Sorry for my horrible grammar usage in this chapter if there are any. I
haven't edited it as much as I would like to. Thanks a million for hanging
in there and reading!!
Chapter 9: Morning Glory for Rosie
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Rosie sat for a long time with her family and Halfred came over for a little bit with Poppy to talk. The fiddles and pipes were playing and the dancing floor was still full with hobbits out to jump around or waltz with their partner. Rosie eyed the floor while she ate. She could never get tired of dancing; it was one of her favorite things to do. She excused herself from the table and took her plate to the dishwashers by the food booths.
It was a perfect night for any party or whatnot. The stars seemed to be wheeling overhead around the silver moon and a slight breeze wove through the leaves of the Party Tree.
She smoothed out the front of her dress and Samwise stepped up to her side from behind her.
"Hullo, Rosie," Sam said and Rosie beamed seeing him.
"Hullo, Sam! Congratulations to your brother! Poppy seems very nice," Rosie complimented and Sam gave a slight nod.
They talked lightly about the wedding for a bit until he dared to reach out a hold her wrist, "Rosie, come with me for a minute. There's something I have for you." He said and she walked with him.
"Something for me? Sam, there really is no point of givin' me anything," She argued but he just smiled.
He came to the changing tent next to the Party Tree and he stopped, "Stay here." He said with a grin and he disappeared inside the tent. Rosie chuckled softly; she hadn't seen Sam act like this without turning red and she wondered what he could be doing.
Sam went though his old clothes and took out the music box. He handled it carefully, but for some reason he frowned and his plans changed. He would delay giving her this just a little while longer. Instead, he found a delicate bundle by his clothes he had also brought and thought that this would be the time for these.
He closed his eyes and prayed he wouldn't make a fool of himself and stepped out. He looked around confused, "Rosie?" He stood there blankly with his hands behind his back. He stepped over to the other side of the tree and Rosie was standing there.
She gave a hearty laugh when he found her and Sam tried not to look so nervous and he took his hands out in front of him suddenly, "Here. These are for you." He said abruptly.
Rosie's laugh changed to a soft smile and she took what he held, "Morning glory?" She asked almost speechless.
"Aye."
"Just like that song we sang...do you remember?"
"I was hoping you would."
They stood there silent as the wind blew. The bundle of morning glory petals glowed blue and purple in the dark and Rosie didn't know how she could thank him right now. Sam as well was not sure what he had to do or say to break the silence, but he felt like he didn't need to.
They both looked up for a brief moment catching each other's eyes under the dark shadow of the Party Tree. To Sam, it was perfect. Just staring at each other was enough thanks for him but the serious sweetness of the moment was broken by a soft thud.
Rosie was the first one to notice and she put her hands over her red face. Sam turned around, not sure where the sound came from, and noticed something white on the ground behind him. He picked it up awkwardly with skeptical eyes and Rosie stretched out her hand for her corset.
"Is this yours?" Sam asked and after he realized what it was, he blushed madly. "Oh...oh! I'm so sorry...really, I didn't know what---," He murmured quickly.
Rosie took her corset from Sam that she had thrown up there earlier with Nellia and tucked it under her arm. She still had her hand over her face and she noticed Sam peeking looks above him at the branches, in case any other undergarments happened to fall on him. Rosie tried to keep her mouth closed but soon she burst out laughing and Sam and Rosie stood there giggling, thinking about how strange the situation turned out to be.
"Come on, Sam. Let us go and I will give you one dance. I haven't had one with you since Bilbo and his party," Rosie said and Sam blushed.
"And what will you do with those?" Sam said innocently and Rosie set her corset down by the tree with her flowers on top.
She sighed and looked down, "I'd hate to leave them there like that." She mumbled to herself and Sam bent down to the bouquet of morning glory.
He took a flower and tucked it in her hair, "There, now you can bring at least one along." He said softly and they walked to the clearing.
The fiddles changed to different tempos and songs every few minutes and almost every hobbit there was out dancing. They dodged their way through into the heart of the dancing and soon they were stepping briskly together like everyone else.
Sam kept what Marigold taught him on the top of his thoughts and watched everyone else's feet. He stepped on Rosie's a couple of times until she became confused and they almost tripped over each other.
"We stick out like a sore thumb dancin' like this!" She giggled.
"Aye, so I have noticed and everyone near us has too," Sam said honestly and she tossed her head back and laughed and noticed that there were some skilled dancing couples giving them odd stares.
Sam tried to keep his feet in order and occasionally he would mess up a step or two and then would have to start over. Rosie knew the dance pretty well and Sam looked up to her face. The blue morning glory peeked through her hair, which she had tied up with yellow ribbons. He felt so happy to be out here like this, out here dancing with Rosie. His crush for her had begun over her pretty face, but now there was so much more to her that he had seen over the winter. He found himself thinking about her constantly and now he didn't feel so uncomfortable around her like he had so many times before. Her auburn locks framed her face and her green eyes flashed over to his.
