AN: Hello, everyone. It's been a hard few weeks, and it will continue to be, it seems. I hope you are all doing well and staying healthy! I've been slowly working on a oneshot for the hobbit fandom, so maybe that will be up next weekend as well.
Italics in this chapter are Sindarin when they encase a full sentence.
Disclaimer: First chapter still applies.
Chapter 7
Bilbo munched happily on the crisp lettuce and ripe tomatoes on his plate, silently marveling at the freshness of the flavor and the syrupy sweetness of the berry sauce on top of the small mountain of vegetables. He'd known the elves were quite skilled with herbal remedies and healing arts, but he had not expected to find such a decadent spread of greenery and seasoning on their dinner tables. Which he probably should have expected, considering all he knew about elves.
He poked a lovely white mushroom onto his fork with a small flourish and listened with amusement at the grumblings of the dwarves around him.
"Have any of you actually tried some of it yet?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. "It's really quite good."
"Don't need to," grumbled Dwalin, who was stirring his vegetables around with his fingers. "Looks like grass, smells like grass, probably tastes like grass."
Bilbo felt a small smirk curl his lips at the scathing glare on the face of the elf standing a few feet away from Dwalin, before turning back to the dwarf. "Well, I do wish there were a mince pie or two, but this is an elven table. They're not overly fond of meats. What did you expect?"
Dwalin only grunted at that, choosing to pick grouchily at a fluffy roll from the platter in front of him.
"Well, I might like to have a word with the cook," Bilbo continued on, regardless. "This berry sauce is absolutely delightful. I swear I can taste both black berries and blueberries, and I'm quite pleased at the mixture of the two. Might make a jam out of it later. And the cheese is very savory as well. Is that red wine I can taste in the sharpness?" He looked questioningly at the elf who was still glowering at Dwalin and was pleased to see a small, reluctant smile form on the elf's face.
"I'll give you that, Master Baggins," Bofur agreed from his left. " I've been making little sandwiches out of the rolls and cheese. Even without any meat, it's alright."
"I bet sliding a bit of these mushrooms in there would help. Maybe a bit of this berry sauce too; give it some sweetness to mix with the sharpness of the cheese."
On Bofur's other side, his brother Bombur was hastening to try out the hobbit's suggestions, though he'd already eaten a significant amount himself. Most of the other dwarves had also picked around the lettuce, spinach, and radishes, choosing instead to eat the rolls and cheese with dissatisfied faces. Dori at least was eating his greens politely while nagging Ori, who was poking his food skeptically like the rest, to eat the food on his plate.
"If you say so." Bofur shrugged noncommittally and made the small sandwich to Bilbo's specifications. He lifted the food to his mouth, looking for all as if he was ready to be disappointed, and took a bite. A look of surprise overcame the dwarf's face, and he finished that bite of food thoughtfully. "That's not half bad, that is! Got any other suggestions?"
Bilbo then proceeded to give a small lecture on the different properties of such vegetables and recipes that he could think of that would fit the foods on the table, trying to distract himself from his worry. They'd been in Rivendell for a few hours now, and Radagast had still not joined them. They'd been brought in pretty quickly by the elves, and dinner had followed soon after, not leaving much time to his own thoughts.
When they'd reached the Hidden Valley earlier, Bilbo had wanted to turn back and go off in search of his friend, but both Gandalf and Radagast's earlier words had stopped him. Though he'd been a bit angry with Gandalf for his casual dismissal of the hobbit's concerns, Bilbo had also noticed that the wizard would occasionally turn his eyes and furrowed brow outward from the stone balconies and walkways, as if watching for something on the horizon.
Radagast had told him to wait here, though he'd been deliberately obtuse before all the fuss had happened on the plain. No doubt that was Gandalf's fault. Judging by the blistering anger that had appeared on Thorin's face at the sight of the Last Homely House, Bilbo assumed that the dwarf had been extremely opposed to stopping here on their way through. Though it was unlikely that the wizard had had anything to do with the appearance of the orc pack, Gandalf had been the one to lead them through the plains and had knowingly brought them to the secret entrance to the valley.
As he eyed the wizard in question where he sat close in hushed conversation with Lord Elrond, Bilbo was reluctantly in awe of his cunning.
"…And that's how I like to cook my potatoes and cheeses together, when I'm making food for special occasions," he finished and was quiet for a moment. He suddenly realized he had no idea what he had just said to the dwarves, though they were all looking at him with interest and a bit of hunger as well.
"That sounds mighty fine, Master Baggins," said Balin from his seat across the table and next to his brother. Unlike Dwalin, the elder dwarf was eating his food with his silver utensils and sipping his wine politely, though it was clear that he too was not fond of the overwhelming amount of vegetables on the table.
