Wherever You Are Is Home Chapter Thirteen - "Notions of the Thain" It is 1410 in the Shire Reckoning Pippin is 20, Pervinca is 25, Merry is 28, and Pimpernel is 31 Pippin stood at the stove, clad only in his under-shorts and an apron. He considered the sausage as it fried noisily, and rolled the fat, brown links with his spoon. Merry would eat the sausage however it turned out, but Pippin knew that he did not like it too overdone. He turned the attention back to the scrambled eggs, which he also poked with his spoon. He had poured too many eggs into the pan at once, and he was worried that they would burn on the bottom and stay runny on the top if he did not watch them vigilantly. He forgot the eggs for a moment as he felt arms wrap around his waist from behind. He shivered as hot breath fluttered over his ear, and trailed down his neck. "I love you when you cook in your underclothes." Merry said into Pippin's neck. He pulled Pippin closer, and kissed the spot where his neck met his shoulder. "Merry." Pippin said in a half-whine. He waved his spoon at the stove, but leaned back into Merry as he did it. "The sausage will burn." "Bugger the sausage." Merry said. He moved his mouth up from Pippin's neck to trace his tongue along the edge of his ear. "There will be nothing to eat." Pippin threatened. "I've plenty to eat right here." Merry said, nipping at Pippin's neck. He moved his hips, pushing his growing erection against Pippin's rump. Merry ran his hand down Pippin's chest over the cloth of his apron, and rubbed his hand at the growing bulge between his cousin's legs. Pippin moaned softly and let the spoon clatter to the floor. He twisted he head to kiss Merry, who nipped at his bottom lip before sliding his tongue into Pippin's mouth. Pippin sighed into Merry's mouth, and rocked his body; backward against Merry's erection and forward into his hand. Merry turned Pippin around to face him, and slid his hands down to cup his bottom. Pippin did the same, slipping his arms around Merry and pulling him closer by pressing his hands against his rump. Merry shivered at the contact, and felt his blood catch on fire as their erections rubbed against each other. Merry kissed Pippin feverishly, plunging his tongue deep into his cousin's mouth as he untied Pippin's apron and pulled it off of him. Pippin moaned contentedly, then made a soft, startled noise as Merry started pushing him to the floor. All thoughts of breakfast were forgotten and conscious thought slipped away as he felt Merry's weight on top of him. Merry rocked against Pippin, who whimpered and clawed at Merry's back. Merry pulled away from Pippin's mouth to plant wet kisses on his neck and murmur incoherently into his ear. Merry slipped his hand between their bodies and rid Pippin of his under-shorts. "Merry." Pippin sighed. Merry trailed his tongue down Pippin's neck to his chest. He dropped soft, feathery kisses in a line down the center of Pippin's chest, making Pippin moan and arch up against Merry's mouth. He moaned again when Merry took him into his mouth, shuddering at the feel of Merry's lips around his hardness and his tongue running over it. He cried out and tangled his fingers in Merry's curls, shaking. Merry's already steaming blood boiled as he felt his cousin react, and he sucked harder, running his tongue over Pippin's erection more firmly. Desperate to touch Merry, Pippin moved, shifting and wiggling around so that he could touch him without having to pull out of his mouth. Understanding, Merry relented as Pippin twisted and turned, and cried out around Pippin's erection as he felt his own hardness slide into Pippin's mouth. Pippin cried out himself, enjoying the feeling of Merry in his mouth as much as being in Merry's mouth. He ran his tongue over Merry's hardness as he sucked, savoring the thought that Merry was feeling the same warm, fluttery feelings that he was. The warm, fluttery feelings grew strong and fierce. He moaned around Merry's erection desperately, and gave a jerk as he spilled himself into Merry's mouth. "Oh, Lady." Merry mumbled as he let Pippin slide out of his mouth. He ran a hand over Pippin's legs and rump, and nuzzled his face against Pippin's thigh. Merry shuddered, and Pippin felt hot warmth fill his mouth. He stroked Merry with his tongue, and swallowed when Merry's erection grew still. "I love you." Merry said weakly. Pippin shrieked. Merry sat up quickly as Pippin leapt to his feet with a horrified look on his face. Merry looked around the kitchen, confused, then dissolved into laughter when he saw the haze of gray smoke looming in the kitchen. "Have you heard from your brother?" "No." Pervinca lied. She spoke into her book, avoiding her mother's eyes. She had had a letter from Pippin only last week. It had been sent in the usual manner; addressed to Wildrose Stonebridge and delivered to the Golden Lady Inn in Tuckborough. Pervinca knew that her brother had walked to Newbury