"Something wrong?" She asked and Sam looked back down at feet.
"N-nothing." He said shortly and he continued talking, "Did your mother make that dress?"
Rosie nodded and Sam became nervous. He almost wanted to hide his hands in his pockets out of habit, but now they were on Rosie's shoulder and in her hand and he did not look back up, "It looks very nice on you. I mean, you look gorgeous in it." He stumbled and Rosie smiled and looked behind him while Sam kept to his feet.
The music changed to a short-stepped dance and Sam counted to himself the way Marigold had taught him and Rosie grinned at how worried he was on messing up on his steps. The couples danced around each other and Rosie noticed Frodo Baggins talking to Halfred and Poppy. Two young hobbit children ran past their tables and Rosie watched them. They reminded her of herself and Sam a long time ago at Bywater Pool.
Sam. He had always been such a good friend to Rosie. She had known him for so long, ever since their younger years in which their parents became close friends. They had spent many days down by the pond and through the fields between their houses. Then they had grown up and Sam kept to himself and his gardening and Rosie became a barmaid. They had grown apart and now they were coming together again. She recollected the times when she and Sam talked in the stable, or on their walks, and how he taught her how to cook better. She could always turn to him; not so like a brother, but he felt different than a friend and she was confused by her own thoughts.
The little children played tag with each other and she noticed her mother glancing over at the children. Her mother...what did she mean about her dress that day? She said that someone would notice it, but that couldn't be Sam, could it? No. But he did--- he noticed it.
Her mother looked towards the dance floor and Rosie looked away to the children. The little girl tagged the boy and started to run, but he grabbed her arm and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Rosie watched them run away together again and she went numb.
Different thoughts of Sam filled her mind, memories that were more intimate. Thoughts of when he gave up his bed for her when he found her outside their smial that winter. Thoughts of when they sang songs and walked until sundown. Thoughts of their snowfights, the frost in Sam's hair, and how she wanted to wake him up and spend the new year with him.
She remembered that the rose he gave her in the Bag End garden was still in a vase in her room. It hung their dead but she still kept it. Nolfarm's roses died weeks ago, but she didn't keep them, not even one. She thought of the morning glory in her hair and how Sam had tucked it in there tenderly. Her heart beat fast and she couldn't control it.
Why was she feeling like this? It wasn't like she felt like that of Sam--- but why did she feel the way she did? Her hand became clammy in his hand and she could feel her face starting to flush. Sam still counted his 'one, two-and-three, four-and...' steps and Rosie watched him dance in front of her. There was still a tension between them and their dancing, very unlike the way the other couples danced. His pink lips were open from his silent counting and his features were soft on his face. His sandy-blonde curls tumbled over his ears and just above his smiling brown eyes.
Her heart throbbed and fluttered all at the same time. She was almost breathless just looking at him, but she had looked at him so many times before that she didn't want to come to realization that she felt so much different now. She hated not being able to control things, and this time she couldn't control her own emotions.
Sam caught her eyes on him and stopped counting. This time neither of them looked away and Sam didn't look back down to his feet. They danced like everyone else, their feet moving back and forth flawlessly. Sam kept his gaze now that his feet took over and his heart melted at the way she looked. He clasped his hand tighter in hers and her feet tripped over her own because of it. She knew from looking at him that she had been falling in love him all this time.
I'm---I'm sorry," She mumbled and he let go her hands.
Now he knew he had to give it to her. It just seemed right and here they were now without Nolfarm's roses or the falling corset. He kept her hand and brought her out of the dance floor and behind a tent next to the Party Tree. They giggled nervously and he reached inside his coat pocket and pulled out the music box.
"Rosie, I got this for you at the Free Fair. I hope you like it," He murmured by her face and she took it. She held the white sides with the painted flowers and wound it up. It chimed softly and she marveled at its song.
"Is everything all right? Would you like to go back to the dance floor?" Sam asked and waited for her to talk. Rosie held the chime with shaking fingers and tried to find the words for anything.
"Would you like to go?"
"No, not particularly, Rosie."
"Then neither do I."
She held the chiming box in her hand and wrapped her arms over his shoulders and moved in closer to him. For Sam, everything was at a standstill and he put his hands on the curve of her back under the tied ribbons. They could feel each other's heartbeat on the other's chest and Sam looked over her shoulder at his hand. He thought of the Free Fair exactly seven weeks ago. He smiled as he looked down at the crease in his hand and he knew he had to tell Pippin sometime of his possible physic abilities, but that time was nowhere soon.
Rosie rested her face in his sweet smelling hair and looked up to the sky as they started to rock back and forth. Sam bowed his head and held her tight under the stars and it all seemed like a fantasy as they danced alone to the slow rhythm of the distant music.
