And so we arrive at part two of the story! I wasn't going to give you a brief overview of last chapter, but as it was so long ago, I think I better had.
If you remember last chapter, well done you, and please forgive me a moment.
Sam, Rosie and Elanor left Hobbiton on their way to an Inn, where they met up with Merry and Pippin. The hobbits then proceeded down to the Brandywine Bridge, and were escorted by the `Big Folk` to an encampment on the opposite side of the river. Elanor and Rose were startled by the whole affair. They were led to a large pavilion in the centre of the camp were they were planning to meet Aragorn.
This chapter actually does include a memory. I wasn't going to put this particular one in here, but it just seemed to fit so well. Incidentally, this chapter is rather longer then the last one. At least, I think it is.
Replies to Reviews:
Lady Freesia- well done and think you for managing to read the whole story! At this point it is uncommon for new people to appear, because very few people can be bother to read the whole of 10 chapters. I'm so glad you took the time! And I am glad that I make you feel better about Frodo leaving. It was part of the reason I started this story in the first place, to make other people, and myself, feel slightly better!
GamgeeFest- well, your wait is over, now you can see exactly what I have managed to do with this pat of the story! I wasn't given much help by the book itself, this particular meeting takes up just four lines in the appendices, but I did try my best. If it is not quite what you imagined, I am sorry. Looking forward to you review!
Celebrindal- All right all right, you wanted more; I'm giving you some more! Here! I agree that you never really get an awful lot of Rosie and Elanor in the books, which is partly the reason why I don't tend to characterise them much myself. In the books, you get a good feel for who Sam and Merry and Pippin etc. are, so you can easily imagine them on other situations. Where as Rosie and Elanor you have to imagine yourself, and I wouldn't want to impose my own thoughts of them upon you!
Bookworm 2000- Ellie gets a bit more used to the `big folk` in this chapter, so please don't start to panic! I think I would have to agree with you though, because I'm only quite a little person myself, and bigger people do have the effect of making me slightly worried!
LegyLuva (My very own Sam)- What do you mean I stole your title? I did no such thing! I stole Tolkiens title, and so did you! If anyone has the power to sue, it is Tolkien! But since his estate is multi-millions pounds richer, I doubt they are going to bother! Anyway, yours didn't have a part two, so nar nar *sticks tongue out * No the last chapter had nothing to do with the box, this one does, sort of, in a round about way, though not the box. Hehe, you'll just have to read it to find out won't you! And there is another memory in this chapter that Sam is going to, well, remember. Enjoy!
Gina- I think I can safely say that you are here to read, even if you don't review. Hope you enjoy this chapter as much as you did the rest of the story, and I am sorry I haven't replied to your last e-mail, I seem to be having problems with my Internet connection lately.
No1Fan- Your review made me so happy! It isn't enough that I have a number one fan, I also have someone who respects and understands my writing, and talks to herself out loud! Hehe, I also loved the fact that Elanor might always get her own way, if she gave her dad `the look` I must admit, I've done it often enough before! I'm glad the absence of a memory didn't matter too much, I was a bit weary about not putting one in, because after all, the title of the story has `memory` in it! Prepared to get excited again, for they are now going to enter the tent! You can let out that long held baited breath now!
Samwise the Brave- aww..Thank you so much! I love you too! You always leave me such nice reviews, it is obvious that you don't sit and think about what to say, you just speak from the heart, which is always nice. I'm glad you enjoyed my walking song. It was one of those `I'm walking up to college and its freezing cold, what can I sing to myself to cheer myself up?` I started to hum and completely random made up tune, then I found words to fit it!
~*~~*~
Memories Of A Gardener
By Michelle Frodo
Chapter 11 - Many Meetings (Part 2)
~*~
"Strider!"
"Oh it's good to see you"
"How have you been?"
"What's happening in the world outside?"
"We've been very cut off since we came back."
Aragorn sat on a chair at the far side of the tent. To the hobbits eyes he had changed little, except maybe in his clothing. His eyes stilled smiled with some of the cheer they had seen on happier moments of the quest. But to Rose and Elanor, there sat one of the great kings of Middle Earth, robed in splendour and glory, surrounded by elves and men alike, poised, balanced, and almost emitting an strange sort of energy. They held back, while the other three walked forward.
"Life has become so dreadfully boring"
"I don't suppose there is still a place for me as guard of the citadel is there?"
"Well not for me, I'm quite happy as I am, but I do sometimes wish for news of the world!"
