Hi! Here's the next chapter, I won't be able to update this story for a while as I have university commitments but I will hopefully get the next chapter up within two weeks! I just want to mention that I think the characters cast for the Hobbit were brilliant, so when I imagine them in my story they are as they were in the films. Particularly Richard Armitage...yummm. I think Martin Freeman was born to play Bilbo also. I hope you enjoy this next chapter. Again I apologise in advance for any grammatical or spelling mistakes!
I woke to an empty room, the sun was shining directly into my eye from the smallest of windows on the left side of the 'double room' as I sat up. This place was not the most desirable; small and dingy, the room was only big enough for two single beds and a sink basin with a chair. Each and every floor board would creak. I'm sure if the wind blew too hard the whole building would collapse. I prefer to sleep outside, under the stars…unless it's raining. No one enjoys sleeping on wet grass and the rain getting everything you own completely soaked. I raised my hand to cover my eye from the sunlight.
"For fuck sake, why haven't they got a shutters in this place, stupid fucking sun." I've been up for less than a minute and I've already got annoyed with something.
"Tut tut sister, that language should not be used by such a lady", I jumped with shock at Xan's voice. I was not alone then. I saw him sitting in the corner of the room, sharpening my blade, how did I not hear that? He looked up and saw that I was staring and waved the blade at me in a greeting, accompanied by a cocky grin knowing he scared the crap out of me.
"Lady… really? You make me laugh. Where is Hen and Eli?" I enquired, whilst trying to untangle myself from the flimsy sheet of the bed.
"They're downstairs, getting some breakfast before we head off. We were going to leave earlier but Hen thought we should get as much sleep as we can before we don't have the choice of a lay in. I think you would make a great lady. Do you think we will ever see you in a dress? I think you'd look quite beautiful" Xander said all this whilst focussing on the blade he was sharpening. He shut his left eye and poked out his tongue slightly, to focus on one particular piece of the blade, then decided that it needed more sharpening.
"Me? A dress, I doubt that very much. That is a good point. Do you think- whoaaa!" I eventually freed myself from the sheet just to trip over Eli's bag he left by the side of the bed and face planting the floor. Ouch. My boobs. My face.
"Wow. Smooth. I cannot believe such a graceful fighter could be such a clumsy oaf. Do you need a hand?" I could not see his face but I can bet that he's trying to suppress his laughter.
"Nope, I'm fine", I jumped up, wiping my trousers and baggy tunic of dust whilst chuckling at my own uselessness. If there was a flat surface it would be me that would find something to trip over, it is hilarious most of the time but sometimes I get angry and frustrated. I should be more than capable of not falling over, but nope, three times a day without fail, it'll happen. I stopped in front of Xander, dropping a kiss on his cheek. "Good morning, you know you do not have to sharpen my blades, I can do it myself but thank you."
"It is no bother Belle, it is quicker this way. Plus as soon as Hen and Eli get back with food we'll be leaving and I want to make sure your blades are okay." As he finished talking, my brothers walked through the door carrying hot tea and bread with cheese.
"Ahhh, Lou you're awake. Here eat up, we leave soon." Hen passed me and Xander a plate of bread and cheese and I pecked him on the cheek saying "Thanks!"
I never realise how hungry I am until I start eating. I sat down on the bed and began shovelling the food down, saying the occasional 'hmmm' and 'yumm'. Eli sat down next to me with his own food, and turned his head in my direction, "You have dust on your face." He raised his right hand and wiped my cheek clean.
"Oh yeah, I tripped over your bag that you conveniently left at the side of our bed and face planted, I know you did it on purpose." At this, my brothers roared with laughter. Bastards.
"Sorry, you should be more observant. I'm doing you a favour really."
I met his smirk with narrowed eyes and a frown, and carried on with my breakfast. I love cheese, so creamy and rich. The bread was perfect as well, soft and well baked. I remember the taste of my mother's bread, she used to put seeds in the mixture and without any effort at all, she would make the perfect loaf. I smiled at the memory and looked at Hen and Xan who were both enjoying the breakfast as I was, the latter had returned my blade to its sleeve and placed it on my rucksack next to the door, "Do you remember Mother's bread? It was perfect, wasn't it?"
