Authors note : Um…I messed up on dates a little I think, but that's okay. Its fanfic, and you all get the general idea.J I apologize. This takes place BEFORE Chapter 17. Please note : Frodo Baggins of Bag End helped with the portrayal of Bilbo and wrote most of his part.
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CHAPTER 19 -- Revelations
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Bilbo has been in Rivendell for a couple of days now, but Elrond had been busy and not been able to see him. He had not yet given the ring to Frodo, and he was heading home to the shire...but he had wanted to stop in Rivendell...to ask about Gailethil for his nephew's sake. Finally, Elrond had summoned him to his study. "Enter." the words of the half-elvin lord are spoken with great calm.
"Thank you!"
The small hobbit waddled in and looked about for his usual chair. "I hope you had a chance for breakfast this morning! Most excellent, most excellent. . .I never would have thought the cooks here could rival the Shire's finest for sausages and gravy and biscuits! Splendid, Herdir, truly splendid! But now to our business. . .I hope this is about what I think it may be?"
Elrond cleared his throat, "Well. It surely is a pleasure to have you back again, Bilbo, my old friend. But what do you think it may be about?" he leant back in his chair. The half-elvin lord had heard a few things, and he rubbed his chin slightly. "You have been looking about a bit more than you were last time when you were here. What is it that you are looking for, I wonder?"
Bilbo nodded firmly as he settled back and rubbed his hands together briskly.
"Well, sir, I was hoping that you'd called me here about *that* - you see, it's my little nephew - cousin, really, but he calls me uncle, dear boy. Anyhow. . .there's something that concerns me for him, and I want to know how to best help the lad."
He drewsa deep breath and looked up at the elven-lord intently.
"There's someone he talks about, and says lives here. I used to think it an imaginary playmate borne of my tales about the place and about your folk, but. . .it's gone far beyond that now. He's past that age. It could still be caused by fever; usually he sees her when he's ill, he says, and alone. And. . . ."
The aging hobbit sighed as he rose to pace toward the window and looked back at Elrond nervously after a moment.
"And once. . .*I* saw her myself."
"Many things can be caused by a fever, old friend. " The Master of Rivendell nodded gravely. His eyes open wide as though he is surprised when Bilbo reveals that he saw her.
Elrond steepled his fingers together. "Did you, and why would you have." he frowned deeply, concern etched in his brow. He does not further explain his question, nor did it seem a question directed to Bilbo exactly.
"What does your nephew look like, Bilbo?
The Elvin Lord rose from his chair and moved towards the side wall in his study. Packed with tomes...of all the ages and many kinds it was a library in itself. He began to run his finger over a few of the titles, as though he had been looking for something in particular. It did not seem like he does not believe the elderly hobbit, but he had yet to answer any questions.
"I did, Herdir, plain as the nose on my face - plain as I'm seeing you, only - well, it was rather odd, and there's no reason I should have seen something that wasn't there!" insisted the hobbit anxiously. "He's a pale little slip of a thing, a bit tall, but too slender. . .thick curls, bark-brown, with great big blue eyes the likes of which you've not seen, fringed with nice thick sable eyelashes. A handsome little lad, though too thin for hobbit tastes, more like one of your own kind that way. . . ."
Elrond nodded grimly and then he drew an old tome from the shelf and brought it over to the desk. "Stand up, and look." he nodded to Bilbo as he pulled it open to a particular page. The portrait…could have been drawn from life…but it was unmistakably Frodo…yellowed though with age as though it had been drawn … many many years ago…perhaps more than 50, maybe older. "Is this him?"
He nodded towards the drawing with a steady hand.%r
And Bilbo's eyes widened.
"Why, yes! To the letter - that's even the same little tilt of his mouth that he has when he smiles! Looks like the way I remember him when he was a bit younger. . .getting over a bout with eating something bad, he was, and his aunt tucking him up on the couch and fussing over him. . .like he looked when I took him to visit Bag End after that. But - " He frowned at the page. "Goodness, such aged paper for such a drawing? And who here could have seen him?"
