Following Gandalf's very specific instructions, Elle reached the home of Mr. Baggins without any trouble, and gave a firm knock on the door before her nerves got the best of her. Stamping from one booted foot to the other, Elle waited for the entrance to open. Her brow knitted in concern as she heard someone yell something about too many dwarves, and she started to think better of coming. Gandalf hadn't mentioned other dwarves. They were the race most likely to give her trouble. Just as she turned to go, however, the door swung open, and before her stood the strangest little man Elle had ever laid eyes on.
"So you are a hobbit…" She murmured with a small smile. "Elle, at your service."
"Yes, yes, and Bilbo Baggins at yours," her host muttered irritably as she followed him into the hallway. She paused, however, when he continued on down the hall and to the back of the house where loud voices were coming from. Elle had just begun to debate whether or not to keep her hood on, when a familiar face came barreling around the corner to see who was at the door.
"Kili!?" Elle exclaimed half in delight, half in relief. She had not expected to know any of the company, let alone be reunited with one of her dearest friends.
"Elle!" Kili threw himself at her and wrapped her in a bone crushing embrace. When he was done squeezing the life out of her, he held her back at arm's length as she shed her cloak, revealing her mass of curls, and travel worn face. "Durin's beard, it really IS you! I could hardly see your face through all that dirt! Such is not proper for a lady!" Elle gave him a quick punch in response, and Kili yelped playfully. Not one to be left out of what sounded like fun, Fili poked his head around the corner to see what his brother was up to.
"Kili, don't hog our guest! There's plenty to do before…" He trailed off as he saw who the guest was, and his expression changed to one of shock and delight. "Well eat my boots and blunt my axe! It sure is nice to see such a pretty face among all these horrid oafs!" Kili, still grinning, gave his older brother a jab as he strode over to embrace his long-lost friend.
"From that horridly ancient expression, it sounds like you are soon to be one of them!" Elle exclaimed, and Kili laughed heartily.
As she drank in her happy reunion with two of the only dwarves she could truly call friends, Elle could hardly hold back her tears of surprised happiness. Seeing the expression on her face as he held her out in front of him, Fili smiled at her in a way that warmed her from the inside out. There was no more need to worry; she had friends here.
Elle put up her cloak and weapons, and she and Fili followed Kili down the hall. "It's been a long time, Elle." Fili said quietly, "Kili and I… We were sure we'd never see you again."
Elle stopped with a hand on his arm, and he turned to look at her with a sad smile. It made her feel incredibly guilty. "Fili… I'm so sorry I never sent word…" She began her long rehearsed apology, but they were both suddenly distracted by a heap of dwarves falling through the doorway of the hobbit hole. Elle felt the familiar anxiety start to grow in the pit of her stomach, but was comforted by her friend's hand coming to rest on her shoulder. They stood together silently as the group of dwarves picked themselves up and bustled off in a different direction. Once they'd gone, Fili caught her eye and grinned reassuringly.
"It's alright Elle, I understand. Kili and I, we tried to help when you were with us, but we understood you had to go. There were people… namely…" he paused to look at the ground, and Elle knew whom he was referring to, "well, we knew you were going to be alright. That staff of yours is a mighty weapon." He looked up at her again and squeezed her shoulder with a smile. "I'm glad you've been asked to come, we could use a fighter like you in our ranks. I know the dwarves who are coming with us. They have good hearts, and they've seen many types of pain. They will recognize yours and treat you the better for it. Some may take longer to come around…" he paused then as if debating whether to mention something. He seemed to change his mind, however, and continued on "…but in the end they will all respect a good, loyal fighter. Besides, with all that hair and dirt on your face, you look every bit a dwarf. Just promise me, if any one of them gives you a hard time, you knock them flat on their fat arse."
Elle laughed heartily at that, "It will be my pleasure." Fili grinned and clapped her shoulder once more before heading into the dining room. Squaring her shoulders, Elle followed him, her heart considerably less heavy than it had been a few minutes earlier.
As she entered the dining room, Elle saw several members of the company turn towards her, and she smiled. "Bless my beard, are we to be privileged with the company of this be-YOUtiful lady on our adventure as well, Gandalf?" An old dwarf with an impressive red beard sang out as another grey haired dwarf quickly produced a chair for Elle with a small bow.
"I suppose so!" Elle replied cheerfully over the din of the hungry dwarves. She nudged Kili over, and slid her chair in between him and his brother. As she sat down, her attention was drawn to the incredible feast laid out before her. "What did you lads do, clean the poor hobbit out?"
"Nearly," Kili replied grabbing at a plate of sausages, "we left him his old moldy cheese!" This comment got a roar of approval from those close enough to hear it, and tankards crashed together, splashing foam high into the air.
"Cheers lads! Cheers to adventure!" Another roar followed this statement, and Elle saw Gandalf smiling at her from the opposite end of the table. Elle laughed heartily as she was passed a plate and a tankard full of what she guessed was some sort of ale. Whatever it was, it helped reinforce the blanket of comfort she was warily allowing to settle over her.
