Authors Note: Yahoo! At last I have up chapter twelve! Whew! These chapters are really taking their time coming. Sorry for the long delay -- can't say I didn't warn you all about long periods between updates -- three weeks it took me to get this up. At least it is nice and long. I hope it is worthwhile. I like it personally, there is a bit of tension in it.
loveofthering: So glad you liked the last chapter. I will also be excited when Rosie goes to the festival. What will happen? I wonder...hopefully a happy ending! ;)
Arwen Baggins: I am thrilled the chapter was worth the long wait. Hopefully the story will be the same with this chapter. True, there were probably some lasses who would have enjoyed dancing with the two knights. But they may have been off to some sort of mischief or may have been hiding behind some bushes... Anyhow, I hope they will be on better behavior during the festival. Giving a helping hand regarding all those lasses would be nice. And about Pippin's cousin, lets just say that was a little inspiration from Ever After.
DiamondTook3: Well, I cannot say that this is soon, but here is the update. Lol
aragorns-gurl33: A new reviewer! Welcome. I am happy you are enjoying this story. I hope you have not gone insane so you can read this chapter. Only time will tell what happens when Sam and Rosie met face to face again. And I have really no idea what will happen yet.
Celebrindal: Yes, the writer's block is still strong but I am making progress, otherwise these last two chapters would not have been posted. Was it a little odd for lasses to be lining up for a dance? In most versions of Cinderella that I have read there are always gobs of girls waiting to dance with the prince. So I just wanted to add another touch of the fairy tale to this. I am glad that other than that you enjoyed the chapter.
Beanziem: Welcome, welcome. Wow! You read this whole story in one sitting? Neat. I hope this story is to your liking.
Chapter Twelve: It Is Too Early in the Morning for Me to Deal with All of This!
Rosie watches her relatives walk through the doorway. All make their way into the parlor and collapse onto the chairs and floor. After closing and locking the door, Rosie pokes her head inside and just manages to keep a smile from crossing her face at seeing the tired yet glowing expressions on her aunt and cousins' faces. She steps inside and takes their shawls.
"How was the festival?" she asks.
"It was wonderful, like a dream," Rosemary sighs happily and breathes deeply the sweet fragrance of her blossom.
Lily smirks at her sister. "Don't mind her," she tells Rosie, "she's in love." Lily rolls her eyes.
Rosie blinks in surprise and studies both cousins. Rosemary comes out of her daydream to glare up at her sister from the floor. Lily returns her glare.
"You're just jealous because you only had one dance with Samwise the Brave," she accuses. "And you didn't even enjoy the rest of the festival."
"I did enjoy it!" Lily retorts.
"By spying on him! Surely there were more exciting things you could have done."
"At least I am not afraid of setting my sights high."
"He approached me first!" Rosemary defends herself.
"A Took," Lily tries to sound mocking; however, the envy she feels at her sister's fortune is heard clearly.
"I did not know he was a Took," Rosemary says softly.
Lily rolls her eyes, but the other either does not notice or chooses to ignore the gesture.
"He was just a nice boy who reached out to me in my loneliness."
Rosie has watched this exchange between her cousins in growing amazement. Never before had she noticed how the two are not really alike. She is dumbfounded when Rosemary looks at her with a seemingly understanding look on her face. A sense of some sort of understanding passes between them.
Lily opens her mouth but is cut off.
"My darlings, please. There is no use in bickering. It is late. And my head is starting to pound," May halts the argument. With what grace she can muster, she rises from the chair and goes toward the door. "I want a bucket of warm water immediately, Cinders. My legs are aching terribly. And some tea for my headache."
"Yes, ma'am," Rosie says and curtsies to her aunts retreating back. She starts to leave her cousins.
"Be sure to bring me some tea, also," Lily calls. "And you must help me out of this tight dress."
"Yes, Lily," Rosie answers. In the doorway she pauses and looks back. "Shall you desire for your hair to be done, Rosemary?" she asks.
The girl looks at her in surprise and nods. Rosie nods back and quietly heads to the kitchen.
Rosie carefully sets down the heavy bucket of water before her aunt who sits at her nightstand, dressed in her nightgown and robe, sipping her tea. She gets on her knees, and after May has placed both feet into the steaming water, Rosie uses a rag to wash them. The only noise is the swirling of water and the little clicking of the tea cup coming to rest on the saucer. May looks thoughtfully on her niece's turned down head.
"Did you know any of the Travelers personally?"
Rosie suddenly stops rubbing the cloth over Mays leg and slowly lifts her head, meeting her aunt's gaze. She simply stares at her in shocked surprise. May starts growing impatient.
"Yes," Rosie says slowly and nods, wondering what may have brought about this subject.
May peers at her closely, narrowing her eyes, as though trying to read something in her face. Rosie cowers inwardly. It seems as though she is gazing into the eyes of a snake that is preparing to strike. Rosie senses the need to go on.
"Bag End was not that far a walk from us. Sometimes I would see Mister Frodo in town and also at the Green Dragon. A real gentleman, he is. And often his cousins Merry and Pippin would visit him and come to the Green Dragon, too. I was acquainted with them."
"And did you know Samwise?" May presses with great interest.
Rosie cannot hold any longer her aunt's gaze. She drops her head, unnerved, her heart pounding with uncertainty, and stares at her reflection in the water. Her reflection is destroyed as she returns to her work. She tries to gather her shattered thoughts and compose herself.
"I know -- I mean knew -- Sam quite well. We played together as children and were always very good friends," she says simply. She can feel her cheeks start to flood with color, however, at talking about her friend.
May is aware of Rosie's embarrassment. "You two were very close?"
