Abira wanted her Pimpernel to make it. But she could not turn down an offer of bacon. So, reluctantly, she followed Diamond and Origo to the kitchen. As diamond reached the kitchen, she placed her own puppy on the floor. Origo gave a sad whimper as his little paws hit the cold tiles.
Abira gave her Origo a little nudge. Origo gave a little whimper to let her know he was alright. Abira wagged her tail and looked up at Diamond.
Before long, the two puppies had their own bowl of food. Origo started to eat the turkey while Abira ate the rashers of smoked bacon that Diamond had just cooked.
Diamond smiled as she took her apron off. For a moment, she watched the two small creatures. Origo ate his turkey faster then Abira ate her bacon.
This always made Diamond smile. As the pups ate, Pimpernel walked in.
"Oh, there you are" she said.
Diamond looked over.
"We've drank our tea, is there any more?" she asked.
"Oh, of course" Diamond answered.
She felt very embarrassed. Normally, she would put out a pot of tea. But today, she had completely forgotten.
"There should be more water in the kettle"
Pimpernel looked over at the flickering heath. Flashes of the fire that ravaged her home came back to her.
"Maybe… maybe if you do it?" she asked.
It did not take Diamond very long to figure out what she had said.
"Sorry, Pimpernel" she said.
Diamond picked up a cloth and wrapped it around her hand. A few second later, after a hot blast from the crackling fire, the kettle as off of the hook.
"You go and wait in the lounge, I can bring it to you"
But there was something stopping Pimpernel from leaving.
"I've been thinking" she said, looking down.
Diamond looked over at her.
"About what?" she asked.
Pimpernel took a deep breath and focused on the small ornaments on the ledge above the fireplace. There were many old looking knives and pots that looked like they hadn't moved in many years.
"About taking Dolly's home" she finally answered.
Diamond stopped what she was doing. Pimpernel made split second eye contact with Diamond.
"I cant take it" Pimpernel answered.
Diamond took a deep breath and looked down. She knew that Pimpernel would not take it.
"Are you sure?" Diamond asked.
Pimpernel had her heart set on her old home. She loved it there. Hardly anyone walked near by as she was on the very end.
"Very, I'm very sure" she said.
Diamond took a deep breath.
"Oh, come here" she said.
Pimpernel and Diamond embraced in a big hug.
"I'm sorry" Pimpernel said as she wrapped her arms around Diamond.
Diamond broke away and looked at her sister in law.
"For what?" she asked.
Pimpernel took a deep breath. There were no words to express how grateful she was for Diamond. No one had ever been so nice to her.
"I miss Hamson" Pimpernel said, changing the subject.
Diamond took a deep breath. She knew how much Hamson meant to Nelly. Pimpernel loved him. But, after the fire, they had fallen apart.
"He'll come to his scenes soon" Diamond told her.
But soon wasn't soon enough. Pimpernel needed to be loved again. Her life had turned grey. Colours that once seemed to have been bright and beautiful were now dull and lifeless.
A few days had past since Thorin, Frerin and Dis had departed the small group of dwarves. But now, only a few had joined them.
"What are you doing here?" Thorin asked as dwarf after dwarf entered the cave.
The cave, which was already small, grew smaller and smaller as they came in. Dis, who had been comfortably sitting, was now very uncomfortable.
The dwarves dripped water on her or bumped into her. Dis gave an audible huff. The other dwarves looked down at her. They tried to make it look like they had not seen or heard her, but they did.
Dis could not see the fire anymore. Yet she was not as cold as she had been. The dwarves that had entered the small cave brought more warmth then the fire had.
"You think I am a better leader?" Thorin asked, listening to their story.
"Yes, Thror would have led us into even more danger"
Thorin was now thrust into the spot which was held by his grand-father.
But would he really want that kind of attention?
Thorin now had many lived in his hands. He could not protect all of them all of the time.
"You understand that I can not protect each and everyone of you" he said.
The dwarves, ranging from younglings to the elders all watched him.
"The road will be difficult and dangerous" he continued.
