A/N: Thank you again for the lovely reviews on the previous chapter, and welcome aboard to those who followed or favorited since last time! :)

A Promise Kept

Chapter 10

A Warm Welcome

"Ah, nae, Mithrandir!" The official spoke in Sindarin now, presumably on Tauriel's behalf. "Lord Elrond left last week with Lady Arwen on a visit to Lórien. We do not expect them back until this moon has passed."

Gandalf's face fell.

"May I humbly suggest you join them there?"

"Not possible. I have business in Bree-land in a fortnight and a half. We cannot delay that long."

Lindir bowed low. "My sincere apologies, Mithrandir. But you are, as ever, welcome here in Imladris for as long as you choose to remain."

"This is a most unfortunate accident of timing," Gandalf grumbled later as they feasted on the choicest fruits of Imladris in an airy courtyard, serenaded by Noldorin instrumentalists. "Worse than when that harebrained fool of a Took nearly threw himself down the well in the Chamber of Mazarbul at the very moment—"

"I'm sorry, who?"

Gandalf started, and then his eyes glazed as he squinted into the distance, frowning. It was a disconcerting look that Tauriel had noted before and which always preceded some equally disconcerting statement. "Actually, I don't know why I said that. I rather think that's not happened yet."

What in Arda did that mean? Disconcerting! She decided to change the subject. "Did you think Lord Elrond and the Lady of Lórien would be able to tell us how I healed—or did whatever it was I did—to save the King under the Mountain?"

"In a word, yes. Among other things."

Tauriel wasn't sure whether to be disappointed or relieved. As much as she wanted to understand what power did or didn't lie within her, she'd heard that the High Elves of this White Council had a power that was limitless, and she feared they would look within her and see the babe, whether or not the wizard could. The Lady of Lórien, in particular, was said to read minds.

Gandalf sighed deeply. "We will simply have to come back at a later date."

She didn't know how that would be possible once she had a youngling to care for and protect from prying eyes, so she kept her silence.

Though a city of men, Bree was very different from Dale. Its half-timbered houses and cobblestone streets were quainter and more unassuming than the stately domes and turrets of its sister city in the East. But it was no less busy and served as the crossroads for every race in Middle-earth, including halflings from the Shire, dwarves from the Blue Mountains, and the occasional elf from Lindon.

In the tavern of the Prancing Pony Inn, Tauriel took the opportunity to observe how these diverse folk interacted and was pleasantly surprised at how well they seemed to rub along together. King Thranduil had always cautioned against close association with other races, claiming that it was a recipe for misunderstanding, conflict, and betrayal. But from what she saw of the easy camaraderie between the man and hobbit tending bar together, the dwarf lads advising a cluster of human boys on good hunting father north, the Noldorin Elf playing chess with another halfling by the fire, and the human bar maid flirting with one and all, she tended to think the Elvenking had been too long in his own company and allowed his paranoia to get the best of him.

She paid particular attention to the halflings—no, hobbits, she corrected herself, for Gandalf said they much preferred the latter term—since these were the people with whom she would be living. The bartender and another serving tables were jolly sorts, grinning more often than not, while the one playing chess was older and more subdued, but they all seemed to have an affable disposition and were less raucous than the men or dwarves. Their furry bare feet were a sight to behold, too! She tried to get her fill of staring at them now so she wouldn't be tempted to stare later when she met her new neighbors.

"Say there, how is the road to Hobbiton?" Gandalf asked the server as the young hobbit refilled his mug. He stood not even four feet, a sandy-haired fellow with wide-set, twinkling eyes.

"Not as muddy as it was this time last month with the spring rains and all," the hobbit said cheerfully. "Is that where you're headed, then?"

"It is," the wizard confirmed, though his eyes were on Tauriel, and he raised his brows at her to indicate that he'd stopped the hobbit as much for her benefit as his own.

"Oh, goodness! It's not every day that the Shire sees a wizard or an elf, not to mention both at once! You'll be the talk of the town!"

"Oh, dear. I hope we don't cause a stir," Tauriel said with some alarm.

"I'm sure you will," the hobbit replied, no less cheerful for being so blunt. "But that's because we hobbits love to have guests!"

Gandalf smiled softly in Tauriel's direction, and she felt herself relax.

"As long as they're not disreputable, of course." And with that, the young hobbit moved on to other patrons.

"What do they consider disreputable?" Tauriel asked the wizard, concerned.

He took his pipe from between his teeth so he could gesture with it. "Oh, loud people, late people, people who show up uninvited without food in the middle of the night."

