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
Rating: G, PG
Genre: General/Romance
Setting: The Shire, year 1420
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1.1 Chapter 13: Planning
Rating: G
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Rosie was elated.
It was one week until her wedding, and Rosie felt as if strains of beautiful music accompanied her everywhere she went. Just the thought of Sam, much less of the wedding itself, sent her heart spinning into somersaults of joy.
The previous three weeks had been a whirlwind of preparation, and Rosie had been overwhelmed with all of the offers for help. In particular, she had been growing extraordinarily close to Sam's younger sister, Marigold, who was planning her own wedding for June. Although she had known Mari all of her life, she had never grown close to her. After Belle Gamgee had died unexpectedly, Marigold had ended up going to live with her older sister Daisy's family for several years. Marigold was a very sensitive, almost delicate little thing, and had taken her mother's death particularly hard. She had needed more comfort than Hamfast Gamgee had been able to offer her at the time, and being particularly close to Daisy, had been living on the West side of the Shire for most of her tweens and young adulthood with Daisy, her husband, and two young sons. Young Tom Cotton had at first courted Marigold from afar, writing her beautiful letters, and she had finally come back to Hobbiton to live.
The first order of business had been invitations. The two girls sat for hours in the Cotton's kitchen, usually with Rosie's mother and two or three others, writing invitations for both weddings, and giggling, and planning for the ceremonies.
"I'm afraid we are not giving much notice," said Rosie, one morning when it was just the two of them. She sealed an invitation with lavender wax, and added it to a growing pile in the center of the rough table. "I do hope everyone will come."
"Of course they will come, silly," assured Marigold, "As if YOU will notice with your eyes full of Sam!"
Rosie grinned but didn't blush. "I can't wait! It's so odd – all those years I waited and I waited, and it didn't seem at all long. But now that I am down to a week's wait, I feel as if I will burst!"
"Aye," said Mari, "I feel much the same about Tom, tho' I have a month more than ye." She reached over and grasped Rosie's hand, "I am so glad we are going to be sisters, Rosie!"
"Me, too." Rosie agreed.
"And you must promise to tell me all about the wedding night, so I won't be nervous when my time comes." Marigold said.
"I will do no such thing!" Rosie replied indignantly, but she laughed and squeezed Mari's hand.
As soon as the invitations were signed, sealed, and sent out, replies started to come in, and Rosie needn't have worried, for everyone was eager to come. Even Gandalf sent word that he would do his best to be there for the blessed event, although he was very busy here and there over middle- earth, helping to drive out the remnants of darkness, and spending a great deal of time with the elves.
It was decided that Sam and Rosie would be wed beneath the mallorn tree, which had nearly doubled its height since Sam's proposal. In fact, the tree looked as if it might burst into bloom any day. "An wouldna that be perfect?" Sam thought, caressing the smooth silver trunk one afternoon. "Perhaps it will bloom, and we can wed standing 'neath the golden flowers."
As for flowers and refreshments, there would be no lack! Flowers were bursting into bloom all over the shire, and one of the favorite pastimes of young hobbit lasses (especially when a wedding is approaching) is to weave beautiful garlands of flowers. There were very many weddings planned for this Spring, although Sam and Rosie's was the first one in Hobbiton, and all of the girls in town seemed to be busy weaving and braiding flowers into beautiful garlands and wreaths and bows. And there seemed to be no lack of flowers, no matter how many were picked.
The fruit and grain were also plentiful, so much so that even by April the short-lived food shortage of the previous winter was completely forgotten. Rosie's brothers gathered wild strawberries, and plums, and peaches by the bucketful for the wedding feast, and Farmer Maggot's wife sent word with her reply that she would be honored if Sam and Rose would allow her to provide the wedding cake (one of her many special talents).
Mrs. Cotton insisted on sewing Rosie's wedding gown herself -- something she had been longing to do ever since the girl-child had been laid in her arms over 30 years before. She had to work quickly, but she took the greatest care with every hem and line, and she wove into the fabric images of leaves and birds and other beautiful things. She was determined that her Rose would have the most beautiful dress, and indeed the most beautiful wedding, in the history of the Shire.
~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 these additional 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 are some slight departures from the timeline of The Lord of the Rings, for which I apologize; however, creative license is a part of fanfic, right? smile.
Rating: The first several chapters are rated G or PG; however, eventually I may include a sweet romantic chapter, or more than one, involving Sam and his Rose.
Reviews coveted and appreciated!
"I asks, yes, I asks. And it that isn't nice enough, I begs!"