"If there is anyone not willing to help, say so now" he said.
The rain was the only thing that could be heard. Not a single dwarf spoke out. Thorin took this as a good sign.
"Very well" he said, looking around.
"We will rest, in the morning, we will find a bigger, safer place to stay"
The dwarves, as small as they were, seemed to take up the most room. Bags, cloaks, pots and pans that had been salvaged from the mountain were all placed down.
Dis was now very uncomfortable. Thorin seemed to have the most space, as he was the leader. But there was a small part of him that wanted these dwarves to return to Thror.
Origo gave a little whimper and a large stretch as he made himself comfortable. Diamond smiled as she looked down at her sleepy puppy.
"Shush, shush" she said.
Pimpernel and Pearl were sitting near by. Faramir lay asleep in his auntie Pearls arms. She smiled as she looked over at Pimpernel.
Abira gave a big yawn as she cuddled up on her lap. Pimpernel took a deep breath as she thought about Hamson. She had not seen him in a few weeks.
"I wonder what he is up to" she thought.
Hamson and his uncle had finished work for the day. The large machine had been turned off and all was quiet. He smiled for a bit, listening to his ears ring.
Hunger quickly came and moved him on. The candles were blown out and the building was left. Hamson shivered as he took a key from his pocket and locked the door.
It took him a minute or two to reach his uncles home. He raised a cold fist and knocked three times. Hamson's hair blew in the harsh wind.
A minute later and the door opened. Hamson gave a small smile as he stepped into a warm world. A small prickly mat lay on the opposite side of the threshold.
"Is it all locked up?" asked an old hobbit woman.
A once white apron was wrapped around her, protecting herself from the small splashes of oil and the accidents that may occur.
"Yes" Hamson said, giving a small sniff.
Just inside the hallway was a rack of coat hangers. There were no shoe racks unlike homes of men, for hobbits did not need shoes.
Hamson made sure his feet were as clean as possible before walking down to the kitchen. Dinner had already been set out. Bowls and plates had been set out.
A large amount of food had been prepared. Nearly every inch of the table had been covered with a bowl, mug or plate. A few flickering candles had been set out as well.
Hamson smiled as he took the only seat that was left. At each end of the table sat his aunt and uncle. They always sat at either end of the table.
Hamson took a deep breath as he looked down at his meal. Hamson was deep in thought as he cut up the first of his steaming hot sausage.
Things could have been so different if it were not for the fire. For one, Pimpernel would still have a home. Another difference would be that Hamson would have stayed in Hobbiton, instead of coming out to his aunt and uncles.
"Dinner is ready" said a beautiful hobbit.
Her dress matched her eyes and she had a royal red bow in her hair.
"I'll be there in a minute" said Hamson.
Pimpernel's home was beautifully decorated. It had some usual rooms, such as a lounge where they sat and talked, a dining room, a study for writing letters and a few bedrooms.
But, unlike other hobbit homes, there was a room just for Hamson. It was his work shop. Of course, none of the had existed before the fire, for it was just an idea.
Hamson smiled as picked up a heavy metal hammer. He smiled as he hammered the last bit of his creation into place. He smiled as he rubbed his hands.
The smell of dinner wafted through the house. As Hamson walked down the hall way, an excited little puppy scampered towards him.
Abira barked happily as she stopped.
"Oh, is dinner ready?" Hamson asked, smiling.
He didn't mind having a puppy around. Abira wagged her tail and barked again.
"I'm coming, I'm coming" he said, following the pup.
Pimpernel had prepared a large meal for her and her Hamson. She would rarely let Hamson make a meal for her. Hamson even went to the trouble of making breakfast for her. But his clumsiness would spoil his surprise.
Hamson smiled as he sat down. The chair creaked under him. Pimpernel smiled as she flipped the last few rashers of bacon over.
But they were not for them, they were for her little puppy standing at her heals.
"There we are" Pimpernel said as she placed the last rashers in her puppies bowl.
"Be careful now, its very hot" she said.
Abira gave a small whimper. she didn't like it when it was hot. She liked warm bacon.
