Chapter One: The Party

Rose was trying hard to maintain a certain air of disinterest in Mr. Bilbo’s birthday party. This was difficult. Of course, in her nearly eighteen years she had been to any number of birthday parties, even one or two up at Bag End, but nothing like this. This was going to be the biggest event to hit Hobbiton in living memory and when the Cotton family first received their invitation Rose had been so excited she could barely speak. Her brothers had teased her unmercifully for this and now she was deep into damage control. She was not a child anymore, after all, even if she wasn’t quite into her tweens yet. She had to behave more like an adult if she was ever going to get treated like one. And getting treated like an adult was high on Rose Cotton’s priority list.

Therefore she went about her party preparations quite calmly, at least on the outside, and if her heart speeded up a bit while she was doing this, she consoled herself with the thought that no one would ever know but her. And indeed, after a day or two, her brothers grew tired of teasing her and moved on to more interesting targets.

Of course, she didn’t do as good a job disguising her excitement as she thought. Her mother could tell easily that her only daughter was nearly beside herself. Lily Cotton was making Rose a new dress and could feel the girl’s pounding heart through the fabric as she stood for a final fitting, the night before the party. The girl continued to speak of other things, however, and Lily simply smiled to herself, remembering a time when she also had tried so hard to be grown-up.

"There you go, Rosie. That’s the last pin. Now, let’s get this dress off you so’s I can finish sewing up these hems tonight." Lily began the careful process of undoing buttons and pulling the dress over her daughter’s head without pricking her. Rose quickly pulled on her everyday dress, pulling tight the ties at the bodice. There were chores to be done and they wouldn’t do themselves, as her father constantly reminded her. Still, she lingered a moment longer, running a finger along the lovely blue fabric of the dress her mother had already begun hemming. She felt a bit guilty, as she had a slighter older but still good dress that she could have worn to the party.

"You’re so good to me, Mam," Rose sighed. "This is such a beautiful dress." She paused for a moment and then hugged her mother impulsively. "Thank you for being such a lovely mother."

Lily laughed and gave Rose a playful swat on the bottom. "Off you go, lass. Your chores are waiting."

The room was still dark when Rose opened her eyes the next morning. The sun would not be up for another hour or so but there was a lot to do before the Cotton family could get ready to leave the farm. Pushing back the blankets and hopping out of bed, Rose quickly washed and pulled on an old dress. Heading down the hall, she opened the door to her brothers’ room and made certain the boys were up. Amazing how lazy those lads could be sometimes, she thought to herself. Most of them were up but unsurprisingly, Jolly was still sound asleep. She made as much noise as she could upon entering the room. He didn’t stir. Grabbing a pitcher of water in one hand, she pulled his blankets off with the other.

"I’m counting to five, Jolly, and then you’re getting a shower. One . . . two . . . thr,"

"I’m up," the boy mumbled unconvincingly.

"ee . . . four . . . fi,"

"I’m up!" Jolly repeated, sitting up and sighing over the unfairness of life.

Rose stayed a moment longer, until she was sure her brother, less than a year younger than she, wasn’t planning to lie back down as soon as her back was turned. Once he had climbed out of bed and splashed some cold water on his face she knew it was safe to leave him.

Entering the kitchen with a cheery "Morning, Mam, Da.," she poured herself a cup of tea and sat down at the big table to have a few slices of bread and jam before going out to feed the animals.

"Well, and how are you this fine morning, Rosie lass?" her da asked.

Rose pulled a face. "Oh, middling, I suppose. Rather boring day ahead."

"Hmm, yes. I suppose it will be, at that. Not much to do after chores are done, but go to that itty bitty party. I don’t reckon that will be very interestin’ for you, now that you’re all grown-up like."

Rose held out as long as she could, long enough to take one sip of her tea, before giving in to the excitement she felt.

"Oh Da! It’s going to be the best day ever! They say there’s goin’ to be fireworks. Real fireworks from Gandalf! And presents from all the way on the other side of the world. And Mari told me she saw dwarves at Bag End! Dwarves! Do you think any of them will be at the party? I’ve never seen a dwarf."

