Daughter of a Traitor
Part One
Chapter Four - The Shire
Ivy and Glóin travelled to the Shire together, "How is Gimli?" She asked making conversation, as they wandered the paths winding through the hillsides.
"Aye, lassie. Gimli is doing well, thank you for asking." Gloin spoke, his voice held an amount of sadness still as being away from his family. "Now where is the blasted house? Cursed be the wizard that sent us on this wild goose chase."
Ivy's glanced around the Shire, beautiful and peaceful, however, the people seemed less than happy to see travellers.
"Thereupon the hill," she pointed out to Gloin, a blue-silver marking shone in the moonlight upon a bright green door, that stood embedded in the side a substantial hill.
"Indeed. Ah ha, Bombur is here already." Gloin cried out in joy as he took off at a sprint.
"So I see. Apparently, we are the latecomers." Ivy stated as Gloin picked up his speed hurrying up to stand by Bombur. Ivy stood in the background watching the dwarves gather in a large group pushing and shoving to get to the front and inside.
"How were the roads," Gandalf asked merrily, his eyes twinkling in the moonlight clouded by the smoke of his pipe.
"Well enough, though I still do not see why we are here at all. Already we are out on a near-suicide mission, one in which we need a burglar and you suggest a hobbit. A hobbit? Are you mad? I will not be responsible for the hobbit, none of us will, I will not spend my time protecting him if he cannot protect himself he dies." Ivy said annoyed by the tactics of the old grey wizard.
Gandalf nodded solemnly puffing upon his pipe in thought, "One with such negativity towards this quest, I wonder why you decided to come along at all."
"We both know why I am here, there is a possibility I may come to learn more of my mother past during this quest and I will not pass up such opportunity." Ivy snapped in irritation as her attention was quickly directed back to the door as it creaked open and every dwarf went tumbling to the ground.
Ivy laughed to herself at the cost of her dwarven companions, stepping up and over the mountain of dwarves ignoring their cries of annoyance.
"Master Baggins, is it?" Ivy spoke as she passed the last remaining dwarf, kicking Bofur of her leg as he tried to trip her down with the rest of them. Bilbo nodded, confusion stuck all over his face. "Very well," Her eyes raked over the short, stout hobbit doubtfully, "Well, we shall see ." Without another word Ivy left him to his own joining Fili, Kili, Dwalin and Balin in the kitchen.
The food was passed around in great qualities, the merriment that was shared through the house spread like wildfire, Ivy took a seat around the table beside Kili joining in with the others in their laughter, joking, and eating their fill. Easily reminding Ivy of the days when Balin held his own grand feasts.
"Oi, Bombur!" Bifur called from the far end of the table tossing a boiled egg, leaning over Bombur caught it in his mouth expertly, cheering and laughter erupted.
Few dwindled away from the table, Ivy watched with amusement as Kili and Fili tried to crack open a barrel, sipping on her own glass of red wine when suddenly a plate went whipping past her head caught by Bifur. Bofur laughed joyfully picking up his knife and fork banging them against the table, the others following suit.
"Will you not do that, you'll blunt them." Bilbo admonished from the doorway angrily.
"You hear that lads, he says we'll blunt the knives." Bofur teased before breaking out into song.
"Blunt the knives, 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, tread on 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
When you're finished if they are whole
Send them down the hall to roll
That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!"
Ivy stepped back watching and laughing at the look on Bilbo's face as he looked at everything cleaned and stacked neatly. A loud bang echoed through the room cutting through the laughter.
"He's here," Ivy breathed seriously as she hurried to the door to welcome Thorin.
"Gandalf, I thought you said this place was easy to find. I got lost twice had it not been for the mark on the door I would never have found the place." Thorin said as he entered, smiling towards Ivy.
Ivy stepped forwards placing her hands upon his bearded face kissing him deeply before pulling away undoing the clasps of his travelling cloak.
"Mark, there's no mark on the door. It was painted last week." Bilbo insisted as he strutted to the door in annoyance at another barging into his home.
"There is, I put it there myself," Gandalf informed curtly to the confused hobbit, who stood to the left rather bewildered.
"So this is the hobbit. Tell me, Master Baggins, have you've done much fighting?" Thorin demanded, beginning to circle around the hobbit, Ivy moved away dragging his cloak with her before passing it to Kili.
"Pardon me?" Bilbo asked indignantly.
"What is your choice of weapon? Axe, sword?" Thorin asked impatiently as he walked around him awaiting an answer, coming to a stand still in front of Bilbo he wrapped his arm around Ivy.
"Well, I do have some skill at conkers if you must know. But I fail to see how that's relevant." Bilbo rambled on some sort of nonsense, that none around truly caught.
