Toys were dotted around the room. All of them were made of polished wood, carved from trees. Like Elanor, Gloria had an array of different wooden horses. But none were more appealing then her horse at home.
The fire crackled as it danced behind a metal gate. This metal gate was placed there in order to prevent any injury to Gloria or anyone else.
"What do you want to play?" asked Gloria, now sitting on the floor.
She was holding a small wooden horse. Elanor took a deep breath and looked around. An idea then popped into her head.
"What about we play hobbits and goblins?" she asked.
Gloria smiled, having knowledge of this game. The little girl placed her small wooden horse on the bed.
"I'll be the hobbit" Gloria told Elanor.
But this did not please Elanor.
"No, I am the hobbit" she told her.
Gloria did not find this fair at all.
"But, why are you always the hobbit?" she asked.
Elanor thought that this was a silly question to ask.
"Because I'm the special one, daddy says so" Elanor answered.
Gloria knew that she could not win against Elanor. She knew that she was on the loosing team already.
So, Gloria agreed to be the goblin. Elanor smiled and walked over to a large wooden box. The lid had been closed. But, upon lifting it, Elanor saw many toys. Its took her a few seconds before she saw two wooden swords.
She picked them out and handed one to Gloria.
"I'm going to hide and then you come and find me" Elanor told her friend.
Gloria nodded and smiled. She watched Elanor scurry out of the room.
Elanor was suddenly drawn back into reality. The clock started to chime, distracting Elanor's daydream and spitting her back into her own room.
She took a deep breath, knowing that this would not happen for another three days. She had already endured four long and boring days without seeing her friends. Hours were spent wasted in her room.
In Bree, the young girl had been shown to her room after enjoying a very large, filling meal. Tiredness had now caught up with her as she lay motionless on the bed.
Her eyes were closed. Sleep enveloped her. Covers had been drawn over her, her muddy dress still clinging to her skin. But care had long since been forgotten. She was now free to do as she wished.
But a man was baring down on her. He and his steed had ridden through the depth of night and were now very much upon Bree.
Hours past as the girl continued to sleep. Lunch past as the rooms below filled with merry makers coming to have their lunch. Barliman was so busy that he had completely forgotten about the girl upstairs.
Many plates of food were being brought out to the waiting men and women. Nearly every wooden seat had been taken up. The door opened and closed constantly.
The coldness outside was deepening as the cloud that were once on the horizon was now over head. A few feathers of snow fluttered their way down with the wind.
"Getting colder out there now" a man told Barliman.
Barliman nodded as he held two plates. Conversation was hard to come by when Barliman was this busy. He walked too and from the kitchen.
The snow outside continued to grow thicker as the flakes continued to grow in number and size. The ground, which had been more brown then white, was now returning to freezing white.
Clocks chimed, sending out three wooden bangs. This failed to raise the girl from her slumber. In fact, shouting that echoed up from the room just below failed to do so either.
"I will not have fighting in my inn!" Barliman shouted as two drunks threw punches at each other.
Their fires were fuelled by the other people around them.
"Right" Barliman said, placing the two plates of food on the table near by.
"Get out, both of you" he said, walking towards them.
The two men were now arguing with Barliman. But Barliman owned the Prancing Pony. What ever he told them, they had to do.
"Out, both of you!" he said, pushing them.
But the two men had their accomplices with them. The groups seemed to be having a very big argument and Barliman was in the middle.
His plates of food that had been left on the table were forgotten about. In fact, a very large gentleman had started to wolf down the food, taking advantage of all the eyes being focused away from him.
Barliman made sure that the two fighting men were sent on their way.
"And don't come back again, you are not allowed in here" he told them.
The door was closed, keeping the coldness out. The inn seemed to settle down immediately. Talk started to rise again, so did the consumption of food and drink.
Barliman was not in a very good mood now. But there was a small something bothering him.
"Where's my food?" asked a rough looking man, sitting at the table.
Barliman gave a smile.
"Did you not get served? That is very odd" he said.
So, Barliman walked back into the kitchen. There, three more people were cooking or cutting up food. Barliman looked around.
"I have two missing plates, have they been made up yet?" he asked.
One of the dirty looking chefs took on a confused look.
"But we have done all the meals, we don't have any spare food" he told him.
Barliman was getting angry again.
"Well, there must be some mistake. I have customers waiting" he said.
Without another word spoken, he left. Barliman smiled as he walked over to the table.
"I'm terribly sorry for the wait, your food shall be here in just a few minutes" Barliman said, hoping that this would settle their tempers.
