Disclaimer: I do not own The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, or any associated characters or concepts. Quotes in this chapter taken directly from The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien.

We've seen a lot of the hobbit culture in the past few chapters. In this, we see a little more about the dwarves and their culture.

Mom, you might not like this chapter. There's blood and hunting. Remember, the dwarves are on hard times. They are often starving, and are used to taking food where they can find it, when they can find it.

Summary: On the way to the Undying Lands, Billa is eaten by a time-traveling sea monster. The elves on board attack the monster in retaliation, and it escapes by swimming into the past: several decades into the past. Billa wakes up in a sweat, gasping and frightened, only to realize that she is back in her thirty-three-year old body. What on earth is she going to do?


Chapter 30

They rode grimly through the Greenfields until they found the place Jenny described. Then, Bifur took over, and Billa dropped back to ride behind Thorin. Hours passed, and the fields turned into thick green forest.

When Billa heard stomachs start to rumble (including her own), she nudged her horse forward to ride beside Thorin.

"Thorin," she said quietly, speaking only to him, "the travel rations have been individually wrapped into parcels. Each parcel contains waybread, cheese, an apple, and dried meat. There should be nigh-on fifty parcels in each bag. I can begin handing them out on your word," she said.

"Do so," he said shortly. Billa nodded, and passed the first one to him. "Do you also wish for me to gather food along the way?" she asked.

"Stay near," he said as he took the packet. "Keep someone with you."

Instead of protesting that she could take care of herself, she thought that he had enough on his shoulders, and decided to give him the gift of obedience. "Yes, Thorin," she said, and then pulled up to Bifur, handing him a package.

"Lunch," she explained, tersely. "Thank you for helping to find her, Mister Bifur," she said solemnly.

Bifur looked at her, just as solemn, and nodded.

She maneuvered her pony around the rest of the party, handing out parcels, asking for their names, and thanking them personally. When she came to Dwalin, she handed him the food without speaking. He took her wrist before she could move away.

"What, no thanks for me, lass?" he asked.

"No need to," she told him quietly, somber, but fond. "If Thorin hadn't agreed to help, you'd have gone after her yourself, and I would have followed you," she told him. Dwalin nodded.

"That I would have," he agreed. "You truly did not know of the slavers?" he asked, just as quiet.

She shook her head grimly. "I was a child when I heard tell of them, and then went over a decade without hearing anything. When I ventured out, the risk did not cross my mind at all," she promised him.

Nori, overhearing, gave her a cautious gaze. She realized with a start, that he might think this was 'manufactured' trouble. When Dwalin released her, she finished handing out the parcels, making her way to Nori last.

"If this turned out to be a false alarm," Nori said as she handed him his lunch, "I think Thorin might kill whoever started it."

Billa nodded, understanding his warning. "This is real trouble," she promised, reassuring him. He nodded back at her. "I've got to gather gather food for the night if we want our rations to last long. You keep a knife handy for any small game?" she asked.

He answered by letting one fly, killing a rabbit. Billa hopped down to retrieve it, handing her pony's reins to Nori. "Stay close," she said, and he nodded, waiting for her.

She retrieved the rabbit while Nori waited for her, and gathered whatever nearby edibles she could find. She stuffed the greens into the significantly lighter travel sack and then mounted up, still clutching the rabbit.

"Do you want me to skin that?" Nori offered, gesturing at the rabbit.

Billa shook her head. "I'll do it," she said. "You keep those knives handy. We'll need more meat than this for dinner."

Nori tied her reigns to his saddle while Billa focused on skinning the rabbit as neatly as possible. This was a difficult skill, particularly when on a rolling, rocking horse, and it had taken her some time to learn it from the dwarves, and even more time to perfect it. She had perfected it in memory, but this was the first time these hands had attempted it, and so she took her time and focused on precision instead of speed. When the rabbit was skinned, she used the pelt as a sort of table to keep the blood from getting all over her trousers and the saddle.

The dwarves eyed her skill with interest, curious and impressed.

"Mister Nori," she said, remembering the dwarves' rules for claiming of the meat and remains, "Anything in particular you claim?" When Billa had ridden with the dwarves, she had at first been horrified by this practice. She had actually retched the first time she had seen it, and they had laughed at her. It had taken her a long time to recover their lost respect, and she refused to make the same mistakes twice. On the way home from Erebor, she had practiced it herself, grieving, trying to keep them close, and wanting to prove herself.

Nori stifled a grin. "I'll have the heart and the pelt," he said, "but you can take the liver." Billa smirked internally. Obviously, he meant to shock her, having correctly guessed that hobbits were not in the habit of eating meat raw and warm. Billa, however, was aware that it was a compliment among dwarves. The heart, pelt, liver and brain were considered the most desirable parts, and Nori had gifted one of them to her.