"Yeah, you should go visit the cook here. Give him a few pointers," Kíli said from Dwalin's other side with a nod, causing Bilbo to wonder if he understood quite how rude that had sounded. By the insulted huff and pluck of a wrong string, Bilbo knew the elf maiden playing the harp behind him certainly had.
"Different cooks have different recipes, Master Kíli," Bilbo replied with a bit of censure in his voice, though it was unheard by the young dwarf. "Just because you do not appreciate the food set before you, that does not mean that there was any error on the part of the cook."
The dwarves around him that had heard his words began to shift rather sheepishly and made no effort to reply, so Bilbo went about his business eating the extra vegetables that the dwarves had snubbed and looking around the room.
Rivendell was a very resplendent place, full of white stone and winding walkways. Carved elegantly into the stone were plants and flowers of all kinds, as well as vines that flowed in neat channels within the rock. A massive tree sat at the entrance to the large balcony, giving the tables of dwarves and hovering elves some shade against the setting sun. They picked a very grand room to have this welcoming dinner, as it opened onto an amazing view of the valley, the beauty and magnificence of which Bilbo had never seen before. He particularly loved the dancing light that played upon the little streams and rivers of the elven home, as though rivulets of sparkling stars floated within the coursing water.
He'd not expected to be as stunned by the splendor of Rivendell nor as welcomed as they had been by the elves here. Lord Elrond had proven himself to be very friendly and hospitable, despite the surliness of the dwarves and the abruptness of their visit. Part of Bilbo wished he had taken Radagast's advice to study here in the past, though he would not have felt nearly as comfortable coming here alone as he did with thirteen dwarves and a wizard. Not to say that he felt entirely at ease with the dwarves, of course. That was a completely different barrel of apples.
However, Bilbo was quickly coming to realize that the company of dwarves was not as welcome as the hobbit had previously thought. When he listened carefully, he could hear the elves slowly circling their table or playing their instruments make comments to one another, snide insults or mocking quips masked in the silver language of the elves. They had obviously assumed that none among the company could speak elvish.
Which, technically, none of them could, as Bilbo was not a part of the company. The hobbit could not speak it as fluidly as Gandalf or Radagast could, but his friend had made sure he knew enough to know when he was being insulted or when he was possibly in danger. Radagast had been growing more wary of the elves for a long time, particularly those residing in Mirkwood.
"Look at how they're eating," whispered a female voice, and Bilbo turned to see one dark-haired elf maid talking to her friend playing the harp. "Like animals or children, with their fingers."
"How crude," replied the other elf quietly, her mouth turning up in a small smirk. "Although, I think I've seen children of men eat with more dignity…Did you see just now? The young one with the dark hair winked at me."
At this, Bilbo noticed that Kíli was in fact attempting to smile winsomely at the elf maid in question from across the table.
"How pitiful…as if I would even be tempted to look at a dwarf in such a way," the elf continued, sharing a veiled look of mockery with her friend.
"He's not even tall enough to reach your waist, even if he stood on the tips of his boots," the other snickered, leaning her back against the stonewall behind her.
Bilbo felt the burn of anger grow stronger in his chest. It was a silly thing, Kíli trying to flirt with a random elf maid at the dinner table, but the naiveté in the gesture and the ignorance that he was being mocked had Bilbo's hackles rising. To the hobbit, it was just another example out of hundreds that appearances, however sweet and lovely, were often deceiving.
"He's not as ugly or brutish as the rest of them. Still, I'd find more stimulating company with the frogs by the lower glen of the valley," she sneered, though her face gave away none of her disgust as she gave Kili a small smile, which in turn caused the dwarf to blush a bit and give the elf a bright grin. Bilbo's temper snapped.
"I rather wish you would," Bilbo replied, turning his head to glare at them coldly from over his shoulder. "Perhaps they could sing us a better tune."
The two elves froze in shock, their delicate mouths falling open and their backs stiffening. The dwarves sitting around Bilbo and the elves in the surrounding area turned to look at him as well, curious at the hobbit's sudden change to Sindarin, a language which all had assumed he could not speak.
Bofur followed his gaze to the elves behind him, his bushy eyebrows raised. "Didn't know you could speak elvish, Master Baggins. Something wrong?" he asked casually.
"Nearly always," he replied vaguely, glaring at the elves for another moment before turning around in his seat, "but nothing to be concerned about." He reached for a roll to give his hands something to do and determinedly met the gazes of the other dwarves and elves watching him until they looked away and went about their business.
