Ivy and Origo had been walking for most of the freezing night. The snow, which was laying on the frozen ground was deep. It was so deep that Origo struggled to walk. His tiny paws were weighed down with the snow clinging to them.
Ori's small pink tongue was hanging out as he bounded through the deep layer of snow. The snow around the fairy and pup was deep and untouched.
The snow was now easing up. But there were more hours to come. The sky, for all directions, was just a carpet of white. The visibility was cut down to only a few hundred meters.
But, there was a break in the solid white wall. The trees broke up the sky line, standing like grey towers out of the white ground.
Snow was thinner on the ground in large, ancient forests. The trees had a band of snow running down one side of the tree indicating the direction the wind came from.
Prints were visible in the thin crust of snow laying on the freezing soil. Drips were falling from the leafless canopy above. Birds were still fluttering around.
Big, black Crows, small Robins and Coal Tits. There were still bushes of green that attracted bird life. For there were small red berries. The bush seemed to be teeming with life. Birds for miles around fluttered to the food. But this bush was not only one growing.
There were many more bushes full of the reddest berries. Yet birds were not the only animals to feed off of them. Small deer wondered freely through the forest along with red coated foxes.
In the depths of night, large nocturnal Owls fluttered without a whisper from their large wings. They swooped down like ghosts. Their target had only a few milliseconds to react. But it was not enough.
Large, sharp talons came down and imprisoned the small mouse. It was then taken away, shrieking in terror. But nothing would save it from the Owl above it.
But this was a natural cycle in the forests all around Middle-earth. Creatures would live to feed others. But now, as the sun rose, the owls flew back to their roosts.
This left the day for the other animals. But some were still up, away from their dens and nests. Foxes were still seen, scavenging for any morsels of food that had not been consumed.
Origo and Ivy continued towards an unknown bridge. But this was not the first time Origo had crossed this bridge. That memory would return soon enough. But for now, it was hidden in the depth of his mind.
A small whimper came from the puppy who had stopped in the coldness. Ivy took a few seconds to notice this. She was concentrating too much on flying.
"Puppy?" she asked, fluttering back.
The wind made it easier for her to fluttering back, pushing in the right direction. The small fairy landed near by the small pup.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
Origo gave a small whimper. He was visibly shivering.
"Are you cold?" she asked.
The pup gave her a look, confirming his coldness.
"I'm hungry too" he whined, making unintentional puppy eyes.
Ivy could not resist this cuteness. But then, she needed to get moving. They had to cover as much distance as possible.
Easier said then done.
The snow had slowed Origo's progress. His little legs and paws were no match for the amount of snow that he had to walk trough.
It was much easier for Ivy to move. But even then, she had the strong, bitter wind to contend with. Her small wings gave her just enough power to flutter in the direction that she needed to go.
"Well, lets just go a little bit further and then we can have food" Ivy said.
But Origo's stubbornness came into play. His looked changed to one of disapproval.
"But, I'm hungry now!" he whined.
Ivy did not like the tone Origo was talking to her in.
"Now, puppy. We've been over this. You'll get food when you behave" Ivy told him.
Ivy knew that she was now going to have to argue with him. Once Origo had made his choice, there would be nothing to change his mind.
"But why, I haven't eaten yet!" he whined, getting very annoyed.
Ivy knew that she had fed Origo already. He always needed his turkey when he woke up. But sometimes this was not enough. Sometimes Origo would feel like he needed another plate of turkey. And today was no different.
"Puppy, I gave you a large plate of turkey right before we left!" Ivy told him.
Origo gave this a seconds thought.
"Then why not give me another one?" he asked.
Ivy was getting very annoyed now.
Should she give in?
"It might be easier, then we can get going" she thought.
Ivy took a deep breath, coming to an answer.
"Puppy, if I give you turkey, will you continue walking with me?" she asked.
Origo had to think about this for a moment. After a few seconds, he nodded. Ivy gave him a big smile as a plate of warm, juicy turkey appeared right in front of Origo's little wet nose.
The puppy started to eat a split second later. Ivy giggled, still amazed at the speed this small pup was eating. All through out the land, food was being consumed. None more then in the Shire.