And he was right. The two men that were sitting there agreed on this time. But they were still not as happy as they would have been. Barliman was now busy taking orders for drinks again.
Time seemed to pass quicker the more he worked. The level of light outside seemed to slowly sink as the sun dived towards the eastern horizon.
Two small creatures were now walking in a darkening twilight. Ivy's green glow slowly started to strengthen as the level of light faded. Origo had been on his best behaviour all day. This had played out well for both of them.
Origo had only gone off course a few times. Ivy did not even have to say that he was any more.
One look back at the hovering fairy meant that he had gone the wrong way. Ivy had hardly talked all day. Save from when Origo wanted to stop for food.
And this time was coming up. A small whine from the pup walking by Ivy. This told her that he was getting hungry again. The small fairy took a deep breath, but did not stop.
"Come on, we'll have food and rest soon" she said.
Ivy was starting to feel more like Diamond then an invisible fairy. But, if that's what she had to do, that's what she was going to do.
"But why cant we have food and rest now?" Origo asked.
Ivy stopped fluttering and landed on the soft, cold ground.
"Puppy, what did I tell you last time?" she asked, making sure he remembered.
There was a strange glint in the pup's big brown eyes. Ivy had seen this glint before. She knew exactly what this meant.
"Puppy, I am not saying this again. If we rest now, then you wont move again. If we have a rest later, then were can get further"
Origo blinked twice, trying to figure out what was meant by this.
"But I'm hungry" he whined.
Ivy felt like her words had been completely ignored.
"Well" she said, trying a different tactic.
"We will have food in another hour, but first we have to get down the road a bit further" Ivy told him.
For a moment, she thought that her little trick had not worked on the pup. But she was wrong.
"And then, I can eat?" he asked.
Ivy smiled.
"Of course" she said.
Origo took a few more seconds thought. The small puppy then started to walk on. Ivy smiled as she had a near miss with one of the large snow flakes that were falling to the ground.
Origo's paw prints were very visible in the snow. His tracks could be traced for a mile or two back. But this bothered neither of them.
But something did start to bother the small pup. He could feel the coldness again. But it was not as strong as before. The large snow flakes hit Origo's small wet nose.
Ivy smiled as the cute puppy whined every so often. The small pup stopped and whipped his fluffy paw over his nose. Ivy smiled as Origo walked along. His fur blowing in the wind. She could see the snow flakes slowly melting on his fur.
Small specks of light flickered on as the night drew in. Bree was now being covered in fresh powder. Many Bree-folk were preparing their final meal of the day.
Dinner.
A young girl was finally waking up. Her scenes were jumbled for a moment. The window reflected the flickering candle. A crackling fire had been lit, sending a gentle wave of warmth around the room.
The young girl slowly recognised where she had been sleeping. She smiled, knowing that she was still in the Prancing Pony.
It was then that she could hear sounds again. It flooded back into her ears. The laughter from down stairs was muffled, but was not unmistakable. Patters at the window indicated snow was still falling. The candle light seemed to light up only a few flakes as they fluttered down to earth.
The girl took a deep breath, her stomach rumbling. The last meal she had was a few hours ago and she needed more.
"I guess I should get out of bed" she said, the tiredness still showing.
But the fact that food was just downstairs made her motives stronger. The duvet was then pealed off, letting the warmth that had congregated disperse into the room.
The girl could now feel the difference in temperature. The air outside of the warm duvet was much colder. But this coldness did not last long as she opened the door.
The muffled laughter and voices became clearer the more she walked to the stairs. She smiled, looking around the hall way. The walls were very dirty, as though they not seen a good wash in more then a hundred years.
The stairs were no better. They creaked as she stepped on them. A few times, the girl thought she was going to break through the fragile stairs.
But this never happened. The girl made it safely down to the door at the bottom. She opened it and walked into the room before her.
There was a strange silvery mist to the room. The windows were akin to black mirrors, reflecting the light given off by candles.
The girl took a good look around, but she was unnerved by two gentlemen sitting around the table at the far side. One was looking around while the other was facing forward.
"Is that her?" he asked, looking back.
The man he was talking to gave a deep drink of his beer. He took a deep intake of breath and slowly looked around.
"Yes" he replied, placing the beer down.
His friend gave an evil smile as he tracked the movements of the girl. She walked over to the bar and sat on one of the large stools.
Barliman was very busy.
"Ah, your awake" he said, smiling at the girl.
