Chapter 28. Oh Glorious Day, Longed-for Time

Ferdibrand and the Thain, between them, kept Fastred quite occupied each day, at least up until teatime, that time when Pippin insisted the workday must end.

Fastred and his brother Leotred were never at loose ends at teatime; either they were invited to take tea with the Mayor and his family, or with the chancellor, or the steward, with their families of course, and a few times they joined the Thain and Mistress at tea.

Ferdibrand had quite a large family, as Fastred found when first invited to join them. The younger hobbit was a bit taken aback as the introductions began, for after the chancellor introduced his wife ("my Nell, the light of my life"), Ferdi introduced his oldest son as "Rudivar Bolger".

The tween bristled at Fastred's look of surprise, but his father laughed, saying, 'Now, Rudi, they will take you for a Took if you're not careful to govern that temper better!'

The lad flushed and ducked his head, saying, 'Yes, Da.'

Leotred put Rudi at ease by saying, 'Fas understands. He's been working on his temper for years...'

As it turned out, about half of Ferdi's brood bore the name "Bolger", though they all referred to the chancellor as "Da", and there was no sorting them into Bolgers and Tooks by degrees of affection between the children and Ferdibrand.

Ferdi seemed as likely to adopt Fastred and Leotred, from the attention he showed them, Fastred in particular, for they were with each other through the day while Leotred studied with the healers. Ferdi and Fastred rode out on surveys or errands for the Thain, or spent long hours in the study. At first, Fastred chafed at being "cooped up" in a stuffy room filled with papers and books, but as he learned more about the running of the Tookland, he became interested in spite of himself.

One day he was in the study alone when Leotred came in with a message from Healer Woodruff for the Thain. 'I'll take it,' he said, looking up from his work.

'Fas,' his brother said, surprised, 'You're writing!' He looked at the work. '...and in a fair hand!'

'Don't look so surprised,' Fastred said. 'If it is not in a fair hand I will only have to do it over.' He bent to his work again. 'Just let me finish this report,' he said. 'I'm nearly done.'

Leotred settled on the edge of the desk and watched, nodding in satisfaction as his brother finished the last line and blotted the page.

'I always thought you hated writing,' Leot said, examining the paper with interest.

'I did, but Ferdi told me...' Fastred flushed.

'What?'

'You'll think it silly,' he said.

'Tell me,' Leotred said. 'I don't think anything Ferdi's taught us has been "silly", do you? O he enjoys a good jest, but...'

'He told me that writing is like the hunt, only instead of capturing a bird or coney, you are capturing your thoughts... chasing your prey across the paper with the nib of your pen.' He chuckled. 'It's even got fletching, like an arrow, if you want to look at it that way.'

Leotred looked at the quill and laughed. 'I never looked at it that way before.'

'So now, every report is a chase,' Fastred said, 'and I have the satisfaction of knowing I can't miss. This bird may dodge, but my trusty shaft will follow it and bring it down.' He picked the paper up and set it on the chancellor's desk. 'There. Now what was your message?'

Leotred told him, and he nodded.

'Don't you want to write it down?' his brother asked.

Fastred tapped his temple. 'It's right here,' he said, and repeated the message back to his brother word-for-word.

'Don't tell me,' Leotred said. 'Ferdi's been training your memory as well as your hand.'

'It's another game,' Fastred said. 'He makes things so easy, Leot, you would not believe it.'

'I believe it,' Leotred said dryly. 'Perhaps you'd like to switch places; you go with Woodruff for a day or three, and I go with Ferdi.'

'Not on your life! What did you do today?' Fastred asked.

Leotred sobered. 'Took a leg off,' he said. 'It was badly broken; Woodruff said there was no point in trying to save it, when it would only be a useless drag.'

Fastred shuddered. 'And you'd like to switch places? I don't think so, little brother.'

Leotred stood. 'Well, I must get back to Woodruff. I'm going to demonstrate my knowledge of how to make up a tincture, or decoction, or something to that effect, and then she's going to teach me how to set tiny stitches, for mine are too coarse, she says.'

