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Bella Baggins, formerly of the Shire, sat in her office as she reviewed the latest reports from Dale. It had only been a couple of years since the Battle of Five Armies, but with all three kingdoms working together, the city of Men came together quickly. It had taken quite a bit of negotiation, and Bella had forbidden Thorin from ever being in the same room as Thranduil without either herself or Dís present.
Granted, the fact that Legolas quickly agreed to her order only proved the Prince of the Woodland Realm held no illusions about the shaky peace currently reigning between Dwarf and Elf.
At the sound of someone entering, she looked up and blinked to see Lobelia and Balin coming in, each bearing a tray. “Oh!” she exclaimed as she dug through her papers for her schedule. “Were we supposed to have tea today? I’ve completely lost track of time, but I don’t think I recalled any such plans when I began trying to sort out my correspondence. I am so sorry!”
“Calm down, Bella,” Lobelia sighed, rolling her eyes. “You’re working too hard again, and I’m insisting on a break.”
“I have too much to-.”
“No, Bella dear,” Balin interrupted. “Lobelia is quite correct.”
When she opened her mouth to argue, her cousin pointed at her. “Do not argue with me, Belladonna Baggins, or I will march myself down to the throne room this instant and have Thorin issue a royal decree.” She stuck her nose in the air as Bella gaped at her. “Don’t think I won’t do it!”
Giving a soft snort, Bella straightened her papers. “You’d do it,” she huffed. “Without so much as a second thought.”
After all, Lobelia had been at her house when Gandalf the Wizard descended on Bag End with thirteen Dwarves and some story of adventure, gold, and a fire-breathing dragon. Both Hobbit women had thought him quite cracked . . . until he pointed out the Dwarves needed a home, somewhere they could be as safe as the Hobbits in the Shire. That story, plus the antics of the three youngest Dwarves, had softened their opinion.
The Dwarves needed another Companion.
They ended up with two when Lobelia pitched a fit about Bella going off alone without so much as a chaperone. Why, the very idea had sent her into a rant about the impossibilities of condoning such an action for any Hobbit – and Bella the granddaughter of the Thain himself!
“So, you will take a break and have tea with us,” Lobelia nodded.
Balin took one of the seats near her fire, smiling as both Hobbits joined him. “It’s been quite the cold winter,” he decided, “and we’re all looking forward to summer.” Then he offered Bella an amused look. “Your cousin sent quite the trade offering, full of all kinds of things needed for the gardens you’ve been planning.”
“Certain Dwarves opinions on ‘green food’ notwithstanding, we need more than meat and fish for everyone to be healthy,” Bella pointed out. “Hobbits are quite brilliant with gardens. The Men certainly seem interested in learning.”
“So do a few Dwarves,” Lobelia added. “I’ve had no less than three families approach us about their children wanting to learn our . . . Craft.”
Bella’s eyes went wide. “Have you really?”
“Quite the honor,” Balin put in before her cousin could reply. “I’m surprised I haven’t heard of this already.” He gave Lobelia a chiding look.
“I’m telling you now?” she offered.
“Balin likes to be the first to know everything,” Bella giggled. “That way he can look wise and all-knowing when the Durins start acting up and their egos needed to be knocked back down to the ground.”
“Hmph.” The old Dwarf tried to look put out, but he couldn’t quite hide the smile. “Well, you wouldn’t be entirely wrong. However, we may need to see about creating another Guild.”
“For gardening?”
“It is a Craft, my dears,” he reminded them. “From my observation, it requires patience, work, and a knowledge of plants, seasons, weather, and the earth beneath our feet.” He paused, tilting his head in consideration. “Given that it is under to hand of your Green Lady, our own Maker’s wife, it may prove a more important Craft than we Dwarves would guess.”
Bella exchanged a look with Lobelia at that.
Yavanna, the Green Lady, would doubtless smile and bless any such honor. Gardening required the gardener to tend to the land, treating it with respect while not letting it run wild either.
“You and Lobelia should discuss it,” Bella decided. “If you need a Craft Master, she would be the better choice.”
Lobelia blinked at her. “Bella?”
She shrugged. “Number one, I’m apparently already have enough duties to keep me busy,” she pointed out. “People keep interrupting my work to insist I rest as it is, and we still have three months until the wedding. I can’t imagine my schedule will get any lighter once Thorin puts that crown on my head.” She rolled her eyes. “Queen, honestly,” she muttered.