The dwarves, having sensed something off about the event, remained tense for a few moments before slowing relaxing back into their seats. Kíli had looked curiously at Bilbo, his gaze darting between the hobbit and the elf maiden who would no longer meet his eye, before he stared unseeingly at his plate, seeming oddly quiet. The two elf maids remained in their places by the harp but did not speak any more that night. Still, Bilbo made plans to perhaps cause a bit of trouble for them before he left the Hidden Valley, whenever that time might be.
"What's with this music, anyway? It's so depressing!" complained Nori, who sat a little ways away from Bilbo. The hobbit wondered if the dwarves were being deliberately impolite because of the elves or if that's just how they were. He didn't remember them being distinctly rude the night before. They'd even cleaned up the mess in the kitchen and dining area as well! But perhaps they had been tired….
"Well, why didn't you say so? I can fix that right now!" Bofur called out merrily, lurching out of his seat and getting onto the table, delicate silver forks, spoons, and plates pushed out of his way by his large boots. Bilbo had a moment of horror as he heard the bright tinkling of expensive cutlery on the ground before turning to watch Bofur stomp his feet and sing on the stone pedestal in the middle of the room.
In light of all the songs Bilbo had heard at the Green Dragon during his youth in the Shire, the one that Bofur sang for the dinner was very tame by hobbit standards (and dwarf standards as well). Still, by the looks of scandalized horror on the surrounding elves' faces, you'd think it was a bawdy song of depraved debauchery.
Or perhaps that had more to due with the food throwing. By the time Bofur was through with his song and the dwarves done with their applause and frivolity, the balcony was covered in scattered leafs of lettuce and spinach, squished tomatoes and cheese, and small mushy mountains of rolls on the once pristine stone floor. Though it was completely against all rules of propriety, Bilbo threw caution to the wind and joined in as well, making sure to toss a great deal of food over shoulder and smirking maliciously at the shrieks that followed. Some of the elegant statues of elf warriors or maidens had wine slipping down their stone garments, and the elf who had greeted them, Lindir, had a slice of tomato in his hair.
When Bilbo looked up at the head table, where Gandalf, Lord Elrond, and Thorin had sat for the meal, he found the rather sheepish face of one grey haired wizard, the curiously blank expression of a regal elf, and the pleased smirk of one dwarf prince, who was tipping his cup of wine to Bofur.
"That was quite a song, Master Dwarf," Lord Elrond said calmly, giving a small nod to Bofur as the dwarf hopped off the pedestal.
"Thank you, Lord Elrond," replied Bofur cheerfully, and he tipped his hat to the elf lord. Bilbo wondered idly if that was actually the compliment that the dwarf had taken it as. "It's a favorite of ours."
"I can see why," Lord Elrond replied with a small smile, causing the dwarves to stiffen at the possible slight. "It looks as though dinner should be called to a close. Shall we? Lindir, please show the dwarves to their rooms." He swept out of his seat, dark brown robes trailing gracefully behind him, and gave Gandalf an unreadable look. The wizard stood as well and followed, though not before giving Thorin a rather exasperated look.
The dwarf in question simply threw a small smile at his company before turning to follow Gandalf and the elf lord, leaving his company to mill about in the dining hall before the elf Lindir stepped forward.
"This way, please," he said politely and began walking toward an exit. Bilbo made to follow, but something caught his eye at the back of the group. He lagged behind until he was nearly at the rear of the group, the last dwarf at the end of the line making to breeze past him.
"Not so fast, Master Nori," said Bilbo, his hand darting out to grab the dwarf's arm. Nori turned to face him, his expression guarded and eyes watchful. The hobbit couldn't help but notice he had a leaf of lettuce threaded in his odd star-shaped hair.
"Can I help you with something, Master Baggins?" Nori asked innocently, his other hand trailing into his left pocket. Bilbo's grip tightened warningly.
"I would suggest you put all of that back before the elves notice it's missing," he said lowly, fixing Nori with a stern look in his eye.
"I'm not sure what you're getting at," said the dwarf dismissively.
As he made to move forward, Bilbo slipped a foot in front of his ankle, causing the dwarf to trip. Bilbo quickly reached his hand forward and pressed it against Nori's chest as if to stop his fall, and he raised his eyebrows at the clinking sounds his hand had caused underneath Nori's vest. The dwarf froze at that, his dark eyes darting quickly to the hobbit's own hazel ones, before letting out a small breath.
"Very clever, Master Baggins," Nori acquiesced quietly. "I'll come back later and place them in the kitchens once night's fallen."
