Yay! Two chapters in two days! I hope you all enjoy this one. The girls finally meet Thorin and... well... yeah.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the wonderful characters created by JK Rowling or JRR Tolkien. Any characters not recognized as theirs are mine. Also, the song lyrics are not mine, they belong to Jules Bass, who adapted them from the song in the 1977 version of the Hobbit.
Chapter 5: Songs and Arguments
The girls learned more about the dwarves as they sat and ate. Balin, who was the one that accepted Isabella's apology, used to be a great warrior. While the girls had no doubt that he was still an exceptional fighter (thoughts of Dumbledore and how deceiving his age versus his power could be led them to this conclusion), he also seemed to be one of the more clever dwarves. Dwalin, the girls found out, was his younger brother. He was also the exact opposite to him when it came to Arianna and Isabella, as he continued to glower at the two. Isabella, being the person she was, would occasional glare back at him, to which Dwalin would let out a low growl. Arianna knew Isabella was just having fun instigating the furious dwarf, much as she had Professor Snape. Elbowing her friend hard, she shot her a warning glance, effectively telling her to knock it off.
Oin and Gloin were brothers, as were Bofur and Bifur. Bofur wore a hat with the sides sticking straight out. He seemed rather proud of it too and Arianna couldn't help but giggle a little at the sight of it. Bifur had an ax blade in his head and only seemed to speak in a strange language (Gandalf later explained that it was Khuzdul, the Dwarvish tongue) and gestured about wildly. Bombur, which was the widest of all the dwarves, was the cousin of Bofur and Bifur, and seemed particularly talented at making food disappear. Ori was one of the youngest, and quite bashful it seemed. When Isabella had leaned over to ask him about his fingerless knitted gloves, he had blushed and nearly fallen off his chair in surprise. Nori and Dori were the older brothers of Ori. Dori looked to be the eldest, but Nori had the most interesting hair of all the dwarves. It was divided into three peaks and Arianna decided that she would always be able to pick him out in a crowd.
Fili and Kili turned out to be brothers as well, and nephews of some dwarf named Thorin. The girls liked the two playful brothers immediately and couldn't help but laugh at their antics throughout the meal.
Finally, the majority of the meal had been consumed and the dwarves started trying to clean up the mess. Poor little Bilbo was running around trying to once again establish control on the out-of-control situation. Isabella watched, amused, as he snatched a doily out of the hands of Bofur, who had been using it as a wash cloth. Suddenly, Fili and Kili started throwing plates and bowls around to Dwalin for washing, while Bofur, Gloin, Nori and Dori started banging the silver on the table, clinking it together, and then singing:
Blunt the knives and bend the forks!
Smash the bottles and burn the corks!
Chip the glasses and crack the plates!
That's what Bilbo Baggins hates
Cut the cloth and tread the fat!
Leave the bones on the bedroom 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;
And when you've finished, if any are whole,
Send them down the hall to roll!
That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!
So, carefully! Carefully with the plates!
Gandalf was laughing along with Isabella as they watched the dwarves throw Bilbo's mother's dishes around the hobbit's house. Arianna felt bad for the poor hobbit, his face clearly showing how much distress he was in; she could understand his worry for his mother's belongings. The song ended with all the dishes piled up on the table, clean, safe, and ready to be put away.
Admist all the laughing at Bilbo's shocked face, a knock was heard. "He's here" Gandalf said, and looked at Bilbo, clearly wanting him to go open the door. As the dwarves went out into the hall to greet the new guest, Gandalf turned to the two girls. "Stay here at the table. It will be best to introduce you two and Bilbo separately." And with one more puff on his pipe, he headed out to the hall after the dwarves.
Shrugging, the two girls sat down once more and listened to what was going on.
"Gandalf, if it hadn't been for your mark on the door, I would have passed by it a third time." They heard a deep voice say. "Mark? No, there's no mark on my door, I just had it painted last week!" Another, recognized as Bilbo, exclaimed. A few murmurs later and they heard "So this is the Hobbit" There was a pause, and then: "He looks more like a grocer than a burgular". "Yeesh, he sounds grumpy." Isabella whispered to Arianna. A question from the new dwarf, asking if there was any dinner left, and a mad scramble of footsteps were next heard as Ori and Kili rushed into the room, laying out a place at the table; a bowl of soup, a roll, and some ale being set down as well.
Suddenly, the newcomer appeared. He was taller than the others (although Isabella still stood a head taller and Arianna was about equal height with him) and had long black hair slightly streaked with grey. His beard was cut short, and he had two identical braids on either side of his head, bound by silver beads at the end. He looked… determined and if he was surprised by the two human girls sitting at the table, he didn't show it.
"Thorin, allow me to introduce Arianna and Isabella. I had found them on the road to the west of Bree as I travelled to the Shire for this evening's meeting. Girls, this is Thorin Oakenshield, the leader of this journey. I told them they should accompany us Thorin, as they are not from around here and should not be left to wander by themselves." Gandalf said, walking into the room behind him. The rest of the dwarves filled in the table, all eyes on Thorin. Dwalin muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "should've left them lost" before taking the seat nearest to Thorin. Isabella and Arianna muttered quiet "How do you do's" to the intimidating creature before them. A quiet "hmph" was all that Thorin said on the matter, for the moment.
Digging into the food, he listened as Gandalf explain their quest, mainly to the benefit of the hobbit lingering behind him. With a flourish, Gandalf produced a map, and a key, his grandfather's key. He then explained how it had been left in his care, and that he was now passing it on to Thorin. Confidence filled Thorin. They had a way into the mountain now! All they had to do was read the map. Without the help of the elves, as Gandalf seemed to keep hinting that he felt going to Imladris was the best option to start. He would not take his company there and open themselves up once again to the creatures that had betrayed his kind.
