2.
Nursing a cup of chamomile tea that Dori had given him, Bilbo tried to sink into the nook he'd found refuge in and have a moment of peace. Just one moment, but it was not to be. One of the Elves found him and lowered himself on the floor, tossing back his decidedly red hair as he made himself comfortable.
"May I share a moment of quiet with you?" he said, enunciating each word carefully.
Bilbo shrugged inwardly and nodded. Ambarussa… one of the twins, he concluded. Better lighting and a closer look had revealed to him that two of the Elven brothers were almost identical. As was their name. Or names… Bilbo felt a headache coming on just thinking about that.
"We are sorry for the… commotion," the Elf gestured toward the dining room, where a noisy debate was still going on, with Elven voices thrown in the mix.
"As am I," Bilbo muttered before he could catch himself. He eyed his companion apologetically, but the Elf didn't seem to take any offense. "I'm glad the meeting hasn't come to blows."
"As am I," Ambarussa smiled and Blibo felt no small amount of embarrassment dusting his cheeks red. "Although, I'm still not sure father and Maitimo can reason with these Dwarves."
As if to underline his words, Dwalin's voice rose above the din and Bilbo cringed. He could not understand the words, but it wasn't hard to guess they weren't compliments addressed to any Elf at the table.
"I don't think they want us on this quest of theirs," Ambarussa observed. If anything, he seemed rather amused by the whole predicament, which confused Bilbo even further.
"I don't quite understand why anyone would want to join them on their quest, to be honest."
"Well… it's a long story," the Elf replied.
Bilbo took a sip of his drink and eyed his companion expectantly. Usually, when someone began with "it's a long story", the long story tended to follow, but Ambarussa seemed content to wrap his arms around his knees and rest his chin on them.
"You don't seem very eager to set off on this adventure," the Elf said instead.
"Ah, well," Bilbo coughed. "That's not… I'm not exactly sure what Gandalf was thinking when he suggested I should be the burglar of this expedition but… he certainly has the wrong Hobbit for the job. In fact, no Hobbit that I know of, at least not one in his right mind, would find himself fit for this kind of job. A burglar?!" Bilbo sputtered indignantly. He knew he was ranting and before an Elf, at that, but it was only a small strange matter in a whole world of strange matters befalling him of late.
"Not a task for an honest and respectable person, no," Ambarussa seemed to agree.
"Most certainly not. All this business about treasure and dragons is not for Hobbits of the Shire, I'm afraid. Not when it means sneaking in to do dishonest work and risk turning into a pile of ash while at it. No, thank you very much."
The Elf merely nodded.
"Did Gandalf really call on you to go and slay the dragon?" Bilbo still could not quite get his mind around the idea. Of course, the tales he knew were full of Elven warriors who battled foul beasts and conquered them, but still, for someone to volunteer facing a dragon… it made very little sense to the poor Hobbit.
"Yes, he did. Although… we are not… what did the Dwarf call us? Sell-swords?"
"Ah… I feel I must apologize for that," Bilbo grimaced, recalling the choice words that Thorin Oakenshield had hurled at the Elves. When it came to insults, it appeared as though the King in exile had a limitless supply.
"No, you must not. The… animosity?" Ambarussa hesitated. "If that is the proper word for it… the animosity is not a welcome we did not expect. Dwarves are… well, Dwarves," he shrugged.
"Have you dealt with Dwarves before?"
"No… not much. Not since…," the Elf faltered. "Not for a long while. Carnistir knows them better and he has warned us. No worries. One way or another, we will come to an agreement and your home should not be under siege for much longer."
"That is not… that would be welcome," Bilbo admitted, mirroring the Elf's understanding smile. "Although, I would be loathe to see you leave. Very much. I am very pleased to have met you and very grieved by the state of my house. This is not how I've imagined I would welcome Elves into my home."
"It is fine, Master Hobbit. Gandalf said you would be a very polite fellow and so you are. Perhaps we will stay a bit longer if…"
Both Bilbo and Ambarussa were startled by the muttering and heavy footfalls of someone approaching them. Bilbo expected a Dwarf but instead, Tyelkormo stomped toward them, angry and stooping to avoid hitting the rafters. That only served to annoy him more. He saw his brother and began to talk in rapid-fire Elvish, waving his hands to emphasize his point.
"I'm sorry to hear that," Ambarussa replied. "This may take a while," he turned to the Hobbit. "I'm afraid father is having a more difficult time persuading the Dwarves than he imagined."
"Obstinate fools. They don't know what they're turning their bulky noses up at," Tyelkormo grumbled. "I have a mind to…"
"You have a mind to stay right here and keep your big mount shut," one of Tyelkormo's brothers joined them, giving the angry Elf a forbidding look.
Bilbo groped for his name but it didn't come to him and so, the Hobbit resolved to observe the brothers quietly.
"I've met many uncouth, reckless bastards in my life, but I swear, if that angry midget calls my father a gold-digger one more time, I will… I will be… very angry," Tyelkormo finished lamely, withering a little under his brother's even more forbidding glare.
"I don't like this anymore than you do, but there's no need to add to the tension. We didn't come here to fight them or force them."
"But Káno…," the blond protested, finally giving Bilbo a clue as to what his brother was called.
The Hobbit could not agree more, there was absolutely no need for tempers to flare and turn his home into a proper battlefield. He didn't like the pile of weapons that the Elves had set aside anymore than he appreciated the Dwarvish iron and if any of those arms were put to use, it would be terrible. Perhaps even Gandalf could not stop something unspeakable from happening.
He was just about to address his fears when "DO YOU WANT ME TO SWEAR AN OATH ON IT?!" boomed though the house. Bilbo nearly dropped his cup and he saw all three Elves before him stiffen. Ambarussa sprang to his feet and a moment later, the three brothers had vanished in the direction of their father's angry voice. Bilbo rushed after them, shoulders slumped and heart thundering with new dread.
