Chapter Two
Bilbo waited for a while longer before she entered her home again. The dwarves were milling around her kitchen and living area, speaking in hushed tones. She sat herself in an arm chair in the corner that allowed her to observe the dwarves safely. Bofur was smoking his pipe next to Bifur. Ori was helping Dori and Fili to clean up. Kili was arm wrestling with Bombur as Dwalin looked on and laughed. Oin, Gloin and Nori where sat a little ways away, Oin and Gloin talking to Nori animatedly about their weapons for the trip.
She sat up a little straighter trying to casually look for Thorin and Balin but settled back down quickly as Gandalf sat infront of her, blocking her view.
He sighed heavily causing her frown. "What?" She asked. "Why do I get the feeling that you're going to tell me off?"
Gandalf paused a second before answering. "I remember a young hobbit who snuck out to see elves in the woods. She'd stay out late and come home after dark, covered in mud and twigs. A young hobit who would've loved nothing better than to find out what was beyond the borders of the shire." He made a point to look directly into her pale brown eyes. "The world is not in your books, my dear hobbit. It's out there."
Bilbo refused to reply, looking defiantly over the wizards shoulder. Gandalf spoke again, softly this time. "What happened to that dear hobbit? What happened to her?"
Bilbo met his soft eyes with a hard glare. "She grew up Gandalf. She has been gone a long, long time. I do not understand your need to revive who I used to be." She swallowed. "Besides... I can't just go running off into the blue. I'm a Baggins of Bag-End."
Gandalf noticed the sadness in her eyes. "You are also a Took." He rose from where he had perched on Bilbo's rediculously small footstool. "Did you know that your great great great great uncle was so large he could-"
"He could ride a real horse, yes." She interrupted rather rudely.
"Well, he could!" Gandalf folded his arms over his chest. "At the battle of Green Fields he charged at the goblin ranks. He swung his club so hard it knocked the goblin kings head clean off and it sailed a hundred yards through the air and went down a rabbit hole. Thus the battle was won." He lit his pipe, "And the game of golf invented at the same time."
Bilbo's composure dissolved as she laughed. "I do believe you made that up."
Gandalf shrugged, a smile surfacing on his face. "Well, all good stories deserve embellishment. You'll have a tale or two to tell of your own when you come back."
She considered this for a moment. She felt eyes on her and looked to see Kili smiling over at her. She blushed and wrapped her arms around her knees. "Can you promise that I will come back?"
He seemed hesitant to reply at first, but took the pipe from between his lips and studied her face. Bilbo could see the wrinkles etched across his skin clearly from where she sat. His lips were firmly pressed together and it made her want to reach across and pull them into a smile.
"No." He finally said. "And if you do, you will not be the same."
Bilbo shook her head, curls falling in front of her eyes. "That is what I thought. Sorry Gandalf..." She stood up refusing to look him in the eyes. "I... I can't sign the contract. You've got the wrong hobbit." She exited the room quickly, bumping into Balins shoulder as she ran for the stairs.
The old dwarf watched her walk away and sighed. "It appears we have lost our burglar." Balin turned back to Thorin. "Probably for the best... the odds were always against us. After all, what are we?" He gestured around at the dwarves. "Merchants, minors, tinkers, toy makers. Hardly the stuff of legend."
Thorin shook his head. "There are a few warriors amongst us."
"Old warriors." Balin interjected.
"I would take each and everyone of these dwarves over an army from the Iron Hills. For when I called upon them, they answered. Loyalty. Honour. Willing heart. I can ask no more than that." Thorin moved away from the wall he had been leaning against but Balin placed a hand on his shoulder, keeping him there.
"You don't have to do this." The white bearded dwarf almost seemed to be pleading. "You have a choice. You've done honourably by our people. You have built a new life for us in the blue mountains, a life of peace and plenty. A life that is worth more than all the gold in Erebor."
Thorin, again, shook his head. "From my grandfather to my father, this" He held the key up to Balins eyeline, "has come to me. They dreamt of the day when the dwarves of Erebor would reclaim their homeland. There is no choice Balin... Not for me."
Balin nodded and patted Thorins shoulder affectionately. "Then we are with you laddie. We will see it done."
Bilbo, who sat at the top of the stairs, felt her heart go out to Thorin. Although he had teased her and allowed his company to destroy her pantry, he cared greatly. He cared for the dwarves he travelled with, he cared for his familys legacy and he cared for the future of his kingdom. She rested her chin on her fist as she contemplated the idea of joining his company. She watched as Thorin and Balin rejoined the others around the fireplace and was shocked as soon after she heard a low hum vibrate through the house.
