Bilbo Baggins
The day had dawned like so many others in deep winter in the Shire. Thick over cast with snow on the ground and some filtering down on and off. It was to this that a certain hobbit woke to. He was the one from the stories that Gandalf had, unknown to him, told a young elven princess during their time together. For this hobbit was none other than Bilbo Baggins. He physically looked the same even though it had been shy of fifteen years since he had returned from his journey with Gandalf and the company of dwarves. He had tried to go back to his normal routine but he found it near impossible so he had taken to trying to record his adventures and looking over maps, reminiscing over the adventure he had nearly passed up.
'I really do miss them, and I hope they are happy now that they have reclaimed their home…even though their number was fewer when they had done so.' Bilbo thought due to how during the battle after the fall of the dragon, Smaug, there had been a battle that had left a lasting impression on the aging hobbit. During that battle three deaths stuck out to him. Thorin, Fili, and Kili. The last three of the direct line of the former king under the mountain. 'May they be resting in peace…' Bilbo thought as he was enjoying a simple breakfast of toast, some eggs and a few fruits that grew in the dead of winter. 'I do not think I will ever adjust to how peaceful it is here compared to the outside world.' Bilbo thought as to him the Shire was frozen in time, sure things did change but the hobbits living there remained unaware and not caring of the troubles plaguing the outside world.
'Maybe I no longer truly belong here.' Bilbo thought as he picked up his tea cup as the memory of the night the dwarves had shown up played through his mind, something that he found he could not help but smile sadly at. All of them had been unique and nothing like what Bilbo had ever encountered. Each eager to take part in the quest to reclaim their home along with the one who they followed. 'Would I have been better staying with them rather than returning home?' Bilbo wondered to himself as he could not help but think like that due to how all of the other hobbits said he was no longer natural.
Shoving such thoughts from his mind, Bilbo set to cleaning up the small mess from his breakfast as he felt a desire to go out despite the cold, something he felt would be no problem for him. So he grabbed his coat after he had finished the dishes and stepped out the circle door that led into Bag End. Without looking back at the door as he closed it, he walked down the short walk to the gate and stepped out onto the path and headed down from Bag End through the fresh snow. As he walked he saw how some young hobbits were outside playing in the snow, something that seemed to be like an activity that was far beyond Bilbo to fully understand anymore.
He continued walking as he headed down toward the river even though he knew that with how cold it was that chances were that it would be all but frozen over at the moment. Though as he approached he saw something out of place, and at first was not sure what he was seeing due to the fog and the snow in the air. However, he soon saw that it was a person in the water! Bilbo took off at a run as the body washed up against the stones. When Bilbo got to the water's edge he knelt down beside the figure as he went to reach out to them only to notice that there was blood flowing steadily from a wound to the back of their head due to the way it was staining the rocks.
"You alright?" Bilbo asked praying that the person would respond, but they did not as he noticed pointed ears sticking out of the long silver blonde hair. 'She is an elf?!' Bilbo thought in shock before he scrambled to get her up and even though he struggled and her soaked clothes caused him to start feeling cold from contact as he half carried half dragged her up the hill to Bag End. It took a while as he ignored the odd looks he was given as he soon got to his home and carried her into the living room and placed her on the couch and bundled her up before he turned his attention to getting a fire going. Once he did he rushed from the room to grab spare blankets and towels as he laid several thick blankets down before the hearth. He then scrambled to move the female elf over onto the blankets and then rushed to bundle her up again as he then started drying her hair and laying it to the side on the pillow he had placed her head on once he had gotten some of the blood out of her hair.
He was sure she would be fine for a second he left the room to find some bandages as he proceeded to wrap them around her head while he was knelt beside her as he placed a second pillow under her head to help insure she would be propped up slightly before he turned his attention to another wound. One that seemed to be close to her heart but not close enough to be fatal. Bilbo carefully tended to the wound as best he could as even when cleaning the wound as best he could the young elf did not even stir.
For the remainder of the day, Bilbo remained in the living room keeping watch over the young elf as he could not help but stare at her. She looked vaguely familiar, like the elven prince or king he had met during his travels. 'Could she be a relative?' Bilbo thought to himself as evening came and went. He did not retire to his room, as he wanted to be there when the young elf woke to find out what had happened to her, since from her injuries she had been in a fight or someone had just attached her. While he sat in his arm chair around three in the morning he stared into the flames of the fire he had been tending to all night to insure the young elf remained warm.
While Bilbo sat in his chair wondering who the girl was he heard faint sound from where he had placed her before the fire. His eyes fell on the bright shining green that were staring at him in pure confusion. Without a second though Bilbo stood from his chair and walked over to be beside the young elf as he even knelt down beside her, noticing how her eyes seemed to shine like a star in the heavens. "I am glad you are awake, I thought you were not going to make it for a while there." He admitted due to the lack of warmth in the young elf for several hours.
