literature

In Broken Beats - Chapter 1

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I was but a little fauntling then, much too young to be on my own, but my Took side was thrumming with excitement for that day was the first time I really remember visiting the marketplace of Hobbiton. I was amazed with it all.

Mother and father had needed to resupply the pantry of Bag End.

I was swept away by the excitement of it it all and in the hustle and bustle I got seperated from them.

A women with beautiful dark curls wearing a sunbonnet reached a hand out.

"Here, Bilbo, dear. Take my hand."

When only silence echoed back to her, and no small hand grasped hers, the woman looked down quickly. When she found that her son was indeed not there, she turned around, her eyes scanning the marketplace for any sign of honey-colored curls and wide brown eyes.

When she realized that her son is no where to be found, panicked filled her and she yelled his name,

"Bilbo!"

Her husband, a handsome gentlehobbit with beautiful mahagony hair and dancing blue eyes, automatically knew from the tone of her voice that something was wrong. He quickly excused himself from ordering from the butcher to jog back to her side.

"Bella, my darling, what is wrong?"

"Bungo, it's Bilbo! He's not here! I looked away for just a moment...just a moment, and then he was gone! We need to find him now!"

Bungo gently grabbed Belladonna by the shoulders and spoke softly to her.

"Bella, we are in the middle of Hobbiton Market, he can't have gone too far."

At his words, she relaxed, but only by a bit.

A Few Hours Before...

The young dwarf prince, on his way to Ered Luin, had decided to stop in Bywater to see if his blacksmith trade was needed.

He went straight to the tavern. Which was the best place to go to hear of all going-ons in any town or village.

He ordered a bowl of stew and an ale before asking.

He was disappointed by what he heard.

"Bywater has a decent enough blacksmith so work would be scarce for you, Master Dwarf. If you are needing work, you could always try in Hobbiton." The barkeep told him, refilling his pint of ale.

Thorin nodded his head in thanks as he continued to eat.

"Hobbiton. Is it far?"

The barkeep shook his head, "Not far at all. Just a little ways from here, you just have to follow the road west and then when the road splits into three different directions, just take the road that leads north. You won't miss it."

"Do they have an inn?"

The man nodded again, "Aye. The Green Dragon and reasonably priced too."

Thorin wordlessly snorted as soon as he heard the name.

'Dragons...'

It seemed that where-ever he went, or how far he went, he would never be free from that blasted dragon.

He pushed the bowl forward as he stood. He slipped his pack back on and when he adjusted the pack, he threw his cloak over that, adjusting the clasp.

"It is getting rather late, Master Dwarf. I do have rooms available, if you'd like one for the night?"

Thorin shook his head, "There is nothing out there that can bring harm to me."

The barkeep raised his hands in defeat, "No offense meant, sir. I mearly meant that you have been traveling a longs way already and thought you might have need of a rest."

"I will rest when I reach Hobbiton." With those words, the dwarf prince left the tavern and began his journey down the road to the aforementioned town.

/ ~ / ~ / ~ /

It took Bungo and Belladonna no time to gather some volunteers to look for their boy.

Although the older hobbit ladies just shook their heads at them.

"It's normal for a first time mother to worry so. After your third fauntling or so, it gets much easier." One told, patting her hand in assurance.

"There is nothing here or near here that can hurt that boy or any of us for that matter." Another older lady stated bluntly, hoping to assuage Bella's fears.

But for Belladonna Baggins nee Took, she knew of more terrors in the world than any other Hobbit there, so she was not easily swayed by their words.

As the sun began to set over the town, the hustle and bustle began to slow and the noises began to fade as the day's last purchases were agreed on and the stalls began to clear out.

She stood on the bridge over the inlet from the river, watching as the lanterns were lit, and other mothers herded their children in for the last meal of the day.

She looked up at her husband as he approached, tears gathering in her eyes.

He wrapped his arms around her as she crumpled against him, sobbing. "I want him back, Bungo! I want my baby back in my arms!"

He laid a kiss on her temple. "We'll find him, my dear. Bilbo's strong, just like you. He'll be okay."

She sniffled as she looked back out across the water, scanning the horizon.

'My dear Bilbo...where are you?'

/ ~ / ~ / ~ /

He was nearly there, he could see a soft light in the distance. His feet sped up as he thought of the soft bed and warm food awaiting him.

That was until a faint noise caught his attention.

Thorin paused, listening for the sound again.

There! He turned to the forest to the far right of him.

"Hep!" The voice was high-pitched and very difficult to make out this far away.

'Hep? What manner of speech was that?'

It wasn't until he approached the edge of the trees that he heard it more clearly.

"Help!"

It was a child!

He needed no more incentive than that and he was drawing his shortsword, and running off through the trees.

"Child?! Do you hear me?!" He called out, but after a few seconds, no replay came.

"If you can hear me, call out! I will not hurt you!"

"You yell loud mister."

Thorin turned sharply at the reply and found a strange sight.

The child was small, much more than a dwarrow child. His round face had splotches of mud her and there.,, but he could make out wide brown eyes and chubby cheeks, and a head full of honey-colored curls. His clothes were also muddied and ripped and his feet were bare.

It wasn't until he looked more closely, that he noticed that the child's feet seemed too large for his body and that there was a small tuft of dark brown hair on the tops of both of them.

"Mister?" The child's voice shook him from his study.

"Are you hurt?" He replied, sheathing his sword.

The child shook his head, the motion causing his curls to go bouncing.

"No. I'ma lost."

"How did you get out here?"

The child smiled, a wide and brightening smile that reminded him of his nephews. That thought made his chest ache, but he pushed it away quickly.

"I was lookin' for elves, f'course. Then it started gettin' dark. I got scared."

Thorin scowled at the answer and shook his head.

"Where is your home?"

"With my mum and da, f'course." The little boy answered, looking smug.

The prince inwardly groaned at the reply. 'Of course.'

"Is it in Hobbiton?"

The little boy nodded his head furiously. "Yes! I was there with mum and da getting nums for the house."

'Nums?' He must have had a confused look on his face, because the boy started naming them off for him.

"Cheese, rolls, apples, strawberries, and fish...OH! And mushrooms! You can't forget the mushrooms!"

Thorin smirked in amusement at the boy's enthusiasm. 'He gets just a excited as Fili and Kili at the mention of sweetcakes.'

An owl hooted just then and the boy jumped.

"What was that?"

"It was an owl, nothing more. Here, I'll take you back home."

The boy nodded, then jumped down from the log he was standing on, and when he was right in front of him, he stopped.

"What's your name, mister?"

"It's Thorin. And yours child?"

"Mine's Bilbo!"

Then the child shocked Thorin by holding up his arms, indicating to the dwarf that he wanted him to pick him up.

Thorin grudgingly stooped down and picked him up, swinging him onto his shoulders, which caused the child to let out a shout of glee, which in turn caused him to chuckle.

"Let's get you home, little one."

The sky was darkening as he neared the outskirts of Hobbiton carrying a little boy with honey-colored curls that had somehow, in that short amount of time, awoke a fierce protectiveness in him.
Chapter one of my newest story.
© 2013 - 2024 WhispersOfStarlight
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Panukakkuu's avatar
Awww jesus that was so cute
LITTLE BILBO IS SO PRECIOUS AAA IM DYING