What Little Logic...
You Have.
It was a warm sunny day with little to no clouds in the sky as Bilbo Baggins attempted to walk through the Shire's bustling marketplace with a full basket in hand.
Bilbo was careful as he nudged his way through the crowd of Hobbits. As he held his wicker basket close to his chest as to prevent the produce from falling onto the dirt ground and be lost to the many feet of the crowd. He released a sigh of relief as he escaped the crowd only to see the place he had started at.
He stared at the one of many forest fragments that spotted the Shire's vast land with a annoyance.
"I was trying to go the other way." Bilbo grumbled sourly as he walked to the wooden bench that sat in front of the mini forest. "Not get turned around and be brought back to the place I began at." He let of a huff as he plopped down on the bench; basket on his lap.
"Well if it turned you around doesn't that mean it wanted you to go back to get something you forgot or something you didn't know you lost." A soft female voice spoke, her voice gentle and soft like silk with a faint ring of bells at the end - it was almost like she spoke in loud whispers. And her accent was like his but stronger, yet still soft. Bilbo hummed as he contemplated what the mysteries women said as he looked to the the blue sky. "Or maybe you wanted to go back, but just don't know why yet." Now that just confused Bilbo.
"Wait now I'm lost. What do you-" His voice stopped as he realized that there was no woman of any kind in front or around him when he looked back down from the sky to look at the one he was conversing with. "Wha- Where did you go?" He spoke as he placed his basket beside him on the bench so he could stand and look for around him, in hopes for a chance that she may be hiding from his sight.
"What do I what dear sir?" The voice came from the bushes Bilbo learned as the same sweet voice came from the bushes and trees behind him. Bilbo walked with caution to the bushes. "And I am still where I have been since we began are talk and then some." Bilbo moved the bushes to see the speaker. And what he saw was not what he had expected to see.
Bilbo had seen some interesting things in his life for a Hobbit that lived in the peaceful Shire. But he had never expected nor believed that he would see an Elf in the Shire all his life. At least he thought she was an Elf, maybe a human.
Her skin unblemished and pale as porcelain. Her hair black as a clean Raven feather and in thick ringlets that cascaded down to her lower back. Her hair upper and side bangs formed a frame around her heart shaped face, her checks not plump but not flat. Her pink lips small and plump, shaped into a light pout. Her eyes were large and innocent - like a dolls - with large, striking violet irises, framed by thick long black lashes and a small beauty mark that sat near the lower lids outer corner of her left eye. Her eyebrow were decently thick but not ridiculously thick or thin and were curved and angled in a way that made her almost looked surprised - her eyes did't help either. She looked like a living doll.
Her cloths even screamed doll too. Her dressed was a pastel pink, with a creamy bow around her waist, collar, and the cuffs of her sleeves. The skirt of the dress puffed out - not by much but definitely more then he's seen any woman's skirt in the Shire do - into frilly layers till it reached the end of the skirt at the knees of her long legs. Her legs were covered but not at the same time, the were covered by what looked to be white pants that could be somewhat see through - like her wrist length gloves. Her feet were bare of any shoes but still covered by the creamy pants-socks-things. She also had a large black leather bag beside her.
She was some kind of Elf-Doll thing. She had the beauty of an Elf, but with some softer more doll-like features to her. Her chest wasn't large nor small. Heck for an Elf or human - she had to be one of those races - she was small and petite - but a little bit slender at the same time. She was like a living, breathing doll.
"Hello." That was all Bilbo could muster from his shock as her tried to process what - who - was before him and in a bush no less.
"Hello sir." The strange woman said without missing a beat and with a quick bow from where she sat on her knees. " You are the one who got turned around and sent to the beginning ounce more, yes?" Bilbo could only nod.
"Ah, well it's good to be able to put a face to the voice." Bilbo nodded ounce more.
"Well seeing as you have a face and a voice then you probably have a name too, yes." Bilbo nodded again. "And what may this name be." This statement seemed to nock Bilbo out of his mute self to make a reply As he straitened himself out.
