Rosie could see small flickering candles in the windows. The chimneys were sending black smoke into the air. The roof had melting patches of snow. Stalagmites of ice hung down from the thatched roof. The large door leading into was closed and with good reason.
A few minutes later, Rosie reached it. She knocked three times. There was movement on the other side. The door slowly opened. The head a dwarf came out.
"Oh, it's you!" he said, opening the door even more.
Rosie smiled and walked in. The Green Dragon was darker then normal. The dwarves liked it that way. The candles had been put out, yet the air was still warm. Rosie took her coat off and placed it around of the many chairs. The dwarves seemed not to be as busy as they were yesterday. But then again, they still had four hours to get things ready.
The first job the dwarves had to do was to prepare the chickens for their long spell in the oven. Bowls of different seasoning were dotted along the work top. Large treys with uncooked chicken were laying on the work top also.
One of the six dwarves had a large vase of oil. He was pouring it in the each one of the six treys. The oil was thicker then water. There was also yellowish colour to the liquid.
Rosie smiled as she came in. There was a smell of beef. Rosie thought that the dwarves had stayed up late the night. A few instruments had been placed back into their bags.
The dwarves had been telling tales of old and songs on ancient happening. Dragons, gold, crows and armies of black monstrous beings. But now, in present times, all but the gold and crows had been defeated.
Rosie smiled as she looked around.
"I guess your going to start getting things ready soon?" she asked.
In her coat pocket was a list of people that had been invited for the second day of Yule. This list included Merry Brandybuck, Fredegar Bolger and Pervinca Took.
But the days of happiness seemed to have vanished for Merry. He missed the good old times with his friends. He knew that Pippin had now got a son to look after. But he wished there was one night where they could go down to the Green Dragon and have an ale or two.
Merry walked though his empty house. The clocks clicked as the hobbit entered the lounge. The lounge was nicely decorated. It had a large comfy seat along one edge of the room. a fire was raging in the heath. Books, both old, new and unread had been placed there. The covers were all different colours.
"Maybe I should go and see if he wants a drink" Merry thought, though he had a pint of ale already.
A few minutes later, Merry got up. He swayed for a few seconds, he could not hold his ale as well as he did a few years ago. The hobbit smiled to himself and walked out of the room.
The kitchen was entered. Merry placed down the mug near the sink. The hobbit gave a small hiccup. He smiled and patted his large stomach.
Merry left the kitchen again and walked down the corridor. A small table had been set out half way between the front door and the kitchen. Merry's perception of where he was seemed to be a little off for he bumped into it. The vase that had been placed on top started to sway.
It toppled to the point of no return and started to fall. The vase fell off of the table and smashed into a million pieces on the hard tiled floor. The contents spilled all over the floor.
Glass, water and flowers spread away from the impact. Glass hit the opposite of the wall. Merry turned around.
"Shush!" he said, placing one finger on over his mouth.
The water formed a small stream that started to slowly run down the cracks on the tiles. Merry continued to walk down the corridor to the front door.
His coat was put on. He tried to do the buttons up, but his fingers were not working for him. Merry grumbled as he gave up. He grabbed the handle that was in the middle of the big door and opened it.
The cold wind instantly hit him. His eyes started tear from the coldness. The temperature got to his large stomach quicker then it did the rest of his body.
The coldness seemed to somewhat sober him up. A small tear fell from his eye as he sniffed. The gate was approached. He opened it up with a click and walked though. Merry's fingers were now numbing in the coldness. His finger movements had gone down to the bare minimum.
The toes on his long feet were numb as well. They were so numb that he could not feel the coldness of the melting snow that he was walking on.
Pippin and Diamond lived just a few houses down. But it seemed like a longer trip in the coldness. Merry took a deep breath in, his body was shaking uncontrollably. But he his sprits were raised by the sight of Pippins door.
A minute later, Merry knocked on the door.
Inside, Diamond was slicing warm turkey for her puppy when the echoes reached her. She looked around.
"That's funny" she said, placing down the knife.
"I wasn't expecting anyone"
So, she placed down her cutting knife and started to walk down the hall, wiping her hands on her white apron as she went.
The door opened and, standing before her, she saw Merry. His hair was blowing in the wind and he was hunched over, hands in pockets.
"Merry, what are you doing here?" she asked, completely forgetting her manors.
Merry smiled.
"Co… could I co… come in please?" he asked between intakes of breath.
Diamond suddenly gasped, remembering her manors as quickly as she had forgotten them.
"Why of course!" she said, moving out of the way.
A cold Merry walked in. His head was had a very strange feeling to it. Everything seem further away from normal. Diamond smiled.
