The Wedding(s)
Watching Bilbo, Dís and Tauriel trot down Bagshot Row towards Hobbiton had Thorin shaking his head. Partially in disbelief and partially in regret.
The afternoon of her arrival saw Dís being shown around the new smial by not just her sons, but Tauriel and Bilbo, too. Thorin hadn't been in the new smial since the smial-crafters had left and was stunned at the difference a week could make. In furnishing, decorating and stocking the smial, Tauriel, Kíli and Fíli had done a job worthy of the praise they received.
From that moment on, Tauriel, Bilbo and Dís could be found together at pretty much any time. They planned everything together. The first thing they planned was the new smial and it's environs. For this they involved Holman Gamgee and his eldest son Hamfast. After whatever poor Hamfast saw through the window of Bag End, it took him weeks before he could look either Bilbo or Thorin in the eye and it would be many more before he stopped blushing bright red at any sign of affection between the two. Kíli and Fíli were dying to ask him what he'd seen, but they knew that the young hobbit would likely never be able to say.
Within two weeks of her arrival, the Three, as most of Hobbiton had taken to calling them, had taken over the Shire. They had set up a system of way-stations of faunts keeping a lookout for dwarrow caravans. Camping areas were set up at Waymeet, Bywater and on both sides of the Brandywine River at Stock. Somehow they'd roped in farmers and their families, each camping area would have a number of stalls where caravanning dwarrow could buy either produce or ready made meals. Rangers were housed in Stock ready to guide each caravan to Erebor, with a group of 3 older faunts per caravan to act as guides within the Shire. These faunts were usually Took's or Brandybuck's, with a smattering of Brown's, Cotton's, Wayfarer's and March's to round out the numbers.
After the Three had seen to the Raven's Tree Smial and the dwarrow caravans their next challenge was Tauriel and Kíli's wedding. The middle of Forlithe, nicely a month before Mid-Summer's Day was decided on, with the first Stenday in Wedmath for Bilbo and Thorin's Wedding. The Three had sent ravens to Erebor, Rivendell and Mirkwood informing Daín, Gwaihir, Elrond and Thranduil of the date for Tauriel and Kíli's but had agreed that Thorin and Bilbo's was not a political playground.
Fabric arrived from Erebor and Mirkwood for Tauriel's wedding dress. Delivered by Meneldor, the Eagle scared half of Hobbiton into their Smials, but the fauntlings, faunts and tweens, as Bilbo had predicted, were in raptures with the giant bird, just as they were with the ravens. The young she-Eagle (Thorin finally decided that he needed to know her gender, so he could address her correctly, and asked) was given treats, and with their parents' permission, gave rides to a few very brave hobbits, riding in a basket carefully held in her talons. Thorin lost a large wager with Fíli when Missus Goodchilde's apprentice Joy was the first of a few adult hobbits to accept the Eagle's offer of a view of Hobbiton from the skies. Kíli did point out that she clung to Fíli for the entire time. Thorin was waiting patiently for Fíli to ask them to make a Family Gift.
That night Bilbo told them Joy's history.
Joy had been found stumbling about the woods near Bree by Missus Goodchilde and her late husband, Tomas, as a very young fauntling. They had taken the child to the rangers at Bree only to be told that the rangers had found her family's wagon two days before. It had been attacked, probably by bandits or raiders. No one survived. As one of the women in the wagon had been wearing a dress using the same fabric and type of embroidery as the girl-child and no other child of her age was unaccounted for, the wagoneers must be her family.
A hobbit assembly was called and when the hobbits of Bree hesitated in taking the child, Missus and Mister Goodchilde insisted on keeping her and the Master of Buckland was sent notice. The child knew her name was Joy and how old she was but not her family name. When asked her Da's name and where they came from all she would answer was 'the fields'. By the time the Goodchilde's were ready to leave Bree, word had come from Brandy Hall, the home of the Master of Buckland. Without concrete evidence he could not allow the Goodchilde's to adopt the girl, but instead decreed that they would permanently foster her, just in case at some point in the future her family did reappear. She was an orphan and Bilbo stated that no family had yet to come forward to claim her.
