CHAPTER 3

A MATTER OF LOYALTY

DISCLAIMER- I DO NOT OWN THE HOBBIT OR ANYTHING ASSOCIATED WITH IT, ALL RIGHTS GO TO PETER JACKSON, NEW LINE CINEMA, WARNER BROS, TOLKIEN, YOU GET THE PICTURE. I ONLY OWN MY OC'S.

Marley's POV

We all gathered in the hallway, silent, as Gandalf let Thorin inside. He was all clad in mail and armor and wore a fur vest. He had long , dark hair with braids here and there, and of course, a signature, unique beard like all the dwarves did. His face showed no sign of happiness, but a lot of stress and sorrow. There was also a bit of anger, betrayed by his piercing, flashing, blue eyes.

This isn't someone I want to meet. I thought.

"Gandalf," he began as he stepped in through the door, "I thought you said this place would be easy to find? I lost my way, twice. wouldn't have found it at all if it weren't for that mark on the door." he commented.

Is that really necessary? I thought.

"Mark?" Bilbo said, "There's no mark on that door, it was painted a week ago!"

Gandalf looked down at the little hobbit, "There is a mark, I put it there myself." before Bilbo could reply the wizard said, "Bilbo Baggins, allow me to introduce the leader of our Company, Thorin Oakenshield."

Bilbo walk toward the tall dwarf, who looked down at him, seeming unimpressed, "So this is the hobbit?" he began to circle him, "Tell me, Mister Baggins have you done much fighting?"

"Pardon me?"

"Axe or sword, what's your weapon of choice?"

"Well, I do have some skill at Conkers, if you must know, but I don't see why that's...relevant."

"Thought as much," replied Thorin, "He looks more like a grocer than a burglar." he sneered. The dwarves laughed. Then Thorin turned his blue gaze/glare, whatever you wanna call it, toward us. "Who are they? You spoke only of one other person...not five."

"They came sort of, unexpectedly, though I do believe they have a great deal of potential, and will be a smart edition to the Company."

He studied us all, his blue gaze burning through me like fire. "They are nothing but children to my eyes." he said.

Then Sam stepped forward, "Children?" she echoed, "Begging your pardon, sir, but i believe the correct term is teenagers...teenagers...and we do too have potential!"

"I never said you didn't have potential," he retorted, "In fact I didn't say anything to that effect, all I said was, 'you are not but children to my eyes'."

"The correct term is teenagers."

"Fine, teenagers, happy?" he snipped.

"Thank you sir." my sister replied, crossing her arms and tossing her hair, a smug grin on her face.

"Now," said Thorin, "since the four of you seem to be so adamant on proving yourselves, tell me, what are your weapons of choice?"

"Axe." Sam said.

"Sword." Millie said.

"Bow." Lizzie said.

"My-" I began.

"MARLEY!" the girls yelled in unsion.

"Uggh, fine...I like scythes, particularly double-sided scythes."

"Have any of you ever handled any of these weapons?"

"No," Sam began, "But how hard can handling an axe be? All you do is swing the thing and decapitate enemies."

"I've practice hand-to-hand combat, but i've never used a real sword before." Millie confessed.

Millie practices combat?

"I have a bow, I practice when i'm bored, which is actually quite a lot." Elizabeth answered.

Hmmph, show off. Then, Thorin turned to me, his gaze, once again, penetrating my soul. "and what about you? Have you ever handled a scythe before?"

"No." I replied briskly, "Why would I handle a medieval weapon in the twenty-first century?"

Thorin simply nodded, with not even the slightest look of admiration. So what? Like I care.

"Very well." he said. Then he turned, and with his fellow dwarves, headed into the dining room, leaving Gandalf, Bilbo, the girls and I, awkwardly standing around in silence.

"We should...follow them...I guess." Millie suggested shyly.

"You probably wanna get all up in their group don't you?" I replied.

"Shut up! You know right well that isn't true!" she replied.

Samantha slapped me in the shoulder, "Shut up, that's your thinking I bet, Millie's not a perve like that."

"D**n you Samantha!" I replied, "Why do you always have to figure out my inside jokes!?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe it's because i'm your twin sister and I have been living with you since we were born."

