A few more reviews and we'll hit the big five-oh, guys!
I think it's safe to say that I have decided that the main pairing will NOT BE Thorin/Bilba. I honestly don't have anything against the ship- I've seen some really well written works that have Bagginshield, but I don't think it's the direction that I would like to take.
However, my mind hasn't been set on any pairings (other than the aforementioned Bagginshield) so please feel free to tell me your thoughts/ideas!
Thank you so much for your support, and Merry Christmas!
Inspired by a prompt I stumbled upon by lateforerebor on tumblr.
Summary: Bilba "Bell" Baggins decides that she's waited quite long enough to take her mother's advice and old stories and go on an adventure of her own. What she didn't expect was to end up in Ered Luin and be adopted by dwarves! AU, Pre-Quest, Undecided Pairings.
-;-
When the hobbit lass with the sunny smile and dwarvish beads in her hair wandered up the well-worn path to the initial markets of the Blue Mountains, she was met with a much different reaction than she had first encountered.
Dwarves waved and smiled at her, some even calling out in welcome that she had returned, some even mentioning the Goose as she passed by. A small handful even tried to get her to take goods and wares, though Bilba had to draw a line somewhere and that seemed as good as any. While the heat from the sun was uncomfortable at best, the short little barefooted creature continued on, her destination well set in mind.
It certainly hadn't been quite as easy to reach the mountains this time around. The weather, paired with a larger number of orcs in the area, had the Rangers out in full forces to cut them off. Thankfully, Bilba had managed to run into a friendly sort of fellow by the name of Alanidiel (a rather elvish name, she would admit) who had accompanied her as far as he was able before seeing her off. Not that they had even seen hide or hair of an orc or warg, but she appreciated the gesture nonetheless.
They had parted ways not too far from the Blue Mountains, Alanidiel returning to the main group to the north-east, Bilba continuing west.
She looked around at the peaks surrounding the buildings, a warmth building in her chest. This was another home to her, now. And, she had even made sure to put in her papers that she had delivered to her cousins that if anything were to happen to her while on her adventures, Bag End would go to someone who would love it just as her mother and father had. In a more direct manner, Primula.
Bilba had to stop by the bakery stall though- the scent of spices was too tempting for the hobbit to simply pass by without getting something. After several moments, she chose a spiced tart that she gratefully paid for before shifting her pack and continuing on her way, waving to a couple of dwarrow she recognized from her days at the Goose.
The closer she got to the Ri home, the lighter her steps got, until Bilba was practically skipping her way along the road and earning quite a few amused and confused stares that quickly changed to fond amusement as they realized just who it was.
She had just come into view of the familiar house when suddenly, the hobbit was nearly bowled over and a thick pair of arms wrapped firmly around her hips and chest, evoking a startled squawk as her air supply was suddenly cut off.
"By Mahal, lass, you certainly took your time!" Bofur chuckled as he finished swinging the hobbit about and gently setting her back down to the ground. "Been too quiet around here without your pretty smile to keep us lads in line!"
"Bofur, you scoundrel!" Bilba laughed as she dusted herself off, making sure nothing had been shifted out of place before propping her hands on her hips. "Don't scare me like that!"
She didn't really mean it- mostly. She and Bofur had an easy, bantering friendship.
"That's what Bilba Baggins hates!" he chimed back in a sing-song voice. He had such a lovely tenor, Bilba mused as she took his arm and allowed herself to be escorted further up the street.
"One day I will find a way to get back at you for coming up with that tune." She muttered half-heartedly. "And I will make sure you never forget it."
"Aye, I have no doubt you will." The hatted dwarf agreed cheerfully. "But it certainly is good to have you back. Nori's been right out of sorts, and I think Dori's set to explode if he can't find another cook soon. And Ori, the poor lad- his studies just aren't the same with you around. Keeps trying to get Bifur to translate the Khuzdul for him. Unfortunately, since Bifur only knows the older dialect…"
The chatter continued for the next several minutes until they made it to the stoop, to which Bilba knocked before opening the door.
"Doesn't seem like anyone's home at the moment." She mused thoughtfully before turning to Bofur. "Fancy a trip to the Goose after I put my things down?"
"Lass, I would be happy to." Bofur bowed dramatically.
-;-
Rorin was manning the front of the tavern when Bofur and Bilba arrived, and his cheeks probably would have split if he managed to smile any more broadly than he was as he pulled the hobbit into a quick hug and pecked her cheek before waving her towards the back, where a rather irate Dori could be heard arguing with someone.
