Chapter 1 – The Green Dragon

The mountain winds were fading into the south. The blackened clouds were thinning out to allow the glowing sun to shine on the land. It was a beautiful summer morning. The various flowers in the field were in late bloom and their spores were drifting through the warm air. The gardens were being tended to since the fall harvest was a month away and there was no stopping it.

Most of the inhabitants of Hobbiton were busy working. For the past week or two, the hobbits had been preparing for a long expected party. The busiest hobbit of them all was Bilbo Baggins, who happened to be the one holding the party. He was at work from sunrise to sunset reading replied invitations, organizing the food that will be served and making sure everything was going according to plan. He wanted everything to be perfect for his celebration.

While he was pacing around his study, the rest of Hobbiton awaited anxiously for the planned day. Relatives from outside Hobbiton were arriving in the afternoon, right after teatime. Family members outside of the area would only visit a few times a year usually for big anniversaries and weddings, but they would stay for a few weeks or even months at a time. Bilbo Baggins’ birthday celebration was causing a huge commotion throughout Shire.

As Bilbo Baggins organized his party, his nephew Frodo was enjoying himself in the gardens. He wanted to help his uncle with all his heart but Bilbo would always tell him to go away. After a few days, he gave up and let his uncle be alone with his affairs. The young hobbit would enjoy his days lounging around, smoking pipe weed or walking around the Shire. Frodo would always stay near the borders of the Shire, waiting. No one knew what he was waiting for nor would he tell anyone. It was Frodo’s little secret.

The curly haired boy was sitting comfortably at the base of a tree enjoying the summer sun. His ears perked up when he heard the trotting of horse hooves and faint singing. He quickly jumped to his feet. It only took him a few moments to reach the main path that crossed through the Shire. A smile crossed his face when he saw a pointed grey hat above the bushes. It was the person who was wearing that hat that made the hobbit smile.

Gandalf the Grey was a long time friend of Bilbo and would often visited unexpectedly, but this time he was expected. Frodo cleared his throat loudly to get the old wizard’s attention. He immediately stopped the cart and slowly looked up from under his wide brimmed hat. It was always refreshing to see a young hobbit smiling. They were such happy folk.

“I thought you would never come,” Frodo smiled with a little giggle.

“You doubt my attendance,” one of his bushy eyebrows rose. “I wouldn’t miss your uncle’s party for the world.”

“I’m glad you came Gandalf!”

Frodo jumped into the wagon and wrapped his child-like arms around the wizard. The hobbit always loved it when he would come to the Shire to visit. The wizard had endless tales from the east of Elves, Men and even Dwarfs on occasion. Some hobbits thought Gandalf as a ‘disturber of the peace’ because of the past events with Bilbo. They knew what a wizard could do to a hobbit that didn’t want anything to do with adventures. Even with the title, it was always great to see the old man’s wrinkled face now and then.

Frodo joined the wise man in a long cart ride through Hobbiton. A lot of hobbit heads turned as the wizard talked. Many of the hobbit children were excited to see him as he always had a little surprise for them. The two made small talk about the recent events. It had been arranged with his uncle that after the party everything would belong to Frodo, literally everything. The young hobbit was dreading the party. Everyone was excited for the celebration but no one knew the real intentions of Bilbo Baggins.

The wizard could tell how the hobbit was feeling. Even if they were naturally happy, their emotions could change suddenly and they weren’t ashamed to hide it. Gandalf padded him on the shoulder to console the boy. To live alone at such a young age was very cruel, but Frodo could do it. He had his friends to keep him company and soon he would be having his coming of age celebration. He would be the talk of the town then.

The hobbit slowly stood up and said his farewells before he jumped out of the cart. He couldn’t keep all the wise man’s attention for himself. He figured that Gandalf could want to speak to his uncle before the big night. The cart began to advance once again when Frodo was on the hillside. He had previous plans with his friends to head to the Green Dragon for the evening. It was a weekly event. Most of the well-known hobbits were there drinking ale, talking and singing songs.

It was in the late evening and the sky was painted orange and pink. The inn was already half full with hobbits from all over Hobbiton, and the Shire, along with a few other people. Meriadoc Brandybuck, also known as Merry, was already singing and drinking. It never took him long to settle into the celebrations. The young hobbit was always the life of any party. His name, as well as his face, was known throughout Hobbiton, the Shire and some other parts beyond.

If Merry was present at a social gathering, his long time best friend and cousin was not far behind. Peregrin Took, called Pippin most of the time, was the youngest of the hobbit friends of Frodo. His golden hair and bright eyes made him seem younger than he actually was, which was still younger compared to his friends. The two were now dancing on the tables and singing old hobbit songs from the east.

The Green Dragon was full once the sun set behind the western horizon. Frodo and his closest friend and gardener, Samwise Gamgee, were sitting together quietly at a table slowly drinking their halves a pints. The atmosphere was very gloomy until the two cousins jumped over and sat down. Their wide smiles brightened up the scene. The two hobbits didn’t seem to mind their sudden company.