to hire the letter-carrier, and had signed his receipt as Kirkan Goodbody. A ridiculous arrangement, as far as Pervinca was concerned, but it eased Pippin's mind. He was terrified that he and Merry would be separated again if the Thain discovered where they were living, and insisted that any correspondence between Crickhollow and the Smials be as untraceable as possible. Pippin was, however, choosing to ignore that half of the Shire knew that he and Merry were holed up in that little house, or that Crickhollow was so close to Brandy Hall that Saradoc Brandybuck could likely see the little house from his bedroom window. He also insisted that Pervinca not pick up the letter herself, fearing the Thain's daughter receiving mail at an inn under an assumed name would cause comment. Her cousin Danelle had picked it up for her, swathed in a heavy, hooded cloak. "I wish he would come home." Her mother mused. Her voice had dropped to a whisper, and she was eyeing her husband sideways. Talking about Pippin in the Thain's hearing was dangerous business. Paladin Took had not so much as mentioned Pippin's name in the last two years. No one else in the Smials was mentioning Pippin, either. At least, if they were they were not doing it loudly, and certainly not in front of the Thain. Except Adelard, of course, who said what ever fool-of-a-Took thing that came to his mind, anytime he felt like it. "He will not come home." Pervinca said quietly. "Leastwise, not until he is positive that your husband will not pull them apart again." "Pervinca." Her mother warned. "He is your father." "Forgive me. I forgot." Pervinca said snidely. "He has not said more than a dozen words to me in the last two years." "He feels you betrayed him." Her mother explained. "Well, he betrayed Pippin first." Pervinca said petulantly. Her mother made a noncommittal noise, and Pervinca looked up from her book. She noticed that her mother's face softened fleetingly. Instead of the tight, pinched expression she had been wearing since the day she discovered that Pippin was in love with his cousin, she looked sad and distraught. Pervinca caught herself staring at her mother, unused to seeing her mother's emotions on her face instead of the implacable mask she had taken to wearing. The only time that it had changed had been the short time that Saradoc Brandybuck had been at the Smials. But it had not changed for the better. It had only gotten colder, and more taut. "I am sure that if he gives your father time…." Eglantine trailed off. She was lying to herself, and she knew it. Pervinca looked up at the uncertainty in her mother's voice, and wondered, not for the first time, if her mother was aware of what had passed between her husband and Merry's father. "Time to do what?" Pervinca asked. "Find another way to separate them?" "Pervinca." Eglantine sighed. "Your father wants…." "Pippin wants to be with Merry." Pervinca said threw her teeth. Eglantine chewed her bottom lip in thought. "How old was Pippin when he and Merry…." "Fifteen." Pervinca answered. "Then they have had five years together." Eglantine said. "They should consider themselves lucky that they have had that long together." When Pervinca had returned to the Smials without Pippin, her father had been furious, but her mother had seemed relatively unconcerned. At the time, Pervinca had thought it was odd, but now, she was starting to understand why her mother had reacted as she did. Eglantine had been assuming if left alone long enough, Pippin would return to the Smials of his own accord. "But he wants to be with Merry for the rest of his life." Pervinca insisted. "People are rarely allowed everything they want." Eglantine muttered. Pervinca looked up at her mother, and noticed that her gaze had drifted to her husband. Pervinca froze for a moment, wondering if her mother was talking about herself, rather than Pippin. If the dates in the Blue Book were correct, it was quite likely that her mother had been carrying Pearl when she married the Thain. Pervinca had always assumed that her parents had intended to marry anyway, and had done so sooner than later to save her mother some embarrassment. Pervinca's gaze shifted to the Thain, and then back to her mother, and she shivered. Perhaps it had been different. There was twenty years between Paladin and Eglantine, and they were from two families that rarely intermixed. Perhaps they had not intended to marry at all. Perhaps they had gotten married because it was the right thing to do. "Wife?" Paladin asked from his desk, disrupting Pervinca's stream of thought. "What does the herbwife say about Pearl's bairn?" "She says it is healthy." Eglantine responded. "No." Paladin waved his hand at his wife exasperatedly. "Does she say it is a lad or a lass?" "She swears by the Lady that it is a lad." Eglantine said, a bit dryly. "Mind, she said the same about Pervinca." "Would that she had been a lad." The Thain said dryly, pressing