A Tale of Time

Chapter 10: Scarred and Scared

Chapter 10: Scarred and Scared 

3 Years Later

The trip back to the Shire was more eventful than both Gailien and Bilbo had hoped. As a surprise to both of them, Beorn met them at the gates to Erebor, offering his company until they reached his home once more. They filled their packs with honey cakes, eating them through most of the next few days as they wouldn't last long. The Elves of Mirkwood offered them safe passage, even escorting them through the forest and they made it through in less than two weeks. It was no less pleasant than the first time, but with the Elves' wits kept about them, they were in more than safe hands.

Where their trouble began was after they had stayed at Beorn's, leaving him behind so it was just the two of them on pony-back. It was the middle of the night, and utterly unexpected but a few stray Orcs who were a part of Azog's army were roaming free over the lands and the pair were attacked out of nowhere.

Both Bilbo and Gailien survived, though not unscathed. Heavily injured, they both dragged themselves to Rivendell where once again, Elrond offered them a safe haven.

The pair spent more time than they would admit to anybody who asked at Rivendell and for a while, Gailien wasn't sure if they would ever leave. She knew by then that her promise to return just under two years was not going to be probable.

Due to their injuries, Elladan, Elrond's son escorted them all the way back to the Shire. At first, Gailien had been very much stiff around him, having not travelled in company with unfamiliar people for a while, but the Elf proved to be more than nice and often joked around with them around the campfire and soon her walls fell.

Having lived well over three thousand years, Elladan was full of stories which he eagerly shared every night. Gailien's hands would rest on her fists, elbows balancing on her knees as she listened intently as he would enthral both herself and Bilbo. Though it wasn't conscious, their travelling slowed, almost to the point where Bilbo was sure they were not even making progress, but never said anything as Elladan was the one leading the pace and Gailien happily stayed with it.

He had a great hatred for Orcs, the creatures being the reason his mother, Elrond's wife, left for the Grey Haven's. She was tormented so much by her imprisonment by them, even after Elladan and his twin brother rescued her.

When it was Gailien's turn to tell a story, he listened just as intently, silently wondering how on Middle Earth she survived travelling with thirteen Dwarves. He and his brother were not there when they first came through Rivendell but has heard the stories from many mouths – particularly the sour one of Lindir's who still makes snarky remarks about their food stock.

But what really drew her to him, and him to her was their commonality of blood. His name quite literally translates to 'Elf-Man'. Though he never faced quite the same stigma, it concreted an automatic bond in which they shared.

As they arrived back in the Shire, all three of them were welcomed with the shock of a large crowd outside Bag End, furniture being passed through, along with everything else from crockery, vases, doilies and even his chairs. It was quite the kerfuffle, but along with Bilbo's contract to prove his identity, Gailien's threat, and Elladan's presence – which practically screamed authority – they were able to retrieve most of his things.

Bilbo couldn't thank the pair enough as Elladan stayed an extra week, helping the injured pair move things about the home, restoring it to almost how he left it. But once everything was in order, he knew he needed to return (and his neck was getting a bit sore from having to bend down constantly), promising to return once a season.

Heavy in her pack is a large sack of gold that Thorin had put in there before she awoke the morning of her departure. She did not find it until Beorn's where her pack had fallen off a chair and she heard the heavy thump of the gold.