"You must be freezing, I'll go and get you some tea" she said, scurrying off.
Merry smiled as he took off his coat. He placed it on one of the pegs and took a deep breath. He regretted having that pint of ale before hand. But it had been a few days since he had actually had one. Merry knew that the first pint would have more effect on him.
Merry slowly to walk down the hall way, making sure not to bump into anything this time. Pippin came out of the lounge carrying a mug of tea.
"Merry?" he asked, seeing him standing there.
Merry was standing there smiling. His coat had been hung up on the hook.
"Hello Pip"
A few hours past between then and the time that Origo woke up. His little eyes slowly opened. The sun outside was setting in the West like always. Yet the activity of the birds outside was ceasing to stop. The warmth of the pillow was still very inviting for the puppy. He gave a small yawn and rolled onto one side.
Sounds echoed through the house. Origo looked over at the door.
"What's going on?" he asked himself.
The warmth of bed was still over powering him. On the other side of the door, Merry was being led down the hall way.
"You can come back when your sober" Diamond said, pushing Merry towards the door.
Pippin was giggling behind. Between them, they had drank nearly ten pints. Diamond was not as happy to see them misbehaving.
"But why?" Merry asked.
His speech was obviously slurred.
"Why?" Diamond asked.
Her big staring eyes looked deep into Merry's. but they did not work on him this time.
"Why? Because your drunk and I don't you in my house" she said.
There was a few second of silence before Diamond started to push him again. Merry put his hand on his head as he was stopped.
"Here is your coat" said Diamond, handing it to Merry.
She did not give him a second before the door was opened. Merry was pushed out into the coldness. He looked back, but the door was closed almost instantly.
Diamond took a deep breath and turned around. Pippin was standing there.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Diamond shook her head. Crying from her bed room. She took a deep breath.
"Fantastic" she muttered.
"I'll get him" Pippin said merrily.
But Diamond quickly stopped him.
"No, you need to calm down" she said, rushing past him.
Pippin put on his confused face as his wife rushed past. Diamond opened the door to her room. a small puppy was standing there. Diamond gasped and stopped just inches from him.
"Oh, Origo" she said.
Origo looked happier then normal. He yawned and waited to be picked up for a cuddle. But it never happened. Instead, Diamond walked over to the cot, leaving Origo standing there with his cuddle.
"Come here" Diamond said, lifting her son out.
Faramir's small face was screwed up. But no tears were produced. Diamond hushed him as she walked towards the door again.
"Come on, Ori" she said, smiling.
Origo's tail wagged and he followed at her heals. The rest of the day would consist of present giving. It was a tradition on the second day of Yule to give presents.
Origo himself had got a small gift from his Diamond. Pippin had brought his already, which was rare due to him forgetting the last couple of times.
The kitchen was spotless. Hunger was now bothering the small puppy. It had been just a few hours since he had eaten. His bowl was still on the side. The noisy puppy was yet again getting more attention then he was.
A small bark came from the pup.
"Oh, food" Diamond said as she sat down.
She instantly got up again. A small tune was hummed to Faramir. It seemed to work for a few seconds, but then he started crying even harder. The cellar door was opened and Diamond walked in.
The cries of Faramir echoed out. Origo blinked twice, waiting for his Diamond to come back out.
Diamond picked up the pack and walked back out again. Origo sneezed twice as she did so.
"Bless you pup" she said.
Origo's little head shook and he looked up. It took longer then normal to get the turkey ready. Origo's attention started to wonder. There was a small curious bag propped up against one wall.
Origo looked back up at Diamond. Of course she was still busy. Origo then slowly started to walk towards the bag. It was much bigger then he was. There was small letters on the surface of the woven material. But Origo could not read them.
A strange smell hit him. It was new, but he wasn't scared of it. His little puppy eyes scanned over the large bag in front of him.
It was then that he noticed it. A small rip in the bottom. But that was not all. There seemed to be a ball. Well, that's what Origo thought. Without thinking, he grabbed it. His teeth dug deep into it. The ball crunched. A small bit broke off.
Origo moved back as a small piece rolled onto the floor. His puppy eyes were fixed on it.
"Come on Origo, food is ready" Diamond said behind him.
The puppy's attention was instantly taken away from the broken potato. It was now on his food. The packet of turkey had been emptied into the bowl. The packet had been left on the work top.
Origo started to wolf down the turkey. Another bowl was taken out of the cupboard. This one was for Faramir. A small spoon was taken out of the draw.
Faramir began to giggle as he watched the small puppy continued to eat. Diamond smiled as she put the orange mush into the bowl.
