Note to Readers: Here you go, the latest installment of
"Rope". (If you notice similarities to another "Naming Day"
chapter, just remember that this is a traditional ceremony with prescribed
words and actions.) There are a few more chapters on the outline, and I
anticipate posting a new chapter every other day until the story's end, if all
goes well. Meanwhile, you can expect a new chapter daily over in
"Flames", if you are following that story, for that one is already
"written ahead" a ways. Sure makes it easier to update!
***
93. Another Naming Day
Two days later, Merry met
Samwise on his way to the great room for second breakfast. The Master wore a
broad smile, and slapped the other on his back. 'What a beautiful spring day!'
he grinned.
'It's misting,' the Mayor answered.
'Isn't it wonderful?' Merry said.
The Mayor nodded with a grin of his own. 'Just perfect for growing things,' he
said. 'Gentle enough to moisten the earth, not hard enough to wash away the
topsoil.'
Merry put a hand on Sam's arm. 'Thank you,' he said simply.
'Whatever for?' the other said in surprise.
'For being there... it must have been hard for you to have to deal with Shadow
again.'
Samwise shook his head. 'You don't know, Merry... I deal with Shadow every day,
myself, just not the same way that you do.' He sighed. 'The memories will never
go away. I just have to pluck them out like the weeds they are, not let them
choke out all the beauty of the garden.' He brightened. 'And you know it is the
Mayor's duty to open celebrations in the Shire.'
'And you do it so well,' Merry laughed. 'Now that you have the knack of it, I
hope you'll go on being Mayor for a good long time.'
Samwise chuckled, and the two reached the great room, where many of the
Brandybucks were already sitting, eating, and chatting. Not a lot of the Big
Folk were there; they had not adapted the custom of six meals a day, though
there was some sort of duty roster amongst them to ensure that the Thain did
not miss a single meal. At the moment, Bergil was sharing second breakfast with
Pippin and Legolas.
'Don't get up,' Merry told Bergil. 'Hard enough to get up and down from the
floor as it is.'
Bergil grinned and bowed from his seated position. 'We saved you some breakfast,'
he said.
'And plenty more in the kitchen, Sir,' Nasturtium Brandybuck said, bustling up
to them with a platter. 'Eat hearty, we've a busy day ahead of us!'
'Yes, Auntie,' Merry said meekly, and the others laughed.
'You have him well trained,' Bergil said.
'Perhaps,' Nasturtium said thoughtfully. 'But I must tell you, it took a long
time and a lot of work... ' She smiled. 'Nothing like my Merimas, I tell you,
now there's a lad...' she bustled off, still singing the praises of her
favourite nephew.
'Miri's naming day,' Pippin said. 'I'm glad Diamond and the children were able
to come for the occasion.'
'Where is Diamond?' Merry asked.
'I sent her back to bed. The babe was up much of the night,' Pippin explained.
'We've various Brandybucks taking turns walking the halls with little Joy this
morning so that her mum might catch up on her sleep a bit.' His eyes twinkled.
'Besides, she did not need to sit with me to make sure I eat second breakfast;
I believe it's Bergil's turn to do that.' He laughed at the others'
expressions, and winked at Legolas.
Bergil said, 'So what are you giving little Miri for her naming day, Pippin?'
He ducked as all the hobbits shushed him vigorously.
'You mustn't tell ahead of time,' Mayor Samwise said. 'It spoils the gift.'
'Ah,' Bergil said. 'So what if two people give the same thing?'
'It makes a double dose,' Merry said easily. 'And since all the gifts are good
wishes, you can never have too many.'
'She'll be the first hobbit to have Big Folk attend her naming day,' Pippin
mused.
'And probably the last, as well,' Bergil said. When the others looked at him
curiously, he said, 'The King will put his edict back into effect on the last
day of March, you know.' He sighed, and Sam patted his shoulder.
'We can still meet at the Bridge, you know, lad,' he said.
'Of course,' Bergil said, forcing himself to speak cheerfully. He did not want
his own troubles to mar this special day for his friends.
***
The great room was full to bursting as Big Folk and hobbits and an elf and a
dwarf gathered for the celebration of little Miri Brandybuck's birth.
Merry entered, carrying little Miri, Estella by his side with little Sarry's
hand in hers. They moved to stand by the great hearth, and as all eyes turned
to him, the Master of Buckland raised his voice to speak the traditional words.
'It has been a month and a day since this new hobbit graced the Shire with her
presence,' he said, 'and we gather now to welcome her to the family and to
write her name in the Book.' He shared a smile with Estella, then gave a nod to
Legolas.
There was a soft murmur of "welcome", and then Berilac came forward
slowly, step by painful step, supported on either side by his faithful
assistants. When he reached the hearth, he laid down a prism, of the sort
hobbits like to hang in the window to catch the light and make rainbows on the
floor to amuse the little ones. 'Welcome to the family,' he said. 'I give the
gift of light, that her world may be ever bright.'
