Thank you for reading everyone! I'm just so giddy with happiness! ;) I
have to get this up before tomorrow (hee hee!), cos it'll be my birthday!
Whoo hoo! I'll share my cake with you! Mmm, frosting...
Chapter 11: The Truth
~·· ··÷¦÷·· ·· ··· ··÷¦÷·· ·· ··· ··÷¦÷·· ··~
Rosie stomped all the way home red-faced, and not in the mood for anybody's time. She couldn't believe how Nolfarm thought he could tell her how she would live her life! Oh, the nerve of that arrogant---!, she cursed and ranted in her mind and ran inside when she reached the Cotton house. She didn't realize Marigold out on the front porch waiting for Tom and she slammed the door to her room.
Tom ran up behind her and cringed when he heard the windows rattle. She felt bad for his sister but still laughed at the thought of rich Nolfarm being turned down for the first time in his life. Marigold backed away from the Cotton house, almost waiting for it to explode and she came up to Tom.
"Will Rosie be all right?" She asked and Tom chuckled softly.
"Aye, she'll be all right. It's Nolfarm I worry about...and possibly your brother when he hears the news of his own engagement!" He laughed loudly and he walked with Marigold as he told her everything.
~·· ··÷¦÷·· ··~
The story of Nolfarm and Rosie spread throughout Hobbiton quickly with many versions of the event. Some said that Nolfarm confessed his deepest love to her from many years of agony waiting for her and she beat him up on the spot. There were others who said Nolfarm offered her rings and pockets full of coins from all over Middle-Earth and she rejected him for another hobbit- lad (this was one of the only tales that was closer to the truth).
And then there was the version many of the silliest children made up saying that Nolfarm came on a white steed ready to take her away and Rosie pushed him off his horse and rode it all the way home. Rosie heard all these stories at the Green Dragon and agreed to every one, hoping the stories would get so twisted that everyone would forget what really happened.
Although Rosie heard these tales almost everyday for weeks, Sam had not but suspected something was up. He came by the Green Dragon often as always but she didn't speak with him as much in public. The last thing she wanted was for some hobbit to come up and ask them when their marriage would take place when Sam had no idea of the matter.
Marigold implied little things around Sam, making comments and such but he was so confused with her hints of marriage that he decided that she was actually hinting about her own possible marriage with Tom. And so, the Shire was full of rumors and false facts for a long time.
~·· ··÷¦÷·· ··~
One afternoon, Rosie came to town for the first time since the proposal for a bag of sugar for her mother. She tried to avoid going out in public incase she ran into Nolfarm again. She carried it home and hoped Sam would be outside gardening at Bagshot Row. He was.
"Rosie! How are you today?" Sam asked and he shaded his eyes from the sun.
"Fine at the moment, but there has been better days," She commented and Sam took his gloves off, "I am sorry to here that, Rosie."
"Thank'ee, Sam," Rosie said with a simple smile, "Now, enough about what is happenin' to me, how are you, Sam?"
He sighed and stood up with his tools and packed them away, "Well, it's a lovely day so I don't have any complaints. I'm just sort of, well, how do I say it...confused. Strange talk from passerbys, that's all. Askin' me things I know nothin' of, like of Nolfarm Burrowes's state and such." Sam explained and Rosie opened the gate.
"Come on, Sam. I need to explain something," She said with a sheepish smile and he finished cleaning up before they walked together.
It had been an exceptionally warm day for early summer and only the light breeze gave anyone comfort. It wove its way through the grass and trees and the birds took flight with the wind. Rosie and Sam walked slowly and she thought about how she would try explaining this.
"See, Sam, about a month ago I was in town and Nolfarm came up to me while I was with Tom. And, well, I don't know how to explain this but he asked me to be his wife." Rosie explained shyly and to Sam it was hard blow to his chest.
"Congratulations, Rosie," He swallowed, trying to feel happy for her, but how could he? He loved her. His heart was sinking and he felt so humiliated from the urge to break down and cry.
"Sam, no, no! You didn't let me finish," She smiled and she brought a hand to her chest, "I didn't say yes to him! I'm not gettin' married, silly!"