"That's very kind of you, Mister Nori," she said placidly, carefully extracting the heart from the still-hot body. She handed it over, blood dripping from her hands, calm as anything. Nori stared, not expecting that reaction, but he took the heart and then, still watching her with wide eyes, ate it.

"May I wrap the meat in the fur and return the pelt to you tonight, Mister Nori?" she asked, as if there wasn't blood dripping into Nori's beard. He blinked at her.

"Ah, yes, Lady Billa," he said. "Of course."

Billa nodded. "Can I have my reins back? I need to get up to Thorin," she said. Those were the rules. The one who killed the game got first pick, but could gift a piece to anyone of their choosing. Nori had gifted the liver, a very nutritious part, to her. Next was the highest ranking person in the group, which in this party was Thorin.

Still taken aback by how calm she was, Nori carefully handed over the reins, looping them around her saddle horn so they wouldn't fall. She smiled at him.

"Thank you Mister Nori," she said, and spurred the pony up to Thorin.

"Thorin," she said. He glanced at her, eyes widening at the blood on her hands and the knife in her hand. "The heart, liver, and pelt have been claimed. What shall you have, sir?" She watched him look between the empty heart cavity and her clean mouth, obviously wondering who had gotten what. She blinked patiently at him.

"You may take my share, Billa," he said. Billa blushed at his consideration. That was an exceedingly generous gesture!

"Thank you, Thorin. That's very generous, and I'm pleased by your thoughtfulness," she said, her ears red. "Please, take your share. Mister Nori offered me the liver. I'm already beholden to you, Thorin, just for being here," she told him earnestly, smiling at him.

He smiled gently back, his own cheeks a little pink. "Very well, Billa," he said agreeably, pleased by her reaction. "I'll have the brain."


Next in precedence was Balin, who claimed the eyeballs, and then Dwalin, and down through the rest of the dwarves until the offal was all claimed. Bifur, as the only dwarf who really liked greens, took the stomach.

She wrapped the meat in the pelt and put it with the greens in her traveling sack, and then ate her liver. Thorin, whom she was riding near, watched each bite. She could feel the dwarves behind them watching, too, and she amused herself by imagining their wide eyes and surprised expressions.

When she was finished, she took a pocket handkerchief, dampened it from her water skin, and carefully washed the blood from her hands and dabbed at her mouth. The raw meat churned in her stomach, and she knew it would make a repeat appearance unless she had something to soothe her stomach. Thankfully, she had anticipated this and so included sprigs of peppermint in her pockets. She pinched off a few leaves, chewing them and swallowing them down until her stomach calmed.

When Thorin watches her with a little amusement, probably guessing her problem, she tries to deflect him. "You want one?" she offers sweetly. "They keep your breath fresh." He huffs gently and declines, watching her with soft eyes for a few moments. Then Bifur pulls back, signing something, and Thorin's face is hard again.

Thorin gestures to the group, and everyone is silent as they dismount. She follows, having no idea what they are saying and knowing Thorin will tell her when he needs to.

Three dwarves take the reins of the ponies and tie them up, staying behind to guard them. The rest of them creep forward through the trees, and Billa stays close to Thorin.

He notices her and pulls her close. He puts his mouth right against her ear, her ear! In public! and Billa freezes, blushing violently. He's too close to notice though, and as he speaks, his lips brush against her ear, and his breathing warms and cools it in measures. His hair is brushing against her face, soft and silky and smelling like Thorin. Something warm and new zings through her body, and Billa is almost too mortified to hear what he's saying.

"Bifur says we're half an hour behind by pony, perhaps an hour on foot. We'll walk until we find them. We'll advance in movements, you scouting ahead each time. Can you follow the tracks and lead us toward the camp?" he asked. Then he pulled back and noticed her bright red face. From the tips of her ears and across her face, down into her blouse, she was blushing, and the sight made Thorin blush a little too. "Billa? What's wrong?" he asked, a little confused.

She swallows and musters herself to explain. "Ears," she manages, breathless and wide-eyed as she watches him, still so close and looming over her. "Hobbits-" she tries, "- s-sensitive," she finishes, still blushing. This garbled information turns Thorin's cheeks a little darker when he understands, but he smirks at her reaction.

"I'll just go now," she says, mortified, her body still thrumming from his unexpected caresses. Thorin grins and sends Bifur with her while he and the rest of the dwarves wait.

They stalk forward, following the trail. They go forward for twenty minutes, and then backtrack for five. Billa waits in place while Bifur returns to guide the others.

They go forward another twenty minutes, and then backtrack five again. Billa waits in place and Bifur guides the others.

Billa and Bifur stalk forward for ten minutes before they see the light through the trees. Billa puts a hand on Bifur's shoulder.

"Wait here," she says quietly. "I'll creep around and count sentries and numbers," she says. Bifur gives her a cautioning look. "Don't worry," she smiles at him. "I'll be invisible."

