Pimpernel felt like she had only just fallen asleep when she woke. The blackness of night had turned into the freshness of a new day. Pimpernel smiled as she lifted her duvet just a tad. There, curled up and sleeping, was her puppy.
This was the main reason why she loved waking up. She knew that her puppy would wake up and she needed a cuddle.
Abira gave a little whimper as she was lifted further up the bed. Two large hand held her as she broke the surface.
"Good morning, Puppy" Pimpernel said, looking at her sleepy pup.
Abira rested her head on her paws and gave a small whimper. Pimpernel's smile broadened as pimpernel kissed her puppy on the head.
"I think breakfast is a good idea, don't you?"
Abira gave another little whimper. She was very hungry indeed. Her last meal had been on the opposite side of the night past. And now, she wanted more.
Pearl had already risen. She had stoked the fires in her own room, the lounge and the kitchen. The candles, which had been lit, flickered as she went about her business.
She smiled as she heard the slapping of large feet and the delicate pitter-patter of little paws. Abira bound in, her little ears flopped over her head as she ran.
"Good morning, puppy" Pearl said she stood there.
Pimpernel arrived a few seconds later. She, like her sister, had blue eyes. Nelly gave her sister a smile as she took her place.
"Did you have a good sleep?" Pearl asked.
Pimpernel had taken her seat.
"Yes, I slept very well, how about you?" she asked.
Pearl had not had a solid nights sleep in a while. She would suddenly wake up in the middle of the night.
"Well, now that I'm up I might as well grab a drink"
She opened the door and walked down the kitchen. The fire was burning in a low light, crackling every so often. Pearl opened the cupboard and brought out a mug. A minute later and the mug was filled with cool water. The small vase that was used to store it was placed down and the mug was picked up.
Pearl took a deep breath before she downed the water. She gave a sigh as she finished her drink. Tiredness slowly sank back into her eyes as she stood there. The clock gently chimed four times.
Pearl placed the empty mug by the sink and walked out again. Her large duvet waited for her return. Pearl rubbed her eyes as she made the trip back down to her warm room.
The door was closed and the warmth gathered again. Pearl got back into her bed. It took but a few minutes to fall back to sleep. She would not wake 'til the morning.
"I slept well" Pearl answered, remembering her little trip to the kitchen.
Abira was snuggled down on her Pimpernel's lap, patiently waiting for her breakfast. Pearl smiled a she placed a pan on the hot fire. A small drop of oil was placed in the metallic pan.
A few minutes past before Abira lifted her little head up. She could smell the bacon now. Her little eyes could see Pearl working at the stove.
Pimpernel smiled as she tickled her puppy's ear as Abira waited. Abira gave a little whimper and looked up at her Nelly.
"I know, pearl is just making some for you"
A minute or two later and the little pup was placed on the floor.
"Careful, its hot"
Abira's little tail wagged as she waited for the rashers to cool down a bit.
"Go on then, pup" Nelly said, looking down.
Without a second invitation, Abira started to eat. Pearl smiled as she worked on getting their breakfast ready. More bacon was placed in the pan along with eggs, sausages and mushrooms to name but a few things that Pearl was cooking.
Thorin took a deep breath as he rose from his bed. His cave was warm, a small fire was flickering in the middle. But his mind had played an evil trick on him. He was not in his own cave, nor was he alone.
Dis was sleeping near by. Frerin, on the other hand, was not sleeping. He was sitting by the fire, his eyes fixed on the dancing flames.
Thorin slowly got up, trying not to disturb his sister. Frerin looked up as Thorin quietly walked over to him.
"How are you?" he asked, his voice softly echoed around the cave.
Frerin took a deep breath. He was holding a long stick, one end in his hand and the other in the fire.
"I am well" he said.
But Thorin knew his brother well enough to see that he was not well at all. Exhaustion had finally taken him. The momentum in which they had left the mountain and the events in the forest had now taken its toll.
"You can greave" Thorin said, sitting down.
Frerin looked over at his brother. Half of his face was lit by the fire, the other was shrouded in darkness. Thorin took a deep breath.
"We will stay here for a few days, gather our strength, then move on"
Dis had woken up. But she did not sit up. Instead, she was listening. Her brothers were talking about their grandfather, Thror.
