Originally posted at FFN. Enjoy!

Flowers, Gems And Estella - Chapter I

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The young lass peered down through the green foliage of the tree she was currently occupying – no sign could be seen of her pursuers, so she breathed a sigh of relief, content that she had found a good enough hiding place. She was breathless from running, and tried to keep her panting inaudible. She couldn’t bear to think what might happen to her if she were heard.

Far off to the left, she heard the rustling of leaves, and shrank back into the safety of the shadows cast by the birch tree’s branches. She feared who would come rushing through those leaves – not him, she thought, anyone but him.

She was in luck, though. It was only the large figure of her brother, Fredegar Bolger, aptly nicknamed Fatty, that came rushing through, none too gracefully.

“Estella? You there?” he called, as if she would answer, which she had no intention of doing. She knew what he and his friends were up to. They were always picking on her, pulling her hair, chasing her up trees, pushing her in the river. Neither he nor his group of hobbit lads, every one of which was older than her, ever seemed to have anything better to do than to torment her.

Fredegar soon left, off to look for her in some other direction, and she was left to contemplate how she was going to get home without them seeing her. She was small, smaller than any of them, and quick, and she was very good at being quiet. And luckily she had on a green dress today, which, combined with her brown hair, might work well to hide her from their watchful eyes, perhaps was already hiding her while she lay quiet in the boughs of the tree.

If only Frodo were here – he would put a stop to this. But the one called Frodo Baggins never associated with the likes of her brother that much – he kept to himself mostly, never bothered anyone, hardly ever spoke a word. But, she considered, any hobbit would act that way if they lost their parents at such a young age as he did.

Now she heard someone else coming towards her tree, evident by the rustling leaves directly behind her. This wasn’t the thrashing that usually accompanied her brother’s presence. It was more – calm, calculated. Almost like –

“Estella!” she heard his voice shout. She almost fell out of the tree in fear – not fear from knowing that someone was near, but fear from knowing whom that someone was. Not him! Oh, he’s always knows that best way to scare me! She gripped the branches tightly, so as to stop from tumbling out. Luckily she stayed in the tree, but she must have made a noise, for she heard him come closer to her hiding place.

“Oh, hello, Estella. What are you doing up in a tree?” he called up. She said nothing, staying still and hoped perhaps he realized that just maybe she wasn’t there. “If you’re thinking I can’t see you, then you’re wrong,” he said next, “You know, you always pick the easiest places to hide. I never have trouble finding you.”

“It’s not that my places are easy to find, Meriadoc Brandybuck!” she yelled down, “It’s that you’re so darned clever you always find them!”

“You flatter me, Estella. You really think I’m that smart?” he grinned, “Now why don’t you come down quietly, and I’ll see to it that we don’t torment you too harshly!”

“Over my dead body!”

“Shall I just come up there?”

“You’ll do no such thing! I’ll kick you in the face if you even try!”

“Well then, would you just like me to tell the others that you’re here? I’m sure they could come up with a plan of action that you’d agree on, since you don’t seem to like any of my ideas.”

“Fine. If I come down, will you not do anything terrible to me, and just let me get home in peace? My mother has been expecting me for some time.”

“Well, if your mother wants you home, how can I refuse her that? I promise that if you come down willingly, I will do nothing that may cause you harm or embarrassment.”

She should have known better than to trust one of Merry’s promises, which he never kept – but she agreed to it, and inched her way down the tree.

“So, I can go home now?” she asked once she down on the ground.

“Sure – but first I want to give you something,” he said, with a grin from ear to ear.

“What?” she asked, fearing that he might be vile enough to try to kiss her.

“This!” he shouted suddenly, and pushed her towards over the edge of the large hill, the large, grassy hummock that stretched out before her. She screamed, and tried to stop herself – but being unable to, she fell to her feet and rolled down the hill. The whole world turned to a blur for her, a sickening blur of green and blue the pulsated in her ears and made her head hurt. She tried for a moment to stop her descent, to raise her head even to see where she was going. For a second she was able to by flinging her arms out, and caught a glimpse of the river below her, waiting to break her fall. She anticipated the splashing and the wetness, knowing it would come soon. Curse Merry! He always did things like this to her! Why couldn’t he leave her alone? Why couldn’t he just –

The moment before she expected to hit the water, Estella awoke, and looked around at her surroundings. They were strange and foreign to her – this was not her bedroom that she usually slept in, with her lacy quilted blanket of white covering her. Her window was circular, and she could usually see moonlight streaming through it. But wherever she was, it was complete darkness but for a dim light coming through a tiny grating – and she sensed that she was not alone.

Realization hit her at that moment, as she remembered what had happened. She was in the Lockholes, the makeshift prison in the storerooms at Michel Delving. The Shire, her Shire, was now being run by those nasty ruffians – tall, gangly men who stank of something she had never smelt before. There was always total darkness in the Shire now, not just in her small prison. And the presence next to her was that of her brother Fredegar, no longer worthy of the name Fatty.

“What in the world has happened to our Shire? Why us, what did we ever do? Why has the outside world decided to do this to us, and not to someone else more deserving?” She always pondered these questions late at night, after Fredegar had fallen asleep, when she was alone to think. To think of a way out, to think of salvation and freedom, and of a time when she was not chained up and spat on! Oh, those were the best times – why, she would have given anything to have her old Shire back – she would even be willing to put up with Merry Brandybuck and Pippin Took again, if she were to be allowed to taste one minute of sweet freedom!

Her thoughts ran once more to Merry and Pippin, who had disappeared along with Frodo Baggins and Sam Gamgee a few months prior. At first, Estella thought she might actually be free of Merry’s taunting and torment, that maybe he would go off and bother someone else for a change. But now, she had to admit she missed his presence, missed him pushing her in the river. At least it beat her current situation.

“Wherever they are now, I’m sure it’s better than here. It has to be – no place can be worse than our poor Shire right now.”

“Shut up in there!” a gnarled voice growled outside her cell. She heard the scraping of a metal dish being slid under the door – it was the time for those cruel monsters to hand out moldy bread and meat for them. “Feast on that, little rat!” he barked, and walked off.

Like an animal, she seized the plate – even if it was ill tasting, it was the only nourishment they had, and so they would have to do their best with it. “Fatty – Fatty, wake up,” she hissed, shaking her brother’s sleeping form.

He grunted as he awoke. “Hmm – it’s still dark,” he grumbled.

“It’s always dark down here – they’ve brought us some food, you want any?”

Just as she feared, he shook his head. There were often days when he ate nothing at all – and on the days he did eat, when she had forced him to eat, his stomach would often reject it.

“We have to keep our strength up – it’s almost winter, and we may need to get out of here soon,” she said.

“We’ve needed to get out of here for weeks now, and we’ve never been able to, have we?” he said almost cynically. It hurt Estella to see him like this, to see him wasted away to nothing, dismissing any hope of freedom that she spoke of.

“Don’t you believe we’ll get out of here? Don’t you think that our Shire can be saved? Have you given up so easily, Fatty?” she asked with an almost angry tone to her voice.

He laughed bitterly. “Don’t call me that anymore – I don’t live up to it. And our Shire has as much chance of being saved as Frodo does of coming back from wherever he is – most likely the grave.”

“I’m assuming you don’t think they’re alive.”

“You assume right. Why, do you?”

“Yes I do,” she said to his amazement, “I don’t why, and I can’t explain it, but I just know they’re alive. I believe it, Fatty, because I have to – because I have nothing else to believe in,” she said. Fatty dismissed her statement, and laid himself down for rest again, advising her to do the same. But she stayed awake, and spoke into the night a prayer that Frodo and his companions were alive and well, and a wish that her Shire would soon be saved.

Flowers, Gems And Estella - Chapter II

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It was another week at least before Estella saw anyone but the minion who brought down the food. She was laying down for a rest after a small, minuscule meal, when she heard a loud, metallic crash – then she remembered the door to the catacombs in which she resided was heavy iron. Footsteps resounded down the corridor, but they were not the steps of an Outsider. Those belonged to Men, who wore heavy boots that reverberated off the walls. Normally, with every clunky sound of those boots, Estella could feel her heart drop farther and farther – the sound put shivers up her spine and a cold throughout her veins. But these steps were soft – shoe-less feet on hard stone floor. Were they bringing down another prisoner?

“Ah, the Boffins – yes, yes, very nice,” she heard someone speak, and then she realized that they must have been examining the cells, “Hello, Ms. Proudfoot – didn’t think I’d be the one to lock you up, did you?” She had heard rumors of a Sharkey character, supposedly the chief of the ruffians – a man, they said, from the outside world, more powerful than any, and a wizard to boot. His right-hand man was said to be a fellow hobbit of theirs, though she couldn’t believe it to be Lotho Sackville-Baggins. Or at least it sounded like him.

She heard the voice several times more before it came to her and Fredegar’s cell. “I don’t believe I know you two – what are your names?” the arrogant voice said. Estella did not answer back. Fredegar slept on.

“You, girl. I said, what is your name? Answer me, now!”

“My name, you piece of trash, is Estella Bolger! And this is my brother, Fredegar! His nickname used to be Fatty, but as you can see, he’s no longer worthy of that!” she spat at him.

He blanched before her, even though his height was no rival for hers. “I’ll have your tongue for that, useless wench!” he said, unsheathing a knife from his belt, “Hold still, so I can cut it right out of your dirty mouth!”

Lotho never got a chance to do such a thing, as he was interrupted by furious footsteps resounding down the corridor. A man, another minion Estella assumed, stopped in front of their cell and whispered into his ear. She caught bits and pieces of the message, hurried words of peril. “Trouble – at the gate – four of them – Frodo, they say –”

Frodo? As in Frodo Baggins? Perhaps he would put a stop to his cousin’s madness. “I’ll be there,” Lotho hissed at the subordinate, and turned back to Estella, “I’ll take care of you later.” And with that, he disappeared down the corridor. She heard the door slam with a heavy thud some seconds later.

“Fatty – Fatty wake up!” She nudged her brother out of slumber.

“Umm. S’ food here?” he said sleepily.

“No, but – Lotho! Lotho Sackville-Baggins, he was down here! He must be Sharkey’s right-hand man – and someone came down and said there was trouble at the gate, the one at the Brandywine. There’s four of them down there – and they said that one of them was named Frodo!”

“Frodo Baggins? He’s alive?” He arose in surprise.

“Yes – and the other four, they might be Merry and Pippin, and Sam as well. They might be alive Fatty!”

It was some hours later, and still they had seen no one come down – it was already past time for their food, she imagined. Maybe the disturbance at the gate was more than the ruffians could handle. Oh, how she hoped so!

It was like waiting for the end of the world, or at least her end. She didn’t know how the ruffians would deal against such an uprising as the one she felt was happening – they seemed to reign with fear and threats, very few of which were actually gone through with. Why, she could fight against one of them – two of them, even! Surely Frodo and his companions would be able to handle the ordeal – wouldn’t they?

Then she heard muffled voices – not the low-pitched scraggly kind the ruffians possessed – these were more high-pitched, almost childish. Are they here? The hobbits that’ve come to save us? “Down here, Merry! And bring the keys!” shouted a faraway voice that sounded an awful lot like Pippin Took’s.

Estella heard the rattling noises of keys being put into the thick lock on the iron door, and recognized the squeak of rusting hinges as it came open. “They’re all down here!” she heard someone else shout with a voice she thought she’d never hear again, and – if she had to be honest with herself – never wanted to hear again.

But there he was, struggling with the keys to their cell. Meriadoc Brandybuck. He seemed obviously older – but older in such a way that time could not accomplish. It must have had something to do with his absence – had something happened to him?

He didn’t seem to know she and Fatty were in the cell – of course, he was busy trying to open the cell. And already, Estella could sense Merry seemed a bit – wiser, almost. What a foolish thought. Merry, acting wise? As if, she dismissed in her head.

Then the cell door was open, and she was carrying Fatty out into the corridor. He was weak and ravaged – starving for both sunlight and food. Looking nothing like Merry and Pippin, who stood before her, taller, and – she had to admit – more handsome since when she last saw them.

“Fatty!” they both exclaimed at once, “Well, fat you are no longer! We’ll have to find a new nickname for you!”

A light of recognition came alive in Fredegar’s eyes when they looked upon Pippin’s form. “Why, who might this be?” he said weakly, but gladly, “This wouldn’t be young Peregrin Took, now would it? What’s your size in hats, lad?”

Merry and Pippin issued a short hello to Estella and continued to release the rest of the prisoners. Estella escorted her brother out of the corridor, up several stairways, until they were out in the bright sunlight, seeing for the first time in months the fate of the land.

It was her Shire, she was sure of that – the one she awoke to every morning and said good night to every evening – but she couldn’t remember seeing such destruction about it. The hills and trees – it was autumn, and they were supposed to be painted with hues of orange and red, vivid in the sunlight.

But most everything was charred-black and gray, as if ravaged by cruel fires. It all looked gloomy and depressing, except the sky, bright blue with brilliant sunlight. Looking upon it reminded Estella that perhaps the Shire was not beyond repair – the trees and grass would grow back soon, and homes could be rebuilt.

But could their lives be rebuilt? Could she ever forget the suffering and death she’d seen in the Lockholes, and before then even? Could any of them forget it? And – she shuddered as this last thought came unbidden to her mind – would they be forever reminded and saddened by the memory of those who had died?

She couldn’t really answer those questions now – but she sure would try her best. She had to at this point. They all did.

Flowers, Gems And Estella - Chapter III

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“You should finish that stack of pancakes if you want to be Fatty again anytime soon,” Estella said to her brother, who was sitting at the oak table trying to swallow one of her delicious breakfasts. It worried her that he still wasn’t eating as much as he used to – he’d barely changed in the two months they’d been out of the Lockholes.

“I just don’t feel like eating, Stella – can’t help it, I just don’t want to swallow anything. Not even your pancakes,” he said sorrowfully, picking at his plate. He lifted the fork above it, watching the maple syrup drip idly.

“If you don’t want those, then what do you want to eat? Biscuits and gravy – waffles – eggs and bacon?” Estella’s heart dropped lower with every shake of Fredegar’s head.

She left him to stare at his plate, and exited the house for the backyard, scaling the green hill. She drew her cloak close in the early winter air. The sun was rising as she reached the zenith, splashing the surrounding foliage with a deep, red shade. It seemed the wounds caused by the ruffians were healing – better than before even, as she never remembered the Shire being so lovely for this time of year. Although Sam had mentioned using some kind of special Elven dirt – and the mallorn sapling in the Party Field that was already rivaling some of the other trees – she supposed that was his doing too. But where he had gotten that special dirt, she could think of nowhere else but from the faraway lands to which he had traveled.

It wasn’t the first time that she’d wondered where they had gone, and what had happened. What could have happened to them that affected them in so many ways – what could have caused that dark light she often saw in Frodo’s eyes, when he thought no one was looking? And Merry and Pippin – for one thing, how’d they get so tall? And the armor, the scars – that older wisdom she saw in their eyes, although not so much in Pippin’s – he was still a reckless tween after all.

It’s like they’ve been to Hell and back – and they return home, and try to make a simple transition back into the normal life of a hobbit – but how can it be a simple transition? How can any of it be simple? It was hard enough for her to adjust after the Occupation – but that was probably a walk in the park compared to what the four of them did on their travels.

Estella gave her brother the excuse that she was in need of some produce from the market, and made her ways towards the town of Bywater. It was bustling enough for its size, and many hobbits were at the market, looking at newly delivered products from far-away lands. Some were lands with which the Shire had never done trade with before, and many goods Estella had never seen.

A glitter of silver caught her eye, and she looked upon an intricately carved brooch. It was in the shape of a budding flower with wide spread petals. In the center of the flower was a small jewel. For a moment she thought it a diamond – but what would such a beautiful piece be doing in Bywater, where folks were more likely to purchase tools for farming? She didn’t dare ask the price of it.

“That’s most likely of Elven make – probably from Rivendell, it looks like a necklace of Arwen’s.” She looked up to see Merry standing next to her, with Pippin on the other side of him. He was pointing at the piece she had been looking at. She pretended not to hear him, as if she didn’t know he was talking to her, which he may not have been anyway.

“Estella, right? What do you think about it?”

“Oh – well, it’s very beautiful. I suppose it is of Elven make – I’ve never seen anything like that made by Shire hands before.” She didn’t want to seem ignorant – but she had no idea what they were talking about! Rivendell? Arwen? She pretended to be in a hurry so that she might escape from them. They bid her a polite farewell, and continued on their way.

“That sure was strange – Merry Brandybuck, acting civilized, and polite?” she said to herself, not looking where she was going – and bumping straight into someone. Estella fell upon the ground in a great heave, while she heard the lass above her shriek an apology.

“Oh, goodness! I’m so sorry – you’re not hurt, are you?” she said, grabbing her hand so as to pull her up, “I guess I wasn’t looking where I was going – I always seem to be doing that.” She grinned sheepishly as she spoke.

“Well, I suppose it was my fault too – I was –” But when she thought about it, she realized she didn’t want to reveal the details of her inability to pay attention. She only shook her head, and continued to brush off the dust that resulted from her fall. “I guess I saw something pretty at a stand, and kept walking while looking at it.”

“Have you seen any of the silver jewelry – they say it’s Elven made,” she said, a bright smile upon her face, “Oh, sorry! I’m Rosie Cotton – don’t believe I know you,” she said offering a friendly hand.

Estella had seen Rosie a few times before – it was at Bilbo’s infamous birthday party, she remembered the last to be – but had never really chanced an in-depth conversation. The Cottons were poor farmers, not very high on the social ladder. She imagined that was the reason they hadn’t ever mingled – which was a shame, she realized as they walked and talked down the market together. Once she bid Rosie goodbye for the day, she returned home, hoping that Fredegar had perhaps eaten something in her absence. However, he refused the dinner she offered to make when she returned home.

“Have you eaten anything today?” she asked of him, somewhat sadly.

“Well – a slice of buttered bread, and a sip of water. Mother forced me to swallow a small sandwich – and I managed to keep that down,” he said, smiling weakly.

“What am I going to do with you, Fatty?” she said, and sat down at the carved oak table with him. Her hand was held against her forehead in frustration. Fredegar said nothing, only slumped his head in response.

“Well, now we don’t have to buy as much food as we did before. The grocery bill’s gone down several coppers since before the Occupation – I don’t think you’ll have to take a job this winter,” he said, grinning. That was just like Fredegar, always looking for something better, somewhere closer to the sun. That bright sun that had not brought much happiness into her life – but maybe everything was changing, changing for the better. Times would be good enough again soon, good for all of them, even her, which had never happened that often.

“You’ll see Stella,” Fredegar said, almost as if he’d read her mind, “Things will be better. For all of us.” She smiled at this thought, watching the sun go down behind the grassy hill, mixing reds and oranges with the dominant blue-violet. 

Flowers, Gems And Estella - Chapter IV

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Frodo stared into the flickering fire intensely, thinking about nothing and everything at the same time. His hand found its way to his chest as he felt yet another twinge of pain – it was over a year since Weathertop. He took another sip from his tea, and sat it down on the small table next to the cushy chair in which he was sitting – soft green with oak armrests, Bilbo’s favorite chair if he remembered correctly. But he was at Rivendell now – of course, Bilbo had promised to make the journey all the way to Hobbiton every once in a while, but that couldn’t be expected to happen often. There had only been one visit since Frodo and the others had returned from their travels – just one visit during which his uncle slept most of the time.

Frodo laid back, pondering on everything that had happened recently – specifically the events of that day. As he had heard it, Sam had come very close to actually talking to Rosie Cotton.

“There she was,” he had said, “Walking within the market, looking at the beautiful objects on sale – none of them as beautiful as her, of course – and I finally felt ready to talk to her. I mean, I really felt ready – I would talk to her, and she would talk to me, and we would go for a drink, and I would invite her out with me the next day, and we would become good friends – and eventually more than friends.” His eyes had glazed over with a distant look when he’d said this. “And I suddenly broke from my thoughts to notice that Rosie was no longer there.” Sam had hobbled all the way home after that.

A smile found its way to Frodo’s lips as he thought on it – Sam could have a million chances to talk to Rosie, and might possibly never take a single one of them – and in the end the torch that he carried for her would still burn bright as daylight. His love would always rival that told of in the tale of Beren and Lúthien – a mortal man and immortal elf, one fated to live when the other had died.

But Sam would not end up like that – he may have been foolhardy and shy, but he was also extremely loyal and – when the situation called for it – nobly brave. There was no doubt in Frodo’s mind that Samwise Gamgee would eventually have Rosie Cotton for a wife – even if it took him awhile to say just one word to her.

“Just go up and say hi,” he had said, “Don’t think about it – it’s like swimming, you just jump in and eventually you’ll forget about how cold it is.” Sam thought on this as he made his way to Bywater that evening – trying to imagine Frodo’s bravery passing onto him, and giving him the ability to do what he most feared.

Samwise the Brave – yeah, that’s what I have to be – that’s what Mr. Frodo wants me to be.

“You journeyed to Mount Doom and back, my dear Sam,” Frodo had said, “Surely you can manage a simple conversation with Miss Cotton.”

I’ve fought orcs and goblins – and much worse. They called me an Elven warrior at Cirith Ungol – now’s my chance to prove it.

The Green Dragon pub was quite crowded that night – Sam almost considered leaving then and there. But there she was, up at the bar – she was talking to a young lad, younger than Sam himself, but about the same age as her perhaps – maybe he should just let her talk to him, and go his merry way – he was sure there was something he needed from the market, and it would be closing in due time – perhaps if he left now he could make it before they closed, and buy what he needed.

But then the lad left – he saw that it was Doderic Brandybuck, from Buckland, probably visiting with Merry – and he also saw Rosie look up at him, and smile, at him, no less. She had smiled at him – no one was forcing her to, she did it of her own free will – and that alone meant the world to Sam.

It seemed he had no choice but to go and talk to her now – not doing so might risk wiping that lovely smile from her beautiful face – he sat on the barstool, nudging himself around so as to be able to fit his wide frame upon it.

“What’ll you have, lad?” she said to him. He looked up, still in a confused daze that she was addressing him – still smiling at him, even.

“Um – uh – a, uh – an ale, I suppose,” he said to his hands resting on his lap. Rosie only smiled again though, and went to get his drink. Sam wiped his forehead of the nervous sweat, placing his trembling hands on his lap – why did he have to be so nervous, and now of all times? He wasn’t nervous going into Mordor, or taking on Shelob for Frodo’s sake – why now, when all he was planning to do was talk to a lass? A lass that he was romantically interested in, true enough – but it shouldn’t be this hard anyway!

“Why can’t I talk to her at all?” Sam shouted, pounding his fist down on the bar surface.

“Talk to who?” he heard someone say, and looked around to see Rosie holding his drink.

“Um – nobody – nobody at all. Just – someone I knew from my travels!” He suddenly came up with a brilliant lie to tell her. “You see, while I was away, I met this Elven girl – I became friends with her, we all did – by that I mean all of us hobbits – Frodo, Merry, Pippin and me – and we all promised her to write to her after we returned home, here in the Shire – but her father tells us she’s gone away to Valinor, and we can’t talk to her anymore!” Sam grinned honestly when he was finished. She won’t believe a word of it.

“What was her name? Why did she go away to Valinor – where, and what, exactly is Valinor? Do all Elves go there?”

Sam nearly slapped himself in the head. “Well – her name was –” He racked his brain for thoughts. Arwen? “Ar –” Elrond? “– el –” Glorfindel? “– findel! Arlfindel! Yeah, she went away to Valinor – that’s the undying lands to the west, over the Sundering Seas, where all Elves go.”

“And that’s where Arlfindel went?” Sam nodded sadly. “Oh – how sad. And I guess you won’t ever see her again, since only Elves go there, right?”

“Yeah, but Elrond’s thinking about extending that invitation to us, you know – since we were so important to the destruction of the ring, Mr. Frodo and I. He wants to – uh – have us there, in the great halls, to be remembered, until the end of the world, you know – since we’re so important and all,” he said, leaning back in his seat.

“Wow – sounds amazing, to go to Valinor someday – I hope you get to go, I know I’d be excited to go, being able to see new places and people – why, I always get excited just traveling to a distant part of the Shire that I’ve never been to before,” she said cheerfully.

“Well, you know – it’s a dangerous business, going our your door – you step onto the road – and if you don’t kick your feet – keep! Keep your feet, I mean – if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”

“Where did you hear that?”

“Why, from Mr. Frodo of course – he knows lots about traveling, does it all the time with his Uncle Bilbo.” He heard the clock within the pub strike the house – ten. “Well, Miss Cotton, it seems I might have overstayed my welcome – I’m sure to be needed back in Hobbiton.”

“Why of course, Mr. Gamgee.” The way she said it put a permanent smile on his face.

“So I will bid you goodbye and goodnight, ma’am.”

“And to you the same, good sir.”

Sam walked home that night, his heart feeling so light that it might have carried him all the way to Valinor if he allowed it.

Flowers, Gems And Estella - Chapter V

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Estella watched the birds disappear over the treetops, their last caws echoing in her mind – she knew that their leaving meant winter was not far off now. This time last year she had watched the birds leaving, almost standing in the same spot as she did now – on the top of the hill behind her house, surrounded by falling leaves of brown, red and gold – but with very different thoughts. Even at this time last year the threat of the Outsiders had been felt – they weren’t yet locking up those who dared to resist them, but no hobbit could remember such a time when so many tall, scruffy-looking men wandered within their borders.

She looked over the fields that her family owned, feeling a sense of renewal from the year before. The rising sun set a beautiful hue on the empty fields that a few days ago had hosted several bushels of corn – corn that would hopefully feed them that winter. It was worrisome, to see how much they had harvested this year, in comparison to the previous years of her youth. Would they have enough to get them through the cold winter, when so much had been destroyed during the Occupation?

She looked to their neighbors’ fields – theirs were not so different, a little better, a little worse – if they had to suffer that winter, then they would suffer together, all of them.

A crunch of dead leaves alerted to her senses the presence of her brother, Fredegar, looking everyday more and more like his old self. “Morning, Stella – it’s awfully cold to be outside, don’t you think?”

“And why is that any concern of yours? I’ve got a cloak, in case you can’t tell,” she told him, grinning.

“Well, excuse me – but I was only thinking of my little baby sister, and how cold she might be out here away from the delicious breakfast that our mother has ready for us inside – of course, if you want to stay out here, that’s perfectly fine with me, you kno –” He stopped short at that moment, realizing that Estella was no longer there. He looked back to see her running down the hill towards the house.

“Last one to the kitchen is a scum-faced ruffian!” she yelled back at him.

“How dare you imply that someone such as yourself could actually beat me to the table?” he joked, running after her. He ran as hard as he could, but to no avail – Estella’s head start ensured that Fredegar was to be the scum-faced ruffian.

Mrs. Bolger looked up upon the entry of her children into the kitchen, smiling at the sight of them – Fredegar finally looked as if he had meat on his bones, instead of the limp, sickly form he had taken after being shut in the Lockholes – and Estella, for once not pretending to be happy, but actually allowing herself to be as such, smiling brightly as she rushed to the table. It was something that Rosamunda did not see often in her daughter.

The two of them downed their breakfast, then agreed to race one another out of the house and into town. They nearly collided with their father on the way out, shouting back at him, “Bye!” in hurried tones.

“Now what’s got them in such a state?” Odovacar asked of his wife. Rosamunda shrugged, and withdrew from the oven a steaming pie, which she placed on the windowsill. A plate of handmade rolls sat waiting, and she placed them in the oven next, not noticing that one roll was missing, and was currently being eaten in the next room by her husband.

Estella drew her woven-cloak close in the chilly air as she and her brother raced each other to the town of Bywater. Fredegar won the race that time, although no terms had been set as to what the loser was this time.

Several hobbits were in town, compared to what there had been a few days ago, when she had last been in town. Many were there to sell the last of their harvest before winter, she noticed by the numerous carts laden with corn, wheat and other produce. There were also those who were buying supplies that they might not be able to get until spring when the markets reopened.

“Good thing Father already came to sell our crop – we might not have been able to with this rush,” Fredegar stated, “Perhaps there’s still some trinkets to be seen in the marketplace.”

Not many small shops were still in existence – even fewer of them were still selling those unnecessary luxuries, such as jewelry. Estella looked around for a glint of silver from the necklace she’d seen – or any piece of silver for that matter. She was thinking she wouldn’t see it – and there it was. The manager of the establishment was closing up and packing things away into boxes. The Elven necklace was one of the few pieces still there – there was also a bracelet made of flowers linked to one another, and a necklace similar to it.

“Oh that’s pretty, isn’t it?” Fredegar commented. Estella merely nodded. The shopkeeper looked up when she heard him speak.

“Oy there! Yeh interested in some jewelry? I’ll give yer a discount, as I’m closing up shop ‘ere!” she said, with a very pronounced accent that Estella recognized as Northern.

“Oh, uh – well, we were just looking at these pieces. They’re very lovely,” Fredegar said.

“Aye, tha’ they are. I don’ make ‘em meself though – these ‘ere are of Elven-make. I had a few tha’ were from over beyond the Misty Mountains – was told Dwarves made ‘em, from the Lonely Mountain, wot.”

“That one’s really nice,” Estella said, pointing to the necklace with the flower pendant, “How much is that?”

“Oh, this ‘un? Well, I can’t sell yeh tha’ particular piece – ‘ave this ‘un on reserve. But I’ll see if’n I can get another ‘un next spring for yeh – I won’t take yer money now.”

“Exactly when will you be back?” Estella asked.

“Well, I’m headin’ ter Bree-land shortly ‘ere now – a few days time, I reckon – I’m goin’ up ter the North Farthing after tha’ – up near Long Cleeve, where I’m from, stay there a few weeks. I’d say ‘round first of April I’ll be back ‘ere.”

“You said it was on reserve. Who to?” Estella asked.

“Well, I normally don’ give away the iden’ities of mah customers – but I know it’s from somewhere’s in Buckland. I don’ remember ‘zactly who ordered it, though. I’ll be stoppin’ there soon, in jus’ a few days, wot wot,” she said.

“Ah, I’m sure there’s a lot of Bucklanders able to afford that piece,” Fredegar said once they’d left, “Wouldn’t it be a surprise if it ended up being someone like Merry?”

“What? Merry actually buying something with a lass in mind? You need to eat something Fatty – you’re hallucinating,” Estella joked.

“You’re right – I’m sure it’s some other Bucklander who’s buying it for you, Estella dear,” he said, grinning.

“Now you’re just being completely insane – I don’t believe there’s any hope for you at all, wot wot.” They shared a hearty laugh as they made their way into town. Fredegar insisted that they stop by The Green Dragon for a bite to eat and a spot of ale, as he put it. Estella joked that there was some lass he was intending to meet there, and they ended up racing one another there, Estella claiming that the loser was to be a snot-nosed, pickle-faced Outsider. Fredegar ran after her, reminding her that she was in a public area and such language was atrocious for a young lass.

The pub was scarcely filled when they arrived – they supposed the evening rush had not yet begun.

“Most of our customers as still at market, trying to sell their harvest, or to buy some goods before winter,” the bartender told them, “And from the looks of things, they’re just in time.”

Estella looked outside to see that the sky had turned dark and gray all of a sudden – an early snowfall looked to be not far away. She turned back to the bartender.

“Does a lass named Rosie Cotton work here by any chance?”

“Why, yes she does – one of the best workers I ever had in here. I suppose you’re wanting to see her then – a friend I’m guessing you are?” Estella nodded. “Well, she’s not here right now – but she’ll come in later, to serve the evening rush. You can see her then.”

“I guess I will then,” Estella said.

Flowers, Gems And Estella - Chapter VI

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Merry pulled the cloak closer around his shoulders, looking up at the darkening gray sky. “You finally talked to her, did you?” he asked of Sam. He had been stunned to hear that he had actually held a conversation with long-time love interest Rosie Cotton – and was very pleased.

“Well – yeah. It started out rather slow – me being silent and all – and then, it just became – easier, to talk to her.” Sam said. He was nervous, yes – but one had to admire him. For what he had done, what he had come through – the things that only Frodo knew the extent of.

“You can go to Mordor and back, facing down Orcs and a giant spider – but you still have trouble talking to a lass. You amaze me, Samwise.” Sam grinned, his forehead turning red under tufts of sand-colored hair.

“Well, maybe I wouldn’t have trouble if I talked to her – more, I mean. More than I am now.”

“Which is exactly why you need my help,” Merry said, slapping him on the back and grinning at him in a way that made Sam a bit afraid.

But it turned out he had nothing to be afraid of. It was early evening when they arrived at The Green Dragon, but still chilly – tiny flakes of snow were already falling from the darkening sky. The main room of the pub was nearly half-full and emptying – Merry and Sam found a seat at the bar where Rosie was working.

“Evening chaps,” she said to them, winking at Sam almost indiscernibly, “What’ll it be for you two?”

“Evening to you, Rosie ma’am – an ale for me, and Samwise here will have a –” He broke off, allowing Sam to speak for himself. But he didn’t – only sat there staring, and not even at Rosie, but at the ceiling! Merry gently nudged him in the side with his elbow, whispering to him when he came to, “Sam – what do you want to drink?”

He stuttered for a moment, pretending to be interested with the wood grain of the bar, circling his finger around a dark brown knothole – then muttered, “Same for me thanks.” Merry had to repeat this to Rosie, who smiled and retreated to prepare their drinks.

“So – exactly when did you talk to her?” Merry said, now doubting that Sam had ever done such a thing.

“Well – I came in last week, and – I swear that I talked to her, and I wasn’t nervous – and you’re looking at me as if you don’t believe me!”

Merry grinned. “Anything else you want to add?”

“No,” Sam said sheepishly, feeling defeated, “But I really did talk to her!” he hissed quietly. Merry shook his head, and was about to say more when Rosie came up with their drinks.

“Here you are, lads – drink up!” she said, then looked up as a tiny bell rang, signaling that the front door had been opened. A cold chill swept inside with little flakes of new snow, sweeping around hairy bear feet on the winter wind. The door slammed shut, halting the flakes on the floor where they were. A slight brush of long fabric around the feet set them moving again, following along with the flower-print dress up to the bar.

“Evening Estella!” proclaimed Rosie upon seeing her new friend. Merry looked over on the other side of Sam to see Estella’s dark brown hair covered in white flakes of snow, already melting. The drops of icy water played with the light to create tiny prisms of bright yellow and dark brown in her hair, making it look like something magical and mystical, if only for a moment – like a crown of tiny jewels that accented her hair, making her look of noble and royal decent. Like a lady of Rohan she looks, dignified and righteous in her being.

“Merry, you okay?” Sam whispered as he softly nudged him in the shoulder, “You’ve been staring over at Estella since she sat down.”

So he had. He didn’t notice it until now – now when Sam had to jolt him out of thoughts at which Pippin would have had a field day ridiculing him. He averted his eyes back in front of him.

“Do you think she noticed?” he sheepishly asked of Sam.

Sam grinned, glad for once not to be the hobbit-lad caught with the red face of embarrassment. “No, I don’t think she saw – she was talking to Rosie.” He turned away from him, still grinning, and took a sip of his ale.

Merry turned away from Sam, gazing at the large barrels of wine that reached nearly to the ceiling, or at the window that revealed falling snow outside in the winter night – basically anything but Estella. She was pretty, he had to admit – but so were other girls that he knew a lot better, and knew him better. They were many in Buckland fighting for his affection and the chance to be Mrs. Brandybuck – or perhaps, more the opportunity to be Mistress of Buckland, which was an honorable title and carried quite a few privileges, he supposed.

The fires died down, leaving the four of them alone in the tavern. “Best head out before that snow gets worse,” Rosie said as she wiped a large glass dry, “Let me close up here, and I’ll come with,” she said more to Sam than Merry.

“May we escort you home, Estella?” Merry asked kindly, bowing slightly towards her in a polite manner.

Estella looked to Sam, who was still gazing at Rosie behind the bar – she smiled to herself. “Yes, I think you may,” she said, then in an indiscernible tone, “Perhaps we’d better leave Sam and Rosie to walk themselves home.” Merry nodded knowingly. They bid goodbye to Sam, who waved almost as if he knew not that they even existed.

They drew their cloaks close in the frosty air – the cold felt foreign to them from being inside a warm room all evening. The snow was still coming, stronger than ever.

“I believe this may be our biggest snowfall yet – I only hope that the Brandywine won’t freeze over, like it did when wolves invaded the Shire,” Merry said, idly musing as he watched the white drift and swirl around them. It created a magical setting against the black night sky and homely village structures – like a storybook picture of pristine silence.

“So – how’s Fatty, er, Fredegar, as he seems to be no longer worthy of the name?” Merry asked.

Estella lowered her head a bit – a faraway look was in her eyes as she pondered the fate of her brother. “Oh, he gets a little fatter every day – nothing compared to what he used to be though, as hard as I try.” She said nothing more, and he asked no further – it was obviously still a vulnerable subject for her to talk of.

“Do you think Sam and Rosie will find their way home in this?” he said, waving his hand around at the wintry scene before them as her house came into view, “Rosie lives a ways off – and Sam’s all the way in Hobbiton!”

