Abira was sleeping in a nice warm bed. The snow outside was deepening. Foxes were up and about in the coldness. Yet their fur kept the cold out.
A nose sniffed the ground. Although it was the early hours of the morning, there was a lot of life outside. Hobbiton was asleep. Most of the lights had been put out.
Large, warm duvets had been thrown over the hobbits. Their windows were closed and locked. The fires had been stocked up. they were spreading their heat around the house.
Abira was asleep under a large duvet. Her eyes were closed and her fur was nice and warm. Her small head rested on a large arm. Pimpernel was sleeping in the bed as well.
She had been cuddling her new puppy. But now, they had both fallen asleep. Pearl was sleeping in the next room. She had changed into her night gown.
Earlier that night, Pimpernel had moved in with her. Eglantine took, their mother, had banned puppies and dogs from her house.
So, Pimpernel had moved in with her sister. Earlier, the two of them had been in the warm kitchen. The candles were burning. The fire place had been flaming for the last couple of hours.
Pearl had been busy cooking up a small snack for them. Abira had been set down and was now discovering the rest of the house. The pup's nose ran over the floor as she scurried around.
A few times, she stopped and looked around. The pup could see dark pictures hanging on the walls. A small cold breeze running though the house.
Noises echoed around the house. Pearl had placed a plate on the kitchen table. A bacon sandwich had been made and set in front of Pimpernel.
Nelly was still a bit upset. She took a deep bread as her eyes looked down at the sandwich. Pearl took the pan off of the heat and looked around. Pimpernel took a deep breath. She looked very glum.
"You alright?" asked Pearl, placing her plate on her table mat.
Pimpernel seemed to be staring into an invisible spot.
"I don't think mum loves me anymore" she answered.
Pearl was a little bit shocked.
"Nelly, of course mum loves you" she told her.
Nelly's eyes flashed towards her sister.
"Well she doesn't show it very well"
There was a small hint of anger in Pimpernel's voice that Pearl picked up. Not wanting an argument, Pearl didn't answer. The hobbit ate her sandwich in silence.
The bacon was crisp and had a slight smoked flavour to it. Abira then scurried into the room. The smell of bacon was now hitting her nose and she wanted some.
Pimpernel smiled and looked down to her side. A small pup was wagging her tail and looking upwards. Two large hands picked up the pup. Pimpernel placed the excited puppy on her lap.
Abira's little tongue was sticking out of her mouth. Her eyes were wide and her fur warm. A small whine came from her, Nelly knew that she wasn't quick enough.
"Alright, sit there like a good girl" she said.
Abi watched as Nelly took a bit of bacon out of her sandwich and fed it to her. Abira seemed to calm down quite quickly. Pimpernel yawned and put her hand over her mouth.
The darkness had fallen around the small village. The snow continued to carpet the ground.
"I think I should get ready for bed" Pimpernel said.
She did indeed look tired. Pimpernel slid the chair back and stood up. the small puppy whimpered, she was still hungry.
But Pimpernel did not stop. She walked straight out of the room. Pearl was left sitting by herself. The fire crackled. The tiles under Pimpernel's feet were cleaner then normal.
Pearl had been left on her own as she heard Pimpernel walked into the spare room. Pearl continued to eat her sandwich.
The small bit of hunger had now been satisfied. There was still two triangles of the sandwich. She picked up the second piece and took a bite. Her eyes were now very heavy.
Pimpernel was now getting washed in the bath room. Water had been filled in a sink. A small bit of water vapour snaked into the air.
Ripples crossed the surface of the water. A mirror had been put on the wall. Pimpernel was looking at her reflection. Her hair was very greasy. She still had small black marks on her skin. It was the only evidence of the fire.
The mirror showed how old Pimpernel looked. Her eyes had small bags under them. Pimpernel's attention was now turned to the water that was now resting in the bowl. It was hot, hot to the point of pain.
The water started to run over the palms of her hands. Her hands were pushed deeper and deeper in to the hot water. The water trickled over the backs of her hands and fingers.
The heat of the water showed on her face. But she kept it locked up.
