The hobbit is a curious creature, indeed one of the strangest in Middle-Earth. Resilient, resourceful and brave. Yet they are undeniably creatures of comfort, preferring not to get involved with matters of the outside world. They all lived in holes in the ground. Not dirty, damp, cold holes that creatures like badgers or rabbits live in. No, this is a hobbit hole and that means comfort. And one hobbit hole in particular called Bag-End had a green door with a golden colored handle and belong to a young hobbit named Brianna.
Brianna Edith Baggins was a hobbit about in her mid to late 20's. Like all hobbits (including the women) she had hairs on her feet and just above her heel, as hobbits didn't wear shoes since the hairs on their feet helped keep their feet insulated. What separated Brianna from most of the hobbit women was her beauty. Her family was known for being rather good looking, especially on her mother's side. Brianna herself had bright green eyes, gentle skin and slightly curled hair which she preferred to keep straightened. She was at the moment wearing a sea blue dress that extended to just above her knees with an apron tied round her waist, had her hair down as she always did and had work gloves on her hands as she tended to her garden. It was a lovely garden with ferns, cycans and cabbages but she especially loved the rose bushes which she was now pulling weeds from. She was done to the last two and was attempting to pull both out at the same time without wreaking havoc on her garden. She was down on her knees and pulling on the stubborn plants with all her might. She strained as she grasped the weeds tighter and gave a massive tug. The two weeds suddenly freed themselves from the earth and sent Brianna falling onto her back.
It fortunately didn't hurt as much as it would have had she been standing but it nonetheless made her back ache slightly as she sat up and looked at the weeds she held in her left hand. She chuckled softly to herself, then grasped a basket that was to her left and in front of her and placed the newly un-earthed weeds into the basket, feeling very proud of herself.
Little did this young lady know that today was a day that would change her life forever.
Just down the road on the walkway right next to her gate at the left corner where the pathway turns upward walked another, much taller woman. She seemed to be in her mid sixties and had light grey hair with occasional white streaks if you looked close enough. She wore a dark grey dress that went all the way down to the top of the brown boots she was wearing and also had a dark grey coat that matched the dress. She had in her right hand a wooden staff with a shape similar to that of a sort of round version of the top of a lamppost. Her most striking feature was the hat she wore on her head that was a soft mixture of blue and lavender and had an owl feather tucked in it. This was no ordinary traveller. This was Gillian the Grey, a wizard of great fame and very wise. And it as she approached Brianna's house, she caught sight of her in her garden by the gate.
The hobbit was blissfully unaware of the wizard's presence. After re-placing the dirt back under the rose bushes, she picked up the watering can and began watering the bushes. As she did so, she started humming to herself. It was a simple yet melodic tune and she couldn't remember where she got it from but at most she figured it was lullaby from her mother. As she finished watering plants she then placed the watering can back to the left side of her and that's when Gillian decided to make her presence known.
"Hello there, young lady." she said in a stern but warm voice.
Brianna was caught by surprise and turned to look at Gillian. She'd never seen anyone like this before. She was head and shoulders taller then she was and her gate only reached up to just above the woman's waist. Plus she wasn't used to visitors coming by so early (it was about 8:35 after all) but she then found the best way to respond.
"Good morning." she said softly in a refined voice.
"What do you mean? Do you wish me a good morning or do you mean it is a good morning whether I want it or not?" Gillian asked "Or perhaps you mean to say that you feel good on this particular morning? Or are you saying that this is a morning to be good on."
Brianna looked around to see if anyone else was around but no one was. She then turned back to Gillian who awaited her response.
"All of them at once I guess." Brianna finally said.
"Those are lovely roses." Gillian said as she caught eye of the rose bushes.
"Thank you." Brianna replied "Entered them in a flower contest a while back. Couldn't part with them."
"I see." Gillian said.
Brianna then noticed she still was sitting on her knees and not wanting to be rude, stood up and brushed any dirt off her apron. She casually folded her arms as she wondered why Gillian wasn't leaving.
"Can I help you with something, ma'am?" she asked.
"That remains to be seen." Gillian responded.
"I don't understand." Brianna replied.
"Well you see, Brianna Baggins..." Gillian said "I'm looking for someone to share in an adventure."
"Adventures? Not exactly my type." Brianna chuckled "They make you late for dinner. But I appreciate the offer."
She walked over to her mailbox which was just across from them and right next to her gate on the right side. She then retrieved from it her mail for the day. It was usual in that it was bills, invitations to special events and so forth but in particular a letter from her sister. She casually opened the letter and started reading with the rest of the mail in-between her fingers. She bit her lip as her sister asked how she was doing and about her own health and the state of their brother. But as she read through it she couldn't help but get the unnerving feeling she was being watched. She then glanced for a second away from the letter and to Gillian who was still standing there waiting patiently.
Brianna sighed in irritation and turned her full attention back to Gillian who was still waiting and now leaning slightly on her staff.
"Good morning." Brianna said with hint of anger in her voice and turned to head inside.
"To think I'd end up being good-morninged by Belladonna Took's daughter!" Gillian groaned "As if I were selling buttons at the door!"
Brianna froze half-way up the steps to her house and zipped her head back around to Gillian. How on earth did this woman know her and her family? As far as she knew, she'd just met this woman.
"You've changed, Brianna Baggins." Gillian continued "And not entirely for the better."
"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Brianna asked.
"You remember my name, Brianna. But you don't remember that I belong to it." Gillian responded "I'm Gillian. And Gillian means me."
That name. It did sound familiar to Brianna but she couldn't trace where she'd first heard it for a bit. But then after some thinking, she suddenly remembered something from her childhood: specifically when she would have been about four, her brother eleven and her mother was pregnant with her baby sister. During one of Old Took's Summer Sun Celebration parties, she recalled jabbing at an elderly woman in grey with her toy sword before her mother pulled her back and apologized.
"Wait...not Gillian, the wandering wizard who made most excellent fireworks!" Brianna said as it finally came together in her brain "Old Took used to have them all the time in his parties in summer!"
She paused for a moment as she laughed and Gillian had a chuckle herself. Brianna, in her excitement, accidentally dropped her mail and hastily picked it up, her cheeks blushing with embarrassment.
"I'm so dreadfully sorry!" she said as she flipped her hair to get a piece dangling back in position "I had no idea you were still in business."
"Well, it's good to know you remember something about me. Even if it is my fireworks." Gillian said smiling "Right then, I shall alert the others!"
"Wait, others?" Brianna asked now more confused then ever "About what?"
"My proposition, silly." Gillian replied "It will be very good for you...and most amusing for me."
"Oh no, no, no, no! We don't any adventures here!" Brianna replied as she climbed her steps to her door "I'd like for you to come over for tea, tomorrow but if you're looking for adventure I suggest you try across the river!" she continued as she opened her door "Good morning."
And Brianna then shut her door and went inside. Once inside, she paused, took a deep breath, exhaled and then placed her mail save for her sisters letter on top of a table across the room on the hall to her left. As she attempted to resume reading it, she thought she heard a faint scratching on her door. She then slowly turned towards the door and quietly walked towards it, letter in hand. She then reached out with her right hand and grasped the knob. She then flung the door open and looked around. No one was there. And Gillian seemingly had gone. Brianna rolled her eyes and sighed.
Whomever that was she thought they're gone now
But she failed to notice as she shut the door the mark on the door which Gillian had scratched on it.