Chapter 31. Why Wilt Thou Trouble Thyself?

Legolas was fascinated by the Litheday festivities, the colourful garb the hobbits wore, the diversity of offerings in the bright booths, the food smells in the air, the atmosphere of celebration, jollity, and general well-being. Gimli stalked along by his side, seemingly oblivious to the stares of startled fair-goers, but more than one he fingered his beard in satisfaction as some sibilant comment came to his ears about "...those whiskers! Never seen the like..."

Legolas smiled at the open-mouthed children that tagged after them and even scattered a few pennies from Gondor amongst them. After that, they were always followed by a gaggle of goggling little hobbits. This made Gimli grumble, but more than once the Wood Elf caught him in a smile at a particularly winsome little tyke.

Mayor Samwise dragged Pippin and Merry with him to the ceremony which opened the fair. Legolas noted that Pippin smiled but briefly when introduced, though the cheers of the crowd for their Thain were deafening. Merry, he was glad to see, bowed with a grin when the Mayor of Michel Delving invited the crowd to welcome the Master of Buckland.

They stayed in Michel Delving for the entire affair, all the way through the annual pony race, the greased pig event, the trifle-eating contest, the egg toss, wrestling matches, footraces, and various other pleasant pastimes. Gimli guessed the weight of an enormous rock a farmer had grubbed from his field, and won, to his surprise, a kiss from the farmer's pretty daughter. Good thing his beard covered his blushes, he thought privately, as a large number of disappointed hobbit youths watched.

Legolas guessed the weight of a piglet, which turned out to be the prize as well as the puzzle. He solved the problem of carrying a piglet to Greenholm by presenting the little creature to the nearest hobbit lad, who ran shouting to his mum and dad about the magical piglet one of the Fair Folk had conjured out of thin air to give to him, '...and I may keep him forever, mayn't I?' After all, a magical pig oughtn't to be slaughtered when it got big enough for bacon and side meat...

Pippin breathed a sigh of relief when the closing ceremony was over, his thoughts already on the meeting with Elessar, who even now might be awaiting him near Greenholm. And Ferdibrand, who was probably waiting impatiently for the Thain to make an appearance, that he might show off the promising new land that was theirs for the asking...

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The survey party made good time across the plain, not needing to stop, since this area was already surveyed and mapped. Their objective was the nearest of the elvish towers atop the hills, clearly visible now, near the end of the second day's long journey.

Ferdi breathed in deeply. 'Smell that!' he said.

'Salt,' Fastred agreed.

'I wonder if you can see the Sea from the top of the hills,' the chancellor mused.

'From the top of the tower, I'd reckon,' Leotred said. 'Did Father ever say?' he asked his brother.

'I don't think he got up in the tower; it was locked, as I recall,' Fastred answered. 'And he spoke of his sight of the Sea, but of course, he travelled until he could dabble his toes in it, so I do not know whether he saw it from the hills or not.'

'We'll camp here for the night,' Ferdi said, getting down from the saddle to stretch. 'Is that a spring coming out of the rock, up ahead?'

'Yes,' Fastred said. The Sun had already dipped below the Tower Hills, but he fancied he could see a faint sparkle on the hillside before them, telling of water trickling down.

They led their ponies from the track they had followed, branching off the great Eastern Road from the Far Downs, untacked and hobbled the beasts so that they might graze.

They laid out their blanket rolls in the long grass and sat down to eat a simple meal of bread and cheese and dried meat, with a little dried fruit. Water from the spring made the meal taste like a feast, and Ferdi nodded with satisfaction. 'Good water,' he said. 'That's a start.'

He eyed the hill before them, the top of the elven tower barely visible from where they crouched at its foot.

'There's a track going up,' Fastred said, coming back from replenishing their bottles at the mouth of the spring. 'Looks pretty direct, from what I could tell.'

'Then let us go the other way round, going up,' Ferdi said. 'After all, we are here to see the sights, not simply touch the tower and return to say we did the deed.'