Rosie was standing at the hot oven. The news that she was expecting another baby gave her a warm feeling inside. But her other children did not know.
For now, only Samwise and her knew. And that's the way that they would keep it.
Elanor, the oldest of the Gamgee's, entered the room. Tiredness could be seen trying to pull her back into a world of dreams. But food pulled her more towards the wakening world.
The young girl took her seat along with her younger siblings. Frodo had yet to show himself, even with Samwise asking him to get up every so often.
Rosie had made the same delicious breakfast as yesterday. Bacon, crispy chips, eggs, mushrooms, sausages and toasted bread. All were on their own plates, ready to be dished up.
"Dig in" Rosie said, smiling.
Samwise came in, fully dressed. He said not a word as he walked to his place. The children were also quiet. Rosie was dishing out the mushrooms.
"More!" Merry said, looking at the large pile on his plate.
But Rosie did not.
"More, more, more!" he said, getting angry.
"Now, now" Sam said, looking at his son.
Merry took a huff and sat back. Rosie moved on to her next child. Elanor picked up a plate full of warm sausages. She loved breakfast as much as she did lunch or dinner.
A crispy piece of toast was taken from the metal toast rack. A creamy block of butter had been laid out on the table. But it was too far out of reach.
"Could you pass the butter, please?" Elanor asked.
Rosie smiled, standing up and picking up the butter. She then passed it over to her oldest daughter.
"Thank you" Elanor said, taking it with both hands.
A silver spreading knife had been cut into the soft butter. Elanor grasped the handle. She smiled as a crunchy sound erupted as she started to spread the butter.
The toast slowly melted butter. But it was not hot enough to melt all of it. Elanor finished spreading and picked it up.
She surveyed the toast for a second, then took a large bite. The butter had seeped through to the heart of the thin slice.
Rosie continued to dish out the food. Elanor's plate began to look tempting indeed. The sausages were brown and juicy, perfect for taming hungry stomachs.
Mushrooms were Elanor's favourite by far. Rosie knew how to cook them perfectly. For she had many years of practice. She had learn all she knew from her mother. She had spent many hours watching and cooking meals.
Rosie had cut potatoes into chips. They turned a golden brown colour as they fried. Rosie smiled, flipping each one of them over.
The bacon was the last thing to start cooking. The scent of the bacon seemed to over power every smell before it. But, to Rosie, it only lasted a few minutes.
Her nose got used to it, unlike Samwise who could smell it as he walked in the room. The rashers were now cooling on one of the plates. But the quantity was slowly decreasing as more rashers were being consumed.
Elanor smiled as her mother placed a few hot chips on her plate.
"Thank you" Elanor said.
Rosie was finally ready to eat, having made sure all of her children had been dished out a fare amount of food. As always, there was no talking around meals times. Everyone was enjoying Rosie's cooking.
The wooden clock gently chimed on the wall. Nine times it did so. The chimes rang out around the kitchen. Elanor looked over at the clock to see the hour hand pointing at nine and the minute hand pointing up towards the twelve.
There were no schools in the Shire. Rosie and Sam had pasted down what they knew to their children. Most hobbits had learnt to write because of their parents.
In the summer months, boys and girls of every ages were taken out into the heat of day. Each mother and father had a responsibility to teach their children the ways that their own mothers and fathers had taught them.
The young hobbit lads would be taught either gardening or wood work. Young Frodo Gamgee would start this in the summer.
Rosie Gamgee was, due to the weather being cold, teaching Elanor, Frodo, Merry and Rose how to spell and write.
Today was one of the days that Rosie taught her children. Samwise could do nothing but watch. The time of year was not right for gardening.
Breakfast took another half an hour to eat. And, in that time, all of the children, plus Rosie and Sam, were now full and happy. Their hunger had been tamed. But the beast of hunger would only be tamed for a few hours.
"Remember that you have to learn your writing today" Rosie said, looking at Merry and Rose.
Merry and Rose seemed to have the best relationship out of the Gamgee siblings. Where as Elanor and Frodo did not.
The two of them had a love-hate relationship. At times, there was peace between them. Both Frodo and Elanor nearly always tried to get each other into trouble.
