Author's note: Hey everyone! I'm sorry it took me so long to update the next chapter. Finally I had time to finish this. Another reason it's taken me a while is because I'm developing the new character, Rory, which isn't always easy. Again, thank you for your encouraging reviews and I hope you like chapter 2!
Disclaimer: No, I don't own Tolkien's characters, only Tansy, Calla and Rory.
Chapter two: Anniversary
"Daddy, Daddy!" said Elanor excitedly. "Someone's at the door!"
"I know," Sam answered while Elanor and Calla skipped in front of him as he headed for the door. "Elanor, Calla," he added, trying to dodge from behind them. When he saw they annoyingly blocked his path, Sam halted and a frustrated sigh escaped from his lips. "Now how am I supposed to open the door if you two are in my way?"
Realizing she annoyed her father again, Elanor stepped out of Sam's path and then she tugged Calla along with her.
"We're sorry, Daddy," Elanor said softly and gave him one of her puppy-eyed looks.
Sam sighed again when he saw that look. Sometimes he gave in to it, but this time Samwise the brave had had enough. "Now you girls behave," he said sternly. "You gave us much trouble this morning."
"We'll behave," said Elanor unconvincingly. She peeked at Calla beside her. "Won't we Calla?"
Calla did not utter a word, only nodding quietly.
"Uh-huh," muttered Sam and he smirked.
By then the...ring, ring, ring of the doorbell began to annoy him more than Elanor and Calla had only moments ago.
"Alright, alright!" grumbled Sam and when his hand grabbed the knob and flung the door open...
"Hello, Sam!" said an elated Pippin at the door.
"Uncle Pip! Uncle Merry!" shouted Elanor as she ran toward them. Calla raced along side her toward the two hobbits and when they knelt with open arms, the girls collided into their embrace.
Pippin said to them, "It's always a pleasure to see our favorite lasses in all of the Shire."
"And," Merry added to what Pippin had said, "You've been behaving haven't ya?"
The two girls were speechless at what Merry asked them. Their eyes slowly rolled up to Sam who stood above them with crossed arms. And when he smirked, that immediately answered Merry's question.
Merry's eyes widened, but he only pretended to be shocked and gasped at the girls.
"Now what trouble have you gotten yourselves into this time?"
Elanor and Calla gave them a sheepish grin and shrugged.
"I wondered who it could be at the door," Rosie interrupted as she strode into the parlor, and then she greeted them with one of her pleasant smiles.
Merry and Pippin stood onto their furry feet.
"Good-day, Rosie," said Pippin while Sam shut the door.
Puzzled, Merry's eyes searched the parlor.
"Looking for Frodo and Tansy?" asked Rosie.
Merry frowned. "Where are they? We came to wish them a happy anniversary."
"They'll be back soon. They took a stroll into the woods."
The apple tree.
It would always be Frodo and Tansy's special place in the woods.
The anniversary of where they kissed for the first time.
While Frodo rested himself against the tree, his lap was like a soft pillow for Tansy's head as she lay upon it. He watched many fragments of sunlight peeking through the green canopy of the tree and casting shadows of leaves on to Tansy's face. Every moment or so, a warm breeze gently parted her bangs and brushed them off from her forehead.
"I hoped for a beautiful day," she whispered while looking up at the sun's light glimmering through the leaves. "And it is, just like the day we kissed and on the day we were married."
Frodo smiled, raising his cheeks that boasted a radiant pink like those of the roses in his garden.
"It is a splendid day, indeed," he answered contently. His fingers crept along her neck, and down on to her pink rose necklace that hung above the ruffled collar of her yellow-green dress. "I have to remind myself to buy a pendant for each dress you wear."
She slid her fingers over his hand that hugged the pendant.
"But," Tansy began, "I'll always cherish this one."
Frodo smiled again, recalling the time he bought the pendant for her birthday. He was about to say something and hesitated when Tansy continued.