"I have noticed that too, he has changed"
Thorin nodded.
"But we can not blame him, he had been through a lot" he said.
Thror had lost his home, his people and his wealth. He had seen his people fry from firry wrath of Smaug. Thror had escaped with his family, including his two brothers.
"I have heard what he had said about you, he is not the same as before"
Thorin gave a small nod.
"You are right" Thorin said.
Dis gave a large yawn and slowly sat up. Thorin gave a small smile. They were now all awake. But they would not be go anywhere today. Rain was pouring down outside.
The rest of dwarves were huddled under a large tree. But its canopy did not stop all of the small droplets of water fell to earth. Thrain sat with his back to the tree. His decorated helmet was sitting on his head.
The droplets of water falling from the heavens impacted on his head. He took a deep breath. The constant noise of rain drops was getting to him.
A fire could not be lit, for the dead wood on the floor was wet. The dwarves shivered as they fed on measly portions of food.
Each of them wished to be in the lonely mountain. Each wished for the rain to stop and a fire to be burning. Yet one of their wishes would come true.
The clouds slowly sailed away south. But, where Thorin and his siblings were, the rain seemed into intensify. They sat in a small cave accompanied by a small flickering fire. Neither of them talked much. They waited for the hours to pass, which did, but slowly.
Origo looked up. His little pink tongue hung out. Before him sat an empty bowl. His Diamond was standing just a few feet away from him. His little whimper caught her attention.
"Are you finished, pup?" she asked, knowing the answer.
Origo nodded his head, making his lazy ears flop.
"Good boy" Diamond said as she held a wooden spatula.
Her other hand held the handle of a hot pan. A large slice of bread was sizzling gently in the pan. On a near by plate lay yellow yoke from a few eggs that Diamond had cracked into it.
Small pieces of black were swimming around din the sticky yoke. They were small flakes of pepper. A pinch of salt had been added before the bread was dunked in the mixture.
The smell of bacon, eggs and mushrooms circulated around the entire house. Pippin's stomach was rumbling as he held his son. As Diamond made their breakfast ready, Faramir was being fed by his father.
A few times, Diamond would look around. Pippin seemed to be doing a very good job. Faramir looked up at his father. Normally, he would have preferred his mother to be looking down at him, but today, this person seemed nice enough. A few minutes later and Faramir's food had all gone.
"There we are!" Pippin said, placing the small spoon back in the empty bowl.
"You've eaten it all up!" he said.
Diamond looked around and smile. Pippin smiled as he stood up. He walked over to the cot nearby and placed little Faramir inside.
Origo had disappeared again. He was busy chasing a little green fairy on Diamond's bed.
"Almost, puppy" Ivy said, fluttering inches away from his small, but sharp, teeth.
Origo was getting excited now. His puppy friend, Abira, was expected to come over for lunch. But, to play with him was only a distraction. Diamond smiled as she plated up their food. Pippin had returned to his seat and smiled as his plate. It was bigger then Diamond's portion, for she knew that Pippin needed more food then she did.
Thirty minutes past before Elanor was ready to go out. Like the rest of her family, she had eaten a large and delicious meal.
Elanor had already buttoned up her deep red coat and grabbed her horsey. She scurried back down the house. She stopped as she rounded the shallow bend in her home.
She knew her father was busy, for the study door was closed. Through the door, she could hear small scratches of her father's quill. She took a deep breath and started to scurry down the hallway again.
Rosie was standing at the kitchen, a large pile of dishes and plates were stacked up near by. The water, now hot and steaming, was turned off.
"Mummy?" asked a little girl behind her.
Rosie looked around and saw her oldest daughter standing there.
"Can I go and see Gloria, please?" she asked.
Rosie smiled.
"What do you have to remember?" she asked, quizzing her daughter.
Elanor took a deep breath.
"To be back by lunch and not to go over the bridge" she said, rolling her eyes.
It was the same every time she wanted to go out. To her, it was getting very repetitive, but she knew her mother and father were just looking out for her.
Pimpernel, Pearl and Abira were all ready to go out in the coldness. Abira did not seem to make as much fuss about it as Origo did.
