Interlude: Bilbo

It was a day like any other when Bilbo found a stranger knocking on his door. He woke up promptly at 7 am, prepared himself a delicious breakfast, and enjoyed it while seated at his mahogany table, a piece that had been passed down through three generations of Baggins. Afterward, he stepped outside to purchase food for the upcoming week. As he was about to begin preparing his second breakfast, the doorbell chimed.

Visitors were a rarity in Bilbo's life, despite his house being considered the finest in the Shire. Travelers passing through the area were an uncommon sight, with the exception of the rangers – a reclusive group who sought shelter there only when they had no other options. Bilbo had occasionally hosted them, though rangers typically preferred their own prepared safe houses or the nearest inn.

Hence, when Bilbo opened his door, he was utterly unprepared for the sight of an exceedingly attractive and tall stranger awaiting him. He could easily have been mistaken for an elf, were it not for the noticeable absence of the pointy ears characteristic of the fair-folk. Regardless, the stranger emanated an air of kindness and displayed no signs of ill intent. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Being a hobbit, Bilbo possessed a knack for gauging whether someone carried good intentions – apart from the world they may be, but hobbits were anything but stupid.

And the young stranger before him – because he looked too young to be travelling around on his own –seemed to exude an aura that practically cried out, 'help me.' Beyond his inherent kind-hearted disposition, Bilbo knew that declining aid to someone in such an evident state of need would be contrary to his hobbit nature.

No, that was absolutely out of the question, as long as his name remained Bilbo Baggins!

Granted, the name "Kael" was unfamiliar to Bilbo. An oddity, certainly. But, well, who was he to judge?

Lo and behold, the decision to let the young man stay with him for as long as he needed to find his footing ended up being the best one Bilbo had ever made in his life.

Kael proved to be a breath of fresh air. He possessed not only a wealth of knowledge but also a penchant for sharing amusing anecdotes that prompted Bilbo's laughter without inhibition. Kael even managed to entangle Bilbo – yes, him, Bilbo Baggins – in a prank war against Lobelia Sackville-Baggins! Admittedly, it was more of a one-sided prank war, but that mattered little. Lobelia had brought it on herself with her audacious attempts to steal Bilbo's cherished silver spoons on four consecutive occasions!

And Kael treated Bilbo with nothing but kindness and respect. He even had all the little ones constantly trailing after him, begging him to tell them one of his stories, previously unheard of even by Bilbo. These tales were fantastical; stories about people who could fly, become invisible, and shoot lasers from their eyes – disregarding the fact that nobody, including Bilbo himself, understood what lasers actually were. Nonetheless, they proved highly entertaining, capable of captivating Bilbo's attention for hours on end.

There really was no rush for Kael to leave, and the lad even insisted on compensating Bilbo for it! Despite Bilbo's repeated attempts to decline, Kael's obstinacy ultimately left Bilbo with no choice but to accept, though he only asked for the bare minimum – the sum typically paid for subpar inns.

He'd be damned if he let such a bright young one pay him more!

Still, life in the Shire was as good as it could possibly be, and Bilbo had never expected he would enjoy someone else's company to such a degree, yet it felt like Kael and him had known each other for years. Kael had even gifted him a beautiful book intended for Bilbo's future stories, and his garden had never looked so vibrant and stunning before!

Yes, his life was going quite well. It was peaceful and wonderful, but it also had its fair share of mischief, and Bilbo would not have it any other way.

Which was, of course, when Gandalf the Gray arrived in Bag-End to disrupt Bilbo's newly found way of life with the dangerous promise of an adventure.

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When Kael told Bilbo that Gandalf intended to bring thirteen dwarves for dinner, Bilbo nearly fainted right then and there.

A dinner! With fourteen guests! And to make matters worse, Gandalf had failed to provide even a week's notice, let alone ask for permission to use Bilbo's house!

Yes, Bilbo was indeed quite flustered with the situation.

