AN/ Hey i was just trying an idea out. not entirely sure if i like this or not. i just found the idea of Dwalin acting like an overprotective super amusing haha. This is just a shortish chapter to start it off. As always i don't own any of the hobbit or the song from it. the only person i own is Fraylin. enjoy :)
It was dark out when they approached the small green circular door, the only light being the moon above illuminating the path. Dwalin rang the bell and they waited silently. The door opened revealing a short man with short curly hair, dressed in what appeared to be night clothes with a simple robe. He wore a confused expression as Dwalin declared,
"Dwalin, at your service", bowing respectfully as he spoke.
Next to him I stepped up to the creature and similarly announced before curtsying,
"Fraylin, daughter of Dwalin, at your service sir", proving that my social etiquette lessons in my 30s had not been a complete waste of time like I used to complain they were. I had always preferred to train and throw axes rather than sit around elegantly learning how to correctly pour the perfect blend of tea and how to make polite conversation regarding the weather.
The hobbit seemed to have shaken himself of his stupor and realized the robe did not cover quite so much as he had hoped. Whilst tying it about himself he replied,
"Bilbo Baggins…at yours?" the final utterance in a questioning tone, contemplating whether offering his service was a wise thing based on our appearances.
"Err, do we know each other?" he inquired as Dwalin walked past him into the home.
"No", Dwalin stated as if that was the most obvious thing in the world, which to be fair, it kind of was. I don't know everything about Hobbits, but I do know that they are quiet, isolated creatures so meeting a dwarf, especially one as intimidating as father, would be something he would remember. Hiding my amused grin I followed my father. "Which way laddie? Is it down here?" father asked.
"I-is what down where?" the bewildered Hobbit stuttered.
"Supper, we were told there'd be food", I answered cheerfully, startling Mister Baggins with my voice. I really was quite famished after travelling here.
"And he said there'd be lots of it", Dwalin continued, although at this point his voice made it sound like an order, almost daring the hobbit to refuse.
I began to feel sorry for poor Mister Baggins, it was quite clear he wasn't expecting guests, never mind the company of dwarves that were soon to be descending upon his home. Boy was he in for a shock. I was almost tempted to warn him, but then where's the fun in that. He followed Dwalin to the kitchen, gently interrogating him to try and explain the purpose behind his invasion at this hour. Meanwhile I took a look around his home, after all this was the first time I had ever been in a hobbit hole. Additionally this was likely to be the only sheltered place to sleep I'd see for quite some time. Our quest was unlikely to have inns and taverns ideally located all the way to Erobor. Not that I am complaining mind. It had taken weeks and weeks of pleading with my father to allow him let me accompany them on their mission to reclaim our homeland. Despite training me himself, and to a higher standard than most male dwarfs never mind dwarrowdams, he still felt that I should not join them in this quest claiming it was too dangerous and I would get myself hurt. To prove otherwise I had to spar against him and win three consecutive times before he would even consider taking me. Fortunately my childhood habit of watching my father train and practice meant I knew what his attacks were before he even made them, sure it was hard and I wouldn't like to have to re-do the challenge as father is a great warrior, but it meant I had a slight advantage over most when it came to duelling with him.
It was a rather large place, bigger than it appeared on the outside, the structure hidden well beneath the hill above. Mister Baggins had torches lighting his home, illuminating his many furnishings. It was obvious he was very proud of his home; this made me question whether he would in fact journey with us. After all why should he help us travel for months on end through dangerous and horrible terrain, potentially facing orcs or goblins to finally arrive at Erobor to fight a ferocious fire breathing dragon or at least steal from the mighty Smaug? Wandering around the corridors I stumbled upon the kitchen and was met with a humorous sight. There my father sat practically inhaling a lovely smelling fish supper as poor Mister Baggins sat behind him looking mournfully at what was, or more accurately had been his tea for tonight.
"Father", I scolded, widening my eyes as I flickered them between Mister Baggins and the fish silently hinting he should apologize for having stolen the food rather than being offered. Sadly I had forgotten the great ailment that my dear father suffered from…he was a man. Subtle hints like that were 99% of the time missed by him. I really should have learned this by now. Dwalin said,
"Mm-mph, very good this".
