Stay With Me [Thorin Oakenshield]

Chapter 1: Unexpected visitors

It all began in a hole in the ground. Not a wet, nasty hole full of worms. No, the hole I am talking about was a hobbit-hole. A beautiful space for cosy evenings, good food and close friends. Hobbits are very kind and sociable creatures. They love the comforts of home, tending to their gardens and looking after their loved ones. They celebrate a simple, peaceful life and do not seek for any kind of unexpected or extraordinary occurrences, being entirely content with their lives as they are.
Well... most of them.

One particularly sunny morning a young hobbit woman woke to the rays of sunlight gently shining on her face, making colourful spots of light appear behind her closed eyes. She groaned, still half asleep and stretched out her limbs as far as they would go. Slowly opening her soft brown eyes and trying to detangle her long hair from in front of her face, she blinked against the sun and rolled over toward her small window offering a view on her beautiful garden and down the hills over the Shire.

A small smile graced her lips at the warm sensation and the beautiful lighting that the morning sun brought with it. Sighing she closed her eyes once more cherishing the calmness of the early morning. But even though she enjoyed pausing for a moment, she was eager to get up and find out whether this might finally be the day that something unexpected happened.

You see, Louisa was a hobbit just like any other. But she loved to read. And having read a lot she knew that there was a whole world out there, that she had only yet discovered in her imagination by the descriptions found in her many books. She prided herself in her vast knowledge of the geographics of Middle-Earth. She had read all about the mysterious woods of Mirkwood, the beautiful valley of Rivendell, the horrors of Mordor and the magnificence of Erebor. But what good was theoretical knowledge without having seen these places? In her humble opinion it was no good at all. So, against her better judgement and against all the values of her kin, she longed to see the world with her own eyes. She longed for an adventure.

Stretching her limbs once more she went on to get ready for the day, had a lovely homemade breakfast and enjoyed a cup of tea sitting on one of the lower branches of the apple tree in front of her house while enjoying a good book. This was her favourite place to be. She loved the view over the Shire watching while slowly the inhabitants started to stir and go about their day.

"Good morning, Louisa!", came a friendly voice from below, startling her out of her daydream. Looking down she spotted Bilbo Baggins, a dear friend who lived in the house right next to hers. She smiled happily.
"Oh, good morning, Bilbo! How are you on this beautiful, beautiful morning?" Bilbo chuckled fondly at her choice of words. "Your ability to see beauty in even the simplest of things will never cease to astonish me, Louisa. Thank you for asking, I'm holding up just fine. I take it you as well?"

She blushed a little at his flattering words.
"Well, I hardly see any reason to not appreciate the little things. Wherever would be the joy in that? But yes, I've had a wonderful morning so far. Where are you headed?" Bilbo lifted the sack he held in his right hand. "I was just about to go down to the marketplace to buy some foods. I had a bit of an early start today; an unexpected visitor came along. Do you need anything I could fetch for you?"

Louisa straightened up at this and her eyes shone in surprise. "An unexpected visitor you say? Who was it, if I may ask?", she inquired ignoring his question for the time being.
"Oh, you wouldn't remember him. His name is Gandalf, that pointy-hatted wizard that used to make those excellent fireworks when we were younger. He hasn't shown up here in the Shire for ages, I didn't even know he was still alive." She gasped in delight. "Gandalf?! Of course, I remember him, how could I forget! He used to be the only one to not scold me when I played with my wooden sword when I was a mere child." She furrowed her brows a bit. "Come to think of it, I'm quite sure he even encouraged it. Weird fellow but I quite liked him. Will he come by again? I'd love to see him."