Chapter 6
Annelise awoke the next morning to the feeling of someone brushing her hair out of her face and heard someone saying her name.
"Annelise, Uncle says it's time to leave."
As she sat up, Annelise looked at her surroundings and found Kili crouched down besides her head. She looked out of the only window in the room and saw that the sky had just began to lighten.
"Alright. Just give me a minute to collect my things and I'll meet you outside," she said to her cousin. He stood and reached a hand out to her to pull her up from the floor.
"Gandalf brought you a horse, by the way. So you don't have to walk like you did on the way here," Kili said over his shoulder as he walked out, before shutting the door behind him.
Annelise was quick to pack up her blankets and put everything into the small bag she carried on her back. She dressed in her travel clothes, which consisted of a pair of light brown leggings and a forest green tunic that came down to the middle of her thighs with a dark brown leather jerkin over it. She pulled on a pair of light weight but sturdy boots, which had been a gift to her from Thorin on her last birthday, before turning to her weapons.
First she checked all of her arrows and her bow before putting her twin blades in two sheathes that were attached to her quiver. After she strapped her quiver onto her back, she grabbed her belt that held her long sword and buckled it around her waist.
She quickly pulled her long dark brown hair back into a braid to keep it from falling into her face before wrapping her favourite scarf around her neck that she could use as a hood if she needed to.
Once she was ready, Annelise went to join the others. She saw her father standing over with Gandalf, speaking quietly with the wizard. He looked over in her direction and she smiled at him before Gandalf noticed her and waved her over. Standing next to Gandalf were two horses. The first was a beautiful, strong red while the other had a frosty white coat that seemed to glow in the fading moonlight.
"Ah, good morning Annelise. I hope you do not mind, but I took the liberty of acquiring a horse for you for the journey ahead," the kind wizard said, looking down at her as he handed the reins belonging to the white horse to her.
"Of course not, Gandalf. It is very kind of you," she replied, smiling gratefully to him.
The wizard's smile seemed to grow at her words and he let out a small chuckle. "Oh think nothing of it, dear one. Now this beauty is called Silmë. Her name means Starlight in Quenya, one of the languages of the Elves."
"She is beautiful, Gandalf. How can I ever repay you?"
"There is no need, my dear. Seeing you happy is payment enough," he replied, smiling softly down at her and resting a hand on the side of her head, before turning and walking amongst the rest of the dwarves, making sure all were ready to depart.
"She really is a beautiful creature. I am glad that you like her. I feel better knowing you will have a horse to ride, instead of being forced to walk," Thorin said to Annelise reaching out to the horse. Silmë tentatively sniffed at his hand before placing her nose into his palm so he could pet her. Annelise stroked the side of her neck while looking at her father's face and could see that he was worried about the path ahead and where it might bring them.
"We will get your home back, Father. You do not need to worry so."
"It is not the mountain that worries me. I simply fear that something will happen and I will lose you. I have a strange feeling that things are about to change. For good or ill, I cannot tell."
Normally Annelise would be worried about hearing her father talk like this, but after what she had learned from Gandalf last night, she knew that her father was right in some respects. Things were about to change and she might be changed because of it. She decided to make a promise to herself that no matter what she learned about her past, she would not let it affect her relationship with her father.
"I cannot promise that nothing will happen Father, but I can promise that I will do everything in my power to stay with you. I will never leave you," Annelise said looking deep into her father's eyes before pressing a kiss to the top of his head. She then turned around and began preparing herself and Silmë for the road ahead.
By the time the Company was ready to set out, the sun had already started coming up over the horizon. Annelise was mesmerised by the way it illuminated the land of the Hobbits, reflecting brightly off the rivers and ponds, making them look like liquid gold. Sunrise was always Annelise's favourite time of day and she tried always to be up early enough to watch it no matter where she was.
Gandalf was not surprised to see the contented smile on Annelise's face as she looked around at her surroundings. As a child of two and three, she had always seemed to love looking at the world around her as it was bathed in the light of a new day. Looking at her now, he could see that her dark hair was shining in the rays of the day's first light. The dark brown was showing hints of deep red and gold under the light, just as he remembered her father, Thorondil's, had in the sunlight. The gold, he knew, came from her mother.
Evelyn's features had been those typical of a Rohirric woman. Her hair had been golden and she had the same bright blue eyes that looked back at him every time he looked into Annelise's eyes. And although her husband and daughter's skin was the same light color common amongst the Dunedain, Evelyn's had been tan from her time spent outdoors on the plains near Edoras, where she grew up while her father was king.
From what he had heard from the stories Thorin had told him, Annelise had grown to be just as courageous and strong as her father had been. But he could see from the time he had spent with her that she also had her mother's caring heart and joyful soul.