"Well, maybe if you wait a few minutes" Pimpernel said, placing the bowl back on the work top.
Abira gave a little adorable whimper. pimpernel took a deep breath, she couldn't resist this kind of begging.
"Fine" she said, picking up the bowl again and placing it on the floor.
Abira's tail wagged as she looked into the bowl. Before her was a large meal of bacon. The rashers had cooled down enough for her to eat.
Pimpernel smiled as she left her puppy and took her seat. There were mountains of food on the table. The darkness had settled outside. Now was best time to stay indoors and eat your fill.
Pimpernel loved where she lived. For there was no flickering lights or any large trees blocking her view of the surrounding countryside.
The two hobbits ate in silence. Only the sound of the crunching of crisp roasted potatoes and the coming together of metal and porcelain.
But, in reality, things were very different. Pimpernel lay on her bed, puppy-less and Hamson-less. Tiredness had slowly been sinking into her eyes. Her eyes slowly started to shut as she fell into an uncomfortable sleep.
The rain had stopped in the Misty Mountains. Only small droplets of water were falling from the canopy of the trees as the small group of dwarves made their way deeper and deeper into the mountains.
Thorin led the way, closely followed by his brother and sister. Mud clung to their heavy boots making them feel twice as heavy.
Thrain and Thror's group were now small in number. Only a few loyal dwarves stayed with their king. Their faith in Thror had not been changed.
Thror and his son had agreed to travel south. But there was a small conversation that Thrain needed to have with his father.
"We should take a rest" said Thrain, looking very tired.
Sleep had not come easy to the dwarves. Thror gave a small nod. He took off his pack and placed it on the ground. Thrain did the same. He took a deep breath as looked around.
"I need to talk with you" Thrain said to his father.
Thror looked up, having no idea of what he wanted.
"About what?" he asked.
Thrain looked up at the other dwarves, each were looking at him.
"In private" he said, looking back down.
But Thror remained seated.
"If you want to talk to me, you will have to talk in front of my people" Thror said.
Thrain took a deep breath. There was a slight hesitation, but that soon passed.
"I think we should find Thorin"
The whole group fell silent. They knew that Thror did not like Thorin very much.
"And why should we find him?" he asked.
Thrain knew that the two groups would soon join back together. But it would be a few days away.
"South is the best option we have, if Thorin is leading them, he will lead them to where he thinks they will survive the best" Thrain told him.
"He has more dwarves, he has more chance to survive"
Thror was a very stubborn dwarf. He knew that, in time, he would get his own way.
"We are not going south" Thror said, slowly getting up.
One of his loyal dwarves rushed over to help him up, but he was pushed away. Thror took a few more seconds to stand on his own two feet.
"Where do you suggest we go?" Thrain asked.
Pimpernel woke with a start. She had not realised that she had fallen asleep until a voice echoed around in the darkness in front of her eyes.
"Pimpernel?" it asked.
Nelly didn't wake at first. But, the second time her name was called, sleep truly ran away from her. Standing over her was Pearl.
"There she is" said another voice.
Diamond was sitting nearby, Origo still on her lap. Abira had fallen asleep like her Pimpernel did. Faramir was in the arms of his father and was still awake.
"What… what happened?" she asked, looking around.
Pearl gave a small smile.
"You fell asleep" she answered.
Pimpernel could feel her cheeks going red.
"I think its time to get the two little ones off to bed" Diamond said, tickling Origo's ear.
Soon, the part of hobbits all stood up. Origo was pleased that he didn't have to go out in the coldness. Abira gave a small whimper as she was placed on her Pimpernel's shoulder. But the puppy did not wake.
A few minutes later, Diamond, Pimpernel and Pearl were all standing by the front door. Origo was standing by his Diamond's heals.
"Good bye, little Faramir" said Pearl, holding the small bundle.
Diamond smiled as she was handed back her son.
"Could you hold Abira for me?" Pimpernel asked.
Pearl smiled. She already had her dark green coat on. Abi was gently handed over so that Nelly could put her coat on. She placed her arms down the sleeves.
