A/N: Hey! Update for my story is FINALLY here! Thank you to those that reviewed, you gave such lovely comments!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything to do with The Hobbit or the characters.
"Where are we going?"
"Shush!"
He grunted angrily, but remained silent. Thorin was being lead by a woman he now knew as Erubadhriel, and he couldn't believe it.
"This is madness!" He whispered to her, but she simply waved her hand at him -motioning for him to be quiet.
"I'm sure I can find my way, you needn't bother yourself." Thorin grunted.
"Be quiet! Holga mustn't know I'm leaving yet, she'll have my backside!"
Erubadhriel was getting more and more annoyed at this dwarf who wouldn't remain quiet. 'Why is he making this so difficult?' she wondered.
"This is mad! I don't know anything about you, and you expect me to be - "
In the blink of an eye, Thorin saw her small hand grasp his fur coat and he was shoved into a dark room. He soon realized she had dragged them both into a tiny little broom cupboard. His eyes adjusted and realized a bit of light was shining through the cracks of the walls.
At first he was so enraged that this woman dared to toss him around as if he were a naughty child. Then he felt an enormous amount of discomfort when he realized how close she was to him.
Again, he opened his mouth to protest but this time she pushed her hand across his mouth.
"Will. You. Be. Quiet." She growled. Thorin felt himself grow even angrier.
"You don't know anything about me, of course! I understand that! However, you know my name, you know I am a friend to someone you seek, you know I know how to find him, and you know that I want to help. Please be quiet, please stop your complaining, and please let me help you!" She shouted, almost to the verge of frustrated tears.
For a moment, he remained completely still. He felt that she honestly did want to help. Yet, how dare she? Does she not know who he is?
Erubadhriel felt her hand that was plastered to his mouth being slammed back against the door, and realized that he held a tight grip on her wrist.
She shrunk down as Thorin brought his face down to hers, his breath blowing against her forehead.
"Do not. Ever. Speak to me like that again." He growled at her, and she felt her body grow cold with fear.
"Do you understand?" He spoke again, this time, his voice lower and softer. She nodded quickly and he let go of her hand.
When they broke apart, Thorin noticed yet again how close their bodies where. He stepped back but bumped into the wall behind him.
"Will you let me help you?" She whispered, "Master Dwarf?" She added, and looked down at her feet.
Admittedly, Thorin felt quite ashamed at how angry he had been. Eventually he nodded to her.
"What do you need me to do?" He asked, and Erubadhriel's face turned towards his. Thorin noticed how brightly her eyes shined with excitement and almost noticed just how pretty she was.
"First, I need to - quietly, " She emphasized her last word by pointing at him, "Get out of the Prancing Pony without Holga seeing me. She's hard to explain things to - bless her." She sighed, and looked at the dwarf in front of her.
"Alright." He grunted, nodding his head in agreement.
"Then, I need to quickly grab - "
"Erubadhriel!"
The young girl froze, hearing that familar voice calling her name.
"Where the bloody 'ell are you, silly girl!"
Erubadhriel peaked through one of the cracks in the wall and saw that Holga was standing just outside of the little cupboard they were in.
"We've got customers comin' in like rats, and lots o' mouths to feed! I'll be waitin' for you in the kitchen - so get a move on, love!" Holga shouted loudly.
The elderly woman eventually stomped off, muttering something under her breath.
"Come on!" Erubadhriel whispered to Thorin, and slowly opened the door.
They walked back into the main area of the Inn, and she hid between two extremely tall men.
"I'll never get by, she's got the eyes of a hawk!" She whispered to the dwarf.
Just when she was ready to give up and run out the door as fast as she could, she felt something bulky being draped over her shoulders.
"Here. Pull the hood over your head and follow me."
She gave Thorin a quizzical look, before she realized he'd given her his navy colored cloak.
Slowly, they walked and wavered through the crowd and she hid her face in the warm fabric. It smelled of musk, dirt, and of man. She rather liked it.
Erubadhriel felt a surge of excitement in her chest and took a deep breath.
