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The two hobbits living in Valinor were quite popular. Given that hobbits had never been seen before in the Undying Lands, many who lived there were incredibly curious about the two that had moved there; especially since one of them was the nine-fingered hobbit who had saved all of Arda. So Frodo and Bilbo Baggins were seldom without visitors, admirers, or curious onlookers (although the latter two had dwindled as the days went by and the elves grew used to seeing them).
Gandalf just so happened to be one of their more regular visitors. He often went to see how they were faring. In particular, he wanted to make sure there weren't any problems with Frodo's healing. He also, if he were to be completely honest, enjoyed company that reminded him of when he led his life as Gandalf the Grey, friend and ally to the peoples of Middle Earth, lover of fireworks, and frequent disturber of the peace. Him being a more frequent visitor meant that he sometimes called on the hobbits at the same time as other visitors.
So when Bilbo welcomed him in and mentioned having another guest over for tea, Gandalf didn't think much of it. But he thought very much of it when he walked into the kitchen and saw who it was.
"Well met, Olórin."
Gandalf blinked, dumbfounded. Because that was Lady Nienna sitting at Frodo and Bilbo's kitchen table. "Well met, though with some surprise, Lady Nienna."
"You see, Frodo?" Bilbo laughed as he shuffled past Gandalf to sit back down. "I told you our Gandalf would know Nienna!"
"So you did, Uncle," Frodo nodded with a fond smile. "Afternoon, Gandalf. You're just in time for tea."
Slowly, Gandalf went to sit at the kitchen table, his seat just so happening to be across from where Nienna sat, patiently waiting for tea to be served. Bilbo sat right next to her, already chattering on like they were old friends. "Now let me see, where was I?"
"Mayor Whitfoot was to announce the winner of the pie baking contest," Nienna supplied, her voice a gentle, soothing lilt as always.
"Ah, yes! Your splendid memory strikes again! So, there was my Aunt Tanta, certain her berry pie would win. As I told you, she was boasting to us all for weeks that she would. My cousins and I had a bet going if she actually would. I'll be the first to admit it, her berry pie was quite good. You remember Aunt Tanta's berry pie, Frodo?"
"I do." Frodo smiled a bit as he poured out tea for everyone. "It was very good."
"A delightful treat to have in the summer. Anyway, we were all waiting to hear who won. Mayor Whitfoot takes the stand, makes his usual speech about all the entries being top notch, but there can only be one winner. And the winner was… my little niece Asphodel Baggins!" Bilbo started laughing. "The dear girl, quiet as a mouse and just as shy, had spent months perfecting the most marvelous blueberry pie. I'm not sure who was more stunned at her victory, Aunt Tanta or Asphodel herself! Frodo, did you ever have Asphodel's blueberry pie?"
"I think she gave the recipe to my mother as a wedding gift." Frodo set down the kettle. "Cream and sugar as usual, Nienna?"
Nienna nodded with a soft smile. "As usual. Thank you." She turned back to Bilbo. "I am sure you were all quite proud of your niece."
"Oh, we were! She was just a tween back then, a skinny slip of a girl. Painfully shy, especially compared to her sisters. No one expected her to enter the contest at all. And Aunt Tanta, of course, was so prideful when it came to her baking prowess. She'd changed by the time you were born, Frodo, but when I was your age, she wasn't very humble. Which would have been one thing if she wasn't very good, but as I said, she was quite talented at baking."
"I never thought of Aunt Asphodel as someone who was painfully shy," Frodo remarked as he set a cup of tea in front of Gandalf, who idly nodded in thanks.
"Oh yes, she grew much more confident by the time she turned thirty-three. But back then? We all thought the sky falling was more likely than Asphodel doing something like entering a baking contest." Bilbo laughed and shook his head. "Ah, poor Aunt Tanta was so blindsided she didn't speak the rest of the afternoon!" He suddenly turned his attention across the table. "Did you ever meet my Great-Aunt Tanta, Gandalf? Tanta Hornblower, before she married my Great-Uncle Largo."
Up to that point, Gandalf had simply been sitting and watching, quite unable to believe what he was seeing. Of all the Valar, Lady Nienna had never been seen. She dwelt on the far side of Aman in her halls, hardly ever leaving. Very few, save he and the other Maia who served her, knew what she looked like or had even met her.
And now she was sitting in Bilbo and Frodo's kitchen, having tea like it was absolutely nothing at all. Bilbo was acting like they'd known each other for years. Frodo knew how she liked her tea. Gandalf hadn't known she even had a preference to taking her tea.
