Author's Note: I own nothing.

13 Into the Woods

Beorn opened his house to them for a few days and it was lovely. Bella had a wonderful time, he introduced her to the animals who lived with him, down to the last little mouse, all of whom had names. He showed her the flowers she'd been wondering about and the great oaks that grew in his courtyard. The dwarves and Gandalf planned. They would be taking the elven road into the Mirkwood to where it met the River Running from there they would follow the river to Esgaroth. They would find a boat in Lake Town and hire it to help them cross the lake to the Lonely Mountain itself. They would leave the next morning, using the horses Beorn was lending them to get safely to the forest. The horses would not enter the trees, it was dangerous and they knew it. But for the moment she was laying in the garden under the old oak tree. Dwalin had finally shown her a few ways of using her little letter opener. She was exhausted and had been delighted to discover that Beorn had a tub he was willing to lend her. The dwarves had all been banished to the garden but she'd still washed and dressed quickly. Now she was laying in the garden letting her hair dry in the sun. A thump next to her heralded someone joining her. She looked up and spotted Beorn frowning at her.

"Which one is he little bunny?" He asked and she blinked up at him. "The one who sings to your soul." Beorn clarified nodding over to the dwarves. Bella went bright red, looking around to see if they'd been overheard. None of the dwarves were close enough to hear them. Most of them were sparring, Dori and Nori were giving instruction to Ori as he spared with Kili, Fili cheering his brother on. Thorin had tossed aside his shirt and was sparring with Bifur and Gloin as Balin and Oin watched. Bofur and Bombur who'd sparred earlier, were sitting to the side repairing what little equipment they had. Bombur looked to be mending Thorin's shirt while Bofur worked on Bella's torn shirt. She was currently in her spare. Bella watched as Thorin spin Orcrist in a circle, blocking Bifur's blow and sidestepping Gloin's axe. He was well built, his torso marked with the signs of working years in a forge, He had other scars too, ones she couldn't identify. He also had runes tattooed over his heart, she couldn't read them but there were three different lines of ink there. She didn't realize she'd been staring until Thorin glanced back at her and caught her eye. Was it her imagination or did he look almost smug as he turned back to the others. She flopped back into the grass and glanced at Beorn who was smiling lightly down at her.

"The Oakenshield then?" He asked and Bella let out a huff. She nodded her cheeks burning red. Beorn tilted his head at her. "Does he know?" She frowned.

"I don't know. I don't think so." She said running her hand through the grass. She missed days like this back in the Shire where she could lay in the grass with a good book and while away the day. Things had gotten so complex since she'd left and they would only get more complex when Thorin found out the truth. Beorn frowned at her.

"You should tell him." Beorn said and Bella frowned. It wasn't that she hadn't thought of it. There was a very easy way to be sure, all she had to do was sing one little song, any little song and he would know. She hadn't had a chance to confront him, not at Rivendell when she'd been trying to process the information herself. Then their trek through the Misty Mountains had been too miserable to even think of singing. Bella sat up frowning slightly down at the ground, a few leaves of the great oak had begun to fall, along with some of the acorns ready to grow into new trees. She picked one up and rolled it between her hands.

"I'm not sure how he would take it." She admitted. She didn't know what Thorin thought of the One's Song. She knew there were some Hobbits, Lobelia Sackville-Baggins by name, thought the Tuning was a silly old concept. She'd only really talked to Kili about what dwarves thought about the bond. Gloin talked about his One a lot, she was in Ered Luin with their son Gimli waiting for his return.

"I would give anything to hold my Soul's Song one last time." Beorn said and Bella looked up at him. He had a sad look in his eyes. She glanced back over at Thorin where the dwarves had paused their sparring. He had stuck his head in a barrel of rainwater and was now soaking wet. She looked away quickly. "It is up to you little bunny, but I believe he deserves to know." Beorn said and stood, leaving Bella to her thoughts. She frowned rolling the acorn between her hands one more time. She stared down at it for a moment. So much potential in such a small seed. She flopped back onto the grass slipping the acorn into her pocket. Perhaps if she ever made it back to the Shire she would plant it there and watch the great tree that would grow from it. Or maybe she would grow the tree somewhere on the Lonely Mountain. She somehow doubted there would be a place inside Erebor that would sustain a great oak tree. She sighed, she would be disappointed to leave this place.

The next morning dawned bright but with a slight chill in the air that was causing a bit of tension in the group. They had to reach the mountain before fall ended and winter began or their whole quest would be pointless, having to wait another year before they could try again. They mounted the ponies and bid Beorn farewell at the gate.

"Think on what I said little bunny." He said, refusing to say more, though Gandalf had a knowing look in his eyes. She wondered if he knew too. He was a Wizard, maybe he had some means of discovering the bonds between others. They set out at a ground eating pace. Beorn had warned them that this area, around the boarders of Mirkwood were crawling with Orcs and Wargs. They needed to reach the woods quickly if they were to slip in unnoticed. With the help of the horses they made it to the entrance of the Elven road before noon. When they reached it and began releasing their ponies to return to their home Gandalf stayed on his horse.

"This is where I leave you for now. Other things require my immediate attention. I will meet you in the shadow of the mountain before Durin's day. One more thing before you enter the forest. Do not stray from the path under any circumstances. These woods will invade your minds and attempt to fool you with illusions. If you leave the path you will never find it again." Gandalf said before riding off. The company released the other ponies, shouldered the supplies Beorn had given them and entered the darkening forest.