I remember screams echoing through the night. I jumped out of bed and ran to my window. Roaring flames leapt from every building. I swung my quiver over my shoulder and grabbed my sword before running outside. Hideous orcs ran through my village. Bodies of my fellow rangers, my family, littered the ground. The stench of blood drifted in the air around me. Tears of anger and sorrow streamed down my face. I began to look for two people in particular. "Momma? Papa?" I called. I turned round a corner and gasped. There were my parents, in front of a large pale orc astride a white warg.
I gasped, sitting straight up. My heart was pounding in my chest and beads of sweat had formed on my forehead. I took a deep breath and looked around. I was still in the small cave where I camped the night before. My small fire was cold and my weapons and bag were beside me. Once I caught my breath, I sat up and stretched my stiff joints. I made my way to the small stream nearby. I quickly bathed and got my forest green tunic and black leggings back on. When I got back to my temporary camp, I pulled on my cloak that reached just above the backs of my knees and armed myself. I threw my quiver over my shoulders, put my sword in its sheath, and my daggers in my boots and in other hidden spots on my body. I slung my deerskin bag over my shoulder and let it rest on my right hip, opposite my sword. It held a small bedroll, some herbs for healing, my pipe and tobacco, a brush, and a couple extra sets of clothes. I held my bow with an arrow notched as I walked through the trees. While I was walking, my slightly pointed ears caught a slight sound of something walking behind me. Quickly, I swung around to find out who was there. I lowered it as soon as I saw their face.
"Gandalf! Don't sneak up on me like that!" I scolded, putting my arrow back in my quiver.
"I am truly sorry, Ava." He apologized, sounding unsurprised by the way I reacted. I smiled and hugged him tightly.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, a big smile on my face.
"I was hoping you would like to go on an adventure." He wondered, leaning on his staff. I thought for a bit before asking.
"What is the adventure and who will I be joining?" I asked, giving him his answer.
"A company of dwarves to reclaim Erebor." He told me. I looked at him, stiffly.
"Gandalf, do you know how dangerous that will be? Just getting to the Lonely Mountain is suicide. Not to mention the dragon." I informed him. He turned to me.
"These dwarves don't care the risk. They are surprisingly stubborn. They know I'm bringing you to assist the group but they don't trust others outside their race. The company is meeting in the Shire tomorrow night. I marked the door so you will find it easily." He told me.
"Okay, Gandalf. I accept." I smiled. He grinned and pulled me in for a quick hug.
"I will see you tomorrow night." He concluded. I turned towards the fire pit and kicked dirt over the ashes. I turned to Gandalf and saw he had disappeared. Shrugging my shoulders, I started walking. The Shire was maybe a 2 days walk from here. I walked all day, occasionally stopping to eat. By night, I could vaguely see the lights of the Shire if I climbed a high enough tree. I made a small fire and settled down for the night, keeping one of my daggers in hand and hoped I wouldn't have nightmares.
I awoke to sunlight shining in my eyes. Slight panic arose. I stood up and looked at the sun. It was about noon.
"Damn! I can't be late!" I armed myself and got ready to go. I was probably going to be late. Only stopping a couple times, I still didn't make it before night fell. The moon lit up my path when I finally made it to the Shire. Smiling at my accomplishment, I started looking for the mark Gandalf left on one of the hobbit hole doors. When I finally found the glowing blue rune, I took a deep breath and walked to the door. I quickly knocked and waited anxiously for someone to answer. The door swung open to reveal an exhausted looking hobbit. He had curly brown hair and was a few inches shorter than me.
"Avaleigh, at your service." I bowed. Before he could say anything, Gandalf appeared behind him.
"Ava. Good to see you made it." He smiled.
"I did. I'm sorry I'm late." I apologized as I entered.
"Don't worry, my dear. We were just about to start." He assured me. I smiled as he led me to the dining hall.
"Just take a seat and we'll begin." He told me. I looked at all the dwarves, who stared back in confusion and mild shock. Finally, I made up my mind and sat next to two dwarves that looked about my age. The two were on my right and a large dwarf with ginger hair and beard on my left. The two dwarves that looked my age looked like they were brothers. One had long, golden hair and beard that were both braided, his intense blue eyes on me. The other had long, dark hair that tumbled down to his shoulders and slight stubble, with deep brown eyes that had a childish glint to them. I had to admit, he looked very handsome. The two smiled at me when I came to sit next to them and I gladly returned it. We all turned to the head of the table.
