*squirms in chair nervously* I hope nobody's given up on this story. I
got a little distracted with ROTK (awesome by the way). Already seen it
twice, and going again tonight. :0)
Komikitty: Thank you for coming to read it! *hugs*
DiamondTook3: TTTEE was great. Have you seen ROTK yet? :0) Does Merry melt her heart of ice? Hmm. . . We'll just have to wait and see!
KitKatz: Eeek! Threats! *hides*
MLynnBloom: And can you believe that I used to be afraid to write Merry? Gee whiz, he writes himself! :0)
Loveofthering: Ooh, I hope you like this chapter. *wink*
RosieLemondrop: Oh, this is such a relief from Rain! Phew! And you know I cannot help the Sam cameos . . . unfortunately there isn't one in this chapter. :0( Oh, and if you like humorous hobbit romance, check out Mint Sauce's Pippin/Diamond story titled Requiem.
Telpedilwen of Mirkwood: Thank you! *hugs*
Brandybuckgirl: It's okay! You are free to squeal about the hobbits all you want! Believe me! I squeal quite enough. *wink* Oh, and I'm not sure Estella would like the idea of him betting on her affections either. . . just so you know . . . (not-so-subtle foreshadowing for a distant chapter)
Samwisegirl12: Oh surely there has to be some sort of constructive criticism! Nobody's perfect! Especially not me.
Airelon: Here you go! *hugs*
Polychrome: Oh please never give up on this story! Believe me when I say that I will never ever ever ever ever ever stop writing in the middle of a story, no matter how long it takes me!
By the way, thanks to Mint Sauce for helping me out with this chapter!
On to the story at last!
******************************************************
"Remember," Merry reiterated once more, "This was your idea."
"All right, I suppose so, son," Saradoc said, speaking slowly through his thoughts, "But why on earth does it make any difference?"
"Just trust me," Merry patted his father on the shoulder, "You know how Mrs. Bolger loves traditional things, and it would be most polite if we stuck to the tradition of the Master of the Hall doing the inviting, don't you think?"
Saradoc smiled at his son, "You will make a great Master someday, Meriadoc, if you think all things through this much."
"See?" Merry said playfully, "and you told me when I was a child that I wouldn't amount to anything!"
"That was before you started using your head, son."
"I used my head a lot!"
"And what a hard head it is," Saradoc shook his head mirthfully, "There's still a mark on the pantry door where you tried to break in."
*******************************************************
The dining room at Brandy Hall was enormous. Indeed, it was large enough to contain everyone who dwelt in that place. It was too much of a chore to be used at every meal, but every evening at dinnertime it became packed full of many hobbits, and the air was filled with the din of the crowd.
It was far too large for a small social gathering. So Saradoc and Esmeralda Brandybuck had decided it would be best to have a quiet late dinner with the Bolgers in a smaller room, with far less commotion.
And yet, when all was said and done, there seemed to be hardly any commotion at all.
Saradoc and Odovacar Bolger sat at the head of the table together, conversing lightly about plans and schedules.
Esmeralda and Rosamunda made the most noise of them all by far, chatting and gossiping away as they were.
Fatty sat to Merry's left, though he seemed so occupied by his meal that he didn't make a very engaging conversationalist at the moment. Merry was far more interested in the person who sat at his right.
At first, he had planned to wait for her to speak first. But since she had arrived hours earlier, he had not heard so much as a word escape her mouth. Discouraged, he slumped in his chair, picking at his food.
"So," Saradoc was saying, "You're planning to spend the night here?"
"I think it would be for the best, yes," Odovacar replied, "It would be simply too much trouble to travel back at this late hour, especially with the carriage for my wife and daughter. I do hope we are not intruding on your hospitality?"
"Of course not!" Saradoc exclaimed, "You are welcome here at any time! I only wish that we could have had dinner together more often!"
And so on and on droned the genial pleasantries in Merry's ears. He stole a glace at Estella. She was staring blankly at the food on her plate. What could he do to elicit a response from her?
