Nellas remained sitting as instructed by Gandalf "whom she had known as Olorin back in Valinor before he departed to middle earth, when she had just left the halls of mandos after 2 ages".

"Thorin does not trust the elves" she remembered him saying a month ago, not long after she and her companions had returned to middle earth. He didn't explain Thorin's reasons but told her and her companions that if they were to succeed on their mission, they needed to earn the dwarf's trust little by little.

"An Elf?" she heard an angry voice, apparently he had just been informed of her presence, she felt a hand on her shoulder and saw Kili smiling at her

"Don't worry" he said "Uncle Thorin is a good and noble person"

After a while Gandalf entered the living room followed by Bilbo, Balin, Dwalin and then Thorin.

"Eru!" Nellas thought, her eyes wide and her hands gripping the chair with strength, for a moment she thought she was back in the woods of Doriath.

His face, the way he stared at her, even his demeanor, which could pass as arrogant but in reality hid a deep sadness and a troubled mind "as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders". She knew all too well that expression as she had seen it long ago when she watched over a young human boy.

After his initial angry reaction, Thorin had decided to simply ignore the elf. It was bad enough that the wizard had insisted that a Halfling was necessary on their quest as the "burglar", but this last condition of the wizard was humiliating. However he knew he had no choice but to accept as Gandalf's help was of great importance.

He followed the other into a big room where a table filled with food was set, and then saw her sitting on a chair watching him.

He sat and tried to eat calmly but it was hard to concentrate as he could feel her eyes on him, the intensity of her gaze was really annoying.

His thought were interrupted when Balin asked him

"What news from the meeting in Ered Luin? Did they all come?"

Nellas listened to the conversation in silence, as Gandalf didn't explain in detail the quest or who were those involved.

"Aye. Envoys from all seven kingdoms." Thorin answered to which the other dwarves began to murmur among themselves.

Dwalin asked "What do the dwarves of the Iron Hills say? Is Dain with us?"

Thorin sighed deeply, as if unsure of how to deliver the news

"They will not come." He finally answered and watched his companions with sadness

"They say this quest is ours, and ours alone."

Bilbo, who so far was clueless about the whole situation, finally began to understand the reasons of this gathering of dwarves. He still wondered why his home.

Gandalf spread a map out and began toread

"Far to the East, over ranges and rivers, beyond woodlands and wastelands, lies a single solitary peak….the lonely mountain"

Gloin added

"Aye, Oin has read the portents, and the portents say: it is time" then noded his brother to continue

"Ravens have been seen flying back to the mountain as it was foretold. When the birds of the old return to Erebor, the reign of the beast will end"

Bilbo, who now looked a little worried, asked what was also on Nellas mind

"Uh...what beast?"

Bifor, who was smoking his pipe, answered calmly

"Well that would be a reference to Smaug the terrible, chiefest and greatest
calamity of our age. Airborne fire breather, teeth like razors, claws like meat hooks, extremely fond of precious metals."

Nellas put a hand on his shoulder when she noticed his face had gone a little pale

"Yes, I know what a dragon is." Bilbo added a little nervous

Ori rose bravely from his chair and exclaimed with enthusiasm

"I'm not afraid, I'm up for it. I'll give him a taste of the dwarfish iron right up his jacksy!"

Most of the others cheered him and Nellas smiled at him, making Ori blush a little while his brother Dori was telling him to shut up and dragged him down to his chair

Balin had a grim expression on his face, knowing that most of them didn't know how serious and dangerous the task was going to be

"The task would be difficult enough with an army behind us, but we number just thirteen"

He took a deep sigh and continued

"And not thirteen of the best, nor brightest"

At his last words, most of the dwarves began to protest; Fili was the first to express his opinion

"We may be few in number. But we're fighters, all of us! To the last dwarf!"

"And you forget we have a wizard in our company, Gandalf will have killed hundreds of dragons in his time." Kili added while smiling, and then he stared at Gandalf looking for confirmation to his words, but Gandalf seemed unsure on what to say as all those present stared at him

"Oh, well. No, uh, I...I wouldn't say..."

Dori pressed him "How many, then?"

"What?" Gandalf asked

Dori seemed impatient and asked again

Well, how many dragons have you killed? Go on, give us a number!

Gandalf seemed very uncomfortable by the question while the dwarves started talking all together again, getting impatient while Bilbo was trying to calm them down with no effort

Suddenly Thorin stood up and shouted with a tone of voice that left no room for arguing

"Enough!"

All of them obeyed their leader and sat quietly

"If we have read these signs, do you not think others will have read them too?"

He said and looked at each dwarf present, as if trying to make them understand the seriousness of the situation

"Rumors have begun to spread. The dragon Smaug has not been seen for sixty years. Eyes look east to the mountain, assessing, wondering, weighing the risk. Perhaps the vast wealth of our people now lies unprotected"

He raised his fist and added with enthusiasm

"Do we sit back while others claim what is rightfully ours? Or do we seize this chance to take back Erebor?"

