Ivy slowly fluttered back to her friends. There was a strange look on her face. One that summed up many questions her friends had.
Ivy did not know how to break it to them. Everything seemed to be different. The wind was harsher, sounds seemed to be louder.
"We have to get out of here" Ivy said, looking at her four friends.
She knew that she had to get as far away as possible. But there was no where they could go. They were stuck here, surrounded by the clan Ivy had just talked with.
"But where will we go?" Petal asked, fluttering her wings.
Ivy felt sick. She did not want to be here any more.
"I don't… don't know" she said.
Time was slipping past them. Plans were made and crushed. Hope seemed to slip away with every passing hour.
"The best plan is to do it" Luna said, sitting on a branch.
The sun was now going down. But birds were still flying around. Ivy was sitting in her nest, all alone. The fairy could feel everything crumbling away from her.
"Luna, we have to fight against them. If we let them rule our lives, then we'll never be free" Petal told her.
A small rift had started to open in the group. One side was for staying and gather food. The other wanted to escape before it was too late.
"But where will we go if we do go?" asked Luna.
Petal took a deep breath.
"Well, we could go to a different forest. A small wood if you want to. We could start fresh and be free" she told them.
This idea was very inviting. But it had a flaw. The fairies lived in a very dangerous place now. Other clans of fairies had already been eradicated. The forest used to be a peaceful place. But wild fires had destroyed certain parts. This was due to the most dangerous and evil clan.
The Decessus.
The Decessus were fuelled on the fact that they were now very powerful. And they knew it. Nothing could stop them.
Ivy, Petal, Luna, Rosa and Leila all belonged to the Vivens clan. Unlike the Decessus, these were peaceful fairies. They used natural materials to make their homes. They loved wildlife. Their friendly nature made it easier to watch animal's behaviour and learn from what they did.
The Vivens were also different in the fact that they had their own colours. Trees were their friends. They lived, played and fed off of them. They, like Ivy, used abandoned nests of woodpeckers.
The Decessus, on the other hand, lived under the ground in the soft soil of the forest. This was an advantage. For they were not as nature loving at the other clans. They were power hungry and loved to see pain inflicted on other creatures.
Many other clans had been wiped out or scared away. They were now living in different parts of Middle-earth, struggling to gather the food and make shelters.
In the present day, Ivy was all by herself. The memories of what had happened all those years ago were slowly coming back to the surface.
The sun had come up, shining on the land below. Birds were singing their morning songs for the world to hear. A whistling sound came echoing down to Ivy's ears.
She took a deep breath, waiting for the small puppy near by to wake up. He had been asleep almost all night. His small eyes were closed and his fur was keeping him warm. But it did not keep him warm enough in the bitter coldness of the night.
Ivy constantly had to create a bubble of warmth around him. But it would soon wear off. Hunger was now growing in the small pup. Ivy heard a small whine from him as he lay there, fluffy head on equally fluffy paws. But his eyes did not open.
Origo wanted and needed all of the sleep he could get. But Ivy was not thinking on his terms.
"Puppy?" she asked, standing up and walking over to him.
Ori gave yet another whine, his eyes opened just a crack. A green glow met his eyes, making them hurt.
"Ori, its time to get up now" Ivy said, producing a lovely plate of turkey just for him.
The smell hit Origo's small wet nose. It was then that sleep would defiantly have to wait. He had not noticed how hungry he was until the smell of turkey reached him.
For some strange reason, unknown to the pup, he knew that he had always liked turkey. So, raising his fluffy head, he yawned. Ivy smiled, loving how his small ears flopped as he opened his mouth.
A few seconds pasted before Ori started on his turkey.
"Good boy" Ivy said.
She had an urge to go outside. But the fact Origo could not see in the darkness had totally slipped her mind. She started to flutter upwards. The soil started to encase her. It was then she heard the muffled barks of the puppy below.
Ivy stopped and slipped back into the chamber. She was met by a very scared looking puppy. His eyes were now wide and he was very scared.
