With her curiosity beginning to overflow, Liesel straight away went to open the door. Bilbo, this time, was the one following after her.
She was the very first one to stand right in front of the door, the others coming quickly. She had partially outstretched her arm to open the door up, but Gandalf beat her to it, and shoved her gently aside, opening the door
"Gandalf." Another tall, brooding dwarf was at the door. This dwarf was very haughty to say the least, as he hadn't mentioned anything about service that April night, much like the others did. This was, and still is, a very important dwarf. His name, Thorin Okenshield.
The sir had made his way into the Hobbit hole like all of the dwarves had, uninvited of course; Liesel and Bilbo were no longer surprised. "I thought you said this place would be easy to find. I lost my way, twice. Wouldn't have found it at all had it not been for that mark on the door."
"Mark? There`s no mark on that door, it was painted a week ago!" Bilbo spoke up.
"There is a mark; I put it there myself." Gandalf said, and walked out of the way so the two hobbits could take a better look at this Thorin "Bilbo Baggins, and Miss Liesel, allow me to introduce the leader of our company, Thorin Oakenshield."
The dwarf simply stared at Bilbo Baggins, up and down "So, this is the hobbit. Gandalf," He caught the wizard`s attention. "you had never told me that our burglar had a daughter."
As if he knew what the two hobbits were going to say, Gandalf interrupted "Oh, no, no, Miss Hayward is simply a family friend of Mr. Baggins."
It seemed Thorin ignored what the wizard had said, and went back to staring at both Hobbits. "Tell me, Mr. Baggins, have you done much fighting?" He asked, and treaded around him to stand near his company.
"Pardon me?" Bilbo questioned.
"Axe or sword? What is your weapon of choice?"
"Well," Bilbo began, attempting to talk up about himself "I have some skill at Conkers, if you must know, but I fail to see why that's relevant." Liesel shut her eyes tightly, and tried to pretend she was anywhere but where she was.
"Thought as much. He looks more like a grocer than a burglar." After saying that, much of the dwarves let out small chuckles, and all Liesel and Bilbo could do was slightly scowl as everyone made their way into the dining room.
"What news from the meeting in Ered Luin? Did they all come?" Balin asked, as the only ones that were standing were Liesel, Bilbo, and Gandalf.
"Aye. Envoys from all seven kingdoms." Thorin said, after he was finished eating. The dwarves murmured their joy.
"What do the dwarves of the Iron Hills say? Is Dain with us?" Dwalin asked.
Thorin shook his head "They will not come." They murmured in disappointment. "They say this quest is ours, and ours alone." Further disappointed murmurs.
"You're going on a quest?" The word accidently slipped out of Liesel`s quiet mouth.
Gandalf turned back to the two standing hobbits "Bilbo, my dear fellow, let us have a little more light."
Bilbo brings a candle to the table, where Gandalf has spread out a map which was in his pocket.
"Far to the East, over ranges and rivers, beyond woodlands and wastelands, lies a single solitary peak."
Bilbo and Liesel looked over Gandalf`s shoulder. "The Lonely Mountain." Bilbo read aloud, balancing the candle.
"Aye. Oin has read the portents, and the portents say it is time." Gloin said.
"Ravens have been seen flying back to the mountain as it was foretold: When the birds of yore return to Erebor, the reign of the beast will end."
After Oin mentioned "The Beast", Bilbo looked over in concern "Uh, What beast?"
"Well that would be a reference to Smaug the Terrible, chiefest and greatest calamity of our age. Airborne firebreather, teeth like razors, claws like meathooks, extremely fond of precious metals-."
"Yes, I know what a dragon is." Bilbo nodded and said to shut Bofur up.
Suddenly, the youngest dwarf stood up from his seat "I'm not afraid! I'm up for it. I'll give him a taste of the Dwarfish iron right up his jacksie!" Several of the dwarves shouted either encouragement or dissed the bravery. To this day, Bilbo still thinks of Liesel as Ori.
"Sit down!" Dori put the young dwarf in his place, and his seat.
Balin shook his head "The task would be difficult enough with an army behind us. But we number just thirteen, and not thirteen of the best, nor brightest."