'Think of it as capturing a bird,' Fastred suggested. 'That might make it more interesting.'

'O it's interesting enough, brother, it's just that I am not sure there is much more room in my head for all the knowledge Woodruff's trying to spoon in.'

***

That afternoon, the Thain looked out the window, his eyebrows rising in surprise at the bonny blue of the sky, made bluer by the white puffs of clouds sailing serenely in the heavens. 'Spring is here, and no mistake,' he said. 'Wonder when the Dove is due to arrive in Buckland?'

'No message yet from Merry, I take it,' Regi said. They were allowing him to spend an hour or two at work these days, no more, but even that little bit was enough to cheer him.

'Not yet,' Pippin said. 'It will be New Year's next week; I think the ship was due about that time.'

Fastred reminded himself that the Gondorian New Year started on the 25th of March, the day the Ring had gone into the Fire. He heard a part of the story each evening by the fireside in the great room after late supper.

'O I nearly forgot, Fas,' Ferdi said then. 'The Mayor wished to invite you and Leot to take tea with them this afternoon. Seems they're going on a picnic, this being the first really fine day of the year.'

'Thank you, Sir,' Fastred said, as the chancellor twinkled at him.

'Give Nell my regards,' he said. 'I do believe the Mayor and his family are leaving for Hobbiton on the morrow.'

'O?' Fastred said, his heart beating a little faster. Elanor, leaving the Smials?

'Yes, but I have asked Nell to stay and help my Nell for a bit longer,' Ferdi said. 'The Mayor, of course, must needs travel about the Shire to open this festival or that celebration, but Nell and Rosie-lass need a bit of quiet, yet, and will be staying on here.'

'Ah,' Fastred said, for want of any other words.

'Will Mayor Sam be going to Buckland for the New Year's celebration?' Reginard asked.

'Yes,' Pippin answered, 'as will I, for I am hoping to greet the Dove, if only to honour Celandine's memory.' He shook his head. 'I cannot believe she's gone.'

'Little Blossom will be nearly a year old by the time the ship docks,' Regi said softly. He thought of his own babe, safely born shortly after he'd returned from Greenholm, and how he'd feel to have her torn away, taken off to a foreign land, and not returned until her first birthday.

'Well,' the Thain said briskly, 'this isn't getting the work done. Teatime is upon us!'

They quickly finished the last few items on the list for the day, and Pippin pushed himself back from his desk with a stretch and a yawn.

'Enjoy your picnic,' he said to Fastred. 'I just might take a page out of Mayor Sam's book and take my own family out to the hills...' He gave Regi a sharp glance. 'You, on the other hand, are overdue for a nap.'

'Nag, nag, nag,' Reginard said pleasantly. 'I am on my way.' He rose slowly from his chair, nodded to the Thain, and walked out of the room.

***

The hills were green and fresh, dotted with wildflowers in bright white, yellow, pink and blue. Mistress Rose and her daughters spread out blankets and unpacked the food, and then all fell to with good appetite. Afterwards, the Mayor and his wife lay down on the blankets to watch the fleecy clouds blow by whilst the younger ones gathered flowers and braided them into chains.

Fastred found himself wandering with Elanor, picking each flower she pointed to, until she had woven a lovely crown.

His attention was diverted, however, by the sight of two tiny figures crawling up the steep hillside that contained the Great Smials, a third small hobbit child creeping behind. 'What ever are they doing?' he said. 'That hill is too steep for them to be rolling down again.'

'O they are not hill-rolling,' Elanor said. 'They are playing at "Frodo-and-Sam", you know.'

'Frodo and Sam? You mean the story?' Fastred said.

'Yes,' Elanor replied. 'No one wants to be Gollum, of course, so they must take turns.' She smiled as the two toiling figures pretended not to see the third that followed.

'They do not know the whole story, of course,' she went on softly. 'It is too dark for little children.'

'What?' Fastred said curiously. Elanor sat down upon the ground, patting the grass beside her.

'Sit, and I'll tell you some of the tale you haven't heard before,' she said.

