Chapter 1

It was already dark when we reached the village of hobbits. This was a vision that we were not accustomed to see. These people must be very small because even with our reduced size, their houses dug into the earth seemed tiny. The doors and windows were perfectly round and the cleanliness of their yard was to be envied. The village was deserted and silent, giving the impression that everything was asleep. We then noticed an alarming detail.

"How do we find Bilbo Baggins if there is no indication and no one to ask for directions?, pointed my friend, discouraged."

There was no sign on the houses and if there were, they were of no relevance. I rubbed my eyes and sighed. This quest was already beginning to exasperate me.
That's when we heard loud noises coming from one of the houses. We approached quietly. It was no different from the others, its door was round and in the center was the handle, cleanliness of the site once again impeccable. I then noticed a mark on the bottom of the door which shone with a bluish glow. I motioned to my friend who nodded, indicating that she had seen it too. I went to a window and looked inside. A great activity was unfolding before my eyes. A dozen small men were coming and going throughout the household. I pulled away from the window, thoughtfully.

"You think it's the right one?, asked my friend.

- It's always worth a try ..., I motioned for her to knock. Remember, we cannot reveal our true identity."

She nodded and knocked three times on the massive wooden door. We then heard a small voice trying to cover the ambient noise; it seemed irritated and desperate at the same time. The door opened suddenly, revealing a little creature with curly hair, big ears and wide hairy feet. He seemed agitated, but when he saw us, he stopped and stared at us, dumbfounded. I smiled and gave him a small nod.

"Hello, my name is Allie and this is my friend Ella. We are lost travelers who have been surprised by the night. Would you be kind enough to offer us shelter and maybe a little bit of food?"

The hobbit remained silent for some time, opening and closing his mouth, but nothing came out.

"Uh ... I ... I'm sorry, but umm ...

- Bilbo! It would be rude to refuse hospitality to these two young ladies."

We took a look inside the house. An old man stood there, bent, looking gigantic in this small space. In its uncomfortable position his long gray beard was almost touching the ground. He had a smile on his lips and his eyes were full of kindness. He walked over to us.

"My apologies for my friend, he is somewhat disturbed at the moment, he turned to the hobbit which we now know the identity, Bilbo, my dear, could you fetch two extra chairs for our guests?"

The hobbit was about to reply, but the old man led us further into the house before he had time to say anything. We heard him grumbling away in protest.

"My name is Gandalf, a wizard who, just like you, is particularly fond of traveling, he held out his hand and we shook it on after the other and although we were taken aback by the word wizard, we didn't show it. What are your names?, asked the old man.

- My name is Ella and here is my friend, Allie.

- Hmmm ... These are very unusual names...

- We're coming from far away, I replied immediately.

- Um, um ... he nodded and continued a little further into the house. So let me introduce you to the rest of our joyful company."

We entered the dining room, which was bustling with activity. Everywhere, dwarves came and went, dragging crockery, furniture and food. They were very different from the dwarves we had in our world. They were much larger, with our small size most of them were a few centimeters beyond us, but at our normal size, they would be a just little below our chin, their arms, legs and head were, like us, in proportion to their size this giving them a childish appearance if it wasn't from their beard, incredibly provided for some.

"Your attention everyone, Gandalf spoke to the assembly that suddenly stopped to look at us in amazement. I would like to introduce these two young people. Here is Allie and Ella, he pointed at us in turn. They are lost travelers who will spend the evening with us. Ladies, I present to you our little company."

The next few minutes were filled with various greetings and introductions, stuffing our brains with too many names and faces at once. Some shook hands with us, others made small bows and enterprising ones even kissed our hands which made us laughed afterwards. Finally, we were approached by two young dwarves, one blond and the other dark haired. They both bowed to us, smiling.

" Fili..., said the blonde dwarf.

- ... And Kili, went to the dark haired one.

- At your service!, they finished in unison.

- Hmm ... Good evening ... we answered, clumsily.

- Would you like to join us to celebrate?, Fili asked, holding out his arm to me.

- It will be an honor for us!, Kili said, holding his to Ella."

We looked at each other with a smile. Nodding, we linked our arms to those we were presented. Smiling, the young dwarves led us to our seats, talking along the way. We were about to find out how to feast the dwarves' way... One thing was certain; it was not like anything that we had ever experienced!

The dwarves were eating, drinking and talking... and sometimes all three at the same time! They threw food from one end to the other of the room while the others were laughing loudly. Food quickly passed from hand to hand and we grasped what we could along the way. Meantime, Fili got up to fetch a few beers and proposed some to us. I politely declined the offer.

"No, thank you, Ella replied with a smile, we don't drink.

- What are you drinking in this case?, asked Kili."

It was at this moment that one of the dwarves, an older one, proposed chamomile to Gandalf, the latter declining the offer nicely. I slowly approached and put my hand on the shoulder of the dwarf who was returning sheepishly.

"Excuse me, but my friend and I will gladly accept your offer."