The dwarves started objecting, saying things like, 'Hey, who are you calling dim?' 'Watch it!', and 'No!'
A slap on the table brought everyone`s attention to Fili and Kili "We may be few in number, but we're fighters, all of us, to the last dwarf!" He slapped his hand on the table again.
Kili grinned, and joined in "And you forget, we have a wizard in our company. Gandalf will have killed hundreds of dragons in his time."
"Oh, well, now, uh, I wouldn't say that, I-." For once, the Great Gandalf stuttered.
"How many, then?" Dori asked to the wizard.
"Uh, what?"
"Well, how many dragons have you killed?" Now, all attention was straight on Gandalf. He coughed in nervousness, and most of the smoke from his pipe escaped through his nose.
"Go on, give us a number!" Dori jeered again. Soon, the dwarves jumped to their feet, arguing about the number of dragons Gandalf has killed. Among the fierce arguments, Bilbo had instantly tried to stop them calmly; Liesel was but a moment away from yelling at the top of her lungs for everyone to just shut up.
Of course, Thorin was one step ahead of her.
"Shazara!" That immiedatly silenced the whole room"If we have read these signs, do you not think others will have read them too? Rumors have begun to spread. The dragon Smaug has not been seen for 60 years. Eyes look east to the Mountain, assessing, wondering, weighing the risk. Perhaps the vast wealth of our people now lies unprotected. Do we sit back while others claim what is rightfully ours? Or do we seize this chance to take back Erebor?! Du Bekâr! Du Bekâr!" All the dwarves cheered.
"You forget: the front gate is sealed. There is no way into the mountain." Balin shook his head.
Gandalf chuckled "That, my dear Balin, is not entirely true." Twiddling his fingers, Gandalf produced a dwarvish key, ornately wrought. Thorin, and the two hobbits looked at it in wonder.
"How came you by this?" He asked in astonishment.
"It was given to me by your father, by Thrain, for safekeeping. It is yours now." The wizard handed the key to Thorin as everyone looked on in wonder, especially little Liesel.
"If there is a key, there must be a door." Fili had pointed out.
Gandalf pointed at runes on his map with his pipe. "These runes speak of a hidden passage to the lower halls."
"There's another way in!" Kili said, joyously.
"Well, if we can find it, but dwarf doors are invisible when closed. The answer lies hidden
somewhere in this map and I do not have the skill to find it. But there are others in Middle earth who can. The task I have in mind will require a great deal of stealth, and no small amount of courage. But, if we are careful and clever, I believe that it can be done."
"That's why we need a burglar." Ori pointed, and smiled.
"Hm, A good one, too. An expert, I'd imagine." Bilbo grinned.
"And are you?" Gloin had asked.
There was a pause, as Bilbo processed what was being asked "Am I what?"
"He said he's an expert! Hey hey!" Oin raised his arms in happiness, other dwarfs laughed.
"M-me? No, no, no, no, no. I`m not a burglar; I've never stolen a thing in my life, nor do I know any who has!"
Liesel, from slightly behind him, raised her arm up. He slightly turned around, and sighed. "Never mind," he grumbled.
The dwarfs ignored the little misunderstanding, and Balin spoke up "I'm afraid I have to agree with Mr. Baggins. He's hardly burglar material." Bilbo nodded.
Dwalin turned his head up to Mr. Bilbo "Aye, the wild is no place for gentlefolk who can neither fight nor fend for themselves."
Bilbo continued nodding in agreement; the dwarves began arguing. Gandalf, growing angry, rose to his full height and cast darkness over the group and started speaking in his "powerful" voice. The others stopped in awe.
"Enough! If I say Bilbo Baggins is a burglar, then a burglar he is!" he took a deep breath, and returned to his normal self, as if nothing happened "Hobbits are remarkably light on their feet. In fact, they can pass unseen by most if they choose. And while the dragon is accustomed to the smell of dwarf, the scent of hobbit is all but unknown to him, which gives us a distinct advantage. You asked me to find the fourteenth member of this company, and I have chosen Mr. Baggins. There's a lot more to him than appearances suggest, and he's got a great deal more to offer than any of you know, including himself." He turned his head to Thorin "You must trust me on this."
Thorin bit his lip not to sigh "Very well. We will do it your way."
