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**Speaking through the mind: Bold Italics.
A/N: Hi Readers; I just wanted to set something's straight for some of the confused ones out there; Lux-Vita lost her fiancé because she was too weak from the pain in her scar to quickly get them out of there and Cedric wouldn't leave her, then she was forced to be an ingredient in the Dark Lord's resurrection, raped brutally next to the body of the love of her life and had A LOT of Cruciatus Curses thrown at her … rape victims need a long time to feel safe again and to get over what happened to them … Lux-Vita would have felt safe around Dumbledore, Sirius and Ron since they are like her family and when she went back to the Dursleys she would have been scared around Vernon and Dudley but she has grown up with them so she knows they wouldn't touch her in such a way. Lux-Vita however was sent to Middle Earth immediately and she is surrounded by fourteen males that she doesn't know, and dwarves are a rowdy, loud and paranoid bunch, so it won't be easy for Lux-Vita around them. She is only human after all.
Chapter 4:
"He's here."
Gandalf didn't know if he should stay by Lux-Vita's side or join the others by the door to welcome Thorin; however knowing that where Lux-Vita sat was in direct view of the door, Gandalf knew that it would be prudent if he went over to Thorin, that way he would be able to do damage control if the need arise.
Gandalf knew that Thorin would be anything but happy with the inclusion of a scared human girl accompanying them to Erebor, but Gandalf's hands were tied, and if he were honest with himself, if the Lady Galadriel informed him that he didn't have to look out for her anymore, he would anyways – for he had grown quite fond of the delicate human girl, even in her moments of frailty.
As the twelve dwarves, one hobbit and Gandalf made their way over to the front door, they heard an audible squeak; they all turned around to see Lux-Vita had burrowed herself deeper into the sofa, avoiding all their stares, and the dwarves gave her a wide berth so that they wouldn't have any contact with her, lest she screams again, scaring her off into another corner.
Staring at Bilbo, Gandalf pointed his head imperceptibly toward the door, and the little hobbit scrambled over to open the door for the new dwarf that seemed to have brought down a solemn mood into his previously loud smial that had been filled with laughter mere minutes ago.
Just as Bilbo clutched the door handle, he sent a concerned glance to the frightened human girl, before opening the door widely and allowing the new arrival entrance.
There was a dwarf standing by the door … no surprise there, there seems to be an infestation of dwarves in his smial, thought Bilbo, but he was taller than most dwarves.
He had long raven black hair, streaked with a few silver strands and a few beads, his beard however was thick and cleanly shaven, but it didn't grow past his chin. He had stern features, his thin mouth set into a straight line, prominent cheekbones showing an aristocratic look and a hardened jaw. But what drew his attention the most to Bilbo – just like with the human girl, was his eyes; his eyes were a few colors lighter than the purest of sapphires and they looked ice cold, like chips of ice as he regarded everyone in the room. He had an aura of royalty around him, and his stance could not be mistaken as that of a King.
The regal dwarf took a few calculated steps into the smial, his blue eyes connecting with Gandalf's grey ones, and there seemed to be an air of amusement as he addressed him.
"Gandalf, I thought you said this place would be easy to find … I lost my way, twice," he growled out in his baritone voice. His voice was rich and deep, vibrating off every dwarf's senses and Bilbo could see why this dwarf was their leader. "I wouldn't have found it all had it not been for that mark on the door."
Bilbo squawked indignantly, having been effectively snapped out of his thoughts by the regal dwarf's words, and he clambered forward, "Mark? There's no mark on that door! It was painted a week ago!" he blurted out angrily.
Was this how Gandalf congregated all those dwarves into his home?
Gandalf looked to be half-contrite and half-amused as he spoke to the little hobbit in an innocent tone that Bilbo did not believe, not even for a second.
"There's a mark; I put it there myself Bilbo Baggins," hastily changing the subject, he moved Bilbo to be facing the regal dwarf and said, "Let me introduce the leader of our Company, Thorin Oakenshield."