Its sound made her heart ache with sorrow. She crept downstairs to listen closer and leant against the frame listening to them sing. Thorins back was to her but she could tell that he was upset from the way his shoulders were tensed. Kili and Fili were singing too, Fili looking the more solemn of the two. For some reason she couldn't stop looking at them. Kili was restless, drumming his fingers against his knee whereas Fili nodded slowly to the rhythm, as if in thought.
Before anyone could notice her she tiptoed back upstairs, falling onto her bed and wrapping the sheets around herself. As she drifted off to the sound of humming, images of the solemn dwarves flickered through her mind. All looking at her in desperation. All longing for a home.
...
In the morning, she awoke to a loud silence. Her brows furrowed in confusion. It couldn't have been a dream... could it? She ran downstairs to her living room and gasped. They were all gone! Her house was still a little mussed up but other than that there was almost no sign of them being there.
She laughed at her crazily vivid dream until she noticed the contract sitting neatly on her arm chair. Her eyes widened and she froze. It was real! With no further thought she skidded round the corner and tripped up the stairs in a rush to get changed. She ripped her pyjamas off pulling on a white undervest, yellow button up shirt, green vest and a flowing green skirt that reached just above her ankles. She grabbed a bag and filled it with food and a few random items of clothing before filling out the contract and running out of her home and off down the path to find the dwarves.
"Miss Bilbo! Where are you off to?" Called a hobbit towards her right.
"Can't stop! I'm already late!" Bilbo panted.
"Late for what?"
Bilbo grinned, excitement flooding through her body. "I'm going on an adventure!"
Leaving behind a confused hobbit, Bilbo ran as fast as she could down the path. She had been running nonstop since she left her home and was starting to run out of breath until she saw the dwarves ahead.
"Hey!" She shouted out. "Hey wait! I signed it!" She could barely shout anymore and a stitch was begining to form in her side.
Luckily for her, the dwarves seemed to be coming to a halt and she soon caught up to them. Her face was red and her shirt was sticking to her back.
"I signed it." She smiled widely and handed it to Balin who nodded. "Everything seems to be in order. Welcome, Miss Baggins, to the company of Thorin Oakenshield."
Many of the dwarves smiled down at her, welcoming her to the group. Except for Thorin. He seemed even more disapointed that she had actually shown up in the end.
"Give her a pony." He grunted coarsely.
Bilbos face drained of colour and she backed away nervously. "No, no no...No. That wont be necessary! I'm sure I can keep up on foot! You know I've done my fair share of walking holidays."
Bilbo squeaked loudly as Kili and Fili came up on either side of her and lifted her up from under her armpits, dropping her onto the pony between them.
"Hello sweetheart." Fili greeted with a small smile.
Kili let his hand slide down her arm slowly and smiled too. "For a moment I doubted whether or not you'd come with us."
"Well here I am, I'm coming with you guys." She smiled nervously.
"You will be..." Kili muttered under her breath.
Bilbo's face turned bright red again as the two brothers smirked. "I... I ... I..."
"Come on Dori, pay up!" Oin, a horse behind Bilbo, called out.
"What's that about?" Bilbo asked, still not daring to look at the two brothers.
"They took wagers on whether or not you would turn up." Gandalf interceded. "Most of them bet that you wouldn't."
"What did you think?" Bilbo asked curiously.
Gandalf smiled kindly as he caught a small bag of coins in his right hand. "My dear Bilbo, I never doubted you for a second."
Bilbo felt her blush recede and smiled again, until she felt her nose begin to tingle. "Ahh... Ahhh.. Ahchoo!" She cupped her hands around her nose and mouth as she sneezed again and again and again. Fili and Kili placed one hand on each shoulder so that she wouldn't fall off the pony.
"Oh this damned horse hair!" she sneezed again. "I must be having a reaction." she began patting down each of her pockets much to the brothers amusement. "Wait... wait stop! Stop! We have to turn around!" She called out.
"What on Earth is the matter?" asked Gandalf as he brought his horse to a halt.
"I forgot my handkerchief!" Bilbo whined.
"Here! Use this!" Bofur shouted, ripping some cloth from his shirt and throwing it to Bilbo who caught it with a look of disdain.
"You'll have to manage without pocket handkerchiefs and a couple of other things, Bilbo Baggins, before we reach our journeys end." He pulled his reins to the right as they turned a corner, coming around the river bend. "You were born to the rolling hills and the rivers of the shire, but home is now behind you. The world is ahead."