"Come on then" she said, picked up the bowl and walking to the table.
Ivy, a small fairy, fluttered into the room. Her small wings beat quickly as she stopped in midair. A small smile came over her lips as she fluttered and landed near Origo.
"I see your awake now puppy" she said, standing a bit further back then normal.
But Origo didn't even look up. Turkey took priority over everything. Ivy watched him.
"Slow down puppy, your going to get ill"
But once again, Origo didn't answer or even look up. Ivy took a deep breath and looked over at Diamond and Faramir. Faramir had been lain down and was now being fed.
Diamond sang a small song that Ivy had never heard before. A small breeze of cold air ticked the fairy's hair. Pippin was the only one not in the kitchen. In fact, he was the only one not awake. He had gone back into the lounge. He had sat down on the sofa.
The ale that he had drunk had warn him out. Tiredness showed on his face as a yawn. His eyes had started to slowly close. A few times, his head had rolled back, waking him up again.
This happened until Pippin rested his on the back on the couch. His eyes slowly feel closed again. Everything went dark, sounds disappeared from his ears as Pippin slipped into sleep.
Images started to appear over his eyes. A dream had been switched on. It was a strange dream. The inside of the Green Dragon came into view. Everything seemed to be different some how.
Of course, there were hobbits there. But they seemed to be in chains.
"Chains?" he asked, looking down at own hands.
His wrists were bound with two rusty shackles. Chains linked the two of them together. His ankles were shackled together as well.
"Get moving!" said a loud, angry voice.
A sharp pain came across his back. A orc was standing over him, twice as big and twice as powerful then he was. Darkness covered this once beautiful land. Other hobbits were also chained up as well. They were all dirty, tired and sore.
Fires burned outside. The line of hobbits slowly moved on. They were heading towards a table. On either side, a giant orc stood still like a statue. Sitting down on a seat, Saruman.
Pippin stopped and looked at him.
"What?" he asked.
Another whip came and hit him. The pain of the impact showed on his face. The line of tired hobbits moved on a bit. Saruman smiled evilly as he took something off of each hobbit.
It was Pippins turn next. He stood in front of the evil wizard.
"Ah, another Took" Saruman said, smiling.
"One of the hobbits that tried to over throw Sauron The Great"
He chuckled.
"It was a dear shame to waste your two friends like that" Saruman told him.
The two large berserker orcs made no movement at all. Their faces baring the White Hand. Their large double pointed swords were held in their hands.
Everything about the orcs standing there were scary and intimidating.
"Now, onto the matter in hand. One coin from Peregrin Took" Saruman said, looking down at the list.
"Money?" Pippin though.
He had no money on him. He placed his hand in his pocket. But it was empty. He did the same on the other side, but once again, nothing. His heart rate began to rise.
"It looks like we have a rule breaker" Saruman said.
Without warning, Pippin felt two hand grab his shoulder. They were massive and black.
"Move!" shouted a voice.
Pippin was then pushed away from the line. None of the other hobbits helped him or even looked to see where he was going. For a split second, he could see his sister in the line as well. Pimpernel was looking down. She took no notice of Pippin.
Pippin was pushed into a room. it had once been the kitchens. But all the welcomeness had been taken away. A few candles shared what little light they could. Everything was black and dirty.
A strange looking machine had been set up there. There was a bed of rusting metal bars. The shackles were taken off of his wrist and ankles. Pippin hardly had time to sooth his aches before being pushed towards the metal bed.
"Get on!" said an orc.
Pippin could now see shackles. He was lain on the bed of metal. The shackles were clamped to his ankles and wrists for the second time.
But this time, he could not move. They were pressed on harder then normal. A metal clunk echoed around what used to be the kitchen.
"What are you doing?" asked Pippin, looking at both wrists.
But the orcs did not answer. Two of them stood at the top and two at the bottom. The metal chains were slowly cranked inwards. Pippin could feel the tension in the chains rising.
The pain started to rise with every crank.
"Stop!" Pippin ordered.
But this only made things worse. The orcs cranked again.
"Stop it, please!" he said, his voice getting louder.
His limbs were now on fire. They were being stretched beyond what he can take.
"Pippin?" asked a voice.
But it was not Saruman or any orc. This was a hobbit.
"Pippin?"
The images stopped flashing across his eyes. Diamond was standing over him.
"Pippin? What's wrong?" Diamond said.
Pippin slowly opened his eyes. The room around him was darker then it had been when he had fallen asleep. Yet the candles and fire were still burning as always.
Diamond look concerned.
"What… what happened?" Pippin asked.
He had beads of sweat running down his face. There was a strange soberness about him. His eyes were replaying what he had just seen.
