It had seemed a harmless enough idea. Why should she not speak to those over whom she watched? Why should she not learn about those whom she protected? Surely it would make her a better guardian? The answers seemed self-evident to her that of course she should get to know the hobbits better.

Now she could see that her questions had little to do with duty, and more to do with her wish to become better acquainted with, not hobbits, but one hobbit.

But how? If she appeared as an Elf-maiden, she would overawe them. Yet there were not yet so many hobbits that the sudden appearance of an unknown would go unnoticed. Still, it seemed to her a risk worth taking.

It was near Midsummer’s Day when she watched Tûk going forth on his own, down the hills and over the downs. This was her first, best,
opportunity.

Near a copse in a meadow, she waited, clothed in the form of a hobbit-maiden. She wore the sort of garb she had seen on Tûk’s sisters and cousins’ scarlet flowers bound her dark hair. She sat beside a streamlet.

The sensations of scent and sound and sight nearly overwhelmed her. She closed her eyes against the brightness of Anor’s light, turning her face to her sister’s warmth, feeling the heat and the cooling sensation of the breeze mingle against her skin. The scent of trees and grass, the music of birdsong and of the flowing water was sharp in her ears. Her bare feet, with their covering of dark curls felt the tickle of soft grass and the living earth beneath them. She sat upon a rock and simply enjoyed being! She had nearly forgotten her purpose in taking this form.

Until a voice startled her. “What have we here?”