Henrion looked up and smiled at my own grin, though there was sadness in his eyes, "Of course, I'm surprised you remember. You used to cry at night a lot, she used to give you a slice of bread to nibble so she could get some sleep."
"No wonder it shut me up, it was brilliant."
After we finished breakfast, we packed up our things, I had to double check that my sketchbook was in the front pocket. I'd be devastated if I lost my drawings, they were memories of my brothers and I's adventures. Most of the pages were of Meredith. The village I was brought up in, the people were judgemental of us because we kept ourselves to ourselves but the place was beautiful. Always so green, with bluebells and roses on every little bit of land. We lived in a lovely little wooden lodge on the outskirts of town near the river that ran through the village. I miss it there but I do believe it was time to move on. Plus any more altercations with the locals would not have been good. The latest involved the hot-headed boy in town that thought he could push me around, he soon realised he could not after he was rushed to the healers.
"Belle, would you like to use the bathroom before we go, it is down the hall. I'll take you there and wait outside so no one enters?" Elijah asked.
"Yes please, let me just grab my things."
As we stepped out of our room and walked down the hall, one of the maids went to rush past us before she looked at Eli.
"Oh, oh, hel- hello. I hope you have had a nice stay. It would be lovely to see you again." She had a slight tremble in her voice. My brothers always had this effect on women, even the most confident would become a nervous wreck. She didn't even realise I was standing next to him.
"We have thank you, we will definitely be back." Eli replied with a wink and a lop-sided smile which made the poor maid almost drop her tray of soap. After standing there awkwardly for a couple of minutes, being glared at by the maid, I realised that she wanted to say something without me there, so I grabbed a few bars of soap without her realising (this soap would be perfect for travelling), slipped into the bathroom and locked the door.
I looked into the mirror after I turned on the taps for the bath, my blue eyes were bright and happy despite how tired I felt, I tutted as I noticed my slight lazy right eye. My skin was pale as always, though my cheeks always had a red tint to them. My cheekbones were quite defined and my lips full. My top lip slightly fuller than the bottom, making it seem like I have a permanent pout. My eyelashes were long and dark. I have been told I look very much like my mother. I guess I had rather elvish features like my brothers, though my stature made it obvious I was not one. Unlike the boys, I am rather short, standing at just over five foot. I have an hourglass figure, with a big bust and wide hips. I would not say I am fat, but curvy, I definitely have meat on my bones. No skinny, perfect elf here. Plus, the clumsiness. As I undressed I saw the bruises that marked my arms and legs, tokens of the continuous falls in the forest. I ran my hands over the black tattoos that were on my skin. I call them tattoos, but I did not choose to have them. They began appearing a couple of years ago, first just faint lines that suddenly became bolder. I ran my hand up my right side, tracing the cherry blossom that was there, the branches bent and swirled under my breasts. It would look quite beautiful if it was not for the flames that was under the tree and covering my left side, going over the top of my scar to meet the branches. Fire acted as destruction, killing the beautiful tree. Plus some colour would be nice. My brothers have tattoos as well that appeared, they cover their chests, a collection of swirls and lettering we cannot decipher. Xander thinks it may be a message but we all tend to ignore their presence.
I ran my hand over the deep scar that ran from just under my left rib to the top of my naval. This did not just appear, I remember every excruciating moment of receiving this scar. It was the product of my first encounter with an orc when I was just a child, I winced remembering the pain. I looked back up at the mirror whilst I untied my hair and shock out the curls. My hair was a bronze colour, incredibly thick and it came to just under my bust. It was a nuisance to care for but I loved it. Usually two plaits would make it behave and remain neat, whilst keeping the tangles to a minimum.
As I stepped into the bath I still wondered about my brother's conversation last night but there was no point dwelling on it. I trust that they will tell me when I'm ready… that or I'll just ask them one day when I feel the time is right. I started to wash as I heard a knock on the door: it was Elijah.
"Are you okay in there?"