"The paper is aged Bilbo…because it was drawn more than three hundred and seventy five years ago." he waited for that to sink in before he continued, his expression grave as he leant against his desk. The half-elvin lord seemed to have been expecting this moment for a very long time. Indeed…the magic of the elves was strong and their resolve stronger.
Bilbo paled, blanching to a shade of chalk-white.
"B-b-but. . .how can that BE? Has. . .has someone seen him in. . .in a vision? A prophecy?"
Elrond nodded. "In a manner of speaking." he leaned over to lay a hand on Bilbo's shoulder. "There is one here who has seen your nephew. Yea, even you." he turned the page...and there is a drawing of Bilbo himself. "We have known of your coming for many years, though not yet exactly what it means." he walked towards the door. "Follow me."
His eyes wide, Bilbo followed, beginning to bite his nails nervously.
He laid his hand on Bilbo's shoulder as they walked through the house of Elrond. They made their way through the gardens to a secluded section...and then he makes Bilbo stop. "Look..." he pointed her out to him. She sits in all her grace and gentle beauty, smiling at a sketchbook that she is working in. Her eyes shine with life and laughter as the sunlight bathed her in radiance. "That is my niece...Gailethil Firespring, daughter of Lomendil Firespring. She was born with Elbereth's gift, and has suffered since the time she could open her eyes and comprehend what goes on about her."
At once Bilbo's eyes widened again, and he blinked and stammered in amazement.
"That's the one! That's the one I saw. . .and th-that's what. . .what my Frodo calls her. . .Gailethil. . . ."
He turned with difficulty to Elrond, his eyes wide with astonishment.
"What is Elbereth's Gift? What does this mean? I tell you, Elrond, 'tis her! I - "
His face softened.
"I should go to her on bent knee and kiss her feet. . .so often she has held my boy when I could not be with him, cared for and comforted him. . . ."
"The gift of Elbereth is the gift of site. The means to transcend this earth and travel in places that neither you nor I could walk. And there will be time for that, my friend. But not now…Come…we must not disturb her." He urged Bilbo away.
Gailethil looked up as though she might hear something, but she went back to her drawing
"Bilbo." Elrond clears his throat. "There are some things that you should know. But first, tell me how you saw her."
"Well, you see, I don't exactly know. . ." explained Bilbo as he strolled away reluctantly with the elven-lord. "It wasn't all that long after Drogo and Primula, his parents, drowned. . .I'd known he was a delicate lad, but he was ill and no one sent for me until it was almost too late, and when I arrived he was out of his head, I thought. Pneumonia. . .he was burning up with fever. Anyhow, he kept seeming to look at someone who wasn't there, and. . .I feared the worst, but. . .something happened. She touched my hand. . .put her hands on my finger. . .and on Frodo's, and I felt the touch and. . .that's when I saw her."
He rubbed it absently: it was his ring-finger.
Elrond placed his hands behind his back and walked thoughtfully beside Bilbo. He looked down as the hobbit rubbed his finger. "Bilbo, my niece has often spoken about your boy, as she was growing up, and sometimes even now she will see him every so often. " he cleared his throat, "My niece's destiny is tied to Rivendell, and cannot leave here. By all rights this should never have happened. She Is Elf, he is a Hobbit."
Bilbo averted his gaze, anxiously fingering something at his pocket. "Well, Master Elrond, my boy was almost lost to me, too, more than once. But she saved him. And I know he loves her. Do you think that means nothing, just because our lives are so much shorter?"
"And she loves him." Elrond nodded in response. "But there are circumstances, Bilbo. Circumstances that are beyond our control. I will not allow her to leave Rivendell, and he must not come here, he must not leave the protection of the Shire."
"But…I don't understand." Bilbo blinked up at the Elvin lord. "Please…"
"Bilbo Baggins. If I could bring them together I would, for I have watched her these many years and I know where her heart lies. Terrible creatures hunt her, Bilbo, and they seek her whenever she visits your Nephew. I fear that were he to leave the protection of the shire they would set upon him. Whatever is there is safe for the moment…and he is linked to it. Trolls are not the worst of Gailethil's enemies, Bilbo. There are far more terrible things that hunt for her when she is in vulnerable places. They come from Mordor." Elrond waited for Bilbo's reaction before continuing.
