The rain had not ceased by the next day's dawn, only begun to fall more lightly. Frodo was finishing his breakfast with Merry, and gazing out the kitchen window at the dismal, gray day and rain-dappled puddles on the flagstones in the little yard outside, when a messenger from the court arrived--not Beregond, as Frodo had expected, but a page bringing an invitation from the Queen: if Frodo had no other business, he and Merry were asked to come and spend the morning with her and Eowyn, and to have lunch.
Since Frodo had only planned one errand for the day, also within the citadel walls, and that must wait until the Council was dismissed and Larengar was available to be questioned, he accepted the invitation gladly. The page escorted him and Merry up to the royal chambers, where the Queen and Steward's Lady were waiting.
Eowyn was also looking out the windows at the rain, but she turned with a welcoming smile when the hobbits were shown in. "I'm sorry about our ride," she said. "I dislike being shut up within doors as much as you do, and the horses must be restless and eager for a run after being stabled for so long. I promise, we'll ride out on the first sunny day after this ends!"
"There is little in the way of investigation to be done in this rain, and I am pleased to have your company," Arwen said simply. Two low, cushioned chairs had been set near the hearth and, before them, stood a little table covered with delicate silvery pots, cups, and utensils. Arwen gestured to them. "Please, Frodo, Merry, sit down. You see, I've had tea made ready for you."
The tea was not one they had tasted before, but a fragrant brew of white flowers with a sweet, honeyed flavor that warmed them to their toes and heartened them on this dreary and chilly day. They spent a cheerful morning in the ladies' company, and said little more about the investigation; by an unspoken mutual agreement, more pleasant topics of conversation were chosen. They talked of Rivendell and Lothlorien. Eowyn repeated the news she'd last received from her brother, King Eomer, and Frodo told of his brief visit to Orthanc on his journey here, and how trees were growing around the tower again. While Eowyn and Merry went on with their own fond reminiscences of Theoden, Arwen asked Frodo if he was well; the note of concern in her questions made him believe the inquiry was not mere politeness. The matter had been heavy on her mind since she'd last asked him about it.
At midday, as the servants were setting the table in the private dining hall in preparation for lunch, Aragorn came in. Gandalf and Faramir were also expected to join the party shortly. After greetings and some pleasantries had been exchanged between the King and his guests, Arwen lay a hand lightly on her husband's arm and said something softly to him in elvish that Frodo did not catch--but he was sure his name was spoken.
Aragorn also began to regard him with concern, and soon afterwards drew Frodo aside. "Arwen tells me she is worried for you," he explained. "She fears you've taken too great a burden upon yourself. I've let you have your lead in this investigation, so you may go wherever you wish to find answers, but I would not ask you to do so much that it wearies you. If the task is too great, you must tell me."
"Thank you," said Frodo. "I will tell you if I can't go on. For now, I feel fit enough to continue. I want to. If I'm weary, it isn't because of that. It's just that I haven't slept very well the last night or two, that's all."
"Haven't you?" Aragorn still looked concerned. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I'm feeling a little homesick," Frodo admitted. "I miss Sam. I keep thinking about him, and Rosie and the baby they were about to have when I left them--it must certainly have been born by now. I wish there was some way to have a letter sent him, to find out how they are." Of course, there was a great deal more to his reasons for missing Sam, but this was as much as he dared to say.
"A letter will take at least a month to travel so far, and as long again for you to receive a reply," Aragorn replied, "but there is a way I can show you Sam and his family. Would you like to see them, Frodo?"
"Can I?" Frodo brightened eagerly. "Is it possible? How?"
"It is indeed possible. Come with me."
Aragorn told the others that he and Frodo would return in time for the meal, then they left the royal chambers and went down through the spiral stair in the westward tower; once outside the great hall, they crossed to the White Tower of Ecthelion. Two guards stood at the entrance, and bowed low as the King led Frodo past. They went up another circular stair to the Tower's top, and into a vast, round chamber with narrow windows all around. The room was empty, except for a tall pedestal at its center. Atop the pedestal sat a black orb.
