Chapter 6: Chapter 6: The Halls of Erebor
In the morning they set off in to the forest. Frodo rode with Bilbo, and Sam with Gandalf. Now that they had found the dwarrows, Aragorn bid them farewell after he saw them through the forest. He had told Gandalf that he was going to stay in Mirkwood for many months, and he promised the boys he would visit them before he returned to Rivendell.
It was a quiet ride to the gates of Erebor. Fili, Frodo, Kili, and Sam had become fast friends. Bilbo worried about what trouble they would get into if left unattended.
After they left Mirkwood, it took five days to reach Erebor. Once inside the gate Thorin told Fili and Kili to show the hobbits to their new room.
The Princes each carried a hobbit in their arms as they led Bilbo through the halls of the city. They went on about the History of the Lonely Mountain for Frodo and Sam (Bilbo already knowing some of it), as they walked along a hall filled with statues. Bilbo stopped as he passed the last one.
'In Memory of The Hobbit. The Burglar.'
"Uh… Fili, Kili? What's this?"
The dwarrows turned around; they hadn't noticed Bilbo had stopped. They walked back, and joined Bilbo staring at the statue.
"Uncle! You're a stachew!" Frodo said excitedly.
"When did this get here?" Kili asked his brother.
"I don't know. I've never seen it before." The eldest pirnce said starring at the statue with an expression similir to when they had lost the ponys. Confussed, concerned, and a realization of how much trouble they would be in if Uncle finds out.
"Ah! My princes, what do you think?" a Short red haired dwarf with many strikes of gray, came up behind them. "To celebrate your friend, I'm sorry for-"
The princes spun Bilbo around. "As you can see," Fili started.
"Our friend is quite alive, and he rescued two hobbit babes" Kili said patting Bilbo.
"Please take this down immediately, before King Thorin discovers its existence Azelon." Fili instructed.
"At once my princes." The bowed and turned. Bilbo got hateful vibe from the dwarf; for now he shook it off. Fili and Kili made faces at his back as he scurried off, Frodo and Sam giggled.
"That was Azelon, one of Thorin's advisors." Fili explained to Bilbo.
"Right mean one he is. Never lets us do anything"
"We're not babes!" Frodo protested from Kili's arms.
"Yeah! We're big hobbits! I'm even taller then Merry!" Sam said proudly.
"Really? Cause you look like babes to me." Kili said holding Frodo close to his face, looking him over.
"Aye, to me too." Fili said spinning Sam upside down. Bilbo nearly had a heart attack while Sam was giggling away.
"You drop my boys, I'll drop you off the top of this mountain." Bilbo threatened. Kili and Fili laughed it off nervously, Bilbo was deadly serious and they knew it.
"This way hobbits!" Kili said, carrying Frodo under his arm his arm like a book; Fili threw Sam over his shoulder.
The princes led Bilbo past two guards into a large hallway. There where three large wooden doors on either side. They led him to the second door on the right.
"This is you room." Kili said putting Frodo down.
"Our room is right there." Fili put Sam down before pointing to the last door on the left. "And that is Uncle Thoirn's room." He pointed to the last door on the right.
"If you ever need us-"
"Hoot twice like a barn owl!" Frodo said out of the blue.
"And once like a Brown owl!" Sam giggled before, the boys burst into a little fit of laughter. The brothers looked at Bilbo.
"Their favorite story is the one about the trolls." He said with a shrug. The brother shared a smile. They were fans of the hobbits, just as much as the hobbits were fans of them.
"If you do need us," Fili handed Bilbo three whistles. "Call. Uncle, Kili, and I will answer at the first blow if we can. The rest of the company will answer at two, but everyone will most likely come at one. Very protective of the little ones it seems. It will also call any gaurds if you ever are in trouble."
"We'll bring you a map of Erebor and show you around some more after dinner."
"Thank you Kili, Fili."
"You'll have plenty of time to relax before dinner." The princes said as the left the hall, waving goodbye to the boys.
"Come on." Bilbo ushered the boys inside to their new room.
