CHAPTER TWO.

Prior to re-trampling Bilbo's garden and promptly hurrying down the hill, Gandalf searched for a place to buy clothes. He finally settled on old Melinda Proudfoot's shop of fabrics and attire, which was a rather established hole in the ground, built out of good solid wood and painted a bright off-white color. There were wildflowers growing everywhere around her property except for around the trimmed pathway leading to the bright yellow door.

When we entered she sent us a wary glimpse from her sewing. Like Bilbo, she wore bright clothing; a cherry dress accented with golden and jade colors hung over her stout frame.

"What can I do for you folk?" Her beady eyes watched us from under her glasses.

"We are in need of some travel clothes for Miss Elizabeth." Gandalf gave the woman a pleasant smile and pushed me forward with his staff.

"Hm-" She put one hand on her hip and the other on my shoulder, giving me a once over. "We'll take a few measurements and see what I have."

She took a half hour to measure me before she was pleased with her accuracy, and scuttled into the back to rummage through a rack of shirts, trousers, and what looked like scarves. I took the opportunity to wind my way over to her jewelry case, staring in through the clouded glass. Dirty much?

There were necklaces, brooches, earrings, and little odds and ends all in bright color and heavily jeweled.

That's when I spotted it, twinkling brightly under the sunlight casting in through the window. What looked like a small shirt pin, made of clear cut emeralds and pearls in the shape of a miniature ivy leaf, was clasped gently into a piece of velvet fabric underneath. It appeared so delicate and lovely at that moment I felt a strange tug at my heart.

"Ah, how pretty." Gandalf had leaned over my shoulder to peer down into the case. "I do believe that would look quite nice on you Elizabeth." I nodded my head quickly in agreement.

"Here we are! The perfect size and fit you'll find!" Melinda came bounding from the back, a few items of clothing draped across her arms. "Into the fitting room you go!"

A pair of light brown woolen trousers, a white linen shirt that very much resembled a tunic, a grey wool scarf, some camel-colored lace up boots that ended above my ankles, a chocolate tunic, and a mint ribbon were all that she had given me. I tucked the shirt into my trousers and decided to tie the ribbon around my wrist until I needed it, letting my hair hang freely in long waves against my waist with the crown of wildflowers still intact. I was quite fond of it once I thought about it. I rolled up my sleeves roughly just below my elbows.

Now I could get used to this. Clothes back home weren't exactly as professionally sewn as these.

"Ah, dear Elizabeth I do believe you're quite ready for an adventure now." Gandalf glanced at my new clothes in acceptance. "But Mrs. Proudfoot, how about that ivy pin from your jewelry case?"

"Oh yes, yes! That one would be quite charming!" She shuffled to her jewelry case, her blonde hair spilling over her shoulders, and plucked the pin from its resting place. Directly, she pinned it into my tunic just beside where my scarf fell and observed it with admiration. "It's beautiful on you! My, it was meant for you."

As Gandalf paid Melinda Proudfoot with gold he produced from somewhere under his robes, I couldn't help but to gaze rather intently at the pin in my shirt. It was perched against the cotton as if it had been intended to be there its entire existence. How curious. I never found jewelry this dazzling.

Melinda waved good bye as we exited her shop, turning out back into the sun that was beginning to set. The warmth felt nice against my skin and I was much more comfortable without feeling the flow of air around my legs and bare feet. The dress I was once wearing had been deposited safely into an extra bag Gandalf had given me.

"How about a little sustenance while we wait?" Gandalf inquired, turning his gaze to the old inn down the dirt road. I shrugged my shoulders as I sauntered on behind him.

"Gandalf what are we waiting on?"

"Dinner," he smiled heartily, "And a company of dwarves."

I wrinkled my eyebrows. "Dwarves?" Wha?

"Yes, now in you go."