Pimpernel smiled as she picked up her fluffy puppy and wrapped her up in a large blanket. Abira snuggled down even further. Only the tip on her little paws and her little puppy face showed.
"Ready?" Pearl asked as she buttoned up her last button.
Pimpernel smiled and nodded. Pearl walked past and opened the large round door. The coldness instantly hit all three of them. The candles danced as they walked out. They stopped and stood still when the door closed behind them.
Despite the coldness, there were plenty of hobbits walking around. Some were heading to their friend or family's home. Some could be seen entering the Green Dragon.
As the two girls walked along, a small figure came scurrying up behind them.
"Hello, Elanor" said Pearl, looking around.
Nelly looked around too. The Gamgee family and the Took family were very close friends. They had been friends for a very long time.
"Hello" said Elanor, holding her little toy horse.
"How are you today, Elanor?" Pearl asked.
Elanor smiled.
"I'm alright, I'm going to see if Gloria is coming out" she answered.
Pearl smiled.
"Well, you two have fun and remember to be back home for lunch"
Elanor smiled and nodded.
"I will" she answered.
A few second past before Elanor continued on her journey Gloria's abode. Her horse was tucked under her arm as she clicked the gate open.
She smiled as she walked up to the door and knocked three times. The cold wind blew her hair across her face. She took a deep breath, trying to hold back the shivers.
Luckily, the door did not take too long to open. Standing on the other side was an old man. His curly hair was greying and thinning. He had large wrinkles criss-crossed his face. They were particularly large around either side of his mouth.
"Oh, hello Elanor" he said, opening the door a bit wider.
"Do come in, you must be cold"
Elanor smiled as she crossed the threshold. The warmth and the smell of Gloria's home hit her instantly. The door behind her clicked shut.
"Gloria's in her room" the old man told her.
Elanor smiled and nodded. Her horsey was placed on the floor as she unbuttoned her coat. A minute later, she placed her coat on a hook, picked up her little toy and walked down the hall way.
Gloria was sitting on her bed. She looked up as the sound of the door reached her.
"Oh, hello Elanor" she said, jumping off of her large bed.
"I didn't hear you knock" she said.
"Your daddy let me in" she said.
Gloria smiled.
"What are we doing today?" she asked, watching Elanor hop onto the bed.
Elanor's legs dangled from the bed as she thought for a moment.
"Well, we still need to save our horses" she answered.
Gloria smiled. Her little wooden horsey was picked up. The two girls were instantly transported into a darker, harsher world. Elanor led the way, for she knew what Mordor looked like. For she had been told many stories about it. Samwise would come into her room. He carried a very special book, one that Elanor could not even touch.
"Now, where were we?" Samwise asked as he flicked through the pages.
There were many pictures drawn on the pages. Sam's eyes darted over the page, reading what had been written. A few seconds past before he turned the page. A smile came over his face as he found where they had left off.
"Right" he said, before starting to read.
For a whole hour, Samwise read through one of his exciting chapters. But, half way through, Elanor had fallen asleep. Samwise gave a small smile. He slowly and silent stood up. He placed the chair back and walked over to his daughter's bed.
"Sleep well" he said, before gently kissing her on the forehead.
Elanor did not wake as he walked out. The house was now very quiet as he walked back down to his room. Rosie and Sam were the only ones awake. But both were planning on going to bed soon.
Rosie was sitting in the kitchen. A few minutes ago, Rosie had poured out two big mugs of tea. One was for herself while the other one sat before her husband's place.
Samwise took a deep breath as he walked in. His Red Book had been placed back in its box and slid back under the bed.
"Are they all asleep?" Rosie asked, placing her mug down.
Samwise nodded as he yawned. He picked up his large mug of tea and started to drink. The two of them sat mostly in silence. Rosie took a deep breath as she looked into her mug. At the bottom, what's left of the tea swirled around the sides.
She downed the tea and placed the empty mug on the table. She waited for her husband for finish. He did so a few minutes later.
"Thank you, dear" he said as Rosie took his mug.
Samwise rubbed his eyes and rose from his seat. The two of them walked down the hall way. In turn, they got washed and ready for bed. Finally, after thirty of forty minutes, both were ready for bed.