Right now, Elanor was the one that was in trouble. But it was no fault of Frodo's. She had gotten into her own mess.
Elanor had, just a few days before, had stolen one of her father's most precious possessions.
The Red Book.
The book was very special to Sam. He counted it as priceless. Even Rosie was not allowed to read it. But read it was exactly what Elanor did.
"Elanor?" he asked, spotting the book.
Elanor froze, her and her father's eyes were locked on each others.
"Where did you get that?"
There was a moment of stunned silence.
"I… I…" Elanor said, but she could not muster the words.
"Is that…" Samwise started.
"Is that my book?" he asked.
Elanor's words had disappeared. She could see confusion slowly turn into anger in her father's eyes.
"Answer me, is that my book?" repeated her father.
Worry was steadily growing. Elanor gave a small nod, too scared to speak. Sam scowled at his oldest daughter.
"Give me the book, Elanor" he said, taking a few steps forward.
But Elanor was took scared to move. A small tear ran down her face.
"The book, now!" said Sam in a raised voice.
Elanor quickly handed over the book. She could hear her father's breathing. He was very angry at her and she knew it.
"Elanor, do you know what you have done?" he asked.
Sam's voice was stern and to the point. Elanor did not like this one bit.
"Daddy I'm sorry" she said.
But no amount of apologising could make Sam change his mind. But Sam was not the only person that Elanor had to worry about.
Rosie then walked into the room.
"Sam, what's the matter?" she asked.
An apron had been tied around her, keeping her dress clean.
"This one" he said, looking angrily around at his wife.
"Has been into our room!" he snapped.
Rosie was confused.
"Into our room?" she asked, wiping her hands on her apron.
"And she stole this!" he said.
It was then that Rosie saw the book. Her eyes darted from the Red Book, to her daughter.
"Elanor?" Rosie asked.
She could see tears running down her daughter's face. A wave of disappointment washed over her as she took a deep breath.
"Mummy" Elanor whimpered.
But Rosie just slowly shook her head.
"I'm very disappointed in you, Elanor" she said.
Samwise walked out of the room, taking the book with him. There were many things running through his mind. He could hear his children playing in the lounge, just down the hall way.
Samwise thought that he would never see the day where his own daughter stole off of him. But the day had come. Samwise walked into his warm room, the fire was still feeding off of the wood that had been put in there.
The hobbit knelt down and dragged out the wooden box where he had stored the book. It was obviously that Elanor had come into the room. The lid that had sealed the book in the box was askew.
Sam took a deep breath and gently placed the priceless book inside. He took a deep breath and placed the lid on top.
Meanwhile, Rosie had closed the bedroom door and took a deep breath. Just then, an angry looking Sam came marching back.
"Sam, we need to talk about this" Rosie said.
But Sam was not interested.
"She needs to be punished" he said.
Rosie did not like the sound of this.
"But, she's only a child" she pointed out.
To Sam, this was obvious.
"I know that. That is why she has to start learning what is right and wrong" he said.
Rosie took a deep breath, sighing almost.
"I know she did wrong, but I also know that she wont like what you have to say"
"She wont like what ever I say to her. Anyhow, I've already made up my mind" Sam said.
Rosie knew that she could not intervene in the next set of events. She watched as her husband walked out of sight.
Elanor was silently sobbing on her bed. Her arms around her knees, tears glittered in the light of the candles as they ran down her perfect complexion.
The opening door made little Elanor jump. Her heart raced as she saw her father come in a close the door. The figure of her father was very intimidating to little Elanor.
"What have you got to say for yourself?" her father asked.
His calmness was even more terrifying. Elanor's mouth was dry, she dared talk. Sam knew that Elanor had no good reason.
"Do you know how much trouble you have gotten yourself into?" Sam asked.
He saw his daughter shake her head.
"I have decided to ground you" he said.
This made the small girl jump up off her bed.
"What? Why?" she asked in surprise.
"As I have said before, you are not allowed to be in my room. Not only have you broken one rule, but you've broken two!" Samwise said with a raised voice.
Elanor was now very much crying. She was incredibly sorry, but her parents did not seem to see it.
"I'm sorry" she whimpered, standing there.
