Two: We Could Have Been

The Shire spoke of it, the weird granddaughter of Old Took. The real nasty ones would call her a freak. Bella heard that word and knew this was not the first time. Except she had defended someone from that word. She was sure of it.

"Am I a freak?" Bella asked Old Took one day as he was with her teaching her.

"Who told you that?" He asked her.

"I heard it in the market."

"You are my granddaughter, your mother's daughter and that makes you unique." He told her, patting her head.

"I feel like I'm missing someone Grandpapa." She told him.

"They will show when you need them." Old Took said and Bella smiled before going to her parents. He stood there, his partner at his side.

"Isn't she a little late, Dom." Letty asked him.

"It took you a while to remember." He told her with a smile.

"She needs to learn to defend herself." Letty told him.

"She will be too different, I have a feeling, she knows how to do so." Old Took told her.

"We are going to teach her." Letty told him. Adamanta his wife came toward him and he could see the human that was with him. She understood it the tight bond between them.

"Ada." Old Took said with a smile.

"Love, are you teaching odd unhobbity things o our granddaughter." She asked.

"It's not like you ever cared." He said and pulled her toward him.

"He is right." Letty told her. Adamanta smiled at her, she was one of the few that could see Letty fully.

At the beginning it had been odd for her to share her husband with a ghost and the woman had looked at her with a smile. She had overheard from Gandalf on one of his visits that Old Souls tended to fall for people closest to their old partner. She had asked, and her husband told her, he loved her spirit the same it had been of Lettie's and it was a stepping stone to the relationship she had with the partner of her husband.

"Letty, do what you need to do for my granddaughter." Ada said with a smile.

Years Later

The Shire was going through the worst of its winters. Old Took had begun to take full charge of the Hobbits.

"All the children will be brought to the big Smials to protect themselves from the harsh winters."

"Very well." Gorbadock told him. Old Took had already sent a letter to his own daughter.

#

"We need to go find survivors." Belladonna told Bungo.

"We also need to send for help, did you send the letter to Elrond?"

"Yes, Arathorn took it." Belladonna told him. She was getting Bella ready with a coat thick enough to survive it. Bella herself was being nervous, for the past two weeks, she was different, Belladonna had noticed because she kept telling her of proper ways. To take care of injuries.

"Alright Bella, get ready."

"I'm taking the supplies to heal." Bella told them.

#

The family of three was gathering hobbits all around to get them to move. They had a wagon where all the fauntlings were inside wrapped in blankets. Bella was in the cart with Bungo driving it toward the

"Okay, kids ready?" Bella asked she was suffering from one heck of a headache. They nodded, at that moment they heard the howl of the wolves.

"They are coming on the left." Someone told her.

"They are coming from the left." Bella told her parents. Her parents nodded, and the group began to move, but it was as if the weather knew, the snow began to come a little harder. The wolves were also getting closer.

"Get them to Dad." Belladonna told Bungo.

"What are you thinking?" Bungo said and Belladonna was moving her little pony to the back as if to protect the little wagon.

"No! Belladonna." He said giving the reins to Bella.

"You get them to Dad." Belladonna said and got her own small sword out. Just as a pack of wolves got close. They could just hear growls and suddenly a pitch scream of a hobbit, then silence.

"No." Bungo said. Bella looked toward where her mother had been as the orcs and wolves got close. She had not seen such dark creatures and she suddenly had the smell of she recognized as gun fire and sand. She didn't know, how it could be she had never been there.

"Grab the reins Papa." Bella told him. Bungo looked at his daughter and he saw it. Her eyes seemed to change not in a bad thing, but they were getting older as if they had seen something terrible things.

"Bella!" Bungo said as he had heard the last of his wife he knew. One of the wolves got close and he would keep these children safe. The orc on top smiled wickedly his teeth gleaned with black.

"Vatican Cameos!" He heard and ducked to see his daughter stab the wolf and take the orc down with precision he had never seen, he didn't see the other orc until he felt the stab on this leg.

"No!" Bella said and moved to the other one, the one that had just stabbed her father.

"The children will freeze if you don't move them Joan." The voice told her.

"I know, Sherlock." She said the name as if it was the most important one in her life. At that moment she saw the Rangers come taking some of the Orcs out.

Bella turned to her father and saw that he was holding his thigh.

"Papa." She said and moved to his side. "Oh, this won't be pretty."

#

Bella had thanked some of the Rangers thankfully or unthankfully they had recovered her mother's body and wrapped it, while she saved her father.

"You were very brave." One of the rangers told her.

"I did what is right." Bella told them. Arathorn wrapped her in his arms and she let some tears out.

"I'm sorry for your lost."

'If he would stop touching you.'

"Not the time." She told Sherlock because her memories were with her and she had to shut down her emotions.

"Thank you, Arathorn I appreciate the help." She said.