"Everyone, this is Avaleigh. She will be joining us on our journey." Gandalf introduced, gesturing to me. I smiled shyly, looking around the table. "This is Bofur, Balin, Gloin, Nori, Dori, Ori, Bombur, Kili, Fili, Oin, Bifur, Dwalin, Bilbo Baggins, and the leader of our company, Thorin Oakenshield." Gandalf pointed to everyone. The brothers next to me smiled warmly at me while the others gave me a range of expressions.
"Nice to meet you all." I said, giving a small smile. They nodded, some with small smiles on their faces, before they all turned to Thorin. I heard the story of how Erebor was taken by Smaug. I wonder where his father and grandfather are.
"What news from the meeting in Ered Luin? Did they all come?" Balin asked him.
"Aye. Envoys from all seven kingdoms." He answered, causing slight excitement from the dwarves.
"And what did the dwarves of the Iron Hills say? Is Dain with us?" Dwalin asked.
"They will not come. They say this quest is ours and ours alone." Thorin explained, causing a few groans.
"You're going on a quest?" Bilbo asked from behind Thorin.
"Bilbo, my dear fellow, let us have a little more light. Far to the east… over ranges and rivers… beyond woodlands and wastelands… lies a single, solitary peak." Gandalf started, pulling out a map and laying it out on the table. The dwarves and I leaned forward to see it.
"'The Lonely Mountain'?" Bilbo read.
"Aye, Oin has read the portents, and the portents say it is time!" Gloin explained in a half yell, causing a few of the dwarves to roll their eyes.
"Ravens have been seen flying back to the mountain. As it was foretold. 'When the birds of yore return of Erebor, the reign of the beast will end.'" Oin told the group. Bilbo, who was somewhere else in his home, came back over to the area.
"Uh… what beast?" he asked, nervously.
"That would be a reference to Smaug the Terrible. Chiefest and greatest calamity of our age." Bofur explained, waving around his pipe as he spoke. He had a goofy accent, a funny looking hat, and a long mustache that curled at the ends.
"Airborne firebreather. Teeth like razors, claws like meat hooks. Extremely fond of precious metals." He went on with the explanation. If the topic wasn't about a murderous dragon, I probably would've cracked a smile at how much he talked.
"Yes, I know what a dragon is." Bilbo almost snapped. Ori stood up suddenly.
"I'm not afraid. I'm up for it. I'll give him a taste of dwarfish iron right up his jacksie!" he said, loud and brave. I smiled at his bravery and some of the other dwarves cheered him on.
"Sit down!" Dori scolded, pulling Ori back down.
"The task would be difficult enough with an army behind us... but we number just 13. And not 13 of the best nor brightest." Balin told the group.
"'Ere! Who are you calling dim?" Nori asked as the other dwarves protested as well. Fili hit the table with his fist.
"We may be few in number… but we're fighters. All of us! To the last dwarf!" he yelled in an unfamiliar accent.
"And you forget, we have a wizard in our company. Gandalf will have killed hundreds of dragons in his time." Kili added, excitedly.
"Oh, well, no." Gandalf stuttered.
"How many then?" Dori asked.
"What?" Gandalf questioned.
"How many dragons have you killed?" Dori wondered. The dwarves stared at him expectantly. He choked on his words, smoke from his pipe escaping from his mouth.
"Go on. Give us a number." Dori pushed, making all the dwarves stand up and bicker. I just sat back, trying to stay out of the way. This continued until Thorin gave a deep yell and everyone shut up and was seated again.
"If we have read these signs, do you not think others will have read them too? Rumors have begun to spread. The dragon Smaug has not been seen for 60 years. Eyes look east to the mountain, assessing, wondering, weighing the risk. Perhaps the vast wealth of our people now lies unprotected. Do we sit back while others claim what is rightfully ours? Or do we seize this chance to take back Erebor?!" he questioned the group. They all cheered in response.
"You forget: the front gate is sealed. There is no way into the mountain." Balin called in a load voice until everyone was quiet.
"That, my dear Balin, is not entirely true." Gandalf countered, pulling a key out of his robes.
"How came you by this?" Thorin whispered.
"It was given to me by your father. By Thrain. For safekeeping. It is yours now." Gandalf explained, handing the key to the dwarf.
"If there is a key… there must be a door." Fili observed.
