Welcome to Chapter Two. I hope you enjoy. Anything 'The Hobbit' and 'The Lord of the Rings' related belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien and Tauriel belongs to Peter Jackson. I only own my OC.
Solaris's sense of direction wasn't her best tribute and she had to ask directions numerous times before she managed to find the Shire. She was pleased to see that Bag End was clearly sign posted from there. She gained a large audience riding through the shire. She guessed it was because Gandri was so huge to these tiny hobbits but also because elves were not commonly seen in these parts. Once in Bag End she studied all the little round doors for the symbol Gandalf had given her and eventually found it. After tying Gandri to the drain pipe around the side if the house she stepped over the plants to the front door and knocked. There was an awful raucous going on inside, eventually the door opened and a very flushed looking Hobbit looked up at her.
"How my I help you?" he asked.
"Uh Lady Solaris at your service" she said looking past the hobbit and into the house.
"Bilbo Baggins do come in" the Hobbit said stepping aside.
Solaris noticed that he had numerous cloaks and hats in his arms. "Here let me" she said taking some before he dropped them.
"Thank you Miss" he said having forgotten her name already.
"Could you tell me Master Baggins if Gandalf the Grey is here?" Solaris asked putting the cloaks and hats on pegs in the hall.
"Through there" Bilbo said pointing around a corner.
"Thank you sir" Solaris said and slowly ventured around the corner.
She was overwhelmed to find twelve dwarves throwing things and laughing and shouting to each other though all were in good spirits. Gandalf was helping set plates at the table and Solaris made her way silently over to him. The dwarfs' closet stopped what they were doing to stare at her.
"Gandalf" she whispered and he looked up quickly.
"Lady Solaris" he said pulling her into a hug. "You found us"
"That I did" she said standing stock still. He released her and called for another plate and put it down on the table in-front of her.
"A cup of camomile?" an older dwarf asked her.
"Uh" she said looked down at him.
"No thank you Dori, wine for the both of us" Gandalf said. "Sit there Solaris and I shall go get us some wine" he said putting a hand on her shoulder and pushing her down into a seat.
"But Gandalf" she said but he was gone.
So Solaris sat there with her hands in her lap trying not to make eye contact with anyone even though she could feel them all staring daggers into her. Her excellent elf hearing started to pick up on new voices behind her.
"Who's that?" one asked.
"Dunno, but she looks like an elf" another replied.
"What's an elf doing here, how do you even know it's a she? Even the boy elves have long hair like that" the first voice said.
"I'm sure it's a she, there's more barrels to bring in"
"I want to look at her face"
"Leave her be and help with the ale"
They then faded away and Solaris took a deep sigh.
"My Lady" the dwarf called Dori said handing her a small glass of red wine. "Might I ask your name?"
"Solaris, daughter of Lord Elrond of Rivendell" she smiled and Dori nodded.
"And might what you be doing here?" he asked.
"Gandalf invited me on an adventure" Solaris replied, she hadn't liked the question but was polite enough to answer it.
"Oh" Dori said walking away "Thorin won't like that" she heard him mutter under his breath.
Dwarves continued to set up a table around her. Getting herself wound up Solaris stood and search for Gandalf but he appeared and pushed her back into her seat again.
"No point getting up my Lady, everyone about to sit down"
"Gandalf I don't feel very comfortable" Solaris said just as a dwarf parked himself almost on top of her.
"Excuse me my lady" he apologised.
"Nonsense" Gandalf said and laughed as a bread roll went flying across the table.
Solaris sat there in silence as food flew and mouths chewed around her. Dwarves honestly had no table manners what so ever, if she behaved like this in Rivendell her Father would cut her ears of and what made it worse the young dwarf opposite her kept staring. He finally tried to speak to her but it was hard with all the shouting.
"My name is Kili" he shouted.
"Pleasure" she replied with a grimace. "I'm Solaris"
"Maris?" he questioned and she shook her head.