Frerin and Dis sat shivering in their cave. The wood that they had found had all but been used up. The rain outside was still crashing to the floor.
Thorin was not present. Instead, he was outside, in the rain. His hood had been drawn over his head to try and stop the rain, but it made little difference.
Frerin's bow and arrow had been taken out with him. Thorin knew where to find enough food for the three of them. He ventured further down into the valley. The rain made the going very tough.
He slipped every so often, only to save himself before he fell. His boots were covered in mud. Droplets of water were falling from his nose or collecting in his hair and beard.
Thorin took a deep breath as he stopped under a tree. The sound of distance thunder echoed in the clouds above him. Thorin looked up. He could hear the rumble getting nearer and nearer.
For the next hour, Thorin made his way deeper into the forest covered mountain side. The forest floor was very difficult to walk on. Thorin darted from tree to tree as he descended the side of the valley.
It was then, as the ground levelled out a bit, he saw movement. The dwarf hid behind a tree. He barely looked around the corner.
"Perfect" he said.
Thorin silently loaded his bow and took aim. The animal's ears pointed up. It knew that something was about to happen. But it had no time to react as an arrow flew towards it.
A few seconds later, the animal lay lifeless on the floor. Thorin took a deep breath and started to walk towards the animal. The arrow had gone right through its neck and out of the other side.
Thorin stood there for a few seconds, looking down at the creature before walking to get his arrow. He took it out of the ground and cleaned off the dirt and the blood before putting it back in its quiver.
An hour past before Thorin returned to the small cave. Dis looked up as she heard heavy boots hitting the hard rock outside.
Thorin ducked down and entered the cave. Dis smiled as she saw what Thorin had brought back. She was used to dead animals. For, back in the lonely mountain, she had helped her mother prepare magnificent feasts.
Dis was very good with food, which was one of the many traits that dwarves had. They were known for staying up until the next day, eating and drinking.
"It was the only thing I could find" Thorin said, placing the animal on the floor.
Dis took a deep breath. She knew that she could make a satisfying meal with what Thorin had brought back, but there was none of her cooking tools. They had all been handed over to the dragon that now settled in their mountain.
"I can not do anything with this" Dis said, looking at the animal.
Thorin took a deep breath.
"Well, we can try, we have to eat something"
So, Dis got down to work. She used what sharp shards of stones she could to cut through the meat. Very soon, her hands were blood red. A large chunk of meat hung off of the animal. Dis cut through the large piece and placed it on a few leaves that had been lain on the floor.
Thorin and Frerin had been stoking the fire. More and more sticks were added to the fire. For a moment, it threatened to smoke them out.
But the smoke found its way out of cave. Dis had been working on the carcass of the dead animal for a while. The fire was now ready. Most of the wood had been turned into white hot embers.
Diamond smiled as she held the handle of a hot pan in one hand and a spatula in the other. An apron had been wrapped around her front, protecting her lovely dress from the splatters of oil.
Faramir lay in the hands of one of his aunties. Pearl smiled as she looked down at the blue eyed baby boy. There was a very strong resemblance between Faramir and Pippin. In fact, Faramir was a miniature version of his father.
"Have you been a good boy for mummy?" Pearl asked.
Faramir gabbled and made funny sounds, trying to talk, but he couldn't. it would be a few more years before he would be able to talk and understand what was said to him.
Two empty bowls stood on the floor near by. Only small morsels of food had been left. One had housed a mountain of turkey, the other housed crisp rashers of bacon.
They were eaten by two small fluffy puppies. One, a boy puppy, ate nothing but turkey. He was Diamond's puppy. Diamond had been looking after him for a while now. But there was a small puzzle to solve.
Where had Origo come from?
It was a question that Diamond asked herself many times. But she never found a reason why this little puppy had come to her.
Origo and Abira scurried around the house. They wrestled in nearly every room. A small green fairy was involved in the fun. She fluttered near by. She loved watching the two puppies play. But, sometimes, she was centre of attention. Origo and Abira would chase her. Ivy knew that they were only playing, but her wings were precious to her.
"Almost" she said, fluttering away.