“Yes, you will be a queen,” Balin chuckled. “And no, you’re quite right – you will likely have even more people keeping an eye on you to make sure you get proper rest and sunlight.”
“So, I guessed,” she nodded. “Therefore, Lobelia would be the best choice.”
Her cousin sat back, sipping on her tea, and Bella could see her trying to decide whether to protest the idea or accept the responsibility. She herself had no doubts Lobelia would take the position. After all, what better way to make sure the Dwarves learned how to garden correctly? With all the respect such work required? Lobelia would never allow them to be sloppy about their gardens and orchards, and she would relish the chance to make her adopted home even more prosperous.
When she glanced over at Balin, he offered her a quick wink. “While my adopted daughter thinks on that,” he decided, “perhaps you will tell me what your family has been doing this week, Bella dear? They’ve been quite busy, and we still have a couple of days before the Company’s weekly dinner.”
“Oh, they’re all keeping secrets,” she laughed. She selected a cookie from the tray. “I’m being very good and not asking, but they’re conspiring about something with Thorin and the boys.”
“Ah,” he nodded. “No doubt it is a gift or something for the wedding.”
She rolled her eyes. “Honestly, I adore my adopted family, but . . . do you know ’Adad wanted to know my preference between warm ivory and cream?”
Lobelia sniffed at her. “Warm ivory suits you better. Cream has too much yellow.”
“Yes, cousin, thank you.” Bella lifted an eyebrow at Balin. “They’re ridiculously close to the same shade. He ended up deciding on warm ivory after holding several different swatches of material up near my face and hair.”
“Good,” her cousin nodded.
“Your father simply wants the best for his adopted daughter,” Balin chuckled.
“Which I appreciate, I do.”
Bella meant every word. She loved her new family – and their hovering and fussing. Even when it reached the point of ridiculous. Fortunately, when they hit that point, the Dwarf women stepped in and even Thorin eyed his sister with caution when Dís got a sharp look in her eyes.
Still, she did find it amusing that they’d adopted her at all. As a full-grown Hobbit lady of fifty, she certainly wasn’t some youngster. Unlike her cousin. At barely thirty-three, Lobelia had only come of age a month or so before the quest began.
The entire Company had been horrified when they found out during their rest at Beorn’s house after escaping goblins, orcs, and wargs on the backs of giant eagles.
“Thirty-three? You’re only thirty-three? You’re a baby!”
With most of the Dwarves shouting all kinds of nonsense, she couldn’t keep track of who shouted what, but clearly, they didn’t understand the Hobbit they were talking about. Lobelia’s spine snapped straight, and she march right into the midst of them, her voice already echoing around Beorn’s yard as she began giving them a piece of her mind.
Green Lady, Great Smith, if I don’t head this off, she’ll be reaching for a frying pan next.
Nodding to herself as Lobelia lectured the Dwarves, Bella went over to where Thorin and Balin sat. Clearly, they too discussed the situation, but she had no doubt they intended to make a decision about the entire situation and then turn it into an order. She needed to make sure they took all factors into account before actually deciding.
Dwalin eyed her as she approached. “Going to argue for or against, lass?”
“You’ll be able to hear me just as well as they can,” she pointed out.
His lips twitched beneath that beard of his, and he stepped to the side. “True enough.”
“You have information to add, Miss Baggins?” Balin questioned as he stood up to offer her a seat. “Something that will help with this conundrum?”
She waved him back down. “I’ve told you, please do call me Bella.” Then she straightened her shoulders. “First and foremost, you should know that by all Hobbit tradition, Lobelia is an adult, with the right to make the decision she made.” Thorin went to speak but held his silence when she lifted a hand. “Thank you. I acknowledge she’s young, but you’ve seen for yourself that she can be quite capable.”
“We don’t question that, lass,” Dwalin put in from behind her.
“Good.” Now Bella clasped her hands in front of her. “Her age and capability to the side, I should tell you about her family.”
Thorin’s eyebrows went up. “Her family?”
“The Bracegirdles,” she nodded, lips twisting into a frown. “They’re . . .” Her voice trailed off and she sighed. “Well, they’re entirely too insular. It would be one thing if they were simply traditional, but they’re downright . . .” Again, she had to pause and huff out a breath. Better to just spit out the truth. “They’re not going to welcome Lobelia back with open arms.”