"These runes speak of a hidden passage to the lower halls." Gandalf pointed to a cluster of markings on the map.
"There's another way in." Kili said, an adorable smile on his face. Wait, no. I cannot think those kind of thoughts right now.
"Well, if we can find it, but dwarf doors are invisible when closed. The answer lies hidden somewhere in this map, and I do not have the skill to find it. But there are others in middle-earth who can." Gandalf sighed.
"The task I have in mind will require a great deal of stealth and no small amount of courage. But if we are careful and clever, I believe it can be done." Gandalf concluded.
"That's why we need a burglar." Ori pointed at Bilbo.
"And a good one too. An expert, I'd imagine." Bilbo said, apparently not realizing they wanted him for the job.
"And are you?" one of the dwarves asked. All of us looked to him expectantly.
"Am I what?" the hobbit questioned.
"He said he's an expert! Hey hey!" Oin smiled. Only then did I notice he had an ear trumpet at his ear. He was deaf? I shrugged it off and looked back to Bilbo, who just now figured out what we all were thinking.
"Me? No. No, no, no. I'm not a burglar. I've never stolen a thing in my life." Bilbo told the group.
"Well, I'm afraid I have to agree with Mr. Baggins. He's hardly burglar material." Balin said.
"Aye, the wild is no place for gentle folk who can neither fight nor fend for themselves." Dwalin agreed. The other dwarves started to agree.
"He'll manage just fine." Kili called but the dwarves couldn't hear him.
"I agree." I said, my voice faltering as soon as I said it. Kili looked to me and gave me a smile. Gandalf looked around and stood, darkness flooding out around him.
"Enough! If I say Bilbo Baggins is a burglar, then a burglar he is. Hobbits are remarkably light on their feet. In fact, they can pass unseen by most, if they choose. And while the dragon is accustomed to the smell of dwarf, the scent of a hobbit is all but unknown to him, which gives us a distinct advantage. You've asked me to find the 15th member of this company, and I've chosen Mr. Baggins. There's a lot more to him than appearance suggest. And he's got a great deal more to offer than any of you know. Including himself." Gandalf informed the group. He turned to Thorin. "You must trust me on this." He pleaded. He and Thorin stared at each other for a moment.
"Very well. We will do it your way. Give him our contract." Thorin ordered as Bilbo protested behind him.
"We're in. We're off!" Bofur smiled as Balin got out the contract.
"It's just the usual. Summary of out-of-pocket expenses, time required, remuneration, funeral arrangements, so forth." He rushed at the funeral part.
"Funeral arrangements?" Bilbo squeaked as Thorin gave the contract at him. The hobbit walked back into the hall and started reading. Thorin leaned towards Gandalf and they had a short, quiet conversation. Bilbo started speaking aloud, murmuring bits from the contract.
"Including lacerations, evisceration…" he paused and looked to us. "Incineration?" he questioned.
"Oh, aye. He'll melt the flesh off your bones in the blink of an eye." Bofur explained. I cracked a small smile at how upbeat he sounded. Bilbo gave a soft whimper.
"You all right, laddie?" Balin asked. Bilbo started breathing heavily, his hands on his knees.
"Think furnace with wings." Bofur got up, his voice still happy sounding.
"Air. I-I-I need air." Bilbo gasped.
"Flash of light, searing pain, then poof! You're nothing more than a pile of ash." Bofur basically encouraged. Bilbo grunted and stood straight up for a second.
"Nope." He said right before he passed out onto the floor. I gave a silent chuckle, which earned me a look from Fili and Kili. As Gandalf helped Bilbo, the dwarves and I scattered around the hobbit hole. I pulled a chair over to the corner and pulled out my pipe. I lit it, closed my eyes, and began to think of what this quest would bring.
"What are ya thinking about?" a voice asked next to me. I opened my eyes to see Fili and Kili standing before me.
"Just about this adventure." I told them. The brothers brought two chairs over from the table and sat them next to me. We sat in silence for a few minutes.
"Have you ever been on a quest like this before?" Kili asked me, breaking the silence.
"No. I've been just surviving my whole life." I told them, cringing slightly. They must have noticed because they didn't say anything else about it.
"What weapons can you use?" Fili questioned.
"Bow, sword, some practice with knives." I answered, smiling at the shocked look on their faces.
"We see your quiver, but not your bow and arrows." Kili observed. I reached back and pulled out my bow.
