Author's Note: I feel so loved! *hugs for all* THANKYOU I'm glad the first chapter went over so well *sigh of relief* It's hard trying to do justice to one of the greatest works of all time :) I also realized that, in my excitement of finally posting something, I forgot to put a disclaimer: I own none of the wonderful characters in this story, for they are the brilliant, mind boggling creations of the good Mr. Tolkein himself. I only hope he doesn't mind my imagination playing with them a bit :)
Aemilia Rose: *big hugs* Hurray! My favorite author is my first reviewer! Thank you so much for your encouraging words, and thank you also for putting me on your favorites list--It's so nice to have such a warm welcome :) *pinches Sam's other cheek* yes, he is quite the sweetie, isn't he?
Rosa Cotton: I'm so glad you like the story so far--and yes, there will be multiple chapters! If all goes according to plan, I might reach ten and an epilogue, but we'll have to see. I'm on your favorites list too? Thanks! *hugs* hope you enjoy the coming chapter!
Crimson-dawn123: yes, there is a shortage of non-slash Sam fics: my main hobbit needs some more credit on this site. Wow, I'm glad you liked the story so much! If you really need a Sam/Rosie fix, though, visit Aemilia Rose and Rosa Cotton--they're both amazing :) I hope you'll be getting some stories up soon too!
*Whew* sorry, had to give some love out to my charter reviewers :) A few final notes: Rosie's brothers make an appearance in this chapter, both with their true names and their nick names as follows: Tolman = Tom; Wilcome = Jolly; Bowman = Nick. . Also, I'm making Wilcome Rosie's twin brother, because according to the appendix, they were born in the same year, with Rose listed first. If you have any age questions, e-mail me, and I'll map it out for you This will all be important in later chapters. Anyway, hope you like this week's chapter! @--- Luv, luck, and ROTK is out in 8 days! ~Lemondrop~
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Everything was starting to come into place. The tables were finally being set up in the party field, thanks to the direction of Masters Meriadoc and Peregrin. A few Hobbit men drove up in a cart full of ale fresh from the Green Dragon, and a new commotion arose as they attempted to carry them to one of the tents without trodding on the Hobbit lads and lasses that had decided to run across the field. The women were gathering flowers by the bunches, because after all, it was the wedding of the Shire's best gardener, and it wasn't as if there was ever a shortage of lilies and poppies and roses these days. One of the women caught a lad by the ear as he ran by, and instructed him to take a trip to the Cotton's farm across the way, to check if Mrs. Cotton had finished with the cake yet...
* * *
The dress was beautiful. Rose was in awe of the sheer delicacy of the garment; the cream fabric, the smoky-pink underskirt, the lace trim on the hem and neckline. Her fingers found the pink satin bow trailing from the waist and twirled around it. She tried to envision her mother in the dress, those many years ago when she was just a young lass embarking on a new chapter in her life. A chapter, Rose reminded herself, that she was about to write for her own life.
She felt something lurch in her stomach and turned to the bed, suddenly dizzy and shaking. She put a hand to her head and breathed deeply. What had happened? She wasn't--no, she couldn't be nervous.
"Come now, Rose, this is what you've been waiting for! There was a time you thought this day would never come! Now it's here and you're acting like a ninnyhammer."
"Ninnyhammer indeed," she scolded herself, "Whatever would Sam think if he saw you like this? Surely he wouldn't approve, especially after all that he's been through. He's changed so much."
"But for all he's changed he's stayed the same." Rose smiled as she remembered his return those five months ago. Her family had seen the change in his clothes, but she had seen the change in his eyes. He was the same Sam, but with more burdens to bear, more memories to cope with, than she would ever know. "And even if he is braver than you are now, he would never hold it against you."
"But he's seen so much, Rose. He's famous to all of Middle Earth. How can you expect to hold him down? What if he leaves again? What if his heart no longer belongs to the Shire alone? To you alone?"
Rosie got up and went to a small mirror hanging on her wall. Her reflection stared back at her, pale and nervous. She smiled at the silliness of it all. Sam would not have asked her to marry if he didn't want it with all his heart. Otherwise, he probably wouldn't have had the courage to do it.
Memories of days gone by flashed in Rosie's mind. She almost laughed aloud as she remembered the first time she met him...
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Little Rosie Cotton looked up at her mother. Lily had just finished cleaning up after second breakfast and was hard at work cooking for elevenses. Rosie tugged at her mother's apron, but was gently swished away.
"Not now, my little flower. I've got to get these rolls baked."
Rosie looked at her feet, then to the door. "Momma, will the boys be back soon?"
Lily sighed, and wiped the flower from her hands. "Yes, Rose, soon. Now you must let me alone, dear. Tolman's friend Samwise is coming for elevenses, so I'll have four hungry lads to feed instead of three, not to mention your father. I've a lot of cooking ahead of me."