'There was a path in that direction as well,' Fastred affirmed, 'though not as well-used, and rather circuitous.' He grinned. 'But that is not all! I found the mouth of a cave!'

'A cave!' Ferdi said. 'Well, that is a find. A natural cave means we might have an easy time delving smials here. Let us go and see...'

They spent the last of the afternoon light exploring the cave. The entrance was just high enough that they barely had to duck to enter. With improvised torches, they investigated the first room that opened before them, several openings apparent to further rooms under the hill. 'Very promising indeed,' Ferdi said. 'But we need better torches, or lanterns, and ropes to do any exploring here, and I do not like to leave the ponies too long, even hobbled as they are, so let us return to our camp.'

On their way, they examined again the tracks leading upwards, and Ferdi looked closely at the vegetation and the bare rocky ground around them.

'Here, now,' Ferdi said. Fixing the three younger hobbits with a stern gaze, he said, 'I don't want to have any of you stumble into a nest of adders on the rocks...'

The brothers from Greenholm nodded, familiar with the ways of vipers sunning themselves on rocky faces, but Frodo shuddered. He'd heard of adders only in stories, and he didn't fancy meeting any.

'Just keep your eyes open,' Leotred said quietly. 'They blend in with their surroundings; you can walk right past and never see one until it moves.'

'The ponies can smell them,' Ferdi said, 'and if you mind your beast he'll keep you out of more trouble than you know.' He pulled out his pipe and had a quiet smoke.

The others followed suit, then all of them rolled themselves in their blankets and fell asleep under the dancing stars.

That night Fastred dreamed of Elanor, the taste of her lips, the surprise and mischief in her eyes as she pulled away, and the promise. Leotred, on his part, dreamed in the same span of time of the other sister, but when he reached to take Rose's hand, she pulled away, and her eyes were full of fear.

Frodo dreamed of nothing at all, or remembered nothing when Ferdi wakened him to take the second watch. He settled quietly, with his back against a large stone, listening to the champing of the ponies' teeth in the grasses nearby, the soft breathing of the sleepers, the rumour of the Sea away beyond the hills, the salt-scented air filling his lungs when he breathed deeply. He frowned when he heard Leotred mutter, 'Rose' in his sleep, but then the other turned over and said no more.

Ferdibrand dreamed of his own lady, and in his dream they walked across the plain, hands entwined. He stopped to sweep up a handful of violets from the ground and tucked them tenderly in her hair, and they shared a kiss before walking on. Sleeping, he frowned. For some reason, he could not feel her hand now, and as his fingers tightened, she slipped away from him, laughing, and he awakened, still reaching for her, the scent of violets lingering on the air in the softness of the moment before the dawn.

In the quiet rooms of Bag End, in the dark of middle night, the peaceful sleepers were startled out of dream by shrieks of terror. Mistress Rose started up in her bed, reaching for Samwise before she remembered he was off to Greenholm with the Thain. Pulling her wrapper about her, she padded across the room into the hall, down to the older girls' room. A lamp had been lit, and Rosie-lass sat up in her bed, eyes wide, keening in mindless fear while Elanor and Goldilocks embraced her from either side, petting and comforting her to no avail.

Mistress Rose crossed quickly to the bed to envelop her second daughter, feeling the tension throughout her body. Stiff as a board, the girl was. Other faces appeared in the doorway. 'Merry!' she rapped out. 'Go for the healer!'

'Right away, Mum,' he said, and was gone, throwing a cloak over his nightshirt. The front door slammed behind him.

'Pippin-lad, put the kettle on,' Mistress Rose said next. 'We could all do with a cup of tea, I warrant, something soothing.'

'Chamomile,' he said in answer, and Hamfast went with him to build up the fire in the kitchen while Daisy and Primrose comforted the little ones, frightened out of their wits at being startled from sound sleep by Rose's screams.

Rosie-lass had buried her face against her mother's shoulder, no longer screaming, but moaning desperately while Mistress Rose rubbed her back and shoulders, held her tightly against herself, murmured comfort.

