Healing, Magic and Unexpected Adventures 2

Chapter Two - Thorin

They had been gone for four weeks when the first letter from Bouvardia arrived. It was a short one, avoiding the topic of how she was doing and instead saying how she was sure that she'd be able to see them all again before the next year.

Fili hadn't said a word for the rest of the day, pacing anxiously around his chambers and only letting Kili enter. Thorin had been honest with his nephew about what had happened after he'd gone behind the barricade, and although Fili had said he'd been forgiven, there was still some tension between the two.

The second letter was sent to Bifur and Bombur, asking about how Bofur's recovery was going. This one was considerably longer, and Bouvardia spoke more about things at Bag End. She complained of family relatives known as the Sackville-Bagginses, and said that the next week she and Nori were planning on heading down to her old place of work to sort out some paperwork.

A letter followed from Nori, saying that although she was by no means recovered, there had been some progress made. She was eating somewhat regularly for a hobbit now, had put on some weight, and managed to get outside at least once a day.

This reassured the company. Although Bouvardia might try to hide how bad she was mentally, like she had done in Mirkwood, Nori would be honest with them for her sake. Bombur sent her a reply saying that Bifur had recovered excellently thanks to the advice she had left.

Then a letter came from Ori, saying that so far their journey had been relatively uneventful. The one problem they had come across was with an unfriendly innkeeper that Bilbo had tried to get a room from without booking in advance, but Bofur had seen to that. Ori didn't go into the details on how.

Two weeks later, three letters arrived, all from Bouvardia. One to Bombur, saying how she was thrilled about Bifur's recovery. One to Balin, saying - and this surprised many - that while sorting out the paperwork for her job she had come across a doctorates that she didn't remember receiving. The letter was signed "Doctor Bouvardia Baggins".

The third one was addressed to Thorin and Fili. It explained that she understood that she'd perhaps reacted impulsively, but that she didn't hold anything against them and that none of them had been in the right head space. She finished by saying that she looked forward to seeing them in the new year. For Fili, it was like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. He'd gone out drinking with friends that evening.

Thorin, meanwhile, felt like he was going to be sick. He hadn't done anything to deserve her forgiveness, and yet here it was written in spidery handwriting.

Finally, after a few weeks of back and forth with Bouvardia and Nori, came a second letter from Ori, saying that by the time the letter would have arrived, they would have reached Bag End. Thorin could do no more than hold his breath and wait.