"Oops" she said, taking a deep breath.
She now knew why Origo was looking scared. He did not like the darkness of the chamber.
"I guess I'll just have to stay here until he finishes" Ivy thought.
Origo had not been the only sleeping creature. A young girl was sitting in the coldness. She was curled up in a small ball, a thin sheet had been wrapped over her. But it wasn't helping much.
A sudden jolt made her wake. For a moment, she thought she was back in her room. But the sound of birds and the coldness on her face told her different.
She took a deep breath, knowing that she was on her own. Her bag was laying on the wet ground next to her. She knew that food was the most important thing at this moment in time.
So, opening the bag, she pulled out a brown loaf. She smiled, knowing that her hunger would soon be tamed. But she knew that she would have to save it for the journey to Bree.
Bree was the only place that she could get to. She had no money, she knew of no one that lived by her. The girl was now on her own.
But would she regret leaving?
For the moment, the answer was "No"
The coldness seemed only to fuel her escape and eagerness to get to Bree. So, ripping off a piece of bread, she started to eat. It was the first time she would have eaten enough to make her feel like she had actually eaten.
The horse that the girl had been travelling on was standing just a few yards away. Its reigns had been securely tied to a tree.
The horse, like the girl, was now filling up on food. Both had been travailing into the small hours of the harsh morning coldness.
As the girl continued to eat, she found the coldness around her started to lessen. Yet her eyes were still blurry. She had a cure for this. The sound of two glass bottles meeting met her ears.
"Of course" she thought, picking out one of the bottles.
She knew that warmth was no longer a problem. One of her rare smiles came over her as she took off the top. The girl then raised the bottle. She examined the contents.
Without another second lost, the shivering girl started to drink. The amber liquid did its job right away. A blast of warmth radiated from her chest. She instantly started to cough.
"That was most unexpected" she thought, looking at the bottle.
The whiskey was much more effective then she thought. The warmth started to travel throughout her veins. She could feel it rushing around her body. Every muscle seemed to loosen and relax. But the girl had energy now and she did not want to waste it.
So, she placed the loaf of bread and bottle back in her bag and closed it.
"Right" she said, standing up.
She put the bag on and walked over to the horse. The horse neighed merrily as she stroked its head. The saddle was still strapped to its back. The girl smiled as she untied the rope that had been tied to the tree.
The girl stroked the horse on the long face.
"Lets get going, ah?" she asked.
The horse neighed, which was a good sign for the girl. So, the girl walked to the saddle and hoisted herself up. The cold wind blew in her face as the horse started to trot.
The dull thuds of the horse echoed around. The speed slowly started to increase. Trees started to rush past the girl. She was now squinting, her eyes hurt less this way. Small bits of mud were flying up from the hooves of the horse she was riding on.
She could feel small points of mud hitting her face. But the girl cared little for how she looked. All she wanted to do was get out of the cold and wet cloths.
But the girl was not the only being on the move. Elladan and Elrohir were packing two horses, one for each of them. Their food supplies were running out. They had to go to the nearest town to get some more. The twins would travel the opposite way from their friends, Legolas and Gimli.
Gimli was still not talking to Legolas. But there was no denying the fact that they had to get moving. A small part of Gimli wanted to stay here, in the safety of Rivendell.
But then, he wanted to see Helms Deep again. The sight of the glittering caves. They were firmly imprinted in the mind and soul of the dwarf. Never had he seen such a glorious sight.
But, as hard as it was, he knew that Moria would never be matched. The massive pillars of the once great empire of Dwarves were now all but blocked and abandoned by the beings that had once lived there.
Now, only blood thirsty goblins and vile cave trolls roamed the black abyss.
Gimli took a deep breath as he sat on his bed. Memories were flooding back to him now. His home and all the people around had all but been vanquished.
Save for one small group living deep beneath the Lonely Mountain. But that was all to change. Gimli would make them see that the caves behind Helms Deep were perfect for them. But it would be a long and hard journey.