Merry nudged Fatty and whispered quietly, but still loud enough for Estella to hear, "Remember that one day at the Green Dragon?"
Fatty almost choked on his muffin, "The time you and cousin Pippin were dancing on the tables completely drunk?"
"Well," Merry said nervously, "Actually I was thinking of the time. . ."
"And you fell off the table and landed on top of Mayor Whitfoot!" Fatty burst out into laughter.
Merry shifted uncomfortably, all too aware of their parents gazes, "Uh. . . Fatty? Maybe . . ."
But Fatty wasn't listening. He was laughing so hard that tears were streaming from his eyes. Merry, meanwhile, was turning quite red. He was almost to the point of knocking Fatty out of his chair, when he caught sight of Estella's face.
She was, for the first time since Merry had first seen her, wearing a small smile as she listened to their conversation. Estella was smiling.
Suddenly, Merry's confidence grew. If this was what it took to gain Estella's attention. . . then so be it.
"Don't forget the song!" Merry added suddenly.
"What?" Fatty said, not expecting to hear Merry contribute to his own humiliation.
"We started singing!" Merry explained, standing up to demonstrate, "Hey! Ho! To the bottle I. . ."
"Merry!" Esmeralda Brandybuck scolded, "That is quite enough! Sit down and hush!"
"Yes mother." Merry flopped back down in his seat despondently. Estella had stopped smiling. Well, so much for that idea.
He was moping in his own failure when suddenly a voice whispered in his ear, "Why is it, that lads always flaunt about their drunkenness as if competing for an award?"
Merry almost jumped out of his chair. Estella was gazing at him through inquisitive eyes. "Well," Merry answered slowly, "I usually don't."
"I see." She sat back in her chair, "I was just wondering if you are always as silly as you seem to be to me." Merry opened his mouth to answer, but she beat him to it, "Did you really land on top of the Mayor?"
Merry cringed, "And I still don't hear the end to it."
"Serves him right," Estella raised her voice a bit, as if daring anyone around to hear, "As old and cranky as he is."
"Estella!" Rosamunda, having overheard, attempted to reprimand her daughter, "You need not say such things about kindly souls!" The Brandybuck family were politely quiet.
"He's not here to hear it."
"Nevertheless," Her father added, "It is still not proper, especially from a lady's mouth."
"So," Estella said derisively, "If Meriadoc here spoke such, it would not be as wrong as it would be from a lady?" Merry averted his gaze, determined not to take part in the argument.
"Estella, your father did not mean . . ."
"Mother, do not put words in his mouth! Let him speak for himself!" She turned her fiery gaze to Odovacar, but he was pale and did not speak.
Fatty started to rise from his chair, "Sister . . ."
"Sit!" At her word of command, his legs gave out and he fell back down. "I will not have you involved in this, Fredegar."
"Estella," Rosamunda said, vainly trying to be composed, "Now is not the time to bring this up. It is not fair to the Brandybucks who have kindly invited us. Now, if you could just calm yourself . . ."
"Are you embarrassed?" Estella shot the question at her fiercely, "Is that it mother? Even after all this time you are still ashamed of me?"
"Estella dear!" Rosamunda pleaded, "Why can you not act like the other lasses your age?"
Estella tensed visibly, "You want me to act like them?" Her eyes narrowed dangerously, "All right then. I will do the most recent thing I saw a lass my age do, if that will please you mother."
She looked down at Merry, who was sitting in awkward silence, "I'm sorry you had to be the nearest lad." Her nose scrunched up as if in revulsion. Then without warning she grabbed his face forcefully, her nails digging into his skin, and she kissed him.
The room went silent with shock.
Merry had hardly any time to react, before she shoved him back into his seat. She stared at him for a long moment, and Merry half-imagined he could see a strange flicker in her eyes. But he could not be sure, since she was soon leaving the room in a huff.