'Oh Mahal', I thought, slapping my palm in front of my face. 'Men, Durin help me'.
Dwalin having sensed from my actions that a compliment had not been what I had been suggesting took another stab at it.
"Any more?" he asked with a subtle presence of enthusiasm mixed with pride now that he believed he had "correctly" concluded that I was insinuating hunger earlier.
Dear lord this was going from bad to worse. I spoke up before father could dig me even deeper into this crater of mortification I was currently buried in.
"Excuse me, Mister Baggins perhaps, if it would not be too much trouble, may I have some of your pantry supplies so I can prepare a more…appropriate sized portion for tonight", I requested kindly, but not wanting to give away the fact that this "appropriate sized portion" was not for myself alone. I was already humiliated tonight; least I could do was have a little entertainment at Mister Baggins' surprise when the company arrives. Before he could respond however, the bell jingled from the hall announcing the arrival of another guest.
"That'll be the door", Dwalin grunted. 'Really? Thank Mahal father was here to help me understand the obvious'. Shaking my head I mentally promised myself to improve father's social skills at the earliest convenience, I don't think I could survive another night with my cheeks this warm from embarrassment. Not wishing to miss the hobbit's shocked expression I joined him in the hall as he opened the door.
"Balin, at your service", my uncle greeted with a bright smile and deep bow.
Smothering my laugh with my hand I listened as the puzzled Mister Baggins and my slightly wacky uncle spoke. However this ended when Balin's soft brown eyes spotted me.
"Oh ho! Well bless my beard if that isn't my favorite niece!" He walked to me excitedly. "I haven't seen you since your last birthday lass!" Hugging him I replied,
"I'm your only niece uncle, I have to be your favorite" I chuckled.
"True", he conceded. His face then grew serious. "My dear I know you are a good fighter, one of the best in fact, but are you sure about joining us? This isn't like training, you could be hurt or Mahal forbid killed. We are going to face a dragon Fraylin; this isn't like one of those children stories we used to read you. I don't want you getting hurt"
I had been expecting this. After all it wasn't just stubbornness the dwarves were well-known for, they were also fiercely protective of the women due to their rarity thereby making them precious needing to be shielded from threats.
"Dear uncle, I understand your concerns, truly I do. This isn't something I take lightly" I paused before going on, "but it's going to be okay. Like you said I am a good warrior, and I know what it is we are planning on doing. Plus if Taad (*AN/read somewhere this means father, but I may be wrong*) believes I am ready surely you can accept it too I mean this is my father we're are talking about" this elicited a quick snort from Balin, " besides if I don't come along who is going to take care of you old folk eh?"
"Old folk indeed" Balin mock-glared at me then finished sincerely, "as long as you are positive lassie". I gave him a soft smile to which he acknowledged with a nod. "Now then where's my oaf of a brother hiding eh? With any luck he'll have picked up a few more manners from whence last I saw him"
"Don't hold your breath" I replied leading a bemused Balin to the living room where Dwalin had now moved shaking a jar of some sort.
"Evening brother!" Balin greeted with a happy smile, sizing Dwalin up as he approached.
I continued to watch Mister Baggins during the exchange. It was quite comical, popping his head out the door he looked about for more strangers as if expecting them to sprout out of the ground. Returning inside his gaze began switching between the two men until they suddenly widened in disbelief. I did not even need to look at my family to know it was their silly little tradition of head-butting one another that had startled the hobbit. That and the resounding thud may have been a clue, let it not be said i am unobservant. Nodding his head decidedly, Mister Baggins started a speech asking who they were and what was going on. Unsurprisingly he was ignored as we advanced to the pantry selecting food for dinner. Undeterred or simply naïve, Mister Baggins continued before finishing with an apology. Lowering my face to hide my mirth behind my loose braids I had to bite my lip to withhold a giggle as my uncle, who clearly hadn't heard a word Mister Baggins had said, winged it by giving a quick nod,
"Apology accepted", a unladylike snort escaped me before Balin resumed his previous task of picking food and ale with father. When the hobbit was called away by the bell Balin looked to me.
