Reunion

Gandalf hesitated on what to say for a moment and Arthas took charge, "Little Hobbit, I am Gandalf's friend; Arthas, at your service.".

The Hobbit nodded with a smile, "I am Frodo Baggins, nice to meet you Mr.Arthas.". Arthas nodded, "nice to meet you too Mr. Baggins; by any means, call me Arthas.". "Then call me Frodo."

Arthas nodded and turned to look at Gandalf, "I will go ahead to Bag's end, I want to see how Bilbo has aged up close. see you there.". He left the carriage and after saying goodbye to Frodo walked away. Gandalf shrugged and gestured for Frodo to get in the carriage who looked with clear confusion at Gandalf. "He knows Bilbo?"

Gandalf sighed, "Well... The Ranger Bilbo talks about is him...". Frodo's eyes widened.

Arthas walked in the roads of Hobbiton and enjoyed the lively atmosphere, the Hobbits occasionally looked at him since it was rare for a man to go to Hobbiton. 'It hasn't changed at all! The people are different, no familiar face is in sight, yet the land and the houses and the roads are the same, people come and go but the world goes on... Is this the loneliness of Immortals? To see everything change through the ages, people come and go, only for one to remain to witness it all.' he thought with slight melancholy.

These thoughts reached him because he uncountably looked for the same Hobbits he had met the first time he was here only to realize the bitter truth. 'They are probably dead; What a tragedy, to see the life and death of others in front of your eyes and yet remain to witness more. That's probably why the elves are so reclusive, they wish to stay out of this and live with their fellow immortal kin.'

He reached Bag's end and found the same house that belonged to Bilbo, he stopped and fell in thought. 'I remember the days my mother was young and lively and the days she became old and sickly yet I was a child at first and an adult at last. I witnessed the aging of my mother on Earth and remained oblivious because I was aging as well, but now, I will remain as I am but others that are not immortal will die. Perhaps returning to Earth will bring me nothing but loneliness and grief if I find a way to go back that is. At least here Immortals exist.'

He sighed and shook his head and put a smile on his face, "These are not thoughts to have when meeting a friend after so long." he murmured. "Indeed, now if you are not knocking the let me do it at least!" said Gandalf from behind him.

Arthas turned around and rolled his eyes, "Go and meet your old lover...". Gandalf exclaimed, "Hey! He was not, is not, and will never be my lover.". Arthas deadpanned, "Then explain your strange love of Hobbits..."; Gandalf snorted and ignored him. Arthas looked unimpressed.

Gandalf strode up to the garden path of Bag's End and rapped his staff on the front, a note that said "NO ADMITTANCE EXCEPT ON PARTY BUSINESS." was written on it. A voice called out with clear annoyance, "No, thank you! We don't want any more visitors, well-wishers, or distant relations.". Arthas saw Gandalf beginning to open his mouth so he beat him to it, "How about friends? Gandalf is here!". Gandalf just turned to give him a look that said 'Really?!'. Arthas smirked and said in a whisper, "Don't ignore me again.". Gandalf shook his head and as he opened his mouth to say something...

Suddenly the door opened and interrupted him, Bilbo Baggins stood before them; A hobbit of indeterminate age with a twinkle in his eyes. He wore a brocade waist-coat and looked dashing, very much an eccentric gentleman.

Annoyance was clearly visible in Gandalf's eye but it went as quickly as it had come. The Hobbit in front of them said with surprise, "Gandalf? And, Arthas?! It is you!".

Gandalf put on a smile and dropped to his knee to embrace his old friend, "Bilbo Baggins! It's good to see you. One hundred and eleven years old, who would believe it!". Gandalf looked at bilbo more keenly with some strange look in his eye, " You haven't aged a day!". Arthas waved his hand in a friendly morion, "Hello, you aged well!". He hugged the Hobbit with a friendly smile.

Bilbo laughed, "You haven't aged at all; Dear Gandalf and Dear Arthas, Come on, come in! Welcome, welcome!!". They laughed and followed him inside, Arthas had to crouch since he was slightly taller than Gandalf. When he entered the familiar house, he smiled in reminiscence. 'He has changed so much... This feeling is quite uncomfortable...' The feeling when one comes back to a place after a long time only to see the place be the same but the people be different is quite unexplainable.

Bilbo led the two of them into Bag End...cozy and cluttered with souvenirs of Bilbo's travels. Gandalf had to stoop to avoid hitting his head on the low ceiling. Bilbo hanged up Gandalf's hat on a peg alongside Arthas's cloak and trot off down the hall.

He looked happy and excited as Bilbo observed his old friends and said, "Tea? Or maybe something stronger... I've a few bottles of the Old Winyard left, 1296...a very good year, almost as old as I am. It was laid down by my father. What say we open one, eh?". He disappeared into the kitchen to find the bottles and heard Arthas say with clear joy, "Yes, Bring as many as you can; I am gonna make myself home since I still have a few days of rent left, remember the gold coin?!".

Bilbo laughed as he remembered he still owed Arthas since Arthas didn't remain in his house after paying him the first time they met, "Sure, sure. Make yourself at home.". He felt quite glad that they came to see him on his birthday. He saw Arthas's white hair and still youthful face and felt quite strange but he aged strangely so who was he to talk?

Gandalf looked around clearly enjoying the familiar house, unlike Arthas who was admiring the souvenirs Bilbo had gathered. He knocked his head on the light and walked into the wooden beam, he groaned and snorted when he saw Arthas looking at him and laugh.

"I was expecting you sometime last week. Not that it matters, you come and go as you please, always have done, always will." could be heard the faint voice of Bilbo as he walked around the house.

