A Long Expected Party
"Violet!" Violet Cotton heard a loud almost obnoxious voice call out to her through the fog of sleep that seemed to almost hold her captive. "Violet!" She moaned and rolled over in her comfortable bed; trying to escape the noise when someone stomped on over and yanked the covers clean off of her making her jolt upward in surprise.
"Hey!" She cried, glaring at her 'assailant' who turned out to be none other than her older sister Rosie. "What is it? What did I miss?"
"Breakfast, and nearly second breakfast as well. I told you it was a bad idea to tag along with those rascals on their little expedition last night. You've already slept most of the morning, and it's high time you got up. We've got a lot to do before we can get ready for Bilbo's party tonight, and I know you don't want to miss out on that." Rosie explained her voice a bit softer now though clipped with impatience to Violet's ears, as she handed her sister a plate full of her favorite foods.
"Thank you." Violet replied, nodding her head in acknowledgement of her kindness, though she was honestly the tiniest bit annoyed at the comment about her outing with Merry and Pippin the night before. They were two of her best boy friends in the entire world (Merry in particular, though you could hardly separate the two), and the three of them, along with her three other best friends Ebony (Pippin's little sister), Aquamarine, and Jessamine (though not as often) were notorious for their pranks. In fact they had actually been setting up their latest masterpiece late into the night, and its target was standing completely unawares right in that room. Though that prank was nothing in comparison to what the five of them (Jessa was sadly not included) had planned for that night. "What is it exactly that we have to do today? I thought we took work off at the Prancing Pony for the specific reason of Bilbo's party." She continued, trying to hide her sudden smirk as she took a big bite out of her mouthwatering second breakfast.
"Yes, but Papa and the boys still need our help around the farm." Rosie responded, her tone now back to its normal gentle and un-reproaching tone. "Besides I want to get there early. I can't wait. Do you think Sam will ask me for a dance?" She asked her face positively lighting up at the prospect, while Violet's heart seemed to sink to the bottom of her furry toes.
All her guilt at picking on or resenting her older sister automatically faded away as she thought about Samwise Gamgee, their longtime family friend, and her secret crush since childhood. She had always looked up to Sam for his kind and gentle spirit, and it wasn't long for that admiration to turn into love. But of course it simply wasn't meant to be. For Rosie liked Sam too. The only difference being Sam actually liked her back. And what's more Violet couldn't blame him. Everyone loved Rosie. She was the pretty one after all with her long golden curls and bright baby blue eyes, in comparison to Violet's short light brown waves and stormy blue eyes. It was nearly impossible to try not to compare them, and over the years the resentment had begun to steadily build in her heart though she knew Rosie had never intended for such a thing to happen.
"Undoubtedly." She muttered under her breath, shoving the last bite into her mouth before scrambling to her feet and reaching for the clothes someone (most likely her mother) had laid out for her and hurrying to the bathroom to change. "Guess I'd better go get started on my chores though. Oh and Rosie. Do you think you could do me a favor and get Jessamine's book for me? I think I left it out behind the barn yesterday when Merry and Pippin came over."
"Alright, though you really should be more careful, especially when you borrow other people's things." She agreed her tone still sweet despite the reprimanding words, but the damage was already done and she was not about to back out.
"Yes, I know. Thank you." She replied in her own sugary air, as she closed the bathroom door and began to change.
"Ahhh!" She heard a shrill voice scream in the distance just as she was exiting, and a small chuckle escaped her lips. "VIOLET!"
**JS**
Meanwhile Jessamine Greenhand lay on a sturdy branch in one of her favorite tree's utterly absorbed in her latest book. She gasped jolting upright as the villain stabbed at the hero catching him off guard and casting what should have been a fatal blow, and she actually fell out of the tree in the process. "Ah!" She shrieked until she landed in a bush not far from where her best friend Frodo was sitting. His eyes widened in surprise, as he put down his own book and rushed over to help her up, though they began to twinkle with mirth as he realized what had happened.
"Hello Jessa. Nice of you to drop by." He teased chuckling to himself and making her blush a slight pink that seemed to contrast nicely with her hazel eyes, as she reached to brush a few leaves from her own light curly brown hair that reached to just past her shoulders.