"Has it been like this the entire time I've been gone?" she groaned to herself, rubbing the bridge of her nose before stomping off in the direction of the kitchen, leaving a highly amused Bofur and an equally cheerful Rorin behind her.
"This is goin' ta be good." Rorin chuckled, propping his chin on the counter of the bar and waiting.
"DORI SON OF RI WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT BERATING YOUR STAFF IN THE KITCHEN!" came the familiar bellow- a hugely unexpected sound from such a tiny creature such as a hobbit. But as it was, hobbits were practically reared knowing how to use such a tone, and Bilba was no exception. "YOU LEAVE THAT POOR DWARROW ALONE- AND PUT DOWN THAT TEAPOT, IT'S AN ANTIQUE, YOU HEATHEN!"
"Like sweet bells." Rorin sighed blissfully, closing his eyes as the sounds of pots and pans clattering to the floor echoed throughout the tavern. Those who were currently dining in the fine establishment were torn between their conversations and chuckling into their ales as the fiery hobbit lass they had come to recognize with the Grey Goose returned with a vengeance.
By the time that Ori finished with his studies with Balin for the day and showed up, things had returned to normal.
If, by normal, one meant that a rather cowed but pleased Dori was once again puttering around with his hobbit lass taking orders and prepping food like she had never left.
Bofur and Rorin both waved over the youngest Ri, slapping an ale in front of him as the pair watched the silver-haired Dori flinch at a scathing look that the hobbit sent his way.
"Why is Dori cowering- is that Bilba?" he squeaked, taking in the scene for himself.
"Oh, aye, the one and only." Bofur couldn't help but chortle. "Wouldn't believe the messes she's sorted out since we got here."
"How long has she been here?" demanded Ori.
Bofur made a so-so gesture, glancing to Rorin who only shrugged before the hatted dwarf tilted his head and guessed, "couple of bells or so?"
"And what did she do, exactly?"
"Well, she cleared out the sorry excuse of a kitchen staff that Dori's had working the last few shifts- only Bombur's back there again with her. Thought a couple of the lads were going to faint, what with the ripping she gave them. Lier almost shattered a teapot and you would have thought that it was her firstborn the way she shrieked him out of here." Rorin said thoughtfully, taking a long swig from his ale. "Apparently nothing's been polished since she's left."
"And Nori hasn't shown up yet?" Ori asked, sipping at his own ale. He hadn't seen his brother's signature pointed hair anywhere , now that he had thought about it.
"Nay, not yet. I think he's still in the higher peaks trading with the smiths." Bofur hummed. "Either that or he's trying to stir up trouble with the guard again."
Ori didn't need reminders that his brother often enjoyed riling up the city guards for fun these days- thankfully, no one had come knocking on their door in search of him, but it was likely only a matter of time before Nori finally managed to insult someone enough for them to come challenge him to an honor trial.
"And a sweet tea and carrot cake for my favorite scribe!" a chipper voice said a moment before a plate of delicious confectionary and tea was slid in front of Ori, a brief arm around the shoulders and a peck to the side of the head the signal of their resident hobbit. "Hello again, Ori. How is Master Balin? I hear you've got some translations for me to help you with."
It was like she had never left, really. Bilba seemed to slip right back into place even though it had been almost a full season since she had initially departed for the Shire.
"Ori? Are you alright?"
Bilba looked concerned, but he shook his head and nodded as he picked up his fork and took a bite of the delicious carrot cake. Despite his innate distaste for most vegetables- namely greens- Ori had been changed for the better by Bilba's almost ethereal skill with putting fruits and vegetables into food and making it taste absolutely divine.
"I'm alright, Bilba." He managed around his cake, earning a soft smile from the hobbit before she glanced over her shoulder and sighed.
"Lovely. I'll talk to you later- I see Gloin coming in, and he'll be wanting a right proper meal after work."
With that, the hobbit lass vanished again, leaving the trio of dwarves chuckling.
No, it seemed as though nothing had changed. Bilba was still Bilba, and she seemed to fit all too well into the workings of Ered Luin.
-;-
That evening, Bilba climbed onto the sturdy roof of the house and looked up at the stars, her pipe firmly in hand as she lay on her back, one arm tucked beneath her head as she blew smoke rings up. It was a cloudless night, and the moon was a mere sliver in comparison to the millions of glittering silver specks that shone in familiar and unfamiliar patterns.
