"Tigerlily? Are you there? Luncheon is ready. I hope you like chicken! Some tea is on the table. I have to check on something." He looked down, "And I should probably get out of my nightclothes." He held up his finger in the "one moment" sign. Tigerlily laughed. He rushed out of the room and came out a few minutes later wearing a brown waistcoat and a cream short sleeved shirt. Along with that he had on typical hobbit like pants, except these were a dark forest green. He finished it off with some dirty boots that were obviously very well loved. She thought he looked quite cute.
"Well, shall we sit?" He set out her seat for her and then sat down himself. They said very little during lunch, except some simple questions. She had not noticed it in the excitement of the meeting, but Tigerlily found that she was famished. She told him that she had been traveling for three days, only stopping to sleep under the stars. She showed him the letters that Sam had written her, in his familiar messy writing. He read most of them, and smiled often, each started with "Dear Miss Lily" and ended with "Can't wait to see you, Samwise Gamgee" so like Sam he thought. After she had finished her second cup of tea, Frodo leaned back and said "Miss Lily? We must be off."He hastily cleared the dishes, splashing them with water and some soap and drying off his hands. Tigerlily noticed the missing finger on his right hand.
"So it's true sir? About your hand and all?" She couldn't help but ask.
"Oh yes yes, most of all that seems like rumor is true. That dreaded Gollum broke his promise, and almost had his way. He was so angry he would've killed me I think. But he never got the chance. The ring took him to his death, and in a way I believe it's what he wanted. I'm very grateful for his sacrifice, if you can call it that. Without him I might've made the same mistake as Isildur." A look of shame and remorse came over him, he sat down quietly, like he had forgotten all about Tigerlily for the moment. He came back to his senses and said, "Sorry my dear, I have a spell once and a while . I hope you understand."
"I'm just thankful you and Sam survived!" She blurted out suddenly. "I wish I could understand sir, but I can't seeing as you are the only one surviving to have born such a burden."
"I'm glad your happy, that makes me happy too. Now let's get going before Sam begins to worry his pretty head about both of us now!" He grabbed his coat and opened the door for her, and they both set down his front steps.
"The road goes ever on and on..." Frodo mumbled the now familiar song as they strolled together. Tigerlily began to sing it too. Bilbo's little tune had become associated and often sung in relation to the telling of his adventures, as well as Frodo's.
After a few minutes they both fell silent. It was a long walk to Sam's, who had a hole in almost the heart of town, just a little from the Green Dragon Inn. Frodo piped up.
"I'm sorry to say this, and I hope it doesn't sound impolite, but how old are you? I'm known for guessing ages, and I'm almost always correct, but with you I haven't the foggiest idea."
"No, no it's not rude at all, it's flattering actually. I'm 52 and a half, I just had my birthday over the Autumn. I hope you thought I was younger then that, not older. I try to keep looking my best. I ride horses often, and keep my best shape possible."
"I thought you were much, MUCH, younger miss. Fifty-two? Wow, I could've sworn you were in your late 30's. Nothing more then that." The look on his faced showed that he was being honest. Tigerlily turned a deep, deep red. She could not believe that Frodo was complementing her! A thank you was all she managed to sputter out.
They talked a little more about their childhoods, Frodo having grown up in the Shire with the greatest story teller known to hobbit history, and Lily being an innkeeper's daughter. She told of the nights that when she was a little girl, she would hide in a corner, breathing in the heavy, smokey air, listening intently to every word the guests would say. Many years later, as she was doing just that, was when she heard about Frodo and Sam. She talked about her father Bingo, and how his entire life revolved around the inn. He loves the inn, almost more then his family. He never thought about seeing the outside world, but rather have it come directly to him. She hated this about her father, and continually begged to go on any adventures, even if it was just to the end of the golden fields of the Shire. But he never let her insisting that she "stay out of such nonsense".
She had been going on some time now, revealing more of herself then she ever had before. She talked about her little sisters, Ruby and Orangeblossom, whom she loved dearly. Their mother had died when she was 15, giving birth to Ruby, the youngest of the three. Their childlike innocence and sense of adventure, like her own, had kept the family sane. Sometimes times had gotten rough, business ran thin, and the girls had to get odd jobs. She had worked in the stables at the inn, taking care of the guests horses. This is where she had fallen in love with the animals. Although she had to stand on a high stool to simply brush them, she felt a link between her and the unhappy horses. Both were wild at heart, wanting to be free, but stuck in a pen, in Tigerlily's case the inn, that kept them back. She stopped for a minute, to take a breath and notice the weedy, cobblestone streets she was wandering down. "It's so beautiful here. Much more green and peaceful then Buckland." she thought to herself.
Frodo had been listening intently for a while, but after about ten minutes his thoughts began to wander. He finally took a good solid look at Tigerlily. She was quite small, maybe 3 foot 5, a good size for a female hobbit. She was wearing a red satin girdle with a dove white ruffled blouse. Her skirt was a little oversized and dragged a little onto the dusty road. It was a greyish blue color, with a matching shawl thrown over her shoulders. He scanned up and saw her face. Fair and beautiful she looked to him. With rosy cheeks and a nose to match. Her eyes shown an olive green color, with a corn yellow gold sprouting from her pupils. Her lips were a light pink, with a soft pout, which made Frodo smile. She had light brown corkscrew curls that cascaded around her shoulders, along with the same color freckles spotting her cheeks. Her smile was infectious, and her laughter like rain, falling steadily when in the right conditions. "She's enchanting." Frodo almost blurted it out. The thought was stamped out of his mind by doubt. "Why do I feel like this...I just met her! No Frodo you can't. You barely know her! She knocked on my door four hours ago and is now jabbering on abut who knows what. But I like it. I don't know why, but I do. And besides, she's so beautiful" He looked down at his hand, "and I'm well, not." Frodo's missing finger had had a dramatic effect on his self esteem. He felt lacking, as though something was missing, besides the obvious, and he continually hid it whenever he could. The sight of his maimed apendage brought shame to his heart, only because deep down he knew, it could've been avoided. "It's atrocious." He thought. Frodo had been trying to convince him self that it was necessary, Gollum would've killed him, even though his attempt at that saved Frodo in the end. He stuffed his hand into his pocket and tried to focus himself of something else. He turned his attention back to Tigerlily, the sunlight ricocheting off her curls, who was still going on, and on, and on. Frodo tried to catch up.