"Thanks. Guess I'll have to make a point of doing so more often. Only next time, could you do me a favor Frodo, and try to catch me?" She replied, shoving him playfully and the two laughed together until they heard a familiar and beloved voice coming from down the road. Their eyes met, and with huge grins, they leapt to their feet and began running in its direction as fast as their legs would carry them. Sure enough there was a little old man driving a horse drawn cart filled with fireworks coming up the road his face hidden by the brim of his tall bluish grey hat.
"The road goes ever on and on, down from the door where it began. Now far ahead the road has gone. And I must follow if I can." He sang until Frodo stepped forward and interrupted him.
"You're late!" He accused with his arms crossed over his chest, Jessamine adopting a similar position from her spot beside him.
"A wizard is never late, Frodo Baggins. Nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to." The old man replied as he stopped the cart and turned to slowly gaze upon the two hobbits an emphatic expression on his face.
It didn't last long and all three of them were laughing before Frodo had launched himself into the cart and was giving him a hug. "It's wonderful to see you Gandalf!"
"Yes." Jessamine agreed following suit. "We've missed you so much!" The great old wizard chuckled as he hugged two of his favorite hobbits in the world.
"Ooh! You didn't think I'd miss your Uncle Bilbo's birthday?" He asked and the two grinned up at him in response as they took their seats on either side of him and he started the cart in motion once again. "So how is the old rascal? I hear it's going to be a party of special magnificence."
"You know Bilbo. He's got the whole place in an uproar." Frodo informed him as he shook his head, smiling with pride in his favorite relative.
"Well, that should please him!" Gandalf mused chuckling to himself.
"Half the Shire's been invited. And the rest of them are turning up anyway." Jessamine continued explaining, and that got the rest of them laughing again as they came up to Hobbiton.
"To tell you the truth, Bilbo's been a bit odd lately. I mean, more than usual. He's taken to locking himself in his study. He spends hours and hours poring over old maps when he thinks I'm not looking. He's up to something." Frodo said his voice taking on a concerned tone, yet Gandalf did his best not to take notice of it, avoiding looking at either of the hobbits. "All right then keep your secrets."
"Hmmph." Gandalf sniffed at the implication, though none of them were fooled.
"But I know you have something to do with it." Frodo accused his smile returning, perhaps not as heartily as it had before.
"Good gracious me!" Gandalf protested lightly.
"Before you came along we Bagginses were very well thought of." He continued sounding quite proud of the fact.
"Indeed?" Gandalf asked in a mock incredulous/curious tone.
"Never had any adventures or did anything unexpected." Frodo insisted quite matter of fact.
"If you're referring to the incident with the dragon, I was barely involved. All I did was give your uncle a little nudge out of the door." The wizard replied vying for his innocence, but Jessa knew the story far too well than to believe that.
"Whatever you did, you've been officially labeled a disturber of the peace." She told him grimly, though in all honesty it was one of the things she'd admired most about him.
"Oh really?" He asked turning to look at a hobbit man whose house they were passing. He was glaring at the three of them as if they were all great troublemakers, Gandalf for obvious reasons, Frodo and Jessamine by association.
He didn't have long to dwell on this before a group full of young hobbit children came rushing out into the street after the cart calling, "Gandalf! Gandalf! Fireworks? Gandalf!" Before sighing in disappointment as he seemed to pass by without even acknowledging their requests. Just then a bunch of small fireworks lit off the back of the cart and into the air as if by magic, and they all began to squeal with utter delight.
"Gandalf, I'm glad you're back." Frodo said as both he and Jessa leapt from the cart and began to walk off down the hill side by side.
"So am I, dear boy! So am I." They heard Gandalf muse almost nostalgically behind them.
"Well what do you want to do now?" She asked him before they had gotten too far, and he merely shrugged in response.
"I'm not sure. Where is everyone?" He asked in return, though he seemed to be deep in thought about something else, and she wondered if he was still worried about Bilbo. She could hardly blame him. She had noticed the oddities too, having spent as much time over at Bag-End as she possibly could. It actually hadn't proved that hard seeing as Frodo was her best friend, and she was Bilbo's assistant gardener, under her cousin (or so they called each other seeing as they were closely related and this was the easiest term) Sam.