"I'm afraid I can't remember ever meeting your Great-Aunt Tanta," he replied. "She does seem like she was quite memorable."
"Ah, oh well. Oh, let me get that, my lad."
"I've got it, Bilbo." Frodo set down two plates, one laden with scones and the other with fresh bread, and untucked a jar of butter from under his arm. "I'm afraid we don't have much else," he said apologetically to both Nienna and Gandalf. "I did want to make more, but this morning… Well, I ran out of time. I'm sorry."
Gandalf noted how pale and wan Frodo still looked, and worriedly wondered what had happened that morning. It was in the way Frodo trailed off, his tell when he didn't want to talk about the shadows that still haunted his every step.
"There is nothing to apologize for, Master Baggins," Nienna said to him, as understanding as she always was. "This is more than enough."
Somehow, Gandalf got the strange feeling that she knew more than she was saying; although that, blessedly, wasn't unusual. The Lady of Tears and Pity always knew more than she let on.
To his relief, Frodo's shoulders relaxed and he smiled sheepishly. "Please, no 'Master Baggins'," he said with a soft chuckle. "If Bilbo and I need no pleasantries for you, it doesn't seem fair."
"Of course, Frodo." Genuine amusement truly looked so strange on Nienna. "Forgive the slip of my tongue."
Frodo smiled and went to sit down next to Gandalf. "Could you pass me the scones, Gandalf?"
And so tea commenced. Try as he might—and he really did try—Gandalf could not get used to the sight in front of him. If it were anyone else, it would be so unassuming, so casual. But this? It was like an animal who only went out at night being seen during the day. Of all the Valar to grace Frodo and Bilbo's doorstep, he would have expected Yavanna, or Aule, or even Tulkas. But Nienna? How did this happen? And under his very nose?
"Frodo," he said quietly, not wanting to interrupt Bilbo's telling of another story. Frodo paused in sipping his tea. "You are aware of who Lady Nienna is."
Frodo nodded, setting down his teacup. "Yes, I am. You were the one who introduced me to her."
He remembered that very well, though he more clearly remembered what happened after the introduction. Lady Nienna had requested he leave the to speak privately; after which Frodo had emerged, two hours later, looking exhausted and like he had cried hard enough to vomit, but, blessedly, lighter in spirit.
Gandalf paused, unsure of what to say. "When did Lady Nienna start visiting for tea?"
"Oh… two months ago? She's been coming for tea almost every week ever since."
It took all of his strength not to balk at the so casually spoken words. Every week? For two months?
"Really?" he managed.
Frodo's brow furrowed in bemusement. "Is it so surprising? We've had plenty of people over for tea."
Gandalf wanted to burst into laughter at the whole thing. Frodo truly had no idea how incredible this truly was. "So you have."
"Why do you ask?"
"Oh… No reason. I was merely curious."
From the way Frodo frowned skeptically, he knew that wasn't a very acceptable answer. But miraculously, Nienna addressed the hobbit before he could ask anything else. "How fares your garden, Frodo?"
"Oh… well…" Frodo shrugged, smiling sheepishly. "Coming along, I suppose. I haven't killed anything yet, at least."
Nienna smiled kindly at him. "I would like to see it before I depart."
"I can show you, but I'm afraid it isn't anything special. Not like the gardens of Lorien."
"There is beauty in all things, Frodo. Your garden is special because it is yours. And I would very much like to see it as it grows."
Frodo looked incredibly moved, and for a moment was lost for words. Gandalf was unsurprised; Lady Nienna could have that effect on people. Then Frodo smiled, and it broke through the fatigue that seemed permanently etched into his eyes. "That would be wonderful," he said gratefully. "I can show you after we've had tea."
"Now, now, lad!" Bilbo said, waving his finger. "While your garden is beautiful, and I'm incredibly proud of you, I promised to show Nienna my new books after tea!"
Nienna's smile became one of a co-conspirator. "That is correct. Bilbo promised me only moments ago."
Frodo scoffed, smiling. "Bilbo just wants you to stay longer."
"Well, of course I do!" Bilbo huffed. "I need more material for my song!"
That caught Gandalf's attention. "My dear Bilbo, are you writing a new song?"
The question made Frodo's smile widen, while Bilbo brightened. "Oh yes, didn't I tell you? Nienna is helping me get some inspiration for it! It's not based on any tales, purely fiction. But I think my main character is quite compelling."
"And who is your main character?"
Bilbo's eyes twinkled mischievously. "Her name is Lady Sindicollo."