Fastred sat, and listened, and heard of the terrible pull of the Ring, how brave Boromir was tainted by its spell until he tried to wrest the terrible Thing from the Ring-bearer. He heard how none of the Wise dared touch the Ring, for fear of being turned from light into darkness. And he heard, at the end, how Frodo himself was overcome...

Shaken, he said, 'They never told us that before. They never told us that Frodo was taken by the Ring.'

'It is too frightening for the children to hear,' Elanor said softly. 'When they are grown, and know how easy it is to fail, to fall, there's time enough to tell them the whole of the tale.'

'I must be too young, yet,' Fastred said softly. 'I do not think it all that easy to fall...'

'Don't you?' Elanor said, looking deep into his eyes, and suddenly he found himself drawn forward, leaning closer.

'There you are!' Merry's laughing voice sounded. 'Don't you have enough flowers gathered, yet?'

'No, I don't, little brother,' Elanor said pertly, 'so why don't you go off and find me some fine ones with long stems.'

'Hah, I think Fas ought to do that; he's the hunter,' Merry said.

'Fastred is helping me,' Elanor said with dignity. It struck Fastred then, how all in the Smials had adopted his family's easy way with his name, while Elanor still insisted on pronouncing it, not cutting it short, rather, caressing the name as she spoke it. Or so it felt to Fastred.

'Helping you what?' Merry said, crouching down.

'Never you mind, little brother.'

'Frodo wouldn't like it,' Merry said teasingly.

'Wouldn't like what?' Elanor said.

'If he weren't so busy tagging after Leot and Rosie, he'd be telling you what's what this very minute,' Merry said.

Elanor gave an exasperated sigh. 'I know what's what,' she said, 'better than you do, my boy. Now run along and play.'

'Don't say I didn't warn you!' Merry sang over his shoulder as he left them.

'Where were we?' Fastred said.

'I do believe... we were talking about...' Elanor's voice trailed off.

Fastred looked into her eyes again. He'd had the thought, many the time, since meeting her, that one could drown in those eyes. The colour of the Sea they were, or the Sea as his father had described it to him...

I shall take you to see it someday, lad, for it is a sight every hobbit ought to see, at least once before he dies. Fastred's father had been more adventurous than most, and when he made his way out west, he went all the way to the Sea, before turning back to help build on to the community of Greenholm.

...the colour of the Sea, blue and sparkling sometimes, grey, dark, and mysterious at others, and sometimes changeable green, either in mood of mischief or in anger. At the moment he couldn't quite name their colour.

'I could spend the rest of my entire lifetime looking into those eyes,' he said to himself, and when Elanor chuckled, he realised he'd spoken aloud.

'Could you?' she whispered. He was drawn forward, and their lips met, blended, accepted one another, and now he was truly drowning, until a sudden clear call jerked him awake and aware.

'Merry! Where's your sister? We're packing up.'

He pulled back, only to hear a furious voice quite near.

'Just what do you think you're doing?'

'Frodo!' Elanor said. 'It's perfectly reasonable...'

'O?' Frodo said, coming up to them, eyes flashing.

'Yes, I had something in my eye, and asked Fastred if he could see it...' Elanor said, and Fastred stared at her in astonishment.

'Ah? That's not how it looked to me!' Frodo retorted, his fists clenched.

Fastred found his voice. 'You do not think I would dishonour your sister by taking liberties, do you?'

'I...' Frodo said, looking from one to the other.

Elanor put a hand to her eye, blinking, then said, 'There, that's better. I think it's come out, now.'

'Good,' Fastred said. Clambering to his feet, he extended a hand to Elanor, only to have Frodo close the distance between them and knock his hand away.

'You go and help pack up,' he said to Fastred. 'I shall escort my sister back to the Smials.'

'As you wish,' Fastred said mildly. Elanor kept her eyes down, but as Frodo led her away, Fastred could still see her smile turning up the corner of her mouth.