Legolas smiled as he stood there, knowing the dwarf was not as observant as he was and had not seen him yet. So, without making a sound, the elf started to walk towards him.
It was only at the very last second, as Legolas' feet came into view, that Gimli knew he had been watched. He quickly looked up. Their eyes met. A small smile came over the elf, giving Gimli a strong sign that he knew what he was thinking about.
"I think its time" Gimli started, standing up.
The two of them did not break eye contact.
"I think its time to leave this place. I am not getting any younger and there is still many more sights I want to see" he told the elf.
The two of them were now in agreement. It was now time for them to leave Rivendell and see the world. But they were not to leave yet.
In fact, it would be in the small hours of the next morning that they would finally set foot on the long road to Helms Deep.
Just then, a figure came to the opening. Gimli looked at the figure. For a moment, he thought it was Elladan who had come to see them. But he was wrong.
"Me and my brother will be leaving in a moments time" Elrohir told them.
Gimli smiled.
"I guess I should thank you for your hospitality" Gimli told him.
Elrohir gave a small smile.
"You are our guest, Master Gimli, there is no need to thank us"
Gimli took a deep breath. He knew that this may never see the twins again. But a new chapter of his life had to start. And quickly.
"You will not see us when you get back. Me and Gimli are both going to Helms Deep" Legolas said.
Gimli gave a small huff, wanting to know what was just said. But he quickly gave up.
"Take care of the dwarf" Elrohir said, his eyes darting quickly to the dwarf.
"It's winter and the sun does not warm them up like it does in summer"
Without another word, Elrohir turned and walked away. It was the last time that Gimli saw either one of the Elven twins.
Meanwhile, Origo and Ivy were making their way towards Rivendell. Even though they were in front of the girl, the horse was much quicker then them. Ivy had to go at the pace Origo was walking at.
A sudden thought came over Ivy. She had not seen Abira in a few days. In fact, she could not remember what had happened to her. She was so busy with Origo that Abira slipped her mind completely.
"I wonder if she is alright" she thought as she corrected her path due to the wind.
Origo, on the other hand, had forgotten his Abira, and Diamond for that matter, completely. But, Ivy knew little of where Abira really was.
The small pup was in a much better position then Origo was. Abira, unlike her fellow pup, had four walls and a roof around her. A raging fire protected her from the coldness outside.
An old gentlemen sat on a large, well worn seat. The man had a warm look about him. His house was in the middle of a large forest, away from the hub of the Great East Road.
The man looked over the top of his glasses. He gave a small smile, seeing the chest of the small pup rising and falling.
But Abira was soon to wake. Hunger was growing in her. The night had been a calm one for her. She had no worries at the moment.
But, unknown to the old man sitting on his seat, Abira had a plan to leave and find Origo. She had never given up on him and never will. But it would be very hard to catch up with him.
Abira knew nothing of where Origo was. All she knew was that he was heading towards Rivendell. But Rivendell was many hundreds of miles from where she was and, without food, she would never make it.
A small whimper came from the sleeping pup. The whimpering grew louder and louder the more sleep was taken away from her. The man in the chair took a deep breath and prised his eyes away from his book.
A smile came over him. So, placing the book on the small table standing to one side, he slowly got up. The man was not as youthful as he had once been.
His life had been a very pleasant one so far. But the peaks were seemingly meet with deep rocky valleys. His wife and soul mate had passed away, not too many years ago. He had lost contact with his only son. Friends had all moved or lived further then a days travel away. The nearest inn or drinking house was too far away.
Winter was the hardest time for him. Not only because he was on his own, but because he lived off of the land. But the land was now frozen and the temperature of the air made it very hard to stay in the coldness for any length of time.
The old man had a large cellar underneath his house. There, all of the food was stored. The man had planned for this winter for a few months.
There were a lot of different packages on many shelves. There was enough food to feed a family. But it was still not enough for him. He knew that he would run out before the warmer weather came.
"I see that you are finally up" said the man, slowly walked over to the small pup.