Aragorn said nothing, simply continued to smile down at some of the bravest, most noble people he had ever met. They had grown, or so it seemed to him. Not so much in height, but in their boldness, their happiness and their self-esteem. Though, he reminded himself, last time they had met, the hobbits were many miles from home. Here, in the Shire, was where this simple yet grand race of people truly belonged.
At last the hobbits managed to hold back their tidal wave of questions, compliments and random statements. There was silence for a few moments, while the little hobbits and the King regarded each other. At last, Merry could stand it no longer.
"Are you not going to talk to us?" he asked, blushing slightly.
Aragorn gave a wide grin. "First things first" he said, "I think you could do with something to eat. We can talk later."
"I knew there was a reason I liked you!" Pippin laughed, as some more of the big folk entered, carrying laden trays of steaming food.
"It seems you haven't forgot the ways of us halflings!" Said Sam, as they tucked into steaming bowls of soup.
"Nor will I ever," said Strider. For Strider he had become. No longer was he sat on his throne, but had joined the hobbits to sit cross legged on the floor. His advisers were not quite used to this behaviour from their king, and they wondered who these little curly hair people might be, and how they seemed to have such a strong influence over the ruler of the race of men.
"But come!" he said, "You have not introduced me to these charming young ladies." He gestured to where Rose and Elanor were hovering behind Sam.
"Oh of course!" Sam grinned, always pleased when granted the opportunity to talk about his family. He stood up from the floor, and introduced them.
"King Aragorn, I would like to present to you my lovely wife Rose, and my eldest child Elanor."
Aragorn laughed, and kneeled up, so that he was on eye level with them. "Greetings Rose Gamgee" he said, kissing her hand. Rose stood in shock, and said nothing.
"And you, Elanor the fair, whose name so reflects her true beauty." And he placed his hand on the top of her curly hair. She smiled at him.
"You're bigger then I thought you would be." She said. "I thought Da' was lyin' when he said you were taller then our house." Being in the presence of this kind, caring ranger from the north seemed to have quelled Elanor's nerves.
"And you, my fair lady, are no smaller then I would have thought, you are the first child of your kind that I have laid eyes upon up close, though I watched the borders of your land for many years. It seems that it may all have been worth while, if such beauty and innocence has been spared."
Elanor studied him for a moment, then said, "You talk awfully funny. I wish I could understand what you were sayin', but you use such big words, and I'm only little."
Aragorn laughed, and sat back down on the floor. "I am sorry. I suppose court business has changed my dialect somewhat. But I shall try to make things easier for you to understand my little one. Won't you have a seat?" He said, then he whispered, just to Elanor, as though nobody else could hear him, "That means sit down."
Sam could not have been more proud. His daughter had made a great impression upon the king, and indeed, he seemed to have taken quite a liking to her.
Later on in the evening Arwen entered the tent. Merry, Pippin and Sam sprang to their feet, and bowed low.
"Lady Arwen"
"How wonderful it is to see you again."
"I trust you are well?"
Arwen smiled, and placed her smooth hand underneath their chins to lift their faces to her own. She kissed the tops of their heads one by one, making them blush beyond anything.
"My brave and true hobbits, it is good to see you again. I am sorry I was not here for your arrival."
"Think nothing of it my lady, to see you now has been worth the wait." Merry said, bowing again.
Arwen smiled "I see you have lost non of your charm Master Brandybuck." She walked to sit beside her husband, and Sam introduced her to Rose and Elanor.
"Two truly beautiful flowers you have there Samwise."
"That I do my Lady, and I consider myself very lucky indeed." He took hold of Roses' hand, and she grasped his own back. For the first time since they had entered the tent, she smiled. She had felt rather insignificant since their arrival, but Sam singing her praises to this elven princess gave her new strength. She kissed Sam on the cheek.
* * *
Later that evening, everyone had gone to bed, and was sleeping contentedly, if logs are content that is. The hobbits had been given a tent in the centre of the encampment, not too far away from the Kings tent. It was a fine sleeping quarters, just big enough for four and a half hobbits to sleep comfortably. Sam, however, was not asleep. He was tossing and turning, with so much on his mind he wondered if he would explode.
Eventually he got up, and walked out of the tent. The sun had long since disappeared, but it was not dark, the moon and the stars offered as much light as he needed. He walked to the edge of the camp site, and over to the bridge. He stopped at the edge, leaning on the handrail, looking over into the deep waters below.
The last time he had met with Aragorn and Arwen, Frodo had been with him. That was the time that Arwen had given his friend permission to leave Middle Earth, if he so wished. It was all her fault. Though Sam didn't like to feel angry with her, but he couldn't help feeling that maybe if Arwen had not decided to stay behind with Aragorn, Frodo would still be here.
