Chapter 2: More than Expected
"I'll get it," Edyth announces as she passes Bilbo, not giving him the chance to object. It had to be another Dwarf, did it not? Maybe it would be Dwalin's friend – a friend who could explain things in more than three words at a time.
With her head filled with a river of thoughts, Edyth opens to door. Sure enough, there is another Dwarf on the other side. Unlike the one chowing down on their evening meal, this one's head was full of white that continues down under his cheeks into a full beard that slightly curves at the very bottom. He is shorter but no less stout and still stood a few inches over her. He wears travelling clothes like his assumed companion, only his are a deep but faded red and had fewer buckles and straps. His face was also kinder but not soft in the slightest.
He smiles brightly as she opens the door. "Balin. At your service," he greets. "You are not Mister Baggins, are you dear?"
Edyth shakes her head, though smiling. "No," she laughs softly. "I'm Edyth, his sister. Dwalin is already inside."
Balin's smile grows wider. "Ah! So I'm not late?"
"Not that I'm aware of." Edyth turns slowly as Balin strides past her as she meets eyes with her brother who is standing in the curved archway, glaring straight at her. Shrugging, she closes the door and follows Balin. "He's nice," she defends. Bilbo only whimpers slightly as Edyth strides right past him.
Dwalin has left the dining room, this time trying to fit his squared hands into a treats jar. However, as soon as he sees Balin, the jar is forgotten.
"Ooh! Ah-hah!" Balin exclaims joyfully. "Evening, brother!"
Dwalin smiles down at his brother, sauntering closer. "By my beard! You are shorter and wider than last we met."
Balin sighs with a smile, placing his hands on his stomach. "Wider, not short," he corrects. "Sharp enough for the both of us." They laugh, gripping each other's arms and to her utter horror, knock their heads together.
Edyth's hand is the only thing stopping the small yelp as Bilbo can only blink, still unable to register what is happening. "Oh, I can feel the headache," she says, rubbing her own head as though it was the one to be knocked.
Dwalin and Balin take no notice of the distressed Hobbits – though one more so than the other – and continue on into the pantry that Edyth had just filled that afternoon. Edyth however, is less worried about her food (which can easily be replaced) and more so about their wellbeing. They must be confused and lost if they think they belong in Bag End. Who had sent them a letter with the wrong address?
"Uh…excuse me," Bilbo tries. "Sorry. I hate to interrupt. Uh…but the thing is I'm not entirely sure you're in the right house.
Either they don't hear or purposely don't take any notice of her brother's words. "Have you eaten?" Balin asks his own brother. Dwalin tosses something over his shoulder and Edyth notes in remorse that it was the fresh cabbage she had brought.
"It's not that I don't like visitors. I…I like visitors as much as the neck Hobbit. But I do like to know them before they come visiting." The Dwarven pair pick up a block of blue cheese, scowling at it and questioning whether it has gone off or not. "The thing is, um…"
"It's riddled with mould," Dwalin growls, still contemplating the condition of the blue cheese slice. He tosses that also over his shoulder.
"Oh forget it, Bilbo," she sighs. "They're not listening."
Bilbo scowls at her then back to the Dwarves with his hands placed firmly on his hips. "The thing is, I don't…I don't know either of you, not in the slightest. I don't mean to be blunt, but I uh…but I had to speak my mind. I'm sorry."
Edyth isn't quite sure what exactly got their attention; perhaps they were listening the entire time but the Dwarves stop their ravishing for that moment and turn to the Hobbits. "Apology accepted," Balin grinned. Edyth pats her brother's back, pinching one side of her mouth up in contemplation.
"At least they're not that man you were going on about earlier," she offers.
"Oh, no. Fill it up now, brother, don't stint," Balin orders and Dwalin fills their ales.
"You want to get stuck in?"
"I could eat again if you insist, brother."
At the Hobbit siblings can only stare at their two unexpected guests, the doorbell rings once again. Bilbo doesn't even seem to hear it as he stares. "I'll get it," Edyth numbly notes. Bilbo only whimpers again in response.
Slowly her feet drag her away from the pantry towards the door once more. She wants to convince herself that there is a logical explanation for everything happening, but her mind turns up emptier than she predicts their pantry will be if Dwarves keep showing up at their doorstep. Maybe she should put a sign out the front.
Edyth pulls the door open, already preparing herself to guide them towards the other Dwarves but what she is expecting and what she sees is two completely different things. Instead of an older, greying or balding Dwarf, Edyth finds two young and handsome ones standing at her door.
The one on the left is blonde, his hair pulled back by braids intertwining before flowing freely over his shoulders. Two pairs of large ones hung over his ears, the braid ending a few inches before the bottom of his hair, sealed off with squared metal beads. His jaw and lower cheeks are lined with blonde scruff, but he has a moustache that falls just past his chin. It is also braided with two metal beads.
On the right was a taller, darker-haired Dwarf. He didn't seem to have any braids except for a possible one pulling part of his upper hair behind his head. He has a slightly overgrown fringe, swept to the left side and his hair was only slightly longer than his companions. Also unlike his brother, he only had a stubble of a beard.
Both wear fur-lined coats though the blonde's ends just above his knees and the brunette's goes to his calves. It almost seems as though they are the complete opposite, yet entirely the same.
"Fili," the blonde greets.
The brunette who holds a stony face adds "And Kili."
Together they bow in sync. "At your service," they finish together. When they rise, the brunette's Kili's face turned upwards. "You must be Miss Boggins."
"Edyth," she corrects. "And it's Baggins." Edyth glances over her shoulder, barely seeing the back of Bilbo's shirt. "Come in," she sighs. "I don't think you're late for whatever this is."
