AN: Thank you so much to all of my readers/reviewers! You guys are seriously awesome! Here's the next chapter! Also, if there's anything you'd like to see different in this fic, if you have something in mind you'd like to see happen, leave a review and I'll see what I can do! Please review! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: The only thing I own here is my OC Grace Harper.
Chapter 3 Conkers
"He is here," Gandalf said seriously.
Grace's heart leapt in her throat. She was about to meet the very, the one and only, Thorin Oakenshield!
When Gandalf opened the round door she was taken aback for a moment by how handsome Thorin was. She hadn't exactly pictured that when she read the book. His eyes stood out to her the most, particularly the way he looked when Gandalf opened the door.
She stayed hidden in the back behind the others, still unnoticed by the dwarves. She was starting to wonder if perhaps Gandalf had snuck some magic and made her invisible to the others without her knowing.
But Bilbo noticed her? Of course that was only after she introduced herself.
She furrowed her brows and looked at Gandalf.
When he saw the inquisitive look on her face, the smile he wore from Thorin's arrival changed to a cheeky smirk accompanied by a knowing twinkle in his ancient eyes.
He had definitely done something!
She looked to Thorin again as he took in the Hobbit before him.
"So," Thorin began, "this is the Hobbit. Tell me Mr. Baggins have you done much fighting?"
"Pardon me?"
"Ax or sword? What's your weapon of choice?"
"Well, I do have some skill at conkers if you must know. But I fail to see why that's relevant."
Grace smiled at Bilbo's words and the faces he made as he said them.
Thorin crossed his arms as he regarded the Hobbit. "Thought as much. He looks more like a grocer than a burglar."
At that Thorin lost interest in the Hobbit as the others chuckled at his remark. Gandalf looked to Grace out of the corner of his eye, noting the disapproving look she was giving Thorin. He chuckled to himself. He had a feeling Grace and Thorin would most definitely rub each other the wrong way although he was quite pleased with how protective she already seemed to be of Mr. Baggins.
Grace knew it took Thorin a while to warm up to the Hobbit from the book, but she still didn't like the way he'd spoken to him, or the tone he used. If only Thorin knew how important Mr. Baggins would be to their journey.
As all the dwarves and Gandalf took seats around the now amazingly clean table, Bilbo being the gentleman, took a stool to her to sit on. She thanked him before he got his own stool and sat down on it next to her.
She really couldn't believe she was sitting next to Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf the Grey as well as with the beloved characters she grew up with.
She sat up straight, listening intently to the conversation.
She sat up straighter when she remembered Bilbo falling to his knees and yelling out "struck by lightning, struck by lightning!" before passing out in the book.
She watched him carefully as he read the contract.
When he passed out, no "struck by lightning!" leaving his lips whatsoever, she jumped up from her stool.
"Bilbo!" She kneeled on the floor beside him.
The dwarves gasped behind her.
"Who's that?" she heard Bofur say.
She looked back to glare at him. It was his fault the poor thing had passed out with his words about dragons melting the flesh right off his bones.
She got up and went to one of the washrooms, getting a rag and running it under cold water. She could hear the murmurs of the others as she squeezed the excess water out and folded the rag into a rectangle.
The room went silent as she came back, kneeling down next to Bilbo again. She gently pressed the cloth to his clammy forehead and looked over her shoulder to see all of the dwarves staring at her. Balin, she noted, had a gentle smile on his face at her concern for Bilbo.
"Who are you?" Bofur asked as she returned her attention back to Bilbo, continuing to pat his face with the cool rag.
"Who am I!? Look at what you've done to poor Bilbo! You should be ashamed of yourself!" she scolded.
Bofur retreated a bit, her scolding making him feel a bit like a child.
"If you want Mr. Baggins to join you on your journey do you really think scaring him is the way to go about it?" She asked sternly.
Gandalf couldn't help but chuckle.
"Answer the question," Thorin said, his voice dripping with officiousness.
She couldn't speak for a moment, held in place by Thorin's steely gaze. She flushed and looked away.
"I'll answer your question when Mr. Baggins is conscious," she said, leaving no room for an argument by the tone in her voice.
There was a moan coming from Bilbo.
"Bilbo?"
He opened his eyes. "Oh. Hello there," he said, sitting up.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
"Yes, yes I'll be fine, after a cup of tea of course.