Arthas ignored them as he found a map. It depicted a part of middle-earth, Arthas looked at it and smiled to himself in pride when he saw Lordaeron on it. He felt Gandalf stand behind him and look at the map, "The lonely mountain... Sure brings back memories...". Arthas nodded.

Bilbo came back but Arthas ignored them as he fell in thought. Looking back, he just realized what an incredible and long journey he had lived. How far he had become, from a simple man to a beloved King who is mostly missing but is still loved. He thought of Eiliandir's frustrated face dealing with paperwork and smiled. The poor elf thought he was especial when Arthas gave him the highest responsibility in the kingdom, he had no idea Arthas wanted to dump all the paperwork and annoying things on him. He had especially prepared the elf for that role...

A sudden knock on the front door brought him back to the present when Arthas cautiously reunited with the two and saw Bilbo complaining and such. 'The old Bilbo is still there...' He thought and felt quite amused at the Hobbit's complainings.

Gandalf sighed and the two began talking serious things, Arthas felt a headache coming because he knew what they were going to talk about so he decided to excuse himself and go tour the place. He took his cloak and said, "Gandalf, Bilbo, I am going to see what has changed in Hobbiton; I will be back soon...". He left. The two sighed, "He hasn't changed that much..." said Bilbo with a laugh. Gandalf nodded with a sigh, "If only, he has gotten more adventurous since he was stuck in a palace for years, ruling his kingdom.".

Arthas had a smile as he calmly observed everything. He slowly walked in a certain direction, his trusted sword on his back was in a special scabbard that hid everything but its handle. It was specially designed for Frostmourn. He never could separate the sword from himself, the farthest distance was 3 meters before the sword would follow him. He had it researched only to come up with nothing.

His smile slowly vanished and his face turned serious as he approached a certain site, the same place he had first opened his eyes to this world. He found the exact same spot and crouched with a frown, he slowly put his hand on the ground and closed his eyes.

His face showing his clear focus, he tried to feel anything, any form of energy or unusual activity and yet he found none. He tried for a while, he was intensely focused; his concentration unusually strong. He could even feel the life force of birds miles away but nothing appeared that would make this place unusual. "Nothing?! Not even any form of spacial energy or deformity. How disappointing..." he murmured with a frown.

He stood up and walked away, his disappointment immeasurable. When he returned to Hobbiton, it was dusk. He saw Gandalf and Bilbo smoking in front of the door. He approached them. "Hello there, how is the little reunion? No lover's quarrel?!"

Gandalf grew exasperated, "Not this again...". Bilbo became confused and ignored Arthas's words, he said, "Join us. I doubt you will find better weed.". Arthas's eyes sparkled, "Weed?! Count me in.".

Bilbo said as he prepared a pipe, "Aye, Old Toby, the finest weed in Southfarthing! Here you go." He handed him the ready pipe. Arthas smoked and savored it for a moment, "Very good. This is better than any I have tried in Lordaeron!". Bilbo laughed, "Of course it is.". Gandalf looked at Arthas and said with surprise, "Never thought you smoked.".

Arthas shrugged, "I do sometimes, It has no effect on me for some reason but hey, it's fun.". Gandalf nodded in understanding. Bilbo blew a perfect smoke ring. A tiny sailing ship made of smoke glided through it, done by Gandalf. "Ohhhh, Gandalf my old friend...this will be a night to remember!" said Bilbo with a smile. Arthas nodded and explosions of fireworks rocked the sky.

Arthas suddenly said, "Gandalf, remind me to remind you to teach me this trick with smoke later. It is useful...". Gandalf retorted as if on instinct, "So you can impress even more girls?". Arthas snorted, "Obviously!". Bilbo laughed, "I missed this.".

Bilbo stood up, "I better go see what they are doing down there, it is my birthday after all. See you down there." He left. Arthas also stood up to join the party but he stopped when he heard Gandalf say, "What do you think is the reason behind life?".

Arthas raised his eyebrows, "What brought this up?". Gandalf said as he smoked, "The conversation we had before, about the education system of your kingdom, It occurred to me how much life can be changed based on the environment so I wondered what you thought of the purpose behind life...".

Arthas sat down and smoked a little while looking at the sky, "I am unsure, but an answer comes to mind. Think of our lives as stories, every person is the main character of their story and these stories intertwine with each other to create the world. Are stories told for the sake of their beginning or the end? They are about the journey and the many extraordinary things that happen in them. They are told to share the experiences of the main character as he traverses many things to become a better or worse being. So looking at it this way, I believe life is about experiencing; Its purpose is to teach us wisdom and knowledge as we experience it; we eventually mature and pass on to a higher form of life and on and on it goes...".

Gandalf remained silent for a while, he suddenly said, "If so then in your education system, do they not learn about the competition that comes with life. It is a crucial part of life and since you see its purpose as such, they must learn of it. the competition is in everything whether nature or the kingdom.".

Arthas nodded in understanding and turned to look at him, "It exists, as you know, most teachers are elves and due to the few numbers, they accept many disciples. A competitive spirit forms there and also, the real competition begins when they have become adults and are mature enough to deal with it. I believe children shouldn't be put under the pressure of competition. Those that are brilliant will shine, whether there is a competition to show their worth or not. You can't stop a star from shining. They experience the world as they grow up with friends and teachers, they experience competition and hardships when they are ready, they see blood and war to mature and vent their frustrations and their inner self that desires to battle. It is a form of life, isn't it?! What better way to prepare someone for the world?".

Gandalf nodded and stood up, "I see, all this talk made me hungry, Let's go to the party!". Arthas stood up with a smile, "I am right behind you.".