Sam was still brooding over what he had lost; he didn't hear soft footsteps coming up behind him.
"Still awake Sam?"
Sam jumped, as Aragorn came to stand beside him.
"Just thinkin'." Sam answered. The two stood in silence for a few moments, staring down at the swirling water.
"You miss him a lot don't you?" Aragorn said, as though carrying on a conversation that they had just been having.
"Yes I do. I understand that he had to leave, but I still don't want to accept it. Somehow I don't think that my heart ever really understood, even if my head did, if I'm talkin' any sense at all."
"Yes you are. Sometimes our heart tells us what our head cannot. In your case, your head tells you to forget about Frodo, because you know that he can never come back. Yet your heart does not want to forget everything which you shared together."
"Yes, I think that's just about it." Said Sam. A single tear escaped his eyes, rolled down his face, and fell into the waters below. "Somehow, I find it hard to let go. I still find myself thinking about him, as though he were still here."
"Now that would be your heart speaking. It is good that you still listen to it."
"But it hurts!" Sam suddenly began to shout. "It hurts so much, more then…more then.."
"More then watching your friend suffer?" Aragorn took his gaze from the water and studied the distressed hobbit before him. "Would you rather he had stayed and borne the pain?"
"Of course not" Sam said, rather annoyed that he had even suggested such a thing.
"Sam, do not fall into the mistake of thinking that you are the only one who looks back upon Frodo's decision to leave, and wonders if it was the right one to make."
"What do you mean?" Sam asked, wiping the remaining tears from his eyes.
Aragorn dug his hand deep into his pocket, and pulled something out.
"This Frodo gave to me, long before it had even entered your head that he might possibly be leaving. You might not have known it, but I think he did. He gave this to me, and said that if I was ever to see you, I was to give it to you."
He handed Sam a very small wooden case, tied at the top with a frayed piece of string. It was small enough to fit into the palm of Sam's' hand, and for a moment Sam wondered how Aragorn had managed not to loose it.
"I don't understand what it is," Aragorn said. "I was told not to open it, though it feels empty. But Frodo assured me that you would understand what it was." Aragorn shrugged his shoulders.
Sam broke into a wide grin. He knew what it was all right.
~*~
There was a lot of activity inside Bag End. Drawers and cupboards were open, their contents jumbled around. Bag packs stood half full at the doorway. Cloaks were taken off their pegs, walking sticks out of their stands.
Frodo and Bilbo were off to Buckland, to visit Merry and his family. It was the first time that Frodo had been back since he had moved to Bag End over seven years ago, and he was very excited.
Further down Bagshot Row, another hobbit hole was in complete disarray. Sam was furiously searching his home from top to bottom. He knew that Frodo was going away for a while, and Sam wanted to give him something, so that he wouldn't forget. There had to be something special that Sam could give Mr Frodo as a going away present. He just didn't know what.
It was the morning that they were due to set off. Frodo had climbed to the top of his favourite hill, to watch the sun rising over the sleepy town of Hobbiton. The hobbits who had early starts to their day were already up. Frodo could see some of them walking the strips of roads connecting the houses to the centre of town. Like so many little streams to eventually join up with the big river.
It would be weeks before he saw it all again. He called the small village his home, although he had not really been living there for very long. He couldn't imagine being this happy anywhere else. Suddenly a mop of blonde curly hair appeared on the edge of the hill where Frodo was sitting.
"Mr Frodo!" Sam said, puffing and panting after his climb. "Thought I might find you up here."
Frodo smiled. "It won't be long before you start finishing my sentences for me Sam, it seems you are already invading my thoughts!"
The two sat in companionable silence for a while, until Sam spoke.
"Mr Frodo, how long will you be gone for?"
"Bilbo thinks about four weeks. Not all that long."
But Sam's' face dropped. "Four weeks? That's the longest you've ever been away!"
"Well, yes it is. It's the longest that we've ever been apart for since we met, if that's what you mean."
"You..You're not going to..to..forget me are you?"
"Forget you?" Frodo looked down at Sam, sat beside him on the grass. "Now what makes you think that?"
"Nothin'." Sam said hastily. "It's just that, with you goin' home an' all, I was a bit worried."
"Sam, I'm not going home."
"You're not?" Sam looked up hopefully.
"No Sam. I'm going back, but I'm not going home. This is where I belong, this is where I feel happy, and this is where all my friends are. This is where Bilbo is; this is where you are. This is my home."
