Three years ago, Beth had died.
Three years ago, Beth had been a human girl living in New York. On this day, she was a hobbit who lived with one Bilbo Baggins. But three years ago on this day, Bilbo found Beth confused and tattered on his way home from one walking vacation to Brie. And though her story had seemed queer (and to this day Bilbo is still quite unsure if the girl is entirely sane or not) and though her clothes were strange to him, he decided to help the strange hobbit in need. For three years, even though she was not even in her original body, Beth thrived in the environment of the Shire.
So when Beth finished her shift at The Green Dragon, she did her best to rush home to Bag End where she knew Bilbo would be waiting. Her blonde waves bounced behind her as she hurriedly untied it from its confines and her dress swished between her legs, causing the girl to stumble occasionally. And though she had expected Bilbo to celebrate with her, she had hardly expected a party; much less a party of dwarves.
The first thing she noticed even before being able to see the little green door of the hobbit hole was the great noise coming from behind it. So her logical conclusion was that Bilbo had in fact thrown a party for her. This was odd for Bilbo, she thought, but sweet nonetheless. Then she saw the ponies. She counted fifteen of the creatures tied up to the fence around Bilbo's garden. Bilbo's prize garden. That the ponies were eating.
Mild alarm came over her when she finally saw the glowing mark on the door. It reminded her of a Viking rune from her old world and gave her pause, debating on going in or not. The laughter comforted her enough that this was at least a pleasant gathering and she decided there could be no harm in going into her own home. Quietly opening the door and slipping in, Beth could feel her jaw go slack at the sight laid before her. Dwarves. Everywhere. Also a tall man in grey robes and poor, dear Bilbo sputtering in an attempt to stop them.
Beth slowly made her way over to Bilbo, scanning the scene to take in every detail and every dwarf in the vicinity. No one had noticed her by the time she made it over to her adoptive brother, not even Bilbo himself. When she went to place a hand on his shoulder, he jumped (quite comically) and spun around, relaxing as soon as he noted who it was.
"Oh thank goodness!" he cried, "there you are!"
"Bilbo…what's going on?" She asked.
His face took on an alarming flush as he indignantly began. "These…these dwarves just started showing up! And now they're eating us out of house and home!"
Beth stared at the scene dumbfounded. She knew that there were other non-human creatures that lived in her new home, but she had never met a dwarf before. They were hairy and stocky and carrying huge amounts of food out of the pantry. They were drinking and cheering and burping and getting food absolutely everywhere. As she was unabashedly staring at the party, she noticed the tall man in the grey making his way over to their position.
"Bilbo," he addressed, "would you care to introduce me to this lovely young hobbit? I don't believe we've met."
"Oh, oh yes of course!" he said, ashamed of his manners in the moment of distraction. "Gandalf, this is Beth, my sister. And Beth, this is Gandalf, the wandering wizard. This is who's responsible for all the dwarves."
The wizard in question inclined his head in greeting. "It is lovely to meet you Miss Beth. Bilbo, I do not recall you having any siblings!"
"Adopted," interrupted Beth. "Mister Gandalf, might I ask what the meaning of this is?"
Beth mentally chided herself for allowing her more brutish human manners to show through in her annoyance. It hadn't taken her long to figure out the woman's roll in this new world and did her best to conceal her ever questioning, independent nature to strange company. Though not always well enough, apparently. The wizard studied her a moment but did not get a chance to answer before a rather young looking dwarf interrupted their conversation.
"Excuse me, I'm sorry to interrupt but what should I do with my plate?"
Beth was about to answer kindly, pleasantly surprised by his manners when another dwarf took the plate from him saying, "Here you go, Ori, give it to me," before casually tossing it across the room to another dwarf.
Beth gasped involuntarily and shifted her gaze to Bilbo, who she knew would be freaking out right at this very moment. She knew first-hand how protective he was of his mother's antique dishes and, to be fair, they were an awfully nice set.
"Excuse me!" Bilbo squeaked, "that's my mother's West Farthing crockery. It's over one hundred years old!" This seemed to only encourage the dwarves more, causing them to rhythmically start stomping and banging on the table with their cutlery. "And can-can you not do that! You'll blunt them!"
"Ohh, d'yeah hear that, lads?" called out the dwarf with the funky hat, "he says we'll blunt the knives!"
And then the singing happened.
Blunt the knives, bend the forks
Smash the bottles and burn the corks
Chip the glasses and crack the plates
That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!
Cut the cloth and tread on the fat
Leave the bones on the bedroom mat
Pour the milk on the pantry floor
Splash the wine on every door
Dump the cracks in a boiling bowl
Pound them up with a thumping pole
When you've finished, if any are whole
Send them down the hall to roll
That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!
Beth was caught somewhere between enjoying the spectacle and having her own heart attack. But by the last chorus, all the dirty dishes had been cleaned and stacked and all of the dwarves were laughing merrily at the expense of poor Bilbo and the look on his face. The cheer in the room was suddenly curbed at the sound of a knock on the door.
"He is here," announced Gandalf gravely.
"Who?" questioned Bilbo, "Who's here?"
"I guess we're about to find out," muttered Beth under her breath.
They weren't able to see who came in right away on account of the dwarves crowding the front hall but when the crowd parted, Beth sucked in a sharp breath through her nose. She may not have known who that dwarf man was, but she could not deny the very air around him was charged and powerful. She also could not deny that he was in fact very hansom.