"But . . . we're about to show up uninvited without food."

Gandalf blinked at her. "Not in the middle of the night. Actually, I believe we should be there on the morrow in time for afternoon tea." He puffed a bit more on his pipe, then said with a wistful smile, "It seems our time together is drawing to a close. So, Tauriel of the Woodland Realm, are you happy to have made this journey to the West?"

"I am," she acknowledged. "Though I may not have begun it under the happiest of personal circumstances, I am much the richer for what I've experienced along the way."

"And what do you think of this world now that you have seen some of it?"

She thought carefully before she answered. "It is a strange place. But very beautiful, not only in spite of its strangeness but because of it."

One corner of Gandalf's mouth twisted up in a knowing way. "Not what you expected, is it?"

"I don't know what I expected. In King Thranduil's Halls, the world beyond the Woodland was always spoken of as a place of constant dread and peril. And after encountering orcs and a dragon on my first trip outside our borders, I might have thought that the truth if I'd not met the dwarves of Thorin's company and heard their tales about Bilbo's feast and Beorn's bees and flying on the backs of the Great Eagles."

"You got to know the Company quite well then, hm?" Gandalf asked benignly.

But the former captain sensed something more deliberate in his intent and was guarded in her reply. "Some of them, yes. But now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to retire early and refresh myself for the last leg of our journey. The innkeeper's wife said she would send someone up with hot bathwater, and I'm so looking forward to a good soak." She pushed back her chair from the table and stood with a respectful nod.

"Tauriel."

She turned back, but the Grey Wizard took another leisurely pull on his pipe before he continued. "Our road ends in Hobbiton on the morrow, but your road, perhaps, continues further, though not necessarily in this same direction. There is no shame, you know, in traveling the same road twice. The second time, one may notice things they missed at first."

"I'm afraid I don't understand . . . "

"Not just yet, no. The understanding will come when you are ready for it. Till then, take heart. You will be cared for deeply by those who know you in Hobbiton, as you have always been cared for by others where'er you've been known, even when you did not know it."

"My lord . . . ?" she replied in little more than a whisper, unconsciously reverting to formal address as she wondered at the meaning of his words.

"Until tomorrow, Mistress Tauriel. Rest well," he concluded with the hint of a smile.

And rest well she did but only after spending the next hour in her bath pondering the significance of what the wizard had said.

The hobbit's dwelling looked like scarcely more than a hole in the ground. Granted, it was a brightly painted, well-groomed hole, but still . . .

Gandalf craned his neck to gauge the position of the sun. "Four o'clock," he announced. He twitched a bushy eyebrow and gave Tauriel a conspiratorial smile. "Just in time for tea." And with that, he raised his staff and knocked on the door.

"What if we hadn't been in time for tea?" she asked.

"Oh, then we would have been in time for luncheon or dinner." His eyes glazed, and he stroked his beard. "Or is it supper? Now, which is it—dinner before supper or supper before dinner?"

"Surely not both?"

"Oh yes. You can't expect a hobbit to skip one or the other. He'll be very hungry and overeat the next day at second breakfast."

"Second breakfast?" Tauriel was rather appalled. "Out of how many?"

"Just two." He knocked again, less patiently. "Plus elevenses."

"Elevenses? My goodness! What do these hobbits do besides eat?"

"Mostly cook. And garden—vegetables for the cooking, you know. You do like gardening?" he checked and raised his staff to knock a third time.

"I suppose . . . "

The door flew open with the staff poised in mid air, and a small, plump, hairy creature appeared on the doorstep looking vaguely familiar and not a little annoyed. But a sunny grin spread over his face as soon as he recognized the wizard. "Gandalf! What a pleasant surprise! I thought I might not see you again for—oh, ages!"

"A wise man once said an age is but a day apart when you take your friends on the road in your heart . . . or when your friends are elves. Allow me to introduce you to a lovely friend indeed, Mistress Tauriel of the Woodland Elves. Tauriel, this fine fellow is Mister Bilbo Baggins of Bag End."

The hobbit turned his attention to her, shifting from foot to foot and reddening around the collar as he said, "Ah, um, yes. I-I-I've seen you before, of course, but I d-don't believe we've formally met."

And that was when she knew why he looked familiar. At the Battle of Five, he was the one she'd overheard telling Gandalf that Kíli and his family were on Ravenhill, in the path of the Gundabad Orcs as they descended from the north. It was odd that he remembered her, though. At the time, he'd been so focused on Ravenhill that he hadn't even glanced in her direc—

Oh.