"Oh, Frodo, I can't wait till tonight," she said with a beaming grin. "I remember when we celebrated our anniversary at the Green Dragon last year. I love our dances together."
Frodo chuckled. "I remember our first dance."
Tansy's sleepy eyes rolled to meet his and then it only took a second. Snapping out of the romantic reverie, her eyes were no longer half-closed but wide and alert as she sprang from his lap.
"Don't you dare say it!" she shouted but it wasn't an angry shout, like someone would assume.
"Say what?" answered Frodo who only pretended to be naïve about what she had said.
Tansy plopped beside her husband and glared at him with narrowed eyes.
"You remember what happened that night, when I fell on my bottom and made an absolute fool of myself. That's what that laugh was about."
"You're wrong, Tansy. I didn't laugh. It was merely a chuckle."
"Hmph, a chuckle is all?" She shook her head. "That was no chuckle."
They both stared at one another. Though she tried, Tansy could not keep up with her pretending to be angry any longer and a sudden laughter burst from her lungs.
Frodo's own laughter resonated along with hers. And when their laughter slowly came to an end, Frodo whispered...
"I love you."
He extended his left hand toward her face. Suddenly...
The struggle.
Obsession and hate.
An excruciating, burning pain.
When Frodo discovered he was visible, he stared in utter horror at the bloody stump where his third finger had been. The unbearable pain.
"Frodo?"
He shivered and stared at his hand. The pain subsided. No more blood, only the healed stump. What he thought he had seen was only the nightmarish memory of his fight with Smeagol on the cliff inside Mount Doom.
"Frodo?" Tansy repeated with more concern in her voice. And when she saw he continued to stare frighteningly at his hand, Tansy grabbed it into her own. "Frodo, please, listen to me. You're here. You're not at that awful place anymore. Frodo!"
Jarred by Tansy's gentle voice, his gaze drifted back to her eyes exuding warmth that soothed him; cradled in her arms that comforted him.
Frodo silently thanked her again, letting his wife know how much he appreciated her by his firm embrace.
"I'm all right," he whispered while rocking Tansy in his arms. "We'll have a wonderful time tonight."
And she answered, "Yes, Frodo, we will."
That evening, a full moon had shown its beauty against the remaining indigo twilight. Some nights during the summer it greeted the Shire with a mellow orange glow. This time the moon appeared like a soft pink gem, as if it blushed above the boisterous laughter and music that bellowed from the Green Dragon Inn.
Not one table was empty inside the inn with hobbits celebrating Frodo and Tansy's anniversary. Many families and friends attended the celebration. Among those present were Father Maggot, his wife and a few others they knew from the Brandybuck family. They sat at a corner table on the left side of the inn. Not far, near the middle of the inn sat Frodo, Tansy and of course Sam, the Gaffer, Merry, Pippin, Estella Bolger and Diamond of Longcleeve.
Where was Rosie? Well, she tended to her usual duties as barmaid. When she had a moment, Rosie stopped by the table where her husband sat and snuggled beside him, then she hurried back to pouring ale and serving numerous mugs at crowded tables.
While everyone at the table were chatting loudly, laughing and drinking, something distracted Tansy, an unusual thing for her because she often chimed in her part of the conversation. And what was the distraction? Rory Hortlebower. A barrage of questions flooded her mind.
Hmm...I thought he would be here? After all, he said he was staying at the inn.
What am I doing? It's our anniversary. Why should I care if Rory...
Her thoughts came to an abrupt halt.
Rory seemed to suddenly appear out of the shadows as he snaked his way past dancing couples and around tables.
Tansy's curiosity beckoned her eyes to follow the round-faced real estate broker through the crowd until he sat down at the table with Farmer Maggot.
He knows Farmer Maggot?
"Tansy..."
Startled by Frodo's voice, Tansy blinked a few times as if she awakened from a strange trance.
"What?" she said, glancing awkwardly at her husband.
"Are you all right?"