Sam's eyes lit up and he tried not to look as delighted as he was. Rosie went on, " No matter how much he asked me, honestly, I couldn't say yes. And so, I couldn't bring myself to break his heart by telling him the truth, and I hated to lie, but I told him I was getting married already to...to, well, you." She confessed.
Sam gave a little laugh and smiled at the thought, "To me?" She nodded and she could see in his eyes that he was flattered. "So in other words, we are engaged?" He asked amusingly.
"Only in the eyes of Nolfarm and half of Hobbiton," Rosie laughed and she took notice of where they were actually walking to. She recognized these hills; she had walked down them after work from the bar just days before.
"Sam, come with me! There is something I found over the hill that you should see." Rosie walked up the hill with Sam at her side and she turned to Sam when they came to the top. He was beaming with pure ecstasy.
"When I came by here yestereve, I thought of you! Isn't it wonderful? They are like the little bluebell 'elvish' flowers you showed me in the garden, remember?"
Sam nodded and marveled over the hill of blue wild flowers. He was never sure how they ended up in Mr. Frodo's garden, but here they were mingled with other types which had cross-pollinated with each other. Little patches of yellow and pink hid between the blue and Rosie skipped down the hill.
Sam stepped down the hill behind her with the flowers rustling between his legs. He watched Rosie from behind and she wandered off with her curls trailing behind her back in the wind.
"Rosie, why did you tell him that you were engaged to me?" Sam asked with his hands in his pockets.
She turned around to look at him in the eyes fondly, "Samwise, do not ask me questions I cannot answer."
He stayed quiet, thinking over what she had said, for Sam was very simple- minded and riddles in words (or so he took it that way) made him think of many answers to what she meant. If he had thought about it long enough, then maybe the idea of Rosie choosing him over Nolfarm would have crossed his mind, but Sam never considered that option; he always felt like she could do better than him and that they were friends. Only Rosie knew that Samwise Gamgee was better than any hobbit-lad with endless wealth and land.
He stopped to pick the loveliest flowers, maybe for his own keeping or his mother. Rosie went astray, stooping over to take in the beauty of the flowers. She felt like she had taken some things for granted in her life but Sam had opened her eyes to growing things, including the smallest flowers.
She found him kneeling down in the thick grass and she kneeled down in front of him. He had a ladybug crawling between his fingers and he set it back down on the bud it had climbed up before. He looked up to her and he handled the flowers carefully in his other hand.
"Here, you can keep these flowers I picked. I have my gardens at home," Sam said quietly as they stood up. He held the blossoms in his hands and she held his hands with them in between.
"Sam, I don't need anymore flowers from you," Rosie said.
"But you deserve every one." His tone was sincere and his smile was soft. The sun shown behind him and it was on Rosie's face. He tenderly brushed her locks away from her warm face and she closed her eyes. He brought his hands back down to hers and held one of them.
She opened her eyes again and held the flowers in her other hand with a strange emptiness in her chest. He held her hand and they walked up the hill.
Sam had felt her pause when he held her hand and he wondered what he might have done wrong. The idea of being friends gnawed at his heart the more his love for her seemed to grow. If Sam had known Rosie wanted to kiss him, he would have done so without a second thought. But Sam was of polite mannerisms, and he took things slow. He never wanted to rush Rosie; he had already waited so long to just hold her hand.
~·· ··÷¦÷·· ··~
Fall came and went like the falling leaves on the amber trees and winter came like a cold slap in the face. None of the hobbits knew it would loiter on from late October to the early days of February. At first, the freezing weather came, and then the snow. Everyday, many families would be busy shoveling the snow away from their porch and doors and the children loved getting lost in the thick of the snow.
The nights in December became bitter and the snowstorms during the night became heavier until Rosie couldn't get to work until late afternoon. Thick icicles hung from every ledge and the cobblestone paths and roads in town were slick from the ice that covered it.
It wasn't until one night when the windows rattled in every house that the snowstorm had finally reached its peak. Many fires were lit to keep the rooms warm while the snow fell. Morning came and the snow buried most of the smials under feet of packed snow. The Gamgees woke up to white, cold windows and so, most of the Shire was snowed inside.