"Just as I thought, he's more of a grocer than a burglar." Everyone laughed at Thorin's quip, as he pulled Ivy along into the dining room for dinner. Thorin took at seat at the head of the table, Ivy following to sit by his side after returning from the kitchen with a tray ladened with a bowl of soup, bread, cheese and an ale for Thorin.
"What news from the meeting in Ered Luin? Did they all come?" Balin asked, sipping at his own ale resting his arms against the large wooden table.
"Aye, envoys from all seven Kingdoms," Thorin stated happy of this matter, he smiled nodding towards Ivy. Ivy merely rolled her eyes still thinking this whole quest was a foolish idea.
"And what did the dwarves of the Iron Hill say? Is Dain with us?" Dwalin's gruff voice asked from the other end, his eyes narrowed with all seriousness.
Thorin took a deep breath shaking his head. "They will not come." Silence rang out around the table at this news, all, except Ivy became troubled. "They say this quest is ours, and ours alone." He paused glancing over to the elf thinking whether he should share the information he still harboured, "He will not follow a king, such as I, who chooses to disgrace our kin by keeping an elf at his side, the only way he is with us is if she isn't." Thorin leaned against the table stroking his beard mournfully.
"Well, Dain is nothing more than a bethrach.(Serpent, beast)" Ivy cursed the burly dwarf, who would see her dead by his own hands given he had the chance.
"She is one of us," Kili said anger in his voice, turning to Ivy he bowed his head in respect.
"Thank you, Kili, but despite Dain's stupidity the dwarves of the Iron Hills are a great ally and I ruin that for you, so with that I out myself from this quest," Ivy said nodding her head firmly, glancing to look at Thorin.
"Sit! Besides, it will not change anything. Men lanaubukhs menu, (I love you.)Ivy." Thorin leaned over placing a firm hand on her thigh forcing Ivy to stay seated, "You promised, now you see it through."
"Yeah, alright. Love you too," Ivy smiled almost mockingly back.
"Ah, now then. Bilbo, my dear fellow, let us have a little more light." Gandalf spoke breaking the silence that loomed in the air, Bilbo headed out of the room as Gandalf brought out a map laying it flat upon the table.
"Oin has read the portents, and the portents say: it is time," Gloin stated, knowing where the conversation has veered to, as he leaned forwards in his seat to take a closer look at the map.
"Ravens have been seen flying back to the mountain, as it was foretold. When the birds of the old return to Erebor, the reign of the beast will end." Oin added, eyeing his brother with a triumph smile.
"Uh...what beast?" Bilbo asked curiously, from behind Gandalf leaning over to look at the map in pure curiosity.
"Well, that would be a reference to Smaug, the terrible, chiefest, and greatest calamity of our age. Airborne fire breather, teeth like razors, claws like meat hooks, extremely fond of precious metals." Bofur spoke in a cheerful tone with a smile, sending Bilbo a wink as he spoke.
"Yes, I know what a dragon is," Bilbo stated rather indignantly.
"I'm not afraid, I'm up for it. I'll give him a taste of the dwarvish iron right up his jacksy!" Ori snapped out jumping from his seat, jabbing his arm up in the air in a determined motion. Everyone around the table cheered on their dwarven comrade but Thorin and Ivy.
"Sit down!" Dori pushed him back into his chair, in a haste seeing the sneer up their leader's face.
"The task would be difficult enough with an army behind us, but we number just fourteen, and not fourteen of the best, nor brightest," Balin pointed out looking around at everyone, stating the grim bit obvious truth of their situation.
"No, truer words, Balin, so why are we all going to our deaths by said dragon. I hold no such feelings of every wanting to run into him again." Ivy raised her eyebrows at them, rolling her shoulder that bore heavy scarring along with parts of her back and chest.
"Hey! Who are you calling dim?" One yelled still on about Balin's comment, setting everyone into the round of childish bickering.
"We may be few in number. But we're fighters, all of us! To the last dwarf!" Fili stated bravely, yelling over the cries of every dwarf they had packed into the small hobbit hole.
"And you forget we have a wizard in our company, Gandalf will have killed hundreds of dragons in his time," Kili added in his usual cocky tone, glancing towards the old wizard, brows furrowed.
"Oh, well. No, uh, I...I wouldn't say..." Gandalf stumbled over his words, unsure of what to say.
"How many then?" Dori pushed on, suddenly intent upon an answer as though this would determine their fate.
Ivy shook her head laughing as she looked upon the old wizards face, she couldn't help but be a little satisfied at the poor wizard being attack by the dwarves.
"What?" Gandalf demanded, shaking his head.
"I don't think a number matters, as long as he can help defeat this one," Ivy stated, getting a little impatient with all of the dwarves yelling, while she didn't want to do this quest, she still knew that she must both for the promise she had made and the information that may come, they needed to focus on their tasks now.