Merimas and Pansy came forward with a loaf of bread. 'Welcome to the family,'
he repeated the greeting, and his wife added, 'We bring bread, that she may
never know hunger.'
The Thain stepped up, a coil of rope over one shoulder. He laid it down
upon the hearth and, straightening again, grinned at the Master and Mistress
and their new daughter. 'I bring a gift of rope, extra long, twisted by Mayor
Samwise himself, that she may never come to the end of it.' He looked at Sam.
'I have never forgot the sage advice the good Mayor once gave me...' Half the
hobbits in the room joined in as he continued, ' "I always like to keep a
bit of rope handy." ' He looked about him in mock astonishment. 'O, you've
heard him say it, as well, I gather.'
'No,' Merry said, 'but they've heard you quote him often enough.' There
was a ripple of laughter; Pippin bowed deeply to the Master and Mistress, then
to the Mayor, and went back to stand with his own family.
One by one the relations and friends stepped up with their greeting and their
gifts, wine for joy, flowers for beauty, honey that life might be ever sweet,
oil that they might live off the fat of the land, and more. Many of the gifts
were clever, and laughter was sprinkled amongst the more serious presents.
Meliloc Brandybuck, visiting from Tuckborough with his wife Pervinca, stepped
forward with a small bowl filled with white crystals. 'Salt,' he said, after
his greeting, a twinkle in his eye. 'That she would never be spoiled.'
Pippin snorted softly. Meliloc gave the same gift at every naming day. Ah,
well, what he lacked in imagination, he made up for it in patience and good
humour with his mercurial wife.
A hush fell amongst the hobbits as the first of the Big Folk stepped forward.
King Eomer went to one knee before the Master and his family, looking the proud
parents in the eye, gazing again in wonder at the tiny mite of life held in
Merry's arms. From his boots, he took two finely crafted knives, and laid them
on the hearth amongst the other gifts. 'I give her two blades,' he said, 'one,
that her wit might always be sharp, and the other, that she might defend
herself against any fear.' Merry nodded in understanding, a gift perfectly in
character for the daughter of a Knight of the Mark.
Gimli the dwarf stalked to the hearth, Legolas by his side. From a leather bag
that hung from his neck, he took a sparkling red jewel. 'Welcome, little one,'
he said. 'I give the gift of friendship. Whenever her eyes look upon this, may
she remember friends both near and far away.'
Legolas placed a fine chain beside the jewel, saying something in his own
tongue, then smiling at the child Merry held. 'Welcome,' he said. 'I give the
gift of grace, that she might walk in blessing all of her days.'
Several more of the Rohirrim stepped up with gifts, and quite a few guardsmen,
who had been enjoying the hospitality of the Hall these past months. Finally,
King Elessar stepped forward with Arwen.
Arwen knelt before the hobbits, the King beside her, hand on her shoulder.
'Welcome to the world,' she said, and her husband smiled. She presented a butterfly,
carved from wood and skillfully painted so that it appeared to have alighted
for the moment on her hand, ready to flit away at the slightest breath. 'We
give the gift of wonder, that the world might always appear fresh and new to
her eyes.'
After the last gift was given, Berilac was helped forward again with a
sparkling crystal glass filled with water. 'Welcome to the family,' he
repeated. 'I bring water, that she may never know thirst, or drought, that the
rain that falls into her life may be ever sweet and refreshing, that all her
sorrows may be quickly washed away.'
He gave the glass to Estella, who held it up to the light, then extended it to
her husband. Merry dipped his thumb into the water, stroked it gently over the
babe's forehead, kissed the wet spot tenderly. 'Welcome to the family, my
lass,' he murmured. Her eyes opened wide in surprise, and he chuckled. He held
her up for all to see and said, 'We welcome Míruiniël!'
The hobbits began to cheer, and were swiftly joined by the guardsmen and the
Rohirrim, and an elf, and a dwarf. Baby Miri was startled at the noise, but not
frightened. She stared in wonder at the bright cloths being waved by the
cheering crowd, and as the cheers settled down, she gave a great yawn. A
chuckle ran around the room, and then there was a chorus of welcome.
'Go ahead, Miri,' Merry said, smiling down into his daughter's sleepy eyes.
'You get yourself a good nap. Eating and sleeping and buckets of love, that's
what makes a hobbit babe grow.'
The musicians struck up the first tune, and hobbits and Big People mingled in a
circle dance. The singing, dancing, feasting and laughter continued far into
the night, until the large log on the hearth burned down to coals, glasses of
the Hall's finest were handed around to all the guests, and Miri's naming day
was concluded with a toast and a final song of blessing.