His joints were stiff, making it harder for him to move around. Abira watched out of small eyes as he slowly walked to her. The next second, she was picked up.
She gave a small whimper as the warmth of the fire was taken away from her.
"Are you hungry?" the man asked.
It was then that warmth would have to wait. The words of the man sparked off Abira's hunger even more. She whined, looking over at the door that lead into the kitchen. The man knew exactly what the pup wanted.
So, carrying Abira, he walked towards the kitchen. Abira knew that the man was very forgetful in his old age. Even though she had been in his house for a matter of days.
"Lets see what we have, shall we?" half talking to the pup and half talking to himself.
Abira gave a small whine. So, the man walked over to the large cellar. But first, the man had to navigate the cold stairs leading down to the room.
The door slowly creaked open. A black abyss faced him. But that was soon over come by a single candle. The wick was burning a red flame. It flicked in the slightest of cold breezes.
Abira rested her head on the man. A small yawn came from the her as she felt the air get slowly colder the more they descended.
The light coming off from the candle tickled the outline of the shelves. Packets lined the shelves. The man placed the candle on a small mount on the wall.
"Right, lets see what we have here" he said, placing the puppy down.
Abira did not like the coldness of the tiled floor and started to whimper. But, due to the old man being hard of hearing, he failed to notice this.
Abira yawned and looked around.
"Maybe if I help him" she thought, sniffing the air a bit.
There was defiantly bacon in the cellar. It was just a matter of finding it. So, the small pup took a look around. The smell of bacon was getting stronger the further back she went.
But, as she went further back, the smell got weaker once again. Little Abira stopped and looked back. She knew that she had gone too far. So, doubling back on herself, she found the scent again. The pup stopped, figuring out where the smell was coming from. For there were two high pillars of shelves on either side of her.
The candle struggled to create enough light to lit up all of the packages. Abira could just about see the man still at the shelf, searching for the packet. But Abira knew it wasn't where he was. It was where she was instead.
A small bark came from the small pup. The man slowly looked around the side of the shelves.
"I know, I know" he said, giving a small smile.
His face looked like it had been caved of soft timber. The low level of light seemed to pronounce his wrinkles even more then usual.
Abira continued to look as the old man went back to looking in the wrong place. So, she barked again. This time, she got his attention.
"What's up with you?" he asked, slowly walking towards her.
Abira wagged her tail and looked up. She knew that the uncooked bacon was somewhere on the shelf. But she did not know which one.
The man smiled, looking down at the pup. It took him a while to understand what the pup was trying to tell him.
"Have you found something?" he asked, looking at the shelves.
Another few barks came from Abira, her eyes darted from the man, to the higher shelves. The man slowly bent down and picked the puppy up.
Abira could smell the bacon stronger then ever. She struggled as the man held her further back then she wanted to be. The man took a deep breath, his mind working slow.
"What is up with you dear?" he asked, his voice was slow and sounded tired.
The small puppy started to whimper. The whimper turned into a bark.
"Have you found something that you want?" he asked.
The small pup nodded and looked back towards the shelves. The man slowly reached out and picked up one of the packets. He slowly held it up for his puppy to sniff.
Abira took a quick sniff. But, judging but her reaction, it was not the right one.
"How about this one?" asked the man as he placed the packet back and picked out another one.
This one and the third were wrong. But, after three wrong packets, Abira smelt what she had been waiting for. The man smiled, knowing that the pup had found what she wanted.
"Come on, dear" he said, placing her back down on the floor.
The man started to walked back towards the stairs. It was then the small puppy stopped. She sat and looked up at the mountain of stairs before her.
The man smiled as he picked up the flickering candle. Abira could see the light getting fainter as the man ascended the stairs.
As he got to the middle, he looked back. The small puppy was barking at him.
"Come on" he said, not understanding that the small pup did not know what the stairs were.
Abira was used to the flatness and simplicity of the homes of hobbits. But now, she had many walls to over come. And she did not like it.