“Well, what about you? You live all the way off in Buckland – quite a ways from Bywater, don’t you think?” she said.

“I happen to be staying with Frodo Baggins in Hobbiton, Miss Bolger – so I have just as long a walk home as Sam does, and I don’t revel in this fact – and it seems we have arrived at your humble abode,” he said, looking at the cozy hobbit hole that was still lit from within.

“Well – thank you, I guess, for escorting me home,” Estella spoke.

“No problem at all, Miss – I feel it’s my duty to keep the ruffians at bay so that young lasses like yourself may make their way home safely and whatnot – don’t you agree?” he said, grinning and puffing out his chest heroically.

Estella grinned as well. “Well, thank you for your services – it was quite brave of you to do this for me.”

He shook her hand and strode off into the cold winter night – whistling a cheerful tune Estella didn’t recognize, the spring in his step unsettling flakes of snow from around him. It seemed he was skipping through the cold night – skipping? Estella shook her head and went inside.

She found Fredegar sitting before the fire in deep sleep. Estella looked to the table beside him, noting the crumb-laden plate – at least he’d eaten while she was out. She retrieved a thick blanket from his room, and carefully laid it over him – a smile slowly crept over his face as he snuggled into the welcome warmth. Estella smiled herself, and retired to her own room.

Flowers, Gems And Estella - Chapter VII

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The snowfall did not lessen during the night, and Pippin, being the first one awake at Bag End, looked in wonder at the pure spectacle of the outside. A snowfall such as this one had never happened within his lifetime – at least if it did, I can’t remember it.

A few embers were still burning from the comfortable fire they’d lit last night to drive off the biting cold that stole inside every time they opened the door. Most of the time it had been Pippin to open the door, much to the bother of Frodo. Merry and Sam – Sam especially in this case – had been particularly late in returning from Bywater the evening before. Sam had what looked like a permanent grin plastered to his face – he even kept bursting out in giggles during the evening around the fire.

“What, may I ask dear Samwise, is so amusing?” Pippin had asked.

Sam looked up – prior to this, he seemed to be unaware of their presence, and looked almost perplexed by them being there. “Well – I, heard a really funny joke – last night, while I was at Bywater,” he said. Merry grinned to himself – being the only one present who was also at Bywater, he knew a few things about Sam’s apparent state of glee that the others didn’t.

“Well, it goes like this – how many Brandybucks does it take to cross the Brandywine?” he said, still giggling.

“Am I going to find this offensive?” Merry asked.

“Oh no, not at all,” Sam said innocently, “Anyone know the answer – or have I got you all stumped?” They all looked around at each other, shaking their heads. “Who cares? There’s a bridge!” Sam burst out laughing.

Merry and Frodo looked at Sam, both confused as to who told the joke to Sam, and why Sam thought it was funny. Pippin, however, was nearly in tears with laughter.

“It’s not really that funny,” Merry whispered to Frodo.

“Just smile and nod,” Frodo whispered back.

Sam had definitely consumed a bit too much ale that night – but then again, so had they all, Pippin thought as he rubbed at his aching head. He closed the shades, blocking the bright light streaming through the circular window. No light now shone through into the living room of Bag End – it was almost complete darkness but for the dim embers still in the fireplace. Pippin curled up on the cushy sofa under the window, and covered himself with the woolen blanket resting on the arm.

He awoke sometime later to blinding sunlight – he raised his sleepy head to see that the window above him had been uncovered.

“That’s real sporting of you, Merry, waking a lad up when you know he’s sleeping,” he said, still with his eyes closed.

“Except that Merry is the one still doing the sleeping – otherwise, you’d have it right on the dot, Pip,” he heard a voice say – with his raging headache he was still unable to tell who the voice belonged to.

“Well then, Frodo – I’m amazed that you were able to get up, seeing as how you had as much – if not more – ale than I did.”

“Wrong again, Pippin – it’s me, Sam.” Pippin’s eyes blurred back into focus to Sam handing him a cup of hot liquid – he swallowed a bit to find that it was tea as Sam went back to stoking the now roaring fire. “Looks like you and me are the only ones awake here – that was some sleep you were in, for you not to hear my knocking on the door. Must have been all the ale you had.”

Pippin looked up abruptly. “Well, I should say, that you, Samwise, had as much as I did – if not more.”

Sam laughed a hearty laugh. “Please! You obviously don’t know how much you drank last night, do you?” Pippin shook his head, unsure of what Sam was talking about. “Well, I don’t really blame you – if I were in your place, I wouldn’t want to know either.”

Pippin chuckled. “You seem to know a lot you’re not telling us – like what you were doing in Bywater last night.” Sam looked up to stare at Pippin with a bewildered look on his face. “You could tell me – or, I could just get Merry to tell me when he wakes up. Your choice, Sam – I’d take the first one if I were you. Merry’s been known to exaggerate things far out of proportion, and not to everyone’s liking either.”

Sam took a sip from his tea, and sat staring at it for several minutes before he spoke. “I guess I’m in a bit of a pickle here then – fine, I’ll tell you. But when Mr. Frodo and Merry wake up, you don’t say a word – because you’ll exaggerate things as much as Merry would.”

“I swear it on a cartload of pipe weed – as a knight of Gondor,” Pippin said, sitting up nobly with his hand on his chest.

“Okay – well, Merry and I were at The Green Dragon, because – well, because there was this – well, this lass, that I wanted to talk to.”

“You mean Rosie Cotton?” Pippin said.

“Yes, I suppose – I mean, if everyone already knows about it.”

“At least everyone in Hobbiton and Bywater – and in Tuckborough, my sisters seem to know everything that goes on in the Shire – and maybe in Buckland too, you never know who Merry tells things to.”

“You’re shaping up to be a loose-lipped as your cousin, Peregrin Took! Now, may I continue?” Pippin nodded. “Well, yes it – it was Rosie Cotton. Merry was there too, talking to somebody – can’t remember who it was, must have not been someone important. And I was talking to Rosie – for a while, really. I’d already talked to her before, you know. And then it was time for her to close up shop – and when I looked around for him, Merry wasn’t there anymore.”

“Must have gone off home, I guess – although, as you can’t seem to remember who it was that he was talking to, perhaps it had something to do with him – or her.” Pippin’s eyes glistened with a mischievous light. “I imagine I shall just have to question Merry on this matter. Please continue, Sam.”

“Well, I walked her home – she lives outside of Bywater – and when we got there, she said to me, something like, ‘Well, Sam – this has been a lovely evening.’ And I said, ‘We must meet up again sometime.’ And she said, ‘Yes we should – although, from the looks of this storm, it may not be soon.’ And I said, ‘I’m sure I’ll be able to make it through.’ And then I felt my cheeks getting really red.” Pippin didn’t need to imagine it, for Sam’s cheeks were getting red just talking with him. “And then – she kissed me, on the cheek. And then – well, I don’t know really, how to describe it – I looked into her eyes – and I kissed her, on the lips.” Pippin raised an eyebrow in shock. “And then I came here.”

Sam had a faraway look in his eyes, as he continued to stare at his cup of tea, not really seeing it – in his mind he was reliving last night’s events, still feeling Rosie’s kiss on his lips – his fingers came up to tenderly rest on them, his mind lost in thought –

“Morning Sam! Didn’t know you were here!”

The voice broke him from his thoughts – in the rush to get up from the chair he spilled tea on himself.

“Oh – morning, Mr. Frodo. I came over to see if I could do anything about the gardening, but the snow’s too deep – so, I guess I’ll be going now,” he hurriedly said, wiping tea off his trousers.

Frodo waved a lazy hand. “Don’t worry about it, Sam, I wasn’t expecting you to do the gardening today – most of the plants are dead anyway – here, stay for breakfast,” he said, sitting down at the table beside a sleepy-eyed Merry.

“Oh no – no thanks. I really should be going. My old gaffer will be getting up now – I should really see to him. Thank you, Mr. Frodo, and good night – er, good morning. I mean – goodbye,” he said, hurrying out the door.

Frodo stared at the door after Sam had gone, then looked to Pippin, who was still sitting at the sofa. “What’s gotten into him?”

Pippin shrugged. “No idea.”

Flowers, Gems And Estella - Chapter VIII

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An hour after she set out from her own house, Estella finally made it to the Cotton farm – her feet were by this time freezing, and everything from her waist down was soaking wet. The warmth of the fireplace within was welcome, as Rosie hung her cloak before it to dry.

“I suppose I should count you among my most true friends – I don’t think I know very many who would trudge through snow a-foot-and-a-half deep, when I’m sure she would rather stay at her own house in front of her own fire,” Rosie said, sitting down in a chair beside to the one Estella was seated in.

“Like I would stay there – what with my mother wanting me to help her in the kitchen, my father sitting smoking his pipe for hours on end, and my brother bugging me about what I was doing out so late last night – I consider this a welcome change,” she said, toasting her feet in front of the fire.

“Still, it’s very reckless of you – I only hope they haven’t gotten frostbit,” Rosie said, gesturing towards Estella’s feet.

“I’ll have you know, that at my house, I’m famous for being reckless!”

“Yeah? And what reckless things have you done?”

“Well, once, one of those ruffians who invaded the Shire came to our house, and I stood up to them and tried to fight – Fredegar pulled me back, and for that we were both thrown in the Lockholes.”

“Estella!”

“Oh, that’s not nearly the worst – last night, I actually allowed Merry Brandybuck to walk me home!”

“Oh – I thought I saw you leaving the pub with him last night. Anything special happen?”

“I don’t know what you’re implying, Rosie – but I don’t like it one bit,” Estella said, pretending to be fully offended.

“Why Estella, I don’t how you could possibly twist my words into some juvenile meaning – I was just implying that I shall checking the post daily for the announcement of your and Merry’s engagement.”

Estella quickly picked up a cushion from behind her, and swatted at Rosie with it – it missed, as Rosie grabbed her own cushion from the sofa, and proceeded to swipe at Estella with it. Estella dodged, falling off the chair and onto the floor in a fit of laughter – Rosie dropped her cushion and joined her on the floor, sharing in her mirth.

When they were finally able to stop, which was long after Rosie’s older brother Tom came in to find them in their riotous state, Rosie excused herself, saying she needed a glass of water. A narrow stairway separated the living room – where they were – and the doorway to the kitchen – where Rosie was headed. Once Rosie was on the other side of the stairway from Estella, she peeked around, and whispered to her, “Mrs. Brandybuck!” Estella rose from the floor quickly to chase after her into the kitchen. She avoided running after her once they were in the kitchen – they were many shelves with fragile glasses and dinnerware, and an oven that Mrs. Cotton had filled with baking bread. Should one of them have run into it, they might have been burnt.

Estella stood on the other side of the carved oak table from Rosie – they joked in making irate glances at each other. Neither could keep a straight face for long, and both burst out in fits of giggles.

“Well – I guess, I should at least call you – Mrs. Gamgee,” Estella panted, breathless.

Rosie laughed, then silenced herself with a hand to her mouth before taking a sip from her glass of water. “And why do you say that, Mrs. Brandybuck?”

“Well, it’s obvious – isn’t it? You walked home with Sam last night – which is definitely more, shall we say – scandalous, than my actions last night.” Rosie scoffed at Estella’s words. “I mean, the whole Shire doesn’t know that Merry has eyes for me – which is completely preposterous, as well as false. And I’m afraid, Rosie, that I can’t say the same for Sam and yourself.”

Rosie sighed. “Well, I guess I can’t deny what you’re saying about Sam and I – but I wouldn’t be so surprised if our own Merry came to have eyes for you, Estella dear.”

“Why do you say that?” she asked, taking a bite out of an apple she picked up from a nearby basket.

“Oh, no reason – just, something I happened to notice last night, that’s all – something I happened to notice, and hear from Sam.”

“I’m not going to even ask what it was you heard – it was no doubt no good.”

“Fine then – I won’t tell you anything else Sam said,” Rosie said, walking past Estella back into the living room.

Estella followed her – she had wanted to hear from Rosie all morning about what had happened the previous night. I didn’t trudge through snow for an hour for nothing.

“All right,” she said, coming into the living room and sitting down in front of Rosie, “You can tell me all you want about Merry – just tell me about what happened with you and Sam, too.”

Rosie had obviously wanted to tell Estella about this, for she put down the empty glass and immediately broke into the story. “Well, after you two left, I turned out the lights and locked the door of the pub – just closing up, you know.” Estella nodded. “So Sam and I started heading here – he asked me how I had been doing, how my family had been doing since the Occupation – I think he wanted to know that we had been all right. I told him we’d been fairly okay – a lot better than some families, I imagine. And then he said, ‘Are you and Estella friends?’ I said that we were, and he said something like, ‘Merry said something to me about her – I forget exactly what it was. Just saying he’d seen her somewhere that day – think he said it was in the marketplace, or something like that. That may not be right, though.’ I said I didn’t know if he had seen you or not.”

“I did see him there one day – with Pippin, though. We weren’t alone,” Estella said. She looked up to see Rosie looking at her, with one eyebrow raised. “What? We weren’t alone, nothing happened!”

“I didn’t ask you if you had been alone – I just thought it was strange that you were acting in defense when I hadn’t even accused you of anything. But anyway – Sam said something about him and I meeting again sometime – he suggested that he go out in this snow. I said that he shouldn’t, but who knows what he’ll do? He might be brave, like you.” Rosie seemed by this time a bit flustered – her hands were playing idly with the hem of her dress, and her cheeks were a light red. “And then – I kissed him.”

Estella’s jaw dropped. “You what? You mean – on the cheek, right?”

“Well, I did kiss him on the cheek first – but when I drew away, he looked at me – and he looked so sweet. But also – well, I’ve always wondered what happened to him and the others when they were away – when I look at Frodo especially, I can see that pains of something terrible – something happened to them Estella, something they’ll never forget. And I guess, last night, I saw in Sam’s eyes some of that same pain that I often see in Frodo’s – he looked hurt, like he had held the weight of the world on his shoulders – and he was willing to hold that weight even longer, but it was getting to him, he was getting tired. But also, he looked like just being with me – some of that pain was healing. And then I kissed him again – or, he kissed me – well, I don’t know exactly.”

Her cheeks were blood red by now, on of her hands was being held so tightly by the other that it was also red – but Rosie didn’t seem to even notice.

Estella could only stare. “You mean, you kissed him – not on the cheek?”

Rosie shook her head.

“On the lips, you mean?”

Rosie nodded, the faraway look still present in her eyes.

“Then what happened?” Estella asked.

When next Rosie spoke, it was in a calm, quiet tone. “Then I came in here – and went to bed.”

They sat there for several more minutes – Rosie sat with the wistful look on her face, and Estella sat staring at her, unable to say anything to break the trance her friend was in.

It wasn’t until Rosie’s brother Tom came up behind and shouted that they said anything or even moved – they jumped at hearing him.

“Tom, you big idiot!” Rosie shouted after him as he ran up the stairs laughing.

“Rosie’s out late at night, smooching with Sam Gamgee!” he shouted into the second floor they had thought was empty – until now, when her mother came down, asking what Tom was shouting about.

“Perhaps I’d better go,” Estella whispered. Rosie nodded, agreeing.

Estella slipped out the front door, unnoticed by Mrs. Cotton, and out into the chilly afternoon. The sun was coming out – indeed, by evidence of the slowly melting snow, it seemed to have been out for some time.

Merry, interested in me? Perhaps it was just Sam’s foolishness that brought the matter up – searching for something to talk about with the lass he had long had eyes for, his befuddled head had stopped on the best topic it could think of in the heat of the moment. I’m sure Merry just said it in passing – or maybe didn’t say it at all. Perhaps it was Pippin – yes, Pippin was there, and he would surely be foolhardy enough to say something as insignificant as that. Sam just got confused around Rosie – he’s liked her for quite a long time. And if they kissed – well, perhaps we’ll all be getting letters announcing their engagement soon. She laughed to herself as she remembered Rosie’s comment. Mrs. Brandybuck indeed. She banished the thought from her head as she walked home.

Flowers, Gems And Estella - Chapter IX

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“Are you sure that it’s not too early to go fishing, Merry? Seems to me that if there’s still snow around on the ground, that fish might still be hibernating away from the cold.”

Fredegar cast his fishing line in the calm Brandywine River below him. He saw no evidence of fish within the water – the end of the line sat still on the surface.

“That’s exactly what the fish want us to think, Fatty,” Merry boasted, joining him on the edge of the bridge and casting his line in the water, “Fish don’t hibernate at all – they’ve been done there all winter, swimming around and thinking that we won’t be able to catch them until spring arrives – but now that there’s no ice on the river, we can hook the little buggers, and eat them before they even know what hit them!”

It was close to the end of February – all winter Fredegar could remember Merry boasting that once the ice melted off the surface of the river, there would be no end to the amount of fish they’d be able to catch. Although as the day went on, and they went home empty-handed, Fredegar was quite sure that the fish were still hibernating – something he would like to still be doing as well.

“Tomorrow will be better – the Brandywine Bridge has always been the best place for fishing,” Merry said as they headed back to Brandy Hall for a warm cup of tea, “If you can’t catch them there, you can’t catch them anywhere.”

“Except someplace warmer,” Fredegar chimed in.

Merry made a show of feeling under the weather so as to avoid a conversation with his mother once they entered the ancestral hobbit hole, and both he and Fredegar retreated to the private living quarters after retrieving two steaming cups of hot tea. Well-made portraits of Brandybuck ancestors lined the halls – faces of ancient prestige stared back at them, their heads held high and noble.

“That there’s old Gormadoc, called Deepdelver by those who knew him best,” Merry narrated, pointing to a portrait of an old, white-haired hobbit – a particularly crooked nose rested below his brow, and resembled that of Gandalf’s, “He had three sons – Madoc, from whom I am descendant – Sadoc, who settled down in the Southern half of Buckland, near the River Shirebourn – and Marroc, whose heirs include much of the South Farthing, down in Longbottom and Sarn Ford.”

Fredegar pointed to the portrait of a heavyweight hobbit, whose features were familiar. “This one looks a bit like me – especially with fat chin.”

“That’s Gorbadoc. He was called Broadbelt, and for good reason as you can see – my great-grandfather. I suppose he should like something like you, his mother was a Bolger. His first son was my grandfather, Old Rory – and his youngest daughter was Primula Baggins, Frodo’s mother.”

“So that’s how you and Frodo are related then.”

“Oh, there’s probably more ways than just that – the Brandybucks are related to half the Shire by blood, and the other half by marriage. We’re such a closed society, in time we’ll no doubt all be related – and we may have no choice but to marry our closest cousins.”

“You think?” Fredegar asked.

“Either that, or die off – but if anything like that were to happen, it wouldn’t be anytime soon.”

They heard Fredegar’s stomach give a loud groan of hunger, and retreated to the kitchens for a bite to eat. Fredegar’s appetite had improved much in the past few months – Pippin joked that his stomach now reached out further than Sam’s, which was an excellent sign. “Sorry Sam, but you’re not the fattest hobbit in the Shire anymore,” Pippin had said one evening, which earned him a glare and a scolding from Merry.

“It wasn’t too nice a thing of Pip to say,” Fredegar commented on later when the matter came up between them, “But I don’t think Sam’s feelings were hurt – his mind probably wasn’t even on the matter at all. If he wasn’t looking at Rosie at the time, he was thinking about her.”

“Even after our travels, Pip still refuses to grow up and be mature – I dare to wonder how he might deal with being married, or being with a lass at all,” Merry stated as they entered the large living hall to find Sam sitting there, waiting for them to arrive.

He looked up when he saw them come in. “Hello Merry – Fredegar,” he said, seeming nervous – his eyes darted quickly across the room, and his knees were shaking slightly.

“Sam! What brings you here?” Merry said cheerfully, looking down on Sam’s nervous state, “Does it have to do with you’re so edgy?”

“Edgy? Me? Of course not. Well, maybe a little jumpy, and anxious – and a little excited. But, I do have a purpose,” he said, taking a drink from a cup that Merry had set down in front of him – he calmed a little after he’d swallowed it, “Um, I came to tell you that – well, I already told Mr. Frodo and Pippin the news, they seemed quite excited and happy for me and, uh – well, I was with Rosie, and I, uh –”

“You, uh, did you? Well that’s perfectly marvelous – I think the whole Shire’s been waiting for you and Rosie to, uh, for quite a while – if that’s what you came to say,” Merry said.

Sam smiled. “That’s not what I meant – I mean to say, I asked – I asked Rosie, I mean Miss Cotton – well, I asked her to marry me.”

Merry and Fredegar’s jaws both dropped in astonishment. It took them a while to be able to form words. “And – and what’d she say?” Merry finally asked.

“She, uh – she said yes,” Sam said.

“That’s wonderful!” Merry broke out, “So when is it? You say you’ve already told Frodo and Pippin? Where’s it going to be?”

“Um – well, I spoke with her parents, and we agreed to the first of May – Mr. Frodo was the first person I told, other than my old gaffer, and Pippin too, he seemed excited – and, I guess it’s going to be at Hobbiton. I’m thinking about having it in the Party Field, under the mallorn tree. The whole of Hobbiton and Bywater know about it, and they’re already preparing for it – I think Rosie went up there to pick out a nice dress – oh, and I definitely want you to be there! You too Fredegar!” Sam’s eyes lit up with a cheerful light as he spoke.

“Absolutely we’ll be there – and my sister too, she’s become a great friend a Rosie’s lately. No doubt she’ll be in the wedding party,” Fredegar said.

“And I was going to write you a letter to tell you the news,” Sam said, now to Merry, “But Mr. Frodo said that I should come to tell you in person – said something like, ‘it signifies your friendship as one above simple postal correspondence.’ Told him I didn’t want to take off from tending the gardens at Bag End – everyone says they’re the best in all the Shire – but he said they’d be fine, and that I should go as soon as possible, I have so much to do back there.”

“Well, Sam,” Merry said, standing up, “I think this warrants a long stay by myself at Bag End – I’ll have to prepare for a two month stay, and send Frodo a letter, warning of my coming – or should I just see him in person, as our friendship signifies correspondence beyond that of simple post mail – or something like that.”

Everyone in Brandy Hall was excited to hear the news, and Sam was congratulated all around. Mr. and Mrs. Brandybuck promised to come – Esmeralda claimed a visit with her brother and other Took relations was long overdue – there seemed to be no end to those who promised to come for one reason or another.

It was later that evening when Merry sat down to write his letter to Frodo.

Frodo – Heard about the wedding. Sounds great. Am coming to stay at Bag End for a couple months. What did you mean about the significant correspondence, or whatever you said to Sam? It sounded like something you’d say. Sam mentioned Pippin was there too. Make sure he doesn’t do anything to prank me when I arrive. Sounds like the whole Shire is planning on coming – hope the Party Field can hold that many. Brandy Hall’s going to be empty – everyone seems to know Sam and Rosie here. Don’t think I told them, but who knows? Will be there in a couple days. – Merry

This was definitely going to be an event to remember.

Flowers, Gems And Estella - Chapter X

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Estella was regretting having volunteered to help the Cottons to plan and organize the upcoming wedding. To Mr. Filbert Bolger and Mrs. Poppy Bolger – Mr. Samwise Gamgee and Miss Rose Cotton invite you to be present at their wedding on the first of May, in Hobbiton. They hope you will be able to attend, and await your answer by post. Wiping sleep from her eyes, she dipped the pen into the bottle filled with lilac ink, then brought it back to the thick, cream-colored paper. To Mr. Argus Boffin –

She stopped short of finishing the sentence – she’s never heard of anyone by that name. Looking again at the list, she discovered that there was no one named Argus – and that she instead had intended to write Griffo Boffin, along with his wife Daisy. Must be all that sleep I haven’t had.

“Sancho Proudfoot,” Rosie’s mother read from the list of invited guests, “He hasn’t married, has he?” she asked of her daughter, “His father was quite a looker in his day.”

Estella gazed down at the paper in front of her – it was blurring in and out of focus. She looked to the clock on the mantelpiece – it was well after ten. To Mr. Reginard Took – Mr. Sancho Gamgee and Miss Rose Proudfoot invite you to be present at their father’s wedding, for he was quite the looker in his day.

“I don’t believe he is, mother,” Rosie answered, “And I hope you’re not trying to set Estella up with him – he’s awfully quiet, and rather boring – she wouldn’t like him, would you Estella?”

To Mr. Seredic Brandybuck and Mrs. Hilda Brandybuck – Mr. Samwise Cotton and Miss Rosie Gamgee invite you to not try to set Estella Bolger up with anyone that she wouldn’t like – someone boring and quiet – and definitely don’t try to set her up with someone like Mer –

“Estella! Are you okay?”

Estella’s eyes shot open – she was lying face down on an unfinished letter, lilac ink smeared over her face.

“Sorry!” she said, her blurry eyes looking around confused, “I – I guess I just dozed – dozed off, I guess.”

“And no wonder! Look at the time, Rose dear!” Lily Cotton gasped, gathering the invitations into a neat pile on the table, “I’ll take care of these – you go and clean Estella up.”

A cold rag was pressed to Estella’s face in the kitchen, awaking her instantly – she rubbed it over her cheeks and nose, cleaning the ink off.

“It does look nice with your eyes though,” Rosie humored, “At the wedding you should wear lilacs in you hair – it goes well with the dark and light browns.”

“And what are you going to wear? I have yet to see your dress – and it’s April! If you don’t have it already – well, I don’t know what you’re going to do,” Estella said, taking the washcloth from her face.

“Oh, I do have it! It’s – it’s a nice dress, but –”

“But what?”

Rosie sighed. “Well – I’ve been to a few weddings, Estella, and the dresses that the brides wear are always magnificent – but with all those beautiful dresses, either the bride or the groom was rich, and therefore able to afford a dress like that. The one that I was able to get – it’s so plain, it doesn’t look like a bride’s dress at all – the dress you’re wearing now is more elaborate than it – and it’s not just the dress. I’ve been out to the Party Field, to see how it’s decorated – the other weddings that I’ve been to, that take place outside – well, they have things like streamers, attached to poles, and flowers bursting from every corner, of every color. While there are a lot of flowers down at the Party Field, many of which Sam provided himself – it’s nothing compared to what I’ve seen before, at those rich weddings. I’m so afraid that no one will like it – our families aren’t exceedingly rich, and Sam’s already accepted so much financial help from Frodo – I’m not sure what we’ll do afterwards. I don’t even know where we’ll live – not with my parents, or with his.” Her eyes were glistening with tears that threatened to soon spill over.

Estella smiled warmly, and took Rosie’s hand, speaking to her. “It doesn’t matter at all how posh everything looks! You don’t need to have a lot of flashy decorations – no one will care, and if they do, they’re not anyone worth worrying about. It’s you that matters – you and Sam. You love him, don’t you?”

“Of course I do!” she said, wiping gleaming tears from her eyes.

“Well then, that’s all that matters! You’re marrying the hobbit you love, and everyone’s there to see you two, not the decorations, or your dress – or the poles and streamers! They’re there to see you two devote your lives to one another – and you don’t need one cent to know how important that is.”

Rosie seemed happier from Estella’s words, and relented to show her the dress she’d picked out – it was not the traditional white, but a beautiful light turquoise, with floral trim on the hem, sleeves and neck. It felt light and soft, like fine silk – although Rosie admitted that it was not silk. There seemed to be no difference to Estella.

“I asked Sam if he would like to come with, to help me pick it out,” Rosie giggled, “I think he wanted to, just to spend some time with me, but – well, Pippin was with him, and he was like, ‘Nah, Sam’s going down to The Green Dragon, aren’t you Sam?’ And he looked at me, and said, ‘Yeah – yeah, but I’ll see you tomorrow, Rose – love you.’ Isn’t that just like a lad?”

“Well, when you’re married, you’ll probably be able to say to him, ‘No, Pippin – my husband is not going out with you tonight, because he is staying home with me, and helping to take care of our children.’ And you can tell him that he can just find someone else to have to go out drinking with.”

“Like his cousin, for one. ‘I’m sorry, Peregrin, but you and Meriadoc will have to settle with being only a musical duo at The Green Dragon, instead of a singing trio.’ And of course, after your and Merry’s wedding –”

“Rosie!”

“Pippin will just have to go all by his lonesome,” Rosie finished.

Estella laughed. “Maybe then he’ll meet a lass, and not make a fool of himself – and her. Of course, the problem here is that it happens after my and Merry’s wedding – which I don’t plan on attending anytime soon – or ever, for that matter.”

Rosie looked beautiful in her dress when she wore it in front of the mirror the next morning – Estella helped her to decide on the perfect hairstyle. Several pins were placed her brown-gold curls to keep it up – delicate tendrils drifted down to caress her cheeks and neck.

“Sam won’t be able to resist, Rosie,” Estella said.

“Yeah,” she said wistfully, “Help me get the pins out of my hair – we have those invitations to finish. If you promise not to fall asleep, you may assist me in Bywater today when I mail them.”

A large bag of letters was taken to the post office that morning – but only with the assistance of Rosie’s older brother Tom were they able to bring it in.

“You’re begin awfully nice to me – helping me mail those letters and all,” Rosie said, surprised at him.

“Well, what else am I expected to do, when my little sister’s getting married?” Tom said, slapping her on the shoulder. Rosie retaliated by punching him in the side – he tousled her hair that they had spent so long brushing out of the elegant style from that morning.

“I bet you can’t wait until you get married Estella – then Fredegar will act loving and sweet, and won’t make fun of you!”

“Oh, but he’ll make fun of me even more – if he can even tear himself from constantly reminding my fiancé that he’ll lose no sleep over pummeling him into the ground if he’s less than perfect to his baby sister.”

There seemed to be no lack of excitement in the Cotton household about the upcoming wedding – and Estella knew that there would be no lack of love in the future Gamgee household.

Flowers, Gems And Estella - Chapter XI

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The day of Sam and Rosie’s wedding was expected to be sunny and bright, with flowers surrounding the pavilion under the mallorn at the Party Field, and lots of people dressed in their best at this most joyous occasion – which was why Estella was not pleased to see black clouds in the distance that foretold a spot of rain.

“Looks like it might not come for a while,” she said, looking out the window from Bag End where they were currently preparing for the wedding, “But that your wedding should be ruined by rain – I’m so sorry, Rosie!”

Rosie herself took a look at the oncoming rain clouds. “I’d say mid-evening – the ceremony should be done by then, and we’ll all be under the tents feasting and dancing, I wouldn’t worry about it, Estella,” she said, smiling, “You’re acting like a jittery bride – and you’re not even the bride!”

“Well, of course, Rosie dear,” Rosie’s mother said as she was hemming the bottom of her dress, “You know, when your father and I were married, I could tell that my youngest sister was perfectly petrified – and she wasn’t even in the wedding party! She was helping me to do my hair, while all my other sisters were busy with their own dresses and hair – and the ribbon she was tying in my hair was too long, so she got some scissors to cut it – and she cut off a lock of hair!”

The two girls broke up into laughter – Rosie’s hair fell out of the elaborate bun Estella had put it in.

Rosie’s mother continued. “So, my sisters all tried to comb it over the back of my head, and that wouldn’t work – so they put some pins and stuff in it, and were able to reattach the hair that had been cut out, and for a while it looked like it might actually be okay – until after the ceremony, when I had to toss the bouquet. When I threw it, I guess it skimmed over the back of my head, and took the hair that had been cut along with it!”

There were several ladies in the room – members of the wedding party, and friends who had volunteered to help out. Those who had not been in hysterics before were now crying with laughter.

“And it was your mum that caught it, Estella! She caught the bouquet – along with my hair!”

“I know that catching the bouquet means that you’ll be the next one to get married,” Estella whispered, “But what does it mean when you catch the bride’s hair as well?”

“It means that your daughter has to style the bride’s daughter’s hair on her wedding day – that hair isn’t going to put itself up, you know,” Rosie said, still wiping tears of laughter from her eyes.

“What will everyone think when you walk down the isle, crying because of a funny story your mother told?” Estella asked.

“I’d rather like to know what they’ll think when I suddenly burst out in laughter during the ceremony because of a funny story my mother told!”

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Sam had been checking his appearance in the mirror for an hour, and hadn’t changed a thing about it – to say that it was beginning to get on Merry’s nerves, was an understatement.

“Do you think I should wear my vest buttoned or unbuttoned?” He buttoned up the dark-blue velvet vest and gazed at his reflection in the mirror, showing it off for the others in the room – he then unbuttoned it, and did the same.

“Sam, it really, really doesn’t matter to me – whichever one works for you,” Merry said, leaning his head back in the cozy chair. Hazy threads of daylight were streaming in through the window – combined with his full stomach from the morning’s breakfast, the effect caused Merry’s eyes to fog over with slumber.

“I think I’ll go with it buttoned up – unbuttoned looks too casual, you know – everyone out there’s going to be dressed all fancy-like, it won’t do for me to look less than perfect, you know – and, also –”

“All right Sam! We get the point!” Pippin argued, looking up from where he had been carefully brushing the soft tangle of fur on his feet, “You know, I’ll bet when we get out there, all the ladies will be less jittery than you!”

Sam disregarded Pippin’s comment with a wave of his hand. “When you get married, Peregrin Took, you will be twice as nervous!”

“Why do you say that?” Pippin’s face held a look of confusion.

“Because out of respect for your new wife,” Frodo said as he entered the room, “You won’t drink anything the evening before!”

“Just as Sam did last night!” Merry chimed in.

“And just as you didn’t do last night!” Sam said, adjusting the cuffs on the end of his sleeves.

Pippin spoke up. “Yeah, but last night wasn’t the night before my weddi –”

“And since on most occasions, you normally drink twice as much ale as Sam, you’ll be twice as nervous!” Frodo interrupted.

“As jumpy as a cricket, Pip! Hope you can handle it,” Merry said, standing up from the cushy seat.

Pippin sighed, and, cupping his chin in his hand, prepared to speak – he wasn’t permitted to, though, as Sam’s father – who would be performing the ceremony – entered the room then.

“You ready, son?”

“Oh, of course!” Sam said eagerly, then looking around before composing himself, “I mean – yes, father.”

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Estella’s head gazed around the flap of the tent that Rosie and the other lasses were currently situated in – it was customary for the groom not to see the bride on the day of the wedding until her walk down the aisle, so the wedding party now sat in the covered pavilion which had been set aside for the feast afterwards.

The lasses were all tired of waiting – it had grown hot and humid, and they were all getting grouchy – one in particular was complaining quite loudly as she waved off the hot air with her bouquet. “The lads always complain that we take so long to prepare for dinner, or to go out, or something like that – and here we are, waiting for them, and they’re not even here yet!”

The lass sitting next to her spoke up. “If that Samwise doesn’t come soon – well, I don’t know about Rosie, but I would most certainly –”

“Hush yourself!” Rosie said to them, “Sam will come when he comes, and that’s the best we can hope for!”

“Here they come!” Estella whispered, her head still gazing out of the tent, “There’s Sam, who looks nervous, I suppose he should be – and his father behind him, he’s supposed to be performing the ceremony – Frodo, Merry and Pippin behind them – Pippin needs to comb his hair, it looks quite unruly – and a few more lads there, don’t know who many of them are – oh look, there’s Fredegar! I remember, he had to buy that vest brand new – couldn’t find anything else that fit him – and they’re under the tree now.” Estella closed the tent flap, “Guess that’s our cue then, Rosie,” she said, looking to her.

It was customary for the bridesmaids to enter before the bride – Estella wished Rosie good luck as she and the other lasses, including Rosie’s mother, walked out on the petal-strewn path. Estella, at the front, looked up to the gathering under the tree – on the one side was Sam, standing wringing his hands nervously – she chuckled softly to herself when she saw this. He was nervous, but also happy – the smile on his own face outshone her own. Behind him stood Frodo, looking distinguished as always – next to him was Merry, with a large grin on his face. Estella might have shaken her head and sighed at the sight of it, had his grin not nearly matched her own. For once, perhaps, she would not think of Merry as a silly young fool.

Pippin, though, was a different story – he stood beside Merry, not even looking at the lasses as they entered. His face was gazed down at his feet, or at a bird that flew overheard, or at anything else that didn’t have to do with the current situation. She looked to see Mrs. Eglantine Took give him a stern look from where she was sitting in the audience. He quickly stopped, and held a straight face as the lasses took their place opposite them under the mallorn tree. Estella was gazing at the streamers hung from the lower branches of the tree, when she heard a sharp intake of breath nearby – it came from Sam, and she soon saw the reason why.

All eyes looked back to see Rosie, clutching the arm of her father, make her way slowly down the petal-strewn path. Her soft amber eyes moved over the gathering of friends and family – she smiled at her mother sitting in the front, whose eyes were filled with blissful tears. Looking to those gathered under the mallorn, she grinned happily at Estella, who returned the gesture. Congratulations, Rosie, she thought.

