"He's coming back" Ivy said, hearing the calls of the crow.
But the little robin was now very twitchy. He knew what had been coming ever since the crow had left.
"They are coming for him" the robin said, spotting lots of black figures gliding through the trees.
Ivy knew exactly what this meant.
"Coming for Origo?" Ivy asked, her gaze then met the large flock heading their way.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
The robin knew that he had made a mistake. He now realised that Origo was not that dangerous.
"We have to get him out of here" he tweeted, looking around.
Ivy slowly stood up.
"You have to get me to him" she said.
But the robin knew that they could not get there in time.
"I cant!" the robin told her, realising that he could not get Ivy to where she needed.
"Yes you can, please?" she asked.
The crows were now only a few seconds away from Origo and their intentions were not amicable. What happened next happened in slow motion for the small pup.
A large bird swooped down and flew right into him. Ivy saw this from the branch that she was standing on.
"No!" she shouted, seeing Origo get knocked over.
Bird after bird attacked the small pup.
"Run, Origo, run!" Ivy shouted.
Origo could barely hear the fairy over the rabble of crows now attacking him. The robin knew that now was the time to act.
"Hold on to me, I can fly you over there" the robin told her.
Worry was now spreading through Ivy. Nothing could get her to the pup quick enough. But holding onto the robin was the quickest way right now.
"Are you sure?" Ivy asked, having doubts.
The robin knew that they did not have much time. He had seen the full wrath of the flock of crows. And he knew exactly what their aim was.
"If you want to save your friend, it is the best way" he said.
Meanwhile, a young girl was sitting on a horse. Her hands were bound by a tight rope. But she was not alone of the horse. Sitting behind her and holding onto the reigns, was a large man.
He had kidnapped the girl from Bree the night before and was taking her back to a dirty inn a days ride away. Their goal was almost an hour away now.
The young girl had only had minimal sleep during the freezing night. Food had not been eaten.
"Your not worthy of this food" the man told her.
The young girl's head bobbed a few times. Each time, she would wake from her shallow bout of sleep. The coldness was numbing nearly every muscle she had. Her ears were tingling and her fingers did not seem to move.
Her dress and hair were now dirty again. Small spots of mud had impacted with the girls face. Her vision was blurred every so often. The trees seemed larger and more prominent as they rushed past.
Sleep once again enveloped the girl. And, like before it slipped away from her. But this time, it was no her fault. Instead, the horse had started to slow down to a stop.
A large black block could be seen. Sounds were now just echoes in her head.
"Get off" the man said, pushing her off.
The girl fell and landed on the cold snow. Pain did not seem to register with the girl any more. She had no energy to move or even talk.
"On your feet!" the man shouted.
But no help came. An evil smile came over him. The young girl did not move or even make a sound.
"Very well then" he said, grabbing her hair.
The young girl, instead of being lifted to her feet, was being dragged along by her hair. The girl could do nothing about being dragged away from the stables.
"Come on!" the man shouted.
Just then, the back door opened. An old woman came out.
"I see she agreed on coming back" she said, an evil smile came over her.
She knew that the girl had not come by her own steam.
"Get her in, I need to talk to her" the woman said.
The man nodded and continued to drag the girl. The man heaved her over the threshold and closed the door behind him.
"Get her upstairs" the woman said.
She had many plans for the girl. Each more painful then the last. She smiled as the man stood the girl up on her feet.
"Get up there" he said, pushing her.
But the girl just fell. No energy could be mustered to start climbing. The man gave a small smile, he then walked up a few stairs.
"You are very silly" he said.
Once again, he grabbed the girl's hair again and dragged her up the stairs. The warmth of the building she was in seemed to slowly sink into her skin. But this was as warm as it was going to get as the man dragged her up the last few steps.
A door creaked open as the girl was dragged into her room.
"You silly little girl, your better off here" the man told her.
Without another word, the man walked out and slammed the door behind him. The girl lay in the middle of the floor, hands still bound.
She could hear talking coming up through the floor boards. Even if she had her strength, she could not understand what they were talking about.
