No Turning Back
Once it had been confirmed that Bilbo would be accompanying Gandalf in escorting Tinu to Rivendell, the wizard had taken Tinu back to the home she had as far as she knew, always lived in to bid farewell to her parents. Or rather her mother and one who had pretended to be her father to help insure her safety from something. While Gandalf insisted that she say her parting words with her mother and Strider, Tinu merely went to her room to start packing her things she thought she would need for the trip. Nothing much, just a small sword, a knife, her bow and arrows, and a cloak since Gandalf had said he had other provisions and Bilbo was sure to bring anything else needed for the journey.
As the hour of midnight approached, Gandalf stood beside Tinu a short distance from her home, on the hill that overlooked Hobbiton. They were still awaiting Bilbo who had departed shortly before to get something that the hobbit had insisted was a must for him to bring. So they stood waiting for the hobbit as Gandalf looked to his side to see the young elf with a pained look on her face.
"I know this place has been your home for a good nine almost ten years, but you must understand that by staying you would be putting all of those you have grown to care for here in danger. And an elf does not belong among hobbits but among other elves." Gandalf said as Tinu shook her head at him.
"I do not agree because I do not even know who or what I truly am. I have no memory before that winter and yet in one day you have turned my entire life upside down and disheveled everything." Tinu said looking toward the stars in the sky. "I only know that my mother told me that she named me Tinu because of how I shine like a light in the heavens, and that part of me was elven." Tinu paused as she looked back across the river. "But that I was also told I am part human only to find out that is a lie." Tinu said closing her brilliant green eyes as she shook her head ever so slightly. "How can I move toward the future without knowing anything of my own past?" she asked as she opened her eyes looking to the wizard beside her.
'She looks so much like her father…' Gandalf thought to himself as in truth he had come across Legolas once in the last few years as he was not allowed out of Mirkwood anymore due to how his father was sure that the prince would seek out his wife and daughter. 'But she is not yet ready to know the full truth of what happened and why she is having to be smuggled out of the Shire under cover of night.' Gandalf thought to himself as he could feel the searching gaze of the young elf on him. "I am not the one who should explain things to you. Once we get to Rivendell some of the mysteries of your past will become clear again." Gandalf said only for Tinu to turn and reach out grabbing his sleeve as he saw in that instance that even though Tinu was a teenager, she was still that same frightened child he had once escorted to the Shire.
"But I need to know before we depart. Why is it that you and even my mother and fath…Strider…insist that I remain in the dark about things with my past?" Tinu asked almost to the point of pleading for an answer. All due to how she hated that it seemed that they were all keeping a deep truth from her and she could not stand it. "Why!" Tinu demanded as she was now glaring up at the wizard with her eyes near the point of glowing in the limited light of the stars above.
"I am not the one who will reveal the truth to you, young Tinu." Gandalf said looking at Tinu with a blank stare on his face as she looked like she was near the point of losing her patience with the wizard all due to how everyone was treating her like a helpless child who could not handle the truth. "Once we get to Rivendell you will be in the audience of Lord Elrond and he is better prepared to explain the basis of what the reason behind the events surrounding you are." Gandalf said only for Tinu's pale hand to fall from his sleeve as she had an all but defeated look on her face.
Before either of them could speak again, the voice of a certain hobbit graced their ears. "Sorry I took so long!" Bilbo called as he rushed up to the pair seeing how Tinu seemed upset as he gave Gandalf a questioning look due to how Bilbo had grown fond of the young elf and at times thought of her as a close friend if not like that of a niece. "What happened?" he asked since when he had left them about an hour before they had both been neutral on being left in the others company.
"We were just talking." Gandalf said as he turned. "Tinu draw your hood up to cover your face." He said as he started walking only for Tinu to do as she was told but she looked back toward the river and the place she had always visited every day since she was twelve years old as a single tear fell down her pale face at the thought of not knowing when she would be allowed to come back.
Even as Gandalf had set off down the hill, Tinu made no move to follow him but seemed to be glued to the spot. Something that Bilbo had noticed once he glanced toward her when he had gone only a few steps in the direction that Gandalf had gone as he turned fully back to her and walked back over, reaching out catching her right hand in his left as he smiled up at her as a way to assure her that things would be alright. "Do not worry, once everything is set right, we will come back and you can play with the young hobbits and even help me with telling them stories." He said as a small smile graced Tinu's face at that thought.
"I would really like that." She said before glancing once more toward the dim hill of Hobbiton before she turned her back to it only to walk along-side Bilbo as they headed down the hill after the retreating back of Gandalf.
/
Earlier that same night, Tauriel had finished packing what she needed as well as Strider for their journey to draw away any sent by the elven king of Mirkwood to seek out Tinu. "I never thought that we would be separated again…even though I used to promise her every night from the first night I got to hold her in my arms again that she would never again be separated from me or her father." Tauriel said as she closed her green eyes in frustration. "First her grandfather forces her father to leave her when she was only six and now I had to allow her to leave alone with Gandalf…" Tauriel said clenching her fists at her side only to hear a calm voice speak to her.
"Tauriel," the voice of Strider called to her as she opened her eyes and looked toward him allowing him to see that she was paying attention. "You and I both knew that one day Gandalf would return for Tinu due to how she was only to be hidden here for so long." Strider said shouldering his cloak as he glanced around for a brief moment to the surroundings that had been the safe house for the young Tinu to grow up in blissful ignorance of her own true heritage.