Origo would bark and try and catch his flying friend. Sometimes, Origo would come very close to catching her. But would never get her.
"Puppy, stop" Ivy said when she wanted to play normally.
Origo, being a stubborn puppy, would not listen. But, just as Ivy was about to flutter upwards, someone started to walk down the walk way.
"What's going on here?" asked a voice.
Abira's little tail wagged as she saw her Pimpernel. Nelly smiled as her pup bound towards her.
"Oh, hello puppy" she said.
Abira gave a little whimper and place her head on her paws.
"You sleepy?" Pimpernel asked.
Origo remained standing there. He was getting jealous. Pimpernel looked down to see another adorable puppy looking up at her.
"Come on, I think both of you are tired" Pimpernel said as her Abira yawned.
Origo watched as Pimpernel walked over to Diamond's bed. His little head tilted to the side.
"Come on, Ori" Pimpernel said, picking him up.
Origo gave a small whimper. Pimpernel's hands were cold. Abira was already snuggling down on the bed. Origo was placed on the bed too. Pimpernel smiled as she ruffled the fur on his head.
Origo couldn't understand why he was put on the bed. He wasn't sleepy. Pimpernel smiled as she walked out of the room.
"Where are you going?" whimpered a sleepy Abira.
Ori looked around.
"To my Diamond" he told her.
Abira gave a little whimper.
"But, I'm sleepy" Abira told him.
Origo now needed to make a choice. He needed a cuddle from his Diamond, but that means leaving Abira on her own.
"Maybe I can get a cuddle later" he thought.
Abira wagged her little tail as her Origo wondered back. Abira gave Origo's fluffy ear a gentle tug before he snuggled up next to her.
Down the hall way, in the kitchen, Pimpernel, Pearl, Diamond and Pippin had sat down to lunch. Bowls and plates and mugs had been set out. Pimpernel smiled as she picked up a large bowl full of roasted potatoes.
She placed the large bowl on the side of the table and scooped up some potatoes. She smiled as she placed them on her plate.
"Could you pass the potatoes, please?" asked Pearl.
Pimpernel smiled and scooped out one last potato before passing the bowl to her sister. Pearl smiled as she scooped out enough roasted potatoes.
"Thank you" said Diamond as she was handed the bowl.
Pippin had been filling his plate up with nearly everything that Diamond had prepared. His pile of chicken was larger then the girls that sat around the table. He had a large pile of parsnips, a few shire sprouts, a large spoon full of carrot and turnip.
Diamond had also made Pippin's favourite bit of the meal.
The stuffing.
Pippin smiled as he started to eat. The table fell silent as they all ate. The parsnips had been pasted in rich honey before being roasted in the oven. The chicken had been honey coated as well, but there were small herbs sprinkled on top.
The day had turned to night in the Misty Mountains. The light from the sun had vanished, but the rain and lightning did not cease.
Dis yawned as she rested on the wall of the cave. The lightning stopped her from sleeping. Every time she closed her eyes and was just about to drift off to sleep, a brilliantly white light lit up her eye lids.
A few moments after, the rolling thunder would echo around the mountains.
"Its getting closer" Frerin whispered.
Thorin took a deep breath and nodded. He wondered how the others were holding out. He wondered if they had found a safe placed to wait out the storm.
But they had not.
In fact, they had been sat beneath the same tree since they arrived. Some of the dwarves lay on the ground. Many of then had huddled up together, trying to get the most warmth that they could.
Thrain shivered as he slowly fell asleep. His head lent back on the tree he was sitting under. A few times, he would doze off to sleep, only to awoken when his head fell.
The hours past very slowly for the dwarves. Each hour seemed to become longer and longer. The sun seemed to hide away, tormenting them until it gave in. By this time, most of the dwarves had fallen asleep without knowing.
But, when they woke up, they seemed even more tired. There were no words said as the dwarves sat there. Their motivation and moral had sunk to an all time low.
Questions were asked.
Was Thror up to be the leader?
Would he lead them into danger?
But none of these questions were spoken out. There were murmurs that Thorin would be the one to trust.
"Thror seems to have lost his head" whispered one of them.
"We should have followed Thorin, he knows what to do"
The two others agreed, but fell silent when the realised Thror was in ear shot. But Thror was old and his hearing was not as good as it used to be.