After a minute, she took her hands out of the hot water. Both had a small hint of redness about them. a few drips fell back into the bowl. The sounds around her seemed to be clearer somehow.
Pimpernel looked back into the glass mirror. Her hands were raised to her face. After a few seconds of rubbing, she took her hands away.
The black marks have vanished. Her eyes seemed to brighten. A small smile came over her lips. She knew that life could only get better.
Her hand then went back into the dirty water and pulled the plug. The water level slowly started to lower. After a minute, all of the water was gone. Only a trickle was left running down the hole in the middle.
Pimpernel had walked away from the sink to the towel rack. She picked out one of the small towels and started to dry off her hands and her face.
A minute later, she walked out of the warm room. Pimpernel could feel the temperature changing as she walked down the corridor to her room.
She opened the large wooden door. Candles were burning on their holders. Some of them had wax seeping from the top of them. The wax looked like droplets of water trapped in time.
The room had a bed and on the bed was a small puppy. The puppy was laying down, her eyes were looking around. As Pimpernel came in, the puppy's eyes homed in on her.
The pup then stood on all fours and looked happily up at her. A hand came down and started to stroke her head. Pimpernel then lifted her up.
"How are you pup?" Nelly asked.
The pup whined and licked her. Nelly smiled and kissed her puppy on her small, fluffy head. The duvet was then uncovered and Pimpernel got in. The puppy was held in her arms as the hobbit laid down.
Abira snuggled down as Pimpernel placed a big duvet over her. Everything went darker then normal. Abi could feel the weight of the duvet was heavy for the pup.
Pimpernel heard whimpering coming from under the large duvet. A small bit opened to revile the puppy trying to get out. a smile came over her face.
"Come on then" she said.
A small hint of tiredness was in her voice as the pup crawled up. Abira's little head was now pocking out of the top of the warm duvet. She was resting on Pimpernel's arm.
Pimpernel was getting very sleepy now. There were now sounds echoing though the house. Only the small patters of the snow flakes hitting the window met her ears.
Pimpernel's eyes closed and she went into a deep and peaceful sleep.
The hours continued to tick away. Midnight came and went, the only difference was that the snow strengthened. One o'clock in the morning came next. Hobbit children and adults alike were tucked up in bed. Chimneys continued to throw smoke into the air.
Two o'clock past with no trouble. Small mice ran along empty and unused corridors. A second came the other way. The two of them met. A few squeaks were directed at each other and then away.
Three o'clock and, outside, foxes now roamed the market place. The snow was coming down worse then ever. Noses sniffed the snowy ground. Hunger gripped the foxes. Their coats were ruffled by the winds.
Four o'clock continued the eerie silence. The trees around the small town of Hobbiton had snow resting on them. Icicles pointed down like fragile stalactites. Small droplets of water fell down to earth.
Five o'clock brought the first faint sign that the sun would soon be upon them. The only evidence of there being any animals awake would be their foot prints. For all of the foxes scurried back to their warm homes under the ground.
Six in the morning brought first signs of activity in the homes of the hobbits. A pillar of smoke snow emerged from one of the chimneys. The fire was being built up again.
Most of the windows had steamed up with condensation over the night. Curtains had been drawn over the flat glass windows.
Pimpernel was still sleeping. But her sister was not. Pearl had woken up earlier then normal. Yet she was not standing up. she remained laying under her duvet. The dream had disturbed her deeply.
It had been on the fire that happened a few days ago. Pearl had been standing outside of the burning hill with her sister.
The fire raged on as angrily as before. But there was no movement outside. All of the figures were still and silent. No noise could be heard. Everything seemed to be still. Apart from Pearl. Her eyes were darting around. Her head then moved and her eyes lay on her sister.
"Vinnie?" Pearl tried asking, but no sound came out of her mouth.
Fear started to flood her. The only thing that moved was her and the fire. Sounds were nonexistent. Pearl tried to arouse the people around her, but without success.
Noise suddenly met her ears. Screams of terror and pain. It was coming from the other side of the fire. Figures failed to moved. Pearl was now on her own.