The front door slammed again and soon grandmotherly Primrose Chubb was there, saying cheerily, 'Well, now, and what seems to be the trouble?'

'I do not know, Primrose; her eyes are open but she won't waken from this nightmare.'

Old Primrose took a pot from her bag, filled it from the jug of wash water on the dresser, lit a small candle beneath it, and sprinkled in some herbs. As the water warmed, a soothing aroma stole through the room. 'Keep talking to her,' she ordered. 'Soft words, gentle words. Rock her, sing a lullaby, help her to feel safe.' The elderly hobbit looked to Elanor. 'More blankets,' she said. 'Wrap her well.'

Rose rocked and sang, Elanor and Goldi joining in, and a lovely harmony arose in the darkened room. Rose felt her daughter begin to relax, the stiffness giving way to trembling as the girl sagged against her. When the song ended, she crooned, 'That's it, lass, that's it now. You're safe in your own bed at home, safe, now, lass.'

'Don't,' Rosie-lass whimpered, then stiffened again, her voice rising to a shriek that chilled her hearers. 'Don't let them find you, Frodo! Hide! Hide! Don't let them...' and burying her head again in her mother's shoulder, she burst into a violent fit of weeping.

They coaxed and comforted, soothed and sang until she quietened again. By then the teakettle had whistled, a pot of chamomile tea was steeping, and by dint of much coaxing they were able to get Rosie-lass to drink down a mugful.

They eased her back down on the bed, and soon she was asleep, one hand still holding her mother's, the other pillowing her cheek. Little old Primrose rose cautiously from the bed, saying to the others, 'Come now, let us make sure all the little ones come safely back to their pillows.'

'Thank you, Primrose,' Mistress Rose whispered.

The old hobbit nodded and smiled. 'We'll talk in the morning,' she whispered in return.

Rose nodded, and within a few minutes the quiet closing of the front door heralded the other's departure as Bag End again slipped into sleep. Rose sat up in the bed between Elanor and Rosie-lass, holding the latter's hand, until the morning light crept through the windows of Bag End's outermost rooms.

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A/N: I found out recently that the Free Fair at Michel Delving took place every seven years, at the same time as the Mayor's election. However, I can't imagine that hobbits would pass up any opportunity for a celebration, so I haven't taken the fairs out of the stories already written. I'm hoping it falls within canon to postulate a large affair, with hobbits travelling from all four Farthings to attend, when the Fair falls on an election year, and a somewhat smaller event during Lithe on the in-between years, attended by hobbits from the local area. Of course, with Samwise being the Mayor of Michel Delving, he'd travel from Hobbiton to open the fair during his years as Mayor.

Notes from original posting:

Note to Readers:

The Muse is plugging along at Merlin. I keep nudging her to break through to the already-written ending, but she has her own ways of doing things and keeps coming up with more material that is absolutely necessary.

(Violets? Where did that come from?)

(Hush now, I'm concentrating! And do be a dear and top off the pina colada whilst you're up, will you? And close the door behind you? Don't you have dishes to wash or something?)

Bookworm! You stopped by! On vacation! I am honoured. Hope you are having a nice time.

FantasyFan, another long, thoughtful review. *sigh* Nice analysis of the maturing of the Travellers. Have another crumpet, dear. Would you like the last of the cucumber sandwiches? You deserve it.

Hai, your wish is my command. See below for "more".

PansyChubb, naughty computer. Doesn't it know that the Muse likes a tasty review along with her pina coladas?

Xena, it was a hard secret to keep. He didn't even tell *me* for the longest time... Yes, the angst is cranking up.

Dana, you are remarkably patient, having read the really angsty part and still waiting, without breathing a hint of what's about to happen, as the bridging material grows and grows like a hobbit who's quaffed a bit too much ent draught...

Look for a new chapter to this story, if all goes well, in two days. Angst is accelerating... that roller coaster has just about reached the top of the hill, if not pausing at the brink... Warning: breakers ahead!

Look for the newest chapter to "Flames", in case you are following that story, on the morrow. And thank you for your patience.

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