There once lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty hobbit. But a clean, well dressed and mannered one. That hobbit would be me. I lived in my father's hobbit hole in the Shire. Of course, being the only girl Baggins in quite a long time, I was the only kin and was left with the hole, along with other possessions We Baggins' were never the adventure type. My grand-father before my father, however, told of a tale that one day, a member of the family would go on a great adventure. I beg to differ. All I liked to do was sit around and smoke my pipe. I'd sit outside, tend to the garden, and greet passerby's with a friendly nod and simple, 'Good morning'. Being a hobbit, I was small in size, a little bit smaller than a dwarf, not that I'd really seen one before, and large feet which grew hair. Hair that was combed and tended to perfectly.

I was scurrying about my home when a loud knock sounded from my door. I mumbled quietly to myself and went to go answer it. Standing there, was a man wearing gray. He had a pointy hat, long staff, and a gray beard. "Hello, are you Aria Baggins?" I looked at this man. He had a familiar vibe to him. I pushed back a lock of hair and nodded. "Yes. And who are you?" he chuckled softly. "My name is Gandalf." I gave a small nod, remembering his awfully funny name. "And may I ask..Gandalf: Why are you at my front door?" He smirked and looked at me with his dark eyes. "I look for someone to share an adventure with.. May I come in?" I blinked and nodded. "Yes, yes of course.. I wasn't expecting company but.. Please do," I opened the door and stepped aside, allowing Gandalf to duck his head and walk in. I closed the green door behind him and stood in front of him. "Would you care for some tea?" He shook his head no, taking a look around. I followed him, wondering why he wandered.

I fiddled a bit, "So Gandalf... What kind of adventure are you going on?" he looked at me and smiled. "A dangerous one. One that requires the right person..." he picked up a book and flipped through it. I hesitated and smiled. "So.. Am I the right one for this. "Adventure"?" I said softly. He shrugs a bit. "That remains to be seen..." he smiled and started heading towards the door. "Ah, um...Mr. Gandalf.." I murmured softly. "Yes young one?" "Ah, nothing. It's nothing," I chuckle and open the door for him. He smiles and takes his leave, closing the door behind him. I start heading for the kitchen, my big feet making slight thumps as I walked.

After sundown, I sat with a plate of greens and a stack of salted meat. I smiled and sighed, picking up a fork and placing a piece to my mouth, being disturbed by a knock on the door. I raised my eyebrows and mumbled, setting the napkin on my lap on the table and standing, going to answer the door. I pulled the door open and there stood.. Well.. A dwarf. "Dwalin.. At your service," he said and bowed, keeping his eyes plastered on mine. I blinked and nodded. He stepped in, making me loose my footing and stepping back. "Am I too late?" "Late? Late for what?" He turned around to look at me and smirked. "What's for dinner?' "I-I'm sorry?" "He said there would be food.." he started to walk towards my kitchen. I quickly shut the door and followed him quickly and watched as he sat down and dined on my meal. I stood to the side and watched, staying as quiet as, well.. A hobbit. He burped loudly, sending a disgusting chill down my spine. Just as he asked for more, the door bell rang. I hesitated and went to the door, an old dwarf standing there. "Balin, at your service. Am I to.. Ah! Dwalin!" he pushed past me and went to his dwarf friend. I shut the door and stood quietly by it, possibly expecting others. They greeted and laughed loudly, heading towards my pantry. I let out a whine and followed, hearing them talk about how different the food is. I opened my mouth to say something to the two dwarves invading my food, but at that moment, the bell rang. Once again.

