In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort. And such comfort that only this home could provide was enjoyed only by the sole surviving Baggins of Bag End. Belladonna Rose Baggins, daughter of Belladonna Took and Bungo Baggins, was the resident of Bag End, and was a very odd one at that. Of course, no hobbit was truly surprised by this woman's behavior; a child of a Took and Baggins was bound to be, well, different. The two families were practically exact opposites. The Baggins were a respectable family who despised being late and was the definition of propriety and gracious hosts. The Tooks, on the other hand, were a wild group; loving adventure and tales of battles as much as a hobbit loves food. The two bloodlines mixed into one being created a wonder to behold. And Bella, was just that. As a young fauntling, Bella spent her time chasing after fairy tales that her mother read to her each night, dreaming of leaving the Shire and exploring the world beyond its borders. She would use many sticks as swords, much to the dismay and horror of many other lady hobbits about her. They believed her to be a mad child, one that could only cause trouble as she grew older. Yet, Bella never cared for what was said about her. As taught by her beloved mother and father, she wanted to be no one else, but herself. That is, until the Fell Winter. It was a dark time for the Shire, which had not and would not see many of such in the years before and to come. The White Wolves crossed the frozen river that year, and unleashed their large, dagger fangs on the Hobbits. It wasn't until Gandalf the Grey and the Rangers of the North came that the hobbits found safety once again. During this time, Bella's father had grown ill. Whether it was due to cold or the scraps of food they had to consume, the cause was unknown. And it only a few months, Bungo Baggins left Middle Earth to join the Green Lady in her ever full gardens. The loss of her father stirred something in Bella, something that was un-Took like, yet very much like a Baggins. The need to stay home, warm, and safe without worry of the world began to fill her mind. It was only after the passing of her mother, not even a year after her father due to a broken heart, did Bella push away any and all thoughts of adventure. She was the last Baggins of Bag End, and she would not leave the home her father had built for her mother. And she cared for it as if it was the only thing she had. In truth, Bag End was the last thing she had, holding memories of better times when her family was whole. Years passed and Belladonna became of age, sutors following after her not too late afterwards. Yet, she turned them all away. She had no interest in marriage and families, in spite of this being a rather unheard of pattern for hobbits. It was much expected of hobbit women to marry after their coming of age and bring more fauntlings into the world before them. Yet Bella did none of this, slowly earning her a name she cared little for. Mad Baggins. Despite the whispers and rumors, seeing as that was how hobbits passed most of their time, Bella refused to marry and cared for herself up in Bag End. She wouldn't leave this home. For that was what it was. Home.
It was a rather warm, peaceful morning when Bella's life would become rather unexpected. She had woken early, as she normally did, and begun her daily routine of breakfast, cleaning herself and her home, second breakfast, and maintaining her garden. After these tasks, Bella had stood outside her rounded, freshly painted door, taking a deep breath of the outside with a peaceful smile on her face. Maybe she'd read outside today. That would definitely relax her further. Disappearing once again into her home, Bella stripped herself of her apron, leaving her in her vibrant green skirt with a lighter green ruffled trim along the bottom, and her white, long sleeved and ruffled blouse which she covered with her yellow, flower embroidered corset. She moved to her bathroom to pull her light brown almost copper colored, wavy curls into a small bun with strands framing her face. While her hair did reach her shoulders, it was a strange way to keep her beautiful locks seeing as normal hobbit women kept their hair rather long. This was just another thing that made her different from the other hobbits. Her preference in books was an addition to this fact of difference as Bella's Earthy green eyes scanned through the titles in her mother's old study. Nearly all of the books housed here were tales of old adventures, some of her mother's included. Finally deciding on a black, worn leather bound book about Elves, Belladonna grabbed her pipe as well before setting out to the bench in her front gardening. After having lit her pipe and opening the book to the first chapter, Bella relaxed herself against the bench, taking soft draws from the carved pipe while her mind left Hobbiton and traveled to the Elven realms within these pages. Not too far into her story, say around the fourth chapter, did Bella find herself pulled from the words by a tall shadow falling over her. She looked up and had to blink quickly as her gaze fell upon what seemed to be a man dressed all in grey. Even his pointed hat, which rested over his white hair, was the same shade of grey. The elder smiled down at Bella, his beard moving along his cheeks while her leaned against a brown, curved staff. Bella's eyes darted to each side of her then rested back upon the man.
