We are back with more from this story. I am so glad all of you are enjoying this story. I hope to get another chapter up by the end of this week as well so be looking out for that. Enjoy!
Chapter Seven- Trust Fall
Adaira's POV
I watched Thorin as we cleaned the kitchen, unsure how I should feel exactly. He was kin and looked so much like how my father had described him to look. The dawning realization for all of us was difficult, but…I wasn't alone anymore so maybe this was meant to be. I started for a moment though as I ran through my father's stories in my head. Moria…Azog…Thorin. Thorin was King. Adad told me that much. If he was King… that meant that…that we were some kind of royalty.
"Um…idad?" I asked Thorin whose shirt was pushed up to his elbows, his hands buried in the tepid water.
"Yes, mizimith?" Thorin asked me as he handed me a bowl, the last of them and I dried it, keeping my eyes down.
"Are you…are you a king?" I asked him with a sideways look, unsure if I really wanted to know the answer. It would explain much, but it just seemed so farfetched. I looked up at him finally and Thorin sighed heavily.
"I had wished to have that conversation with you at a later point and time, but yes. I am the King of Durin's line. Fili and Kili…and now you, are my heirs. Balin is my advisor. I have to discuss some matters with him, but you are a Princess," Thorin informed me, putting a strong hand on my shoulder and squeezing it lightly. "It is the role you must play. Many will look to you. Listen to them and help them. Do what is right even if it seems unjust," Thorin told me and I nodded. He reached up and lightly touched the beads hanging from my braid. "These beads tell who you are. Don't lose sight of yourself," Thorin finished and I smiled slightly at him.
"Who could forget?" I asked him and he chuckled slightly. "I saved some food for you, idad. It may have gotten a bit cold now though," I said with a sigh as I picked up the plate of meat, bread, and vegetables and the rest of the meat pie and my plate of fish from earlier. I also had a warm bowl of soup I had made of this and that.
"Thank you, mizimith," Thorin told me as he helped me carry the food into the adjoining room where the Dwarves were talking and drinking.
The room fell into silence as we entered and Thorin nodded his head at them. They rejoined their conversations as Thorin sat at the head of the table. Balin smiled at me knowingly as Dwalin set a full tankard of ale down in front of Thorin. Thorin sighed tiredly and sat down heavily in his chair and began eating slowly as I looked around the table. I must have seemed lost as Fili and Kili got up and pulled me over to the bench they were sharing, plopping me down in the middle of them. Fili left and returned with a tankard of ale for me and I saluted him before drinking some.
"How was it?" Fili asked me in a whisper, and I shook my head as I noticed that everyone was ready to talk about why they were all there.
"Later," I whispered back to him before sitting up slightly taller so I could watch what was happening.
"What news from the meeting in Ered Luin? Did they all come?" Balin asked Thorin after letting him have a few moments to breath. I could tell that everyone was tired from travelling, but this was the reason why we were all gathered here. Ered Luin, that was where the dwarves of Erebor had made their new home.
"Aye. Envoys from all seven kingdoms," Thorin answered him and the dwarves around me murmured their joy at that,
"What do the dwarves of the Iron Hills say? Is Dain with us?" Dwalin asked and I perked up at that name. Dain Ironfoot was my father's cousin. Father had only made mention of him to me as Dain had lost his foot in the battle before the Gates of Moria.
"They will not come," Thorin informed us and I frowned at that. Dain was Lord of the Iron Hills. He was kin. Why would he desert us like this? The others seemed to agree with me as they murmured their disappointment. "They say this quest is ours, and ours alone," Thorin added and I shook my head at that.
"You're going on a quest?" Bilbo interrupted and Gandalf turned quickly to him. Hmmm. Seems Gandalf neglected to tell the dwarves that he lied to Bilbo.
