Warnings: Yet another confession, and with yet another familiar character!

Disclaimer: I vill not speeek… ;)

Author's Notes: As usual, thank you SO much to all of my reviewers, and my apologies for the huge gap in the update:( I really feel awful leaving you guys hanging like that... (sighs) Oh well. Hopefully things will return to an orderly fashion soon…despite how grim things look now…at least I was able to get this chapter up though, right? (looks around with a half-hearted smile)

Jealousy Confession

--))--

"Have a seat."

A look of guilt. Uncertainty. Nervousness.

The stool gave a distressed little creak as some considerable weight was added to its three small legs. The weight wasn't quite as unbearable as it had been with the stout being that had sat on it before, but it was still enough to make it feel a little bit uncertain. Oh well. Hopefully this would be a short confession today.

This sort of thought, however, did not cross Father Herman's mind today as he sat down behind the decorated window in the tiny room that he had become very familiar with throughout his lifetime, feeling in a better mood than he had felt in a long time, simply because he had already stolen a glimpse at the small fellow outside the window that was going to be confessing today, and he could almost immediately tell that he posed no threat. Phew!

And so, with that, the priest straightened his robes slightly, cleared his throat, and spoke in a nice, calm voice.

"Begin."

"Bless me Father, sir, for I have sinned." The guilty and nervous voice responded from the other side of the window, and the sandy-colored head bent slightly as he spoke, as though ashamed of what he was about to say. "I bring the sin of jealousy before the Lord, sir."

The priest almost smiled. Jealousy. This was a very common case in the matters of confessions, and certainly nothing that he couldn't handle. "Ah, jealousy." He spoke smoothly, nodding to himself as he did so. "A common sin that we all bring before the Lord many times in our lives, though we cannot justify it by saying such."

A solemn nod came from the small figure, and the priest continued.

"And what has caused this jealousy, my child?" He asked.

There was hesitation from the small one outside.

"…m-my master, Father, sir."

"Your master? So you serve him then?"

"W-well, not exactly, I mean, I suppose I – "

"Ah, do not bother getting into detail. It is all right just knowing who he is. Now, what has he done to cause this jealousy?"

"Well…you see…a while ago we went on this mission to go save the world…you know, destroy evil and all. I was with him every step of the way, and yet he gets all the glory, sir!"

"Glory?"

"Yes, sir! Praise, honor, worship, glory! I mean, I know he was the one to actually carry the Ring…but without me, he would've died!"

"Ah…and has your master shown that he is not grateful for your deeds?"

"…well…no…but still, I think I deserve more from other people. He has all the wealth, all the fame…even a one-way ticket to Valinor with the elves! Believe me, Father, sir, I respect Mr. Frodo, and I know what he did for the world…but sometimes…"

"You just feel angry that you are slightly ignored in his shadow."

"Yes…yes, I suppose…"

"Have you talked with him about this?"

"Oh no, sir! The last thing Mr. Frodo needs is another weight on his shoulders."

"So you think he would feel betrayed by what you feel?"

"W-well, I don't rightfully know…"

"All the more reason to ask him, Samwise."

"But what if he starts to hate me?"

"If you saved his life, I strongly doubt that he will."

"You'd be surprised, sir…"

"Well, I cannot force you to ask him, and if your heart simply refuses the idea, then you should not do it. After all, the pressure to do something like that often leads to very severe arguments."

"…a-arguments, sir?"

"Never mind. Have you prayed to the Lord about this?"

"Of course, sir!"

"Well, why don't you pray again? Pray for guidance and for a clean heart to be able to take all of this into consideration, and also for strength to see yourself through this jealousy. After all, though you may feel some anger toward the others for their refusing to recognize you, it is not your master's fault, and you should never make it seem like it is."

The small figure shuffled his feet slightly on the sturdy, wooden floor. "But what if I become to jealous to be around him anymore? Don't you think he would think that I hated him?"

"Definitely." The priest responded in all honesty. "Unless you told him the truth about why you could not spend time with him anymore…and if you are going to do that, why not just talk about it with him before that need for seperation happens?"

Sam swallowed hard, glancing around the church before heaving a great sigh. "I suppose you're right. Maybe I'll talk to him about it tonight…and then bash everyone else tomorrow."

Father Herman raised an eyebrow. "…bash?"

"Never mind, Father, sir." Sam responded, standing up from the stool and crossing himself quickly before turning to leave. "Priests have a hard time understandin' that kind of stuff."

"Do not forget to pray, my child!" Father Herman called after him, his voice slightly worried as he watched the hobbit go. That one had a potential for some very nasty thoughts or some danger to others, that was certain. Even though he didn't really seem like the warrior-type of person…well, you could never tell what anger might lead someone to do.

There was no response from the retreating figure, and the priest sank back in his seat with a shake of his head. Oh well. It could have gone worse, he knew that at least. But one thing that confused him was the fact that he could have sworn that he had heard the name "Frodo" once before…and not just from someone's casual mouth, but from personal experience…

Hm.

Oh well. It would probably come to him before long…either that, or his memory loss was merely another sign of old age.

Shaking his head yet again to himself, Father Herman sat back comfortably in his confession chair and folded his hands on his slightly rounded stomach before closing his eyes and just relaxing. Another confession that day was done, and he was actually feeling up for another one, since things had gone so well.

Then again…was it dangerous to think such things?

--))--

Yay! Chapter 12! And there went SAM! Thanks so much to Lina-Baggins for the idea, and I will try to get another one up there as soon as I can…but like I said before, I can't garauntee much. (looks around miserably) Oh well. Thank you all for being so patient!

-Review Responses-

almostinsane: Okay…(documents everything) Got it! Thanks for the info! I'll be sure to keep all that in mind if I can get that chappie up. And thanks for your compliments on the chapter too! This was another fun one. Seeya at the next update…and hopefully it won't be too far away!

Kabuki733701: Oh, mellon nin, you always make me feel so…so…(sniffs dramatically) SPECIAL! (hugs tightly) Really, your comments are so lifting. I'm glad you liked this confession! And it's funny, because I really thought this was a particularly sad one too. I mean, that guy has been through a lot in his life, and he really is a good king, ya know? (sighs) Oh well. At least he's going to seek help from God now. That'll do him some good. And ÉOWYN you say! FanTASTIC idea! No, seriously. I'm sure we'll be able to come up with something workable for her as soon as I have time to write again, because she will actually be the first female to confess in this story, unless Arwen beats her to it somehow. (winks) Thanks for the idea! And as you can see, I did delete goatzrule's review. Hehe. I totally forgot to do that, because I had to use it to make my review-response in that one chapter. Thanks for the reminder, and it IS relieving to get that ridiculous thing off of MY page. (folds arms firmly) So there. Thanks for being patient while waiting for the update, too!

Lindahoyland: Oh, thank you so much for the compliments on the chapter. (blushes) I'm so glad you liked it! And yeah, I thought it was a little sad too. Poor Theoden. I'm sure there really is a ton of stuff that he regrets…and Father Herman may be one of the few people to know it. (sniffles) Anyway though, thanks for being so patient while waiting for the update! I sure did miss you guys! And I hope it won't be too long before I can update again…