The girl returned the smile.
"It's getting busy" the girl said, looking around.
Barliman smiled and nodded as he served another customer.
"Oh, it's not that busy. Wait another hour and it'll pick up" he said cheerily.
The girl took a deep breath.
"It was never this busy when I was working in the pub down the road there"
This caught Barliman's attention.
"You worked in a drinking house before?" Barliman asked as he held a tap down.
Pouring from the spout was a golden liquid. The level of ale quickly rose. A small bit started to trickle out with the knowledge of old Barliman.
"Oh, yes" the girl said.
Barliman knew that this was an opportunity not to be missed.
"How long were you working there?" he asked.
His hand continued to put pressure on the tap, the mug now very much over flowing. Ale started to form a puddle on the dirty floor.
"A few years, but it wasn't very good" the girl said, looking away.
The more Barliman delved deeper into the girls past, the more ale landed on the floor.
"Wasn't very good?" he asked, suddenly looking down as a drop of ale ran over the back of his hand.
The tap was stopped.
"Why not?" Barliman asked, spotting the puddle of ale on the tiled floor.
The girl did not like talking about her past. She knew that she could not hide it for much longer.
"Well, they just weren't" she started.
"The people I worked for treated me more like a slave then anything. They would give me little food so I was hungry all of the time. I was forced to get up in the early hours of the morning. Sometimes, just an hour after I had fallen asleep"
The girl took a deep breath, the very thought of seeing those people again made her feel angry and upset.
"Well I never!" Barliman said.
"If I ever find out who did it, they'll have to answer to me"
The girl gave a small smile.
"It's all over now, I escaped a day or two ago" she said.
Barliman smiled, placing the mug of ale before one of the other people sitting there. It was then that Barliman got an idea.
"Tell you what, why don't you work for me?" he asked.
Help was desperately needed. Especially in the colder weather. The girl was surprised.
"You want me to work for you?" she asked, not trusting her ears.
Barliman smiled and nodded.
"We do need the help" Barliman told her.
"We did have hobbits, but something happened that drove them away. Good reddens to them after what happened" he said.
The girl thought this was very strange. But she did not delve into it further. Barliman continued to pour pints of ale and beer. The coldness was kept out only by the closed door and the large fire in the heath.
Snow was still falling to earth, the carpet getting ever thicker. Bree seemed to be deserted, save for a few figures walking to where they needed to be.
But they had not suffered the coldness as one small puppy. Origo had continued ever onwards to his target. A target that he was only told to go to by a small, green fairy.
Ivy fluttered near by, trying to see further down the road and not lose sight of her special friend. The snowflakes coming down made a creepy silence. Only the wind could be heard.
Ivy had always found winter a strange time of year. She was used to the weather making sounds. The rushing of rain on a river, the whooshing of wind when she had been at home. All were usual sounds.
But the snow confused her senses. Yet, for some ready, it was normal. The darkness did not seem to be as dark as before. The snow that had now settled on the ground was creating a white blanket.
Origo whined as he walked, his head down. The coldness was getting to him. But the sound of wind echoed in his floppy ears.
A louder whine came from the pup. This one seemed to get Ivy's attention. She smiled and fluttered down.
"What's the matter?" she asked.
Another whine came from the pup. Ivy took a deep breath and, without a sound, warmth began to spread around the little puppy's fur.
Origo loved this feeling. Ivy smiled as Origo's playfulness started to return. A barked echoed from the small puppy.
"Oh no" Ivy said, giggling.
Origo bounded after her, creating deep craters in the soft snow. Ivy fluttered away, dodging flakes as she went. Flying through snow was a strange feeling for the fairy. One that she had not enjoyed since she had been with her friends.
Luna, a silver fairy and one of Ivy's closest friends, would rush into Ivy's small nest in the middle of the night.
"Ivy?" Luna whispered, landing softly on the floor of the nest.
Ivy was bundled in the corner of the nest. Her arms wrapped around her knees.
"Ivy?" asked Luna, a tad louder.
The green fairy seemed to suddenly come to life. What happened next took Luna by surprise. Ivy jumped up, a spear like object, its end sharpened for maximum effect.
"Ivy!" Luna shouted, moving back.
It took a few seconds for Ivy to snap out of her trance. Luna was now near the entrance, ready to flutter away if anything bad happened.
"Luna?" Ivy asked, looking at her friend.
The spear was slowly lowered. Luna was frightened to talk to Ivy. She was obviously very tired.
"Luna, what do you want?" Ivy asked.