"That is enough you two." Gandalf intervened, "I believe Millie has the right thinking, let us go join them now." No one argued, but I did give Sam a shove, which she quickly returned, just about knocking me over.

"Enough you two." Gandalf quickly said.

I swear that wizard is stalking us. I thought.

Samantha's POV

"Uggh, shut up already." I muttered, slapping my hands over my ears, the dwarves were once again being loud and boisterous. I looked around, Marley was slumped in his seat looking irritated, Elizabeth had joined in with the dwarves and Millie had her head down on the table.

Suddenly, Thorin stood up, "SHAZARA!" (silence) he yelled in Khazadul. At once, everyone fell silent and sat back down, "If we have read these signs do you not think others will have read them too? Rumors have begun to spread. The Dragon Smaug has not been seen for sixty years. Eyes look East to the Mountain, assessing, wandering, weighing the risk. Perhaps the vast wealth of our people lies unprotected. Do we sit back and let others claim what is rightfully ours? Or do we seize this chance to take back Erebor!? Du bekar, du bekar! (to arms, to arms)"

Everyone cheered, Millie's and Lizzie's shrieking "Whooooo!" the loudest above all.

"You forget that the front gate is sealed?" Balin asked over everyone, "There is no way into the mountain." Everyone fell silent.

"That my dear Balin, is not entirely true." Gandalf answered. The wizard's eyes sparkled mischievously under his bushy eyebrows as he took a key from his robes, turned it over twice in his hand and showed it to everyone.

Thorin stared at the key in awe, "How can you be by this?" he asked.

"It was given to me by your father, by Thrain, for safe-keeping. It is yours now." the wizard handed the dwarf the key, he took it and studied it.

"If there is a key," began Fili, "There must be a door."

Gandalf pointed at the map, "The runes speak of a hidden passage to the lower halls."

"There's another way in." Kili said.

Really? I didn't know that. I thought with utter sarcasm.

"Well, if we can find it, but Dwarf doors are invisible when closed. The answer lies hidden somewhere in this map and I do not have the skill to find it. But there are others in Middle Earth who can. The task I have in mind will require a great deal of stealth, and no small amount of courage. But, if we are careful and clever, I believe it can be done." Gandalf said.

"That's why we need a burglar." Ori pointed out.

"Hm, a good one too. An expert i'd imagine." Bilbo put in.

"And are you?" asked Oin.

"Am I what?"

"He says he's an expert!" the grey-haired dwarf said, "Hey! Hey!" Several of the dwarves laughed and I couldn't help but muster a small grin.

"M-Me..no, no, no, no, no. I'm not a burglar; I've never stolen a thing in my life." Bilbo argued.

"i'm afraid I have to agree with Mr. Baggins. He's hardly burglar material." Bilbo nodded.

"Aye, the wild is no place for gentlefolk who can neither fight nor fend for themselves." Dwalin added. Bilbo nodded again as the dwarves began to argue...again.

Suddenly, Gandalf rose to his full height, angry, darkness spread across the room and he boomed, "Enough! If I say Bilbo Baggins is a burglar, than a burglar he is." Gandalf calmed down and went back to his normal self. "Hobbits are remarkably light on their feet. In fact, they can pass unseen by most if they choose. And while the dragon is accustomed to the smell of dwarf, the smell of hobbit is all but unknown to him, which gives us a distinct advantage. You asked me to find the fourteenth member of this Company, and I have chosen Mr. Baggins. There's a lot more to him than appearances suggest, and he's got a great deal more to offer than any of you know, including himself, that goes for the four of them of too," he turned his gaze to us and nodded, "You must trust me on this."

"Very well," said Thorin, "We'll do it your way. Give him the contract." Bilbo protested, but soon found himself with the contract in his hands. He walked a few away and began to read, some of which he read out loud. I couldn't really understand him until he looked up at the dwarves, "Incineration?"

"oh, aye, he'll melt the flesh off your bones in the blink of an eye." Bofur said.

Bilbo looked a little breathless. He bent over, seeming nauseous and pained.

"You alright laddie?" Balin asked.

"Um..yeah, feel a bit..faint."

He didn't look okay.

