Howdy adventurers, it seems that I've got another chapter ready for you!
Before I say anything else, I'd like to thank Xaial for the kind review, I'm really grateful for your response, and I hope you'll keep on enjoying the story :)
As I mentioned in the prologue, I've never written anything of much significance, and so this is all a big deal to me!
Now in this chapter things get going even more, so buckle up! I'm just joking, it's not all that intense yet, but it is quite fun I think. There's a lot of dialogue, and it was my first time writing any real dialogue, so hopefully it's comprehensible :)
As always, I truly hope you'll enjoy reading. If all goes well, you will soon find yourself side by side with our main protagonist, experiencing everything in full HD from wherever it is you currently find yourself :)
Above all, remember to have fun and try to forget all of life's hardships, if only just for a little while.
I just stare forward, my eyes glued to the person standing in front of me.
It's Bilbo bloody Baggins. Standing half a meter in front of me, wishing me a good evening.
''Is there anything I can do for you, miss?'' Bilbo repeats, stepping forward
He's got an air around him. An air that can be described as nothing else than Bilbo Baggins. Standing there with his curly blonde-brown hair and a patchwork robe, asking me if there's anything he can help with in that polite yet slightly annoyed voice.
No wonder. As I know, I likely just interrupted his carefully prepared dinner, and I'm about to interrupt a lot more than that once the rest of the company arrives
''Miss?''
Hard to believe I just spoke of the dwarves as 'the rest' of the company, I'm officially a member of The Company of Thorin Oakenshield, as a professional horse-handler, no less. Unbelievable.
Snapping out of my thoughts, I extend my hand forward: ''My apologies, my name's Nela Albern, it's a great pleasure to meet you, !'' my tone genuinely cheerful
Bilbo hesitantly reaches out with his own hand, giving mine a firm shake
''Sorry to be blunt, Miss Albern, but how is it that you know my name? I don't mean to be impolite, but I don't believe we've ever met.''
''Not impolite at all, don't worry about it. And you're right, we've never met before. I'm an acquaintance of Gandalf's. Gandalf the Grey. I believe you're familiar with him. I'm here for the meeting, a bit early I'm aware, but better early than late, am I right?''
''Meeting? What meeting? I wasn't aware there was such a thing taking place.'' Bilbo responds, confusion written across his face
''Oh yeah, big time. Now could we maybe go inside , or will we stand here all evening? As nice as it happens to be, I've never been in a hobbit hole before, let alone in Bag End, so I'd greatly appreciate a small tour if you wouldn't mind?''
''But you're a hobbit. What'd you mean you've never been in a hobbit hole before, surely you live in one?''
''Actually, I suppose you could say I'm somewhat holeless at the moment, but don't worry, my hygiene is kept to a high standard at all times.''
Wonder how long that one will last
I take a step forward, crossing the doorstep and continuing towards the hallway. I hang my cloak on the hanger next to the door as I pass by, and turn back around to face Bilbo, who has by now closed the door.
''This is a very nice place you've got yourself, , very cozy.''
Bilbo sort of breaks out of the slight trance he was in at this comment
''Not my doing I'm afraid, I inherited it after my father.''
Bungo Baggins, who married Belladonna Took. I better not show off with this one though, he might get a bit horrified, rightfully so
''Um...may I offer you some tea then, Miss Albern? I've actually just a put a kettle up not long before you arrived.''
''Tea would be great, thanks very much. And you can just call me Nela, if you please.''
Bilbo shuffles over to the kitchen, urging me to follow with a quick gesture. Eager to explore Bag End, I am of course right behind him. We step into the living room through a door on the right side of the entrance hall.
Immediately as we enter there is a fireplace to my right, with pictures of Bilbo's parents hanging above it. The fire is crackling inside, emitting a very pleasant warm light onto the room.
Oh how I'd love to live here one day
There is a very light smell of baked dough with apples and cinnamon coming from the kitchen. This mixed in with the already inviting smell of wood and old furniture present in the rest of the hobbit hole...well...it's just entirely perfect.
To my left is a table with some papers and books stacked neatly on top of each other, a pen and an inkwell next to them.
