Bella's Journey
Chapter Four.
Bella had awakened before dawn and had packed four packs that contained food and clothes. Dressing in a sturdy green light green woolen dress with a dark purple cape, she opened the bedroom doors to find all the dwarves gone from where she had left them. Searching her home she found everything cleaned and in order. Opening her front door, she found the dwarves waiting on sturdy ponies.
"Good you are ready. Come, we have a pony waiting for you as well." Motioning to a smaller pony that was a light brown with a white mane, Thorin stood waiting for her climb up.
Bella backed away and ran back into her home only return minutes later pulling her packs behind her. She could hear Thorin muttering loudly and she could not help but smile. "I just need to tie down my things and we can go."
"There is no need for all this, leave it behind", said Thorin.
"It is not that much and besides most of it is not for me", replied Bella as she tried to heave one bundle onto her pony.
Growling something that sounded like stubborn women Thorin motioned for four of his dwarves to each grab a pack before lifting Bella onto her pony. She let out a small squeak in surprise at the sudden move. He kept his hands around her waist while he waited for her to finishing arranging her skirts to her satisfaction. When she finally had gained enough courage to look him in the eye, again he spoke, "Bella from now on you must learn to do what I say and not argue with me. I already know you are going to trouble."
Bella took in his serious face and could not help the smile that spread across her face, "It's true I am going to be trouble."
Moving away from her Thorin swung up onto his black pony and did not miss the telling grins on each of his fellow dwarf's faces as he passed them on the way to his pony.
Bella watched as everything she knew passed by until she no longer recognized the landscape. She was third in line behind Balin and Thorin. Kili and Fili rode behind her and kept up a constant chatter for her to listen too. Gandalf rode last in line. At midday, they had begun to climb higher into the hills toward the still distant mountains. They stopped at a stream to rest and to allow her a chance of privacy behind a bush.
Bella noticed that both Kili and Fili seemed to keep a close eye on her and were never more than twenty feet away. She suspected that Thorin had given them orders to keep an eye on her. They only rested for a few moments before Thorin gave the order to continue on their journey once more. With shaky legs, she tried to climb back onto her pony but did not seem to have enough strength to swing her leg upward. Suddenly a strong pair of hands was around her waist and lifting her up onto her mount. She knew without looking it was Thorin.
"It will take some time but eventually you will get used to riding for longer periods of time", he told her.
"I am not even used to riding even a little", she replied as she gathered up her ponies reins.
"Truly? How did you travel?"
"Today is the first time I have travelled outside the shire. Father always went alone to the bigger towns when we needed something and he always walked."
Her answered surprised him because his eyebrows rose up.
"You have lived a very sheltered life."
"Yes, I guess compared to you I must seem very young and inexperienced."
Bella hung her head and let her wild curls hide her face while she fussed with her green skirt.
"You may have lived a quiet life but that is not something to be ashamed of."
Then without another word, he left her and walked over to his ride and swung up, minutes later they were moving forward once more.
When the sun began to sink down in the sky and the trail was longer visible, Thorin halted. They made camp at the edge of a small valley where a large set of boulders would provide shelter from the wind, and any surprise attack. The dwarves quickly set about making camp. A fire was roaring and the ponies where stripped of gear and picketed off to one side. Bella wanting to help as well and quickly opened one of her packs and began laying out food for everyone to eat. One by one, the dwarves dropped down beside her to eat. Gandalf walked away from the group going some distance away to lie down. Only Thorin did not join them by the fire, instead he stood off to the side keeping guard. Gathering up an apple, a small round of cheese and some sweet bread into one of the now empty bowls, Bella walked over to Thorin and passed it to him silently. He did not speak and neither did she.
Walking back to the fire, Bella found the food to be gone and that blankets being laid out for her to sleep on for the coming night. Pulling her purple hood up and wrapping her blanket around her shoulders Bella lay down close to the fire and tried to rest.
Later on in the night, a cold wind came and caused the ash from their dead fire to whirl into the air and Bella awoke feeling miserable with cold.
"What is that noise? "Asked Kili a little while later.
"It's me. I am so cold I cannot stop my teeth from chattering", answered Bella.
"Truly?" asked Fili.
Bella could tell he was trying not to laugh at her. "Yes, I am freezing? Are you not cold?"
"Dwarves rarely get cold, we are born deep under the ground", answered Thorin.
Bella looked up to find Thorin standing over her. When he removed her blanket that she had wrapped around herself, she said, "That really is not helping."
He grunted in reply before lying down next to her then rolling onto his side away from her, and then Dwalin came, laid on her other side, and did the same. Fili covered them up with her blanket.
She thought about telling them how inappropriate this was but the heat coming from them was too tempting. She began to feel her fingers and toes again shortly as the heat that came from them warmed her up. She would have thanked Thorin and Dwalin for their kindness but it seemed like they were already asleep. Moving a few inches closer to Thorin and his heat she closed her eyes and tried to get some much-wanted sleep. The loud snores of the dwarves a loud lullaby for her to drift off into sleep with.
