Disclaimers: I do not own The Lord of the Rings. J.R.R. Tolkien does.
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This is something I've been meaning to write for a while. Sam shouldn't be pardoned for bullying Gollum. He too has faults and this is one of them. I'm just surprised people go after Lotho and Merry more than they do Sam for this.
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Samwise Gamgee was five years old when he learned about bullying. He spent his time playing outside with a wooden lynx. He enjoyed it so well that he didn't want to stop, but someone did stop him: it was the notorious Lotho Sackville-Baggins. Lotho was older than he was, but he could take him down. He could handle him… at least, until Lotho broke off his wooden lynx's tail.
"What are you going to do, Samwise Gamgee?" Lotho teased him.
Sam cried. He couldn't take it. He just had to see his Gaffer and tell him what happened, only Gaffer was very convincing. "Sam, remember your station. But also remember that we Gamgees protect the innocent. I don't want you to go off punching people or bullying them in return. What would a proper Gamgee do if we bullied people back? We'd be no different than them."
If only Sam learned this lesson sooner…
Years later, Sam saw Mr. Frodo being bullied by Lotho. He couldn't take it. He had to defend him in any which way possible. He had to be Mr. Frodo's support against bullies, even to show them a thing or two in return. It was who he was meant to be… why then was he reminded of his Gaffer's lesson about bullying: "What would a proper Gamgee do if we bullied people back? We'd be no different than them." But he had to defend Mr. Frodo. And helping a friend wasn't the same as bullying, was it? The bullies needed to learn their place.
"Is there a problem, Lotho?" Sam asked, standing between Mr. Frodo and Lotho. "If you hurt him, in any way, you'll have me to answer to."
"Humph!" Lotho was stunned. Quietly, he turned to Frodo. "Your bodyguard can't protect you forever." He skedaddled out of there before Sam could catch him.
"I'm his gardener!" Sam yelled back.
"BODYGUARD!" Lotho cried out, not risking to be beat up by Frodo's bodyguard.
Sam returned his gaze to Frodo, who was both stunned and amazed to see him in action. In a way, Sam was relieved but still might consider taking his Gaffer's advice from now on. If only he'd learned it sooner. If only.
"Sam," Frodo got his attention, "thank you. I guess I need someone to watch my back from now on, bodyguard or otherwise."
"You're welcome, Mr. Frodo," Sam said, encouraged by these words. "Anytime."
"Come on, Sam. Let's go to the Green Dragon," Frodo gestured to the inn.
"Gladly," Sam said, following his master inside the inn. Nope. That was one lesson he would take into consideration, thanks to Gaffer, but would he need it? Only in the best possible circumstances. For now, Mr. Frodo was safe and… he was going to regret even thinking that his Gaffer's lesson was only to be used on special circumstances. Oh well, he supposed. Oh great.
The End.
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Thanks for reading. :) Well, at least I got the lesson in there, but as usual I decided to keep Sam in character, same with Frodo. Well, anyway, thanks. :)