Luna was lost for words. It took a few seconds for those words to return.
"Well, I was going ask you something" she said, looking from the sharp stick to her friend.
It was then Ivy slowly dropped the spear. It landed flat on the ground. Ivy's heart rate started slowly calm down.
"Luna, its three o'clock in the morning, what do you want?" Ivy asked, yawning.
Luna gave a small smile.
"Well, its night time" she said, looking back.
"And its snowing"
Ivy's tiredness did not help her thinking. All that she could return was slowly shake of the head and a confused look. Luna took a deep breath.
"Do you remember what we did last time it snowed like this?" Luna asked.
Ivy stood there, thinking back to the last time coldness descended on the land. Luna had come in exactly like she had done this very night.
"Ivy, Ivy wake up!" she said, shaking her friend to wake her up.
Ivy snorted and lifted her head up. For a moment, all she could see was darkness. But the silvery light of her friend started to show itself.
"Ivy, come on!" said a voice.
Ivy groaned as she sat up.
"Luna?" she asked.
Luna seemed to be her bubbly self. While Ivy was sitting on the floor, tired and yawning.
"What's going on?" she asked, slowly standing to her feet.
Luna smiled.
"It's snowing" she told her.
Sure enough, when Ivy looked out of the small entrance, white flakes could be seen coming down.
"Do you want to go out in it?" Luna asked.
Ivy knew that this was the only reason that Luna was here. But, even so, it was three o'clock in the morning.
"Why?" Ivy asked, not understanding how her friend could be awake at this hour in the morning.
"Because its fun!" Luna squealed.
She sudden took a hold of Ivy's hand and dragged her towards the opening.
"Luna!" Ivy said as she was thrust out of her warm nest into the freezing wind.
Ivy was pushed onto the branch. But, due to it being wet and cold, she slipped. Her friend gasped as she saw the green spot fall off.
"Ivy!" Luna squeaked and fluttered out after her.
Looking down, she could not see the green glow of her friend anywhere. So, nose-diving as fast as she could, she searched for Ivy.
"Ivy?" she asked, featherlike snowflakes continued to fall around her.
Luna was now getting very scared.
Had she killed one of her friends?
How would she break it to the others?
But Ivy was not in fact dead. She had not even come close to hitting the snowy ground. It took her a few seconds to gain control of her wings.
They immediately started to flutter, slowly her to the point of stopping. Her heart rate had risen dramatically. The flakes of snow were confusing her. Ivy did not know which way was up and which way was down. All she knew was that she needed something to hold onto and regain her senses.
It was then that a tree came into view. It had been covered by a thick curtain of falling snow. Ivy fluttered over to it and grabbed onto a smaller twig growing out of a large, snow ladened branch.
She held on for a moment, breathing heavily. For a moment, she was going to stay exactly where she was to calm down.
But she heard a familiar voice come out of the curtain of snow. This made her angry. So, flying upwards into the inky abyss, she started to search for Luna.
It did not take long for the silvery glow of Luna to revile herself. This did not help Ivy's mood much. She was angry and tired.
"Maybe I should just go back to my nest" she told herself.
She had no energy to argue. In fact, she had hardly enough energy to keep herself from falling to the ground. Her nest was warmer then the outside world.
But, in reality, she was homeless. And so, for now that is, was the small puppy chasing her. Ivy smiled as she looked back to see the pup gaining on her. Flakes of white snow continued to hit Ori's fluffy face. His ears flopped as with each bound.
At the same time, a small baby was laying down in the arms of its mother. A silver spoon was held in the mother's free hand. A bowl of orange mixture stood on the table. Most of it had already been eaten by the small baby, but there were still a few mouthfuls left.
Diamond scrapped the rest out and fed it to her son. She smiled, Faramir had the same hair as his father. Diamond could see a lot of Pippin in her son.
This caused her feelings to plummet. She hated the fact that he was not here, helping her. She had been let down by Pippin many times before. But this one was more serious.
All Diamond could see was Pippin smoking and drinking lots of ale.
"Well, being with Merry wont help him much" Diamond thought.
Faramir's food had all been eaten. The bowl now sat empty on the table. A small yawn came over Faramir. Diamond gave a small smile.
"Are you tired?" she asked.
The small baby's eyes started to feel heavy as he lay there. Warmth and a full stomach seemed to be a catalyst for the sleep. Within a few minutes of finishing his meal, Faramir had fallen asleep.