More than once, but not too often, Rosie had been nervous and perhaps a little scared about the prospect of getting married – she never considered herself truly brave, but tried always instead to do what was right, and what her heart told her. That morning, she awoke thinking that she was doing what was right, and what her heart was telling her – but not until she looked into Sam’s blissful face did she know it for certain. Always in her youth she had thought that she might never be as happy as those other lasses in the Shire who had money and wealth – she might have fallen in love and married someday – or not, and spent the rest of her life working on her father’s farm just to get by. But on that day, a day full of brilliant sunshine with just the tiniest threat of rain clouds on the horizon – she quite simply felt like the richest lass alive, to be marrying the lad that she loved, with friends and family looking on.

She seemed to walk down the aisle for a blissful eternity – but before she knew it, she was standing with the others under the tree, in front of Sam, gazing into his shining face. She smiled back, and took his hand as his father spoke before them.

“Family, friends and otherwise – we are gathered here today, to share in the happiness of these two hobbits, as they devote their lives to one another in the joyful union of marriage.”

His father’s words passed into a blur for Sam, as he stared back at Rosie, still in disbelief that he was here – here, on this beautiful day, marrying this beautiful girl whom he loved, and who loved him back, with all his friends and family there as well – he came out of his trance just as Rosie was reciting her vows.

“I know that we may not be as lucky as many hobbits in the Shire – and I know that we may never have as nice a home, or as nice things as they may have – and I know that like anyone else, we may have troubled times, times when life seems difficult, and we feel like we want to give up – but I also know that you’ve always had the most admirable faith in yourself, and in everyone around you, that we might all rise above our dilemmas. I am honored that you would have such faith in me, and want to spend your life with me – and I know that whether we live our lives in contentment or distress, we will live them together – and that is the best that anyone can hope for, to be loved, as I am by you, Samwise Gamgee.”

A wide smile crept over Sam’s features as he begun his own vows. “From the beginning of my days, I remember above all a saying that I heard often from my mother – ‘Every stormy night has a bright and sunny morning to follow.’ During my travels, I kept those words with me, repeating them when things seemed the most drastic – I believe that everything that has led up to this moment in time, either good or bad, belongs to some part of that stormy night. Without you, Rose Cotton, I have felt as though I’m stumbling around in the dark – but just the thought of you brings on the glorious morning of bright sunshine that warms my heart. I am glad to have reached that sunny morn with you, and hope to share many more with you in the future, as your husband.”

By this time several lasses and even a few of the lads could be heard sniffing tears of joy from their eyes – Estella’s silk handkerchief was no longer of any use to her, nearly soaking wet.

Sam heard his father telling him that he may now kiss his bride – he needed no further assurance, and drew in for a kiss with his new wife. Not his girlfriend or lover or friend, but all of those things rolled up into one simple, convenient and official title. Wife.

Flowers, Gems And Estella - Chapter XII

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Light rains started once everyone was situated under the tents for the wedding feast – they could hear the patter of tiny drops on the white canvas above them. There was no wind to speak of, so they stayed dry as they feasted in celebration. White candles burned on long tables covered with linen tablecloths, and there was a nice little dance floor where people could dance if they were so inclined. Most everyone was seated at the tables though, listening as several of the guests made speeches to toast the new couple.

“I’ve known Samwise for years, long before we were tweenagers,” Merry said at one point, standing up with a mug of brandy in hand, “We grew up together, and there’s few hobbits who know him better – and I have to say, Rosie, that if you can find any lad in the world more devoted and loving than your dear husband – well, I’ll be amazed. I’m not much good at giving speeches, which is why I’m surprised I’m actually doing this at all, knowing how I am about this sort of thing, what with the rambling I tend to do when I’m –” Merry stared out over the sea of faces staring at him and blushed. “Right, well, I’m doing it again. Anyway, good luck to you both, and I wish that every day of your lives together you’ll remember today, and how we all came together to celebrate how very much the two of you love each other. Right, I’m done now. Cheers!”

The crowd repeated the last word, each one taking a sip from their own mugs – Rosie, who was sitting at the front table with Sam, smiled as her face turned a light red. Her older brother Tom stood next.

“Right, well, there are probably a million or so stories about Sam and Rosie as a couple, some of which may not be appropriate for those assembled here.” The crowd laughed. “I’m joking, though, I really don’t know any stories like that. However, none of the stories that I do know accurately capture the way they look at each other and smile like they know something secret from the rest of us, and I think that secret is exactly what it feels like to be in love. Sam, Rosie, I wish you all the luck in the entire world and more, although I’m certain you won’t need it at all. Cheers to you, Sam, and to you dear sister.”

The crowd clapped as he sat down, taking a drink from his ale – Rosie dabbed at her eyes with her quilted handkerchief. Estella, who was in the wedding party and therefore seated at the bride and groom’s table, was taking a sip from her mug of cider when Rosie, who was beside her, nudged her in the side with her elbow. “Get up and say something,” she whispered. Estella looked around at the faces of the crowd.

“Do I have to?” she whispered back.

“Sam’s gotten Merry to say something – you need to say something now, as my best friend.”

“Fine,” she grunted, standing up. The crowd looked to her next. “I’m speaking now as Rosie’s best friend – she told me too, at least – but I have to admit, I’ve known Sam longer than I’ve known her. But I guess as long as I’ve known Sam, in a way I’ve also known Rosie – as far back as I can remember, he’s always been infatuated with her.” Sam’s head, which was staring down at his plate now, was turning blood red – a grin was still plastered on his face though, as Rosie pecked him on the cheek. “I suppose that kind of devotion cannot go without recognition – so I’ll finish up by saying good luck to you both, be happy with each other – um, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, I guess – and cheers!”

“Cheers!” the crowd repeated, who decided that Estella’s speech would be the last and headed to the dance floor.

A wide berth was made for Sam and Rosie, who danced together beautifully as husband and wife. Pippin, who Estella noticed had grown quite tall, was a good foot-and-a-half taller than the lass he was dancing with – throughout the dance she was forced to crane her neck upwards to look at his face. Frodo was sitting off from the rest of the crowd by himself, his arm clutched at his chest in slight pain – there was still a light of anguish in his dark eyes. Sam called to him from the dance floor, inviting him out – the pain disappeared from his eyes as he shook his head, grinning happily.

“And why aren’t you out there dancing?” a voice from behind her said. She turned around to see Merry, with his hands folded behind back, looking down on her. He’s also gotten very tall. “Is it not customary for the wedding party to join the bride and groom on the dance floor?”

“I could ask you the same question, Merry Brandybuck – as one of the groomsmen I should think that you would find a bridesmaid to dance with.”

“Which is exactly what I’m doing, Miss Bolger,” he said as he extended his hand, “You and Celandine Brandybuck are the only ones not already partnered – forgive me for not wanting to dance with my cousin, but I often find myself fearing for my life when around her. So it is down to you – do you have the heart to break a wedding tradition by, as a bridesmaid, not dancing with a groomsman?”

“You know, there will come a time when that sweet talk of yours will get you nowhere,” she smiled, and said, taking his hand, “But I guess it’s not today.”

Merry seemed to be even taller than Pippin, for he also towered over his partner on the dance floor. But Estella had always been a bit taller than most lasses she knew, so her height only lacked in a few inches.

“That was a nice speech you gave – I heard Pippin say he liked it,” Merry said.

“Oh?” she said, raising one eyebrow.

“Yeah – it was quick and to the point, and since he’s impatient, it was less time that he had to tear himself away from his plate of food – and from the lass he’s currently dancing with.”

“Oh, her? I only met her today – name’s Diamond Took. She’s from up in the North Farthing, near Long Cleeve I heard – doesn’t have as thick an accent though,” Estella remarked.

“Hmm – wouldn’t have known she was a Took. So soft-spoken – when Pippin asked her to dance, she just whispered a tiny, ‘Yes,’ in response – like a little deer, or something.”

“Well, I remember I didn’t even notice her this morning. She must not have been one the lasses making a fuss about their hair, and their dress – and during the ceremony, when all of us bridesmaids were sobbing openly, I looked back to see that she was crying too, but rather quietly – silent tears were streaming down her face. She’s a shy little thing, that’s for sure.”

“Not like you, eh?” Merry chuckled at this – the smile from Estella’s face disappeared as she looked up at him, which he noticed, “I didn’t mean it! I was just joking – good fun and all, you know?”

“Yeah – like the time you pushed me in the river? Was that good fun too?”

Merry scoffed, pretending to be offended. “When did I ever push you into the river?”

“When I was eight, and you were eleven – you and Fredegar took great pleasure in tormenting me, and I recall one day when you pushed me down a hill and into the Brandywine!”

Merry fell silent for a while. “Well then, I must apologize – at such a young age as you say I was at, I must have been a reckless little thing, and quite annoying too.” He looked down at her once he finished. “Is that good enough for you?”

Estella sighed. “You’ll never really grow up, will you?” she said, shaking her head. By that time the party had started to wind down – several guests were donning cloaks and heading out in the darkening evening, making their way home.

“I guess this is the end of our dance,” Merry said, releasing his hand from hers and removing the other one from her side, “It has been a pleasure, Miss Bolger.” He drifted away from her into the crowd to find Frodo, who was planning a visit with him at Buckland.

“I’ll let Sam and Rosie stay at Bag End for the wedding night,” he’d said a couple weeks prior, “And I’m long overdue for a visit with my Brandybuck cousins.”

Merry found him sitting amongst the few remaining guests, and sat down next to him.

“Having a good time?” Frodo asked.

“Yeah, up until just now,” he said.

“Problems with a lass?”

“Sort of – she won’t forgive me for something I did when I was eleven, that I don’t even remember anyways.”

“Well, that’s a long time to hold a grudge – I don’t think, Merry, that she’s really mad at you. Perhaps she just enjoys quarreling with you.”

“Why is that?” Merry said, looking at Frodo.

“Well – maybe she likes you.”

Merry scoffed at the thought – Frodo snickered, saying nothing.

Flowers, Gems And Estella - Chapter XIII

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It had been over a hundred years earlier that her great-great-aunt Adaldrida had married Marmadoc Brandybuck, which was probably why Estella never paid mind to her distant relation to the Brandybuck family – nearly everybody in the Shire was related in someway or another, and it was commonplace for the closest of cousins to never know each other. This fact explained why it was so unexpected for Estella to be invited for a long stay at Buckland in early June, with distant cousins Mentha and Melilot Brandybuck, whom Estella had only met once or twice. “I remember them,” Fredegar said upon seeing the invitation, “Mentha’s a few years older then her sister, and I was just one of the many lads she flirted with at Bilbo’s birthday party years ago – and at Sam and Rosie’s wedding, apparently Melilot was old enough to flirt with every unmarried lad there.”

“So they’re flighty and vapid? And I have to stay with them for who knows how long?” It was disrespectful to decline such a request, Fredegar reminded her – but he pitied, and agreed to accompany her on the trip.

“I better warn you, Estella,” he spoke while attaching the leather ropes from the wooden cart to their pony, “I heard Mother talking last night that she hoped you might find a sensible lad on this trip – and you know what that means.”

“Sensible lad?” she said, lifting the last of her packs onto the cart, “Is she expecting me to come back married?”

“No, just engaged – but I’d say you’re lucky. Mother suggested that I spend the summer with you in Buckland.”

“But don’t you need to be here to help Father with the harvest?”

“That’s what I told her – she suggested that we get hired help instead, but Father disagreed. Said, ‘There’ll be plenty of time for the boy to find a wife later on, he needs to work here at home!’ For once I’m glad to be working out in the fields this year.”

It was a day and a half after they set out that they finally arrived in mid-afternoon – the abode was not as big as the holes Estella had seen belonging to other esteemed families, such as the Thain or the Master of Buckland, but well enough. The Bolgers themselves were related to the Thain, but their own hole could not rival that of Great Smials.

After halting the pony beside the wooden gate, Estella had just enough time to read the painted words upon it – M. Brandybuck, Newbury, Buckland, in a scrawling script – before she heard two girlish shrieks resound from the front door. She looked to the door, but saw nothing, as Mentha and Melilot were already running up to greet them at the cart.

She heard, “Hello Estella!” but it seemed to be said in stereo, as the two girls were shouting it at once. She also heard, “Hello Fredegar,” said more coyly then before, with a gentler tone that didn’t blow her away. And this all happened before she even had time to look down and see who was addressing her.

She could immediately tell which one was which – from what she’d heard, both girls were young and flighty things, and she’d expected that as the older sister, Mentha would perhaps be more conservative, and more mature. Mentha was taller then her sister, with long, straight brown hair, pulled back behind her ears. Her deep blue dress was simply cut, not scandalously low – but lower than any dress Estella had.

Melilot however, was obviously the younger sister and baby of the family – her hair, the same color as her sister’s, resembled the curled fuzz Estella had always seen on newborn babes. It was cut just above her shoulders, and coiled around the pointed tip of her ears and down her neck. Her dress, light red and edged with lace, left almost nothing to the imagination – she looked back to see the brows above Fredegar’s eyes lift in astonishment. He looked away quickly to retrieve Estella’s baggage from the back of the cart.

“Hello Mentha, Melilot,” she said, jumping down from the cart to meet them – she was immediately bowled over with hugs.

“Oh, Estella, we’re so glad you’re here – you know, we never see enough of you, and you’re related to us and all!” Mentha exclaimed.

“Do you treat all your relatives like this, Estella dear? It’s terribly dreadful how you ignore us – is it because of our brother? Do you hate him?” Melilot chimed in after her sister.

Estella had never met their brother, and only knew that he was named Merimas – she said nothing though, only smiled. Whether she denied it or not, the girls would assume that she had eyes for their brother.

“I’ll just take these into the house, Estella,” Fredegar said, carrying the packs over his shoulder, “Then, I, uh – I guess I’ll be off.”

“Oh no, you mustn’t!” Melilot shrieked, running up to grab his arm, “You must stay at least for supper, if not dinner as well!”

Fredegar looked as if someone had asked him to jump off the Brandywine Bridge – he looked down at Melilot, with fear in his eyes. But he accepted to stay nonetheless.

“Our father and brother are both out in the fields right now, so you can greet them when they come in for supper – we’ll show you to your room, if you like,” the two girls said simultaneously. Estella nodded, not knowing exactly what to say.

Dumping her packs into the spare bedroom, Mentha dragged Estella into her bedroom, Melilot following behind – they ignored Fredegar, who stood in the living room, rubbing his arm from where Melilot had grabbed it so forcefully.

Upstairs, it was apparent that the girls had the same idea as to the purpose of this visit as Estella’s mother had. Having shoved her onto the bed bearing a quilt of pink and green, they immediately started into their plans for the next week or so. “So tomorrow, we’ll go over to Uncle Seredic’s – you can meet our cousins, Doderic and Ilberic – and Celandine, you’ll love her! Although we usually call her Cellie – but she’s our favorite cousin, by far!”

“By far!” Melilot chimed in.

“And the daughters of the Thain –”

“Pearl, Pimpernel and Pervinca!”

“– will be coming next month to Brandy Hall, we’ll see them then!”

“And Peregrin too!” Melilot added, giggling.

“Oh, I know him already, though –” Estella said meekly, before being interrupted.

“And you can meet our Uncle Merimac, and cousin Berilac!”

“He’s really nice!”

“And I’m sure you’ve already met Uncle Saradoc – and Merry, of course!”

“Everybody knows him!”

“And next month, Merry’s going to have his thirty-eighth birthday party at Brandy Hall!”

“So of course, we’re going!”

“And you’re going too!”

“Everybody’ll be there – including Everard Took!”

“Don’t mind her Estella, she’s got eyes only for him – and he’s five years older than she!” Mentha said, grabbing Estella’s shoulder.

“Doesn’t that sound exciting, Estella?”

Estella admitted that it did, indeed, and fearfully allowed them to braid her hair.

That evening, after meeting with their mother, Ambrosia, the girls introduced Estella to their brother and father – Marmadas seemed kind, and shook the hands of both Estella and Fredegar – he kissed his daughters’ foreheads, looking disapprovingly at Melilot’s attire, but saying nothing. His son Merimas said little – “Hello,” was all she could remember him saying to her. He was rather tall, and handsome as well – Mentha had told Estella that he was the strong, silent type.

“Mellie, dear,” Ambrosia said to her youngest daughter, “Would you please get changed for supper? That dress is quite filthy – wear your green dress, the one I just cleaned today. I’ve laid it out on your bed.” The dress was spotlessly clean, however, Melilot trudged up the stairs, a look of contempt on her stubborn face.

Supper that night was an elegant affair – Mrs. Brandybuck prepared a fine meal with roast duck, and a large assortment of steamed vegetables – carrots, beets and corn. Dinner conversation was pleasant too.

Fredegar spoke with Marmadas about the upcoming harvest – Merimas kept to himself, saying nothing – Mentha and Melilot carried on a discussion with Estella, though Estella said very little – Ambrosia merely took little bits of her food, adding comments here and there.

Fredegar bid the family goodbye, as he prepared to leave, Estella following him out to the stables.

“I hope you’ll be able to survive those two,” he said, motioning his head back at the hole, “They’re quite the pair.”

Estella laughed. “I can’t say I’m particularly fond of them – but I think we’ll get along. If only they wouldn’t talk about what lads we’ll be visiting while I’m here.”

“Well, don’t visit too many lads – I wouldn’t want my baby sister to go off and get married without my consent.”

“I’m surprised at you, Fatty! Thought you knew me better than that.”

“Well, you never know – Mentha and Melilot’s attitudes may rub off on you, and you’ll be crazy for every boy you see. Interesting though – Mellie’s the same age as you, but doesn’t act half as mature.”

“Doesn’t dress half as mature, either – but I think you noticed that before, eh?”

Fredegar chuckled softly, running his hands through his hair. “You saw that, then?”

“And you were above her, after all,” Estella said, grinning maliciously.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, but laughed anyway. He swiftly kissed Estella on the forehead, shook the reins for the pony to move. Estella waved and receded within the comfortable hole.

Flowers, Gems And Estella - Chapter XIV

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The next morning, after Fredegar had knocked on the door of Brandy Hall, arousing the sleeping Merry out of bed to request a place to sleep for the night, the two of them once again sat on the edge on the Brandywine Bridge, with their fishing poles bobbing on the surface, catching nothing.

“Are they always that scary?” he asked of Merry.

“You have no idea – I don’t think I know one lad whom they haven’t flirted with. Did you notice anything about Mellie’s attire? She’s rather notorious for that sort of thing.”

Fredegar grinned slightly, and looked down at his feet as they dangled over the side of the bridge. “As hard as I tried, I can’t say I didn’t notice it.”

“Well, I recall once, when we were hosting some banquet at Brandy Hall, my father and I were greeting the guests at the door – we saw Mellie coming, with Mentha, and I looked to see a very surprised – and quite uncomfortable – look on my father’s face. So I whispered to him, ‘Just try to ignore it.’ My mother had a different response to it, though.”

“What’d she say?”

Merry cleared his throat, and talked in a hoarse manner so as to imitate his mother. “I don’t like what that young lass is wearing – she may have all the lads looking at her, but that’s no way to land a decent husband!”

Merry, feeling a tug on his fishing line, reeled it in – a tiny grayling was attached to it. “Say, that’s the biggest thing I think I’ve ever caught!”

Not far away, early morning sunlight was streaming into the guest bedroom of a hobbit hole in Newbury – Estella’s eyes fluttered open briefly, before she pulled the quilt over her head. She didn’t get to keep it over her for long – it was soon ripped away from her, leaving her uncovered and in her bedclothes.

She rose in a rage of fury, preparing to smack at her adversary. “I’ll get you for that, Fatty!” she mumbled sleepily, fists flying towards her unseen opponent.

“Calm down, Estella!” It was not the voice of her brother, but of a young girl – Estella opened her eyes and realized it was Melilot. “Good morning!” she chirped happily, dressed in a crimson nightgown.

“Is your favorite color red, or something?” Estella asked, wiping the sleep from her eyes.

“Yes,” she said, smiling happily, “It’s so vibrant, and reflects my fiery and passionate nature!”

“That’s lovely, Melilot.”

“Call me Mellie – everyone else does!”

“I noticed that,” she said, getting out of bed, “Is your sister awake?”

“No, I’m always the first to get up – I always try to get everyone else up, but I think they’ve learned to ignore me – so, I always wake our guests up!”

No matter where Estella went – into the kitchen, into the living room – Melilot followed her, always with a cheerful smile on her face. It was when she was about to go into the bathroom that the girl asked, “Is your brother always that shy?”

“What? Oh, well – not always. But I guess – around lasses he’s never met, he might be a little bashful.”

“But I’ve met him before!”

“Yeah, but – not in your own home. You know, how you react to someone differently, because you’re at their home, instead of out in public?”

“Oh –”

“And it probably had something to do with your dress,” she muttered quietly as she went into the bathroom.

After breakfast that morning, Estella barely had time to bid good morning to Mr. and Mrs. Brandybuck before she was grabbed by her arms and dragged outside of the house.

“You have to meet Doderic and Ilberic and Cellie!” they said, “We’ve told them all about you, and they’re just dying to meet you!”

Indeed, they had been told in advance about Estella’s coming – but, they didn’t seem to want so badly to meet her that they might die at any given moment.

Doderic and Ilberic were both working out in the fields with their father Seredic when the girls arrived – and being that her mother was gone to market, Celandine was the only one present to greet Estella.

“So this is the famous Estella. These two,” Celandine said, gesturing towards Mentha and Melilot, “Have been talking about nothing else, since they decided to invite you.”

“Yeah, me too,” Estella said, nodding her head, “Once I got the letter, I could hardly wait to get out here and – meet you all.”

“Well, we’re just bouncing off the walls with happiness too! We’re so glad you’ve come!” Melilot chirped.

“But don’t you work with your brothers out in the field?” Estella asked.

Both Mentha and Melilot looked dazed and confused at the thought of this – the silence was broken only when Mentha laughed aloud. “That Estella! Isn’t she the greatest?”

“The absolute greatest!” Melilot chimed in, “I mean, of course we don’t work in the fields – we could get dirt under our fingernails, or something!”

“Worse, even!” Mentha said next, “Why, what if our future husbands saw us as such – all filthy, with dirt on our face and dresses – I don’t think they’d be our future husbands much longer! Right, Estella?”

“Well, sometimes I help my father with the harvest – when he’s plowing, I’ll walk in front of the pony, while he directs the plow behind – nothing too hard, I don’t think he wants to work me too hard.”

Whatever confusion the two had experienced before was now put to shame – they looked as if Estella had just told them that they might never marry.

“Oh, goodness girls, you know Estella’s just joking!” Celandine said just in time, “I know, why don’t you two rush upstairs to my room and get a dress of mine – you know, the green one with the beads – so we can show it to Est –”

It was unnecessary for her to say more, for the two girls were already rushing up the stairs, giggling and eager to please their favorite cousin.

“Relish in this moment, Estella – you won’t get many of them.”

“Sorry?”

Celandine chuckled softly. “Haven’t been with them long enough? You’ll get the hang of it – eventually. Just be glad you’re not a Bucklander, or you’d have to put up with those fools all the time.”

“Well, three months’ time isn’t a walk in the park either.”

“That all? Three months is nothing next to twenty-six years, believe me.”

“You’re only twenty-six?” Celandine nodded. “Hmm. Perhaps it’s just in comparison with your cousins, but you seem very mature for your age.”

“I try to be – as I see it, as long as I’m not like them, I’m fine. And –” She was cut off though, by the shouting of voices from the upstairs.

“We couldn’t find the dress you wanted, Cellie! You and Estella want to come up here, and help us find it?”

Celandine sighed. “If these two ever annoy you, you’re always welcome here,” she said quickly, before running towards the stairs, “It’s hanging in the closet! I’ll just come up there!”

Estella shook her head, grinning, and followed her new friend up the stairs.

Flowers, Gems And Estella - Chapter XV

Estella had only been in Buckland a week when Celandine took it upon herself to help find a suitable dress to wear to Merry’s upcoming birthday party.

“You really don’t need to help me with this, Celandine,” Estella said, sitting in a chair next to the bed, “I have lots of dresses, I’m sure one of them will be just fine for the party – which isn’t for another five weeks!”

Only the bottom half of Celandine could be seen – the rest of her was busy looking through the closet. Every now and then a garment would fly above her head and over onto the bed. “I know, but that only gives us five weeks to find something nice – I mean really nice – for you to wear! Who knows how long that’ll take?”

Estella rose from the chair, and walked over behind Celandine. “Why are you so set on having me look stunning? And why aren’t you so concerned with what you’re going to wear?”

“Because, Estella,” she said from the closet, as a dress hit Estella in the face, “I see my cousins, nearly every single day! Whereas you – well, I think you should look nice, especially nice. And as my guest, I owe it to you to try and help you.”

“Did Mentha and Mellie set you up to this?”

“Them? No, I didn’t get it from them – I think they’re too concerned with what they’re going to wear to even care about what you’re going to wear.”

Estella walked over to the bed, and picked up several dresses, looking at them – holding them in front of her, and gazing in the mirror. “What’s wrong with all these?” She held a lovely red velvet dress up to her neck. “I think this one’s quite nice.”

“That one’s all wrong for you – that’s a dress Mellie lent to me, notice the low bodice? You don’t want to look fast in front of Merry, do you?”

“What’s so important about me looking nice for Merry?”

Celandine rose up from within the closet, a slight grin on her face. “Well – I mean, it’s not just Merry, you want to look nice for all the lads, don’t you? Now, I don’t mean you have to be like Mellie or Mentha, and flaunt yourself in front of everyone there,” she said quickly, “But – well, I don’t mean to butt in – but doesn’t it sound nice to fall in love with a lad, and marry him?”

“You’re starting to sound like my mother – this is like her difference between lads and lasses speech.”

“I’m just saying, Estella,” Celandine said, returning to the closet, “You’re old enough to marry – so why not take advantage of a good thing, when it comes up and slaps you in the face?”

“I wasn’t expecting love to just up and slap me in the face.”

Celandine laughed heartily. “It’s more like a kick in the gut, really – now, I don’t claim to have been really in love, like I wanted to marry him – but, I’ve had my share of kisses under the moonlight.”

Later that evening, after Mentha and Melilot had decided it was high time for a visit to Brandy Hall to introduce their new visitor, a cartload of six hobbits – Estella, Celandine, Doderic, Ilberic, Mentha and Melilot – rolled off of the little road leading to Newbury, and onto the main road that lead to Crickhollow and Bucklebury.

Bucklebury was the town nearest to Brandy Hall, and the largest in Buckland – like Tuckborough and Long Cleeve, it had originally been established as a market and meeting place for members of the large families, in this case the Brandybucks at Brandy Hall. Before long-term settlements were established in other parts of the Shire – as Buckland was the first area settled hundreds of years earlier – many Brandybuck lads found their wives here and in Crickhollow, the closest and oldest town.

It was early evening when they arrived outside the large hole, which looked to contain at least four floors – upon entering the foyer, the large room looked to encompass the first two floors, with an elegant cut-crystal chandelier, which shook slightly as the door closed behind them, causing little droplets of light to splash around the walls.

“You came on an evening when my parents were gone visiting,” Merry said as he met them in the living room, “I believe they’ve gone to Great Smials – business with the Thain and all.”

“Oh, that’s fine, Merry,” Melilot said, her hands wringing, “We’ll see them at the birthday party, anyway. I, uh – I wasn’t expecting to see them here.” She pulled at her dress, making sure it was low as possible.

Celandine rolled her eyes discreetly. “Well, we were showing Estella here around – I believe you know her, Merry.”

“Oh yes, Estella and I go way back – what was it I did to you? Pushed you down at hill or something?”

“And into the river too!” Estella shouted, then looked around, remembering herself, “I mean, it was so long ago – no hard feelings.”

“Well, you and I also danced at Sam and Rosie’s wedding – we were both in the wedding party, you were the maid of honor, I believe.”

Estella felt her cheeks blush slightly. “Why yes, I remember that – um, quite nice, it was, I suppose.” She waved herself with her hand. “It’s quite warm in here – may I be excused for some fresh air?”

“Of course,” Merry said, standing up, “I’ll go with you.”

“Oh no, that’s no necessary, I wouldn’t want you to, uh – to strain yourself over me. I’ll be just fine,” she said, then promptly left.

It was a cool and balmy summer night outside – a light breeze was blowing, with the scent of wildflowers adrift. Estella sat under a willow tree not far from the Hall, the overhanging boughs swaying gently before her like a soft green curtain.

Perhaps what Celandine said is true – maybe I do need to think about getting married sometime soon. But if that’s the way I behave in front of a lad, I’ll be getting nowhere fast! But it was only Merry – and I don’t plan to marry him anytime soon! It was just very hot – and Merry, talking about when we were young – nobody wants to have the most embarrassing moments of their lives talked about like tha –

Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard footsteps coming towards her – she rose from the ground quickly, wiping off the front of her dress. She looked up to see that it was Merry, brushing aside the willow branches.

“I, uh – I got my fresh air, so I’m ready to go in now,” she said, walking past him quickly.

“Hold on, you don’t have to go yet – there’s nothing wrong with the two of us out here, sitting and talking, is there?” She didn’t stop walking. “Is this because you’re afraid of me?”

His words made her stop, and look back with a look of annoyance on her face. “And why, would I be afraid of you?”

He grinned. “Well, there’s several reasons – you’re afraid I might push you into the river, in which case I assure you that you’ll be just fine with me – you’re afraid I might embarrass you with more juvenile stories, and if it bothers you so much I’ll cease and desist – or, and this one is the most unbelievable of all, you’re madly in love with me, and afraid to admit your feelings.”

“Of all the most – vile concoctions!”

“I’ll take it then it’s not the third one.”

“It most certainly is not!”

“Then which one?”

“None of them! I’m not the least bit afraid of you, Meriadoc Brandybuck! And that you would think that – ooh!” She stormed off towards Brandy Hall alone.

Merry said nothing, only smiled to himself, and followed Estella – from a distance.

Flowers, Gems And Estella - Chapter XVI

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Estella was still fuming the next day, but only told Celandine when she was over to her house shortly after breakfast. She had been successful in losing Mentha and Melilot to a visiting friend of their father’s – apparently, Rosie’s mother had been right in saying that Sancho Proudfoot’s father was quite the looker, if Sancho looked anything like his father.

“And now, Merry no doubt thinks I’m in love with him!” Estella said, putting down the embroidery she had been working on.

“If I know my cousin – and I like to think that I do – he may seem heartless and mischievous on the outside, but he’s a sweet and thoughtful gentlehobbit on the inside.”

“He’s about as sweet and thoughtful as a thorn bush.”

“Yes, but don’t thorn bushes often have roses?”

Celandine continued talking, about the upcoming party, and about Merry – she didn’t even notice her brothers Doderic and Ilberic appear in the doorway, as her back was turned towards them. Putting their fingers to their lips to signal Estella, who got the message, they sneaked towards Celandine, still submerged in the closet.

“So, we’re going to need to put up your hair – maybe a bun? Perhaps a twist, with curls hanging down around your face. What do you think, Estella? You haven’t said too much.”

She was lifted off her feet then, screaming with fear, as Doderic and Ilberic carried her over to the bed and proceeded to tickle her.

“Stop! Stop!” she laughed, kicking at them.

“Not unless you do us a little favor, baby sister,” they said maliciously.

Since Estella had met them, she’d seen Doderic and Ilberic play several pranks on Celandine, Melilot and Mentha – she supposed they hadn’t played any of her because she was a guest. Though they never went to far with a joke, they were still good fun to be around.

“What’s the favor you want?” Celandine said breathlessly.

“Well, while Estella is downstairs, talking to Merry – by the way Estella, Merry’s here, he says he wants to talk to you – you, baby sister, are going to get something for us.”

“You mean steal?” Celandine asked.

“What does he want to talk about?” Estella asked.

“He didn’t say – probably about last night, or something,” Ilberic said, turning towards her while still gripping Celandine by the arm.

Estella sighed. “Does everybody know about that?”

“Well, everybody who’s anybody – or just us, you know. Don’t worry, Mellie and Mentha don’t know – or else all of Buckland would know before nightfall,” Doderic said.

“You sure you don’t want to help me out here, Estella?” Celandine, held by the arms between her two brothers, said.

Estella laughed. “Nah, I think I’ll go down, and, uh – see what Merry wants.”

Doderic and Ilberic marched Celandine out the room and into the hallway to, Estella assumed, their bedrooms. Estella watched them until they were out of sight, then retreated downstairs.

Merry was in the living room, looking out the window with his hands behind his back – he was adjusting his weight from one foot to another, as if nervous. Estella laughed, attracting Merry’s attention – he looked to see her standing at the bottom of the staircase.

“Hello, Estella,” he said, smiling wide, “Um – how are you today?”

“Fine, I guess – um, and you?”

“Oh, I’ve been great! Pip came over after you all left last night and we went out for a drink, and had a bit too much. As a result, Pip and I – well, maybe I shouldn’t tell you that part. But we went fishing early this morning, and Pip caught a huge grayling – I didn’t catch anything, though. But – you don’t really want to hear this, do you?”

“Oh, it’s not so bad – but I don’t think that’s what you came to talk about.”

“Well, no. I, uh – I wanted to apologize, for last night. It wasn’t very big of me, or very courteous – I, uh, I realize I’m not an eleven-year-old anymore, and should behave as the adult that I am – my birthday’s coming up, and I’ll be almost forty, so I am beyond such childish deeds –”

“Is Frodo there at Brandy Hall?”

“Excuse me?”

“Frodo. At Brandy Hall. Am I right?”

“Oh yeah, he’s there – he’s visiting with us, because my parents are gone I guess. Maybe he thinks Pip and I need supervision, because he came as soon as Pip did.”

“Thought so. Your apology wasn’t very – Merry-esque, if that’s even a word.”

“Guess not – well, um, what are you, uh – doing this evening?”

“Oh? You mean me and Celandine, and her brother – and Mellie and Ment –”

“Um, I guess – I was, just thinking about, um – just you. But we can have supper here, and dinner too – now that I think about, it would be better here, and we don’t have to be alone, and –”

“Merry! You still here?”

Estella looked up to see Doderic, Ilberic and Celandine at the top of the staircase, making their way down to the living room.

“Merry, you must stay for supper!” Celandine said, running down the stairs, “Mother is making steamed beets, your favorite!”

“Sounds delicious – I was just talking to Estella about my staying for the evening, as she suggested that I dine with you all tonight – if that’s okay with you?”

“Why certainly!” Celandine said, “Estella comes up with all the great ideas – you did apologize to her, didn’t you? She told me how immature you behaved last night!”

“Well, that must be a quality of all Brandybucks, as I’ve known quite a few occasion where you – and you two as well,” he said, gesturing to Doderic and Ilberic, “Acted quite immature yourselves!”

“Ha! When was that – when you convinced us to replace the flour with salt, and ruined your mother’s birthday cake?” Ilberic said, “Sorry Merry, but that counts are your stupidity too.”

“No actually, my dear cousin,” Merry said, patting him on the back, “I was thinking of the time when you and Doderic – while my father and I were plowing the fields – decided to tamper with the pony that was pulling the plow.”

“I-I don’t know what y-you’re talking about,” Doderic said, his hands and face sweating, “Telling lies will get you nowhere, Merry – right, Estella?” Estella looked up, surprised they had been talking to her – she looked confused, and thoroughly believed that Doderic was lying.

“Oh, it’s not a lie – you snuck up behind us, with a very hot metal rod, gotten from the blacksmith’s I suppose – and stuck it –”

“That’s enough!” the two of them shouted, rushing to cover Merry’s mouth with their hands, “I think we all know what happens next, so there’s no need for you to go any further with this story – so let’s just eat now!”

They all headed towards the back of the hole, except for Merry, who stayed behind and looked hopeful that Estella might do the same. She noticed this, and stopped, speaking to him. “Merry?”

“Um, before we go in to eat,” he said, pointing towards the kitchen – he looked down at his feet, and sighed, “I really am sorry – I don’t know what got into me, but it was something very immature. There’s going to be absolutely no more of that – no more of what happened last night. And this time, it isn’t Frodo speaking.”

“Well, then it’s not Frodo that I forgive – I’ve done stupid things too, I think, immature things that I regretted later on. Our minds must think alike, then.”

“Guess so,” he said, grinning largely, “So, you don’t hate me?”

She shook her head, almost laughing. “I never hated you, Merry – sometimes, I think I like the jokes that you play. As long as they’re not played on me – you know, on people like Doderic or Ilberic, someone who would appreciate it – or at least no hate it. Especially since they deserve it.”

“So you do hate that?”

“Well – no, not really. As long as it’s never anything like pushing me in a river – you know, just making minor verbal humor, a pun or something – something everyone can laugh at. No one’s that heartless – me, least of all.”

“Well, that’s, uh – that’s nice to know. Thanks.”

“For what?”

“I don’t know,” he said, laughing, “Just – thanks.” He cleared his throat – the others were probably waiting for them. “Lasses first, then.” He held out his hands in a gesture of courtesy.

Estella smiled as she headed into the kitchen, Merry following her.

Flowers, Gems And Estella - Chapter XVII

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Celandine, although having never gone fishing, was completely in favor of such a venture for her and Estella, as well as Doderic, Ilberic and Merry. Estella suspected that this last name was the reason Celandine so urged her to come with – it was never denied.