Everyone excepted it to pass, but the nights got worse and worse and Yule was approaching. Children got impatient of being inside and itched to get out of the house. When the snow had melted for only just a few hours in the afternoon, many tried to stock up on supplies and wood before nighttime when the storms would hit again. But it was hard work, especially when the snow had melted down to a foot.
Sam became restless reading his books and tried to find anything to do to keep him busy. It was hopeless after about a month and there was nothing to do but lie in bed and wait for the winter to pass. He wondered what Rosie was doing and realized that she was probably waiting it out too.
He noticed the open inkbottle on his desk that May would use for her writing and bit his lip. Finally, he got up and sat in the chair and smoothed out the leaves of parchment. He dipped his quill into the ink and paused over the paper. His heart beat fast as he thought about what he would write and he wrote in his best writing on the top of the page 'Rosie'. For nearly a quarter of an hour, he bent over his paper and wrote.
Gaffer Gamgee knocked on the open door and walked in the doorway. Sam jumped and turned in his chair.
"Just wanting to see if you're interested in some hot chocolate," Gaffer said and he set in above his desk. Sam tried to look casual as he covered his letter and of course, his father noticed.
"Writing, Samwise?" He asked and Sam set his quill down.
"It's not much...j-just a letter," He stammered and the Gaffer didn't need to look back down again to know it was to Rosie.
"When the snow calms down, I can run it along over to her when I head for town," He offered and Sam shook his head nervously. Writing a letter is one thing, but having her read it was never considered.
"Sam, learn that 'Silence can be refined, but in the end there are no actions in what we don't say'. Think of that for a while. Drink your hot chocolate before it gets cold," His father took his hand off of his shoulder and left the room, leaving Sam staring down at his letter to Rosie.
~·· ··÷¦÷·· ··~
The letters continued throughout the weeks of frost and snowfall and he sealed every one as if the seal would be broken later. He wrote every one slowly almost with care and when he got to sign his name on the bottom, the idea of having her actually read it almost seemed unreal. He found a box and left the letters untouched inside.
Then soon, the cold shadow over the sun was gone and the snow melted. Sam and Rosie saw each other again and greeted with warm hugs; they spent the rest of spring and summer together and made up all the time during the winter that they had missed one another.
~·· ··÷¦÷·· ·· ··· ··÷¦÷·· ·· ··· ··÷¦÷·· ··~
Chapter 11: The Truth
~·· ··÷¦÷·· ·· ··· ··÷¦÷·· ·· ··· ··÷¦÷·· ··~
Rosie stomped all the way home red-faced, and not in the mood for anybody's time. She couldn't believe how Nolfarm thought he could tell her how she would live her life! Oh, the nerve of that arrogant---!, she cursed and ranted in her mind and ran inside when she reached the Cotton house. She didn't realize Marigold out on the front porch waiting for Tom and she slammed the door to her room.
Tom ran up behind her and cringed when he heard the windows rattle. She felt bad for his sister but still laughed at the thought of rich Nolfarm being turned down for the first time in his life. Marigold backed away from the Cotton house, almost waiting for it to explode and she came up to Tom.
"Will Rosie be all right?" She asked and Tom chuckled softly.
"Aye, she'll be all right. It's Nolfarm I worry about...and possibly your brother when he hears the news of his own engagement!" He laughed loudly and he walked with Marigold as he told her everything.
~·· ··÷¦÷·· ··~
The story of Nolfarm and Rosie spread throughout Hobbiton quickly with many versions of the event. Some said that Nolfarm confessed his deepest love to her from many years of agony waiting for her and she beat him up on the spot. There were others who said Nolfarm offered her rings and pockets full of coins from all over Middle-Earth and she rejected him for another hobbit- lad (this was one of the only tales that was closer to the truth).
And then there was the version many of the silliest children made up saying that Nolfarm came on a white steed ready to take her away and Rosie pushed him off his horse and rode it all the way home. Rosie heard all these stories at the Green Dragon and agreed to every one, hoping the stories would get so twisted that everyone would forget what really happened.
Although Rosie heard these tales almost everyday for weeks, Sam had not but suspected something was up. He came by the Green Dragon often as always but she didn't speak with him as much in public. The last thing she wanted was for some hobbit to come up and ask them when their marriage would take place when Sam had no idea of the matter.