So, she started to run forward. The surroundings moved. The fire continued to eat up the house. The screams grew louder and louder. Pearls panic grew as well. She arrived at the open gate. She could see her father standing there. Fear was written across his face.
Pearl stopped. For what seemed like an hour, she looked at her father's face. The screams had now died down.
Thoughts ran through her head now.
"But why is everyone standing around?" she asked herself.
There seemed to be a large black curtain over Middle-earth. The blackness only grew darker. The figures started to blend into the black abyss. Even the fire was swallowed up.
It had been then that Pearl had awoken. She suddenly sat bolt up right on her bed. Her breathing was fast and heavy. Bead of sweat were running down her face. The darkness was still deep around her. A single candle was spreading what light it had.
Pearl slowly got out of bed. Her breathing had started to calm down. For a moment or two, she had wondered why she had awoken. But the dream was quickly pushed back into her mind again.
Taking the burning candle, the hobbit made her way out of the warm room. Pearl walked quietly to the kitchen. There was a table in the middle of the room. It was clear, save for a lonely plate. Pearl started to light the other candles on their stands.
"Now that I'm up" she told herself.
"I might as well stay up"
Firstly, the candles were lit, making the room lighter. The fire was then stocked up again. It had looked very hungry. The fire fed the rest of the room with its warmth and light. Pearl yawned as she placed the extra candle on the table.
It was not like Pearl to be awake so early. Another one or two hours sleep was normal for her. But sleep was not what was on her mind.
The dream had now started to make it's way back into her mind. A chair was then pulled out from under the table. Pearl sat down, both of her elbows were placed on the table. Her eyes focused on an distance spot.
The time ticked away around her. The candles were burning surely but slowly. Pearl continued to sit. The light outside started to get brighten. The candles continued to flicker.
Forty five minutes had past since Pearl had awoken. Yet Pimpernel continued to sleep. The candles were now only three quarters of their original height. The string that had been embedded in the middle continued to burn. The fire was eating up the logs that it had been fed.
They were turn white hot. Smoke continued to pour out of the chimney above. Birds were now awake and flying about.
The day was just starting. Black figures of trees started to show their shapes. Large branches stood out from the sky. Their silhouettes stood out like giant fingers. The wind did not touch them for they were too heavy for the wind to move them.
The snow continued to fall. It was getting deeper and deeper as the light started to give up the secrets of the night. The tops of the hills were covered in a whiteness that stretched for miles around. the roads around Hobbiton were still untouched.
Pearl took a deep breath after sitting at her seat for almost an hour and a half. The light from outside was now visible.
The seat was then pushed backwards. It scrapped along the rough floor. Pearl then walked away. She was getting hungry now. Breakfast was only an hour away, but she thought that she could make Pimpernel something nice to eat.
The cellar door was swung open. The hobbit walked inside. There were shelves stacked with different foods. A few barrels had been lain on their side. Only one was standing. There were no taps hammered into it.
Pearl smiled. She knew that ale was in order. But first she would have to make lunch.
"But what to make?" she asked herself.
There were small packets of many different foods. Pearl started to pick out a few of the packets. Inside them were sausages, rashers of bacon and mushrooms. Her eyes scanned the rest of the shelves. A few eggs were in another paper packet a few shelves away.
She carefully picked them up and placed them on top of her large handful. She then walked out again. The worktop she put them on was clean and clear. She placed all of her packets down.
The next thing Pearl did was get a chopping board out of the draw. She placed it onto work top near by. A loaf of bread that had been used yesterday was sitting in a paper blanket.
It was then unwrapped. Pearl looked at the fluffy insides. She poked it. The surface was hard and stale. Pearl placed it on the chopping board.
The kitchen had only a few cupboards and draws. One of the cupboards was full of glasses and mugs and bowls and plates. The second was full of bottles of wine and very old ale.
Below was a few draws. One was of spoons, knives and forks. The other was small loose bits such as string and corks.
Pearl did not have to open the second draw. She found what she was looking for in the first. A large cutting knife with a wooden handle.