I sighed and fixed up my hair, opening the door and seeing two dwarves, one with blonde hair, and the other with black. "Fili." "And Kili. At your service," they both bowed and said. I blinked and stared at the one addressed as Kili. He smirked at me, causing my cheeks to flare up in pink. I stepped aside and let them in. Kili passed by and shivered a bit from the cool night. I closed the door quietly as Fili went to Dwalin and Balin. Kili stood beside me and smiled. "Kili. And you are..?" he pressed, leaning in to look at me. I swallowed and blinked. "A-Aria. Aria Baggins.." I smiled at him. He smiled back, nodding and setting his weapons down. I blushed slightly and looked around. Kili joined his brother and the others, engaging in the pantry and setting out food and others. Soon, one by one, my home was filled with 12 dwarves. All men. I had sat down by the door, the others in the kitchen laughing and joking, stuffing their faces with my tender and delicious food. The bell rang, once again. But this time, it wasn't a dwarf, it was Gandalf. "Ah! Gandalf! Finally! Why are all these dwarves in my house?!" my voice cracked, it showing that I wasn't too happy. "Oh Aria, calm down. They're here for the adventure!" He walked in and stood in the middle, counting all the dwarves that ran by. "1...3...5...7...12.. We seem to be missing one..." Dwalin came in, a bit of crumbs dangling from his beard. "He's always late.." Kili came rushing in, his dark wavy hair bouncing slightly. "Gandalf! Bombur is choking, as usual!" he gave me a small smile before running into the kitchen. Gandalf looked at me and him and winked, making my cheeks hot. He walked in, with a small hobbit following his path. Bombur was a fat dwarf with a red beard. Gandalf went behind him and smacked his back with his staff, sending a biscuit piece flying at me.I yelped quietly and cringed a bit, expecting impact, but never got one. I opened one eye and looked to see. Kili had his hand outstretched in front of me, with the biscuit piece in his hand. I stood up straight and blushed a red. He smiled at me and bowed his head a little, still keeping eye contact. I bowed a little back and murmured a "Thank you.." to him.

A loud three rapped sound sounded from the door. Every dwarf fell silent and looked at the door, stopping their movements. "Ah.. There he is.." Gandalf muttered, smoking his pipe and creating rings with the smoke. I looked at Kili and back at the door, going to it and answering it. There was, yet again, another dwarf. His hair was longer than Kili's and as black as night. I stepped aside as he slowly made his way in. "Ah, Thorin. You made it," Gandalf said amongst the crowd and smiled. "I lost my way. Twice.." he said in a deep voice. I closed the door and stood up straight, pushing my brown hair back a little."So.. This is the hobbit.. I didn't expect you to be... Well.." he said, stepping closer to me. "A girl?" I finished his sentence. He nodded and turned away, walking away from me and to the other dwarves. Balin's voice raised from the crowd. "It'll be good for us dwarves. To have a female presence that is," he smiled and nodded at me. I smiled back at him and looked back at Thorin. Thorin scoffed, sending a weird sinking feeling in me. I sighed and looked down. Balin frowned a bit and sighed, whispering something in Kili's ear. Kili smirked and looked at me. I caught his gaze and blushed a bit, making him grin. I straightened out my dress and sighed a bit. "Alright, enough. We need to discuss what we're going to do," Gandalf broke the silence and ducked his head into the kitchen where all the dwarves, including me, followed. I stood behind Gandalf as everyone sat around my table. Thorin ate something small as Gandalf explained everything there was to explain. "Now.. Any questions?" he asked all 13 of us. I moved to look at him. "Um I do.." he turned to look at the quiet voice.

"Why do you need me?" "Well, hobbit's are naturally light on their feet and you'd be the perfect person," he smiled and blew a smoke ring. Thorin grunted and sighed, giving me a dirty look. I flinched slightly and looked down. Kili piped up, "Thorin, please. She would be a wonderful addition to our company. I mean, she can probably cook better than the rest of us," the other dwarves nodded and grunted in agreement. "She would be able to keep us company. Thorin, she'd be wonderful to have." He smiled at me, his brother nudging him. The dwarves cheered a bit, raising their glasses of ale. I smiled at them and fixed my hair. "Enough!" Thorin raised his voice, causing everyone to go silent. I stepped back and shut my mouth. ".. Balin. Get the contract.." Thorin said his name coldly, setting his utensil down. Balin did as he was told, giving me a large piece of paper, letting me read over it. I read it quietly to myself. "Oh! Um... I.." I mumbled and paced quietly. All the dwarves eyes were on me when I turned around. Kili smiled at me, nodding slightly. My eyes flickered to Balin. His large nose wiggled a bit as he nodded. I looked at Thorin quickly and switched to Gandalf. He also gave me a nod. I sighed. "Ok.. I'll do it.." I gave a grin and all the dwarves, except for Thorin, cheered loudly, standing up and clinking glasses. Gandalf gave me a pat on the shoulder, "So it's a go! We leave tomorrow morning at precisely 10:30, please, Miss Baggins, do not be late," he smiled. I nodded and yawned, signing the contract and heading to bed.