"Sorry wont fix it, you'll be allowed out in one weeks time" he said.
Elanor was now feeling very angry and upset.
"A whole week?" she asked through sobs.
Her large eyes were glinting in the candle light.
"A whole week" Sam repeated.
Samwise knew that his daughter would start to argue. So, without a chance for Elanor to say anything, Sam left the room, closing the door behind him.
Elanor just stood there, she still couldn't believe what she had just heard. She wanted ever so much to go and argue. But she knew that she would only lose.
Rosie was now in the kitchen, washing up after dinner. She turned her head as Samwise entered the room. Sam headed straight for the cellar.
A large mug of ale was needed to calm his nerves. Rosie heard the cupboard door behind her open and close. She knew exactly what he was doing.
The last plate was immersed in the water, which had slowly turned from clean to murky. Samwise held a mug in one hand and a flickering candle in the other.
A minute or two later, he emerged from the cellar. Rosie had left the room, leaving the plates dripping wet. She had, in fact, gone to see her oldest daughter.
Elanor was still crying as she lay hunched up on the bed. Small whimpers were coming from her as she lay there. Rosie felt sorry for poor little Elanor. But then, her daughter had done wrong and there were consequences for doing wrong.
"Elanor?" Rosie asked gently.
Deep down, Elanor was at a fork. She wanted her mother there, but then the other part did not. Rosie slowly walked over to her daughter's bed and sat on the edge.
"Are we going to talk?" she asked.
Rosie's voice seemed very calming to the young girl. Elanor gave two blinks before sitting up. Her eyes were like large marbles in the flickering light.
In the kitchen, Samwise had poured out a very big mug of ale. It was then that a thought came into his head. This thought was important enough to tare him away from his ale.
His other children had been put to bed long before the events that had happened. All but Elanor and Frodo remained awake.
Rosie and Elanor were both sitting on the bed. Elanor's head was resting on her mother's shoulder.
Just a minute before, Elanor and Rosie had been talking.
"Daddy doesn't love me any more" Elanor whimpered.
Rosie sighed, holding her daughter close. Rosie's hair flowed down her shoulders. The colour of both Rosie's and Elanor's hair was exactly the same. It was rather hard to distinguish where Rosie's hair ended and Elanor's hair began.
"No, Elanor, he's just very protective of it. Just like he is with you" Rosie explained.
"All I did was want to read how daddy helped Mr. Frodo!" Elanor said.
Rosie knew that her children were very imaginative and adventurous. Imagination and the adventurousness was fuelled by her father's telling of fairy tales.
Elanor only had one more day of staying in before she could go out and enjoy the snow. Breakfast had been large and filling. A large mug of cool water had been placed out.
Elanor smiled as she took a few large mouthfuls. She gulped down the water. A few seconds later, she placed the mug back down and took a deep breath.
She could still see a few morsels of food on the plates. Rosie knew that one helping of food would not be enough for her children. Especially Elanor and Frodo.
"Can I have some more, please?" Elanor asked, smiling sweetly at her mother.
Rosie gave a deep breath.
"I suppose so, but not too much. Remember, the others might want more" she said.
Elanor smiled and nodded. She picked up the plate of chips and knocked a few onto her plate. The second helping of food had near enough no heat left. But, this did not stop Elanor, or Frodo for that matter, from eating it.
Sibling rivalry then started to show as they fought to load their plates. But this was not unseen by Rosie. She gave a gentle cough to catch their attention.
Elanor and Frodo instantly stopped, both looking at their mother. Rosie gave a look that both Frodo and Elanor could understand.
Elanor smiled as she started to eat again. Frodo seemed to do the same. There were only small morsels of food on the plates now. No more sausages were laying there, waiting to be served. Only the smallest pieces of crispy bacon were left. It was not even a mouthful for a mouse.
The brown toast was now down to only a few cold pieces. The mushrooms had now all been consumed. In fact, there was no evidence that they had even had mushrooms.
There were still a few eggs left. But they were quickly taken by Samwise. Rosie had the last of the chips. Her offer of cooking more was heartily rejected. Everyone was very full.
