Part One: The Postponed Journey

Chapter One: Concerning Two Hobbits

In a comfortable hole in the ground there lived two hobbits. Bilbo Baggins and his younger twin sister, Bellarosa. Now while these two hobbits are very similar in appearance, their mannerisms are as different as night and day. Bilbo is a respectable Baggins through and through, the epitome of Baggins predictability. Bellarosa however was every inch a Took, longing for adventure and dreaming of what lay beyond the horizon.

But it hadn't always been this way. Oh, no. When they were children, they would both go racing through the fields and woods, imagining and playing at meeting elves and other grand folk. They would take wooden swords and fight mock battles. On one midsummer's eve, they even battled a wizard.

Gandalf laughed with delight, enjoying the simple pleasure of bringing wonder and joy to some of his favorite people in all Middle Earth: the hobbits. The little children danced, chasing his firework butterflies, trying to catch them. Of course he'd made certain they wouldn't burn themselves if they did manage it. Even the older children nearing adulthood, and a good number of adults, watched with a childlike wonder.

A slap of a wooden sword against his posterior broke his observations as he turned his attention on a hobbit lad and lass of about five years or so. Both wielded finely crafted wooden swords.

"Don't let him get away!" the girl cried. "He must know the secret of the elves."

"You make sure he won't get away," the boy answered with a laugh.

"Oh, ho," Gandalf laughed, deciding to play along. "You must be careful. I may know this secret you wish to know, but I shan't give it up so easily."

For a good five to ten minutes Gandalf made motions of casting spells and blocking with his staff as the children demanded an elvish secret from him.

"Bilbo! Bellarosa!" A familiar hobbit lady raced forward. Belladonna Took, well, Baggins rather, since she had married Bungo Baggins.

The two children stilled in their battle, laughing, brown eyes twinkling like magic. Gandalf ruffled their curly brown heads as Belladonna reached them and gently claimed their swords.

"I'm sorry, Gandalf," she said with a smile. "If I had known–"

"Oh, no harm was done," Gandalf assured her. "They are simply showing their mother's spirit."

Belladonna's cheeks dusted pink. "But I never dared attack you with a weapon of any kind."

"No, but you did assault me with endless questions," Gandalf said with a chuckle. "Oh!" He was suddenly aware of a weight on his back. A pair of arms and legs were latched around him as the owner scurried up to his shoulders, and claimed his hat.

"Bellarosa!" the young mother cried.

"I got the wizard's hat," the girl declared, even as Gandalf caught hold of a leg to hold her steady. "Now he has to tell us the secret of the elves."

Belladonna shook her head as she hid her face in a free hand.

The wizard merely chuckled. "Indeed, Miss Baggins," he said. "So what grand secret do you and your brother wish to know?"

"Rivendell!" Bilbo cried.

"Greenwood!" Bellarosa cried. "And I'm not Miss Baggins," the girl added, "I'm Bella."

"Oh, my apologies," Gandalf replied with a laugh. "Well, I suppose that this calls for a few stories."

For the rest of the night, Gandalf had the pleasure of two little companions. One followed as close as a shadow, and the other remained perched on his shoulders, proudly wearing the hat that nearly covered her entire head. Though their parents were dusted with embarrassment they still shared in the trio's merriment. And the wizard was sure that despite the years that would pass, he would forever remember these two imaginative children.

Even as they grew into their twenties, Bilbo and Bellarosa still shared dreams of adventure and travels. However instead of racing across the countryside, they were making actual plans. Their parents had agreed that when the twins turned twenty-eight, they could have their own adventure. So their twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh years were full of trips to Bree to buy packs, travel clothes, and foodstuffs to see what could best travel well. There were debates about what weapons to take, if any at all, and whether they should travel on foot the whole way or hire ponies. Nothing could dampen their spirits nor the thrill of adventure. Almost nothing.

"Extra clothing?" Bella asked.

"All packed," Bilbo answered, tying the leather drawstrings of his pack. "Have you packed enough handkerchiefs?"

"Are two dozen enough, or do you wish to have more?" Bella asked. She laughed at her brother's good-natured scowl. If there was anything that was distinctly Baggins about her brother, it was his fondness of handkerchiefs.

"I am sure that is plenty, thank you," he answered. "Bedrolls?"

"One each for our ponies' saddles, and one each for our packs," Bella said. She laughed as she bounced on her toes. "I can hardly believe that we are going to finally see Rivendell," she half-squealed.

Bilbo laughed. "To think we could be among the handful of hobbits to actually journey there."

"And among the fewer to meet Lord Elrond from the old stories," Bella said.

"There is no guarantee that we will meet him," Bilbo said.

"But in all the stories that mention his home, they say it is Rivendell," Bella said, surprised by her brother's thought.

"That may be so, but it is possible that we will arrive while he is away on an even grander adventure than our own," Bilbo said. "I personally would rather not set my hopes on meeting the elf and then our entire trip be a disappointment because we couldn't."

"But," Bella said understanding now, "if we go to Rivendell simply to see the city and Lord Elrond is there then we will feel all the better about the trip."

"Exactly," Bilbo answered.

"Everything packed?"

Both turned to see Bungo and Belladonna Baggins in the doorway to the room the twins had taken over for their adventure preparations.

"We were just running through the checklist," Bilbo answered. He laughed. "I may very well be black and blue by the time we head out tomorrow. I just keep pinching myself to make sure I'm not dreaming."