“Are you two going to sit here all night?” Merry said, finishing his drink. “That’s not very fun, now is it?”

“I don’t feel like singing,” Sam said, looking down at his hands, blushing.

The two young hobbits look up in the direction that Sam was just looking in before looking down. To their surprise, Rosie Cotton kept glancing over in their direction and smiling. She seemed to be quite busy serving drinks and cleaning mugs. Every time Sam looked over at her, she would smile and he would quickly look away. The fact is hobbits were very shy in nature even towards their own kind. It was something that gave them a childish characteristic.

Rosie wasn’t the only one who was serving drinks. There was another young hobbit that none of them had seen before. She was roughly the same height as Rosie and they had some resemblance, though she had a much younger face. Her thick curly brown hair passed her shoulders, her pointed ears could hardly be seen because of her hair and she always had a smile on her face. Her clothes were quite plain but their design wasn’t the same as the ordinary clothes of Hobbiton.

“Who do you think she is?” Pippin said, in awe. “I have never seen her before.”

“She must be a relative or something,” Frodo turned around. “She could be staying for the party.”

“Anyone want another drink?” Merry stood up.

The three hobbits agreed and Merry quickly walked over to counter. Rosie was busy talking to a few of the hobbit men and the new girl was placing some freshly cleaned mugs in the open cupboards. When she turned around, a sweet smile crossed her face and she walked over to him. Merry was shocked to see her mismatched eyes, one was green and the other was hazel. In all his years in the Shire, he has never seen a hobbit with those kinds of eyes.

“Can I help you?” she said in a sweet voice, her face turning red.

“T-two, I mean, one… four ales please?” he felt foolish about his fumbling.

“Enjoy!” she placed the mugs right in front of him.

The blue-eyed hobbit slowly walked back to the table with four half a pints of ale in his hands. His friends waited anxiously for him to spill the information. They couldn’t stand his silence any longer. Pippin nudged him a few times to get his attention. He seemed to be dazed from the new hobbit and his short conversation. After taking a few swings of his drink he looked up.

“She’s not from here,” he leaned in closer. “She is from outside the Shire all together.”

“Do you know where?” Frodo said in a familiar way. He thought of when he was much younger.

“I couldn’t tell, but I am guessing past Bree. It’s just a guess. I could be wrong.”

Hobbits were also very curious. Anything beyond their nature or knowledge was always fascinating. It was also unheard of that a hobbit lived anywhere else besides the Shire. The world was dangerous and it wasn’t meant for hobbits. Their curious minds couldn’t let the idea slide, even if they drank and sang, their gaze would drift off and wonder.

The evening was growing very old. A few of the older hobbits had already left and a small number of the younger ones were heading home as well. Rose was at the door biding everyone farewell. When the Green Dragon was completely empty, she came back inside to finish cleaning the many dirty mugs. Her cousin was hard at work sweeping the floor. Serene of Taurntyrith, also called Sara for short, was one of Rosie’s many cousins. She was the only cousin that lived outside of Hobbiton.

“A lot of people asked about you,” she placed some mugs on the counter. “You’re a new face to many of the folk around here.”

“I could tell from the staring,” her face turned red from embarrassment because she was shyer than most hobbits. “It felt a little awkward when some of them spoke to me.”

“You shouldn’t worry so much. There’re many friendly people. I’m sure you will make a few friends before the party.”

There were a few moments of silence before they continued their work. Sara was quiet most of the time as she cleaned the tabletops and cleaned the floor. All her life she lived on the outskirts of the Shire and rarely spent anytime with any hobbit besides her mother. One of her childhood friends moved to Hobbiton and he never visited her again, though once she visited him. She had vague memories of the visit since it was over fifteen years ago. Her first actual impression of Hobbiton was a good one and she didn’t mind the inhabitants at all. They seemed to be happy and enjoying their lives to the fullest.

“Did you know it’s going to be my first hobbit party?” she said shyly.

“Don’t be nervous,” Rosie smiled. “I will help you prepare. Maybe you will meet a few of the younger hobbits before then.”

It didn’t take the cousins a long time to finish cleaning the inn. It was easier to have two workers on such a big place than one. Usually it would have taken Rosie most of the night to clean everything. It was close to midnight when Sara’s mother came around to see how everything was. Iris of Taurntyrith, formally known as Iris Cotton, was one of the many aunts of Rosie. She didn’t have the chance to talk to her niece when they arrived that afternoon.

Their conversation lasted for about an hour as Sara cleaned her apron and did a few last minute touch ups. Their chatting quickly ended as they began to walk down the lane. There was an old hobbit hole not far from the Green Dragon. It was closer to Hobbiton than anything else. It was cozy enough for two hobbits to live in for a while, thought Sara was thinking of making it their permanent home.