17 

Pippin reread the message another time before leaning his head into palm and giving it a gentle shake.

“How am I going to break this to Diamond.  We’re just getting things back to a sense of normalcy and now this.”  He lifted his head, gave a sigh and stood up.  “Better to get it over with and face her wrath sooner rather than later.”

-----

He found her in one of the pantries doing a quick inventory of what they had after the holiday celebrations.  She was humming a spritely tune as she worked.

Pippin quietly cleared his throat to get her attention.

“Oh, hello, love,” said Diamond when she turned to where he stood in the doorway.  “To what do I owe the pleasure of you seeking me out in here?”

Pippin’s face looked serious and that suddenly made Diamond feel unsure.

He cleared his throat and dragged his feet as he walked toward her.  Anything to delay this, he thought.

When he reached her, he placed gentle hands on her upper arms and looked into her eyes.  Finally, he sighed and opened his mouth to speak.

“I just received an official summons from the King.”  He waited before saying anything more to see how much of the import of that statement she understood.

“And?” she asked.

“And I have to go,” he bluntly said.

“How long will be gone from home this time?” she asked.  She was thinking of the trip they had made to Gondor in the Spring before Faramir was born.

“That’s the problem,” Pippin said, and his voice became forlorn.  “This isn’t a visit or something I can take you and the children into.  There are some serious things going on and Aragorn has recalled all those sworn to his service.”

Diamond looked confused for several seconds.  Then the reality dawned on her.  “You’re hiding things from me, Peregrin, and you know we don’t do that to each other.  Come clean.  How bad is it?”

“Apparently, the Easterlings are not behaving themselves and Aragorn is concerned about possible assaults on Gondor.  He has recalled all his knights, even those allowed to depart in the past for other lands.  I know it is something so foreign to hobbits, but what I am talking about is possible war.”

Diamond gasped.  “You can’t go!” she exclaimed.  “What will we do if you don’t come back?”

Pippin opened his mouth but shoot it again without saying anything.  He had almost blurted something out that would not have helped and probably would have hurt.  He needed to be reasonable and calm for his wife right now and being flippant would not be wise.

Finally, he thought he had his thoughts well formulated enough to speak.  “Thinking about what might happen really doesn’t do you, or anyone else, any good.  Don’t get me wrong, I worry about those possibilities too but I can’t let the worry hold me back.  I don’t want to go any more than you want me to but I swore an oath many years ago and it binds me until death releases me.

“I will feel better knowing you are safe here and not anywhere near danger.  I will write to you as often as I can and I will only be gone as long as necessary.  Besides, if I’m not back before the Free Fair next year, Sam will come all the way down to Minas Tirith and haul my sorry self back here.  I got him involved in mine and Merry’s Shire Games plan and he’s not going to let me off the hook by escaping to the South.”  He smile a slight bit to reassure her.

Diamond sighed and stepped closer.  Pippin wrapped her in a hug and pulled her gently against himself.  “Is this how the women of the South have to live: constantly in fear that their husbands will be called to defend their country and never return?”

“I know it’s not any comfort to you but, no, the fear is not constant.  It’s been many years since there’s been any serious threat.  This may not be anything.  Someone may have blown things way out of proportion, but it has to be taken seriously until proven otherwise.  Gondor is the first defense for both the South and the North and it has to be defended.”

“When do you have to leave?” she asked from the shelter of his arms.

“I need to read the letter again to get all the details.  I just saw what it was and knew that I couldn’t keep this from you for a second.”

She nodded and gave a little snuffle.  

“We’ll get through this,” Pippin said, and there was strength and certainty in his voice.  “We’ve survived worse and we will survive this.”

He moved so that he was standing beside his wife and wrapped a supporting arm about her.  “Come on, let’s go home and we’ll figure things out and decide what and when we tell the children.”

-----

Over the next few weeks, Pippin went over plans for running Tookland in his absence with Regi.

“You know what this means, right?” Pippin said as the two of them reviewed planting and harvesting information for the coming season.

“What are you talking about?” asked Regi.  “Of course I understand these plans.  I’ve been doing these things for almost 30 years.”

“That wasn’t what I meant, and you know it, Reg.  What I’m talking about is this office, this position.  If something goes wrong and I don’t come back, you’re going to have to finally accept the Thainship.”

“Not happing,” said Reginard emphatically.  “You’re not getting out of it so easily.  You’re coming back and rescuing me.”

Pippin just smiled and shook his head.

-----

Pippin also sent letters to Sam and Merry to let them know what was happening.  He knew both would not be happy but they would understand, Merry maybe a bit more than Sam.

-----

The hardest thing, other than originally speaking to Diamond, was telling the children.

Both lads took the news hard.  They were angry and sulky for several days and it took a promise that, when he returned, Pippin would do something special with them and only them.

“Maybe we can get our ponies when you get back,” suggested Faramir.

“We’ll see,” answered Pippin.  “I’ve already talked to your Uncle Merry and he has agreed to pay a visit here while I’m gone to see how you all are doing, and I’m sure some riding lessons will occur during that visit.”

This appeased the lads somewhat.

Ruby didn’t understand much of what was happening.  She was used to Pippin being gone for short periods so the mention that he was going to be gone again didn’t have much affect at the moment.

Sapphire was another matter.  She was very close to her ada and when he took her aside for one of their “chats” the news devastated her.  She cried unconsolably for several minutes and Pippin had a hard time breaking through her sadness to explain things more clearly.