Now everyone's attention was fixed on the hobbit and how their leader would treat him.
Thorin stared at the hobbit skeptically, his eyes roaming over the hobbit's face down to his big hairy feet, and his voice boomed out, "So, this is the Hobbit. Tell me, Mr. Baggins, have you done much fighting?"
As Thorin waited for the answer, he prowled in circles like a predator would around the hobbit's tiny form, his hands clasped behind his back.
"Pardon me?" stuttered Bilbo in disbelief.
A scowl appeared on Thorin's face, pausing in his movement, he growled out, "Axe or sword? What's your weapon of choice?"
Bilbo stared open mouthed at Thorin, "Well, well I have some skill at Conkers, if you must know," he finally blurted out, his nimble fingers going under his suspenders, and a look of pride appearing on his tiny features, "but I fail to see why that's relevant."
Both of Thorin's eyebrows rose, taking one last look at the hobbit, his eyes drifted over to the rest of his Company, a look of scorn and amusement on his face, "Thought as much. He looks more like a grocer than a burglar."
The dwarves all burst out in raucous laughter, and Bilbo looked insulted for a moment, before he thought of the rest of his words.
Well I'd rather look like a grocer. I am no burglar and I haven't stolen a thing in all my life, he thought scandalized that they believe him to be a Burglar – must be a dwarven phrase or such.
As the Company made their way back to the dining table, Thorin froze in his steps as he saw a figure curled in the couch from the corner of his eyes. Turning around to face the figure fully, his eyes narrowed and his voice carried out into the other room, "Who's this? I didn't know our Burglar had a wife."
All twelve dwarves, one hobbit and the wizard hastened back as they realized Thorin had found the girl.
"She-she's, no-no, no that's, she isn't my wife," stuttered Bilbo in disbelief, keeping his distance from the girl, not wanting to scare her off like Kíli did before.
Thorin raised an eyebrow, "Then who is she and why is she here?" he demanded. Looking around at his Company, a look of surprise etched itself onto his face when he noticed that they all seemed to be nervous around her, keeping a large distance from her.
Gandalf knew he had to interrupt before Thorin scared the poor girl, unlike his kin and the rest of the Company; he wouldn't leave the girl alone and would demand information out of her.
Thorin took a few steps forward in the direction of the figure whose face was buried into the pillows, when his youngest nephew, Kíli shouted out, "No! Thorin, do-don't go any closer."
Snapping his head to look at his nephew, his scowl more pronounced than ever, "And why not? You know this person Kíli?"
"No," Kíli gulped, looking at the rest of the Company for help.
"Aye, leave the girl be Thorin," said Balin in a solemn voice.
"Girl?!" he gasped out, staring each of his Company in the face, before turning around to see the girl. Ignoring their warnings, he took another step closer, but was interrupted again – this time however, it was Tharkûn and not one from his Company.
"Stubbornness of dwarves, didn't your kin tell you to stand back," shouted Gandalf. Passing by Thorin's astonished form; he sat by the sofa, ignoring the cry of surprise that came from her as he held her closer, feeling her body relax as she recognized it to be Gandalf.
"Lux-Vita? My child, can you please look up?" said Gandalf in a calming voice. Thorin was staggered at the tone Gandalf was using with this girl, Lux-Vita, what an odd name … definitely not an elf, it sounded too foreign for Middle Earth.
Ignoring the two on the sofa for now, he whirled his whole body around to question his Company, "What of this girl? Burglar, why is she in your home?"
"I-I don't know, she came with Gandalf," was the only reply Bilbo gave him, but Thorin could see that the presence of the girl shocked him too.
"Kíli, you seem to know not to keep a distance from the girl, what of it?" Thorin now stood in front of his youngest nephew, his eyebrows rose as he waited for an answer.
Kíli looked nervous and the Company began fidgeting slightly, "Well you see, when I first saw the girl I went over to introduce myself, but when she saw me she screamed so loud and ran off into a corner."