"Gandalf, I thought you said this place would be easy to find," the dwarf said in ways of greeting. "Lost my way, twice. Wouldn't have found it at all had it not been for the mark on the door."
Guessing by Bilbo's next outburst, Beth gathered that he had not seen the glowing rune on the door yet. "Mark? There's no mark on that door, it was painted a week ago!"
"There is a mark; I put it there myself," stated Gandalf. "Bilbo and Beth Baggins, allow me to introduce you to the leader of our company, Thorin Oakenshield. Thorin, Bilbo is to be your burglar."
Thorin's eyes barley glanced over Beth before he began to size up her brother beside her. "So this is the hobbit. Tell me, Mr. Baggins, have you done much fighting?"
Beth's eye brows shot up as she looked between Thorin and Gandalf. What exactly did they expect Bilbo to do for them?
Bilbo himself squeaked out a, "Pardon me?"
"Axe or sword, what's your weapon of choice?"
"Well, I have some skill at Conkers if you must know, but I fail to see why that's relevant," he trailed off.
"Thought as much," Thorin stated haughtily. "He looks more like a grocer than a burglar."
Beth fixed Thorin with a heated glare as the company laughed and moved back to sit at the dining table. Gandalf caught her attention as she was glaring after them.
"Beth, my dear, would you mind getting Thorin something to eat? I'm sure he's famished from his long journey."
Nodding curtly, Beth made her way to the kitchen and found some leftover stew she made for them yesterday untouched where she stored it. She set about warming it, spitting in it for good measure and finding a heel of bread to go with it before handing it to Bilbo.
She then opted to stay out of sight, just around the corner to listen in on their conversation. She managed to stay silent and resist the urge to spy until she heard a solid thump after one of the dwarves (probably the one with the hat, she thought) taunted Bilbo with facing a dragon. His supposed task in this quest.
Beth flew from her hiding spot to kneel by her brother to check on his status. "Helpful," she growled, scowling at the table of dwarves.
None offered their help as the hobbit woman dragged her brother off and into his favourite arm chair. Still, all had acknowledged the strength she must have had to pick up another of the same size and were reminded of their dwarven women back home.
Nori snickered as the woman disappeared into the other room. "Maybe we should bring the lass instead."
Their laughter was interrupted by a female voice. "What about as well?"
None of the dwarves heard the girl re-enter the room and were all slightly startled to find her not two meters away. But before any of the dwarves had the chance to even briefly contemplate her suggestion, Thorin shut her down. "Absolutely not."
"Any why ever not?" She demanded, bristling.
"I will not bring a woman on a dangerous quest."
And before she could stop herself again, her usual brashness made its appearance. "You're going to deny potential help because I have a vagina?" Once again mentally chiding herself (for her language, at least) she stood her ground as some of the dwarves guffawed and some sent a scolding look her way. But before the actual scolding could begin, she jumped at the opportune stunned silence to sell herself. "I can build a fire in the rain, and identify a large number of wild roots, berries, and edible plants. I'm quiet. So quiet that none of you lot noticed me enter the room until I spoke. And correct me if I'm wrong, but none of you noticed me listening to your entire conversation from the other room earlier. I certainly hoped none of you thought it was a coincidence that I knew to come in just as Bilbo dropped."
Gandalf spoke up before anyone (Thorin in particular, judging by the look on his face) had the chance to shoot her down again. "It could be a good idea, Thorin. Miss Baggins does not seem to be an ordinary hobbit. Or an ordinary woman for that matter."
The gleam in his eyes slightly worried Beth. She hoped he hadn't figured anything out. The only other person who knew her secret was Bilbo, who was still coming to terms with it himself. She could only imagine the trouble it could cause.
Thorin shot Gandalf a glare before turning to Beth to size her up. She stood with her back straight in a strong stance and, much to Thorin's amusement, looked him straight in the eye. He had to admit, the girl had gall and determination.
"Very well, but only if Mr. Baggins also accompanies us. You will be his burden alone."
Beth scowled but decided it best not to push her luck.
"Actually, I might be hers," Bilbo stated from behind her. He caught the worried question on her face and smiled at the cup of tea in his hand. "I'm alright," he said, answering her unasked question of well-being. He then added, "We have to talk."
The company seemed to be in tune with Bilbo's intention and in that moment got up to shuffle off into the sitting room, leaving Beth alone with Bilbo. He gestured for her to sit and waited until she settled in before stating, "We can't go."
"Why?" she demanded.
"It's too dangerous, Beth. One of us could get hurt. Or die!"
She snorted. "You say that like it hasn't happened already."
He stiffened and sighed in response. "You know how much you've come to mean to me, Beth."
Beth felt her stomach sink. She did know how much she meant to Bilbo because Bilbo had also come to be her family in the time they had been together. "I…I know. Bilbo, you truly have become the brother I never had. And I love you, but I keep thinking that maybe there's a reason I'm here. Maybe there's a reason I've been given a second life. Maybe this wasn't just some random event in the universe."
Bilbo frowned, not knowing how to answer. Instead, the pair listened to the haunting melody coming from the room over. Bilbo stood, stating he was going to bed and left. Beth quietly slipped into the corner of the sitting room unseen and watched as the dwarves sang of their lost home. This, she had decided in that moment, was why she was here. She lost her life and home so that she could help thousands of others regain theirs.
Only Thorin noticed her slip out.