“Don’t you want to go fishing, Estella – you’ve never been before, and it’s so much fun! We need something to do until Merry’s birthday party – three weeks seems like three years when you’ve nothing to do!”

“But you’ve never been either, how would you know?”

“Well – Doderic and Ilberic. They said that we would both like it a lot, so they invited us.”

“But didn’t you invite us?”

“No, of course not – well, the two of them were talking about it, and I asked if we could come – they said yes, and that we would love it! And Pippin will come too!”

“But don’t only lads go fishing?”

“That’s just the stereotype that we need to diminish, Estella, by doing something that us lasses don’t normally do.”

“But last night, you said you would never talk to your brothers ever again – right after they dragged you off to their room, because they wanted you to steal them something?”

“Oh, that? Well, it all worked out – it wasn’t really anything, the thing they wanted. Don’t worry about, okay?”

“You sure? It’s not about something else?”

“Absolutely certain. We’re going fishing, and you’re going to have lovely time – and then later this evening we’re going to the Midsummer’s’ Festival, and you’ll have a good time there too!”

“Oh, yeah – forgot about that. How many festivals do you all have, anyways?”

“Well – at least one during each season, two in the fall, because of harvest.”

“Why all the extravagant galas?”

“Us Brandybucks,” Celandine said, shaking her head, “We like to get together, I guess. It gives us an excuse to escape those that we see every day, and see those that we don’t see every day. For instance, my brothers will go there to find wives, while my father will go there to escape his.”

“I’ll probably have to spend the whole evening with Mentha and Mellie.”

“Well, you’ve done pretty good to avoid them lately – seems like you come over here every day, with some tale of how a young lad they met distracted them, and you were able to escape.”

“Let’s hope I can do it again tonight.”

The day’s fishing did not merit any actual fish, but the trek itself had been enjoyable enough. It was a warm and bright summer, as the five of them sat on the Brandywine Bridge, dangling their legs over the edge, and watching as their fishing poles distorted the otherwise clear reflections. Estella watched as ripples passed over her own face, causing it to fade into a blurred image – when it came back, it still carried the same bored expression. She had to admit it was not the fun Celandine had promised. Nothing much was said during the course of the day, and they left empty-handed.

“So – how do you all think the fishing went today?”

The eight of them – Estella, Celandine, Merry, Pippin, Doderic, Ilberic, Mentha and Melilot – sat at a table that evening, sipping drinks. For Estella, it was no more exciting than the fishing had been – she wasn’t surprised that no one had seemed to even hear her speak. Doderic and Ilberic said nothing – Mentha and Melilot were staring at a group of lads gathered on the edge of the dance floor. Frodo was also present at the festival, but absent from their own table – it seemed many years since he had actually taken part in childish antics such as theirs, even less so since he and the others had come back from – well, wherever. Estella had to admit she still did not know where it was they had gone.

“Good, bad?” Estella repeated.

Celandine looked over at the lads, and turned back to Estella, rolling her eyes. “Hey guys!” she yelled at them.

They looked up, surprised. Pippin had been in the middle of sipping a drink from his mug – ale dripped down his chin as he looked to Celandine. Doderic, beside him, seemed almost offended. “What’s up, Sis?” he said cattily.

“Well, Estella just said something – I think it’s rude that you all aren’t listening to her. Right, Merry?”

Merry looked up from staring at his mug of ale. “Huh?”

“I was just saying,” she said, nodding her head towards Estella, “That Estella seemed rather bored today. She’s not used to our – traditions. They probably don’t do a lot of fishing in Bywater, being that they don’t have the Brandywine like we do, eh?” Celandine said, taking a big swig from her drink.

“Well, we have the Bywater Pool – and The Water, which is only a little stream, hardly any fish to be had from that, really. So, I guess we only enjoy fish every once in a while, when my father buys some from the market, on Fridays – but, we sometimes go swimming, in the shallows of the pool. It’s usually just the younger hobbits, none of the older ones really like water.”

“Swimming! Of course, we can go – hic – swimming tomorrow!” she said, slamming her mug on the table in her excitement. A brown liquid spilled out of it onto the table. “Say, that doesn’t – hic – look like water – but swimming! We can go right now! Oh, but we’re not dressed for it! Estella, you’ve got – hic – such a pretty dress on, I wouldn’t want it to be ruined! Isn’t Estella’s dress absolutely – hic – gorgeous, Merry?”

Merry had been staring at his cousin in astonishment at her actions. “Um, yeah – it’s, real pretty. A lovely shade of blue. Are you okay, Celandine?”

“Me? Why, I’m perfectly – hic – fine, dear Meriadoc!” she said, raising her mug in the air, and taking a long sip from it, “Mmm – nice, very nice that is. Estella – did I ever tell you, that you’re my – hic – best friend, in the whole Shire – no, the whole world, even!”

Celandine was waving her mug around, and taking long, extended drinks from it – and acting quite giddy, as well.

“Oh no,” Merry said, a grave look on his face.

“What?” Estella asked, “What is it?”

“She’s drunk – her mug. She got water, but someone’s switched it.”

“Doderic and Ilberic,” Estella said, noticing that the two lads in question were missing, as were Mentha and Melilot. She looked to the dance floor, and saw them waltzing with two unknown lasses – she also saw Pippin near the floor, and recognized the girl he was talking with as the one he’d danced with at the wedding, Diamond Took.

Merry grabbed Celandine’s mug, and stuck his finger in it – he brought it out, and tasted the brown liquid. “Ale,” he concluded.

“What? But – well, wasn’t that what you were drinking? How come you didn’t get drunk from it?”

“She drank it too quick – she must have still thought it was her water, though I don’t know why she didn’t notice the different taste of it. Come on, she’ll make a fool of herself if we leave her here.”

Each grabbing an arm, Merry and Estella were able to steer a tipsy Celandine away from the throng – a deserted table sat under a tree on the outskirts of the party, bathed in dim light. Estella sat with her, while Merry hurried off to retrieve some water.

“Well, I guess I should watch what I drink around Doderic and Ilberic from now on – who knows what I may already have ingested?” Estella said.

Celandine smiled, and laughed quietly to herself. She looked up at Estella, as if never having seen her before. “Hey – I’ve seen you before,” she said, pointing to her.

“Yes, Celandine – I’m Estella, remember?”

“No, I saw you – hic – at the wedding thing, for Rosie-Posie and Sammy-Wammy. You were – hic – in the wedding party, weren’t you?”

“Yes, yes I was,” she said, taking a handkerchief from the pocket of her dress and wiping it across Celandine’s sweat drenched face.

“You were – hic – very pretty. I remember, seeing you and Merry – hic – dance together.”

“Yes, I remember that. Anyway, Merry says that you’ll be fine soon – perhaps in a few hours, when you sleep it off.”

“Good lad, he – hic – is.”

“Oh yes! Very nice, I suppose – nice of him to help you out, in your condition.”

“Mm-hmm – he likes you, you know.”

“Oh? Well, that’s nice – I like him too. He’s not really that bad, once you get to know him. He jokes around a bit, but –”

“No, no, Estelly Welly!” she said, waving her hands about, “No, he really likes you! He told me – hic – himself, you know!” She giggled after she’d said this.

“What?” Estella said, confused.

“I know, I know! I don’t – hic – understand either!” she laughed giddily, “But that’s what Merry-dear said – oh, he’s such a – hic – dear isn’t he? My favorite cousin!” she said, her arms flailing through the air like a bird.

“C-celandine – maybe, you s-should calm down –”

“No, no, no! I – I have to tell you this! Doddie and Ilbie, they – hic – told me, on the day Merry-dear came to talkie to you! And they took – hic – me to their roomie – they said they wanted to stealie something! Those two jokers, they’re so – hic – funny!”

“W-what are you t-talking about?”

“And in their roomie, they told me, about why Merry-dear was there – he said to them, that he liked you, and wanted to – hic – get to know you better, silly head!” She laid back her head in laughter. “But Merry-dear said not to tell you – hic – so I shouldn’t tell you. But I already – hic – did that, didn’t I?”

Estella silently nodded.

“So, Estelly, you – hic – should get to know Merry-dear, for he’s such a sweetie. And if you – hic – married him, you and I would be cousins! Estelly and Merry! Estelly and Merry! That rhymes –” she said softly, before slumping over in a drunken slumber.

Estella sat there, saying nothing, staring at Celandine’s snoring form.

“Is she asleep?”

She looked up upon hearing the voice – it was Merry coming back, bearing two mugs of water. He handed one down to her. “Here, thought you might want a drink too. Do you have a handkerchief?”

“Oh, yes,” she said, taking from a pocket of her dress a lacy handkerchief. She handed it to him, and took from him the mug of water, saying, “Thank you.”

“So, how has she been? Anything ridiculous that she blathered on about?” he said, smiling – he dipped the handkerchief into his own mug of water, and with it dampened Celandine’s sweat-drenched brow.

“Oh, um – no, nothing. She, uh – she fell asleep, almost as soon as you left.”

“Good, I’d hoped she’d be able to sleep it off.”

“That’s why she wanted me to go fishing today,” Estella whispered softly.

“What about fishing?” Merry said, looking up at her.

“Oh – um, Celandine. She told me why – why she wanted to go fishing so badly. Before she fell asleep that is.”

“What’d she say – were you even able to understand it?”

“She, uh – she said, because she wanted to go swimming. She didn’t really like the fishing part, but she’d hoped that we could go swimming later.”

Merry only laughed. “Probably just part of her intoxication – nothing that makes any sense, I’m sure.”

“Yeah – nothing.”

Flowers, Gems And Estella - Chapter XVIII

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Celandine awoke and sat up in her bed, looking groggy and tired from her antics the previous evening – Estella sat by the nearby window, which was shaded over, making the room look dark. She didn’t mind though, as Estella regaled to her what had transpired at the festival last night.

“So,” Celandine said eventually, “How drunk was I?”

“Well, it was one whole glass of ale that you drank, and it was pretty quickly – how did you not notice that it wasn’t your usual water?”

“I don’t know – I don’t really remember that much. Now, I know I noticed that it was rather sweet, but it wasn’t that bad, and I liked it – so I just kept drinking,” she said miserably, holding her hand in her hands. She looked up to say, “What happened afterwards – what all happened that I don’t remember?”

Estella paused for a moment, considering telling what really had happened – that she had told a great secret, concerning her and Merry. “Nothing, really – I think you went on about wanting to go swimming, or something crazy like that. It didn’t make sense, and you kept hiccupping – so I just ignored it as nothing that really mattered.”

“Really?” she said, a small but bright smile on her face, “Well, if that was all – I was thinking I might have done something to embarrass myself, or you – or maybe even both of us!”

“No, it was okay – Merry was there, he said you’d be fine. I suppose he’s been around Pippin when he’s drunk, so he knew what to do.”

“Or maybe he’s the one who gets drunk often, you know,” she said, smiling through her fatigue. Estella took the cue and left her to sleep off the still lingering drunkenness. Softly closing the bedroom door behind her, she left her alone and retreated downstairs – where in the living room, she found to her horror, Mentha and Melilot.

“Estella!” they said upon seeing her, “I suppose you’ve come over to see Cellie as well?”

“Yes, I did – the same for you two?” she said pensively.

“Yes, but not to comfort her, as it seems you have,” Mentha said.

“We think it’s perfectly terrible what she did – when a lass gets drunk, she deserves all the embarrassment she can get!”

“It’s very unbecoming of her, so we came over, to talk with her about this!”

“She’s quite the wild cousin, you know!”

“The wildest Brandybuck there ever was!”

“No, that would be her brothers,” Estella said, her voice unable to be heard over the two lasses.

“Now don’t think that we’re going to punish her, Estella dear!”

“But we want to have a serious talk with her – set her straight, you know!”

“You know,” Estella spoke up, “You’re absolutely right, about the punishing thing – let’s not punish her, and let her parents do that, right?” she said, pushing the two of them out the door and following behind.

“Right, Estella!”

“But for now, let’s leave her alone – she’s awfully tired, we can reprimand her later!”

The three of them were now outside, where the late morning sunshine shone over the Shire’s rolling green hills and plains – there was no one around, for which Estella was glad.

“Well, I suppose you’re right there, Estella – but she’s not getting off, although we’ll let her alone for now. Hey, look!” Melilot said excitedly, pointing towards the dirt road leading up to the hole.

Estella looked, seeing before her a pony-driven wooden cart, with a cloud of brown dirt rising from the road behind it – she squinted her eyes in the bright sunlight, so as to see whom the two hobbits atop the cart were.

“Say, that looks like –”

“Peregrin Took!”

She looked down upon hearing the girlish screams, but the two lasses were already gone and running across the wide lawn to greet Paladin and Pippin Took. She followed them, running not nearly as fast as they, making it to the cart a good two minutes after they had.

“Morning, Misses Brandybucks, and Miss Bolger,” Paladin said, tipping his hat to the lasses, “May I ask where Mr. Seredic Brandybuck and his sons might be?”

“Oh yes! Uncle’s out in the fields with Doderic and Ilberic, and Cellie’s inside sleeping because last night she –”

“Tripped!” Estella said suddenly, “As we were leaving the festival, she tripped and hurt her foot!” She nudged Melilot in the side, who said nothing more.

“How dreadful,” Paladin said. Pippin nodded in agreement. “I hope she’s not too bad, is she?”

“Oh no, not at all – the poor girl’s probably going to be bedridden for the next day or so, but nothing terrible. No, it’s just a slight sore, not even a sprain, so she’ll be fine,” she said, smiling perhaps a little too brightly so as to emphasize her point.

“Well, that sounds perfectly wonderful,” Pippin said.

“Oh yes! Right on!” Mentha spoke up.

“Yeah, she’ll be fine – would you like to see her, Peregrin?” Melilot said.

“No thanks, if she’s as bad as you say, I won’t bother her,” he said, smiling rather fearfully. The two lasses were closing in on him, surrounding him as best as they could from the ground, while he was atop of the cart. Like two snarling beasts waiting to sink their claws in him – Mentha and Melilot had tangled with a one Peregrin Took before.

“Would you like to come inside, Peregrin?” Melilot said coyly.

“We can get you a drink after your long trip – you must be famished, can we get you some dates? I know they’re your absolute favorite fruit!”

“Do you even have any dates?” Pippin asked skeptically. Dates were not his favorite, anyway.

“Oh, I’m sure we can scrounge some up, right Mellie?”

The two lasses grabbed his arms and hauled him off the cart, pulling him towards the hole. Estella stayed behind, watching the scene with amusement.

“Peregrin always seems to have that effect on lasses,” Paladin said, grinning.

“Or maybe the lasses just have that effect on him – it could just be Mentha and Mellie, and their way with the lads,” she said, and waving to Paladin followed the three hobbits within the hole.

Mentha was sitting with Pippin on a comfortable couch in the living room, as Melilot was rummaging through the kitchen to complete the simple task of getting him a glass of water – to her, it was not as easy as it sounded.

“Estella, do you know where the glasses are?”

“I think they’re in the cabinet, Mellie,” she said, “Mentha, why don’t you help your sister – and Pippin, since they’re getting you a glass of water, surely you can do the same for them, right?”

Mentha smiled at her – Pippin’s face bore a dark look, as she dragged him into the kitchen. Estella watched from beyond the room their antics – it seemed very easy for Melilot to spill water all over the kitchen.

“Probably easier than it looks, though,” she heard a voice behind her say – she looked around to see none other than Doderic and Ilberic.

“You two!” she said, playfully punching their shoulders, “You switched Celandine’s drink, which is why she got drunk!”

“What, us?” they said, pretending to be offended, “Why ever would you think that we might do something like that, Estella?”

“Because you’re the only ones low enough to do something like that, and to your own sister! Merry and I had to take her away from the party, after you two ran off and left us all alone!”

“Oh – exactly how alone were the two of you?” Doderic asked slyly – Ilberic waved a nonchalant hand in his direction.

“Come off it, Dod, she doesn’t get what you’re talking about.”

“What? What it is he’s talking about? Is it about Merry liking me?”

Their heads did a double take as she said this – they turned to stare at her, surprised and confused at what she said.

“What? I just thought it was something she’d said in her state of drunkenness – nothing important and nothing true.”

They still stared at her – she expected them to disagree with her, which they didn’t.

“You mean it is true?” she asked disbelievingly.

They slowly nodded, still staring. Luckily there was a chair behind her, as she sat down without even looking to see if anything were below her – she stared ahead of her, much like Doderic and Ilberic had, but her eyes were glazed over, like they really weren’t perceiving anything that was in front of them.

“You weren’t supposed to know yet – guess telling Celandine was the wrong thing to do.”

“No,” Estella said softly, “No, it’s okay, I don’t mind knowing.”

“Yeah, but would Merry mind your knowing – especially when he wasn’t the one to tell you?”

“When was it that he told you?”

“The day he came to talk with you, the day after we visited him at Brandy Hall – when we got Celandine out of her room.”

“Merry first told us about it the night before, and we told Celandine while you were downstairs with him.”

“You know, I think I remember him advising us not to tell her.” Ilberic had a thoughtful look on his face as he said this.

“But what if I don’t feel the same?”

“We didn’t think you did – neither did Merry, but he was willing to keep his distance.”

“I feel bad, though – because I don’t feel the same way, I mean.”

“But that’s no reason to return the feelings, if you ever do. Don’t love Merry because you pity him – I don’t think he would want that.”

“That’s not the reason he loves you.”

“Why does he feel that way? Did he say exactly why he loves me?”

“Yeah – for quite a while.”

“But we don’t want to tell – cousin’s honor, you know.”

“Put it from your mind for now, though. You need give this time – you’re in shock, and for good reason. Think it over, consider the options – and make up your mind on how you feel about it.”

“How long will that take?”

“That, Estella, depends on you.”

Flowers, Gems And Estella - Chapter XIX

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“And then,” Pippin said, waving his arms through the hair to emphasize his point, “They dragged me in the kitchen, and proceeded to get me soaking wet, or as they called it, getting me a glass of water!” Pippin’s hair was still slightly damp as he told the story of his visit with Mentha and Melilot to Merry later on that day. “I don’t know how you can stand being related to them.”

“Oh yeah? Well, what about your sisters – I find them quite fearful, and there’s three of them! There’s only two of Mentha and Mellie.”

“Hmm,” Pippin pondered, his hand on his chin, “You have a point there. But still, they’re no walk in the park.”

Merry nodded in agreement. “So, you say Estella was there?”

Pippin sighed. “A hundred times, yes Merry! And no, she didn’t say anything to me – well, she did say something, but nothing more than hello, and why don’t you go in the kitchen with Mentha, Pippin?” he said, imitating Estella with a high-pitched girly voice that sounded nothing like her. “You sure about this – about how you feel for her, I mean?”

“I already told you, Pippin, I’ve never been more sure about anything else!”

“Well then, why don’t you tell her?”

“Because,” he stopped short here for a moment, “Because I don’t want to hurt her – it’s too soon, Pip. We’ve all been through too much, to be starting over this soon.”

“Well – it’s been a year, and we’re fine, aren’t we?”

“Maybe – but maybe not. I mean, we seem fine, on the outside – Frodo seems fine on the outside, but how can he possibly ever be that way, when you consider what he’s been through. And Sam – if Frodo’s not fine, then Sam never will be. He has Rose, and they’ll have a family, and some of that pain will heal – but not completely! And I – I will never forget the things that I saw.” He broke off, saying nothing else for quite a while – his eyes had a glazed look over them, and Pippin knew what it was he was seeing – a great and terrible battle, on the fields of Pelennor, where so many lives were lost. Families were torn apart, friends were gone forever – never again would their lives be the same, after such an experience.

“Merry?” Pippin asked quietly.

He jolted back to the present, not even aware that he’d gone off in a daze. “And what they went through – did you know, Pippin, that the Ruffians hung hobbits from the party tree?”

“Yes, Merry, unfortunately I did.”

“You don’t walk away from something like that, and still be able to keep an innocent mind about you, Pippin – it’s just not possible!”

“And that’s why you’re not going to admit your feelings to Estella until you think she’s ready?”

“Right – I don’t want to scare her away. For now, we’re just friends, and I’m good with that.”

Pippin laughed heartily. “You’re too slow with the lasses, Merry – but maybe it’s just because you’re so madly in love with the lass, whereas I hardly know Diamond.”

“Diamond?” Merry said intriguingly, his eyebrows raised, “And who might this Diamond lass be, dear Peregrin?”

Pippin only smiled, looking down at the glass of ale he held in his hand. “Well – okay. Her name’s Diamond Took, and she’s from up in Long Cleeve, near Scary. We’re distantly related, as she’s a descendent of Bandobras Took, brother of Ferumbras II from whom I’m descendant. Her family is rather like ours is in the East Farthing, only they’re in the North Farthing – they have something like Great Smials up there. We visit every now and then, about once a year – they come down in the fall months, we go up there in the spring. We knew each other, but I never really noticed her, until this most recent spring – the first spring after the Occupation, and after we came back.”

“And, as the saying goes, love flowered in Long Cleeve?”

“I’ve never heard of such a saying, but,” Pippin said, neither denying nor agreeing with statement, “Sort of. I invited her down to Hobbiton, to Sam and Rosie’s wedding – you saw her there, with me.” Merry nodded. “And, well – ever since, we’ve been seeing each other as often as we can. Not often, mind you, only about once or twice a month.”

“And you invited her to the Midsummer’s Festival. Well, Pip, it seems to me like you’re smitten – although I’m sure you’d say different.”

“Well – I wouldn’t mind being smitten with Diamond. She’s a sweet lass – we’ll just wait to see what happens, won’t we?”

Merry had several ideas as to what might happen if they waited – wait until she realized what a slob Pippin was, or wait until the two of them were married happily, with a shower of blossoms and the happy faces on family and friends looking on – it was still too early to tell, however. He said nothing, hoping not to put a damper on Pippin’s chipper enthusiasm.

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Adjusting her straw hat and looking around to see that no one was watching her, Estella snuck a ripe strawberry from her basket and cunningly stuck it in her mouth, savoring the delicious juice before swallowing it. Hearing now shriek of protest from Mentha and Melilot, she felt certain her deep had gone unnoticed.

“I saw that, Estella,” she heard Celandine say from across the way. She looked up to see the lass, standing on the other side of the row of strawberries, that they were currently picking from.

“And you’ve never snuck one yourself?” Estella said back to her, for not minutes ago she had witnessed Celandine doing the same thing not once, but twice. She moved the straw hat atop her head to shade out the bright summer sun, which had been shining in her eyes so as to prevent her from viewing the blameworthy look on Celandine’s face.

“Well, I didn’t say anything like, ‘Shame on you, Estella, for I have never taken a strawberry whilst picking them from the orchards,’ I just commented on the fact that I did see it – and I thought you were a good little lass,” she said, smiling slyly, “You and Merry certainly have more in common than I thought.”

‘“You mean he’s also stolen a strawberry or two?”

“Or two? Why, when he was twelve, he stole all the strawberries from the pantries of Brandy Hall – it was at a birthday party for his father, and by the end of the evening, he’d eaten nearly every one, and his plot was discovered when the cooks found him still in the pantry with sticky red juice that stained his face and clothes.”

“Wasn’t he at all sick?” Estella said with an almost worried look on her face.

“Concerned, dear Estella?” she said, once again smiling slyly as a slight chuckle escaped her mouth, “I remember him feeling quite sick, as it was nearly a full barrel of strawberries. His mother, I believe, was in favor of punishing him, but seeing the pain he was in with a terrible stomachache, she relented in allowing him to spend the next two days bedridden – I think all he had to do afterwards was sweep out the pantry from the mess he’d made, and collect more strawberries, most of which he ate. You’d have thought it was the worst punishment ever, from the way he was acting.”

Estella laughed heartily, continuing the pick the ripe red strawberries from the vine – she moved down the row, preparing to pick from a vine she thought was untouched. However, there was not a berry on it, or on the one next to it.

“Celandine, had you already picked this one?” Estella queried.

“No, I haven’t been on that side of the row at all,” she said, looking over at the vine, seeing that it was void of fruit, “Are you sure you hadn’t picked it?”

“I’m pretty sure, unless –” she broke off, noticing that the vine was quivering slightly, as if it were alive – muffled laughter issued from it, prompting Estella to look within the curling vines. Crouched below, his face covered with red juice, was Ilberic, giggling to himself as he slurped down strawberries.

“Hi, Estella,” he said, looking up, smiling innocently. He wiped sticky red juice from his mouth and chin, wiping it on his shirt, which was already stained.

“Hello, Ilberic,” she said back, attempting to look down on him with a stern face – an amused smile soon broke out on her face, though, running her façade, “Is Doderic around at all?” she asked.

“Uh, yeah,” he said, now standing up and wrenching himself out of the tangled row of vines – a flattened mass of green and red lay where he had been sitting earlier, “He’s, uh, he’s somewhere, around here – um, eating strawberries, I guess.”

“Here he is,” Celandine announced, standing a ways from Estella, looking down on Doderic’s form, crouched in the row similarly to his brother.

“Looks like the game is up, Ilb,” he said, dusting himself off upon standing and wiping sticky red fluid from his face.

“Estella the tattletale,” Doderic said threateningly, looking to Estella with offended eyes.

“Just like Celandine,” Ilberic said, agreeing.

“When have I ever been a tattletale? I think you two are just mad, because we outed you in your plot.”

“Oh yeah? Estella knows what we’re talking about, don’t you, Estella?”

“I do?” In truth, she knew exactly what they were talking about – Celandine’s bout of drunkenness, and her blabbing Merry’s secret of romantic feelings.

“Don’t fool us, Estella – remember when Celandine got drunk, and she told you a secret about you-know-who?”

Estella immediately looked to see if Mentha and Melilot were nearby – they were down the row a ways, far from earshot of their conversation, which was quickly becoming awkward for her.

“Go on, Estella, tell Celandine what we’re talking about,” Doderic said, looking at her with raised eyebrows.

“Yes, Estella, do tell,” Celandine said also – her face closely matched her brother’s, “I’m curious to know exactly what I said that you didn’t deem it necessary for me to know.” She crossed her arms sternly as she said this.

“Well, why are you looking at me like that? You’re the one who said it, and you’re the one who got drunk – not a very ladylike performance, don’t you think?”

“But I asked you if I’d said or done anything to embarrass myself, or to embarrass you, or anyone else that wasn’t Doderic or Ilberic!”

“Hey!”

“But it didn’t embarrass you, or me, or anybody else – not even your brothers, who would have deserved it anyway.”

“Hey!”

“Well then what was it?”

Estella sighed then, admitting that she had come upon the point where she would have to tell Celandine what she’d said, casting a severe look at Doderic and Ilberic beforehand. “Well, you two are certainly a big help to me – you said, at the party, in your inebriated state – well, it was a secret.”

“What? Did it involve me?” she asked, looking worried.

“No! No – it was a secret not your own. You said – you said something about Merry.”

“Yes?” she said, nodding further details.

“Something about Merry – liking me,” she finished, and lowered her head to prepare for the outburst she expected from Celandine.

“That’s all? Well, by the way you were acting I thought I’d said something terrible – something about me.”

Estella, Doderic and Ilberic all had the same expression on their faces – one of complete disbelief, that Celandine would take the news with such indifference.

“Aren’t you at all concerned?” Estella asked.

“Well, yeah, somewhat – I mean, you weren’t supposed to know that, but it’s okay, because you feel the same way, right?” Estella shook her head, a confused look on her face. “You don’t? But – but why?”

“Well, you can’t force love out of someone, just because you want them to feel that way – I like Merry as a really great friend, but nothing more. There’s nothing really the matter with that.”

“Exactly what we told you about, Estella – if you don’t feel the same way, then don’t make yourself love him out of pity. Very good, very good,” Doderic said, his expression very different from the one he’d held earlier.

“You told them before you told me?” Celandine said, a slightly angry tone to her voice but a small grin on her face nonetheless.

“Well,” Estella said, shrugging, “You were asleep at the time – and I needed someone to talk to about it. I’ll admit, your brothers aren’t exactly the best choices –”

“Hey!”

“But please don’t be mad – I’m sure you’re as confused as I about all this!”

“Well, this news that you don’t feel the same way does put a damper on my plans –”

“Plans?” Estella, Doderic and Ilberic all asked.

“You see, I was planning for you and Merry to be together by the time of his birthday party – I’ve known that he likes you for quite a while, even before you came to Buckland. Oh, he didn’t tell me himself,” she said, noting the looks on the faces of her brothers, “No, I noticed it at Sam and Rosie’s wedding, when the two of you danced. That was when I knew, you see.”

“Yeah, but what’s this about plans?” Estella said, fully concerned.

“Well, according to my calculated plan, you and Merry would be together by the time of his party, and that was when he would propose to you! But sometime ago, I realized that wouldn’t happen – it was a few weeks ago, when you two still hadn’t gotten together. And even if you had by now, the party would be too soon for that, you know – don’t want to rush the relationship.”

“Because how can you rush what doesn’t exist?” Estella asked.

Celandine ignored, continuing with her complicated ideas of romance. “And now, it’s really too soon – but I think we can have you two get together by the night of his party, maybe even at the party, which would be really sweet! Perhaps, by the time of the Harvest Festival, he could propose – and you could leave for home with a fiancé! Doesn’t that sound nice?”

“That sounds like something my mother would concoct,” Estella admitted with a fearful tone.

“But now, that’s all going to pieces, because you don’t like Merry, like I wanted you to! Why not, Estella? He’s awfully sweet, and very nice – and rather good looking, although I don’t really think about that, seeing as how he’s my cousin and all. That’s like me thinking Doderic and Ilberic were handsome!”

“Hey!”

“But it’s okay!” she said almost as a way to calm herself, “We’re just going to have to work smarter.”

Estella shook her head – it seemed Celandine would not take no for answer.

Flowers, Gems And Estella - Chapter XX

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It was little more than a week until Merry’s birthday party, when Celandine gleefully invited Estella up to her room, a look of triumph on her face. As she had put it, “I’ve finally found the perfect dress for you to wear – you’ll love it, and Merry will love it, and who knows what will result from that!”

The dress in question was made of beautiful green silk, with an intricate pattern of swirls and loops stitched into the bodice – it was low cut, but nothing scandalous. “Nothing like Mentha and Mellie might wear,” Celandine added. The ends of the short sleeves were cut in a zigzag pattern, with the same design as the bodice sewn into them. The skirt cascaded beautifully down towards the floor in folds and swells – and whereas on the bodice, the stitching was done heavily and thick, with many threads, the skirt had tiny, intricate fibers sewn into it, which also swirled and looped in a whimsical manner – miniscule jewels made it sparkle like a diamond filled night sky, especially when the Estella moved as she was trying it on.

“It’s lovely,” she said, admiring it in the mirror, “But why me? Why don’t you wear this, since it’s your dress anyway?”

“Because, Estella,” Celandine said, as is it were the most obvious thing in the world, “As far as I know, there’s not going to be a lad there who’s madly in love with me – although, there might possibly be one there, you never know – Peregrin Took, for instance. And besides,” she said, getting back on topic, “It wouldn’t look that great on me anyway, I’m too short for it.”

“If you’re too short for it, then why was it in your closet in the first place?”

“Because it just was, okay? See, it’s perfect on you – not too short, not too long. Nice.”

“But it seems too – fancy for me. The rest of me really isn’t that glamorous – like this normal, dull brown hair,” she said, holding up a lock of hair to prove her point, “And my face really isn’t anything special.”

“What? There’s nothing at all the matter with your face!”

“I know – but there’s nothing really spectacular about it, either,” she said, preparing to take the dress off, “It’s plain and dull – I don’t really stand out, except that I’m perhaps a little taller than most lasses.”

“But your height is something that accentuates you – it makes you look noble, as well as beautiful. And one would need to be tall, to be able to kiss Merry!”

“Celandine!”

“And your face, there’s nothing wrong with it – which is just fine. You’ve a seemly, lovely face – and if you think your hair looks boring, which it doesn’t, that’s because you haven’t done anything with it – for the party, we can put it up, and curl it.”

“Like I need any more height.”

“But you would look stately and distinguished – and I know that Merry would like that! He’s such a mischievous lad himself, he needs a dignified lass like you to hold him down and make him behave!”

“I don’t relish having to make him behave.”

“And that’s why I think this dress looks absolutely stunning on you!” Celandine finished, “Of course, we’ll have to find you another one even more dazzling, for when Merry proposes – I daresay that relationship is hardly ready for that yet.”

“Yes, it can’t ascend to the next level if it doesn’t exist.”

“But there’ll be time for that later,” she continued, not even listening to Estella, “And of course, we’ll have to find you the perfect wedding dress for when the occasion comes!”

“Celandine!” Estella shouted once again, and made to lightly punch her on the shoulder. Celandine moved out of the way, and ran towards the open door, Estella in hot pursuit. They ran down the stairs, through the kitchen and out the back door, where blinding sunlight bathed the green expanse of the backyard.

Estella, in an attempt to get Celandine, pushed upon her shoulder, tackling her to the ground – she fell in a disheveled heap, Estella upon her, tickling her within an inch of her life.

“Stop! Stop!” Celandine laughed, “Stop please – uncle!”

“Oh no! You’re not getting away that easily!” Estella cackled playfully, “You’re going to take back what you said about me!”

“Never!” Celandine shouted in the manner of one ready to face death – she was not facing death, however, only the threat of being maliciously tickled.

“Estella! Cellie! You two out there?” they heard coming from the house. The voices were two high-pitched, squealing, female voices that Estella was horrified to recognize.

“Mentha and Mellie!” Celandine said fearfully. It wasn’t that they hated the two lasses – but given past experience, they would have liked to have as little contact with them as possible. “Run, Estella! Over there, towards the trees!”

Estella looked to where Celandine was pointing – to the east was a large grove of trees that seemed not to end, surrounding which was a stone hedge about two feet high. She broke into a fevered run, hearing again feminine voices receding from the house. She reached the hedge and easily jumped it, continuing into the forest to hide from her pursuers.

Within, the sunlight seemed blocked out by the green canopy overhead – she heard not the usually sounds of birds, squirrels and other wildlife. There was only the sound of leaves underfoot, and her hurried panting as she ran deeper within the forest, unaware of where she was going – everything looked the same to her, if anything were the matter she noticed not.

After a while, she slowed down, tired from running for nearly an hour – the time made no difference to her, though, it all slowed down, so as to make it seem that she had been there only a few minutes. She walked around a ways, not really heading further into the forest, but at the same time not heading back, as in her mind it was too soon to return, for Mentha and Melilot might still be there. Eventually though, she decided it would do her best to head back, and reversed her position, walking back the way she thought she came.

The day wore on, and still she had not made it back – everything looked the same, and there were no markers for her to recognize, had she remembered any in the first place. Although she heard not the rustling sounds of forest creatures around her, she felt that she was not alone – she found herself looking over her shoulder often, and all around her she could almost make out hushed whispers. The only things around her were the innumerous tree trunks, tall and forbidding – surely they were not whispering to one another, were they?

After a while, too soon in her opinion, the sky overhead became dark, and nearly all light diminished from her sight – the trees around her, with their twisted shapes, became deformed monsters in her scared imagination, with long, curled fingers, ready to grab out at her – ready to rip and tear at her flesh. It was a fearful sight, and she hurried her pace so as to get back quicker.

She felt something grab at her foot – it was only an outlying tree rot, to be honest – but the thought of a hungry, blood lusting beast raced through her mind, and she broke into a fearful and blind run, not looking where she was going, only that she would get away from whatever it was that had just torn her dress.

She saw not the sloping hill before her, and unknowingly fell down it – to her, in the darkness, she may have been plummeting down the dark, convulsive throat of a horrendous dragon. She tumbled past rock and tree, landing on level ground with great pain in her ankle. She looked down to see that it was quickly swelling, a dark purple color – she rose to her feet, but fell over in pain. Whether it was broken or not, she knew not.

“Help,” she cried out weakly, but all around her was the unforgiving darkness – no answer came upon her ears. She curled up against the nearest tree, tears of sorrow and loneliness streaming down her face as she wept openly. The air around her was ice cold, a cloudy fog formed before her each time she took breath – there was more fog around her than that, though. Everything suddenly seemed to be engrossed in thick haze, making the forms of the trees around look even more imposing. White wisps of fog swirled into shapes in front of her eyes – a giant white wolf, with evil, glowing red eyes stood before her, ready to pounce upon her. It bared its teeth, revealing rows of white razors like swords – other fearsome beasts joined it, beasts with horns and tails, eyes that glittered maliciously, claws that attached to wide hands paws that might swipe her dead in a moment. Fear gripped at her heart, until her eyes closed over in petrified fatigue – she was unconscious before her head even fell upon the cold ground.

When she awoke, the fog was still present, but she could see no signs of the creatures she’d witnessed earlier – off in the distance, she noticed, was a dim light. A fireball, floating off in the distance through the forest, or perhaps a firefly close to her eyes – she couldn’t tell, for her perception of distance was not impeccable. It came slowly closer, piercing through the dense fog, and she heard from it her own name being called, “Estella! Estella!” It was a low sound that barely reached her ears, but escaladed in volume slowly.

