1 Sam's Tale

Reviews coveted and appreciated!

"I asks, yes, I asks. And it that isn't nice enough, I begs!"

Author: Nilramiel@aol.com, aka RosieCotton

Genre: General/Romance

Setting: The Shire, year 1419

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Chapter 5: Planting

Rating: G

A shorter chapter, but I wanted to leave you hanging, at least a bit!

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The next morning, Sam was at Rosie's door before it was fully light. She was up and ready, and she had packed food enough for both of them, for a long day's labor.

"Let's go, Sam," she urged, "We can have a bite as we walk, and the more I think of your plan the more eager I am to begin!"

So they ate a bit as they walked, and spoke little at first, being somewhat weary from their labors the day before. Sam was thinking of his Gaffer, and what the old gardener had said to him the night before. Sam had come in late, with a huge grin on his face and without his barrow, and the Gaffer drew the whole tale out of his son, down to the smallest seed donated, (which incidentally had come from Lily Boffin, one of the poorer hobbits. She had given Sam a little sack with a few marigold seeds inside, and it had been all she had, but she gave it over freely and the young hobbits were very touched. )

"Well Sam," the Gaffer had said, "It was fine of ye to invite Miss Rosie along. Four hands make lighter work than two, and she's as fine a lass as is in all the Shire!"

Sam quite agreed, and as he walked alongside Rosie, he resolved to tell her how he felt about her. Well . . . as soon as he could screw up his courage to do so, anyhow. For some reason, the idea of telling Rosie his feelings seemed more daunting than facing Shelob, and more difficult than the climb up Mt. Doom's side. "And that's plain silly, Samwise Gamgee," he told himself, but he said nothing.

They started in the center of Hobbiton, and worked their way outward, planting saplings in all the places where specially beautiful or beloved trees had been destroyed. Sam put a grain of the precious dust in the soil at the root of each. Rosie went with him on most days, and they went up and down the Shire, but if Sam paid special attention to Hobbiton and Bywater, no one blamed him.

As they worked, they talked, and always Rosie pressed Sam to tell her more of his adventures. Sam shared many things with her, and she was most enthralled with the story of Aragorn, and his Kingdom, and the Lady Arwen.

"'Tis so lovely, Sam," said Rosie, more than once, "and so grand!" And she asked him for more details, until he had described every gown and plate and banner of Gondor

All week they planted, and at last all that remained in the little box was the small silver nut, and a dusting of the fine soil.

"You've made it last so long, Sam," said Rosie, "but this is the end of the Lady's soil. What will you do with the silver seed?"

"I've thought long about it," said Sam, "and I've a mind to plant it where the party tree stood. Fer that's the tree I miss the most!"

"Oh Sam, what a perfect idea!" said Rosie, and she caught his hand in her own. His heart gave a sweet flutter, and he blushed and smiled. But he did not pull his hand free, and she seemed content to hold it as they walked toward the party field.

Hand in hand they walked to where the party tree had stood. And many hobbits saw them, and exchanged winks and smiles.

Rosie's heart was pounding in her chest, and she held fast to Sam's hand, not wanting to break the contact for even a moment, now that it was established.

~TBC~

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Please do not copy or post this story to another website, or use it for your own purposes, without my permission and/or without the introductory comments. Feel free to link away!

Acknowledgements: The characters, setting, and much of the dialog belong to J.R.R. Tolkien, and I give full credit to him. This story focuses on the relationship of Samwise Gamgee and Rose Cotton, and it is how I imagine the events following the Hobbits' return to the Shire following the War of the Ring and King Aragorn's coronation and marriage. If you have read the book, The Return of the King, you will find the events familiar. I have tried to "fill in the gaps," regarding Sam's courtship to Rose Cotton. Sam is my favorite character in Tolkien's work, and this is written with the deepest respect for both Tolkien and the noble Samwise. There may be slight departures from the timeline of The Lord of the Rings. If so, please forgive the oversight.

Rating: The first several chapters are rated G; however, eventually I may include a sweet romantic chapter, or more than one, involving Sam and his Rose.