She creeps forward, silent and invisible. She sees the metal on her walking stick glint in the firelight, and crouches on the ground, behind some bushes, to rub dirt on it and dull the gleam. She rubs some on her face for good measure. Then she is sneaking forward again.

There are two sentries standing watch at either side of camp. There's a fire in the middle of the camp, and thirteen ruffians are sitting around having dinner. She counts twice. There is a tent, large enough for several people, but she cannot see into it.

She retreats to Bifur's side and tells him what she saw. "Go bring the others, and I will see if I can look inside the tent." He grimaces, but obeys, slinking back towards the dwarrow.

Billa moves around the camp until she can see into the tent, and what she sees breaks her heart. There are six figures. Three hobbits, two lads and a lass, as well as two young dwarves, and one elfling were chained together. The dwarves and the elf were filthy, and the elf had a bloody cheek, and they had obviously been held by these slavers longer than the hobbits. The two boys, Billa didn't recognize, but she recognized Lily who had dirt on her face and tear marks down her cheeks.

Having learned from the trolls that she shouldn't charge in without backup, Billa retreats to where Bifur and she last met, and waits.

After several minutes, they appear and Billa is glad to see them. Bifur comes first, and she whispers to him what she saw in the tent. He signs it to the others, and she sees their faces grow dark with renewed anger.

Billa goes to Thorin, where he stands with Dwalin and Balin, considering.

"Two sentries," she says softly as she joins them. "If we wait until they fall asleep, it would be easy to silence them and take the clearing as cleanly as possible."

In unison, the dwarves raise their eyebrows at her. "You mean, to kill them in their sleep?" Dwalin says skeptically.

Billa nods grimly. "The children have seen enough violence. If we woke the slavers, they could use them as hostages and force us to surrender. It's safer for them and us if we take them by surprise. Nori silences the guards with throwing knives, Dwalin sneaks through the camp to guard the children, and the rest of us kill them as quietly and efficiently as possible," she suggests.

Balin hesitates. "It does not seem honorable," he says.

Billa's face darkens. "They are child-stealers," she says coldly. "Taking children to sell them for profit into a life of suffering and cruelty."

Balin backs off. "Mother Bear," he acknowledges, and bows to her. Billa raises an eyebrow in question, and he smiles ruefully. "A term of respect and sometimes apology, applied to one who stands in defense of the weak, particularly children," Balin explains. "It means we recognize your concerns, and will adjust our strategy accordingly."

Mollified, Billa turns to Thorin. "You are the king, Thorin," Billa says, "My sword is yours. What shall we do?" she asks. She has given her opinion, but the final decision is Thorin's, and she wants him to know that she knows that, too, and is respecting his authority.

He strokes his beard as he looks at the distant firelight. "You snuck there and back, twice, without being seen?" he questioned.

"Yes," Billa confirmed. He nodded slowly.

"Nori will take out the guards," he said. "Billa will sneak into the tent and warn the children to be silent. They are chained together, yes?"

"Yes, as far as I could see."

"Hm. Dwalin will go next, with Olvin and Angar, to carry the children out. Billa will guide them back towards our ponies for ten minutes while we watch the camp. At ten minutes, they will put the children down and Billa will lead the children onwards to the ponies while Dwalin, Olvin and Angar return to us. When they return, we will take the camp."

Billa was guessing that by take the camp Thorin meant have a rolicking good fight, but she knew better than to protest. She would have asked for Nori to come with her, to remove their chains, but she wanted Thorin to have as many warriors behind him as possible. She tried not to imagine the life draining out of his body on cold, snowy ground, blood on his face and his hands going limp. This is not an ambush, she reminded herself. He has fifteen dwarves to watch his back and this time, we are not the hunted, we are the hunters.

"Who here has medical expertise?" she asked, trying to cover their bases. The dwarves shrugged, unconcerned, and Billa raised an eyebrow, incredulous. Then her eyes narrowed, and she jabbed a finger at them.

"If you boys come back injured, I will make sure you have cold food, damp beds, and moldy-smelling baths for the next three weeks!" she hissed quietly at them. "Do you understand me? Not a scratch, on any of you!" None of them had the good manners to act at all abashed, or to hide their rising excitement for the coming fight. Thorin was the worst, smiling openly at her. Idiot.

She huffed, irritated with them. "But if you do get injured," she said grudgingly, "I've some supplies in my bags, back at the ponies. Once I reach the ponies with the children, we'll come forward for thirty minutes with the ponies and supplies. That gives you forty minutes to settle this once the three dwarves return to you. I'm sure you'll have finished the fight by then," she said dismissively.

"And if we haven't?" Thorin said, goading her just a bit.

She glared at him and shoved him in the chest. He didn't have the decency to even pretend to move. "I'll just have to come rescue you, then, won't I?" she said, more than a little viciously.

Thorin grinned.