"Good morning." She greeted. While unsure and a bit cautious, Bella was still a Baggins, and Baggins were polite despite their own conflicting emotions. The reply she got was not one she expected.
"What do you mean?" The rough, deep voice of the man asked her. "Do you mean to wish me a good morning or do you mean that it is a good morning whether I want it to be or not?" Bella blinked quickly at him, unsure how to answer at first. Yet, the man continued. "Or, perhaps you mean to say that you feel good on this particular morning? Or are you simply stating that this a morning to be good on?"
"All of them at...once...I suppose." Bella answered, her gaze clearly confused and if not awkward. The man hummed in response to her answer, causing her to grow a bit more uncomfortable with this situation. Bella turned her body a bit, as if to get up from the bench and leave, but stopped.
"Can I help you?" She asked, hoping the man would say no. It was only polite to ask. Maybe he just needed directions.
"That remains to be seen." He paused. "I'm looking for someone to share in an adventure." Belladonna's heart leaped in her chest, but she quickly calmed it down by the pure shock of his statement. The end of her pipe slipped from her lips a bit.
"A-an adventure?" She questioned, seeking clarification of what she had heard. She then shook her head and gestured to her right with her pipe. "I don't imagine anyone west of Bree would have much interest in adventures." With this said, Bella stood from the bench after having closed her book. "Nasty, disturbing…" She listed as she moved to her mailbox to give her an excuse to look away from the man and hopefully return to her home. "...uncomfortable things. Make you late for dinner." She joked, chuckling nervously as she removed her letters and began to look through them as she balanced her pipe and book in her hands as she did. She glanced up at the man in grey as she sorted her mail. He didn't seem to be leaving. She gestured with her mail some, silently telling him that she needed to open these, then put out her pipe. "Good morning." She stated again, turning to head up the stairs back into her home. This was when the man spoke up.
"To think that I should have lived to be 'good morning'ed by Belladonna Took's daughter, as if I were selling buttons at the door." The mentioning of her mother's name caused Belladonna to pause and turn back to him, her brows furrowed in confusion.
"Beg your pardon?" She questioned, turning her body fully around to face him once more. He shook his head.
"You've changed, and not entirely for the better Belladonna Baggins."
"I'm sorry, do I know you?" She asked. How did he know her name?
"Well you know my name, although not remember that I belong to it. I am Gandalf. And Gandalf means…" He trailed off with a huff and sigh, "...me." Now things began to click in Bella's mind.
"Gandalf? Not Gandalf the wandering wizard who made such excellent fireworks. Old Took used to have them on Mid-Summer's Eve." She began to brighten at this, as did Gandalf. She chuckled some before resuming her speech. "No idea you were still in business." She mused and Gandalf raised an eyebrow at her.
"And where else should I be?" He asked and Bella cleared her throat nervously, choosing not to answer. "Well I'm pleased to find you remember something about, even if it's only my fireworks." he mumbled. He was quiet then nodded his head. "Well that's decided. It will be very good for you…" he pointed at her, "...and most amusing for me." He rested his hand on his hip now. Bella once again found herself lost and confused. "I shall inform the others." It hit her then.
"Inform the who? Uh, no." She protested as he began to walk away some. "No. N-wait." She quickly began to move back up her stairs to her door. "We do not want any adventures here. Thank you, not today. I-I suggest you try over the hill..or..across the water." She stated. "Good morning." Her last statement spoken, Bella quickly stepped into her house and closed the door, letting out a shaky sigh. She had begun to move away when she heard a strange scratching noise against the wood. She moved herself to her window, peering out to see if she could spot what that noise was when a blue eye suddenly shifted its way into her visual path. A gasp escaped her and Bella quickly moved away, hiding against the wall of her entry way. She hurried to another window to watch as Gandalf moved down her stone steps and back onto the path leading away from her home. She let out a shaky sigh of relief. With only a thought of how strange that encounter was, Bella moved on with the rest of her day.