his lips together, his eyes flicking quickly to Pervinca before returning to his wife. "Elsewise, I would not be plagued with these papers." "What papers are those, husband?" "Letters of Inheritance." He replied, scratching at them with the quill as he spoke. Eglantine raised an eyebrow at her unaware husband. "I mean for Pearl to be Thain when I pass, not Adelard." "What you will get is Sandlon Bracegirdle as Thain, not Adelard." Pervinca said. Her father could leave the Smials to Pearl all he wanted, but if she was married, the property belonged to her husband. "But if her bairn is a lad, I do not need to bother with these papers at all." He said, ignoring Pervinca. "The Smials will pass to him without question." "You have a son." Pervinca reminded. "I had a son." The Thain said. He fixed Pervinca with a cold look before turning his attention back to his papers. Pervinca stabbed at her mushrooms bitterly. They were her favorite, cooked in butter and garlic with onions, but she was so angry that they had about as much flavor as sand. She was furious at her father. I had a son, he had said. Just thinking about it made her want to hurl her plate at her father's head. She didn't, only because they were eating in the main dining hall, and she did not want to throw crockery at her father's head in front of the whole family. She could not believe that her father was being this stubborn, pig-headed, cold, and unfeeling. And asinine. Leaving Pearl the Smials, indeed. Perhaps for his next trick, he would try and make Pimpernel the Mayor. It infuriated her because it was possible that her father could get away with it. Letters of Inheritance required the signatures of seven witnesses, in red ink, amongst other foolishness, meaning that her father had to find seven people that did not think he was as cracked as old Bilbo. Seven people willing to gamble with the prospect of Sandlon Bracegirdle being Thain in all but name, if Pearl only produced daughters. Unfortunately, there were probably seven hobbits in the Shire that did not want the Smials to pass to Uncle Adelard bad enough to fund her father's wager on Pearl's bairn. But whether or no her father won, Pippin would be the one that lost. Because he loved Merry. And because her father was a fool of a Took. But more importantly, because she had intervened. If she had left matters alone, Pippin would be in the Smials right now, not hiding away like a thief and seven signatures away from losing his birthright. Pervinca slammed her fist down on the table, earning sharp looks from her parents and sister. She caught Pimpernel's gaze and held it. Pimpernel was sitting on the other side of their father, as far away from Pervinca as she could manage without gaining reproach from their parents. They had not said more than a handful of words to each other in the last two years, and when they had spoken it had not been polite. Pervinca narrowed her eyes at Nel, her already seething temper roiling to a boil. She suspected that part of her father's inability to forgive and forget was partially due to Nel. Nel had not given a whit about marrying Merry, until she found out that she could not. Then, she had been all tearful sighs and melancholy weeping; mourning over the loss of a lad she had not really loved in the first place. Which made Merry's case with her father that much worse. Not only was Merry tumbling his only son, he had broken his daughter's heart. "You stay where you are, you botheration." Pippin said with mock sternness, when he heard Merry shifting around in his chair. Merry gave a resigned sigh, smiling at his cousin with adoration laced with amusement. Pippin was trying to make lunch, and after the breakfast mishap, he was taking no chances. Merry had been banished from the area of the house's main room that qualified as the kitchen. "I am starving, Pip." Merry lamented, his tone only half-joking. "You would not be, if you had not made me burn breakfast." Pippin said, whirling around to wave a spoon at Merry threateningly. Merry smiled to himself, remembering how little convincing it had taken to make Pippin forget about breakfast. A few soft words, and a few kisses, and Pippin had not given the sausage and eggs a second thought. It made him tingle, knowing that Pippin craved his touch as much as he craved Pippin's. I have warned him about cooking in his underclothes, Merry quipped to himself. As he watched Pippin putter around the kitchen, he got a fluttery feeling in his stomach, and his heart filled with warmth until it was close to bursting. Pippin had taken on all the cooking shortly after they had moved into the small house, a way for him to take care of Merry in return for Merry taking care of him all those years. It was a gesture so selfless and tender that it made Merry fall in love again every time he caught sight of Pippin in the kitchen. Especially when he was in the kitchen in his underclothes. "Here, goose." Pippin