First off, I would like to apologise to everybody who has read this story and waited for updates, I know I have let you down. The truth is, I have just become extremely busy with my GCSE exams, and it was either my future or this story, forgive me for being selfish. I know I should have sent out the word that this would be put on hold but it just slipped my mind and for that I am sorry.
Secondly, I had a bit of writers block with this and I could not for the life of me remember where i was going with it. Hopefully now this is all sorted out.
Thirdly, I do not finish school officially until the 19th, and then on the 20th I go on holiday for a week so my updates will become more frequent after this.
So a quick summary for everyone: Daisy has been transported to Middle Earth after having killed herself after suffering years of abuse. Gandalf brings her along on the quest for Erebor so they can stop at Rivendell and seek answers from Lord Elrond. Thorin has been intrigued by Daisy ever since he laid eyes on her but has not been able to express himself. After receiving some unexpected competition from an Elf, Thorin decides to declare his love for Daisy. Daisy has equally fallen for Thorin despite her first impressions of the dwarf, as he has made her feel safe. They get to know one another better in Rivendell, before they are forced to leave suddenly. In the Misty Mountains, Daisy and Bilbo fall down a chasm and meet Gollum, who challenges Bilbo to a game of riddles for their freedom. Gollum insists Daisy asks the last question, and after noticing Bilbo fiddling with his pocket, she asks the well-known question. When Gollum loses they run and Daisy is made to escape whilst Bilbo holds Gollum off. Daisy runs into the company and they flee for safety, Bilbo joining them shortly after. Azog catches up and the cliff battle ensues ending in a rescue from the eagles who drop them off on the Carrock. Finding their way through the forest to Beorns house, they come across Bee hives showing them they are in the right place.
And now, who is excited for Desolation of Smaug? December can't come quick enough!
Hopefully my writing hasn't suffered, and now on with the story
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Gandalf turned to the company with a stern look on his face.
"Now," he began his voice serious. "There are things you must know about Master Beorn before we make our way. He does not take kindly to strangers, which is why we must approach in twos. I will go first along with Bilbo and Daisy-"
"Hang on, that's three!" Dori pointed out. Gandalf looked at him.
"Daisy and Bilbo are quite small, and count as one person. As I was saying, myself, Bilbo and Daisy will approach first, when you hear my whistle count ten minutes, and follow again in your pair. When you reach the clearing whistle and the next pair will wait ten minutes before following, and so on until you reach Bombur, who will go last as he is big enough for two."
After several minutes of grumbling from Bombur, Gandalf motioned for the large dwarf to be quiet.
"Daisy, Bilbo, follow me please" He ordered as he started to stride towards a path. Daisy glanced back at Thorin, who looked as if he disagreed with the wizard but he chose to say nothing, and he soon disappeared out of sight as the trees became thicker.
"Gandalf, is there a chance that Master Beorn will not accept our company?" Bilbo asked nervously.
"I'm afraid my dear Bilbo there is every chance he will not accept it.' That made Daisy worry. Even though Gandalf said he was a friend, from what the wizard had described he did not sound very friendly.
"Whatever will we do if he throws us out? We have no food, or any other supplies!" Bilbo panicked.
"Remain calm Bilbo, if I did not have faith that we would find shelter at Master Beorn's halls do you think I would have suggested it in the first place?" Gandalf looked at Bilbo, who realised the wizard had a point. Somewhat reassured by Gandalf's words Daisy followed quietly, not quite sure what to expect from the man they were about to meet. Assuming he was a man, there was no way of knowing what race a being was.
The trio wandered through forest for a little under what felt like five minutes, before they came to a clearing. It was not a big clearing, but big enough to be called one, and Gandalf hummed happily to himself before turning to face them.
"I am going to whistle now, and let us hope those stubborn dwarves are listening. And that they have managed to stop squabbling amongst themselves and formed their pairs." With that he turned to the trees and began to whistle a short tune. Once he was done, he began to walk ahead.
"Wait!" Daisy called. There was something she did not quite understand. "How can we be sure that the others heard that? We walked quite a way and you whistled quite quietly." Gandalf chuckled.