When she didn't give him an immediate reply, Frodo picked up her mug and looked down into it.
"Well, it isn't the ale. This is your first one and you hardly touched it."
Though she tried, Tansy was not at all clever at hiding her sheepish grin.
"I'm sorry, Frodo. I--,"
A sudden interruption ended their conversation. The jaunty melody of fiddles played again, and this time with a resounding, rhythmic clap from every hobbit inside the inn. Tansy knew they were cheering for them to dance.
The Gaffer who was hidden by Sam sitting beside him had stuck his head out into view. He peered at Frodo and Tansy with a gleeful look in his eyes and his smile, wide and bright.
"Go on," he said to them. "Dance!"
Frodo gazed at his wife with a grin that told her they should dance. And like they had done on their wedding day, the couple held hands as they strolled out into the middle of the inn, and so began the dance.
Everyone watched them, enjoying the way they waltzed effortlessly on the floor. But someone watched them even more intently. Rory while clapping had studied Tansy dancing with Frodo, the way she stared into his eyes. She loved him. A profound love anyone could see, and Rory was not at all blind to it.
Tansy, why did you tell me Frodo was dead. Why?
At that moment, other couples joined Frodo and Tansy. Among those were Sam and Rosie when she had another break. Merry also joined them with Estella. And Pippin made sure he wasn't left out when he escorted Diamond on to the floor.
Rory stopped clapping, picked up his mug and drank the rest of the ale that he finished.
"Since being here, I've heard many things about Frodo," said Rory inquisitively as he continued to observe Frodo and Tansy.
"Who hasn't?" answered Farmer Maggot sitting beside Rory. "Every where I go I hear about Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin.
The real estate broker took a momentary break from the Baggins couple and eyed Farmer Maggot. "I've also heard Frodo has four fingers now. Is this true?"
Farmer Maggot nodded.
"Really? How did it happen?"
"I know many things, Rory, but that I can't say. All I know is when he left Bag End there were some strange goings on. I've seen things—even now when I think about it, I get scared out of me wits."
Rory was distracted from the conversation when the music stopped. The dance ended and everyone had gone back to his or her seat.
Farmer Maggot did not care much for talk about the 'strange goings on' that happened after Frodo left, and so he decided to change the unpleasant conversation.
"Well," he said to his friend. His face brightened with the most cheery smile he could muster. "I'll admit, your visit here surprised us all. It's been such a long time. What made you decide to come back?"
"Like you said," Rory began, peering over several tables until his curious eyes found the table where Tansy sat. "It's been a long time...too long. Uh, excuse me, Farmer Maggot."
Rory left the table and as he sauntered cautiously to where he wanted to go, the real estate broker hoped he didn't give his friend the wrong impression of being rude. This was his opportunity to get know them better—all that were sitting at the table where he stopped.
"Excuse me," said Rory politely with an engaging smile. And each time he smiled, two dimples perched themselves above the corners of his lips. "I don't mean to intrude, but--,"
The Gaffer looked up and squinted at Rory. "You look familiar?"
"I'm Rory Hortlebower, and--,"
"Ah, I remember you now. You're the one who owns many hobbit holes in Staddle?"
Rory smiled again and acknowledged the Gaffer's question with a slight bow of his head. "Yes, you're correct."
"Join us," said the Gaffer, "Unless you have other plans?"
"No, not at the moment. Thank you."
While he sat beside Frodo, Rory noticed Tansy had looked very uneasy.
And then Sam broke the brief silence. "We met Mr. Hortlebower yesterday at the market."
"But--," Merry interrupted out of curiosity, "we haven't met." He leaned slightly forward across the table. "I'm Meridoc Brandybuck, known as Merry by most. He motioned his hand toward Estella sitting next to him. "This is Estella Bolger."
Rory acknowledged them with another polite tilt of his head.
"I'm Peregrin Took," he said hastily before Rory could utter anything else. "Most know me as Pippin."