In another part of the house, Pimpernel was waking up. The small puppy that was laying down under the duvet was not waking up. Her small chest was gently rising and falling. Her little brown eyes were shut.
Pimpernel could hear echoes coming from down the corridor.
"Pearl must be up" she thought.
With a tired breath, Pimpernel threw off the covers. The small puppy started to whimper.
"Oh, sorry Abi" she said.
The puppy's eyes were now a little bit open. Abira continued to whine as Pimpernel picked her up. the pup was put of her shoulder.
"Shh shh"
Abira was very tired. The light outside was getting bright by the minutes. Pimpernel could see a small bit of snow that landed on the window sill outside.
Pimpernel yawned and thought about the fun that she could be having outside. But instead, she was now homeless and she had stopped talking to her mother.
Pimpernel eyed the door. A faint sound of metal on metal. Abira, who was now resting her head on Nelly's shoulder, was now snoozing again.
The door was slowly opened. Nelly looked either way down the corridor. She took a second before heading to the kitchen. The house looked cleaner then normal. The light from the candles reflected more brightly then before.
The door to the kitchen had been left ajar. Pimpernel arrived at the threshold and stopped. She started to think that coming out of the room was a bad idea.
After a minute or two, she placed a hand on the door and pushed. The metal hinges creaked. Pearl, who had been small chunks of butter, looked behind her.
Pearl stopped cutting. The two sisters looked at each other. A smile came over Pearl's lips.
"Good morning" she said.
Pimpernel remained quiet. She didn't move over the threshold.
"Pimpernel, are you alright?" asked Pearl.
She placed down the knife and walked over to her sister. Pimpernel looked away, she didn't want to tell her sister. There was a moment of silence between the two of them.
"I'm making a nice breakfast for you today, would you like that?" Pearl asked.
Pimpernel looked down. A hand came and rested on her shoulder.
"Nelly? Everything will be alright, you know you can talk to me when ever you feel like it" Pearl told her.
A small smile came over Pimpernel's lips. She knew she was lucky to have sisters that cared for her.
"What is for breakfast?" Pimpernel asked.
She seemed very glum indeed. Conversation was something that she didn't want to have at the moment.
"All your favourites. Sausages, bacon, eggs, fried bread" Pearl answered.
Pimpernel smiled. Pearl indeed knew that she liked a fry up.
"It will be ready in about half an hour" Pearl said.
Pimpernel nodded. She slowly walked over to one of the chairs and sat down. Pearl then continued to get the breakfast ready.
Elsewhere in Hobbiton, families were waking up. Chimneys that had been silent now spewed out columns of smoke into the air.
All along the hill side, small windows started to light up. The snow around the chimneys had started to melt. Below the surface of the hill were many rooms. Some had beds in, others had books.
In one of the beds was a hobbit. He had golden brown hair and was heavily built. His eyes were closed. His name was Samwise Gamgee.
He had had a good nights sleep. But he was to be unexpectedly woken up. The door to his room swung open and in ran two children ran in.
"Daddy!" said one of them.
She jumped onto the bed. Sam woken instantly. His eyes shot open.
"Elanor! Frodo!" Sam said, sitting up.
His two eldest children seemed to be really excited.
"Daddy! There is snow outside! Hurry up!" Elanor said.
She jumped off the bed and ran outside of the room again. Sam was now awake. He looked up at the ceiling. A yawn came over him.
"Alright, now that I'm up, I might as well be up" he told himself.
The duvet was then thrown from him and Sam sat up. The warmth of the duvet had been very nice. The air in the room was colder then he would have liked.
A fireplace had been built into the wall. There was a metal basket full of small wooden logs. Samwise stood up and slowly walked towards it.
Tiredness was still trying to force his eyes closed. But Sam kept them open. He looked into the fire and saw that it was getting very low on wood to burn.
Samwise picked one up and placed it in the fire. The fire started to catch the wood. Sam stacked a few more small logs into the fireplace. The fire slowly started to grow.
Samwise smiled and stood up. His dressing gown was hanging up one of the pegs. He took it off and put it on. The small cord was then done up.
