I don’t know how long I slept or what happened during that time, but when I finally came to, I was in a lovely room and lying in a soft bed. The air here was cooler, sweeter than that of Mordor. I could also hear the happy chirping of birds. The first thought that ran through my mind was, am I dead?

As I tried to rise, I realized a hand was resting upon my own. I glanced over at the sleeping figure and, noticing his hand, knew I wasn’t dead at all. I placed my other hand over Frodo’s freshly-bandaged hand, and leaning over, placed a kiss on his curly head. He slowly stirred, but when he glanced up at me, his eyes grew wide.

“Pearl!” He practically leaped onto the bed and kissed me, first my lips and then my face. “Oh Pearl, Pearl, you’re alright!”

I couldn’t help but laugh, “Of course I’m alright; you saved me!”

“But I thought I had lost you for good when you fainted there on Mount Doom. They, they weren’t sure if you were going to make it.”

I gaped at him. “I-I almost died?”

Frodo nodded. “Don’t scare me like that again, alright?”

“What? You, scared? What about when you put on that stupid ring, fought Gollum and, and fell off that cliff! I could have died there, I was so scared! If, if Sam hadn’t been there, I… I…”

Frodo pulled me into a hug. “I’m sorry; I was just trying to protect you.”

“Can you be a little smarter about it next time?”

Frodo gave a soft chuckle. “I don’t think we’ll have to worry about that.”

“Uh-huh.”

He just pulled me into another kiss. My only wish was that the moment wouldn’t end.

“Hey!” The voice startled us, but I’d recognize it anywhere.

“Pippin!”

My little brother stomped up to the bed, his arms crossed. I noticed that Merry and Sam were standing in the doorway, grinning from ear to ear like idiots. Frodo helped me off the bed to meet Pippin. My brother simply wrapped me up in a tight hug and sniffled.

“Mr. Pippin, be careful, she just got up!” came Sam’s voice.

“She’s fine, Sam, don’t worry,” Frodo said. “But we should let her get changed so we can go eat.”

As if on cue, my stomach growled. I could feel my face getting hot. “Something to eat sounds good right about now. And Frodo’s right, I should change.”

Pippin nodded as he wiped a tear from his eye. “Alright, we’ll be waiting in the hall.”

I closed the door behind them and changed quickly. My new dress fitted me nicely, and I really liked the green and pink floral design. The lace on it meant it should have been worn as more of an evening dress, but since it was my only option, I had to wear it. I walked out of the room to join the boys and came across them talking. Well, Pippin, Merry, and Sam were chatting away about what they had done and seen, primarily the oliphaunts, while Frodo’s mind was apparently somewhere else—somewhere dark, I feared.

“Well, here I am, let’s go eat,” I announced.

The boys glanced at me, even Frodo, but his eyes didn’t seem to see me at first, until they widened and I saw some red rise in his cheeks.

“Great, let’s go, I’m starving!” blurted Merry before he took off down the hall, followed by Sam and Pippin.

Frodo held out his arm to me. “My lady?”

I smiled at him and gave a little curtsy. “With pleasure, sir,” I stated as I placed my hand on his arm.

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