“Help! I’m over here!” she called as loud as she could, which wasn’t very loud at all – but her seeker was apparently able to hear it, as the light froze in the air for a moment, then came running in her direction, until the sound of hooves reached her ears, and she could see a short figure on horseback in front of her.

“Estella! Oh, are you okay? Here, I’ll help you.” She was unable to see much more than the dark image of someone crouching over her through the impending fog, until she felt a warm cloth wrapped about her – and she saw Merry’s face above her as the fog immediately dissipated, upon which was a concerned and fretful look that marred his normally jovial features. Everything looked now clearer as she looked around her, though still having no idea of where she was.

“Your ankle looks bad – is it broken at all?” he asked pensively.

“I-I don’t t-think so,” she said, the shivering of her body muddling up her speech, “It’s s-swelling and I t-think it’s just s-sprained.” She tried to stand upon it, but Merry stopped her.

“You shouldn’t walk on it – here, grab onto my shoulders, I’ll carry you.” She grasped his shoulder with what little remaining strength she had, and he easily hauled her up onto the pony’s back, placing her sidesaddle before mounting the equine himself, sitting in front of her.

“Can you hold onto my waist?” he asked of her, “I don’t think I’ll be able to hold onto you and the reins, and we don’t want you falling off.” She grasped her arms around his wide waist, barely reaching halfway around the thick armor he was wearing. He clicked his tongue to signal the pony, which started off at a fast trot, traveling a path Merry seemed to know well. Trees flew past in flashes of dark brown – the trotting motion of the pony’s hooves beat a steady rhythm in Estella’s head. That added to the warmth she felt from Merry’s body in front of her, she was soon fast asleep.

Flowers, Gems And Estella - Chapter XXI

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Estella awoke upon feeling an extreme cold being gently applied to her swollen ankle – the cold was somehow comforting, as her mind came alive to remember the events of the previous evening. Her eyes opened to Celandine carefully applying a bag of ice to the purple bruise, eyeing it as if she did not envy Estella for it before noticing she’d awoken.

“You’re awake! Oh, you gave us such a fright last night!” She rubbed her eyes, which were still full of sleep – or the lack of – but her eyes held a content smile, as did her mouth below. “I suppose I look rather tried.”

“Yeah,” Estella said hoarsely, her voice scratchy with what sounded like a developing cold, “But I understand – you were worried about me.”

“Not as worried as Merry was,” Celandine said, smiling almost knowingly, “It was about an hour after you disappeared that I went to get Merry, and as soon as I said you were in the forest, he got his sword and armor, and hitched his pony and rode over as fast as he could. Mentha, Mellie and I were stationed at the hedge, watching to see if you’d come back, and it was I who first saw Merry coming through the trees with you – he rode up to the house, and carried you up here to my room without even being asked to so. Then he asked me to retrieved bandages and water, and just about anything he thought we would need – he demanded that we make sure nothing else was injured beyond your ankle, and thankfully nothing was.”

“Sounds like he was pretty obsessed – where is he now?”

“Well, when we were sure you’d be all right, he started off for Brandy Hall, but my mother insisted that he spend the night, and she made up a bed for him on the couch downstairs – fell right to sleep, I believe.”

“Is he still here?” Estella asked, with innocent intentions behind the inquiry.

Celandine looked up at her with raised eyebrows, smiling slyly. “Why yes, Estella, he is – and I shall get him for you, if you wish.”

“Oh no, I wouldn’t want you to wake him up on my account, it’s – it’s okay.”

“If it’s okay, then why did you stutter?” Celandine said, already halfway out the door. All that Estella heard after that were her feet rushing down the stairs and disappearing into the living room, to – she assumed – wake Merry from his much-deserved slumber.

Estella was laying there still, looking out the window onto the green expanse when Merry knocked softly on the door, and came sleepily into the room when Estella bid him enter – she could see in his eyes that he was still a great deal tired, but that he was readily awake and trying to overcome the slumber that still fatigued him. Celandine did not enter behind him.

“You look tired – I didn’t want for Celandine to wake you,” Estella said, not wishing to upset him.

“It’s okay,” he said, sitting down in the chair beside the window, and yawning said, “How are you?”

“I’m – fine, I think,” she said, moving her foot slightly to see if there was still feeling in it, “I suppose I should thank you, for what you did.”

“No trouble at all,” he said, waving his hand nonchalantly, “Although Celandine should have known better than to let you go in there. If she’d thought about the consequences of her actions – which she’s not famous for doing – I doubt she would have prompted you to enter the forest.”

“What’s so bad about it?” she asked, remembering what she had seen within – the great white wolf, and other fearful creatures.

“Well, it’s quite easy to lose your way in there – as you apparently did. Time seems to pass much more slowly, and nightfall seems to arrive much quicker than you expect it to.”

“Have you ever been in there?”

“Rather often, actually, but only far enough to collect firewood and such, where I can get out easily again – but I’ve only ever made an involved trek, such as you did, once. And I don’t wish to do it again.”

“When you disappeared, right?”

“Yes – Frodo, Sam, Pippin and I all went in, and it took us nearly four days to get out again on the other side. The trees in there seem to move, and have minds of their own – more than once I felt they had moved around to delay us on our route, and get us even more lost than we had started.”

“What all is in there – are there any creatures?”

“Why, did you see any?”

“Well, yes – I saw a white wolf, among other things. There was a fog that seemed to hang over the entire forest – and I only dissipated when you put your cloak around me.”

He leaned back in there, mulling his words over carefully. “Well, there are several answers to such a query as yours – first off, the wolf, you saw, was most likely not real. Not that there aren’t wolves in there, but I don’t think any of them are large and white as you described. They’re mostly brown and smaller, and I doubt there’s too many of them left.”

“Then what did I see?”

“Well, I think it all has to do with where I found you – I asked Celandine where you had entered the forest, and ran forward as I thought you must have. After about an hour, since I couldn’t exactly tell how long, I turned around and attempted to find my way back, and I figured you must have – not really wanting to go back but instead allowing the forest to take me where it may. It lead me, as I hoped it would, in a southwestern direction, toward the Withywindle River valley, where they say all the queerness of the forest originates. And in that direction, near to the valley, are something called the Barrow-downs, home to the Barrow-wights.”

“Barrow-wights?”

“Basically the dead remains of the great kings of long ago – you were very close to them, which I suppose is why you saw constant fog. And whereas you were not close enough to be completely susceptible to the Barrow-wights, they could still make you – see things, fearful things I suppose. I myself have never seen a Barrow-wight, but have been uncomfortably close to one – in this case, you were definitely lucky to have not strayed any further that you already had.”

“How did you escape them?”

“Tom Bombadil, a man who lives in the forest, rescued us – oh, not a regular man, like there are in Bree, the ones that don’t take too kindly to hobbits – no, Tom is quite old, older than us hobbits, older than the evil that once had a hold over lands faraway. In fact, it was with his help that I was able to find you – he alerted me to your presence. Apparently, you had run by him, rather frightful he said you were, and as he put it, it was impossible not to hear your thrashing.”

“What’s this evil that you talked about?”

He stopped short again, weighing his words carefully. “If I told you the whole story about what happened to us, in its entirety, you and I would be here for many days – even a condensed version would take a while to tell, and it would not do the events justice. Let it suffice, though, that there was once a great evil that held sway over the land, a greater evil than any you can imagine – though this evil barely touched our Shire, we were not completely unharmed, as you saw during the Occupation. But thanks to the efforts of many brave men and elves – not to mention a wizard, a few hobbits and a dwarf – that evil is no more.”

“You met elves?” Estella said, sitting up in bed, eager to hear more.

“Yes, and it is from them that the cloak you spoke off came – the one that dissipated the fog, as it has magical powers, coming from the Lady Galadriel of Lórien. In the far North, they have settlements that, had I not known of the Shire, I would think were the most beautiful in the entire world. Even so, they do rival us in tranquility, and the food is nothing short of exquisite. A nice retreat for weary travelers, but still no match for the Shire.”

“Sounds nice to visit – I should like to see it.”

“Though not at the moment, I must admit – while I’m sure Lord Elrond would be more than able to fix that ankle, the journey is no easy trek, even for I. The world is still inhabited by the evil we worked so hard to destroy – minions, free of their dark lord’s regime. Our Shire is still the only place in which I feel truly safe, what with the expulsion of men by Lord Aragorn.”

“Who’s he?”

Merry chuckled heartily. “You’re just a mess of questions this morning, aren’t you? I promise you, Estella, one day you will know the full tale of what happened to us – what we did, where we went, who we met – which I’m certain will only lead to more questions, as is rightly so. You only think that these faraway lands have no effect on you, and that our Shire has played a minuscule role in the destruction of the One Ring, when actually it could not have been done without us. Events of such importance effect us all, and someday, you will know the whole truth.”

And he exited the room, leaving her there with more questions than she had answers.

Flowers, Gems And Estella - Chapter XXII

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It was four days after Estella had been rescued from the forest that she looked out the circular window of the Brandybucks’ living room to see a traveler making their way to the hole – he was on horseback, a cocoa-brown colored pony that Estella recognized as her brother’s, and she gave an excited gasp when she realized who it was. Fredegar dismounted the pony without hitching it up, leaving it to graze in the front lawn and to be retrieved later in the onion patch by Doderic and Ilberic – he made his way to the house and entered immediately after knocking sharply on the door.

“What in the name of the Shire are you doing gallivanting out in the Old Forest at night?” he asked of her while holding her in a strong hug, “Thank goodness Celandine had the sense to write to me, especially since you didn’t feel it necessary to tell your own brother how you were doing!” He had a stern look on his face, but his eyes were alight with love, and he was obviously very happy to his sister after so long.

“It’s my own fault, I admit,” she said, smiling guiltily and shrugging her shoulders, “But nonetheless, it’s made you come to visit me, so this can’t be all bad,” she said, pointing down at her bandaged ankle. She stood slowly, gingerly testing it – it had healed much, and was making excellent progress, and she hobbled across, wincing only once in miniscule pain.

“Well, I was planning to come for Merry’s birthday party, and since it’s just in a couple days, I might as well stay here in Buckland until then – I’ll probably go over to see Merry tomorrow, to thank him for rescuing my sister from the jaws of death,” he said smiling, and patted Estella softly on the shoulder.

“Oh, yes,” Celandine now said, speaking up for the first time since Fredegar had come through the door, “Yes, Merry was quite brave to rescue Estella, and I know that, like us, he wouldn’t want to lose her, as he’s very fond of her, you see.”

“Eh?” Fredegar said, looking from Celandine to Estella, “And what exactly does this mean, my little sister?”

Estella shoved Celandine jovially, and grabbed Fredegar by the arm, steering him towards the door. “Thank you, Celandine,” she said, and shut the door behind them.

Outside it was warm, with the summer sun beating down on them, playing light tricks with the gently running stream and reflecting waves on the faces of the two hobbits who came to sit beside it.

“I haven’t seen Mentha or Melilot since I’ve been here – I figured they’d follow you around like little lost puppies,” Fredegar said to her.

“Well, I think they’ve been distracted recently – by whom, I’m not sure – but I haven’t seen too much of them. Perhaps they’ve got a lad over at their house, but I wouldn’t know – I’ve been here ever since I sprained my ankle.”

“And it was Merry who bravely came to your rescue, because he – how did she put it – is fond of you?” he said slyly, laughter in his eyes.

She too smiled at this, nudging him softly in the shoulder. “Well, you would have done the same for me, wouldn’t you? Aren’t you at all fond of me?”

“Of course I would rescue you, and of course I am fond of you – but I am your brother, I have to be as such or Mother will punish me – not to mention the guilt that my conscience will bear,” he said, laying his head back on the grass, “But seeing as how Merry is not your brother, to say that he is fond of you may bring to mind other implications of the phrase, if you know what I mean.”

“Well, I suppose it all has to do with – with something that Celandine said to me, a while back.”

“And that would be?” he asked pensively.

“At the Midsummer’s Festival, she got drunk – Doderic and Ilberic switched her mug though!” she said quickly, noting the look on her brother’s face, “It really wasn’t her fault at all – but she told me something, something I don’t think she would have said if she were sober.”

“About Merry.”

Estella nodded. “About Merry, yes. She said that he – that he liked me. Really liked me.”

“As in – in love with you?”

Estella nodded, saying nothing. Fredegar fell silent as well, then asked her, “How do you feel about it?” in a calm tone.

“You mean you’re not upset – at him?”

“Why would I be?”

“Well, I’m your only sister, and I’d have thought that you wanted to protect me – not that I need protection in this situation. But I guess it’s that – well, in a lot of books that I’ve read, stories about love and romance, that when a lad falls in love with a lass, her brother usually doesn’t approve of it.”

“Do you want me to be angry about it?”

“No! I mean I am very glad that you’re taking this well, and not storming off to chop his head off or something – it just surprised me was all.”

“Yes, I can see how it might – but in those stories, the brother usually does not know the lad whose heart his sister owns. Of course, I am wondering why Merry hasn’t spoken to me about it – perhaps afraid I might tell you, in which case in would not matter since you already know – but I am in no way angry about it. I mean you don’t despise the lasses I mingle with, do you? I couldn’t possibly be angry and call myself your brother. How could I expect you to like the lasses I court, if I didn’t do the same for the lads you like?”

“I didn’t say I liked him as well.”

“But that’s beyond my point, of course – I know Merry, and I know he has good intentions deep down, even if he doesn’t show them on the surface. Now the question is, how do you feel about it?”

Estella fell silent here, looking out over the landscape in though. “At first, I suppose, I said I didn’t like him that way – only as a friend. I felt bad, because I knew it would hurt his feelings, but no matter what that wouldn’t be a reason for returning those feelings, if I ever did.”

“That’s very profound of you.”

“Doderic and Ilberic told me that. But it was in the forest, when I was alone and cold, and injured – I felt so afraid. Like there was no hope left at all in the world, and a fog of dread was permanently suspended over my vision. And when he came – well, when you and Papa hug me, I feel safe, and loved, because the two of you do love me, of course. It was like that when Merry came to rescue me – the fog lifted away, and I saw him for what he really was. Not a juvenile miscreant – but a kind lad, with a good heart, who was only looking out for me – someone who loved me, because there was no other way for him to feel. I felt safe with him, and I felt as if there were no other way for me to feel either, than to love him for who he was, and what he was doing at that moment, which was putting his life in danger to rescue mine.” Her eyes were shrouded over in with fog – feelings and memories that her brother knew she was contemplating.

“Fredegar,” she said next, “I don’t think it’s because I feel sorry – no, that’s wrong. I don’t think, I know. I know that I love him, and I know that it’s not because I feel sorry for him, but because I find it impossible to feel sorry for him – because to do so would taint him, and his sense of bravery and honor that override all other emotions.” Her voice trailed off, and Fredegar knew that nothing now lay between her and the truth.

“Now doesn’t it feel good to get that off your chest?” he asked.

“Extremely,” she said, her voice carrying a sense of relief, as if a great weight had been removed from her shoulders, “And I suppose the next thing you’re going to say is that I should tell him?”

“Well, you don’t have to – but if you really want to, my suggestion would be at the upcoming birthday party in his name. The colored decorations should make for quite the backdrop for your declaration of undying love,” he said dramatically, “My sentiments to the both of you, in the hopes that you live a happy and prosperous life together.”

“Now, Fatty, I think it’s a bit early to be sending out the wedding invitations just yet – who knows if it’ll even last that long? He may not even want to be married,” she said.

“Ah, Estella, you offend yourself, for how could any lad look upon your divine beauty and not be overcome by the urge to add his name onto your own?” he said standing up, his hand upon the chest to achieve the full theatrical effect of his statement. He took her hand and pulled her up to stand beside him. “Seriously though, what you say is untrue – Merry is a good lad, and if his intentions were so uncouth I would feel no regret to smite him where he stands! Which I don’t have any plans to do, mind you – you only bring yourself down by saying such things, Estella. Give love a chance and you will be rewarded tenfold.”

“You really have that much faith in a relationship that has yet to exist?”

“I couldn’t call myself your brother if I didn’t.” They trekked back to the hole together, watching the sun slowly set over the beautiful expanse.

Flowers, Gems And Estella - Chapter XXIII

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For the seventh or eighth time that day, Merry came into the large dining room of Brandy Hall, making sure that all was in order – it was all decked out in celebration of his birthday, with streamers hanging from the ceiling and walls. Several chairs had been set at the long table in preparation for the guests, with rows of candles that would be lit at the start of the great party, which would include a meal such as Buckland had not seen since before the Occupation – soon enough, hobbits of all ages would be within, a great celebration not only to honor himself, but to observe what was now a whole year of being free of the Ruffians’ regime.

At the moment, however, it looked quite empty and hollow – the gargantuan ceiling of the dining room stretched far above him, which had always made conversation easy between two hobbits at opposite ends of the room. No one was gathered within, expect the few servants still preparing for the party, placing name cards at the table that denoted where each hobbit would sit. Of course his father and Master of Buckland would sit at the head of the table, and as usual his mother and himself would sit at each side at the head of the table. Next to Merry would sit Pippin, then Frodo, Sam and Rosie – beside his mother her brother, Thain Paladin Took, and his wife and daughters. Beside Rosie would sit Estella, an intentional placement on his part, with her brother Fredegar across the table from her.

Making one last check on the dining room, he came into the kitchen where the cooks were preparing the magnificent feast – and where Pippin was gorging himself on a slice of cake made especially for him. More than once had a large handful of cake gone missing when Pippin was around, and Merry had taken to ordering a smaller pastry made for him, to indulge himself on before the party. A glass of milk sat beside him at the small, wooden table, which he often took sips from before stuffing his face full again.

“Oh, ‘ello Mehhy,” he said upon his cousin’s entry, his mouth full of food.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full, Pip, it doesn’t compliment you any,” Merry said as greeting, “You’ll need to wipe off your face, and change your shirt as well, before the party.”

“Mah s’irt ish fine,” he gulped, wiping his dirty hands on his vest and smearing it even more with creamy white icing, finally swallowing before saying, “Why are you so worried about the party?”

“I’m not worried – I just don’t want anything to go wrong tonight. The guests are coming to have a good time, and I want that to happen as much as they do.”

“Ish it be’ause Estella ish coming?” he said, his mouth full of food again.

“No! I mean, it’s not just her, I want it all to go great for everybody, and –” he paused here, shrugging his shoulder dejectedly, “Oh, what’s the use? Yes, Pippin, I want to impress her, very much so. And I bet you want to know why.”

“Oh, I know why – but I’d like to hear you say it.”

Merry sighed. “Because – because I love her. And I know you’re going to laugh –but don’t!”

“I’m not laughing!” he said, covering his mouth to stifle his giggles.

“You know, when you’re doing stuff like this for Diamond, I’m going to laugh my head off at you and your foolishness!”

“Perhaps, or will wooing Estella take up too much of your time?” Pippin said, a sly look in his eyes.

Merry would have retaliated with a cunning remark had his parents not had just walked through the swinging wood door into the kitchen – Mrs. Brandybuck had a deep blue party dress on, her hair pulled back in behind her ears, clutching the arm of her husband as they walked through the kitchen, surveying the progress of the night’s dinner.

“Happy birthday, Merry dear,” she said, coming up to her son and kissing him on the cheek, “You look awfully worried.”

“That’s what I told him,” Pippin said from behind her.

“It’s nothing, Mother – really,” he said.

“Ah, there’s naught wrong with the boy having a few nerves before his party,” Saradoc said, slapping his son gently on the shoulder, “Goodness, you’ve gotten tall, my lad,” he commented, as Merry stood nearly a full foot above him.

“I better go check on the tents outside,” Merry said curtly, and left immediately.

“Poor boy,” Mrs. Brandybuck commented once he was gone, “You can tell so much has happened to him, while he’s been away – like Frodo and Sam, they’ve changed greatly as well.”

“Haven’t I changed at all?” Pippin said, still eating.

“I know, dear – but those kinds of things, they’re what make him an adult. He’s got things that he needs to deal with on his own, and things he’ll have to deal with once he takes my place as Master – he’s changed, that’s true, but some of it for the better.”

“He seems wiser, like Frodo – less outspoken, like there are pains deep within him.”

“And he’s concerned that he needs to find a wife as well,” Pippin said from behind them.

“Yes, that too,” Mrs. Brandybuck said, still looking wistfully at the door her son had left through several minutes earlier.

“Well then, it’s understandable that he’s nervous – after all, I was in his position at one time as well,” Saradoc said.

“Really?” his wife said.

“Yes, I remember that whenever a one Esmeralda Took came over to Brandy Hall, I would make sure that everything was perfect – for I had eyes for her, you see,” he said, grinning sheepishly.

“Did you really? I wasn’t aware,” Mrs. Brandybuck said as if it were not herself that he was talking about.

“Oh yes, but I don’t think she felt the same – made fun of me quite a bit,” he said in tone of mock pain.

“Well, I’m sure she had her reasons – you weren’t the perfect little darling either, you know,” she joked, and they exited the kitchen, laughing like the old married couple that they were. Pippin shook his head, and returned to his slice of cake.

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Celandine held the comb in her mouth, while her hands worked to braid Estella’s long, brown hair, into a sensible but elegant design, as per Estella’s instructions.

“I want it nice – but not too nice – not all that casual, but nothing that I would wear to a wedding – you know what I mean?” she had said, with a look on her face that was none too clear of what she was talking about.

“I think I know exactly what you mean,” Celandine said with a knowing smile, and took a comb and brush to prepare her hair.

When she proclaimed herself to be finished and prompted Estella to look in the mirror, she was hardly the hobbit she’d seen in all the mirrors before this – Celandine had also worked on her face, rubbing her cheeks with a small amount of blush that make the milky-white skin look to have more life in it. This, along with the newfound confidence that she suddenly found herself in possession of, contributed to the look of radiance about her face.

“Now for the dress,” Celandine said, her own hair and garments already in order. Taking the green dress from within its carefully placed position in the closet, she helped Estella into it, spreading the skirt out carefully while Estella gazed at herself in the mirror. Her hair was arranged elegantly, some of it in a knotted bun at the back of her head, the rest cascading down her back, with a few tightly braided coils, green ribbons that matched her dress tied in to keep them from unraveling. Once the dress was on, she turned around, watching in the mirror how it lifted slightly then wafted back down to hang just below her ankles once more.

Celandine, finally finished tending to the dress, stood up, smoothing out the front of her own azure dress – her hair was curled into several ringlets which hung about her face and lay tucked behind her pointed ears. She had not paid as much attention to her own appearance as she had Estella’s, but she still looked beautiful.

“You look lovely,” she said, “Really, Celandine, I mean it – the dress is beautiful.”

“Not as nice as you, but I try,” she said shrugging, “Now come on, we’ve got a party to get to!” she said, grabbing Estella’s hand and dragging her out the door. Downstairs Fredegar, Doderic and Ilberic were already gathered, looking rather dignified, but still quite casual. Their vests were as of yet still clean, which would no doubt change as the evening went on.

“You two ready yet?” Doderic said annoyingly, stamping his foot impatiently.

“Sorry we lasses can’t be a quick as you all,” Celandine said, her voice dripping with sarcasm, “But it’s not as easy as putting on some trousers and combing our hair hurriedly. We’ve got makeup to apply, hair to braid and arrange – and don’t get me started on the dress!”

“You two look nice,” Fredegar intervened before an argument broke out, and speaking to his audience, “May Estella and I talk in private?” No one argued with this, so the two of them stepped outside.

The sun was just beginning to set, and a light breeze promised for comfortable weather that evening.

“So – you’re going to tell him?” Fredegar asked pensively.

Estella nodded. “It’s as good a time as any, I suppose – I can imagine the conversation. ‘Happy birthday, Merry – by the way, I love you.’ What do you think?”

“Couldn’t have said it better,” he said, chuckling to himself, “Although I’d be concerned if I were saying it all, seeing as how I’m not a lass. Don’t worry, it’ll go great – just be confident, and don’t get verbal diarrhea.”

“I’ll try, though I have no idea what to say – I’ve being going over it in my head, seeing how different phrases fit and work out – and I have nothing.”

“I’m sure that when the moment comes, the words will come also – he will no doubt have some feelings to express as well.”

“One more thing, though, will you –”

“Make sure Pippin doesn’t interfere? I’d be honored – may luck be with you, Estella.”

“Thanks, I have a feeling I’m going to need it.”

Flowers, Gems And Estella - Chapter XXIV

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Merry’s birthday party came on a balmy summer evening, one of enchanting moonlight and mild breeze – the leaves on the trees wafted gently, like graceful, pristine dancers. There was a slight chill in the air that meant the autumn months were not far off. Harvest would be coming soon, and with it the Harvest Festival, when hobbits from all over Buckland would gather to sell and trade the crops that were the result of several months’ work, and stock up for the cold winter ahead. It would not be long after that – a week at the most – that Estella would leave for home.

Brandy Hall that evening was decorated to the extreme – paper lanterns hung from trees, making them glow as if inhabited by hundreds of fireflies. Colored streamers made the place look fancier than Sam and Rosie’s wedding – the occasion was hardly as festive though, and none were dressed in outfits of frilly, white lace. The mood was jolly, and the guests were dressed little more than casual. Several lasses there had outfits that would have put Mentha and Melilot to shame, perhaps to impress a lad that evening.

Estella and her company arrived in horse-drawn carriage, with Celandine’s parents sitting up front, and the rest of them in back. Several hobbits were gathered in the pavilion behind the large hole, through the door of which a line of guests were parading while being by greeting by Merry and his parents.

“Glad you could make it,” he said to the lads, eagerly shaking their hands, and to Estella, “You look – nice,” with a rather nervous tone, “How’s your ankle doing?”

“Oh, it’s doing all right, gotten much better,” she responded, smiling nervously herself, “Yes, thank you – um, happy birthday,”

“Thanks – so, I guess, you should go on in, and enjoy yourself – go easy on the ale, Celandine,” he joked. She smiled, and punched him in the shoulder before heading inside behind Estella.

“How can you not see that he has feelings for you?” she gasped once they were inside and away from the lads.

Estella only sighed, and pushed Celandine toward the pavilion out back, saying, “Let’s get some punch,” leaving Fredegar and the others to chat with Frodo, who was sitting idly in the living room, sipping from a mug of ale. He smiled to them before they disappeared outside, giving an encouraging wave to Estella. She smiled back, wondering not the reason for it, but how he knew such a reason in the first place.

There was dancing going on in the pavilion under the tents, and much eating from the tables laden with two bowls of punch and several pre-dinner treats, as well as kegs of ale from which the lads were continuously drinking. It reminded her of the magnificent party given for the one-hundred-and-eleventh birthday of Bilbo Baggins so long ago, only lacking the fireworks that had come to be so well known afterwards. She and Celandine sat at a table by themselves, watching the festivities while making sure to watch their mugs carefully, for fear of having them be switched for something else.

Several more guests continued arriving, and only when they stopped did she see Merry himself enter the pavilion. The audience clapped at his entrance as he made his way to the front of the tent where the head table had been placed. Joining him were his parents, as well as Pippin, and once everyone was quieted down he began to speak.

“I’d like to welcome you all here, to this party held in honor of my thirty-eighth birthday.” A grand applause met his ears, before he continued speaking again. “So, just enjoy yourselves, and be happy, because none of you have to pay for this party – or clean up tomorrow!” A great wave of laughter resounded after he said this, and he waved his arms for quiet once more. “But, really, have fun tonight, and remember, dinner commences at eight-thirty!”

He exited the table, Pippin walking behind him as he mingled among the gathered guests – Fredegar joined Estella and Celandine, with Frodo, Sam and Rosie in his stead.

“Estella!” Rosie exclaimed once she saw her, and they embraced in a heartfelt hug, “Hello Celandine,” she said, patting her warmly on the shoulder.

“It’s so great to see you,” Estella remarked once she had sat down, noticing that Sam held onto her arm as she did such.

“Sam, really, I’m fine,” she said, looking up to him with shining love in her eyes.

“Are you sure, Rose dear? Can I get you something? Punch, cake – surely not ale, right?”

“No, no, it’s fine, I’m all right – you go enjoy yourself, Estella and I must talk,” she said, waving him away towards the food tables along with the other lads.

“Okay, what’s going on? Something’s up, I can tell,” Estella said once Rosie’s attention was unobstructed, eager to hear the news that she knew Rosie had, “I haven’t heard anything since your last letter.”

“Well,” she said, smiling big and happily, “About that letter, remember how I told you I’d been feeling a bit under the weather at the time?” Estella nodded. “And then I didn’t write again for a while, after I said I was going to visit the doctor. Well,” she said pausing slightly, “I went to the doctor, and it turns out that – I’m expecting,” she said finally, and a great smile broke over her face when she finished.

Estella and Celandine gasped excitedly, so much that the guests over at the next table turned their heads at the disturbance. “Oh Rosie, that’s wonderful! When’s it due? Who all have you told? I assume that’s why Sam was worried about you!”

Rosie waved her arms for silence, and remarked, “Yes, Sam’s been quite worried about me lately, as you can see – mine and his parents both know, as well as Frodo, who seemed to know before I even told him – and it’s due in March, by the way. Sam wants to name it Frodo, if it’s a boy.”

“What if it’s a girl?” Estella asked, but her question went unanswered, as Merry was once again standing at the head table, announcing the initiation of the evening’s dinner, which was so delicious that Estella forgot her question soon after.

Halfway through the meal, Saradoc stood, calling a silence over the large dining room before making his announcement. “Though my memory may not be what it used to be, and though my wife may object otherwise, I can remember very well the events that occurred thirty-eight years ago this day – though not much, having been asleep through most of it,” he said, shrugging sheepishly as laughter broke over the entire room, “But I do remember the nurse coming to me, waking me up to tell me that I now had a son – and my wife, threatening me within an inch of my life to stay far, far away from her.” His audience laughed once more, Esmeralda’s face turning red as she nodded, smiling as well. “But I think even through all that, she was incredibly happy, as was I, and those feelings have only increased over the years – and though you haven’t always done us proud, Meriadoc,” he looked down at his son as he said this, Merry smiling proudly back, “I don’t think your mother and I could ask for a better son than you – happy birthday.”

The guests all repeated the last words, raising their glasses in a commemorative toast before getting back to the meal at hand, after which all the guests returned to the pavilion for more dancing and drinking. Merry now joined Estella, Fredegar and the rest instead of sitting with his parents at the head table – they all sat around a table, drinking merrily and enjoying themselves. Soon, a band had taken the stage in front of the dance floor, and was playing lively tunes for the guests to dance.

“May I have this dance?” Pippin asked of Celandine, who took his hand and joined him on the floor. Sam and Rosie also went out, Sam holding Rosie carefully in his arms while she hastily danced to the fast-paced song. Frodo remained alone, as Doderic and Ilberic each found their own lass to dance with. Soon enough, Merry, Estella and Fredegar were the only ones remaining – Fredegar excused himself after a while, leaving the two of them alone.

“Nice band, don’t you think, Estella?” Merry asked of her, fumbling with his hands. After she nodded wordlessly, he continued, “Bit loud, but they’re quite good.”

“You want to go somewhere more quiet?” she asked pensively.

“Yeah! I mean, if you don’t mind,” he said, and taking her hand to lead her away from the throng, their exit noticed only by Fredegar and Frodo.

Estella recognized the willow tree under which they sat, looking up at the darkening sky – it was the one she had met him under the last time she’d visited Brandy Hall, where she felt she had been insulted by him and stormed off. Interesting, that this is where I told him I hated him, and hopefully where I will tell him I love him.

“Lovely night,” he commented, for lack of anything better to say.

“Yes, it is, and a lovely party as well,” she said, also short on conversation skills at the moment. She sat down on the moonlit grass, sitting cross-legged while Merry stayed standing, his arm leaning against the bark of the tree.

“I hope you’ve have a good time tonight.”

“Oh yes,” she said, turning around to face him, “Yes, it was very lovely, seeing everyone and being together – it was quite nice to see Rosie again, so I suppose I should thank you for inviting her.”

“Well, I couldn’t invite Sam and not her – did she tell you the good news?”

“That’s she’s expecting?”

“Well, I guess that answers my question – so she did, then.”

“Hmm, must be nice for her, to have Sam and all – to have someone to look out for her.”

“A husband’s not the only person who’ll look out for you, you know – even friends will do that.”

Estella chuckled slightly. “I bet you’d look out for me.”

“Of course, how could I not? Though I must say, you hardly need looking out for most of the time – except when you get yourself barred up in the Lockholes. Good thing we came back when we did.”

“I don’t think I ever did thank you for that – so, thank you, I guess,” she said quietly.

He left his position beside the tree, walking over to her and leaning down to look her in the face. “You’re welcome, then – I would hate to ever see you in pain, and would hate even more to see what you would do to the one that caused that pain.”

“I’d tear them limb from limb, wouldn’t I?” she said, grinning.

“Yeah, but not before I got to them, and made them reconsider ever hurting another hobbit again. We’re strong, you and I, two of a kind.”

“Like we’re from the same mold?”

“Something along those lines, I guess – we don’t let anybody get in our way.”

Estella nodded, understanding what he meant. “My father always said I was too headstrong, unable to be tied down by any restrictions – though he thought it was an admirable trait, he said it would hinder my getting married.”

Merry stared straight ahead, looking at her face but not focusing on it, his eyes deep in thought. “I don’t see why you couldn’t just marry someone like yourself – someone as strong, and admirable as you.”

“You think I’m admirable?”

“I do.” His voice no longer held the humorous tone it had earlier. “I think you’re one of the bravest hobbits I’ve ever had the good fortune to know, and though you’ve done no great deeds in the ways of war, I believe you are worthy of remembrance among the Elven warriors of old, and those of Rohan and Gondor, not for the acts of bravery, but for the hardships you have overcome – your enemies instead are loneliness, and pain, and no great warrior could have defeated them any better.”

By this time Estella was blushing, and lowered her head timidly. “I – I’m glad that I have at least one admirer.”

“Forgive me if I’m embarrassing you, I don’t mean for the truth to be mortifying.”

She only smiled, and taking his hand, said, “Thank you.” He also smiled, and gripped her hand in his.

“Estella, you might as well know this,” he said, sighing wistfully, “I – I can’t keep my feelings to myself, and I can’t deny you the knowledge of those feelings – since they involve you. I know that they can no longer be kept from you, and you deserve to know how I feel for you.”

“Are you – trying to tell me – that you love me, Merry?”

Merry looked to her with surprised eyes, then chuckled to himself. “Well, I guess it’s true then, that I wear my heart on my sleeve. Was it really that easy to guess?”

She avoided the subject of how she had come to know, saying, “Well, not at first – but even Pippin would have gotten it, from what you were saying.”

“Pippin already knows, anyway. So – yeah, I guess you know – that I love you.” He looked down at his feet, refusing to meet her eyes.

“With a passion that will never die?”

“Tell me, Estella – is there anything about me that you don’t know?” he said, amused laughter in his eyes, “I feel like such a thickhead.”

“Why?”

“Well, I try to tell you something I think you don’t know, but you’re way ahead of me, as usual – and you could probably tell me anything about yourself, and I wouldn’t have the slightest clue about it.”

“That’s true – you don’t know that I love you.”

“Yeah, you’re right, I don’t know tha –” He stopped short, looking to her with surprised eyes the expression of which his previous reaction held no candle to. “Did you – say what I thought you did?”

She smiled, looking away for a moment. “You know, I think I did.”

A smile broke over his face, and he grinned, saying, “For real?” Estella nodded. An even bigger smile dominated his features as he slowly leaned in towards her face, asking, “May I?” and brought his lips to hers after she nodded again.

If admitting her feelings had released a great weight from her conscious, then being kissed by Merry felt even more so – he moved to hold her face in his hands, to caress her cheeks. She shivered at his gentle touch, and moved closer to him as evening winds blew a quiet breeze, the tendrils of willow leaves drifting softly about them. Nestling up to him, she deepened the kiss, nuzzling into the comfort of his warmth. Needing life-giving breath, their lips parted, but they stayed together, their heads leaning against one another, his arms about her waist, with hers around his neck.

“Wow,” Merry whispered – Estella felt his breath close to her lips, “Well, I’d have to say this is one of the best birthday presents I’ve ever gotten – not as good as the handmade pipe that Pip got me, quite the collector’s item that was – but it comes close.” Estella laughed, and punched him softly in the shoulder before drawing in for another kiss.

Flowers, Gems And Estella - Chapter XXV

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Nursing a slight headache that was the result of the previous evening’s lively excursions, Mentha Brandybuck awoke to mid-morning sunlight streaming through the circular window in her room – she heard no sound within the rest of the house, imagining that the other residents were all still asleep. Most everyone had arrived at the hole after the party in a state of fatigue, nearly falling asleep while still in the pony-driven cart that took them home – Celandine and Estella, too tired to continue further, made berth there, neither of which she expected to now be awake. After washing herself thoroughly, she made her way downstairs and into the kitchen she presumed to be empty.

“Oh!” she said in surprise upon seeing Estella awake and sipping a hot drink – she sat before the wide window, looking upon the green expanse, the rising sun slowly expanding over it.