"Bilbo, my dear fellow, let us have a little more light," Gandalf told the Hobbit quickly. Bilbo brought a lit candle to the table, where Gandalf was spreading out a map which had been hidden in his pocket. "Far to the East, over ranges and rivers, beyond woodlands and wastelands, lies a single solitary peak," Gandalf said, pointing it out on the map.
"The Lonely Mountain," Bilbo read out from the map as he bent forward to read it.
"Erebor," I said under my breath and Fili and Kili nodded, having heard me.
"Aye. Oin has read the portents, and the portents say it is time," Gloin announced and I bit my lip at that.
"Ravens have been seen flying back to the mountain as it was foretold: When the birds of yore return to Erebor, the reign of the beast will end," Oin informed us all and Bilbo, at hearing "the beast" mentioned, looked concerned,
"Uh, What beast?" Bilbo asked and I downed the rest of my ale. This is what this meeting was about. Right here, right now, the dwarves of Durin's line were meeting to talk about reclaiming Erebor from Smaug. Father had only held out a hope that such a thing would ever occur in his lifetime or mine.
"Well that would be a reference to Smaug the Terrible, chiefest and greatest calamity of our age," Bofur told Bilbo as he bit on the end of the pipe that he was smoking. "Airborne fire breather, teeth like razors, claws like meathooks, extremely fond of precious metals " Bofur explained to Bilbo as I stood up from my seat, waving off Fili and Kili as I walked around the table. Thorin raised an eyebrow at me and I shook my head at him, assuring him that I was fine.
"Yes, I know what a dragon is," Bilbo quipped, irritated.
"I'm not afraid! I'm up for it. I'll give him a taste of the Dwarfish iron right up his jacksie," Ori announced, and several dwarves cheered him on and reached over to thump him on the back proudly.
"Sit down!" Dori, his brother, scolded him. Pulling him down into his seat.
"The task would be difficult enough with an army behind us. But we number just thirteen, and not thirteen of the best, nor brightest," Balin remarked and the dwarves started to object to what he said with things like, "Hey, who are you calling dim?" "Watch it!", and "No!"
"What did he say?" Oin remarked as I crossed my arms over my chest and lifted a hand to rub my head. I could feel a headache starting.
"We may be few in number, but we're fighters, all of us, to the last dwarf!" Fili called, slapping the table roughly and Kili nodded at him proudly as Thorin watched the proceedings thoughtfully.
"And you forget, we have a wizard in our company. Gandalf will have killed hundreds of dragons in his time," Kili announced and I had to smirk as Gandalf looked very flustered.
"Oh, well, now, uh, I I I wouldn't say that, I " Gandalf spluttered before he was cut off.
"How many, then?" Dori asked Gandalf who leaned forward slightly in dismay.
"Uh, what?" Gandalf asked whilst everyone stared at him.
"Well, how many dragons have you killed? Go on, give us a number!" Dori called and the other dwarves looked at Gandalf who hummed and embarrassedly started coughing on his pipe smoke; the dwarves jump to their feet, arguing about the number of dragons Gandalf had killed. Thorin jumped up in anger then and bellowed, silencing the rest.
"Shazara!" Thorin bellowed whilst standing, glaring at the company. "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, wondering, weighing the risk. Perhaps the vast wealth of our people now lies unprotected," Thorin announced and I frowned at that. "Do we sit back while others claim what is rightfully ours? Or do we seize this chance to take back Erebor? Du Bekâr! Du Bekâr!" Thorin called, and all of the dwarves cheered along with his call to arms.
"You forget: the front gate is sealed. There is no way into the mountain," Balin said, drawing Thorin's attention back onto the important matters of the quest. Thorin sat down once more as I sighed and at down next to Balin.
"That, my dear Balin, is not entirely true," Gandalf said before he twiddled his fingers, producing a dwarvish key, which was ornately wrought. Thorin looked at it in wonder as I closed my eyes, images of that key flashing in my mind before disappearing. Where was that from? To my knowledge I had never seen it before.
"How came you by this?" Thorin breathed in shock as he stared at the key.
