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Scribblings  by Baylor

Bilbo gave Frodo the best bedroom at Bag End when the lad came to stay. It was not so large as the master bedroom, though like the master room, it looked into the garden. But this room was turned just so, and best captured the morning sun. The walls were brighter in here, and it was cozier, more welcoming than the grander master bedroom. It had been Bilbo’s room when he was a lad, and now he outfitted it with new drapes and blankets to go with the new books and toys and oddments that went with the new lad.

***


Merry lay claim to his own little room at Bag End, directly across the hall from Frodo’s room. He left clothing in the drawers, and hid treasures in the chest, and possessively called it “his” room from the first night he stayed there. It was one of the smaller bedrooms, without a window, but cheery enough, with the bright red quilt with a blue star that Bilbo had bought just with Merry in mind, and an armchair to match. Before long, no one would remember that it had ever been anything but Merry’s room, and that suited Merry just fine.

***


Pippin, though, always wanted to sleep with Frodo at Bag End, and was prone to creating dramatic scenes if denied. At Brandy Hall, he would sleep with Merry and only Merry, but at Bag End he wanted to sleep with Frodo and only Frodo, irregardless if Merry was also staying at the Hill. Pippin loved Frodo’s cheery room, loved that it had been Bilbo’s room, knew it was the best bedroom in the burrow, and would have nothing less. Frodo, shamefully indulgent of Pippin, did not refuse his little cousin, but merely slid over to make room in the bed.

***


It took Frodo six years to move into the master bedroom. Sam had begun to think the luxurious room would stand empty for the rest of Mr. Frodo’s days, when one morning he went to wake Mr. Frodo and he was not there. Sam found him tucked in Mr. Bilbo’s bed; furthermore, he discovered that overnight Mr. Frodo had moved his clothing and personal effects into the master bedroom. Neither of them said a word about it, and when Mr. Frodo asked Sam to fix up Pippin’s bedroom, Sam prepared the old room for the lad, and that was that.

***


Sam took the room next to Mr. Merry’s when they came back home; it was the room he had used whenever he had stayed at Bag End in the past. It was cozy, but small, with no window. The week before Sam’s wedding, Frodo, pouring his tea at the breakfast table, said, “Sam, why don't you and Rose take my old bedroom? It wouldn't do to move your bride into anything but the best room." It was on the tip of Sam’s tongue to refuse, but then he stopped himself – his Rose did deserve the best, and she would have it.

***


“Merry,” Pippin hissed, “Frodo has given Sam and Rose my room!”

“He’s made you up a nice, new room, Pip,” said Merry, who had foreseen this reaction.

“But it’s not my room!” Pippin whined.

“It’s got your quilt and your favorite chair all ready for you in it,” Merry said. “And Sam and Rose certainly deserve the best room, don’t you think?”

The tips of Pippin’s ears flushed, and he skulked off to the kitchen to console himself with ale and gingerbread. But the next day, he brought in a bouquet of Rose’s favorite blossoms to adorn her new bower.

***


They let Frodo’s room stand empty for several years, but children began piling up in the nursery, until Ellie stamped her foot and said, “Why do I have to sleep with all these babies?”

“Let’s change it all around,” Rose said that night, “and then it will be like new.” She sewed up drapes and blankets, moved in books and toys and little dresses, and then it was Ellie and Rose-lass’ room. Sam didn’t think he would be able to sleep in the master bedroom, that first night, but Rose softly stroked his hair, and he dreamed of Bagshot Row.

***


Ellie and Rose-lass reigned from the best room for many years, until they had married and moved to the West and East Marches, respectively. Goldilocks inherited it, by claim of seniority, taking Roo along with her, to the chagrin of the other lasses, confined still to the old nursery. Goldilocks really only wanted the room for the handy window, which she commonly used as an escape route for unsanctioned adventuring. She found a second use the night Faramir Took stood in the garden and leaned in the window of his father’s old room to kiss her for the first time.

***


Frodo-lad ended up with Merry’s old room, and refused a new quilt or chair. He liked the bright red cover with the blue star, and he liked that it had been Mr. Merry’s. He was the only Gamgee child with his own room, but he was generous about sharing his cozy haven, and many a younger sibling found refuge in the old red armchair, while Frodo sat at his little desk and listened to all their childhood woes. Sam watched, and would think of another Frodo, welcoming a host of miscreant younger cousins, and sheltering them with his kind heart.





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