For several moments the young elven girl just stared at Bilbo, her shining green eyes full of curiosity that hinted what Bilbo had feared, but it was more confirmed when she finally spoke, her soft voice like the sound of a soft bell in Bilbo's ears. "Who are you? Where am I? Who am I?" she asked in a small voice as Bilbo gave her a sad look all due to how he did not know what the poor child's name was. Even with the silence retaking the room, Bilbo was searching within himself for an answer that he might be able to give the young elf that was still staring at him with her bright green eyes. As the seconds became minutes, Bilbo debated on what to tell the child before he decided to do his best to explain how he had found her and that she should not move around too much.
"My name is Bilbo Baggins." He said smiling at her as she continued to stare at him. "I am sorry that I do not know your name, I just found you down by the riverbed while I was out for a walk in the snow and brought you back here last night. I did all I could to bandage up a wound close to your heart and to your head." He said as the young elf raised her hand with an odd grace to lightly touch her forehead.
"River…bed…" the young elf said in a low whisper as the look on her face and in her eyes hinted that she was doing all she could to try and remember, but it did not seem to work as her arm fell from her head back to her side as she looked to the ceiling. "I…I don't remember anything." She said in a sad tone as something deep down was telling her she had forgotten something very important.
"That is alright. There is no rush." Bilbo said as in a way he felt there was since elves were not exactly that common in the Shire, so surely there was another who this young elf had been with. "I will check later in the morning if I can find anyone who might know who you are. For now, you should get some more sleep." Bilbo said as the young elf nodded before slowly closing her eyes.
/
Later on that morning, Bilbo had fixed a simple breakfast for him and the young elf before he had stepped out being sure to lock the door behind himself advising the young elf to remain laying down, so she had done so without any protest. Something that made Bilbo even more curious about her as he walked down the path from his home heading toward where there was usually a market for buying fresh vegetables, fruit or anything else a hobbit could need. 'That is surely the best place to start asking around.' He thought to himself as he approached only to see that near no one was even there, that is until he caught sight of two who stood out due to their height and one due to her pointed ears sticking out from her flaming red hair. Without hesitation, Bilbo walked over to them as both seemed weary. "Are you looking for someone?" Bilbo asked as the full grown elf female nodded.
"Yes, my daughter." She said as Bilbo glanced around as though making sure there was no other in hearing range since Bilbo got the feeling it was best they not be overheard.
"Is she only a child with silver blonde hair and green eyes?" Bilbo asked as both the male with dark hair and the elf with red hair stared at him in shock. "I take that as a yes." Bilbo said as he half turned. "I can take you to her, though you should know she was injured when I found her yesterday and does not seem to remember who she is." He said as the elf looked relieved yet worried at the same time as she and her companion followed Bilbo up to his home where he let them in and pointed them to the room he had left the young elf in as he shut and locked the door once he made sure once again that they had not been followed.
"Tinu!" he heard the voice of the female elf say in relief as he walked toward the room only to see the female hugging the one who was apparently named Tinu who seemed dazed and confused. "You had us so worried." She continued as she leaned back to look at Tinu.
"Who are you? Am I Tinu?" the young elf asked as the older elf looked upset as she nodded. Though a second later Tinu continued. "Why do I not remember anything?" she asked as the older elf shook her head.
"I am your mother, Tauriel." She said as Bilbo's eyes widened while he was still by the door next to the male who barely seemed to fit in the room that had a low ceiling by human standards. "I do not know why you do not remember, just that Strider and myself got back to our home only to find you gone." She said as Tinu continued to look at her mother in confusion.
The rest of the conversation continued along those grounds, with Tinu asking various questions and even admitting that she thought that Strider was her father which seemed to cause shock in both Strider and Tauriel before they stepped out of the room to speak to Bilbo. Though as they sat around the table at the kitchen, Bilbo was the one to break the silence.
"What happened? It is not exactly common that an elf and human with a young elf would venture into the Shire." Bilbo said figuring it was best to be a bit direct with them since he got the feeling there was something going on below the surface with how they had acted while talking with Tinu before she had fallen back asleep and they had all three figured it was best that they let her rest.
Tauriel was staring into the mug of tea that she had before her as she thought of how to answer, more so since she vaguely remembered Bilbo from the battle that had taken place sometime before. "We brought her here because of how her own grandfather wishes to either imprison her or put an end to her life for the crime of being born the child of me and his son. A union he never approved of because of how Tinu's father is the only son of the King of Mirkwood, Thranduil." Tauriel said as she then told Bilbo the story of Tinu, how when she had been born she had been imprisoned until the age of five and then been on the run ever since. How they had lived in Rivendell until the eve of Tinu's sixth birthday when Tauriel and Legolas had been wed only for their small family to be torn apart as Gandalf and Strider had brought both to the Shire figuring that Tinu and Tauriel would be safe there.
