Returning Home: A Hobbit Fanfiction

Chapter 11 - Making Waves

~~Celia~~

It had started out as a normal enough day - including the pouring rain that had been ever-present since before they left the Shire. Having remembered to pack their raincoats, the girls were in merry enough spirits, having managed to stay relatively dry. Fíli and Kíli, despite being thoroughly soaked due to leaving their version of rain coats at home, also managed to be somewhat cheerful. Everyone else, including Bilbo, were a good deal older - mentally, at least - and so thoroughly disgusted with the the weather.

"Here, Mister Gandalf, can't you do something about this deluge?" Dori asked miserably, after a particularly large raindrop had fallen down the back of his tunic. 

Gandalf sighed. "It is raining, Master Dwarf, and it will continue to rain until the rain is done. If you wish to change the weather of the world, you should find yourself another wizard." 

A glimmer of curiosity entered Bilbo's eyes. "Are there any?" he asked, lifting his head from it's previous hunched over position. 

"What?" asked Gandalf. 

"Other wizards," Bilbo elaborated.

Gandalf nodded slowly, gathering his thoughts. "There are five of us. The greatest of our order is Saruman the White. Then there are the two Blue Wizards; you know, I've quite forgotten their names." 

Celia narrowed her eyes at the mention of Saruman. "Filthy traitor!" she coughed quietly. Elena shot her an amused glance, but put a finger to her lips. Fíli and Kíli merely glanced at her curiously, having heard something in her coughing fit, but unable to actually make out what they were. 

Bilbo, meanwhile, was ignoring them - something he had quite a bit of practice at. "And who is the fifth?"

"Well, that would be Radagast the Brown," Gandalf answered. 

Bilbo nodded, accepting the answer, before another gleam entered his eyes. "And is he a great wizard, or... more like you?" 

This time it was Elena who had to hide her laughter in a coughing fit, while Gandalf merely looked offended. "I think he's a very great wizard, in his own way. He's a gentle soul who prefers the company of animals to others. He keeps a watchful eye over the vast forest lands to the East, and a good thing too, for always Evil will look to find a foothold in this world."

Celia nodded. "And sometimes it will find one right in our own backyard," she said softly. 

Gandalf heard the whisper and looked back at her. "Do you speak of former allies turned traitors, Lady Celia, or of those who, while never deliberately working for the forces of Evil, will help its work rather than hinder it?" 

Celia licked her lips before answering, noticing Thorin slightly turning his head back towards them. He was still keeping a watchful eye on the forest around them, but also listening closely to what they had to say.

"I think it can be both," she admitted. "For instance, in our world, the man who ran our orphanage wasn't deliberately evil, per se. He never abused us, or starved us, but he became a slave to drink, and ended up risking all of our lives in an attempt to get money for more liquor."

 Dori, who hadn't heard this tale the first time, gasped in outrage. "How can you call that man anything but evil? If such a thing had happened in one of our cities, he'd have been executed for being so careless with lives - particularly the lives of children!"

Celia tilted her head to the side thoughtfully. "I think my main point was that he wasn't necessarily acting out of malicious intent. He didn't want any of us to be killed, and he admitted as much at his trial. But what he did was very wrong. He let himself do a wicked deed, without necessarily evil motives. He was greedy, yes, but he never intended for all the children to be there at the time. And once he realized that, he tried as hard as he could in his drunken stupor to help."