Chapter Eleven

Bilbo wouldn't admit to himself, he refused to acknowledge what happened just a few minutes ago. His legs still shook from the events, the fall had taken his breath away but what really had him in a state of panic was Thorin. Thorin, everything always lead back to him, his thoughts, his feelings...his feelings. The warmth he had felt earlier had to be extinguished at once, Bilbo would not let whatever happened let it fog his mind. He had other pressing matters to attend to. Right outside the door he could faintly hear the muffled sounds of the company arranging all of their belonging, preparing themselves for their journey ahead.

Bilbo's trembling hand rose up to his chest, his fingers digging inside his coat in order to sooth his beating heart. Getting his breathing under control, Bilbo set out to the medic bay, he nodded at the passing elves that he encountered. After knocking and getting permission to walk in, the hobbit entered the area glad to see his favorite guard. L'vren respectfully gave his prince a nod and waited patiently for Bilbo to speak. When the hobbit made no attempt, the guard spoke out. "You can't do anything, my prince."

"Ther- there has to be a way."

"No. Listen, as much as I hate to speak this, I am no fit to protect you. I spoke to one named, Dwalin, he said he would make sure to keep you safe." Bilbo would rather...no,no he would...actually he really knew nothing of what he wanted to do. Every decision he made only brought him back to the company. L'vren was right, but that didn't mean he had to just accept the fact. What would he do without his guard? "I cannot accept it, as Prince I order you to come with us..with me."

L'vren gave his Prince a fond smile, " Using that on me. It will not work."

"I know, I had to try…" Bilbo said defeated, he took the offered seat beside the huge bed and let his shoulders slump forward. " Do as they say. No, let me speak, please. As your guard and friend you have to continue to the mountain. As soon as I have recovered I will make my way to you." Nothing would sway the dwarrows decisions, he already made up his mind. Reluctantly the hobbit accepted. "Now, go and get packing, they can't leave without you." In all honesty, Bilbo had a feeling they would, especially Thorin.

Biblo stayed with his guard until his eyes closed for the night, standing up and adjusting his clothes Bilbo made his way out but not before giving his guard one last glance. Bilbo was defeated, he intended on fighting Thorin until he no longer could. Those plans were thrown out the window as he replayed the conversation had with L'vren. Releasing a heavy sigh, the hobbit made his way to his chambers.

Body enveloped in the softest silk, Bilbo laid awake staring at the ceiling wondering if he could really get up and meet the others . The day before, Ori had graced him with his presence, although Bilbo held no blame towards the young dwarrow he still felt uneasy around him. He accepted his company no less. The young scribe had informed him they would leave on the first sign of sunlight.

Those hazel green eyes stayed wide open as the night passed by, the first rays of sunlight painted the dark sky and Bilbo reluctantly stood up from the bed and made his way over to his pack. Bilbo made a mental check over everything he would need, the food the Elves had provided was tucked away safely, he need as much food as he could carry. Leaving had to be one of that hardest thing to do. Everything about Rivendell felt like home, well what home would have been like if his kin had not decided to live underground. With its fresh sunlight and oxygen, it was the perfect place for a hobbit like him to flourish. Bilbo vowed he would return once again. Whenever that would be. He could even bring Frerin.

The whole company waited patiently for the hobbit to arrive, except for their soon to be King. He paced back and forth, watching the sun soon rising above the horizon. A few curses left his lips. "That Halfing knew the time. Ori, you made sure?"

"Y-Yes, of course." Ori squeaked, Nori couldn't help but step closer to his sibling. About to say something else, the hobbit made his appearance. "I'm here. My apologies I had to say goodbye one last time."

Thorin grunted, "This will never be your home. Take in all the beauty because it will be the time you ever see something like this." Bilbo was frozen in place and it wasn't because of the way Thorin leaned towards him, nor the way his breath felt against the back of his neck. It was what he spoke. Of course he would come back, nothing would stop him from doing so. Not even Thorin. "Let's move." Kili, Fili and Ori fell into step with Bilbo, Dwalin was in front with Thorin and occasionally kept his eyes one the hobbit. Bilbo recalled what L'vren had said about the dwarrow, he would protect him. Although he hated being protected by those he wasn't close to, Bilbo felt a sense of warmth wash over him. If dwalin held anything against the hobbit he would have rejected the favor. Bilbo caught Dwalin's eyes and gave him a smile and a nod, the dwarrow returned the nod.