said, laying a plate of muffins and a bowl of berries and cream on the table. "You had better come have some of this, before you starve to death." "I'd rather have some of this." Merry said, pulling Pippin in for a kiss. Pippin made a muffled protest, but wound his arms around Merry's neck, returning the kiss sweetly. Merry pulled away to trace Pippin's lower lip with his tongue, and suck at its soft fullness. "Merry." Pippin whined. "What?" Merry teased. "Would you rather eat?" He asked, reaching his hand down to brush the growing bulge in Pippin's underclothes and pressing soft kisses on Pippin's neck. "Yes." Pippin choked out. "No….no." Pippin pushed his hips forward to rub himself against Merry's hand. "I don’t know." He complained. "Go ahead and eat." Merry said, cupping Pippin's hardness in his hand. "Merry!" Pippin cried, burying his head in Merry's shoulder when Merry squeezed him. "No fair." "Do you want me to stop?" Merry asked, his lips brushing against Pippin's ear. He let his breath graze over it, and felt Pippin shiver. Pippin answered him by biting Merry's neck, hard. Chills ran down Merry's spine as Pippin's teeth dug into his flesh, and he moaned as Pippin replaced his teeth with lips and tongue. He slipped both hands to Pippin's rump, pulling and lifting. Pippin wound his legs around Merry's waist, pushing his hardness into Merry's belly. "I love you." Merry said, turning to sit Pippin on the table. "I love you, too." Pippin breathed. He let his legs fall from around Merry's waist, and grabbed handfuls of Merry's nightshirt to pull him closer. Merry kissed him, and reached behind him to fumble with the bowls next to him. "Are you still hungry?" He asked, offering Pippin a ripe raspberry, half-covered in the heavy cream. Pippin stared at the berry in fascination, his eyes widening as Merry's free hand slipped between his legs. Merry tapped the berry on Pippin's lips, leaving a spot of cream. He watched as Pippin's tongue slid out of his mouth slowly, teasingly, to lap it up, and his erection throbbed in response. He moved the berry back in front of Pippin's mouth. Pippin moved forward to take it, and Merry pulled it back. Merry offered him the berry again, and again pulled it back just as Pippin was about to take a bite of it. "You're a tease." Pippin breathed. "You like it." Merry said huskily. He put the berry back in front of Pippin's mouth, but moved it up and tapped it on the tip of Pippin's nose. Pippin made a soft protesting sound, and Merry took the opportunity to pop the berry in his open mouth. He leaned forward and kissed the cream off of Pippin's nose, then kissed his mouth, savoring the taste of the berry on his cousin's tongue. Merry felt a surge of desire as Pippin whimpered into his mouth, and started to push Pippin back onto the table, hastily moving the bowls and plates aside. "Wait." Pippin murmured. Merry chuckled quietly, thinking that Pippin was concerned about the food, but the chuckle changed into a gasp as Pippin slipped of the table, hauled Merry around, and pushed him, making his rump hit the edge of the table. "Pip." "Get up there." Pippin growled, attempting to haul Merry onto the table by the arm. Pippin's eyes flashed when Merry hesitated, and he gave Merry a little push. Merry lifted up on his toes to sit on the edge of the table, and made a soft noise when Pippin pushed him onto his back and straddled his waist. "Are you hungry, Merry?" Pippin taunted, sitting back to grind his rump against Merry's erection. Merry could only moan, overcome by the feeling of Pippin's soft rump pressing against his hardness. He moaned again, this time in loss, as the pressure on his erection disappeared and Pippin leaned over him, pulling a berry from the bowl. Pippin tapped the berry against Merry's nose, just like Merry had done, then slowly lapped at the cream. He sat back, just enough to brush his rump against Merry's erection fleetingly. Merry shuddered, then sighed as Pippin leaned forward again. Pippin caught Merry in a smoky gaze that made him want to scream, and pushed the berry between his lips. Then he traced his tongue over Merry's lips, taking up the cream, as Merry chewed and swallowed the berry. Pippin reached up and touched Merry's lips lightly with his finger, still dotted with left-over cream. Merry kissed the tip of the finger lightly, and sucked it into his mouth. Pippin sighed, watching his finger disappear between Merry's lips. "Oh, Lady!" Merry choked out as Pippin pulled his finger out of his mouth and sat back on his erection. "I want you so badly." Pippin considered him silently for a moment, rubbing his rump over Merry's hardness, before sliding off the table. Pippin padded across the floor, fished around in one of the cupboards, and returned with a small bottle of sweet-scented oil. Merry shivered in anticipation, his breath low and shallow, as he felt Pippin's hands pull at the laces of his under-shorts and