"And I'm Diamond," she boldly announced.
Gracious, Rory accepted their warm introductions. "It's a pleasure meeting you all."
Frodo still found himself wary about the real estate broker, but he dismissed his feelings he thought foolish and nudged himself to be friendly.
"I want to thank you again for finding Calla and Elanor. They can be troublesome at times."
"You're quite welcome, Frodo. Troublesome you say?" said Rory and laughed a little. "Now I find that hard to believe."
"Oh, they're troublesome alright," Sam added without hesitation. "We've already had one babysitter quit and I hope the new one we have now can handle them."
And while this conversation carried on, Tansy kept quiet, keeping her eyes fixed on the ale she had yet to finish. Tansy could see him without looking directly to know that Rory sneaked a peek her way when he had the chance.
By then, the Gaffer steered the conversation in a different direction.
"I've heard many folk are moving to Staddle. Have you sold any hobbit holes recently?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I sold one last week," Rory answered humbly rather than arrogantly, what one would expect to hear from a real estate broker, and a wealthy one at that. But he spoke softly and always polite despite what he was. "Actually, I sold it to a couple who were married a few weeks ago--," He halted and upon recalling something, he went on to say, "I am very sorry. Excuse my rudeness. Frodo, Tansy...happy anniversary!"
Frodo smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Rory."
Mr. Hortlebower froze. His face, chalk-white like it was yesterday when he saw Tansy with Frodo. Someone stood a few feet away from the table—a beautiful lass dressed in burgundy like what Tansy wore.
With a beaming smile on her soft, red lips, Rory could hear her whisper...
"Happy Anniversary."
Once again, Rory wrestled with his thoughts.
No. You're not here. You're not here!
He blinked a few times and when the fog of confusion cleared before his eyes, his wife vanished.
"Mr. Hortlebower?" Rory heard Sam's voice, as if it echoed from an eerie and vast distance. "Are you all right?"
And now when Sam spoke, he heard everything clearly.
"Are you all right?" Sam repeated.
"Yes, I—I'm sorry." He sprang from the chair. "There's something I need to do. I bid you all good night."
"Good night," Some said and some were puzzled as they watched him rush away from the table.
Merry frowned and glanced at Pippin. "What happened?"
Pippin shrugged his shoulders. "I guess he didn't care much for our company."
Later that night, most of the hobbits had gone home. Only three tables were occupied with several hobbits that stayed behind for a few more pints and laughs.
Rory left his room and returned to the bar. Restless, he paced around until something caused him to stop short at one of the tables. At his foot lay a burgundy-beaded necklace. Rory bent to pick it up and when he grasped the necklace, he studied it closely until it dawned on him who it had belonged to.
"Tansy," he whispered.
Rory hurried from the inn for his cart that would take him to Bag End. As he embarked on to the cart, he noticed one of the wheels were quite rickety. He had no other option. Tansy would be devastated if she didn't have her necklace.
Before retiring to bed, Frodo visited the den. At the desk is where he sat and flipped through a few pages inside the Red Book. The 'Lord of the Rings' was the title he chose for what he had written. His adventure he told Bilbo once that turned out quite different. In his mind, Frodo still questioned if he would ever be healed completely. And he had to often fight the nagging voice that told him he made a wrong decision to stay in the Shire.
"Mr. Frodo?"
Surprised at the unexpectant voice of his gardener, Frodo looked up at Sam standing in the doorway.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Frodo," said Sam while both hands tugged at his suspenders. "I didn't mean to startle you."
Always delighted to see his dear friend, Frodo smiled warmly. "It's alright, Sam."
The stout hobbit walked toward Frodo and stopped near the desk. His eyes fell upon the Red Book and then they climbed back to Frodo. Though he tried to convince himself about time healing Frodo's wounds, Sam looked past his beloved master's smile and saw someone still troubled.
"Having those night terrors again are you?"
