A/N: Well, I'm posting this now as a sort of tribute to my family holidays
(you'll see what I mean a little later... ;) ). And for those of you
impatient for updates, I should be posting more often now that Thanksgiving
is over and some of my more urgent school matters are dealt with. :)
Thank you to everyone who has reviewed!
Chapter 4
Merry was excited. It was only a few days until Yule, two wonderful days of feasting and presents and romping with all sorts of relatives, both close and distant. It was only four more days, but that was an eternity to the teenager, who thought the length of time between meals was interminable. Merry's biggest hope was that his cousin Frodo would come to visit. How he longed to tell Frodo all about his latest scrapes with Pippin, find out what Frodo's been doing since Bilbo left, and perhaps even pull a prank or two, for old times' sake. He still sometimes wished Frodo had stayed at Brandy Hall rather than moving to Hobbiton, but he had to admit Frodo seemed happier at Bag End. But now that Bilbo was gone and Frodo was alone . . . well, he couldn't help but be slightly concerned until Frodo himself told him he was all right.
The arrival of each new day brought the arrival of more relatives, until it was the day before Yule and the expansive smial was filled to the rafters with aunts, uncles, cousins, and more distantly related aunts, uncles, and cousins. Merry had no shortage of playmates; but even as he raced the halls and wrestled with seemingly countless hobbit lads and lasses, he found himself hoping to turn a corner and run into Frodo. He couldn't understand why Frodo hadn't come, so he held onto a shred of hope until he was sent to bed that Frodo would walk through the door at any moment.
Merry fell asleep disappointed, and even then he rationalized that Frodo was probably on his way, delayed by the falling snow or who knows what else. The alternate possibility was that he was spending the holiday with other relatives, which Merry thought was unlikely.
~~~~~
When Merry awoke, it was Yule and Frodo still hadn't appeared. The breakfasts were rather small affairs (at least by hobbit standards-not much variety, though in large quantities) since everyone was saving their appetites for the bountiful Yule feast. All of the female relations old enough to be of help were enlisted in kitchen duty, the elder women heading up the cooking to the teenage and tweenage lasses fetching ingredients and otherwise assisting in the art of feast preparation.
Males were expressly forbidden to step foot in the kitchens, or even in the hallways around them. Some of the lads made a game of daring each other to go and snitch some morsel without being caught, but after one was nearly skinned alive by startling an aunt with a sharp knife, they wisely abandoned that game before someone got seriously hurt and ruined the festivities.
It was in this lull between games that Merry decided to seek out his father. He followed the sound of boisterous conversation to one of the largest sitting rooms where the adult males had gathered to get an early start on the ale. He wandered past several groups engaged in spirited conversation before he caught sight of his father talking animatedly with Uncle Merimac. Merry stood patiently behind his father until the discussion started to wane. He tugged on his father's arm. "Da?"
It was another several moments before his father looked down at him and asked, "What is it, Merry?" as Uncle Merimac moved away to join a raging debate nearby.
"Did Frodo ever say if he was going to come or not?"
His father was silent for a minute or two before answering, "No, I don't think he did . . . though I am rather surprised he hasn't shown up by now. If that's what concerns you, he's probably spending the holiday with his Baggins relatives. They are closer to Hobbiton, you know," he tried to reassure Merry, who still seemed upset that Frodo wasn't present.
Merry nodded. "Thank you, Da," he said respectfully as he turned and left the noisy room. He was still troubled. Why would Frodo abandon his favorite cousin on one of the best holidays of the year?!? He found it unlikely Frodo was with his Baggins relatives-they were all old (or seemed so to the lad) and stuffy. It was more likely that he'd be spending the day with the gardener's boy, Sam. Merry allowed himself a brief moment of jealousy towards Sam before he ran off to find the other boys and see what new game they had begun in his absence. Perhaps they could go play in the newly-fallen snow.
Thank you to everyone who has reviewed!
Chapter 4
Merry was excited. It was only a few days until Yule, two wonderful days of feasting and presents and romping with all sorts of relatives, both close and distant. It was only four more days, but that was an eternity to the teenager, who thought the length of time between meals was interminable. Merry's biggest hope was that his cousin Frodo would come to visit. How he longed to tell Frodo all about his latest scrapes with Pippin, find out what Frodo's been doing since Bilbo left, and perhaps even pull a prank or two, for old times' sake. He still sometimes wished Frodo had stayed at Brandy Hall rather than moving to Hobbiton, but he had to admit Frodo seemed happier at Bag End. But now that Bilbo was gone and Frodo was alone . . . well, he couldn't help but be slightly concerned until Frodo himself told him he was all right.
The arrival of each new day brought the arrival of more relatives, until it was the day before Yule and the expansive smial was filled to the rafters with aunts, uncles, cousins, and more distantly related aunts, uncles, and cousins. Merry had no shortage of playmates; but even as he raced the halls and wrestled with seemingly countless hobbit lads and lasses, he found himself hoping to turn a corner and run into Frodo. He couldn't understand why Frodo hadn't come, so he held onto a shred of hope until he was sent to bed that Frodo would walk through the door at any moment.
Merry fell asleep disappointed, and even then he rationalized that Frodo was probably on his way, delayed by the falling snow or who knows what else. The alternate possibility was that he was spending the holiday with other relatives, which Merry thought was unlikely.
~~~~~
When Merry awoke, it was Yule and Frodo still hadn't appeared. The breakfasts were rather small affairs (at least by hobbit standards-not much variety, though in large quantities) since everyone was saving their appetites for the bountiful Yule feast. All of the female relations old enough to be of help were enlisted in kitchen duty, the elder women heading up the cooking to the teenage and tweenage lasses fetching ingredients and otherwise assisting in the art of feast preparation.
Males were expressly forbidden to step foot in the kitchens, or even in the hallways around them. Some of the lads made a game of daring each other to go and snitch some morsel without being caught, but after one was nearly skinned alive by startling an aunt with a sharp knife, they wisely abandoned that game before someone got seriously hurt and ruined the festivities.
It was in this lull between games that Merry decided to seek out his father. He followed the sound of boisterous conversation to one of the largest sitting rooms where the adult males had gathered to get an early start on the ale. He wandered past several groups engaged in spirited conversation before he caught sight of his father talking animatedly with Uncle Merimac. Merry stood patiently behind his father until the discussion started to wane. He tugged on his father's arm. "Da?"
It was another several moments before his father looked down at him and asked, "What is it, Merry?" as Uncle Merimac moved away to join a raging debate nearby.
"Did Frodo ever say if he was going to come or not?"
His father was silent for a minute or two before answering, "No, I don't think he did . . . though I am rather surprised he hasn't shown up by now. If that's what concerns you, he's probably spending the holiday with his Baggins relatives. They are closer to Hobbiton, you know," he tried to reassure Merry, who still seemed upset that Frodo wasn't present.
Merry nodded. "Thank you, Da," he said respectfully as he turned and left the noisy room. He was still troubled. Why would Frodo abandon his favorite cousin on one of the best holidays of the year?!? He found it unlikely Frodo was with his Baggins relatives-they were all old (or seemed so to the lad) and stuffy. It was more likely that he'd be spending the day with the gardener's boy, Sam. Merry allowed himself a brief moment of jealousy towards Sam before he ran off to find the other boys and see what new game they had begun in his absence. Perhaps they could go play in the newly-fallen snow.