Bilbo turned white as a sheet an sat down on a nearby bench clutching at his heart. "Mordor--…But…The evil there was destroyed…"
"No." Elrond shook his head. "It remains, and awoke many years ago. Terrible demons that are stalking the land…and their eyes are fixed upon Rivendell. They want Gailethil…and we know not yet why."
"But I cannot go back to the Shire and tell him he can't see her…he will be devastated." Bilbo cried.
"I have an idea." Elrond turned away for a moment, then looked back. "What if we told them he could not see her because of his age and health? That would stall him for a while…he's what 22 now? It will be 11 years before he is even of age to consider love in an adult fashion. Gailethil is over 375, but she is still a child in many ways for we have protected her since the day she was born on the words of Lady Galadriel herself. Tell him that he is too weak to make the journey, there are dangers. Make any excuse you can. But do not let him leave the Shire. I will take you to meet Gailethil, I have already spoken at length with her father and we have discussed what may be allowed. She will write him a letter and he will know that she is not a dream, that she is real, and he will be permitted to write her back."
Bilbo sighed, "Are you absolutely sure this is the only way? He really wanted to meet her. I don't know how I'm going to tell him…" he shook his head. "Mordor…I don't understand what this all means, but I will not let any harm come to my boy."
"Are you sure Bilbo…Are you really Sure?" Elrond peered at him with eyes that seemed to stare into his very soul and looked down at his hands where he was rubbing his ring finger. "Are you absolutely positive you have no idea."
He looked away with a guarded expression. "I am." and immediately changed the subject. "May I meet her now?"
Elrond frowned, regarding the little hobbit with a fierce expression. But…twas no use, there was no getting Information out of Bilbo when he did not want to give it. "I will take you back to her."
And they walked in silence back to the Elleth who still sat in the radiant sun.
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Author's Note ; And so it happened that Bilbo met Gailethil and what he talked about in Chapter 17 occurred.
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CHAPTER 19 -- Revelations
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Bilbo has been in Rivendell for a couple of days now, but Elrond had been busy and not been able to see him. He had not yet given the ring to Frodo, and he was heading home to the shire...but he had wanted to stop in Rivendell...to ask about Gailethil for his nephew's sake. Finally, Elrond had summoned him to his study. "Enter." the words of the half-elvin lord are spoken with great calm.
"Thank you!"
The small hobbit waddled in and looked about for his usual chair. "I hope you had a chance for breakfast this morning! Most excellent, most excellent. . .I never would have thought the cooks here could rival the Shire's finest for sausages and gravy and biscuits! Splendid, Herdir, truly splendid! But now to our business. . .I hope this is about what I think it may be?"
Elrond cleared his throat, "Well. It surely is a pleasure to have you back again, Bilbo, my old friend. But what do you think it may be about?" he leant back in his chair. The half-elvin lord had heard a few things, and he rubbed his chin slightly. "You have been looking about a bit more than you were last time when you were here. What is it that you are looking for, I wonder?"
Bilbo nodded firmly as he settled back and rubbed his hands together briskly.
"Well, sir, I was hoping that you'd called me here about *that* - you see, it's my little nephew - cousin, really, but he calls me uncle, dear boy. Anyhow. . .there's something that concerns me for him, and I want to know how to best help the lad."
He drewsa deep breath and looked up at the elven-lord intently.
"There's someone he talks about, and says lives here. I used to think it an imaginary playmate borne of my tales about the place and about your folk, but. . .it's gone far beyond that now. He's past that age. It could still be caused by fever; usually he sees her when he's ill, he says, and alone. And. . . ."
The aging hobbit sighed as he rose to pace toward the window and looked back at Elrond nervously after a moment.
"And once. . .*I* saw her myself."