"Well Violet's probably finishing up a few chores at home, Mina's either working down at the mill or whatever other odd job she could find, and who knows what Merry, Pippin and Ebony are up to." She responded and the two shared a knowing smile as they thought of all the different kinds of mischief those three could be brewing at that very moment. Heaven knew they had something big planned for the party that evening, while exactly what neither of them could be absolutely sure of.
"What about Sam? Did he tell you his plans?" He asked and she immediately stopped in her tracks, eyes going wide as she thought of her beloved cousin.
"Sam!" She gasped. "Oh bother! He was going to do some work in Bilbo's garden this morning, and I was supposed to help him. Oh! He's going to strangle me."
"I highly doubt it." Frodo tried to assure her, patting her arm gently. "You're his favorite cousin, I'm sure he'll understand. Or at least forgive you even if he doesn't."
"Thanks. Guess I'd better get going then. I'd hate to make him finish it all by himself. See you at the party?" She asked as she began to turn back up the hill towards Bag Shot row.
"Of course." He agreed, and with a wave she was off, running as fast as she could.
**JS**
Jessamine wasn't far off on her guess about Mina's (Aquamarine's) whereabouts, though in fact she was on one of those odd jobs she had described at the home of none other than Bilbo Baggins. In fact she was just putting the finishing touches on the illustrious birthday cake when she heard a knock at the door. "I'll get it!" She called out loud enough for Bilbo to hear her as she hurried to answer the door. "Gandalf!" She cried in surprised delight, throwing her arms around the slightly startled wizard making him laugh at yet another young hobbits eager greeting.
"Oh he'll be so pleased to see you. Just a moment. Bilbo! There's someone here to see you." She left him standing there at the door, too excited to remember to invite him in and not having the authority to do so anyway, rushing right into Bilbo who had just been coming out of his study to see what all the commotion was about.
"No thank you! We don't want any more visitors, well-wishers or distant relations!" He told her sounding quite frustrated with the many 'delightful' visitors he had received over the last few days, raising his voice so as to be heard from outside.
"And what about very old friends?" Gandalf called in return before Mina could even think of an argument, and immediately Bilbo's face softened his eyes widening with surprise and then excitement.
"Gandalf?" He asked as he dashed for the door, forcing Mina to quickly dart out of the way in an attempt to avoid being trampled.
"Bilbo Baggins!" Gandalf cried his face full of joy at the sight of his dear friend.
"My dear Gandalf." Bilbo said just as emphatically and the two embraced, happy to be reunited once again.
"Good to see you! One hundred and eleven years old – who would believe it?" Gandalf mused as Bilbo ushered him inside of his comfy hobbit-hole. "You haven't aged a day."
"I've been telling him that all morning and he still won't believe me." Mina agreed coming over to stand by the two of them, a playful smirk on her face as she gazed endearingly at the old hobbit, and they all laughed.
He (Bilbo) had been her greatest hero for as long as she could remember. He had taken an interest in Mina it seemed almost since the moment she was born. In fact it was rumored that he was the one who had presented the Noakes with their one precious treasure, the Aquamarine stone for which she was named, and hung around her neck on a silver chain. Many people commented on how it's color seemed to have a vibrant contrast against her darker olive toned skin, shoulder length dark brown (almost black) curly hair, and deep dark brown eyes.
"Thank you Mina, but I think we all know you're both just being kind." Bilbo said modestly though his grin seemed as bright as the sun.
"Whatever you say Bilbo." Mina teased rolling her eyes, before shoring up her shoulders and getting on to business. "Well the cake is all frosted and ready in the kitchen for Miss Bracegirdle whenever she wants to come pick it up. I'll be going straight to the mill after I've dropped off these last party decorations, unless you'll be needing anything else."
"No that's quite alright. Thank you so much for all you do Mina. I don't know how I'd get along without you." He told her as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a few coins and forced them into her hand.
"No thanks necessary, Mister Bilbo. You pay me far too generously as it is." She replied as she gazed down at the money, feeling tears of gratitude nearly spring into her eyes, but she forced them back just in time. "See you at the party tonight and you two Gandalf." With that she gathered up the last of the decorations and was gone.