Hating to admit the truth, Frodo slowly nodded as he closed the Red Book. His hand remained atop the cover while he looked up at Sam.
"Yes, Sam. They continue to haunt me. I don't know if they will ever stop. But I won't give up. I won't give in to the madness of what happened. What helps me is that I have Tansy and Calla. Of course my friends and...you Sam."
Sam blushed and always shy when anyone praised him, especially his master.
"Mr. Frodo," said Sam humbly.
Frodo left his chair, stood in front of Sam and placed a loving hand on his gardener's shoulder.
"Frodo wouldn't have gotten very far without Sam."
Sam remembered those bittersweet words Frodo had told him during the beginning of the quest. Tears burned his eyes and then Sam slid his fingers over Frodo's right hand, squeezing it firmly in his own.
This time, they were both startled by the ringing of the doorbell.
Sam shot a puzzled look at Frodo. "Who can that be at this hour?"
Frodo with Sam not far behind him had strolled into the parlor and hesitated at the front door. Frodo listened for another ring and then there were none, just an eerie silence.
"Who is it?" asked Frodo sternly through the door.
A voice shouted back. "It's Rory."
"Rory?" Frodo whispered to Sam.
"What is he doing here?" Sam questioned.
It did them no good standing there wondering, and so Frodo opened the door.
"Hello again, Frodo, Sam," said Rory in his most polite voice. "I'm sorry to bother you at this hour."
"Come in," Frodo insisted and shut the door behind Rory.
Mr. Hortlebower stepped inside the cozy parlor. "Thank you. Again, I am very sorry but I had to come."
"What's wrong?" asked Frodo.
"Well, I found this." Rory reached inside the pocket on his breeches. Whatever it was he held in his hand had now been revealed to them. On his palm lay the beaded necklace. "Frodo, I think it belongs to your wife."
Frodo took the necklace from Rory's hand. He held it up. The beads were embraced within a warm glow of fire light from the chandelier above. It certainly looked a lot like the necklace he bought for her. Baffled, Frodo shifted his attention back to Rory.
"It's Tansy's necklace, but I thought I saw her wearing it when we left the Green Dragon."
"Really?" answered Rory. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, I--," Frodo hesitated. He doubted so much that he couldn't be sure of anything lately. "I don't know."
"Mr. Hortlebower?"
The three hobbits turned and saw Tansy standing in the distance.
"Tansy," Frodo called, "I need to show you something."
Curious about what Frodo wanted to show her, and why Rory was standing in the parlor of their hobbit hole, she strode toward her husband.
"Is this your necklace?" asked Frodo.
Tansy looked at it and then she shook her head. "It can't be. I have my necklace. I'll go and get it."
They waited but only for a short while. Tansy returned with her necklace—several beads dangled from her hand as she held on to the rose pendant.
"Here it is."
Surprised, Rory's eyes darted from her necklace; to the one he found and then they leapt back to Tansy.
"I thought it belonged to you?"
"It's alright, Mr. Hortlebower," she said. "I understand why you would think it belonged to me. They look so much alike."
"Well," Rory replied, embarrassed about the whole thing. "I must go. It's already late." He slipped the necklace back inside his pocket.
"Rory," said Frodo. "I'm sorry you came all this way, but again, I thank you for your kindness."
It wasn't the easiest task for him, though Rory managed to smile despite the embarrassment. "You're welcome. Good night."
"Good night," they said and when he left, Frodo quietly shut the door.
"I wonder who it belongs to?" said Sam. "I feel bad for the poor lass who lost it."
Frodo turned around to say, "There were so many lasses at the Green Dragon. It could belong to anyone, who I don't know."
They were jarred by a sudden crash outside the hobbit hole. What followed next...a deafening scream that roared through their ears and raised the hairs on their legs.
Sam raced to the door, yanked it open and looked out to see what had happened. His eyes wide, he yelled...
"Mr. Hortlebower!"
TBC
A/N: Please let me know what you think!