Balin leaned forward, curiosity and confusion in his kind gaze. “Perhaps you’d explain that a bit further?” he encouraged. “What do you mean?”
“She was well within her rights to choose to come on this quest,” Bella repeated, “but she broke all of her family customs by doing it. They don’t believe in Hobbits running off and leaving the Shire to get involved with outsiders.”
“And you believe they’ll . . . what?” Thorin pressed. “Cast her out?”
Bella rocked on her feet as she thought about his question. “It’s possible?” she allowed after a moment. “It’s more likely they’ll force her into seclusion.”
“Force her?”
Three Dwarf voices speaking in unison could certainly catch attention, and Bella hastily glanced towards her cousin. She sighed in relief when she saw Lobelia shaking her head at something Glóin was saying. “Keep it down!” she ordered. “Or we’ll have her over here lecturing all of you.”
Thorin drew in a deep breath, and she could see him forcing his voice to stay low. “What do you mean they will force her into seclusion?”
“Most Hobbits are – by nature – very social creatures,” she shrugged. “If you wish to isolate one, you simply start to ignore them. They wouldn’t let her starve or anything, but they shall shun her in every other way. It would be as if she didn’t exist. Given that Lobelia still lives with her parents, she would be living in a cold silent home.”
“Could she not go stay with someone else?” Balin inquired.
“Yes, but few of her family would be any different than her parents. They won’t allow her to starve or go homeless, but they wouldn’t be welcoming either.” She shook her head. “Lobelia would either have to move in with distant cousins or find a husband who would accept her ‘oddities’.” Rolling her eyes, she gave him a droll look. “Dwarves are not the only clannish and stubborn ones, you know.”
“And what of you?”
At Thorin’s quiet question, Bella blinked. “Me?”
He gave her a serious look. “Will your family shun you as well?”
A sharp indrawn breath from Balin and a quiet rumbling growl from Dwalin told her to walk carefully with this answer. If she had to guess, based on what knowledge she’d gleaned from traveling with the Dwarves all these months? Her standing between Thorin and Azog, facing down the White Orc and killing his warg to protect their king and her traveling companion . . . it had given her a certain status in the Company. She’d noticed the change almost as soon as the Eagles dropped them off on the Carrock.
Now, letting her eyes skim over all three Dwarves, she could see the potential for violence shimmering in the incipient anger on her behalf.
Oh, Green Lady, let me settle this.
“My Baggins relatives will sigh and shake their heads,” she chuckled, “but they probably won’t be too surprised. My mother was a Took, you see.”
Bewilderment wiped away some of the fury as Thorin frowned. “Took?”
“Yes,” she nodded. “My mother was the daughter of the Old Took, and the younger sister of Hildigrim Took, the current Thain of the Shire. Tooks are known for doing odd things – folks simply sigh and accept it.”
“Odd things?” Balin repeated.
“Oh, yes,” Bella laughed. “My mother went on many an adventure with Gandalf before she married my father. If your quest had happened while she was still alive, you probably wouldn’t have gotten your entire story finished before she’d have been up, her walking stick in hand and hat on her head, to shove you out the door and down the road.”
“Ah, so your sense comes from your father’s side?” Thorin teased, the lines of his face softening.
She jabbed a finger in his direction. “No one who goes marching down a burning tree to face off against a pack of orcs and wargs by himself without so much as waiting for help gets to start commenting on other people’s sense, Thorin Oakenshield.” Laughing, he held up his hands as if in surrender, and she gave a firm nod. “Now, I’m in no real danger of being ignored in the Shire,” she assured them, returning to the subject at hand. “However, there’s a good chance that Lobelia will be. Please consider that before trying to order her home. It will be better for her if we return together so she has the choice of staying with me.”
They’d agreed to think about her words, and when Thorin finally gave the Company his decision, he informed them that Lobelia would remain with the Company as she had more than earned her place in their number.
Then came Mirkwood, giant spiders, and a very irritating Elf king.
When Lobelia and Bella managed to liberate them from his prison, they’d come up on the shore of the river like two drowned cats - both of them frightened, cold, and spitting mad. Thorin started giving orders almost the moment they’d all made it to shore, and Bella didn’t know which one of them would hit him first – her or Lobelia.
As it turned out, neither of them had to bother.