"You were talking to yourself" Diamond told him.
Pippin still did not understand what she was on about.
"Talking? What did I say?"
His wife looked down. She didn't know how to explain it to him.
"Well, you said stop it a few times, that was it" she said.
Pip looked down, he sat up. His head was hurting. The clock on the wall showed it to be nearly five o'clock. The time when the people invited would turn up at the Green Dragon.
Merry Brandybuck was one of them. But he was late. He had completely forgotten about the invitation sitting on his bed side table.
Down at the Green Dragon, the hobbits were lining up for the second meal. Rosie Gamgee yawned as she checked invitations. The line slowly, but surely, grew shorter as more and more hobbits were allowed in. once or twice, some of the hobbits were turned away.
"I'm sorry, if you don't have an invitation, you cant come in" she said.
Rosie knew full well that she had not given them invitations in the first place. Rosie watched them walk away. After a few seconds, she turned her attention back to the hobbits standing there.
"Hello Pervinca" Rosie said merrily.
Vinnie looked cold and hungry. She had been so excited about coming to feast that she had hardly eaten all day.
"Good after noon" she shivered.
She held out the invitation in her cold, numb hand. Rosie smiled as she took it. She looked down at the name on the list. She took the quill and scribbled out her name.
"Get inside, Vinnie, you look freezing"
Vinnie smiled as she walked past. The warmth suddenly hit her. It was akin to sliding into a hot bath at the end of the day. Some of the hobbits had already taken their seats. Chatter had started to rise in volume as more and more hobbits took their places.
Pervinca found hers after a minute or two. It was on the middle table. She shared it with some of the elders. Rosie was left outside. She had two more names on the list, yet no sign of either of them.
She knew that she could not wait too long. The people inside would get annoyed.
"Just another minute" she thought.
She too wanted to get inside the warmth and start the meal. The minute seemed to slowly tick by. The five chimes of clock rang out inside the Green Dragon. Rosie took a deep breath and walked inside.
"They'll just have to miss it" she thought, closing the door.
She looked over at the kitchen door. A dwarf was standing there. The hobbit gave a small nod to the dwarf. A sign that everything was good to go.
The door to the kitchens closed on the guests. But not for long. The door opened again and out came a dwarf. He was carrying a large chicken. It was brown and steaming hot.
A round of applause erupted from each of the hobbits. But that chicken was not the only one. Just like the night before, five more followed. One for each table.
Pervinca smiled as she took in a large wave of smell. This made her hunger even deeper. The dwarf placed the chicken in the middle of the table and walked away. Vinnie watched him walk out of sight.
There were still many bowls of food to place out. Boats of gravy, mountains of roast potatoes, piles of sprouts, long runner beans, carrot and turnip, forests of broccoli, parsnips, stacks of sausages, slices of crispy bacon, tender chicken and hot gravy all took up the space.
Pervinca smiled. She had never seen so much food in such quality before. The idea that her mother could do any better flew out the window. This was much better then anything her mother could do.
It took a few trips to put all of the bowls out. Silver spoons were placed in every bowl. Plates had been placed in front of every place. Six in all.
Pervinca noticed that there was no room for any more bowls.
"I guess we can start" she said, looking around.
At that, nearly every hobbit seated at a table had started to eat. Food was piled onto plates. Potatoes were scooped up. Gravy was poured on mountains of food. Ale was then brought out and placed in front of each hobbit.
Pervinca smiled as she cut up a roast potato. It was the best she had ever tasted. They were not to crispy, yet not to soft so that they wouldn't break up.
The sound of china and talking echoed around the room. Pervinca continued to eat. There were still two empty seats.
Fredegar Bolger was still laying on his bed. He knew that he had missed the deadline when he had to get down to the Green Dragon. It seemed only a small bit of his heart cared. His sister and mother had come in a number of times. But there was no answers from any of them.
"I just want to know if he's alright, that's all" Estella said.
She cared for her brother very much. It seemed to have effected Fredegar more then it did her.
"All we can do is wait, time will heal his heart" Rosamunda said.
She could still hear her husbands voice. Every so often, her eyes darted over to his chair. She expected him to be sitting there, in his fragile state that she remembered him by. But there was no one there.
"But what if he does something silly?" Estella asked, picking up her tea.
It was the only point in Rosamunda's life when she did not know what to say. She did not have answer. She too was hurting more then anyone could imagine. She had lost the one person she had loved the most. Yet Rosamunda did not show it.
"He wont, we just need to let him have a bit of space"
The light outside was falling into night. The reflection of the candles in the window grew brighter and brighter. The clouds outside slowly started to gather. The stars above were concealed by the carpet of cloud. Yet birds on the green earth continued to sing.
