Return To Me[Thorin Oakenshield Love Story]DISCONTINUED

[Chapter Four]

Things had been quiet in the Shire since Bilbo's sudden departure. Freya mostly kept herself busy with her books. That night when Freya got to Bilbo's house, the only people that were to be found was Gandalf and Frodo. The wizard then explained that Bilbo was going to stay with the elves and that he had left everything behind to Frodo; including a ring. A ring Gandalf believed to be the One Ring that belonged to the Dark Lord Sauron.

The wizard wanted to be sure this was indeed the ring of power and left to do his own search. Freya was in her kitchen staring out the window when she called both her daughters names, but she got no reply and wandered down the hall to each of their rooms and found them both empty. She stood there for a second, wondering where those girls could have gotten to? But it then occurred to her, like her, both Thora and Thea liked to go exploring and were probably out with their cousin Merry and Pippin.

Feeling exhausted, the Hobbit went down the hall to her room and went to lie down for a bit. Freya closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep. She ended up dreaming of Thorin, which she often did these nights. Her dreams were always filled with her final moments with Thorin before he died. Why couldn't she save him? She blamed herself for not getting to him sooner. Whimpers began to escape the hobbit's lips as the nightmare got more intense. Freya's eyes shot open as she let out a gasp and was breathing heavily.

"Mama? Are you alright?" Thea asked in concern as she and her sister stood at their mother's doorway. The older woman rubbed a hand over her face, feeling the sweat that was coming down.

"I'm fine...just a bad dream. Where have you two been?" Freya questioned.

"We were in the woods with Frodo and Sam. Mama are you sure everything is alright? You've been having these nightmares since we can remember. Are you sure you're alright?" Thora pressed.

"Was it another dream about father?" Thea dared to ask.

"It's nothing you girls need to worry about." Freya declared but her daughters knew her well enough to know she was lying.

"Mama, we know how much you miss him. We hear you every time calling his name in the middle of the night." Thea began as her and her older sister sat on the edge of Freya's bed.

"Will you tell us again.The story of how you and father met?" They both begged. Freya couldn't help but smile that her daughters enjoyed the story of how she met their father, but it also brought her great pain that they would never really know their father, besides what she told them and what they would hear from others who had crossed paths with him.

The two girls listened silently as Freya told them the story they had heard at least a hundred times but still enjoyed it as much as they had the first time they heard it when they were younger. By the end of it, their mother was always in tears.

The days went by slowly. Gandalf had already been gone for nearly two weeks. Was things worse then the wizard had originally thought? Freya was beginning to wonder how Frodo was handling things since Bilbo's leaving. Besides her, and her daughters. Bilbo was the only other close relative. Both his parents had died when he was very young. Freya had wandered down to the market this afternoon to find something for her, Thora and Thea to have for dinner tonight. Both girls had been wondering when the wizard would be showing up again, he had left so suddenly.

The three of them ate their dinner in quietly, all in deep thought about different things. Thora and Thea helped clean up the dishes before they both turned in for the night. Freya wasn't ready to go to sleep and she left out her door to go for a late stroll through the Shire. The older woman was walking up the path, towards her cousin's place, seeing most of the hobbit's were settling down for the night. She was expecting it to be dark at Bilbo's home but the lights were still on and she saw movement.