" he asked.
Estella could smell the ale on his breath.
"I know that Pimpernel and your family are lots and confused. You are the only one that they look towards when they need help" Estella answered.
There was a moment of silence between the both of them. the two of them looked deep into each other's eyes.
"You know nothing of what it is like to loose someone" Paladin said.
Estella looked away. She knew exactly what it was like. Her grandmother, Jessamine Bolger, was one of the most friendly hobbits in Hobbiton. Estella had looked up to her Grandmother and often stayed at their home.
Every year, Jessamine would put on a rich Yule feast. But that had long stopped. There had been no feasts for years.
"Yes I do" Estella answered slowly, snapping back out of her small day dream.
Paladin laughed and grumbled.
"Leave me alone" he said and turned around.
Estella stood there and watched him walk away from her. She knew that he was heading for the Green Dragon. But there was nothing she could do to stop him from going.
Estella took a deep breath, turned and walked the opposite direction. She headed towards Paladin's home, knowing that Pimpernel was going to be there.
Meanwhile, in the house, Hamson had woken up. Yet he still looked very tired. A bowl of water was laying on the floor near his feet. But it was not for him. He had been dabbing Pimpernel's head, trying to make her wake up. But without success.
A hobbit came into the room. She was holding two large cups of tea. Hamson looked over. The woman was smiling.
"Here you are love" she said.
This woman was called Eglantine Took. She was the mother of Pimpernel. There was another chair standing at the wall. She pulled it out and sat on it. Hamson was holding his cup of tea and looking down. He took a deep breath.
"She's not woken up yet" Eglantine said sadly.
Hamson looked up, he was leaning forward. He gave a small shake of his head, then looked down again.
"You should go and wash your face" Eglantine said.
Hamson took a deep breath. He slowly placed the cup of tea on the floor, having not touched it. He left his seat and walked out. Eglantine took a deep, sorrowful breath and took a sip of her hot tea.
It was then that a knock at the front door echoed around the house. Eglantine looked up and out of the room. She got out of her seat and walked out of the room.
The front door loomed into view. The wind could be heard whistling though the small gaps. The hobbit held the mug in her other hand and opened the door.
Standing on the outside was a snow covered Estella.
"My dear Estella, do come in!"
Estella smiled and walked in. She was shivering from head to toe. Snow had settled in her hair and on her cloths. Every so often, a drip would fall to the floor. The door closed, keeping the cold out again.
"Is she awake?" Estella asked, taking off her coat.
Eglantine shook her head.
"No, but I'm still hoping it will be soon" she said sorrowfully.
Estella hung her coat up.
"Where are Pearl and Vinnie?"
"In the lounge, dear"
Estella nodded and headed towards the sitting room. There were many doors in this house, yet she knew which one to go to.
The hobbit reached the door and opened it. The hinges creaked as she pushed it. Estella slowly walked in. On the large sofa, she saw two hobbits. One was leaning on the other and they were both asleep. The other had tilted her head back.
Estella smiled. She felt bad for waking them up, but she had to do so. It was almost breakfast. So, she walked over to two of them. Pervinca was the nearest one.
"Vinnie?" she asked in a whisper.
But the hobbit did not wake. She continued to snooze. Estella smiled. She reached out her hand and tapped Pervinca. It was then that she was plucked out of her sleep. She groaned and looked up. standing above her was her friend.
"Estella?" asked a sleepy Vinnie.
Estella smiled.
"Hello" she said.
Pervinca yawned and looked down. Pearl was still sleeping happily.
"Pearl?" asked her sister.
Pearl slowly woke up, she was still very tired. Her hand rubbed her face. She then looked up and saw Estella standing there. A yawn came over her lips.
"What time is it?" she asked, looking at the clock.
The clock read eight o'clock in the morning. Pearl groaned, she knew that she could have still been in bed. The fire crackled in the fire place.
"I saw your father heading down the hill" Estella told them.
Vinnie suddenly looked more awake then she had been.
"What? When?" she asked, getting out of her seat.
"Only a few minutes ago, I don't know where he was heading"
Pervinca then quickly walked out of the room. Pearl didn't understand what was going on. She stood up as well. Estella looked back at her.
"How's Pimpernel?" she asked.
Pearl was in a large yawn, she had closed her eyes and her mouth was wide open. She then shrugged her shoulders.
"She's still asleep, I don't know for how long"
A bang then came from the front door. It echoed all around the house. Both of the hobbits knew that Vinnie had gone to find her father.