"Thank you" she said, taking her puppy back.
A few minutes later, after Abira had been wrapped in a large blanket, the two girls exited the warm home into a freezing world.
Diamond could feel the coldness of the outside world tickle her cheeks.
"Take care" she said to the two girls.
Pimpernel smiled as she walked behind her sister. The ground was hard and the ice that had formed was gave off a crisp crunch as they walked down to the gate.
Icicles had formed over the small roves of the doors. The green grass seemed to been frozen in time. There were no signs of any animals around. In fact, it seemed that they were the only two hobbits out.
Chimneys were spewing black smoke into the crisp air. Pimpernel shivered. She could not wait to get back inside and warm up.
Elanor Gamgee had been home for many hours. She smiled as she remembered what she had played that day. A small book was lay on her pillow. A quill was held in her right hand.
She scribbled down the story that came into her head. The story that she had written down was now on its tenth page.
A knock came at her book.
"Come in" she said, stopping her writing.
Samwise came in and gave a large smile.
"Right" he said, looking at the book out on her pillow.
"Time to get to bed" he told her.
Elanor smiled and closed the book. She placed her little quill on the table and sat up. Samwise smiled as he brought over a chair and placed it by her bed.
Elanor opened the draw and place the little book, the quill and the ink pot inside. Samwise smiled as he sat down on the chair. In his hand was a very important book.
Its cover was red, it had numerous pages full pictures and writing. Elanor smiled as she threw the covers over herself and settled down.
"Right" Samwise said, opening a page.
A small piece of parchment slid down the page. Samwise smiled as he took it from the page. He read the first couple of lines before reading out aloud.
Elanor listened intensely. But she could not listen for long, for her eyes slowly began to shut. Samwise smiled as he stopped. His oldest daughter gently slept.
"That's enough for tonight" he thought.
He placed the piece of parchment back into the book and closed it. he gave his daughter a gentle kiss on the forehead before walking out.
Mya and Pilith were now stuck in a small hole. The entrance was guarded by a large, hungry spider. Both knew that it was still out there.
Gollum had led them into this trap and vanished. His plan had worked. He knew that the spider was hungry for it came after him when he had gone to find a way out.
"We have to get out of here" Mya's little puppy eyes said.
Pilith, also in puppy form, nodded. He slipped by Mya. Mya's heart was racing. She did not want to be in this situation, but there was no other way out.
Pilith slowly inched his way out of the small cave. There was no sign of the spider anywhere. Or that's what he thought.
"Come on, its not here" he whimpered.
Mya slowly inched out. The next second, everything changed. Pilith kept a look out when a large spike dug violently into the ground.
Pilith jumped out of the way. The massive spider had been waiting for them. Mya backed away again as Pilith went out of view.
The spider followed the puppy. But Pilith knew that he would surely be killed if he did not change. So, when he got far enough away, he changed.
The spider struggled through the thinner parts. This gave Pilith a few more precious seconds to get away. His mind did not return to Mya until the spider had come to a small crack that it could not get through.
Pilith looked around in the semi-darkness. A black band of metal lay on the floor next to a rotting corpse of an orc. Pilith slowly pick it up at the spider bore down on him.
With a sudden swing, the spider recoiled. The metal sword hit the spider. Its huge chelicerae tried to grab the sward from Pilith, but it only received another blow.
The spider gave off an eerie cry. Pilith knew it was scared to come near.
"Mya!" he shouted.
Mya was still in her puppy form when she heard the call.
"Mya!" said Pilith again, his voice echoing through out the entire winding caves.
Mya slowly inched out, afraid to come out. Cobwebs caught her head and floppy ears. After one more look around, the small puppy emerged from the hole in the cave wall.
A few seconds later and the puppy changed into a girl. Courage started to grow inside of her. She needed to find Pilith.
So, she started to walk as fast as she could. She felt eyes looking at her when the creepy corridor splinted off. She could feel the coldness of a cave that had not see any sunlight for a very long time.