It was very large, three times the size of Bag End. When your first entered there was a large living space, lots of pillows and couches. Against the right wall was a large fire place with a small fire going. There was a corner of the room filled with bookshelves and a desk, Bilbo could kiss Thorin right now! He couldn't wait to read some of those books!
On the left wall there were three door holes covered with curtains.
'That's what they must use for doors' Bilbo thought to him self.
The first room was a bedroom with what Bilbo assumed to be a noble dwarf's bed, in the middle against the furthest wall. Frodo and Sam could easily share it.
There was a small fire place to the right of the bed.
There was a closet and a few chests, which reminded Bilbo that he and the boys would need some new clothes.
The second door was another bedroom. This one was slightly larger than the other one, as was the bed. The bed could easily fit a large hobbit family.
It also had a small fire place but, on the left side of the bed.
There were also a few chests and a closet, like the other room.
The last door was a large bathroom. Bilbo had almost cried when he saw it.
It had a large white bath tube that seemed to be carved out of the wall. Bilbo couldn't wait to take a nice calming bath!
On the counter there was a large number of hygiene products, even child sized ones, and lots of towels. Bilbo could kiss Thorin a million times over!
There were two small stepping stools next to the sink. And the toilet was the small enough for the boys, but big enough for himself.
He came out of the bathroom to find the boys, who desperately needed to be in the bath he had just started. The room was empty but, he didn't panic. He had a good feeling that the giggling coming from the pillows was a safe bet that the boys hadn't left the room.
"Oh no! Where have Sam and Frodo gone!" he said as he walked to the pillows. He could hear the boys shushing each other. "Oh well… I guess that I can't give them a bath now." The pillows went silent.
Oh he knew his boys well. They were a lot like him in the aspect of hygiene; they liked to get dirty, but they loved to get clean.
He stood so the pile of pillows was between him and the bathroom. Two small heads emerged from the pillows, watching the door where the sound of running water was coming from. Bilbo took his chance to strike.
"AH!" the boys yelped in unison surprise, Bilbo scooped them out of the pillows. After realizing who had them they started to giggle.
Bilbo smiled as he carried them to the bathroom. He set them down next to the toilet, before checking the tub.
It was steaming slightly, and it was mostly full. Bilbo stopped the water, testing the temperature.
When he turned to tell the little hobbits to strip, he found them naked and ready to get in the tub.
"How did you boys get this dirty?"
"We're adventurers!" Frodo said throwing his hands in the air. Bilbo smiled and ruffled Frodo's hair.
"Okay so what do we do after adventuring?" he asked picking Sam and placing him in the tub.
"Get clean!" Sam said from the tube, splashing a bit.
"Very good. Be careful Sam, don't splash too much." He said placing his nephew in the tub.
The boys started splashing a bit, playing with the water, as Bilbo rolled up his sleeves and grabbed a bar of soap. He lathered each boy with soap, washing away the dirt and grime. The boys were playing with the now dirty water, as Bilbo got their towels. He lifted each boy out of the tub in their own towels.
It was when Frodo and Sam were helping dry each other off, that Bilbo realized he had no clean clothes for them to change into.
There was a knock at his door.
"Stay here boys," he said but, he was ignored by Sam and Frodo, who were playing some hand symbol game on the floor rapped in towels.
He opened the door to find a dwarowdam? She had a basket of cloths in her arms. She(?) had light brown hair, pulled up into a braided bun. Her(Bilbo was confident now, it was a her... Right?) dress was a blue color.
"Um... Hello?"
"Hello." She said sweetly, with a voice much softer than the one Bilbo had expected. " Lady Ellena, at your service." She said with a tip if her head and a curtsy.
"Bilbo Baggins." He said politely bowing.
"The king said you and your sons would need some clothes" she said handing him the basket.
"Th-there not my sons! They're my nephew and gardener's son!" He blushed slightly
"Of course." She said with a wink. "Trust a mother. When you care for them, they are your sons. No matter the actual relation to you."
He smiled. Yes, he quite agreed with that. He already cared for them as is they were his sons.
"These should be a bit loose. Come find me in the Craftsmen quarter when you're settled in, I'd like to get you and your boys properly fitted."