As everyone settled down to enjoy their meal, Elle's plate quickly filled with food, half of which was flung at her from across the table. After receiving a second chunk of cheese to the face, Elle good-naturedly tossed the food back at its owner, hitting the dwarf straight in the nose. This received an even louder cheer than the ones before.
"Well played, lassie!" cried the dwarf who'd been hit. He slid his chair back to stand up, and everyone turned to look at him.
"I, my fairest of ladies, am Bofur, at your service." Whipping off his funny hat with a flourish, he bowed low over his plate, nearly tipping over in the process. This earned a hoot of laughter from the company. The next dwarf stood up as Bofur fell backwards into his chair with a cheeky wink in Elle's direction.
This dwarf simply grunted loudly before plopping back in his chair. Elle caught Bofur's eye, and he twirled his finger by his ear as if to tell her the other dwarf was not all there. Elle chuckled and took note of the large axe embedded in the poor dwarf's forehead. No wonder.
To Elle's amusement and delight, this introduction process continued around the table. In addition to Bofur and the dwarf she later found out was named Bifur, there was Balin and Dwalin, two names that sounded vaguely familiar; Oin and Gloin; Kili and Fili of course; a very wide dwarf named Bombur; and three others named Ori, Nori, and Dori. As she tried to commit all of these names to memory, Elle suddenly realized the room had gone strangely quiet.
"Your turn," Kili said with a mischievous grin, and nudged her to her feet. Seeing only expectant faces as she looked around at the others, Elle cleared her throat and introduced herself to the company.
"Elle, at your service." She added a smile and a small bow to accompany this statement, and fell back into her seat.
"And where do you hail from, Elle?" The surly dwarf named Dwalin asked her, leaning forwards in his chair. Mumbling something incoherent, Elle's brain worked quickly as she tried to figure out where she might have crossed paths with the menacing dwarf before.
"So interested already! Cheeky bastard!" Fili shouted suddenly as he stood to fill his tankard. He proceeded to deliver ale around the table. The dwarves were quickly distracted from the question as they howled with mirth at Dwalin's expense. Elle was thankful for both the distraction and the ale. But why did Dwalin and Balin seem so familiar?
Suddenly, she remembered. Balin had been there when she'd met Fili and Kili. She had been trying to assimilate quietly into the dwarf colony in the Blue Mountains, but her heritage had been discovered by their king, Fili and Kili's uncle Thorin Oakenshield. So, both Balin and Dwalin knew who she was.
Elle glanced at Fili as he sat back down, but he didn't look at her. She took that as a sign to leave it alone for now, and, as Kili shouted the command "TANK UP!" she downed her ale with the rest of them. Letting out a belch to rival even Ori's impressive performance, Elle cheered along with her companions as they quickly filled the tankards once more. As the draught rose to her head, Elle let the celebratory nature of the gathering wash over her, and her fears of what Balin or Dwalin might tell the others about her quickly faded.
"Let them say what they want," Elle thought to herself as she helped the others in their ridiculous – yet effective – dish-washing antics. A bowl sailed toward her head and she quickly knocked it to Fili, who set it flying to Bifur at the sink. She laughed, and joined in as the merry companions began to sing. These dwarves would not be so quick to dismiss her, she could tell. None of them, save Dwalin, had that overly righteous air about them. The big dwarf could make all the fuss he wanted, but, surprisingly, it didn't seem likely that he would garner much support. And yet, despite these comforting thoughts, the old nagging feeling of doubt kept wriggling in the pit of Elle's stomach.
As the dwarves cheered the end of their song, there came three loud knocks on the front door, and all grew quiet. "He's here." Gandalf stated ominously. Elle couldn't say exactly why, but as Bilbo went to answer the door, she quietly snuck to the back of the crowd where Bofur and Fili were standing. The older dwarf was polishing off his tankard, and gave a quiet burp in greeting. Elle laughed and went to stand by him.
"Is there to be another member of our company?" She asked as the door creaked open.
"Indeed there is, lass! Our fearless leader himself, Mr. Thorin Oakenshield!" The kind dwarf turned and frowned, "Elle? What's the matter?"
As soon as the stranger's outline had become clear in the doorway, Elle had jumped quickly behind the edge of the archway into the front hall, and flattened her back to the wall. She inhaled deeply to slow her heart, which was nearly beating out of her chest.
"Of all the bloody surprises…." She swore quietly. Looking up, she realized Bofur was looking at her curiously, "Thorin Oakenshield and I… we don't get on." She said quietly, hearing the others talking about Bilbo in the front hall. He nodded with a teasing wink and a "Less competition for me then!", then turned to watch the introductions taking place between Gandalf, Bilbo, and the king. Inhaling quickly, she peeked around the archway. Thorin, looking as haughty as ever, was circling the obviously confused hobbit in his typical pompous manner.
