Chapter 2:

One month later she had a hard and rough time traveling to the Shire, Celille had rode most the way on her horse Sowren.

Just at the edge of the Shire she and Sowren sat behind some trees and bushes not far of the road.

While taking her pack off of her all black Friesian she ran her hand down the hot fur of the magnificent beast and looked at him " well Sowren this is it, you will have to wait here till I come back for you." Sowren laid his head on her shoulder and nudged her. Celille laughed and dug around in her pack and pulled out an apple as red and glistening as a rubby, she took her knife from her boot and took a piece off for herself and handed the rest to Sowren who took his helping contentedly while Celille enjoyed her piece a small bite at a time.

"now my friend I have to go." She sighed while putting on her black cloak and brung the blue gray inside over her hair, she then hoisted her pack on her shoulder and sheathed her knife back in her boot and then looked at Sowren "Stay here and stay hidden I will be back for you at first light." she then pushed her way back through the bushes and back onto the road and looked at the road before her.

She started walking and noticed little hills that had doors in them, not only that but yards and mail boxes. As she kept walking soon enough there were short people sitting out on their porches playing chess and looked at her rather odd; mind you she's only a few inches taller then them but she was short in comparison to the rest of her people; what looked like to be children played in the yard giggling and screaming till their eyes caught sight of her they grew silent and watched her as she passed them and continued down the road, she received the same reaction as she continued through the Shire thinking to herself "you're a strange person is a strange place.".

Up and down the roads and paths she walked looking for the mark on the door. But soon enough the last light of the day began to set and night was growing close. She kept walking as the yards of homes emptied and the lights were lit inside, smoke rises from the chimneys and filled the air with the smell of burning wood which was enough to make her stop in her thoughts, flashes from her past ran through her head.

*Flash Back*

Fires set to the fields of wheat and grass, all the crops burned, homes set ablaze, screams of mothers and children rang in her ear. Shouts of men, the sound of shields thumping, and the pure sing of one blade meeting another other in combat.

Celille's head pounds with pain as she feels something hot and wet run down the side of her head and arms. Her gaze rests on the women who lay dying in her arms, her face a blur as something warm and wet runs down Celille's cheeks, with blink of the eyes the blur was gone and the women who lay dying in her arms was her mother. Her mother reached her hand up gently touching Celille's cheek with tears forming on her green brown eyes and then she spoke but no sound came out of her mouth and with that her hand fell from her cheek and her eyes closed, her brown hair lay across the ground in waves, her dress torn and bloody from her fight with a creature that is ugly and horrid, pale and vicious.

Celille then feels her throat is hot and hurts, she realizes she is crying and screaming.

*End Flashback*

Celille shakes her head and pulls herself back from her horrid thoughts. She looks around and finds that is now dark and she still has yet to find the door she's looking for, she walks another mile or so and from the side of her sight she see a green door with a gold knob in the middle of it and just below the knob a blue glowing mark rests. She turns to the gate and waits a few minutes as she hears voices from inside the home. Taking small steps after pushing the gate in she looks at the garden around her, beautiful flowers lay open in the moonlight. As she takes each step at a she slows her heart beat as she approaches the door and knocks.

A Short man answered the door and he seemed fairly flustered and upset. "Oh no. No you don't. There is more than enough Dwarfs in my kitchen and dinning room, I won't have someone else come barging in here,making a muck of my home." he said with a huff and started to close the door ,then a very worn blackish brown boot stopped the door from shutting closed, Celille then removed her hood and looked down at the hobbit and smiled softly "I'm sorry if I seem to be intruding mister...?" she paused and the hobbit took while to answer while hiding behind the door with his eyes peeking around it "Baggins" he paused "Bilbo Baggins." she kept her smile and said " Mister Baggins I was asked here by a friend, maybe you know of him." she paused and Bilbo opened the door and stepped from behind and asked "He wouldn't be a Gray Wizard that goes by the name Gandalf is it?" Celille nodded " That would be my friend.."before she could finish laughter flooded his home and out the door. She paused and looked at Bilbo now realising why he was so flustered.

"May I?" she asked while gesturing to his home. Bilbo Sighed and waved her in " Might as well, one more person isn't going to kill me" he said as he shut the door behind her and gestured to hall to the left " the party is down the hall and to the left, there is food and some wine if the rest of them haven't eaten it all." Bilbo said dryly. Celille nodded and set her pack down next to what seemed to be a pile of swords and weapons. She then took off her her sword and laid it on top of her pack and followed Bilbo down the hall to a dining room filled with dwarves, and a wizard.

