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I am not sure if I said this already, but the chapter titles come from the song Siren Song by Bat for Lashes.
Pearl sat on Bilbo's bed listening to heavy footfalls down the hall, wondering who had just come; remembering Bilbo's panicked face as he shooed her into hiding. She sat quietly, hardly breathing as she strained her ears to listen though she could only hear a muffled murmuring. Another bell chime tinkled through the hobbit-hole, Pearl now knowing that was the door and she wondered how many hobbits were coming to see Bilbo. Another chime sounded followed by Bilbo raising his voice though she did not know what he had said.
"There's nobody home," she heard Bilbo yell after the door chimed again. "Go away and bother somebody else." She heard a few crashes and thumps and booms, and then a commotion of voices as the door opened again. She sat for a long while, hearing many voices and laughter and booms and thunks and thumps as well as many footsteps as they went to the room where she had taken her bath, waiting patiently for Bilbo to come get her though she did not want to see who was making all the noise.
"It's over a hundred years old," she heard Bilbo yell unhappily. She heard more thunks, followed by many voices and it took her awhile before she realized what they were doing; singing. She sat listening to their voices when they grew loud enough to hear, not entirely pleasant, smiling at the words. She heard what she knew to be a flute as well as other things she did not know, and all the while she heard Bilbo's muffled yelling.
that's what Bilbo Baggins hates!
She heard the sound of laughter though she paid little mind to it, as well as the loud pounding, her eye caught by strange pictures on a page.
"Bilbo Baggins," Gandalf said after the last visitor had entered, "allow me to introduce you to the leader of our Company, Thorin Oakenshield."
The dwarf who had just entered was taller than the others, more intimidating than the others as well as he stared down at Bilbo. "So," he said appraising Bilbo, "this is the hobbit. Tell me Mr Baggins have you done much fighting?" Thorin asked as he walked around Bilbo, sizing the small hobbit.
"Pardon me?" Bilbo asked not understanding why that was important.
"Ax or sword? What is your weapon of choice?"
"Well I do have skill with conkers if you must know," Bilbo said making his voice deeper to make him sound stronger. "But I fail to see why that's relevant."
"Thought as much," Thorin said disapprovingly. "He looks more like a grocer than a burglar."
Many chuckled at that, though not Bilbo, he was confused by why he should have looked like a burglar. Bilbo looked to Gandalf, seeing the wizard with his head tilted to the side and a queer look on his face. "Bilbo Baggins there is someone else here," Gandalf said a little harshly, surprising the hobbit.
"No there isn't," Bilbo said quickly shaking his head. He had let the dwarves come, let them raid his pantry and ruin the plumbing, but he would not let them near Pearl.
"Was that a lie?" Gandalf said staring hard at him, making Bilbo shrink under his gaze. The dwarves had all silenced at the wizard's first words of there being someone else, and they all looked at Bilbo as well.
"Yes," Bilbo said softly not looking at Gandalf.
"Perhaps you should go get her," the wizard said, Bilbo not catching that the wizard knew it was a woman.
"Did he say she?" Kili asked as Bilbo walked towards his room, very much not wanting to let them see Pearl.
He found her sitting on his bed staring at a page he had written on, her brows furrowed as she looked at the words. "Are they gone?" she asked.
"No, they wish to meet you," Bilbo admitted regretfully, wishing he were brave so that he might have refused. "Don't say anything about what you are," he warned before going back to where the others were. He watched their eyes widen when they saw Pearl, knowing they found her especially pleasing to the eye. "This is Pearl," he said reluctantly, looking back to see she was staring at the dwarves in awe.
"A fitting name," Fili said raking his eyes over her figure.
"You did not say you had a wife," Balin said looking at the two, Pearl just slightly taller than Bilbo, standing close to his back.
Bilbo looked at the weathered dwarf in confusion before realizing he may keep Pearl out of this yet. "Yes, as you can see she is too lovely for just anyone's eyes. Especially those who have come unannounced and uninvited," he said hinting greatly at that he did not want them there.
"She does not have feet like yours," Ori noted, seeing her small hairless feet.
"She shaves them," Bilbo said quickly, growing rather uncomfortable from all the lies. "I am sure you are hungry," Bilbo said looking to Thorin who was staring hard at Pearl. The dwarf nodded before going to the table and sat at the head of it waiting to be served.
"Would you like anything?" Bilbo asked Pearl quietly as they followed behind the others.
"Are they hobbits too?" she whispered and Bilbo's eyes widened.
"No," he said trying to hush her, having caught the attention of Dwalin, "they are dwarves."
"What is that?" she asked curiously, obviously having never seen a dwarf.
"Shh." He looked back at her, immediately feeling guilty upon seeing her reprimanded face, and he gave her a small smile. Pearl continued to stand behind Bilbo, who stood in the doorway to the dining room behind the chair Thorin sat in, watching as the dwarves spoke.