"What?" whispered Thorin.
"Aye, Tharkûn told us not to approach her for she is easily frightened," grumbled out Glóin, annoyance coloring his tone.
Shaking his head, Thorin growled out and the anger was palpable in the air, "I don't have time for scared little girls, we have a quest! Tharkûn? Would you care to explain?" he demanded, approaching Gandalf and ignoring a small, pale set of hands that tightened its grip on Gandalf's cloak as he drew closer.
Gandalf sighed wearily, his hand stroking a messy bed of hair that looked to be the color of ruby –what an odd color; Thorin had never seen such a color before, except on precious ruby gems.
"This girl is Lux-Vita, she is under my responsibility," was all Gandalf said, his tone held a hidden warning and his eyes were challenging him to argue further, but Thorin was in no mood, he would leave the arguing with the wizard for later.
Before Thorin could say another word however, the girl looked up and Thorin's face morphed from anger to surprise as he witnessed the state she was in.
Strange ruby hair was matted and greasy, pale, sunken face with vein lines beginning to show, purple bags under eyes that looked to be hollow and dead, plump lips all chapped, torn with blood.
The girl's emerald green eyes seemed to have no sparkle at all, no life inside as it stared into his icy blue ones, and Thorin withheld a shiver; the girl looked like she was staring deep into his soul, searching – searching for something.
Clearing his throat, Thorin growled at everyone to follow him, and they all entered the dining room, waiting for Gandalf to join them as the hobbit prepared some food for their leader.
"My dear, do you think you will be able to sit with us?" asked Gandalf softly.
Lux-Vita whimpered, shaking her head rapidly, showing her refusal.
Gandalf sighed wearily, "It is up to you of course my child, but we are to be going on a quest with the fourteen you just saw … you must get used to their presence, also I was under the impression you would like to know where you would be following me to."
Lux-Vita pondered this; Gandalf was right … for if there was anything Lux-Vita hated, before and after tragic struck her, was being kept out of the loop and not knowing what she was signing herself up to. Regarding the wizard, the only person she trusted since landing in this strange world, she knew that he would protect her with his life and not lead her astray or take advantage of her; she nodded slowly.
"Al-Alright, G-Ga-Gandalf," she stuttered out before wincing; no matter the amount of water they gave her, her throat burned her like scolding fire due to all the screaming spent under the many Cruciatus Curse. If it went on for long she would have to let Gandalf take a look at her vocal cords.
Gandalf beamed at her, "Good girl. Now, stay close to me, and I fear I must tell you … Thorin, the dwarf that came in last, he is excruciatingly stubborn and he might come off as scary or harsh perhaps even suffocating, but he fears for the safety of his Company and might view you as a threat."
"Wh-why are y-you telling me th-this?" she rasped out in confusion, her head tilting sideways.
Placing a hand atop of hers, he smiled genially, "I tell you this so that you ready yourself for an onslaught of questions. He can come off as too demanding. I am to tell you this; you are not required to give him any answers you deem too much to share. Just look at me and I'll handle him if he scares you."
Lux-Vita nodded, feeling a small smile tug on her chapped and bruised lips, happy that she had the wizard on her side.
Thorin's eyes narrowed in anger when he saw the wizard finally arrive but with the girl staggering by his side and clutching onto his arm like her life depended on it.
"What we have to discuss is none of the business of the race of Men, throw her back into the other room Tharkûn," he growled out, and everyone became silent once more as they glanced at their leader and the wizard nervously.
Gandalf raised an eyebrow, "Like I have informed you before Thorin, Lux-Vita is with me. I am afraid to tell you, but if you require my aid, then she stays by my side, for where I go she will follow," his voice held a challenge, coated with anger.
Growling, Thorin nodded, but his eyes glared holes into the girl's head and she winced, curling herself closer into Gandalf's arms. The girl was too afraid, and he was to use that as an advantage to have her leave. She is too fragile for the wild and he didn't want his men to have to risk themselves to save her puny life.