Kíli had said it was Bilbo who helped the dwarves escape King Thranduil's Halls, so of course he'd been inside their prison and seen her with the guard. Then she blushed, wondering what else he'd seen; the little hobbit had freed the dwarves from their cells just hours after she and Kíli had lingered over stories of stars and firemoons. Well, as the burglar who'd stolen her prisoners out from under her nose, at least he had just as much to be embarrassed about! "A true pleasure, Mr. Baggins," she said with a half bow to indicate that they should let bygones be bygones.

The hobbit's face went slack with relief. "Oh, the pleasure's all mine, I'm sure! Any friend of Gandalf's is a friend of mine! And, please, call me Bilbo."

"Tauriel," she returned with a small smile.

"Well then! Do come in. You're just in time for tea."

A hobbit's tea, as Tauriel discovered, was very different from an Elvish tea, which consisted of a hot herbal drink and fresh greens. To the Wood Elf's befuddlement, Bilbo set his table with not only a teapot and teacups but a selection of cream, honey, and sugar to put in the cups; blueberry scones hot from the oven served with jam and clotted cream; five different kinds of finger sandwiches; and a dessert tray of shortbread cookies, cream puffs, strawberry tarts, and lemon cake. She imagined it would all be too sweet, especially in combination, and so was amazed when she ate everything on her plate and only refrained from asking for seconds because she was a guest and didn't want to be rude.

"I see you've restocked the pantry since you last had guests," Gandalf chuckled.

Bilbo gave a rueful smile. "Only recently, I'm afraid."

Tauriel remembered then how Kíli had told her about the feast at Bag End that had already become legend among Thorin's company. According to him, the dwarves hadn't been very gracious guests.

Kíli. She felt the same pang as she always did when she thought of him, so she diverted her thoughts to the babe, a strategy that was rapidly becoming second nature to her. The little one was quite active in response to the tea cakes; apparently her child was going to have a sweet tooth.

" . . . after you left me in the Shire," Bilbo was saying as he refilled Gandalf's cup. "And by the time I got home, I'd been gone so long, they'd put Bag End and all its contents on the auction block."

"Oh, you don't say! Bilbo, I'm terribly sorry, my friend."

"Oh, well, all's well that ends well and all that. I got my smial back and most of my furnishings except the silverware that I know Lobelia Sackville-Baggins took, though she won't admit to it. But the pantry was cleaned out completely! Took me months to replace everything!" The hobbit shrugged and stirred more cream into his tea. "Some things I'm still waiting to replace because they're not in season yet."

"So the people here think it's all right to steal from others, then?" Tauriel asked. She couldn't fathom walking into another elf's quarters and helping herself to their belongings whether they'd been gone a year or a hundred. But wasn't Bilbo himself a professional burglar? Perhaps all hobbits were! She was starting to doubt whether she wanted to raise a child here after all.

"Oh, no-no-no, not at all! It's just that there's a law regarding abandoned property, you see. It reverts to the community." Bilbo gave another rueful smile and, seeming to read the direction of her thoughts, said, "Despite what you may think of my previous occupation, my career as a burglar was a short one. And I never took anything that didn't rightfully belong to the dwarves."

Tauriel nodded slowly. Kíli had said as much, and she well knew Thranduil had imprisoned the dwarves on false charges, so she could hardly blame Bilbo for "stealing" them away.

"We don't believe in stealing—well, except for Lobelia—but we do believe in sharing." This time Bilbo's smile was genuine as he looked from Gandalf to Tauriel and back again. "And I'm so happy to be sharing my tea today with both of you!"

"I'll drink to that." And Gandalf raised his teacup, so Bilbo and Tauriel followed suit.

"So what news from Erebor? Is everybody well? Before you go, Gandalf, do remind me to give you some tins to take back to the Company next time you're there. Just some preserves and spices and such, nothing that will spoil."

"Very good, I'm sure they will be pleased. Bofur says to tell you he chipped a plate in your honor at his very first meal in Erebor, and he intends to chip a plate every year on the anniversary of the Company's dinner at Bag End."

"I hope he has a lot of plates then!" Bilbo laughed, but he puffed his chest out a bit in spite of himself, proud to be remembered.

"Bombur has grown very fond of your mincemeat pie recipe and says he makes it for his whole family every Thursday. Why Thursday I'm not sure, but he wanted me to tell you. Ori asks if you can make a copy of your manuscript for him and gave me a copy of his records of the quest to pass on to you in case you had need of the dates or locations."