"Solaris" she repeated.
"Can't hear you love" he called back.
She was fuming, love, who did he think he was calling love? She glared at Gandalf who was ignoring her but she knew he saw how angry she was. A dwarf then just walked down the middle of the table. Once he had sat down and cups had been filled they smashed them together sending ale and goodness knows what else all over the table. Solaris then watched open mouthed as they all drank deeply, so deeply in fact that liquid poured out the side of the cups down their beards and clothes. They then started a belching competition which was the last straw for Solaris; she got up from the table and on her way out picked up an apple.
Outside the air was cool and refreshing. She used one of her daggers to cut the apple into pieces for her and Gandri to share. She then used an empty pale and filled it with water. So that he might drink comfortably she took his bridle of and looped it around his neck.
"Good boy" she said holding the bucket while he drank.
"My Lady?"
She turned her head to see the young dwarf who had tried to talk to her across the table.
"Master Dwarf" she said turning back to Gandri.
"I feel we've got of on the wrong foot" he said coming forward and standing beside her. He was tall for a dwarf, about the same height as her. He could almost be mistaken for a short man. He was also remarkably good looking, for a dwarf.
"My name is Kili" he said offering her his hand.
"Solaris" she said taking his hand and shaking it.
"So how do you find yourself in Bag End?" he asked.
"Gandalf invited me on an adventure" she said.
"Did he!" Kili exclaimed "Well that's good; I've never really had anything to do with elves. Is it true that you can do magic?" he asked.
"Well, I'm still unpractised but my Father is a great sorcerer" she said.
"And who's your Father, might I have heard of him?" Kili asked.
"Lord Elrond of Rivendell" she said.
"A Lord, then that makes you a princess" Kili said.
"Yes it does, although I've never been very princess like" she said.
"My uncle is a king" Kili said "And I've never felt very royal either"
Solaris smiled and he laughed gently. "Come I want to show you something" he said.
He gestured back into the Hobbit hole and Solaris followed. One of the other dwarves handed him a pipe which he took and put a hand on Solaris's shoulder.
"Stand here" he said positioning her just so.
She was now standing next to Bilbo who still looked very flustered. He was about to say something to Gandalf when one of the shorter dwarves came over.
"Excuse me, sorry to interrupt but what should I do with my plate?" he asked.
"Here you go Ori, give it to me" another dwarf said.
Solaris frowned. She was never going to be able to learn all their names. This dwarf took the plate and tossed it over the other side of the room where Kili caught it and tossed it into the kitchen. Solaris didn't here smashing so she guessed someone else had caught it. Plates then came flying and Solaris pressed herself to the wall to keep out the way.
"Excuse me, that's my mother's West Farthing pottery!" Bilbo exclaimed. "It's over 100 years old!" he cringed when the plate nearly hit the ceiling.
More dishes were tossed and bounced of off various body parts and knifes and forks were bashed and used as swords across the table.
"Can you not do that, you'll blunt them!" Bilbo said.
"Oh do you hear that lads, he says we'll blunt the knives" a dwarf said and they continued to play at daggers.
"Blunt the knives bend the forks" Kili sang as he sent plates hurtling into the kitchen.
"Smash the bottles and burn the corks"
"Chip the glasses and crack the plates, that's what Bilbo Baggins hates!" the all sang.
"Cut the cloth, tread on the fat, leave the bones on the bathroom mat, pour the milk on the pantry floor, splash the wine on every door, dump the crocks in a boiling bowl, pound them up with a thumping pole, when your finished if they are whole, send them down the hall to roll, that's what Bilbo Baggins hates!"
By the end of the song all the plates were piled high on the kitchen table washed, dried and ready to be put away.
"Impressive huh?" Kili asked smiling at Solaris.
She had barely nodded when there was a loud knock at the door. Solaris could hear Gandri whinnying. She made to run when she was caught by one of the dwarves.
"Wait" he said.
"He is here" Gandalf said.