LOTR: Shire Dragons - Pippin Took FF

Chapter 17

Mallyra and Merry both dashed out into the courtyard, to be met with the sight of a now almost ebony black sky which was scattered with the beginning shards of stars, and both Frodo and Pippin looking up into the sky, Pippin looking rather annoyed with Sam.

"I swear, I saw one! Right there on that mountain side!" Pippin cried, throwing his arms into the air in frustration. Sam simply stood tapping his foot,

"So how come non of us saw owt? I mean, Dragons are pretty hard to miss!" he answered, shaking his head slightly. Pippin went to answer, but was interrupted by Aethibryn. 

"Please young hobbit, I mean no offence to your eyesight, but my people do not need to hear false claims of a dragon being in our presence." he said quietly, looking to the face of a nearby guard. "Now come! I have ordered a feast for your arrival in my great hall, and it will be ready shortly," he smiled, his thin lips and icy eyes seeming to brighten the mood instantly. At that precise moment, Pippin's stomach growled loudly, causing a deep red blush to crawl across his face. The noise resulted in  the rest of the party turning and smiling at him, and Mallyra trying and failing to hold in an insane amount of laughter, which made Pippin's already red cheeks to burn. 

Aethibryn lead them all back down the complex passages, telling them how his chefs were some of the finest he'd experienced in his entire life. Mallyra hadn't shown it, but secretly she'd been studying the man's behaviour, trying to figure out if he was really what he let on to be. However, Pippin now noticed her peering at him in an odd manor, him grinning slightly at the face she was pulling in concentration. 

"He doesn't seem like he means any harm to me," he said, knocking her out of her thoughts, and startling her. 

"w-what?" she asked, her head shooting in Pippin's direction as she tried to figure out what he'd said. "Oh, er.. It's not that I think he's a bad person or anything, it's just he puzzles me, I mean, the way he talks to Lothiri and Aiwendil.. and his fascination with dragons!" she added, gesturing to a coincidentally placed painting of a white, winged reptile which hung on the wall as they walked past. Pippin raised his hand in an attempt to counter her point, but then couldn't think of an equally smart remark. 

"Well, Lothiri and Aiwendil seem to trust him, and that's good enough for me!" Pippin grinned, pushing his hand through his curled, brown hair. Mallyra looked up at him and smiled and his innocence. Somehow, she felt herself wanting to be more like Pippin. He always found the bright side to everything, and he didn't seem to be haunted by his past in anyway. He was a carefree spirit, which gave him a more relaxing aura than anyone else she'd met before. Before she knew it, Mallyra was daydreaming again, looking straight ahead and thinking about her past, drowning out the world around her. She only snapped out of it when she realised she was in the main hall again. 

The hall looked a lot different when lit with candle light, as the flame light refracted of the shards of glass on the chandelier and made the room seem to glow. Rolled out on the floor was a large patterned carpet, and on that stood many fine tables, each one with seats tucked underneath. A few people were beginning to wander into the hall and take their seats, each one smiling widely at the selection of food in front of them. The party however, were to be seated besides Aethibryn on a great table at the top of the hall. Aethibryn sat in a large chair in the centre, with Lothiri at his left, and Aiwendil on his right. Beside Lothiri sat Merrry, Pippin and Mallyra. Aiwendil welcomed Frodo and Sam to be seated beside him. Aiwendil and Frodo seemed to get along well with eachother, as both preferred their own company, and were well aware of their surroundings. The elf didn't really associate himself with many of the hobbits, but he felt that Frodo was different, he gave out a different feeling to the others. A feeling of importance, but for what, Aiwendil could not figure out.