Food was desperately needed. Be it just a morsel. But there was no chance of food being brought to her and she knew it.
Hobbiton was now awake and waiting for lunch to tick over. A young girl was laughing as she ran in the snow. Elanor laughed as a snowball hit one of her friends square on the back.
"Good shot, Elanor!" said another girl.
Gloria was running along side her taller friend. A group of boys were running after them. Elanor and Gloria had split off from the rest of the group. She and Gloria were now the main targets.
But Elanor was not going to just give in to the boys snowy attack. The field was edged by a winding wooden fence. Skeletons of summer plants hung over the wooden planks.
The lush greenness of the fields around Hobbiton had turned to whiteness.
"Quickly!" Elanor said, seeing that the boys were slowly catching up.
The two girls slid through a small gap in the dead bushes. Even though the hobbit boys could not see the two girls any more, they seemed to know exactly where they were going.
Elanor gave a smile as she continued to run. Reinforcements were standing right in front of her. Four more girls, about the same age, were standing there.
"About time!" said one of Elanor's friends.
"We got cut off, the boys are right behind us" Elanor told them.
In fact, this was only a small part of the truth. The boys had split into two groups. They were going to hit the girls with snow balls from two directions.
But one little boy was missing from the pack. Young Frodo Gamgee was standing on a chair, looking out of the small round window to the outside world.
Everywhere he looked, he could see hobbits either talking or playing. This made him very upset. He wanted to go back out in the snow, but his mother would not let him.
"But why?" he whined, following his mother into the kitchen.
Rosie took a deep breath.
"Because your still recovering" she told him for the umpteenth time.
"But I don't feel ill anymore, I'm fine" he told her.
But Rosie was not going to give in that easily.
"Give it another week, then we'll see about you heading out again" she told him.
This seemed very, very unfair.
"But, Elanor got to go out!" he pointed out.
Rosie knew that he still had cards to play.
"I know she has, but she has done her punishment and was allowed to" Rosie said.
Frodo seemed to take this the wrong way.
"So, you keeping me in to punish me?" he asked, his eye wheeling up.
Rosie took a deep breath, knowing that what she had just said did not sound how she wanted it to.
"Frodo, I don't mean it like that" she said.
But, before she could explain herself, her oldest son turned and scooted out. And, in the process of doing so, nearly ran into father.
"Slow down, lad!" he said, not noticing that his son was actually crying.
Sam took a deep breath, shaking his head.
"What is the matter with him?" Sam asked, entering the kitchen.
Rosie took a deep breath.
"I told him he couldn't go out" she said.
Sam was a bit confused at what she had just said.
"Well, he's still not back to himself" he told her.
Rosie gave a small nod.
"Well, the thing is, I might have told him the wrong thing" Rosie answered.
"How?" asked Sam.
Frodo Gamgee was now laying on his bed. A range of emotions were surfacing in the young boy's heart.
Hatred.
He hated the fact that his parents were still punishing him for something that he did not mean to do.
Confusion.
He needed to get out of the house. He had been stuck in for too long.
Sadness.
"Why don't they love me?" he asked himself.
This only made the sadness stronger then before. This sadness seemed to turn slowly into hatred and the cycle repeated again.
Frodo's mood did not improve when the door to his room opened. Standing at the door was his father.
"Frodo?" Sam asked, standing there for a second or two.
Frodo gave a small huff and turned over so that he was not facing him. Samwise took a deep breath and walked in regardless of what his son thought.
The door gave a small click as Samwise shut it.
"We need to talk" he told him.
The fire in the heath looked very healthy as it danced, letting out a pleasant warmth. The chair was gently picked up and placed nearer the bed.
"Frodo?" his father asked.
But still, there was no movement from the boy. Sam knew that his son could continue to ignore him.
"Your mother did not mean what she said" he told his son, regardless of being heard or not.
"Do you want to know what she meant?" Samwise asked.
Frodo took a deep breath. He did not want to know what his mother meant. What ever they said was lies.
"Your mother is just looking out for you. What happened a few weeks ago, we are very frightened about what else could happen"
Frodo slowly sat up and looked at his father.