As soon as she was in sight of all who was there the laughter and merriment stopped as all eyes fell on her. Gandalf smiles while smoking from his pipe he side "I thought you would have made it sooner, Bree is not a far ride from here my friend." She smiled weakly and looked at the wizard "it's hard to find a door with a mark but that it only glows at night." she said smirking before Bilbo interjected "There is no mark on that door it was painted a week ago" She then took a cup of ale of the table and took a long drink of it before she stopped and looked down at the hobbit "Master Hobbit I do believe that you are mistaken about the mark on your door" she then looked at the dwarves one by one as Bilbo went on a full blown rant that she was not paying any mind to. Gandalf just watched her as she looked at the dwarves as they whispered between each other. She then pulled a chair over by Gandalf and sat down.

She grabbed as much food as she could get and started eating and drinking to her heart's content, the whispers faded away into to full conversations and from there to jokes and laughter.

When she finished her plate and ale she then looked at Gandalf with amusement ; fully knowing what dwarves sat at this table around her, but she had a feeling they were still waiting on someone, possibly the leader of these misfits. She thought to herself "A Company of misfits how quaint." she then received a look from Gandalf and all she did was shrug and lean back in her chair.

When all was said and done they all had a very good time after the food, drink, and entertaining song and done. Cellile was fairly amused and has not said a thing since she first came in, as she sat in a chair in the back of the dining room against a window where one of the more "Bigger" dwarves had sat before she claimed the chair when he moved.

Everything was very joyful. She also learned the names of the company. Dwalin was bald and had tattoos around his body he didn't seem to be one of the nicest of them all. Balin his brother has white wild hair and a bread, he seemed to be one of the most knowledgeable and kind. Oin needs help with hearing so he uses a this weird contraption to help him hear. Gloin has red hair and has his bread done in a very odd fashion but is nice none the lease. Bombur is one of the larger dwarfs. Bofur has a funny hat but is joyful and funny. Buifur has an axe stuck in his head which is rather odd now that she thought about it. Dori seemed not to be very "Manly". Ori is very shy and is the medic out of the whole company. Fili is blond and very handsome, seems to be strong but he gets in trouble with his brother Kili a lot, now Kili is flirtatious and funny always playing tricks those two. Then there's Nori, he seems to be really nice she hadn't gotten to talk to him much.

Everything was nice until there was a loud knock at the door,"He's here. " Gandalf said. Bilbo slowly walked close to the door, before long he had opened the door and a fairly tall dwarf stepped through the door, and he did not look happy at all. Everyone joined the two in the front hall where Cellile did not enter but watched from the entry way instead.

She leaned on the wall just enough to see what was going but not even enough to hear what was being said, but she had an odd feeling that the new member of the company doesn't like Bilbo to much. As she was leaning against the wall she glanced down and seen her pack so she knelt down to grab her book and charcoal piece and when she was coming back up from kneeling when she felt like all eyes were on her as the room had gone silent. As she turned around she seen the new guest look at her, she seemed fairly surprised when he said nothing to her.

His piercing blue eyes scanned over her as a scowl appeared across his lip and with a rumble deep in his chest he asks "Who is this woman?" Celliles brawls frollwed in confusion at what the problem was, when she took a good look at him she realized he was wearing furs, and clothest of someone royal, but he had two braids on each side of his head framing his face, his eyes looked tired but kind, he had gray hair starting to show next to each of the braids, "he was handsome for a dwarf" she thought.

When she come back from her thoughts she noticed the guest was arguing with Gandalf

"this company needs both Bilbo and Cellile, you need more than 12 dwarves for this quest Thorin" Gandalf explained

The dwarf named Thorin glared from Cellile and Bilbo and then back to Gandalf "I don't need some hobbits help, he doesn't even look like a burglar more like a grocer, and her" He said and pointed to Cellile " I won't take a women on a quest nor do I want her apart of my company that I swear on Eru Ilúvatar."

Cellile could not hold her temper nor tongue any longer "How dare you. I am here to help you reclaim your home land and you reject my help before you can even see that I am of use to you for this quest!" she gripped her book hard enough that the pages begun to crackle.

Thorin looked at her with disgust as if he had heard something horrible "I don't need help from some woman who doesn't know where her place" he spat at her. Cellile's eyes grew wide and her body tensed as she started to move for her blade hidden in her sleeve and before she could move more than an inch Gandalf's hand grabbed hers and his staff slammed across her body keeping her from moving forward as he looked down at her "Cellile, this is Thorin Oakenshield he is the leader of this company and the son of Thror." Gandalf said in a understanding tone.