Gandalf pushed me gently through the doors of the inn, causing me to stumble into a room full of all kinds of different folk, sitting around drinking mugs of ale and wine and all sorts of other things. A few taller men sat by the window in one corner, some Hobbits situated themselves around the bar laughing merrily, and there were some taller than Hobbits but shorter than an ordinary man resting around a fireplace. Most of them turned their gazes up at my entrance.

"Gandalf!" One of the men by the fire exclaimed, putting his glass of ale down and striding toward the old wizard before giving him a quick embrace. He had a chestnut brown beard braided intricately into three different sections, and his hair reflected the style of his beard.

"Nori, I'm quite surprised to see you all here." Gandalf tilted his head to the other men in the direction he came from, giving them a warm smile.

"Who's the little lass?" Nori asked. He shot me a toothy grin before extending his hand. With a swift bow he kissed my hand. "At your service m'lady."

"I-It's Elizabeth. Or Lizzie if you'd like to call me that." My words were directed toward the entire group and my cheeks flushed a little. I wasn't this used to such formal introductions. Nor this many men staring at me. Did all of them here have to ogle women every time they saw them or something? I mean really.

Nori proceeded to introduce the rest of his companions. "Now this is Ori, Dori, Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur, and finally Oin and Gloin." Ori was rather childish looking with big eyes and a goofy grin, Dori older and more wise looking, Bifur had a salt-and-pepper beard and an axe lodged in his forehead, Bofur possessed ridiculously lovely smile and dark hair, Bombur was very round and ginger, Oin appeared a messier, shorter old version of a wizard, and finally Gloin boasted fiery red hair and an intricately braided and jeweled beard. "Come have a seat Lizzie!"

The only seat left around the fire was between Ori and Bofur, which proved for an interesting rest of the evening. While we drank a strong, dark ale I learned that Ori preferred knitting and reading books about the natural wildflowers and plants of middle earth, and Bofur enjoyed whittling out toys from wood and was quite the storyteller and teacher. Within a few short minutes, Bofur started up one of his tales, entrancing both Ori and I.

"When I was a young lad, Erebor claimed the title of one o' the greatest dwarf kingdoms in all o' Middle Earth. The kingdom went leagues under the mountain an' housed an array o' dwarves who came far an' wide to mine the ores the land produced. They kept diggin' deeper an' deeper into the mountain when they hit the greatest stone 'ere found. The arkenstone. Now-"

During the middle of Bofur's story about Erebor before the terrible dragon had taken over, Gandalf stood and motioned to the dwarves and me informing us it was time we paid Bilbo a visit for dinner. We happily scattered out the door, each dwarf laughing and forming a line as we ventured to the Hobbit hole. They were a merry bunch, chatting all the way up the hill about whether the last addition to the company would be of the adventuresome sort.

"Oi, what's a Hobbit gonna do on this journey? I ain't seen one with fighting skills!" Gloin's beard moved up and down and the clasps holding its braids clinked against his overcoat as he spoke.

"Well he's a burglar isn't he?" Bifur raised an eyebrow at Gandalf. Bilbo Baggins, a burglar? Was that supposed to be a joke? Bilbo was scrawny, polite, and seemed to never leave his house.

"Quite a surprising one." Gandalf backed behind the group of dwarves as they now huddled against one another in front of Bilbo's bright green door. I opened my mouth to tell them they would fall straight through the door if it were opened, but Bilbo's agitated voice squeaked from inside.

"I've got plenty of dwarves in my house already, thank you! ...If this is some kind of joke it is a very poor one indeed!"

The door swung open, and everyone- Ori, Nori, Dori, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Oin, and Gloin- went toppling into Bilbo's Hobbit hole. Grunting sounds were made, yelps of "Get off me!" resonated, and the dwarves struggled to climb off of one another. Bilbo's face appeared even more baffled than I'd seen him before.

"Gandalf! What- how- why what is the meaning of this?" Bilbo straightened his scarf and moved aside as his house became overrun. The only ones left on his front steps were Gandalf and I.