"You have the smallest feet on a grown woman I've ever seen," Bofur said looking at Pearl's feet, having noticed them when Ori mentioned them.
Pearl lifted the skirts of her dress a bit to see them. "Thank you," she said smiling at Bofur, "I've never had feet before."
"I will get you something in the kitchen," Bilbo nearly yelled pushing her out of the dwarves' sight.
"What did she say?" Oin asked having not heard. All of the dwarves stared after Pearl in confusion, thinking for her all her beauty she may be slow.
"You can't say things like that," he whispered harshly knowing the wizard would more likely guess what she was before the dwarves.
"Well I haven't," Pearl said not understanding what she had done wrong.
Bilbo sighed, trying not to yell at her. "Do not say anything that could relate to what you are," he said mouthing the last three words. He waited for her to nod before moving back to where he had stood before.
"the reign of the beast will end," Oin said catching Bilbo's attention with a jolt.
"Um, what beast?" Bilbo asked feeling panic rise in his belly.
"That would be a reference to Smaug the terrible," Bofur said, "chiefest and greatest calamity of our age." A silence settled over everyone at his words. "Air-borne firebreather. Teeth like razors, claws like meathooks. Extremely fond of precious metals.
"Yes, I know what a dragon is," Bilbo said put out by Bofur's assuming he did not.
"I've seen dragons before," Pearl said quietly to Bilbo, "I don't like them."
"Shh," he said hushing her before the others heard.
"I'm not afraid," Ori said jumping out of his seat. "I'm up for it. I'll give him a taste of dwarfish iron right up his jacksie," the young dwarf said trying to look brave.
"Sit down," Dori said pulling his brother back to his chair and many of the others grumbled their disagreements.
"The task would be difficult enough with an army behind us but we numbered just thirteen," Balin said, one of the few to have sense. "Not thirteen of the best nor brightest."
At that the dwarves began grumbling once more, offended at being called stupid. "We may be few in number," Fili said calling their attention to him, "but we are fighters. All of us, to the last dwarf."
"And you forget we have a wizard in our Company, Gandalf would have killed hundreds of dragons in his time," Kili said, not one to be left out.
"Well I," Gandalf said.
"How many then?" Dori asked. "How many dragon's have you killed?"
Suddenly the whole company exploded again, talking over one another and banging fists on the table.
"Enough!" Thorin roared as he rose to his feet.
Pearl stood behind Bilbo, not listening to all Thorin was saying as his voice roared in her eyes; not used to such loud noises, almost cringing at the loud yells from the dwarves.
"You forget the front gate is sealed," Balin said raising his voice over the others. "There is no way inside the mountain."
The other dwarves seemed to deflate at these words, exchanging hopeless looks and muttering solemnly to one another.
"That, my dear Balin, is not entirely true," Gandalf said.
Pearl continued to stand behind Bilbo, Thorin's voice still ringing in her ears. When she turned to the graying old man she saw he was holding a key.
"How came you by this?" Thorin asked in awe.
"It was given to me by your father, Thrain, for safe keeping. And now I pass it on to you," Gandalf said.
Thorin gave the wizard a look of wonder and curiosity, obviously wishing to hear more about how the key had come into his possession. But he withheld his questions and tucked the key into his pocket.
"If there's a key then there must be a door," Fili said.
"There's another way in," Kili said realizing what it meant.
"But Dwarf doors are invisible when sealed!" Another piped in.
"Yes," Gandalf interjected. "This is why the task we are required to do involves a great deal of stealth and no small amount of courage. But if we are careful and clever, I believe it can be done."
"That's why we need a burglar!"
"And a good one too. An expert I would imagine," Bilbo said and Pearl's brows furrowed at him; her having realized the burglar in question was him.
"And are you?" Bofur asked clearly thinking Bilbo was talking about himself.
"Am I what?" Bilbo asked not understanding.
"He said he's an expert!" Oin said laughing.
"Me? No, I'm not a burglar. I've never stolen a thing in my life," Bilbo stuttered.
"I must agree with Mr Baggins, he's hardly burglar material." Balin mused.
"Aye, the wild is no place for gentle folk who can neither fight nor fend for themselves," Dwalin said in agreement.
"If I say he is a burglar, than a burglar he shall be!" Gandalf said coming to stand, seeming to steal all light from the room. The light returned to the room and silence settled over them all. "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 small of dwarf the scent of hobbit is all but unknown to him which gives us a distinct advantage."
Bilbo opened his mouth to refuse, having no thoughts of joining the quest with all the talk of the dragon.
"You did not tell me he was a wizard," Pearl said from behind Bilbo. He turned to her, his heart racing at the thought of such danger, seeing her wide eyes. He did not understand what had frightened her so, too afraid himself to do anything more than turn back to the others. But Pearl knew very well why Gandalf's being a wizard was bad, at least on Bilbo's word that no one should know what she was; for Gandalf, being a wizard, had known she was a mermaid the moment he laid eyes on her.