Okay, I feel compelled to apologize for this. I tried to get back to writing Elf of the Shire, but I hated it. I still have a few problems here and there, but this way I've at least been able to find inspiration. Hopefully I haven't cut out the things that all of you liked as I've tried to clean this up. I left the original up so you could enjoy it and maybe compare them if you've a mind. Also, I found myself writing Aster's back story instead of leaving it to a few paragraphs as she speaks to the dwarves. I really hope you enjoy it. Feel free to let me know. As always, I do not own the Hobbit or any associated movies, etc. I just enjoy playing in Tolkien's world. Oh, and I have to mention that any information on timeline and characters came from the Appendix C from Lord of the Rings and Wikia, one ring to rule them all. I love the internet. I also made up just a bit. I have no idea how the Dunedain encampments really work.
Primrose smiled at her cousin, Daisy Brandybuck. They were really looking forward to the party they had been invited to tonight. Unlike any other invitations they had received over the years, it was unique in that it wasn't from hobbits.
She hitched the bow over her shoulder, and settled the dagger at her hip. Any proper hobbit would be scandalized at such accessories, but their hosts wouldn't mind. Indeed, their hosts were the ones who had taught them how to use them, and would be horrified if they left them behind.
She did put on a pretty blouse with her leathers, though. She looked herself over critically. Perhaps a few flowers for her hair if they found the right ones on the way.
Checking to make sure her cousin was also ready, she darted out the door with a laugh. As they left the smial they had purchased together after their comings of age, they got several disapproving looks from their neighbors.
This was nothing new, and they ignored it. Everyone looked at them like that, even some of the Tooks and Brandybucks. Their mothers had warned them on more than one occasion that they needed to tone their Tookishness down some, or they would never find husbands.
It hadn't concerned them very much. Indeed, they had joked about looking through their Ranger friends for husbands more than once. This had horrified their mothers.
Daisy gave her a look then dashed ahead, laughing, and she gave chase. They paused to catch their breath as they reached the ferry at the borders of the Shire. They needed to be a little more serious now, to prevent any...mishaps.
The borderlands were fairly safe thanks to the Rangers, but there was always the possibility that something had snuck past them. Still, they made good time.
Primrose smiled as they reached the edges of the semi-permanent camp the Rangers kept as a rest stop for their patrols. She helped Daisy braid her chosen flowers into her hair, then held still as she did the same for her.
She met her cousins eyes and they shared a conspiratory grin. If their mothers could see them declaring themselves single and looking to be courted like this...well, few Rangers really understood the language of flowers anyway, but it was the thought that counted.
They continued on to the main Hall, one of the few permanent buildings in the entire camp. They were surprised to see some magnificent white horses they'd never seen before in the adjoining corral.
Well, perhaps they wouldn't be the only visitors, then! They entered just in time to hear their dear friend, who also happened to be the Chief of these Men, making his announcement.
"...and I would like to toast my lovely wife and my new son, Arador! May he have a long and blessed life. To my family!"
"TO YOUR FAMILY!"
They dodged a bit of flying ale as they made their way further in. They greeted the lovely woman holding her young infant with enthusiasm, and spent the next hour cooing over him and congratulating his mother.
They had actually been a little surprised to see them here, as the Dunedain rarely allowed their noncombatants to leave their hidden city. (That they really weren't supposed to know about, but they'd been around long enough to pick up a few things.)
However, their friend had been a Ranger before her marriage and subsequent pregnancy, and had wanted to see her friends. Her husband could never really deny her anything.
They finished their greetings, then left to allow others to take their places. As Primrose let her gaze travel along the hall, she noted that there appeared to be a drinking game taking most of the attention over in one corner. Well, they might see what that was about later but first...there were a great many men without dance partners, as there were few female Rangers... so time to dance!
Daisy seemed to have the same idea, as she was already dragging a partner onto the dance floor. They danced until they started to run out of partners quite a few hours later. She looked around, wondering where they were all getting to, and once again noticed the drinking game in the corner.
The crowd had thinned quite a bit, and even as she watched, an unconscious fellow was hauled off by his friends to find his bed. They arrived back a few minutes later and rejoined the crowd. She looked over at her cousin, who had just finished a dance, and jerked her head at the corner.
Daisy nodded, and they drifted over to find out what was going on. They were both entranced as they saw the two elves sitting at a table, surrounded by the Rangers, with tankards filling the table in front of them. Finding one of her friends faces in the crowd, Primrose tugged on his hand.
When he looked down, she gave him a flirtatious smile. He grinned back, and answered her questions willingly. It appeared their guests had taken up the challenge to see how many Rangers they could drink under the table. Well, it had started out as a challenge from just one, but as he hadn't lasted long and his friends had taken up his honor...she laughed and watched.
She counted thirteen before no more willing challengers could be found. There weren't many Rangers left, anyway, and they were all older and perhaps wiser than their companions. They were gathering at the fire to smoke and swap tales.
She looked around once more. It seemed the party was almost over. The dance floor was deserted, and the few men remaining that weren't smoking were taking friends to sleep off their excesses. She looked back to the elves as one spoke, with his voice rather slurred.
"Is that it? No more challengers? Well, Ro, looks like we win!"