“You know, my little jewel, that you’re special.  You have to be strong now and dwell on what I’m doing.  You have to work on staying out of everyone else’s thoughts.  And, above all else, if you sense something bad, don’t let your nana know.  She’s going to be worried enough without anything you might know.  I wish I were going to be here to help you over the next few months.”

I be good, came the reply in his mind.  I know it be all right.  Nana is sad.  I make her smile for you.  You sad but not like Nana.

“You are going to fine, aren’t you, my jewel?  I just wish I knew what your gifts truly are.  I hate to leave when you’re gaining new skills so fast.  By the time I get back, you’ll probably be talking.  I just hope I can be back before you become a faunt.”

You will.

-----

Faramir’s ninth birthday was celebrated as usual, even if the party was a little more subdued than it often was.

-----

It was a few days after Faramir’s party when Pippin set out.  Aragorn had asked that he meet with some of the men coming down from the Northern Capitol so that they could serve as escort.  While the lands were more settled than they had been in many years, they were still not totally safe.  Also with the treat that seemed to rising in the East, there was safety in numbers.  Also, Pippin would travel faster riding ahead of one of the other knights on a horse than he would riding his own pony.  

If all went well, they would arrive in Minas Tirith just in time to celebrate the new year as observed there.  Also it would be the 20th anniversary of the destruction of the Ring.

-----

When Pippin arrived in Buckland, Merry was there to greet him.

“Can you stay the night?” he asked.

Pippin shook his head.  “I have to meet the King’s men at the bridge in a few hours.  I can, however, pass the time till then with you.  Is that new inn, the Flowing Tide, any good.”

“It’s passable,” answered Merry.

“Pip,” he said, putting an uneasy hand on his cousin’s arm, “are you sure you have to do this?”

“Merry, you of all people should know that I do.  It is a royal summons and to disobey it is punishable by exile at least and death at worst.  You wouldn’t have me risk that, would you?”

“No,” said Merry, “I wouldn’t.”  He removed his hand and dropped his to stare at his toes.  When he looked up, the concerned cousin was gone and Holdwine of the Mark stood there instead.  “I should come too.”

Pippin smiled and shook his again.  “No, Meriadoc, you need to stay here and help run things.  Also, you realize that your own call to arms may come, if things are as dire as Aragorns message indicate.”

Merry said nothing to this but he could not hide from his observant, younger cousin that this thought had already occurred to him.

They spent the rest of the afternoon sharing a half and a light repast at the inn.

-----

The first days of the journey went well, even if Pippin felt exhausted at the end of each of them.  It was far different riding before someone on a horse than it was riding your own pony.  Pippin found the position much more uncomfortable and boring than he had remembered it.  

He managed to learn a little about the situation in the South but these men had been in the North for a year and, also, they were not particularly inclined to talk much.  They reminded Pippin of the quiet and stoic Rangers.

-----

The days began to run together for Pippin so that he was not aware of the date when he bedded down on the evening of Rethe 5.

-----

Near midnight, the camp’s peace was shattered by a high-pitched scream.

Those on guard ran toward the source of the sound as other men awoke to see what the issue was.  Many instinctively grabbed weapons.

As they converged near the center of the camp, they saw Pippin sitting up in his bedroll but he was obviously not aware of his surroundings or those who stood before him.

“No! No.  I know nothing.  I’m just a hobbit.  I don’t have it.”  Pippin appeared to be lost in a vivid dream.

The troop’s healer began to issue orders.  “I need water heated,” he said, “and I need you all to give me quiet and space.”

“What is the matter with him?” asked the commanding officer.

“I’m not positive but I believe he is having a nightmare but not one like children have.  You have heard the story that during the War of the Ring, one of the periannath actually spoke with the Dark Lord.”  The officer nodded that he was familiar with the tale.  The healer continued.  “This is that perian.”

“I have heard many things attributed to the Ernil i Periannath but that he spoke to Sauron was never one of them.  I just assumed that it was a tall tale and that, if it had been any of them, it had been the Ring Bearer.”

The healer shook his head as he approached Pippin where he still sat lost in his dream.  He pulled out two leaves from a pouch he carried.  “These aren’t going to be nearly as effective as they would be in the hands of the King but they will help somewhat,” he said softly, not sure whether Pippin was at all aware of the world beyond his memories.

The healer accepted a bowl of hot water from one of the men and crushed the two leaves of athelas into it.  “Glad I listened to our Lord Elessar when he said that we should learn the virtues of this plant and carry it with us.  I just wish he were here to use it now.”

-----

Pippin took a deep, shuddering breath and slowly opened his eyes.  He was shocked by the sight before him.

“What happened?” he asked, then he became aware of the scent of athelas in the air.  

“You seem to have had a nightmare,” said the healer.

Pippin nodded weakly.  “You could call it that.” he said.  “My apologies to you all.  I had lost track of the days and did not realize that this was the anniversary of one of my darker memories from the war.”

“All is well.  No harm has been done and you seem to be much recovered.”

“Yes, I feel much better.  Thank you.”

“Then I will let you return to your rest, unless there is concern that you might suffer more disturbance to your sleep,” said the healer.

“No,” said Pippin.  “I should be fine now.  You also need your rest.  Do not be worried for me.  The moment has passed.”

-----

Pippin made sure that all were properly warned that the night of Rethe 15 would also be a night of dreams and unsettled sleep for him.  This allowed them to take precautions and have athelas and hot water ready at the rest sign of a nightmare.

-----

They arrived in Minas Tirith on the afternoon of Rethe 23 and, as soon as he had stowed his gear in the house in the sixth circle that had been set aside for any visiting hobbit, Pippin went straight to the citadel to make his obeisance to the King.