So, slowly and gently standing up, Diamond walking him to her room. There, standing near to her side of the large bed, was a wooden cot. This was where Faramir slept.
There was a single window showing the dark world outside. A fiery heath had been planted in the wall. There were a few random crackles and pops as the wood continued to burn.
Diamond placed her sleeping son in his cot and tucked him in. She smiled as she looked at him. Diamond felt a warmth in her heart.
"Well, if Pippin isn't going to love me, I will always have you" she said.
She kissed her son on the head and walked to the door. Diamond stopped and looked back for a moment. Her son was a very deep sleeper.
Diamond left the door open, just in case Faramir was to wake. She slowly walked down the corridor to the kitchen. The house was now incredibly quiet. Usually, a small puppy would be seeking her attention. But this had not happened in a while.
Origo had left her, Diamond did not know why or where he had gone. Diamond yawned as she entered the kitchen again.
"I guess I should start washing up" she thought, picking up the empty bowl that stood on the table.
Meanwhile, the snow was covering the top of the hills. Only the chimneys sprouting out of the ground gave away the comfortable lives that Hobbits led.
Peregrin Took was looking out of a misted window. He raised his hand and started to rub a small patch. Pippin, as he was usually known, took a deep breath.
The hobbit was deep in thought. He seemed to be in a very different world. He had dug deep into memory to a time of peace. He was younger and considerably shorter then he was now. His only adventure was to the field to play with his friends.
Life away from the Shire was unthinkable.
"But, we'll be late for dinner!" they said.
For food was more important then riches. Hobbits hated being late for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Especially when it was this cold outside.
Pippin took a deep breath and looked down at the small book he had in his grasp. He looked over at a writing desk. There, an ink pot and feather quill waited for him.
So, getting off of his bed, he walked over. His head almost touching the ceiling. Pippin now had to duck down to get through doors.
This was entirely his fault. For he and his friend, Merry Brandybuck, had drunk a very strange liquid. Yes, it may only have been water. But the water was drunk by a very intimidating species.
Ents.
The water had very powerful magic in it. For mortal folk, such as hobbits and men, the water took a very different effect. For any trees that drank it, it would make them come alive.
It was a very unusual sight for most hobbits. But for Merry and Pippin, they missed the walking and talking trees. Especially one that they had known the longest.
Treebeard.
Pippin took a seat and pulled himself in. There was a candle just a foot or two away from him. It gave him enough light to see where to write.
Pip grabbed the quill and ink pot. The ink pot was stained with a dark black liquid. Ink was very valuable to the inhabitants of Hobbiton and even Middle-earth.
Pippin took the stopper out and placed it on the flat surface at the top. A small, shallow bowl had been carved out of the wood that made the surface of the top shelf.
Pippin placed the small inkpot back, along with the stopper. He took a deep breath and opened the book. On its pages, lines of words written in the same black in.
They were skimmed through quickly until a blank page came into view. This was where Pippin would start to write. But first, he would delve deeper into his memory.
Pippin knew exactly where to start. So, dipping the pointed tip of the quill in the sea of black ink, he began to write.
It had been a long journey from Gondor. The next few days were spent resting and sleeping. It was nice to see the light beating down on the green land.
It was a strange feeling. Being back in the Shire. For I had seen so much evil and hate. But, for some reason, I missed it.
Gondor was so beautiful. Even in the worst of times. The city was built with the whitest of stone. But the city was not flat. Instead, it had been built on several levels.
The top level was built for the King and Queen. And that is where I had a life changing moment. The Army Of Sauron was descending on the City.
Wolves, orcs, trolls and men. All worked for the Dark Lord. Towers made of metal and wood were pushed by the ugliest trolls that I have ever seen.
Minus Tirith mustered all of its strength. All available men and boys were called to arms. Even me, simple Peregrin Took of the Shire, was called to arms.
The war of the ring had started and I was thrust right into the middle. I can still hear the roars of the, what seemed like, millions of orcs and men attacking the city.
Large boulders rained on the city causing death, pain and making buildings collapse. Gandalf was somewhere in the city. It took me a while to find him. He was fighting on the front line. And it was there where I had my first encounter with an orc.
"Peregrin Took!" came a voice.
It was Gandalf himself. He looked very tired and dirty. The metal towers, pushed by orcs, were getting ever closer. Loud thumps echoed around as boulders impacted on buildings and made them collapse.
"Go back to the citadel!"
Pippin could see what happened next.
"They called us out to fight" he said, a hint of tiredness on his voice.