"I know, but it does not change the fact that now two times I have been forced to part ways with my daughter." Tauriel said in a saddened tone as she turned and headed out of the small house that would never again know occupants. All due to how Strider followed her out, spilling the contents from an oil lamp before striking flint to cause flames to engulf the small house.
"It is for the best and only temporary." Strider said showing he was wiser than his years may hint as he walked along side Tauriel as they headed to where their horses were tied to a tree several yards from the burning house. "We just have to stick to the plan since I am sure Gandalf and Bilbo have already seen to it that Tinu is on the path to get far from this place." Strider said as he smoothly mounted his horse only for Tauriel to mirror his actions as the female elf looked back to the burning house one last time before the two spurred their horses forward fleeing to the west under the cover of night.
/
Tinu stopped walking as she noticed an odd glow in the forest around them as she turned around ever so slightly as in the distance she saw the glow of something she knew all too well from summer night sitting around a camp fire with one she had thought was her father, mother and Bilbo. Something was on fire back toward where she had lived with her family! Without any hesitation Tinu took off back toward the fire despite the yells for her to stop from both the wizard, Gandalf, and her friend Bilbo. Within only moments she was running into the clearing as she saw for herself that the small home was ablaze, something reflecting in her bright green eyes as a strong gust blew through only to force her hood down.
As she stood there she did not notice the sound of those nearby until she was being tackled to the ground while a rush of grey material moved about her as even the sounds of arrows hitting against a surface met her ears. Leaning up slightly she saw what seemed to be in slow motion to her as Bilbo was on the ground beside her, with a hand behind her back while Gandalf stood beside them as arrows were hitting a surface he appeared to be forming himself with his magic.
Tinu glanced towards Bilbo as she could see his mouth moving but no words got through to her for several moments. They were faint, yet frantic. "Tinu!" Bilbo's voice called as though through a thick fog and vast distance. "We have to go!" he called again standing, grabbing her arm to pull her up to her feet as Gandalf continued to provide cover for them. "Come!" Bilbo was urging as he went to pull Tinu who was lost in a daze back toward the trees only for Gandalf to in that moment release a spell of some kind that abruptly extinguished the fire consuming the house, casting the clearing into pure darkness.
"Foolish!" Gandalf said in a low tone as he rounded on Tinu who looked at him as though she were still lost in a daze. "Follow me and do not, I repeat, do not stray!" Gandalf urged as he started walking only for Bilbo to pull Tinu along behind him through the darkness. As Gandalf walked he could not help but wonder about how long they had to get to Rivendell before the army of Thranduil was upon them. 'Because of her existence being revealed as still alive, we may not be able to linger in Rivendell as long as we had originally planned.' Gandalf thought since he had sensed that he had managed to only stun the elves that had been attacking the moment they had seen Tinu. "Draw your hood!" he said as he glanced back seeing how her hood was still down.
Without hesitation, Tinu reached up with her free hand and drew up her hood as it seemed that the hood and cloak merely attempted to conceal the light that shinned from her. All due to how at the moment when her hood had been down, the light from the moon and stars seemed to almost glisten from her pale skin and silver blonde hair.
Not allowing them to linger, Gandalf picked up his pace while Bilbo did the same, all the while continuing to drag Tinu behind him as the two soon caught up to Gandalf. "Gandalf!" Bilbo spoke up as he fell into stride right behind the wizard, still keeping a firm hold on the hand of the young elf. "Were those elves firing on us?!" he asked in shock since he knew only the tip of the iceberg surrounding the situation.
"Yes, which is why we will have to travel with haste and secure horses as soon as possible." Gandalf said as he knew they could get them in Bree, it would just be a matter of getting there and for him to leave Bilbo and Tinu alone while he secured two horses. "All you need to know for the moment is that we cannot stop until we are in Bree and even then, I want you to remain alert to insure nothing happens." Gandalf said as he glanced toward Tinu to see she was still in shock over what had just happened.
/
After the small confrontation at the house that had been set ablaze, the elves, three in count, had recovered from the last attack done by the wizard protecting the one their king was after. As they spread out to search for any hint to where they had gone, one soon found the trail as he called back to his companions. "They are heading east." He said judging by the direction the footprints were going under the pale light of the moon above. He looked toward one of his companions as he spoke. "Return to Mirkwood with all haste and alert King Thranduil that the child has resurfaced in the Shire but they are taking her back to the east." The one that was given the order did a slight gesture of acknowledgement only to go to his horse to the side of where they had been. Once he mounted he raced off into the night to deliver the message back to his king. The remaining two followed suit mounting their horses and riding toward the east, but not to return to Mirkwood. But with intent to capture the young elf traveling with the Halfling and the wizard.
A/N: I am sorry about the delay in this update, things have been very chaotic for me and I can only write or work on edits during select times which are at times few and far in between. I am aiming for the next chapter to be longer than this one, and it is already in the planning stages. I will also be working on updates for my other stories: Blood Oath: Destiny, Light in the Darkness, and Second Chance for the next while and I hope to get all of them updated in a timely fashion as well as get the next chapter to this story up soon. Now I want to thank 2000Aerobars, as well as five guests that reviewed the last chapter. I hope that this chapter is to everyone's liking. Also there will be a lot more in the next chapter, so until then!