"You'll do it now, and you'll keep your sticky fingers to yourself while you're here," replied Bilbo, who was now looking at the dwarf with cold demand. Nori's eyes narrowed angrily, and he angled his body to face the hobbit's, as if waiting for a fight to break out.
"And what makes you think I'm going to listen to you, halfling? Going to tell Thorin on me?"
Bilbo's grip on his arm tightened even more, to the point that the hobbit knew it must be painful, but the dwarf made no sign that he felt it at all. "Not at all," Bilbo said with a small smirk. "I'm going to tell Dori."
Nori immediately blanched and jerked backward, his eyes darting warily to the entrance to the hallway, as if afraid his brother would come back, before returning to meet the hobbit's stare with calculation. After a moment of this, the dwarf sighed and moved back to the dinner table, checking for any nearby elves before placing his would-be loot back, most of which consisted of silver cutlery and glasses, on the table.
"Pockets too," Bilbo said as Nori began to turn away from the table. The dwarf grunted angrily before emptying his pockets as the hobbit commanded.
"Not as if they need it anyway," Nori grumbled as he made his way back to stand next to Bilbo.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I hadn't realized that you yourself were in desperate need of a silver candlestick holder and some wine glasses," Bilbo retorted sarcastically, rolling his eyes and motioning him out of the hallway.
They meandered along the hallway in silence, neither exactly sure where the rest of the company had been led, before Nori finally broke the quiet.
"What were they talking about, earlier?"
"What are you talking about now?"
"The elf maids, at dinner," Nori huffed, his hands shoved into his pockets and his face scowling.
"Oh, them," Bilbo replied indifferently, though his hands tightened into fists. "It was nothing."
Nori watched him silently before growling, "They were making fun of us, weren't they?"
Bilbo chose not to say anything in reply to this, but the dwarf seemed to take that as an affirmative anyway. They walked for a few more minutes in silence, though Bilbo could nearly hear the indignant anger in Nori's heavy footsteps. He didn't blame him, really; dwarves could be called many things, stubborn, loud, maybe a bit rash, but rarely were they ever so petty as to insult you behind your back. Or in this case, in another language.
"Don't see why you made me give their trinkets back, then. Would've deserved what they got," Nori grumbled suddenly.
Bilbo glared at him from the corner of his eye. "That would have only given them more reason to mock you and less reason to respect you. What's more, you're also punishing Lord Elrond by stealing from the wares, and the elf lord has been nothing but welcoming and generous to the lot of you, despite your less than grateful attitudes."
Just then, the two turned a corner and spotted Lindir leaving a room further down the hall, his fair elvish face weary and exasperated. As they grew closer, the elf heard the footsteps and looked up warily, taking in their appearance and fixing his impartial mask back over his features.
"Forgive me. I had not noticed you had been left behind, or I would have waited," Lindir said stiffly.
"That's perfectly alright!" Bilbo replied cheerfully. "We got a bit side-tracked, I'm afraid. Our apologies." Nori only grunted next to him, refusing to look at the elf.
"Well, your accommodations are through this door. Have a restful night, and should you need anything, do not hesitate to ask." The tired elf said this rather quickly and then swept off down the hallway before either Nori or Bilbo could say another word. The dwarf snorted unkindly at that before becoming cautious again as Bilbo whorled around to face him.
"My point, Nori, is that we have been welcomed into their home," said the hobbit severely. "Stealing from a stranger on the side of a street is one thing. Stealing from a being who has welcomed you into his home and treated you as a valued guest is quite another matter entirely. One makes you a common thief, the other…." Bilbo stopped, momentarily choked by an old emotion. "The other…makes you so much worse than that."
Nori watched him carefully, taking in the stuttered breathing during that last announcement and the tightened fists, before he looked away, his head bowed and his hands still hiding in their pockets.
Bilbo nodded vaguely at the silence, taking it for understanding, and turned toward the door, his hand on the handle.
"I stole from you as well, Master Baggins," Nori said quietly. "Last night…one of your quilts…." His voice, already barely a whisper, dropped off into the night air, now cool and dark in absence of the sun.
Silence reined again, as it had quite often in the past couple hours, before Bilbo answered him, without looking over his shoulder, "I know you did, Master Nori. I also know that Ori's traveling cloak is threadbare and your own not much better. It's going to be getting quite cold during the nights soon. I know that as well."
With that, Bilbo pushed open the door, giving a small smile at the yells and general mayhem within, before entering their rooms, leaving Nori to his thoughts in the quiet of the night.
AN: So, not much Thilbo, but more sassy Bilbo. :) There will be more Thilbo developement soon, I promise.
Comment if it pleases ya! :)