The man did not realise that Abira did not know what stairs were or how to use them. The level of light sank, leaving the puppy in semi-darkness.
The door was left ajar, leaving a small bit of light for the puppy to see by. This was the only point of reference that she had. All she had to do was climb the stairs. But that was easier said then done.
The small pup struggled to get up the first one. She was, to her, very high indeed. But she was only on the first step. She had fourteen more to go.
Each step seemed to take her to, what she thought, a much dangerous place. But, as she climbed higher and higher, a familiar smell hit her small wet nose.
The sound and smell of bacon was the key for her fears to subside. She wasn't as scared as she was a few seconds ago. The stairs did not seem as big as before.
After what seemed like hours to the small pup, she reached the last step. By this time, the bacon had been flipped and was now cooking the second side.
Many miles away, Pimpernel was waking to another day without her Abira. The young girl lay in her bed, thinking of the time she had spent with her puppy. Any hope of seeing her again was being crushed into nothingness by each passing day.
"Well" she thought, starting to accept the fact that Abira would not been seen again.
"I guess where ever she is, she's happy"
This seemed to hurt even more as a small tear slithered down her perfect cheek. The heath just across the room was still alight. Deep red embers continued to let off a wave of heat.
But Pimpernel did not leave her warm bed. She knew that the room around her was freezing. But then again, hunger was growing inside of her. She had not eaten since the night before.
"I best get up" she told herself.
She wiped away the tear from her deep blue eye and uncovered herself. It was then that she felt how much warmth had been built up while she had been sleeping.
The hairs on her feet started to tingle. But hunger drove her onwards. Her nightgown flowed behind her as she tiredly walked to the door.
The clocked started to chime. Pimpernel counted the noises in her head like she always did.
"One, two, three, four…"
She did this until it stopped. Ten times the chimes chimed. It was defiantly past breakfast, but that did not stop her from having it.
So, opening the large door, she walked out into the corridor. The corridor snaked though the hillside. There were many doors leading into many rooms. The bedroom that Pimpernel had left was not the only bedroom in hillside.
A kitchen, a study full of books, plus a library, a cellar, bathrooms, dinning rooms, panties and wardrobes devoted to cloths were all on the same level.
In fact, the only stairs hobbits had to climb were those in the front gardens. But those small stairs were very dangerous in the icy weather.
But hobbits were simple folk. They had a reason to stay in when all types weather.
"If it ain't the weather to be going out, you best stay at home" the elders said.
But this was not only about winter, the heights of summer. If it was too hot to go outside, then the hobbits would stay inside and keep cool. The windows would opened as far as they could go to let cool breeze in.
But the cool air was not the only thing that was allowed to come in. Small butterflies, bees and wasps, flies and the occasional confused bird all came in.
But the weather had now changed. The summer sun was now weak and could not bathe the land the its strength. Coldness was now the main reason to stay in doors. Food was a main priority for anyone that had just come in from the cold.
Dinners became larger and lasted longer. Hobbits loved nothing more then coming in from the coldness and have a large dinner to eat. For food was one of the passions of hobbits. The next was drinking, which usually combined with all meals, even breakfast sometimes.
There were whole rooms devoted to the drinking of ales, sprits and beer. For hobbits liked nothing better to relax and drink a good pint. But, if food was not eaten with ale or beer, then it was smoking.
Smoking was an art, according to hobbits. Silver strains of smoke snaked their way up into the air. But, now that winter had arrived, the Green Dragon was the best place to do it.
Pimpernel arrived at the kitchen and to a familiar smell. She took a deep breath as she walked into the room. There, she saw her sister sitting at the table.
"Good morning" Pearl said, giving a warm smile.
But Pimpernel did not return it. It did not take long for Pearl to notice something wrong with her sister. Pimpernel, or Nelly as she was known to her friends and family, took her seat and picked up the knife and fork that had been placed on either side of her plate.
"Pimpernel?" Pearl asked.