Thorin had to tear his eyes from the girl when Balin spoke to him, diverting his attention away.
"What news from the meeting with Ered Luin? Did they all come?" asked Balin curiously.
"Aye, envoys of all seven kingdoms," grunted Thorin, forking some meat into his mouth.
The dwarves all began murmuring, joy clear in their tone and expressions.
"What do the dwarves of the Iron Hill say? Is Dain with us?" asked Dwalin eagerly, his eyes fixed onto Thorin.
Sighing, Thorin looked up and said, "They will not come. They say the quest is ours and ours alone."
Sounds of disappointment reverberated around the room, and Bilbo couldn't help himself as his curiosity was peaked, "You're going on a quest?"
Bless the hobbit, still so innocent, without a clue, chuckled Gandalf inwardly, "Bilbo, my dear fellow, let us have a little more light."
Bilbo hastened to the other room, running back with a candle, and he set it carefully on the table where Gandalf just spread out a map that had previously been in his pocket.
"Far to the East, over ranges and rivers, beyond woodlands and wastlelands, lies a single solitary peak," Gandalf spoke softly, his fingers tracing the routes they were to go through with every word he uttered and Bilbo gasped.
"The Lonely Mountain."
"Aye," Glóin grunted, "Óin has read the portents, and the portents say it is time."
Everyone rolled their eyes and began grumbling; Glóin and Óin hadn't been able to shut up for months about the damn bloody portents.
"Ravens have been seen flying back to the mountain as it was foretold," said Óin, ignoring the annoyed mumblings from the rest of the dwarves, he stubbornly continued, "When the birds of old return to Erebor, the reign of the beast will end."
The mutterings all stopped and became solemn when Óin mentioned Smaug, but it was Bilbo who looked worried and concerned as he blurted out, "Beast? What beast?"
Trying to make cheer out of the situation, Bofur chirped up, a twinkle in his eyes, "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 meathooks, extremely fond of precious metals."
"Yes, I know what a dragon is," snapped Bilbo in annoyance, his tiny hazel eyes glaring to Bofur's twinkling brown ones.
Upon hearing the word dragon, Lux-Vita inhaled a sharp breath of surprise involuntarily, it was the first sign of life the girl had done until now – other than screaming and crying; making fourteen pair of eyes swivel onto her wide, watering ones. However, the sharp intake of breath was too much for Lux-Vita's damaged and swollen cord and she began coughing violently making everyone cringe backwards.
"Bilbo, Bilbo, go get her a large glass of lukewarm water, hurry!" shouted out Gandalf, pressing Lux-Vita's skeletal form into his arms, his old wrinkled but rough hands rubbing her back continuously in a circling and soothing motion.
"Back away from her Ori, she may be carrying some sort of disease," hissed Dori, as Ori seemed to be curious of the girl and was edging forward to help.
Unfortunately, Gandalf heard him and both grey eyes glared at Dori's darker shade of grey, "Don't be a fool Master Dwarf, she carries no disease at all … I urge you to be more thoughtful when you want to speak in louder tones that necessary!"
Dori looked properly chastised and he nodded, settling himself further away from the girl and avoiding any eye contact. Thorin however, didn't like Gandalf yelling at his Company for the sake of the weak girl – of course the subject of a dragon would be too much for such a frail person to handle, but he wasn't about to eliminate things in fear of alarming her – she was not his responsibility, she was nothing to his Company but a distraction and a time-waster.
Bilbo retuned quickly with a glass of water, and he even placed a jug filled to the brim with lukewarm water in case she needed more. Gandalf held the glass out for her, helping her to drink it all, and only once she had every drop disappear into her system, did her coughs cease at once, though the pain intensified now with every dry swallow.
Thorin, unable to help himself, sneered at the girl, "Unable to handle the mere mention of a dragon girl?!"
