This is a sequel to my story Mountain Jewel which you MUST read before reading this one! Thank you!

Chapter 1: The return journey

Despite the fact that it was still winter the weather was surprisinging nice as they rode on horseback in the direction of Mirkwood. They were accompanied by the large force of Thranduil's army, but the elven soldiers had very little to do. Ever since the battle had ended there had been no trace of goblins or orcs anywhere near Erebor.

Allie was seated in the saddle of Cúthalion and the mare whinnied enthustically as they rode alongside Gandalf. The elves had also provided a horse for Bilbo to ride on, and he was looking rather uncomfortable holding the reigns of such a large horse. The wizard was telling her some details about what had occurred at Dol Guldur when he had left the company and Allie was glad that she hadn't been there to see Sauron in person. All hope lay in Saruman who was tasked with defeating the dark lord once and for all before he would regain his full strength.

Mirkwood wasn't that far away from Erebor and it was after two days of traveling that they reached the eastern borders and the Elven King and his delegation came to an abrupt halt.

"It seems that at last we must part our ways," Thranduil told them. "Allie, you must know that Cúthalion has grown rather fond of you in that short time that she has gotten to know you. I am convinced that she would follow you the Shire in a heartbeat. Which is why I'll be gifting Cúthalion to you."

Allie's jaw fell somewhat at the gift. She had never had a horse or pony for her own before and she wasn't sure how she could possibly look after such a large horse in the Shire because everything was made for ponies there. "My Lord Thranduil," she began somewhat bewildered. "You have showed me great kindness and I can only thank you for what you've done for me and my kin."

"Just look after her."

"There are plenty of fields near Bag End where we can keep Cúthalion," Bilbo suggested. Bilbo grabbed something from the inside of his coat and showed a necklace to the Elven King. Allie recognized it as the White Gems of Lasgalen which had been lost inside the mountain for many years. Everyone knew how much these gems meant to Thranduil. Before their departure they had asked Dain for the necklace so that they could return it to their rightful owner. "We know that this is the reason why you came to Erebor. It would only be fair that the necklace would be returned to you."

Thranduil had a dazed expression on his face as he took the necklace from the Halfling. "Hobbits surely are fascinating creatures," he spoke sincerely. Throughout this journey he hadn't spoken that much with Bilbo, but it was clear that he valued his company. "I can only bestow you the title of elf-friend which will allow you to stay with the elves on every corner of Middle-Earth. Thank you, perian."

"I do hope that our paths will cross again in the future," Allie added as she crossed her arms.

"You surely are a firecracker, Allie Fairchild," Thranduil told her fondly. "Never lose that spirit of yours."

"It's Baggins actually," she corrected him with a chuckle as she exchanged a loving look with Bilbo. Thranduil of course knew this because he had been a guest at her wedding.

Thranduil then gave the signal for his army to set out, but halted his horse again when Tauriel called his name. He had expected that the elven maiden would accompany him back to Mirkwood as his loyal captain of the guard.

"There is something that I've been meaning to tell you. I'm not going back to Mirkwood," Tauriel began unsure. It was obvious that she was nervous about this confrontation, but she wanted to let Thranduil know the exact reason that she had for abandoning him. Thranduil raised his eyebrow as he waited for her to continue. "The thing is, Yldris and I, we are in love. We have been for hundreds of years. I know that it's not accepted among elves and that our relationship will probably be shunned upon, but that doesn't change how I feel about Yldris. I'm tired of hiding my feelings for her which is why I'm resigning as the captain of the guard. I want to take Yldris around Middle-Earth to let her see all the beauty in this world. I don't care what you think about this. I just needed you to know the true reason why I'm leaving and that we're joining Allie and the others to Rivendell."

Besides the occasional neighing of some of the horses it gotten awfully quiet after Tauriel had finished her rather emotional speech. She had been living with this secret for so long and she finally had enough of having to live in the shadows.