"Well, how many dragons have you killed? Go on, give us a number!" Dori continued his relentless badgering trying to get an answer out of Gandalf.
Everyone continued yelling over one another, Ivy scratched her forehead in frustration looking over at Thorin, "How are we supposed to get through an entire quest, if they cannot get through but one meeting."
Nodding, Thorin jumped from his seat screaming over top everyone. "Enough! If we have read these signs, do you not think others will have read them too? Rumors have begun to spread. The dragon Smaug has not been seen for sixty years. Eyes look East to the mountain, assessing, wondering, weighing the risk. Perhaps the vast wealth of our people now lies unprotected. Do we sit back while others claim what is rightfully ours? Or do we seize this chance to take back Erebor?"
Again cheering erupted this time for Thorin, "Shazara!" (Silence!)
"You forget, the front gate is sealed. There is no way into the mountain." Balin, always the killjoy.
"That, my dear, Balin, is not entirely true," Gandalf said with a smirk, the wizard always has something up his sleeve, something he was keeping a secret he fumbled with the sleeve of his cloak.
"How came you by this?" Thorin asked in disbelief, as Gandalf pulled out a key from the depths of his robes.
"It was given to me by your father by Thrain, for safe keeping. It is yours now." Gandalf smiled holding the key out to Thorin for him to take. As his fingers grasp the key a smirk spread over his lips as he took a deep breath glancing over to Ivy who looked less than pleased, Fili interjected.
"If there is a key, there must be a door!"
"Thank you, Fili for stating such we were having difficulty understanding." Ivy teased, earning herself a kick in the shin from Fili as he laughed to himself, Ivy glared grunting in pain.
"These runes speak of a hidden passage to the lower halls," Gandalf informed, jabbing a finger to the spot he made mention of on the map.
"There's another way in," Kili stated.
"Oh, brother's one in the same." Ivy continued on with the sarcasm, Kili gave a curt nod to Fili, who in turned kicked her once more.
"Oh, guys really," Ivy moaned, more jokingly than not, as she rubbed at her leg.
"Oh, my poor delicate little elf," Thorin teased with a wink.
"Nice you to, Thorin."
"Well, if we can find it, but dwarf doors are invisible when closed. The answer lies hidden somewhere in this map, and I do not have the skill to find it, but there are others in Middle-Earth who can. The task I have in mind will require a great deal of stealth, and no small amount of courage. But if we're careful and clever, I believe that it can be done." Gandalf professed to cut off our bickering.
"That's why we need a burglar," Ori interjected.
Ivy suppressed the urge and held back her sarcasm this time around, not making any comment saving herself from being kicked again, Fili looked a little more than disappointed.
"Hmm. And a good one too. An expert, I'd imagine." Bilbo spoke up, still eyeing the map, Ivy glanced over her shoulder having almost forgotten about the hobbit altogether.
"And are you?" Gloin asked bluntly, eyeing him carefully as everyone who now looked to Bilbo did.
"Am I what?" Bilbo asked shocked.
"He said he's an expert!"
"Me? No! No, No, No! I...I'm not a burglar. I've never stolen a thing in my life." Bilbo's eyes widened stepping back from the table. Ivy rolled her eyes in annoyance; positive now more than ever if the hobbit came he would die before they even made it out of the Shire.
"And I'm afraid I have to agree with Mr. Baggins. He's hardly burglar material." Balin added.
"Aye, the wild is no place for gentlefolk who can neither fight nor fend for themselves." Dwalin eyed Bilbo up ferociously.
"Enough! If I say Bilbo Baggins is a burglar, then a burglar he is! Hobbits are remarkably light on their feet. In fact, they can pass unseen by most if they choose, and while the dragon is accustomed to the smell of a dwarf, the scent of a hobbit is all but unknown to him, which gives us a distinct advantage. You asked me to find the fifteenth member of this company, and I have chosen Mr. Baggins. There's a lot more to him than appearances suggest. And he's got a great deal more to offer than any of you know, including himself." This time it was Gandalf that yelled above everyone else, seizing all arguments a great shadow loomed over the dining hall before quickly fading away again. Leaning over to Thorin he whispered, "You must trust me on this."
"Very well. We'll do it your way." Thorin agreed, though his voice showed his own hesitations of the hobbit. "Give him the contract."
"It's just the usual summary of out-of-pocket expenses, the time required, remuneration, funeral arrangements, so forth," Balin explained as he passed the contract to Thorin in order to reach Bilbo.
"Funeral arrangements?" Bilbo breathed, as he pulled open the contracted reading. "Ooh."
"I cannot guarantee his safety," Thorin informed Gandalf as he leaned in closer, glancing to ensure Bilbo was deep in his reading.
