Frodo lay in his bed, curled into a fetal position. He shook violently, containing the tears inside of him. Images of the wedding flashed through his mind.
It was but yesterday, though it felt like it were years ago. He sat at the back, next to Pippin. In the lap of every creature in attendance sat glass globes of different sizes. Inside the globes, their gifts to the married were contained, an elfish custom at weddings. Sam had been sure that his wedding was as elfish as possible. Frodo had held back his anguish, trying his hardest to ignore the Thain...
"Do you, Samwise Gamgee, declare your undying love,"
A tear escaped, slithering lazily down Frodo's cheek and he clutched the globe in his lap.
"and your unwavering loyalty,"
He squeezed tighter now, and more tears escaped the blockade.
"to Rose Cotton and that you will forever bind your soul with love,"
The glass cracked.
"to her."
Pippin heard the small "pop," and no one else. He looked over to Frodo. Frodo was looking forward, face emotionless.
Sam smiled at Rosie. "I do," he said.
The glass lay broken in Frodo's lap and a few shards poked from between his fingers that had been balled into tight fists. The blood was thick and it oozed from between the digits.
"Frodo!" Pippin gasped quietly.
Detached, Frodo opened his hands and looked down at them. "Oh, my!" he mumbled. "I must have broken my present. What a shame..." Frodo was slipping into his "bewildered" phase.
Pippin sighed and silently thanked the fact that they sat in the back. Frodo brushed off his lap absent-mindedly, glass falling to the ground without sound. Amongst the debris lay the silver chain that was to be his gift to Samwise and Rose, the very same necklace he had worn into Mordor and back. Pippin led his dazed cousin back to Bag-end, unnoticed by the wedding party. He sat Frodo in his favorite chair and ran to get some water. The spell now broken, Frodo realized what he had done and he wept into bloody hands. Only did he stop when the familiar presence of an old friend was near, and comforting arms around him.
Pippin returned with the basin only to be surprised at the unexpected guest.
"Legolas!" Pippin exclaimed. "What are you doing here?!" Legolas stood (as best he could in the small dwelling) and laughed quietly.
"Master Peregrin, you don't mean to tell me you were the only one to hear the sound of Sir Frodo's heart breaking? I am an elf, Pippin. You seem to have forgotten my sense of hearing." He turned back to Frodo, who was entering his "panic" stage, although it always wore off quickly.
"Oh, dear Legolas!" Frodo exclaimed, jumping from his chair. "I am so sorry to worry you. It was just an accident, really. I was holding Sam's present a bit too tightly and I'm afraid that the excitement of such an important event was just too much for me to handle at once."
Legolas nodded solemnly and kneeled on the floor in front of Frodo. Pippin placed the basin next to the elf and joined him in front of his cousin. Together, the Elf and the hobbit washed Frodo's face and bathed his wounds. Fresh bandages were wrapped around the deep gashes. Upon doing this, Legolas noticed an exceptionally large wound in Frodo's side that had not yet healed.
"The engagement..." Frodo explained weakly.
That too was cleaned and re-dressed. Legolas and Pippin decided that Pippin should return to the wedding as not to raise suspicion. Pippin wanted to go so he could tell Merry what had happened. Once Pippin was gone, Legolas sat by the fire with Frodo. The sun was setting and faint sounds of music and laughing could be heard from somewhere far away...
There was silence for a long time, but Legolas was the first to speak.
"You must be honest with your feelings, sir hobbit," he said.
Frodo kept his eyes on the fire, sucking on his pipe slowly. "What good will it do? Sam is married now, married to Rosie. It is very uncommon, feeling this way. And it is seldom embraced by the people of Hobbiton. The only thing there is to do is embrace the pain."
The elf laughed loudly. "Embrace it? My old friend you are embracing a dagger rather than love. This is not the way to "embrace" the pain of unrequited love." His voice became bitter. "There is no way to embrace it..."
Frodo seemed confused. "I am only taking my mind off of one pain with another."
Legolas shook his head. "This is still the improper way to live."
Frodo scoffed. "What would an elf know about such matters?"
Legolas bowed his head and pulled up the left sleeve of his tunic. There was a large scar that seared up the length of his arm. Frodo could tell that it had once been deep. He looked questioningly at the prince of Mirkwood. Legolas sighed.
"You are not the only one who has loved and lost, Frodo," he spoke quietly, replacing the fabric of the tunic back over the offending mark. "I may have told Aragorn of my feelings all too late, but he knows my feelings for him. And I in return. Whilst we feel a mutual passion, he is bound to Arwen, and he loves her, like Sam loves Rose." The elf breathed in a deep sigh. "But my soul is bared and the pain has been lifted, strangely enough. I know that one day I will love again. It may not be as deep as my love for the mortal king, but I will love once more. You will too, Frodo Baggins."
With that the subject was closed and the two sat by the fire, talking of days long since passed under a good pipe until the newlyweds returned to Bag-end.
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