Chapter One

Bilbo stared at the missive that had arrived at his door in confusion, he was being asked to council. He never got asked to council. He stared down at the paper in no little bit of dismay, wondering if perhaps today would be the day, the day in which the fact that he was a male who liked being both dominant and submissive at different times, mattered less than the fact that he was able to bear young.

What Bilbo was, was rare for other hobbits, unheard of in the other races. Yavannah had blessed him, as soon as he was out of his mother's womb it was clear that he had the Mother's Mark. That mark meant that he was able to give birth, that he bled as women did and that he was submissive. Or at least that's what it should have meant, but trust Bilbo to have the Tooks for relatives, who happened to be the most dominant family in the Shire. Sometimes he too felt dominant, he grew tired of meekly going along with whatever anyone else wanted them to do and in return demand that they do what he wanted.

The first time he had done this as a small child, people had stared and laughed at him that was until his Uncle trained him how to fight with a sword. From then on he was trained in all ways of respectability for a hobbit, which meant that his lessons had to be made especially for him, so they wouldn't confuse the Fauntling horribly. Bilbo had overtime devised his own way of being, around the moral code imposed on him by his race, but as often as he could, he would sneak away to the library and read about other races. He had been taught elvish as it was required in case he needed to assume a diplomatic role in future, or buggar an elf as the case may very well be. It wasn't unheard of for some of those that had earned the title of respectability to be bartered off to strange lands and different races, in return for protection or other goods the hobbits needed and could not provide for themselves. With the understanding that the hobbit in question was free to return to the Shire after the agreed upon betrothal time had passed.

So it was that Bilbo arrived at the door of the council hall and stared at confusion for a moment before his face carefully blanked at the dwarves that stood outside it. "Pardon me, but might I help you? The main road is..."

"We're here on business for the king, to collect his consort." One of the dwarves said and Bilbo stared at him in confusion.

"Why would a dwarven king wish for a hobbit consort, surely he'd prefer someone of his own race?" Bilbo said.

"Our King prefers those that are male, we heard that there were several male hobbits that were able to give birth and came here."

"I'm afraid you have been misinformed, you see there aren't several Mother blessed, there's just one." Bilbo said and fiddled with his collar. "He is also a switch, meaning that he has to be both dominant and submissive at different times."

"What? Can't he surprises one of his desires?" One of the dwarves demanded and Bilbo glared at him.

"Oh yes because suppressing part of yourself is a good idea. If he were to do that, the urges would grow stronger within him, until they eventually drove him mad. People should not be forced to go against their elemental nature and with such ignorant questions, I doubt that I'll be taking your offer past the trial period. As I have no choice but to come with you for that long, I will do so, but if you manage to ask questions with a modicum of intelligence I think we will all be the happier for it, don't you?" He asked and someone threatened to draw their sword, instead of backing down, Bilbo drew his own. "Do you wish to dispute who has the bigger sword, or frighten me? If you try to harm me, you can bet that I'll be gone as quick as can be and you will never find me before the contract is over." Bilbo glared at the dwarf and met his gaze, with his own. "Now considering that you want something of me, or at least find me a necessary means to a end, I suggest that you do not antagonize me..."

"I told you it was Bilbo, Iliown, I recognize those strident tones anywhere."

"Uncle! Am I to have a fasting contract?" Bilbo demanded and smiled as his Grandfather came into view.

"Yes, if you are willing to go with these dwarves for the necessary time period, it may be interesting, I know how much you love studying the other races." Bilbo grinned at his Uncle, as the older hobbit ruffled his hair. "Now they didn't ruffle your petals too much, did they my boy?"

"Not too badly no, but I think they know by now that I'm no wilting flower." Bilbo said and his Uncle laughed.

"Excuse my manners, this is my Great Nephew Bilbo Baggins, I am Paladin Took Thrain of the Shire. I wish you to know and for you to tell your king how dear my young nephew is to me and how displeased I will be, if he is to come to harm." Paladin said and Bilbo frowned.