"Really?"
"Really really." Frodo said, and hugged Sam. "And I could never forget you, where ever I went, however long I was gone. You're a turnip for even thinking as much"
Sam laughed. "Yeah, I know. But, just in case, I wanted to give you this." Sam handed Frodo a small wooden treasure chest, knotted with a piece of string.
"What is it?" Frodo asked, moving to undo the knot.
"No!" Sam cried "You can't open it, not now, not ever."
Frodo looked at Sam puzzled. He looked at the box again, and gave it a shake. There didn't seem to be anything in it.
"It's not empty." Sam answered the unasked question. Frodo was even more bewildered. It felt empty to him.
"What inside it?" He asked.
"Well" Sam answered "Inside here are all my thoughts of you. Every time when you're gone, an' I miss you, I'll think about you, an' they're all collected in this box. So if you're away, an' you miss me, you know that I'm thinkin' of you just as much as you're thinkin' of me, so to speak."
Frodo looked down at his best friend in awe. For someone so young, he had such a wonderful view on life.
"Thank you Sam. Rest assured, I'll think of you when I'm away. And I think that the box will come in very handy. It makes me feel better already."
~*~
Sam looked back up at Strider, who was watching his little friends' expression.
"Thank you Strider. I can see things more clearly now. I know he's missin' me just as much as I'm missin' him, an' it was wrong of me to get angry at him for leavin'."
"All that from just from a little wooden box?" Aragorn asked, quite perplexed. Sam nodded with wide grin on his face.
"I have said it once, I shall say it again" Said Aragorn, shaking his head. "Hobbits really are strange, yet wonderful creatures."
After a few days spent at the Brandywine Bridge, King Elessar was preparing to leave. He had departed from Gondor several months ago, and though he trusted that his advisors were managing fine on their own, he wanted to return.
He called the hobbits to him in the meeting tent for a last meal, and they sat around once more for food, drink and good friends, three things which Elanor loved the most.
Sam's daughter spent long in conversation with the Queen Arwen, not at all intimidated by her, something which Sam was quick to notice. The first time he had set eyes on Arwen, he had been lost for words, and even now found it difficult finding words befitting of such a Queen. But Elanor was chattering away, as though in conversation with a favourite aunt. His daughter really was brave, thought Sam.
Rose also, seemed more comfortable then she had been upon her first meeting with the king. She was talking with Merry and Aragorn about horses, a subject that Sam didn't even realise his wife was knowledgeable about. It appears that the few days spent with the big people had done both his Rosie and his Ellie a lot of good.
Pippin was watching Sam, who couldn't take his eyes from his wife and his daughter. It appeared that Sam was obviously proud as anything about his family, and Pippin, being one of the pair who witnessed his distress at Frodo's leaving, was happy to see Sam quite settled into his new way of life without his best friend. He couldn't quite imagine how he himself would have coped, had Merry been taken away from him. He admired Sam.
As they were due to set off back home, the hobbits had a last audience with the king, while his esquires were packing away. Arwen, quite taken with little Elanor, made her a Maiden of Honour in the queen's court. Rose burst in to tears as Elanor was presented with a small silver head-dress by Arwen, and sworn into the queen's service.
Aragorn took Sam to one side, and offered him a small package. Upon opening, Sam discovered a thin silver chain that glistened in the early evening sun. On the end hung a white jewel in the shape of a star. Sam recognised the pendant as the one that Aragorn had worn on his brow before his coronation in Gondor, all those many long years ago.
"Master Samwise, beloved husband, father and friend, I give to you the Star of the Dunedain. For not all those who wonder are lost. When the time comes, and if you so desire it, you too shall be given passage into the West, for you too were a ring bearer, if only for a short time. May your part in the story forever go on!"
Then he placed the chain around Sam's neck. Sam simply stood there, for no such gift could have been refused. He was silent for a few seconds, unable to put so many of his jumbled thoughts into words.
He smiled up at Strider the ranger who he had first met in Bree and had not trusted; the man who had led himself and his friends through many a danger, and back out again on the other side; who the elves called Elessar, hope; and who Sam was pleased to call his friend.
"Not a mightier gift could have been given Lord." He said. "But I have so much yet to do, that I don't feel ready to leave." He hid the chain underneath his shirt. "The story will forever continue, and at least now I have the chance to decide how my part in this story will end, as Mr Frodo used to say."
~*~*~
May Elbereth bless my reviewers; Flames will be used in destroying the Ring.
This chapter was brought to you by South Farthing Pipe weed.