It was almost dusk when they reached the cross over at the river called ‘the water’, which ran through most of the West Farthing of the Shire. Mallyra had seen it before, as it ran through Bywater, the home of the Green Dragon inn.
"Do you guys want to stop for something to eat?" Frodo asked, sitting down in the long grass. His question was met by a chorus of agreeing grunts and sighs. Merry slung off his bag and laid down, looking up at the clouds that glided across the swirling orange sky. Mallyra relaxed a little too, leaning back on a log, while Sam started a fire.
"what else do you have in there Sam?" Merry asked inquisitively, looking through his friend's bag. He pulled out a few fire starting tools, a trowel ‘for gardening purposes’ and a small bundle of blankets. Within a few minutes, all five hobbits were sat around a gentle fire, on which, cooked a few of the sausages Pippin had brought. After a few moments of silence, Mallyra piped up.
"Tell me more about yourselves.." Mallyra Pleaded the guys, as she tried to make conversation. After all, she didn’t want to be going on an adventure with people she hardly knew. Frodo was the first to speak. He told her how his parents had died in a boating accident when he was twelve, so he lived with Merry and his Aunt and Uncle in Brandy Hall until his other Uncle, Bilbo adopted him. Sam then explained how he was to become Frodo’s gardener and best friend for the years to follow. Merry told her of his family history, how his father was the master of Buckland and many other things which she didn’t understand, but nodded her head anyway.
"What’s your family like Pippin?" Mallyra finally asked, tilting her head to one side. Pippin thought for a moment, and then turned to her and smiled. "Well, there’s me, my dad Paladin, who is Thain of the shire, you’ve already met him. My mum Eglantine and my three sisters, Pearl, Pimpernel and Pervinca." He breathed. Mallyra looked slightly confused,
"So most of your family’s names begin with P? That’s interesting.. I guess!" She laughed, shortly joined by a small chuckle from Pippin, who then turned to Frodo and asked why they were laughing. "which one of you is the youngest then?" she asked, out of interest. Merry pointed at Pippin, who looked around clueless before catching on,
"I’m actually eight years younger than Merry!" he laughed. Mallyra’s jaw fell open.
"But?! You look... Around the same age!’ she stuttered.
"it’s true, I’m years younger than all of these! But I’m the same age as you, I think, maybe older?" Pippin added. Mallyra nodded at him, still in shock. They really didn’t look like they were years older than Pippin.
"So what about you Mallyra?" Sam asked, sitting forward and removing the sausages from the fire. Mallyra shrugged a little, before casting a slight glance in Pippin's direction.
"Well, I lived in Michel-Delving for as long as I can remember.. until my dad was removed from his job as Mayor. After that, my mum wanted a change. So, she and my dad decided it would be best for us all if we moved to Hobbiton. Obviously, after what I've done because of it... It wasn't the best idea." She said slowly. Pippin noticed her head fall a little, and quickly shuffled closer to her, and placed on arm round her shoulders.
"It's not your fault Ra, really, you shouldn't blame yourself.." he said quietly, pulling her closer. When he looked up, Pippin saw Merry smirking a little, before raising an eyebrow. Pippin shook his head a little, before glancing at the sky. It had darkened quickly, and night was nearly upon them. The flickers of small stars were just becoming visible through the blanket of cloud that had settled a little.
Sam gently placed a small plate on Mallyra's knees, on which were two perfectly cooked sausages. "we best get eating, these'll go cold soon!" he smiled kindly.
"Thank you.." Mallyra grinned, before she began to eat. They were soon all tucking into their dinners, and not much was said whist they ate, apart from their compliments to the chef. After he'd finished, Frodo stood up slowly and looked around.
"We'll stay here for the night.. it's safe, and I doubt anyone will be bothering us." Frodo said softly, before nodding towards Pippin. Pippin cautiously stood up, and walked over to Frodo, and then stood beside him. "We'll go find some more fire wood." Frodo continued, as he and Pippin began to walk away.