"It was given to me by your father, by Thrain, for safekeeping. Now doubt Adaira might know something of it. He never mentioned a name, but I knew he kept a secret from me. The key is yours now," Gandalf informed Thorin as he handed him the key, everyone looking on in wonder. I was glad that they weren't all staring at me. I would need to ask Gandalf later about what he meant.
"If there is a key, there must be a door," Fili announced, and Gandalf pointed at runes on his map with his pipe.
"These runes speak of a hidden passage to the lower halls," Gandalf informed my cousin as I bent down to study the map. It looked familiar, but I wasn't sure why.
"There's another way in!" Kili excitedly announced and Fili clapped him on the back happily.
"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 that it can be done," Gandalf informed the company as I traced the sketched image of Smaug over the Lonely Moutain curiously.
"That's why we need a burglar," Ori remarked, and I looked to Bilbo. Great, that's what Gandalf had in mind. Bait, dragon bait.
"Hm, A good one, too. An expert, I'd imagine," Bilbo remarked, his thumbs hooked under his braces.
"And are you?" Gloin asked Bilbo with a raised eyebrow.
"Am I what?" Bilbo asked him in confusion.
"He said he's an expert! Hey hey!" Oin remarked and the dwarves all laughed at Bilbo's expense.
"M-Me? No, no, no, no, no. I'm not a burglar; I've never stolen a thing in my life," Bilbo stuttered out hurriedly.
"I'm afraid I have to agree with Mr. Baggins. He's hardly burglar material," Balin remarked and Bilbo nodded his head in agreement.
"Aye, the wild is no place for women or gentlefolk who can neither fight nor fend for themselves," Dwalin said, first looking towards Bilbo before his gaze rested on me. My eyebrows shot up at that and I scoffed.
"Umm, excuse you," I said as I shook my head. "Having a penis doesn't make you a better fighter," I announced, and the dwarves looked scandalized that I had made mention of their dangly bits. Thorin looked particularly shocked but I steam rolled on. "Adad saw to it that I could protect myself. We trained every afternoon. I will admit that I am a bit rusty, but I haven't had need to pick up my father's sword in nineteen years," I said and Thorin frowned at that thoughtfully as Dwalin just snorted and rolled his eyes. Asshole.
"Frerin taught you how to wield a sword?" Thorin asked me in concern and I nodded.
"Yes, and daggers too. I am still more of a healer, however. I trained under the last and inherited the role when he died. I'm not useless, I'm not weak, and I am coming with you," I informed my uncle who shook his head quickly at that statement.
"No, and that is final," Thorin told me firmly and I pursed my lips as the others remained silent, not getting in the way of family matters. "Fili and Kili will escort you to your Aunt Dis in the Blue Mountains and remain with you there," Thorin said and Fili and Kili stood up angrily.
"You can't send us home!" Kili cried in shock and anger.
"You promised that you would let us help you reclaim Erebor!" Fili added in equal dismay.
"Enough," Thorin said, cutting them off. "I cannot allow your cousin to come with us and I need you both to protect her," Thorin told them, not leaving much room for argument.
"Thorin," Gandalf began and Thorin turned to him with a glare. "I must agree with Adaira on this matter. By the will of the Valar, Adaira has been returned to you at this precise moment. It is a sign that she is needed for the success of this quest," Gandalf tried to inform him, but Thorin was having none of it.
"I will not endanger her life on a whim. Our women are precious to us," Thorin growled and Balin nodded his agreement as Bilbo just looked glad that no one was talking about him joining the quest at the moment.
"It would be folly to take the lass with us. Anything could happen to her," Balin said before everyone started arguing for or against my joining the quest. Fili and Kili's voices were the loudest as they fought for why they should be allowed to join the quest, how Thorin was going back on his word. I finally had enough of all of the fighting which was going nowhere.
