The hobbits around the party wouldn't stop talking, but as Mycla tugged at Dena's arm to talk about the swift disappearance of Bilbo, Dena's eyes were drawn to Frodo. He sat in his chair silently, looking as if he were holding back a grin. "More wine," he called after a minute. He drained his goblet and got up, waving off the questions assigned to him. Dena watched him leave the pavilion and turned Mycla to a shorter blond hobbit.
"Cuvyan, could you talk to her?" she asked the blond hobbit. "I have to go talk to my father outside." Cuvyan nodded in response and began talking feverishly with the darker haired woman and the straight haired blond hobbit woman on her other side.
"Lecla, did you see where Bilbo went?" Cuvyan questioned the third one in the new conversation.
Dena turned and jogged through the jostling crowd and outside. She was pushed and shoved several times, but finally she made it out of the enormous tent. She saw Frodo walking slowly away from the crowds and slowed her pace, but still caught up with him. "Happy birthday," she said, nudging his arm and alerting him to her presence. He turned his blue eyes down to her. She realized he was a couple inches taller than her. "How does it feel to be thirty three? And I wonder where Bilbo's gone…" He opened his mouth to talk, his face hardening into a firm but still kind look. "Shut up, I know you knew he was going to do that. I would've laughed by then." She laughed and turned her face to the stars. She pulled a heavy, coin sized disk of wood out of her dress pocket and flicked it into the air. "Live well, Bilbo," she murmured. Frodo watched it into her hand. He sighed and looked ahead of him again.
"Hear hear," he said, tipping his head down. A curl of his dark hair fell onto his forehead.
They walked on in silence for a few moments. An owl cooed somewhere in the night. "I know this probably isn't what you want to talk about right now, but…" she began. Frodo glanced at her but didn't say anything. "What will you do now? Live alone? Follow Bilbo?"
"Live alone," he sighed. He stopped and sighed, eyes closed. He looked back up at her. "What else can I do?" The pause between his words and hers were divided by a shout from inside the pavilion.
"Whatever you want," Dena replied. Their two pairs of blue eyes glowed in the light of a nearby fire.
"What will you do?" he asked. He put his hands in his pants pockets.
"Stay here on the edge of town with my friends," she said, shrugging. Her hands played with the stitching on the waist of her dress. "What else can I do?" Her eyes sparkled and she smiled slowly. Frodo laughed once, smiling at the ground.
"Whatever you want," he responded, looking up yet again. They stood there for a few more moments, smiling. Then, at the same time, they stepped away, nodded goodbye, and turned in opposite directions. A great weight was lifted off of Dena as she walked away; she would miss Bilbo, and it didn't seem right for Frodo to be without him so suddenly. She never felt quite comfortable here without Bilbo to talk to, even though she had moved here last year and knew everyone. She would come of age in six years, which seemed a long time away, because everyone judged her as if she was a stupid hobbit in her tweens. Just because she was 27 did not mean that she was reckless or careless. She walked back towards the pavilion, taking her time, but before she entered the hectic scene, a voice sounded from behind her.
"I hear Bilbo has taken his chance to get out," a male voice said. Dena turned and saw her father leaning against the wagon he had come in. His extra pointy ears were sticking out from his medium length, straight blond hair. He was taller than a normal hobbit, about five feet tall. His father had been an elf from Rivendell, Lord Surka Shipwright.
"Yes, he's gone," she replied.
"Is Frodo going too?" His green eyes stared at her questioningly.
"No, and he doesn't know where Bilbo's gone," she said sadly. He didn't seem to believe, but he nodded instead of asking further.
"I've heard people say Gandalf had something to do with it," he murmured, fingers toying with the leather on his sword hilt.
"I don't think Gandalf wanted him to go," Dena muttered defensively. Her father nodded slightly.
"Lord Clalyan, Dena," someone called from the pavilion. A woman hobbit was jogging towards them. Her brown eyes were glistening with tears. "Bilbo is gone!"
"Yes, we know mother," Dena soothed.
"Come, Lalyan," Clalyan whispered, hugging her around her shoulders and kissing her head. "Wherever he is going, he will have a good life. Now come, let's go get you something to calm you down." He began leading her away, and then turned his face to his daughter. "Dena, go take a walk." His eyes flickered past her towards where Bilbo used to live, Bag End. They caught on a moving object and watched it for a moment. Then he winked at Dena and led his wife back into the big tent. Dena turned and followed where his eyes had been, and saw four figures slowly moving away from the hobbit hole at Bag End. She turned towards it and began running. Halfway there, she met Frodo again.
"Where are you going?" he asked, turning to watch her running in the other direction.
"I could ask you the same question," she panted, halting and turning back. Frodo looked sad, but she smiled kindly and he smiled faintly back. "Just do what you have to do, and I'll do my part." He nodded, pushing back a lock of dark hair from his pointed ear. Once again, they turned in opposite directions and set off. Dena turned onto the road where the four figures had gone and heard singing up ahead. "Bilbo," she called.
The figures jumped and spun around. Bilbo was standing in the center of three dwarves, looking surprised. "How did you know I was here?" he asked defensively.
"My father saw you and I followed his eyes," she replied honestly.
"I'm not coming back-"
"I'm not asking you to," she said, cutting him off. "I just want a proper goodbye from such a gentlemanly hobbit such as you." She smiled. He returned her smile and opened his arms for a hug. She rushed at him and threw her arms around him. In the embrace, she felt her sad heart beating against her ribs and heard Bilbo's against her ear. The first tear slipped down her cheek and she took a shuddering breath. "Goodbye, Bilbo," she murmured, voice cracking with sorrow. Another tear fell onto the other hobbit's jacket. "I hope to see you again someday." She laughed shortly. "Maybe when I go on an adventure of my own." She pulled back, sniffing and wiping her face of tears. She smiled at him, and he patted her shoulder.
"Maybe," he said. "Now go. You'll be missed soon. Keep an eye on Frodo for me." He winked. "I know you're a responsible hobbit." She nodded, laughing a bit, and turned to run back down the path. She heard three pairs of feet move off, and when she got back to the big tent, one figure was still staring down into Hobbiton. He waved, and she waved back, laughing. Then he turned and began walking again, disappearing over the ridge. She turned back and went into the pavilion, drying her eyes.