Surprisingly, my feet don't even register the carpet atop of which I am now standing until I look down. Must be due to the tough soles on hobbit feet. The carpet's green in the middle and beige on the edges, with an orange-red design stretching across it.
I can hear Bilbo shuffling around in the kitchen and when I look up, he's taking the kettle off the hearth. I square my shoulders, take a deep breath, and make my way towards him.
"So, , I wonder, have you ever been outside the Shire?" I sit down in one of the dinning chairs
"Oh no, never. I used to run around the outskirts when I was young, but that was such a long time ago I hardly remember. These days, I mostly stick to reading in my armchair and tending to the garden, quite a laborious task that one."
Good god, he speaks like he's 111 already. Gandalf was right, it will be very good for him.
"That's right, I think I remember Gandalf mentioning you were an extraordinarily curious child. So, what happened with that, if you don't mind me asking?" I say
"I matured, Miss Nela, that's what happened. May I?" he asks, nodding towards the kettle in his hands
"Of course, thank you."
"Running after fairies and staying up late is all nice and well, however there are more important matters to take care of. I have to keep the pantry full, weed the garden regularly, make sure Bag End is in order, and occasionally attend parties and other social occasions. You know how we hobbits are, awfully sociable creatures."
He shuffles off again, this time I'm guessing in the direction of the pantry
"But don't you miss it? A bit of adventure I mean." I respond in a louder voice so that he can hear "We may be hobbits, but we're also living creatures like any other, eager to explore. And a bit of discomfort is healthy! That's what my mother always says."
"Well I dare say…
Bilbo emerges from around the corner, holding a plate with roast beef in one hand, and a block of cheese wrapped in cloth in the other
...that your mother must be quite an unorthodox lady. Especially if she says things like that to other hobbits, I imagine she gets some odd looks in return."
"Oh you'd be surprised how like-minded some of the young children are -
I say, my eyes likely shining with pure joy as they make contact with the food
-you know, I strongly believe there is an adventurous spirit in us hobbits which we are often not aware of ourselves."
Bilbo places the food on the table, then takes two plates and some cutlery out of the cupboard and lays them on the table
Look at this guy, he's got no idea who I am, I barge in without being properly invited, and he still serves me dinner. Bilbo may be far too comfortable at this point in time, but he is one well-brought up gent.
"That's an inspired thought, no doubt, although I'm not quite certain if it's true.'' he answers
"In which case we will just how to see, won't we ?'' I say with a playfully knowing smile, getting ready to serve myself the wonderful food as Bilbo sits down across from me
To this, Bilbo's face contorts in an expression of confusion
"We will? How is - "
But before he can finish his sentence, a loud rings fills the the house
"Ah, I believe that's another attendee of the meeting, ! Finally, I was beginning to worry they wouldn't show." I say to Bilbo with a casual enthusiasm
It's a lot less casual on the inside, that's for sure. I mean it's DWALIN for goodness sake! I hope he won't try to headbut me, I think my skull might crack if he does.
"Yes, you're right, the door. If you'll excuse me." Bilbo mutters under his breath, his brows furrowed as he gets up from the dining table behind which we proceeded to sit down throughout the conversation
Oh man, poor fellow is about to go through quite the ordeal
Me on the other hand, I've never been so excited in all my life. Hence, I naturally don't remain sitting behind the table, instead I am lined up at the door to the entrance hall no later than Bilbo fixes his robe and takes the doorknob in his hand.
He twists it and steps back as the door opens inwards.
Well butter my biscuit and call me Sally
In the door stands Dwalin, son of Fundin, one of the roughest, most loyal, and as it turns out kindest, dwarves out there.
He must have been looking off into the distance before, but as Bilbo opened the door, he quickly turns around. Looking Bilbo straight in the eye and not breaking the contact for a second, he gives a bow.
"Dwalin, at yer service."
Woah
"Hm!" Bilbo lets out a quiet, muffled squeak, and begins hastily fixing his robe
Tsch, he didn't start cleaning himself up like that when I entered. Then again, I suppose I am a lot less mighty and impressive than Dwalin.
It is worth noting however, that my feminine ego did indeed take a detrimental hit on that fateful day, and would not forget it for years to come.
