Hey-O! Welcome to the original Lord of the Rings fic that I came up with over 10 years ago. I hope you have as much fun reading this as I have had fun writing it.
It was a gloomy, rainy day. The people of Bree went about their daily business, paying no mind to what was happening outside of their gates. The hobbits of the Shire went about their business, whether it was farming, trading or just eating. With everyone minding their own business, no one could hear the faint cries of a baby.
Just outside of Bree, close to the Brandywine Bridge, a baby girl laid in the grass in the middle of the woods where her mother had pushed her to safety. There was a hole in the middle of the bridge where her parents had fallen to their deaths in the deep water, below. The baby girl cried as the rain continued to fall on her. She had no idea what was happening, but it scared her.
No one heard her cries or even knew she was out there. It wasn't until early evening that a pair of footsteps came toward her. The baby calmed down a bit as a pair of old hands picked her up. She opened her eyes to see an elderly man holding her. He had a long grey beard and wore a large, pointed hat that covered him from the rain. With him was a large wooden staff.
"There, there", Gandalf said as he held the baby hobbit in his hands.
He looked around the area trying to find her parents. He looked at the bridge and saw the hole. Gandalf looked at the river, knowing hobbits were not swimmers. The baby's parents either sank to the bottom or were swept away in the river. Gandalf looked at the baby, knowing he couldn't leave her here. The only problem was he didn't know where to take her. He didn't know who her family was, so he didn't know who to give the baby to. Her family could be in the Shire, they could be in Bree. He didn't know.
Gandalf held the baby in one arm and walked with his staff in his other hand. He took her to Bree, at least getting her out of the rain. He brought her to his room in the Prancing Pony. Gandalf dried her off and wrapped her in a warm, dry blanket. As Gandalf laid the baby in a basket beside the bed, he had to come to a decision. What was he going to do with her?
The baby gave a yawn as she closed her blue eyes. She buried her golden curls into the blanket. Gandalf poked at the fire in the fireplace on the other side of the room, trying to keep it burning, keeping them warm. He gently stroked the baby's cheek softly. Gandalf was going to keep the young hobbit. He was not going to abandon her.
"I'm going to take care of you…Lila", he said giving her a name.