"Same here," Bella said.

Papa chuckled. "I should have guessed when I married a Took that I'd see the first Baggins adventurers, but I never . . . saw it . . . coming . . . ."

"Papa?" Bella asked.

He wavered before falling to the wooden floor.

"Bungo!" Mama cried, just as the twins screamed, "Papa!" All three knelt about him, trying to find what was wrong. As Bella unbuttoned his collar, her knuckles grazed his skin: it was hot to the touch.

Bella broke into hers and Bilbo's medical supplies, hoping to find a solution for their ailing papa.

The illness was swift, silent, and deadly. Despite Bilbo and Bella having studied some basic medicinal books in the case of traveling accidents, they had no idea of how to help their father. Not even the doctors could say what had happened. Bungo died barely a week after his collapse. They had hardly buried Bungo when Belladonna also fell ill and died shortly thereafter.

The tragic passing of their parents, caused a shift in their demeanors. While Bella became even more Tookish, Bilbo became a stellar model of a Baggins. They laid firm roots in Bag End, openly, yet politely in Bilbo's case, hostile to the Sackville-Bagginses' attempts to take over the home their father had so lovingly made.

Many thought Bella would have run off as soon as the time of mourning was through, but they had underestimated her loyalty to her brother. She helped hold the claim to their home, and made a promise that surprised even Bilbo.

Bella quietly tied her old pack closed. She would be back before the end of the fortnight. She just needed to quiet her wanderlust by going to Bree and back, then she would be good for another six months or so.

"You could go on your own, you know," Bilbo's quiet words from her doorway startled her. "You don't have to remain trapped here."

Bella turned to her brother. "But it wouldn't be the same without you. You've studied all the lore about the route we planned to take. You wanted to see the elven city and meet Lord Elrond just as much as, or even more than, I did." She shook her head. "No, I am not about to take that trip alone."

"If it's company you want, I'm sure that one of our Brandybuck or Took cousins would be more than happy to go along with you."

"It's not just any company that I want," she snapped. "If that was the case, I would have already gone off alone, just as every hobbit in Hobbiton believed I would."

"Then why do you stay here!" Bilbo yelled. "What do you imagine is chaining you to this place?"

"I do not imagine myself chained, Bilbo Baggins!" she shouted back, hands planted on her hips.

"Then what is holding you here then?" Bilbo yelled.

"My love for the only family I have left!" she half-screamed. For a moment only their harsh breathing broke the tense silence. Finally, quieter, she said, "I don't intend to leave you, brother. As such, all serious adventuring is on hold until you are ready to join me again."

Bilbo slowly shook his head. "Sister, you are a fool of a Took. That day may never come. You should adventure while you still can."

Bella hugged her brother close, tears leaking from her eyes. "I'd rather never adventure than to wander the whole of Middle Earth without you. We're all we have left, and I don't care if I am the younger, I intend to look after you as much as I can."

Bilbo squeezed her tight, his tears dampening her blouse. "Alright. In return, I'll try to turn my heart to adventuring again. But, I still doubt it will ever happen."

Bella smiled sadly. "Until then, I'll let my feet wander between here and Bree so that my Tookish side doesn't drive me mad."

Bilbo chuckled. "Leaving at first light?"

"Right after breakfast," she said.

"You've packed all the proper provisions?"

"As always."

"Dry clothes in case you get damp?"

"And a travel cloak to keep any rain off." As Bilbo rattled off down the list some more, Bella started to laugh. At his somewhat disgruntled expression, she said, "Another reason I intend to wait for you. You'll always manage to keep us safe and provided for."

"And don't you forget it, sister mine," he said, tapping her nose with a finger.

"Even if you are too fond of handkerchiefs," she couldn't help adding. For the first time in two years, they truly laughed.

As the years passed, Bella would occasionally make purchases in Bree and slip them into their old questing room. Traveling clothes better suited to their adult frames. Newer and warmer blankets as bedrolls were gradually used and worn out. Better quality packs and a few hunting knives. Various questing materials that they hadn't initially considered when they were first planning their trip.

All the observing hobbits wished to know why she would bring these purchases and yet remain at home. Upon questioning Bilbo, the young Baggins would simply reply, "She is awaiting the proper time." Of course none knew when this proper time was, not even the twins.

Bilbo was solidly a Baggins, and despite his promise, it appeared that his heart was still firmly lodged in Bag End on Bagshot Row of Hobbiton in the Shire. However, unknown to all, a little spark was indeed glimmering and looking beyond the borders. Yet it wouldn't be until the twins' fifty-first year that it would be discovered

Author's Note: May I introduce the beginning of my first official NaNoWriMo project? I was inspired by the numerous fem!Bilbo stories I had found and the couple "Bilbo's sister joins the Company" tales. So, here is my interpretation, playing with the lesser written sister tales.

There will be quite a bit of "movie-verse" in addition to "book-verse" going on. And I'll be also following the example of the movies with at least three installments. I guess you could say that I got tired of not contributing to some fandom and decided to give you something. The first installment is complete, and I am partially into the next. I will not publish the next installment until I have finished it and have the next started.

Coverart is my own creation thanks to Azealea's Dolls and Doll Divine's Hobbit and Lord of the Rings dollmaker.

So, now that I have introduced you, how do you like Bella? What do you think will happen? Any ideas of how she'll react when a certain wizard comes to call? I would love to hear your thoughts and theories.