This distressed Fíli so much that he went to Brandy Hall to talk to the Master. Upon returning he told the Three, Kíli and Thorin what the Master had to say.
Joy had reached her Majority a year earlier so the Master said that she would have the right to choose a Family and that her apprenticeship would, for the moment, make Missus Goodchilde the Head of her Family. Courtship issues must be taken up with her. At that point Fíli asked them to make a Family Gift so he could talk to Missus Goodchilde.
When this was announced in the group at supper, Tauriel and Dís nodded to Kíli, who got up from his seat and left the room. On returning to the room Thorin could see that he was pulling something. Instead of a low wagon, it appeared to be a timber chest, four drawers high, on wheels with a handle coming up from the top of the rear of the chest.
He stopped beside Fíli and proceeded to open the chest. First the top raised, then the next drawer slid forward and the bottom two drawers slid one to each side, leaving the framework visible. Each drawer was carefully padded and lined. The top drawer also held a selection of scissors, pins, various notions and measures. The second held clips, buttons and ribbons, the bottom two were full of spools of threads of different colours and gauges. In short everything a Master Tailor or Seamstress could desire.
"Oh, wow. You've made this? All of you?" Fíli was awed at the effort and work they'd put into it.
"Yes, we all put something in. Even Thorin, he just didn't know it." Commented Dís. Thorin looked more surprised than Fíli, to be honest. But he did recognise some of his own work. Clips, buttons and the catches and locks used to hold the chest closed. Dís went on to explain who had crafted what part of the item and assure Fíli that they, as a family supported his choice of lass.
Fíli was well aware that he would need the help of the Three to get a meeting with Missus Goodchilde without Joy in attendance.
Let the Plotting commence.
The day of Tauriel and Kíli's wedding dawned bright and clear. Both Bag End and Raven's Tree were full to capacity, with many guests forced to set tents in pastures and yards. Daín had arrived with Thranduil, and Beorn, Gwaihir, Meneldor and other Eagles offering safe passage. The night before the wedding, more Eagles arrived bearing Bard, of Dale, and his children, Bain, Tilda and Sigrid, the children so excited to see hobbits and far off places. Guests from Rivendell had decided to set up a camp of tents on the edge of Bindbole Woods and consisted of Elrond, Elrohir, Elladan, Lindir and Arwen (Elrond's daughter). Staying with them would be Thranduil, Legolas, and surprising everyone, Galadriel and Celeborn from Lothorien.
Dwarrow from the Blue Hills stayed at the Bindbole Hall and hobbits from all across the Shire were attending.
The Party Tree was bathed in sunlight and glittered with the morning's dew. Hobbits, Men, elves, dwarrow and a few Eagles watched on as Kíli stood restlessly at the base of the great tree. Thranduil and Legolas escorted Tauriel to join Kíli, his family and the wizard of the Istari. Her dress shimmered in the morning light, catching the sun and making her glow.
Kíli and Tauriel had decided that all cultures would be represented in their vows Men, Hobbit, Elf and Dwarf. Firstly they would braid their marriage beads in each others hair and be tied at the wrist. As per elven custom, they would be bound by rope made from the bark of the Mallorn Tree, the most sacred tree of the elves. Lastly they exchanged vows and rings in the manner of the Shire and Men. They even honoured the Eagles, but the closest they could manage to an exchange of feathers was to give the other a locket containing a lock of their own hair.
The following party lasted all day and well into the night, with much revelry and laughter. Dwarrow dancing with hobbits, men with elves and hobbits with anyone they felt like.
Just on sunset Thorin lead the newlyweds up Bagshot Row and past Bag End, but before they reached Raven's Tree, he opened a gate set on the lower side of the Row and lead them down a slightly winding cobbled path. The path ended at a set of stone steps that extended onto a large-ish patio area fronting a nearly familiar smial entrance, only the green door was not round, but instead oval to serve Tauriel's height.
