No Pain, No Gain (Two Parallel Dialogue Drabbles)

The First:

“It will hurt, won’t it.” Merry’s usually buoyant voice cracked, just a bit.

“Most probably,” Eomer agreed. “It does most of us. You’ll swear ‘Never again!’ while it’s happening, but you’ll forget all about the pain when you see the result. Think how proud you’ll be, showing it off!” Merry looked doubtful, but it was too late to turn back now. Prince Imrahil patted his shoulder encouragingly, while Frodo and Sam shook their heads in disbelief.

“Ready?” The tattoo artist picked up her needle; Merry squeezed his eyes shut. Eomer gripped his hands while Pippin nervously gnawed at a fingernail.

The Second:

“It will hurt, won’t it.” The Queen’s normally calm voice trembled, only slightly.

“Most probably, my lady,” the midwife agreed. “It does most of us. You’ll swear ‘Never again!’ while it’s happening, but you’ll forget about the pain when you see the result. Think how proud you’ll be, showing it off!” The Queen looked doubtful, but it was too late to turn back now, even if it were possible.

“Ready?” The midwife slid Arwen’s knees apart, then reached between them. Arwen pushed; Eowyn gripped her hands while the King of Gondor and Arnor paced outside, nervously gnawing at a fingernail.

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For the "Parallel Dialogue" challenge at tolkien_weekly. The challenge was to write two different drabbles, using the same dialogue.