Gandalf's eyebrows shot up his forehead—even more so when Nienna's smile split into a grin of pure amusement. He heard Frodo snicker into his teacup. "A very interesting name," he settled on saying.
Bilbo looked incredibly pleased with himself. "Thank you, Gandalf, I'm quite proud of it myself."
Well. If nothing else, being back on Taniquetil and being called Olórin didn't seem so strange anymore.
The following week, Gandalf called on Bilbo and Frodo once again. This time, Frodo opened the door and showed him inside. "You're just in time for tea." He gave him a teasing smile. "Is the tea on Taniquetil so terrible that you keep coming here?"
"Alas, you've found me out," Gandalf laughed as he hung his cloak.
"Well, come on. Bilbo's in the kitchen."
"And how is our dear Bilbo?" Gandalf asked as they set off down the hallway.
Frodo smiled. "He's grown much stronger. He's begun to take walks by himself, lately."
"How wonderful. And yourself?"
The smile faded slightly. "Better… somewhat."
Gandalf nodded. "I understand." He decided not to press further; Frodo looked less tired than he did last week, and that alone was marked improvement.
When they entered the kitchen, Bilbo looked up from where he was setting the table. "Gandalf!" he exclaimed happily. "What a pleasant surprise! Sit, sit! Frodo, where did you put the tarts?"
Gandalf waited until the table was set and the tea was poured before asking his question. "Has the Lady Nienna come to call on you?"
"Ah, no, sadly," Bilbo lamented. "She sent along her apologies, said urgent matters were calling her away. But we sent the messenger back with some food for her."
Gandalf smiled. "I am sure it was appreciated."
Frodo tilted his head curiously. "Is she all right?"
"She is quite well."
"Gandalf, why are you asking about her? You asked about her coming to tea last week, too."
"Did you?" Bilbo asked curiously.
"He asked while you were telling Nienna about Cousin Lungo," Frodo explained.
"Ah, I see." Gandalf was then met with two near-identical looks of curiousity. "Why the curiosity, Gandalf? Surely Nienna can do what she pleases."
Gandalf took a sip of tea and set his cup back down. "Indeed, she can. But the reason why I was so surprised to see Lady Nienna is because she rarely ever leaves her dwellings. You remember, Frodo, that we were summoned there?"
Frodo frowned, but nodded. "Yes."
"Rare is it that Lady Nienna calls on people herself. Instead, they are summoned to her halls to meet her."
"Really?" Bilbo frowned.
Gandalf nodded gravely. "Indeed, I have never known her to call on someone not once, but every week." He leaned forward a bit. "My dear hobbits, Lady Nienna is acquainted with grief. Every sorrow in Arda, every tear shed, every cry of despair, she has felt as though it were her own. She weeps in her halls, ever mourning the wounds dealt upon the world. It is because of this that she is known as the Lady of Pity. She pities all those who suffer, and comforts those who cry out to her in the Halls of Mandos. But that is also why she keeps to her halls. She does not go to places of joy, and has not set foot in the city of my kin for a very long time."
As he spoke, the two hobbits' faces melted from looks of curiosity to shock, and then sadness. "My goodness," Bilbo said after a moment. "I had no idea… the poor woman…"
Frodo looked sympathetically at Gandalf. "She told me, that day when I met her, that she felt my pain. I suppose I never realized how deeply she felt… everyone's pain."
"Do not blame yourself, Frodo. She would not have told you. But that is why I was so surprised when you told me she has come to see you every week. I cannot remember the last time she has ever visited anyone, save her brother in the Halls of Mandos."
Frodo and Bilbo looked at each other, processing this. They both looked down at the table in thought. "Well," Bilbo finally said aloud, "I think it's done her some good to visit us as she does."
Gandalf looked at him in surprise, while Frodo smiled in agreement. "I think so, too, Bilbo."
"What makes you say that?" Gandalf couldn't help asking.
Frodo shrugged. "I think even the Lady of Mourning and Pity deserves a reprieve."
"My thought exactly, dear boy," Bilbo agreed. "She always seems to enjoy herself when she's here. If we can give her some reprieve, I believe we should."
Gandalf blinked, then smiled. Even now, after everything these two hobbits had done, they still continued to surprise him. "I think the Lady is very blessed indeed to have the two of you as her friends."
"Well, good!" Bilbo said with a firm nod. "Everyone ought to have friends. They make life far more enjoyable, that way."
Gandalf laughed. "Indeed, they do, dear Bilbo. Now, may your friend trouble you for another cup of tea?"