"Understood."
"Nor will I be responsible for his fate."
"Agreed."
They nodded together in agreement, Ivy was glad to hear it gave her clearance by both Gandalf and their leader, that she held no responsibility for the hobbit. Leaning back in her chair Ivy watched Bilbo waiting for him to read over the contract.
"'Total's cash on delivery, up to but not exceeding, one fifteenth of the profit if any.' Seems fair. Uh...'The present company shall not be liable for injuries inflicted by or sustained as a consequence thereof, including, but not limited to...lacerations. Evisceration. Incineration?" Bilbo paused in his reading looking over, eyes wide. "I…Incineration?"
"Oh, aye, he'll melt the flesh off your bones in the blink of an eye," Bofur explained.
Bilbo's coloured faded in a flash as he began wavering on his feet.
"You alright, laddie?" Balin asked eyeing him cautiously.
"Huh? Yeah, I fe...I feel a bit faint." His breathing was coming out ragged, bending over he leaned on the wall supporting himself as he tried to calm his nerves that were quickly taking over.
"Think furnace, with wings." Bofur offered up.
"I...I...I need air."
"Flash of light, searing pain, then poof! You're nothing more than a pile of ash!"
Bilbo stood trying to let everything sink in that Bofur had just said as he fiddled with his hands breathing deeply, "Uh, no." And with that, he collapsed fainting to the floor.
"Oh, very helpful, Bofur." Gandalf admonished, as he got up from the table going over to help him.
"It appears we have lost our burglar. Probably for the best. The odds were always against us. After all, what are we? Merchants, miners, tinkers, toy makers. Hardly the stuff of legend." Balin sighed looking over at Thorin and Ivy after they had all moved away from the table now standing together in the hall.
"There are a few warriors amongst us." Thorin admitted, "Though I would take each and every one of these dwarves over an army from the Iron Hills, for when I called upon them, they answered. Loyalty, honor, a willing heart. I can ask no more than that."
"You don't have to do this. 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." Balin spoke with such pride to Thorin.
"Balin is right, Thorin," Ivy confirmed, watching him carefully. "You've proved yourself time and time again, no one would think twice if you didn't continue this."
"From my grandfather to my father, this has come to me. They dreamt of the day when the dwarves of Erebor would reclaim their homeland. There is no choice, guys. Not for me." Thorin insisted, his arms tightening around Ivy's waist.
"Then we are with you, laddie. We will see it done." Balin professed.
"As you wish," Ivy added, Balin smiled as they retired to the living room with the rest of company. Thorin leaned against the hearth smoking a pipe as he began to sing.
Far over the misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away ere break of day
To seek the pale enchanted gold.
The dwarves of yore made mighty spells,
While hammers fell like ringing bells
In places deep, where dark things sleep,
In hollow halls beneath the fells.
For ancient king and elvish lord
There many a gleaming golden hoard
They shaped and wrought, and light they caught
To hide in gems on hilt of sword.
On silver necklaces, they strung
The flowering stars, on crowns they hung
The dragon-fire, in twisted wire
They meshed the light of moon and sun.
Far over the misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away, ere break of day,
To claim our long-forgotten gold.
Goblets they carved there for themselves
And harps of gold; where no man delves
There lay they long, and many a song
Was sung unheard by men or elves.
The pines were roaring on the height,
The winds were moaning in the night.
The fire was red, it flaming spread;
The trees like torches blazed with light.
The bells were ringing in the dale
And men they looked up with faces pale;
The dragon's ire more fierce than fire
Laid low their towers and houses frail.
The mountain smoked beneath the moon;
The dwarves they heard the tramp of doom.
They fled their hall to dying fall
Beneath his feet, beneath the moon.
Far over the misty mountains grim
To dungeons deep and caverns dim
We must away, ere break of day,
To win our harps and gold from him!
Ivy curled herself into a corner using Thorin's cloak as a blanket as she listened to the dwarves sing. Thorin came climbing beneath the cloak, as he finished their song sliding down Ivy rested her head upon his chest.
"Night, my little elf."
"Sleep well," She whispered, taking some time to rest her mind for the long journey ahead.
Author's Note; Thank you to everyone, for everything. Hope you all are enjoying the changes, let me know what you think.
Enjoy
Thank you
DracoMalfoysSecretWife, Thank you! She does use a bow as well. As I have 40-ish chapters written it shouldn't be terribly long between each post, though I am rewriting it as I, making edits and general changes. Of the confrontation in Mirkwood, I've already began rewriting and tweaking that piece, (its one of my favourite parts.) Any thoughts one it feel free to share, I've been know to add details people want to see in to the best of my ability. lol Hope you continue to enjoy.