Chapter 1

Since his big adventure, Bilbo Baggins had been celebrated as a hero by the dwarfs, and as a result, lots of compliments and praises had been thrown his way, along with lots of parties, celebrations and visitors. These did not include his neighbouring hobbits, nor the Sackville-Baggins, who were rather disappointed in his return, but of hobbits all around middle earth. No doubt Gandalf had spread the word of his great adventure. He may lost some credibility in the village, but gained some elsewhere, so he was not too flustered. But, er, for Bilbo, this was all proving a little too much. Despite his long adventure, full of various experiences and encounters that he daresay would never forget, that did not diminish his stubbornness entirely, and unfortunately for the village, this meant that he still did not converse as happily, nor as long, as they would have liked him to. As for Bilbo, following all the drama, which he felt was quite enough for one lifetime, of his long adventure, the only thing he secretly wanted to do was to be left quite alone and relax in quiet solitude. This, however, was not to be.

"For god's sake, I said no more visitorrr-" started Bilbo irritatingly, as he walked towards the door for the thousandth time that fine spring day with exasperation. As he heaved open the door, his gaze low because he was tired and could not be bothered to look up, he saw a slim cloaked figure. It was a hobbit no doubt, he thought quickly. Obviously one of the families were trying to get him to marry one of their daughters…. He scoffed to himself as he glanced up.

Surrounded by Bilbo's patches of vegetable plot, which made her seem rather out of place, stood the most beautiful hobbit Bilbo Baggins had ever seen and would, in fact, ever see. The minute he clasp eyes on her, standing in front of his welcome mat, he could do nothing but gaze, feet stuck to his tiled floor, mesmerised by what he saw.

This was no lass of the shire, if she was even a lass to begin with. Her beauty was striking, so striking in fact that Bilbo lost his trail of thought immediately.

And nature seemed to agree with Bilbo, because it so happened that at that precise moment, the setting sun's rays caught the back of her head, eluminating her chocolaty brown hair, which cascaded, a little wildly, down her curved figure. There was something inexplicably foreign about her; her face actually reminded Bilbo of the elves, for she had a small snub of a nose, and her lips had a delicate sensualness about them. It was her eyes however, that held Bilbo so transfixed. They were of a subtle emerald green that held a very direct gaze, so hypnotising at first that Bilbo could not look away. She was a petite figure however, and not at all dainty. She was definitely a hobbit, for her arms and hands were clearly of strong structure, though her feet were not as big as Bilbo's. Actually, Bilbo felt slightly worried of the damage that she could cause. Clearly she had been trained, she seemed like the feisty type that would put up a fight. She did not have that carefree aura that those in the Shire held. She was beautiful, but intimidating. Even for Bilbo.

"-orsss," ended Bilbo, who stared rather idiotically at her, his mouth making small movements but no sound.

She, however, did not seem in the least bit surprised, nor thrilled at the sight of Bilbo. In all honesty, it seemed as if coming to speak to Bilbo Baggins was the last thing on her mind. She frowned and then proceeded to raise one of her delicate eyebrows at the rather odd-looking hobbit who seemed like he was about to throw up or faint on the spot, she couldn't tell which. This could not be the heroic hobbit that she had been sent to look for.

"Are you Bilbo Baggins?" she asked quizzically.

Crumbs, she has a beautiful and intimidating voice too, thought Bilbo, giving a rather feeble "yes" before spluttering and attempting to speak the word again with more depth and masculinity.

"Oh. Right, well, Gandalf has sent me to escort you to his meeting," she said rather firmly, in a I-tolerate-no-nonsense-like tone.

"His…. meeting?" said Bilbo in confusion.

"Yes, his meeting. With the village. And the dwarfs. Surely he has- he has explained all of this to you already, yes?" she said, with a slight tone of incredulousness. When Bilbo gave no reply, struggling to give an answer that would satisfy her no doubt, she sighed before informing him that he need not worry, but that he ought to follow her in any case. Bilbo nodded, before giving a "right" and taking his cloak and staff. She had already started walking down the road. He ran awkwardly to catch up with her.

…..

Bilbo walked behind, watching her dark navy cloak sashay from side to side.

"We are unacquainted are we not? I do not believe that I have ever seen you around these parts of the Shire," said Bilbo tentatively.

"I am not from the Shire," she said, rather coldly and not looking back at Bilbo but straight ahead. When she made no further comment, Bilbo gave a feeble "I see," before asking her about her business with Gandalf.