Pimpernel did not look up. She knew that Pearl would easily pick up on the small things.
"Nelly?" Pearl asked.
Pimpernel did not like the idea of talking to anyone at the moment. She wanted time to herself.
"I don't want to talk about it at the moment" Pimpernel said, cutting into a warm sausage.
Pearl's blue eyes were exactly the same as Pimpernel's. They had inherited their blue eyes from their mother. All four of the Took children had exactly the same eye colour.
"Why?" Pearl asked.
Pimpernel inhaled louder then normal, the questions were grinding on her very soul. Pearl knew that is she wanted answers from her sister, she would have to wait.
Conversation ceased as Pimpernel ate her breakfast. Pearl had gotten up especially early to cook breakfast. Large quantities of food had prepared for it.
"Vinnie should be coming around later" Pearl told her sister, hoping that this would raise her sister's sprits.
But it failed to do so. For Vinnie was not the person that Pimpernel wanted to see. If anything, she wanted to see her Hamson again.
Hamson had moved away from Hobbiton and away from Pimpernel. But, every since day he was away from her, she was in his thoughts.
Rope making was now on his mind. The loudness of the machines kept him alert and busy. But something happened that made Hamson a bit worried. The machinery, which was run by water wheel outside, suddenly stopped.
Hamson had never experienced this before. The room that he worked in was longer then normal. It had been, just a few seconds before, bustling with activity. But it was now calm and quiet.
Hamson took a deep breath, knowing that he was behind time already. This incident would make him further and further behind schedule.
Just then, his uncle came in from the door down at the other end of the large room. Hamson took a deep breath, not knowing that this type of incident happened nearly all of the time.
"Ah, Hamson my lad, something wrong?" his uncle asked.
Hamson looked back at the machine.
"Well, the machine" he started, trying to make it look like it was not his fault.
"It just stopped" he said.
For a moment, he thought that his uncle would become angry at him. But instead, his uncle just chuckled.
"Yes" he started, looking at the long strands of rope that were hanging from one end of the room to the other.
"It does do that some times. It is normally the fault of the water wheel outside" he said.
Hamson was relived. But the thought of the water wheel came into his mind and that meant going outside. His uncle walked back towards the door that he had first come from and opened it.
"Lunch will be ready in an hour. If you'll just sort out the water wheel, you can come in afterwards"
Hamson nodded and took a deep breath. He knew now that he would have to go outside even if the wheel was working.
So, leaving the lifeless machine, Hamson walked over to the closed door. The building he was in was just down the road from his uncle's house. His coat had been left on the pegs near the door.
He took a deep breath as he picked off his coat and put it on. He did each one of the brass buttons up and opened the door. The cold air rushed in, making his ears tingle a bit. But the coldness was not as bad as it had been a few days before.
The door was closed on the large wooden building, keeping the warmth in and the coldness out. Hamson then started to trundle along the muddy path.
Nearly all of the snow had melted into cold puddles of muddy water. A few times, Hamson nearly slipped. Spots of cold, wet mud were sticking to the hairs on his unusually large feet.
The water wheel he was heading for had been situated at the opposite end of the building. A small river, usually calm in the summer, was near enough bursting its banks with the amount of water it held.
But water was not the only thing that flowed towards the vast and distance sea. Everything from leaves, logs and trees to the lifeless bodies of birds and insects could not escape the torrents of water, no matter how much they tried.
Hamson took a deep breath as he crossed over the bridge. His sights were now set on the water wheel. He knew exactly what the problem was. The water wheel had stopped moving due to a large log that had been floating on the water.
The hobbit had a lot of work to do before he could get back into the warmth. But first, he would have to find a way of getting the log out. He knew he could not physically get into the water. On one hand, he could not swim and the water would be too cold for him anyway.
The only way to get near the log was to go to the back of long building and edge his way over to it. So, Hamson made his way back towards the door. The sound that normal met his ears did not happen.
The machines were still and lifeless. All he could hear was the whistling of the cold wind through the gaps in the door frame.