"No, no, no." Bilbo begged.
"Give him the contract." Thorin turned to Balin.
"Please." He continued. She didn't want to mention it, but she felt the slightest pang of sympathy for the other hobbit.
"Alright, we're off!" Bofur cheered.
Balin handed the contract to Liesel "Give this to him, will you lassie?" He politely asked.
She nodded, but before giving it to Bilbo, she opened it herself. It had nearly reached the floor, and she began to read it, forgetting her original objective. "Can I really-?"
Her thoughts were cut off when Thorin ripped the contract out of her hands, and forcefully shoved it into Bilbo`s, giving a cold glare at Liesel the entire time.
"It's just the usual summary of out of pocket expenses, time required, remuneration, funeral arrangements, so forth." Balin explained.
"Funeral arrangements?" Bilbo asked, nearly shaking.
As he steps back a few feet to read the contract, Thorin leans toward Gandalf and whispers to him. "I cannot guarantee his safety."
"Understood." Gandalf responded.
"Nor will I be responsible for his fate."
At this, Gandalf paused to think. He looked back at Bilbo, and now Liesel, reading the contract. "Agreed."
Bilbo read parts of the contract out loud. "Terms: Cash on delivery, up to but not exceeding one fourteenth of total profit, if any. Seems fair. Eh, Present company shall not be liable for injuries inflicted by or sustained as a consequence thereof including but not limited to… lacerations-?" He read it wrong. He looked closer, so did the child across from him "Evisceration?" Wrong again.
He turned to face the entire company of dwarves, "Incineration?"
"Oh, aye, he'll melt the flesh off your bones in the blink of an eye." Bofur explained.
Bilbo felt his knees start to shake just a pinch. He also felt his breathing to lessen greatly. "Huh."
"You all right, laddie?" Balin leaned forward, and asked softly.
The frazzled hobbit bended over, nauseous and pained. Liesel hesitated, but inched herself forward to stand right next to him.
"Uh, yeah...Feel a bit faint." He tried to reassure.
"Think furnace with wings." The oblivious dwarf stood up.
"Stop, please don`t." Liesel snapped her head to the standing dwarf, and tried her best to keep her tone calm.
"No, no, air, I need air." Bilbo tried his best to control his breathing.
"Flash of light, searing pain, then Poof! you're nothing more than a pile of ash."
Bilbo forced himself up, and raised a hand to steady his head and breathed heavily, trying to compose himself as the others stare at him.
"Bilbo?" Liesel softly asked and inched to him.
"Hmmm. Nope!" The poor hobbit collapsed on the floor in a faint! The poor girl nearly fell on the floor herself as his figure hit the ground.
"Ah, very helpful, Bofur." Gandalf said with, surprisingly, a hint of sarcasm. He walked to Bilbo`s body, the only thing moving was his chest up and down.
The wizard bent down and carefully took the hobbit into his arms, and tried his best to find one of the bedrooms to lay him there.
The girl looked up to the older man towering over her "Is he going to be okay?" She asked.
The wizard turned his head around just a bit, and smiled "He`ll be quite alright, my dear. Now, run along into the sitting room, and entertain our guests." He turned back to continue walking.
Instantly, she snapped her head up "And how do I do that?"
He sighed, and without turning, said "Pretend to be interested." He left.
She tried her hardest to not sigh, roll her eyes, or do anything really; she knew the old man had eyes all around his head. So, she turned to look into the dining room she assumed the dwarfs were still in, but they were all gone.
She turned her head and looked into Bilbo`s sitting room; to her surprise, only a handful of them were in there, the rest, she could even hear, were in other places of the tiny home, obviously exploring, and maybe looking for valuables. She still swears she saw Nori tucking away some of Bilbo`s eating utensils. She took a deep breath, and treaded into the room.
They had looked over at her for a mere second, then turned away, all except for two. She sat herself down on one of Bilbo`s comfy chairs, and stared off into the fireplace; well, she had clearly not thought out what she was going to do.
"Hello there." A sweet, but deep voice had caught her right ear, and she turned to see Kili, and the blonde dwarf with braids in his beards.
"Hi," she said, then instantly scolded herself for acting meek.
