A path led out from beneath the tall trees. Samwise hoisted a sack up on his back, a harder task than it had been the first time he stood here, and looked back only once. No longer a young hobbit, the road ahead would be a long one, aye, one that would be the hardest of his life. For he was leaving The Shire again. Not as he had left it with Frodo so many years before, a naive young hobbit who believed he would return unchanged, untouched by the world. No, this time he would not return home.
His heart ached with the thought of leaving his Shire, the land he had helped cultivate and return to her beauty once again. But his bond with Frodo, the bond they shared was so much stronger. The friendship they had formed on the brink of disaster was one that even the Sea could not lessen or break.
And so it was, with a breaking heart and overflowing joy did Sam climb slowly upon the little grey pony and begin the slow journey with the moonlight shining on his face, where tears of sorrow and the greatest happiness trickled down. He thought of his children, of the life he had left them. He thought of Rosie, oh, his beloved Rosie whom he held dearly in his heart He thought of Merry, and of Pippin, and of the King in his white halls. And not for the last time, he thought of Frodo, waiting for him on the shores of the Grey Havens, unchanged by time, untouched by the cares he once bore ages ago after the War of the Ring. Sam hoped he had found refuge there from his ails.
And the shadows closed in around him as his little pony trotted deeper into the woods. The night was beautiful, with stars twinkling in the deep black expanse that was the sky. A night breeze brushed his curls, now whitened with age, back from his face. A smile on his face as his tears were dried, he tilted his head back to get the full effect. A weight lifted itself off his shoulders as he was reminded of the past, of fleeing the Shire in the night. Oh, so long ago, a lifetime ago. Now nearly naught was left of the Fellowship that had been.
Sam sighed, not an unpleasant sigh, and inhaled the fresh night air. All the memories that were dancing in his mind fluttered forth as the familiar scent met his nose. He closed his eyes, allowing himself to get lost in a time where danger was not just a monster beneath his bed, and his job was to protect his master. All time vanished, the night was gone, and Samwise knew only the past.
His heart ached with the thought of leaving his Shire, the land he had helped cultivate and return to her beauty once again. But his bond with Frodo, the bond they shared was so much stronger. The friendship they had formed on the brink of disaster was one that even the Sea could not lessen or break.
And so it was, with a breaking heart and overflowing joy did Sam climb slowly upon the little grey pony and begin the slow journey with the moonlight shining on his face, where tears of sorrow and the greatest happiness trickled down. He thought of his children, of the life he had left them. He thought of Rosie, oh, his beloved Rosie whom he held dearly in his heart He thought of Merry, and of Pippin, and of the King in his white halls. And not for the last time, he thought of Frodo, waiting for him on the shores of the Grey Havens, unchanged by time, untouched by the cares he once bore ages ago after the War of the Ring. Sam hoped he had found refuge there from his ails.
And the shadows closed in around him as his little pony trotted deeper into the woods. The night was beautiful, with stars twinkling in the deep black expanse that was the sky. A night breeze brushed his curls, now whitened with age, back from his face. A smile on his face as his tears were dried, he tilted his head back to get the full effect. A weight lifted itself off his shoulders as he was reminded of the past, of fleeing the Shire in the night. Oh, so long ago, a lifetime ago. Now nearly naught was left of the Fellowship that had been.
Sam sighed, not an unpleasant sigh, and inhaled the fresh night air. All the memories that were dancing in his mind fluttered forth as the familiar scent met his nose. He closed his eyes, allowing himself to get lost in a time where danger was not just a monster beneath his bed, and his job was to protect his master. All time vanished, the night was gone, and Samwise knew only the past.