Some from the Company began chuckling in her expense, not bothering to smother their laughter at all; but Fíli, Kíli, Ori, Bifur and Balin were the only ones that didn't approve of Thorin's words and didn't feel the need to laugh.
But to everyone's surprise, Lux-Vita didn't cower and avert her eyes, instead she glared back at Thorin, her dead and hollow eyes burying deep into his skull, erasing the sneer from Thorin's face.
Lux-Vita so wished she could destroy everyone's continued hilarity toward her; if those arrogant dwarves only knew how experienced she was in regards to dragons and what she had experienced in her life they would be laughing no more, but she wasn't about to abuse her vocal cords further for his expense, and she still wasn't comfortable around any male, and so she tore her eyes away from Thorin and burrowed herself into Gandalf's cloak.
"Thorin asked you a question, girl! Answer him!" roared Dwalin, a hand placed on his axe. Balin shook his head in disappointment; there was no need to speak to the poor lass with such hostility, his heart went out to the clearly traumatized girl.
"Enough!" boomed Gandalf, "Mind the way you speak to her Dwalin! She is not only a girl, but my charge, and I will not have any of you speak to her with such disrespect!"
Ori felt bad for the poor girl who looked even younger than himself, Kíli and Fíli and they were the youngest of the company, so he took it upon himself to divert the attention away. Standing up, he lifted a fist into the air and yelled, "I'm not afraid! I'm up for it. I'll give him the taste of Dwarvish iron right up his jacksy."
Laughter broke out at Ori's words and Dori forcefully pushed his younger brother down, growling at him to sit. Feeling pleased with his success, he noticed Fíli and Kíli were staring at him from the opposite corner of the table, and as he turned to face them, their faces broke out into identical smiles, Fíli winked at him and Kíli raised a thumbs up. Ori smiled; of course the brothers wouldn't be fool by his diversion tactic.
"The task will be difficult enough with an army behind us. But we number just thirteen. Not thirteen of the best, nor the brightest," Balin sighed sadly.
Balin's words succeeded in breaking out another argument as all the dwarves began protesting vehemently, sounding deeply insulted.
"Who are you calling dim?"
"Watch it!"
"No!"
Standing up harshly, Fíli yelled, "We may be few in number, but we're fighters, all of us, to the last dwarf!"
"And you forget," Kíli now stood, joining his brother, "We have a wizard in our company. Gandalf will have killed hundreds of dragons in his time."
Now all the attention was on Gandalf, who felt slightly uncomfortable, "I, uh, what?"
"How many dragons have you killed?" asked Dori eagerly, but when Gandalf wouldn't answer, he was under the misgivings that the wizard was probably just being modest, "Go on, give us a number!"
Embarrassed, Gandalf starts coughing on his pipe smoke, but upon feeling the small figure of the girl shaking in repressed and silent laughter, a thought came into his head; a though explaining her sudden reaction when Bofur and Bilbo first mentioned dragons.
It wasn't a reaction of fear, but of surprise – she must have faced dragons in her world … was it possible? Looking sideways at the girl, he decided to ask, not caring that the Company would be able to hear; after all they should start getting used to the others presence.
"How many, my dear girl?" he asked, silencing all the dwarves that began arguing about the number of dragons he must have killed, and Thorin who looked annoyed by his Company's outburst stilled from rubbing his temples, his eyes concentrating on Gandalf and the frail human.
Lux-Vita looked at him with wide eyes, knowing that she was caught and Gandalf merely smirked, "You have encountered dragons before, haven't you?" Lux-Vita sighed lowly, trying not to disturb her throat she nodded.
"I thought so," and Gandalf sounded very smug at the moment, regarding the girl with curious twinkling eyes that reminded her of Dumbledore, he asked, "How many?"
All thirteen dwarves and Bilbo stared at the girl in quiet disbelief; they watched as her eyes screwed up in thought as if she was trying to count how many dragons she encountered! That was utterly preposterous; the weak girl couldn't even manage to keep eye contact with the hobbit!