Bilbo was quiet as she watched Gandalf manouver his horse to the front of the pack, riding beside Thorin. She dared a look at Fili and Kili again and found them looking at her inquisitively. "You've lived here all of your life?" Fili asked, disbelief clouding his features.
Bilbo nodded. "Pretty much. The Shire is a wonderful place to live though. I have always loved it."
Kili liked the way she looked when she talked about the Shire, all doe eyed and smiley. Well, he liked how she looked fullstop. And he wasn't the only one. Fili clearly liked what he saw as well. He could've sworn he'd seen Nori and Bofur look her up and down once or twice too, although he couldn't blame them. This hobbit lass was something so far from anything they'd ever known.
To be crude, Kili thought her body was amazing. He and Fili had been gazing at it all evening. It was soft and rounded, perfectly rounded. Her breasts were so round Kili thought it could be considered scandolous. Dwarf women, although beautiful in their own way, were built completely differently with muscles of warriors. He had no problem with that at all, he just could not pull his eyes away from the petite hobbits chest.
Fili was the same, although he was more controlled. He kept it to himself that he wanted to hear the hobbit moan his name. Kili had blurted that out almost straight away last night. With Bilbo joining them on this adventure, he could only hope that something good would come of the close proximity she would share with them both.
With the two brothers completely lost in their own thoughts, they did not notice Bilbo's dangerously loose grip on the pony. Myrtle the pony, eager to get out from the middle of the pack, fidgeted frustratedly and turned from side to side so hard that Bilbo fell off the saddle with a shriek.
"I can't ride this pony! She cried in despair.
"You can ride with me." Kili and Fili offered simultaneously before both looking up and narrowing their eyes at each other.
"Oh, come ride with me lassie." Bilbo squeaked as Bofur wrapped an arm around her waist and seated her infront of him on the pony. "Hold the reins."
Fili and Kili scowled at Bofur who purposely smirked back. The remainder of Bilbo's day was spent on the front of Bofur's horse, learning how to correctly hold and steer the reins. Even when she insisted that she was okay to go back to Myrtle Bofur shook his head and looked right at Fili and Kili as he told her it was probably safer for her to stay where she was lest she want to fall over again.
Unbeknownst to the glares being thrown over her head, Bilbo stayed where she was. She did not want to be seen as the nuisance of the group by not learning how to ride a pony so she allowed Bofur to teach her. When it started getting darker and colder she grew envious of the thick jackets the dwarves were wearing. Particularly Thorins as it was lined with some sort of fur. Determined not to let them know she was begining to freeze, she wrapped her arms tightly around herself. She remained in that position for another half an hour until Thorin found a place he deemed worthy of camping for the night.
As soon as she got off the pony she groaned, sitting in one position had made her legs ache badly. As Thorin instructed the princes to collect firewood, the other dwarves set about undoing their bedding and preparing for the night. Bilbo felt like extra weight as she stood near the horses simply watching.
When she thought no one was looking she reached into her bag and grabbed an apple, feeding it to Myrtle. Thorin came up behind her and reprimanded her, honestly, it was like he had eyes in the back of his head.
"Don't waste valuable supplies on the horses, Miss Baggins. They have their food and we have our food. We do not have treats to spare." He didn't look angry, just stern.
Bilbo nodded. "I'm sorry..." He began to walk away.
"Oh, and tomorrow please could you ride your own horse. The last thing this company needs is for a surprise Ork attack that no one is prepared for as they are all flirting with you."
Bilbo went bright red and looked at her feet. How could he possibly hear anything they said from the front? She didn't dare ask him though. She simply coughed out another sorry and ran over to where the others were sitting against the rocks.
As soon as she sat down, careful to cover her legs with her skirt, she heard a weird, bloodcurdling noise from deep within in the forest. It made her shudder. "What was that?"
Kili sat down beside her, stretching his unusually long legs out. "Orks."
She gulped. "Orks?"
Fili came and sat down on her left side, mirrowing Kili's actions. "Throat cutters. They'll be dozens of them out there, the low lands are crawling with them."
Kili leaned closer to her and whispered in a menacing tone. "They strike in the wee hours when everyone's asleep. Quickly and quietly. No screams. Just lots of blood."
Kili and Fili both burst into laughter at the look of horror on Bilbo's face. She really had never been out of the Shire.
Thorin stormed into view. "You think that's funny? You think a night raid by Orks is a joke?" His face was full of disapproval, and not just for the brothers.
"We didn't mean anything by it." Kili said, laughter replaced by a look of guilt and shame.
Thorin ignored him and turned away, walking to the edge of the cliff they were camping on. "No you didn't. You know nothing of the world." The whole campsite went quiet and Kili's face burned red with shame.
