Not Forsaken

Chapter 9

On the appointed morning,  she woke feeling a bit stiff, but rested. Her small fire was out, so she quickly set about getting it started again. She would not need much wood for the day, she thought as she looked around her little camp. It was a very small clearing in the center of a dense wooded area. It had served well to shelter her and her new companion Gypsy for the last fortnight, and had a soft patch of grass for the pony to nibble on, and enough trees to feel secluded. Not many ventured this way, she thought to herself. Luliana had only noticed a handful of what she assumed were hobbits traveling near her little spot. None had even noticed the strange, small woman or her grey pony in the trees. It was just as well, she thought to herself. She had never been one to draw undue attention to herself. It actually had never even occurred to her to even do such a thing. She was an odd character, this half-mannish, half-dwarvish breed. Luliana had heard a strange word when her and Gandalf were in Bree. Halfling. She asked Gandalf what it meant, and he informed her that it was what the bigger folks called the hobbits. The happy little folks with the disgusting feet, she made a mental note to herself. Well, they were half of nothing, Luliana thought to herself. If anyone was a halfling, it was herself. No matter. She never thought to concern herself with what others thought of her. It had just never occurred to her. It was just something else that made her a bit odd, but she would never have noticed before. Before, that is, she realized it was herself in fact, that was a halfling.

Being naive had some benefit, as it helped to avoid undue stress, and therefore less braid pulling. Although she seemed to be doing less and less of that these days. She realized that as she began combing out her impossibly long, beautiful locks. Usually there was a small pile of hair that would come out as she combed it. Not today, she thought to herself. She let her hair hang loose around her for a short while, sipping on some tea she had made with her breakfast. It was a rare treat, and she wanted to savor every last drop. She stood up to stretch, and as she did, she realized her hair hung past her knees. How long it had been since her mother and father had been killed. She did not allow herself to dwell on those thoughts. She knew better. Instead she stretched herself up towards the canopy of new leaves that were almost completely grown in. She walked over to the small stream near her camp to wash her hands and face and caught a glimpse of herself in the cool water. 

For a brief moment she had a flashback to her dream, Thorin's queen. But it was gone as quick as it came. What replaced it however, was a warm, growing excitement. Today was the day that Gandalf was to meet her. They would be traveling to the Shire this evening, to the house of Mr. Baggins. She had forgotten to ask Gandalf how he knew the hobbit, and found herself growing more curious. He lived in a house, with a round green door, Gandalf had told Thorin. Easy to find. What was this hobbit like? How tall was he? Would he like Luliana? Did he like tea? She wondered as she sipped the last of her own.

With her great excitement to prepare for the quest, she had prepared thoroughly, and much sooner than she needed to. It was simply her way. Now she was left with nothing else to do but wait for Gandalf. It was mid-morning. He would arrive just before dusk. Luliana glanced over at Gypsy, who was sniffing happily around the bags she had packed.

"Humph. Now what?" She wondered out loud to the sturdy little animal. "I am always early, it seems. Better than late I suppose, right Gypsy?" The pony glanced at the woman, and went back to sniffing.

Luliana wandered the small area, wondering what to do with herself. She wandered back over the to the little stream again, and stared back at her reflection once more. "All this hair, whatever am I to do with it?" She went back to her spot near the fire and sat for a moment. Suddenly an idea cam to her. Smiling, she pulled a familiar old leather pouch from her pack. Carefully, she separated small sections of her hair, putting two braids along each side of her face. She fastened a mithril clasp to the end of one, and walked back to the stream to examine her work. It had taken the rest of the morning to complete her work, as she was unaccustomed to braiding such small sections. They had to be perfect, she told herself. Thorin had wanted to see her mother's bead, and he would.

Luliana reached down to examine her mother's bead, and noticed that there were small runes etched into the blue stones. Her mother had once told her that they were sapphires. What a strange place to carve runes, she mused to herself. She had not learned to read rune letters. her father thought it would be more practical for Luliana to learn Westron, so the meaning of these runes alluded her.

If she only knew.

She walked slowly over to her bedroll, and looked around again, needing to do something. "Oh well," she said out loud. "I guess I will just rest. No telling what may lie ahead." She remembered how Hopcyn would snore loudly at night, so loudly sometimes it hurt her ears. Their home had been comfortable, but small. Luliana wondered if only men snored. She couldn't be sure. She wondered if dwarves snored. With that, she dozed off into a peaceful sleep.