He swayed lightly in his seat. She looked away, amused, but Daisy's voice jerked her attention back quickly.
"No, you haven't. My cousin and I challenge you!"
She hissed at her cousin.
"Daisy!"
All she got back for her efforts was a mischievous look. She sighed. Her mother would surely not approve...but she hadn't really done anything her mother approved of since she was a tween. She allowed herself to be pulled down to the bench, and smiled at the golden haired elf across from her.
/
She groaned as she came to several hours later...she had never felt such a pounding in her head before in her life. She felt something warm shift next to her and peered over her shoulder to discover a rather...unclothed male next to her. She eeped and did her best not to scream.
Gently pulling his hair away from his face, she was horrified to discover the elf from the night before. Elves never married outside their Race, everyone knew that...well, maybe a few in the First Age, but none since. This could be supremely awkward.
She stilled, then squared her small shoulders. No. She was not going to stick around to be pitied, or put up with awkward apologies. She slipped out of the bed, and started searching for her clothes. She was relieved to find everything.
Then she went looking for her cousin. It was actually only the work of a few minutes, as she was just a few doors down, having apparently found her own elf. Being very careful not to look at him, Primrose covered her cousins mouth and shook her lightly.
After a brief, hissed conversation, they slipped out of what they found to be the guest house. Sneaking out of the camp, they ran for home. They were determined to forget anything had happened, though they would discover that was easier said than done, considering...
They were completely unaware of the chaos they had left behind them as two elf lords woke up, realized what had happened, and started looking for their new brides...only to realize they didn't have any idea who they could be. Just a few flowers left on their pillows.
No eye witnesses, either, and every female in the compound denied any involvement. They suspected this was because every Ranger would know their customs, and the affected ladies wanted different marriages...so they didn't look too hard. They wouldn't take a ladies choice, after all, and whoever they were they were only likely to live a few decades.
If anything else came from the night, the other Rangers would make sure they heard of it. So they packed up and left for home, disturbed in mind and determined never to take a challenge like that again.
/
Primrose and Daisy discovered the consequences of their actions a few weeks later...but were determined not to allow anyone else to tell them what to do. They would raise their children on their own, and when they were old enough they could find their fathers themselves.
They kept them far from any elves or Rangers, and did their best to raise them as hobbits. They did have a few problems doing so, however. Their children wanted to learn archery and weapons work, and the other hobbits avoided them for the most part.
This meant that their children didn't get to interact much with anyone who wasn't part of their little family unit. They did have a few cousins brave enough to play with them, but not many.
/
As the years passed and the children grew, they found contentment in their circumstances. The slights that had so hurt as children no longer stung so badly, and they found that they enjoyed each others company more than anyone else's.
Their mothers were not that surprised when they chose to marry, though they did try to convince them to wait a few years. They may be of age by hobbit standards, after all, but forty-four was still very young for their father's people and they didn't look much older than tweens.
They were determined, however, and married in spite of any and all objections. There weren't that many guests at the wedding.
Oh, the other hobbits probably would have come if they'd invited them, it was a party after all, but they only wanted those there that could actually say they were true friends and family.
Which meant a few of their mother's tenants, Primrose's brother Gerontius and his family, and one or two of the wilder Brandybucks.
They built their own smial, and settled down to live. A few years later they welcomed a beautiful little girl to their family. Golden haired like her father and his father, and grey eyed like her mother and her mother's father.
Her ears were even more delicately pointed than her parent's, and her hair waved more than it curled. Indeed, there was very little hobbit in her looks, though they thought the soft curve of her face might count. If she didn't grow out of it.
No matter what, though, they thought she was the most beautiful baby they'd ever seen, and her grandmothers agreed.
She grew slowly, and often did what her parents had never gotten away with: she snuck off to watch the elves as they traveled to and from the Grey Havens and the Blue Mountains. Sometimes she even talked to them.
They were always happy to see her, though they did ask after her parents all the time. She simply told them that her parents lived in the Shire and didn't want to speak to them. Of course, word of her quickly spread to the other elven settlements, and the elves living in the Shire were investigated as discreetly as possible.
Meaning they sent in a Ranger who wouldn't be so out of place. He reported back that he hadn't seen the elf, but he had seen two other obviously half-elven older children, so the likeliest scenario was an elf married to a hobbit that didn't want to associate with his kin and alienate his wife's friends and neighbors. Nothing to be done.
The Ranger couldn't stay long enough to learn more, as he was all ready getting suspicious looks. So he went on his way with no one the wiser, and the little girl got to continue her adventures.
She didn't realize it at the time but the exposure to the fair Race woke something in her and she was given the Choice her parents hadn't received, inherited from one of her Grandfathers.
While she wouldn't understand this gift for many years, she ignored her slow growth and simply basked in the chance to be. She was adored by her parents, her grandmothers, and her Tookish family. She followed in her families footsteps, and learned to shoot a bow and fight with a dagger.
She was a reckless little thing, and often led her cousins in imaginary battles and play. She was always the first to climb a tree, or steal from Farmer Maggot. Everything was wonderful, and there were no clouds in her small world. Until one winter, the snow arrived early, the temperatures plummeted...and the Brandywine River froze solid.