Rosie understands perfectly what her aunt is asking. And she senses her future depends on what answer she gives her aunt. She swallows hard. Hoping the telltale color is fading from her face, she bravely looks up at her aunt. She manages to laugh.
"Oh, no. We were only friends. He was like another brother to me and I a sister to him." Even as she says this, memories of times past flash through her mind -- times when she wondered if it was only friendship that was between the two of them. And she knows that nowadays when she thinks of Sam, it is not of him as a friend. But Rosie gives nothing away on her face as she looks up at the woman before her. "Why do you ask, Aunt May?" she asks in a steady, slightly curious tone.
May's eyes bore into the younger one's, looking for any hint of information being kept from her. But she can find nothing in the deep brown depths. "No particular reason," she says slyly. "I just wondered if, as being one of Samwise's close friends, you knew who he has a fancy for."
It takes all of Rosie's self-control not to let her emotions -- of surprise, shock, puzzlement, sadness -- come over her face. She simply blinks. "Does he?" she says casually. "I had no idea. He likes to keep to himself a bit." She wants to ask who the lucky lass is but decides against it. She continues to gaze calmly at her aunt.
"Yes, some patrons were discussing his traveling to a certain part of the Shire often, looking for a certain lass. I just wondered if you were aware of his being interested in anyone."
Rosie's heart drops. He must have found a great lass if he visits her often. She remains composed outwardly while she weeps inside. "I was completely in the dark," she reassures.
The air becomes stuffy at the deadly silence in the room. The air explodes at the slight scraping of the bottom of the tea cup leaving the saucer. May turns her attention to her tea and drinks the cooling bittersweet liquid.
Rosie wrings the water from the cloth and sits back on her legs, placing her hands on her knees, her task done. Her composure is that of calm and slight boredom. Inside she is reeling like a leaf on the wind being tossed one way and then the other before making a crash landing on the ground. She is uneasy by the silence and her aunts shining eyes. She longs to go and help her cousins prepare for bed.
"That will be all, Cinders," May closes this strange discussion.
Rosie nods and slowly gets up onto her feet. Dropping a curtsy, she leaves the room. It is when she stops before Rosemary's bedroom door that the tension flows from her suddenly aching muscles. She feels completely exhausted. She senses as though she has passed some sort of test. Whether this is good or bad, she does not know. I am too tired to deal with this sort of thing, she muses to herself. She prepares to knock on the door when she suddenly remembers Lily wanting tea. She runs back off to the kitchen, imagining the reception she will receive when she will enter her cousins room.
The door shuts a little loudly behind Lily as she leaves her sister's room. Rosie starts on the second braid of Rosemary's hair. She clears her throat. Rosemary looks up from her book. She glances at her cousin's image in the mirror. Rosie concentrates intently on her work, separating the autumn color hair into three sections and proceeds to quickly make a tight, long, slim braid.
"Thank you," Rosie says shyly with a hint of uncertainty. "For...standing up for me."
She does not have to go on. Both clearly recall the rampage Lily started to go into when Rosie finally arrived with her tea. The girl's face had started to turn purple as she went on about how miserable the rest of the week would be if this was what she was to expect from the festival and her own family. She had looked like a fish, opening and closing her mouth soundlessly when Rosemary told her to leave Cinder-Rose alone. It was not her fault that it took her so long to come, for May had kept her. Both Lily and Rosie had gazed wide-eyed at Rosemary, surprised by her standing up to her sister.
Rosemary absently waves her hand. "She should be put in her place more often. She is much too spoiled. And being mother's favorite does not help things."
Rosie frowns thoughtfully as she secures the end of the braid so it will not become undone. Does she sense Rosemary is weary of her sister? Of perhaps being the "odd" one when she is compared to her sister? And Rosie can recall Lily seeming to be the favorite of the two.
"I am sorry," she says, this time meeting her cousin's gaze in the mirror.
It seems now they may have more in common than she had thought before. Both lasses share a small smile. This new development between them is so new that they are in silent agreement of not talking about it. But what is there really to talk about? Can both really say why they now seem to see more eye to eye? Perhaps it is better not to speak of it right now. After nodding, Rosemary runs her hands up and down her braids.
"Thank you," she says.
"You're welcome," Rosie answers. She gathers the empty teacup and saucer from the bed. "Will you need anything else?" she asks, walking back to her cousin.
Rosemary shakes her head and takes up her flower from the table. A smile creeps over Rosie's face.
"Let Lily be jealous."
Rosemary turns and looks for real into her cousin's eyes. She raises an eyebrow in silent questioning.
"She should learn that you wont always receive great things if you chase after them. Sometimes it is best to wait and be surprised."
Rosemary's smile matches the other's and cannot keep back some giggles. She nods in agreement.
"You deserve this." Rosie motions to the blossom.
"Thank you, Rose," Rosemary says simply.
Rosie nods and waltzes out of the room. Her feet are still light-footed as she glides into the kitchen and starts putting things back in order and washes the used cups and saucers. After putting them away, she rubs the back of her hand across her eyes and yawns.
As she walks past the parlor, she hears the clock strike four. She moans. She will hardly be able to get all her work done if she ends up staying up so late the rest of this week. She reflects on everything that has happened this morning. She shakes her head. The strange conversation she shared with Aunt May regarding her relationships with the Travelers -- especially Sam. Her heart beats faster at the thought of him being interested in someone. Who is the lucky lass? she wonders to herself. And then there was the incident with Rosemary defending her when Lily started to hurl insults at her. And how they actually are not as different from each other as Rosie used to think. And all this happened before four in the morning. She sighs. It is too early in the morning for me to deal with all of this!
Upon entering her small room, she falls into her bed. She will be up soon with the rising of the sun. No use changing out of her clothes. Before she falls fast asleep, she vaguely wonders how Sam enjoyed the first night of the festival.