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Chapter 9: Morning Glory for Rosie
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Rosie sat for a long time with her family and Halfred came over for a little bit with Poppy to talk. The fiddles and pipes were playing and the dancing floor was still full with hobbits out to jump around or waltz with their partner. Rosie eyed the floor while she ate. She could never get tired of dancing; it was one of her favorite things to do. She excused herself from the table and took her plate to the dishwashers by the food booths.
It was a perfect night for any party or whatnot. The stars seemed to be wheeling overhead around the silver moon and a slight breeze wove through the leaves of the Party Tree.
She smoothed out the front of her dress and Samwise stepped up to her side from behind her.
"Hullo, Rosie," Sam said and Rosie beamed seeing him.
"Hullo, Sam! Congratulations to your brother! Poppy seems very nice," Rosie complimented and Sam gave a slight nod.
They talked lightly about the wedding for a bit until he dared to reach out a hold her wrist, "Rosie, come with me for a minute. There's something I have for you." He said and she walked with him.
"Something for me? Sam, there really is no point of givin' me anything," She argued but he just smiled.
He came to the changing tent next to the Party Tree and he stopped, "Stay here." He said with a grin and he disappeared inside the tent. Rosie chuckled softly; she hadn't seen Sam act like this without turning red and she wondered what he could be doing.
Sam went though his old clothes and took out the music box. He handled it carefully, but for some reason he frowned and his plans changed. He would delay giving her this just a little while longer. Instead, he found a delicate bundle by his clothes he had also brought and thought that this would be the time for these.
He closed his eyes and prayed he wouldn't make a fool of himself and stepped out. He looked around confused, "Rosie?" He stood there blankly with his hands behind his back. He stepped over to the other side of the tree and Rosie was standing there.
She gave a hearty laugh when he found her and Sam tried not to look so nervous and he took his hands out in front of him suddenly, "Here. These are for you." He said abruptly.
Rosie's laugh changed to a soft smile and she took what he held, "Morning glory?" She asked almost speechless.
"Aye."
"Just like that song we sang...do you remember?"
"I was hoping you would."
They stood there silent as the wind blew. The bundle of morning glory petals glowed blue and purple in the dark and Rosie didn't know how she could thank him right now. Sam as well was not sure what he had to do or say to break the silence, but he felt like he didn't need to.
They both looked up for a brief moment catching each other's eyes under the dark shadow of the Party Tree. To Sam, it was perfect. Just staring at each other was enough thanks for him but the serious sweetness of the moment was broken by a soft thud.
Rosie was the first one to notice and she put her hands over her red face. Sam turned around, not sure where the sound came from, and noticed something white on the ground behind him. He picked it up awkwardly with skeptical eyes and Rosie stretched out her hand for her corset.
"Is this yours?" Sam asked and after he realized what it was, he blushed madly. "Oh...oh! I'm so sorry...really, I didn't know what---," He murmured quickly.
Rosie took her corset from Sam that she had thrown up there earlier with Nellia and tucked it under her arm. She still had her hand over her face and she noticed Sam peeking looks above him at the branches, in case any other undergarments happened to fall on him. Rosie tried to keep her mouth closed but soon she burst out laughing and Sam and Rosie stood there giggling, thinking about how strange the situation turned out to be.
"Come on, Sam. Let us go and I will give you one dance. I haven't had one with you since Bilbo and his party," Rosie said and Sam blushed.
"And what will you do with those?" Sam said innocently and Rosie set her corset down by the tree with her flowers on top.
She sighed and looked down, "I'd hate to leave them there like that." She mumbled to herself and Sam bent down to the bouquet of morning glory.
He took a flower and tucked it in her hair, "There, now you can bring at least one along." He said softly and they walked to the clearing.
The fiddles changed to different tempos and songs every few minutes and almost every hobbit there was out dancing. They dodged their way through into the heart of the dancing and soon they were stepping briskly together like everyone else.
Sam kept what Marigold taught him on the top of his thoughts and watched everyone else's feet. He stepped on Rosie's a couple of times until she became confused and they almost tripped over each other.
"We stick out like a sore thumb dancin' like this!" She giggled.
"Aye, so I have noticed and everyone near us has too," Sam said honestly and she tossed her head back and laughed and noticed that there were some skilled dancing couples giving them odd stares.
Sam tried to keep his feet in order and occasionally he would mess up a step or two and then would have to start over. Rosie knew the dance pretty well and Sam looked up to her face. The blue morning glory peeked through her hair, which she had tied up with yellow ribbons. He felt so happy to be out here like this, out here dancing with Rosie. His crush for her had begun over her pretty face, but now there was so much more to her that he had seen over the winter. He found himself thinking about her constantly and now he didn't feel so uncomfortable around her like he had so many times before. Her auburn locks framed her face and her green eyes flashed over to his.
