A/N: Those of you who read "Our Song Ringing Through the Void" might remember Ilibella. Those of you who didn't, she is just a reoccurring servant character, no one important.
Ilibella Silentflower was no stranger to working for rich people, having spent her late teenage years and young adult life as a maid for a variety of rich families while she saved up to go to college.
And while she had accomplished that goal and had gone to college, a teacher's salary really did not go far in the current economy and the public school system was such a mess that she felt completely burnt out after only two years teaching middle school.
So, when she had been scouring a job website, she had been surprised by the unicorn of a job offer she had found.
"Governess Sought for Remote-Area Family in Dor-na-Daerachas" was the title of the job offer and she was surprised to see the job title, she had not heard of anyone having a governess in real life, it felt like something out of a history novel, nannies were the modern equivalent -sort of.
Curious, she tapped on the offer and read the description:
"Governess wanted to teach five children (4 boys, 1 girl; ages ranging from 4-12; including one special needs child). Must be willing to live in-house.
Salary: $150K annually (willing to increase based on additional qualifications)
Benefits: health, vision, and dental insurance; paid time off; education reimbursement; free room and board; possible free vacations accompanying the family.
Requirements: must have a teaching degree (bachelors at minimum); minimum of a year of teaching experience; first aid and CPR training; proficiency in Westron and sign language (preference will be given to those additionally multilingual); possess a valid driver's license and passport; willing to submit to a thorough background check and drug test; willing to accompany family nationally and internationally.
Responsibilities: provide a high-quality education to all five children; develop curriculum using engaging educational materials that promote self-discovery, love of STEM/STEAM/STREAM, and appreciation of the arts, while instilling etiquette and courtesy; provide regular progress reports to the parents; look after the children generally (occasionally including a six-month-old girl); additional responsibilities as needed.
The perfect candidate is a young unmarried childless woman willing to relocate to the family home for at least a full year, can speak several languages, plays instruments, and has a keen interest in alternative teaching methods.
Additionally, discretion and privacy are of utmost importance to this family and a non-disclosure agreement will be required upon hiring."
Despite not exactly meeting the 'perfect candidate' description, Ilibella met all the required ones and applied and eventually landed a virtual interview through a nanny agency and ultimately got the job.
***
The drive from Amon Lanc in the Greenwood to the middle of nowhere in Dor-na-Daerachas took nearly a week and while she knew it would have been much easier to catch a flight from Amon Lanc to the closest big city to Dor-na-Daerachas (Eithel Sirion in Hithlum) and just drive the rest of the way, she could not fit all her belongings in one suitcase and carry on.
So upon being hired, she quit her public school job, packed as much as she could into her car, sold everything else, and let her landlord know she had to break her lease early (thus losing her deposit, though luckily not having to pay for the rest of the months she had signed for since she had found someone else to take her apartment).
By the time her GPS told her she had arrived at the supplied address, Illibella was staring up at a mountainside mansion and the wrought-iron gate held the name 'Angband' across it.
Illibella drove up to the gate and rolled down her window, pressing the buzzer on the post.
It took a few moments but the intercom on it made a static noise before a gruff accented male voice asked, "Name and purpose here?"
"I'm Ilibella Silentflower. I was uh hired to be a governess." The blond explained, looking at the small camera above the speaker
The speaker was silent for a few seconds before shutting off, a loud buzz being heard as the gate was opened.
Beginning to drive forward, Ilibella's car was immediately surrounded by four male figures all clad in black.
One began to approach her window, a male with incredibly dark skin and pale -nearly white- eyes whose black jacket held the nametag 'Khamûl', speaking in the same voice as the person who she had just heard over the intercom, "Unlock all the car doors and trunk for us, ma'am. We've got to conduct a standard metal detection, drug dog sniff. Get out of the car as well so you can be frisked."
Nothing about this felt 'standard' but she had worked at a school with a metal detector so she obeyed and got out of her warm car and into the snowy driveway, regretting not putting her jacket on as she shivered in the cold, watching as the two of the other men waved metal detecting wands over her belongings and the third pulled a large dog to give everything a sniff.
The fourth man -Khamûl-, waved a similar wand around her sides, walking a circle around her to get every angle, before telling her that she could get back into her car and go to the next security checkpoint.
As Ilibella drove through the slightly windy driveway towards the mansion, she realized what exactly she had signed up for.
While she had worked for rich people before -doctors, lawyers, business owners, and even a judge- she had never worked for someone this clearly rich rich.
When she arrived at the next checkpoint, a little booth outside the garage, two female figures dressed identically to the men by the gate emerged.
This time, her bags were actually opened and checked and her electronics were confiscated, though the guard -one whose tag read 'Yuka'- said they were just being checked for malware or anything that might invade the home internet servers and would be delivered to her room in a few hours.
The garage was then opened and she passed several luxury vehicles and motorcycles as well as a dozen standard vehicles as she parked in the designated spot.
Getting out of her car for the third time in less than half an hour, Iliebella grabbed her purse and went towards the door that led into the house as she had been instructed to do, seeing a lone woman with olive skin and curled black hair waiting for her.
The security woman's tag read 'Míriel' and Ilibella was about to say something when the guard said, "The family is aware of your arrival and the children's mother will be the one to greet you. Follow me."
Ilibella obeyed and they went through the door, down a hallway, and up a flight of stairs to what seemed to be a living room where there were two people waiting for them.
The first was a short male (five foot even by her best guess) with curly golden blond hair and pale green eyes dressed comfortably in a maroon t-shirt and black shorts, offering her a kind smile as she approached.