"Um, Bilbo Baggins, at yours...do we know each other?" Bilbo says, his voice still rather distressed as Dwalin lets himself in. When he's halfway through the door, he stops right next to Bilbo, leans in, and answers as if it were the most obvious thing on earth.
''No."
Then proceeds inside the house, taking off his coat in the process
Bilbo just stands there for a few moments, clearly utterly confused and enraged by the situation. After a couple more seconds pass, he turns around and looks over at me, who is still standing in my original spot as well, stunned almost just as much as he is.
I just shrug my shoulders at his part-accusatory, part-questioning look, and plaster an innocent one on my face, as though I'm no more 'in the know' here than he is. My curiosity soon overcomes me though, and I excitedly shuffle off in the direction where Dwalin went. It doesn't take me very long to find that direction, because seconds after he disappeared from my line of sight, I hear his voice boom through Bag End once more.
"Which way laddie? Is it down ere'?"
Bilbo, still holding the door in shock, finally snaps out of it at the sound of the dwarf's voice, just to be confused all over again by the contents of the question.
"Is what? Down where?"
Dwalin emerges from the door of the living room back into the halfway, tossing his coat into Bilbo's arms.
"Supper. He said there'd be food, and lots of it!" Dwalin replies, his voice grumpy, and continues to march his way through the house.
''H-he said? Who said?" Bilbo replies again, still no wiser
While all of this is going on I just stand there, my eyes jumping from Dwalin to Bilbo back to Dwalin, taking in what's unfolding in front of me with a mixture of humour and astonishment of my own.
Alright Nel, time to snap out of it
I square my shoulders back, blow a loose strand of hair from my face, and start following after Dwalin and into the kitchen area.
I find him sitting at the table, staring quite excitedly at Bilbo's already prepared dinner.
Prepared for me, might I add. He better leave some.
Without any more pause I make my way over to the table and sit down in what was to be Bilbo's seat, since Dwalin took the chair which I occupied prior to his arrival.
"Nela Albern, at your service, master Dwalin." I extend my hand over the table and towards him "It's a real pleasure to finally meet ya."
Dwalin, who was already holding a piece of roast beef in his hand, seems to freeze for a second.
Oh boy, what have I done
He slowly puts down the meat and looks up, his eyes looking into mine with that same intensity and strong presence as he did when entering Bag End.
"Look lassie, I dinna know who ye are, but this is a private meeting." he says coldly
"I'm the 15th member of the company, master Dwalin, mostly there to care for the ponies, keep 'em in good condition, so you needn't worry about privacy here."
Dwalin scoffs at this
"A stableboy, by my beard that wizard is pushing it. First the burglar, and now this."
Ignoring my hand, he reaches for a chunk of cheese and vehemently stuffs it in his mouth, grunting along as he starts to chew on it. Next he grabs the roast beef which he abandoned earlier, and shoves that one in.
"Well, if that's the case, lass," -
he speaks, still surprisingly coherently despite all the food
- "I am wonderin," -
another piece of cheese gets throw in the mix
- "what reason" -
some more beef
- "does a young hobbit like yerself have" -
and a nearby loaf of bread
- "to help us take back Erebor. " he finishes adding more food in, and slams his elbows down on the table, swallowing and then focusing his attention fully on me
"It's not yer home, and I find it very unlikely ye've ever been anywhere near, being as wee as ye are." this time he speaks more clearly, most of the food having been swallowed.
I'm no fancy lady, but this, this might be just a tiny bit wild even for my taste. Better get used to it though.
"Well, master dwarf," I retort as I reach for a piece of roast beef myself, leaning forward on my elbows
"aside from desiring a morally fulfilling purpose in life, that is where helping you reclaim your home comes into the equation, -
this time I'm the one to take a bite of the food, swallowing it before resuming my sentence, meanwhile Dwalin just scoffs, apparently disgusted by how 'boring' my answer is
"I would also very much like to beat some orcs and goblins back to the hole from whence they came, as we say back where I'm from, preferably without losing any of my own limbs in the process." At that, I finish the piece of roast beef and smirk at him cheekily
Dwalin seems to pause at this, eyeing me very carefully. His gaze seems to get stricter and stricter as seconds pass, meanwhile I am beginning to get slightly concerned, when all of a sudden;
"HA!" Dwalin throws his head back with a hearty laugh and slaps me on the shoulder a few times, almost knocking me off the chair with the last one
"Now that, lassie, is much better! Aye, ye're starting to sound like a real dwarf!" he laughs again and starts reaching for another block of cheese, when the doorbell rings again.