His face suddenly lit up and he served us two cups of tea that he then put in my hands. I smiled.

"Thank you, Mister...

- Dori, at your service, he bowed."

I laughed a little and made a little bow myself.

"Well, thank you a thousand times Mr. Dori, this chamomile will be highly appreciated."

The old dwarf smiled and then headed back to the kitchen. Gandalf grinned at me and gave me a wink, I shrugged and went back to sit in my chair, placing a cup in front of Ella.

I arrived just in time to see Fili returning from his round of mugs of beer... in rather unusual fashion because he found out to be quicker for him to jump on the table and walked through the victuals then to go around! He arrived at his place, jumped down from the table and took his seat next to me. He looked at me with a big smile, I raised an eyebrow, he shrugged and the two brothers laughed. We joined shortly after, making fun of my failed attempt at reprimand. One of the dwarves then shouted something and moved his mug in the center of the table joining everyone to do the same. Without understanding why, Ella and I brought forward our cup of tea timidly. After rattling our cups and mugs with a few dwarves, we brought back our cups near us and waited patiently thereafter. Then, without anybody mentioning it, dwarves all began to down their beer mugs. Beer pouring down their face some of them. Once they finished, they slammed down their heavy glass on the table, releasing some extremely noisy burping, the largest one, surprisingly, was let out by the smallest and youngest of the band, Ori I think. They all began to laugh and when they saw our faces frozen in astonishment, laughter double in intensity and were quickly joined by ours.

The dwarves then began to take care of various activities. Fili and Kili got up, apologizing to us and went out of the dining room to go doing whatever they got to, leaving us alone at the end of the table. Noticing that we were isolated, a dwarf with a funny hat beckoned us to join him. As we approached, I tried to remind the name of the dwarf. Bigur, Bogur? ... Bofur! Yes! I was almost sure now. We sat down with his little group of four dwarves, including himself, Dori, Gloin and another dwarf that I forgot the name, his hair styled in a strange way, forming a kind of star around his head. They were sitting in pairs facing each other on both side of the table. Bofur greeted us with a broad smile, a smile that was extremely contagious, because I found myself answering him in the same way.

"You looked a little bored all alone there, began the nice dwarf.

- Thank you for welcoming us into your small group, said Ella.

- Yes, thank you Master ... Bofur. Is that right?, I added.

- Aye! But only Bofur, if you please, I am far from "Sir" or "Master," he laughed. So tell me, what are two pretty young women like you doing the in nature?"

My friend and I looked at each other for sometimes before bursting into laughter. The dwarves really had a soft spot for pretty compliments once in a while. We calmed ourselves quickly; we didn't want to insult our interlocutor.

"It's a long story ... I answered.

- Let's say we have a taste for adventure ... Ella completed.

The dwarf seemed to be satisfied with our answer... for now. Then ensued a lively discussion among the small group that we observed with amusement, from time to time we asked a few questions that our new friends were happy to answer. However, I caught my mind wandering a few times; trying to assimilate what was also outside the conversation. I then noticed that Ori timidly approached Bilbo, the hobbit seemed so tense even more than before. The young dwarf asked politely Bilbo what he should do with his dishes. I smiled, thinking how cute it was, a maternal fiber vibrating inside me. Fili then approached and took the plate from Ori's hands and threw it out of my sight. I then saw it flying into the other room to end up in the hands of the dwarf with a piece of ax in his head. Stunned, I gave a slight nudge to my friend. Immediately, when she looked up, the first plate was followed by another, then another. It kept going to the disappointment of the poor little hobbit.

Bofur and his band began on their part to play music with their utensils, bumping against each other's; according to the pace set by their feet hitting the ground. I smiled, finally finding their company very entertaining. Bilbo on his side seemed more and more panicked.

"Can… can you not do that? You'll blunt them!, exclaimed the hobbit.

- Oh... did you hear that, lads? He says we'll blunt the knives, laughed Bofur in a voice that made me laugh as well."

Kili then began a song that followed the rhythm played by the other dwarves, Fili followed and then all the dwarves began to sing in unison. On our part, we stood there, completely fascinated and overwhelmed with amusement, leaning to let the dishes flew above our heads. We had even change places at some time; the shots brushing a little too close to our heads. The dwarves continued their little show, some even taking out instruments; Bofur began to play the flute accompanying the sturdy dwarf with tattoos who was now playing some kind of violin. Soon, there were no more dishes in the dining room. So, all crossed in the kitchen, taking us with them. We were prepared to see anything but what was in front of us at the moment. Before us, a stack of clean and undamaged dishes stood in perfect balance. They finished the song while Bilbo made his way through the dwarves, making the same discovery that completely stunned us. The dwarves then began to laugh of their achievement, but also at the face that the hobbit was doing. Even us, could not help but chuckling at the situation at hand. It was definitely an eventful evening.

Suddenly, powerful knocks were struck at the door. All went silent. The silence hung over the room and eyes turned towards the entrance.

"He's here..., said Gandalf, grimly."