Chapter 5
Once the tea was finished, Annelise quickly took it to Bilbo to help him calm down.
"Thank you very much, Annelise,'' he said as she handed the cup to him.
"Are you sure that you're alright, Mr. Baggins?'' she asked when she saw that he was still a bit pale.
"I'll be all right. Just let me sit quietly for a moment.'' At this Annelise moved to the fireplace to look at the pictures hanging above the mantle. She assumed that the two hobbits' portraits that were hanging there were of Bilbo's parents.
"You've been sitting quietly for far too long,'' Annelise heard Gandalf exclaim to Bilbo. "Tell me, when did doilies and your mother's dishes become so important to you?'' he asked disbelievingly. "I remember a young Hobbit who was always running off in search of elves in the woods. Who would stay out late, come home after dark trailing mud and twigs and fireflies. A young hobbit who would have liked nothing better than to find out what was beyond the borders of the Shire."
"The world is not in your books and maps. It's out there,'' Gandalf concluded, nodding his head toward the round window on the other side of the room.
"I can't just go running off into the blue,'' Bilbo countered angrily. "I am a Baggins…of Bag End.''
"You are also a Took.'' This statement caused Bilbo to sign exasperatedly and made Annelise nearly chuckle at the look on his face. "Did you know that your great-great-great-great uncle Bullroarer Took was so large, he could ride a real horse?''
"Yes,'' Bilbo said quietly.
"Well, he could! In the Battle of Greenfields, he charged the goblin ranks. He swung his club so hard, it knocked the Goblin King's head clean off, and it sailed 100 yards through the air and went down a rabbit hole.'' At this, Annelise could not help but chuckle a little under her breathe. Gandalf caught her eye, and with a mischievous smile, continued on. "And thus the battle was won. And the game of golf invented at the same time.''
This last sentenced caused Annelise to laugh out loud, and both Bilbo and Gandalf looked over to her and chuckled with her. "I do believe you made that up,'' Bilbo said to Gandalf once Annelise was done laughing.
"Well, all good stories deserve embellishment,'' Gandalf replied while sitting in the chair across from Bilbo, next to where Annelise was standing. "You'll have a tale or two to tell of your own when you come back.''
Bilbo chuckled to himself before looking up at Gandalf again. "Can you promise that I will come back?''
"No. And if you do, you will not be the same,'' Gandalf replied seriously while leaning forward toward Bilbo.
"That's what I thought. Sorry, Gandalf. I can't sign this,'' he said, standing from his chair, before turning to look at Annelise. "I am sorry, Annelise. I wish I could help you but you've got the wrong Hobbit.''
With this, Bilbo proceeded to walk from the room, leaving Gandalf and Annelise alone.
Annelise turned to look at the wizard sitting near her. "You were expecting him to say no, weren't you?''
"I suspected he would at first, but I would not give up hope yet. We may yet have a Hobbit to join us on this quest.''
"I do not know why, but I feel that you are right. Bilbo Baggins will not be able to fight his destiny for very long,'' Annelise said, looking into the fire one last time before going to find her father.
Gandalf watched the young woman walk away and his thoughts, for the first time in a long time, returned to that day when he had to leave a young child alone in the middle of a blacksmith's forge so that she would be able to fulfill her destiny.
Seeing the woman she had grown to be eased some of the pain that had filled Gandalf's heart since the day he left her. After leaving her in Minas Tirith, he had traveled to Rohan and the Greenwood to finish the task that was given to him by the Lady Galadriel. Gandalf first traveled to Rohan, where he knew Thengel, the new king of Rohan, would be awaiting the arrival of his older sister, Evelyn, and her family. With the news of his sister and her husband's passing and that of the niece he had never had the opportunity to meet, a day of mourning was declared. Gandalf stayed in Edoras for a few days, counseling with the king before continuing on to the Greenwood.
Upon hearing the news of the deaths of Thorondil and Evelyn and the supposed death of Annelise, the hearts of the Elvenking and his son were broken. Gandalf could not allow himself to stay and watch them grieve over Annelise when he knew her to be alive and so continued on to Rivendell to deliver the news to Lord Elrond and Gilraen.
That time Gandalf spent in Rivendell was the hardest of his life. He had to watch as Gilraen eventually succumbed to the grief caused by the death of her husband and her dearest friends and watch the young Aragorn, called Estel in Rivendell, grieve for the loss of both of his parents at the age of 5, all the while knowing that the child Annelise was alive and that he could not see her again for a very long time.
Seeing Annelise now, after 22 years and seeming so happy with her family brought him great joy. He knew that someday soon she would learn of her past and his involvement in it and he could only hope that she would forgive him for his deception at the moment.
Upon walking out of the sitting room, Annelise saw her father speaking with Balin.
"It appears we have lost our burglar,'' Balin was saying. "Probably for the best. The odds were always against us. After all, what are we? Merchants, miners, tinkers, toy makers. Hardly the stuff of legend."
At this, Annelise walked over to stand by her father and said, "There are a few warriors amongst us," smiling down at her father and Balin.
"Old warriors," Balin replied shaking his head.
"I would take each and every one of the dwarves over an army from the Iron Hills. For when I called upon them, they answered. Loyalty, honor, a willing heart. I can ask no more than that," Thorin replied softly, looking at his old friend.