"I would like to go wherever it is ye're from, if yer kinsfolk talk like that! Must be a merry place!"
"Ahem ahem." someone clears their throat nearby and I look up to see Bilbo standing in the entrance to the kitchen, looking positively distressed
I just throw him an apologetic look, but that doesn't seem to satisfy him this time, and he frantically beckons me towards him, motioning that we need to speak, now.
This is going to be one fun evening
Dwalin doesn't seem to notice a thing as he has gone back to eating, and so I get up, muttering a quick "If you'll excuse me." to which he responds with a disinterested grunt, fully focused on his meal.
I walk over to where Bilbo is standing, just to have him usher me to the other end of the living room, mostly out of sight of the kitchen.
"Miss Albern, I don't mean to be rude, but I simply don't understand what this dwarf is doing in my house!" Bilbo spurts out, the pitch of his voice increasing with each syllable
Uh-oh, his blood pressure is going up already. Poor guy.
"Oh come on now, , he's not so bad!"
Before Bilbo can voice his disagreement, which I am sure he would, there is a loud rummaging noise in the kitchen followed by even louder chewing and gnawing. We both lean sideways around the wall to take a look at what is going on, just to find Dwalin sitting down with a bowl full of buns in one hand, and another filled with large tomatoes, probably from Bilbo's own garden.
Oh no, please don't pull a Denethor on me
I inwardly shudder at the thought of the Steward of Gondor crushing the cherry tomato with his teeth, half of it dripping down his chin as Faramir rides to his death.
We look back at each other with Bilbo, my expression likely conveying a vaguely different argument than it was a few moments ago. Dwalin's voice sounds from the kitchen:
"Ah, there ye are! Very good this, any more?" he calls out to Bilbo, who still looking highly disturbed, totters over to him
"What? O-oh, yes, of course, help yourself." he hands him a bowl of pastries from the windowsill, quickly grabbing two and hiding them behind his back to save them from their fate
"It's just that, um, I wasn't expecting, company."
And I'm afraid the nightmare's only just begun for you, poor fella
That's when the doorbell rings again
Balin!
"That'll be the door." Dwalin looks over at Bilbo, bits of pastry between his teeth
As Bilbo starts to get over the terror now plastered on his face, I'm already standing at the entrance and grabbing the doorknob. I open the door, and there stands a rather short and stocky, white-bearded dwarf. As we make eye-contact, he smiles at me welcomingly and bows, arms opened wide.
"Balin, at your service."
"Nela Albern, at yours. Good evening, master Balin!."
"Yes, yes it is-"
"- though I think it may rain later."
"though you think it might rain later." I finish the sentence simultaneously with him
Balin, who was by now halfway through the door, stops and looks at me with evident surprise. I just wink in return.
Before he can react any further, Bilbo runs into the room and seems to almost fall over when his eyes land on Balin.
"Ah, you must be . Balin, at your service." he gives another bow, this one slightly less pronounced. "Am I late?"
Bilbo's face contorts in even more confusion at this; "Late? Late for what?"
But Balin's attention is already somewhere else as he starts walking inside the house and into the living room, where Dwalin is now shaking some unidentified piece of furniture. He laughs heartily; "Evening, brother!"
Dwalin responds with that same deep, roguish laugh and puts down whatever it was he was holding. "By my beard, yer shorter and wider than last we met!"
"Wider, not shorter." Balin counters "And sharp enough for both of us." he adds with a wink
They grab each other by the shoulders
Here it comes
And 'BAM!'
"Ouch!" I let out a yelp under my breath
Next to me, Bilbo mutters a "What…?"
"E-ehm, excuse me, sorry, I hate to interrupt, but the thing is, I'm not entirely sure you're in the right house." he tries again
No response. The two dwarves are now walking deeper into the house with their arms around each other's shoulders, swaying slightly.