"Bilbo, Bilbo Baggins." It was quite for a moment as the woman mumbled the name a few times.
"Bilbo Baggins, Bilbo Baggins. Yes the name works well for you, though I thought your name would be Jarod or Maxwell."
"Why Jarod or Maxwell."
"Because you seem like a Jarod or Maxwell, that's why."
"Oh." She didn't just look strange but she acted strange too.
Now that Bilbo felt more adapt with his new acquaintance he began to notice the strange purple daisy's, pink bluebells, orange lilies, and lime green grass that formed a small circle around her. He also noticed the bundle of the same strange flowers plucked and resting on and in front of her lap as she seemed to be making a flower crown with them before or during their conversation.
"Where did these flowers come from?" He was hoping she knew.
"Is not obvious." Not for Bilbo it seems. "They grew here." Yes that was obvious, Bilbo has to admit.
"Yes, but how and why around you and you alone?" Bilbo magnified his statement of 'you' with his hands directed to her in a circular motion, with a small bit of flailing added to it. His question didn't seem to faze her. Her the corners of her lip twitched up a bit to creat a faint smile.
"That's an easy answer as well. They grew here like any other plant. And why around me only, because they wanted to." She sounded so sure of herself.
"Now I have a question for you mister Baggins."
"Oh really? What is it?" The mysteries woman looked down at her lap with sadness as she weaved the flowers stems together. A moment of silence fell upon the two for a moment till the woman looked up through her thick lashes to Bilbo, causing him to hold his breath and forget his name for a moment when he locked his brown eyes with her bright violet.
"Where am I?"
Her question shocked him. She didn't know where she was. How did she get here then, was she alone, did someone bring her here? The questions began.
"You don't know where you are, correct?"
"Yes." Not good.
"Do you have any idea how you got here?"
"No." Really not good.
"Do you remember where you were before here?"
"Yes." Oh, this could be more helpful.
"Really! What do you remember?"
"I was in the Valley of Tears with some of the Doll Children and Cheshire." And Bilbo was lost all over again.
"The Valley of Tears?"
"Yes."
"Doll Children, Cheshire?" Now the woman seemed to be getting somewhat annoyed and a good bit confused herself.
"Yes, why do you sound so confused?" Because Bilbo had never even heard of a place like that in all of Middle Earth."Have you never heard of the Vally of Tears, the place where all tears go after they have been shed." A shake of Bilbo's head, no. "Or the Doll Children that wonder the world for fun and merriment." Bilbo shakes it ounce more. Her voice was filled with sadness and worry now, the pout in her lips became more prominent.
"Am I not in Wonderland anymore?"
Some time paced as Bilbo stood in front of the doll girl.
"No you're in the Shire of Middle Earth."
Silence feel ounce more.
After a few moments the woman slowly stood. Her height passing Bilbo's with ease. And now that she stand in front of him, Bilbo could not deny her beauty or her doll-like appearance. When he looked to her face it didn't just hold a bit of natural innocents now but a regal air surrounded her too, as she stood back straight and face serious - though she only looked like she was pouting. Bilbo was so shocked by the change in atmosphere that he had not fully realized that the woman had walked to him with deaf steps till Bilbo was bending his head back slightly to keep eye contact with her as she looked down to keep contact with him.
"My name in Annabel Devin and I would like it if I could stay with you till my little problem is solved." Annabel spoke with a seriousness Bilbo did not know she had nor muster though he noticed that she was playing with her gloved covered hands; she was nerves.
"What? You want to stay at my house? Why mine exactly?" He had a dim idea as to why, but he was curios as to what she might say. Annabel's face changed from serious to panicked - or surprise maybe - in an instance.
"Is it not obvious? You where the one how spoke to me first-" He thought he was speaking to himself, not another person. "-so you wanted me to help you with your dilemma though I was not and still not in the right mind to do so." She was peacefully making a flower crown. "And besides you are the only one who knows of me being hear and is not scared of me."