“Morning,” Estella said to her in a strangely serene tone, such as one commenting on the beautiful weather and such.

“Um – morning,” she responded, slightly confused as to why Estella was up as early as she was, “Great party last night, don’t you think?”

Estella sighed wistfully to think of the events that had transpired the prior evening. “Yes, quite nice.” She sat down the now empty mug, and moved towards the door of the kitchen, pausing before Mentha, who was shocked when Estella embraced her in an immense embrace.

“What exactly was that for?” she asked once Estella released her.

“Just, to thank you – for inviting me, that’s all,” she said, and disappeared into the living room and up the stairs, Mentha looking after her, a bewildered look on her face. She shook her head, and proceeded to get herself a glass of water.

Estella had such a blissful smile on her face, her eyes lost in memories of the night before as she trumped up the stairs, barely aware of the hand resting on the wooden banister, that she completely missed seeing Celandine exit the guest bedroom and bumped into her.

“Oh!” she said, nearly falling to the floor but catching herself just in time, “Morning, Estella!” She wiped slumber from her eyes, her mouth opening wide in an enormous yawn. “Well, I can tell you’ve been up for a while – sleep any?”

“Yeah,” she said wistfully, her eyes not really focusing on Celandine, “A bit – went right to sleep when I laid down last night, I was so tired. How about you?”

“Um, me too,” Celandine said, her eyebrow raised, “Since I spent most of the whole evening dancing, and didn’t disappear halfway through the party – unlike some people – I was quite tired as well, and went right to sleep. And yourself?”

“You noticed, I guess,” she said sheepishly.

“It was fairly hard not to – I asked Fredegar, but he said nothing, told me to mind my own business, or something. Quite rude, rather.”

“So you want to know where I went?”

“And who you went with, as well.”

Estella sighed, knowing that this moment would come – it wasn’t that she didn’t want to tell Celandine of professing her newfound love for Merry, quite the opposite really. But such a revelation had to considered – there was a right and wrong way to tell it, and Estella had not yet thought of the right way. Biting her lip, she pushed Celandine back into the bedroom she had just come out of, following and locking the door behind her.

“Okay, I’ll tell,” she said with a sigh, looking upon Celandine’s eager face, “I went – walking, I guess – with Merry.” Celandine’s eyebrows rose to hear this. “And he was going to – well, he was going to admit his feelings to me, which I think you had suspicions would happen, right?” She nodded knowingly – Estella now laughed to herself, remembering Merry’s bout of stuttering. “And I could tell he was nervous – and when he said it, I just – I don’t know how to explain it –”

“What? What happened?” Celandine was holding her hands as if on edge for what Estella might say next, and looked as if she were about to start biting her fingernails in anticipation. “You – you say that, did you? Because you know, you always said you didn’t – and if now you do – well, I’d be quite surprised, not to mention extremely pleased.”

Estella said nothing, relinquishing naught to Celandine but a small smile – one that increasingly grew by the minute. “Are you serious? Really?” she said in complete disbelief – a large grin broke onto Estella’s face, and she nodded.

Celandine released a great gasp, and embraced Estella a large hug, saying all the while, “Oh, I’m so happy for you! Now, you’re not just pulling my leg, are you? You really do feel the same, don’t you?”

“Of course! Do you think that’s something I would lie about?”

“Well, I don’t know about that –”

Fredegar, awoken by the squeals coming from the lasses, mostly from Celandine, trudged out of the guest bedroom, having full intentions of telling them to quiet down because there are still people in the hole trying to get some sleep – he only stood outside the room they were in though, eavesdropping on their conversation. So the evening had gone well for Estella, he commented to himself. He had often wondered when she would take interest in finding a lad to settle down with – in her youth, she was quite the stubborn thing, and whereas most lasses her age would readily associate with lads such as he, she would most often be found within their hobbit hole. It put his mind at ease to know that she now had no impediments towards socializing.

Estella seems pleased – perhaps it’s time I paid Merry a long overdue visit – just to talk. And with that he quietly prepared himself dressing in shirt and trousers, and came down the stairs without alerting Estella to his leave. Mentha and Melilot’s brother, Merimas, was in the living room, and said nothing when Fredegar bid him not tell Estella of his leave. He only nodded quietly, and returned to the thick, leather-bound book he was reading.

Fredegar arrived at Brandy Hall within the hour, noticing the servants still working to clean up the pavilion behind the hole from the previous evening’s excursions. He knocked on the door, wondering if any of the residents were able to answer it – last night’s party had been a good one, and every hand available would no doubt be needed to restore the Hall to its former state of cleanliness.

It was a couple minutes after he knocked on the thick wooden door that Merry, with a brilliant smile plastered on his face, opened the door – upon seeing Fredegar the smile faded, if only a little, pleased at seeing his friend, but perhaps expecting someone else.

“Morning,” Fredegar said brightly, pretending to be unaware of this falter, “I see you’re awake – hope you didn’t party too hard last night.”

“Oh no, I’m all right,” Merry said, rubbing slumber out of his eyes, “Just working to clean up a bit – there’s things, though, that I don’t even remember having happened.” He invited Fredegar within the Hall. “Indication of wild excursions, happening without my knowledge – my parents are rather peeved at me, though, about the broken lamp in the library, the evidence of which all points to Pippin, such as a broken bottle of ale, and a brooch,” Merry said, as he brought out from his pocket a expertly crafted brooch. Fredegar admitted to seeing it once or twice before, on the cloaks of the Travelers – it was a green leaf, with intricate silver trim about it, made of what looked to be the softest metal.

“Lady Galadriel wouldn’t be happy if she knew he dropped it – mind you, he’s already done it once before, but I think the occasion called for it,” Merry said, stroking the brooch reminiscently, remembering the shining face of the Elven queen who had given them such an exquisite gift.

“What happened – what was the occasion?”

Merry sighed – it was just another part of a long story, the end of which they still had yet to see. “Well, I know I’ve told you some of what happened to us, about the Fellowship, and Elrond. Well, it was soon after the death of Bor–” Much like when he had remembered the Battle of Pelennor, he stopped speaking, lost in melancholy thought.

“What happened?” Fredegar asked carefully, sensing the weight of the moment.

“Well,” Merry said, shaking his head as he jolted back to the present, “Pippin and I were captured by the Orcs – the horrid creatures of Mordor, I told you of them, didn’t I?” Fredegar nodded. “Lord Aragorn and his company, the elf Legolas and dwarf Gimli, were in pursuit of the Orcs, to rescue us – Pippin, in a moment of surprising genius, pulled off the brooch and threw it on the ground, to inform Aragorn that we were still alive.”

“Quite brilliant of him, I should say,” Fredegar said, “He seems to have acted somewhat mature over the course of the journey, but once he returned he was back to normal, would you say?”

“Oh yes,” Merry said, nodding, “Yes, he may have his moments here and there, but for the most part he is still the same Pippin we know and occasionally love – only much taller.”

“You’re much taller as well,” Fredegar mentioned, now inching closer to the topic he had originally come to speak of.

“Well, I don’t like to brag too much – but I must admit, I tower over quite a few hobbits since my return.”

“Yes – you towered over me quite well, I noticed, when you answered the door just earlier.”

“Well, it’s not that hard, really – I mean, seeing as how you haven’t taken any Ent draft in your lifetime. Keeps the Ents alive, and has an astounding affect on hobbits.”

“Hmm, yes – would you say that’s why your flashy smile faded when you saw me, and not, say, someone as tall as you?” Fredegar’s eyes flashed unseen by Merry. “Or was it because I was not the Bolger you wanted to see at the moment?”

“No you weren’t,” Merry said rather quickly and without thinking, then immediately began to fluster as he realized his verbal slip, “I mean, I wasn’t expecting you – I was expecting Pippin, to come and get his missing brooch!” He held the trinket up to prove his point, which soon flew out of nervous, slipping hands and under a nearby sofa. He looked after it, turning back to Fredegar and grinning sheepishly.

“Estella already told me – before she even told you, as a matter of fact,” he answered.

“Oh? So,” Merry mumbled, fingering idly with the hem of his vest, “So, you know – and –”

“And – I approve. If only for Estella’s sake – but the way I see it, it is no reason for a grudge to come between lads.”

“Oh no!” Merry said, shaking his head a little too keenly, “No, it’s no reason for you to hate me!”

“But,” Fredegar said, holding up a single finger, “I happen to know she thinks very highly of you – and if you should let her down –”

“Oh no, don’t worry!” Merry said, an almost frightened squeak to his voice, “No, I won’t let her down – on my oath, as a soldier of Rohan,” he said, holding a noble hand over his chest, “And a personal friend of his majesty Lord Aragorn, I will never willfully or fortuitously do anything to bring her harm or grief. You have my word,” Merry said solemnly, finishing with a small, respectful bow.

“Get up there, lad, you don’t need to promise me anything.” Merry rose at his bidding, smiling rather awkwardly. “Estella, like you, feared that I might not approve of this – relationship.”

“Well, I didn’t want to lose your friendship over it – after all, it’s nothing for us lads to have an argument over.” Fredegar nodded heartily and crossed his arms, agreeing with Merry’s jubilant words.

Flowers, Gems And Estella - Chapter XXVI

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Mentha and Melilot were never clued in as to the events of Merry’s birthday party, concerning he and Estella – this was probably for the best, Estella realized, as Celandine eagerly awaited the post to arrive the coming days.

“He hasn’t visited you at all since the party,” she said when Estella asked the reason to her actions, “And it’s been nearly a week! I suspect he’s been all busy writing you an absolutely beautiful love letter – and therefore, it should be coming any day now.” And so she waited, as if she herself were awaiting a letter from her own sweetheart, always with an excited expression, her chin cupped in her hands with her elbows leaning on the windowsill in the living room.

Unlike their flighty cousins, Estella did tell Doderic and Ilberic about her newfound love for Merry – it came as no surprise to them, and they honestly admitted they had suspected it all along.

“Well, we could see it, you know – first time you laid eyes on him, Estella, you were in love with him – since the first time you met him,” Doderic said, nodding in such a way that any other hobbit might have found it difficult to argue with him.

“Oh, really,” Estella said, “Well, I’ll have you know the first time I met dear Meriadoc was when I was six – and he was not the most charming hobbit lad I’d ever known.”

“Well then, I guess that’s just a testament to how much he’s changed – or maybe, that just shows exactly what kind of lad you’re interested in, Estella.” Ilberic raised his eyebrows after he said this, his brother nodding, agreeing with him. “Maybe that just says that you like the – less than charming lads, the ones that will push you into the river and laugh about it to your face.”

“Well, while you may consider yourselves the epitome of gentlehobbit behavior,” Estella said, in a rather know-it-all tone, “May I remind you that, unlike Merry, there is no lass in love with you?”

“As far as you know, Estella.”

“Did you have any lass making declarations of love while you were at the party?”

“No – but I did dance with one. If that counts for anything.”

Estella would have said more, but judging by Celandine’s shouts, the post had just come – and there was a letter for her in it.

“It must be from him, the address is from Brandy Hall!” she said eagerly, handing Estella the rather thick letter.

While letters had never held much excitement for Estella, and it was never commonplace for her to eagerly open one, hungrily wrenching the contents from within, she had also never been faced with the prospect of getting a letter such as this one – once it was in her hands, she ripped it open, throwing the envelope to the floor and eagerly reading the letter.

My dearest Estella,

I pray this letter reaches you in good health, and my sentiments go out to the members of my extended family – I hope that they are well, and I expect they enjoyed themselves at my recent party.

You probably know that flowery language is not my strong point, so I will skip such tongue as is foreign to me, and stay where I am best acquainted. I spoke with your brother just the other day, and I am glad to hear that he finds our relationship satisfactory, as it is on his good side that I prefer to stay.

I would like to call upon you sometime soon – nothing much, just to keep up with how you are faring – perhaps Wednesday, if it pleases you? Brandy Hall is once again spotless, thanks to many helping hands’ hard work, and – well, I suppose that I rather boring talk, isn’t it?

Since I know you may not be one to appreciate bursts of ornate and florid speech, I shall refrain – as I mentioned above it is not something I claim to be good at. But if I were able, I would write you a poem that would rival the works of the Elves – and while their physical grace is unmatched by myself, the love Beren had for Lúthien cannot surpass mine for you.

All my love,

Meriadoc Brandybuck

P.S. You may be wondering exactly who Beren and Lúthien are. As it is a fascinating story, I promise to tell you upon our next meeting.

Estella heard nothing around her when she finished reading the relatively short letter – that was probably because everyone behind her, who had been reading the letter over her shoulder, held their breath, waiting for her reaction.

“Well, you can’t say it was very long, can you?” Doderic said.

“Dod!” Celandine said, punching him in the side, “It’s Estella’s letter, what matters is what she thinks.”

“Well, I do think he’s right,” Estella said, looking down on the script, which was none too fancy, “But it’s very thoughtful, in his own way I suppose – it’s sweet, coming from him. What counts is the meaning behind the words, as few of them as there are.”

“So, what are you going to say in your letter?”

“My letter?”

“Well, you have to write him back, of course – to tell him that he may call upon you, and that Wednesday would be perfectly lovely a time to see him again.”

“Or, I could just make the moderately simple walk to Brandy Hall, and talk to him in person – why, I’d be there in a just a couple hours, whereas the letter would take over a day to reach him.”

“But the letter just seems so much more – romantic. It’s like you’re two lovers, who are miles apart and have missed the sight of one another sorely, and the only way for the two of you to communicate is through the written word,” Celandine said, sure of her words, “Yes, Estella, that is what you much do – tell Merry he must come here to see you, for you are a lady and must not bruise yourself to have to walk over there, when he is much more able to do it himself! Gentlehobbit, indeed.” She nodded at the end of her speech, as if to prove her point.

Estella shook her head, and allowed Celandine to hole her up in her room after supper. “Write!” she said, pushing her down in a chair before the desk, a parchment of paper and bottle of ink before her, “And make it heartfelt,” she added, in a gentler tone.

Estella sat there with quill in hand, wondering how to begin – she had never written a letter such as this before, and the prospect of it confused her. Looking once more at Merry’s letter, she decided a simple beginning was as good as any.

My dearest Meriadoc, she began, but stopped there, unsure of what to say next.

“Having trouble?” Celandine said, looking over her shoulder, “Just listen to your heart – that’s what I always do.”

I am glad to hear that you are well – words cannot describe the sorrow I would feel if danger were to befall you.

“Really brings the mood down, don’t you think?” Celandine said behind her, and upon a stern look from Estella, “All right, all right, I won’t help you.”

Your letter was lovely, and I know that you must have spent a great amount of effort writing it – I am flattered even more, to know that you would take such time to please me, with such sincere words.

I had a wonderful time at the party – my compliments to the chef, the potato soup was excellent. I already had news of my brother’s approval, before I even told you of my feelings – he was quite happy, really, to find that I felt so strongly for a lad, but admitted that I could have made a better choice.

Estella stopped here, and smiled slightly to herself at the thought of her brother actually saying those words – she had wanted to avoid the premise of revealing to Merry that she’d already known of his feelings before he told her. Her evasion of the subject, she thought, had gone quite nicely.

His words, though, I must disagree with, for I feel as if there is no one in all the Shire more worthy of my admiration than you – and while I may not know much of the lands beyond the Shire, I can say with confidence that I doubt there are any beings as noble as you.

I understand your inability to write beautiful and flowery language, as you call it – but one does not need to write in an eloquent language, to write from the heart. I myself can admit that simple correspondence between friends is the best of my abilities, having never written anything of this sort.

You have my permission to visit me, on Wednesday, or any day that you deem appropriate. I await your call, and wish you good health. I should like to hear of this Beren and Lúthien that you speak of, for theirs seems a beautiful tale.

Sincerely yours,

Estella Bolger

She read over the letter upon completion, and prepared to allow Celandine to read it – turning towards the bed where she had been sitting, she found her instead sleeping, and therefore unable to read her heartfelt efforts.

“I guess you won’t get to read this then,” Estella said, taking the letter with her downstairs to find an envelope. After sealing it and braving the late evening weather to place it in the postbox, she came upstairs to find Celandine still asleep, who by the time she awoke the next morning, would not get to read the letter, already on its way to Brandy Hall.

Flowers, Gems And Estella - Chapter XXVII

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Merry and Estella sat upon the crest of a green hill, a short distance from the Brandybuck abode – below them ran a gentle brook, beside which they had sunned themselves minutes before. Dipping their toes into the water, the scene had quickly turned into one of mischief, when Merry had roguishly splashed Estella, who splashed him back for it. The end result was two thoroughly soaked hobbits, and they now lay upon the grass, the bright sun overhead warming their clothes and spirits.

“That one,” Merry said suddenly, pointing upward at the blue expanse, painted over with white splotches of clouds, “That looks like an Ent – most likely Quickbeam, if I had to name it specifically.”

“And Ents, what are they?” Estella asked, looking to his face with a questioning look on hers. She had heard Merry speak of many things foreign to her that day. “And this Beren and Lúthien you spoke of in your letter, who are they?”

Merry chuckled. “One matter at a time, my love – am I to explain the world to you, or will you not leave will enough alone and admit that they are things unaware to you?” He had a bright smile on his face as he said this. “I have only begun to touch upon the telling of my journeys beyond the borders of the Shire – there is much more still, you see. Now, where shall I begin?”

Estella sighed, sensing that even if she had a hundred years to listen to Merry’s tale, she might never hear the end of it. “Tell me about Beren and Lúthien – that sounded like a good tale.”

“Very well,” Merry said, and cleared his throat dramatically while Estella laughed, “This happened long ago, long before we hobbits had colonized the Shire – perhaps long before hobbits even existed along the banks of the Great River, I’m not sure. But – and you have heard of Elves, right?” Estella nodded. “Well, there were once kingdoms all across the lands, even in these lands, our own Shire, once called Eriador – and in these kingdoms lived Men. Great and wise kings ruled over the lands, and there was long ago a land called Beleriand, no longer in existence. This was long before the kings of today, before Gondor and Rohan even existed – there lived a prince of Men, named Beren. One evening, while he was out walking, he came upon a grove, and within he saw the sight of a beautiful elf maiden, Lúthien, singing as she danced about in the moonlight.”

“And it was love at first sight?” Estella said, getting ahead of herself.

“Well, yes – but being an elf, she was immortal, whereas he was not, and while he would die and go to the halls of the Valar, she would live forever, for Elves are bound to the earth, and suffer as it does – only when the earth ends will they truly die. And being strong and handsome, I suppose, Lúthien loved Beren also, and swore to give up her immortality for him.”

“Did she ever?” Estella said, her voice carrying an excited tone, eager to hear the story.

“Now, just wait – Lúthien’s father was a great king of Elves, and when Beren met with him, the king would allow him his daughter’s hand only if he retrieved the last Silmaril from Morgoth. The Silmarils, you see, were jewels, and the Elves valued them highly, for they contained the light of the two trees of Valinor – by this time, though, there was only one left, and the trees had long since been destroyed, by Morgoth himself actually. So Beren, blind with his love for Lúthien, took on Morgoth, and did manage to capture the Silmaril – but he himself died afterwards, in battle against the great wolf Carcaroth.”

Merry saw a great sadness leap into Estella’s eyes when he said this, and her mouth contorted, as if she were about to sob, her eyes slowly watering over. “But, you see, Lúthien pleaded to the Valar to bring him back, for she would rather die than wander the earth forever, without him – the Valar pitied her, and agreed to let him live again, but only if she would forsake her immortality, and die with him also.”

Merry finished the tale, looking up at the clouds and watching their wispy forms slide by him in the sky – beside him, though, he heard a soft sob emit from Estella, and looked to see two silent tears run down her cheek.

“Estella my dear, what’s wrong?” he said, rising up upon his elbow to face her.

Estella wiped her eyes, smiling brightly even through her apparent sorrow – she laughed almost heartily as she spoke. “No, it’s alright – I’m not sad. That was just – a nice story. Don’t think I’ve heard better.”

“I apologize if it upset you –”

“It didn’t, really!” Estella, and she was truly was laughing here, “It was touching, and now – well, I understand what you meant in your letter, and I – I thought it was very thoughtful of you.” She leaned closer to him, wiping her joyful tears on his sleeve as he moved his arm to embrace her round the shoulders.

“Would you like to hear about the Ents?” Merry said softly, attempting not to ruin the weight of the moment.

“Yes, very much so,” Estella said, raising her head from Merry’s sleeve – her eyes were dry now, but were still rimmed with red, her cheeks shining while still slightly wet.

“Well, I suppose, when you wandered into the Old Forest, was there a queer feeling about the place, almost as if –”

“As if the trees were moving about, and watching you with their eyes?”

“Yes! Then I suppose you know what I’m talking about – well, I’ve suspected often that those tree really are able to move, and talk with one another, and watch you with sinister eyes. But when Pippin and I entered Fangorn Forest – after we were captured by orcs, I told you of that – I actually met a tree that could walk and talk, and had eyes with which to see like you and I do. Not a tree, really, but an Ent, different from a tree – they are the ones to keep the trees in line, though I suppose there aren’t any in the Old Forest, the trees in there are quite roguish. His name was Treebeard, the one that we met, and he cared for us and kept us safe from danger – the Ents, you see, are very old, and have been on this earth for a long time, and will no doubt be here for many more years. There are so old – and mind you, long ago the females Ents, or the Entwives, went away – well, they are so old, or at least Treebeard was, that it had passed from his memory what the Entwives even looked like! I mean, they must look something like an Ent, as apposed to a hobbit or an orc, right?”

“Well, I guess I would think so,” Estella said, nodding as though she didn’t completely understand what he spoke of, “But that’s so sad, to never know the companionship of another.” Her eyes held a downcast look in them as she spoke.

“You’re not going to start crying again, are you?” Merry asked, a mischievous smile on his face.

Estella too laughed. “No, of course not! I think I’m all right now.”

It was several more minutes before either of them spoke again – Merry, as if he had been contemplating this matter deeply, spoke at last. “Estella, you’re planning on attending the Harvest Festival in September, right?”

“Yes, I’m looking forward to it,” she said, nodding.

“Well, I was wondering – I mean, of course we’ll see each other there. You’ll probably come there with Celandine, and Doderic and Ilberic, but I was wondering, if you would – if you might want to come with me?”

Estella was confused. “What exactly do you mean?”

“I mean, you – if you wanted to – you could come as my – companion, if you will.”

“You mean – like as your date?”

“Well – yes, I guess if you want to say it like that, if that’s really the best wording for it – I mean, it’s okay, between you and me –”

“I’d be delighted to.”

“You would?” he said, smiling, “Oh, okay – I mean, you don’t have to spend a great amount of time with me, if you wanted to just talk with other friends most of the time –”

“But you’re one of my friends, are you not?”

“Well, yes, I suppose I am – but –”

“Is there some other matter upon which you wish to speak?” Estella said, looking at him earnestly.

Merry stopped short of his words, contemplating them further. “Well, yes – you see, my parents don’t exactly – know, about our relationship – I don’t even know if they’ve ever really met you, even before our love.”

“Are you saying you haven’t even told them?”

“Well – what about you? Have you written home to your parents and told them of myself?”

Estella had to admit that she hadn’t. “Well, have you told them anything at all? It wouldn’t be a good idea to just spring this thing on them when they’re not expecting it.”

Merry sighed. “I have told them, somewhat, about us – I mean, after the party, they questioned me where I had been, when I was with you that time – so I said that I had been with a lass, which was not a lie – but not the whole truth. I said little more on the subject, for – well, I needed time to think it over, of how to tell them.”

“To think the relationship over, right?”

“Oh no, not at all! No, I do not need to think this over. I have never been surer about anything in my life, than about this,” he said tenderly, taking her hand in his, “But my point is, it is a delicate matter, and needs to be handled carefully.”

“Sounds logical, I suppose – and I shall meet them at the Harvest Festival?”

“That’s what I getting at – though they are away at the Great Smials at the moment, my parents shall be returning next week, and I would like to invite you to meet them then.”

“Oh? Like a dinner party?”

“Yes, but I wish for it be an intimate gathering – and I only planned on inviting you.”

“You mean, no one else – Celandine and her brothers wouldn’t be coming?”

“If you wish to invite them, it would be alright – but forgive me for saying that it was not my intention.”

“Well, I suppose it’d be fine – I would like to meet them, and to have them meet me. If it is necessary, then, to have their blessing – well, then I suppose we shall just have to have it. Yes, perhaps Celandine needn’t come – it would make it seem too causal an occasion. I’m sure she’ll be alright with it.”

“Wonderful – and you will attend the Harvest Festival with me as well?”

“I already said I would,” Estella said, smiling and laughing at the same time.

“Then I suppose it’s settled. Shall we adjourn back to the hole?” he said, preparing to stand.

“Oh, we don’t have to,” Estella said, and remained sitting, “It’s nice to just sit here and be near each other.”

“Whatever pleases my lady love,” Merry said, and sat down once more next to Estella.

Flowers, Gems And Estella – Chapter XXVIII

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Celandine didn’t mind at all not being invited to Brandy Hall – “I’ve already met his parents, seeing as how they’re my relatives and all – but you, Estella, you need to meet them, as they could very well become your in-laws some day,” – and agreed to help her prepare for the intimate gathering. Following Merry’s advice – he had mentioned that it was to be a simple gathering, not too casual, but not too fancy, as there was no need to impress his parents – Estella chose one of her own dresses, rather than borrow one of Celandine’s.

“Perhaps it’s for the best – you seem to enjoy simple dresses, ones that would be perfect for this – you’re just down to earth like that, I guess,” she said, looking over the dress herself. It was a light, spring green, with flowery print on it, and was much like the simple peasant dresses of farm girls.

“You needn’t impress them with your outfit – just be yourself and I know they’ll love you. They’re not on completely unfamiliar terms with you, as they are aware that you exist – so I’m sure it will go great.” Celandine’s words eased Estella’s nervousness, and she brushed her hair before the fancy vanity mirror. Upon finishing, she laid the brush down on the counter and gazed at her reflection – she was not as pretty as she’d thought herself at Merry’s birthday party, but flashing a kind smile she found herself nonetheless pleased with her appearance. Donning her midnight blue cloak, she made her way downstairs to where Celandine was waiting.

“You look very nice,” she said, her arms held behind her back.

“Why, thank you – I suppose I’m just down to earth like that,” she relied, copying Celandine’s previous words, “You know, a simple country girl.”

Celandine grinned sheepishly. “I didn’t mean it like that – I only meant that you’re impressed more by affection and honesty, rather than a show of wealth and tenure – you’re not so much concerned with your outward beauty, as you are with what’s inside.”

“Well, I really have nothing to be concerned about on the outside,” she said, looking down at her form.

“Do you still think you’re too plain? You’re a perfectly lovely lass, Estella – your beauty is simple instead of ornate, which I think Merry appreciates more – and don’t think that you’re too tall, for I would love that have more height myself. Your stature accentuates you – it is a noble feature, and one would need to be tall around dear Meriadoc – who I believe as arriving as we speak.”

Indeed there was a drawn carriage making its way towards the hole, stopping before the entrance as Merry jumped from it and made his way to knock on the door. Estella, however, met him halfway, and opened the circular door just as his fist was about to make contact.

“Hello,” she said, a bright smile upon her face, “I didn’t want to be late.”

“Quite all right, my dear,” he said, planting a kiss upon her cheek, “Good evening Celandine – frightfully sorry I can’t stay long.”

“Oh, that’s quite all right, Merry, I know you and Estella must be on your way,” she said, and closed the door behind them as they made their way outside.

“If you’ve heard rumors about my parents,” Merry said once they were one their way, his arm wrapped comfortably around Estella’s shoulders, “I can assure you they are not overbearing and pompous.”

“I heard nothing of the sort, and I imagine that they are quite kind – for if they weren’t, they would never have put up with an imp such as yourself.”

Merry grinned as he held the pony’s reins. “I suppose you have a point – my father, it was said, was just like me in his youth, mischievous and cunning – and my mother, I suppose, is kind and sweet herself, for she has had to put up with both my father and myself, who are alike in many ways.”

“Just as I put up with you, perhaps? I can see how she and I may be something alike,” she said, and snuggled closer to his warmth.

They arrived at Brandy Hall a little before sunset, and were greeted in the foyer by Mr. and Mrs. Brandybuck, who had just returned home themselves. Estella immediately noticed much of Merry in Saradoc’s features – the cleft in the chin and the impish light in his eyes that told of his still youthfulness – as well as his mother, Esmeralda, for she had an aura of kindness and honesty about her, just as she’d often sensed in Merry – when he wasn’t being his usual mischievous self. None of them could match Merry’s height, though, but Estella knew that was no inherited trait, and was instead a side effect of the Ent draft he’d described to her.

Saradoc extended a slightly aged hand out to her, saying, “Welcome, my dear – you must be Estella.” His voice was sturdy and full of laughter, and his handshake was strong despite its withered exterior. He released her hand, smiling as she spoke.

“Thank you very much for inviting me – I, uh, I know we have met before, somewhat, but – well, I guess Merry’s told you some about me –”

“Now, don’t be thinking we’ve got something against you just because you’re taking our son away from us – believe me, you can have him!” he said, and laughed harder than anyone else in the room.

Mrs. Brandybuck sighed, and made the apologies for her husband. “Pay no attention to him, my dear,” she said, grinning despite her words, “I’m very glad you were able to make it – I hope you found the journey pleasant.”

“Oh, it was only from Newbury –”

“Estella’s staying over at Seredic’s, with Celandine and her brothers – I told you that, didn’t I?” Merry said, making up for her confusion.

“Well, perhaps you did, Meriadoc – I just can’t seem to remember things as well as I used to,” she said, putting a hand to her forehead, “Shall we adjourn to the sitting room?” she said, and hooked her arm into that of her husband’s as they made their way into the hole.

“So far so good,” Merry said as Estella did the same with her own arm. He patted her hand reassuringly. “They’re getting on in years, I suppose, but they’re a jolly old pair really.”

“Jolly is right,” Estella said, remembering Mr. Brandybuck’s words, “But they have an eternal youthfulness about them – they’re like one of those old married couples, who are only really old in years. Unlike my parents,” she ended.

“Oh? And what are they like? For I will need to meet them sooner or later.”

“Well, they’re nothing like these two – my mother, it always seems, is reprimanding me to be more ladylike, to spend more time inside the hole. She wants me to be a good housewife – she’s kind enough, but she’s accepted her age, and accepted that she’s no longer young.”

“And your father?”

“Quite opposite, though nothing like yours. He never found anything wrong with me playing outside, or helping him in the fields – he had no sisters growing up, and his mother died when he was still young, so I suppose he really didn’t have much of an idea as to what behaviors were proper for young lasses. He always used to say that anything I did was ladylike enough for him,” she said, and a reminiscent smile came over her face.

“You miss them, don’t you?” he said.

“Yes, very much so, now that I’ve been here for so long – but Buckland is pleasant, and I suppose I shall have to enjoy being here, or else ask you to move to Bywater, which I wouldn’t want you to do for my sake.”

They relaxed in the sitting room before adjourning once dinner was called. The dining room in which they ate was not the large one she had been in for Merry’s birthday party – it was a smaller, more intimate room, probably used by the family when there was not a great amount of guests present at the Hall. As intimate as it was, Estella had not often been to such fancy feasts as this, and was greatly confused by the amount of silverware by her plate. The only times she’d had this much silverware to choose from were at the big social gatherings, where no one was watching her specifically. Of course, her family was not the Masters of Buckland, and had no need for such extravagance.

Dinner was a pleasant occasion and went well at first for Estella – she made sure not to slurp her soup, and made no outlandish mistakes when it came to choosing which fork to eat with. Her folly, however, came when a great goose was served as the main entrée – there were many knives to choose from, as well as forks, and the accident probably resulted from the effect this overwhelming decision had on her nerves. She was cutting a slice of meat for herself, but it was being particularly slippery – she tried in vain to cut it without alerting the others to her frustration, when suddenly it slipped from underneath her knife with a scratch of silverware against the china plate, flew through the air – and she watched fearfully as it landed in Mr. Brandybuck’s lap with a frightfully soggy, squishy sound.

Estella nearly burst into tears right then and there – she wanted nothing more than for a hole to open up in the floor that she could disappear into. No one said much of anything – all three of them stared at the meat that lay in Saradoc’s lap, dark juices flowing onto his trousers. All seemed silent for a while – an eternity, it seemed to Estella – before a strange sound escaped from Saradoc’s mouth. At first she thought he was choking – perhaps the shock had caused a piece of food to become lodged in his throat as he swallowed it – but no, it sounded more like he was crying. Yes, that was it, he was crying, just as Estella felt she would do soon – but no, there were no tears on his face. He was, it seemed, laughing.

Merry soon joined in his father’s mirth, and before long Mrs. Brandybuck was also chuckling to herself – Estella looked up at them, for her head had been lowered down at her plate in shame, and a smile slowly made its way onto her face as well.

“Wonderful!” Mr. Brandybuck said jovially, “Dinners here are so stuffy and boring anyway – a delightful prank is just the thing to break the ice!” And he went on eating his meal, not bothering to remove the meat from his lap.

Merry, still clutching his sides in laughter, smiled from the across the table at Estella – it seemed she had gone over well with the Brandybucks after all.

Flowers, Gems And Estella – Chapter XXIX

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Fredegar arrived two days before the Harvest Festival was scheduled to begin – his coming might have been sooner, he said, had there not been a great mass of carts making their way to Bucklebury. “They were hundreds of them,” he described to Estella, “They were filled with grain and corn, and all sorts of livestock as well, and some other goods to be sold – cloths of the most decorative varieties. You never know, Estella, you might be able to find something there to make your wedding dress of.”

Estella grinned at swatted at her brother playfully for his remark, but to her own self she did not pass it off as folly – she had considered often the prospect of marriage since admitting her feelings to Merry, and had to admit that the idea did not frighten her as much as it might have in the past. Celandine, noticing the serene quietness to Estella’s face, later commented on it.

“Before you would have hit your brother much harder, and probably had some choice words for his statement – a change, it seems, has come over you,” she said to her late that evening.

Estella smiled to herself, a piece of knitting in her hand that she was working on. “Well, I suppose it has – but really, Celandine, there was no need for him to say those words. Merry and I are not yet engaged, and it will be some time before we are – if ever.”

“But you’ve been spending an awful lot of time with him lately,” Celandine remarked, “Why, just yesterday when he came to visit you, the two of you spent nearly five hours outside together! It wasn’t until after dark that he even left, and you spent the rest of the evening sitting around with a far-off and dreamy look in your eyes – Estella, I must say, you are smitten with my dear cousin.”

“Well, I’ve never – met anyone as charming as he. Perhaps someday, Celandine, when you fall in love, you’ll understand what it feels like,” she said, and spoke no more as she continued with her knitting.

“What are you making there?” Celandine asked after several minutes of silence.

“Oh, I think it’s going to be a scarf – for Merry.”

“I thought so.”

“Well, one can easily tell what it’s turning out be,” Estella said, holding up the long threads of her work, “It’s not too difficult.”

“I meant that whatever it was, I figured it would be for Merry.”

“Oh – well, I suppose so. I mean, he probably really needs one, for it’s getting quite cold, and it’s only yet September – for the winter months ahead, you know.”

Celandine grinned and shook her head. “Good night, Estella,” she said, and exited the room for her own quarters.

The next morning Fredegar awoke eager to hear what had happened during Estella’s visit at Brandy Hall with Merry’s parents. Estella had only barely briefed him of the events, but from Celandine’s comments he knew that something extraordinary had transpired.

“And it landed in his lap?” he said at one point, his jaw dropping to hear the hilarity. He slapped his knees in mirth, shaking his head almost consciously. “I should have known you’d do something like that – you never were too good at social events, which probably resulted in your being such a recluse half the time. But I expect he wasn’t angry?”

“No, not at all! Why, he laughed so hard and just when on eating – it was a good ten minutes before he even removed the meat, he was so amused by it!” she said, laughing before regaining her composure, “But really, Fatty, I was lucky not to be thrown out by my ear after that stunt – any other hobbit would have been terribly upset by it, so I must be careful not to do something like that again. Etiquette, that is what I shall have to learn,” she said, and held her hands solemnly in her lap as she said this.

“Just as long as I have permission to tell Mother and Father of this,” he said, still wiping tears of laughter from his eyes, “When we return home, right?”

“I suppose – although, when exactly will that be?” Estella, though enjoying her stay in Buckland, was most eager to return home to her family.

“Hopefully the day after the Harvest Festival, if it suits you,” he said.

Estella thought it over quietly. “Yes, I think that will be agreeable – Merry has invited me to be his companion to the Festival, so I shall be able to say goodbye to him then.”

“Oh, why not just invite him to come here the next morning? I’m sure he would want to see you off, and it would just so romantic,” Celandine said, a light in her eyes.

“Perhaps,” Fredegar said, nodding slightly, “But Estella, I wonder – I brought a letter for you from our parents, but I seem to have forgotten it. Maybe it is in the knapsack I brought, the one I left on the pony’s back.” The two of them adjourned outside, but did not make their way towards the stables – Fredegar had already delivered a letter from their parents the previous evening, which Celandine knew nothing about thankfully.