And they're not even drunk yet. I think.
I follow straight after them, Bilbo trailing behind me. We find them in the pantry which Dwalin must've discovered while we were talking earlier. They're examining all sorts of items and having a debate about what they are. It gets particularly heated when they stumble across the moldy cheese.
"What's this?"
"I think it's supposed to be cheese. Gone blue."
"It's riddled with mold."
"Ugh." they both conclude and throw it back in the cupboard.
Oh but now that is just an unfortunate case of a lack of culinary knowledge
"Pardon me, gentlemen, but that cheese is perfectly edible." I squeeze into the pantry beside them and interrupt their conversation
Dwalin is the first to respond "Eh? Look lass, I'm not sure if ye noticed, but it was blue as a frozen toe."
"It's on purpose."
"Ah now yer just jokin around! Ye think ye can get us to eat a rotten cheese, reckon that would very funny, huh?"
"On the contrary, master Dwalin, I would hate to see you suffer like that. However I believe what we have right here, is a fine specimen of moldy cheese."
Now I seem to have gotten Balin's attention, and both the dwarves are staring at me like I have two horns on top of my head.
"Moldy cheese you say?" Balin asks
"Nonsense brother, I have been around for near 170 years and never heard of such a thing. Now come on, let's fill these pints before the others arrive!"
"The others?!" Bilbo practically whimpers at this from somewhere outside the pantry
"Now now gentlemen, let me explain. Moldy cheese is a delicacy in some parts of the world, and it is made as any other cheese, by first pasteurizing the cow, goat, or sheep's milk, and then adding a bacteria in order to turn the milk from liquid to solid." By now, I can tell I have both the dwarves attention, Dwalin looking dumbfounded, while Balin seems to be following
"In moldy cheese however, you cure the solidified 'milk' with a culture from the fungi penicillium roqueforti, which when combined with the oxygen in the air grows along the surface and in the air tunnels of the cheese, creating the blue mold. This type of fungi does not release the toxins which are poisonous to us, hence, as I said, it is perfectly edible." I finish, crossing my arms proudly
"I don't trust ye, lassie. My gut instinct is telling me it's blue, and you don't eat blue cheese. End of story."
"Now hold on for just a moment, brother." Balin interjects "There may be some sense to what Miss Albern here is saying."
Why thank you master Balin
"Oh come on brother, have yer instincts abandoned ye completely? I always said ye used yer brains far too much, sometimes ye've got to let the gut take over!"
Balin starts countering at this and soon a brotherly argument ensues. In the midst of it, I'm still determined to do justice to the moldy cheese.
"Look, if you don't trust me, then let me show you." I start wiggling myself through the pantry over to the cupboard where they threw the cheese. "Bloody dwarves, obstinate, stubborn—"
"— I don't mean to be blunt, but I had to speak my mind. I'm sorry!" Bilbo's voice breaks through our heated exchange out of nowhere.
All three of us turn around in his direction, me stuck somewhere in between the dwarves and a wooden shelf. Bilbo clears his throat, apparently satisfied that he finally got our attention, when Balin replies.
"Apology accepted!"
And the two resume their argument.
Huh, he must've been talking the whole time. And here I was thinking that I'd make the evening at least slightly less miserable for him by being here. That clearly turned out very well.
Bilbo just stares in disbelief at the two dwarves.
'RIIING'
The doorbell rings yet again.
Bilbo turns around slowly, mouth hanging wide open, eyes filled with sheer terror. Meanwhile, I've resumed trying to wiggle myself away from the pantry, the cheese long gone from everyone's minds. Dwalin convinced Balin to move on the barrels in the corner of the room, and they are now both filling up wooden pints.
I can just hear the by now familiar creak of the door come from the hallway as Bilbo opens it up.
Damn thing can you just let go! I swear inwardly after the millionth attempt at trying to get my shirt unstuck from a small splinter in the pantry shelf without tearing it
If it were my money that I bought it with I'd've torn the bloody thing five times by now
Finally I manage to unhook the shirt without doing too much damage and rush off in the direction of the door, leaving the two dwarves behind to wreck the pantry.
As I make it to the start of the hallway, I hear voices at the door.