"She's a wonderful girl." Bilbo sighed to Gandalf as soon as the door had closed.
"A bit of a trouble maker, but yes I'd agree." The wizard said, smiling as he thought of all the mischief he had caught her, Violet, Ebony, Merry, and Pippin at.
"I used to have high hopes for her and Frodo you know? That is until Jessamine came fully into the picture." Bilbo admitted his smile seeming to brighten even more (if that's even possible) as he mentioned the other lass.
"Yes they do seem quite fond of each other don't they?" Gandalf considered thoughtfully. "Well it's a good thing. Frodo needs a sensible girl like her to help take care of him" Bilbo nodded his head in agreement.
"He certainly does."
**JS**
It was late evening the sun having set, the party in full swing, and Ebony Took was extremely bored as she waited with her brother and cousin inside a tent across from Gandalf's cart full of fireworks. "Where are those two? What could be taking them so long?" Merry asked fiddling with the apple in his hand in frustration and impatience.
"Mina's probably just getting off work." Ebony spoke up for her friend. "And Violet's…"
"Right here." The young hobbit said proudly as she ducked under the tent and bowed to her friends as if she had accomplished some great feat, while they laughed as quietly as they could and applauded.
"So how did it go? Did she fall for it? Did you get into trouble?" Pippin asked her, and Ebony smiled at her brother's contagious enthusiasm. It was one of the things she loved most about him, and why they were so close. Almost like twins, despite the fact that they looked nothing alike: with her jet black curls and amber eyes, the exact opposite of Pippin's light brown locks and green eyes.
"Slow down Pip. One question at a time." Violet admonished him chuckling to herself. "It went just as we planned, she never suspected a thing. One second she was looking for a book next she was covered in a nice concoction of coal dust and lake moss. You should have heard her scream."
"Remind me why you pranked Rosie again?" Ebony asked as she watched the other three fall to the ground with laughter, struggling to stay quiet enough to keep from being discovered.
"Because it sounded fun." Merry told her matter of factly as he slowly got back to his feet.
"And Rosie's not the type to hold a grudge. She'll get over it. In time." Violet added smirking, yet Ebony could tell she felt the tiniest bit guilty.
"What happened then?" Pippin asked wanting to know every detail of how their 'ingenious' plan had worked out.
"She had to take a three hour bath down in the pond to get the stench out, and I got to do all of her chores as punishment." She replied shrugging her shoulders indifferently at the news. "It wasn't bad. I still got done a lot earlier than my brothers, and the look on her face was priceless. I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat."
"Well then I guess it's on to our next masterpiece isn't it?" Merry announced his eyes twinkling with prospective mischief. "Are you ready my friends?"
"Yes!" Ebony and Violet cried together, just as Pippin said, "No!"
"Mina's not here yet. We can't start without her." He insisted as they all turned to gape at him.
"Well why don't you go find her then? I'm tired of waiting." Merry suggested, and Pippin nodded before ducking out from under the tent.
"I think I'll go stand watch." Ebony added eager to be doing something a little more useful than simply waiting there.
"Are you sure Bonnie? That's a big job. I can always do it myself if you can't handle it." Merry teased, and she smirked at her cousin.
"I can handle it. But thanks for your offer. You and Violet just try to make yourselves useful in here." She returned snatching the apple out his hands, and crawling out to stand directly beside the cart looking out for any sign of Gandalf and the perfect moment to execute their prank: as soon as Pippin and Mina returned.
**JS**
Mina was exhausted by the time she got to the party, having rushed home after putting in a hard day's work at the mill and then being forced to 'tidy up' (more like doll up) by her grandmother and all she wanted to do was take a moment to catch her breath. So as soon as she saw one of her friends sitting at one of the table's a mug of ale in his hands she immediately went to join him.
"Hey Sam. How are you?" She asked as she plopped down on the bench beside him.
"Oh fine, Mina. And you?" He asked smiling comfortably at her after overcoming his shock at her seemingly sudden appearance.
"Tired, but excited. I've been looking forward to this for a long time." She replied, though she noticed that his eyes kept wandering over to where Rosie Cotton was dancing her heart out in the middle of a huge group of Hobbits. "She's pretty isn't she?" Mina asked, giving him a knowing smile.