Her da smiled at her ebullience. He had to admit he was looking forward to the party as well. But there was a lot still to do before there was time for fun. Setting his teacup on the table, he stood up.

"Come along, Rosie lass. The sooner we get our work done, the sooner we can have our fun."

Rose nodded, face shining still with excitement, and followed her father through the backdoor of the old farmhouse. The cool predawn air helped to settle her as she scooped out a pail of chicken feed and began scattering it in the yard. When that was done, she moved on to the hogs. By the time she had fed all the animals and mucked out the sheep pen, she was feeling a little calmer, though still reciting to herself all the wonderful things that were going to happen that day.

The breakfast bell rang just as she finished washing off. She hurried inside, feeling as though she hadn’t eaten in a week. Breakfast was a warm and hearty meal at the Cotton farm. A pail of fresh milk sat on the table and there was always a pot of tea, along with great slabs of bacon, hash browns, day old bread with butter and jam, eggs fried, scrambled and boiled to suit the tastes of all the various family members, not to mention all sorts of fruit and usually a wedge of cheese as well. Rose ate like the growing lass she was, amazing even herself with the amount of food that she could consume in one meal.

The rest of the morning she spent helping her mother with various household tasks. She washed dishes, tidied up the kitchen and pantry, gathered ripe vegetables from the garden and preparing food for the next day (her mother had assured her that no one would feel much like cooking the day after the party).

Before she knew it, the sun was high in the sky and it was time to get ready. After washing thoroughly she carefully pulled the new dress on and fastened all the buttons. Then it was time to do her hair. Her long, honey-colored curls were usually pulled back in a braid and covered with a scarf when she was working on the farm, but today she was taking special pains to look as nice as she could. She and Marigold Gamgee, her best friend, had spent the better part of their free time this past week planning how to do their hair so that it would be just right for such a momentous occasion. Rose had decided to leave her hair loose but to pull it back with a blue ribbon to match the blue dress her Mam had made for her. She now took her time brushing her hair until it was free of tangles and shining like gold. Then she carefully tied the ribbon. Examining herself critically in the mirror, she decided that the overall image was not bad. She actually looked like a lass instead of a farmhand, for once.

A short time later, the Cottons were standing outside the new white gate at Bag End, being greeted by Mr. Bilbo.

"Tom, Lily, I’m glad you could make it to my party. Little Rosie, look at you. You’re so grown up. I barely recognized you. Well, boys, stand still a moment so I can get a look at all of you. My, you’re all getting more handsome by the day. Please take this with my compliments. I hope you enjoy yourselves."

And with this, they each received a present as they walked through the gate into the party grounds. When she unwrapped her package, Rose found a beautiful silver bracelet that fit perfectly and complimented her dress wonderfully well. The rest of the day passed in a blur for Rose. There were so many things to see and do and eat. She soon found Marigold and the two of them spent the afternoon dancing, playing games, singing songs and listening to music. And eating, of course. There was a seemingly endless supply of food, from freshly steamed vegetables to roasted meats, fresh fruits, cheeses and breads, potatoes sliced, diced, mashed and fried. And pies and cakes and tarts and pastries and cookies and ice cream and more sweets too numerous to mention. Rose and Mari, being the growing hobbit lasses that they were, made sure to sample as much of the food as possible.

As it began to get dark there was a loud sizzling noise and a burst of bright light in the sky. Looking up, the lasses saw that the fireworks had begun. Everything else was forgotten for the time being. The fireworks were beyond anything they could have imagined. Suddenly the lights went out and a great heap of smoke went up. Out of the smoke flew a dragon! Rose and Marigold shrieked, ducked and clutched each other’s hands as the fire-breathing creature circled the hill several times before exploding over Bywater. There was a moment of complete silence as everyone tried to comprehend what had just happened.