The next day, Frodo stuck to his sister like a cocklebur to a pony's tail, and Fastred could not get a private word with her to save his life. News had come in the night, that the Dove was due to dock at Brandy Hall three days hence, and so the Mayor put off the trip to Hobbiton, opting instead to stay over one more day at the Smials before leaving for Buckland with his family and the Thain's.

Because of this, there was a grand tea in the great room on the eve of departure.

The Mayor's family and the chancellor's sat mingled, and Fastred found himself opposite Elanor and a glowering Frodo. For the most part, Elanor kept her eyes on her plate, but at one point, when Ferdi had distracted Frodo with a question, she looked up, her gaze pouring directly into Fastred's eyes.

'Yes,' she said with a firm nod, and then sought her plate once more.

'What was that, my lass?' Mayor Sam said to his eldest daughter.

'O... I was just thinking aloud, Father,' she said, taking a dainty bite of her cucumber sandwich.

Fastred sat transfixed a moment, but he wanted to chortle and shout and jump up from his chair, dance atop the table, sing out the news for all of Middle-earth to hear. Elanor had said "Yes"!

He contented himself with saying, 'Would you care for another cup of tea, Mistress Rose?'

...while the chancellor's eyes moved from Rose to Fastred with a satisfied look.

***

At last the day came, the day the hobbits of Buckland had waited for.

'Everything's ready?' Merry asked Berilac as they stood on the banks of the River, watching the white-sailed Dove approach the dock.

'For the seventh time, yes, cousin, everything is ready as can be,' his steward answered good-humouredly. His eyes darkened slightly at the sight of Berimas, Doderic and Ilberic standing arm-in-arm at the Ferry dock, waiting for the first sight of the restored children. He gave a sigh, and Merry did not have to ask what he was thinking. The Master of Buckland was also mourning Celandine and the rest of her children, in the midst of the anticipated joy.

Estella came forward, her son holding one hand and her daughter the other. 'The feast is laid,' she said, 'the loaves have just come out of the oven, the roast is done to perfection, and the wine is breathing on the sideboard.'

'And the salad?' Merry asked absently, his eyes on the ship.

'Cook will add the dressing and toss it at the last moment, as the guests are seating themselves,' she answered.

'Sounds as if we're ready, then,' the Master said, and Berilac exchanged an exasperated glance with his assistant, Doderas.

'Quite ready,' Estella said, catching her breath at the grand sight the Dove made, with her white sails catching the breeze. She crouched down to talk to the children. 'There's the ship,' she said unnecessarily, pointing. 'Do you have your banners ready?'

There was a chorus of assent, as the children waved the bright cloths in their hands; others picked up the movement and soon the shore was a sea of brightly coloured, fluttering cloth.

A cheer swelled as the Dove came into the dock and was made fast. The hobbits of Buckland could see several tall figures at the rail: King Elessar they recognised, and Legolas the Wood Elf. A shorter figure stepped up, evidently standing upon a box or stool, and cheers arose for Gimli the Dwarf. There were a few childish fingers pointed in wonder at the tall, dark figure in bright silks standing next to the King, before the mums pushed the hands down and reminded their little ones that it wasn't polite to point.

'But... where are the children?' Estella said, then answered her own question. 'O, there, I see now...'

A sailor was lifting a tiny body in bright silks up, secure in his arms, to be able to see and be seen over the rail.

'Poppy,' Berimas gasped, as Doderic's grasp on his arm tightened. Another little form, and he said, 'Larkspur... I think... but would she have grown so tall? That looks more like Meadowsweet.'

Another sailor raised up another little form, and Berimas would have fallen had Ilberic and Doderic not held him firm. 'That's Larkspur,' he whispered. 'But...'

The cheering crowd fell silent as a fourth, then a fifth hobbit were lifted. The ship was being made fast, the gangway was being extended from ship to dock, and a sixth head appeared above the rail.

'Berilas,' the father hobbit sobbed. Alyssium appeared next, and then...

'Celandine,' Doderic and Ilberic breathed together. The hobbit mum held a tiny one in her arms. She ducked her chin to speak in the babe's ear, and Blossom waved her fat little hand at the crowd.