"Oh! How very generous of him! And please tell him yes, I'd be delighted to send him a copy of the book when it's finished."

"Dori also sent something he made himself, a woolen cloak, because he was appalled at your lack of a good one, and he reminds you to wear it when it is raining."

"That's Dori," the hobbit said fondly. "Always looking out for others. How kind of him!"

"Oh, and Balin sends his greetings."

"And I return them. Ah, how I miss them all!" Bilbo paused with his teacup halfway to his mouth, a faraway look in his eye. "Especially Thorin. And Fíli and Kíli, too, of course."

At this, Tauriel tried unsuccessfully to catch Gandalf's attention. They had neglected to discuss what Bilbo knew or didn't about certain miraculous events.

"Yeeeeesss," Gandalf stretched the word before pulling on his pipe. Then he exhaled and said in a slow, portentous voice, "Still, round the corner there may wait a new road or a secret gate."

"Hm!" Bilbo rubbed his chin. "Why, yes indeed! That's quite a striking way to put it, Gandalf. In fact, I like it very much! Would you mind terribly if I used that in my book?"

"Of course not, Bilbo. Not at all." The wizard smiled kindly and went back to puffing on his pipe.

So the answer was no, the hobbit did not know what had occurred in Erebor since he'd been there. Tauriel would have to watch her words around him if she didn't want to give away Kíli's—

Kíli again. Would he always intrude so painfully on her thoughts every few minutes?

Once more she consciously shifted her mind, this time to the peaceful, golden woods she'd seen as they approached Hobbiton. Since the Shire was predominantly farmland, she'd feared the babe would have no trees to play in and was glad to see plentiful stands of oak, ash, hickory, and birch, as well as streams where an elfling could wade and observe the fish, turtles, frogs, and other aquatic creatures.

Yes, she thought, the babe would be very happy here.

As afternoon waned into evening, appetites were sated, packages were exchanged, and Gandalf and Bilbo fell into reminiscing as they smoked. Kíli's name continued to be mentioned too often for Tauriel's comfort, so she was thankful when at last there was a lull in the conversation.

"Good heavens, look at the time!" Bilbo gestured to his wall clock. "I'm late starting dinner! Won't you both stay and eat with me? It's roast duck with an orange glaze!"

"Tauriel will. I'm afraid I won't, as tempting as it sounds, but I'm expected elsewhere. A wizard's work is never done, you know."

"Oh! Right. Well. I-I'm sorry to see you go so soon, Gandalf, but of course I understand." The little hobbit's face fell, but he made an effort to perk up for his remaining guest. "And Tauriel can stay as late as she likes, of course. As I said, any friend of Gandalf's is a friend of mine."

"Splendid! Then I'll be on my way and leave you two to get better acquainted. But, of course, you'll have plenty of time for that in the months to come." The wizard snuffed out his pipe and retrieved his staff from the corner where he'd propped it.

"In the m-m-months to come?" their diminutive host stammered.

Lips parting in confusion, Tauriel locked eyes with Bilbo, and then, as one, they turned and fixed Gandalf in a single panicked stare.

This wasn't how he was supposed to leave it! Wasn't he supposed to explain that Tauriel wanted to live in Hobbiton and needed a place to stay until she found one of her own? They hadn't talked it over outright, but she'd just assumed when the time came Gandalf would at least present her request to Bilbo and vouch for her character before beating a hasty retreat.

"Bilbo, my friend, I thank you as always for your hospitality. Most excellent cooking and even better company! Tauriel, I have so enjoyed your presence on this journey, and I trust that we will one day make another journey back to Imladris. Nîn velui a lalaith veren nalú en-agovaded vín." And the Grey Wizard swept an arm out to her in the customary farewell of elves.

"B-b-but-but-but, Gandalf, h-how long, exactly, will your f-friend be staying?"

The tall, robed figure turned, half bent in the doorway. "That all depends."

"On what?"

"On her, naturally! So I suggest you not ask me." And with that, he ducked out the door. "Oh, blast the hat!" he exclaimed as the point of it crumpled against the head of the doorframe.

"But— Wait! Gandalf!" Bilbo hurried to the door with Tauriel close on his heels, and they both peered into the falling twilight. "Confound it! Where is that wizard?"

smial—hobbit-hole

Nîn velui a lalaith veren nalú en-agovaded vín—Sweet waters and light laughter until next we meet

A/N: "Still round the corner there may wait / A new road or a secret gate" is a line from a Hobbitish song in Book One, Chapter 3 of The Lord of the Rings.