Chapter Text
Bella was a normal, healthy child growing up. She had only rarely gotten sick; never more than a sniffle and despite an odd penchant for adventuring was generally considered to be a lovely child. Many neighbors agreed she’d make some young lad a fine wife someday. It wasn’t until she started puberty and began getting her monthlies that there was the first hint of things not being all as they should be.
Everyone knew that Bella Baggins had an irregular monthlies. Some months they would avoid her altogether and other months they would visit twice and always with the most unbearable pains. There were few secrets in Hobbiton and unfortunately for Bella, her flow was not one of them. Of course, irregular monthlies could only mean one thing; Bella was barren. 'Such a sad thing to happen to such a lovely lass', the neighbors whispered as she walked by. 'Best not to get too close', mothers warned their daughters at the market. The touch of a barren was something to be feared, as many believed it might be contagious. Bella herself became less than a whole in the eyes of her community.
When Bella came of age there were no courting gifts, not that she had expected any, though her parents were very disappointment. While heartbroken at the thought of never being a wife or mother, a part of her had been relieved. If being barren already made her less than a woman, what would her spouse think when they found out she could also grow a beard? It was Bella’s most fiercely guarded secret, something she never confided even to her parents. And if she had had her way, she would have taken it to her grave.
By the time one meddling wizard and 13 crazy dwarves arrived at her smial, Bella had been alone for a long time. Bella found herself fascinated by the dwarves, even as she was flustered, scandalized, and a little frightened by them. They were so unlike anyone she had ever met before. And their beards! Aside from Gandalf when she was a small fauntling Bella had never seen a beard before. Hobbit men didn’t grow beards, Bella wasn’t even sure they could, and her own she was careful to shave every morning first thing and sometimes in the evening too. She hadn’t realized that beards could be, well, attractive. Of course, they were all males. Facial hair was acceptable on males. There were even a few older hobbit men with rather impressive muttonchops. On a woman though, such a thing could only be repulsive.
When Bella decided to join the quest she didn’t have much time for packing. She forgot many things such as her matches and heavy coat. What she didn’t forget was her razors. She brought every one she owned and dispersed them throughout her pockets in clothing and packs. She felt a little paranoid but she also knew life on the road was unpredictable and she wasn’t willing to risk being without. In the Shire she could hide in her home. Traveling with the dwarves there would be no escape if they discovered her shame.