Pearl smiled down at the cute puppy waiting for her. Pimpernel had now sat down in her seat. There was a metal rack in the table. On it, slices of golden toast stood. Pimpernel took two of them and placed them on her plate.
"So" she said, taking a knife and digging it into some creamy butter.
Pearl looked around.
"So, what?" she asked.
"So are you excited?" Pimpernel asked.
Pearl now knew exactly what her sister was talking about. Both of them had been invited to the Green Dragon Yule feast.
"Very" Pearl answered.
The Green Dragon was a very busy place. There were figures walking around inside, yet the doors were closed. Candles and fires had been lit to keep them warm and comfortable as they worked.
These were dwarves. Their beards long and their faces looked like they have been carved out of hard rock. There were six in total. All helping with the six tables that were being prepared.
The other tables had been moved out of the way. A white linen cloth had been placed over each of the six tables. They were very white and clean. One of the dwarves placed the last linen cloth over and smiled.
His mouth could hardly be seen under all of the hair that grew over his chin and down his chest. The hair that made up his beard was dark red, unlike the others. The other five dwarves were busily walking around.
The kitchen was hot. Fires were burning in stoves and ovens. The dwarves were making ready for the first of two feasts.
Even though the feast would not start for another few hours, the dwarves needed their own lunch. Luckily, they had brought what they needed along with them.
A table had been set aside for them. A pack of food had been placed on the floor behind the bar. A few glasses had been taken off of the shelves that ran along the back wall. They were the best glasses that the Green Dragon had to offer. They were going to be cleaned and used later on.
The sun outside continued to rise as the day grew older. The wooden clocks continued to tick and tock as they hung on the wall.
Peregrin Took had now arisen from his deep slumber. Faramir, his son, had also woken up. The two of them entered the kitchen. Diamond closed the oven and looked back.
"It's nice to see you up" she said.
There was a small bit of annoyance in her voice. Pippin was confused.
"What's up with you?" he asked, sitting in his chair.
Diamond took a deep, tired breath.
"Nothing pip, I'm just"
But she could not tell him the truth.
"I'm just tired" she said.
Pippin smiled as his eyes sighted a piece of bread. With his free hand, his other cradling his son, he picked it up. There was a mug of ale sitting on the mat before him. There was a small bar of butter sitting in a dish. A silver knife was resting next to the butter.
Pippin picked up the knife and, with one hand, started to spread the butter on the white middle of the bread. Origo had not bee seen all morning. Yet he had come in. Diamond had been incredibly busy. Too busy for her puppy.
Origo was now in the bed room. But he was not in the bed, he was under it. But the puppy was not alone.
A small fairy with him.
"So are you going to do it?" she said.
Origo was looking at her. The small green glow coming from the fairy lit up the surrounding area. Origo gave a small whine.
Ivy took a deep breath as she sat on the dusty floor.
"Well, you have to make up your mind" she said.
Origo raised his head and gave a sharp whine. Ivy made a confused looked.
"What do you mean?"
Origo whined more. To human and hobbit ears, they had no words. But to fairies and elves, they were audible. Ivy listened to him.
"But wont you miss them?" she asked.
Origo thought for a moment, but shook his head. Ivy looked away. She could hear noises echoing though the house. The fairy thought for a few seconds before getting up.
"Well, come on" she said.
Origo tilted his head, wondering what she meant. Ivy walked away a few of her paces and looked back.
"Come on, you want to get away" Ivy said.
Origo knew what she now meant. She was going to help him escape. So, Origo started to make his way around the boxes and out of the bed.
The noises seemed to become louder. They were not blocked out by the bed or boxes any more. Origo shook himself as he walked towards the door. Ivy was already floating by the door, pushing it open for him. Origo slid though into the hall way.
The sounds were echoing though the home. The smell of chicken radiated throughout the house. Origo wanted ever so much to have something to eat. But the fairy was right, he needed to get away from here.
Origo looked back towards the fairy. A small bit of doubt started to surface in the pups feelings.
What if Diamond did still love him?
Origo still didn't know if he should.
"Come on" Ivy said, fluttering down the hall way. Origo followed. Half wanting to stay, but half wanting to run away and find Abira.