"Here lass take these and find some plates will you". Accepting my task I searched the kitchen. In the background I could make out multiple voices then my father's deep voice boomed,
"Fili, Kili, come on give us a 'and"
'Oh this will be interesting' I thought merrily. If the Durin brothers had arrived, poor Mister Baggins was in for a treat. They are renowned jokers, many a tale in Ered Luin was related to some notorious prank they played on some unsuspecting dwarf. Despite their reputation however they are good lads, strong, brave, impressive warriors and loyal. I used to spar with them when Thorin had asked father to train them.
Entering the hall victorious I carried the plates and set them upon the table. Once free of the load I squealed as I was suddenly lifted in the air from behind.
"Well My fair Lady Fraylin, fancy seeing you here. Though I can't say I'm, surprised", Kili confessed setting me down to embrace me properly. "Now did you come armed with weapons or your trusty frying pan?" he inquired with a faux-serious expression though his mirth was clearly bubbling inside him and displayed in his eyes.
"Urgh, that was one time!" I laughed. He was of course referring to the story in my youth of how I had knocked a Fili unconscious with one good swipe of a pan. In my defense he deserved it. The two brothers had snuck into our kitchen back home to carry out a surprise tickle ambush in revenge for my dying their tunics pink the week before. I reacted instinctively swinging whatever was at hand towards the unexpected noise. Unfortunately for him, Fili just so happened to be the noise and a heavy bottomed frying pan was the thing at hand.
"Plus I apologised!" I carried on. It was true. Turns out one can't knock out the heir to the throne, no matter how justified, and get away with it. My father, who was showing undeniable pride at my self-defense instincts, and Thorin (who fortunately was like an uncle to me) had sat us all down in the living room and told me to apologize. At least Dis was on my side, as they were leaving our house she had slapped the back of both brother's heads snapping "what were you two thinking? Serves you right, if it was me you'd be lucky if I all I did was hit you with a pan".
I was plunged back to the present as Fili lowered his head pretending to be wounded, "That doesn't matter I still have the bump on my head!"
Shaking my head affectionately I moved to embrace him. As Fili rested his hands on my back a deep voice growled,
"And just where are you putting those hands on my daughter Fili, son of Durin?" Both Dwalin's rhetorical question and scowl proved most effective as the royal heir leapt across the room, a deep red blush blanketing his cheeks, stuttering in reply,
"n-nowhere sir…nu-un…nothing, I didn't even touch her sir!"
"That's what I thought" Father grunted leaving us to continue organizing the room up whilst Kili and I desperately bit our cheeks to contain our laughter. Once gone though, Kili shot out a loud bark of laughter.
"The look…the look on your face!" he exclaimed to Fili between guffaws. Fili glared back at Kili before moving to help the others set up.
Smiling I returned to the front door upon hearing the bell ring, it was bound to be the other members of our company and with all this racket I doubted Mister Baggins had heard it. I was proven wrong however as he passed me in the hall stalking to the door moaning and complaining something like "there are too many dwarves in my home" and "if this is some prank it is in poor taste". I stood back and smiled as 8 raucous dwarves fell through the open door. "Gandalf" Mister Baggins sighed. Moving forward I assisted the others up and was greeted with multiple 'My Lady's and a few 'Miss Fraylin's. By the time I was finished Mister Baggins had retreated into his room to change because whether he liked it or not, he had guests.
As we ate around the relocated table chatting loudly and engaging in burp competitions I felt a light tap on my shoulder.
"Excuse me My Lady Fraylin, could I perhaps tempt you with a cup of camomile tea?" Dori inquired. Out of all my family's friends and acquaintances Dori was the one most excited when Dwalin decided I would learn how to behave like a lady and not some 'wild girl bounding about in the trees on nonsensical adventures". He really was a mother hen and I had no doubts that on this journey I would be cossetted by him as his younger brothers already were.
"No thank you Dori, but I thank you for the most generous offer". I always felt the need to act exceedingly lady-like in Dori's company, it was like a guilt trip, I couldn't help it. His eyes just light up whenever I do. Turning back around I realized the last bread roll which had been situated on my plate was missing. Knowing exactly who had stolen it I said deceptively calm,
"Kili my dear" he looked to me desperately clinging to his innocent expression, "where precisely has your brother gotten to with my roll"
"Bread roll? Are you sure you had one Fay? I could have sworn you didn't" replied he. I'll admit if I didn't know him as well as I did I would almost have been convinced he was being truthful.