“Thank you – there is much I wish to speak with you about,” Estella said once they were outside. They made their way towards the brook beside which Estella had sat with Merry some weeks earlier, and rested upon the green hill.

“You have no regrets leaving, right?” Fredegar asked her once they were seated.

“Oh, some, I suppose – I shall miss Celandine, and her brothers – and I suppose something of me will miss Mentha and Mellie – but yes, Fatty, I will miss Merry, if that’s what you’re asking of me.”

He nodded. “It is, mostly – Celandine tells me you two have spent much time together.”

Estella smiled to herself. “She’s not lying to you – it seems I never go a day without seeing him, and I would have it no other way.”

“Does he come here often? To Celandine’s house?”

“Yes, most of the time – sometimes, he does invite me to Brandy Hall, though only a couple times has he invited me alone. Most of the time Celandine does come, which I don’t really mind.”

“What do the two of you talk of?”

“Well, everything and nothing, really – we don’t talk about anything in particular, just whatever we feel like. Why do you ask?”

“Well, when I last returned home, Mother asked me how you were faring – I did not want to lie to her, and I knew that she would be pleased if I told her you had found a – a special lad, I called it.”

“Well, she got what she wanted, didn’t she?”

“I didn’t say much on the topic – only that the lad was Merry, and that you had gotten to know him better. She did seem pleased, actually, as she wished for you to find a suitable husband on this trip.”

“And you want to know if Merry and I have spoken any of marriage.”       

Fredegar sighed here. “I’m not trying to get into your private business – but Mother will question you of these matters when you return home. She seems a little overbearing, I know, but she only wants to see you safe, and loved. I myself have no worries really about the two of you – but I’ll tell you this, when I told Mother of Merry she asked several questions about him, like whether or not I thought he was a gentleman, and would he treat you good – things like that. Quite strange, since I thought she already knew him. But nonetheless, it is a matter to consider, with or without Mother’s influence – the two of you have been together for nearly two months, and while most couples do court for longer, there are many who have known each other for less time and have married. I’m not suggesting that the two of you wed tomorrow –”

“Oh, no, I understand,” Estella said, and here she sighed, “You are right, and – it would not truthful to say that I have not considered marriage. But as for Merry, I have no idea – oh, he talks sometimes, but nothing serious. I remember that one time, he said something about the two of us growing old together – it was an offhand statement, spoken as if something like it were inevitable between us,” she said, and drifted off with a smile on her face, “It wasn’t really anything at the time, not to him – but it meant something to me, like he was somewhat aware of the prospect of marriage. It seemed to me, though, as it were nothing special that he was talking about – as if it were completely comfortable a subject between us.”

“Well, that’s not a bad thing – that means he is not frightened, like some lads have been know to be. If he is comfortable discussing it with you, I would see that as a good thing.”

“Really?”

“And if he invited you to the Harvest Festival – well, you never know what may happen.”

“Now, I don’t think he’d propose there!”

“Well, Merry’s not the most predictable of lads – he’s got a few tricks up his sleeve, and he would want to do the opposite of what you would expect. Now I’m not saying to go to this Festival expecting a proposal – for what if he didn’t?”

“I don’t think I’d be crushed, he’s not the most romantic of lads.”

“And you say he was rather nervous upon asking you?” Estella nodded. “Well, all I can say is this – the winds of change are blowing.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Well, have you ever seen Merry nervous about anything? Even when he’s in deep trouble, the lad’s resourceful and always seems to have something to say,” he said, stopping suddenly, “But I’m rambling – the choice is yours, not mine, for you are the one whose heart another holds.” And there he left her, alone and lost in her thoughts by the gently rolling stream.

Flowers, Gems And Estella – Chapter XXX

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Fredegar had not lied when he said that there would be a great many at the Harvest Festival, both to buy and sell. It lasted for two days, and on the evening of the second would be the Harvest Ball, an occasion for all the hobbits to come together in one of the last large social gatherings before cold weather set in. The first day of the festival was for auctioning off the bulk of the livestock and some of the crops – the buyers and sellers were those local farmers, and some whose businesses included the meat and grain trades. It was not incorrect that say that few lasses attended the auctions, coming instead to the marketplaces the next day to buy goods from the various stands and sellers – a large amount of the day’s profits would come from the sale of produce such as fruits and vegetables, food for the coming winter months. Various fabrics were also a commodity, such as Fredegar had said, to make the warm winter clothing that was to be needed very soon.

Estella came there on the second day with Merry, as well as Celandine and her brothers – Doderic and Ilberic had gone their own way almost as soon as they arrived, but Merry had stayed with Estella and Celandine, slowly walking before the booths with them. Estella supposed it was Pippin’s current absence that made him seek her boring company, and said so at one point.

“But you are not boring at all, my love,” he said in response, “I enjoy spending time with you – and you as well, dear cousin,” he said to Celandine on the other side of Estella, and tugged at the scarf around his neck. It was the one Estella had made for him, and he’d immediately put it on upon receiving it.

“You don’t have to wear it right away,” she’d said, “It’s still warm out.”

“But I wish to wear it, for you took the time and effort to make it especially for me, and I do not want that effort to go wasted.” Now, later in the day, the sun had grown warmer, and the scarf was quite a hassle to wear.

The three of them stopped at a booth to gaze at several handmade pieces of silver – fancy spoons, jewelry and brooches lay displayed on dark blue velvet, and they were not the only ones whose interest the pieces held.

“Lobelia Sackville-Baggins,” Merry whispered in Estella’s ear, and she looked over to see an elderly woman gazing particularly at the spoons before them, “Mother of Lotho and relative of Frodo’s – quite the nasty type, that one. As I recall, she once came to visit Bag End, and upon her leaving there were quite a few spoons missing.”

“Probably trying to pick up another set,” Celandine giggled beside them.

“Though I’d like to know what she’s doing here in Buckland,” Merry said once they were out of earshot, “After the Occupation we heard nothing from her for awhile – I believe she went up to the North Farthing, where her Sackville relatives are. Smart of her, to stay away from her Hobbiton relatives.”

“Perhaps she merely wants to be where no one recognizes her,” Estella said, “You only know her because you’re friends with Frodo, and not even that well apparently, as she didn’t seem to identify you.”

“Perhaps,” Merry said.

In mid-afternoon some of the sellers began to retire and prepare for the evening festivities – it was after four when Estella, Merry and Celandine did the same, and meeting with Doderic and Ilberic made their way home, Merry making his way instead to Brandy Hall.

“I shall see you this evening, then,” he said as the two of them stood outside to door of the hole, and they shared a quick but passionate kiss before Estella retreated inside.

There was no lack of excitement that evening as they made their way towards Bucklebury for the event – there were even more hobbits that had attended Merry’s birthday party two months earlier, more than Estella had even imagined residing in Buckland.

“Several come from the East and West Farthings as well,” Celandine said, noting the expression on Estella’s face and reading her thoughts, “The Tooks from Tuckborough, of course, and those from Hobbiton and Bywater that the Master is on good terms with – not many from the North Farthing, just the Tooks that are descendant from the Bullroarer. But almost all the South Farthing comes as well, too – probably because they’re the ones selling the best pipe weed at the Festival.”

There was no shortage of food and drink at the Ball, and Estella noticed that there were already a number of lads bumping into things, clutching their mugs and laughing to themselves. Drunk already, she thought, shaking her head and feeling pleased that Merry was not among them, whom they met soon enough, along with Pippin, Frodo, Sam and Rosie.

Rosie, little more than three months along with child, was not as big as she would soon be in the upcoming months – but one could tell that she had filled out a little, and she had a bright and healthy look about her.

“There’s not been a great amount of movement,” she said after greeting Estella and Celandine, “But I can feel a heartbeat quite clearly.” Taking Estella’s hand, she placed it on her abdomen – from beneath the flesh Estella could faintly feel a small vibration, like the beating of a tiny drum, and smiled to herself.

“Do you have an idea of what it might be?” she asked excitedly, “I know there’s no way to tell, but they say that mothers can sometimes sense these things.”

“Well, if I had to guess,” Rosie said, wiping sweat from her forehead, and Estella immediately got the idea that she was quite exhausted, “I’d say it was a lad, from the way it’s making me eat so much – I’ve never been quite so hungry! I feel sometimes as if I could out eat both Merry and Pippin, and still have room for dessert.”

“And only a lad could eat that much, right?” Estella said grinning, and looked across the table to see Pippin stuffing his face and proving her point. After finishing a plate of mushrooms, a great belch escaped from his mouth – the lasses present, which consisted of Estella, Celandine, Rosie, Mentha and Melilot, all acted offended and disgusted. Frodo said nothing, as did Fredegar, who only gave Pippin a scolding look, which he did not even notice. Doderic and Ilberic giggled to themselves, as did Merry, who claimed he thought it was the best he’d heard yet.

“Not I – it was disgusting and rude of you, Pippin,” Estella said, a stern look upon her face.

“Oh, come off it, Stella,” Merry said nonchalantly, “He’s only having a bit of fun,” he said, and slapped Pippin on the back, who grinned sheepishly, “Lads will be lads, you know.”

“Yes, and they’ll also be vulgar and uncouth,” she retorted, not entirely happy with Merry’s remark. He only shook his head though, clearly annoyed but willing to let it go – it was not a matter for a fight to start over, after all.

The dancing soon commenced, and all made their way onto the floor. Sam held Rosie gingerly in his arms as they danced to the fast paced song, near to which Merry danced with Estella.

“I apologize, my lady,” he said, his hands upon her waist, “If you believe that it was an uncouth thing of Pippin to do, then it must be so.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she said, still annoyed.

“Why, just as it sounded,” he responded, raising his eyebrows, “I meant only that it was wrong of me to praise Pippin, when I should have scolded him – just as you did.”

Estella, acting slightly stubborn, pouted here. “So you’re saying that I was wrong to scold him, but it doesn’t matter because whatever I do is what everyone should do?”

Merry scoffed at this accusation. “Now you’re just jumping to conclusions – though I do believe that you were a bit harsh with your words –”

“So now I’m harsh?” Estella said. By this time the two had stopped dancing and were facing each other with stern looks upon their faces.

“No, but you’re being awfully pigheaded and stubborn!”

Estella, now in a fury, scoffed and receded from the dance floor as quick as she could – she hurried past the table at which they had been sitting, not even noticing the confused and bewildered faces of all who sat there. Celandine started to say something, but Estella was gone by the time she’d opened her mouth – she was still sitting there dumbfounded and silent when Merry rushed past in the direction Estella had gone.

“What is wrong with you?” he asked, finding her sitting within a grove of trees beyond the reaches of the party – she sat facing away from him, and did not answer, “There’s something going on, and I can’t do anything about it if you don’t tell me what it is!”

When she spoke, her voice was quiet and strained, as if she were crying. “You take up for everyone around you – everyone but me. You praise Pippin for anything he does, and laugh at it like it’s the funniest thing you ever heard!” Her voice grew with intensity as she spoke. “Pippin’s your cousin, but the two of you are attached at the hip so much, he’s like your brother! There’s not a moment when he’s not around, never a moment alone!”

“How can you be jealous of Pippin? Yes, he’s my cousin, and a dear friend of mine as well, and I do love him very much – but not like you, Estella! He’s not you!”

“I know that!” she shouted back at him, and he saw now that there were tears flowing freely down her face, “It’s all well and good for you, isn’t it? You’ve got your best friend and your lass, so you’ve no reason to complain!”

“But you have, apparently! And I’m trying to find out why! Yes, Pippin and I are close friends, how could we not be after all the things we’ve seen? Things that you can’t even comprehend!”

“And you want to know why? It’s because I’m a stupid little Shire lass, who hasn’t seen anything beyond the borders of her homeland! You, my knight in shining armor, I need you to tell me how the world works, and what all’s out there – a world I know nothing about! You’re with Pippin, it seems, every day and night! Will the two of you live together, even in your old age? Will you be buried together when you die? Will he move in with us, when we’re married?”

“Married?” Merry said, an angry look upon his face, “Since when are we getting married? I don’t what plans you’re having, but maybe you should clue me in, since apparently we’re getting married – something I wasn’t aware of!”

“You’re so thick you’re not even aware of the nose on your own face!” she shouted, and fled back to the party. Merry looked after her, still angry, and reached his hand within his coat – he pulled out a scarf, the one Estella had made for him, and threw it to the ground before stomping off himself in an angry huff.

Flowers, Gems And Estella – Chapter XXXI

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Celandine watched as Estella hurriedly packed her things that next morning, and sensing the angry mood she still possessed, she spoke little of the previous evening, careful not to set Estella off in another rage. Last night, after arriving at the hole, Estella had shut herself up in the guest room – she did not lock the door, however, and Celandine cautiously entered it after some time. She found her lying on her bed, facing away from her – by this time her sobs had grown quiet, but her face still shined wet with tears, and Celandine was careful with her words as she sat down beside her on the bed.

“Estella,” she’d begun, and stopped, not knowing exactly what to say having not been in such a situation herself, “You must feel pretty bad right now.” No, that’s not right – I’m just stating the obvious and making her feel even worse. “I mean, please be happy – for I am still your friend, am I not?”

Estella wiped her nose, and sat up somewhat, but still did not face her as she spoke. “Yes, Celandine, you are.” Her voice had been calm and quiet, but Celandine knew she would have been less upset by it if Estella had been screaming in fury. She has feelings that she needs to vent out – but she doesn’t want to.

“You probably don’t want to talk about what happened – so I won’t ask you. But if you do want to talk,” she’d said, and had placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, “I’ll listen.”

Now, early that next morning, Estella was still as she had been – silent and reserved, not revealing her feelings. It confused Celandine very much. For all I know she may not be mad anymore – I doubt it, though. In all truth, though, Estella’s thoughts were further from Merry, for she knew if she were to think of him, she would break down once more in sorrowful tears.

Within the hole, it was as if a death had recently occurred – Doderic and Ilberic, along with Mentha and Melilot, were downstairs, waiting to say goodbye to Estella. Though they did not know the exact details of the previous evening’s events, Doderic and Ilberic knew enough to know that a rift had arisen between Merry and Estella, and sat with their hands lying idly in their laps, their faces directed at the floor. Mentha and Melilot, still somewhat clueless that Merry and Estella had even been together in the first place, somehow sensed the mood of those around them – they were aware that Estella was leaving that day, and also had an idea that something disastrous had happened recently – but to what extent they knew not.

Their heads all looked up upon hearing a door close somewhere upstairs, and they saw Estella, with her brother Fredegar behind carrying her trunk, make her way down the stairs, Celandine following. They all stood, and an awkward silence fell upon the room as though no one knew quite what to say at the tense moment.

Mentha and Melilot, acting first, approached Estella and both embraced her, saying, “We’ll miss you.” Estella responded, nodding at first and then saying, “I’ll – I’ll miss you too.” Already her eyes were staring to water up, and she wiped at them before the tears had a chance to spill over.

“Sure you can’t stay longer?” Melilot said earnestly, and for the first time that morning Estella smiled, and chuckled softly.

“Oh, I would love to, my dear,” she said, “But I miss my home, and my family.” She hugged Melilot once more as she said this, and did the same for Mentha.

Doderic and Ilberic stood shuffling their feet, and Estella came up to them as well, embracing them in a strong hug. “Come back and visit us some time – or maybe we’ll just come visit you,” they said.

“Oh, goodness knows what you two would do in Bywater,” she said grinning, “Fishing in the Big Water and having a pint at The Green Dragon – no doubt Pippin would convince you to have a go at Farmer Maggot’s vegetables.”

The two of them grinned. “Oh, well maybe we ought to visit you sometime soon, then,” and said nothing more.

Estella turned now to Celandine, preparing to say goodbye to her, who instead picked a small bag of hers off the floor, and went outside to help carry it, Estella behind her with Fredegar following with the heavy trunk.

Estella blinked upon seeing the brilliant sunshine outside, the light contradicting with her mood, and she wondered for a moment why it was not raining. The wooden cart of Fredegar’s was just beyond the gate, already sitting in the dirt road for their journey home. After loading the luggage upon it, Estella stood before Celandine, whose eyes she noticed were now just as wet as her own.

“I’ll write you, I suppose,” Celandine said, for lack of better conversation.

“Come now,” Estella said, “You and I – we mustn’t leave like this, not on these terms. Let’s have a proper goodbye from you.”

Celandine smiled, and embraced Estella in a strong hug as tears spilled over her eyes and down her cheeks. “I’m getting your dress wet,” she said, her voice muffled, and released her, “No matter what, you and I shall still be friends – don’t be long in coming back, okay?”

“I’m perfectly certain I shan’t be able to stay away long,” she said, and climbed aboard the cart on which Fredegar was already stationed.

“Goodbye Celandine,” he said, and pulled the reins for the pony to move.

“Goodbye Fredegar!” she said, waving as she slowly disappeared from Estella’s sight, “You look after Estella for me – don’t forget to write. Every day! No, twice a day!”

“I shan’t forget!” Estella shouted back, waving at Celandine’s slowly receding form, “Look after those brothers of yours, and make sure they don’t eat too many strawberries!”

Estella was so far away that she had to strain her ears to hear Celandine’s cry of, “I will!” Another second and she was beyond sight as they turned a bend on the dusty road, dry with the September air.

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Pippin, sensing his cousin’s discontent, carefully walked past the entrance of the room in which Merry was currently in, laying slouched in a comfortable chair, his head resting on the arm of it with an indifferent air. He winced as his foot stepped upon a squeaky floorboard, hoping not to disturb Merry, who had spent the last two days brooding in silence.

“Hullo, Pippin,” he heard his cousin say from within, the voice low and dull.

“Oh – hello to you, Merry,” he said with a nervous air of his own, “Er – how are you feeling?”

“Wonderful, Pip – just perfectly wonderful.” And he rolled over in the chair to face away towards the opposite wall.

Pippin knew somehow that he was the cause of the fight that had torn Merry and Estella apart – perhaps it was his rudeness, or his never-ending knack of annoying others. Whatever it was he knew not, but feeling responsible for the events he’d decided to make amends for it, and see that Merry and Estella were together again. Though where to begin, he knew not.

“You hungry?” he suggested, trying desperately to spark Merry’s interest.

“No thanks.”

His face fell a little. “I know – how about we go down to Farmer Maggot’s? That always cheers you up!”

“Not today, Pip.”

He racked his brain again for more ideas. “How about this then? You and I go visit Frodo and Sam, just like old times. Get this Estella business out of your head, and go out with the lads.”

“Pip!” he said, turning around to face him, and Pippin saw a hint of anger in his tone and facade, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have shouted – but I’d rather you just leave me alone.”

“Oh, come on! The Merry Brandybuck I know wouldn’t let something like this get him down!”

“Yeah, well, the Merry you know is no more – he’s gone, and nothing’s going to bring him back.”

“The Merry I know wouldn’t take something like this lying down – he’d go out there and fix it, just like he knew he had to! Why, if he had a fight with his lass, he’d go out there, and show her whatnot – he’d give her the best apology she’s ever heard!”

“Not this time, I’m afraid.”

“Well, why not?”

“Because I’ve lost her, Pippin!” he said, and raised himself up to face Pippin once more, “Because after the fight we had, she wouldn’t come back for anything – not if I was the last hobbit in the Shire! No, it’s all over between us, and it doesn’t matter what I feel.”

“What do you feel?”

“I’m tired of talking with you, Pip.”

“Merry, you’ll never get this thing solved if you don’t talk about it!” Merry looked up at him with raised eyebrows. “You just sit there, and feel sorry for yourself – well, you know what? It makes me sick! You’re acting like a coward! No, that’s wrong, you’re not acting like one – you are one! Now, you still love her, don’t you?”

“Of course I do.”

“Then you have to go to her, and tell her that!”

“But she still hates me, I know it.”

“You don’t know for sure! And you won’t know unless you go talk to her!” Pippin said encouragingly, but Merry only shook his head, remaining where he sat, “Now how do you know that she hates you? What makes you think this?”

“Because – because there’s no other way for her to feel in a situation like this. Because I wouldn’t expect her to feel any other way.”

“You’re sure of this?” Merry nodded nonchalantly.

Pippin pondered this matter for a little while. “Merry, do you remember the time my parents had an argument that nearly ripped the hole apart?”

“You’re asking me to remember a specific fight? That’s probably happened too many times to count.”

“Well, I remember this one fight well – see, my father, I suppose, was being stubborn, like he often is. The two of them had clashed over something about him not wanting to trim the hair on his feet, something silly like that. I remember her nagging that it was getting quite long, and dirty too – and she was probably right – but they had the biggest fight over it, and in the end he stormed off to the pub while she stayed at home at fumed, no doubt. And that’s where I found him – I hadn’t been in the Smials at the time to know of the fight, so I heard about it from him. And by this time he was quite sorry he’d stormed off, and thinking she’d never take him back, and that she didn’t love him anymore – quite pathetic, really. And when we came home, she had made his favorite dinner, and she said she was so sorry about everything – and they both forget their anger immediately.”

“What exactly was the point of that story?” Merry said once he was done.

“My point was that the two of you will sometimes fight, like my parents do, but in the end you still love each other, and that’s what’s most important – believe me, Merry, she probably feels as sorry as you.”

Merry said nothing, however, and still remained in his pathetic state of disgraceful slump.

“I’m not done with you yet,” Pippin said, “I’m not nearly finished here!” And he exited the room, his mind determined and set. “If Merry needs encouragement, then that’s what he’s going to get!”

Flowers, Gems And Estella – Chapter XXXII

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Estella had said little since her return home – a simple hello to her parents, and a few forced answers concerning her stay in Buckland. Fredegar was right in saying that Mrs. Bolger would no doubt question Estella’s antics – whether or not she had found herself a suitable husband and whatnot, the intended purpose of her visit – but she was more relenting than Estella imagined she would be. She somehow sensed that her daughter had not left completely happy, and her melancholy answers only proved this hypothesis.

“Did you have a good time with your cousins in Buckland, Estella?” she said once all the luggage was inside and everyone was seated around the dinner table that evening.

“Fine, I suppose,” she said, her voice low as she poked at a pile of peas on her plate.

Mrs. Bolger looked to her husband, whose face was also contorted in confusion, as if unsure of the truth in Estella’s words.

“Did you, er – make any new friends?” he said, trying not to offend his daughter.

“A few,” she said, still with a monotonous tone.

Now it was clear to everyone that Estella was not happy about something, especially to Fredegar, who knew that had she been in a batter mood she might have spoken of her friendship with Celandine.

“I’m going into town this weekend,” Fredegar said, “Would you like to come with me, Estella? I might go up to Hobbiton and see Frodo and Sam – you can visit with Rosie, if you wish.”

To this Estella did not even respond, and when the meal was over she hid herself within her room and spoke not a word to anyone else – not even to Mrs. Bolger, who came by her room later that evening to say her usual goodnight, before turning in. She knocked softly on her door, but heard nothing from within, and retreated to her own room after knocking again.

This same schedule repeated itself for nearly three days, until Mrs. Bolger could clearly see that something was upsetting her daughter, something that had to do with her visit to Buckland – she found herself unable to even talk to Estella, though, except while at meals, and Estella would never say anything more than a simple, “Okay,” or, “Just fine,” to any question that she asked. On the evening of the third day, when she came to Estella’s door to say goodnight as she always had, she took the opportunity to delve deeper into the troubles of her daughter.

“Estella, my dear – if something’s troubling you, it would do you well to talk about it.” She waited a few moments before continuing, but heard nothing. “You’ll make yourself sick, dear, keeping your emotions bottled up like this – I’m not trying to make you talk or anything, but if you need someone who’ll listen, I’m here. If it’s something that I might have said that’s troubling you – I’m sorry.” There was still silence within, and Mrs. Bolger once more admitted defeat.

Estella, had she been in the room, would not have spoken anyway, and would have remained as silent as the room that she was absent from. She was currently outside in the stables, brushing the golden hair of the ponies and sharing with them some carrots. She patted the snout of a beige colored female as the equine happily chomped on the snack.

“At least someone here’s happy,” she said sadly.

“And you’re not?”

She jumped in surprise, and looked behind her to see her father coming towards her – wiping her hands on the front of her dress, she made to leave.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to leave on my account,” he said, “Stay, you and I need to talk more anyhow.”

“Talk about what? If you think there’s something the matter with me –”

“I think nothing of the sort, my dear – I want only to talk about you’re doing these days. Talk about your trip to Buckland, you’ve spoken very little of that. Did you have fun at all?”

“Yes – yes, I did,” she said hastily, wanting the conversation over with as quickly as possible, “I had a perfectly wonderful time, and it was lots of fun, and I was very sad to leave.”

“No elaborations? The Estella I knew before would have talked nonstop about the antics and adventures she’d had, and all the new friends she had made – but perhaps, the Estella I knew is no more.”

Estella fell quiet here, contemplating her words – she did not enjoy lying to her father. “Well, I did make a few friends – Celandine Brandybuck, and her brothers Doderic and Ilberic – the two of them very much like Pippin Took, playing pranks and whatnot. Mentha and Melilot Brandybuck, they’re the ones who invited me down there in the first place – they’re quite nice, but –”

“Too different from you, eh?”

“Very much so – Celandine, though, was quite lovely. She was somewhat like me, though perhaps more of a social creature than I – she’s only twenty-eight, but she seemed much wiser that her years – at least wiser than most of her Brandybuck cousins, which wouldn’t be too difficult, considering most of them.”

“Mentha and Melilot?” he said, to which Estella nodded, “The Master of Buckland, er – what’s his name – Saradoc, did you meet him at all?”

Estella fidgeted with her hands a bit. “Oh, yes – once or twice,” she said, and chuckled to herself, remembering their last meeting, “But during dinner once I accidentally spilled a small piece of meat in his lap – he thought it was quite funny, though.”

“Really? When was this?”

Estella winced, realizing that she had given away much more information than she intended. “Oh, at this big party they had at Brandy Hall – just about everyone was invited, and by no means was it an intimate gathering.”

Her father raised his eyebrow slightly, getting the feeling that Estella wasn’t telling him the entire truth. “Yes, I believe Fredegar spoke of it – he was there too, then?”

“Yes – and Frodo Baggins and Sam Gamgee. Rosie was there as well – have you heard that she’s expecting?”

“No, I haven’t! Well, Sam must be very pleased with this news.”

“Actually, I think he’s more nervous than excited.”

“They’re some of the Travelers, aren’t they? Sam and Frodo?”

“The ones who were away before the Occupation? Yes, and Pippin Took too.”

“I’d heard there were four of them, though – who else?”

“Um,” she said, stuttering slightly and weighing her words carefully, “Meriadoc Brandybuck, I think, if Sam told me correctly.”

“Meriadoc? Thought he had a nickname or something, like Pippin instead of Peregrin.”

“Well, if he has, I don’t know it,” Estella lied, “Maybe Fredegar would know.”

“He probably would – I believe your brother mentioned him recently, not sure exactly what he said, though.”

“Well, it was his birthday party that Fatty came down for – the large party I spoke of?”

“A birthday, then? How old was he? He’s the same age as you, isn’t he?”

“Actually Merry’s three years older than I –” She cut her words short, realizing what she had just said.

“Merry? Is that his nickname? I thought you said you didn’t know him.”

Now’s the time to tell the truth, she thought – I just wish it wasn’t so hard to tell. “I lied, before – I do know him.”

“Oh? Well, is he a friend of yours?” her father said, looking to her with a grin.

Estella sighed. “No – I mean, yes – I mean, he is a friend, sort of –”

“Sort of? Is he not exactly your friend – or perhaps, more than a friend?”

“The latter,” Estella said quietly.

“I see,” Odovacar said, “Well, does he know of your feelings?”

“Yes, and – he feels the same, if that’s what you wanted to know.”

“So, the two of you are –“ He broke off, not sure what to say next – Estella seemed to get the gist of his words, and nodded. “So, let me guess – you’re sad because you’re so far away from him now, right?”

“That’s somewhat true – we didn’t part on the best of terms, and we both said things I think we regret now.”

“You basically said that you hated one another?” he said, and noticing that tears had begun to fall from Estella’s eyes, “I’m sorry, that wasn’t the best thing to say.” He placed a comforting arm around her shoulder, and Estella rested her head upon his, her tears now gushing forth from her eyes like tiny waterfalls. A sob escaped her throat, and he moved to embrace her with both his arms, speaking comforting words. “There, there, my dear – it’s all right. Go ahead, cry it all out – you’ll feel better.”

It was several minutes before Estella was able to lift her head from her father’s shoulder – she sniffled some, and hiccupped. “You okay?” her father asked, and she nodded, “It’s getting late now – get yourself to bed, you’ll feel better in the morning.”

She did as she was told, and he closed up the stables before making his way into the hole as well. His wife was barely awake when he came into their bedroom, and rose at his entrance.

“Just talking to Estella is all,” he said, bidding her go back to sleep.

“Did you find out what’s troubling her?’

“Yes, I did – the problem with our daughter, dear wife, is that she’s in love.”

Flowers, Gems And Estella – Chapter XXXIII

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His bedroom was dimly lit, with a glow that seemed to be coming from behind him, over his shoulder – it could not have been his bedroom, though, for it was painted a different color than he remembered. His was a pale brown, the hue of a newly cut plank of wood – but this was pale pink, the color of a dying sunset on a summer’s evening. This room was strange to him, and he could not explain how he’d gotten there.

He looked over his shoulder, to where the light was coming from, as well as a sound – like the chirping of a cricket, two sharp tones that rose and fell in pitch, one after the other. He saw that it was a chair, rocking back and forth – the sounds were the result of creaky floorboards, the curved bow of the chair beating in them a steady rhythm. There was someone in the chair, he saw, someone with long, brown hair that reached halfway down their back. It was a lass, he could tell, and he placed a hand on her shoulder, as if to ask whom she was – and where he was.

His grey eyes were met with ones of softest brown, bright with happiness and delight – below them, her mouth moved upward in a warm smile. “Hello Merry,” she said, but he heard no sounds escape from her mouth – it was like a vibration in his head, however, that he perceived the words. His ears seemed to not be working, but he didn’t need them anyhow – he heard with his eyes, and with his heart. “Hello Estella,” he said back to her, and again he heard no sound escape from his lips – but she heard, he could tell. He knew, though was clueless to explain it.

It was only when she looked down, that he noticed she held something in her arms – a wriggling bundle of blankets, with a tousled mess of light-brown hair above small, grey eyes. Below the soft nose was a chin he recognized as his, and petite arms that grasped upwards – its tiny mouth was held in an open smile, bright laughter on its face, as an infantile giggle escaped its throat. Pudgy legs reached from under the blanket, and ended in feet covered over by a soft, tangled layer of hair.

He poked at the tiny feet, which made the infant coo with glee – Estella smiled up at him, and he at her, and he reached forward, to kiss her forehead. The image, though, blurred away before him in distortion of color, fading out until all was black – his eyes shot open, and all was darkness around him, so empty and silent that he could hear his heart beating, a hurried thump in his chest. With his hands he stretched out around him, felling the softness of cloth surrounding him – he was in his bed. It was very late, he knew, judging from the pale moonlight shining through the nearby window. Around him he could see the shadowy forms of the furniture familiar to him – the dresser in the corner, a yellow vest draped over the edge of an open drawer. The door was slightly open, and a dim light shone from under it, from the hallway beyond. It’s as good a time as any for a midnight snack, he thought, and made his to the door and into the hallway, where he shielded his eyes against the bright light.

The kitchen was empty, lit only by a small lantern near the largest window – there was a plate of bread lying on the counter, leftovers from the evening’s dinner. Sitting before the small table, he munched on it, not even noticing the crumbs that fell upon his pajamas, as his thoughts were far from the present setting.

There could be little confusion at the meaning of his dream – even Pippin could have figured it out – but his brain was not striving to decipher its significance. He knew it was the anxiety of being without Estella that had caused the dream – his desires and wishes making themselves known, his troubled mind acting them out. Apologies unspoken were haunting him in the daytime – it seemed fitting that she would be the subject of his nighttime dreams as well.

He wanted to apologize, had wanted to for over a week – upon Pippin’s urging, he’d made his way to Celandine’s house, hoping to see her there. But she’d left long before that, Celandine told him – she hadn’t even told him she was leaving, though he knew that was a result of their horrendous fight.

“Perhaps she forget to tell you,” Celandine said with sadness in her eyes. But Merry knew the truth – she didn’t forget, she was right not to tell me. And he left the hole in sadness, feeling all the more sorry for himself.

I know the meaning of these dreams, what I need is the solution. Tonight’s had not been the first dream in recent days concerning Estella – a moonlit night, much like the one that he now endured alone, the two of them together, with whispered promises of love and devotion. A rain of petals that showered down before them, she in a stunning dress white like snow, with a ring of gold upon her finger – her eyes shone with joyful light, brighter than the necklace that hung about her neck – a silver chain that reached around her collar, upon which hung a pendent, a budding flower with wide spread leaves, in the center of which was a small jewel, glittering almost as brilliantly as her own face –

He awoke as his head fell upon the counter with a loud thump, shaking him from his short bout of sleep – he heard movement above him on the higher floors, as though someone were getting out of bed. Footsteps resounded on the stairs, and lead to the kitchen – the footsteps were slow, as though their owner were not completely awake – and the door creaked upon to reveal a sleepy eyed Pippin.

“Merry? What are you doing up this late?” he said groggily.

“Oh, nothing, Pip – just, needed to get a snack was all.”

“Oh, good idea,” he mumbled, making his way towards the pantry – he reached his head inside and came out, grasping a handful of mushrooms with him. Munching on them, he made his way out of the kitchen and, judging from the footsteps, back to his bed.

Once he was sure Pippin was asleep, Merry made his way back to his own room, but did not retire to his bed – he opened the drawers of the dressers, rooting through clothes both clean and dirty.

“I know it’s in here somewhere,” he said to himself, struggling to reach back behind trousers and shirts, some of which smelled as though they needed a washing. After several minutes of fruitless searching he gave up, and slumped to the floor before the dresser, running his hand through his hair dejectedly, as if in defeat. “I’ve probably lost it anyhow,” he moaned sadly, and made his way back to his bed.

He lay down on the bed, his head hanging over the edge in misery – sighing, he wretched his arms up near his head, but they instead fell over the side of the bed. Rolling over so that he lay on his stomach, he stared down at the floor, his arms coming to rest upon it – the sheets on the bed trailed over the side, and his moved his arms in boredom, fluttering them in his wake. By chance, his hands happened to swing underneath the bed, and made contact with what felt like a small box, so small in fact, that even the minute disturbance caused by his hands pushed it back further underneath the bed. He heard it rattle and shake, as though a small metallic object were inside.

“What?” he said to himself, and pulled himself off the bed and onto the floor. Crouching onto his stomach, he reached under the bed for the object – his hands felt the dusty floor, and he sneezed as a great cloud of it blew into his face. He found it eventually, though – a small velvet box that fit neatly into his palm.

Pulling himself back onto the bed, he carefully opened it – inside was a small necklace, with a pendent of a rose in bloom, with a tiny jewel in the center of the silver petals. He smiled upon the sight – it was the same trinket he’d seen in his dream, the one he’d bought nearly a year before. He’d seen it at market in Bywater, with Pippin – Estella had been admiring it, and though he would not have admitted it at the time, this may have been what prompted him to purchase it.

It may not be as good as an apology – but coupled with one would definitely be a fine present. He carefully replaced it back in the box, and planted it upon the dresser before retiring to bed at last, a giddy smile upon his face. He pulled the covers over his head, resting upon the pillow and hoping that his show of love would move Estella to forgive him – and that he might have the courage to put forth the question he longed to ask.

Four chapters to go. It’s been fun writing this thing, but I’ll be more than a little happy when it’s finished.

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Flowers, Gems And Estella – Chapter XXXIV

It was raining – indeed, it had been doing so off and on for nearly a week now, with light showers that began in the cold gray morning. Throughout the afternoon would sometimes be little bouts of sunshine through the dull clouds, and the night was filled again with rain. During this time Estella was forced to remain inside, though would sometimes venture out to visit friends in Hobbiton – Rosie, whose stomach was now increasing in size at an even faster rate and continued to do so through much of October, was delighted to see her whenever she came. Sam greeted her as well, with a slightly nervous tone – Estella expected that the prospect of parenthood both excited and frightened him.

“So you haven’t spoken to Merry at all?” Rosie said one evening, sipping a warm cup of tea before the fireplace.

“No,” Estella said, and she hung her head in sadness a bit, “I would like to, though, but – I can’t.”

“Can’t or won’t?”

Estella chuckled to herself. “Won’t, I guess. As we both know, I’m stubborn as a mule, and proud to the end,” she said, and grinned, shaking her head.

“Yes, perhaps – but that, I think, is why Merry loves you so, because the two of you are so much alike. I’m sure that you’ll have lovely, stubborn children someday,” she said, taking another sip from her cup, “I’m sure it’d be interesting to see you with a stomach like this.” She patted her abdomen as she said this.