"Just don't get lost, okay?" Mallyra shouted after them. Pippin turned around and waved, before shouting back from the distance.
"I'll try not!" he sniggered, before disappearing from their sight all together.
It was dark by the time Frodo and Pippin returned with fire wood, and Merry and Sam had both nodded off against a fallen tree. Mallyra had spent her time alone drawing, sketching a bird into her note pad. She jumped slightly when she heard Pippin's voice, and looked up to be met with a familiar smile.
"And Merry's convinced he doesn't snore?" Pippin laughed, as he sat down beside Mallyra. Frodo went to attend the fire almost immediately after he returned, as it was now a pile of glowing cinders. Mallyra smiled as she watched Frodo attempting to re-light the fire, and not being too good at it.
"Here, let me help you with that," Mallyra giggled, taking the tinder box from Frodo's hand gently, and crouching down next to the fire. Frodo stood back, admiring her at work as Mallyra produced a small glowing flame in a matter of seconds.
"I don't usually do that.. Sam always lit fires for me," Frodo admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. Mallyra smiled as she handed the tinder box back to Frodo, then went to speak, but Pippin spoke first.
"Is this what you did while we were.." Pippin started, but yawned loudly in the middle of his sentence. He was holding Mallyra's sketch pad open to the page she had drawn the bird on. Mallyra giggled behind her hand,
"Yes, it is Pippin. C'mon, we need to get to bed." she said, as she walked over to an empty place next to the fire, sitting down slowly. Mallyra was soon laid on her back, staring up into the pitch black night.
"Well, that's the first day of many on our adventure over and done with 'ey?" Pippin laughed, as he rolled over onto his side to look at Mallyra.
"Aye, I suppose it is Pippin.. although, I'm still as nervous as I was this morning." she admitted, looking up into his green eyes. Pippin reached out and rubbed her arm comfortingly, trying not to blush.
"Hey, it's okay to be nervous! I mean, who wouldn't be? You're going to find a dragon, who may not exist, and is the only hope of saving your mothers life and the rest of middle earth!" Pippin said, smirking a little. Mallyra raised an eyebrow at him clearly not as amused or comforted as Pippin had intended.
"Gee, thanks Pippin. You make it sound so easy." Mallyra muttered sarcastically. Pippin winced a little as he realised how he had sounded.
"'I'm sorry Ra, I never meant.." he started, peering cautiously across at her. Her eyes were fixed on the night sky again, showing she clearly wasn't listening. "Anyway.. G'night Ra.." he whispered quietly, as he lay back down again.
***********
The next morning, they were all up rather early. Especially Mallyra. She was eager to carry on walking, and didn't want to waste time where it wasn't necessary. It was around 8 o'clock when they set off again, and the sun rising sun left a trail of glistening light over the tree tops. The air was thick with a lining of fog, which chilled the hobbits as they walked, and the song of birds rang in their pointed ears as the hobbits crossed the river. Unlike yesterday, Mallyra, Pippin and Merry lead the way, Merry being put in charge of the map for that day. After about half an hour of walking, Mallyra turned to Pippin,
"I'm sorry about last night Pippin.. I never meant to hurt your feelings by not replying.. I was just thinking about what you'd said. There really is a lot riding on this, and I hadn't realised until you pointed it out last night." she said apologetically. Pippin Smiled a little, grabbing her hand gently.
"It's okay Ra, I should've thought before I opened my big mouth." Pippin shrugged. "But we're okay still aren't we?" he continued, his voice sounding worried. Mallyra looked at him, shocked.
"Course we are silly!" She laughed, letting go of his hand and punching him gently in the arm. They both began to laugh again, and Pippin rubbed his arm. "So, how old are you then exactly?" Mallyra asked, curiously peering at him. Pippin chuckled lightly before turning and looking her in the eyes.
"I'm 19, so how much older than you does that make me?" he smiled, watching as Mallyra tucked a loose hair behind her ear.