His Abira had been all that he thought about since they had met a few days ago. Even though he may not have shown it, he was glad that she was there.
The front door came into view as he stopped. Ivy fluttered near the door handle. She looked back to see the puppy standing a few meters away. There was something about his look that told her that he didn't want to go.
"Maybe if I just try again" Origo whimpered.
Ivy took a deep breath, her hand was touching the cold handle of the large front door.
"Try again?" asked Ivy.
She fluttered slowly away from the door.
"But Origo, she ignored you"
Origo whimpered sadly. He knew that Ivy was right. But his love for his Diamond was strong. Without warning, the small puppy turned and darted back down the corridor.
At another household, not too far away, Elanor was sitting at a table. She was having a late breakfast.
"There you go" said Rosie, handing her oldest daughter a plate.
Elanor smiled.
"Thank you" she said.
On the plate were two sandwiches full of hot and crispy bacon. Butter had been spread on the surface of the bread. The hot bacon had been the sandwiches. Elanor now picked up her first sandwich and started to eat.
In the other room, Samwise was feeling very hungry indeed. But he knew that he couldn't leave his son. The water that had been spilt earlier was now in a pool on the floor.
The bowl lay on the floor as well. Frodo showed no signs of waking up. The light outside continued to pour in. Sam knew that it would be lunch soon.
The fire in the heath was now burning in embers. The blackness of the heath made the red hot embers seem even more brighter.
There were no sounds around apart from Sam's breathing, the clock ticking and the sounds echoing though the house from the kitchen. Samwise sat back in his chair and looked at his son.
Frodo had being excited about Yule. Sam was too. He loved having had family around him. He could still remember last years Yule. It was not as eventful as this years Yule.
Sam was in a place where he felt comfort. But something happened that made his day dream dissolve into nothingness. His mind was now back in the room.
It was Rosie. She had plate of bacon sandwiches in one hand. Sam turned back around, not willing to say anything. Rosie knew that her Sam would not answer even the most easy of questions.
All she did was walk in, place the sandwich on the bed and walked out again. The door clicked shut, leaving Sam on his own again. Apart of Sam wanted Rosie to talk to him, but the other couldn't bare to look at her.
The hours past as hobbits everywhere got ready for lunch. But lunch could not come soon enough for one Fredegar Bolger.
Rosamunda was busy getting the last bits ready for lunch. A large roast chicken, covered in thin bacon. Roast potatoes were browning on a trey to the side of it.
The hobbit took a cloth, wrapped it around her hand and opened the hot oven door. After years and years of cooking, she could see that the potatoes and the chicken were almost cooked.
Fatty got up from his seat. His eyes never leaving his busy mother. The door to the cellar had been left ajar. Rosamunda had gotten all of the food for today out.
There was only a few bits left for tomorrows lunch. There were packets of vegetables still stacked on the shelves. But that was not what he wanted.
Chocolate.
Chocolate was what he wanted. The door creaked as he slowly made his way in. The cellar was darker then the kitchen. There were a few barrels of ale at the opposite end of the cellar.
Fredegar looked back one more time. He could see his mother getting the roast potatoes out. Fregegar's heart rate was rising. He knew that he should not be in here. But he was very hungry and his mother would not allow him to eat anything until lunch.
The hobbit came to the last shelf. This was where the cakes, muffins and sugary items. Fatty's hand raised to a rectangle shape. His fingers took a hold of the packaged shape. A small smile came over him as he took it off the shelf and quickly slid it into his pocket.
The hobbit stood there for a few more seconds, but there was nothing. No shouting, no having to put it back. Fredegar knew that he would have a hard time getting out of the room. He knew that he was not a hobbit that you could miss in a crowd.
The door to the cellar creaked open. Rosamunda was busy getting the brown chicken out. The strips of bacon had turned crispy as she placed it on the work top.
Rosamunda looked over at her son. For a split second, Fredegar thought he was going to be shouted at. But there was no words exchanged. Fatty was relived as he slowly made his way to the door. Every step that he took, he felt more and more in trouble. At some points, he could see his mothers eyes baring down on him.
But, what he looked back, his mother was not facing him. The door to the kitchen was slowly opened and he walked out. The fear of being caught had all but gone as he closed the door behind him.
