As ever, I do not own the Hobbit and am making no profit from this endeavor. That said, I really want to thank Narsil for his advice and feedback. I really love it when you guys let me know what you think, and what you want to see. I hope all of you are enjoying young Aster. I'll get back to older Aster eventually, I promise. Oh, according to the timeline I found, at this point Fortinbras would be about 27 and Adalgrim about 25. Bilbo comes in at about 15. Just so you know.
Aster grinned brightly and gave a loud 'whoop' as her sled plunged down the slope. Technically, at thirty-three, she was considered an adult and should have given up such childish games...but she wasn't about to let sensibilities keep her from having fun on such a beautiful day as this.
Winter had come early, with a three day snow storm, and not even the freezing temperatures were enough to keep the younger inhabitants of the Shire from enjoying the thick snow.
She stuck her tongue out at her cousin Fortinbras as he sped past her, Adalgrim on the sled behind him. She laughed as they plowed into a bush that had almost been covered with snow and upset their sled, legs and arms flying everywhere.
She was so distracted by the sight that she missed the bush just ahead of her, and her cousins got their own chance to laugh. She retaliated with a handy snowball, and their sledding expedition soon deteriorated into a snow war free for all.
As they finally slowed down, exhausted, she cast a glance at the sky. It was starting to get a little dark, and she knew she needed to get her cousins home or she'd be the one getting the scolding. Sometimes she hated being the oldest, especially since she technically looked younger...but that was a worry for another time.
"Hey! Come on you two! If we don't get home soon it'll be no dessert for a week again, and no snow days, either!"
Fortimbras reluctantly let Adalgrim up from their snow fight, and came towards her, grinning. Adalgrim finished his rather amusing dance to get the snow out of his collar, and followed him. As they tramped their way back to the Took smials, they rough housed and laughed with each other.
Aster did her best to hurry them along, but they were still more than half an hour late. After being hauled in and forced out of their wet clothes, they curled up by the large fire place and enjoyed a hot cider. Granny Chubb made the best ever!
Aster snuggled down in between the boys, content in the simple warmth. She noticed some frowns on her older relatives faces as they gathered in the chairs. She caught her mother's eye, who simply shook her head. No information forthcoming, then.
She wondered what all of the adults had been discussing today. It wasn't often that they all gathered here, especially without the excuse of a birth, death, or wedding. As much fun as it was to spend time with her cousins, she was still curious.
Perhaps they'd make finding a way to eavesdrop their next game. She almost snorted to herself. Preventing such a thing had probably been the reason the scoldings they'd gotten for coming in so late had been so mild, without any loss of privileges.
She turned back to listening to a rather hilarious story Fortinbras was telling involving mud, a pig, and Farmer Maggot but she kept a bit of attention for observing the adults out of the corner of her eye.
/
She was certain the next day, when they only received five meals, that the adults were more concerned than they were telling. She listened to the other children whine, but prevented herself from joining in.
Wild she may be, and reckless, but she had always had a sense for when things were serious. In the following weeks she continued to play outside with her cousins, but now she took the bow her father had gifted her with eight years ago.
Fortinbras and Adalgrim had made fun of her at first, but at her grim silence and their parents worried expressions, they had quickly changed their minds and started begging for lessons instead. The sledding and snowballs fights had almost petered out after a while, making way for mock fights and archery practice.
Their parents had shared uncomfortable looks when the boys begged for bows of their own, but had reluctantly allowed it. This overjoyed the boys, but just worried Aster further. She was thus unsurprised when the meals were cut back further, to three a day.
As many of the other children complained, she shared looks with Fortinbras and Adalgrim. They understood the seriousness behind the action too. As she listened to their stomachs grumble, she knew they should be grateful.
Thanks to their elders early actions, they still had the food for three meals. Many families were down to two or even just one a day. She hoped the rest of her family would be all right.
Most of the Tooks lived in the Great Smials, or like her own family were close enough to simply move in as necessary. However, there were a few that had moved away with their spouses, such as her cousin Belladonna. She had a young one, too. Bilbo would be what? Fifteen now? Just a kid, anyway. She really hoped they were doing all right.
As yet another month went by, another worry joined the rest. She had heard whispers that the river was close to freezing solid. It had never done so before in all of the years they'd kept records. A week later, it was confirmed. The barrier that had protected the Shire for so long was gone.
Aster felt her heart freeze for a moment when they heard the Horn of Buckland sound its deep call. She jolted into action a moment later, calling for Fortinbras and Adalgrim to help her herd the fauntlings they were watching back to their homes.
Several of them lived several hills over, and for those she deemed too far she shouted instructions to stay with them until they got to the Great Smials. The adults could decide whether to send them home, but she wasn't going to take any chances.
She was grateful for that decision when reports came in of giant white wolves crossing the river. If one of them had been harmed because of her...she didn't even want to think about what she'd be feeling.
Her parent's had given her proud looks, and her great uncle had officially commended her, but as good as those things made her feel she found herself unable to shake her fear. Things just kept getting worse and worse!
She was trying to be strong for her younger cousins. They had always looked up to her, and they did so again now. She couldn't show them how scared she was, and she couldn't talk about it with her parents. Whenever she had tried, they'd gotten fixed smiles on their faces and told her it would be all right. It was 'just a bit of an adventure.'
