I stood for a while, waiting for Gandalf to reach me. I had just realized that maybe, just maybe, I will never wake up. What if I never get to see my mother again? Do I have to stay here forever? Suddenly I was scared. Standing on those green hills of the Shire, I realized that I probably have a reason for coming here, I couldn't have just come here out of the blue like this. I had already guessed that I was here to help, but Gandalf hadn't really answered.
"You will eventually wake up, but only when your task is finished." Gandalf said slowly.
"Well, what's my task?" I asked, getting impatient.
"You need to keep Thorin and his nephews alive in the Battle of the Five Armies." He stated this like it was nothing, something that was easy to accomplish. He continued.
"You see Ingrid, you have a certain fate in this world with one of them, and a strong bond with the other two. That fate I am not sure of yet, but will only be sure once you meet them." Gandalf stated.
I felt like I was tide down. I couldn't get out of this, and "this" was a task that I have no idea how I would do it. I have no skills in fighting, I'm not very clever, and I'm really clumsy. How I was going to keep 3 people I would come to care about alive is something I would probably never figure out until the time had also said something about some sort of bond with one of them, and that could be risky. What if I do bond closely with one of them, but end up not being able to keep him alive?
"Gandalf, I have no skills to prepare myself with for this. I can't fight, I'm not very smart and I usually don't do anything right. I'll probably screw it up." I said, looking down at the soft grass by my feet.
"My dear girl, you shall do it just fine. This is why you were chosen, because when the time comes you will be a changed person, and you will be able to do it. You are a caring person, and whoever it may be that gets that bond will be lucky. It could be Thorin, Fili, or Kili. But all of that is up to you."
"What's all this about me having a special "bond" with one of them?" I said, using my fingers as quotation marks. I wasn't sure about having a bond with someone who could potentially die, or at least having any bond at all. I was sixteen, I've never even had a friend that was a boy before.
"You will most likely fall in love with one of them." He stated blankly.
"Do you know which one?"
"No, no. You get to decide that one." Oh that's just great, I thought. I have to fall in love with one of them. This gave me a lot of anxiety for the night to come, I knew we were going to Bilbo's tonight. I would meet them, and probably get super nervous and wreck everything. I don't know what I would wear, I have nothing to change into and I'm in sweatpants and a t-shirt.
"Well, what should I wear? I don't think they would understand all of this." I said motioning to my pants.
"No, I don't suppose so. We can fix that." Gandalf said. He led me to a little shop on the side of the little road. There a kind little hobbit gave me a dress and some new shoes. He stared at my old clothes with a peculiar look on his face, but never asked.
The sky was getting dark, and day was turning into night. Gandalf led me to the highest Hill, and there Bilbo's hole in the ground was. He knocked on the door a couple quick times, and took a step back.
"- in very poor taste." He finished, opening the little round door.
"Gandalf." He walked into the little hobbit hole and immediately heard noise coming from the room to the side of the door. Food was getting thrown about, dwarves were singing and a very disgruntled Bilbo was running around, trying to get them to stop.
"- that's what Bilbo Baggins hates!" They finished their song and started laughing. They noticed me and Gandalf standing and watching, and they gathered around. It was weird seeing them in person and not reading them, I thought. They started introducing themselves to me, all smiling and happy. I met Oin, Gloin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Ori, Dori, Nori, Balin and Dwalin.
The last dwarves to introduce themselves looked a bit younger than the rest. One had dark brown hair, brown eyes that had a sort of wild gleam to them, and dark brown stubble. I noticed he was the only one without a beard. The second brother looked totally different than the first. He had long blond hair that looked a little rough, a blond beard that was braided on either side of his mouth, and his eyes were a blueish-green. His eyes, I thought. They were captivating. Gentle but still strong, I found myself looking into them for a long time, probably too long. But then he spoke up, surprising me. I jumped a little.
"Fili."
"And Kili. At your service." They said the last part together, doing a small bow. I blushed insanely, they were both so attractive.I put the names with the faces and I figured out the handsome blond one was Fili. His eyes lingered on me for a while, noticing how embarrassed I was. I blush to easily, I thought.
"And you are...?" He asked expectantly, a little shy.
"Ingrid." I almost slurred.
"Lovely to meet you, lass." Kili said. Fili looked at me and nodded. Then he and Kili returned to the table with the rest of the Company. I looked up to Gandalf.
"Are you sure which one yet?" I asked hopefully. I still had to meet Thorin though. Gandalf just shook his head and went over to the table of dwarves.