"Is there any way I can help?" Bilbo asked after hearing the story of the young elf in the other room. She had already been through so much but from what her mother had told him, Tinu was only twelve years old.
"There is one way." Strider said speaking up for the first time since they had met. "In truth, Tinu once was told stories of your adventures that took you away from this place in the company of dwarves." He said as Bilbo was shocked for a second but not at the same time since Tauriel had said that they had been with Gandalf before he departed again. "Even if she does not remember her wish before, you can still grant it for her. She wanted nothing more than to meet you, to hear stories of your adventures from you, to have a friend." Strider said as Bilbo nodded without hesitation figuring that was the least he could do for the young elf.
/
The winter passed slow, soon giving way to spring, and with it new life was breathed into the land. Trees and other plants began to regain their life as Tinu's birthday came and went, meaning the young elf was now thirteen years in age. She was becoming more and more lively with each and every day. And with how it seemed that none of her grandfather's men lingered in or near the Shire since she was now believed to be dead, she was allowed to live a normal life. Something that consisted of everyday she would go to Hobbiton to visit Bilbo and hear more of his stories. She found that she could sit for hours before his fireplace with him weaving so many different tales from his adventures, even if he did repeat some of them.
Even when she was not listening to Bilbo's stories, the hobbits in the area had grown accustomed to her, so she would often play various games in the fields with the young hobbits until their parents would call for them to return home. However, Tinu knew that she was one that would never fully fit in, more so since she now easily towered over all of her friends that were hobbits. As such some of the older ones did not want anything to do with her anymore as time passed. Something she asked Bilbo about during midsummer after her thirteenth birthday since even though it had only been a few months some of the hobbits had decided to shy away from her.
As she sat before on the front yard before Bag End, she stared up at the twinkling stars shinning down while Bilbo sat beside her, his pipe in his hand as had just exhaled a deep intake of the tobacco. "Bilbo…?" Tinu spoke in a soft voice as she drew her knees up to her chest as she glanced toward him slightly to see he was listening. "Why am I so different? I know I am half elf half human, but I mean…" she trailed off leaning forward to rest her pale forehead against her knees. "I have this feeling that there is something different about me." She said as she knew this may be something better for her to talk to her mom or dad about, but she found she was unsure of if she should.
"What do you mean?" Bilbo asked looking at the young elf beside him since at times when the child asked questions they seemed to be near random. So this was something he was used to after being a friend to her for the past six months.
"I…I am not sure myself." Tinu said as she leaned up so she was able to look up at the stars. "I have started having odd dreams, of a voice in the dance calling to me, even singing a strange song to me that I feel I know but I have never heard it before." Tinu said as she unwrapped her arms from around her legs only to fall back so that she was staring up at the stars above. "That and how I know elves are not common in the Shire, yet my mother and me live here with my father." She said showing that she still had not regained her true memories of before the accident during the winter. "Then there is how I feel a deep sadness inside of me that I do not understand." Tinu said as her shining green eyes stared up at the twinkling stars.
Bilbo sat beside the young elf in silence for a few moments as he thought over what she had said, but no answers would come to him as he felt bad that he had promised Tauriel and Strider that he would not tell Tinu the truth of her past. However, when he felt her eyes shift to him he lifted his pipe and drew a deep breath from it before exhaling sending a puff of smoke up toward the night sky. "I am not sure what it is that would cause you to dream such things or to feel a strange sadness. But I will say this." He trailed off for a brief moment as he looked toward Tinu while he smiled at her. "I have always had the feeling when I am around you ever since we met that there was something special about you that will be revealed in time." He said with a smile at Tinu.
In the days to come, Tinu continued as she was but at times she seemed to retreat within her own thoughts on the things going on around her as one day when Strider came to retrieve her to take her home, he spoke with Bilbo while he watched from the yard before Bilbo's home that Tinu was playing with some of the younger hobbits not far away. "She still does not remember?" Strider asked with a weary tone all due to how Tinu had seemed to revert to her quiet self that she had been in the time between their arrival in the Shire to when she was attacked.
"No, she still seems to be the same." Bilbo said as he glanced up at Strider who had a distant yet relieved look on his face. All due to how he did not know the horrors that child had endured but at least in her amnesia she could know happiness even if only for a short while. Something that Strider voiced to the hobbit who had become Tinu's closest friend.
"It may be for the best if she never remembers, but instead remains as she is now."
A/N: I am so sorry for the delay with the update, especially after the cliffhanger in the last chapter. Things are moving quickly toward the end, but not too fast since there is still a little way to go before things get to the point where I can consider winding them down. I want to thank 2000Aerobars, and Aquafin for their reviews of the last chapter. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter and I will hopefully update again soon! Though I was wondering if anyone would want me to do a holiday spin off story of this fanfic for the upcoming holidays. If anyone does let me know since I am kicking around the idea at the moment to do holiday specials for at least one or two of my active stories.