"I'm afraid that is between Gandalf and myself, and I cannot tell you. But your story with him is said to be legendary-"

"Oh, I wouldn't say legendary," scoffed Bilbo, laughing boastfully.

"Almost too hard to believe," said she with a hint of sarcasm.

"Well, yes, it all felt rather surreal to-" continued Bilbo before realising what she had said. He stopped laughing abruptly. And then he frowned. Who was she to taunt him? Had she defeated the great dragon Smaug? Could she disappear into thin air? Bilbo felt a slight burning sensation in the pit of his stomach. It was not anger exactly. He didn't know what it was. He hadn't felt this way before.

By now they had reached the top of the hill and Bilbo could already see the newly established village pub, where celebrations were still taking place. The largest in the Shire, it seemed to glow with a merry hue, with streams of warm light pouring out from the glazed windows, a dramatic contrast to the fading twilight that surrounded it with a subtle mystery. It was getting colder and darker, and yet the hobbits' laughter and cheers could be heard from a mile off. As they descended towards it, the feisty hobbit (this is not description of Bilbo) took a sharp turn around the thatch, never actually entering the pub. This puzzled Bilbo exceedingly, and he briefly pondered over whether to ask if she was sure about where she was going. He decided against this however; she already seemed frustrated as it was and he would probably only make her more so. Behind the thatch was a large field and beyond lay the cave which Bilbo made in his youth, a place where he would often go to get away from his family, where he could dream of adventures with elves, moving trees and all manner of creatures and monsters. He was the hero of course. He lived in his head then, and was not a very sociable young hobbit.

"Are we going in there?" asked Bilbo incredulously, as she seemed to keep walking towards it, for now they were walking through the long grass, which made Bilbo's legs itch.

"Yes. That is where Gandalf is waiting," she said bluntly before pushing on.

As they came nearer, Bilbo noticed a flickering light coming from the inside, and whiffs of smoke rising from it. Then, a shadow seemed to move at the sound of their rustling, and Gandalf appeared, quite awkwardly, popping his head out from the cave which was bound to be a little small for him. He had not changed in the least since their big adventure, although he was wearing much nicer clothing, no doubt made by the SHire's hobbits who were known to meddle with foreign fashions and make it more their own. Everyone in the shire wore the same sort of clothing, which was why he knew that this proud and snobbish lass was most definitely not from the shire. She wore tight, leather clothing that seemed to be made by dwarves.

Gandalf's face immediately broke out into a wide smile, before saying "Bilbo" in his usual booming voice. This greeting was quite enough, for both Bilbo and Gandalf knew the significance of it in his tone. They hugged strongly, well, Bilbo did, but Gandalf didn't, in fear of suffocating his hobbiton friend.

"I see that you have been enjoying yourself quite throughly recently. This is good, you are finally participating in the Shire's community," said Gandalf to which Bilbo chuckled awkwardly.

"Although," he continued, glancing at the pub where bursts of laughter came, "I have a feeling that you might be already be tired of it. I know your temperament Baggins. I suspect that all you would like to do is sit in front of a fire and eat some of that lovely cheese that you have kept in secret, stored in your attic for god knows how long."

"You guess correctly Gandalf, as always. Your intuitive mind never fails," said Bilbo. There was a moments silence where Bilbo stood awkwardly, peering at Gandalf who looked, quite serenely, out across the field. Why had he asked him to come?

"I must apologise for the place of meeting. I'm afraid lovely Ireth here was afraid that the nosy hobbits would overhear our conversation," said Gandalf, smiling at her. Bilbo turned around to look at her for the first time since departing his hobbit-hole.

She stood a little step back from them, glancing up and blushing. Bilbo could see her rosy cheeks, even in the dark.

"I-I am sorry Gandalf, but upon seeing them today I couldn't help but-but notice that they er-" she started, her voice more feminine and fragile.

"It is perfectly alright. I can understand your feelings," said Gandalf. Bilbo frowned at her before sharply looking back at Gandalf.

"Ireth?" said Bilbo.

"Oh my, you do not even know her name? My, my Bilbo, that is not very courteous of you to not even ask her name! This, my dear fellow, is Ireth Seregon of Loamsdown. And this, my dear, well, I think you know who this is. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End."

"I'm sorry Gandalf, but um, what exactly is going on here?" asked Bilbo, in much like the quizzical fashion Ireth had used previously.

"Ah, yes well I was just going to start to explain. There is a reason I have returned to Shire Mr Baggins, and once again I'm afraid I must ask too much of you.…"