"Now be careful dear Bilbo! It is not like you to keep friends waiting on the mat, and then open the door like a pop-gun! Almost all of us are here now." I followed Gandalf into Bilbo's foyer, and hung my cloak up on the hooks just as the other dwarves had, and promptly left him behind to explore the dining room.

Little did I know it, but this night, and this moment, was one of those fate-changing, destiny-following, big-sort-of-deal experiences.

"Chamomile tea Miss Lizzie?" Dori asked. A tray of teacups and a kettle were in his hands.

"Oh, sure!" He poured me a cup and I took it thankfully, finding a seat beside Bofur. "But really call me Lizzie! No Miss needed!"

"So we have a lady in our presence! I didn't know Gandalf was bringing this one along!" A dwarf I had not yet seen plopped himself down in front of us after Dori left, giving me a warm smile. He had piled his plate so high with meats, cheeses, and other various things from Bilbo's pantry that if he actually ate all of it I was sure he would burst. His hair was blonde and he looked younger than the rest of the company. His mustache was braided, but his beard was not as long as the ones the others had grown. "Fili, at your service!"

"Elizabeth." I smiled and bowed my head politely at him. That's when an even younger dwarf, laughing at something in the direction of Bilbo's pantry, situated himself beside Fili.

Hot damn. This existed in Middle Earth?

Fili elbowed the dark-haired dwarf sitting beside him, shooting a glance toward me. "Kili, this is Elizabeth." He raised his dark brown eyes and sent me an intense look. I noticed his lack of beard immediately.

"Oh! Pleased to meet you Miss Elizabeth." He reached across the table and took my hand, kissing the top of it, his eyes never leaving mine. Dear God. I like this dream. "Kili, at your service."

By this point Gandalf had taken a chair at the head of the table and Bilbo had found a spot by the fireside where he nibbled on the edge of a biscuit. The dwarves started in on their food, eating and talking about their journey here and what lay ahead on the road.

"Elizabeth where are you from?" Fili questioned me. Kili's attention was still focused on me, and it made me quite nervous to be under his stare.

"Er- Brighton."

"Never heard of it." Kili nodded, taking a plate that Bombur placed in front of him. It was overflowing with food just as Fili's had been a few moments ago before he started in on it. "You don't seem like you're from around here Miss Elizabeth."

"Well... I'm not really. I still don't really know where I quite am." Gandalf shot me a look across the table that instantly told me not to give too much away. "But I left that up to Gandalf! I've been traveling with him."

"Aye, must be somewhere up north," Fili remarked, stuffing a bread roll in his mouth.

Each of them took turns asking questions directed at me, all while I was under the pointed gaze of Kili, until we were finished eating. Bilbo hurried around the table, trying to take the plates, but the dwarves pushed him away, insisting that they do the cleaning for him. Within a few seconds, they were throwing plates around the room while Bilbo yelled nervously that they were going to break his dishes. His cries were matched hoots and chuckling as the dwarves started up in song.

Chip the glasses and crack the plates!
Blunt the knives and bend the forks!
That's what Bilbo Baggins hates-
Smash the bottles and burn the corks!

Cut the cloth and tread on the fat!
Pour the milk on the pantry floor!
Leave the bones on the bedroom mat!
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!

When the song was finished, all the dishes were put away unscathed and cleaned neatly. I could have sworn poor Bilbo Baggins almost keeled over with a heart attack.

First off, thank you guys for the sweet reviews and for following & whatnot!

We're still a little in introductory mode so I hope to add more info and details as the story starts to move on. I just kind of take it as Lizzie is just kind of basking in her dream for a bit and taking everything in. I hope you guys like the little back story I created for what Gandalf and Lizzie did before they found their way up to Bilbo's house. I focused a little on her pin because it will be important later in the story. And of course, I had to make Kili intensely interested in little Lizzie! I know I would definitely want him to stare at me like that! Hehe ;)

Anyway, continue being fabulous guys!