LOTR: Shire Dragons - Pippin Took FF

Chapter 14

"EHEM!" 

The loud noise of someone clearing their throat caused Mallyra's head to shoot up, and Pippin to be startled so much that he fell backwards. They both looked up to see Lothiri, Sam and Merry all looking down at them, Merry concealing a smug grin behind one hand.

"What are you two doing? I turned my back for one minute I did, and then poof!" Sam started, staring at the stew he'd been cooking. "I thought you were paying attention! Obviously you had other things in mind.." he said, a grin creeping across his face. Mallyra shot up to her feet, and tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear, and her cheeks quickly turned red. 

"I.. We.. We were just talking. Whispering secrets, Y'know?" She blurted, mentally hitting herself for how stupid that had sounded. Pippin quickly nodded in clueless agreement, before standing up himself. 

"Yeah, we were.." he sighed, smiling across at Mallyra, before looking down at his feet. Merry shook his head and raised one, blonde eyebrow. 

"That was the weirdest secret sharing I've ever seen..." he muttered, before walking out of the flame light. Sam was soon back at work, preparing tea for them all. But Lothiri was peering hard at Mallyra and Pippin for about five minutes afterwards until she spoke.

"Mallyra, may we talk for a moment in private?" She asked, gesturing towards a large rock that stuck out of the hillside and was now bathed in moon light. The hobbit was puzzled by her request at first, but nodded her head enthusiastically, before quickly walking away from the rest of the group. Once Mallyra was perched on the rock along side Lothiri, the elf spoke in a more gentle tone of voice than usual.

"Mallyra.. I have to tell you something... and you might not like it.." She sighed, looking up into the night. The Hobbit frowned back at her,

"What do you mean?"

***********************

"So what were you really doing Pippin?" Merry asked, sitting down next to his best friend. Pippin shurgged a little at first, and then hit his hand to his head.

"I don't even know anymore Merry. I thought she liked me.. so I made a move as guys are supposed to, and then she just shrugged it off like it was nothing!" Pippin sighed, looking awkwardly across at Merry. His friend smiled down at him, and then patted him gently on the shoulder.

"So you do like her then?" Merry grinned, watching as Pippin began to blush a bright shade of red. Reluctantly, the hobbit nodded in agreement.

"How can I not like her?" Pippin smiled to himself, resting his head on one hand. "She's funny, she's smart, she's incredibly pretty, her eyes are breath taking, and I find the way she daydreams completely adorable.." He listed, completely forgetting about Merry. "She's just beautiful, and.." 

************************

"I know that you have feelings towards Peregrin Took.." Lothiri said softly, her face completely expressionless. Mallyra shot backwards in shock, staring back at the elf.

"It's that obvious?!" she said, sounding alarmed. Once she realised what she'd said, Mallyra looked straight down at the floor and blushed. Lothiri simply smiled.

"It's not that obvious.. I just have a skill at noticing this kind of thing among others. However, I have some news you may not want to hear. " Mallyra's face dropped.

"What? what is it?" she said, a lump forming in her throat. Lothiri sighed hard.

"You can't show any feeling towards Peregrin. For your sake as well as his." She spoke, her voice quiet. Mallyra looked back at her, more confused than hurt.

"why?" Mallyra questioned, blinking hard. Lothiri sighed again,  placing one hand on the hobbit's shoulder.

"You know of Etani's request?" The elf asked, peering down Mallyra. The hobbit nodded slightly. "So you know of riddle and the 'personal' gift?" Mallyra nodded again, looking even more puzzled than she had before.

"what's that got to do with.. my feelings towards Pippin." she stuttered. Lothiri winced a little.

"I fear that, if your feelings grow to strong, he may be seen as the personal gift Etani would want from you.." she breathed. 

"WHAT?! What do you mean by that?" The hobbit squeaked,  her eyes wide.

"I mean, if you confess or show your feelings for him, he may be seen as the ideal candidate for Etani's sacrificial demand..." The elf tried to comfort the Mallyra with hushed tones, but the hobbit froze on the spot. 

"So, I can't..?" She stuttered, her blue eyes piercing Lothiri's brass like ones. Lothiri shook her head slowly, then stood up slowly and out stretched her hand. "Come Mallyra, the others will be wondering where we've gone." Mallyra swallowed hard, and nodded. 

"Yeah.. I suppose they will.. but I have so many questions! Like, how did you know? or how do you know about Etani's requirement?" she sighed, standing up and walking a few paces ahead of the elf.

"I shall answer those questions in due time Mallyra.. but for now, I will let you discover your own fate." the elf whispered, as the two walked back into the light of the fire.

*************************

Frodo sat on a large log, which looked across a wide valley, while he waited for Aiwendil to return from his hunt. the valley dipped deep between two large mountains, with a picturesque lake pooling silently within them. The lake itself glistened in the moonlight, with the odd star causing the light to refract in shimmering blades. He took a deep breath in, the cool air chilling his nose. Slowly, he exhaled. It fell silent once more, and Frodo closed his eyes.

His time alone allowed him to think about the adventure he was on, and the friends he'd made. One who particularly interested him, was Aiwendil. Through out the whole of their time in his company, the elf had not said a word to any of the hobbit. He would only ever whisper into Lothiri's ear every so often, and even then it was singular words. 

A shudder passed over Frodo, and his eyes shot open. The moon was now covered in a blanket of cloud, and the lake didn't shimmer like it had when he'd opened his eyes before. Frodo scanned his eyes across the valley once more, everything was almost as peaceful as it had been before.

Everything, except the large looming shape which was now hovering over the lake. The shape was long and slender at both ends, with what looked like two elongated wings keeping it in the air and causing waved on the surface of the silvery lake.

(Sorry this took so long for me to post guys! I just haven't had the time lately, and I'm gonna try and post as often as I can!)