Dwalin smacked his friend and king on the side of the head as Balin and Dori hustled over to the two Hobbits. They fussed and hovered until both Hobbits managed to catch their breath. “Thorin, you idiot,” Dwalin hissed at him. “Look at the youngsters.”
At his words, Bella managed to glance around. Óin and Fíli hovered over the injured Kíli while Glóin and Bombur were trying to assist Ori out of his extra layers of sodden wool. She knew she and Lobelia counted as well, and she could only lean into Dori as she continued focusing on her breathing. Personally, she felt like she’d swallowed half the river.
Lobelia had to be equally exhausted and even more terrified. At least Bella had spent time with the Brandybucks, learning a little about rivers.
Balin gave Thorin a firm look. “I know we’ve got orcs coming, but they need a moment.”
“So does Kíli,” Fíli insisted in a voice just as hard as Balin’s eyes. “That arrow had to have been poisoned with something. He’s already burning up.”
Bella could see the pain and worry wrestling with the fear and anxiety in Thorin’s expression as he eyed the trees surrounding them. “We’ve got a few minutes only,” he finally stated. “Do whatever you can, then we need to get moving or we’re all going to be dead anyway.” He looked at the rest of the Company. “Dwalin, stay here with them while Bifur, Bofur, and I try to get a quick look around.”
Letting the Dwarves worry about it seemed like a good idea to her, so Bella closed her eyes and let Dori fuss and fret over her to his heart’s content. He encouraged her to lean against him as he worked on drying her curls, and she must have dozed off a bit with the comfort of letting someone take care of her.
“You want to what?”
Lobelia’s surprised voice brought Bella out of her light doze, and she blinked to see her cousin gaping at Balin. She turned her head to look up at Dori. “What happened?” she asked in a soft voice.
He continued trying to dry her hair as he smiled down at her. “Balin wants to adopt her.”
“Adopt her?”
“Yes, Bella dear,” Dori chuckled. “I understand she’s an adult, but really, she’s much too young to be out here on her own. Besides, the two of you have been simply wonderful about the entire quest. We all know she’s going to face family troubles when you go home, so Balin is offering her another family. She’s more than earned our loyalty, just like you have. Once we take back the mountain, she’ll always have a home with Balin and Dwalin.” He gave a decided nod. “It’s an excellent idea. I’d offer to do the same if you needed it.”
She gave a soft laugh, one interrupted by a cough. “Would that make Ori my brother or my uncle?”
He put a hand on her forehead. “No fever yet,” he muttered. “We need to get you somewhere dry.” Then he shook his head. “Technically he’d be your uncle, dear, but you’d be better off treating him as your brother, given your respective ages.”
“Good,” she decided, closing her eyes again. “Because then we can drive you to distraction discussing books and trying to hide from Nori.”
Dori’s hands paused on her hair. “Bella dear, do you want to be adopted?”
Opening her eyes, she looked at him. It had been a bit of a joke from her side, a reminder of the trouble and mischief it would bring, but something in Dori’s eyes looked almost haunted, hopeful. So, she considered it for a long moment. Finally, she offered him a soft smile. “I’ve got cousins galore, and you’d have to meet some of them, or you’ll have entire groups of Tooks descending on you,” she admitted.
His hand landed on her shoulder. “But?”
“But I don’t have any close family, Dori, and . . . well, except for Lobelia, it’s a bit lonely sometimes. If she accepts Balin’s offer and stays here . . . I won’t have anyone close.”
“Then you shall be ours, hmm?” He slid his arm around her shoulders and tugged her close. “We shall be happy to meet your family, dear heart, and once we’ve gotten ourselves secure in the Mountain, we will figure out how to stay in contact with all of your cousins.”
“Can we?”
“There will be trade caravans west,” he assured her. “Letters and visits shouldn’t be too difficult once we’ve rebuilt our strength.”
She returned his hug with a fierce one of his own. “Then, yes, Dori, I’d love to be adopted.”
Sudden shouts of excitement broke the moment, and they drew back to look around at their companions. Bella opened her mouth to ask a question, only to be interrupted at a loud demand that brought immediate silence to the clearing.
“You want to what?”
Both of them turned to look as the newly-returned Thorin – all unknowing – echoed Lobelia’s earlier demand. He stood there, staring at Balin and Dwalin as they squared off with him, prepared to turn the discussion into a fight. “Do you have an issue with our plan, cousin?” Balin asked in his most diplomatic tone, one that even Bella and Lobelia recognized as dangerous.