"Maybe we should go and find him" said others.
Thror took a deep breath. He was thinking deeply about this situation. A small part of him knew that Thorin was a better leader then he was. But he was still here and, as far as he knew, Thorin would not take charge.
Dis finally woke to the sound of rain. She yawned as her eyes struggled to fully open. For a split second, she thought she was back at home. But the rain confirmed that she was nowhere near her warm bed.
The fire was running out of wood to burn. It was now just a small smouldering rubble of ash. Thorin and Frerin had had little sleep over the night.
Thorin smiled as he looked over at his young sister.
"Good morning" he said.
Dis gave a small smile and looked out of the opening in the cave.
"It's still raining" she said.
Thorin took a deep breath.
"Its been raining all night"
Frerin was sitting by the entrance of the cave. His eyes were slowly starting shut. Thorin and Dis saw this and did not do anything about it. For they were just as tired.
Elsewhere, the conversation of Thror and Thorin had reached a critical point.
"Maybe we should just go and find him" they said.
Many agreed. The group was now going to split into two groups. Some decided to stay with Thror, after all, he was their leader. The rest would break off to find Thorin.
Thrain looked around as he heard movement. A few of the dwarves had decided that now was a good time to find Thorin.
"Where are you off to?" asked Thrain as he slowly got up.
His old joints struggled to move. They had not been moved in the last few hours.
"We are going to find Thorin" one of them said.
Thrain had not been involved in the debate that had happened.
"Why?" Thrain asked.
Thror was sitting near by.
"Because we find him a better leader, he never once put us in harms way" they said.
Thror heard talking behind him. There was something about this conversation that made him suspicious. He slowly got up. The others knew that they would have to explain themselves to Thror.
"What is going on, why are you all looking like you are getting ready to move out?" Thror asked.
Thrain took a deep breath. Now was the time where he had to be truthful to his father.
"They are going to find Thorin" he said.
Thror did not believe what he was saying.
"Is this true?" he asked.
"Thorin is untrustworthy, he does not belong in the realm of dwarves"
But the others saw it differently.
"What do you mean?" they asked.
"Without Thorin, we would never have made it out of the forest"
Thrain stood by, listening to the conversation that was being had.
"That is a lie, I am the one who led you out!" Thror said.
Anger rose in Thror. all the while, Thorin and his brother and sister was sitting in a dry cave.
Origo had been asleep for many hours. He could have happily slept until the sun had gone down, but that was not the case.
Origo's little eyes opened up. There was something bothering him. His little Abira was not by his side.
"Where has she gone?" he whimpered sadly.
The house was quiet. Faramir's cot stood near by. Origo gave a small whimper, seeing if he was there. But there was no answer.
A minute later and Origo's little paws touched down on the cold tiled floor. This was the only part of waking up that he didn't like.
But, hunger drove him onwards. The door to his Diamond's room had been left ajar, someone had obviously been into the room.
As Origo wondered down towards the kitchen, his floppy ears caught sounds coming from the lounge.
"Maybe that's my Diamond" he thought.
So, the little pup made a bee-line towards the lounge. There, he caught his Diamond's scent. His little paws gently pitter-pattered as he entered the room.
"There's mister sleepyhead" Diamond said.
Origo's little tail wagged as he scurried over to his Diamond.
"Did you have a good sleep?" Diamond asked.
Origo gave a small nod. He looked over to see his Abira snuggled up to her Pimpernel. Pippin was the only one not present. He had locked himself away in his room.
Origo gave a small whimper as he was held to his Diamond's shoulder.
"You hungry?" she asked, tickling one of Origo's floppy ears.
Origo gave a small nod. She gave a big smile and slowly stood up.
"What about Abira, do you think she's hungry too?" she asked.
Pimpernel smiled.
"You hungry, girl?" she asked.
Abira gave a little whimper and raised her head. Pimpernel smiled and placed her on the floor. Abi gave a very adorable whimper.
"Follow Diamond and Origo, sweetie" she said while she remained seated.
Abira hung her head as she followed diamond.
"Come on, I'll make you some of my best honey roasted bacon" Diamond said.