yank the garment off of him. He watched as Pippin rid himself of his own under-shorts, gazing at his cousin's body in yearning. Pippin uncapped the bottle and poured a bit in his hands, watching Merry carefully. He crawled between Merry's legs, and did something completely unexpected. "Oh!" Merry cried out, when he felt Pippin's slick finger probing at his opening. His heart raced, and butterflies fluttered in his stomach. They had never done it this way, Pippin always insisted that Merry be inside of him. As much as Merry had always wanted to try it the other way around, he had long ago given over arguing about it. Pippin pushed his finger inside gently, and Merry gasped at the feeling, both painful and sweet. Pippin moved his hand slowly, carefully sliding his finger in and out of Merry. He smiled when his finger hit something inside of Merry that made him twitch, the same sweet spot inside of him that Merry's erection would brush against and make him scream. When he felt Merry moving his hips to meet his finger's movements, he added a second finger, and then a third. He found Merry's spot again and stroked it, and felt a boiling rush of heat as he watched Merry's back arch and his eyes roll back. "Do you want me, Merry?" Pippin whispered. "Oh, Pip!." Merry shouted, staring into Pippin's eyes, which had turned dark and smoldering. Pippin had never acted like this, and it was exciting beyond words. "Yes, Pip. Please." "Where do you want me, Merry?" Pippin breathed. He leaned up to brush his lips against Merry's, and slid his fingers deep inside him. "Inside." Merry hissed. Pippin stroked his spot again, and he quivered, sighing as he felt Pippin's fingers leave him. "Please, Pip. Inside." Merry sucked air sharply through gritted teeth as Pippin pressed into him. Pippin paused, waiting for Merry to relax, and took Merry's erection into his hand. He slid into his cousin slowly as he stroked, relieved to see Merry's pained expression fade to one of pleasure. Flashes of color played across Pippin's eyes as he slid completely into Merry. The feeling of Merry's tightness around him was new and wonderful, and he had to pause, afraid that if he moved it would end right there. Once he had caught his breath he did move, gliding in and out of Merry slowly and steadily. He cried out each time he slid into Merry, awed by the sensations coursing though his body. Merry started to move with him, lifting his hips to meet his thrusts and shuddering every time Pippin's erection ran over his sweet spot. Pippin started to move faster, thrusting into Merry desperately, crying out his name softly. Merry cried out too, his noises as desperate and needful as Pippin felt. That rushed, panicky feeling ebbed over Pippin, and he thrust into Merry one last time with a grunt. "I love you." Pippin murmured, as he let himself go inside of Merry. "I love you, too." Merry answered. He took a sharp breath and moaned, and bathed both their bellies in warmth. Pervinca was in a secluded spot in her mother's gardens. She was sitting on the ground with her back against an old willow that was tucked back against the garden's wall. The willow was ancient, likely as old as the Smials itself, and had long, drooping branches whose leaves dragged on the ground. She tapped the end of her quill against her nose thoughtfully. She was trying to write a letter to Pippin, but seemed unable to put words to paper. Your father is a self-righteous ass who wants to strip you of your birthright because he unable to forgive you for doing something that he did himself, she thought wickedly. As tempting as it was, she shoved that thought away. She wondered if Pippin would care, anyway. He was a tweenager, and hopelessly in love. Likely at this point in his life he thought being with Merry was the most important thing in the world. More important that being the Took and Thain. Her attention was ripped away from the letter by the sound of voices in the garden. She cursed quietly, as she had chosen this spot specifically because she wanted to be alone, because she did not want to get caught writing to Pippin. No one believed that she did not know where Pippin was, but she did not want to give herself the lie by being seen writing a letter to him. She cursed again, when she recognized one of the voices as her sister. Mentally, she shook a fist at the Lady, and tried to shrink farther back against the tree's truck. Then she cursed once more, when she discovered the other voice was her mother. She knew that she could not been seen through the willow's leaves, but at the moment it seemed like a very flimsy shield. "Nel?" Her mother questioned expectantly. Despite herself, Pervinca leaned forward, trying to hear better. Nel remained silent for a long time, fidgeting comfortably and shifting her feet. She dropped her eyes to the ground and took a deep breath. "I wish to marry." She said in a rush. "Oh." Her mother said, taken aback. She