Thorin turned his eyes to the sky above as if looking for answers. Or maybe it was patience? “I’m not arguing with your plan, Balin. If you want to adopt Lobelia, I’ll accept her as a cousin gladly.” He heaved out a deep sigh as he shifted his gaze back to them. “I’m merely questioning your timing. We need to get somewhere safe, then we can do the adoption.” He paused, lifting his brows as he looked at Lobelia. “As long as you agreed to this?”
“Ah, yes?” she nodded, still blinking in bewildered surprise. “I did?”
Given the twitch of his beard, Bella could only guess that Thorin bit back either another sigh or a laugh. “Good. We’ll have a small ceremony once we’re somewhere more secure and you can plan a bigger one later.”
“Thorin?” Dori called out, smiling a bit when the Dwarf gave him a ‘what now’ look. “There’ll be two adoption ceremonies.”
Again, the Company erupted in excitement – no one louder than Nori and Ori as they came hurrying over to throw their arms around Dori and Bella.
And again, Thorin shouted them down.
Once they settled, he nodded at Dori. “Two ceremonies,” he agreed. Then he gave an exasperated look at the entire Company. “Are we ready to move now? Darkness is coming, and we still don’t know where those orcs are at. I want to be away from this spot as soon as possible.”
Then a Man – Bard – showed up, and everything got a little chaotic again.
Lobelia broke into her musings by offering to pour her another cup of tea. “You know, cousin, I could probably find out what they’re being so secretive about,” she offered as she poured. “It’s not that hard to get Ori to talk.” She rolled her eyes. “And Green Lady only knows I love Kíli, but he’s never able to keep a secret for long either.”
Bella laughed as Balin shook his head. “No, Lobelia, let them play their game and have their little secrets. If I’m very, very lucky, perhaps it won’t be too ostentatious.”
“Best of luck?” She gave her cousin an unimpressed look, but Lobelia only shrugged. “Bella, I don’t think any of them even understand the concept of subtle. They keep trying to put jewels on everything. Dori wanted to decorate the lace with silver thread!” She shook her head, a little laugh escaping her. “And then there’s everything they put Thorin through during the courting.”
“It’s traditional,” Balin reminded them. “The time of courtship shows the female’s family how important she will be to her husband and his kinfolk.”
“As if anyone had any doubts about that when it came to Thorin and Bella!” Lobelia sipped her own refreshed tea. “Goodness, the way everyone carried on. You would think you’d never met him before, and he was some random stranger showing up on the doorstep to demand Bella’s hand.”
He shook his head. “At that point, he was a stranger. Despite being our friend, companion, and king, he would have to prove himself worthy of Bella’s hand. Dori did quite right to insist that all of the traditions and protocols be followed.”
Bella interrupted before Lobelia could argue. “Even if I considered it a bit excessive, I have to admit that it worked out for the best,” she allowed.
Lobelia cocked an eyebrow at her. “Oh?”
“Did you see how the Dwarves from the Blue Mountains reacted?” she pointed out. “Even the Dwarves from the Iron Hills who’d remained to help after the battle approved. It convinced everyone that I would be following their important customs.”
Sighing, her cousin nodded. “Yes, and it does show impeccable manners that he not only included your Dwarf family, but also corresponded with your cousin back in the Shire.”
“Fortunately, he took your advice and arranged for a handful of blacksmiths to spend the winter in the Shire,” Bella chuckled. “Cousin Fortinbras is quite happy about the current state of tools in the Tooklands. He was also wickedly amused at the way the rest of the families – except for certain Bagginses – had to trade for equally good work.”
“Which brings us full circle,” Balin pointed out. “Back to a discussion of your Craft, Lobelia, and the trade goods sent.”
“What will we need to do in order to register it as a Craft?” Bella asked.
“Tomorrow, Lobelia and I will meet with the families who have children wanting to learn,” he told her. “I’ll ask the usual questions of youngsters ready to pursue their Crafts, and if they truly are called to gardening, then we will approach Thorin about creating a new Craft and appointing new Masters.”
“Hmm . . .” Lobelia considered it for a long moment. “We’ll have to determine how one might create a Masterwork, won’t we? It won’t exactly be like creating something as the current Crafts do.”