Marigold implied little things around Sam, making comments and such but he was so confused with her hints of marriage that he decided that she was actually hinting about her own possible marriage with Tom. And so, the Shire was full of rumors and false facts for a long time.
~·· ··÷¦÷·· ··~
One afternoon, Rosie came to town for the first time since the proposal for a bag of sugar for her mother. She tried to avoid going out in public incase she ran into Nolfarm again. She carried it home and hoped Sam would be outside gardening at Bagshot Row. He was.
"Rosie! How are you today?" Sam asked and he shaded his eyes from the sun.
"Fine at the moment, but there has been better days," She commented and Sam took his gloves off, "I am sorry to here that, Rosie."
"Thank'ee, Sam," Rosie said with a simple smile, "Now, enough about what is happenin' to me, how are you, Sam?"
He sighed and stood up with his tools and packed them away, "Well, it's a lovely day so I don't have any complaints. I'm just sort of, well, how do I say it...confused. Strange talk from passerbys, that's all. Askin' me things I know nothin' of, like of Nolfarm Burrowes's state and such." Sam explained and Rosie opened the gate.
"Come on, Sam. I need to explain something," She said with a sheepish smile and he finished cleaning up before they walked together.
It had been an exceptionally warm day for early summer and only the light breeze gave anyone comfort. It wove its way through the grass and trees and the birds took flight with the wind. Rosie and Sam walked slowly and she thought about how she would try explaining this.
"See, Sam, about a month ago I was in town and Nolfarm came up to me while I was with Tom. And, well, I don't know how to explain this but he asked me to be his wife." Rosie explained shyly and to Sam it was hard blow to his chest.
"Congratulations, Rosie," He swallowed, trying to feel happy for her, but how could he? He loved her. His heart was sinking and he felt so humiliated from the urge to break down and cry.
"Sam, no, no! You didn't let me finish," She smiled and she brought a hand to her chest, "I didn't say yes to him! I'm not gettin' married, silly!"
Sam's eyes lit up and he tried not to look as delighted as he was. Rosie went on, " No matter how much he asked me, honestly, I couldn't say yes. And so, I couldn't bring myself to break his heart by telling him the truth, and I hated to lie, but I told him I was getting married already to...to, well, you." She confessed.
Sam gave a little laugh and smiled at the thought, "To me?" She nodded and she could see in his eyes that he was flattered. "So in other words, we are engaged?" He asked amusingly.
"Only in the eyes of Nolfarm and half of Hobbiton," Rosie laughed and she took notice of where they were actually walking to. She recognized these hills; she had walked down them after work from the bar just days before.
"Sam, come with me! There is something I found over the hill that you should see." Rosie walked up the hill with Sam at her side and she turned to Sam when they came to the top. He was beaming with pure ecstasy.
"When I came by here yestereve, I thought of you! Isn't it wonderful? They are like the little bluebell 'elvish' flowers you showed me in the garden, remember?"
Sam nodded and marveled over the hill of blue wild flowers. He was never sure how they ended up in Mr. Frodo's garden, but here they were mingled with other types which had cross-pollinated with each other. Little patches of yellow and pink hid between the blue and Rosie skipped down the hill.
Sam stepped down the hill behind her with the flowers rustling between his legs. He watched Rosie from behind and she wandered off with her curls trailing behind her back in the wind.
"Rosie, why did you tell him that you were engaged to me?" Sam asked with his hands in his pockets.
She turned around to look at him in the eyes fondly, "Samwise, do not ask me questions I cannot answer."
He stayed quiet, thinking over what she had said, for Sam was very simple- minded and riddles in words (or so he took it that way) made him think of many answers to what she meant. If he had thought about it long enough, then maybe the idea of Rosie choosing him over Nolfarm would have crossed his mind, but Sam never considered that option; he always felt like she could do better than him and that they were friends. Only Rosie knew that Samwise Gamgee was better than any hobbit-lad with endless wealth and land.
He stopped to pick the loveliest flowers, maybe for his own keeping or his mother. Rosie went astray, stooping over to take in the beauty of the flowers. She felt like she had taken some things for granted in her life but Sam had opened her eyes to growing things, including the smallest flowers.