peered at her daughter curiously. "Who." Another long pause. "Berilac Brandybuck." She said quietly. Pervinca choked back a gasp, wondering what her sister was on about. Nel and Berilac had barely exchanged a dozen words in all their lives. "Pimpernel." Her mother warned. "This will not please your father." "Which is why I came to you first." Nel said sweetly. Too sweetly. "Has Berilac asked?" Her mother questioned. "No." Nel said slowly. "But I am sure that he will." Eglantine gave her daughter an appraising look. "There is not reason to open this barrel of fish with your father until the lad has asked." "But he will." Nel insisted. "But he has not, so it can wait." Eglantine said flatly. "No, it cannot.!" Nel shouted. Silence enveloped the garden. Eglantine froze, her tight, pinched expression dissolving to horror. Nel lifted her arm, her hand drifting protectively to her belly. Eglantine's eyes followed the movement, widening. The air swam and a wave of dizziness reminded Pervinca to breathe. "When?" Eglantine asked softly. "Celandine's birthday." Pervinca pursed her lips, considering her sister's words. Celandine Brandybuck's birthday had been a little over a month ago. Nel and Berilac had been talking, something that they rarely did. Pervinca had not thought much of it, as Nel had been so drunk that she had even been civil to her. She apparently had not been too drunk to take a tumble with Berilac. "This will not please your father." Eglantine said again. "But there is naught to be done. I will speak with him before dinner." Pervinca paused and grabbed her cousin by the arm as she passed her. "You are inviting me to dinner." She said softly, fixing Danelle with a serious glance. "Of course." Danelle said lightly. "The Thain wishes for a private dinner?" "He does." Pervinca said as they walked towards the dining hall. "And I am in no mood." Danelle said a few quiet words to Adelard as they entered the dining hall. He pursed his lips at Pervinca, but gave his daughter a curt nod. Danelle found Pervinca a seat next to her, and they sat down to rich dinner of honeyed ham and corn-on-the-cob. "You are quiet." Danelle remarked around a mouthful of ham. Pervinca glanced up from her plate and gave Danelle a weak smile. Her face turned sheepish, knowing that she was not being fit company, after forcing Danelle to invite her to dinner. "You should not take on so." Danelle said simply. "Your father is a trial sometimes, I know, but you should not let it upset you." "My father is more than a trial." Pervinca said sourly. "You should get away." Danelle said. "Would that I could." Pervinca said, gesturing to Danelle with her corn. "But I cannot. If I take off, my father would be suspicious, he is convinced that I know where Pippin is." "You do." Danelle quipped quietly. She nudged Pervinca with her elbow, and Pervinca waved her off. "I think that you could manage it if you were not alone." Danelle said. "Perhaps if you were with me and my family." "What?" "We are leaving for Brandy Hall at the end of the week." Danelle said, waving her fork in the direction of Uncle Adelard. "I am sure that your father would not think you are up to something if you were traveling with my father." "Brandy Hall?" Pervinca asked, her voice confusion mingled with hopefulness. Brandy Hall was only a half-days ride from Crickhollow. "Why is your father going to Brandy Hall?" "You have not heard?" Danelle asked. "He has a wedding to plan. Everard is getting married the month after next." "Really?" Pervinca asked. This was an interesting development. She wondered idly what Everard planned to do about his barmaid in Bree. "To who?" "Melilot." Danelle replied. Her smile slipped when she saw Pervinca's face crumple. "Oh, Pervinca." Danelle sighed. She patted Pervinca's arm, and made a face like she was cursing herself for a fool. "I forgot." Pervinca shrugged, and frowned at her ham. "You and Melilot are not still, uh…….involved, are you?" "Oh, no." Pervinca said. She tried to sound light-hearted, but she was finding it difficult to breathe. "That was done years ago." Pervinca and Melilot had parted ways shortly before her father had found out about Merry and her brother. She had been so caught up with Merry and Pippin that she had pushed all thoughts of Melilot away until she had all but forgotten about her. But Danelle's bit of news had struck Pervinca like a fist to the stomach, knocking all the air out of her and leaving her unable to anything but stare in wide-eyed disbelief, blinking like an owl. Melilot had never really been forgotten, she had just been too painful to think about. "I am sorry." Danelle offered. "Perhaps it would be better if you stayed here, after all." Pervinca considered Danelle for a few quiet moments before speaking. "No." She said finally. "I think I would like to go with you. Thus ends Chapter Thirteen, as Pervinca tells it. Chapter Twelve | Chapter Fourteen Back to the Blue Book