A.N.: Thanks for the reviews, people! Keep it up! I may go a bit slow but don't give up on me. By the way, there's a vague reference to opium in this chapter, and I do hope no one gets offended.
Chapter 3: For A Little Girl
Eos Took looked into a little mirror in her tiny hobbit-size room in the Prancing Pony. She hadn't bothered to look at herself carefully before when she came here a month ago. She had grown thin and the roses that had once lit up her face before she was married had nearly all faded into lilies. She was still quite pretty, and would be beautiful if she weren't so haggard.
There was something else too. Her eyes seemed alien, almost wild. She supposed it was from all her fights for survival for the last ten years. Most of them had been when she was with Olo. Then when she had escaped, there was the wild forests and the feeling of having no place to go. When she came to Bree, she had had her first experience with the Big Folk.
No, Olo Bracegirdle had not been an evil man. It was his drinking that had done it, and his smoking of that horrible weed the ruffians from down South had brought to the Shire, instead of good, proper pipe weed. She had heard it had come from a flower called the poppy that was grown there. Eos had known for years that he and his father had been illegally trading goods with ruffians. Like father, like son, she thought scornfully. Back then, she had been afraid to mention any of her knowledge to anyone, for fear that her husband would find out and beat her. Now, she almost hit herself for not being brave enough to do what was right.
Then, maybe she could have saved more than one person, her husband from further addiction and her daughter from being exposed to its usage. Ah, her little daughter.
That was another thing she hated herself for. When she ran away, she'd left little Crystal behind. I think I was going insane, she thought bitterly and with guilt. So insane that I couldn't think of what was more important, my life or Crystal's.
She hadn't thought it possible, but she had found herself thinking that if that Frodo Baggins hadn't ducked out of her life, things would seem less out of order. After he'd told her abruptly of his love and then left, she had found herself longing for him to come back to her, to kiss her again and to hold her. That had been the last time she'd spoken to him. Afterwards, whenever their eyes met at parties, Frodo would quickly look away with hurt and regret in his eyes. She trusted her parents' judgement, and thought she would eventually come to love her husband. But after a few months, she knew it was impossible, even though she became pregnant quickly. I had a fruitless fantasy, a child to protect and a husband who abused his beer. No wonder I became insane. Oh Frodo, if only you were there to save me…
No! She must not think of Frodo! Frodo was far from here and could not comfort her now.
Eos was famished. She wrapped a shawl about herself and headed downstairs to get a meal to bring up to her room.
The next morning, Frodo went into the market and headed toward the millinery, owned by Mrs. Chubb.
"Ah, Mr. Baggins!" she exclaimed. "This is a pleasant surprise. May I help you?"
"May I see the dolls that you have, Mrs. Chubb?"
"Certainly, follow me."
Frodo looked carefully at all the dolls. He decided right away he wouldn't choose one with blonde hair, they didn't seem right for the little girl he had in mind. He selected one with dark brown hair, and a silky blue dress. Its dark brown eyes gazed innocently back at him.
"May I ask who this is for?" asked Mrs. Chubb, as she wrapped up the doll.
Frodo smiled mysteriously. "For a little girl," he replied.
As he left with the package, Mrs. Chubb smiled amusedly to herself. "Well, I never!" she thought.
Pippin and Frodo returned to Olo Bracegirdle's hole. Once again, Frodo stepped outside, leaving Pippin and Olo alone.
Crystal ran up to him in the foyer. Frodo knelt beside her, took the brown package from under his cloak and handed it to her. He had to laugh when he saw her radiant face as the paper fell away.
"Do you like it?" he asked, as Crystal clutched the doll. She nodded happily, and threw her arms around his neck. Frodo returned the embrace. He felt a rush of affection for the little girl. If her mother could see her now, he thought. She's so happy. Eos, where are you?
When she drew back from him, he held her face in his hands and said to her, seriously, "Can you promise to keep this from your father?"
"I promise," Crystal replied. "Frodo?"
"Yes?"
"Can I come and live with you?" she asked shyly.
The childish question both surprised and amused Frodo. And yet, a possibility dawned on him. Chuckling, he drew the girl to him and, rocking her softly, replied, "Maybe, Crystal, maybe." Then, whispering, "I'll get you out of here."
"Merry, I need you to help me with something," said Frodo in the office.
"What would that be, cousin?"
"It's about Olo Bracegirdle…"
A.N.: To be continued, readers! By the way, did you know that I named Eos Took after the second violinist in the string quartet Bond? I just thought it was a pretty name. I read in the flippy thing that came with their album "Born" that Eos means "nightingale" in Welsh. Sorry, random fact.
