Into the West (A Lord of the Rings Fan Fic)

Chapter Eleven

Amaruil was sitting on a wooden bench gazing out at the sky and absentmindedly watching the trees waving gently beneath it, when she saw a curious man walking down the path.

There were a number of reasons why his appearance caught Amaruil’s attention, not least because she thought that she knew nearly everyone who lived in Imladris. The first thing which set him apart from the elves of the city was his age – although he did not by any means look old, he appeared older than the elves, with slightly greying hair which curled away from his head as if it was trying to escape, and the beginnings of the signs of age, as if his skin was contemplating having wrinkles but hadn’t quite made its mind up yet – and the second was his height, for where the elves were lean and tall, he was barely four foot despite being fully grown, and seemed to Amaruil to be the smallest person that she had ever seen.

He was absorbed in his work and wandered between the trees, completely oblivious of the elf who was watching him with a mixture of curiosity and amusement, and Amaruil found that her thoughts had been utterly misdirected by the little man’s appearance. Eventually he disappeared from view and Amaruil had just returned to her previous wonderings when he reappeared, almost as if by magic, for Amaruil certainly had not seen him, and sat down on the other end of her bench.

“Hello,” she said, startling him out of his reverie.

“Oh hello! Mae govannen,” he said, surprising Amaruil with his knowledge of her language.

“Where did you learn Sindarin?” she asked curiously.

“I had occasion to learn it when I was reading and due to an old friend of mine,” he replied, posing a comical picture with his feet hanging off the ground.

“Oh, and where does a…” Amaruil paused for a moment, not sure what to call him.

“Hobbit,” he supplied, “but many people call us Halflings.”

Amaruil gasped excitedly. “Oh you are a Halfling! I have read about them but never seen one… well, where does a Halfling meet such a friend, for I thought I read that your people do not enjoy much outside your homes.”

“Ah but I am no typical Hobbit,” he said with a mysterious and joking smile. “Bilbo Baggins,” he said, leaning over to shake Amaruil’s hand.

“Amaruil Celebrindal,” she said with a smile as she reached over, wrapping her hand around his very much smaller one. “Well Bilbo Baggins, how do you come to be in Imladris?” she asked lightly.

“I got a little bored of the Shire, which is where I lived,” he said, “and the Sackville-Bagginses were beginning to get on my nerves dreadfully, always turning up when I least expected them and when I least wanted them – which I must admit was all the time, for I have never wanted to see Lobelia or Otho, and frankly, their son Lotho is the most unpleasant being I have ever had the misfortune to meet; that's saying something considering I've met trolls that nearly ate me, among other things – and they were absolutely desperate to foist themselves on me. They assumed I had spare room and money you see, because I took on my dear young nephew Frodo.”

“How unfortunate,” Amaruil said, a little confused by his fast speech about people she didn’t know, “will they bother Frodo now?” she asked slowly.

“I hope not; I assume they’ll waste their time searching for me without realising that I’ve gone forever, and I know that they’ll have no idea where I’ve gone!” he said, breaking off in the middle of the conversation as he laughed heartily, finally finishing a few minutes later and a little breathless.

“Forever?” Amaruil questioned incredulously. “That seems a long time for someone who became a little bored.”

Bilbo shrugged nonchalantly as he chose his words. “You see, the Hobbits in the Shire, much as I love… well a few of them… are very disapproving of adventure and, having had one and because I’m getting on a bit, I thought I might quite like another; now I’m here though I think that I will be perfectly content just to live here in retirement, eating, writing, walking, thinking… yes, those are good ways for an old Hobbit to spend his time.”