Finally, Lux-Vita held out a hand with all five digits up and Gandalf gasped, half-shocked and half-awed, he blurted out, "Five?! Are there many dragons where you come from?"
Lux-vita nodded, "A l-lot."
"You actually expect us to believe that the little lass, who could barely stand on her own two feet has faced five dragons," scoffed Dwalin, meeting Thorin's eyes and rolling them. Lux-Vita merely shrugged, she didn't care whether they believed her or not, she just wanted the attention diverted away from her.
All the dwarves began roaring out their disbelief, stamping their feet on the ground and Thorin finally had enough, he stood up fast, his chair banging onto the wall loudly and bellowed, "Atkât! If we have read these signs, do you not think that others will have read them too? Rumors have begun to spread. The dragon Smaug has not been seen for 60 years. Eyes look east to the Mountain, assessing, wondering, and 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? Du Bekâr! Du Bekâr!
All the dwarves began to cheer in earnest, banging their first against Bilbo's poor and abused table that looked like it was about to fall apart.
Lux-Vita felt something stir inside of her, she felt a bit of life be brought back after Thorin's words … they wanted their home back and the hero-complex in her, the brave fighter that still resided deep inside of her, wanted to help them, but the raw pain of Cedric's death and what Voldemort did to her was too much and thinking about her hero-complexness threatened the tears to emerge; it was one of her traits that Cedric loved so much about her.
Once the dwarves settled back down, Balin said in a mourning tone, "You forget; the front door is sealed. There is no way into the mountain."
"That," began Gandalf in a mysterious tone that reminded Lux-Vita too much of Dumbledore at that moment, "my dear Balin, is not entirely true." Twiddling his fingers, he produced a dwarvish key, ornately shaped.
Everyone gasped in shock and Thorin looked at the key in wonder, his eyes losing the icy quality to it.
"How came you by this?" gasped Thorin, his eyes misting slightly.
"It was given to me," said Gandalf matter-of-factly, "by your father, by Thrain, for safekeeping," he added. Looking at Thorin in the eyes with a small smile, he said, "It is yours now."
Taking the key from Gandalf, the dwarves all stared with pride and wonder.
"If there is a key, there must be a door!" blurted out Fíli in his excitement, and Lux-Vita stared at him sadly, she knew that before Cedric's death, she would have laughed out loud since he had stated the obvious.
"There's another way in!" Kíli stupidly added.
"If we can find it," Gandalf warned them, "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," brushing over the fact that Lord Elrond in Rivendell would be able to read it, not wanting to argue about the elves and the feud the dwarves have between them at the moment, he went on, "The task I have in mind will require a great deal of stealth, and no small amount of courage. But, if we are careful and clever, I believe that it can be done."
"That's why we need a burglar," said Ori in an obvious tone.
"And a good one, too," Bilbo- bless the lad, stated, nodding in agreement with Ori's words. "An expert, I'd imagine."
"And are you?" asked Glóin gruffly.
Looking at Glóin, he blinked in confusion, "Am I what?"
"He said he's an expert! Hey hey!" Óin burst out laughing in cheer, his face looking from left to right in excitement.
"Me?" Bilbo gaped. "No, no, no." he stuttered, "I'm not a- I'm not a burglar, I've never stolen a thing in my life," he burst out.
"I'm afraid I have to agree with Mr. Baggins," Balin sighed woefully. "He's hardly burglar material."
Bilbo nodded smugly in agreement, glad that somebody else was on his side.
"Aye," Dwalin growled out, "The wild is no place for gentlefolk who can neither fight not fend for themselves," staring at the girl, he added, "Neither are little girls!"
Lux-Vita snorted, drawing the attention back to her, but she said nothing and stayed burrowed into Gandalf's side; if only everyone thought that way, no matter how sexist it sounded … but she had escaped death many times and was included in a war ever since she had been born for reasons she does not know as Dumbledore wouldn't explain. So it was hilarious to her that these dwarves thought of her as unable to protect herself; but in retrospect, with the condition she was in now, she couldn't blame them.