"You don't trust me, do you?" he slowly asked.
Samwise took a deep breath.
"We trust all of our children. We trust them until they do wrong"
Frodo could not figure out what his father was saying.
"But, I broke your trust, I went over the bridge when you told me not too!" he said.
Samwise knew this. Discussions had been made about what they would do. But they had thought better of it.
"And you were very lucky to get away with it, you could have been killed!" Samwise told him.
"Lucky to get away with it" thought Frodo.
"But, if I'm not being punished, then I am allowed to go out" Frodo told him.
Samwise took a deep breath.
"Frodo, you still need to recover from it, a few more days and you'll be allowed out" Samwise told him.
"A few days?" asked Frodo, his voice had a hint of anger in it.
"Why a few days?"
Samwise took a deep breath. He knew that he did not have to go into detail. Detail that Frodo had already been told.
"Frodo, I am not going over this again. If you misbehave, it'll be even longer" Sam said.
Frodo had never been so angry in his life. Sam stood up from his chair and made his way towards the door. Sam opened it and walked out.
But, as he went to close the door, something that he thought he would never hear from any of his family met his ears.
"I hate you!" Frodo screamed, tears running down his face.
Sam stood there for a moment, he could not believe what he had just heard. But he had. Yet the impact of those words had not sunk in.
Samwise entered the kitchen, taking a deep inhale of breath.
"How did it go?" Rosie asked.
She had now started preparing lunch. A large delivery of food had been taken in just an hour or two before. A few wicker baskets of food were still laying near the entrance of the cellar.
There was no answer. Instead, Samwise made a bee-line for the cupboard. Rosie noticed that Sam's mood had changed.
"Sam?" she asked.
Rosie gently put the cutting knife down and wiped her hands on the apron that had been tied around her. Samwise seemed to completely ignore his wife.
Rosie took a deep breath, knowing that something had gone wrong. Samwise opened the cellar door. But, before he walked in, he grabbed a mounted candle to light the way.
His wife stood there momentarily, wanting to find out more. But she had to let it go, for now. So, picking up the knife again, she continued to prepare lunch.
Sam placed the candle on the floor and slowly squatted down. He placed the mug on the floor and turned the tap on. For some reason, the sound of the mug filling with ale made his thinking easier.
"My own son, hates me" he told himself.
The ale was getting deeper and deeper. It seemed to take a shorter time then normal. The tap was turned off, stopping the flowing ale.
Sam stood up, grabbing the flickering candle in one hand and the mug in the other. Rosie was still chopping an unbelievable amount of carrots, parsnips and potatoes.
Samwise took a deep breath and sat down. He was only carrying the mug now, the candle had been placed back on its small shelf.
"So" Rosie said, turning around.
"What happened?" she asked.
Samwise took a deep breath. He was deep in thought. Three words continued to circle in his head. He could not shake them off.
"He hates me" Sam said glumly, picking up his mug and taking a big swig.
Rosie took a deep breath, knowing how much impact this had on husband. His son was very dear to him. Frodo Gamgee had been named after one of Sam's most valued friend.
"Should I have a word with him?" Rosie asked.
Sam slowly shook his head.
"I think we should leave him to calm down a bit" Samwise told her.
Hours past since the event that changed everything. The sun had now set on another day. The coldness seemed even more harsher on the land, hardening soft snow.
Origo was now laying in a treeless area, still alone and without vital warmth and food. He had been running for many hours, away from danger.
Exhaustion had now got to the pup. His body was now shutting down. His heart was beating slower then normal. His head seemed very empty and light. Every so often, echoes of the outside world would meet him.
The small puppy seemed to be at ease in this dark world. Hunger, tiredness and coldness had all been forgotten. Origo was just an hour from passing the silver curtain.
Only one creature knew of his whereabouts. A small robin had fluttered to him.
"Oh no"
Ivy was still walking through the cold snow. She had seen the full force of the crows attack. But she had not arrived at the scene quick enough.
Origo had ran away, followed by a big black barrage of calling birds. Origo had to use what energy he had left to get away.
