Oath

Their quest had begun less than an hour before and the company was quiet, some too downhearted to speak, others lost in reflection. Pippin had been deep in thought since their departure from Rivendell, and as he struggled to keep up with Aragorn's pace he was surprised at this moment and how he felt about it. It certainly didn't feel much like an adventure, and he was glad he didn't feel much like talking either, because he didn't want to bother anybody with his chatter just yet - it wasn't the time for it.

He glanced around at his companions, those darker shapes moving in the blackness, and the only sounds he could hear were trudging boots and the whistling of the wind across the hilltops. No songs for this occasion, not like at the start of their journey, and Pippin sighed as he thought of the Shire, and how exciting it had all seemed when he left Bag End with Frodo and Sam. There was no knowing where the road would lead them this time, and that, he supposed, was the reason for everyone's silence.

Aragorn halted, then, at the top of the hill, and for a brief moment they all looked down behind them at the lights of Rivendell glowing faintly in the darkness. From now on they would be alone, and Pippin wondered ruefully how long it would be before they saw such a friendly sight again.

Oh, but it was too much, he thought impatiently as they turned away at last, all this thinking of the road and where it would lead them. What had happened earlier had puzzled him deeply, and it just wouldn't do to keep on walking in silence like this. He grabbed Merry's arm as they moved off once more, slowing him down until they were walking behind the main group. He doubted that even Legolas would hear them with this wind rushing across the moors, for no sooner did the words leave their mouths than they were carried off into the night.

"Are you all right, Pip?" Merry turned to him with what Pippin imagined was a questioning look on his face, but it was too dark to tell.

"Yes Merry, quite all right," he replied, as softly as he could. "I just wanted to talk to you. What did you think of our farewell, then? It was all rather grim, I thought - not at all what I was expecting."

"It was grim," Merry agreed, "It didn't make me feel very hopeful at all, with all those elves standing there so solemnly, as though we were never going to come back." Pippin heard him sigh, and felt Merry's arms brush against his own as his cousin stretched, trying to ease the ache in his shoulders.

"Yes, that's just how I felt," Pippin nodded. "I was hoping it might be a little more cheerful, maybe even grand - something to keep us in good spirits, at least. But a fine start, this is, with everyone too gloomy to speak."

Merry didn't reply, as though to reinforce his point, and for a few moments Pippin was quiet also, but there was too much on his mind for him to remain so. "I just didn't understand what Elrond was talking about," he blurted out, wincing at how loudly he had spoken. "It's not often he makes sense to me, I know," he said, more softly, "but this time I felt like it was more that he didn't understand us, than that I didn't understand him, if you know what I mean."

"Not really, Pippin," Merry admitted. "What do you mean?"

"Well..." Pippin tried to put all his thoughts together before he continued. He wondered if they would make sense, because it was quite possible he had simply misunderstood Elrond's parting words - though if that were so, he didn't suppose it would comfort him much. "What do you think he meant when he said that we don't have to take an oath or go any farther than we want to – and that we can come back? It seemed like a rather strange thing to say just then, as we were leaving." He paused, "I mean, since we're doing this for Frodo, Elrond doesn't really expect us to leave him, does he?"

Merry was quiet, and it seemed to Pippin like a long time before he spoke again, although it couldn't have been more than a few moments. He wondered what Merry was thinking, and wished that he could see his face.

"I don't think he expects us to leave him, Pip," Merry replied hesitantly. "I think he meant to comfort us, actually, because we don't know what's going to happen. I suppose he thought it best not to ask us to swear an oath when we might not be able to fulfil it." Merry didn't sound convinced, Pippin noticed, and he was glad about that because he wasn't either.

"Well," he declared, "I don't suppose I would have sworn an oath even if one was laid on us, Merry. It's just not the way we Hobbits like to do things, is it? Especially not where family is concerned."

"It is different for us. You're right, Pippin," Merry agreed fervently. "An oath certainly wouldn't give me any comfort or strength if things got tough."

"Nor me," Pippin replied as he adjusted his scarf, for the cold wind on these high moors was fingering its way through all his clothes, making him shiver. "It's quite simple in my mind. We'll follow Frodo wherever he goes, because we love him. Why would we turn back without him when he's the only reason we're here at all?"

"We wouldn't turn back," Merry said with conviction. "I think Elrond knows that, really, Pip. Perhaps his words were just intended for the bigger folk... Perhaps Boromir isn't the only one who plans to leave us. Gimli and Legolas's homes lie ahead too, remember, and they haven't said what they're going to do yet."

"We'll just have to find a way to make them stay, then," Pippin whispered, an edge of mischief in his voice. "Frodo thoroughly won over Strider, didn't he, even after all that trouble in Bree, and Strider won't leave him now - that's clear enough even to me. If they love Frodo, they won't leave. That's what I think."

Merry grinned in the darkness and replied softly, "Perhaps love will be enough to keep us all going, then." He clasped his cousin's hand, an unspoken promise, and they journeyed on, far into the night.