Leaning closer I whispered, "Kili… if you don't tell me where he is hiding right now I will tell everyone about the time we played in the woods and somebody lost resulting in the forfeit of putting on a purple dress… and singing"
His eyes widened comically, "you wouldn't" he whispered instantly losing the smug confidence he previously possessed.
"Try me". After a moment or two staring at one another I opened my mouth however Kili interrupted me.
"Alright, alright! He ran out in the hall toward the back"
Standing and preparing to make chase I retorted cheekily, "thank you Kee. See I knew both Durin brothers couldn't be that stupid", leaving Kili spluttering indignantly.
As I began my pursuit I heard Fili call back "traitor!" from the small study. 'Gotcha' I thought and ran passed Mister Baggins who was looking at the scene in his dining room with a face of horror.
Fili was standing behind the desk when I entered, grinning mischievously as he held my bread roll. "Now now Fay, is this entirely necessary? After this is my roll, what is it they say? You snooze you lose?" smirking deviously at me I stalked forward.
"Now Fee are you sure you want to do this? You and I both know what is going to happen here, you'll try and act tough and then in 3 seconds you are going to be pinned to the floor, breadless and in pain as I eat in triumph. Do you really want to suffer?" I said denting the smug smirk plastered on his face. With only the desk between us Fili raised his eyebrows in a clear acceptance of this challenge.
Yelps and some girlish squeaks is what lured Dwalin, Kili and Balin to the study. When they arrived they were greeted by the image of me…sitting…atop a floored Fili…delicately devouring my bread roll…sporting an extremely satisfied smirk upon my face whilst Fili futilely tried to escape.
"Hi dad" I welcomed casually, "you all done then?"
Snickering they decided to assist Fili by lifting me off of him. 'Bunch of party poopers' my mind declared. Standing Fili gave a masculine grunt before saying,
"I let her do that, hem; after all it was her roll, only right to let a lady win. Couldn't hit her could I?"
The trio gave him a look that clearly said "oh of course you did". Fortunately the focus was shifted from Fili when sweet little Ori went to Master Baggins asking what he should do with his plate.
All of a sudden dishes began to fly through the air as they were passed from one dwarf to another. Then some of the company clashed the cutlery together to create a tune.
"A-and could you not do that? You'll blunt them!" Mister Baggins cried urgently. Ignoring him the dwarf than began to sing.
"Blunt the knives and bend the forks!
Smash the bottles and burn the corks!
Chip the glasses and crack the plates!
That's what Bilbo Baggins hates"
Then the music began, Bofur played his flute settling on a quick melody to fit the lyrics. Next to him sat Oin playing a …. Wait playing on a teapot?! I didn't have an opportunity to investigate further when Kili grabbed my right hand and secured my waist then started to spin us along the hall only to swap my partner immediately after as the song continued. I moved on from Kili to Bifur, to Gloin, Ori, Nori, and Balin.
Giggling I just went with the flow switching partners so fast I barely kept up. Following Balin, father danced with me only to have another cut in. Finally I was in Fili's arms as we twirled to the kitchen.
"THAT'S WHAT BILBO BAGGINS HATES!" the company concluded the song. Throwing my head back a laugh shot out. Lowering it back to its proper place I stared back at Fili with a beaming smile stretched across my face. When hazel eyes met deep blue eyes. 'Wow, has his eyes always been this blue' I wondered. My face gradually relaxed as Fili and I focused on one another. Blinking slowly I noted that I was still in his arms despite the fact our merry little tune had been finished for a good while now.
Three abrupt knocks on wood echoed throughout the hobbit hole. The spell was broken, pulling apart hastily I avoided Fili's gaze and coughed awkwardly grasping for composure.
"He is here" Gandalf declared softly into the silence we were engulfed in.
there we go. Not entirely sure if i will carry on with this plot adventure unless you guys like it enough to really want it. i have a few ideas knocking about. i'll think about it. hope you all liked it.