She pulled herself into a tighter ball. It was late, and all of the younger set were all ready asleep. She had slipped away, though, to finally find a quiet corner and cry. It had been coming for a while, and she wasn't sure how long she had huddled there, sobbing as quietly as she could.
She felt a gentle hand on her head. How had she not heard anyone coming? Hobbits were quiet, true, but she had very sharp ears...usually. Giving up that line of thought as unproductive, she reluctantly decided she should acknowledge the intruder. However, she found she just couldn't care.
She was exhausted. She had held in the worry and the fear for so long, and now that it was all coming out she just didn't have the energy for anything else.
"Oh, child."
She felt strong arms surround her as she was pulled onto her grand-uncle's lap. She found the tears falling once again, and simply buried her head in his neck and wept. He held her there for hours, simply rocking a bit with an occasional comforting hum.
She must have fallen asleep, for when she woke up she found herself back in her bed. She was hesitant to come to breakfast after embarrassing herself that way, but with food as scarce as it was no meal was to be missed. It would have caused her cousins to talk, anyway.
She ducked her head as her uncle sent a soft smile her way, but otherwise kept his silence. She was grateful. They were all distracted when her cousin Isumbras entered, a grim look on his face. She was herded out of the room with the rest of the youngsters.
She could have protested that she was an adult. She was pretty sure that most forgot her age since she didn't look older than a teen. A hobbit teen. She allowed herself to be shooed, though.
She was still feeling a little raw from the night before, and wasn't sure how much more bad news she could take right now. When she saw the grim faces the adults sported afterward, and the reddened eyes of many of them, she felt her remaining curiosity falter.
She definitely didn't want to know.
It seemed she had no choice, however. Great-uncle Gerontious looked over each young face in front of him, then spoke in the most serious tones she'd ever heard from him.
"I want all of you to listen very carefully, all right? You need to know that all of us love you, and will protect you. However, you have to help us so that we can. From now on, there will be no more playing outside except for small periods of supervised play in the yard. You are not to travel anywhere past the front gate for any reason. You are not to open the door without an adult's permission."
At the sulking expressions on some of the fauntlings faces, he became very stern and solemn.
"We aren't telling you this to be mean, or to keep you from your happy play. We are telling you this because Misty Bunce and Holman Bolger didn't make it home last night. They were taken by the wolves."
At that most of the fauntlings started to cry, while the rest had shocked faces. Aster felt her heart sink into the ground. She had known the two, even if not well. Their mothers didn't want them to associate with 'those wild Tooks' so she hadn't played with them often, but they were almost her age. Certainly if they hadn't been able to fight or flee, no small fauntling would have a chance.
She promised with the others to obey the new rules, but her mind was miles away, caught with a new thought. If the wolves were targeting hobbits, which was now a certainty instead of just a possibility, her parents would be right in the middle.
They were both Bounders, and well thought of ones at that. As one of her younger cousins crawled into her lap looking for comfort, she forced herself to push her worries away. What would happen would happen and there was nothing she could do about it.
If this lasted much longer though she was going to join the Bounders herself, no matter what her parent's wishes were. She had the years of an adult, if not the body, and her archery was as good as any in the Shire. She could focus on doing something useful, instead of drowning in worry while distracting the fauntlings.
/
There were happy greetings the next day. It seemed that Belladonna had had enough, and after the reports of missing hobbits had come in her husband had finally given in. They had packed up their son and all of their remaining food and headed for her family smials.
Everyone was grateful that they had made it safely. It was shortly after they arrived that the entire smial was shocked as growling and scratching came at the great round door. It seemed a pack of wolves had found their scent and followed them.
Aster found herself being herded into the back rooms with the youngsters, and finally put her foot down. She ducked away into her room with her mother's voice ringing in her ears. As she came out with her bow and daggers, her mother faced her with a white, unyielding face.
"You can just forget it young lady! You head back into the safe room with the other tweens, right this minute!"
She scowled, her eyes stormy. They were starting to attract looks.
"No. I will not sit back while others fight and put their lives at risk anymore! I'm not a tween anymore mother! You can't tell me what to do!"
As they stood, stiff-backed, the sounds of twanging bowstrings and yelping wolves faded and died. As the threat was driven off, hobbits started to return, stumbling over the awkward scene as they came.
As more and more gathered, Aster held her head high in spite of all the scrutiny. She knew instinctively that if she gave in now, that she would be relegated to the ranks of tweens for the rest of this never-ending winter.
She couldn't handle that. She refused to back down. She refused. As her mother started to furiously say something else, she was cut off.
"She's right, my dear. You can't legally stop her."
Her mother whirled, retort dying as she saw who was behind her. Aster looked at her great-uncle warily. He had spoken for her, but he didn't seem to be finished. He let his weary eyes meet hers.
"That is not to say that I think that she should be throwing herself into danger. But it's getting worse out there, and I'm afraid we'll need every bow before this cursed winter is through."
With that, he sighed and turned to shuffle away, looking older than she had ever seen him. She let herself worry for a moment, then met her mother's eyes briefly before turning to her cousin Hildigrim.
He was the one currently in charge of the Bounders, and it was time she joined. He looked between her determined face and her mother's white and strained one, and winced.