"You know, you could have simply come to greet me like a normal dwarrow." She said conversationally, hearing the soft scuff of a familiar tread on the ground below. "Instead of following me around all day like a shadow."
She didn't get a reply, and to be completely honest, she didn't really expect one. Nori was a hard dwarf to predict, after all- even after living under the same roof with him, she didn't quite know what to expect from him most of the time.
However, there was a soft thud, and then he materialized next to her, taking a seat and beginning to light his own pipe in a companionable silence.
"Y'know, I still haven' figured you out." He replied, puffing away as he glanced up to the canopy of stars as well, picking out the familiar constellations of his people.
"I'm not so complicated as that, you know." She replied in amusement, shifting her skirts. "I am a Hobbit of the Shire, and I do rather enjoy my books and garden. But I also enjoy journeying, as I've discovered, and rather enjoy coming to the west. My favorite tea is black walnut, and my preferred meal is a thick stew with plenty of herbs and vegetables."
"It's not that." He muttered, rolling his eyes. "After I came back, everything was different. Dori and I actually got along, and Ori took to you like a duck to water."
"I gathered as much. You seemed rather estranged from him." Came the soft reply. "It did you both some good though, it seems. Dori told me you've stayed?"
"Wasn't for him." The red-haired dwarf snorted.
"That's fair." Bilba replied, catching him off guard. He had almost expected the prying questions and the bluntness, but then again, this was the hobbit. She only raised her voice when she was feeling particularly passionate about something, or if she was about to verbally tear someone a new one. "Though I admit it brings me some measure of happiness to see you three together."
The tone that she took allowed Nori to pick up on something else, something that was bothering her, but she cleared her throat and said nothing more on it, the pair falling silent for many minutes.
"I didn't know what to make of you." Nori admitted, leaning an arm across his knees. "Dwarves don't trust so easily to allow another race to simply make themselves at home."
"It certainly didn't start that way. I was almost run over by Dori's former cook as he chased him from the Goose." Bilba chuckled. "He offered me a drink on behalf of the poor behavior I was witness to and it simply went downhill from there, as they say."
"For whatever it may count for, I think you make us better." Nori said carefully- neutral.
"I think you make me better too." The hobbit said quietly. "For so many years, I shut myself away. Though admittedly, you and I could have met under better circumstances. I don't think I've apologized yet for that, by the way."
"I may have deserved it. Slightly."
"Still. I am sorry."
"You and I both know that you aren't." Nori said dryly, looking down at the smirking lass.
"You're right. But it was worth a shot. Plus, I do feel a little guilty about it. Not that I regret it, however."
She shifted, putting out the embers of her pipe before bidding Nori good-night and climbing down. A moment later and he heard the door close behind her, and he was left with his thoughts. Would she realize, he wondered, that he had taken the fourth bead she had left behind?
-;-
She was alone.
The scent of ashes and a thick copper tainted the air, and as she turned, she felt wet heat against her bare feet. Looking down, she barely managed to restrain the horrified scream that desperately wanted to leave her throat as she realized that she was standing in a shallow pool of what could only be blood.
Whirling again, she found herself looking over a vast valley, covered in fallen and crimson. The air around her shoulders was bitter and cold, chilling her nearly to the bone. A weight in her hand had her realizing that she was holding a blade- short and silver, unlike anything she had ever seen before.
"Bilba!"
She turned again, only to be confronted with the snarling features of a warg. Instinctively, though she didn't know how, she raised the blade, almost catching it on the bow slung about her shoulders, and brought it down-
And then she stood before a dwarf with dark hair, dark as night and bound in intricate braids and curls. Eyes as clear as a summer sky bored into her as the dwarrowdam spoke-
"Bilba, where are you!"
Fire, fire that scorched the barren earth and careened in all directions, a white hot flame that decimated all in its path-
"BILBA, NO!"
Watched herself as she stood in front of a great crimson creature that could only be described from the tales her mother used to read her, its pupils a dark glittering gold that seemed to resound throughout the hall she stood in.
"Come back to me, Bilba."
And then she felt as though she were floating, a blurred image of a dwarf reaching for her, fear in his eyes and his hair billowing around his face-
When she awoke, Bilba could only recall pieces of the dream. However, she could not shake the feeling of dread that grew like a pit in her stomach, nor deny that she was soaked through with sweat and shivering.
Whatever the dream had been, it hadn't been good.