"Many things can be caused by a fever, old friend. " The Master of Rivendell nodded gravely. His eyes open wide as though he is surprised when Bilbo reveals that he saw her.
Elrond steepled his fingers together. "Did you, and why would you have." he frowned deeply, concern etched in his brow. He does not further explain his question, nor did it seem a question directed to Bilbo exactly.
"What does your nephew look like, Bilbo?
The Elvin Lord rose from his chair and moved towards the side wall in his study. Packed with tomes...of all the ages and many kinds it was a library in itself. He began to run his finger over a few of the titles, as though he had been looking for something in particular. It did not seem like he does not believe the elderly hobbit, but he had yet to answer any questions.
"I did, Herdir, plain as the nose on my face - plain as I'm seeing you, only - well, it was rather odd, and there's no reason I should have seen something that wasn't there!" insisted the hobbit anxiously. "He's a pale little slip of a thing, a bit tall, but too slender. . .thick curls, bark-brown, with great big blue eyes the likes of which you've not seen, fringed with nice thick sable eyelashes. A handsome little lad, though too thin for hobbit tastes, more like one of your own kind that way. . . ."
Elrond nodded grimly and then he drew an old tome from the shelf and brought it over to the desk. "Stand up, and look." he nodded to Bilbo as he pulled it open to a particular page. The portrait…could have been drawn from life…but it was unmistakably Frodo…yellowed though with age as though it had been drawn … many many years ago…perhaps more than 50, maybe older. "Is this him?"
He nodded towards the drawing with a steady hand.%r
And Bilbo's eyes widened.
"Why, yes! To the letter - that's even the same little tilt of his mouth that he has when he smiles! Looks like the way I remember him when he was a bit younger. . .getting over a bout with eating something bad, he was, and his aunt tucking him up on the couch and fussing over him. . .like he looked when I took him to visit Bag End after that. But - " He frowned at the page. "Goodness, such aged paper for such a drawing? And who here could have seen him?"
"The paper is aged Bilbo…because it was drawn more than three hundred and seventy five years ago." he waited for that to sink in before he continued, his expression grave as he leant against his desk. The half-elvin lord seemed to have been expecting this moment for a very long time. Indeed…the magic of the elves was strong and their resolve stronger.
Bilbo paled, blanching to a shade of chalk-white.
"B-b-but. . .how can that BE? Has. . .has someone seen him in. . .in a vision? A prophecy?"
Elrond nodded. "In a manner of speaking." he leaned over to lay a hand on Bilbo's shoulder. "There is one here who has seen your nephew. Yea, even you." he turned the page...and there is a drawing of Bilbo himself. "We have known of your coming for many years, though not yet exactly what it means." he walked towards the door. "Follow me."
His eyes wide, Bilbo followed, beginning to bite his nails nervously.
He laid his hand on Bilbo's shoulder as they walked through the house of Elrond. They made their way through the gardens to a secluded section...and then he makes Bilbo stop. "Look..." he pointed her out to him. She sits in all her grace and gentle beauty, smiling at a sketchbook that she is working in. Her eyes shine with life and laughter as the sunlight bathed her in radiance. "That is my niece...Gailethil Firespring, daughter of Lomendil Firespring. She was born with Elbereth's gift, and has suffered since the time she could open her eyes and comprehend what goes on about her."
At once Bilbo's eyes widened again, and he blinked and stammered in amazement.
"That's the one! That's the one I saw. . .and th-that's what. . .what my Frodo calls her. . .Gailethil. . . ."
He turned with difficulty to Elrond, his eyes wide with astonishment.
"What is Elbereth's Gift? What does this mean? I tell you, Elrond, 'tis her! I - "
His face softened.
"I should go to her on bent knee and kiss her feet. . .so often she has held my boy when I could not be with him, cared for and comforted him. . . ."
"The gift of Elbereth is the gift of site. The means to transcend this earth and travel in places that neither you nor I could walk. And there will be time for that, my friend. But not now…Come…we must not disturb her." He urged Bilbo away.
Gailethil looked up as though she might hear something, but she went back to her drawing
"Bilbo." Elrond clears his throat. "There are some things that you should know. But first, tell me how you saw her."