"A valid question my dear. And one I can give an answer to. Look at the trees" He gestured above them. "they are made to carry messages." He carried on leaving Daisy more confused than before. She looked above her again, and noticed how tall the trees were. They were different than the ones at home, they had a certain grace about them that she could not quite put her finger on. It was almost as if their branches were made to carry messages and Daisy suddenly understood what the wizard had said.
"We should follow him," Bilbo said as he nudged Daisy forwards. They crossed the clearing and followed a small path that lead them to the foot of what looked like a garden.
"Let me do the talking, unless you are asked a question. Best to be on the safe side" Gandalf said as he opened the gate. "And remember to speak the truth if you are asked for it," Daisy and Bilbo nodded at their instructions and followed Gandalf up to a very large door. So large was this door that Daisy feared they were meeting a giant. The man that answered the door may well have been a giant, for he was so tall that Daisy was sure he wasn't going to see them when the door opened. There, on the threshold, stood a man that looked as if he was taller than the trees they had climbed up to escape Azog.
"Who comes knocking at my door?" He voice boomed and Daisy felt Bilbo tremble beside her.
"He looks awfully big," Bilbo whispered to her. Daisy had to agree with him. In fact the only thing that was keeping her from turning around and leaving was the fact that Gandalf had suggested this idea, and for some reason she felt bound to compel it.
"Gandalf the Grey, friend of Radagast the Brown who dwells in the Green Wood." Gandalf answered, looking up slightly to the man.
"I thought Gandalf said he was the friend of Beorn, not the friend of a friend who is friends with Beorn!" Bilbo whispered frantically, shuffling his feet. Daisy held her breath waiting for the man to speak.
"Radagast is a friend of mine indeed, he watches over the Green Wood well. He has mentioned Gandalf the Grey before, but who are your companions?" Beorn spoke.
"This is Bilbo, and this is Daisy," Gandalf motioned towards the pair. "Please, we were attacked by goblins in the mountains and then by the Pale Orc and his followers before the Eagles took pity on us and flew us to the Carrock. We have no supplies and will not last more than a few days carrying on like this" Beorn seemed to contemplate this for a second, before saying:
"I thought that The Pale Orc was dead. " Daisy bit her lip.
"So did I until he attacked us on the road" Gandalf pleaded, and Daisy knew he was stretching the truth a bit, something she was concerned about seeing as he had told them not to lie.
"It seems you have a story to tell, Gandalf the Grey. Please come inside and tell it, for I am rather fond of good tales," Beorn opened his door wide and bade them follow him.
"I guess that went well then," Bilbo sighed in relief.
"The others still have to come, and you know what they are like" Daisy warned, and she was afraid that one sibling from one family would start an argument and then Beorn would kick them out.
"I know, I only hope they follow-oh my goodness" Bilbo breathed as they entered what looked like a dining hall. Daisy looked up to see what had drawn Bilbo's attention, and found her mouth dropping open. It looked like an ordinary dining room, and would have been if not for the sheer size of the furniture that surrounded them. Daisy gaped at the size of the table, if she was a few centimeters shorter then she could have easily walked right under it. She caught sight of a grand fireplace, with logs the size of small trees stacked upon it. It really was a work of beauty, although it felt rather intimidating.
Gandalf however appeared not to notice the admiration and nervousness radiating off the two smaller being as he quite happily followed the larger man to the end of the long table.
"Please, take a seat," Beorn told them motioning to the chairs that surrounded the table. Gandalf happily sat down and took his hat off, whilst Daisy and Bilbo tried to work their way around the problem that had arisen.
Of course, they weren't sitting down to be rude on purpose, it's just that, well, they couldn't sit down at all. The legs of the chair reached both of their heads, and there was nothing to hold to climb up. No matter how nice the chair was, they simply couldn't get on it.
"Bother," Bilbo grumbled. "I was so looking forward to being able to sit down and the blasted chair is too tall!" Daisy heard herself agreeing with him. She kept glancing towards Beorn, she was sure there was something different about him. And not only that but his powerful presence reminded her of her father slightly, and ever sine she laid eyes on him she had begun to feel afraid.
"Ah! The little bunny cannot get on his chair!" Beorn suddenly cried, knocking Daisy out of her thoughts. She looked to Bilbo, who was hanging slightly awkwardly off the side of the chair.