Author: Nilramiel@aol.com, aka RosieCotton
Rating: G, PG
Genre: General/Romance
Setting: The Shire, year 1420
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
1.1 Chapter 13: Planning
Rating: G
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Rosie was elated.
It was one week until her wedding, and Rosie felt as if strains of beautiful music accompanied her everywhere she went. Just the thought of Sam, much less of the wedding itself, sent her heart spinning into somersaults of joy.
The previous three weeks had been a whirlwind of preparation, and Rosie had been overwhelmed with all of the offers for help. In particular, she had been growing extraordinarily close to Sam's younger sister, Marigold, who was planning her own wedding for June. Although she had known Mari all of her life, she had never grown close to her. After Belle Gamgee had died unexpectedly, Marigold had ended up going to live with her older sister Daisy's family for several years. Marigold was a very sensitive, almost delicate little thing, and had taken her mother's death particularly hard. She had needed more comfort than Hamfast Gamgee had been able to offer her at the time, and being particularly close to Daisy, had been living on the West side of the Shire for most of her tweens and young adulthood with Daisy, her husband, and two young sons. Young Tom Cotton had at first courted Marigold from afar, writing her beautiful letters, and she had finally come back to Hobbiton to live.
The first order of business had been invitations. The two girls sat for hours in the Cotton's kitchen, usually with Rosie's mother and two or three others, writing invitations for both weddings, and giggling, and planning for the ceremonies.
"I'm afraid we are not giving much notice," said Rosie, one morning when it was just the two of them. She sealed an invitation with lavender wax, and added it to a growing pile in the center of the rough table. "I do hope everyone will come."
"Of course they will come, silly," assured Marigold, "As if YOU will notice with your eyes full of Sam!"
Rosie grinned but didn't blush. "I can't wait! It's so odd – all those years I waited and I waited, and it didn't seem at all long. But now that I am down to a week's wait, I feel as if I will burst!"
"Aye," said Mari, "I feel much the same about Tom, tho' I have a month more than ye." She reached over and grasped Rosie's hand, "I am so glad we are going to be sisters, Rosie!"
"Me, too." Rosie agreed.
"And you must promise to tell me all about the wedding night, so I won't be nervous when my time comes." Marigold said.
"I will do no such thing!" Rosie replied indignantly, but she laughed and squeezed Mari's hand.
As soon as the invitations were signed, sealed, and sent out, replies started to come in, and Rosie needn't have worried, for everyone was eager to come. Even Gandalf sent word that he would do his best to be there for the blessed event, although he was very busy here and there over middle- earth, helping to drive out the remnants of darkness, and spending a great deal of time with the elves.
It was decided that Sam and Rosie would be wed beneath the mallorn tree, which had nearly doubled its height since Sam's proposal. In fact, the tree looked as if it might burst into bloom any day. "An wouldna that be perfect?" Sam thought, caressing the smooth silver trunk one afternoon. "Perhaps it will bloom, and we can wed standing 'neath the golden flowers."
As for flowers and refreshments, there would be no lack! Flowers were bursting into bloom all over the shire, and one of the favorite pastimes of young hobbit lasses (especially when a wedding is approaching) is to weave beautiful garlands of flowers. There were very many weddings planned for this Spring, although Sam and Rosie's was the first one in Hobbiton, and all of the girls in town seemed to be busy weaving and braiding flowers into beautiful garlands and wreaths and bows. And there seemed to be no lack of flowers, no matter how many were picked.
The fruit and grain were also plentiful, so much so that even by April the short-lived food shortage of the previous winter was completely forgotten. Rosie's brothers gathered wild strawberries, and plums, and peaches by the bucketful for the wedding feast, and Farmer Maggot's wife sent word with her reply that she would be honored if Sam and Rose would allow her to provide the wedding cake (one of her many special talents).
Mrs. Cotton insisted on sewing Rosie's wedding gown herself -- something she had been longing to do ever since the girl-child had been laid in her arms over 30 years before. She had to work quickly, but she took the greatest care with every hem and line, and she wove into the fabric images of leaves and birds and other beautiful things. She was determined that her Rose would have the most beautiful dress, and indeed the most beautiful wedding, in the history of the Shire.
~TBC~
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Please do not copy or post this story to another website, or use it for your own purposes, without my permission and/or without these additional 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 are some slight departures from the timeline of The Lord of the Rings, for which I apologize; however, creative license is a part of fanfic, right? smile.
Rating: The first several chapters are rated G or PG; however, eventually I may include a sweet romantic chapter, or more than one, involving Sam and his Rose.