"Its enchanted. I just got to reach back and there it is. Same with the arrows." I explained.
"Wow." They gasped in awe. We talked for a while, getting to know each other. They told me stories of what it was like growing up in the Blue Mountains. I could tell we were going to be really close on this journey. After a while, we heard a deep humming coming from the parlor. Kili and Fili's faces turned towards it.
"Ava, come with us." Kili smiled. They each grabbed one of my hands and dragged me to the living room. The three of us sat on one of the couches as the dwarves hummed in sync. Thorin began to sing. I stared into the fire and listened to the beautiful but dreary song. The others had begun to sing along until the song ended.
"Come on. We should get some rest." Fili told Kili and I. I followed him to one of the corners of the room, grabbing a blanket and pillow off of the couch, and sat down on the floor in the corner. I laid out my bedroll and put my pipe back in my bag and laying it beside my weapons, which I put against the wall. Kili sat next to me, Fili next to him. Bofur had set up his bed in front of us.
"Good night, lass." he smiled as he settled down for the night.
"Good night, Bofur." I returned, smiling back at him. After a while, I fell asleep to the sound of snoring dwarves.
Two orcs pushed my parents to their knees in front of the warg. They still stood tall and proud. The white orc lifted a sword. In a flash, he brought the sword down on my parent's necks. I let out an ear-piercing scream as their heads separated from their bodies and tumbled to the ground with their headless bodies.
I quickly sat up, letting out a quiet gasp. Frantically, I looked around and saw I was still in Bilbo's home and the dwarves were all still asleep. Deciding I needed some air, I silently got up and snuck out the door. It was still nighttime, the moon was almost right above the Shire, illuminating the lakes and houses in white light. I walked just outside the gate and began pacing, trying to catch my breath. I caught sight of the grassy roof of Bilbo's hobbit-hole and made my way over to it. I slowly collapsed onto the ground on my back, my head resting just half a foot from the ledge above the door. I gazed up at the moon, which looked huge tonight, and the millions of sparkling stars. Taking deep breaths, I calmed myself down. Stargazing always calms me down after nightmares.
"Are ya okay, Ava?" I gasped as someone lay on either side of me. I quickly sat up and looked behind me to see Fili and Kili looking up at me in concern.
"What are you guys doin' up?" I asked, still a bit startled.
"I heard you wake up and leave. I was worried about ya so I woke up Fili and followed you up here." Kili explained. Blushing slightly, I lie back down in between the two and took a deep breath.
"Why are you out here, Ava?" Kili asked, turning a little to face me.
"Just needed air." I lied.
"In the middle of the night?" Fili questioned, not buying my lie.
"Ava, why are you really out here?" Kili asked. I looked at the two brothers and they each had a look of concern on their faces.
"It was just a dream. Nothing to fuss about." I sighed. I guess they decided not to pry on the matter and we just lay in silence, watching the moon slowly move. The stars twinkled above our heads as we lay in silence, just observing. After about an hour, I let out a huge yawn.
"Sounds like someone should try to get some sleep again." Fili implied. The two brothers both got up, their lower arms holding them up as they looked at me. I looked at them both with slight panic.
"It's ok. We'll be right beside you. If you have another nightmare, don't be afraid to wake us." Kili assured, smiling down at me. I sighed in defeat and sat up.
"Thank you both. You two are the closest people to friends I've had in a long time. Besides Gandalf." I smiled. The brothers enveloped me in a hug. Their cheeks rested on my head as they held me tightly.
"We should get some rest. We're leaving at dawn." Fili told us. They got up and reached out for my hands. I took both and they gently pulled me up. We made our way back down to the door. As silently as we could, the three of us slipped inside and back to our resting areas. Before I got comfortable in the corner like earlier, Kili silently moved my bedroll in between his and Fili's. I gave him a questionable look and he just winked. Fili and him shifted the mats closer to the wall. When they finish, they motion for me to lie down in between them. Smiling at the two, I lay down and pulled my blanket over my body. Fili and Kili both faced me as they lay on their sides. I blushed as I felt eyes on me.
"G'night, Fili. G'night, Kili." I told them.
"G'night, Ava." They whispered at the same time. The three of us got comfortable, tossing about for a minute before settling down. As I drifted to sleep, I felt the two brothers scoot closer to me. I smiled slightly as I drifted into a dreamless sleep.
I do not own the Hobbit! Just my OC, Ava. :) Hope you enjoyed the first chapter!