"Think furnace with wings." Bofur said.

He breathed heavily as we all stared at him.

"Flash of light, searing oain, then, poof! You're nothing but a pile of ash."

"Nope." the little hobbit fainted.

"Ahh, very helpful, Bofur." Gandalf said. I couldn't help but grin at Gandalf's sarcasm.

Lizzie's POV

We made our way into the main room where Marley was sitting on the floor in front of the hearth. "Bilbo okay?" he asked.

"He's fine." Sam said, "He was arguing with Gandalf when we came in."

"We felt awkward so we left." I said simply.

"Sounds like you." Marley commented.

"Thanks." I replied sarcastically. Then, I looked around, "Hey, where's Mill?"

"I don't know," Sam answered, "She was just here a minute ago."

"Knowing her, she's probably trying to get King Negative's attention." Marley put in with smart-aleck tone.

"Stop it," I snipped, "Millie's probably with the others, and also that isn't nice to call him that, no matter how much of jerk he seems to be. He's got a lot on his mind, you have to understand."

"Why would I even care?" he retorted, "this situation is probably just a dream anyway."

"Since when do you have dreams Mar-butt?" Sam inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"What, you think all these mishaps are real?" he replied, rolling his eyes. Sam pinched his arm, hard.

"Ow!" he yelped.

"Not a dream." She said.

Marley was silent, he just glowered at her through his brown irises. Samantha had won this one. (Normally she always did).

i rolled my eyes lightheartedly and a huge smiled curved across my lips, "You two are so ridiculous." I grinned to myself and leaned against the warm hearth,closing my eyes and enjoying the warmth. I heard boots across the floor and opened my eyes, Fili and Kili were standing over me.

"Hey boys." I said.

They smiled and Kili turned a little pink, and I silently hoped that I wasn't. "Do you want to come watch Gloin and Bofur face off in Chess with us?"

"Umm," I sustained the word as I failed to make eye-contact with them, trying to remember which dwarves they were, I finally gave up and said, "Sure."

"Alright." Kili replied happily. The brothers helped me up and led me toward the others.

Millie's POV

I about ran into Bilbo as I made my way through Bag End in search of Oakenshield. As nervous as I was, I needed to tell him something. I had managed to convince my friends to come with me and become [art of the Comnpany, well, it hadn't been hard with Sam and Lizzie. They'd both agreed...but with Marley it was a bit harder, and he still didn't exactly agree... he was forced in a way. "It's either you come with us and we get home sooner, or you can live in Bag-End for the rest of your life." Sam had said. I smiled to myself, that girl sure knew how to handle her pain-in-the-butt brother.

I found Thorin in the hallway speaking with Balin. I waited for them to finish speaking before I appeared in front of them, they both turned and looked at me. I almost turned away when Thorin's eyes pierced me like an arrow. Gosh, he sure was pleasant to look at...he was cuter in person. "Umm...Th-Thorin, I just wanted you to know that...my friends and I...we're going to stand by your side...all the way to the end. We may not be very useful with weapons now...but we are pretty clever I think...we'll learn fast." I shot him a small smile. He remained silent and did not return the expression, though he looked less troubled now...I could see it in his eyes, and Balin said,

"I know you will." I widened my smile a little before dipping my head, "I take my leave." I turned and went back into the main room, feeling a little bummed that Thorin hadn't communicated at all, but all that changed when I saw Ori. He was quietly reading in a chair in the corner of the room. He looked a little forlorn...and lonely, so I approached him, "Mind if I sit down?"

He looked up from his book to me, giving me a little smile, "Go ahead."

"Thanks." I said. I returned his expression and sat down on the floor beside the chair.

The fire light cast a dim glow across the room. Its flickering flames cast an eerie shadow upon all of our faces. The room was silent, save for the quiet, eerie humming of the dwarves.

THORIN:

Far over, the Misty Mountains Cold.

to dungeons deep, and caverns old.

THORIN AND BALIN:

We must away, ere break of day,

To find our long forgotten gold.

ALL DWARVES:

The pines were roaring,

O-o-o-on the height.

The winds were moaning,

in the night.

the fire was read.

it flaming spread.

the trees like torches, blazed with light.