Balin walked closer to them, looking back at Thorin warily. "Don't mind him laddie. Thorin has more cause than most to hate Orks." Bilbo listened intently. "After the dragon took The Lonely Mountain, king Thror tried to reclaim the ancient dwarf kingdom of Moria. But our enemy had got there first..."
Bilbo saw him press his lips into a line. Clearly, this memory pained him.
"Moria had been taken by legions of Orks, lead by the most violent of all their race; Azgog the defiler." She noticed Thorins fists clench. "The giant Ork had sworn to wipe out the line of Durin. He... He began... He began by beheading the king." Balin looked back at Thorin apologetically, then continued. "Thrain, Thorins father, driven mad by grief, went missing. Taken prisoner or killed, we did not know. We were leaderless. Defeat and death were upon us."
Dwalin stepped forward from where he was leaning, listening to Balin, and stood at Thorins left side in support.
"That is when I saw him." Balin looked at Thorin, a smile flickering across his face. "A young dwarf prince facing down the pale Ork. His armour wrecked, wielding nothing but an oaken branch as a shield, he seized his sword and sliced the Orks arm off in one swing. Azgog the defiler learnt that day that the line of Durin would not be so easily broken. Our forces rallied and drove the Orks back. Our enemy had been defeated."
More of the dwarves had begun to stand now, surrounding Thorin like an ominous shadow.
"But," Balin spoke solemnly, "there was no feast nor song that night. For our dead were beyond the count of grief. We few had survived. And I thought to myself then, there is one who I could follow." All eyes fixed on Thorin as he slowly turned. "There is one I could call king."
Bilbo met Thorins eyes, his filled with a sorrow so heavy she could feel it pressing down on her. She looked towards Balin instead. "But the pale Ork... What happened to him?"
Thorin walked slowly towards her. "He slunk back into the hole whence he came. That filth," he spat on the ground, "died of his wounds long ago."
He sat on a boulder close by looking over the expanse of sky above them, missing the look that Gandalf and Balin exchanged. Bilbo however, did not miss it. She suddenly felt very frightened, what with being in a strange place with the threat of Orks near by. She hoped she would not have to come into contact with them.
After the story telling, the dwarves still awake dwindled very fast until only Fili, Kili, Bilbo and Thorin were awake. Thorin was sitting watch, running a calloused finger up and down over his blade. Just the thought of the cold steel made Bilbo shiver which alerted the two brothers she was sat in between.
"Are you cold?" Fili asked, brow furrowing.
Bilbo pulled her vest tighter around her. "I'll be fine. Lets just go to sleep." The two brothers nodded but remained unconvinced.
She pulled a blanket from her bag and tried to get comfy on the ground as Kili and Fili snuggled into sleeping bags either side of her. She tried to wiggle quietly but when she opened her eyes she saw the annoyed looks of the brothers.
"Miss Baggins, what are you doing?" Kili asked.
"Because it is extremely irritating." Fili finished.
Their voices were both husky from sleep and they made Bilbo bite her lip to keep from blushing again. "I'm cold and the ground is uncomfortable."
The brothers rolled their eyes and moved closer to her. Kili pressed his chest to her back and Fili lay on his side, his arm wrapped tightly around her waist. Bilbo went bright red.
"Feeling any warmer?" Kili whispered, his lips brushing against the shell of her ear.
Bilbo let out a breathy gasp that earned a smirk from the two brothers.
"I must say Miss Bilbo, you are very comfy." Fili spoke softly, pulling her delicously close.
She thought she might spontaneously combust when Kili started stroking upwards on her calf. She was not expecting the brothers to be so forward, especially when their uncle was seated only metres away. Not that she was complaining, the whole thing was entirely thrilling.
"Yes, she is comfy isn't she?" Agreed Kili, getting dangerously close to her thigh. He brushed his lips against the shell of her ear again as Fili drew circles on her waist with his fingers.
"I...I..." Her chest was rising and falling at a rapid rate, brushing ever so slightly against Fili's front.
She did not know how they expected her to fall asleep now. But after a while of silence, the strokes on her waist and leg began to feel soothing. She began to drift off in their arms, forgetting completely about Thorins thunderous presence seated no less than 10 metres from them.
Firstly, thank you so, so much if you left a review for the previous chapter. They honestly made my day! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well and let me know what you thought! Thank you if you followed/favourited this story. It means a lot to me and I hope I can provide you with something good to read.
Again, please bare in mind that this based on the movieverse not the book.
Do let me know if I made an error with any dwarf names/important facts/etc.
Have a lovely day!