This only caused the brothers to grin, than sit next to her. She shifted in her seat.
"So, why are you exactly here?" Her eyes moved from one dwarf to another, trying her best to make conversation.
Kili stuck his lip out like a child, and pretended to be hurt "What? We`re not special?!"
She snapped her head to him "N-no, I did not say that!"
"I think you meant it! Didn't she, Kee?" Fili played along and looked at his brother.
"I did not say-! Why are you-?!" She had tried her best to think of a comeback, but failed miserably.
The two couldn't hold back their laughter, and had gotten quite a feeling from the little girl`s scrunched up face.
"What in Durin`s name are you two doing?" Dwalin turned and furrowed his brow at the dwarfs and hobbit.
"Nothing!" The three instantly shouted in unison.
Dwalin rolled his eyes, and gotten up from the carpet he was sitting on near the fire, and stomped out of the sitting room.
"You didn't hesitate on lying." Kili teased Liesel as soon as the bruiting dwarf was out of earshot.
She had finally found her mother`s fiery side in her, and coolly looked up at the black haired dwarf "Well you two didn't either."
She heard Fili behind her respond "Well, that just makes us the perfect ones."
The girl slightly rolled her eyes and looked at Fili "Please tell me how that makes us perfect, I`d really like to know." She let a smug smirk tug on her lips; that was a phrase her mother would use all the time.
Instead of glaring at her like she would do when her mother told her that, he smirked at her. "That one`s going into the book."
"What book?" She cocked her head to the side, not knowing the pun he had made.
Kili chuckled "It`s a book that we`re writing with amazing comebacks!" He finishes with sarcasm.
"Really? Well, it should just be the most magnificent book I`ve ever read." To her glee, she had actually gotten some slight chuckles out of the brothers.
"So," Kili began, after they had gotten over their laughing "did you check on your papa?"
She whipped her head around to him "What?"
"Mr. Boggins, how`s he doing?"
Her face fumed in anger, but not all of the red was because of anger. How would you feel if a person you had just met assumed someone to be your father?
"For the last time, he is not my father!" She had accidently shouted louder than she wanted, receiving many glances from the other dwarfs in the room. Her face was no longer red of anger, it was blushing. The two brothers giggled again.
She brushed her own face, and tucked most of her hair behind her ears, a nervous twitch she still does today, and furrowed her brow to look intimidating. "Do you two ever listen?"
Even though they had no idea what she was referring to, the still laughed like fools. "Nope, never." Kili responded. She smirked and rolled her eyes.
"So, then what is he?" Fili asked her.
She turned her head back to him "Oh, well, I knew him when I was younger."
"How?"
She released a breath, then smiled again "Oh boy, where do I begin?"
"At the beginning." Kili smirked.
She slowly turned her eyes to face him. "Are you proud of what you just said?"
"Yes, yes I am."
The girl rolled her eyes, but couldn't help a smile forming on her mouth. "Okay, he had me work myself to death when I was a kid. The End." She smirked.
"Oh really? I only knew him for ten minutes, and I never expected him to hate little ones." Fili teased.
She chuckled "Well, he didn't- doesn't really know how to-." She stopped herself. Why was she going to gossip about the person she came to for help?
"What? What isn't he good at?" Kili leaned forward, in a playful manner.
"He doesn't know-, how to discipline people." She finished quickly, silently praying to Valar they hadn't noticed.
They noticed; but thankfully, they decided to leave it. "Well, on account of what happened I`d say, an hour ago?" Fili asked. The three laughed, and continued to talk for more and more minutes, until soft humming broke their conversation.
"What`s that?" Liesel whispered, and turned to face Thorin and many of the other dwarves entering the sitting room; either finding themselves a chair or gathering around the fire place.
She leaned over and whispered to Kili "What are they-?"
"Shh,"
"What?" She whispered back.
"Don`t speak. When dwarfs sing, or even speak, a song like this, we remain silent until it is over."
She cocked her head to the side in confusion. Dwarfs could be just so confusing. Still, she put her puzzlement to the back of her mind, and nodded, letting the music flow through her ears and imagination.
Thorin led, and the dwarves followed in the song.
Far over the misty mountains cold.