"Ignore uncle, he gets uneasy when his plans don't go the way he wants them to."

"Yes, do ignore him. Soon he will be back to normal." Kili added.

Bilbo raised an eyebrow, "What? That being stone cold and using any opportunity to rile me up?" The two princes looked at each other and smirked. "That's insulting...you're going to fit right in. If you can handle Uncle you can handle the rest of the family." Fili agreed with his brother, after talking for another ten minutes the princes made their way to the front where their Uncle awaited them. . Ori stayed behind, his warm eyes looking back and forth between Bilbo and his notebook. Sensing it, Bilbo asked. "What is it? You can ask me anything."

Ori mumbled something, "Sorry, could you repeat that." Blushing, Ori looked up . " Could I ask you some questions?"

"Sure." Hearing the approval, the scribe took out his parchment and ink his hand ready to jot down everything. Bilbo was unsure how Ori would be able to write down everything while they walked. Shrugging his shoulders he guess it wasn't Ori's first time.

" How often do your kin go above ground?"

"Well, it depends on the time of year. It may surprise you to learn that we don't spend much time outside in our lands. Whenever spring arrives all of our kin go to the Blue Mountains."

Ori sponged up every word, his eyes kept sparkling with each answer he received. On one particular question Bilbo had to pause, that moment he noticed the rest of the company was closer to Ori and himself. It seemed they were as curious as Ori was.

Bilbo was stumped, what surprised him about the question was that he had no way of actually answering it. Well, it was more of how to start it. Why was Bilbo the one proclaimed to marry Frerin, when he had cousins? " The crown would not go to me, that's why my Grandfather and King Thrain chose me. I actually heard that my mother never approved of the contract."

"Do you know why?"

" I guess I never asked why. And if I did I don't remember the answer to it. " Saying that out loud it dawned on Bilbo that he never truly knew anything, did he ever ask his mother? Why didn't she approve? Since she was gone now from this world, there was no way of asking. The only other person whom he could have asked would be his Grandfather. As soon as they reached the mountain, his first order of business was to send a letter.

Glancing up the hobbit tried in vain to stop the blush from taking over his face, everyone had their eyes trained on him. Years of being a prince taught Bilbo to not look away. His hazel-green eyes held onto all of them. Curiosity, disappointment, and determination were some of the most notable expressions.

One, in particular, captivated him, trapped him in its blue depths. The hobbits' gaze was set with Thorin's, they stood still neither looking away, ignoring their surroundings. Bilbo took the opportunity to study Thorin's expression, hidden behind those blue eyes was hope, hope for what?

Their intense staring was short lived as Thorin broke their connection, "Keep moving." He ordered. The company obliged, Gandalf stayed behind in order to keep the hobbit company.

"Do you know?"

"Know what?" The wizard peered down, confusion written on his face.

"About my mother," Bilbo asked as he looked up, " Why did she not want this?" Gandalf gave the hobbit a look, one that made Bilbo feel like he should know the answer.

"If you had a child, would you want their fate sealed without having a say in it? Ask yourself that my dear boy."

For the past hour, that's exactly what the hobbit prince did. He thought about how his mother might have felt at that moment when King Thrain proposed such unity. Bilbo would have wanted his child to choose for themselves, forge their own path. Not have some stranger decided for them. Was this how his mother felt? What did he feel about the revelation?

What was he supposed to feel? Was he sad, angry? Even now did he have a say in anything? What would his life be if it didn't happen the way it did? Would he have met the company? Thorin? Shaking his head at the silly thoughts, Bilbo decided to leave that thought for another time when he didn't need to concentrate on the journey ahead.

The trees around them began to scatter, by the sun's position it was nearing noon as if on cue his stomach grumbled. Thankfully he wasn't the only one. Camp was made, a fire sat in the middle, its heat radiating and engulfing anyone that neared it. A pot was suspended above it, the sweet smell of spices permeated the air. Sitting close and far away from everyone, Bilbo reached into his pack and took out a handful of different nuts, and dried fruit. Happy with the amount he began chewing.

After having finished, his stomach still asked for more, his fingers itched towards the pack, not used to eating less, Bilbo was getting impatient. In an attempt to muffle the sounds he turned his back to the company and closed his eyes. Sleep came easy for him but was soon awakened by an unfamiliar voice. Groaning he stood up and rubbed his eyes.