"That's good news," Fili muses to his brother as they push through the threshold. Edyth jumps out of the way to avoid her feet being trodden on by their hefty looking boots. "Here. You got a place for these?"
Edyth drags her eyes away from Kili to his companion who is already throwing a clothed bundle towards her. She stumbles slightly under the weight, widening her eyes as she sees the points of swords poking out the end. Fili begins pulling an assortment of knives out of his boots, sleeves and pockets.
Bilbo finally broke from his trance, rushing into the front room and started scolding Kili for cleaning his boots on their mother's glory box. Her head spins around, trying to find a suitable place to put down weapons but it wasn't like her father had, the designer of the home thought that they would need a designated space.
She caught Fili staring at her with a broad smirk. "Sorry lass," he chortles. "Probably a bit much for ya."
He steps forward, reaching out for his belongings but Edyth shies away, holding it tighter. "No, I'm fine. Just don't know where to put them." Fili raises an eyebrow, holding his hands up to his chest in surrender. Edyth looks around once more, deciding that on top of their entrance storage box will do. She carefully places the weapons down, looking back up for Fili's approval but he's already gone, along with Kili and her brother.
Edyth jogs back to the pantry, but the group of four have already moved onto the large room next to the kitchen. Balin is pointing at their dining table. "Let's shove this in the hole, or otherwise we'll never get everyone in."
"Um, I'll help," Edyth says, though she isn't sure she's heard. All the Dwarves seem to tower over her in both stature and voice. She almost feels like a child again. There is a hard and sudden clap on her back as she wanders into their mix.
"There you go lass," Kili exclaims gleefully.
"Ev…everyone?!" Bilbo cries from behind them. "How many more are there?"
Nobody answers him and Edyth busies herself with making sure they don't damage their table. Not that the table is worth much, but she knows Bilbo would have an absolute fit if they dent the walls.
Though she is holding the table, she may as well not be as it is lifted completely by the Dwarves. Edyth looks to Kili on her right as they shuffle through the room. "How many more are there of you?" she inquires, repeating her brother's unheard words. Kili only smirks. "Oh dear," she swallows, beginning to take Bilbo's perspective on the night.
The doorbell rings again. The sound has become a curse that brings havoc from the evils of the world itself. Well, not that Edyth believes the Dwarves to be evil, but they certainly are chaotic. Pinching her lips, Edyth makes a move towards the door.
Bilbo jumps in her way, waving a finger through the air. "No!" he orders before spinning around. "No! No!" He begins marching towards the door. "There's nobody home! Go away and bother somebody else! There's far too many Dwarves in my dining room as it is. If…if this is some blockhead's idea of a joke, I can only say, it is in very poor taste!"
Edyth listens to the door opening which is subsequently followed by numerous groans. Having an urgent desire to see it for herself, Edyth marches towards the main entrance. Lying quite literally over the threshold is a pile of Dwarves.
Edyth's eyes are wider than saucers as she counts them all in her head. Eight. There are eight more Dwarves in her home. "Please tell me this is all," she pleas to the Dwarf on her left.
She turns her head towards Fili who is leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. "For the most part," he replies. Edyth mouths his answer in disbelief.
"Who are you all?"
"We're from the Blue Mountains," Fili answers honestly. "And we're all here for a meeting."
"A meeting? In my home?"
Fili nods once, pushing off from the wall. "You should be honoured," he taunts, swinging an arm around her shoulder. "It is a secret meeting after all."
"Secret?" she repeats to herself. Fili's arm begins to slide off as he walks quicker than her. She quickly grabs the material on his arm, both pulling him back and pulling herself forward. "Why on earth are you having a secret meeting at Bag End?" But her question is somewhat answered by a new figure making their way into her line of sight. "Well blast me through the roof," she exclaims, abandoning Fili in favour of the Wizard dressed in Grey. "No wonder Bilbo was going on about a Wizard earlier."
Gandalf the Grey smiles as the young Hobbit woman comes up to him, beaming. "Ah! Dear Edyth! I was hoping you would be home."
"This is your doing?!" she laughs, shoving a thumb over her shoulder in the direction of the chaos. "Of course it is. Oh, that makes me feel a lot better. You had me thinking that these poor fellas got the wrong message and were supposed to be in Bree or something."
"I am guilty as you charge," Gandalf grins, leaning against his staff. "How is your brother fairing?"
"As our father would," Edyth scoffs. "Just listen."
Gandalf and Edyth stay silent for a moment, listening to the scramble of food and boots behind them. Even over that noise, Bilbo's voice is loud and clear; frantically trying to keep everything in perfect order.
"You could have given me some warning at least. I feel like we're going to run out of food within half the hour."
"I did give Bilbo a fair warning," Gandalf replies with a twinkle in his eye. "He just decided not to listen. How are those books doing for you?"
Edyth burrows her brows, expressing her perplexing eyes. "Books?" she repeats. "I borrow all my books from the Shire library." Gandalf certainly hadn't given her books last time he visited, but Edyth did find titbits of adventure in the books hidden away in the far end of the library.
Gandalf smiles, leaning down slightly. "And who, do you think, put them there?" He leans back up straighter, giving Edyth a wink as her mouth rounds in realisation. Of course, he had left them there. There had been numerous tales, some of the Elves, some of Men and she had even read about mighty beings called Ents.
"No wonder Miss Perrot was always confused when I asked to borrow them," she laughs. "She's probably never seen them before in her life." Her laughter settles down as she folds her arms across her chest, watching the mayhem in front of her. "So what's this meeting about?"
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