Cellile looked up at Gandalf and nodded before looking back at Thorin and moving away and into the dining room and sat in her chair against the window at the end of the table with her book on the table and her ale in her hand.

Everyone filed into the room one at a time. Soon enough the room was filled. Cellile took a long drink from her ale and she opened her book and started to draw what she was seeing, she listened in on the conversation as she continued to draw she glanced up at Thorin who was at the head of the table and she had seen him looking in her direction.

"What news from the meeting in Ered Luin? Did they all come?" Balin asked

"Aye. Envoys from all seven kingdoms." Thorin insured

everyone started whispering amongst each other but only Cellile looked up a caught a glimpse of one of the younger members of the company who goes by Fili was looking at her with a intense look, she smiled and continued her drawing.

"What do the dwarves of the Iron Hills say? Is Dain with us?" Dawlin asked

"They will not come" Thorin paused "They say this quest is ours, and ours alone."

everyone mumbled in disappointment expect Bilbo

"You're going on a quest?" he asked and then Gandalf interjected "Bilbo, my dear fellow, let us have a little more light." Bilbo went got a candle while Gandalf spread out a map on the table which was in his pocket.

"Far to the East, over ranges and rivers, beyond woodlands and wastelands, lies a single solitary peak." Gandalf continued

"The Lonely Mountain." Bilbo read slowly.

"Aye. Oin has read the portents, and the portents say it is time." Glion interjected looking around the table.

Oin said excitedly "Ravens have been seen flying back to the mountain as it was foretold: When the birds of yore return to Erebor, the reign of the beast will end."

"Uh, What beast?" Bilbo asked worried, Cellile stopped drawing and looked at Gandalf with a questioning gaze.

"Well that would be a reference to Smaug the Terrible, chiefest and greatest calamity of our age. Airborne fire breather, teeth like razors, claws like meat hooks, extremely fond of precious metals " Boufor said informant awhile smoking on his pipe.

"Yes, I know what a dragon is." Bilbo said

"I'm not afraid! I'm up for it. I'll give him a taste of the Dwarvish iron right up his jacksie."Ori had stood up at the table and spoke.

Several dwarves shouted and told him to get down.

"The task would be difficult enough with an army behind us. But we number just thirteen,and not thirteen of the best, nor brightest." Balin

The dwarves start objecting, saying things like, "Hey, who are you calling dim?" "Watch it!", and "No!"

"We may be few in number, but we're fighters, all of us, to the last dwarf!" Fili spoke up

"And you forget, we have a wizard in our company. Gandalf will have killed hundreds of dragons in his time." Kili added

"Oh, well, now, uh, I I I wouldn't say that, I " Gandalf started

"How many, then?" Dori asked

"Uh, what?" Gandalf looked at Dori

"Well, how many dragons have you killed? Go on, give us a number." Gandalf embarrassedly starts coughing on his pipe smoke; the dwarves jump to their feet, arguing about the number of dragons Gandalf has killed. Cellile watched everyone aruguing and then looked at Thorin with one eye brawle raised.

Thorin jumped up in anger and yelled ,silencing the rest.

"Shazara! If we have read these signs, do you not think others will have read them too? Rumours 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? Du Bekâr! Du Bekâr!" Cellile felt the corner of her mouth pull up into a smile as she put her book down and gave them all her full attention. All the Dwarves cheered.

After much talk and the reveal of a key the company was winding down. Bilbo told them he wouldn't come but Cellile said she would. After the fact she was sitting with Gandalf and talked to him silently "You're crazy you know that Gandalf, 12 Dwarves,a hobbit and me. This is beyond crazy, this is..." She paused and started smoking on her pipe keeping the last of her thoughts to herself.

The dwarves gather in Bilbo's living room, smoking their pipes by the fire. They all begin humming, and soon Thorin begins to sing, and the others join him. Gandalf and Cellile listen from nearby; Bilbo listens from his bedroom.

The dwarves, sing "Far over the misty mountains cold To dungeons deep and caverns old We must away ere break of day To find our long forgotten gold

The pines were roaring on the height The winds were moaning in the night The fire was red, it flaming spread The trees like torches blazed with light"

After that everyone had settled down to sleep. Cellile found a soft chair and fell into a deep sleep till the first light of the day when she left for Sowren and returned to find the company ready to go on their ponies, she even put a few gold coins in on the bet whether or not Bilbo would show up.