Mya slipped a few times. In the darkness, she could hear the sound of rotted skulls rolling down a small embankment.
"Mya!" said a voice, even louder then before.
"Pilith!" she shouted back, her voice echoing back to her.
Mya did not know it, but she had gave herself away. The massive spider stopped attacking Pilith. It had heard Mya's calls.
The eight eyed spider turned and scurried off towards the voice. Pilith knew that it was going for Mya. So, he followed the spider.
A minute or two later, after Pilith had struggled to find his way, a scream echoed through the passages.
"Mya!" Pilith shouted at the top of his voice.
But there was no answer. Pilith felt fine cobwebs hit his face as he scurried along. But there was still no sign of either Mya or the spider.
Out of the darkness grew a scowling laugh.
"She's hungry" he said.
"Where is Mya?" asked Pilith.
Gollum laughed again.
"She's with her" Gollum said.
His plan had worked better then he had thought. That was, up to the point where Pilith stick the rusted orcish sword to his neck.
"Where is Mya?" he asked.
Fear rose in Gollum. He knew that Pilith would not take a seconds thought about plunging the sword into his neck.
"I… I can shows you, I will!" Gollum said, stuttering a bit.
Pilith knew that he should never have let Gollum come with them.
"Go" he said, taking the sword away and standing back.
Gollum hesitated for a moment, but reluctantly moved on. Pilith took a deep breath, the coldness of the caves were now getting to him.
A minute later, after Gollum had led Pilith through some very tight cracks in the walls of rock that surrounded them, they reached an opening.
In the middle was pile of white corpses.
"She puts them there, until she is hungry"
Pilith knew he had to find Mya quickly. So, he placed his sword down and started ripping open the cocoons of webs around the body. Pilith went through three lumps before finding his blond haired friend.
"Mya?" he asked.
Gollum saw the black sword laying on the ash on the ground. His hand slowly reached out to it. But he quickly retracted his hand as Pilith turned around.
"We have to get her out of here" he said.
Gollum nodded as Pilith turned around. Pilith picked up Mya, she was still wrapped in a tight web. Gollum looked around. He knew that the spider would soon return.
Pilith knew that the huge beast would return.
"Show me the way out" he said, holding Mya.
Gollum's eyes darted, he was thinking.
"Follow me, hurry" he said, finally making up his mind.
Pilith struggled to carry Mya through the small slits in the wall of rock. Soon, Gollum led them out. He perched on a small outcrop of rock.
"Very high up we are, yes" he said.
The wind was cold as Pilith lay Mya down on a small ledge. Pilith took a deep breath as he looked around. He was in the middle of jiggered mountain range. There was no greenness to his surrounds.
It was made all the more darker by the ash cloud that hung overhead. Pilith looked down on a sheer cliff face. Below him, a strange building.
"Very high up" Gollum said.
Pilith did not need this creature anymore.
"There is no need for you to be with us, you have helped us and heeded us, be gone" he said.
Gollum knew that he wasn't needed. In fact, he had important business elsewhere. Without a word, not even a goodbye, Gollum hopped off of the ledge and started to descend the cliff.
Hours seemed to pass before Mya started to come round. By this time, the constricting webs had been cut away. Mya gently moaned as the world slowly came back to her.
"Pilith?" she asked.
Pilith gave a small smile.
"What… What happened?" she asked.
Pilith and Mya were alone on the top of the cliff. Gollum had now climbed out of sight.
"The spider, where is it?" asked Mya, fear rising in her.
Pilith tried to calm Mya down. After a few seconds, she did so.
"What happened?" Pilith asked her.
Mya could not recall the whole event.
"Well, I cant really remember what happened, there was just a sharp pain"
There was a small hole in dirty dress. Blood had been soaked into her once snow-white dress. Mya took a sharp intake of breath as she touched the broken skin around it.
"We have to get to Minas Tirith" Pilith said, looking over the edge of the tall cliff.
Pilith knew that it would take a few hours to scale the cliff. So, he helped Mya up.
"Come on" he said.