When he saw the orb, Frodo understood what Aragorn was offering to do, and balked. He'd never seen the palantir before, but he knew what it was. Saruman had kept this one at Isengard to communicate with Sauron, and it had done something horrible to Pippin when he'd stolen it from Gandalf and gazed into it. There had been another one that Denethor had used until he'd been driven mad by the things it had shown him. It was said that no one could gaze into that one now without seeing the late Steward's fiery demise.
Aragorn saw his reluctance and assured him, "It's all right, Frodo. The palantir is no longer dangerous. I have wrested it to my own will and restored it to the original purpose for which it was made. It is meant for the Lords of Gondor to see all that goes on within the kingdom, even those lands hundreds of miles away. I have gazed into it often without ill effect, and so may you." He took the orb from its pedestal and, cradling it between the tips of his spread fingers, knelt to hold it before Frodo. "There is nothing to fear."
"Will it show me Sam?" Frodo asked.
"It will show you whatever you wish to see." He placed a hand on Frodo's shoulder, and drew him closer to the orb.
"Wh- what must I do?"
"Only think of what you wish to view. Think of Sam..."
That was no effort; Sam was already foremost in his thoughts. Frodo stared at the smooth onyx surface, until it seemed as if he were gazing into it: the black stone became clear as crystal, and the globe appeared to be filled with mist. Then he realized that what he was seeing were clouds over a green land. He was looking at the Shire as if he were high above it, like a bird in flight, and heading toward Hobbiton and the Hill. He could see the round, green door of Bag End, and came down, closer to it.
Then, suddenly, it was as if he had descended through the roof of Bag End and was inside the kitchen. Frodo was momentarily overwhelmed by feelings of longing at the sight of that familiar room. Rosie was there, busy preparing bacon and eggs for breakfast. The old wooden cradle the Cottons had given her sat by the hearth. A tiny, pink-faced baby lay within; as Frodo watched, it opened its mouth--to yawn, he thought, since there was no sound, then as the baby's face grew more red and Rosie came over to lift it from the cradle and comfort it, he realized that he couldn't hear what she was saying. This vision was only to be seen.
Sam came into the room, drawn by the baby's cries. His mouth and Rosie's moved as they exchanged a few unheard words, then he took the baby from her so that she could attend to the eggs before they burned. Sam held the baby to his chest, rocked back and forth on his heels, cooed to the child and jounced it gently. In spite of these efforts, the baby would not be quieted, and Rosie moved the skillet off the fire and set it down on the table so she could take the baby back. Both parents fussed over the infant until, at last, it had howled itself out. Sam knelt beside the cradle to set the baby down; Rosie came to stand beside him, then she knelt too. As they tucked the baby in, Sam gazed down at his child with such an openly adoring expression on his face that Frodo felt a lump in his own throat.
More words passed between the couple, and Rosie leaned on Sam's shoulder. Sam smiled at her, then kissed her. The image faded.
"Did you see what you hoped to, Frodo?" The voice so nearby was startling, but Strider had in fact been beside him all the time, holding the palantir.
"Yes," Frodo said. "Thank you."
Once they left the White Tower, he left the citadel. He didn't think about it; it was simply a matter of turning left instead of right once he'd gone out the door and down the steps. The rain had begun to come down heavily again. Aragorn was walking swiftly, to avoid being in the downpour longer than necessary, and didn't notice that the hobbit was no longer at his side. Within a few seconds, Frodo had raced across the courtyard and gone down into the tunnel.
He fled down the wet street to Gandalf's house, went to his room and sank down into the chair before the dead embers of the fire, trembling, knees draw up and head in his hands. He felt sick and stunned, as if he'd suffered some terrible blow to his vitals, but the full pain of the wound had not yet come to him. He wanted to weep, but this was beyond tears.
Seeing Sam with Rosie and their new baby had been a greater shock than he had anticipated. There was no doubt in Frodo's mind that Sam loved him and missed him, and would be overjoyed when he came home, but in the meantime, Sam had others to love. That glimpse into the palantir had shown him Sam's life as it ought to have been--what Sam and Rosie might've had from the beginning, and would've had if he'd never come between them in the first place. What they would have after he was really gone for good.