Rose wandered into the sitting room and plopped herself by the fire. She was just starting to anger herself with the thought of her brothers leaving her alone with nothing to do when the front door burst open. Three laughing lads erupted into the sitting room--three laughing lads and one soggy miserable looking one.
Rose looked curiously at the hobbit lad dripping water all over the entrance floor. He looked familiar to her...mother had said his name was Samwise. Of course! He looked like Rosie's friend Marigold Gamgee--he must be her older brother.
Just then Lily Cotton's voice came from the kitchen. "You lads had best get back outside before you wake up Nibs. I just laid him down for a nap."
The boys quieted a bit, but not much. Tolman patted Sam on the shoulder. "I'll go and get you a blanket, Sam," he said between his laughter.
Rosie decided it was time to make her presence known. "Jolly, why can't I ever go out with you boys?"
Wilcome didn't even look at Rose; he was too busy laughing. "Because you're not old enough," he called over his shoulder.
Rosie stood up and crossed her arms indignantly, glaring at her twin. "Well I don't know if that's a very good reason. I'm certainly older than Nick, and I'm older than you too!"
"You are not," Wilcome shot back, "We're twins! We're the same age!"
Rosie shook her head. "No, Momma says that I was born first--that makes me older than you."
Now it was Wilcome's turn to glare. It was a comical sight, for both looked so alike, with that same scowl on their faces. "Fine then," Wilcome said stubbornly, "It's because you're a lass."
Rosie opened her mouth in defiance, but at that moment Tolman reappeared, carrying a hefty blanket. "All right, I'll have none of that," Tom said, tossing the blanket over a silent Sam's shoulders. "Rose, we let you come along often enough, and you slept through breakfast this morning." Rosie looked thoroughly unconvinced. "And Jolly, you'd best watch who you make mad. You know Rose can outrun you, lad or not." Wilcome looked equally unpleased, but not as unconvinced, for he knew it was true.
Tolman turned his attention back to Sam. "Are you alright?"
"What happened?" Rosie asked Sam, her eyes on his. She had never been a shy child.
Sam's face turned a shade of embarrassment, and the boys erupted again into gales of laughter. Rosie thought she heard Sam mutter something about what his gaffer would do to him when he came home.
"We were fishing in the stream behind Old Sandyman's mill," Nick explained to Rose.
"And Sam got his line stuck in a tree," Tolman continued.
"And you know the rule--"
"I know," Rose said impatiently, cutting off Wilcome, with whom she was still angry. "'He who's able to catch a tree must be able to set it free.'" she recited promptly.
"Exactly," Tolman said, laughter building again in his voice. "So Sam starts to climb the tree, and just as he's reaching out for his hook--"
Tolman, Wilcome, and Bowman were swallowed by their laughter once more. Rosie looked to Sam, who shrugged his blanket-covered shoulders. "I guess I've never been very good at climbing trees."
Rosie raised a hand to her mouth to stifle a giggle.
Lily Cotton strode into the room, waving a sauce-covered spoon in front of her. "Now I told you lads to be quiet, and--" she laid eyes on Sam, who was now shivering slightly. "Good gracious! What happened here?"
Sam chose that moment to sneeze, which only made the three Cotton boys laugh harder. Mrs. Cotton took Sam by the shoulders and ushered him further into the room. "Here, Samwise, come sit by the fire and dry out. I don't know who's pond you jumped into, but your gaffer won't take kindly to me sending you home with a chill."
"And you three!" She rounded on her sons, stirring spoon at the ready. "Out! I've not got time to deal with Nibs if he wakes up, and unless you would like to play with him, I suggest you take your noise outside, so he can sleep and I can cook!"
The door closed behind them and all was quiet, except for the crackling of the fire and the sound of water dripping from Sam's hair and hitting the wooden floor.
Rose went and sat next to Sam, studying him with her bright blue eyes, as children so often do to strangers. Sam patiently tolerated her gaze, as so many strangers do not. Finally, Rosie broke the silence.
"You're Marigold's brother, aren't you?"
Sam grinned. "Yes, I am."
Rosie nodded, her suspicions confirmed. "Do you let her play with you?"
Sam shrugged. "Sometimes, when she wants to play with me."
"Even though she's a lass?"
Sam nodded.
Rosie looked at him thoughtfully for a moment, then sighed, pulled her knees top her chest, and rested her chin upon them. "Sometimes I wish I wasn't a lass."
"Well that's not a very good thing to wish," Sam said. "If there were no lasses, life would be downright dull, like dirt without flowers."
Rosie considered this, then looked at her fire-side companion. "You're nothing like my brothers, you know."
"Boys! Tolman! Rosie! Come fill your plates!"
Sam stood, his hair almost dry now. "Come, little lass. If you can't go fishing with your brothers, at least you can beat them to elevenses."
* * *
Rose took one last look at the dress on its hook before leaving her room. She had a lot to think about, and needed to be outside to do it. Silently, she wondered if Sam remembered their first meeting too.