As the wizard contemplated the similarities he saw the young twenty-five year old woman had with her parents, he could not help but feel sad for the loss of his friends and the childhood he had missed because he gave Annelise up. In the time he had spent with her and her parents, his favourite memories were of her laughter and smiles as he showed her little tricks with his magic.
He smiled to himself as he remembered the first time he had met Annelise.
Annelise had just turned one a few weeks prior to his visit to Rivendell. He had not met the child yet but had heard much about her in his letters with Lord Elrond following the death of Arathorn and Annelise's birth a few months later.
After meeting with Lord Elrond upon his arrival, Gandalf had decided to take a walk through one of the many gardens in the valley to ponder some of the things he had discussed with the elf. He was lost in his thoughts until he turned around a bend in the path and heard the sound of laughter echoing through the garden.
He looked up and saw the Lady Gilraen and her son, Aragorn, who was three at the time, walking with Lady Evelyn. Gandalf saw that Evelyn was holding a small child on her hip and he could only assume that this was the child Annelise that Lord Elrond had told him of.
"Good afternoon, ladies," the wizard greeted with a smile, before adding, "and to you, young man," with a pointed look toward Aragorn, who he knew was now called Estel.
"It is wonderful to see you again, Mithrandir," Gilraen said, walking up to hug him.
"It has been quite some time since we have had the pleasure of your company," Evelyn added, setting the young girl in her arms on her feet so she too could hug the wizard.
"Indeed. It has been far too long. Many things have changed since last we met," replied Gandalf with a sad look in his eyes as he looked toward Lady Gilraen. "I am terribly sorry for your loss, my lady. Your husband was a great man and the world now seems a much darker place without him. But take heart, my dear, for your son shall grow to be just like him." With these last words, Gandalf looked down at the young Estel to find that he had led Annelise over to look at some roses near the path, away from their mothers.
He smiled when he noticed how close of an eye the young boy was keeping on the baby. Even at three years old, Aragorn was starting to show how much he cared for those around him. The wizard watched as the young boy's eyes followed every movement his charge made, calculating her next steps so that he could step in if she began to fall or needed his help.
With a quick smile to the two ladies standing with him, Gandalf moved over to the two children as they looked at the roses. Estel looked up at the old man as he approached and smiled at him before returning his eyes to the little girl next to him.
"Hello, Estel. My name is Mithrandir. I am a friend of your father," the wizard said softly.
"Hello Mithrandir. It is nice to meet you," the young boy replied softly, holding his hand out for the old man to shake.
"It is very nice to meet you too, young man. Now who is your young friend?" the wizard said kindly with a soft smile, while looking at Annelise.
"This is Annelise. She is only one. She just started walking. She falls a lot and it is my job to protect her because I am three," the young boy said smiling proudly, standing taller as he spoke of his job.
"And I'm sure you do a marvellous job of it too, young man," Gandalf said before bending down to the little girl. "I have something to show you, little Annelise."
At this, the small girl smiled brightly and giggled a little with excitement. Gandalf smiled back before holding his hand out toward the little girl. Estel drew closer, curious as to what the old man had in his hand. As Gandalf opened his hand, a small flame began to shine in his palm. Annelise then began to clap as a rose began to form from the flames. Estel was captivated by the display and was even more surprised when the wizard blew on the flames and they became crystallised. He handed the trinket to the little girl and she stared at it, transfixed by its beauty. Laughing loudly, the small girl hugged the wizard in thanks for her gift and ran to show her mother the crystal rose that was surrounded by flames.
Gandalf was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of someone yelling.
He turned and there was Bilbo Baggins running toward them yelling "Wait!" with the contract flapping wildly behind him.
Annelise was pleasantly surprised to see the Hobbit as she was very upset that morning when they set out and she saw that he was not amongst their Company.
Everyone drew their ponies and horses to a stop before Bilbo stopped in front of Balin and, holding up the contract, said, "I signed it." He then proceeded to hand it to the dwarf.
Balin looked down at Bilbo before pulling out his reading glass and turning to exam the contract. "Everything seems to be in order. Welcome, Master Baggins, to the Company of Thorin Oakenshield," he said before chuckling lightly with others in the company.
This laughter was soon ended by Thorin's commanding voice. "Give him a pony."
The smile was quickly wiped of Bilbo's face as he began to protest. "No, no, no, really that won't be necessary. Thank you. I'm sure I can keep up on foot. I-I've done my share of walking holidays, you know? Even got as far as Frogmorten once-" Bilbo was quickly interrupted by two of the Company grabbing him by the shoulders before lifting him up onto one of the spare ponies ahead of Annelise and her cousins.