The thought of hunger now came back to him. His room was just down the hall way. His door was closed. His bare feet slapped against the hard tilted floor. The door to his room was large and round, just like every other door. But unlike the front door, this one had not been painted.
The door open and Fredegar slipped in. The door closed behind him. A smile came over his face as he reached into his pocket and took out the bar of chocolate.
The paper was ripped off reviling the dark bar of chocolate. The hobbit slowly walked over to his bed and slowly sat down. The bed sunk into itself. Fredegar's eyes were now on the chocolate.
Without another second, the hobbit took a large bite. The chocolate splintered off. The hobbit started to chew. The rich taste filled his mouth. The taste was smooth and deep. It took a minute or two to eat it. But hunger was still with him. So, he took another bite.
Lunch was now being served in the other room. The roast potatoes were steaming hot. There were bowls on the tables. Some were still empty, waiting to be filled with hot food.
The last of the roasts had been placed in the big bowl. The hot trey was placed down and replaced by another. This one had parsnips in it. Some were brown while others had a glossy shine to them.
After a few minutes, each of the bowls were filled with their own food. Sprouts in one, mushrooms in another, peas in the third. There were also sausages, carrots and stuffing.
There was a small boat shaped bowl with a small handle at one end. A hot brown liquid had been poured into the bowl. This was gravy. The best gravy around in Rosamunda's eyes.
Everything was now ready. The table in the dinning room had been set up for three places. Odovacar would not be present at the meal. His health had gone from bad to worse. The poor hobbit was now bedridden. Rosamunda knew that his time was almost up. He was getting on in his years now.
Diamond was very busy. She had gone out of the kitchen. The table was being prepared quicker then normal.
Pippin was sitting in the lounge holding Faramir. Faramir's hair had gotten more curly and golden. The fire was crackling in the heath.
Normally, a small puppy would be snoozing happily in front of it. But not any more. Origo had managed to run away. He was now outside in the coldness and melting snow.
But he was not alone.
A small fairy by the name of Ivy was fluttering beside of him. She was beating her little wings as she moved with Origo.
The small puppy had his head lowered. He was thinking back to the time when he had first seen his Diamond. She had only been a small hobbit girl. Origo had wondered the lands for century upon century. Little was known about him. No one knew of his origin.
Diamond had been playing out in the fields. She spent most of her time on her own. There was a field by where she lived that was her favourite place in the whole of Middle-Earth.
Peregrin Took was not even known to her. Her whole world existed of the surrounding area of Long Cleeve. There were rocky outcrops that she and the other children liked to ply among.
But today, Diamond was on her own. The other children were playing in a different place. A small rocky outcrop lay right in the middle of the large field.
It was Diamond's favourite place to see the world go by. There was a small flat and smooth rock that Diamond used.
Birds that had been tweeting and going about their own business fluttered away. Their songs echoing around the young girl.
The rocks approached. Diamond knew exactly where to go. The outcrop of rocks were not high, but they were the perfect get away. Diamond climbed on the rock. It was then that she saw it. A small puppy, all on his own.
His eyes were closed as he snoozed peacefully on the warm rock. His little chest was rising and falling. The late summer sun was still warming up the land.
Diamond's big blue eyes were fixed on the puppy. His ears were flopped over the side of his fluffy head. Songs from every different bird imaginable sung around her.
Diamond had never seen such a cuter puppy in all her young life. She was tempted to go and stroke it. But she knew he wouldn't be happy with her waking him up.
But something happened that was out of her control. An unseen twig snapped like a gun shot, waking the little puppy up instantly.
The puppy stood on all fours, his eyes wide open, looking at Diamond. There was a moment of silence between them. Diamond hoped that he didn't run away.
"Hello" she said.
Her voice was calm, she didn't want to scare the small puppy any more. The pup's eyes darted around. He was trying to look for a place to escape. But there were none.
"Are you lost?" Diamond asked.
She stepped on the stone. The pup moved away a bit, his attention still on Diamond. She could see that he was scared. But she didn't understand why.
"I'm not going to hurt you" she said.
"I'll be the least likely to do so"
The puppy seemed to find no lie in her words. This made him a little bit more trusting in Diamond. The puppy's eyes looked right into hers.