"Of course I am, don't worry I haven't gone down the drain. I'll be out in a minute." I know he means well and I can't blame any of my brothers being protective but it can be irritating sometimes.
I stepped out the bath, drying my body as I put on clean undergarments. I caught myself in the mirror, I've never really taken notice of my body, if it wasn't for that nasty scar and horrible tattoos I would say it's actually not bad. I chucked the rest of my clothes on and dried my hair. Whilst still damp I quickly braided it in two separate plaits on the right and left side of my head. That'll do.
I packed up my dirty clothes, swung my bag onto my shoulder and unlocked the bathroom. Elijah was there, standing against the opposite side of the door, with one foot on the wall and his arms crossed.
"I'm all done!"
"So you are, you don't look like a beggar now! Come on, let's get going!"
…..
It was starting to get dark, we had been riding all day and we had just crossed the border of the Shire. I could already sense the beauty and peace of the place. It was quiet, only the singing of the birds in the distance and the sound of running water from the river. As we rode, I was scanning the area looking at the beautiful flowers growing all around us. I tried to avoid Hattie (my pony) from stepping on the flowers and crushing them but a few did not survive. It was as if Hattie knew what I was trying to do and did it on purpose.
"This place seems so boring, where's the pub?" Xander shouted from the back.
"Good point Xan, I'm dying for an ale" Eli said from behind me.
"We're not that far from the Green Dragon but unfortunately for you two we're going straight to Mr Baggins to meet up with Gandalf." Henrion explained from the front.
That was our formation and it never differs. Henrion is always leading, with me behind him, then Elijah and finally Xander. We are separated by four metres. Hen gets irritated whenever Eli shortens the gap so we can talk.
"Isn't it Mr Boggins? I swear its Mr Boggins."
"Eli, it is definitely not Mr Boggins, it is Bilbo Baggins." I glanced back to stick my tongue out, he replied by doing the same.
We soon passed the Green Dragon, it seemed too lively compared to the tranquillity of the place. I could almost feel the physical pain of Eli and Xan as they missed their opportunity for a hot meal and more importantly a treasured ale.
"Don't worry, apparently Mr Baggins has a feast prepared! Knowing Hobbits, he'll have all the ale you can drink!" I'm hoping that would convince them, hearing their huffs I'm assuming they're still annoyed that we had to pass the pub.
"Well I need to piss, so unless we get there soon we'll have to stop."
"Okay Eli, we'll be there soon." Henrion replied but it seemed like his mind was elsewhere. I wonder what was bothering him.
It took another ten minutes to reach Mr Baggins home, we rode our horses to the fence next to fifteen others. I guess the dwarves have already arrived. Xander helped me off Hattie and we walked towards the Hobbit hole. Henrion hesitated at the door, which was marked by a Dwarvish rune. You could hear shouting and cheers from within, there is definitely dwarves here. The door was round, which is unusual. It was green and small, I'd be alright but the boys would have to bend to get in. A prospect they all seemed to realise at the same time.
"Really? So we have to crawl. I fucking hate this place already." Eli had a way with words obviously. His voice was slightly high pitch as he was bouncing on his heels, holding his trousers. I'm guessing he really was desperate for the toilet.
"Great, so not only does my arse and back hurt from that fucking journey. My neck is now going to kill. Can't we just wait outside?" Oh no, Xander's in his 'everything is going to suck' mood. He must be hungry.
"No Xander, we go in, plus Gandalf already knows we're here" Henrion had a rather uneasy tone. I pulled on his arm and he glanced at me.
"Is everything okay? You seem tense" I was concerned. The way he hesitated made me think he saw something that worried or shocked him.
"I'm fine Belle, don't you worry. I'm just tired." He was lying, it was obvious. "I want you to stay close to me, you understand? I don't want you gone from my sight." I nodded with acknowledgement. His uncertainty was making me uneasy.
He eventually raised his fist and knocked at the door three times. The noise from within was gone. It was silent…
I know, I know, I'm mean! So close to meeting the dwarves. They will be present in the next chapter - I promise! Thanks for reading as always x