The hobbit then walked out of the room. Samwise rubbed his eyes and yawned.
"Ah!" he said.
A sharp pain had erupted from one of his feet. He looked down, his foot seemed fine. But what he had stepped on was not. The shape of it had once been of a bird. It's feathers had been carved out of wood. But now, it was broken.
Sam picked up it, the head of the bird fell back to the tilted floor. It bounced a few feet away. Sam quickly picked it up.
Rosie Gamgee, Sam's wife, was busy in the kitchen. Elanor had rushed back to her. The broken bird was quickly placed in the pocket of Sam's gown.
Rosie was busy feeding baby Pippin Gamgee. He was crying in his mothers lap. Elanor and Frodo were running laps around the table.
"Calm down you two" Sam said as he watched his two children run around.
"Hurry up Daddy!" Elanor said running up to him.
Sam took a tired breath.
"The snow will still be there after you've had your breakfast" Sam told his daughter.
But Elanor was too excited.
"But I'm not hungry!" she whined.
Rosie had now finished feeding the crying baby that she had sat on her lap. She stood up, placing the baby on her shoulder. Pippin was really crying now. She walked out of the room.
Sam was left alone with Frodo, Elanor, Rose and Merry. Merry and rose were playing on the floor. Rose had just started to talk, she was talking to herself. A small wooden horse was being galloped around.
A chair was then pulled out and Sam sat down. A plate had been put on the table mat in front of him. on the plate was a bacon sandwich. Sam picked it up and took a bite.
Meanwhile, Rosie was in her own room. A small cot had been placed in the corner. She placed her youngest son, Merry, in the cot. A small blanket was then put over him.
Rosie smiled.
"Shh shh" she said.
Merry's small face was screwed up. The sounds of his crying echoed though the house. Rosie walked out and quietly closed the door.
"Mummy! Mummy!" came a loud voice.
It was Elanor.
"Mummy I want to go out in the snow!"
Rosie smiled.
"Alright, go and get dressed and then you can go out" she said.
Elanor smiled and ran away.
"Frodo!" she shouted.
Her younger brother came rushing out into the corridor.
"Mummy said we can go out in the snow" Elanor squealed.
Frodo smiled.
"But mummy said we have to get dressed"
So, the two of them scurried off to their own rooms. It took them a few minutes to get dressed. Elanor put on her flowery dress as quickly as she could. Frodo got dressed in the room next door.
It took Frodo minute or two longer then her older sister. Elanor was standing at the door along with her mother.
"Right, you two be careful" Rosie told them.
"And don't go over the bridge, that means you Frodo"
Frodo smiled.
"Ok mummy" he said happily.
Rosie kissed both of her children and opened the door. the coldness instantly hit them. Elanor and Frodo stood there for a few seconds and then rushed out. the warmth of the house was escaping quickly.
"Lunch will be ready in a few hours" Rosie called out after them.
The door was then slowly closed, blocking out the coldness again. Icicles hung from nearly every surface. There was a large layer threatening the small garden below.
The gate was swung open, which was quite hard due to the amount of snow on the ground. Foot prints had been made in the snow. Unlike the prints that were left by men, Hobbit foot prints were smaller and more detailed. Five toes could be seen instead of one large block.
There were many hobbits already out in the cold snow. A few of the children were already making and throwing snowballs. Elanor stopped and smiled.
"Frodo, come on!" she said.
Her brother was walking along the wall. His hand was running along the surface. Snow either gathered of fell to the floor.
The on the other side of the road was a small stile. Elanor climbed over and jumped the small step onto the ground. Her feet sank into the cold snow. but it didn't seem to bother her much. Just like every other hobbit, their feet had thick souls to them. Temperature did not bother them as much as if a man were to do so.
The snow crunched under her feet as she walked towards her friends. Frodo was gathering up snow. He started to make a ball out of the snow he had in his hands.
Frodo then started to walk again. His feet were soaking wet. The small hairs on the top of his feet were sticking to his skin.
There was a group of children standing around.
"Hello Elanor" said one of the young girls.