Fortunately for his general sanity, Kael was, again, a heaven-sent. He snapped Bilbo out of his daze and quickly helped him with the task of cooking and preparing food for thirteen very hungry dwarves and a wizard. Bilbo fretted that ten hours would not be enough, but somehow they managed to pull it off, just in the nick of time.

Bilbo was applying the finishing touches to the table – after all, everything had to be absolutely perfect – when the doorbell rang, and Kael went to answer it. Bilbo did not hear what Kael and what must have been the first guest said to each other, but when he himself made it to the door, Kael seemed to have reached his wit's end with the dwarf, who appeared apologetic about something but was probably too stubborn and prideful to actually admit it.

With Kael practically retreating to the kitchen, Bilbo stationed himself by the door to welcome the guests. He hoped the next arrivals were better than the first, although he did not hold his breath.

The next guest to arrive looked older than the first, but then again that might have been due to his white hair. His name was Balin. Thankfully, Balin was perfectly courteous to Bilbo, although Bilbo was taken aback when he witnessed Balin and Dwalin greet each other with a headbutt. Well, stranger greetings existed, he supposed.

The next pair of dwarves nearly brought tears to Bilbo's eyes solely due to their expressions. They bore the unmistakably countenance that only tricksters seemed to have. Bilbo would know, he lived with one!

When the dark-haired dwarf insolently decided to clean his boots on Bilbo's mother's treasured glory box – which was extremely rude and practically delinquent behavior – Bilbo had to resist the urge to pummel the dwarf with his own sword, even though he did not know how to use one.

As the last of the dwarves eventually arrived and Gandalf appeared behind them as they tumbled into a heap, Bilbo felt half-inclined to slam the door on the wizard's wizened, smug face. If he had been any less of a Baggins, he just as well might have.

Well, at least he was able to throw Gandalf's completely unacceptable behavior to his face in front of all the dwarves. Bilbo rarely indulged in vindictive inclinations, but he had to admit that shutting down all of Gandalf's arguments – always politely, he was not a brute – was highly satisfying.

When Kael revealed Bilbo's relation to the Thain – information Bilbo normally kept discreet but was pleased to have disclosed in this instance – the dwarf king appeared poised to throttle Gandalf, an image that would have been utterly amusing to see.

Still, as intriguing as this adventure – mission, it was a mission – the dwarves spoke of sounded, Bilbo really had too many responsibilities. Besides, going against a deadly dragon to steal from him like a common burglar was not one of his talents.

A burglar. Who did they think he was?

Thus, he firmly shut Gandalf down and retreated to his favorite armchair, pretending he had everything under control while he internally contemplated his life choices. He was not brooding, thank you very much. He was simply…deep in thought. Yes, that was it.

Kael knew him well, though. Perhaps too well.

(Bilbo was often shocked at how much Kael knew, as if the world was a story and Kael had heard it countless times, knowing it all by memory. The lad just had this look in his eyes that made him appear younger than everyone else and yet older than the stars at the same time. But maybe that was just Bilbo's inner storyteller running wild.)

Kael skillfully rebutted all of Bilbo's arguments against going on the dwarves' quest and promptly spoke of the many wonders Bilbo would be able to see and discover if he decided to go. Of course Bilbo understood what Kael was doing – he was not as naïve as some believed. But, by Yavanna, was it working.

He had never been the typical hobbit, had he? His dear, wise mother always said it, 'Bilbo, you are one special fauntling.' Not even all the Baggins heritage in the Shire could ever stop his inner, adventurous, mad Tookish side.

His grandfather would certainly have a stroke when he heard about this.

It seemed Bilbo had no other choice but to embrace the madness. It was simpler that way, really. And if he truly was able to see the elves…well, this adventure would already be well worth it, would it not?

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The beginning of their journey was calmer than Bilbo had expected. Then again, this was probably a secret mission, so it made sense that not many people would know about it.

