Enivail smiled brightly as she made her way past familiar faces which greeted her with a smile in return or an occasional "hello" or "good morning." She would acknowledge such greetings with a quick, graceful nod before continuing down the road. As she drew nearer to her destination she became aware of a faint voice calling for her on the wind. With a glance over her shoulder, she smiled at the sight of her friend running up the road after her as she stopped to wait for him.
"I...have been trying...to catch up with you...ever since...you left the market!" He panted, with mild agitation as he finally caught up with her and stopped to catch his breath.
"I'm sorry; I'm afraid my mind must have been elsewhere." Enivail replied with an apologetic look that caused her friend's slightly pointed ears to twitch as he mentally scolded himself. Suddenly, remembering why he had chased after her, he shook his head and stood up straight to appear more formal.
"Enivail, I was wondering if you and your grandfather would like to join me for supper this evening." He more stated than asked.
"That'd be lovely and I know he'd love to visit. He's been saying how much he's missed telling you his stories." She replied with a light laugh as she remembered the last time she and her grandfather had visited. The hobbit before her smiled brightly and did a small, excited half hop as he looked up at her.
"Excellent! I guess...I guess I'll see you then." He said giving her a quick farewell nod before heading back toward the market. Enivail smiled after him until he had disappeared into the distance before turning around and continuing on her way. Finally arriving home she made her way to the pantry and began putting the food she had picked up at the market away.
"Enivail? Is that you?" Came a familiar voice from behind her.
"Hello, grandfather. How was your day?" She asked walking over to the aging hobbit and giving him a light kiss on the cheek.
"Boring; I'm tired of sitting in this house all day." He grumbled, causing Enivailto give a soft laugh.
"Actually, you're in luck. Bilbo Baggins has asked us to visit this evening." She told him as they entered the parlour and took their usual seats before the crackling fireplace.
"Hmm...'t'll be nice to see him again. I haven't had anyone to tell my stories to aside from you, and you've heard them all a hundred times." He said flashing his granddaughter a loving smile.
"Yet I still can't hear them enough." Enivail sighed contently as she settled into her chair and took out a book she had been reading.
Later That Evening
Enivail paused, her hand only inches from the round wooden door as she looked down at the strange glowing symbol carved into the new paint. Shaking her head lightly she decided it was most likely nothing and gave a soft knock. Much to her and her grandfather's surprise the person to greet them on the other side of the door was not the hobbit they had been expecting to see but rather a friendly looking dwarf with a long white beard.
"Well, good evening dear." He greeted with a warm smile. Enivail couldn't help but smile back as she looked past him into the familiar hobbit hole. It seemed like an entirely different place as dwarves bustled about through every room.
"Is Bilbo Bagginshere by chance?" She asked, but before the dwarf could respond the hobbit came into view, grumbling angrily to himself as he turned and caught sight of his friends. Rushing over, he nearly caused Enivail to topple out the door as he hugged her.
"Thank goodness you're here! These dwarves are going to be the death of me!" He whispered as she held him at arms length.
"What in the world is happening here, Bilbo?" She asked looking around once again at the dwarves who seemed not to notice them.
"Gandalf is trying to convince me to join these...these dwarves...on an adventure! I've already told him that I have no interest in such things, but he's being stubborn." Bilbo ranted. As if he had been given some cue Gandalf the Grey Wizard entered the room and smiled down at Enivail and her grandfather.
"Gandalf, I should have guessed it was you, causing trouble with dwarves." Her grandfather said smiling up at his old friend.
"What an unexpected surprise to see the two of you here. This may turn out to be more interesting than I had imagined." Gandalf said flashing a smile at the two of them. As Enivail excused herself and walked her grandfather to the parlour to have a seat the dwarves around them seemed to be settling down a bit, but any thought of a peaceful evening was lost as they all broke into song and dance and began tossing Bilbo's dishes around the house. Enivail watched from the doorway as Bilbo leaped into a panic trying to catch the flying plates and scolding his guests for dulling his knives. As their song ended in a fit of jovial laughter there came a heavy knock at the door making all within the hobbit hole fall silent.
"He is here." Gandalf said softly before making his way to the door. As he let it swing open the dwarves flooded into the entrance hall bringing Bilbo with them and obscuring Enivail's view. Wandering back into the parlour she decided to leave them to their business, that is until they mentioned a dragon which in turn caused Bilbo to collapse in the entrance hall. Rushing out of the parlour Enivail knelt beside her friend and pulled his head into her lap.
"What in the world did you all do to him?" She asked looking up to meet thirteen sets of very curious eyes.
"Who is this?" One dwarf asked.
"This, my dear Dori, is Enivail Lightfoot. She is a friend of our burglar here."Gandalf said pointing the end of his staff at the unconscious Bilbo.
"Ha! Bilbo? A burglar? Have you gone completely mad, Gandalf?" She laughed as she put Bilbo's head back on the floor and stood up. Much to everyone's surprise they found that she was not the normal height of a hobbit but rather matched the height of many of the dwarves. She seemed not to notice as her hands shot to her hips and she shot all of the dwarves an angry look.
