Poppy flushed with pride as Gandalf bent down and uttered the words ‘I believe in you’ into her ear. She could not recall her parents ever saying such a thing to her, but then, she had never given them a real reason to, spending half her time as far away from home as she could get, ever desiring to see what lay beyond the green borders of the peaceful Shire.
What Gandalf had told her about Maladil comforted her rather less, looking down at what she now considered a useless scrap of metal hanging by her side. Still, who knew what else might lie in wait nearby the castle, as she put her hand on it for reassurance. What Gandalf had described about the castle and it’s inhabitants, however, struck her with a cold eeriness and a shiver went up her spine. A few weeks ago she would have scoffed if anyone had mentioned ghosts, and now she was going to have to see one face to face…if ghosts could really have faces.
At that point in her thoughts, they had had to set off, journeying for the best part of the day before the Castle came in sight, looming before them, old and grey.
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'It must often be so, Sam, when things are in danger: someone has to give them up, lose them, so that others may keep them' ~Frodo
"Life is hard. After all, it kills you." - Katharine Hepburn
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