"What? Who's pretty?" He asked blushing bright red at the comment, which only made Mina giggle. She knew Sam better than that. In fact, he was one of her closest friends and confidantes, and she knew she was the same for him.
"You know who I'm talking about." She said firmly, and a slow shy smile spread across his face. He looked like he was about to say something when Frodo plopped down between the two, having finished his own dance, laughing with glee.
"Hey what are you two up to?" He asked, even as he began to assess the situation for himself.
"Sam's been sneaking glances at a certain fair maiden, working up the courage to talk to her, haven't you Sam." Mina answered for him.
"No." He spluttered embarrassed as he took one last gulp of his ale and avoided looking at either of them, which wouldn't have mattered as they weren't looking at him either.
Instead they shared a conspiratorial smile, as Frodo suggested, "Go on Sam! Ask Rosie for a dance!"
"I think I'll just have another ale." Sam said getting to his feet to head in the opposite direction, but they wouldn't let him.
"Oh no you don't! Go on!" Mina cried as the two pushed him right into the waiting arms of Rosie Cotton, and the two turned and laughed with one another quite proud of their accomplishment (though Mina felt the tiniest bit guilty as she thought of poor Violet).
"I think that's a job well done. How about you?" He asked her, and she smiled and nodded eagerly. "Have you seen Jessamine yet? I've been looking for her all night. She said she'd meet me here."
"Not yet, but I've only just arrived myself. I'm sure she's around here somewhere." Mina tried to assure him, as she turned and scanned the crowd. Suddenly she spotted her, beautiful hobbit lass in a lavender dress, dancing quite reluctantly with one of the least desirable hobbit lads in the whole Shire. "Oh great. Richard Grubb has gotten to her."
"Really? Where?" Frodo asked, as she pointed the 'couple' out and he frowned. "Well now what do we do? She doesn't seem too happy at all."
"Why would she be? Richard has been bugging her ever since we were kids. We'd better do something before he tries to steal a kiss." Mina muttered glaring at the rude boy who had tormented the group from infancy, always picking on Violet and trying to make his 'claim' on both Jessamine and Ebony. He simply wouldn't take no for an answer.
"What? Would he really do that?" Frodo asked gaping at her in horror at the very idea, his jaw beginning to twitch in a weird way, extremely uncharacteristic for Frodo. If Mina didn't know any better she would've thought he was jealous.
"I wouldn't be surprised." She replied shrugging, before grabbing his hands and pulling him along with her. "Come on, dance with me. I have an idea." With that the two began to dance, and under her silent but careful directions Frodo lead them into a circle that included both Richard and Jessamine and Sam and Rosie. Mina desperately tried to make eye contact with Sam and when she finally did, she gestured in Jessa's direction. As realization dawned in his eyes, he nodded his head firmly, being very protective of his cousin and determined to help her in any way. With that both he and Frodo immediately spun their girls out, as if to pass them in a clockwise direction, forcing Richard to release Jessamine as Rosie spun into his arms.
The second Frodo had hold of her he began to lead them out of the circle as quickly as he could, and Mina could see the gratitude in her eyes as she clung to her Frodo and the two continued to dance elsewhere, while Grubb glared after them. Mina laughed, and she and Sam turned to grin at each other. "Thanks Sam. You really didn't have to do that you know. Frodo and I could have made it work with just the two of us if necessary."
"I know. But I wanted to help. Besides it works better with a circle. That way he has no choice but to cooperate or seem like a bad sport." He replied, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly as if to brush the whole thing off. "And I know he isn't exactly nice to you." Mina shrugged herself at this.
"Nice or not, he's better to me than he is to Jessa, and this is your night to dance with Rosie. Come on. We'll make him switch partners again, whether he wants to or not." She insisted a grim look of determination coming over her face.
"Are you sure?" He asked, and she simply nodded her head in response, preparing herself as the two lads began to spin their girls out and she was about to put herself at the mercy of an extremely furious Richard Grubb. At that very moment another figure stepped in, taking her into his arms and leading her away at a brisk pace left the offensive hobbit standing there all alone completely irate.
"Pippin!" Mina cried as she realized who her rescuer was, and laughed at the cocky grin on his face as he looked down at her.