He heard the front door burst open, and bare feet pattering damply down the hall, without pausing on the doormat. There was a tap on Frodo's door, and then it opened a crack. Merry looked in. "Frodo, thank goodness you're here! Why did you go? They're looking all over for you. Strider thought you were right behind him. When you didn't come back up to the dining room, he sent everyone searching. Gandalf's frantic. Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," Frodo answered, but a quaver in his voice betrayed him.
Merry came in and shut the door behind himself. "Frodo, what's wrong? What happened?"
"I saw Sam. Strider showed me. He let me look into that palantir of his."
"Yes, he told us so. Is Sam all right?" asked Merry. "It's not Rose or the baby-?"
"No, they're fine." Frodo felt foolish as he explained, "I saw them. The baby is born--boy or girl, I couldn't tell, but I could see something of both Sam's and Rosie's features in its face. They're very happy, Sam and Rose. He's happy with her."
Merry understood. "Oh, Frodo..." He wriggled into the chair beside Frodo--there was room enough for two hobbits with a little squeezing--and put an arm around him. Frodo leaned his head on his cousin's shoulder.
"I don't know why it should disturb me so," he told Merry. "It was a very sweet scene--a young married couple with their first new baby. It's the life I chose for Sam, insisted he have even when he said he'd give it up for my sake. It was my doing. I thought Cirandil was a fool for leaving Lady Tharya to marry someone else when she would've chosen him, but it's not so very different from what I did, is it? They wouldn't have married but for me. I arranged the match. I encouraged Sam to court Rosie, talked to her, made them agree to it on my terms. I didn't want Sam to be left alone after I'd gone. I meant for him to go on with his life... and he has. I've no reason to be hurt or resentful. How can I blame him for doing just what I told him to?"
"Because you're still in love with him," Merry answered. "And you're more selfish about him than you like to admit. It's all very nice to think of yourself being noble and generous-hearted, but it isn't so easy to see the effects of your work."
"Yes." Frodo had to acknowledge it. "I liked the idea of Sam having someone to love and to look after him. I never thought I'd still be around to see it."
"Why do you think I stay so far away from the Shire, and Pippin? I am selfish--I admit it--and if he'd liked that girl, or any girl, enough to marry her, I couldn't bear to see them together. If I don't see it, I don't have to think about it."
Now, Frodo felt tears start in his eyes; Merry had said something like this before, but he hadn't realized how strongly his cousin felt about it. "Oh, Merry..." They clung to each other all the harder.
The front door opened again and they heard heavier footsteps enter the house. "Merry!" Gandalf called out. "Is he here? Have you found him?"
Frodo lifted his head from Merry's shoulder and wiped his face. "In here!"
The footsteps in the hall hastened toward them, and the door opened. Gandalf peered in, and looked relieved to see the pair of hobbits seated together, still in each other's arms. "Are you all right?"
"Yes, Gandalf."
"Then what are you thinking of, Frodo? You know you may be in danger and said you wouldn't do anything foolish to put yourself at risk--and then you run off, leaving the citadel without saying a word! Do you know what horrors we've all imagined since you were discovered missing?"
Frodo thought of what they must have imagined--that he'd been set upon by the poisoner, possibly kidnapped or even murdered--and he suddenly aware just how foolishly he'd behaved. "I'm sorry," he answered, abashed. "I didn't think. I didn't mean to cause such a fuss and frighten everyone. I only felt so awful after looking into that palantir, I wanted to get away for awhile."
The wizard's bushy white brows came together. "Do you wish me to send for the Master Healer? Perhaps Aragorn..."
"No! Please, I'm all right. It's nothing. I feel better now." He struggled free from Merry's arms and rose from the chair. "I'll go back to the citadel and apologize."
"I hope we haven't missed lunch," said Merry, also rising.
"I'm sure they haven't started without you," Gandalf answered dryly. "Are you ready to go, Frodo?"
Frodo went to the washstand in the corner of his room, filled the basin with cool water to splash on his face and dried his tears. "Yes, I'm ready. Let's go."
Site Info
We are the home of 1292 authors from among our 2552 members. There have been 2904 reviews written about our 3820 stories consisting of 10734 chapters and 29400445 words. A special welcome to our newest member, Rosamundeb.Categories
Skin Change
Donate
Help us keep one of the oldest running LotR archives available to all. Even the smallest donation helps!
Many thanks to our previous donors!
Many thanks to our previous donors!