“Certainly, that is something we will need to consider,” Balin agreed. “I think we should have the entire Company be a part of that discussion. It will allow us to gather many different opinions.”
“As well as including several different Masters and Journeymen,” Bella pointed out. “Balin, Dori, Dís, and Thorin are all Masters while Bombur, Ori, Fíli, and Kíli are all Journeymen.” She paused, considering. “There’s also Óin’s opinion to consider,” she suggested. “As a Master Healer, his Craft doesn’t quite do things the same as some of the others.”
“Good idea,” he nodded. “Neither does Bergní’s, and I’m sure Glóin’s wife would be happy to help us set up Lobelia’s Craft.”
“It will be Bella’s as well,” Lobelia put in. “I know she can’t be in charge of the Guild, not with everything she’ll be handling as Queen, but she should be recognized as a Master. If not in gardening, then in her scribe work.”
“Lobelia!”
“What?” Pure innocence glinted in her cousin’s eyes.
“That’s supposed to be a surprise!”
Balin chuckled. “I suppose the boys aren’t the only ones who are bad at keeping secrets,” he mused. “Are you preparing a Masterwork for me to review, Bella?”
She rolled her eyes at her cousin. “Not exactly, Balin,” she sighed. “I’m simply . . . writing a story of our journey to Erebor.” Putting her teacup down, she picked up a cookie and broke it in half. She threw half of it at Lobelia, making her cousin squawk, before smiling at him. “I’ve almost finished, including some artwork. Now I simply need to bind it, and it will be ready as a gift for Thorin.”
“Ah, for your own wedding gift,” he nodded in understanding. “Something you have made with your own hands.”
“Exactly.”
“Perhaps you will let me see it when it’s complete?” he suggested. “If the work truly is a Masterwork as Lobelia suggests, then I would happily put you forward as a Master of my Craft.” His eyes disappeared, so broad was his smile. “Indeed, it would be a great honor to have our new Queen in my Craft.”
Lobelia’s smile turned smug, a clear sign that her cousin needed to come back down to feel the ground beneath her toes.
“If I were you, I would less about my Craft, and worry a bit more about what will happen when a Dwarf decides he’d like to court you,” Bella pointed out, timing her words for the moment both Balin and Lobelia went to drink their tea. She hid her little smirk behind the rim of her own cup, blinking at them innocently when they both sent her exasperated looks.
“Really, Bella,” Lobelia began, only to stop as Bella shrugged.
“Think about it, cousin dear. Not only will the poor fellow have to impress Balin, but he’ll have to get around Dwalin as well.” Her smile deepened. “Of course, you’re also now the cousin of the Durin line, so there’s Thorin and Dís and the boys to consider.” She held up a finger. “Oh! It also connects you to Óin and Glóin.”
“Bella . . .”
She let the grin widen. “You’re also my cousin, and Dori, Nori, and Ori take that very seriously.” Then she lifted her shoulders and let them fall. “And do you really think Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur won’t be just as protective of you as they are of me?”
Putting her cup down, Lobelia buried her face in her hands. “Oh, by the Green Lady.”
“Yes, yes, cousin dear, I do think your potential future suitor may have just as much trouble as Thorin, if not more.”
Balin reached over to smack her knee. “Behave, Bella dear.”
“Yes, Balin.”
Lobelia peered at him between her fingers. “But she’s right, isn’t she?”
He gave her a rueful smile, something like amused sympathy gleaming in his eyes. “Yes, daughter of mine, I’m afraid she is.” He shook his head. “Granted, even if neither of you had been adopted, we would have done the same thing. You are Companions, and Dwarf-friends. The two of you stand alone in the annals of Erebor, the only two non-Dwarves to ever be gifted with warrior names. We would never have allowed anyone to attempt courting you without proving themselves.”
Bella sat back, smiling as Lobelia only groaned at the whole idea. While there were times she missed her cozy little Bag End, she loved her new home in the Mountain. Surrounded by such a strong sense of family and devotion, it finally felt like she’d found the place where she belonged. For the first time since the death of her parents, Bella Baggins truly had a home – a place where her heart could rest content, safe and protected by people who loved her.
Besides, she rather thought her cousin Drogo would enjoy having a new home now that he’d come of age. It wouldn’t be too many more years before he would find a wife and start a family.
Bag End could use the same kind of love and laughter she’d found here in Erebor.