"Of course. Thank you."
"Any time, but don't forget to bring those boys by soon. I got a glimpse when you arrived, he were adorable, even in the arms of those devils." Bilbo knew she meant the princes.
She waved goodbye, and left. Bilbo thought he'd like to learn more about Lady Ellena and why the princes harassed her so.
A splash from the bathroom startled Bilbo out of his thoughts. He closed the door, setting the basket down on one of the couches, he grabbed some clothes that would fit the boys and ran back to the bathroom.
Frodo and Sam had decided to see if the towels floated. They didn't. They can't swim like Frodo could, Sam helpfully pointed out.
Bilbo sighed.
After skillfully dressing both boys (at the same time. Which was not an easy task when they'd rather run around naked.), Bilbo changed his own clothes. He would take a bath later when he got the hobbits to sleep.
"Bilbo!" Said hobbit jumped as his door was thrown open. Kili walked into his room closing the door behind him.
"Knock next time. I know you can." He returned to fishing around in the pile of pillows.
While he was changing, Frodo and Sam had stolen all the pillows from the beds and added them to the now huge pile, in the middle of the room.
"What are you doing?"
"Frodo and Sam are in here somewhere." There was giggling to his left, Bilbo dove.
"Ah ha!" He pulled Sam out of the pillows.
"Do you need help?"
"No thank you Kili, we'll just take Sam to dinner with us." He winked, Sam giggled in Bilbo's arms as Bilbo fought his way out of the pillows.
"Bye Frodo!" Sam said watching the pillows.
Bilbo leaned over to Kili and whispered, "Grab him as soon as he comes out." Before walking to the door, opening it, than closing it.
"No! Uncle Bilbo wait for me!" Frodo ran out from the pillows, Kili scooped up the little boy. Frodo calmed when he saw Bilbo hadn't actually left. "You're a mean old uncle." He said with a pout.
"I'm only 53! Kili's over 70!" Both boys gasped and looked to the youngest prince for conformation.
"I'm 83, as of three months ago. Thank you very much." Bilbo held the door open for Kili.
As Kili led Bilbo to the dinning hall, they discussed the differences between dwarrows and hobbits.
Bilbo mentioned he would like to see the library he had heard Ori talking about oh so proudly. Kili said he would ask the knitting fanatic to show Bilbo around it later.
When they reached the hall Bilbo had a small flash back of when the dwarrows invaded his home.
A plate came fling at him, he ducked, but thankfully Kili grabbed it midair and threw it back from where ever it came.
"This is madness!" Bilbo yelled over the noise and songs.
"This is fun, Mr. Boggins!" The prince yelled back with a large smile.
Kili took Bilbo through the hall safely until they reached a large table at the end hall, covered in piles and piles of food, surrounded by the dwarroes from the original company.
Thorin sat at the head of the table, Fili and Balin to his left. Two empty spaces sat between Gandalf and Thorin, Bilbo assumed that they were for Kili and himself.
Asal or what Fili had called him was discussing something with Thorin who was half-listening, watching his men feast.
"Bilbo!" Bofur was the first to notice Bilbo and Kili approaching with the two hobbits, from his spot next to the wizard - who really seemed out of place in a hall of dwarrows - they now were the spotlight of attention from the table.
Thorin dismissed Asselone (Bilbo really couldn't remember his name) with a wave of his hand. Kili sat next to Gandalf, leaving the only open spot next to Thorin.
"We will discuss this later." He over heard as the advisor finally left.
Bilbo sat with Sam in his lap, happily talking with the dwarrows. He greatly expressed his thanks to Thorin for the lovely room; the king accepted his thanks, saying that the hobbits of Erebor only deserve the best.
Bilbo handed Sam some bread and cheese off his plate, making sure Kili gave Frodo some as well, when he felt someone glaring at him.
He looked around, but saw no one.
"Is something wrong Bilbo?" Fili asked from across the table.
"No," Bilbo said brushing the feeling away, holding Sam a little tighter.
Bilbo wanted to get out of the mess dwarrows called dining as soon as possible.