A little while later, Brianna was sitting in her rec room next to the fireplace and which was close to her bedroom. She'd woken up about two minutes ago and Gillian had gotten her some warm tea and she had a blanket draped in her from the waist downward. She was still recovering from her panic attack earlier and nervously sipped her tea. Gillian, however, looked somewhat annoyed with her host.
"I-I'll be fine, I just need a few minutes rest!" Brianna said.
"You've 'rested' four different times this evening!" Gillian barked "Tell me, when your mother's dishes and doilies become important to you?"
"Since I found better things to do with my time." Brianna replied dryly.
Gillian blinked in shock while Brianna instantly realized how rude she'd been and sighed a tired yet sincere sigh.
"I'm sorry, that was rude." she said.
"Apology accepted." Gillian replied.
"It's just that...well, that doesn't sound like me." Brianna continued "I can't just go off running into the blue. I am a Baggins of Bag-End. And I hope to stay one."
"Yes, you're a Baggins. But you are also a Took." Gillian said "Did you know that your great, great, great, great uncle Bandobras Took was so tall he could ride a real horse?"
"Of course I do." Brianna replied.
"Then you'll know that during the Battle of Green Fields he charged the goblin ranks." Gillian went on as she took a seat in a rocking chair in front of Brianna "And he knocked the goblin kings head clean off with one strike of his club and it flew halfway across the field and landed in a rabbit hole. And thus the day was won and the game of golf invented at the same time."
Brianna chuckled softly. She always was amused by that story, even at a young age. Gillian smiled as she observed the hobbit. As much as Brianna wanted to deny it, Gillian could see there was a part of her that wanted to see what the world outside the Shire had to offer, both good and bad. Gillian knew that was always a part of her and she worried it would wither and die if unchecked for longer than it had already been.
"You know, it's funny." Gillian said.
"What?" Brianna inquired.
"I seem to recall you as a little girl staying out late one time I visited here. Chasing fireflies and coming back into the house trailing mud." Gillian said smiling "A little girl who wanted nothing more then to see what lay beyond the borders of the Shire."
"You remember that?" Brianna said "I only have a the vaguest recollection of that."
Gillian sighed. "Look, Brianna. The world isn't in your books or maps. It's out there beyond your door." she paused briefly as she leaned back into the chair and began slowly rocking herself "And believe me, you'll have a tale or two when you come back."
"Can you promise that I will come back?" Brianna inquired.
Gillian stopped rocking and looked to Brianna in a reassuring look. She leaned forward and sighed as she did so.
"No I can't." she gently replied "And if you do you won't be same."
"I see. I'm sorry, Gillian, but I can't sign this contract." Brianna responded as she stood up "Thank you for your time but...you've got the wrong hobbit."
Gillian nodded as if to say "I understand" and then Brianna turned and walked away, heading to her bedroom to get some much needed sleep.
As Brianna walked into her room, Barbara, Daniella and Traude stood at the end of the hall where it leads into the entrance hall. They saw as she walked out and headed into the the bedroom, Barbara sighed in disappointment.
"It appears we've lost our burglar." she said "It's probably for the best though."
"What kind of talk is that?" Daniella demanded in shock.
"Think about, sister. What are we?" Barbara explained "The wives of tinkerers, toymakers and merchants. We're not exactly the warrior women of legend."
"There are a few warriors in our group." Traude piped in.
"Old warriors." Daniella said.
Barbara sighed a heavy, tired sigh. Traude and Daniella could tell something was nagging at her mind but they couldn't figure out exactly what.
"Barbara..." Traude finally said "What is it?"
Barbara then began to look greatly troubled. "You don't have to know this. None of us do. You and your sister have done honorably by our people." she continued "You've helped find a new life in the Blue Mountains. A life of peace and prosperity. Something that is worth more than all the gold in Erebor."
Now it was Traude's turn to sigh though she did a more nasal sigh. Daniella kept quiet and observed the situation.
"I understand your concern, Barbara. But this is different." Traude said as he pulled out the key from her pocket "This key has now come to me. We now can reclaim our home."
"But why bring the others?" Daniella finally said "Maybe Barbara's right. We might just be a bunch of dwarf women way in over our heads."
"I would take each and every one them over any army." Traude responded "When we arranged the quest, they're families answered."
She paused briefly as she turned to look behind her to her left and saw some of the girls relaxing and doing other things. Kamilla and Frieda were talking about something they couldn't hear, Ottilie was sitting down on a stool writing and Beate was playing with a little mechanical toy eagle she'd made as a present for her mother back home.
"Loyalty, a willing heart..." Traude said in a surprisingly gentle tone "...I can ask no more than that."
Traude kept her eyes fixed on this little group and Daniella and Barbara kept looking at Traude only briefly glancing the others before Traude turned back to them.
"If for nothing else, we must do this for them." she went on "For their children and grandchildren. I want their children to walk into the halls of Erebor, not as merchants scraping around in the dirt but as dwarf lords. Free from the shadow of that dragon." she paused briefly as she put the key back in her pocket "There is no choice, girls. Not for me. My mind's made up."
Barbara and Daniella briefly looked to one another. They'd been with Traude through many dangers, from the fall of Erebor when Traude was just a young girl to the Battle of Moria where Thror had fallen in battle under the blade of Azog the Defiler and many more countless perils. They could see there was a fire in her, a passionate desire to fulfill her parents wishes and retake their long-lost home. And they could tell that she feared that flame would go out like a match in a gust of wind. They then turned their attention to Traude who was still quietly waiting for an answer, both of them now smiling.
"Then we're with you, lass." Barbara said.
"We'll see that it is done." Daniella said.
Traude's smile was warm and gentle, though somewhat hardened by her past. She then wrapped her arms around Daniella and Barbara and hugged both of them simultaneously. Her eyes were closed the entire time as Barbara and Daniella returned the hug.
"Thank you." Traude said in a soft, almost whispering tone.
Brianna finally slid off her robe and now just dressed in her nightgown as she slipped into bed. She got under the white covers of her bed and drew the curtain to her left. The curtains were a relatively new addition to her bedroom and were a given from the Hobbiton Women's Club after she'd joined. At first, she didn't think she'd need them, but she found that they helped her sleep better. And a good night's sleep was what she needed after the evening's events. However, as she blew out the candle on the dresser on the right side of her bed, she heard something unusual.
At the crack of her bedroom door, she could see the faint glow of her fireplace in the lounge room. And from there, there was the sound of some loud humming. It was somewhat low but she could still hear it. As she drew the curtain on the right side of her bed, she never took her eyes of the door. The singing somehow drew her attention and she couldn't tear herself away even as she lay down. And then, she could hear the voices of all the girls beginning to sing. And this is what they sung:
Far over the Misty Mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away ere break of day
To find our long forgotten gold.
The pines were roaring on the height
The winds were moaning in the night
The fire was red, it flaming spread
The trees like torches blazed with light
On silver necklaces they strung
The flowering stars, on crowns they hung
The dragon-fire, in twisted wire
They meshed the light of moon and sun
Brianna didn't get to hear the last verse as the song lulled her to sleep and so she began to dream of what might lay beyond the Shire, unknowingly letting the Baggins side of her fall away and the Took side of her slowly begin to take over.