Into the stunned silence, Mr. Bilbo announced that it was time for supper. The moment of surprise passed and conversation resumed. All fear forgotten, the girls laughed together and ran off to get in line for supper. There were mountains of food and rivers of drink, and the lines moved quickly. Soon, both Rose and Marigold had plates heaped high with as much food as they could carry. It took longer to find a table that had any room at it but eventually Marigold pointed Rose in the direction of a table with a half-empty bench.

"Look. There’s Sam. He’s got room for us." She waved to catch her brother’s attention and he waved back, beckoning them to join him.

The girls set their plates down and made themselves comfortable next to Marigold’s brother.

"Hullo, Sam. Ta for saving us a spot," Rose smiled her thanks.

Sam nodded affably and chatted with the lasses while they ate. It wasn’t long before plates had been emptied, refilled and emptied again. Rose was feeling full and content. She picked at a piece of apple pie (her third) while waiting for Marigold to finish eating. Music was playing and Rose wanted to dance.

"There now," Marigold pushed her plate away. "I think I’m good, for now." She looked at her friend. "I see your toe tapping, Rosie Cotton. You just give me five minutes to sit here and I’ll be all ready to dance."

Rose laughed. "If you sit here for five minutes, you’ll be ready for nothing more than a nap. You need to get up and move around, Mari." She turned to Sam for support. "Ain’t that right, Sam? It aids the digestion."

"Oh, absolutely, Mari. Rosie’s got it dead to rights," Sam said with a laugh.

"Well, what about you than, my lad?" Marigold retorted. "I don’t see you dancin’ any."

"I didn’t say there was nothing wrong with a nap. I’m feeling a mite sleepy, myself." He rested his head on an upraised fist and closed his eyes. "Nice and cozy this. You two go on and ‘aid your digestion.’ I’ll just sit here and make sure the table don’t run off."

"Don’t be a fool, Samwise Gamgee. Come dance with us." Marigold knocked his arm out from under his head.

Sam mocked an angry growl and swatted at his sister before giving in. The three soon found themselves in the midst of a rowdy dance round. Within minutes they were laughing as hard as they were dancing. As the dance ended, Sam was called away by some friends but the girls continued to dance until they could no longer catch their breath. Grabbing up some drinks, they collapsed on a bench to watch the festivities.

After a few minutes, they noticed a commotion coming from the main tent, where Mr. Bilbo was having his special dinner. A number of very angry and confused hobbits came storming out and it wasn’t long before everyone knew that something very odd had happened. Apparently Mr. Bilbo had made a long, confusing and fairly offensive speech and had then disappeared in a blinding flash of light.

There was much muttering and complaining, with several hobbits threatening to leave the party at once. Somehow, though, none of them did. More wine and ale was handed round and ruffled feathers were soon smoothed down. After a bit the music resumed and people got back to the business of enjoying themselves. The party went on for several more hours, but it wasn’t long before Rose’s parents came to collect her.

"Come along, Rosie. We’ve a long way to go and an early morning tomorrow."

"I’m coming, Da."

Rose turned to Marigold and gave her a hug. "I had the best time today."

"Me too. I’ll see you at market on Saturday, right?"

Rose nodded. "We’ll be bringing the cart in."

The girls hugged again and Rose turned to follow her parents. It had been a long day and suddenly she felt very tired, but oh, how much fun she’d had. She skipped to catch up with her family and grabbed her mother’s hand, resting her head on her mother’s shoulder for a step or two.

Lily Cotton looked at the happy glow on her daughter’s face and was struck by how pretty she looked. "My, how she’s growing up. She’s not my little lass anymore. Oh well, she’s my lass still, for a few more years at least."

"And did you enjoy the party, Rosie?"

"Mmm," Rose nodded, too full of thoughts to put any of them into words. The rest of the walk home passed in a delightful haze, which continued while she fed the animals and finished her other chores, prepared for bed and finally settled under her warm, cozy blankets. Despite her weariness, sleep was a long time in coming as she reviewed the events of a day that had seemed very nearly perfect.