"I doubt the war ledgers will be needed Uncle." He said and Paladin smiled.

"You are a sweet boy, despite that temper which gets you into trouble much too often." He said and Bilbo laughed, before hugging his Uncle.

"Thank you for letting me get out of the Shire." Bilbo whispered to his Uncle and Paladin smiled.

"Enjoy yourself my dear boy, of course you should have a day for packing."

"We can assist the King's betrothed."

"I am not the King's betrothed, in any event which dwarven King is asking for my hand?"

"Thorin son of..."

"Oh so you're from Erebor, did you see the dragon?" Bilbo asked excitedly. "I'd never fight a dragon myself, bit too big for me, then again most of middle earth is."

"Vor saw the corpse as did Faldor, but we were too young at the sacking to have seen it then." One of the dwarves replied and a dark look came over his face, Bilbo realized that he shouldn't have asked about the dragon, it was just that he'd only ever heard tales of them and they fascinated him.

"Erebor is a three month ride from here, you must have taken it in winter, to get here now. I want you to know that I appreciate that. Was your journey pleasant?" Bilbo asked and they stared at him a moment, before someone replied.

"We met with few problems, there was a war, both the crown prince, his brother and the king were all very nearly lost, but our enemies have hidden, for now. We suspect that they won't show their faces for sometime yet and if they do, well dwarves are well versed in weapons." The other dwarf replied and Bilbo nodded.

"How much might I bring with me?" Bilbo asked.

"Thorin had a carriage built to help get you and whatever you wished to take with you to Erebor, if you agreed to try living with us." Another of the dwarves replied and Bilbo nodded. When he went back to his hobbit hole, he stared at the size of the magnificent carriage, it was being pulled by twelve horses. He stared at it a moment, before settling into packing his things.

Those, which he found most important, went into the carriage first, he decided to go with whatever he would miss horribly. He packed his wood stove, to odd looks from the dwarves, his library got even odder looks. "I love books of all kinds, I collect whatever seems interesting to me." Bilbo said and smiled at the dwarves, touching an elvish tomb.

"You study elves?"

"I study every and any race on middle earth that lets me, that's partly why I agreed to this trip. To go somewhere, after living in the Shire all my life, to meet and get to know new people, to understand their customs, I know how rare this chance is. I was hoping that perhaps you would share some of your legends with me, I've always loved tales and stories from all races. Bilbo said and smiled, as one of the dwarves frowned.

"This is in the elf tongue."

"I read it fluently, speaking is another matter, as I have had no one to practice with." Bilbo replied and then someone found where he kept his rarer books.

"You have some dwarven text, how did you come by these?"

"They were a gift, why?" Bilbo asked and they stared at him in shock.

"Because no dwarf would sell our texts to other races. To do so, would to be give them knowledge of us and you do not give knowledge of yourself to those that might become your enemies."

"The finest way of considering a matter, is not that someone might become your enemy, but rather your friend." Bilbo replied. "If it makes you feel any better, I can't understand a word of them, and I find the pictures to be incredibly beautiful though."

"Everything we craft, we put our hearts and souls into, and will you burn these books?"

"Why?"

"Because the only way that they would have gotten to the market, would either be if they were stolen, or the dwarves that had them were killed." One of the guards said and Bilbo stared horrified first at the beautiful books and then at the dwarves.

"I will not burn these books, the very idea of burning books horrifies me. I am sorry if they came to the market by less than honest means, but I doubt very much anyone died over their coming into my hands. As for stealing, my grandfather bought these for my father, from a dwarven family a long time ago." Bilbo said. "He offered to let them stay on, to help with the planting, but they said that they needed to go to the Blue Mountains." Bilbo added. "Perhaps they were stolen, but it was not by anyone I know of and they have been in my family for two generations now. I doubt very much that the stories we used to make up about the pictures are anything like what is actually printed, but I spent many days as a foundling in this library curled around one of its books. I'm not going to burn them, because you don't agree with how they were acquired." Bilbo said and the guard stared at him. "Books are the most precious thing in the world, they tell knowledge, spread stories and can even save your life, I'm not burning them and neither are you."