And then the only thing he could hear was the hurried apologies from Odovacar for his daughter's behavior.
TBC
Komikitty: Thank you for coming to read it! *hugs*
DiamondTook3: TTTEE was great. Have you seen ROTK yet? :0) Does Merry melt her heart of ice? Hmm. . . We'll just have to wait and see!
KitKatz: Eeek! Threats! *hides*
MLynnBloom: And can you believe that I used to be afraid to write Merry? Gee whiz, he writes himself! :0)
Loveofthering: Ooh, I hope you like this chapter. *wink*
RosieLemondrop: Oh, this is such a relief from Rain! Phew! And you know I cannot help the Sam cameos . . . unfortunately there isn't one in this chapter. :0( Oh, and if you like humorous hobbit romance, check out Mint Sauce's Pippin/Diamond story titled Requiem.
Telpedilwen of Mirkwood: Thank you! *hugs*
Brandybuckgirl: It's okay! You are free to squeal about the hobbits all you want! Believe me! I squeal quite enough. *wink* Oh, and I'm not sure Estella would like the idea of him betting on her affections either. . . just so you know . . . (not-so-subtle foreshadowing for a distant chapter)
Samwisegirl12: Oh surely there has to be some sort of constructive criticism! Nobody's perfect! Especially not me.
Airelon: Here you go! *hugs*
Polychrome: Oh please never give up on this story! Believe me when I say that I will never ever ever ever ever ever stop writing in the middle of a story, no matter how long it takes me!
By the way, thanks to Mint Sauce for helping me out with this chapter!
On to the story at last!
******************************************************
"Remember," Merry reiterated once more, "This was your idea."
"All right, I suppose so, son," Saradoc said, speaking slowly through his thoughts, "But why on earth does it make any difference?"
"Just trust me," Merry patted his father on the shoulder, "You know how Mrs. Bolger loves traditional things, and it would be most polite if we stuck to the tradition of the Master of the Hall doing the inviting, don't you think?"
Saradoc smiled at his son, "You will make a great Master someday, Meriadoc, if you think all things through this much."
"See?" Merry said playfully, "and you told me when I was a child that I wouldn't amount to anything!"
"That was before you started using your head, son."
"I used my head a lot!"
"And what a hard head it is," Saradoc shook his head mirthfully, "There's still a mark on the pantry door where you tried to break in."
*******************************************************
The dining room at Brandy Hall was enormous. Indeed, it was large enough to contain everyone who dwelt in that place. It was too much of a chore to be used at every meal, but every evening at dinnertime it became packed full of many hobbits, and the air was filled with the din of the crowd.
It was far too large for a small social gathering. So Saradoc and Esmeralda Brandybuck had decided it would be best to have a quiet late dinner with the Bolgers in a smaller room, with far less commotion.
And yet, when all was said and done, there seemed to be hardly any commotion at all.
Saradoc and Odovacar Bolger sat at the head of the table together, conversing lightly about plans and schedules.
Esmeralda and Rosamunda made the most noise of them all by far, chatting and gossiping away as they were.
Fatty sat to Merry's left, though he seemed so occupied by his meal that he didn't make a very engaging conversationalist at the moment. Merry was far more interested in the person who sat at his right.
At first, he had planned to wait for her to speak first. But since she had arrived hours earlier, he had not heard so much as a word escape her mouth. Discouraged, he slumped in his chair, picking at his food.
"So," Saradoc was saying, "You're planning to spend the night here?"
"I think it would be for the best, yes," Odovacar replied, "It would be simply too much trouble to travel back at this late hour, especially with the carriage for my wife and daughter. I do hope we are not intruding on your hospitality?"
"Of course not!" Saradoc exclaimed, "You are welcome here at any time! I only wish that we could have had dinner together more often!"
And so on and on droned the genial pleasantries in Merry's ears. He stole a glace at Estella. She was staring blankly at the food on her plate. What could he do to elicit a response from her?