A smile came over the small hobbit. She slowly extended her hand. The puppy looked at it, his eyes darting from her to her hand. The small puppy moved forward a bit more.
Diamond could see that he was still scared. The puppy inched ever closer to her. His little nose sniffing the air. After a few more paces, his nose touched Diamond's small hand.
She smiled, his nose was wet and cold.
"See, I'm not so bad" she said.
There was a bit of drying mud on the top of her fingers. Her hand then started to slowly rub on the puppy's fur. His little tongue poked out.
He liked this, she was gentle and her hands were warm. Hunger was now on the puppy's mind. He whimpered softly and looked up.
Diamond was confused.
"What's the matter?" she asked.
The small puppy whined and gave her a different look. For some reason, Diamond seemed to know what this meant. She loved animals and was nearly always right.
"Are you hungry?" she asked.
The small puppy nodded, making his ears flop. Diamond nodded and looked back. Her home was just a few hundred meters away.
"Alright, come on" she said, climbing down.
The puppy walked over to the edge. Diamond reached out for him. For a few seconds, he didn't know what to do. But he seemed to trust this being. So, he let her pick him up.
She was not like the other beings that he had met. She was warmer and softer. There was something about Diamond that the puppy liked.
There seemed to be no evil or anything bad in her doings. The puppy rested his head on her shoulder. The girl seemed know how to hold him.
Diamond then set off back towards her home. The long blades of grass tickled her feet as she brushed past them. Birds continued to sing as the clouds continued to sail high as Origo and Ivy continued to move away from the house. Every so often, the small puppy would look around. The door could still be seen. But it was not open.
The wind continued to blow, knocking Ivy off of her course. She struggled to keep up with Origo.
"Ori, this is useless, the wind is too strong for me" she shouted.
The puppy looked up at her. Ivy knew that Origo was not going to turn back. The chimneys continued to smoke as they walked down the hill. The smoking chimneys were all that they could see of life inside the hills. Tunnels lead into the earth of the hillside.
All though out the tunnel, doors lead into different rooms. Rooms that housed different things. One housed hundreds of books. Read and unread. Some were newly written, other had been past down from one generation to the next.
The other doors led into bedrooms. Large beds sat in the middle. Soft duvets had been lain across them with pillows at one end. All the bedrooms had burning fires in them to keep the inhabitants warm. A small pile of wood had been placed at the side of the heath.
The kitchen was just a few door down the corridor from where the bedrooms were. A table had been placed in the middle. Chairs stood on all four sides. Like the table, they were made from wood.
In the middle of the table was a small stand. There were three branches, each had a wax candle on it. They had solid wax drips running down the side of smooth surface.
Candles had been placed on stands on the wall. Their small flames flickered, sending light and warmth out into the kitchen.
There was a cellar off to one side. The door that lead into it had been left a jar. Inside, the dark room was full of wooden shelves. Every packet food under the sun had been stored there. From packets of vegetables to packets of spices and salts. Fruit was not so common at this time of year, it had all been used up and none was growing.
There were two large wooden barrels full of ale sitting at the far end of the cellar. A small tap had been place at the very bottom on the round surface. This was to extract the ale into a mug.
Food was nearly all that hobbits thought about. Whole days could be planned around meals. Where there was food, drink would soon follow. Ale, beer and old vinyard were all apart of daily life.
And Yule was no exception to the amount of food taken in at one sitting. In fact, there seemed to be more food then the hobbits could lay eyes on. The portion sizes that they normally had now grew to a massive amount.
In the dining room, three hobbits sat around a table. The table had been set out with a white cloth. Knives and forks and spoons had all been set out.
Bowls had been placed in the centre. They had been filled to the brim with roast potatoes, parsnips and peas just to name a few. But there were many smaller bowls filled with horseradish, cranberry sauce and stuffing.
The once clean plates were now full of food. The three hobbits continued to pile more and more onto their plates. Diamond, Pippin and Dolly were their names.
Diamond had dark hair and royal blue eyes. She was shorter then Pippin, her husband. This was only due to an event that happened many years before.