Hamson then walked past the door. His face was now clean, yet his cloths were the same as last nights. He headed back to the room. But, when he walked in, Pimpernel's mother was holding her hand. It took him a few seconds to realise that Pimpernel's eyes were open.
"Pimpernel!" he said and rushed over to her.
A small smile came over her lips.
"Hello" she said quietly.
Hamson took Pimpernel's other hand. A small tear ran down her face.
"I'm sorry" she said quietly.
The tear ran down her perfect face. Hamson was confused.
"Sorry for what? For the fire?" he asked.
Nelly took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling. She didn't want to talk about it.
"Pimpernel, dear, it was not your fault. It was an accident" Eglantine told her daughter.
But Pimpernel remained quiet. Her eyes were in a million mile gaze. Tears had stopped flowing from her eyes.
"Nelly?" asked Hamson.
He waited for a few seconds, but still had no answer.
"Would you like something to eat?" asked Eglantine.
Pimpernel looked over at her mother and gave a small nod. Eglantine smiled and got up. She left Hamson and Pimpernel by themselves. The door closed behind her.
Meanwhile, as one door closes, another is open. Pervinca had reached the Green Dragon. The wind made it more difficult to open the door. Snow had gathered all around the outside. The markets had been not been set up.
Pervinca closed the door behind herself and looked around. Her eye then fell on a figure sitting at a table all by himself.
So, she started to walk towards him. She stopped on the other side of the table from where he was sitting.
"Is any one sitting here?" she asked.
Paladin looked up, saw that it was his daughter then looked back out the window again. The glass that made up the window was steaming up. There was a patch that had been cleaned of condensation.
Pervinca pulled up and seat and sat down. She stared at her father. Paladin didn't look at her, but he could feel her eyes piercing him like a knife.
The more he tried to get rid of the feeling, the more it went deeper into him.
"What do you want?" he asked after a few minutes.
Vinnie was looking angrily at her father.
"Pimpernel" she started.
Paladin rolled his eyes and picked up his mug of ale.
"Pimpernel is up there, in your home and she is not very well" Pervinca told him.
Paladin had been drinking his ale as his daughter had said that. He took the deep breath as he took the mug away from his lips. He placed the mug down on the table.
He rubbed his lips with the back of his hand.
"I do not care" he said, his speech even more slurred then before.
Pervinca shook her head in disbelief.
"Don't you know what your saying?" she asked.
"I know exactly what I am saying!" Paladin snapped.
The few people that had braved the coldness to come looked around. Paladin was Thain of the Shire. But the resent events had pushed him beyond what he could handle.
"You are meant to be Thain of the Shire. You, out of all hobbits, said you would keep us safe" Pervinca argued.
Some of the hobbits, who had been having a quiet drink, walked out. This did not bother Pervinca nor Paladin. An old hobbit smoked in the corner. He was watching the developing events.
"What happened to that heroic hobbit that I saw when you and the others resisted against those ruffians?" she asked.
Paladin had fallen silent. He could remember what had happened back then. The sound of sword clashing and hurtful screams came to his ears.
His eyes glazed over. Pervinca watched him, knowing that he was day dreaming. She took a deep breath.
"You need to go home" she said.
Paladin shook his head.
"I cant" he told her.
"I cant go back there. I have let all of you down"
Paladin sounded sad. Vinnie couldn't understand what he was on about.
"No, no you haven't. you did all the best that you could, fires happen. It was an accident" Vinnie told him.
She leaned in and looked right into her father's eyes. Paladin looked right back. There was something deep down inside that Paladin could feel that his daughter was trying to help.
"Will you come back home?" Vinnie asked.
Paladin took a deep breath. He knew that the times had changed. He knew that there was nothing he could do about it.
He slowly nodded, taking a deep breath. He drained his mug and stood up. It took him a second or two to find his legs again. The ale was taking more of an effect on him.
Pervinca helped him. The old man that had been looking at them shook his head and looked away. Smoke was rising from his pipe. It rose like a long, fragile ribbon.
The two hobbits reached the large, closed door. Wind whistled though the small gaps. The candles flickered by themselves.
The door was pulled open. A wave of cold air hit them. The warmth was taken away and replaced with the cold. Paladin and Pervinca both walked out and shut the door.
Back at the house, Hamson was sitting near Pimpernel. He sipped his tea, which had now lost all of its heat. Pimpernel was still on the bed, but now she was sitting up in the bed. A plate lay on her lap. A sandwich was held in her hand.
The bread was white, butter had been spread thickly on the white bread. The slices were thick and soft. The crusts were thick, yet soft.
In the middle of the two slices of bread were slices of bacon. The thin slices of meat had been cooked till crisp and brown.