"It seems you've been getting yourself into the wrong kind of trouble Miss Noake's. Don't you know its bad form to get involved with a Grubb? Much better to be with a Took." He informed her jokingly.
"Oh really?" She teased the boy who had to be undoubtedly her best friend in the entire world (aside from maybe Sam). "I'm glad you're here to set me straight then."
"Anytime." He assured her. "Now let's go steal some fireworks shall we?"
**JS**
Ebony was nibbling at her apple from her spot atop the fireworks cart, when she suddenly heard Gandalf rounding the corner. Startled and having nowhere else to go, she fell backwards into the cart itself, letting out a little, "Eeep!" as she did so. Gandalf reached in and grabbed an armful of his prized creations before heading off once again to join in the revelry. Merry peeped out from behind the tent, just as Ebony pulled her way to the surface and nodded down at him.
"Quickly!" He cried tapping on the tent from which his three friends suddenly appeared. "Get the goods." Pippin immediately grabbed Mina from around the waist and lifted her up beside Ebony before following himself, while Violet and Merry kept watch on the ground. Both of the Tooks grabbed the first firework they saw and were about to climb out when Violet hissed at them. "No, no the big one, big one."
Looking more carefully Mina instantly spotted a big, red, dragon shaped firework and held it high for the others approval. "Perfect! Now come on!" Pippin said leaping from the cart before reaching up for her, and practically carrying both her and the firework as he darted away, the others not far behind them. All except for Merry who waited a moment to pick up the apple Ebony had dropped in her haste. Dusting it off he took a big bite before turning to follow his friends.
"Done." Pippin said quite pleased with himself as he lit the firework in a nearby tent.
"You're supposed to stick it in the ground!" Merry yelled at him.
"It is in the ground." Pippin insisted.
"Outside!" Ebony explained torn between laughing and screaming herself.
"Well then you take it!" He said shoving it into her arms.
"No let Violet take it!"
"Oh no! Pippin's the one who lit it!"
"It was Merry's idea!" But just before Pippin could pass the firework off once again, it went off taking the whole tent with it and sending the five conspirators crashing to the ground. Hobbits everywhere began to scream and run as it turned into what appeared to be a fire breathing dragon soaring right over their heads before returning to the sky and exploding into a million breathtaking colors.
"That was good!" Merry said, grinning excitedly at their accomplishment.
"Let's get another one!" Pippin agreed, but before either of them could make a move they were assailed from behind.
"Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took. I might have known." Gandalf said holding the two boys by their ears. "Oh I wouldn't be off in such a hurry if I were you ladies. You're not off the hook either. Violet Cotton, Aquamarine Noakes, and Ebony Took. I'm very disappointed in you." He called out to the three girls who had tried to sneak off while he was distracted, and now were turning to grin sheepishly back up at him. All except for Ebony that is.
"But not surprised right?" She asked absolutely beaming with pride at being a part of this little group of mischief makers. Gandalf only smirked in reply, before setting them all to washing dishes as a suitable punishment.
**JS**
"Speech, Bilbo! Speech!" The Hobbits cried excitedly, and Jessamine quickly joined in from her spot beside Frodo and Sam (she wasn't s certain of what exactly had become of the rest of her friends, but she was pretty sure the surprise firework she had seen earlier had something to do with it) as Bilbo smiled down at them before beginning to speak.
"My dear Bagginses and Boffins, Tooks and Brandybucks, Grubbs, Chubbs, Hornblowers, Bolgers, Bracegirdles, and Proudfoots." He began, each family cheering as he said
their name, including one of the Proudfoots who called out "Proudfeet!" as a correction (they get their names for a reason you know). "Today is my One hundred and eleventieth birthday."
"Happy birthday!" They all shouted in return.
"Alas, eleventy-one years is far too short a time to live among such excellent and admirable hobbits. I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve." It was silent for a moment, and Jessamine couldn't help but giggle as the rest of the hobbits tried to figure out whether to be insulted or pleased.
"I, uh, I have things to do. I've put this off far too long. I regret to announce – this is the end. I am going now. I bid you all a very fond farewell. Goodbye." He continued in a soft halting voice and then suddenly he vanished.