The crows chased him for almost a mile before they started to perch. But Origo continued to run. His breath could be seen coming out of his open mouth.
Every so often, Origo would look back. It was then he noticed the last crow fly and perch on a branch. The crow was silhouetted against the darkening sky.
Origo wondered where he was as he looked around. He was now very far away from where he had started off. Only his paw prints in the snow could be seen weaving through the forest.
Down near the river, Ivy was now standing in the snow. Her wings were still frozen, so the robin had to do all of the flying.
"Can you find him?" Ivy asked.
The robin was hopping around the snowy ground. He was looking at in comparison to himself, a large paw print.
"I will try my best" he tweeted.
Ivy gave a small smile and watched the robin flutter away. Ivy was now on her own again. Birdsong had ceased, something was wrong. The small robin knew that Origo had gone the way he was flying due to the paw prints in the hardening snow.
Ivy was left to follow the tracks by herself. It was very difficult without flying. Her small feet seemed to sink into the snow. But, unlike Origo, no prints were made.
Ivy was very tired. But the fact that Origo was out there spurred her onwards. Only the wind could be heard, trying to take the small fairy with it.
The robin could no longer be seen by Ivy. He was fluttering through the leafless forest as fast as he could. But, the faster he went meant the more energy he used.
The small robin came to rest on a branch, having spent most of his energy of flying.
"Origo?" he called out.
But all that came echoing back was his own song. The small robin had rested enough. He could not give up on the large puppy.
So, the robin set off again. His small wings propelled his through the air. The robin swerved through the pillars of trees.
After a few more minutes, the robin stopped again. Origo's prints continued to wind through the trees, stopping behind trees every so often.
The robin looked back, wondering how far he had flown.
"I better get going" he thought.
But something stopped him from opening up his wings. A strange figure caught him. This was what the robin was looking for.
Origo had been laying in the snow for the best part of thirty minutes. The coldness was seeping through every muscle the little pup had.
Without another wasted second, the robin too off. It took him but a few seconds to reach the small pup.
"Oh no" he said, seeing the state that the small puppy was in.
The robin looked around. He knew that Ivy was still quite away from where he was.
"What shall I do?" he asked himself, looking around.
Hobbiton was now bathed in darkness. Small points of light were set into the many hills situated around an icy lake. Chimneys were silhouetted against the moonless night.
A large building stood by a sturdy looking bridge. A small river trickled away from the lake to a river named The Water.
In summer, fish were caught from it using home made fishing rods. But, as the sun gave up its warmth, indoors was the best place to be.
The dormant heaths of summer seemed to slowly burst into life. But, hobbits were hardy. Most did not light their heaths until the middle of Blotmath, the eleventh month of the year.
Nearly every day since then, heaths would be stocked with pre-cut wood from the trees outside. Large piles had been kept near each large, round front doors.
The hobbits only had to venture out a few feet from their door to pick up some pieces of wood. But, even in the time that they were outside, all the warmth that they had had from the inside was quickly turning to coldness.
Dinner was now ready in nearly all households. Chimneys were spewing black smoke into the crisp night air. The Gamgee household was now getting busier again.
The smell of dinner trickled through the gaps in the doors. A young girl smiled as she sat on her bed.
"Elanor?" asked a voice.
A wooden horse was standing in the corner of the room. It had been a while since she had heard that voice.
"Could we talk?" it asked.
All conversations with the horse took place inside the young girl's head. For anyone else watching, it would seem that Elanor was talking to herself.
But the wooden horse had shared some of Elanor's most dangerous adventures. This horse had been to the fiery depths of Mordor and the harsh coldness of the highest peaks of Middle-earth.
Elanor took a deep breath, looking over at the wooden horse. For a moment, Elanor did not want to get up. But then, she had no reason to be mad at the horse anymore.
So, after a moment, Elanor slipped off of her bed. Her feet hit the cold tiled floor. She slowly walked over to the wooden figure and picked it up.
There was a coloured necklace around the horse's neck. Elanor had made it for him. The young girl picked him up.
"What do you want to talk about?" she asked.