"You don't have to do this," Balin said, getting up from where he was sitting to stand closer to Thorin and Annelise. "You have a choice. You've done honorably by our people. You have built a new life for us in the Blue Mountains. A life of peace and plenty. A life that is worth more than all the gold in Erebor."
"From my grandfather to my father, this has come to me," Thorin replied, holding up the key that Gandalf gave to him. "They dreamt of the day when the Dwarves of Erebor would reclaim their homeland. There is no choice, Balin. Not for me."
"Nor for me," Annelise said, stepping up closer to her father. "I was raised on the stories of that mountain and I have listened for years to my father's dream of going back there. Now is the time for us to go back and I will stop at nothing until my father has his home back," she concluded, looking down at her father to see him smiling proudly back up at her.
"You may not have been born there, but you are as much a child of Erebor as I. I have loved you since the day you came to me, and reclaiming our home with you, my daughter, by my side will be more than I could have ever wished for."
Balin watched this exchange with tears in his eyes. The day that Thorin found Annelise had been a new beginning for the remaining dwarves of Erebor. Thorin was a happier dwarf from that day on and it showed in his leadership of their people. Annelise's presence among the dwarves was a blessing in itself. She could not have been more loved, even if she was Thorin's flesh and blood. Her laughter and smiles brought hope to the scattered people and renewed their faith that one day they would be able to go home to Erebor. She had become as a daughter to Balin and to many of the older dwarves, and he was very proud as he watched her with her father.
"Then we are with you, both of you," Balin said, looking between the father and daughter before him. "We will see it done." With this he put a hand on both of their arms before walking into the sitting room, where the rest of the company had gathered.
Before Annelise could follow him, Thorin put a hand on her arm to make her face him again. "I am so proud of you, my darling daughter," he said with misty eyes.
"I love you, Father," Annelise said, pressing a kiss to her father's forehead and smiling at him, before following Balin into the sitting room.
Upon entering the room, Annelise noticed that Balin was sitting in the chair that Gandalf had occupied and went to sit in Bilbo's empty chair across from him. Her father pulled out his pipe and went to stand in front of the fireplace, gazing into the flames. He then began to hum a song that was very familiar to Annelise. She remembered him teaching her the song and listening to stories about his life in the Lonely Mountain. She had always loved listening to him sing, and this song had always been her favorite.
Far over the Misty Mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old,
We must away ere break of day
To find our long forgotten gold.
The pines were roaring on the height.
The winds were moaning in the night.
The fire was red, it flaming spread.
The trees like torches, blazed with light.
Soon after the dwarves finished singing their song, Gandalf announced that the company would be leaving at the first sign of light and that it would best for them all to turn in for the night.
Annelise helped Bilbo to find places for everyone to sleep and soon everyone was sound asleep. She lay on the floor in the room her father was sleeping in because the poor Hobbit had no beds for someone her size. After a while of laying staring at the ceiling because she couldn't sleep, she decided to go and clean the dining room, kitchen, and pantry so Bilbo would not have to in the morning.
After an hour, everything was clean and back in its rightful place. On her way back to her bedroom, she saw Gandalf sitting by the fire, smoking his pipe. Again she was struck with the feeling that she had met this old wizard before. Just as she was about to dismiss the thought, she heard Gandalf quietly call her name.
"What is it, little one?" he asked, once she was looking at him. "You looked as though you might have a question."
For a moment, Annelise forgot what she was thinking because she was so surprised at being called 'little one.' All her life, she had been taller than everyone other than the few men she had crossed paths with on her travels with her father and cousins. She suddenly realized that Gandalf was waiting for her answer so she quickly tried to form a reply.
"It's just that I- well you look very familiar to me. I was just wondering if it was possible that we had met somewhere before."
Gandalf stared at her for a long time and Annelise began to wonder if he was going to answer her at all. She noticed that as soon as she had finished speaking, his face seemed to darken and his eyes looked as though they were not really seeing her, but a distant memory that seemed to cause him great pain.
At length, Gandalf seemed to return to the present moment and looked into Annelise's eyes intently before replying. "We met many times before you came to live with Thorin Oakenshield. I know that gives you more questions, but the time is not right for you to discover the truth of your past. Although that time is approaching, it is not now."
It took Annelise quite some time to process everything that the wizard had told her. Sitting before her was a man that had all the answers to her questions about where she had come from, yet he would not tell her. At first she was very angry, but as she thought about it more, she realized that Gandalf knew more than she did and that he was probably doing what was best.
"Can you promise me that the time will be soon, not another 22 years?" she asked finally, staring into the old, tired eyes of the wizard sitting down in front of her.
"On this journey, you will most likely encounter many people from your past. At that time, the true story of your past will be revealed to you. I must caution you on one point though, dear Annelise. You are your father's most prized possession. Although it is necessary that you learn who you are, it will be very difficult for him. I would advise you not to tell him what we have spoken of this night. He already has a lot on his mind, without having to worry about you finding out about your past."
"I understand, Gandalf. Thank you for telling me what little you can at this time. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, my dear child."
With that, Annelise went back to the room she was sharing with her father and was finally able to fall asleep.