One year later
Bilbo sat in his chair in front of the fireplace that blazed with embers and fire. He held a cup of tea in his hands as he stared at the fire that reminds him of the dragon he and the company faced.
Today was the one year anniversary of when the dwarves took back Erebor...yet it was also the day in which their friend, Emma Swan, vanished.
On that day when the orc army was obliterated by the Magic Practitioner, the gold sickness that Thorin was under was broken. Bilbo remembered the look on Thorin's face when he realized Emma was gone, it was the face of one who wanted so desperately to wake up from a nightmare. Bilbo mind went back to the moment where Thorin cried out Emma's name and fell to his knees in anguish and regret.
What happened after became a blur for Bilbo, but he did recall the three kings negotiating the sum of the Mountain's treasure. The Elf King was given back the white gems and Bard was given his share of the treasure to restore the City of Dale. So they left on, sort of, good terms. But Thorin held sadness within him because he related very closely with Emma because she wanted to go back to her home as much as him. To lose someone he was close to impacted him greatly.
In that one year, things began to change, Thorin decided to repair relations between the dwarves and elves in order to restore good-will between them. Every time Thorin looks at a piece of gold, bitterness fills him knowing that the Mountain's treasure one of the main reason why Emma disappeared. Bilbo, Gandalf, the company, the Lake-Towners, and that redhead elf from Mirkwood mourned her because she sacrificed her life for everyone.
In honor of her sacrifice: the elves, the dwarves and humans crafted a statue of Emma. Her statue stood in the center of Dale as a sign of where Emma last stood and as a mark of where elves, dwarves and humans joined to mourn. The three kings agreed to name that one day, "The Day of the Swan", as a way to remember her and mark her history.
As for Bilbo, he went back home with Gandalf traveling with him most of the way. The journey home was filled with endless talk between the two friends. Bilbo asked Gandalf if Emma was still alive, but Gandalf merely had a grim look on his face answering him that no one knows.
*Knock, Knock, Knock*
The sound of the door startled Bilbo out of his thoughts. He looked in the direction of where the front door is, getting a sense of deja vu.
*Knock, Knock, Knock*
The knock sounded again, making him spring to his feet and dash quietly to the door and flung it open, expecting them to be Gandalf or the Dwarves. But what greeted him was someone who he never seen before yet seemed familiar.
It was a young boy, no older than sixteen years of age, brown hair and hazel eyes that were similar to that of Emma's. His attire consisted of brown boots, lighter brown trousers, a brown tunic with a long sleeved shirt underneath and a dark cloak around his shoulders. Carrying a sack over his shoulder.
The boy then spoke, "Hello, my name is Henry Mills. I'm sorry to disturb your evening, but I'm hoping if you could help me." He spoke with a hint of an accent that sounded a little Irish.
Bilbo straightened himself and politely answered like a gracious host, "Um, how may I be of assistance?"
Henry sighed in relief, "I'm actually here looking for someone." He said as he dug underneath his shirt and pulled out a circular locket with a swan in the middle. Pulling the locket over his head he opened the locket and showed the picture to Bilbo. Bilbo's felt his heart jolt the moment he got a good look at the picture inside; the picture showed a blonde woman with her arms around the younger version of the boy who looked about 11. Both were smiling joyously in the picture.
Bilbo's heart hammered when he recognized the woman in the picture, "W-who is she exactly?" Bilbo stammered out looking back up to Henry.
Henry answered right away, "She's my birth Mother."
Bilbo's mind went back to the one conversation he had with Emma.
Bilbo walked around Bard's house, looking around for Thorin. Walking into the living, he saw Emma sitting by the window, looking out at the cold landscape with a forlorn expression, holding a swan pendant that hung from her neck.
Forgetting his task to look for Thorin, he made his way to where Emma is and stood opposite of her and stared out the window with her. After a moment, he looked back at Emma who continued to stare outside with a far away look.
Before he could stop himself, "Do you want to talk about it?" 'Smooth Bilbo, really smooth.' He berated himself for speaking without thinking.
Emma didn't say anything at first, Bilbo thought that she was ignoring him, before he could think about leaving, she spoke, "The dwarves are but a city away from their home while I am a world apart from my son." She said, trying to prevent herself from crying.
Bilbo thought he heard wrong, "S-son?" He asked stupidly.
Emma smiled fondly as she thought of her little boy, "His name is Henry, he was fourteen last I saw him." She smiled sadly now, "I finally realized that I missed another one of his birthdays." She said, struggling to keep her emotions in check.
Bilbo felt his heart break for this woman. Curiously, he asked, "What happened?"
Emma sniffed before answering, "I was separated from him...again. We were finally getting our happily ever after, yet I was forced away from him and thrown into that forest. We don't know where the other is now." Her voice cracked as she hiccupped.
She turned to face Bilbo who had unshed tears shining in his eyes, "I don't know how long I was in that dungeon before you came along, but I thank you. For that, you have my debt of gratitude." She finished as she looked at the hobbit. "That kind of courage is very rare, especially in the most unlikely people."
Bilbo didn't know how to respond to Emma's praise, looking down at his feet before looking back up, he replied, "Well, it was nothing, if I didn't let you out, I probably would've regretted it for the rest of my existence." Emma smiled at his humbleness.
Wanting to give her hope he added, "Something tells me that you will find you way back to your son. Seeing how you demonstrate the same type of stubbornness the dwarves often show, you will definitely succeed." He smiled before realizing that might have insulted her, "N-n-not that you're like a dwarf, far from it, you're too beautiful to be one...I-I-I mean..." Bilbo stumbled over his words to right himself, but ended up looking down and turning red in the process.
Emma's chuckle broke him out of his thoughts, making him look up at her to see her smiling at him, to which he returned despite his embarrassment.
That was the first real conversation where they bonded with each other and established their friendship.
Back in the present, Bilbo blinked as he looked at Henry much more clearly and saw certain attributes that resemble his dear friend.
"Y-y-you're Emma's son?" He asked in a low whisper.
Henry's eyes brightened, "You know her?" He asked with hope in his eyes.
Bilbo poked his head out and looked from side to side to see if there's anyone out and about this night before staring directly at Henry and stepped aside, "Come inside, we have much to discuss." He gestured for Henry to enter to which he did. Stepping into the hobbit hole, Bilbo closed the door behind him.
Henry looked around, "Nice place you got here." He commented.
Bilbo smiled at the boy, "Thank you. Forgive me, I didn't introduce myself. My name is Bilbo Baggins."
Henry smiled in kind, "Pleased to meet you. Where can we talk?"
More to come. Review if this fills you with excitement.