Just then, a large orc came bounding towards Pippin. The orc was blood thirsty. But Gandalf had much quicker reactions. He could see the orc heading for the hobbit.
Gandalf only had seconds to act. And act he did. The orc fell dead just feet from where a dazed hobbit stood.
"This is no place for a hobbit!" Gandalf told him.
But it was soon Pippin's turn to act. The orcs were coming in bloodthirsty, ravenous groups, killing as they went. Gandalf was busy with other orcs. So busy, in fact, that he did not see an orc approaching him from behind.
Just as the wizard was about to turn, Pippin grabbed the handle of his sword.
Without thinking about it, Pippin slid the sword out of its holder and drove it deep into the gut of the disgusting creature before him. The orc stopped dead, facing the wizard. Gandalf had stopped dead as well. The orc and the wizard stared into each others eyes.
A moment later, the orc started to fall backwards from where it stood. Pippin stood there, black blood dripping slowly down the once shiny and clean blade.
Gandalf gave a smile, knowing that this made Pippin's courage was finally blooming.
"Guard of the Citadel indeed" he said, an encouraging glint twinkled in his eye.
"Now, back up the hill, quickly"
Pippin hesitated for a moment, his eyes on his sword.
"Quickly"
This seemed to snap him out of his daze. Pippin stepped back and turned. The roars quietened as Pippin ran away.
The screams of orcs and men were now only a memory. They existed, now, only in his memory. Pippin took a deep breath as he wrote the last few words.
"Done" he said to himself.
He read over the page that he was on and then closed it. For some reason, Pippin was happier then he had been in a while. Writing that particular passage in his life had drawn what felt like a very large weight off of him. For he had not spoken his memories to anyone else. Not even to Diamond or his own mother.
Pippin was now feeling a tad bit tired. The clock on the wall told him the time. An hour 'til a new day began.
"I guess a small bite to eat and then bed" he told himself, getting up.
His room was warm, but dark. The candles, which had been burning since they had been lit, were now millimetres from going out. But this did not concern Pippin much.
Pippin's mother and father were fast asleep. The door to their room was closed. Both were sleeping deeply and peacefully.
Pip smiled as he reached the colder kitchen. The fire in the heath was burning, yet it did not help battle the coldness. Pippin made a bee-line straight for the cellar.
He placed his hand on the handle. The cellar was full to the brim with very delicious food and exquisite ales. Pippin picked up a candle and walked inside. He smiled as he walked past shelves and shelves of food.
The hobbit homed in on one of the last few shelves. The candle light flickered, making the shadows dance around the small room.
A minute later, Pippin walked out, both hands gripping packets of food. In two of the paper bags, slices of cooked chicken. In another, a bar of milky chocolate made by his mother.
Pippin sighed as he walked out of the room. He closed the door behind him with a spare finger. The hobbit walked back down to his room and quietly closed the door.
Pippin still felt like he shouldn't eat in his room. He still expected his mother to burst into the room and give him a good telling off.
But it did not happen. Yet this did not mean that Pippin would still look at the door every so often. The packets, which had been made from thin paper, were ripped off.
Pip smiled, picking up the juicy chicken. He smiled and started to eat. The taste of chicken after a long day was very soothing. Piece after piece was eaten until, only a few minutes after he started, the packet was empty.
Luckily, Pippin had a second packet. This one was harder to get into. His fingers did not create the same grip as before. After a few seconds, a small rip travelled down one side of the packet.
A succulent piece of chicken fell onto the bed. Pippin breathed heavily and picked it up.
"Hmm" he thought, inspecting the piece that had fallen on the bed.
It did not take him long for make his mind up. So, he ate the piece that he held in his hand. Pippin ate very quickly indeed. The ticking clock echoed around him. A pop and crackle met his ears. The minute hand was now pointing towards the number six.
"Maybe the rest can wait 'til morning" Pippin thought.
This seemed to be a good idea. For Pippin's stomach was now calm. Pippin screwed up the two packets and placed them on the small bedside table.
Pippin then got undressed and placed his white dressing gown on. The gown seemed to have a larger effect on Pippin as he blew out the candles. He then made his way to his bed.
The duvet was then lifted and drew back. Pip slipped into bed and pulled the covers over him. His head hit the pillow. A yawn came over him, his eyes continuing to fell heavier and heavier.
The clock showed fifteen minutes to midnight. It did not take long for Pippin to fall asleep as he lay between the warm duvet and the soft mattress. Warmth was very welcome in the winter months when the weather was colder.