The horse seemed to take a deep breath, springing into life as the young girl sat back on the bed again. Elanor gave a small smile as the horse became alive.
The creature was not made of wood any more. It started galloping around the bed. Its tail swished as it did so.
"Well" he said, stopping before his friend.
There was a moment of silence between them.
"Well, I have to say something"
Elanor wondered what this was.
"Say what?" Elanor asked, wanting to know more.
The horse lowered his head.
"I'm… sorry" he told her.
The horse raised his head. The two of them looked at each other. Elanor took a deep breath, knowing that the horse's apology was genuine.
"I'm sorry as well" she said, picking him up.
She and the horse embraced in a hug. The two were now friends again. Just as Elanor was about to suggest their first adventure, the door to her room opened.
Samwise smiled as he spotted his daughter.
"Dinner is ready" he told her.
Elanor smiled, the horse seemed to change back into the wood that everyone else saw.
"Stay here" the girl said.
The horse was placed the bed and Elanor stood up. Sam was already making his way back to the kitchen. The smell of Rosie's cooked dinner was now as strong as ever.
Elanor reached the kitchen a few moments after her father. Everyone was now sitting down. Apart from one.
Frodo.
He had been in his room for most of the day. Anger festered in his veins. Frodo hated his parents.
"Why?" he asked himself, sitting on his bed.
He wrapped his arms around his knees and continued to mutter to himself.
"I haven't done anything wrong, it's not fair" he muttered.
In the kitchen, everyone was now sitting down. Rosie smiled as she placed the bowls on the table. Frodo's seat was still empty.
"Right" said Rosie, giving her large smile.
"Eat up" she said.
Elanor gave a smile as she picked up one of the bowls that had been set near her. Her mother took a deep breath as she stood where she was.
"I'll be back in a moment" she said.
Sam knew that she was going to see Frodo. But he could do nothing about it. Sam took a deep breath as he focused his attention on the children at the table.
"You be careful now" he said, spotting a struggling Elanor.
The bowl was resting perilously close to the edge of the table. But nothing bad had happened.
"Right" said Samwise, standing up.
He knew that the rest of his children needed just a little bit of help. Sam took the bowl of crispy, roasted potatoes and walked to little Merry.
He smiled as his father started to pile potatoes on his plate. Elanor smiled as parsnips were next on the list. Rosie seemed to make the best parsnips of anyone in the Shire.
Rosie raised her fist and knocked on her eldest son's door. Three bangs met Frodo's ears.
"Go away!" he said.
Rosie took a deep breath, but stood her ground. She slowly opened the door. The first thing she saw was the fiery heath. The flames were still dancing.
Her eyes seemed to slid over to the bed. There, she saw Frodo looking right back at her.
"I said, go away" he said.
His eyes were like large marble, reflecting the flickering light of the heath.
"Frodo, why wont you have dinner with us?" Rosie asked, closing the door.
Frodo huffed and looked away. All he wanted to do was be on his own.
"Leave me alone" he said.
But his wishes were not met. Rosie slowly walked over to the bed and sat down.
"Frodo, you have to understand that we are not punishing you" she said.
Frodo mumbled something and looked away.
"Do you know how scared I was when you went missing?" Rosie asked.
This was the first time that Rosie and Frodo had talked about it. Frodo slowly looked over at his mother. He shook his head.
"No" he answered.
Rosie took a deep breath.
"Well, I was very scared. Scared of losing you. I love all of my children the same. No matter what they have done. You're all special to me" Rosie told him.
She could feel tears welling up. Frodo was now realising that he had hurt his parents in more ways then one.
"I think your old enough to understand me now" Rosie said.
Frodo gave a small nod. He could not take it anymore. He and his mother embraced in a large hug.
"I'm sorry" he said between intakes of breath.
Rosie did not reply. All of the tension seemed to have washed away with the tears that both of them shed.
"I didn't mean to get lost, I just wanted to see what was on the other side of the river" he said.
Rosie looked into her son's eyes. It was true, Frodo was now getting older and had to be treated differently now. Rosie knew that she could no longer treat Frodo like she did with Merry and Rose.
