Disclaimer: I do not own the hobbit or its characters.
I would like to take the time to thank my beautiful twin sister, Mara, who re-read the one-shot for any mistakes. And Rose of Zakarisz for giving me a good advice. Thank you.
Bard was busy sitting by the fire, polishing his boots till they got a nice black sheen. He took pride in his small task. It was the only thing she allowed him to do while at home.
Ever since his wife died, she took on the heavy burden and responsibility of being the lady of the house. Sigrid, his eldest daughter, was so young at the time when she took on the role. She was like a mother to her siblings, especially to Tilda.
But Bard never wanted this. He never wanted his Sigrid to grow up so fast. No, as a Father, he never wanted all of these things for her.
He wanted her to have fun with her peers like a normal lass does, instead of mending his and her siblings' clothes. He wanted her to fall in love with a boy that he probably would have 'Accidentally' hurt, instead of staying at home and making sure everything is in order.
He wanted her to be happy.
Bard was staring at the fire in deep thought. If only. Oh Freya, I do not know what to do. If only the gods had spared you. I miss—
"Da?", called a voice behind him, interrupting him from his thoughts.
"Hmm?", he said, turning away from the fire.
"What are you thinking about?"
He said nothing as he looked at the girl in front of him. She was wiping her hands on her apron, an indication that she had just finished doing the dishes. She looked as if the day wasn't taking a toll on her, a front she put to state that she wasn't tired. But he knew better. He knew Sigrid was exhausted. And it made him feel guilty to see her like this.
Sigrid looked much older now, though still in her youth but years of responsibility of looking after the family could do that to you.
"Da, are you alright?"
His eyes slid to hers and could see that she was worried. Bard mentally scolded himself for causing his daughter more distress then she already has.
Clearing his throat, Bard sat up straight and replied, "I'm fine my darling".
Sigrid sat down on a chair opposite him and looked at him quietly. Bard could see her emerald green eyes slowly light up as she giggled. "Da, I know you. Please tell me what's been troubling your thoughts lately?"
Bard smiled. It was nice to hear Sigrid laugh.
She sounded carefree.
He hesitated at first when he saw her looking back at him, hoping to resolve whatever troubles he had as she saw it was her duty to this family to help them in their time of distress, as her mother did before she passed away. But Bard didn't want to disappoint her as she really wanted to help. So he took a deep breath and said, "I was just thinking about your mother".
Sigrid said nothing and smiled, nodding for him to continue.
"I was just thinking how much your mother would've wanted to be here. To see you kids grow", he sighed. "Sigrid, do you hate me?"
Looking at his daughter frown at his question, Bard continued, "I—"
"Of course not Da. Why would you think that?", she said, interrupting him. Her face was etched with deep concern from the question he had asked her. "Why?"
He shifted his chair closer to her, deeply sighed and took her hands in to his, gently squeezing them. "I am sorry. I am sorry that you had to grow up so fast. That you had to leave your childhood behind, and take on responsibilities that are far heavy on your shoulders". He paused a moment, and seeing that she was about to say something, he continued before his daughter could utter a word out.
"Shhhh, let me speak", he pleaded. And like that, his daughter, Sigrid, kept quiet. "I know this is not what you want to hear but Da needs to get it out of his thoughts so that I can rest a bit easy tonight, Ok?"
His daughter just nodded, her green eyes filled with the light reflected from the fire.
"The day you were born, was the happiest day of my life. You were born in to this world so small and pink. You never cried. You were so quiet that your mother and I thought that there was something amiss. But when the midwife tapped your bum lightly, you started to squirm. She handed you over to me since your mother was too weak to hold you, even though she wanted to".
Bards eyes started to brim with tears as he cleared his throat, trying not to come undone in front of his daughter. "I held you in my arms. You were so small and fragile; I thought I was going to drop you, though your mother assured me that I wouldn't. Your dainty hand grabbed onto my finger and you held on tightly, refusing to let go of me. I was astounded to say the least that though you were so small, you had strength in you. It filled my heart with pride".
Tears started to roll down his cheeks as he took a breath. "I promised you from that day onwards that I would keep you safe and happy. But I see now that I haven't been doing a great job about it".
"Da…." She whispered sadly.
He wiped the tears from his face and smiled. "When your mother died, you took it upon yourself to take care of this family. You dropped everything in your life to help in ours".
"I never wanted this for you, Sigrid. I wanted you to live a life free of responsibilities, to live it the way you want it to, the way you should. I-I—I never wanted this burden for you".
His daughter squeezed his hands and said, "But Da…..you, Bain and Tilda were never a burden. I did all those things not because I had to but because I wanted to, even if things were different. You, Bain and Tilda are my family. I would do anything for my family".
She smiled softly, her eyes burning with such fire in her eyes. "I love you Da. Please, do not think much on it anymore; let your heart be light for there is nothing to worry about. I will be alright. All that matters now is that we are still alive and breathing".
She is so wise beyond her years. Just like her mother.
Looking at his daughter for a moment, he nodded and took her hands to his lips and kissed them. My sweet daughter…..Thank you.
He let go of her hands and bought her in to his embrace with her hugging him back tightly as if trying to lend him her strength to keep him strong. He released her and kissed her on her forehead.
"Go on and sleep. It's getting late", he said quietly, nodding his head towards the bed in the room that had Tilda on it, already deep in her sleep.
"You too Da", she smiled and with that she went in to the room.
Looking to the fire, Bard sat back down on the chair again and kept quiet as he fingered the dark band that was around his finger.
Oh Freya, she truly has grown. They all have.
The End.
AN: Thank you for taking the time to read. Please review your thoughts on this one-shot. :)