Bilbo liked to think that he was becoming fast friends with Balin, who was one of the most approachable dwarves in the Company. That was not to say that the others were not, of course, but Balin just had that grandfatherly air that made it much easier to talk to him.

Bilbo told him some stories about his youth, and Balin spoke of Erebor in return, of how great and stunning it used to be. It sounded absolutely wonderful. Balin spoke of it with so much love that Bilbo instantly knew the dwarves really did miss Erebor with all their hearts, which made him want to help them even more. Even the younger dwarves, who could not have possibly seen Erebor as they were not even born then, appeared to long for it.

Bilbo could understand that feeling. After all, he already missed Bag-End, and it had not even been two weeks since he and Kael left the Shire! But it had been years for Thorin and the others who used to live in Erebor. Bilbo was not sure he would ever be able to stay as strong as these dwarves had. It made him admire them, if only just a little – he was still offended by their appalling manners in his home, though.

When they stopped for the night on a cliff that probably had quite a beautiful view – it would have been better if he could actually see the view, but it was unfortunately too dark for that – Bilbo, once again, tried to fall asleep, only to fail because of Bombur's loud snores. How was anyone able to sleep with such a racket? He looked around from inside his sleeping bag and saw Kael sitting on one of the tallest rocks while he carved something. He looked contemplative, and he did not seem as if he had noticed Bilbo was awake, although he had no doubt Kael already knew.

Gandalf was also awake, as it turned out – not that Bilbo was surprised by that. He had never seen Gandalf sleep, although Bilbo knew he must have – and after Bilbo fed Myrtle an apple he had managed to hide inside his travel clothes for this particular occasion, he was startled when Kael suddenly got up and walked to the edge of the cliff, his eyes fixed on something Bilbo could not see. He looked alert, which is why Bilbo was instantly alarmed. The inhuman shrieks that came after did not exactly reassure him either, and he almost fainted when Kili told Bilbo they were orcs. The brothers had been about to tell Bilbo something when they suddenly quieted down, staring at Kael, who must have told them to shut up somehow.

After that little scare, Bilbo thought he would not be able to fall asleep, but listening to the sound of Kael softly carving wood lulled him to sleep.

They continued their journey, and while they all looked quite paranoid after the events of that night, nothing happened except for a heavy deluge that started soon after. Luckily, Kael had had the foresight to bring a couple of umbrellas from the Shire, and Bilbo had never been more grateful for the young man's cleverness. If he had not, Bilbo would undoubtedly be dripping with water right now, resembling a drowned cat like the dwarves and Gandalf, so he happily clutched his umbrella and enjoyed the journey even more.

The information about the other four wizards aside from Gandalf was quite interesting as well, and fascinating. Bilbo had never thought there were other wizards aside from Gandalf, but in hindsight, it made sense that he was not the only one. And the fact that Gandalf was actually not the most powerful of the lot was also surprising. Then again, Bilbo had not really seen Gandalf do anything that notorious, except for his fireworks, of course. He could not believe Gandalf did not remember his comrades' names, though. How terribly inconsiderate of him. He understood it may have been many years since all the wizards had seen each other, but forgetting their names was going too far. Kael knowing their names, on the other hand, was not surprising at all. With all the stories of Middle-Earth the young man had told Bilbo during the three years he had lived in Bag-End, the fact that he also knew the story of the wizards was almost normal in comparison.

No, it was the last night before they reached Rivendell that everything changed, and yet it stayed the same as it had always been.

When they made camp for the night just next to a house, Bilbo helped Bombur make dinner for everyone. He had become friends with the kind dwarf as well, bonding through their shared love of food. He saw Thorin and Gandalf appeared to be arguing about something, and the dwarf king's slightly raised voice made the other dwarves give them worried looks from time to time. But just as Gandalf looked to be losing his patience with Thorin – something Bilbo could understand just by knowing Thorin's personality since the start of their journey – Kael intervened and swiftly calmed their tempers. Or at least, that is what Bilbo thought he was going to do, because not even five minutes later, Thorin was walking towards their direction with a fuming expression.

