Regina was born to Annanias and Ellalaine Took. She was their first child and their last. Ella died in childbirth, having been weakened by the Winter Sickness the year before. Two years later, her father remarried Laconia Brandybuck. Reggie and Annanias went to live at Brandy Hall in Buckland. At the time, Frodo Baggins, who was two years older than Regina, was living there with his parents, Drogo and Primula. The children immediately became fond of one another, in their young way, and formed a lasting friendship.
When Regina was about 11 years old, tragedy struck both Frodo and Reggie. Their parents had gone out on a boat together when a storm blew in and caused all four hobbits to drown. Reggie and Frodo were devastated. She and Frodo latched on to one another even more because of this hardship, and seemed to withdraw themselves from the rest of the hobbits living in Brandy Hall.
When Meriadoc, son of Saradoc and Esmeralda, was born, both Frodo and Regina were quite taken with the lad. They treated him as a brother and lavished on him all the love they no longer got from their parents. They never wanted him to feel un-loved, knowing how it felt themselves.
Reggie, being so close to Frodo, grew up as would a lad, and little did she know that many young teenaged hobbit lads admired her, including Frodo, though even he hardly knew it himself. Regina, though, gave no thought to romance, merely enjoying her rough and tumble childhood.
When Frodo was about 21, he went to live with his much older cousin, Bilbo Baggins, all the way in Hobbiton. Frodo was happy to live at Bag End with Bilbo, but he missed Reggie badly. Reggie, of course, missed Frodo horribly as well. They visited each other as often as the older hobbits would allow, and sometimes it seemed as if the brother-sister type affection they had for each other was becoming something more.
After Frodo had moved away, Regina was very lonely and was often quiet and sad. Esmeralda and her husband, knowing how fond Reggie and young Merry were of one another, adopted her into their small family. Regina was very happy with them, and she finally understood how Frodo must feel now that he was living with Bilbo.
On a visit to Bag End when Regina was 20, Frodo expressed to her how his love had grown out of their friendship and Regina realized she returned his feelings strongly. Unfortunately, since Frodo lived in Hobbiton, they rarely got to see each other.
~TO BE CONTINUED~
