febobe

Again, based on a Shirebunny:

R21. Southern citrus fruits are introduced to the hobbits in Minas Tirith, and Frodo develops an obsessive craving for lemons (as sour as possible) that makes his friends cringe whenever they’re forced to watch him eat one.

PG rating for mild angst only. Y'all know the drill.

Three days.

It had been three long days since Frodo had awoken.

I never thought that it could seem longer with him awake than waiting for him to rouse from the healing sleep in which Aragorn had kept him for so long, but three days seemed like three weeks. We had thought that the journey would end when Frodo awoke.

Little did we know it was only beginning.

Often Frodo shivered with cold, though he never complained.

It was only when mealtimes came - a true ordeal - that he cried, and only then because he was so hungry and thirsty. I've never seen Sam so broken in all the time I've known him. Tears welled up in his eyes, too, but he blinked them bravely back and kept trying to coax Frodo with soft foods and liquids.

"Now, Mr. Frodo," he'd say, "I know it hurts. But you've got to take something, and you can do it. Just open up for your Sam."

Their mouths! I've never seen anything like their mouths. Their lips, cracked and bleeding when they were brought in, had begun to heal well - Aragorn had certainly applied enough salve to them, so that was little surprise - but a glimpse of the insides of their mouths was enough to turn the stomach. Gums swollen, spongy-looking and bleeding. . . . Small wonder Frodo was so hesitant to take anything! But Sam kept trying, and Pippin and I did our best to help him, coaxing Frodo and cheering him on for each tiny mouthful of soup or mashed fruit taken.

Then came the mid-morning when Aragorn arrived with a large bowl of strange, colourful globes in tow. Pippin nearly knocked it out of his hands trying to see what was inside. Sam looked curious. Even Frodo looked interested, which I thought must surely be a good sign - he had seemed so fragile since his waking, as if he still could not believe that he had woken in safety, and feared that he might awaken on the cold, hard earth of Mordor.

"Easy, now!" Laughing, Aragorn took out one of the brightly coloured orange fruits and held it up. It gave off a delicious scent - like sunshine and flowers. Setting a strange contraption like a small hat out on the table over Frodo's bed, he drew out a knife and sliced the fruit in half. The scent grew strong and wet and fresh. Frodo breathed it in deeply, and for the first time since his awakening I thought I saw a hint of relief in his blue eyes.

"This is called an orange. It is an excellent fruit to eat. Peel off the orange flesh and the white pith, and eat the juicy segments contained therein." He handed one half of the orange to Sam, then cut another in half and divided it between Pippin and myself. Rather than handing the last half to Frodo, however, he pushed it down onto the "hat" and began twisting it vigourously. Frodo looked confused, but watched with interest. Sam, meanwhile, held his orange, refusing as ever to eat until he saw that Frodo would have some too, but Aragon smiled at us. "It also makes an excellent juice. Frodo, I will cut a half for you to try afterward, but first I would like you to drink the juice of this fruit, once I have finished squeezing all of it out."

"All right." Frodo's curious blue eyes followed Aragorn's movements as he continued to work for some while, allowing us to eat our oranges in relative peace (Pippin squirted himself in the eye once, and squirted me in the eye twice, which I'm not certain was entirely accidental), then poured the liquid from the "hat-brim" into Frodo's tumbler. Bending over the bed, he slipped an arm behind Frodo, raising him gently as he touched the cup to pallid lips.

At once Frodo nursed thirstily at the drink, swallowing it down steadily. "Tastes good," he managed when at last he finished. "May I try some to eat, please?"

"Of course." Aragorn paused, hand over the bowl. "Or, if you prefer, there is another fruit from which I can make you a drink first. It is rather sour, I should warn you, but the sugar we have will sweeten it nicely." He drew a yellow fruit of less round shape from the bowl and held it up for Frodo's inspection.

The room smelled still of sunlight and flowers, but now it was joined by the scent of warmth and happiness. I haven't any better way to express it. A crisp scent, sunny and bright and delicious all at once.

Eagerly Frodo put out his hand. "May I try it?"

"I should juice it first, and mix the juice with water and sugar - "

"Please? It smells so good."

Frodo's plaintive expression nearly broke my heart. It must have had the same effect on Aragorn, for he sliced the lemon in half and gave half to Frodo, shaking his head. "Be warned, Frodo. . .it may sour on your tongue. It is a bitter fruit, not a sweet one like the orange."

But Frodo was already biting in, eating away at the juicy segments, leaving the white inner peel behind.

And to everyone's astonishment, he wasn't stopping.

"Mmm! Now this is something good. . .I think I could eat this." Already devouring most of the small half in his hands, he looked up at Aragorn hopefully. "Are you going to use that other half?"

Aragorn laughed. "Let me cut you a fresh one, Frodo, all for you. I will divide this half among your companions, to see whether they agree with you."

Once Aragorn had cut the segments off and put them on a little plate, I selected one and tried it, watching as Pippin and Sam followed suit, Pippin excited, Sam dubious.

Ugh!

Never had I tasted anything so sour in all my life!

Frodo, meanwhile, was well into his second lemon.

"Please - Aragorn - might I have some of these? To - to keep in here, by my bed?"

I shuddered. That meant we'd have to watch him eat more of them!

The thought crossed my mind again, and I couldn't help but smile.

That meant we'd have to watch him eat more of them.

I couldn't help thinking that we were blessed.

~the end?~