"It makes you, Master Took, exactly one year older than me!" she laughed in return, grinning as she looked back into Pippin's green eyes. Pippin blinked a little, and stared at her a little longer.
"That's funny.. I thought.. well, you look at least 16 or 17," Pippin admitted, shrugging a little. Mallyra frowned, but soon began to smile.
"Well I'll take that as a co-" Mallyra stopped as she looked up. In front of them, lay a large expanse of forest. "I'm guessing we're out of the Shire now..." Mallyra said, swallowing hard. All five hobbits were now stood at the foot of the forest, each one of them being covered by the looming shadows that the trees were casting along the earth.
"Well what are we waiting for?" Merry asked, grinning. With that, Merry, Sam, Frodo and Pippin all took a step forward, each on following each other closely. Mallyra however, stood still, gazing deep into the shadows before her. Her heart was pounding in her chest, as much as it had done in the cave she and Pippin had discovered. The boys had almost vanished from her sight, before she realised that she was stood still. Mallyra quickly jumped alive, and ran after them, for the thought of being alone, was more haunting than that of being in the dark.
It took a few moments for them to realise, but the hobbits eventually noticed how far behind Mallyra actually was. Pippin then remembered Mallyra's fears, and took it upon himself to wait further behind than the others. Sam, Frodo and Merry decided to continue on at a slower pace, so they could check what was ahead. The further they walked, the more the surrounding oak, pine and birch trees seemed to lean towards the hobbits; their branches out stretched as if they were trying to claw at them. After 10 minutes of walking further into the forest, the three hobbits came across a clearing, with a large pond in the centre.
"How come we didn't see this from inside the forest?" Frodo asked, peering at the pond. A silver fish darted past quickly, and caused Frodo to jump back a little, before he smiled to himself.
"I don't actually know how we didn't see it.. like I don't actually know where abouts we are.." Merry admitted, scratching his head as he stared hard at his map. "I mean, we should be about here but... there's not 'clearing' on this map!" he sighed, running his fingers through his hair. At that moment, Pippin stumbled out into the clearing, shortly followed by Mallyra, who was gripping onto Pippin's scarf. Mallyra quickly let go, and walked out into the sun light, breathing in as she did so.
"what did we miss?" Pippin laughed, looking at Merry's obviously annoyed face.
"Well, Merry has no idea where we are, so we're lost." Sam said sarcastically, looking rather annoyed himself. Pippin was just about to start an argument, when Mallyra stepped in.
"Guys... did any of you see this?" Mallyra asked, pointing to the remains of a fire, laying in a slight dip in the earth. Mallyra gently stuck her hand into the ashes, and then glanced back up at the other hobbits. "It's still warm... the people who did this can't have gotten far," she continued, trying to sound nervous. Pippin walked over to her, and crouched down next to her. Slowly, he placed one hand in the ashes.
"She's right.. they can't have left too log ago." he said, looking back across at Sam, Frodo and Merry. Mallyra scowled a little.
"Why wouldn't I be right?" she ask, frowning at Pippin. Pippin was left a little tongue tied, looking around quickly for a reply.
"I.. er... I meant.." he stuttered, going red with embarrassment. Mallyra then smiled, and began to laugh.
"You nutter!" she giggled, removing her hand from the ashes, and smearing a large black line of it down Pippin's cheek. Pippin drew back quickly, falling down in the process.
"Oh no you didn't just.." Pippin exclaimed, throwing his head back with laughter as he returned with an equally large smear of ashes down Mallyra's cheek. Pretty soon, the pair were laughing and covered in the ashes from the fire.
"Guys." Sam, pleaded, holding his hand in front of their faces to catch their attention. "Shush.." he continued, pointing a little. Mallyra and Pippin both sprang to their feet and dusted themselves down.
"What is it Sam?" Pippin asked quickly glancing across at Mallyra, and blushing lightly as he saw her looking at him too.
Sam took a slight step forward, before turning back towards his friends and whispering, "We're not alone."