Pilith was the first to start climbing down. He felt that the rock had a thin layer of moister clinging to it. Pilith's head ducked down Mya felt very tired. Her eyes were heavy and she kept on losing concentration.
Pilith stopped and watched Mya slowly lower herself down.
Pilith looked down and started to slowly descend the cliff face. Below them was a strip of road leading away from Mordor.
The sun above them seemed to get darker with every passing hour. But, at the same time, the two of them inched closer to the road.
It must have been in the small hours on the morning that Pilith and Mya finally hit solid ground. Mya stumbled as she hit the road. The wind was cold here.
Pilith took a deep breath as Mya lent of him. Pilith looked around at his dark surrounding. But there was something, emanating out of the darkness, that caught his eye.
A figure was walking towards them. Pilith watched as it grew nearer and nearer. He knew that if it was an orc, he could not defend either himself or Mya.
The being came closer and closer. But the figure stopped.
"Follow me" it said.
Pilith found this very strange. It was as if the figure was expecting them. Pilith knew that it couldn't have been Gollum, for he had not walked upright since they first met.
"Quickly" the figure said as it walked away.
There was no other option then to follow this strange being. Pilith took a hold of Mya. She could not longer hold herself up.
She rested her head on her Pilith.
"Come on" he said.
The being led the two of them down a small crack in the rocks. A few minutes later, after they put enough distance between them and the road, the being stopped.
"How did you escape?" it asked.
The being had a raspy voice. An old and wise tone could be hinted. This being had obviously been in Middle-earth for a very long time.
"Who are you?" Pilith asked.
Only the beings eyes glinted what light there was. Pilith could just about see the figure place his hand in his pocket. The next second, a small clunking sound echoed around.
A few seconds after that, a light started to illuminate the surrounding area. Pilith finally saw that this being meant no harm.
Gandalf stood there. His hat was sitting comfortably on his head. Greying hair flowed down past his shoulders.
"Tell me" he said, coming closer.
"How did you escape?"
Origo gave a small whimper as he felt a rush of coldness where there should have been warmth. There was also a strange sound where there should have been silence.
His small brown puppy eyes started to open. The sound grew louder and louder as the world flooded back to him. The covers, which he specifically remember as being over him, were now folded over.
"Oh dear" said Diamond to a crying Faramir.
"Looks like Mister Origo is up as well"
Origo gave a large yawn. His soft, fluffy ears hung over either side of his head. Faramir seemed to be getting most of the attention.
"Come on, lets get you some milk" Diamond said.
Origo raised his head and gave a small whimper.
"I'll be back soon, puppy" she said.
Diamond smiled as she walked into a quiet hallway. Faramir whimpered as Diamond entered the kitchen. There was a small box full of glass bottle standing on the worktop.
Diamond smiled as, with her free hand, she opened the box. It took a few seconds to find the bottle that she needed. It had a bit of white powder inside.
A few minutes later, a fresh bottle of milk was poured. A small amount of powder was put into the bottle. Diamond smiled as she looked down at her son. He did not seem at all sleepy.
"Come on, lets get back to bed" she said.
Origo had curled up in a little ball, trying to warm himself up. Soon, he heard his Diamond coming back. Faramir was now quiet. He could not make any noise when he was drinking.
Diamond smiled as she took the bottle away from him.
"That's enough for now" she said, placing him back in his cot.
The bottle of milk was placed on her bed side table. A small whimper came from the large bed.
"I know, I know" she said as she picked Origo up.
Origo gave a large yawn and rested his head on his Diamond. Diamond then got into bed, still with the puppy glued to her shoulder.
The duvet was drawn over, hiding the puppy from view. But Origo soon popped his head out the covers.
"See you in the morning, Ori" Diamond said, giving him a small kiss on his fluffy face.
Origo gave a small whimper and closed his eyes again, eager to get back to sleep. Diamond, too, wanted to get back to sleep. And this was easily accomplished by the warmth of her bed.
Neither Faramir, Origo or Diamond would wake until the had risen high enough in the sky to start their day.