Once inside the smial the entrance lead into a large brightly lit kitchen, dining room and parlour. To the west down a hall with a lower ceiling there was a bedroom suite, consisting of bathroom, dressing room, bedroom and attached sitting room. Both the sitting room and the bedroom opened onto another paved area, secluded from the access path and steps by a carefully planted trellis of fruit vines.
From entrance way into a hall to the east the ceiling height stayed elf-height, as did the rooms that mirrored those to the west. Everything in the east wing was elf-sized, windows and plants abounded, mostly chosen to satisfy an elf's need for green things. All the furniture was carven timber polished to a high gloss sheen, the soft furnishings in muted shades of green and brown with highlights of gold and bronze.
Directly opposite the entrance hall, kitchen and dining room were pantries and a cold cellar. All the shelves in the pantry and cellar were stocked and a light mean waited to be served. The only thing the smial was missing were guest rooms. Thorin pointed this out to Kíli and said that if and when they needed extra rooms, be it guest rooms or rooms for children, they were approved to excavate both along and into the ridge. He also stated that he knew how much Kíli would miss Fíli and so Dís, Bilbo and Thorin had decided that to split the brothers would cause undue stress on both lads and had started planning this smial within days of Dís' arrival. Construction had finished a week prior and Bilbo had rounded up his Took and Baggins' families, lead by Lobelia, to furnish it suitable for an elf, two dwarrow and a hobbit.
For now it would be home to Tauriel and Kíli, but it was planned that Fíli would move in when Thorin and Bilbo wed, and then, when Fíli and Joy wed, she would join them in Jasmine Smial. As it was only a few moments walk to both Bag End and Raven's Tree, any guests could stay in either of these smials.
Thorin hugged his nephew and niece, pressing his forehead to theirs and left them to investigate their new home. He was going back to the party to see if he could convince his burglar to leave early, as Fíli would be there until near dawn, and he wanted undisturbed time with Bilbo.
Bilbo and Thorin's wedding was a very different affair. To the surprise of the attending hobbits it was not held under the Party Tree, but rather under the cedar tree that had become known as the Raven's Tree. It had been planted by his parents on the day of their marriage.
Gathered under the boughs of the cedar were the Company, Dís, Kíli and Tauriel, along with a smattering of hobbits. Mostly the Gamgee's, but also Lobelia, Thain Fortimbras, young Drogo Baggins (Bilbo's heir) and his intended bride, Primula Brandybuck. Fíli had asked if Joy would accompany him for the day, now that his Family Gift had been accepted and they were officially Courting.
Gandalf, of course, was to do the honours. Gandalf was accompanied by Radagast and Beorn. The Skin-changer had brought with him a gift that Bilbo was delighted with. Beorn gifted him with an oak seedling from his Garden, as Bilbo's acorn had been placed carefully, with other memento's from the company, in the sarcophagus that Thorin was to have been interred in. Somehow it had been lost when he was taken to the Thranduil's Healing Halls and was not recovered. As soon as Beorn had arrived with the seedling Bilbo had asked the smial-crafters where on The Hill he could plant it and they had after much discussion decided on a spot. A hole was prepared and waiting for little oak.
After their vows and braids were completed, Dís hosted a dinner for the couple and their friends. When all present had eaten their fill, the Company declared that they would have to be off if they were to reach Bindbole Hall before dark. Bilbo and Thorin thanked them and all watched as the Company departed. While Fíli, Kíli, Tauriel and Joy moved Fíli's possessions from Bag End to Jasmine Smial, Bilbo and Thorin climbed a set of nearly hidden stairs to the top of his smial and very carefully planted their oak seedling. With a final prayer to Yavanna and Mahal, the two made their way back inside.
For the first time they were completely alone and they planned to take advantage of their, finally, empty home.