"Something wrong?" She asked and Sam looked back down at feet.
"N-nothing." He said shortly and he continued talking, "Did your mother make that dress?"
Rosie nodded and Sam became nervous. He almost wanted to hide his hands in his pockets out of habit, but now they were on Rosie's shoulder and in her hand and he did not look back up, "It looks very nice on you. I mean, you look gorgeous in it." He stumbled and Rosie smiled and looked behind him while Sam kept to his feet.
The music changed to a short-stepped dance and Sam counted to himself the way Marigold had taught him and Rosie grinned at how worried he was on messing up on his steps. The couples danced around each other and Rosie noticed Frodo Baggins talking to Halfred and Poppy. Two young hobbit children ran past their tables and Rosie watched them. They reminded her of herself and Sam a long time ago at Bywater Pool.
Sam. He had always been such a good friend to Rosie. She had known him for so long, ever since their younger years in which their parents became close friends. They had spent many days down by the pond and through the fields between their houses. Then they had grown up and Sam kept to himself and his gardening and Rosie became a barmaid. They had grown apart and now they were coming together again. She recollected the times when she and Sam talked in the stable, or on their walks, and how he taught her how to cook better. She could always turn to him; not so like a brother, but he felt different than a friend and she was confused by her own thoughts.
The little children played tag with each other and she noticed her mother glancing over at the children. Her mother...what did she mean about her dress that day? She said that someone would notice it, but that couldn't be Sam, could it? No. But he did--- he noticed it.
Her mother looked towards the dance floor and Rosie looked away to the children. The little girl tagged the boy and started to run, but he grabbed her arm and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Rosie watched them run away together again and she went numb.
Different thoughts of Sam filled her mind, memories that were more intimate. Thoughts of when he gave up his bed for her when he found her outside their smial that winter. Thoughts of when they sang songs and walked until sundown. Thoughts of their snowfights, the frost in Sam's hair, and how she wanted to wake him up and spend the new year with him.
She remembered that the rose he gave her in the Bag End garden was still in a vase in her room. It hung their dead but she still kept it. Nolfarm's roses died weeks ago, but she didn't keep them, not even one. She thought of the morning glory in her hair and how Sam had tucked it in there tenderly. Her heart beat fast and she couldn't control it.
Why was she feeling like this? It wasn't like she felt like that of Sam--- but why did she feel the way she did? Her hand became clammy in his hand and she could feel her face starting to flush. Sam still counted his 'one, two-and-three, four-and...' steps and Rosie watched him dance in front of her. There was still a tension between them and their dancing, very unlike the way the other couples danced. His pink lips were open from his silent counting and his features were soft on his face. His sandy-blonde curls tumbled over his ears and just above his smiling brown eyes.
Her heart throbbed and fluttered all at the same time. She was almost breathless just looking at him, but she had looked at him so many times before that she didn't want to come to realization that she felt so much different now. She hated not being able to control things, and this time she couldn't control her own emotions.
Sam caught her eyes on him and stopped counting. This time neither of them looked away and Sam didn't look back down to his feet. They danced like everyone else, their feet moving back and forth flawlessly. Sam kept his gaze now that his feet took over and his heart melted at the way she looked. He clasped his hand tighter in hers and her feet tripped over her own because of it. She knew from looking at him that she had been falling in love him all this time.
I'm---I'm sorry," She mumbled and he let go her hands.
Now he knew he had to give it to her. It just seemed right and here they were now without Nolfarm's roses or the falling corset. He kept her hand and brought her out of the dance floor and behind a tent next to the Party Tree. They giggled nervously and he reached inside his coat pocket and pulled out the music box.
"Rosie, I got this for you at the Free Fair. I hope you like it," He murmured by her face and she took it. She held the white sides with the painted flowers and wound it up. It chimed softly and she marveled at its song.
"Is everything all right? Would you like to go back to the dance floor?" Sam asked and waited for her to talk. Rosie held the chime with shaking fingers and tried to find the words for anything.
"Would you like to go?"
"No, not particularly, Rosie."
"Then neither do I."
She held the chiming box in her hand and wrapped her arms over his shoulders and moved in closer to him. For Sam, everything was at a standstill and he put his hands on the curve of her back under the tied ribbons. They could feel each other's heartbeat on the other's chest and Sam looked over her shoulder at his hand. He thought of the Free Fair exactly seven weeks ago. He smiled as he looked down at the crease in his hand and he knew he had to tell Pippin sometime of his possible physic abilities, but that time was nowhere soon.
Rosie rested her face in his sweet smelling hair and looked up to the sky as they started to rock back and forth. Sam bowed his head and held her tight under the stars and it all seemed like a fantasy as they danced alone to the slow rhythm of the distant music.
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