A/N: This is the first chap of my LOTR trilogy, following the lives of Sathien Edennil and her fellow hobbit Remla Bracegirdle as they end up accompanying the Fellowship and how it changes them forever.

1

"Mae govannen."

Remla Bracegirdle looked up as her front door opened and a familiar figure stepped in.

"Sathien!" Remla shouted happily, abandoning her studies and running over to greet her Elf friend.

"It's Bilbo's party. Of course I was going to come to it this year, and to see you, of course." Sathien Edennil smiled.

She was dressed in a light colored, flowing Elvish dress which was hidden under a green Elvish cloak. Her hood was pulled over her long curly black hair. Remla thought Elves always seemed to dress gracefully.

As much as she tried to not look like an Elf amongst hobbits, Sathien towered over Remla and had to bend as she entered Remla's small hobbit home.

"I'm happy to see you," Remla commented. "And no, I didn't forget Bilbo's birthday this time. Isn't he one hundred and eleven already? He is really old for a hobbit."

"Yes, and we best get down there or we will be late." Sathien smiled at her small little hobbit friend. Sathien found her way out of the house and waited for Remla to lock up before they headed down to the party below.

Sathien hardly visited Hobbiton as she lived all the way in Rivendell, but made sure to visit Remla as much as she could. The two of them were close friends, a hobbit and an Elf, which many thought was peculiar, but they had become friends after Bilbo's last birthday when Sathien visited with Gandalf.

"How are you and Feredir?" Remla asked as the two of them hurried down the stone path to the party.

"We are not together anymore," Sathien replied sadly. "I do not wish to speak of it."

"Okay." Remla said quietly, being as polite as she could.

Then they reached the party tree and the place was loud and full of dancing, laughing hobbits. There was plenty of food and tankards of ale, Remla stared at the sight. Sathien felt awkward as she towered over the hobbits and many moved out of the way to let her pass, some staring in amazement at the sight of an Elf.

And one of those was a hobbit, Samwise Gamgee.

"Look, Mr Frodo, an Elf!" Sam looked over at the red haired Elf not far from where he and Frodo Baggins were sitting.

"Go and talk to her." Frodo encouraged him.

"No, I think I'll have another ale." Sam decided sheepishly, drinking some more ale. Frodo smiled and noticed a blonde haired hobbit dressed in breeches, which was unusual for a female hobbit as breeches were thought to be male clothes, talking with the Elf. They looked like good friends, and Frodo was surprised that a hobbit and an Elf could have become such close friends.

"Welcome milady Elf!" a drunken hobbit called loudly.

Sathien and Remla found a seat and quickly sat down. Sathien got some ale and the two friends slowly drank the ale and watched the party going on around them. Then all of a sudden a firework exploded from a tent. The sound jerked Remla from her thoughts and she stared up at the sparking orange firework shooting into the sky. It sparked and flared then formed into a large flaming dragon that flew above them, then turned and started to fly down at the hobbits.

"It's attacking us!" Remla shouted as the other hobbits started shouting and running away from the dragon as it flew closer.

"It's a fireworks dragon! It's not real!" Sathien shouted, but her voice was drowned out amongst the panicked cries of all the hobbits. The dragon swooped low and Remla jumped to the ground in fear as the dragon flew overhead and over the lake. It fizzled into a small spark and Remla watched in awe as it exploded into a huge shower of fireworks that lit up the whole lake and cast the partying hobbits faces in a bright orange glow.

"Wow!" Remla smiled, clapping along with all of the others. The party was perfect.

A few hours after the long partying, Sathien took her seat next to Remla who had been sitting and sipping ale, being careful not to get drunk.

"Enjoying the party?" Sathien asked her hobbit friend.

"Yes." Remla replied, even though she was finding it boring.

"I heard Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took caused that fireworks dragon. How folly they are."

"Yes." Remla agreed, though not fully.

"Even though you were fond of Peregrin," Sathien smiled. "Shows how the two of them are always getting into trouble."

"They are." Remla smiled.

The other hobbits started cheering.

"Speech! Speech!"

Remla looked up to see Bilbo smiling as he stood under the party tree. The party had quieted down and now everyone waited for Bilbo's speech to begin.

"My dear Bagginses and Boffins!" Bilbo began. Hobbits cheered at the sound of their names.

"Tooks and Brandybucks."

More cheers.

"Grubbs!"

And more cheers again.

"Chubbs!"

"Hornblowers!"

"Bolgers, Bracegirdles!"

Remla raised her tankard and cheered along with her relatives, as she was a Bracegirdle and proud of it. Sathien smiled at her friend and sipped her ale in acknowledgement.

"And Proudfoots."

"Proudfeet!" an elderly hobbit snapped from the crowd.

Bilbo waved his hand dismissively and they all laughed.

"Today is my one hundred and eleventh birthday!"

"Happy birthday!" the hobbits shouted, raising their tankards. Sathien and Remla clanged their tankards together and finished off their ale.

"Alas, eleventy one years is far too short a time to live among such excellent and admirable hobbits."

The hobbits cheered at Bilbo's compliments. Remla smiled shyly.

"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

The crowd went silent. Remla exchanged a puzzled look with Sathien and Sathien smiled to herself as she understood what Bilbo had meant.

"I have things to do." Bilbo whispered to himself. Remla strained to hear what he was saying and glanced at Sathien, knowing that Elves had keen hearing.

"I regret to announce that this is the End," Bilbo spoke loudly. "I am going now. I bid you all a very fond farewell. Goodbye."

Bilbo disappeared.

After the shock of Bilbo's mysterious vanishing act had worn off, Remla and Sathien stood outside the borders of the Shire. Remla had dismissed it as being some trick that Bilbo had done, but Sathien was worried as to how Bilbo had done it.

The sky had darkened and a sad feeling had filled Remla, as she looked upon her friend standing next to her black horse, Nautho, her belongings attached to the saddle.

"I will see you in five months. My Lord Elrond has given permission for me to visit in that time."

"Okay." Remla nodded, bidding farewell to Sathien as she gracefully got onto Nautho.

"Goodbye." Sathien smiled, looking down at her horse. "Norolim Nautho"

Remla returned the smile and watched her Elf friend ride away to hopefully return in five months. Until then, Remla would be waiting.