"Fíli."
"And Kíli."
"At your service."
Oh my god that's right, it's Fíli and Kíli next
Did I immediately start fixing my hair and straightening my clothes? Yes I did.
If there is even the slightest chance that they look the way they did in the films, which almost everything else has so far, then I better not look like a cat that was just run through the laundry machine.
I turn the corner and finally catch sight of the door. The two brothers are standing at the foot of it, eyeing Bilbo somewhat skeptically.
"You must be !" Kíli says, the skepticism immediately replaced by excitement
Yep, just like the films
"Nope, no, you can't come in, you've come to the wrong house." Bilbo asserts this time around, and tries to close the door in their face before a hand catches it and pushes it open again.
"What? Has it been cancelled?" Kíli asks
"Noone's told us." Fíli adds
"Cancelled? No, nothing's been cancelled." Bilbo replies confusedly
"That's a relief!" Kíli says and pushes himself through without a second thought
The second he passes by Bilbo and enters the room, our eyes meet.
"Good evening! Now you must be !"
"Baggins." Bilbo mutters quietly at the door
"Nope, not I'm afraid. Nela Albern, at your service." I give a little bow of my own
"Well! I dare say there goes another relief!" Kíli exclaims with a wink
Lord have mercy on me
Fíli elbows his brother in the ribs playfully. "My apologies Miss, my wee brother is still a bit...untamed...at times, am I right Kíli? Must be the young age."
Kíli just elbows him right back and shakes his head at me as though he's telling me to ignore anything his brother says. I just chuckle in return.
Seems that some things never change. Siblings are siblings no matter if you're on Mars or in The Shire.
"Careful with these, I just had 'em sharpened." Fíli drops a bundle full of swords into Bilbo's arms. Meanwhile, Kíli is inspecting the hallway.
"It's nice, this place. Did you do it yourself?"
"Wha- oh no, it's been in the family for years." Bilbo answers
Kíli walks over to the glory box and gets ready to wipe his shoe on it when I quickly tap his shoulder to interrupt him
"I wouldn't do that, he's pretty sensitive to it." I whisper to him
He leans over to me and whispers back "Alright. Seems a little sensitive to everything if you ask me."
I just shrug my shoulders and give him a little wink. He starts smirking when Dwalin stomps into the rooms and grabs him around the shoulders, motioning to Fíli at the same time.
"Fíli, Kíli, come on, give us a hand!"
Kíli's attention snaps to Dwalin and they all make their way over to the kitchen, getting ready for the 'feast'.
I turn to Bilbo who is still standing there holding the bag with weapons, opening my mouth to offer some words of consolation, when Balin's voice resonates from the kitchen.
"Let's shove this in the hall, otherwise we'll never get everyone in."
Uh-oh
"E-everyone? How many more are there?" Bilbo marches over to the kitchen. But before he can get an answer, the doorbell starts ringing again, this time quite persistently.
"Oh no. No, no,no!" Bilbo turns right around and starts off in the direction of the door, tossing the weapons somewhere off to the side.
"There's nobody home!" he shouts out
"Go away, and bother somebody else! There's far too many dwarves in my dining room as it is!"
By now he's almost at the door.
"If, if this is some cluthead's idea of a joke, " he throws his hands in the air and laughs to himself
", then I can only say it is in very, poor taste!" and with that last word he grabs the doorknob and yanks the door open, unleashing a heap of swearing, grunting dwarves onto the wooden floor of Bag End.
Hiya traveller, it appears you've made it to the end of this chapter!
I sincerely hope you all had a good time reading it, because I had a pretty great one writing it :)
As I mentioned in the beginning notes, there was a ton of dialogue in this chapter, an area in writing at which I am not particularly experienced just yet. If there is anything that was bothersome about it from a format perspective, or even an authentic characterisation perspective, please do let me know and I'll work on it.
I'd immensely appreciate any sort of feedback in general, so feel free to comment, kudos, all that fun stuff. It really makes my day when you all communicate with me a little bit, especially if you liked my writing ;) but even if you didn't :)
I wish you all a real nice rest of the day, or night, wherever you find yourselves in the world, and I see you in the next one!
Byebye, Nelly out...