Elanor's sprits were soaring. The prospect of freedom and a chance to go outside came to her. She had been very bored and lonely in the house.
She missed her friends.
"The first thing I'm going to do is build the most massive snow hobbit" she told herself.
And there a lot of snow. The children that were out were finding it hard to walk anywhere. In fact, it was too cold to go out.
Gloria took a deep breath as she lay on her bed. The window showed nothing but a sheet of white cloud. She too would spend another day without her best friend, Elanor.
Gloria looked up to Elanor a lot. They had known of each other since they could remember. The two of them equally loved horses and had many small wooden statues of them.
But neither of them told each other that they were scared to go near one. For they were very small and horses were very large.
An adventure erupted in the mind of Gloria. She smiled as she rolled over and slid off the bed.
"We could!" she said, picking up her horse.
She smiled, scurrying back to the bed.
"That's a brilliant idea, horsey!" she said, agreeing with an idea that was now taking form.
The room transformed in front of her very eyes. Rivers flowed down valleys. Grass grew greener then anything young Gloria had ever seen.
The coldness of winter was far away, replaced by the warmth of a summer breeze. Gloria was standing on a sloping hill, over looking a large valley. A silver band snaked its way through the valley.
The river had a strong current as it washed over rocks older then time itself. On one side of deep valley was a large mountain. Its jagged peaks topped with snow.
Gloria then had an idea.
"Why don't we go to the mountains?" she asked the horse.
Even in her imagination, the horse was still the same size and still made out of wood.
"But, its dangerous up there!" the horse told her.
This did not stop Gloria. A heavy weight then grabbed her. A strap hung over each shoulder. It was a bag full of food. Gloria smiled as, magically, her hand wrapped tightly around a small walking stick.
"Lets get going" she said, looking down at the horse.
Everything in her world was magic. The wooden horse, that had once been standing as still as a pillar of rock, was now dancing around the girls large, hairy feet.
Grass was very green as the two of them made their way down towards the silver river. The sun shone down on the warm girl as she walked.
A few minutes had past since she left her starting point. Gloria could see trees lining the bottom of the valley like a carpet. She smiled, looking down at the light brown horse that had now stopped and looked around.
"We'll stop when we get to the trees" Gloria said.
The horse nodded and bounded off a few more yards. Gloria smiled as she continued walking down to the valley. But the valley was starting to get much more dangerous. The further she made her way down, the steeper the hill became. In some places, there were large crevasses she had to jump.
These were easy to jump over. But what she did not realise was that this was only a taster of what was to come. Steep cliffs soaked by water from near by waterfalls.
In her room, Gloria was now standing on her bed. She looked down at the floor. She took a deep breath as she looked down at the horse, now laying at her feet.
"It's a long way down" she said, shaking her head.
"Are you sure we can make it?" the horse asked.
Gloria was not sure. The rocks were slippery and wet. The little girl knew that there was no other way down.
"Yes" Gloria said, sounding confident in herself.
The horse was then picked up. Gloria had no other option other then to jump. She took a deep breath. So, without thinking, Gloria jumped.
Her flowery dress waved as she fell through the air. A second clicked over on the clock. The young girl landed on the cold tiled floor.
She was now safe.
A smile came over her, looking back at the bed she had just jumped off. The horse was then set down.
"I think" said Gloria, looking around.
She had landed on a flat ledge she had jump lumped onto.
"I think we should have some food"
The horse smiled and nodded in agreement. Gloria slowly took off her pack and propped her walking stick on the edge of the small cliff.
Meanwhile, Origo was on a very dangerous journey. The coldness, like many timed before, had started to slow the puppy down.
His fur was soaking wet, making his going hard. He could feel the cold drips touching the skin under his warm coat. But, Origo was not alone in this perilous journey.
A small green fairy was struggling to stay with him. Ivy could flutter a bit easier now. The wind was slowly dying down.
Origo did not belong outside in the coldness. Of course, he did not know this. For the small puppy had lost his memory. And Ivy was the cause. But now, she was trying her hardest to make up for the things she had done.
A small whine came from Origo as he stopped again. Ivy took a deep breath, knowing that food was needed.
"Puppy, we will stop soon" she said, shaking her head.