"Shazara!" I shouted as I stood, and everyone fell silent as they had before as they all looked to me as they had Thorin. "Gentlemen, I know what you all fear. I know that my protection is a concern of yours but being on my own…I have learnt quite a bit about myself," I spoke, breathing out a deep breath that I didn't know I had been holding.
"Adad told me the stories, sung me the songs of our people. I know what awaits you all at the journey's end. Smaug and Erebor," I told them as I looked at them each in turn. "Adad didn't just teach me for nothing. He always talked about the day we would return home. About us reclaiming Erebor. Over mountains, and valleys, and ridges, the Lonely Mountain awaits," I said, frowning thoughtfully.
"Each of you has a reason for joining this quest. It is not just for glory, or for riches, it is for home, a home which has been stole from you," I said and each dwarf raised their heads, staring me in the eye as I stood up tall, my shoulders back. "I have been a very long way from home for a very long time, but in that time I have learnt and waited, but I have not been idle," I informed each of them as they looked at me with some sort of respect, even Dwalin, but especially Balin and Thorin.
"If this is the will of Mahal, we must trust what our maker has planned. Fili and Kili are the Heirs of Durin. They have a right to join you, as do I, idad," I informed my uncle before continuing. "You cannot be short two more members if Dain and the dwarven lords will not offer their aid," I said as I shook my head. "Already you are few in number, but you are sons of Durin and sons of Mahal. You are fighters, warriors, brothers, fathers, sons. I may not be a fighter or a warrior, but do not discredit my worth so quickly. I am a daughter of Durin and I will help you reclaim your home, our home," I finished before I sat back down, waiting nervously for someone to say something.
"I cannot guarantee your safety," Thorin began slowly and I nodded at that before answering him.
"No one can. Fili and Kili and I could be set upon by wild animals, bandits, or Orcs if we left to return to Ered Luin. Hegg was supposed to be safe. We don't have Orcs. We don't have bandits or wild animals. Adad just left one day though, and he never came back. No place is completely safe," I told him and Thorin nodded in understanding.
"This is my fight now too. I don't even know where my home is anymore. Was my life on Hegg all a lie?" I asked, shaking my head in dismay. "That is the life I know. I will admit that everything here is foreign to me. I only know what my father told me, but he spoke often enough about Erebor. He told me of its beauty and its people. Erebor was his home so it is my home now too," I told everyone, locking gazes with my uncle for a moment.
"I don't know you, any of you. You are my uncle, but I don't know you," I told Thorin and he nodded just a bit. "My father held out hope that we would come home one day, here to Middle Earth," I said as I looked around at all of the dwarves.
"I feel as if I can trust you, so I am going to place my trust in you," I told my uncle, with a small hand on his arm and he smiled at me slightly. "I will not be treated like a china doll, however. I won't break and I will not be treated like I will. I am a woman, yes, but I am not useless," I told them, catching Dwalin's gaze with a glare of my own.
"Your memories are shrouded in magic and mystery my dear," Gandalf spoke up, shaking his head ever so slightly. "They may return to you in time, but if they will, I cannot say."
Silence fell about the room for a moment after our words and Thorin seemed to be thinking. After a moment a look of resolve entered his eyes and he stood once more, looking at the dwarves in turn before he rested his gaze on me.
"We are Durins," Thorin agreed finally with a nod. "Sons…and daughters," Thorin continued before he nodded once more as if to himself. "You will obey me. Whatever I tell you to do, you will do it. You will train with Dwalin and Oin will teach you more about healing," Thorin informed me finally with a determined look.
"Yes, idad," I answered Thorin with a nod of my own and Thorin sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"And what of our burgler?" Gloin asked and the Dwarves began arguing all over again about the merits of Bilbo joining the company. I shook my head. At this rate it would be morning before we all agreed. Thankfully, it seemed like Gandalf had the same thought as me. He grew angry as Bilbo nodded along in agreement with those that believed he should come which was most of the dwarves. Gandalf rose to his full height and a darkness was cast over us as he spoke in a harsh voice filled with power.