Annelise looked ahead to see the poor hobbit looking very uncomfortable and uncertain atop his new pony and she couldn't help but chuckle lightly under her breath. Next to her, both of her cousins heard and turned to see what had made her laugh, before joining in at the sight of the Hobbit.
Annelise was talking to her cousins when she heard Oin shout, "Come on, Nori! Pay up!"
Soon bags of money were being tossed around and Annelise could only guess that the dwarves had taken wagers on whether or not Bilbo would come.
She looked ahead to Bilbo, and smiled when she saw Bombur throw a small coin bag to Gandalf, who was riding in front of them next to the hobbit. The wizard caught it before turning to the Hobbit and saying, "My dear fellow, I never doubted you for a second."
Bilbo proceeded to nod for a moment, before sneezing loudly.
"Ah, it's horse hair," he said, reaching into one of his pockets. "Having a reaction. Ah," he continued and Annelise watched as he began to search more quickly through his pockets. She suspected he was looking for a handkerchief.
"No, wait, wait, stop!" she heard the Hobbit yell loudly to the rest of the Company. "Stop! We have to turn around!" The rest of the Company proceeded to stop their ponies and turned to look at the Hobbit.
"What on earth is the matter?" Gandalf asked impatiently.
"I forgot my handkerchief," Bilbo replied. Annelise couldn't help but look to Kili with worry in her eyes. If the poor Hobbit couldn't live without a handkerchief, how was he going to last in this quest?
"Here!" Bofur said, before tearing a piece of his tunic off. "Use this," he finished, before throwing the piece of cloth to Bilbo.
The hobbit caught it before looking at it hesitantly, while the rest of the Company laughed.
"Move on!" Annelise heard her father yell from the front of their group.
Everyone began moving forward while Bilbo stayed still messing with the cloth.
Annelise let her cousins ride ahead of her, while she pulled up next to the Hobbit.
"I fear you are going to have to get used to doing without some things on this journey," she said looking down kindly at the Hobbit. "But," she said, grabbing the cloth out of Bilbo's hand and giving him a clean handkerchief from one of her saddle bags, "you may use my extra handkerchief, instead of this dirty old thing."
With that she stuffed the cloth from Bofur into her bag where her rags were that she used to clean her weapons.
"Thank you very much, Annelise," Bilbo said quietly as he looked down at the white handkerchief in his hand.
"You're welcome, Bilbo. I know going on this quest is not something you are used to but I can promise you, it will be an experience you will never forget," she said smiling down at him from atop Silmë.
At these last words, the Hobbit finally looked up at her and Annelise saw a small smile form on his face. "I'm sure you're right. And it can't be easy for you going on a long journey with only men for company."
Annelise laughed out loud at this statement and Bilbo blushed, afraid he might have insulted the only person in the group whose company he didn't mind. "I have grown used to it. Back home the only woman I really know is my father's sister, Dis. She is Fili and Kili's mother."
"You seem very close with your cousins. The dark haired one the most."
"That's Kili. He and Fili have always been closer to brothers than cousins to me. Father told me the first thing I did when I saw Kili was smile at him and reach out my hand to grab his finger. He and Fili helped my father teach me everything I know about fighting and have always been my protectors. They were there the day my father found me."
"Found you?"
"Yes. My father and cousins were living in Gondor, in the capital city of Minas Tirith, at the time. I was found in a basket when I was three years old in his forge with nothing but a note with my name telling him to take care of me and this necklace," she said, pulling the chain of her necklace out from beneath her shirt.
Bilbo studied the necklace for a moment before saying, "It is very beautiful. It looks to be of Elvish make though, not something from Gondor."
"Yes, I have always thought that. It is strange though, to think of someone abandoning a child with such a priceless piece of jewelry."
"It is but whoever left you there must have had a reason."
"That's true. And I wouldn't trade my family for anything in the world."
"Do you think one day you will try to find out how you came to be there?"
Annelise looked ahead of her toward Gandalf. He was riding so close, she was sure that he had heard most of their conversation. "I have a feeling that the answers are a lot closer than I thought they were."
Bilbo saw the way she was looking at Gandalf and got the feeling that the wizard might know something about her past. He decided that maybe he should leave the subject alone for now until Annelise wanted to talk about it more.
They rode in silence together for a few minutes before Bilbo sneezed again loudly. He patted his nose with the handkerchief Annelise had given him, thanking her again for giving it to him.
As he thanked her, Gandalf pulled back to ride on the other side of the Hobbit. He looked over Bilbo's head at Annelise and she could tell from the look in his eyes that he had heard everything she and Bilbo had said. He smiled sadly at the young girl before saying to the Hobbit, "You will have to manage without pocket handkerchiefs and a good many other things, Bilbo Baggins, before we reach our journey's end. You were born to the rolling hills and little rivers of the Shire. But home is now behind you. The world is ahead."