'Bah-bah!' Berilas shouted, wriggling in excitement, and would have fallen over the rail but for the sailor's firm grip. 'Bah-bah!'

Berimas stumbled on to the dock, the little figures disappeared from the rail, and soon bright hobbit butterflies were fluttering down the gangplank, to surround Berimas in a swirl of celebration.

'They're all here...' Merry breathed, while Pippin came up to him and pounded him on the back.

'How ever did they manage? I thought only three were rescued!' the Thain laughed.

Merry met his eyes, threw his arms about him and the Master and Thain did a little dance of joy, their children laughing, joining hands to make a dancing circle around them. Pippin and Merry then turned to their wives, pulling them into the dance as the glad cheer swelled, a beaming Mayor Sam first and foremost in the shouting.

The two kings watched the little people's joyful riot in complete satisfaction.

Finally, Master and Thain broke free from the dance and approached the little family on the dock. Tears were running down the faces of many of the hobbits in the crowd.

Berimas knelt, arms full of children, his wife at his side. He looked up at the Master.

'They've all come back,' he said unnecessarily.

'I know,' Merry replied. He looked up at the ship, to the waiting Men. 'Shall we?' he said to the Thain.

'I really think we must,' Pippin said in reply. He stepped past the reunited family and walked lightly up the gangplank to greet the King.

'Hail and well met, Strider,' he said.

'Strider?' the King of Haragost said curiously.

'An old term of affection,' Elessar said. 'We were friends before I became King.'

'Would you care to set aside your Edict for a day, or perhaps three, seeing as how the New Year celebration is the day after tomorrow?' Pippin asked. 'The feast is laid, and the Master invites you to partake of the hospitality of the Hall.'

'Since it is the Thain who invites me, I will set aside my Edict, for today, tomorrow, and the next day,' Elessar replied solemnly.

'Does this mean...?' the King of Haragost asked excitedly.

'Yes, my friend, it means exactly that,' Elessar said. 'You may set foot upon the soil of the Halflings, at their invitation, for the next few days. A rare privilege, let me tell you.'

'Better make it four days,' Merry said, coming up behind, 'for no one will be worth a brass farthing after staying up to watch the fireworks and feast until the dawn.'

'Four days?' Elessar said, looking to Pippin for permission.

'Very well, four days,' the Thain answered, after a pause for consideration. He smiled then, and added, 'Just don't make a habit of it.'

***

Author's Notes from the original posting:
(BTW, do you find these annoying? I'm sure they're not half so interesting to you as they are to me.)

Note to Readers:

*satisfied sigh* Ah, those faithful reviews, thank you so much. The Muse has come out of her snit and pushed me out of the hole that the waggon wheel was stuck in, over in "Flames". Look for the next chapter there tomorrow...

Xena, Ferdi certainly can be devious. Wonder if he is devious enough to splash a bit of water on his brow, in order to wipe it off, or if he thinks mopping his (dry) brow enough of a dissimilation. And yes, quite the celebration; Yuletide was a big time. I imagine some stretched it out even longer if they could get away with it. Gimli action figure! You made me laugh. Don't forget the braid-able beard and accessory kit with ribbons and little hobbits...

Sunhawk, always nice to see you. I think Merry appreciates your sympathy, as well... he said something to that effect over tea this very day...

Bookworm, it's gonna be great when they see all nine are there...

Aemilia Rose, I'm updating again. Is this soon enough?

Runaround, your comments are very welcome. If the comments dry up, so does the writing...

Now for the... gentle let-down... real life is intruding heavily upon writing, and I am down to a chapter a day, not a chapter per story per day, mind... So I have decided to start alternating posts, one day "Flames", the next day "Merlin" and back and forth. I got to writing so fast and furiously in "Merlin" that "Flames" kind of got shoved by the wayside and the writing in that story is going slowly... needing more time for thinking, which takes time away from editing already-written Merlin chapters for posting. So sorry. Hope it won't put your nose out of joint too much.

I have not added a new chapter to "Flames", in case you are following that story, but look for it tomorrow. And thank you for your patience.

***