Belladonna should've known Gandalf would do something like this. She was about to eat dinner on her own, when about two hours later, her dining room was filled with twelve dwarves and Gandalf himself. They were singing songs, laughing, eating her food, and throwing her dishes around. Bella ran after certain things, feeling rather flustered and frustrated with everything that was happening until she stopped at the sight of all her dishes intact and spotless, the dwarves showing off their work with proud, joyous smiles and laughs. The group began to take their seats again as Bella stared on, unsure what to think or do, when three, pounding knocks on her door silenced the group all together. Bella blinked and looked to the door, then to Gandalf. "He's here." Was all the wizard muttered as he stood to answer the door. Bella stood a bit behind the towering man to see who the final "guest" was and was surprised to find a dwarf with a rather short beard slowly turn his head to look up at Gandalf. His hair was long and black, apart from a few streaks of silver and two long braids on both sides of his face. His eyes were blue, but not like Gandalf's. This dwarf's eyes pierced the very soul of anyone who met his gaze. He was dressed in a blue tunic under his silver armour, a cloak draped on his shoulders and held a slight smile on his face as Bella stood there in both awe and...well actually, just awe.
"Gandalf." His voice was a deep, baritone sound that bounced through the halls of her smial. "I thought you said this place would be easy to find. Lost my way, twice." He spoke as he stepped into the home then looked to his company. "Wouldn't have found it at all had it not been for the mark on the door." The dwarf informed him as he unclasped his cloak and folded it up.
"Mark?" Bella found her voice again, and was glad it did not waver. "There's no mark on that door. It was painted a week ago." She protested, staring at the new arrival with her brows creased. The dwarf didn't even look to her as Gandalf spoke.
"There is a mark. I put it there myself." He said as he closed the door. Gandalf held his hand out to Bella, smiling at her. "Bella Baggins, allow me to introduce the leader of our company, Thorin Oakenshield." Bella turned her head to the dwarf, Thorin, and locked eyes with him. He handed his cloak to Kili.
"So, this is the hobbit?" He asked as Bella and him stepped closer some. He crossed his hands in front of him, smiling as if he didn't believe something. "Tell me, Mistress Baggins, have you done much fighting?" He interrogated and stepped passed Bella, the woman turning some to watch him walk.
"Pardon me?" She asked, but Thorin continued as if he didn't hear her.
"Axe or sword? What is your weapon of choice?" Thorin circled her now causing Bella to turn her head quite often to follow his movements.
"Excuse me? I'm afraid I don't quite understand and don't see how that's relevant." She stated politely, despite her growing unease and confusion. She was a Baggins, and she needed to remember that. Thorin took a deep breath and crossed his arms now that he stood before her again.
"Thought as much. She looks more like a housemaid than a burglar." He told his kin, who chuckled as Bella seemed affronted.
"I beg your pardon?" She all but snapped. "First you invite yourself into someone else's home, then proceed to insult your host? Who taught you your manners? Goblins?" She asked, causing even more snickers from the group. Thorin just scoffed, a slight sarcastic curve forming in the corner of his mouth. He moved away from her and walked into the dining room, the entire group following. All except Bella of course. The woman simply rolled her eyes and stood back. Who in Yavanna's name did that dwarf thing he was? King of the Hill? Someone really should smack him, if she didn't do so first.
"What news of the meeting in Ered Luin?" Balin asked Thorin as he began to eat. "Did they all come?" Thorin nodded, swallowing his bite.
"Aye, the Lords from all seven kingdoms." Bella's brows creased in curious thought. Lords? Seven kingdoms? Was her earlier assessment of the rather handsome, yet arrogant dwarf close? Due to her pondering thoughts of said dwarf, Belladonna missed almost the entire conversation. Quest?
"You're going on a quest?" She asked. Gandalf spoke first.
"Ah, Bella, can we have more light?" He asked and she nodded, leaving the area only to return with more candles.
"The Lonely Mountain?" Bella whispered as she peered down at the map that the wizard had placed on the table. The dwarves began to speak amongst themselves as Bella moved away from the group, only to be called back to the conversation. "The reign of the beast shall end." She walked back over to them.
"Beast? Wht beast?" Bella asked, her eyes moving to all thirteen members of the group, not including Gandalf.
"Well that would be a reference to Smaug the Terrible. Chiefest and greatest calamity of our age." Bella's eyebrows raised in fascination. "Airborne firebreather, teeth like razors, claws like meat hooks, extremely found of precious metals." Bella resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
"Yes, I know what a dragon is." She answered then one dwarf shot up.
