Sam glanced up at Galadriel as he helped Frodo set up their camp in the south skirts of the White Downs.  Stars dotted the sky overhead, and the moon’s golden orb hung halfway in the sky; a cool breeze wafted against the gardener’s cheek.  Bilbo squatted on the ground not far from the other hobbits, chatting with Gildor, and Galadriel stood several feet away, talking with Elrond.  Not for the first time since he and his master had met Bilbo and the Elves at Woody End a few days before, Sam noticed Galadriel’s mithril ring sparkling in the moonlight, and its white stone flickering.

I never could see that Ring the first time—not in Lothlórien, he thought, as he arranged the wood.  All I saw was a star between her fingers.  But now, I see a stone—a band and a stone!

“What are you looking at, Sam?” Frodo asked.

Blushing, Sam jerked his gaze from Galadriel toward the firewood.  Grabbing his tinder and a piece of flint, he began rubbing them together.  “I was just looking at the Lady’s ring,” he mumbled.  “It looks pretty on her finger, it does.”

Amusement crinkled Frodo’s forehead.  “It does, indeed,” he agreed.  “And, you know, I seem to recollect that you couldn’t see her ring when we were in Lórien.”

“No, and that’s queer.”  Pausing, Sam shook his head.  “Why can I see it now, when I couldn’t see it then?”

“Because, since you were in Lórien, Sam, you’ve been a Ring-bearer.”  Galadriel’s voice startled Sam; dropping the tinder and flint, he jerked upward and whirled to find Galadriel standing behind him.  Amused, the Elven Queen squatted between Sam and Frodo, and with a few whiffs of her breath, she started the fire, and then handed the flint and tinder to Sam.  “When Frodo was poisoned by Shelob, you took the One Ring and bore it on your finger, in the belief that you would have to finish the Quest.  Afterward, while you were in Mordor, you saw the Eye along with Frodo.”  Sam nodded.  “And because you did, you have seen what is hidden.  Your sight, like Frodo’s, has grown keener, Sam, and you have even perceived my thought more clearly than you did during your stay in Lórien.  As a result, you can see my Ring of Adamant now, whereas before, you could only see it as a star.  But now, it can be hidden from you no longer.”

Sam nodded again.  “Yes, Lady.”

Elrond knelt on the other side of Sam.  “And because you have been a Ring-bearer, Sam, one day, you will be permitted to join Frodo in the Undying Lands, if you so wish.”

“But not now,” Frodo said.  “You have much to do, before that time comes.  You have a wife and a daughter waiting for you at Bag End, Sam, and a whole Shireful of hobbits who will need you.”

Sam nodded.  “Yes, I do, Mr. Frodo.”  He gazed at his master.  “But one day, when they don’t need me, I will come to the Havens and join you.”

Frodo smiled.  “Yes, you will.”

Bilbo joined them around the now-blazing campfire.  “I’ll probably be long gone by then, Sam, but I know my Frodo will be waiting for you with open arms.”  He smiled at Frodo, and then at the gardener.  At that moment, one of the Elves brought some food to cook over the fire.