"I know, sweetie" Rosie said, taking a deep breath.
In another household, Diamond was sitting down. Dinner had already been made and consumed. Faramir had now been put to sleep. He had drunk his milk and slowly fell asleep in his mothers arms.
Dolly's medicine seemed to work on the little baby. This made Diamond's life much easier. But there were still hurdles to over come.
As Diamond placed her young child in his cot. She stood there for a moment, looking at the peaceful baby. Her eyes were drawn to a small table on her side of the bed.
There, lit up by the candles that were mounted around the wall, was a small book.
"I think its time to read a bit more" Diamond told herself.
She picked the book up and looked at the cover. She now knew what secrets the book held. But that was only the start. She wanted to find out more about Pippin.
So, Diamond left her son sleeping peacefully in his cot. The door, as always, was left ajar so that Faramir's cries could be heard from anywhere in the house.
Diamond headed towards the kitchen. She would need a nice cup of tea before she started reading.
The kitchen seemed to have a warm smell about it. It was a smell of her dinner that she had just an hour before hand.
The fire in the heath danced invitingly as Diamond made her way for the cupboard. There, she got out a large mug, usually used for ale, but was now going to be filled to the brim with hot tea.
It took a few minutes to prepare the tea. Diamond smiled as she fished out the tea leaves and placed them on the side. Sugar was stirred into the rich tea, making the taste even sweeter.
Diamond was now ready to read the next chapter of the book. She opened it and flicked through a few of the pages before coming onto the next chapter.
There were no chapter titles at the top of the pages. This did not seem to bother Diamond too much. A few seconds later, she started to read.
Winter had come over the lands. Quickly and harshly. Like all of the children of the Shire, I was very excited for the first bit of snow.
But it had been months since I saw you. A few times, I caught myself thinking about you. It seems that your eyes had drawn me in and I was stuck with them.
"Come on Pip!" Merry said, running away from me.
It took a second or two to realise that I was now standing in the freezing snow. Flakes were sticking to my cloths and hair. But that was not the only thing I had to worry about.
A large snowball hurtled towards me. I only saw it at the last second. But the last second was too late. The ball hit me square in the face.
Laughter rang out around me. It was Frodo and Sam. In their hands were snowballs, ready to be aimed at me again.
My predictions were right. Frodo was the one to throw his. But, my reactions were faster then last time.
But my eyes did not see Sam ready to throw his. Upon missing one snowball, I could not miss the second. It impacted on my chest, leaving small bit clinging to my jacket.
Merry had now joined in with the laughter. It was all fun for him, but he did not take any hits from the others. I had had enough of snow being thrown at me.
Unlike the other three, I was getting very hungry. Yet again, I did not see the snowball thrown at me until the very last second.
This time, the snowball missed me, save for my finger tips. It landed in the snow behind me. The games stopped as I told them my plans. Frodo seemed a little bit disappointed, but did not heed his progress.
Samwise seemed very inquisitive about what I was going to do. But he was quick to agree. Merry and Frodo had no choice but to agree.
So, we parted ways. Frodo and Merry heading away from Hobbition, where as Sam and I stayed walked in the opposite direction.
As I walked home, Sam had already got back, a familiar looking girl came into view. I could do nothing but smile.
"Good evening" I said, hoping that you would remember me.
And you did.
"Good afternoon"
It was then that my words lost me. I could not think of anything else to say. But, luckily, your words had not escaped you.
"How are you?"
It was the perfect start to conversation.
"I am well, how about you?"
The uneasiness seemed to fall away the more I talked to you. But sadly, our conversation was cut short
"Diamond?"
It was your mother.
"We have to get moving now"
This was not what I wanted. For some reason, I felt like I could talk to you for an age. And I still do.
Diamond finished the chapter. Even back then, Pippin had loved her. It was the first time that Diamond knew of this.
She now had a lot to think about. This chapter seemed to be more powerful then the last. During her time reading, the tea had only been touched just a tad.
Diamond slowly closed the book, locking Pippin's memories within its pages for another night.