"Then can we look at them, to know where they might have come from?"

"Yes, of course." Bilbo said and smiled. "Still I would rather have them back, they are an important part of my childhood and something that I treasure." Bilbo said, as he started packing books into a crate, taking only his favorite tales, some books on cooking and herb lore. "So what kind of weight can the horses bare?" He asked as one of the dwarves gasped and murmured something under his breath. "What's wrong?"

"These came from the library of Erebor, before the dragon destroyed it. They must be the only text remaining." One of the dwarves replied, before he started to tear at the vellum."

"Stop, what are you doing?" Bilbo demanded as a beautiful cover with gold, red velvet and gems was revealed. Bilbo had always loved looking at the books, but he had no idea how valuable they truly were.

"These are priceless, they are the most sacred text to our people, why anyone would sell them knowing what they were is beyond me."

"I doubt people would be very kind to those that stole something so important, in any event they were in a bad way when my Grandfather bought the books from them. He also gave them guest service for a while, as one of the children was sick, but as soon as the child got better, they left without a word." Bilbo said and smiled at the memory. "My Father often used to tell me stories about when dwarves came to visit, though they never came back again." Bilbo added as the dwarves stared at the books, there were thirty of them and Bilbo felt a bit stupid for having never questioned where they had come from. Bilbo couldn't help but think of some dwarf on a long ago day, risking everything to save these books and having to sell them before they made it to a dwarven city. His eyes teared up, because he knew that the family must have died on that journey, as knowing what a treasure they had sold, they would have come to buy it back if they could. Those books were precious to him, but he could always read others, what they were to the dwarves was far more important than what they were to him. He decided that he'd give them to his intended rather than keep them for sentimental attachment.

He finished packing the crate and carefully laid the books down inside of the crate, before moving onto the pantry. He took most of the food in there, knowing that traveler's food were Spartan at best, as well as his favorite cooking pot and oven mitts. He also packed his grandmother's rory box, the set of silver and his grandmother's plates. "Do you think I could bring the piano, or is it too big?"

"I think that it should fit, if you don't mind the room being a bit cramped, does it have sentimental value?" One of the dwarves asked and Bilbo nodded, they took up the piano to the cart, as Bilbo packed several knives and a cutting board, as well as his fishing supplies. He then went back for his clothing, before turning to one of the guards.

"We can leave now if you like, its still midmorning."

"Have you finished packing already?" The guard sounded surprised and Bilbo nodded. The guard called to the others and after a moment they set off.

The journey lapsed into a series of days and nights for Bilbo. His guards would sometimes grow quiet when he was around, stopping their conversation, so Bilbo didn't socialize much with them. Instead he listened, until he was able to pick out certain words in a conversation. He managed about one word in fifty, before long. He took to sitting on the back of the caravan at night, after he had cooked himself a meal. He had offered the first night to share with the guards, but they had protested, saying that they didn't want his supplies running low, so now he cooked for himself. He also fished where there was water and several times caught quite the good catch, before the guards insisted that they be off for the day. He put the fish in an icebox that he had taken from Bagend, or made jerky out of it, while they were resting the horses.

The days seemed to lapse one into another, until it caught Bilbo by surprise, as his guards burst into excited shouting, saying the same word over and over, Bilbo clutched at his sword a moment, before going outside the stopped carriage and staring at the mountain that would be his home for the next year. "The mountain is close!" One of the guards said for his benefit, like he couldn't determine that for himself, considering that they were all simply staring at it.

"It looks very beautiful." Bilbo said and one of the dwarves smiled at him.

"It is the most beautiful mountain in middle earth." One of the dwarves said smiling and Bilbo nodded, before going back into the carriage. Both looking forward to and dreading the day they would reach it.