Bilbo shook his head and passed the cooking spoon to Bombur. Kael must have told Thorin something that incensed him. It was probably nothing bad, but Thorin often blew things out of proportion because of his pride, so whatever Kael said may have had something to do with that. Kael and Gandalf did not seem worried, though, so Bilbo shook it out of his mind. Of course, when he saw Kael walking towards the forest at that hour, he did not see any other option but to follow after him. It was dangerous to be roaming around so late, and even if Bilbo rationally knew Kael could take care of himself – better than Bilbo could, that was for sure – he was still worried.

He was glad he did, though. Because the story Kael told him after rocked Bilbo's world.

Well, was it really that surprising that Kael was a wizard like Gandalf? He already had the mysterious air and the witty, wise words, so really, what else could it have been? The fact that Kael had once been Sauron was a little more incredible to believe, and if he had to be honest with himself, just a bit terrifying in its own right, but it was clear that Kael was not him anymore. Kael was still as kind as he had been when Bilbo first met him. He was still that young man who told jokes and laughed brightly whenever the little kids in the Shire begged him for stories and chased him around playfully. He was still Kael, whether his name was really Mairon or not.

And so, when Kael showed Bilbo the inner light he had spoken of, the only thing he felt was absolute, undiluted awe. Because Kael looked like the angels Bilbo's mother had told him stories about when he was a child. Those divine beings that looked over Arda and were brighter than the stars themselves. Mysterious and kind. Warm and powerful. And he decided, right there and then, that he would never be surprised by Kael again. Of course, he was absolutely wrong about that.

But he only realized it after they reached Rivendell and visited the Hall of Fire.

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Rivendell was truly the most beautiful place he had ever laid eyes on. It was absolutely radiant, something that seemed out of this world, eternal in its beauty and yet still warm and inviting. The elves were wonderful, everything Bilbo had ever imagined and more. The mere sight of them made Bilbo want to sing merrily and dance around the trees and the flowers. He felt like a small fauntling again.

He inwardly cursed Gandalf when he noticed the smug look the wizard was giving him after noticing his reaction to the place, but he had to admit that Gandalf had been right, if only about Bilbo needing more excitement in his life. Really, if it were up to him and the dwarves did not need to reach Erebor that badly, Bilbo would stay right there, among the elves, for as much time as he felt like.

Just like Kael had told him, Bilbo was indeed able to meet Elrond and Glorfindel, the latter of the two almost managing to make Bilbo squeal in excitement like the young lassies in the Shire. Glorfindel was a legendary hero, alright? They could not fault Bilbo for reacting like that! Fortunately, the elf lord only seemed amused by Bilbo's awed look, and he even seemed curious about him – him, an unimportant hobbit from the Shire! This was the best day of his life!

He thought things could not possibly get any better, but then Lord Elrond led them to the Hall of Fire, a room taken out straight out of Bilbo's most wonderful dreams. There was a big hearth in the center that illuminated the whole place, and it felt so warm and encompassing that Bilbo even imagined himself sitting next to it, bundled up in a comfortable blanket and eating delicious biscuits with a warm drink.

A group of elves who were telling stories and jokes caught his attention before he could head to one of the couches nearest to the fire, though, so his inner storyteller came rearing its head and Bilbo just had to go there and share some of his own stories. The one where Lobelia tried to steal his spoons – yet again – seemed perfect for the occasion, so that was what he did. He was so happy that the elves seemed to like it so much. Everyone was laughing, and Bilbo could not help but laugh along with them. He had never had so much fun in a gathering, but then again, he had never been in a gathering just like this one.

