The Tenth Ringwraith: a Sauron x Bilbo

To Save a Soul

The following morning as they had breakfast together, Cedric asked Bilbo if he would like to have dinner together and have an evening out before they began the return journey home to the Shire.

Bilbo agreed for the sake of agreeing and since he had nothing planned himself.

When dinner time arrived and Cedric never showed up, Bilbo waited an hour for him before going down to the port where he knew the other hobbit had spent the days negotiating.

In a twist of fate, when Bilbo arrived at the semi-separated area of the docks, he saw Cedric floating facedown in the water.

That was pretty disappointing, it seemed he must have really angered someone -probably the Haradian Ink Traders he was working with.

And with the wagon nowhere in sight, Bilbo had no way to lug the corpse back to the Shire.

"Oh well." Bilbo thought, "It is not like anyone at home knew I was traveling with him, I did not even know until the night before."

"Exactly." Ash agreed, "You have a perfect alibi and if anyone did see you leave together in Bree, you can say you left Cedric at any point of the journey."

And with that, Bilbo went back to the inn for the night to have dinner and left the following morning after breakfast to begin the walk back to the Shire.

***

Three months later, Bilbo groaned softly as he sat in his chair with a nice cup of tea in his hands.

He had made it home just barely a week ago, just in time to beat traveling through the first snows of the season.

No one had paid much mind that he had been gone for several months, especially since this time he had left a note saying he was going on a Walking Holiday so he did not return home to an auction.

Cedric had also yet to be noted as being missing -or rather dead, as he was, either left for the fish to claim or buried in a pauper's grave somewhere in Pelargir.

Either way, it was not any of Bilbo's concern; no, his only interest regarding Cedric was the addition he was adding to his novel 'There and Back Again: a Hobbit's Tale'.

Humming softly as he sipped at his tea, he heard a knock at his door.

Putting the cup down, he made his way over to the front door and opened it, seeing Gandalf the Grey on the other side.

"Hello, Gandalf." Bilbo greeted, "Come on in, you'll catch your death out there with how cold it is!"

The wizard ducked through the short door and minded his head as he stood back up, following Bilbo to the smoking room.

"It has felt like ages since I have seen you last, what have you been up to these past twelve years?" Gandalf inquired

Bilbo offered him a cup of tea before replying, "Oh, you know, this and that. Nothing out of the ordinary for the Shire."

"Is that so?" The old wizard asked, "I heard that you had just gotten home from an adventure."

"Oh that, I went on a little walk to Bree and back." Bilbo brushed off, "I did not go too terribly far, I just spent a few months there to get ready for the restlessness of winter. I swear my neighbors will spread any bit of gossip about me they can, I would wager they are still upset about me interrupting their auction of my smial."

"You've changed, Bilbo Baggins, you're not the same hobbit that left the Shire." Gandalf commented, lighting his pipe

"I do not feel like that hobbit anymore, I have not for a long time." The hobbit admitted, his pale green eyes seeming on the cup of tea he held, "But it is not upsetting to me, I feel more like myself than I ever dared to be before. Sometimes, though, early in some mornings or very late at night, I do not even feel like Bilbo Baggins anymore; I feel like someone else and Bilbo Baggins is a tunic I have to put on."