She found him kneeling down in the thick grass and she kneeled down in front of him. He had a ladybug crawling between his fingers and he set it back down on the bud it had climbed up before. He looked up to her and he handled the flowers carefully in his other hand.
"Here, you can keep these flowers I picked. I have my gardens at home," Sam said quietly as they stood up. He held the blossoms in his hands and she held his hands with them in between.
"Sam, I don't need anymore flowers from you," Rosie said.
"But you deserve every one." His tone was sincere and his smile was soft. The sun shown behind him and it was on Rosie's face. He tenderly brushed her locks away from her warm face and she closed her eyes. He brought his hands back down to hers and held one of them.
She opened her eyes again and held the flowers in her other hand with a strange emptiness in her chest. He held her hand and they walked up the hill.
Sam had felt her pause when he held her hand and he wondered what he might have done wrong. The idea of being friends gnawed at his heart the more his love for her seemed to grow. If Sam had known Rosie wanted to kiss him, he would have done so without a second thought. But Sam was of polite mannerisms, and he took things slow. He never wanted to rush Rosie; he had already waited so long to just hold her hand.
~·· ··÷¦÷·· ··~
Fall came and went like the falling leaves on the amber trees and winter came like a cold slap in the face. None of the hobbits knew it would loiter on from late October to the early days of February. At first, the freezing weather came, and then the snow. Everyday, many families would be busy shoveling the snow away from their porch and doors and the children loved getting lost in the thick of the snow.
The nights in December became bitter and the snowstorms during the night became heavier until Rosie couldn't get to work until late afternoon. Thick icicles hung from every ledge and the cobblestone paths and roads in town were slick from the ice that covered it.
It wasn't until one night when the windows rattled in every house that the snowstorm had finally reached its peak. Many fires were lit to keep the rooms warm while the snow fell. Morning came and the snow buried most of the smials under feet of packed snow. The Gamgees woke up to white, cold windows and so, most of the Shire was snowed inside.
Everyone excepted it to pass, but the nights got worse and worse and Yule was approaching. Children got impatient of being inside and itched to get out of the house. When the snow had melted for only just a few hours in the afternoon, many tried to stock up on supplies and wood before nighttime when the storms would hit again. But it was hard work, especially when the snow had melted down to a foot.
Sam became restless reading his books and tried to find anything to do to keep him busy. It was hopeless after about a month and there was nothing to do but lie in bed and wait for the winter to pass. He wondered what Rosie was doing and realized that she was probably waiting it out too.
He noticed the open inkbottle on his desk that May would use for her writing and bit his lip. Finally, he got up and sat in the chair and smoothed out the leaves of parchment. He dipped his quill into the ink and paused over the paper. His heart beat fast as he thought about what he would write and he wrote in his best writing on the top of the page 'Rosie'. For nearly a quarter of an hour, he bent over his paper and wrote.
Gaffer Gamgee knocked on the open door and walked in the doorway. Sam jumped and turned in his chair.
"Just wanting to see if you're interested in some hot chocolate," Gaffer said and he set in above his desk. Sam tried to look casual as he covered his letter and of course, his father noticed.
"Writing, Samwise?" He asked and Sam set his quill down.
"It's not much...j-just a letter," He stammered and the Gaffer didn't need to look back down again to know it was to Rosie.
"When the snow calms down, I can run it along over to her when I head for town," He offered and Sam shook his head nervously. Writing a letter is one thing, but having her read it was never considered.
"Sam, learn that 'Silence can be refined, but in the end there are no actions in what we don't say'. Think of that for a while. Drink your hot chocolate before it gets cold," His father took his hand off of his shoulder and left the room, leaving Sam staring down at his letter to Rosie.
~·· ··÷¦÷·· ··~
The letters continued throughout the weeks of frost and snowfall and he sealed every one as if the seal would be broken later. He wrote every one slowly almost with care and when he got to sign his name on the bottom, the idea of having her actually read it almost seemed unreal. He found a box and left the letters untouched inside.
Then soon, the cold shadow over the sun was gone and the snow melted. Sam and Rosie saw each other again and greeted with warm hugs; they spent the rest of spring and summer together and made up all the time during the winter that they had missed one another.
~·· ··÷¦÷·· ·· ··· ··÷¦÷·· ·· ··· ··÷¦÷·· ··~