"THERE WILL BE NO OATH SWEARING!" Gandalf boomed in reply and for a moment, the room seemed to darken. Bilbo believed that it was merely him growing faint once more, but when the shadows fell away, everyone at the table was silent and bewildered.
"Please sit," Gandalf pressed Curufinwë back in his seat, although the Elf simpered with anger and sitting meant folding his limbs into an uncomfortable position.
Equally uncomfortable but less infuriated, his son gave the Dwarves at his side an apologetic look. Bilbo saw the youngest of them avert their eyes and Dori offered a placating expression, but at the head of the table, Thorin Oakenshield seemed no less angry. He glared at the Elf he'd been arguing with, daring him to say more.
"Swear if you will," he ground out after a tense moment silence. "But I still do not believe it. You say you do not want anything in return for your aid, but I have never known anyone to put their lives on the line and demand no reward."
"I do not need any reward," Curufinwë sighed. "I have told you, Thorin Oakenshield, I do not need treasure and least of all any treasure of yours," he could not refrain from letting loose the barb.
Bilbo cringed and expected Thorin to burst, but the Dwarf held himself in check by some miracle.
"What do you want, then? If it is not treasure, then what?"
"I… We have a much higher purpose for being here than treasure. My sons and I have a debt to pay, but it is not in gold and jewels that we must pay it. Aiding you and your people, showing you that Elves are not all selfish cowards will be but the beginning of this payment."
Puzzled, like almost everyone around him, Bilbo searched Gandalf's face. If the wizard knew anything, he kept it to himself and his expression gave nothing away.
"I do not understand," Thorin spoke for all of them.
"And it is best that you do not," Curufinwë replied, rising to his feet and striking his head against the ceiling of Bilbo's dining-room. He cursed under his breath and stalked away, amid some Dwarven snickering and Gandalf's tired groan. Maitimo went after him, gently brushing Bilbo out of the way.
"Well, that could have been worse," Bofur broke the awkward silence, shrugging as he met Bilbo's eyes.
"Indeed. I now have not one unbelievably stubborn Dwarf to manage, but also an unbelievably stubborn Elf."
"I do not envy you your position," Canafinwë told the wizard, startling Bilbo. He had forgotten there were still Elves nearby.
"Indeed not," the wizard muttered.
"Will one of you tell me what in Mahal's name is going on?" Thorin turned in his seat and glared at the Elves behind him. "Who are you, what do you want and why should I believe you when you appear out of the blue to offer me help I neither asked for nor have any need of?"
"When you ask questions in that manner, I fear it is best that we refrain from answering," Tyelkormo replied sharply.
"Brother…," Canafinwë warned.
As for poor Bilbo, he found it uncomfortable enough to strain his neck while looking back and forth between the arguing people. Not to mention anything of the arguing that seemed to go on forever. It was very late, he was tired and very much unsettled and he began to wonder if the intruders in his house would ever stop bickering, much less go away and let him be.
"That is quite enough for one night," Gandalf cut in. "Our host is tired and I am incredibly fed up with the stiff necks of both Dwarves and Elves. Enough of this, we should retire for the night."
Bilbo could not disguise the relief he felt, nor hold back the grateful look in his eyes when Gandalf smiled at him. But, of course, Thorin disagreed.
"How can you mention sleep when there is so much to speak of? I cannot rest until I solve the riddle of these damned Elves and find out what they are here for. This is all your fault, Gandalf. I am beginning to doubt the wisdom in trusting you."
"Be that as it may, I will sleep and so will you. I know that both Elves and Dwarves could be at each other's throats for ages, but neither of us needs that now. Sleep on this. The morning is always a better advisor."
Thorin rested his hands on the table with a dull thump, very clearly avoiding several hopeful looks directed at him. He muttered something in his own tongue, rubbed his forehead and finally relented.
Bilbo breathed a rather loud sigh of relief, but with that panic swept him anew. He had a house full of Dwarves and Elves and only three spare beds to offer them. Four, if he included his own and that seemed like a most miserable thought. Frowning deeply, he covered his mouth with one hand and began to back out of the room, wracking his brain as to what he could do and what to build make-shift beds out of. Thus preoccupied, Bilbo hardly noticed he'd stepped on someone's toes, before that someone chuckled softly and knelt at his side.
"I believe I know what worries you now, Mr. Baggins. But there is no need for it. We will sleep outside," Tyelkormo told him. "I believe my brothers are already making arrangements for it."
"You are most certainly not going to…," Bilbo sputtered. "I could never… absolutely not! I cannot possibly leave my guests sleeping at the door!"
"But we will not be sleeping at the door. Rather, we shall camp on your roof," the Elf smiled. "There simply isn't any room for us inside, unless we should take the floors. I do believe the grass on your lovely Hobbit hole is much softer. The night is warm and fair. I can't think of a better place to be than beneath the stars. No offense to the comfort and hospitality of your house meant, of course."
At that, Bilbo felt quite unable to argue. The Elf had a point and none of the Dwarves at his table voiced any protests either. Perhaps it was for the best to see them separated, if only by one wooden door.
"We shall be singing a few songs before we rest, perhaps you would like to join us? After you make all the necessary arrangements, of course," Canafinwë gestured toward the Dwarves.
Bilbo wanted to and he nodded in agreement, but it was long before he finished the arrangements in question and by then, he was practically sleeping on his feet. He collapsed in his favorite sitting chair (which he had liberated from a pile of Dwarvish paraphernalia) and thought he could hear a clear voice singing something very slow and sad as it lulled him to sleep.