"How do you know I'm not scared. I could be terrified for all you know."
"But your not. Because if you were any of those things then you'd be either shaking in fear or had run away by now." She had a point their.
"I could be hiding it."
"No you couldn't." She sounds so confident in herself. "Because I would of still seen it in your eyes."
"I guess your- your right miss Annabel." Bilbo felt like he couldn't deny her that.
"Good. Shall we be off then." Her voice held her natural calmness ounce more as she bent down to grab her bag.
"Yes, okay." He watched as she nodded and began walking to the bench in front of the foliage that hide her a moment ago. "Wait, wait." She turned to him after she had grabbed his basket supplies with bewilderment.
"Why wait? Is something horrible going to happen if we don't." She was in distress as she quickly walked back to the Hobbit.
"Well no bu-"
"Oh fantastic." The worry had left her and was now replaced with her calmness ounce and a faint smile on her face as she crouched down and grabbed all of the flowers she plucked and the beginning pieces of her flower crown and placed them in the basket that hung in the crook of her left arm beside her bag.
"Where are you going and with my basket?"
"To your home of course."
"When did I say you could come to my house?"
"You didn't say. You agreed."
"When did I agree."
"Just a moment ago."
"What?" Bilbo had become so lost it was laughable.
"You agreed with what I said a moment ago, yes."
"Yes."
"Which means you agreed to let come stay with you."
"No, I agreed with what you said about see someone's fear not come to my house."
"Which means you agreed to the conversation which also held me asking you to let me come and stay with you, Which means you agreed to letting me stay." This woman's logic made next to no sense to the point that Bilbo became to confused that he felt he could only agree to stop the confusion from growing.
"I guess your right."
"See." Annabel looked to him with kindness. "Shall we go."
"Yes of course."
As they exited the bushes Annabel stopped abruptly. "Oh I almost forget."
Bilbo turned to look at her as she turned around ounce more to the bushes. "Forgot what."
"My cat friend."
"Cat friend?"
"Yes." She looked around the opening of were she was sitting a moment ago in every direction. "Where are you, you conniving little fur ball." She said as she continued to look only to stop when she caught sight of something on one of the branches that stuck out of its trees leaves. "Ah, there you are my furry friend." She held her arms out as sign that she was going to catch.
Bilbo almost doubted that there was any cat at all. Until a fat lump of fur feel into her thin cloth covered arms. The fur was a deep blue that shun a rich purple with darker swirling vine like stripes that seemed to have no beginning or end to them. He caught sight of a thick matching fluffy tail that swished back and forth - in and out - of his view. But when Bilbo saw it's face he doubted it was a cat at all, it's face large and plump with big emerald green eyes with flexes of dandelion yellow in it. his slit black pupils were almost invisible. But what really got him was it's mouth, it was large and and shaped into a face splitting grin with sharp teeth. Bilbo felt a bit disturbed when it stared at him with it's never ending grin and wide eyes.
"There you are my clever little darling." Annabel said it with such love it confused Bilbo.
"Thats your cat?" Even after she said that he still doubted that it was a cat. Some demonic cat at best.
"Yes of course." Her and the 'cat' seemed almost offended by the statement. Well the cat might be offended, Bilbo couldn't tell since it still looked like it was smiling. "This is Cheshire, my cat."
"Oh."
"Meow."
"Are you sure it's a cat?"
"Hiss."
"No. I think he's a cat."
Bilbo was not going to argue an already losing battle if his last conversation with Annabel has anything to say about it. He didn't need a headache.
"Okay, he's a cat." The cat mad a faint purr of agreement. "Now let's go, shall we."
"We shall." And they were off walking out the bush and around the marketplace and down the path to Bilbos Baggins Hobbit Hole. But he could not help but say one thing before they fall to a probably silent walk.
"You have a very little sense of logic. I hope you know that miss Annabel."
"As do you mister Baggins."