"Some things don't change, I guess." Elle thought to herself with a sigh. This night had definitely taken a turn for the worse. She couldn't believe that neither Gandalf, Fili, nor Kili had mentioned her Thorin was to be part – well, leader obviously – of this company. As she quickly gathered herself together, Elle chastised herself for not realizing it earlier. Of course, knowing wouldn't have prevented her from coming. Indeed, it might have made her desire to participate in the journey all that much stronger, since the adventure would give her a chance to prove to the infuriating dwarf just how wrong he'd been about her. However, a warning would have saved her a mighty fright. Steeling herself for the worst, Elle took one last deep breath and slowly came out from behind the doorway.
As Elle turned the corner, Thorin's attention was still occupied by the hobbit, so she quietly squeezed by Bofur to stand next to Fili. She didn't understand why he hadn't told her about his uncle being a part of the gathering. Whatever his reasons, however, she knew the young dwarf and his brother were still her friends. Startled by her sudden appearance, Fili looked up at Elle and, noticing the worried look she gave him, quietly took her hand and gave it a solid squeeze.
"He looks more like a grocer than a burglar." Thorin murmured in reference to the hobbit standing before him, and the crowd around him chuckled in agreement. Elle felt sorry for the little man. Unfortunately, she didn't have more than a few moments of thought to spare for the hobbit before the stony blue eyes of Thorin met hers with a startled spark of recognition. His nostrils flared, and he swelled up so fast Elle thought he might burst. The movement was effective, however, and he appeared quite formidable as he advanced on Elle.
"Another one of your… surprises, Gandalf?" Thorin scoffed standing directly in front of Elle, a situation that only made her heart race faster. His eyes left her face only once as they flicked down to where Fili's hand was still squeezing hers. When he looked back up, his scowl had deepened. "I did not ask you to find a fifteenth member for our company… This is dwarf business, and dwarf business alone." Elle felt the eyes of everyone on her, but she could not look away from the man standing in front of her. He was only an inch taller than her at most, but the way he looked at her made her feel like the lowliest insect in all of Middle Earth. Never one to back down from a challenge, however, Elle buried her unhappiness and stared down her challenger. Her stomach felt as if it was full of butterflies, but she repressed her urge to look away. After a long moment, Thorin narrowed his eyes and spoke one last time before turning to walk into the dining room. "We will not require assistance from your mixed-blooded friend, Gandalf."
Elle turned to Fili, letting out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Kili was beside them in a second, and he placed a hand on her shoulder.
"That could have gone worse!" He said with a small smile, and Elle laughed.
"Yes indeed. However, I don't know if I have ever felt more in need of fresh air. Forgive me for not joining you all in your discussion, but I think I'm going for a walk."
"FILI! KILI!" A commanding voice echoed down the hall, and the brothers winced.
"Better go see what uncle wants…" Fili sighed.
"We'll see you later." Kili said giving Elle a quick hug. "It's great to see you…" He trailed off, flashing her one of his charming smiles, and jogged after his brother.
"Off so soon?" A voice spoke to Elle out of the shadows as soon as the brothers were gone.
"Gandalf!" Elle whispered sharply, receiving her third shock of the night, "Valar, I didn't see you there."
"I think it's safe to assume you weren't going to tell me you're not planning on joining us for our meeting?" The wizard looked down at Elle with a stern, but kind glare, and Elle couldn't help but smile.
"No, I wasn't. But I'm not leaving. I just don't think it would be wise to cause any further trouble tonight. Besides, thanks to some people I was wholly unprepared for THAT surprise." She muttered throwing her cloak over her fur-lined coat.
"Would it have helped knowing Thorin was a part of the plan?"
"No… no I don't suppose it would have." Elle sighed, "I just hate to think… I was beginning to feel as if I was among friends here, but I know he will persuade them to distrust me."
"Despite how he treats you, you are not foremost on his mind, nor are you a subject he will bring up to his company. I mean that in the best way possible, of course." Gandalf added noticing Elle's hurt expression, "You belong here, my dear girl. Thorin will warm to you in time. And if he does not, he will at least learn to live with you. Thorin is as stubborn as dwarves come, but he is not unreasonable, and he is not intentionally cruel. He has his reasons to distrust, as you know. You, Elle, simply need to show him his reasons are wrong." Elle snorted, and the wizard straightened slightly, "I did not say it would be easy, but if anyone is going to show Thorin Oakenshield the error of his ways, it will be you."
Thinking on Gandalf's words, and wondering if he knew more than she'd thought about her and Thorin's rocky past, Elle bid him goodnight and walked out into the moonlit darkness. Before closing the door behind her, Elle turned to her friend. "How can you always sound so certain?"
The wizard didn't say anything in response, he simply chuckled, and winked at Elle before turning to join the company in the dining room. Elle sighed, and closed the door. The night air was warm for such a wet spring, and Elle found herself throwing back her hood to drink in the earthy smells of the hobbit village. Ignoring her urge to dwell on sour thoughts, Elle reflected instead on how happy she was to finally have reunited with her two greatest friends.