A blurry figure appeared, they were round and red? "I saw you didn't help yourself to a plate. Here." Vision cleared, Biblo gazed at the offered bowl. Numbly he reached for it but not before making eye contact with Bombur, "Thank you." Bilbo did not need to be told twice, instead of using the utensils available to him he took the bowl between his hands and brought it to his lips. Slurping and licking the last droplet he settled the bowl beside him.

Laughter erupted through the camp, cheeks red the hobbit wanted to hide. "A Prince? Ha, guess you're not as uptight as we thought," Nori announced. Few dwarrows agreed with him. The scene almost made Bilbo feel like he belonged. No one looked at him as different. If it was only for a moment, Bilbo would cherish it forever. It should have made him feel embarrassed at having been caught acting with no manners and yet he felt free? Maybe there was a chance for him to be closer to them, it would certainly help him with Frerin.

2 Weeks later.

Thorin regretted his decision now more than ever. Rain drowned the sounds around them, the thunder raged on as they continued forward. It was a really bad idea, he should have listened to Gandalf and that other crazy Wizard. Rationality never won out. The path through the misty mountains was a quicker and faster way to reach their destination. Thorin paused then turned around and took a good look at his kin. They were soaked completely, the darkness made it hard for him to see their faces but he knew how they all felt. Dwalin kept a close eye at the smallest dwarrow, Ori who was safely tucked underneath his older brothers arm. The two princes sported identical expression, teeth chattering and figures shivering.

It was a really bad idea, on top of that his growing irritation at not finding a safe area to lead the company.

"Uncle...have y-you found a-anything?" Kili asked through clenched teeth, everyone gazed expectantly at him. Before he could answer them, an explosion of flying rocks made everyone huddle even closer. "Rock Giants!" Thorin looked through the haze, his eyes barely making out a figure. They had to get out before they died on the spot.

Searching, Thorin spotted a cave like area about twenty feet from where they were standing. "Dwalin, get in the front and lead them right over there," Thorin pointed straight at the cave, " I will be at the back," Dwalin grunted, the others followed Dwalin's lead. Thorin kept a mental count of everyone passing him by, the hobbit was at the very back, constantly falling. "Get a grip, we're falling behind." Bilbo stood up, his feet ached with every step. The blood pooling around his foot proved that he had injured it when he first went down.

Keeping his face as neutral as possible the hobbit continued on with Thorin watching his every move. Up ahead he could see Gandalf jump over a rock ledge before landing on the other side, Fili was next. Bilbo reached towards Kili, his hands wrapping around the wet jacket to keep himself from falling again. As soon as the water calmed, Fili jumped, Bilbo felt Kili tense as his brother jumped. It only relaxed when he knew his brother was safe on the other side.

Kili got ready to jump, Bilbo removed his hands then placed his whole weight on the other foot. A sharp pain pressed against his side as he felt someone push him aside. A breathless gasp left his lips as he collided with the jagged rock. Left hand and foot felt numb as he tried to get himself up from the slippery trail, his blunt nails dug into his pants as the pain intensified with his movements. Tears welled up but as the rain washed them away. "You're the last one, get up. You're holding everybody back."

"I'm sorry." He was, but he couldn't get up even if he tried. Through the pain, Bilbo asked himself why he was pushed. What happened up front that he was unable to see? The situation worsened, Thorin was screaming at him, the rest of the company watched them from the safety of the cave.

" !" Thorin screamed, he bent down and roughly pulled Bilbo to his feet. The hobbit let out a pained scream. Thorin's hold on Bilbo's arms was unrelenting even after his outcry. "Let go of me...You're hurting me."

"Move."

"I said you're hurting me!" Enough, he was hurt, his emotions were all over the place. Everything needed to stop. Pushing against Thorin's chest, Bilbo hadn't noticed how close he was to the edge until he saw Thorin's hand reach out for him.

Author's Note: I'm back, again. Sorry . This chapter was supposed to be uploaded on Monday but after editing I realized I couldn't post it the way it was. Now, I'm content and hopefully, this is enough for my lack of updating. I will really try going back to updating weekly. Wondering when Frerin will make an appearance, it won't be too long. Adios.