To dungeons deep and caverns old.
We must away ere break of day.
To seek the pale, enchanted gold.
The dwarves of yore made mighty spells.
While hammers fell like ringing bells.
In places deep,
where dark things sleep,
In hollow halls beneath the fells.
For ancient king and elvish lord.
There many a gleaming golden board.
They shaped and wrought, and light they caught.
To hide in gems and hilt of sword.
On silver necklaces they strung,
the flowering stars,
on crowns the hung.
The dragon-fire, in twisted wire,
they meshed the light of moon and sun.
Far over the misty mountains cold.
To dungeons deep and caverns old.
We must away, ere break of day. To claim our long-forgotten gold.
Goblets they carved there for themselves.
And harps of gold; where no man delves.
There lay they long, and many a song. Was sung unheard by men or elves.
The pines were roaring on the height, The winds were moaning in the night.
The fire was red, it flaming spread;
The trees like torches blazed with light.
The bells were ringing in the dale.
And men they looked up with faces pale; The dragon's ire more fierce than fire.
Laid low their towers and houses frail.
The mountain smoked beneath the moon;
the dwarves they heard the tramp of doom.
They fled their hall to dying fall. Beneath his feet, beneath the moon.
Far over the misty mountains grim.
To dungeons deep and caverns dim.
We must away, ere break of day, To win our harps and gold from him!
Words could not describe what Liesel was feeling as the song ended. Of course, there`s mesmerized and curiosity. But there`s also sadness and sympathy. She knew for sure, she couldn't just sit down in her own hobbit hole after finally hearing their pain; and especially not after what her mother had done to her.
She spent a few minutes after the song ended to look for Gandalf. You`d think the man would stick out like a sore thumb in a hobbit hole, but the girl couldn't find him for perhaps five minutes. When she finally found him, he was smoking a pipe outside of the hole.
"Gandalf?" Her voice went up into the wizard`s ears. He took the pipe out of his mouth, and looked down to the young girl when she spoke.
"What is it my dear Liesel?" He asked and looked down at her like a grandfather.
Her eyes shifted to the green grass, than quickly back up to the grey-coated man. "Bilbo isn't coming, is he?"
He shook his head "I`m afraid not, Miss Hayward." He stuck the pipe back in his mouth, and looked back down at her; he knew for a fact what her heart desired, but did she?
"If you don`t mind me asking my dear, but what of concerns does Mr. Baggins has to you?"
She perked her head up to him, and hurried herself to make up an excuse "Well, I just didn't know how well he would have done; and, it`s just that I heard them singing about-, well." She spoke slowly after she thought her idea slipped out.
An almost invisible smile appeared on Gandalf`s lips "My dear Liesel, are you proposing what I think you are?"
She stuck her hands to her side and assumed pockets were there, then shrugged her shoulders "That depends on what you`re thinking."
Gandalf didn't hide his smile this time "Then I`ll take it as a yes. Why on earth would you think of something as chancy as this?"
"I want to get away."
He nodded "Ah, you are quite bored of your life?"
"A little bit, but-." She hesitated.
"But what, my dear?"
She licked her lips in nervousness "I-, my mom doesn't love me anymore."
Instead of him glaring at her and lecturing her of her irrationalness, he simply nodded again "What she done to you to make you feel this way?"
"She hit me."
Gandalf the Grey himself was taken aback by this for a slight moment. "For what reason?"
"None."
"There has to be a reason for everything."
"Really? What`s a good reason to smack your kid?" She unintentionally snapped.
He shook his head "There is none, child. But, look at it from your mother`s perspective, did she seem tired when she had done it?" he moved closer to get a better look at the girl`s face. She shook it.
"Let me resay that, was she before?" He corrected himself.
This time, she stared at the grass in deep thought; of course, she knew the answer, but didn't want to say. Finally, she took her head up, and slightly nodded.
A sincere grin pulled onto Gandalf`s lips at her honesty "That is what I believed. Liesel, do you know how much your mother loves you?"
She wrinkled her face slightly to him, and did her best to avoid the topic "Can I come with you, in Bilbo`s place?"
"The right way of saying it would be 'May I', and do you have any idea how dangerous it might be?" He calmly asked.