But Origo did not want food this time. He was very wet and very cold. It took a few seconds for the little fairy to understand that Origo was shaking and whimpering.
"Sorry, pup" she said.
A pleasant wave of warmth seemed to magically wash over the small pup. Origo was glad that he was now warm. But the warmth did not seem to last long. Ivy was not a very powerful fairy. But the warmth that she provided made travailing in the coldness very durable.
Ivy smiled as she saw her playful pup return back to normal. But she had other problems to worry about. The two of them had fallen a behind schedule.
Ivy was worried that Origo would not make it to Radagast. She knew that this journey would take a few months to a few years.
Ivy did not know how much Origo meant to his owner, Diamond. Diamond was not only missing Origo. But she was also missing Peregrin.
A small book lay on her bedside table. It had been unopened. But not ignored. Diamond took a deep breath as she lay her sleeping son in his cot.
"Maybe I should read just a little bit" she said.
The hobbit walked over to it. The fire was flickering in the heath, reflecting in her large blue eyes. The book was picked up. It had a bland cover, no titles could be seen.
"I think a nice mug of tea as well" she told herself as she walked out of the room.
Her feet slapped on the tiled floor as made her way down to the kitchen. The kettle was standing on the cold floor, waiting to be used again.
It already looked like it had been used for many years before. There were deep cracks in the bottom, evidence of the many times that it had been subjected to fire.
But this did not stop Diamond from using it. She picked it up and walked over to the sink. The house was very quiet.
Too quiet for her liking.
Diamond needed someone to look after. Pippin and Faramir were enough for her. But now, her house seemed very big and very empty.
The sound of running water erupted from the tap. This seemed to calm Diamond down. She smiled as the water started to fill the old kettle. The kettle started to become heavier and heavier.
Diamond could see bubbles popping as the level of water continued to rise. She smiled, turning the tap off and waiting a few more seconds.
The surface of the water seemed to calm down almost instantly. Diamond took a deep breath as she turned around and walked to the heath. The fire was now feeding off of the last bit of wood it could get.
Diamond slowly and carefully placed the kettle on the cold floor. A small metal basket held the wood. Diamond picked up a few small logs and placed it in the fire.
She smiled, seeing the fire heat up the wood and slowly start to burn. The flames steadily grew and grew. The flames seemed to dance around, getting more and more agitated.
Diamond smiled as she felt the heat rise and tickle her face. The kettle was then picked up and gently placed on the metal hook. Diamond smiled, turning around and heading towards the cellar.
Sugar and tea leaves were in need. The cellar door gave a small creek as it was pushed open. The difference of temperature was very noticeable as Diamond walking in.
She did not have to spend too much time in this coldness before coming back out with the things she wanted. The water in the kettle was now bubbling gently. A small sliver mist floated upwards and vanished.
Diamond took a deep breath. She stood there, waiting for the water to heat up. After a minute of doing nothing, Diamond strung into life.
Her hunger was starting to grow. She knew exactly the thing to make her hunger disappear. Diamond smiled as she entered the cellar for the second time.
Her trip was even shorter. For she needed only one object. A large muffin she had cooked the day before. In fact, it was the last muffin left.
The water was now bubbling gently. This was a sign that it was almost ready to be poured into the large mug. Diamond took out a plate and ripped open the thin paper packet that was keeping the muffin fresh.
It took a few minutes to get the tea ready. But ready it was. Diamond could now sit down and read Pippin's book.
Diamond placed the very full mug on the table mat. Pippin's book lay just inches away. The chair scrapped along the tilted floor.
Diamond sat down and looked at Pippin's book. Her hand slowly moved towards it. She could feel the cover. It was made of leather.
She picked it up and held it before her. Diamond slowly opened the cover. The first page reviled only six words.
The Memories Of Diamond And Pippin.
This gave but a small hint as to what Diamond was to expect. Diamond slowly flicked over the page and set her eyes upon a large amount of writing.
"Oh Pippin" she said, taking a breath.
Her eyes started to read the first lines.
It was the year 3001. The date, September 22nd. Music and fireworks filled the sky as both Bilbo and Frodo Baggins celebrated their joint birthday.