In the male's arms was a baby with black curls, swaddled in a pink blanket, who Ilibella guessed was the six-month-old mentioned in the job description.
At first, she assumed he was a nanny and looked around the room for a woman, but she immediately looked back at him when he began to speak.
"Hello, you must be Ilibella, I'd offer my hand but my hands are full at the moment." The male greeted, "I'm Bilbo Bauglir and this is my daughter, Melinoë. I will give you a quick tour of the house and then you can meet my children."
She just nodded, "It is a pleasure to meet you. Your daughter is beautiful and I look forward to meeting the rest."
Bilbo smiled again and led her down the hallways, showing her the common areas before leading her upstairs -through an elevator- and to a set of rooms she was told would be the 'classroom' she would be teaching in.
"We had no choice but to find a governess you see, the closest private school is an hour away and I did not have the heart to send my babies to boarding school." Bilbo explained, "But I did not want to deny them the school experience so I set up a little classroom. It is rather barebones right now, but just let me know what else you'll need and I will have it brought here."
He was not lying about the room being bare: currently there were just ten student desks, a teacher's desk holding a computer (the newest iMac by the look of it), an incredibly large whiteboard with a basket full of markers with every color she could think of complete with the cleaning fluid and erasers, several bookshelves holding textbooks and several drawers and filing cabinets.
The male then added, "Of course, you can also decorate and make the classroom personalized. Just make a list and I'll buy everything."
They then left the classroom and went down the hall where some shouting could be heard.
Bilbo did not seem concerned about it and opened the door to reveal what Ilibella first thought was an arcade but then realized was a game room where five kids were sitting on a variety of surfaces (from beanbags, couches, and rocking chairs) playing Mario Kart.
Except, the racing game was not being played on a television but rather on a movie screen that took up the entire wall.
On the screen, Princess Peach threw a blue shell that hit King Boo and subsequently won the race.
The eldest of the bunch (a tanned boy with black hair and blue eyes) whined in frustration, "Ellie!"
The only girl among the five laughed, "In your face, Mae! That's what you get for that green shell earlier"
"My loves." Bilbo greeted, gaining all five's attention, "Come meet your governess."
Over the course of the next twenty or so minutes she met all five of the children she would be teaching.
Maeglin was the eldest at twelve years old and his special interest was welding, but otherwise the tween did not have a lot to say to her.
The twins, Morelenĕ and Morrána, were eight and both had pale almond skin, black hair, and black eyes; Morelenĕ was the girl and she liked everything to do with the ocean and proudly said she wanted to be a mermaid when she grew up, while her twin said nothing. She was informed that he was the mentioned special needs child and that he was selectively mute and primarily communicated through sign language. He signed that he liked knights and dragons and other medieval fantasy things.
Next was Frodo who was the sole brunet of the children and had striking blue eyes and he was six -but happily informed her that he would be turning seven in a month's time- and he was deeply interested in history.
And finally was four-year-old Basilisk -though he insisted his name was 'Basil'- who had the exact same coloring as the twins but his black hair was speckled with golden strands and he held what could only be described as a 'kawaii' mushroom plush that had a little smile and dots for eyes.
***
After the meeting with the children, Ilibella was shown to her room on the very bottom in what must have once been the servant's quarters of this old mansion.
Her room was rather large, nearly the size of her old apartment, and had an ensuite bathroom' all of her belongings from her car had been brought in and her electronics laid on the desk in the corner of the room along with a note that held the staff rooms' wifi password.
Sitting at the desk, she opened her laptop and opened her favorite browser, typing 'Bauglir' in the search bar.
The biggest result she found was a man by the name of Melkor Bauglir who owned Utumno Mining Company -the biggest supplier of iron and gold in the world- and was rumored to be the heir to the Eä Crime Family.
Ilibella gulped at the prospect of him being her employer, not sure since she had technically been employed by the nanny agency.
But, a bit more digging proved that Melkor Bauglir was married to a Mairon Aulendil -who was heir to Mahal Jewelry- so maybe her employer was a cousin or something.
***
The following day, Ilibella decided to get to know the children she would be teaching so she could orient the future lessons towards their interests to guide them to other things.
Her hour or so with Maeglin went well enough, though the twelve-year-old did not have much to say besides saying that they used to be homeschooled but mama was too overwhelmed with the new baby to do it anymore.
Next up was the twins, Morrána -despite knowing she could speak sign language- chose not to talk to her and just continued to fill in the coloring book he was working on.
Beside him, his twin was drawing instead; Morelenĕ scribbled away, and from what Ilibella could see she was actually quite a good artist.
"What are you drawing, Morelenĕ?" The governess asked
The eight-year-old did not reply right away, lightly kicking her legs in the air as she lay on her belly, before turning the notebook to show her a plethora of detailed flowers, "Mama grows flowers so I wanted to make him a picture of pretty ones."
"He does?" Ilibella questioned, "I thought it snowed year-round this far north?"
"It does. Daddy gave mama a greenhouse." Morelenĕ replied with a 'duh' in her voice
That caught her by surprise and she just nodded, "Oh, I see. Well, I am sure your mother will love your picture."
Seemingly appeased, the little girl continued to draw, "I know he will, mama is the best. Nothing would be good without him."
"What do you mean?" Ilibella inquired
"Without mama there would be no Mae or Frodo or Basil or Mint. Just me and Ana." Morelenĕ replied, "And daddy never would have gotten a governess for us, he would have sent us to boarding school like ada originally wanted. We wouldn't be a family without mama."
A/N: Alright, I did not mean to make the entire chapter from an OC's POV but next chapter onwards will mostly be Bilbo's.