"Well, you see, I don't exactly know. . ." explained Bilbo as he strolled away reluctantly with the elven-lord. "It wasn't all that long after Drogo and Primula, his parents, drowned. . .I'd known he was a delicate lad, but he was ill and no one sent for me until it was almost too late, and when I arrived he was out of his head, I thought. Pneumonia. . .he was burning up with fever. Anyhow, he kept seeming to look at someone who wasn't there, and. . .I feared the worst, but. . .something happened. She touched my hand. . .put her hands on my finger. . .and on Frodo's, and I felt the touch and. . .that's when I saw her."
He rubbed it absently: it was his ring-finger.
Elrond placed his hands behind his back and walked thoughtfully beside Bilbo. He looked down as the hobbit rubbed his finger. "Bilbo, my niece has often spoken about your boy, as she was growing up, and sometimes even now she will see him every so often. " he cleared his throat, "My niece's destiny is tied to Rivendell, and cannot leave here. By all rights this should never have happened. She Is Elf, he is a Hobbit."
Bilbo averted his gaze, anxiously fingering something at his pocket. "Well, Master Elrond, my boy was almost lost to me, too, more than once. But she saved him. And I know he loves her. Do you think that means nothing, just because our lives are so much shorter?"
"And she loves him." Elrond nodded in response. "But there are circumstances, Bilbo. Circumstances that are beyond our control. I will not allow her to leave Rivendell, and he must not come here, he must not leave the protection of the Shire."
"But…I don't understand." Bilbo blinked up at the Elvin lord. "Please…"
"Bilbo Baggins. If I could bring them together I would, for I have watched her these many years and I know where her heart lies. Terrible creatures hunt her, Bilbo, and they seek her whenever she visits your Nephew. I fear that were he to leave the protection of the shire they would set upon him. Whatever is there is safe for the moment…and he is linked to it. Trolls are not the worst of Gailethil's enemies, Bilbo. There are far more terrible things that hunt for her when she is in vulnerable places. They come from Mordor." Elrond waited for Bilbo's reaction before continuing.
Bilbo turned white as a sheet an sat down on a nearby bench clutching at his heart. "Mordor--…But…The evil there was destroyed…"
"No." Elrond shook his head. "It remains, and awoke many years ago. Terrible demons that are stalking the land…and their eyes are fixed upon Rivendell. They want Gailethil…and we know not yet why."
"But I cannot go back to the Shire and tell him he can't see her…he will be devastated." Bilbo cried.
"I have an idea." Elrond turned away for a moment, then looked back. "What if we told them he could not see her because of his age and health? That would stall him for a while…he's what 22 now? It will be 11 years before he is even of age to consider love in an adult fashion. Gailethil is over 375, but she is still a child in many ways for we have protected her since the day she was born on the words of Lady Galadriel herself. Tell him that he is too weak to make the journey, there are dangers. Make any excuse you can. But do not let him leave the Shire. I will take you to meet Gailethil, I have already spoken at length with her father and we have discussed what may be allowed. She will write him a letter and he will know that she is not a dream, that she is real, and he will be permitted to write her back."
Bilbo sighed, "Are you absolutely sure this is the only way? He really wanted to meet her. I don't know how I'm going to tell him…" he shook his head. "Mordor…I don't understand what this all means, but I will not let any harm come to my boy."
"Are you sure Bilbo…Are you really Sure?" Elrond peered at him with eyes that seemed to stare into his very soul and looked down at his hands where he was rubbing his ring finger. "Are you absolutely positive you have no idea."
He looked away with a guarded expression. "I am." and immediately changed the subject. "May I meet her now?"
Elrond frowned, regarding the little hobbit with a fierce expression. But…twas no use, there was no getting Information out of Bilbo when he did not want to give it. "I will take you back to her."
And they walked in silence back to the Elleth who still sat in the radiant sun.
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Author's Note ; And so it happened that Bilbo met Gailethil and what he talked about in Chapter 17 occurred.