Dolly was old and her hair grey and curly. The wrinkles were deep on her face. She was the eldest hobbit sitting at the table. Even though she was older then the other two, she could still eat quite a lot.
"So, how is Faramir doing?" she asked, chopping a bit of tender chicken.
Diamond smiled.
"He is wonderful, he's starting to look more and more like Pippin every day" she answered.
Peregrin was drinking from his ale. He had hardly said a thing all meal. The food that he had piled on his plate seemed to slowly disappear. The ale was going as well.
Pippin's eyes darted between the two of them. The sound of metal against china echoed around the room. Faramir was asleep in his cot. His meal had been severed up before the others had.
But Diamond, Pippin and Dolly were not the only ones having lunch. All though out Hobbiton, families were sitting down to their first meal of Yule. A knock echoed though the house. Fredegar Bolger looked up. He could hear the echoes of his mother in the kitchen from behind the closed bed room door.
Fredegar waited there for a few more seconds. Three more knocks echoed though the door. Fredegar got up and walked over to his door. He knew that his father could not answer the door. Fredegar walked out into the corridor. The sounds of his mother continued to come from the kitchen. Fredegar then walked down the corridor as three more knocks echoed up.
The door was reached and opened. A cold wave of air hit the large hobbit standing there. Standing outside in the cold was his sister, Estella. She smiled.
"Good afternoon" she said, walking in.
Fredegar smiled as his sister. His eyes darted down to the basket that was swinging in her hand. He knew exactly what she had. But some how, Estella knew exactly what he was thinking.
"These are for after lunch" Estella said, moving the basket away from him.
Fredegar took a deep breath.
"And it looks like you've already sneaked something out from the cellar anyway" Estella told him.
Fatty rubbed around his mouth, the chocolate was being rubbed off. Estella knew that her brother could not last long without food. The sounds of their mother getting this ready came from the kitchen. Estella hung her coat on the peg.
She then picked up her basket and walked down the corridor to the kitchen. Rosamunda was rushing around, putting cooked food into bowls.
A hot trey was held in one had as roasted potatoes into the bowl. In the other hand was a large wooden spoon. The crispy potatoes were filling up the bowl. Rosamunda looked up to see her daughter standing there.
"Hello dear" Rosamunda said, smiling back.
"I've brought some muffins for afters" Estella told her mother.
She held up the basket. Rosamunda gave her daughter a warm smile.
"That's good dear, just leave them by the cellar" she said.
So, Estella walked over to the wall and placed down the basket. She stood up and looked around. The fire was burning strongly in the heath. The heat in the room was higher then normal.
The fire was crackling in the heath and in the metal oven. Candles were flickering on their stands.
"Have you set the table yet?" Estella asked.
"No, not yet" Rosamunda told her.
Estella nodded.
"I'll help" she said, walking towards the draws.
Estella opened the draw. Inside, knives, forks and spoons all sat in their own compartments. Only three placed were to be set out. So, Estella got out a countless number of big serving spoons and three knives and forks.
They were all made from silver. There were no stains on the cutlery. The wooden draw was then closed again. Rosamunda placed trey upon trey as steaming vegetables were piled into their own bowls. Estella then walked out of the room to the dining room.
A fire had already been set going in the heath. The table had yet to be set. So, the spoons, knives and forks were placed down on a small cabinet full of very dusty and old bottles of ale. But Estella did not open it. Instead, she went to a different cabinet. There were draws full of different things. Extra candles, small coned shaped bit of metal that had been welded to a thin metal rod.
This was to extinguish the flames of the candles after a meal. There was a small poker for moving the fire around with. There was a few shards of flint for starting the fire. But they were seldom needed in winter.
The draw was closed, not being the right one. Another was opened. This one was right draw. Table mats had been placed it to. Both big and small. They had been made of thin bits of wood. Each had been decorated the came creamy colour. There were a few immovable stains, but they were nothing to worry about.
The draw was then closed. A white sheet had been placed on the clear table. It was still folded. Estella unfolded it and laid it across the polished wooden table.
Rosamunda was still placing food into the bowl. Her large son was now sitting at the table. Rosamunda still did not know that he had already eaten a whole square of chocolate.
Estella then walked in, having lain the table.
"Done" she said with a smile.