"Yes, yes, we can see that." Bilbo huffed, his cheeks turning a shade of pink.
"You should have said little bunny! Beorn has other smaller chairs. But for now I can lift you" Beorn said as he swooped in to gather Bilbo in his arms.
"That really wont be necessary - ahh!" Bilbo cried as he was lifted into the air and dropped on the seat. He landed with a little "oomph" and a cry of "What do you mean 'little bunny?!'". Daisy noticed how his hand flew straight to his pocket as if he was checking something was still there. Daisy reminded herself to ask Bilbo what he had in his pocket, but before she could think Beorn cried out:
"And little bunny's friend is also stuck! Gandalf the Grey, why are they so small?" Daisy tried to back off as Beorn's hand loomed towards her but she was soon plucked off the ground. When Beorn had seated her on the same chair next to Bilbo she felt herself tremble slightly, and tried to tell herself she was being stupid. Bilbo put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, tying to comfort her. And it worked, to some extent. Daisy realised how much she needed Thorin, she not only felt vulnerable without him in front of friendly folk, but he somehow managed to calm her thoughts, something she needed desperately now.
"Utterly ridiculous" Bilbo was whispering. " I am not a bunny, let alone little. I'm one of the tallest hobbits in Hobbiton!"
"Now that we are all settled, please being your tale Gandalf." Beorn said and Gandalf started to speak.
"Lord Elrond had been kind enough to offer his hospitality to us for several days, but when we left Rivendell and made our way to the Misty Mountains we encountered-" Daisy listened as Gandalf told about the Goblin King, how he feared his sword. She and Bilbo remained quiet as Gandalf spoke, but Daisy's mind was whirling with thoughts. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to know what Bilbo was hiding. Maybe he was doing it subconsciously, but ever since Beorn had put him on the chair his hand had not left his pocket. As the time had gone on, Daisy had wanted to ask what happened when he told her to run. Why the creature had said he was dead, or why the creature hadn't killed him. She was so lost in her thoughts that she missed the sound of knocking at the door, and was only aware that it had happened when Beorn got up from his chair.
"I wonder who that could be," He said as he walked towards the hall. "Forgive me friends, I must interrupt your tale to see to whoever is here." The three were sat in silence for a while until Bilbo spoke.
"I'm taking it that knock was a pair of dwarves?"
"Yes, yes Bilbo. It should be, unless some rather unfortunate manner has befallen them and it's one of Beorn's animals informing him of a slight mishap in his grounds." Gandalf replied, humming to himself. Daisy and Bilbo shared a look of horror at his words as Beorn entered the dining room, followed by Thorin and Balin.
"They say they are companions of Gandalf the Grey, but you have not mentioned them to me." Beorn asked quizzically and Daisy held her breath, praying Gandalf had an answer that Beorn would accept. Balin and Thorin were shooting daggers at Gandalf, clearly unimpressed by the wizard at this point in time.
"Yes, yes they are. I have not mentioned them because I have not yet got to that part in the tale!" Gandalf explained. Daisy looked over at Thorin, who was looking at the wizard with a confused look.
"Well then, you must continue! I am intrigued by your tale wizard." Beorn said as he went to sit down. "Are you in need of help getting onto these chairs? Your little bunny seemed to struggle quite a bit!" Daisy had never seen Bilbo turn as red as he did in those few seconds that followed Beorn's statement. Balin raised an eyebrow and Daisy could have sworn she saw Thorin's lips twitch. Never the less they allowed Beorn to help them onto the chair and Gandalf began his tale once again.
Daisy caught Thorin's eye as she looked across. Just having him near felt like a huge relief and she suddenly began to feel more comfortable with her surroundings. Thorin gave her a quick smile, but their moment was interrupted by another knock at the door.
"Whoever is that? More companions Gandalf?" Beorn asked as he got up.
"It could be, I have yet to finish the tale," Gandalf said mysteriously as Beorn left the room.
"That's your plan?" Thorin turned on the wizard as soon as Beorn had left. "To make sure he accepts all of us by making up a story?"
"Now see here Thorin it is not made up, just the truth stretched. Now be quiet, everything will be alright." Thorin looked as if he wanted to say something else but at that moment Beorn came back with Oin and Gloin, who were looking around the room in awe.
