TAGS/WARNINGS:Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield, Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield, Fíli, Kíli, Thorin's Company, Dáin Ironfoot, Original Non-Human Character(s), Magic, Fae, Fluff, Resurrection
Tumblr about my stories: JaimiStoryTeller
Thank you for any form of communication, I love it and it keeps me writing!
Lots of thanks to NoOrdinarySouthernGirl for all of her help
Wrote this as a gift to a online sort-of friend for her birthday.
Bilbo's POV
He was traveling with Gandalf back to the Shire. His love lost to him forever, body entombed in stone with his nephews and all the dwarrow who had died during the original attack on Erebor. They were only a few days away from the Shire when he found himself awakening one night, drawn by some force he does not recognize to leave the safety of his camp. Taking Sting with him, he follows the feeling, finding himself standing at a crossroads surrounded by oak trees.
His eyes narrow as he looks around, but he says nothing as he continues to scan the area. What is that feeling?
"A hobbit at my crossroads? How very interesting," a soft voice purrs from behind him.
He spins, glancing between Sting and the stranger, trying to identify who or what this was.
"Keeper of the Crossroads," the voice states as it steps into the moonlight. It appears to be an elven woman at first glance, but he immediately realizes that it is not. There is something different about her. Her ears are longer than any elf he has ever seen, her eyes lack pupils and are gleaming emerald, and her skin is a pale green moss tone. Very little in the way of clothing covers her body, only barely keeping her modesty, and what is there seems to be made of some shimmery material that changes colors in the pale moonlight. Long black hair falls far past her hips and sways around her in the light wind.
Staring, he studies her, his mind racing as he tries to figure out exactly what she is, they are in a crossroads, and there are oak trees, and she looks like an elf but isn't one. That means she must be a fae creature. What would a fae creature want with him?
"A trade," she answers, "I will grant you one wish if you can entertain me until dawn."
He thinks about it for a time before slowly nodding, "Do you like stories?"
Smiling, she waves a hand, and the roots of some of the nearby plants seem to rise up to make seats. "Begin whenever you are ready," she tells him as she settles onto the first root seat.
For a minute he eyes the seat before shrugging and tucking his sword away. Something tells him that it would be useless anyways if he had to fight her with it. Settling onto the second seat he begins, "There once was a hobbit…" over the following hours he tells her of his and the Company's adventure and journey all the way through to the dramatic battle at the end. To keep it interesting, he changes his voice to mimic those of the others, and often uses his hands to speak. When he is done, he finally stops, taking a long breath and realizing he is thirsty.
The sun is just beginning to peak over the edge of the horizon, the sky shot with rays of vibrant purple, fiery red, and pumpkin orange.
"That was an interesting tale," she remarks as she glances at the sunlight. Cocking her head to the side and blinking eyes that now seem to be sapphire in tone, she inquires, "Was it real?"
He nods enthusiastically, "Every bit of it: The hobbit running out of his smial, fighting giant spiders, orcs, and wargs, dealing with magical animals and plants, escaping the Elven king's dungeon, dealing with a red dragon, and the lake, and finally the battle between orcs, giant eagles, dwarves, humans, and elves."
Several minutes pass in silence as the sun rises even further in the sky, lighting up the trees and making them look like they are on fire. "What do you wish for Bilbo of the Shire?"
"I would wish for Thorin, Kíli, and Fíli brought back from the dead mind, body, and soul." He finally and slowly requests.
Again there is several minutes of silence before she finally answers, "That is a major wish. Not one that is easily granted. I will grant it, but at a further cost. Either you or them must not remember the other. All memories of the other will be forever wiped from their mind. If you ever run across each other again, new memories could be made, but none from the moment you met until now could ever be brought back."
He doesn't even have to think of it before answering, "Allow them to forget, they don't need to know me, just live."
Her eyes narrow curiously as she queries, "But you love this dwarf, why would you willingly remember someone who will never remember you?"
"Because I love him, of course. I can survive the heartache and pain just by knowing he is somewhere in the world with his family, but he has suffered so much pain in his life he shouldn't have to wonder." He replies without thinking about it.
Yes, the Shire would be lonely with him knowing that Thorin is out there somewhere and will never know he existed, but it was so much better than him being buried forever before his time.
"Then seal the deal with a kiss," she murmurs as waves a hand at him.
Narrowing his eyes he asks, "How do I know you are telling the truth and will keep your end of the bargain?"
Smiling, her now watery looking skin gleams in the sunlight, "By my true name I swear. But here," a small bubble of water appears above her hand, slowly it solidifies into a small blue-green gem. "This topaz will turn complete green, the moss color of my night time skin when I have completed my end of the bargain."
Standing, he walks over to where she is, worrying his lower lip between his teeth. Finally he nods, leaning forward to lightly press his lips against hers. As soon as he does so, he feels the energy surround them and flare about before she vanishes, the roots return to their place, and a small blue-green topaz drops to the ground in front of him.
Blinking, he picks it up before wandering back to camp. He is both wide awake and exhausted. Hopefully Gandalf will let him wave it off as inability to sleep. When he gets back to camp, he finds that the old wizard is still out, so he curls back into his bed and slumbers himself.
When he awakens again it is to the smell of coffee, though where the wizard got coffee from he will never know.
"Tomorrow morning we will be on the edge of the Shire, Bilbo, a few days after that we will be back in Hobbiton." The old man informs him as he passes the steaming mug.
Smiling in relief, he nods before taking a sip.
A little over an hour later they are on the road again and pass the crossroads he could have sworn he had seen the fae woman at the night before, but there is not an oak tree to be seen anywhere.