"Enough! If I say Bilbo Baggins is a burglar, then a burglar he is," Gandalf called out as the dwarves and I stared at him in awe. Apparently, Gandalf had style…and balls. "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 scent of hobbit is all but unknown to him, which gives us a distinct advantage," Gandalf continued as he went back to his normal speaking voice. "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. You must trust me on this," Gandalf informed Thorin who looked at Gandalf and then the Hobbit with a glare before blowing out an aggravated breath.
"Very well. We will do it your way," Thorin agreed, seemingly tired of arguing and trying to make everyone come to an agreement.
"No, no, no," Bilbo stammered quickly behind Thorin as he turned to Balin.
"Give him the contract," Thorin told Balin who nodded, pulling the thickly folded contract from his inner pocket. Must be bigger on the inside because I did not see that coming.
"Please!" Bilbo protested as Bofur announced, "Alright, we're off!"
"It's just the usual summary of out of pocket expenses, time required, remuneration, funeral arrangements, so forth," Balin informed Bilbo as he handed him the long contract.
"Funeral arrangements?" Bilbo asked in dismay as I muttered, "Practical." Bilbo stepped a few feet back to unroll and read the contract and I watched as Thorin leaned in and he and Gandalf had a small whisper argument before agreeing on something. I watched Bilbo as he read parts of the contract out loud.
"Terms: Cash on delivery, up to but not exceeding one fourteenth of total profit, if any. Seems fair. Eh, Present company shall not be liable for injuries inflicted by or sustained as a consequence thereof including but not limited to lacerations ... evisceration … incineration?" Bilbo asked and I snorted slightly.
"Why does that wording make it sound like you would be the ones inflicting said injuries?" I asked Balin with a raised eyebrow.
"Got to see to all possibilities lass," He informed me with a knowing look.
"Right. Everything has to be in the contract even if it seems unlikely, so you aren't made liable," I remarked and Balin nodded.
"Exactly lass. Never can be too careful with a contract," Balin told me with a smile and I shrugged. It seemed understandable to me.
"Oh, aye, he'll melt the flesh off your bones in the blink of an eye," Bofur remarked and I raised an eyebrow at the hatted dwarf, and he grinned back at me. Bilbo on the other hand looked a little breathless.
"Huh," Bilbo remarked as I got to my feet and sidled past all of the others, waiting. I had seen quite a few old bitties faint, never before someone of Bilbo's…disposition, but there was a first time for everything.
"You all right, laddie?" Balin asked as Bilbo bent over, looking nauseous and pained.
"Uh, yeah...Feel a bit faint," Bilbo remarked as I cracked my neck and stretched. Any second now.
"Think furnace with wings," Bofur remarked cheerfully.
"Yeah, could you not?" I asked Bofur, gesturing to Bilbo.
"Air, I I I need air," Bilbo stammered.
"Flash of light, searing pain, then poof! you're nothing more than a pile of ash," Bofur remarked and I groaned slightly as Bilbo breathed heavily, trying to compose himself as the others stared at him.
"Hmmm. Nope," Bilbo remarked before he turned and fainted, I caught him easily and grinned triumphantly to myself.
"Trust fall!" I remarked with a little laugh before I sent a glare at Bofur.
"Ah, very helpful, Bofur," Gandalf told the dwarf as I huffed slightly.
"Ugh, he is heavier than he looks. A little help? I'm gonna drop him," I said as I struggled to hold Bilbo's dead weight.
"Fili, Kili," Thorin remarked and the two darrows walked over the table to get to us before they picked up Bilbo, one taking his feet and the other his head. "Well…so much for your bugler," Thorin remarked with a snort as Gandalf stood. I rolled my eyes and turned around as I heard a loud thunk behind me.
"Oh, come on! Not his head," I cried in irritation as I ran after my cousins before they managed to give Bilbo a concussion. Welp, that could have had more dignity.
Idad- Uncle
Adad- Father
Mizimith- Little Jewel