"Well, you lot made him pass out, so who's going to help me carry him?" She demanded. After a moments hesitation a tall balding dwarf stepped forward and tossed Bilbo over his shoulder.
"Where do you want him, lass?" He asked. Enivail felt a small grin playing on her lips as she pointed toward the study on the other side of the dining room. As he disappeared into the study with the hobbit Enivail turned back toward the rest of the dwarves and ran a hand through her silky white hair so that it caught the light and flashed silver.
"Enivail, these are the dwarves of Erebor. This is Balin, Dori, Nori, Ori, Oin, Gloin,Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Fili and his brother Kili, and Dwalin." Gandalf said gesturing lastly to the dwarf who had carried Bilbo into the other room. Casting her sky blue gaze over the group of dwarves she noticed one who was still seated at the table facing away from the rest of them.
"And who is that?" She asked. Gandalf followed her gaze and grinned.
"That would be the heir of Durin, rightful king of Erebor, Thorin Oakenshield." He explained as said dwarf slowly turned to face them.
"You don't look like any halfling I've ever seen before." He stated rather smirked and stood up straight so that her eyes came level with his nose.
"Well, that would be due to the fact that I'm not a hobbit; at least not a full one." She replied causing a wave of murmurs to pass through the group.
"What do you mean, lass?" Balin asked curiously. Glancing up at Gandalf she seemed to debate whether or not to tell them, but in the end she gave a heavy sigh and met Balin's gaze once more.
"My mother was a hobbit...my father...was an elf." Enivail said shyly. Thorin's eyes narrowed on her as he pulled Gandalf aside and began arguing with him in a hushed tone to try and keep anyone from hearing. Murmurs and whispers began coursing through the group of dwarves again as they all marveled at the wonder before them.
"I've never heard of such a thing happening before, have you?" Oin asked Bofur who, in turn, glanced at Enivail.
"I guess that would explain her looks. She doesn't really look like a hobbit now does she? She's got that white hair, and I've never seen a hobbit with eyes like that." He replied. However, over all of the commotion, Enivail's Elvin ears were still able to pick up every word of Gandalf and Thorin's discussion.
"You said nothing about an Elf being here." Thorin growled.
"I assure you, I had no idea that she would be here. I have not seen Enivail in a longer time than Bilbo has been alive. I did not know the two even knew of each other." Gandalf assured, but the dwarven king did not seem convinced.
"Our quest is not a matter for Elves. Her kin will try to stop us."
"My apologies if I seem rude, Master Dwarf, but I have not seen another Elf since I was but a babe. My father disowned me after my mother's death; since then I have lived here with my grandfather." Enivail interjected. She was becoming annoyed the longer they continued talking as if she weren't there. Thorin seemed to be building in anger as he turned to face her.
"Do you really think I would be so foolish as to trust the word of an Elf?" He said and, though his tone appeared calm, Enivail could feel the underlying sharpness of each word. Before another word could pass between the two of them, they were interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat. Looking around they soon found that the interruption had been Enivail's grandfather who now stood stooping over his cane at the parlour doorway.
"I could care less if you're a peasant or a king; my granddaughter is no liar. Yes, she may be half Elf, but she has known no other life than that of a Hobbit." He said as he walked over to stand beside her.
"Go back to your armchair old man; this is no concern of yours." Thorin said, staring down at the elderly hobbit who stood nearly two feet shorter than himself.
"It does if it concerns my Enivail! Now you listen here! She is one of the sweetest and most kindhearted creatures I have known in all my years and I will not have her talked down to by some bushy bearded dwarf who knows nothing of her! That child was betrayed by the very man who fathered her and cast away by the Elves! It is with Hobbits that she found a home and it is with Hobbits that her home will always be!" The hobbit shot back as he pointed his cane up at Thorin's nose. The rest of the dwarves had fallen silent as they watched their king being berated by the three foot tall hobbit.
"Grandfather, there's no need for this; let him think what he pleases." Enivail said turning her grandfather away from Thorin and walking him back into the parlour. Some time later her grandfather had fallen asleep and Enivail, with the aid of Gandalf, had carried him into Bilbo's guest bedroom. Now, as Bilbo and Gandalf's argument in the study came to a close, she felt it would be safer to go to the kitchen for a glass of water. As she drew closer to the doorway she heard a low humming coming from the parlour and peeked in to see all of the dwarves had gathered there and were beginning to sing, but this was not a happy song like the one they had sang earlier. No, this song held within it memories of a sad time long ago. Enivail could feel an aching in her chest as she pressed her back against the wall and slowly slid down into a seated position on the floor. Every word of the dwarves song made her heart ache that much more until she had begun crying softly to herself.
"Enivail? Are you alright?" Gandalf asked as he stopped beside her. Looking up in surprise, Enivail began wiping at her eyes in an attempt to hide the tears that were left clinging to her eyelashes.
"I'm fine, just tired. I think I'll head to bed now. Goodnight, Gandalf." She said flashing him a soft smile before heading off in the direction of Bilbo's spare room.