"We will seize this chance to take back Erebor!" He said, rising from his seat and clenching his fist in front of him. Looking over, he noticed the two strange girls watching all the dwarves cheer, unreadable expressions on their faces. The dark haired one looked slightly like an elf, tall, slender, and a pretty enough face (for a non-dwarf). The one with the flaming hair was shorter, stockier, with an air of knowledge and curiousity. 'They will only hinder us' he thought. Why Gandalf thought they could go on this journey, he did not know, but he would not let it continue. He already had the hobbit to contend with, and as he told Gandalf, he could not ensure that one's survival, nor would he be responsible for his fate. He refused to take on another two burdens.
"You,' Thorin said, pointing at Isabella 'What makes you think you can come on this journey? You both look like nothing but burdens for us, and I will not risk my men's lives for strangers. Plus, we already have an added burden in the hobbit."
Feeling quite affronted, Isabella stared at the fierce dwarf. 'Burden indeed' she snorted, 'I could run circles around him' she thought over-confidently. Standing up, she answered. "We may not know much of this world, Master Dwarf, but I'm a Gryffindor, braver than any you could ever find." Okay, she admitted to herself, she was bluffing quite a bit. But Gandalf said that they needed the dwarves to take them to this Rivendell place, and how would they accomplish that if they were left behind? She took a breath and looked at Arianna, who was looking at her aghast for her bold statement. "And my friend here is a Ravenclaw,' she continued, figuring she might as well go all out, 'smartest person you shall ever find. She has read and memorized hundreds of books and is cleverer than Rowena herself" she finished with a nod.
"Gryffindors and Ravenclaws, what is this nonsense? And what good are books on this journey? You cannot kill an orc with one, therefore they are practically useless. And I care not about your supposed bravery. One look at an orc, and you will run away screaming for aid that we will not give you. This journey will be the end of you" he finished harshly. Perhaps harsher than he intended, but he was trying to make a point after all, and the fear of death was always a good deterrent.
Glancing over, Isabella noticed that Arianna was now also glaring at the leader of the dwarves. 'Not good… he essentially threatened me and insulted her books... not good at all. Perhaps I should just have kept quiet.' Isabella thought, cursing her Gryffindor tendency to speak without thinking. She then winced, as she heard Arianna respond, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Of course, we are but females Mister Oakenshield. Clearly, our worth will be judged by our appearances alone. Nevertheless, how dare you threaten my friend, not with direct harm from yourself, but with a promise to withhold aid! I know for a fact, that were your places reversed, she would run in to save your sorry skin, friend or stranger."
Arianna was breathing heavy now, her anger with this... this... imperialistic male reaching new heights. Gandalf wanted them to seek aid from this? Over her dead body! Still insulted, she took a deep breath. "And yes, what good would books do on this quest? You obviously have all the answers. Except that you have no idea of what you are doing. You have a map which you cannot read, signs that you are unsure of, a key with no discernible door, and last but not least, a dragon, which I doubt you have any idea of how to fight, let alone kill! Thank god your sword is pointy on one end, or I doubt you would know what to do with that either!"
"And then,' she continued, ignoring Isabella's attempts to cover her mouth and get in front of her, 'to top it all off, the lot of you barge into Mister Baggins' house, eat all his food, terrify him into thinking you'd break his dead mother's dishes, and speak down to him as if he is worth nothing. Grocer indeed! You have insulted someone who doesn't know you or your story, but is possibly willing to help, even though you are not his kin, nor even his kind! You, Sir' at this, Arianna jabbed her finger into the chest of the gobsmacked Thorin, as she had stood up and been inching towards him during the end of her tirade, 'could use a good book… on manners!" And with that, she grabbed Isabella, thanked Bilbo for the dinner and Gandalf for helping them, bid the shocked dwarves good night, and marched out of the hobbit's house into the night.
The sudden temper and departure of the red head and her black haired friend was met with astonished glances between Thorin, Gandalf (who looked mighty amused with Arianna's outburst and unhappy with Thorin's, all at the same time) and the now closed door. Then Bilbo started to read the contract that Balin had given him during the explanation of the quest, got to the part with the various ways of dying, and fainted, effectively ending the silence.
Outside, Arianna paused and spoke to Isabella. "Gandalf already told us where we needed to go. I'm sure others in this place will know how to get to this Rivendell. We'll head to the woods, light a fire, and sleep there for the night." she said with determination. Isabella nodded and quietly followed her best friend, silently laughing at the image of the dwarf's face as Arianna had given him a complete tongue lashing. Sobering up, she began to worry. Arianna often kept a cool head, but sometimes her Irish temper would flair up, such as in this case, and get the best of her. Now they found themselves in a strange world, alone and unsure of whom they were going to meet next. She hoped that it wouldn't be an orc, whatever that was. It didn't sound pleasant at all.
Although... when I started writing this, I didn't realize just how upset she would be. I guess this is what everyone means when they say "the characters got away from them"! I had no intention of them storming out of Bag End like that.
Also, in case anyone is wondering, this is NOT a Mary Sue. At all. They do not take Bilbo's place, they are not great fighters, they just have magic and brains. And the fact that there's two of them to watch the other's back.
Oh also, I read somewhere that Thorin was about 5'2". Correct me if I'm completely wrong, but for this story, the average Dwarf will be 4'6"-4'8", Bilbo is 3'9" ish, and Kili/Fili will both be about 5'0".