The other Dwarves began to cheer him as he shouted something in Khuzdul

Balin, who still had a grim expression, said

"You forget the front gate is sealed. There is no way into the mountain"

His words seemed to hit heavily on Thorin, but at that moment Gandalf showed a key and said

"That, my dear Balin, is not entirely true"

Shock evident on his face, Thorin asked. His eyes fixed on the key

"How came you by this?"

"It was given to me by your father by Thrain, for safekeeping. It is yours now.

As he gave the key to Thorin, Fili said

"If there is a key, there must be a door."

All the dwarves murmured in agreement while Gandalf pointed to the map

These runes speak of a hidden passage to the lower halls"

Kili grinned widely

"There's another way in!"

Gandalf chuckled

"Well, if we can find it, but dwarf doors are invisible when closed"

His tone grew more serious as he continued while looking even closer to the map

"The answer lies hidden somewhere in this map, and I do not have the skill to find it"

He took a pause, as if knowing his next words were not going to be pleasant to a certain dwarf. He stared directly at Thorin and added

"But there are others in Middle-Earth who can."

Thorin said nothing but the expression on his face had grown somber and Nellas noticed that he looked briefly at her.

Gandalf continued

"The task I have in mind will require a great deal of stealth, and no small amount of courage. But if we're careful and clever, I believe that it can be done."

Ori said while looking at Bilbo

"That's why we need a burglar."

Unaware of where the conversation was heading Bilbo added

"Hmm. And a good one too. An expert, I'd imagine"

He was taken by surprise when Gloin asked him

"And are you?"

Bilbo was truly confused now

""Am I what?"

Nellas couldn't help but grin a little at how comical this situation seemed. In Doriath she preferred the woods over the halls of Menengroth, and she rarely went there or any elvish town. In valinor, when she was given a body again, she continued with her ways of staying mostly in the woods.

In the few times she had been at meetings of her people she always felt uncomfortable. She found this meeting much more relaxed to what she was accustomed among her people. Their manners may have seemed rude to others but she found refreshing the way they spoke and acted. No masks, not trying to impress others, no hidden meanings behind every line spoken

She watched silently as the conversation centered on the "burglar" matter.

Thorin finally came to a decision; he turned to Balin and said, despite Bilbo's protest

"Give him the contract."

Balin rose to his feet, holding the contrac, and approached Bilbo

"It's just the usual summary about the pocket expenses"

he explained as he handed the contract to Bilbo " Time required, remuneration, funeral arrangements, so forth."

"Funeral arrangements?" Bilbo repeated with a weak voice as he began to unfold the contract and read it

"Total's cash on delivery, up to but not exceeding, one fourteenth of total profit if any"

He thought it wasn't as bad as it first appeared said to himself "seems fair" and continued reading

"Uh...'The present company shall not be liable for injuries inflicted by or sustained as a consequence thereof, including, but not limited to..."

His face turned pale again and he rasised his gaze to look at the dwarves

"evisceration … incineration?"

Nellas watched Bilbo with sympathy as Bofur gave him a very "graphic" explanation of what a dragon could do.

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

At one moment Bilbo said

"I...I...I need air."

But Bofur didn't help as he continued with his explanation

"Flash of light, searing pain, then puff! You're nothing more than a pile of ash!"

"Hmmm." Bilbo didn't give much of a thought; he looked back at the dwarves and simply said

"No"

Then he fainted

Moments later, when he regained consciousness, Bilbo spoke with Gandalf and despite the wizard words, Bilbo finally made the decision.

"Sorry, Gandalf, I can't sign this. You've got the wrong hobbit"

Nellas watched with a little disappointment as the Hobbit stood up and walked away, but she couldn't blame him for his decision.

Balin and Thorin were in a darkened corner thinking no one was listening to them, but they didn't know how good elves sense were

"It appears we have lost our burglar" Balin said unsurprised

"Probably for the best." He stared at thorin sadly

"The odds were always against us. After all, what are we? Merchants, minors, tinkers, toy makers. Hardly the stuff of legend"

Thorin tried to raise his mood, making him remember the old days

"There are a few warriors amongst us"

Balin answered "Old warriors"

With a solemn expression, Thorin approached his friend and added

"I would take each and every one of these dwarves over an army from the Iron Hills"

He took a deep breath and continued

"For when I called upon them, they answered. Loyalty, honor, a willing heart. I can ask no more than that"

After listening to those words, Nellas opinon of Thorin improved greatly. She listened with growing interest the rest of the conversation

"You don't have to do this. You have a choice. You've done honorably by our people. Yоu hаvе buіlt а nеw lіfе fоr uѕ іn thе Βluе Μоuntаіnѕ. A life of peace and plenty. A life that is worth more than all the gold in Erebor"

Somehow Nellas knew what was going to be Thorin's answer and stared sadly at him

"From my grandfather to my father, this has come to me. They dreamt of the day when the dwarves of Erebor would reclaim their homeland. There is no choice, Balin. Not for me"

"Then we are with you, laddie" Balin said reassuringly "We will see it done"

As the dwarves began gathering in the living room, she took the opportunity to leave Bilbo's home and inform her companions of what she has learned