She had amazingly blue eyes with brown, curly hair. Elanor smiled.
"Hello" she answered.
Frodo went and stood with the boys.
"And all you have to do is get back to here" said one of the boys.
"And we're allowed to throw snowballs at you" said the other standing near him.
Elanor didn't like the idea of that.
"That's not very fair. We always have you running after us. Why cant we run after you?" she asked.
The group of boys started to laugh.
"Because girls are silly and wear silly dresses" answered the boy.
Elanor didn't like the boy very much.
"We do not wear silly dresses. Mummy says I look very pretty" Elanor told him.
The boys snickered again. The lead boy started to whisper into the ear of the boy next to him. His expression changed.
"Alright, we'll give you a chance to catch us this time" he told her.
Elanor knew that they were planning something. But she didn't know what.
"No snowballs" said the boy.
Elanor was now forming her own counter plan.
"Of course not" she said.
There was a moment of silence.
"Count to one hundred, if you can" the boy told her before he and his friends ran off.
Elanor gave him a scowl that boy. But Elanor had no plan on counting. She watched them run off to the stile and over. They continued to run down the road and around the shallow bend.
She knew exactly what to do.
"We need to get them back" Elanor told her friends.
"Get them back?" asked her friend.
Her friend was shorter then her. Her eyes were large and had a royal blue colour to them. her dress was green with small yellow flowers on it.
"We have to make snowballs" Elanor said.
Other hobbit children and families were having fun in the snow. Large balls of snow were slowly being pushed down the hill. The elders were watching the younglings play. A few times, one of the youngling slipped and fell. They were then helped up by their friends or family. They were brushed off and went back to play.
Elanor was making snow ball after snow ball. Her hands were getting colder and colder by the minute.
"Alright, lets go and find them" Elanor said.
There were three other girls with her. Elanor carried two while the other girls carried the rest.
Elanor's brother, Frodo, had gone with the rest of the boys.
"Are they coming?" asked Frodo.
He had one of his friends on look out.
"No, not yet!" he answered.
There were groves in the deep snow. Snowballs were being made and piled up into a large pile behind one of the bushes. Both the group of girls and the group of boys had the same idea.
Ambush.
Frodo continued to make some as quickly as he can. One of his other friends was over the road. He was ducked down making snowballs as well.
Elanor came around the corner. She was instantly spotted by the look out.
"She coming!" whispered the boy.
Frodo looked up. He stood up, but made sure that he was not seen. Sure enough, Elanor was coming towards them.
"Get down" said Frodo.
The boy ducked down and picked up two of the snowballs. Frodo had two as well. He looked over at the wall, he could see a small head poking out. Frodo signalled that the girls were coming.
Meanwhile, Abira was waiting on the bed. Her little head was resting on her paws. Pimpernel was out of the room. She was in the study. Her eyes were scanning the book shelves for a book to read. She needed to take her mind off of what was going on.
A few times, she got out a book, opened the first page but did not like it. She placed it back and got out another. Again, she did not find it to her taste.
By the third book, she was starting to feel like none of them would agree with her. But then, she found it. A purple cover kept the pages in good condition.
The cover was open. A few blank pages before the writing started. There was a grand title.
The Frog Prince.
A smile came over Pimpernel's lips. She hadn't read it in a while. Even though she had been read it every day for a year when she was younger, she still loved it.
Pimpernel walked back to her room. The door opened and, on the bed, was Abira. Nelly smiled and walked over to the bed. Abira stood up and looked at Pimpernel.
"Would you like a story?" Nelly asked.
Abira whined happily and nodded her head. Nelly sat down on the bed and turned the pillow so that it was standing up on the head board. Pimpernel made herself comfortable.
Abira waited. She slowly made her way across the bouncy bed. She was then picked up and placed on her owners lap. The puppy snuggled down and yawned.
"Right" said Pimpernel.
The candles were not lit, but the light coming from outside was enough for her to see the words. The book was then opened to the titles page. Pimpernel held it so that Abira could see it as well.
"Do you see that pup?" she asked.