'This is mad! Fantastic!' She thought, her mind was buzzing with thoughts. Then she came to a halt.
"Oi!"
Thorin turned around and saw Holga waving him over.
"You seen the girl that gave you ale earlier?"
Thorin simply shook his head and turned back around - heading towards the door.
"Who's that with you? You came alone didn't you?" Holga asked loudly.
Erubadhriel froze and cast her gaze at the dwarf. That's it. Her covers blown. It's all over now.
"He's my apprentice." The dwarf called back, waving as he held the door open for her.
Erubadhriel sighed a deep sigh, and quickly ran out of the Inn.
She kept walking until she heard that familiar creaking slam of the front door and turned around.
"That was close!"
"Wouldn't it have been easier to just tell her where you are going?" Thorin asked grumpily.
"Believe me, master dwarf, it would have taken me hours to convince her to let me go with you." She assured him, and led him down an alley beside the Inn.
"Is she your kin?" He asked her.
"I have no kin. No."
When she paused, Thorin noticed Erubadhriel's hands fidget at her sides.
"She is my friend. Well, I suppose she is my kin now. She found me when I was wandering in the streets. She has taken very good care of me." Erubadhriel sighed.
"I apologize for asking." Thorin said, bowing his head to her slightly.
"No, no, it's alright. Quickly now, I need to go to my home and grab some things for the journey!"
They continued to walk briskly down the alley, stepping over drunkards that were passed out on the ground.
"Ah, here we are!" She smiled, and looking up at her little home.
"I'll wait here." He said, and she shrugged her shoulders,
"Suit yourself, here's your cloak!" She grinned, and tossed it to him.
"Give me a boost?"
"Why not use the door?" Thorin wondered aloud as he pulled the cloak back on.
"Oh come on, where's your sense of adventure! It's more exciting to go in through the window. Besides I only need to get some things from this room!"
He scrunched his eyebrows together with confusion. 'She is very odd.' He thought.
He clasped his hands together and perched them on his knee.
She stepped up and he tossed her up in the air with no effort at all.
"Oomph!" She groaned, when she landed on the small balcony that was in front of her window.
"Gee, thanks." She grumbled and reached for the latch on her window.
As soon as she'd stepped inside she scrambled around the room. She hurriedly packed a small bag that contained clothes and blankets - only the amount she knew she could carry easily. She ran down the hall to her pantry and packed some cheeses and bread and scurried back to where the dwarf was waiting outside.
Without paying attention to where her feet were going, Erubadhriel tripped over something on her floor.
She landed with a soft thud and spun around angrily.
"What was that?" She huffed, and saw the offensive object that had dared to try to stop her.
But really, it wasn't offensive. It was a small book that Holga had given her.
It contained little stories of the adventures of elves and dwarfs and giants and other wonderful creatures. The cover of it was a simple dark blue color - small swirls and lines etched across it. She had left it beside her bed earlier that day.
She opened it and read the message that was written on the first page. She knew it by heart.
Here you are, love. I told you I had a lovely gift for you! Well, I think you'll like it. I know I haven't got much money to buy you lovely things but I know you'll appreciate this old thing. Now you can stop pestering me about you not having any books to read! Try not to read it in one night, silly girl.
Erubadhriel immediately felt a touch of regret knowing that she actually thought about leaving without telling Holga. She knew very well the woman would be worried sick and Erubadhriel felt ashamed to have thought otherwise.
She tucked the little book into her bag and trotted to the window.
"I'm ready to go! But first I need to make one quick stop at the Prancing Pony."
Thorin looked at her and growled.
"Foolish, woman! You should have just said goodbye to her when we were there!"
Erubadhriel blushed crimson and shrugged her shoulders meekly.
She waited as the dwarf seemed to contemplate about backtracking, and finally he turned his face to look up at her.
"Alright, come on then - hurry up."
A/N: Oh my goodness, I am so, so, so sorry I took so long to write the second chapter! I hope you enjoyed it though! I hope you can tell that I intend for Erubadhriel to be a rambunctious and adventurous character.