"I'm not afraid!" He declared. "I'm up for it! I'll give him a taste of dwarven iron right up his jacksy." This caused the group to start speaking all at once, the younger dwarf being pulled down to his seat once more.
"The task would be difficult enough with an army behind us, but number just thirteen. And not thirteen of the best." Balin spoke out, quieting the group. "Nor brightest." The whole group continued, nearly breaking into an uproar, a fight maybe. Bella tensed and was ready to step in when Thorin stood and shouted something in a language Belladonna did not recognize. Whatever it was, it effectively silenced the party and every sat back down except for Thorin.
"If we have read these signs do you not think that others would've read them too?" He asked them all rather angrily. "Rumors have begun to spread. The dragon, Smaug, has not been seen for sixty years. Eyes look east to the mountain, assessing wondering, weighing the risk. Perhaps the vast wealth of our people now lay unprotected. Do we sit back while others claim what is rightfully ours?" His voice grew in deeper emotions. Emotions that Bella could not place. "Or do we seize this chance to take back Erebor?!" Thorin shouted, causing the company to stand and shout with him. Well, he was good at inspiring others, which contrasted his awful manners, Bella thought to herself.
"You forget, the front gate is sealed." Balin reminded everyone. "There is no way into the mountain." Passed this point, Bellanna would not remember what had happened and what was said in the years to come. Something about a key, hidden door, needing a burglar and something about a wife of Durin needing to represented. They asked her if she was an expert and then sometime later gave her a contract. As she read through it, growing paler with words like lacerations, eviscerations, and incinerations. Her only response to these as well as descriptions of Smaug's power was to simply faint, falling flat against the floor of her home.
"I'll be alright. Just...let me sit quietly for a moment." Belladonna asked of Gandalf as she sat curled up in her father's arm chair, a hot cup of tea in her hands.
"You've been sitting quietly for far too long." Gandalf stated firmly as he walked over to the wide, eyed hobbit. "Tell me, when did doilies, and your mother's dishes become so important to you?" He asked and Bella nearly glowered at the wizard.
'When I lost the people they originally belonged to.' She growled the thought, painful memories beginning to resurface that she rather not have.
"I remember a young hobbit who was always running off in search of elves in the woods. Who'd stay out late, come home after dark trailing mud and twigs and fireflies." He chuckled now. "A young hobbit who would've loved more than anything to find out was lay beyond the walls of the Shire. The world is not in your books and maps. It's out there." Bella looked to the window, her breathing increasing as a feeling of longing began to grow within her. She shook her head quickly.
"I can't just go running off, into the blue. I am a Baggins, of Bag End." She protested.
"You are also a Took." Gandalf countered and Bella looked away, almost rolling her eyes as she sighed in frustration. "Did you know that your great-great-great-great uncle was so large that he could ride a real horse?" He asked with a smile. A small one found its way onto Bella's lips as she nodded some. "Yes, well he could. In the Battle of Greenfields he charged the goblin ranks. He swung his club so hard, it knocked the Goblin King's head clean off and it sailed a hundred yards, through the air and went down a rabbit hole." This was a story Bella heard many times. She simply sighed now. "And thus the battle was won, and the game of golf invented at the same time." Gandalf now sat before her and she looked to his face now. "You'll have a tale or two to tell when you come back." Bella smiled some once more, looking down only to have her smile fall and her eyes to return to Gandalf's.
"Can you promise that I will come back?" She asked quietly. The wizard didn't speak, simply looked to her.
"No. And if you do, you'll not be the same." Belladonna dismissed herself at this point, being sure all her guests had places to sleep before she retreated to her room. She did not notice a pair of eyes following her as she did, judging her composure. She sat herself down on her bed, taking calming breath as she held her head in her hands, trying to decide on what to do. That was when she heard it. It was quiet, and eerie, but it caught her attention and drew her in all the same. She lifted her head some, tilting her ear toward her door to listen better.
Far over the Misty Mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away ere break of day,
To seek the pale enchanted gold.
Far over the Misty Mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away ere break of day
To find our long forgotten gold.
Belladonna found herself with tears in her eyes at the raw emotions behind the words sung by every dwarf downstairs. Her heart raced faster than she thought was possible with something so simple as a quiet song. She was sure that it was no longer wanting to stay in her chest. And she made a decision, then, that would change her life and her fate forever.