She instantly nodded "I know the risks."
"Ah, but do you?"
"Gandalf, there`s nothing for me here."
There was a moment of silence and thought between them. How could this child not believe her mother`s remorse after what he had just said? An important plan sprung into Gandalf`s mind.
"Alright," He said, without even sounding as if he failed to persuade her, and reached for the front door.
Her head instantly snapped up to his eyes "What?" She sounded almost out of breath.
"You may come, we must speak to Thorin first." And with that, he opened the circular door and stepped inside, leaving Liesel out in the chilly April night weather, confused beyond belief.
The leader dwarf sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose "Gandalf, I thought we agreed that we needed an adult burglar, not a child."
Liesel glared at him when his back was turned, and a comforting hand placed on her shoulder before she could even think of a retort to him. "Yes Thorin, I will take full responsibility of that. But, Miss Hayward is our only source."
"We would do better off without her, she would only slow the journey down."
"Yeesh." The child could only mouth to the wizard. He shook his head.
"Thorin, son of Thrain, who would you propose to enter the mountain, if Liesel would not accompany us?"
At this, Thorin only glared at the two, then pulled his head down to the hobbit`s eyes. "You. Do you have any fighting experience what so ever?"
Now, Liesel wasn't the brightest girl in all of Hobbiton, you will see later in this tale. "I stabbed myself with a kitchen knife on accident as a child, does that count?" She pulled a wry smile to her lips.
The 'king under the mountain' rolled his eyes, and almost hurt himself to not bury his face in his hands. "I will not risk twelve lives, for one child."
Liesel could not keep quiet anymore. "What other choice do you have?" She coolly asked, against Gandalf`s wishes.
The tall and the small men in the room stared down to the smaller girl, almost in astonishment. When nobody had talked, Gandalf broke the silence.
"Thorin, would you please hand the contract over to Miss Hayward? I will speak to you as she signs."
The dwarf rolled his eyes once again, and took the contract out of a pouch he had carried with him. He handed it to Liesel, who opened it and drew her eyes to the last line.
In role as Burglar for Thorin and Company, or in any other role they see fit, at their sole discretion from time to time.
Signed: Thorin son of Thrain
Witness: Balin son of Fundin
Burglar:
Thorin and Gandalf had left to talk in the halls, Bilbo was resting in his own bed, more than half of the dwarves were fast asleep in the sitting room, but Liesel Hayward was staring down deeply into the contract, holding the ink filled quill still.
A few times, she managed to make small dots on the page, but never strokes. That is, until Thorin and Gandalf had come back a few minutes later from their 'talk'.
Thorin had obviously seen the girl`s hesitance. "Are you certain you know what you are doing, girl?" He asked.
And with that, Liesel finally snapped out of her fear, and wrote her name onto the blank space.
Burglar: Liesel Hayward
A soft hand placed itself on Liesel`s right shoulder caused her to slightly jump, and looked behind her to see Gandalf, and his famous, comforting smile.
"We leave tomorrow, first light." Thorin had briefly said, and immediately left the room.
"You might want to get some sleep, Liesel. Your life will be quite different starting tomorrow." Gandalf took his hand off of her shoulder, and walked to the edge of the kitchen door, where they had signed.
She smiled "I will," he turned to leave "And Gandalf-." He turned back around. "Thank you." She wanted to go into more detail, but thought better; that, and she was more tired than she thought.
The wizard smiled, and with a tip of his hat, wished her goodnight, and left.
When she was positively sure he had left, she picked up the quill and scribbled on one more word, then set the quill down, and left for sleep.
My gosh! I am so sorry this took me a bit to figure out, I just got some writer`s block (the horror!) and had a pretty busy weekend. But, on a lighter note, I saw Fantastic Beasts. It was AMAZING! I really loved the characters, and the effects especially. I do have to say, some of you might fault me for this, but I think Eddie Redmayne did a better performance as Newt, than Daniel Radcliffe did as Harry. I have even thought of two possible fanfictions; and they are my first, non-OC ones…. That must be the saddest thing a fanfiction writer has ever said. Oh, and thank you to every single person who has favorited, followed, reviewed, and liked this story but didn't favor it (I am extremely guilty of doing that).