Hobbit parties were quite different from what the elves did, and yet, Bilbo felt like the elves' way of life resonated better within himself than the hobbits' one ever did. He brushed away those thoughts to focus on the dwarves, who had now started to sing a merry song he recognized from nights in some pubs in the Shire. After it was over and done with, many cheers echoing through the room again, he decided to go speak to Gandalf. Who knew, maybe the old man would have some wise words prepared for him. Wizards were said to often be helpful like that, even if you did not know you needed their counsel. And Gandalf, while strange at times, was undoubtedly wiser than he.

He reached the couch where the wizard was sitting and settled himself next to him.

"My dear hobbit," the old man said, smiling at him in that way of his that already seemed to warm Bilbo's heart whenever he saw it, "that story of yours was quite entertaining. Lobelia certainly seems to be a handful."

"Indeed," Bilbo chuckled, and nodded at Oin, who had walked by their couch, "the dwarves certainly know how to sing a song. Thorin seemed quite relaxed, too. I would have thought he would be on edge around so many elves."

Gandalf chuckled contentedly and leaned on the couch. "You will find, Bilbo, that music has a powerful magic of its own. It is capable of many wonders, and it is in fact through those wonders that we are what, and who we are."

Bilbo was about to tell Gandalf he did not quite understand what he was getting at when a soft melody started playing, prompting everyone in the Hall to quiet down. Bilbo looked around to see where the song was coming from, and then he noticed Glorfindel and Elrond staring at someone near their couch. Kael was perched on one of the beautiful balustrades around the Hall, holding to his lips the little odd-shaped flute Bilbo had seen him carving during their journey.

And it sounded beautiful.

He did not know the song; he had never heard it before. But something in it reminded Bilbo of something precious to him, something he missed terribly. Some place he loved with all his heart.

With a gasp, he looked around, having heard the sound of distant laughter. It reminded him of the little fauntlings who were always running around, often playing with his loyal gardener and friend, Hamfast Gamgee, who pretended to be slow so that the children could beat him. If he focused enough, he could almost swear he could feel a soft wind against his skin, see the green hills and the trickling rivers, feel the stone pathways beneath his feet.

The slow melody then shifted to a livelier tune, and Bilbo smiled brightly as he remembered the dances and songs that filled the day of his 50th birthday. He could almost hear the music that was played that day, the cheers and the laughter of all the people around him, the warm feeling as he received beautiful gifts from his dear friend.

And when a small tear escaped his eyes, he realized why the song Kael was playing was so familiar.

It reminded him of the Shire.

He looked at Kael, feeling completely amazed while brushing the tears from his eyes, and gasped when he noticed flowers of every color and shape had bloomed as if by some mysterious magic all around the Hall. The balustrades were draped in climbing plants adorned with colorful blooms, while the columns appeared as though they were submerged in a sea of vibrant green – surrounded by the lush vegetation. The fire in the hearth burned warmer and more brilliantly than ever.

Bilbo looked at Gandalf, startled, when he felt the old man shift slightly, and for a moment Bilbo's chest hurt in empathy when he saw Gandalf's teary, melancholic gaze, as if he were longing for something he had not seen for a long, long time.

The wizard muttered something under his breath with an awed expression, something in a language Bilbo did not understand, but he could have sworn he heard the word 'Yavanna' somewhere in there.

He realized with a start that the song had finished already, and he had not even noticed. He quickly looked at the place Kael had previously been sitting on, only to catch a strand of red hair disappearing behind one of the columns.

He made to follow him, but Lord Glorfindel, who seemed to have noticed his movement, stopped him with a kind look.

"I believe Mairon would prefer to be alone for a while, Bilbo. Remembering can be…hard."

The elf lord's face was sad, as if what he had just said was personal somehow, and Bilbo wondered what Lord Glorfindel must have gone through to have such a sad gaze. The golden-haired elf did not seem that worried, though, even if a bit of concern shone through his eyes, so Bilbo stayed where he was.

One thing was clear, though. If he had not been sure before, Kael – or was it Mairon, now? – was by no means human. 

Strangely enough – or perhaps not at all – Bilbo did not care one bit.