"I was already waiting for the day when you would finally come forward with this," Thranduil said against everyone's amazement. Tauriel and Yldris were obviously the last two people to expect this answer. "To tell you the truth I have known for quite some time. I never asked you about it because I figured that you would tell me about it in your own time and I respect your privacy. Of course such relationships aren't exactly common, but that doesn't mean that they don't happen. There are more elven couples like you out there. Tauriel, I would never get between you and Yldris. You have served my family honorable for more than five-hundred years."

"How -" Yldris began to ask, but she was so disorientated that she couldn't make a proper sentence.

Thranduil flashed them a generous smile. "I'm the King and you two haven't been exactly tactful about it, which is fine. There is no need to hide anymore. I wish you all the luck in the world and I hope that the two of you will find what you're looking for together and that perhaps in the future you'll find your way back to Mirkwood."

"Thank you, My Lord," Tauriel replied gratefully, not knowing what else she could possibly say.

The Elven King said nothing more and continued the last part back to his halls in Mirkwood. Allie and Bilbo watched the elves until they all disappeared between the trees.

~~0~~0~~0~~0~~

Nothing much happened on the journey homewards. For a month they traveled and they all spent most of the day in the saddle as they tried to cross as much distance as they could and they had made it as far as the Misty Mountains. At night some of them would hunt while others were in charge of finding other kinds of food and refilling their waterskins.

Allie was more than thrilled that Yldris and Tauriel were joining them as well because she truly valued her friendship with the elven maidens. The only problem that Allie had with traveling with the five of them was that she never had some time alone with Bilbo. She was still in her honeymoon phase and she wanted to be with her husband as much as she could without the curious eyes of the rest.

That was when Bilbo and Allie started to make excuses to be alone without the others. Often they would run away together after nightfall with a bland lie so that they could rekindle their love for each other in the middle of the forest. They didn't feel guilty because of that. They had just gotten married after all and the desire to be with each other was too strong.

It was late one evening as Bilbo and Allie had fled into a cave a couple of kilometers away from the others. Against their amazement they found that inside the cave was also a hot spring. This of course gave them the perfect opportunity to wash away all the filth from traveling from their skin and to share an intimate moment together.

"I think Gandalf noticed that we're not just out here to look for wildlife," Bilbo pointed out as he gently slid into Allie not long after that. As he began to move inside of her she eagerly wrapped her legs around his middle so that he was deeper inside of her which caused Bilbo to groan into her neck.

Allie let out a breathless laugh. "I don't really care if he knows. I just really need some time alone with you now, my zinlaz," she replied lightheartedly.

And who was Bilbo to argue with his wife?

~~0~~0~~0~~0~~0~~

When they returned later they saw that Gandalf was seated by himself next to the fire and that Tauriel and Yldris were no where to be found. Clearly the couple needed some alone time as well and Allie couldn't blame them for it. Before they had returned she had hunted some rabbits so that she wouldn't arrive empty handed.

Bilbo and Allie had skinned and cooked the rabbits together. Since the elves were vegetarians they had brought more than enough rabbits with them for the three of them.

"I know you two aren't running away to just look for food," Gandalf said with a raised eyebrow once they had finished eating.

Allie observed how Bilbo's ears went red at the wizard's deduction and it caused her to chuckle gleefully.

"There's no need to you to explain yourself," Gandalf went on. "I perfectly understand the reason that you have for it.

"So you knew?" Bilbo asked unsure when he had found his voice again.

"I'm not a fool, Bilbo," Gandalf replied. "It was to be expected since you two are married now. To tell you the truth, when we had first started this quest I had hoped that you would find solace with each other. When I saw how close you two were growing I knew that it would result into something more."

Bilbo flashed the wizard a warm smile. "In that case I want to thank you for bringing me along on this quest," he said. "I know that I didn't want to come along at first, but I'm grateful that you sent Allie to change my mind. It surely changed my life."

Gandalf placed a reassuring hand on the Halfling's shoulder. "It's alright, Bilbo. I knew this adventure would do you a world of good and I was right."