[piosenniel]

‘This is nice.’ thought Pio, surveying the clutter of the Gamgee family’s house. ‘Nice and homey and comfortable.’ All those children, and one more on the way! She wondered how her own home and the Lonely Star would look with two lively children running about. Pio let her mind drift idly with these thoughts as she sat in the kitchen munching on the last of her muffin, feet up on another chair.

She supposed she should go soon. Get back to the Inn to help Cami prepare for the party. But the indolent mood of a warm summer’s afternoon was full upon her and she only wanted to sit here, in this kitchen, with nothing to do but lick the last of the blackberries from her fingers and relax.

Her reverie was ended when she heard the whispers and giggles. She smiled, and sat up straight, resting her feet firmly back on the ground. ‘You are still all here!’ Five pairs of curious eyes were glued on her, though none spoke. She motioned the boys - Frodo, Merry, and Pippin to her. ‘I thought your ammë had sent you off to wash?’ she questioned them.

The two younger boys look toward Frodo, frowns on their faces. ‘Mother.’ he said, holding his hands out to her to inspect them. ‘Ammë is the Elvish word for it.’ Merry and Pippin nodded and held out their chubby little hands, too. Frodo’s hands were quite clean, as were Merry’s. But, little Pippin’s fingers had streaks of berry still on their tips, and when she pointed that out to him, he smiled sweetly at her and stuck one and two at a time in his mouth and sucked off the telltale coloring. ‘Better?’ he asked, holding them up again for her inspection. ‘Much improved!’ she answered laughing.

Elanor and little Rose had drifted nearer as she spoke to their brothers. She could tell that Elanor was bursting with questions, but her position as the eldest of the children in the room placed constraints upon her to be less impulsive and more mature. Frodo, too, had been eyeing her knives, but as the elder brother held back his curiosity, trying to set a good example for his younger brothers.

Little Rose and the two younger boys had no such reservations. Rosie leaned in against Pio’s left arm, and played with a strand of Pio’s long hair, and found no problem in asking her numerous questions. Between replies, Pio listened to Merry tell her about his day, and how he’d found a hop toad and fed it some earth worms. Pippin, sidled up onto what was left of Pio’s lap and patted her belly. ‘You’re gonna be an ammë, too. Just like mine.’

Soon, Elanor and Frodo could stand being the silent ones no longer. Their voices chimed in, too, with their questions and comments. And Frodo’s eyes went wide when Pio pulled back her sleeves to show him the knives strapped to her arms, and the throwing knives hidden in the tops of her boots. ‘Come see me at the party tomorrow,’ she said, leaning toward him, and handing him one of her boot knives to inspect, ‘I will probably have need of an excuse to leave the party for a while. You can come to my rooms; I can show you my sword, and helm, and mithril shirt.

By this time, Pio had moved off the chair and now sat cross-legged on the kitchen floor with the children in a tight circle around her. Pippin still sat on her lap, and Rosie was practicing hair braiding, as if Pio were a big doll, come to life.

It was this scene in which Miz Rose found her guest when she returned to the kitchen. An Elf sitting happily on the floor, the Gamgee children crowded round her, plying her with questions and a running commentary on the world as they saw it. She clapped her hands and they stood up, looking a little guilty. Pio stood up, too, saying how delightful they all were, and how much she enjoyed their company.

Miz Rose still had the invitation in her hand. Pio asked if Sam had seen it as yet, and could she tell Cami that her old friend would be coming. Miz Rose said she couldn’t find him, and sent the children out to look for him. Laying the invitation down on the counter, she too went out to see if he’d gone to one of the neighbor’s houses to visit.

Rosie peeked back in the kitchen once everyone had left and took Pio by the hand. ‘I know where he is.’ She handed the invitation to Pio and pulled her down the hall toward her father’s study. ‘Sometimes he doesn’t answer the door when he’s busy writing.’

‘I see.’ said Pio, hurrying after her.

[ February 27, 2003: Message edited by: piosenniel ]