"The round Moon rolled behind the hill,
As the Sun raised up her head.
She hardly believed her fiery eyes;
For though it was day, to her surprise,
They all went back to bed!"
Uproarious laughter and applause thundered through the walls of the Green Dragon Inn. Merry and Pippin bowed nobly, laughing with the rest of them as mingled cries of "Encore!" and "Don't quit your day job!" echoed across the room.
"I don't think we hardly did it justice. Ye should have seen ol' Frodo there that time in Bree!" Merry cried out in Frodo's general direction.
Secluded at a quiet table near the back, Frodo smirked slightly and sipped at his tankard, then resumed staring out the window. His reverie was broken once again by a gentle tap on the arm.
"Are you alright, Mr. Frodo?"
Frodo looked across the table at his concerned gardener.
"Of course I'm alright, Sam. If I had a penny for every time you ask me that per day…" Frodo trailed off, an underlying hint of irritation in his voice.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Frodo, it's just that I noticed that you was rubbing that stone Her Highness gave you. You do that a lot when you aren't feeling at the top of yourself."
"Sam, I am not ru--" Frodo looked down and noticed that he had, indeed, been nervously stroking the pearlescent stone that Lady Arwen had awarded him. His hand was clutched around it tightly. Why did the whole adventure seem like it happened ages ago? The white stone always fell upon his chest in the exact same manner as the Ring had. Perhaps that's why his hand would so often suddenly shoot up to grab it, fingers raking, mind racing to process whether his fingers felt the cold weight of the One Ring or the smooth surface of the stone.
In the awkward silence, Merry and Pippin started up another tune, to the delight (and dismay) of the other patrons.
Frodo sighed.
"I'm just…thinking, that's all, Sam," and with that, Frodo dismissed the matter.
On that day, two years ago, Sam had thought Frodo to be dead.
***
In the cool twilight, the leaves gently crunched under Diamond's feet as she gently picked her way around the young trees in the Party Field. She sighed lightly, brushed a few auburn strands away from her face, and gazed up at the slowly appearing stars. Her gaze traveled downwards, focusing on the tall magnificence that was the blooming mallorn tree. Smiling softly, she ambled towards it, breathing in the sweet scent of it's brilliant flowers. Although young, the tree, planted by Sam himself, was already more beautiful than any other growing in the Shire. It was rumored that the tea made from it's leaves had healing powers, and it was for this reason that Diamond had trekked out to the Party Field. Suffering no illnesses currently, she figured it would be for the best to store up some of the potent leaves for when they were needed.
Bending down, she picked up a fallen leaf, smelled it, and, deeming it suitable, placed it in her apron. The leaves were easy to pick out, for mallorn leaves never withered when they fell from a branch, but stayed vibrant and bright, contrasting with the dark ground. Upon finding a fallen mallorn flower, Diamond sporadically placed it in her hair and continued with her work. However, her throat tightened as she remembered the flowers she had worn in her hair that one night…that one night so long ago when Peregrin had stuttered out a proposal, and she had refused.
Diamond sighed, pushing away the tightness. It's not the end of the world. There are plenty of other hobbits out there. And it was true. The girlishness that was the propaganda of her sisters' had taught her that a self-respecting hobbit maid didn't really have to start worrying about the prospect of a husband until she was 33. Diamond knew she was "safe" from the possibility of become a spinster, being only 26, still in her tweens. If she wanted to secure a husband that could give her support, a home, and a means of living, it wouldn't take much. She already knew of plenty of young hobbits ready to trade away their fortunes for her.
Yes, Diamond…because finding a husband is just like buying property. Diamond sighed, loathing the sarcasm that was her conscience.
She stood up, inspecting the small pile of leaves situated in her apron. They looked well enough, she could probably give some of the extra to Eglatine. Out of the corner of her eye, she spied five figures exiting the Green Dragon. Even from a distance, she was familiar with the shapes of Sam, Frodo, Merry, Pippin, and an increasingly pregnant Rosie.
Diamond knew that she had better hurry home if she was going to avoid them.
Ever since Pippin returned, all of his conversations with Diamond had been limited to awkward small talk, nothing deep or casual. Eventually, Diamond found it was better to avoid him completely, so as to save nervous, awkward embarrassment for both of them.
She picked up her skirts and set off at a fast gait, ignoring the mallorn flower that fell from her hair and the odd leaf that fell from her apron, praying that she was still far enough away to be unrecognizable by his eyes.
***
"Goodnight, all of you!"
"See you in the morning!"
Rosie, Sam, and Frodo all called back their own goodnights as Merry and Pippin continued on down the road. Merry whipped out his pipe, lit it, and puffed at it contently, leaving Pippin to his own thoughts.
Pippin hated having to entertain himself with his own thoughts. Usually that resulted in him getting in trouble. However, Pippin's mischievous thoughts were short lived as he noticed a mallorn flower by the side of the road. As he bent to pick it up, he noticed that a few leaves surrounded it, and he picked those up as well. Strange that they should be so far from the tree…
As he bent to smell the flower, he caught the scent of something else. It was a strong lavender smell, emitting mostly from the leaves. He knew it was the lavender that Diamond always kept in her house….lavender was her favorite flower, after all. He felt pangs in his chest, but he shoved them away. She must have been gathering the leaves.
He sighed and picked up his pace to catch up with Merry. He wanted to toss the flower and leaves aside, but couldn't.
"I'll catch up with you later, Merry. Goodnight," he muttered as he took off on the path towards Diamond's hole.
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Woohoo!! I finally got another chapter up for you guys! I hope you enjoyed it; be sure to leave a review if you did. I hope I can have the next chapter up soon.
^_^