"Two more I see, how many are there?" Beorn asked as he lifted the two onto a seat.
"You will have to find out," Gandalf said merrily as Beorn sat down again.
And so it carried on. Gandalf would be interrupted by knocking, Beorn would get up and lead two dwarves who looked in amazement at the room, before lifting them up onto chairs and motioning for Gandalf to continue. By the time most of the dwarves were there Beorn was so interested in the story that he stopped asking why there were so many companions and just let them in. When Bombur finally came in Gandalf was near the end of his tale.
"And so we were taken to the Carrock and from there we made our way here. That ends our tale."
To Daisy's astonishment, Beorn started clapping.
"And an excellent tale it was, though I cannot say we whether you are telling the truth or not. No matter, an excellent tale such as that deserves what you originally asked for. I will give you food and shelter until you are ready to move on."
Daisy let out a sigh of relief she did not know she'd been holding. The thought of being able to rest for a few days made her uncontrollably happy, something which was a foreign feeling to her before she came unexpectedly to Middle Earth.
"I should show you to where you'll be staying. I daresay you'll be pleased when you can get on your chairs without assistance" Beorn laughed and motioned for them to follow him.
After several minutes of dwarves trying to get down from where they sat, Beorn took pity on them all and began to lift them down one at a time. Daisy heard Gandalf chuckling as Beorn lifted her up and placed her gently down on the ground.
"Thank you," She said, speaking for the first time. Beorn just smiled at her before he picked up Bilbo. He did not put him down, however, and proceeded to carry him towards the door.
"Excuse me, good sir, but would you kindly put me down?!" Bilbo wriggled about in Beorn's grip.
"Nay, little bunny. For you are far too small to be wandering around, you may get squished. And I have never seen a creature like you, with such curly hair and soft skin,"
Daisy almost shared Bilbo's embarrassment. Almost. There was something quite adorable about the way Bilbo had turned bright red. Fili and Kili, as well as most of the dwarves had started to laugh as they followed the grumbling hobbit and tall man out of the room. Daisy felt a hand at her lower back and turned around to see Thorin. She leant into his touch a bit as they walked through Beorn's house, finally coming to a room with much smaller furniture in.
"I hope you find this suitable for now, I will call you when dinner is ready." Beorn told him as he set Bilbo down on one of the many chairs. "Be careful little bunny, don't go getting squished!" with that he left, chuckling quietly to himself.
Bilbo tried to avoid the dwarves' gaze but Fili and Kili had other ideas.
"Come on, little bunny!" Kili cried as he bounded up to Bilbo. "Let's go and explore"
"Yes, we'll make sure you don't get squished!" Fili added, taking hold of Bilbo's arms.
"W-wait!" Bilbo cried, his eyes pleading with the other dwarves to help him. "Beorn didn't say we could leave this room!"
"And he didn't say we couldn't. Come on Bilbo, where's your sense of adventure gone?" Kili asked as he and Fili dragged the poor hobbit from the room, leaving the others laughing at the boys' antics.
"It seems the halfling is never going to live this down," Thorin said from behind her.
"Bilbo," she corrected. "Won't live this down." Thorin smiled at her.
"You are good to him,"
"I owe him a lot." Daisy replied as she took a step closer to Thorin. She couldn't help it, but her thoughts were once again troubled by Bilbo and his odd behaviour regarding his pocket. She was sure something was amiss, she could almost feel it.
"Daisy? Are you listening to me?" Thorin asked, and Daisy's attention turned back to the dwarf.
"Sorry," she admitted guiltily.
"Something troubles you," Thorin said, his eyes full of concern. Although she trusted Thorin with all her heart, she felt she owed it to Bilbo to speak to him first instead of going behind his back.
"It is nothing, Thorin. I am simply pleased that we are safe, even if it's only for a couple of days," She knew Thorin could sense she was lying, but he said no more on the matter.
"Let us get a fire started, and await the return of my nephews and Master Baggins." Thorin announced as he lead Daisy to a chair and set about helping his men stock up the fire.
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Hopefully we are back on track with this story, I do aim to have it finished by the time school holidays are over, then it's college :o
I hope you enjoyed this and that it was worth the wait. Don't kill me please. And I'm also sorry if the format is a bit off, I've had to use another processor for this!