Different songs, some complex, others only a few notes, rang out across the cold land. Trees blew in the forests of old. Rotting logs covered in moss lay where they had been for many years before.
Leaves were rotting all around the forest as well. Some were brown, others black and yellow. There were hardly any creatures crawling on the surface of the forest floor. The weather was too cold for them.
In the Took house hold, Pippin was still sitting where he had been for the past hour. Diamond had left the room. Pippin could still feel the shackles on his wrists as he rubbed them.
But it had all been a dream. It never happened.
Yet deep down, it had happened. The words of Saruman were as real as anything.
"It was a dear shame to waste your two friends like that"
The words repeated over and over again. But he could not stop thinking about what he saw.
Maybe it was what would have happened if Frodo had not destroyed the Ring.
It was too much for Pippin to think about. He needed to get him mind off of what had happened. So, he got up. But the drunkenness had not yet gone. He swayed for a few seconds, catching himself from falling over.
Tiredness was now getting to him again. A yawn came over him as he made his way to the kitchen. Already in the kitchen was Diamond. A pan had been lay on the red hot hob of the oven. She looked around.
"I'm making you some bacon, it might sober you up" she said.
But Pippin was not interested in what she had to say. He made a beeline for the cupboard. His drinking mug had been cleaned and put away.
Diamond watched him as he got it out again.
"Oh no you don't" she said, taking it from him.
Pippin took a deep breath and looked at his wife. There was anger in his veins that he had never felt towards her before. His hand slowly reached for the mug. But Diamond moved away.
Pippin took a deep breath.
"I just need one" he said.
Diamond took a deep breath. She didn't want her Pippin to start drinking again.
"No Pippin, I'm not letting you drink!"
Pippin was now angry. It was unusual for him.
"Diamond, I just want one" said Pippin.
"I really don't feel like arguing"
The bacon in the pan started to smoke even more the usual. Diamond looked around.
"Oh no!" she said, grabbing the wooden end of the pan and quickly taking it off of the heat.
The smoke filled the kitchen. It was now that Pippin could grab his mug and get what he wanted. The smoke created a curtain that he could hide from.
The mug was quickly picked up as Diamond attention was on the now on the burning bacon. Pippin slowly walked over to the cellar. He knew that Diamond would find out sooner or later. But at this moment in time, he didn't care.
The cellar was darker then the kitchen. There was a notable change in temperature. The two barrels of ale were seated at the opposite end to the door. There were shelves of food, but most looked bare. The stokes had yet to be filled in since the two of them got back from their small journey.
The two barrels had small taps that had been drilled into it. One tap for each heavy wooden barrel. Pippin swayed a bit as he knelt down. A drunken smile came across his face. He placed the mug on the floor and turned the tap on. The ale started to pour out of the tap. But it did not accumulate inside the mug. Instead, Pippin had misjudged the tap.
The lovely ale was now pouring onto a floor. Pippin looked around, unaware of what was going on. The hobbit yawned widely. He looked back down at the mug and turned the tap off. He still failed to notice that no ale had gone into the mug. He smiled and picked it up. But that smile crossed over to confusion as the mug was lighter then normal.
"Must be getting stronger" he thought to himself.
The smile came back to his face as he started to drink. But al he got was air. His vision was blurry. But this did not stop him from looking in.
"That's funny…" he thought.
"I could have sworn I turned the tap…"
His eyes then fell on the puddle of ale on the floor.
"Oh no!" he said.
But there was nothing he could do. His high sprits were dashed. He knew that Diamond would find out. Peregrin placed his finger into the puddle and took it out.
The light from the kitchen became small points of light on his finger. He could see his own fingerprint gleaming in the light.
Pippin placed his finger in his mouth. The lovely taste of ale met his taste buds. A small bit of smoke was entering the cellar now. The bacon in the pan had been thrown away. It was not edible any more.
The feast at the Green Dragon was still on going. An hour had now past since the start of the meal. Yet hobbits were still eating. Pervinca was especially hungry. She had filled and cleared her plate more then any other hobbit at the feast.
Rosie Gamgee was standing in the corner. The dwarves were walking in and out of the kitchen. Empty bowls were being taken back into the kitchen as full ones were being put in their place.
Gallons of ale had already been consumed. Pervinca picked up a small gravy boat and started to pour it on her third helping of dinner. She smiled as she saw people eating less and less.
"You'll make yourself ill you will" said one of the elders to the side of Pervinca.
Vinnie looked around and smiled.
"Well, I'm just very hungry" she answered.