After such visits Estella walked home, trudging her feet in the mud with her heart as low as her dirt-ridden soles while tiny drops of rain fell upon her head, bidding her hurry home. It concerned her, though, to see Sam and Rosie – they always seemed so happy together, so caught up in their own love for one another that they could barely notice her own sadness. She shivered, and pulled the scarf Rosie had given her closer around her neck.

“It’s quite cold out there, you know,” she’d said as she wrapped it about Estella’s head, “Now, if it gets colder I don’t want you to come here – stay inside where it’s warm, you’ll catch your death in this weather.”

“Yes, mother,” Estella had said as she left, smiling though her face was quite chilled – it was a fleshy pink color, a result of the cold wind.

“Keep an eye out as you’re going back home – you don’t know what kinds of robbers and thieves you’ll meet on the road out there!” she shouted, as Estella was quite far away at the time – she laughed to herself, though, as there were never any robberies anywhere in the Shire, lest of all this quiet little corner.

The evening darkened quickly, and it soon became hard to see the road before her – pulling her cloak around her shivering form, she tried to think of the warm smiles she’d seen on the faces of Sam and Rosie, the loving smiles that revealed happiness – the happiness that she herself could have possessed, had she not been so stubborn. If she had only let herself find such happiness, and love – why, by this time she might have already been Mrs. Brandybuck.

It begun to rain much harder now, so much she soon became soaked and grasped the hood of her cloak closer to her head – she was now within sight of Bywater, and could see The Green Dragon some yards ahead of her. If I can just get closer to the pub, I’ll be safe. She had to admit that Rosie’s comment concerning robbers had put he edge, and she now desired to get home as quickly as possible.

The rain had progressed to a torrent by the time she arrived at the hole, and most everyone was asleep, a welcome fire burning in the fireplace, before which she dried her wet cloak as well as her feet – once toasty warm, she chuckled to herself, remembering her fears back on the road. Robbers and thieves, indeed.

As if on cue, a heavy knock came on the door, and despite disregarding her earlier fears, Estella jumped upon hearing it. Who could possibly be out at this hour – and with this horrendous weather? She slowly inched out the comfortable chair, and made her way to the door – she saw a shadowy figure look into the window, but could not see the details of the face. It’s a robber! Oh, where’s Fatty when I need him?

Standing behind the circular door, she slowly moved her hand to grasp the doorknob – she felt another knock resound on the door. Her heart in her throat, she turned the knob, opening the door – she felt a breeze of cold air sweep in, and stayed out of sight behind the door, preparing to attack the intruder, who seemed surprised that no one stood in the doorway. She saw the shadowy figure move forward into the hole a few steps, and ran out from behind the door, catching the intruder around the chest and pushing them outside. The two fell with a squish into the mud, she on top – she felt rain on the top of her head again, and rose up to look into the face of the intruder.

“Merry?” she gasped once she saw whom it was.

“Uh – hey, Estella,” he said, grinning up at her as rain fell heavily on his face.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, “Especially in this weather?”

“Well, just lying here, I guess,” he said, his face splotched with mud.

“Lying ther – oh!” she said suddenly, and struggled to get off him, kneeling in the mud beside him as he lifted himself off the ground, “Sorry about that,” she said in a low voice.

“It’s okay, I suppose,” he said, sitting up and slopping the mud off his face and chest, “It’s the least I deserve, really.”

Estella sat in silence, only looking at Merry as he proceeded to wipe muck from his hands and arms – she was secretly pleased that he’d come, but was slow to react, careful not to start another fight. He may still be in a foul mood – but if he is, what’s he doing here?

“Here,” she said finally, handing him the handkerchief from her pocket, itself as wet as he was. He looked at it bemusedly, then down at his hands – they were covered with filth, and he was uneasy to take Estella’s kerchief with them so dirty. “Here, I’ll just do it,” she said, and scooted forward nearer to him, wiping his face with the lacy cloth – he moved away, wincing. “I can’t clean your face if you’re going to act like this,” she said sternly.

“You’re wiping my cheeks like my mother would – rough-like,” he responded, a pouting look upon his face.

Estella sighed. “Well, do you want me to clean you off or not?” She crossed her arms, and said nothing – nor did he. Still as stubborn as ever, she thought. “Merry – we’re sitting outside in the mud.”

“That we are – but if I remember correctly, you were the one who pushed me.”

Estella sighed angrily. “Come on,” she said, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him off the ground – he had a surprised look upon his face as she led him inside, pushing him down into a chair before the fire, disappearing into the hallway before returning with a warm blanket and a hot cup of tea.

“Here, you’ll feel better,” she said, wrapping the blanket around his shoulders. He took a sip from the tea after she handed it to him. “Call it a proven method, I’ve had quite a bit of experience with it.”

“Have you?” he said, looking up at her, and noticed a hint of sadness in her eyes.

A silence fell over them then – not an uncomfortable silence, in which Estella feared both to say something or to stay quiet – but one that went unbroken nonetheless.

“Estella,” Merry said after some time, somewhat awkwardly, “I think we both know why I’m here – why we’re here.” She nodded, saying nothing. “I can’t stand this, not being with you – I was a fool, that night, to fight with you.”

“Though I wasn’t exactly on my best behavior either,” Estella added.

“But it was my fault – it was foolish of me, to even let something like that come between us, to bring to us to yell and fight – and say that we hated one another.” Estella now noticed for the first time, that around Merry’s neck was the scarf she made for him, though a little dirty with wear. “I want to apologize, for what happened – please, Estella, tell me you will forgive me, for my foolishness to have ever let you go.”

“Oh, Merry,” Estella said, her eyes watering up with tears, “Of course I forgive you – if you’ll forgive me for being so bullheaded and stubborn.”

Merry laughed, taking her hand in his. “Well, that’s not so bad – you’re stubborn, only because you know what you want and you won’t let anyone get in your way – it is an admirable trait, and one that you should not be ashamed of.”

“You said something like that, before – at your birthday party, I mean.”

“Did I?”

“Yes – you were just as awkward then as well, and could hardly get your intended words out.”

“How long has it been since I last said those words to you?”

Estella grinned, shaking her head. “I don’t know, really – two, three weeks?”

“Well, that’s much too long an interval for me – I love you, Estella.”

“I love you too, Merry,” she said, and moved to embrace him, as he wrapped his arm around her as well. They sat there for some time, Estella gazing into the dancing flames of the fire, content with herself – she felt Merry moving, though, struggling with something. She looked up to see what it was about – Merry, his knapsack now in his lap, was digging through it hurriedly, as if in search of something.

“What is it, Merry?” she asked, but he said nothing, and continued searching. She prepared to ask again, when he gave a shout of, “Aha!” and brought out a small, velvet box from within the sack.

“Here,” he said, handing it to her, “I want you to have this.” She opened it, and immediately a gasp escaped from her lips – within the box was a necklace, the same one that she’d seen at the marketplace many months ago, the budding flower with the diamond.

“Oh, Merry, it’s beautiful – it’s just like the one I saw earlier –”

“At the marketplace, I know, I was there – I saw that you liked it, and decided that I wanted to be the one to give it to you.”

“It’s lovely – but why?”

“Why not? Because I love you, and care for you – no matter what I said before, at the Festival, you are the most important thing in my life.”

“So, you didn’t mean any of what you said then?”

“None at all – why do you ask?”

“Oh, nothing,” she said, shaking her head.

But Merry knew better. “This is about something that I said – something that upsets you, is it not?”

“Merry, I already said no,” Estella lied.

“But you are concerned, about what I said – about my comment regarding our getting married.”

Estella sighed, and lowered her head, embarrassed. “Yes,” she admitted.

“Why? I didn’t mean to upset you – like I stated, Estella, nothing that I said earlier was true. Do you wish for me to ask your hand in marriage?”

“Well, I wasn’t exactly thinking that –”

“It makes no difference,” Merry declared, and rose from his spot next to her to kneel before her on the floor, “It matters not, for even if you don’t want me to ask, I shall ask anyway – Estella Bolger,” he said, and cleared his throat, boasting his chest for full dramatic effect, “I pray that you will do me the honor of marrying me, for I fear that I will not be able to live another day if you are not by my side. And now that I have shown that I am crazy enough to ask you to marry me, the question is are you crazy enough to say yes?”

Though it was a romantic moment – not one for childish mirth – Estella found herself laughing anyhow. “Of course I will!” she said, and moved to embrace him, tears of happiness running down her face and onto his coat – though whether or not he minded this, she knew or cared not.

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Flowers, Gems And Estella – Chapter XXXV

Though the wedding was not planned to occur for several more months – April was the intended date – Estella was intent on making sure that everything was more than ready by that time. Here it was, already halfway through December, and she had yet to find a suitable dress, and she certain that Merry was even less prepared.

“First of all,” she’d said to him one day, “We need to decide where it will be held – of course, it will either be in Buckland or Bywater. What’s your opinion, Merry?”

“Ah, wherever,” he said nonchalantly, then noticing the look of annoyance on her face, “Don’t worry, Stella, we’ve got plenty of time to figure this out,” he said with an impish grin plastered upon his face – Estella crossed her arms and looked at him sternly, but still his expression did not change.

That had been nearly a month ago, and he still had not done any sort of preparation – he hadn’t even considered the outfit to be worn, and she would no doubt have to select it for him. The list of those to be invited included all members of the Bolger family and those friends of hers from Bywater and Hobbiton, but it was definitely lacking in its Brandybuck invitees. “Do you want any members of your family to come?” His response had been, “Just invite them all.”

For the past few nights, just as she had with Rosie’s wedding, she’d remained awake far into the night to write out the invitations – even though they weren’t to be sent out for several more weeks, a large pile of completed letters already dominated most of her writing desk. Rosie had volunteered to help – “As payment for all the help you gave me,” she said, her stomach now very large – as did Celandine, who visited her in Bywater every now and then. During this time, Rosie was a valuable help to Estella, having had experience in planning a wedding already, as was Celandine.

“Well, you’ll want to invite our cousin Berilac, and Uncle Merimac and his wife, of course – Marmadas and his family, as you well know,” she said with a grin, “And I’d never forgive you if you forget me – my brothers, I suppose, you should invite as well, and our parents. Pretty much everybody who lives around Brandy Hall and Newbury will want to come of course, and a few down near the River Shirebourn, Minto Brandybuck and his two sons, Togo and Till – a cousin of ours, Amaryllis, though she’s now a Proudfoot, and her family. And –” She cut off, trying to think of a certain name. “Ferne! And her husband,

Fard Bracegridle – no kids, mind you, but I’m sure they’d love to come.”

“Anyone down near Longbottom and

Sarn Ford?” Rosie asked, “I’ve known of a few Brandybucks living down there.”

“Distant relations, mostly,” Celandine admitted, “Don’t really know too many of them down there, and those I do know –” She rolled her eyes while she said this. “Well, let’s just say they’re not anybody I’d want to invite to my wedding.”

“Ferne, and – Fard,” Rosie said aloud as she was writing the names down, “Anyone else?”

“Well, that’s just the ones I know off the top of my head – you’ll have to ask Merry for sure, but I’d say I named most of them.”

“Where exactly is Merry?” Rosie asked, “Shouldn’t he be at all involved?”

“Oh, he’s been going between visiting me here, seeing Pippin at the Great Smials, and doing whatever it is he’s does when he’s at home in Buckland,” Estella said, “So who knows, really?”

Celandine yawned suddenly, stretching her arms above her head. “How late is it, anyway?”

“Um,” Rosie said, lifting the bottom of the curtains over the circular window, “It’s both very late and quite early – after sunrise, actually.”

“Really? We’ve stayed up that late?” Estella queried, “Then I think it’s time for some breakfast.”

“Good idea, I’m starving!” Rosie said, rising from her seat slowly, aided by Celandine, “This little fellow’s quite hungry as well,” she said with her hand on her abdomen.

“No doubt Sam’s worried sick about you, Rose, staying out at all hours of the night,” Estella said.

“Oh, goodness,” she responded nonchalantly, waving her arm, “He’s more worried about my condition than I – I’ll be quite fine to return home after I get some food in me.”

“We’d better walk you there, then,” Celandine said, following behind.

“Thank you – I don’t really need the assistance, but I could use the company.” And the three of them headed downstairs, Estella walking in front of Rose on the stairs with Celandine following behind, the two of them making sure she didn’t fall.

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“

Elanor Gamgee,” Estella commented upon seeing the babe, “And I thought you said it was to be a lad.”

A great host of hobbits were currently gathered in Bag End – though it was by no means more than the hole could possibly contain, it was a rather unexpected amount to Sam and Rosie. But being that it was the birth of their first child, and one of the first babes to be born after the Occupation, it was an excellent excuse to have family and friends over.

“Well, that’s what I thought too,” Rosie exclaimed, holding her daughter close to her, “But she’s a hobbit, and a Gamgee, no less – and I suppose a healthy appetite is due whether lass or lad.”

Currently gathered in the sitting room of Bag End were Sam and Rosie, of course, and the Old Gaffer, beaming as proud as if Elanor were his own daughter, as well as Rosie’s parents – Merry and Pippin were present, with Pippin’s sisters chatting in the corner amongst themselves. Estella’s brother Fredegar, she noticed, was carrying on a conversation with Celandine Brandybuck.

“You stayed with me for four months,” Celandine had written in a letter some weeks prior, “It’s only right that I stay with you as well, help you plan the wedding and all.”

She grinned to herself, remembering the scene long ago, and took another sip from her mug of water before sitting herself down in a cushy chair – all around her were the sounds and sights of happiness, and content, the same scene that she hoped to see some weeks later – a crowd of hobbits, with bright smiles upon every face, to celebrate her becoming Mrs. Brandybuck.

“Estella!” she heard Rosie say from across the room, and rose to make her way over to the sofa where she and Sam sat holding the babe. Rose scooted over to make way between her and Sam, where she instructed Estella to sit, and placed the wriggling infant in her arms.

“You’ll probably need to be used to dealing with infants,” Rosie said next to her.

“What?” Estella said, grinning, looking upon the cherub-like face of the babe as it cooed in delight, “Are you and Sam planning to have any more children?” She looked to see Sam’s face lower in his lap, his ears burning bright red under his sand-colored hair – on her other side, Rosie giggled to herself, holding her hand over her mouth before composing herself finally and speaking.

“Well, not that we may never have any more children,” she said as Estella handed Elanor back, holding the child close to her, “But I was talking about you and Merry! When can we expect a child from you two?”

Merry apparently had heard this, as Estella looked over to see him grin at her, and take another sip from his ale. “Well, perhaps it’s a bit early to be thinking about that – I mean, we’re not yet even married, Rose,” she said, and she could feel her face getting nearly as red as Sam’s.

In the corner of her eye, she caught the image of a dark shadow moving in the dark of night through the circular window, as though someone were outside. Excusing herself, she ventured outside – squinting her eyes, she looked around for the stranger, and saw a dark form sitting before Bag End’s well-tended garden.

“Hello, Estella,” said a voice she recognized as Frodo’s, and realized for the first time that night that she hadn’t seen him at all within the hole.

“Evening, Frodo,” she responded, “What are you doing out here?” she said as she sat beside him on the bench.

“Oh, just thinking, I suppose,” he said, and Estella now noticed that he held a clenched hand to his chest, and his face slightly winced in an expression of pain.

“What’s wrong?” she asked of him.

“Oh – just an old wound acting up again. Nothing to be concerned with,” he said, and removed his hand from his chest. His face did no lighten up in it expression though. “Congratulations on your engagement.”

“I’ve been engaged for almost five months, now,” she said, grinning, “But thank you nonetheless.”

The two of them fell silent here, merely enjoying the tranquility of the March twilight. Estella was surprised when Frodo spoke again. “I am glad that Merry has found someone like you – I hope that you have many happy years together.”

“Oh, thank you – I hope that you and I shall be friends always as well,” she said, smiling.

“Perhaps,” he sighed wearily, as if tired.

“Are you weary, Frodo? Perhaps you should retire inside –”

“I am fine, Estella – a little tired, yes. Such days have made me wearied, and I fear that there is little time left for me.”

“Time?” Estella said, concerned, “What do you mean?”

Frodo shook his head. “Nothing that you should be worried about, Estella dear – you have your life ahead of you, full of happiness. You have no reason to worry about the future, for yours is to be a cheerful existence – there are others, though, who are not as lucky. There are those who have cursed lives, wounds that will never heal ­–”

“Frodo? Is something ailing you?” she asked of him.

He looked up, smiling despite his earlier mood. “No, I’m fine – think nothing of what I said. Merely the incoherent ramblings of an old hobbit.”

“You’re not that old.”

“Not in years, perhaps – but never mind. We should retire inside, no doubt

Gamgee is worrying about you.”

Flowers, Gems And Estella - Chapter XXXVI

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All of Brandy Hall was done up, and its inhabitant were buzzing about the upcoming wedding that was to occur the next day – Sam and Rosie Gamgee had ridden down from Hobbiton, with little Elanor as well. The Tooks from Tuckborough were also there, along with a few relatives from the West Farthing who had relations with the bride or groom – or both. The Hall was full nearly to capacity, and outlying homes and abodes were also full of relatives, some from the southward lying areas of Buckland that did not get up to Bucklebury that often.

“Near the River Shirebourn, it’s like a trap of some sort,” Merry had told Estella some days earlier, “Folks go in, and don’t come out – at least for a year or two – there’s relatives down there I don’t know the names of, and I know quite a few names.”

But it was in no way an occasion that did no deserve such an audience – the marriage, as Saradoc had said at the evening’s dinner, was as important to all Bucklanders as it was to the couple themselves. He’d followed the remark with an embarrassing story from his son’s past – an incident involving a stolen pony, which Merry hid in his room somehow. Saradoc had discovered his son’s theft, and lectured him on responsibility. “I don’t think he quite got the point, though – he committed a similar, heinous act two months later – thoroughly grounded, of course.”

Merry’s head was in his hands, the tops of his ears blood red, as his body shook in silent mirth – Estella, next to him, laughed heartily as she patted his hand gently. She still laughed now, some time later, before the vanity mirror in her room.

Estella had never been one to admire herself, to think herself gorgeous and radiant – at best, she thought her appearance average, and add a slightly taller than average height into the mix, made for a lass with nothing special. Her face, with soft brown eyes and supple, pale skin, was nothing to be admired – but was nothing to shirk away from in horror, she reminded herself. Her hair hung about her face in tiny brown ringlets, and cascaded halfway down her back, for the most part, in a fairly straight fashion.

Perhaps it was the lighting of the room – the candle before the window was dimly lit, with the night wind threatening to blow it out altogether – or maybe it had just been a result of all the effort she’d put into her appearance lately, but she felt most enchanted and engrossed by her appearance in the mirror that evening.

“Yes?” she answered as a knock on the door outside alerted her from her thoughts. Expecting to see Merry come within – perhaps to wish her goodnight – it was instead her mother, clad in her nightgown.

“Wasn’t expecting you here,” Estella said, and returned to brushing her hair before the vanity.

“If that’s your way for saying hello to your mother – then hello back,” she said, standing in the doorway with her arms crossed.

Estella smiled, shaking her head. “I’m sorry – I thought you might be someone else.”

“You thought I was that fiancé of yours, didn’t you?” she said, grinning, “The two of you aren’t yet married, there’s no need to get a jump on things – there’ll be plenty of time for that later.”

“Mother!” Estella gasped, but she smirked as she did so, “There’s no reason to say things like that – I suspect you’ll be quite happy once I’m married off and out of your life.”

“Happy that you’ll be married, yes – not to get you out of my hair, but to see that you’re with somebody who cares for you, someone who’ll make you happy,” she said, and bent to kiss her daughter’s cheek, “I’m sure he’ll make you very happy, my dear.”

“He already has, mother – but thank you anyway.” Mrs. Bolger sat upon the bed, while her daughter stayed before the mirror, continuing to brush her hair. “And no, I’m not marrying him just to please you,” she said, and smiled back at her.

“I never assumed you were – I’m sorry if I ever put you in that situation – forcing you to go to Buckland for my sake, when you clearly didn’t want to.”

Estella sighed. “You never forced me, you merely suggested it of me for my own good – I was such a recluse anyway, I needed to get out, socialize and find some friends. And had I married for your sake rather than my own,” she said, putting down the hairbrush, “I would have married a few years ago, when I was first of age, to the first lad who looked my way in the local marketplace – some anonymous drifter that I would have hated anyways.”

“But you didn’t want to go to Buckland, did you?”

She sighed once again. “No, I didn’t – at first. But I made friends there –”

“And was courted by your future husband.”

“And spilled a piece of meat into the lap of my future father-in-law, if that helps any.”

“Yes, I believe Fredegar told me of that,” she said, scrunching her eyebrows, “I assume you apologized to the poor man – I don’t want him holding this against you or your family.”

“You mean you don’t want him to hate you, because of something I did, right?”

“Partly, but of course I’m only looking out for you – you don’t want to upset your in-laws before they even get a chance to be your in-laws.

“I’ll be all right, mother – really. Now shouldn’t you be getting back to bed?”

“If you ask me, you’re the one who needs to get to bed – but what I came here for, really,” she said, standing up before her daughter, “Was to give you this, since you probably know I didn’t come just to chat with you.” And from her pocket she took a small parcel, swathed in cloth. Estella unwrapped it to reveal two tiny diamond earrings and a comb of palest pearl.

“To hold your hair up with tomorrow.” The top of the comb was shaped in a budding flower.

“It’s lovely,” Estella said, fingering the petals, “It’ll go nice with the necklace, I suppose – the one that Merry gave me. Did you see it?”

“I think so – give it here, let’s see what it looks like.” Estella stood before the mirror as her mother took the comb, and smoothing out her hair, piled it in lumps upon her head.

“That won’t look good at all if it’s in piles.”

“Now, just you wait – this’ll look nice, I know it will.” To Estella it looked only like a mess upon her head – once everything was in place, Mrs. Bolger stuck the comb into a central, crucial spot, and stood back to admire her work.

“There, now doesn’t that look nice?”

“Um,” Estella said, biting her lip, “Not really – but it’s not like you tried.” Looking in the mirror, Estella’s hair looked to be all heaped in one messy pile on her head, and seemed to defy gravity – it was a wonder that the comb was holding it up at all.

“Well, no matter – Rosie and Celandine will probably fix your hair up nice tomorrow, better than your own mother can.”

“And I’m sure they’ll do a lovely job – really, mother, thank you. You’ve done more than I could ever have hoped for,” she said, embracing her in a hug. Once released, her mother made to exit the room.

“Goodnight, Estella,” she said in the open doorway.

“Night,” she said from her place on the bed.

Mrs. Bolger closed the door behind, and wandered through the hall to her own room – when about to turn a corner, she stopped, seeing a shadow before her. The owner of the shadow also paused, biding his time.

“Estella?” she heard the other say.

“Merry Brandybuck? What are you doing up this late?”

From around the corner Merry’s face peered, and broke into a smile once he saw who it was. “Mrs. Bolger! I didn’t think you would be up this late. Seeing to Estella, I suppose?”

“Yes, and the same purpose to you as well?”

“Well, I just wanted to wish her goodnight – really, that’s all.”

“Now, don’t you know it’s a tradition for the bride and groom not to see each other until the ceremony?”

“Well, I think that applies to the day of the wedding – but I’m willing to take the chance, if such a venture means bad luck.”

“I don’t believe it does, actually. I always assumed it was for precautionary measures so as to prevent the couple from – well, getting a head start on things, if you will.”

“Then there’s no risk, I suppose.”

“Goodnight, Merry,” she said, shaking her head and passing him in the hall.

“Night, Mrs. Bolger – see you bright and early tomorrow then.”

“You too.” And opening the door of her room, she retreated within for the night.

Flowers, Gems And Estella - Chapter XXXVII

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“This dress needs smoothing out, Rosie.”

“Well, I’m fixing up your hair, I only have two arms, you know – get someone else to do it.”

Estella sighed – most everyone, content that the bride’s wardrobe was complete, set to fixing up their own. Her mother and the rest of the wedding party, save for Rosie, were away, getting themselves dressed and prepared for the morning’s ceremony.

“Never mind, I’ll do it myself,” Estella said finally, and bent down to smooth out the bottom of the dress with her hands – Rosie, who had been styling her hair, exclaimed in protest as the brown locks which she had been styling suddenly flew out of her hands.

“Stella! You need to hold still or I’ll never get this done, and then you’ll be late for your own wedding – and how nice do you think that would look?”

“Sorry,” she said, standing up once more, “I’m just –”

“Nervous? Excited? Unable to sit still?”

“A little of all three, actually – but I suppose you would know, having gone through this yourself.”

“True, but I don’t believe I was this bouncy – hold still, will you!” she said, staying Estella with a firm hand upon her shoulder, “I’m almost done – just one more pin – there! Now you can hop about the room like a little rabbit as I suspect you’ve been wanting to.”

“Rosie! I am not a little rabbit!” she said, pacing the floor quite nervously.

“No, you’re not – you’re a tall, lovely and graceful rabbit who is about to get married. And I think I hear your mother rabbit coming.”

As per Rosie’s words, Mrs. Bolger came into the room, dressed in a lovely gown of lavender. “Good, you’re nearly done, then – they say no one takes longer to get ready than the bride.”

“I might have been ready earlier had someone remained here to help me,” Estella said, though she held a smile upon her face.

“Never mind that, are you ready or not?” Stepping down from the pedestal before the mirror, Estella nodded, and followed her mother and Rosie out of the room.

In another part of Brandy Hall, things were not as efficient, and Mrs. Bolger’s words were proved untrue, as Peregrin Took stood before the mirror, quite unprepared.

“Pippin, would you please brush that hair? It’s quite unruly!” Sam said from behind him.

“But I already did so ten minutes ago!” he whined back.

“It doesn’t matter how long ago you did it last,” Frodo said calmly, as the voice of reason, “You must do it again because it has somehow gotten re-Pippinified.”

“Pippinified?”

“Another term for being messed up,” Sam said, and immediately fell silent as Merry entered the room in a rush, hurrying to stand before the mirror, pushing Pippin aside in his haste. Dressed in his suit of armor as a knight of Rohan, he took several minutes to examine every inch of his wardrobe before finally declaring it satisfactory, and made to exit the room once more. Sam and Frodo, who took this as a cue that the ceremony would soon begin, followed him – the door flew open again, though, as Merry entered the room a second time, and, facing Pippin, said, “Brush your hair,” before quickly disappearing into the hallway once more.

Sam and Frodo smiled at this, and exited the room as Pippin, pouting with arms crossed, tromped up to stand before the mirror.

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Unlike Sam and Rosie’s wedding nearly a year earlier, there was no chance of rainfall that April morning – above the crowd gathered was a pristine robin’s-egg-blue sky, with no trace of clouds, only the brightly shining sun.

Most of the guests were gathered in the pavilion just outside Brandy Hall when the groomsmen filed out, Merry in front of them – from her place at the window Estella watched their progression, until all were gathered and waiting.

“Guess it’s our turn then,” Estella said to Rosie beside her, and gathering her bouquet in her hands, lined up behind the rest of the bridesmaids. With Rosie in front of her, and her father beside her, she stood, swaying side to side in her place.

“Nervous, dear?” her father said.

“Well, maybe a little – but not out of thought that I’m doing the wrong thing –”

“Of course you’re not. Merely just nerves, and excitement – nothing to worry about.”

Despite her father’s comforting words, it seemed an eternity to Estella before they were finally walking the petal-strewn path – once outside, she glimpsed the smiling faces of those gathered turn towards hers, faces that bore expressions as joyous as hers, the happiest of which she saw on the features of her soon-to-be husband. It was not long before she was standing beside him, with Saradoc Brandybuck before them to start the ceremony.

“Family, friends and otherwise – we are gathered here today, to share in the happiness of these two hobbits – Meriadoc Brandybuck, and Estella Bolger – as they devote their lives to one another in the joyful union of marriage. The union of these two concerns all of Buckland, for Meriadoc is to take the title of Master, and by dedicating her life to him, Estella accepts these responsibilities as well – and whether they encounter happiness or hardship in their future, they will encounter it together.”

Merry, whose eyes had not left Estella’s face since she entered the pavilion, listened not to his father’s words – indeed, he seemed lost in his own happy thoughts, until he heard his father clear his throat.

“Huh?” he said, looking up.

“Say your vows, son,” Saradoc whispered quickly.

“Oh,” he said, and straightening up, began, “Estella, even though we did not start out as the best of friends, I’m thankful that you were able to see past my faults, and I’m thankful that you were willing to give me a chance to love you, and to give yourself a chance to be loved. Though we are two very different beings, our diversities only strengthen our love, as do our similarities – and though it may not be perfect, I’m certain our future will be spent for the best, and be full of love.”

Estella’s smile before, though blissful, could not have held a candle to the reaction caused by Merry’s words – her eyes watered over with happy tears that threatened to spill over as she spoke her vows next.

“For some time, I considered it impossible that I would ever find happiness, most likely the result of my own stubbornness, an aspect that I assumed would impede my chance of finding love. But you, Merry, proved me wrong, for which I am very thankful – your courage and compassion for those that you love is nothing short of admirable, and I am honored that you would feel such sentiments for me, and love me as I love you.”

Few eyes were left still dry by this time, and as Saradoc continued to speak, there was no lack of happy tears on the faces of the audience. “May the vows you’ve spoken hold true in your future together, as Meriadoc and Estella Brandybuck.”

Amidst the cheers from the crowd, congratulating the couple, Merry thought only of Estella, whom he embraced lovingly as they shared their first kiss together as husband and wife.

<><><><><>

The toasts were finished quickly, much to the enjoyment of those present, who wanted nothing more than to tend to their meal, or retreat to the dancing floor. As was custom, though, the dancing was not to commence until the bride and groom themselves were on the floor – however, Merry and Estella were of the first to be on the floor that evening, and the band immediately played up a lively, fast-paced tune.

“So, you got this necklace especially for me, all those months ago?” Estella said, referring to the beautiful pendant hanging from her neck.

“Of course,” Merry replied, “What, you don’t believe me?”

“It’s just strange – that was over a year ago, and even then you thought enough of me to purchase an expensive necklace such as this?”

“Well, why wouldn’t I think of you then? I did have feelings for you before admitting them, you know.”

“I know you did,” Estella said, grinning.

“Did you? How exactly did you know?” Merry said with raised eyebrows.

“Well,” she said, weighing her words carefully, “You seem to always wear your heart on your sleeve, do you not?” Perhaps it’s best that Merry not know of Celandine’s drunken mistake.

Merry sighed. “I guess that is the tragic flaw of us heroes, is it not? We knights of Rohan have many emotions, courage and love included, my dear.”

“As well as embarrassment, I believe you got quite red during Pippin’s speech.”

“I told him never to repeat that story – but I suppose it can be forgotten until later.”

“Later?”

“Tomorrow, specifically. For tonight, my thoughts could not be further from my immature cousin.”

“Yes, they are instead on your stubborn wife.”

Merry smiled, and hugged Estella close to him. “As is expected.”

Flowers, Gems And Estella - Epilogue

<><><><><>

“What about the name Hazel, if it’s a lass? Or Emerald, that’s quite lovely – or Columbine?” Estella put forth as she strolled beside her husband in the crisp, autumn afternoon. The crunch of many leaves sounded underfoot each time they took a step, but they cared not – the swirl of color in the trees, bright orange and yellow mixed with the darker reds and browns, created a pallet that was pleasant to the eyes.

“Emerald Brandybuck,” Merry said to himself, “Sounds nice enough – I like it. But what if it’s a lad?”

“I’m trying to accommodate that possibility,” Estella sighed, “But you don’t seem to like any of the names I’ve chosen.”

Merry sighed. “It’s not that I don’t particularly like any of them –” He broke off, unsure of what else to say.

“Your mind is not focused on choosing names, I see,” Estella said, “You’re worried about Frodo, I take it?”

“It is not him I worry for – I am concerned for him, yes, and I’ll miss him greatly – but I wonder how Sam will cope with this, this void. Sam looks up to Frodo, you know – he made it his duty to look after him, and saved his life on more than one occasion – though Frodo did the same for Sam as well.”

“And I’m sure that Frodo will never forget Sam, or you and Pippin either,” she said, smiling gently, “I know not where he is – but wherever that may be, it is a place where he will surely be happy.”

“But it is not a place where he is needed,” Merry said, a dark tone to his voice.

“And would you go after him, to bring him back to where he is? Would you leave to where you are not needed, to return Frodo to the home he left behind, and the friends? Do you not think that Frodo regrets his leaving as much as you do?”

“Then why did he leave in the first place?”

Estella fell silent for a moment, unsure of how to answer Merry’s question. “I know not – but he had a reason. It wasn’t hard to see that Frodo was suffering, and had been suffering since before he even left – some of us are cursed, to live lives of pain and sorrow, to suffer wounds that will never heal.”

“Huh?” Merry said, a confused look upon his face.

“Something Frodo told me, before he left – but the point is, he must have seen some good in his leaving, or he wouldn’t have done so. And we both know that if Bilbo went, than he wouldn’t be far behind – that’s where he belongs,” she said, “The four of you will always have the bond that you shared – the Fellowship will always be a family in that respect, and no one can take that away. You don’t have to renounce that bond, and neither did Frodo, or Gandalf – they will always be part of that family, just as you and Sam will always be. And that doesn’t mean you can’t be part of a new family – this family,” she said, placing a hand upon her abdomen.

“I suppose you’re right,” he said, wrapping a gentle arm around her shoulder, “But I still miss him – this void still hurts.”

“I’d be surprised if it didn’t – but it wouldn’t be worthwhile if it didn’t cause you pain, even at first.”

The two of them fell silent for a long while, just enjoying one another’s company and the autumn atmosphere of Crickhollow. It was some time even before Merry spoke up. “So, I quite like Emerald as a name for a lass – but what of a lad?”

“Well,” Estella pondered, a hand upon her cheek, “How about Sigismond?”

“Sigismond? Where did you get that?”

“That was the name of my grandfather – but if you don’t like it –”

“It’s not that I don’t like it – I’d like to name it something that no hobbit’s ever been named before. So one day, when he’s Master of Buckland, they’ll all think, ‘That’s Merry’s son, that is.’ An unforgettable name, that’s what I want,” he said proudly.

“And just what name are you thinking?”

Merry pondered the matter further, his hand upon his prominent chin. “Bombadil?”

“Bombadil Brandybuck?”

“Maybe not – perhaps Asfaloth?”

“And who was he?”

“Umm – a horse, I think,” he muttered sheepishly.

“I’m not naming our son after a horse.”

“All right then – well, what of Éomer? A good, strong name that.”

“Perhaps,” she said.

“What ideas do you have then?”

“I quite like – I mean, you don’t have to agree, it’s just my opinion –”

“What’s the name, then?”

“Well, I always quite liked the name Beren – and he would be named after a noble figure, and I don’t believe any hobbit in the Shire has ever been named that before. I wouldn’t be quick to forget it.”

“Beren Brandybuck,” Merry said to himself, “Yes, it sounds nice – suppose it’s between that and Éomer, I’ll have to ask Pip which one he likes best.”

“You’re letting Pippin decide on the name of our child?” Estella scoffed, though she was grinning as she said so.

“Well, he’s not going to be having children of his own anytime soon,” Merry said, “Besides, it’s not like we’re leaving the entire thing of naming the child up to him – if we did that, he’d insist that we name it after himself – just merely questioning which one he thinks sounds better in front of the name Brandybuck.”

Estella was not satisfied with this plan of action but did not argue the point further, and only shook her head and grinned at her husband. “So if it’s a lass, it’s to be named Emerald – and if a lad, either Éomer or Beren.”

“Nice to have these things decided early, isn’t it?”

“Quite – although the child’s not due until next spring,” she said, rubbing a gentle hand over her stomach, which had not even begun to show signs of the growing life within.

“And if it’s twins?” Merry suggested.

“If it turns out to be twins, I will no doubt be in pain for twice as long, and will not even care what their names are to be – and, of course, I will forbid you ever touching me again. But I’ll no doubt do that even if it isn’t twins,” she said, smiling mischievously.

“Never again? Well, if it is your wish to never have another child, you’d better sleep somewhere else then – for I fear I will not be able to control myself when I’m around you, when you’re looking as lovely as you usually do.”

“Or maybe I could just get you to sleep somewhere else.”

“Blasphemy!” Merry said, hugging Estella closer to him, and adopting a serious tone, “You’re kidding, right?”

Estella laughed into his chest. “Of course I am.” She felt him place a soft hand upon her stomach.

“So this little one here – this is not to be our first and last child?” he queried.

Estella shook her head, and moved so as to look him in the eyes. “Not by a long shot,” she said, and he wrapped his arms around her once more before embracing her in a heartfelt kiss. They broke apart soon after, and continued on their way to the little hole on the outskirts of the hedge surrounding the Old Forest – it was a small but comfortable abode, perfect for a newly married couple. But as Pippin had said before, when Merry had alerted him to the fact that Estella was expecting, the two of them would no doubt need a bigger hole in the coming months, which were sure to be filled with happiness and bliss, just as Frodo had said.

fin