Merry nudged Fatty and whispered quietly, but still loud enough for Estella to hear, "Remember that one day at the Green Dragon?"
Fatty almost choked on his muffin, "The time you and cousin Pippin were dancing on the tables completely drunk?"
"Well," Merry said nervously, "Actually I was thinking of the time. . ."
"And you fell off the table and landed on top of Mayor Whitfoot!" Fatty burst out into laughter.
Merry shifted uncomfortably, all too aware of their parents gazes, "Uh. . . Fatty? Maybe . . ."
But Fatty wasn't listening. He was laughing so hard that tears were streaming from his eyes. Merry, meanwhile, was turning quite red. He was almost to the point of knocking Fatty out of his chair, when he caught sight of Estella's face.
She was, for the first time since Merry had first seen her, wearing a small smile as she listened to their conversation. Estella was smiling.
Suddenly, Merry's confidence grew. If this was what it took to gain Estella's attention. . . then so be it.
"Don't forget the song!" Merry added suddenly.
"What?" Fatty said, not expecting to hear Merry contribute to his own humiliation.
"We started singing!" Merry explained, standing up to demonstrate, "Hey! Ho! To the bottle I. . ."
"Merry!" Esmeralda Brandybuck scolded, "That is quite enough! Sit down and hush!"
"Yes mother." Merry flopped back down in his seat despondently. Estella had stopped smiling. Well, so much for that idea.
He was moping in his own failure when suddenly a voice whispered in his ear, "Why is it, that lads always flaunt about their drunkenness as if competing for an award?"
Merry almost jumped out of his chair. Estella was gazing at him through inquisitive eyes. "Well," Merry answered slowly, "I usually don't."
"I see." She sat back in her chair, "I was just wondering if you are always as silly as you seem to be to me." Merry opened his mouth to answer, but she beat him to it, "Did you really land on top of the Mayor?"
Merry cringed, "And I still don't hear the end to it."
"Serves him right," Estella raised her voice a bit, as if daring anyone around to hear, "As old and cranky as he is."
"Estella!" Rosamunda, having overheard, attempted to reprimand her daughter, "You need not say such things about kindly souls!" The Brandybuck family were politely quiet.
"He's not here to hear it."
"Nevertheless," Her father added, "It is still not proper, especially from a lady's mouth."
"So," Estella said derisively, "If Meriadoc here spoke such, it would not be as wrong as it would be from a lady?" Merry averted his gaze, determined not to take part in the argument.
"Estella, your father did not mean . . ."
"Mother, do not put words in his mouth! Let him speak for himself!" She turned her fiery gaze to Odovacar, but he was pale and did not speak.
Fatty started to rise from his chair, "Sister . . ."
"Sit!" At her word of command, his legs gave out and he fell back down. "I will not have you involved in this, Fredegar."
"Estella," Rosamunda said, vainly trying to be composed, "Now is not the time to bring this up. It is not fair to the Brandybucks who have kindly invited us. Now, if you could just calm yourself . . ."
"Are you embarrassed?" Estella shot the question at her fiercely, "Is that it mother? Even after all this time you are still ashamed of me?"
"Estella dear!" Rosamunda pleaded, "Why can you not act like the other lasses your age?"
Estella tensed visibly, "You want me to act like them?" Her eyes narrowed dangerously, "All right then. I will do the most recent thing I saw a lass my age do, if that will please you mother."
She looked down at Merry, who was sitting in awkward silence, "I'm sorry you had to be the nearest lad." Her nose scrunched up as if in revulsion. Then without warning she grabbed his face forcefully, her nails digging into his skin, and she kissed him.
The room went silent with shock.
Merry had hardly any time to react, before she shoved him back into his seat. She stared at him for a long moment, and Merry half-imagined he could see a strange flicker in her eyes. But he could not be sure, since she was soon leaving the room in a huff.
And then the only thing he could hear was the hurried apologies from Odovacar for his daughter's behavior.
TBC