Gone was the brave Lux-Vita Laelynn Potter that rescued a unicorn and the Sorcerer's Stone from Voldemort; gone was the girl that rescued her best friend's little sister, fought off and killed a Basilisk and the memory of a young Voldemort; gone was the girl that repelled hundreds of Dementors; gone was the girl that outflew a dragon, swam in a lake infested with Grindylows and merfolk to rescue two hostages, and a maze full of dangerous creatures; gone was the girl that managed to escape Voldemort and his Death Eaters from the graveyard with her life.
Instead she was left a shell of a ghost, scared by the littlest of sounds and flinched from every touch.
Gandalf growing angry, stood up and rose himself to his full height casting darkness over the group as he starts speaking in his powerful voice, making all the dwarves stare in awe.
"Enough! If I say Bilbo Baggins is a burglar, then a burglar he is." Going back to his normal self, he continued in a lighter and explanatory tone, "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 dwarf, the scent of hobbit is all but unknown to him, which gives us a distinct advantage. You asked me to find the fourteenth 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," turning to Thorin, his eyes pleading and his tone urgent, "You must trust be on this."
Thorin studied Gandalf for a while longer before nodding in defeat, "Very well. We'll do it your way. Give him the contract." Gandalf let out a breath of relief, a smile on his face as Balin began explaining the contract to Bilbo.
Thorin averted his attention back to the girl – she was the only one not surprised by Gandalf's power and the darkness he created, which made him curious, "What about the girl, Tharkûn?" causing all but Bilbo, who was reading the contract, to stare.
"What about her?" asked Gandalf, his eyes glued to Thorin's.
"Why bring the girl? I will not allow my Company to risk their necks for her life. She can barely walk without your support and she will keep us behind," Thorin growled out.
"I have already mentioned enough times that Lux-Vita is my responsibility, I will be the one protecting her, you all need not worry yourselves about her safety," said Gandalf in a tone that held finality.
"Our quest is important Tharkûn, and she will be nothing but a distraction," Thorin wasn't about to take no as an answer without a fight.
There was a tense silent in the air as the dwarves stared at the girl who was avoiding all eye contact and Gandalf who stared at Thorin in a regarding and annoyed manner.
"Do you honestly believe Thorin," said Gandalf, in a voice made of steel, "That I am merely a magician made to conjure tricks? I have duties in Middle Earth, and Lux-Vita is one of them … helping you to reclaim Erebor is not my only priority."
"What do you mean Gandalf?" asked Balin curiously, everyone seemed to be drawn into Gandalf's next words.
"I have been entrusted to look out for Lux-Vita. She may not look it, but there is plenty of courage inside of her, and she is very important to the future of Middle Earth … she is not from our world," Gandalf explained.
"You mean there are other worlds out there?" asked Ori in awe, ever the scholar in thirst for information.
Smiling at young Ori indulgently, Gandalf explained further, "It was known to a fair few in our world that there was only one other world out there. A world different from our own, with its own danger and peril, where there is only the Race of Men. No elves, no dwarves, no orcs and wargs, nothing but humans. A world that evolves with every decade."
Everyone was shocked; the only sound was the occasional squeak and muttering from Bilbo as he read through every word in the contract.
"And what about Lux-Vita?" asked Fíli, garnering some strange looks from everyone but his brother at having not called her 'the girl', but by her given name.
"Ah, now Lux-Vita," here, they all watched as Gandalf waited for Lux-Vita to give him permission to tell them, and after a lengthy pause, she gave him a barely noticeable nod. "Their world is simply called Earth. And in Earth, there is another kind from the Race of Men, a race that lives in complete secrecy. It is called the Wizarding world, where according to the little information that Lux-Vita had given me, a lot of witches and wizards thrive. Lux-Vita is a witch, and she was transported from her magical school into our world, where I was told I could find her by Bindbole Wood."
"I don't believe you," gasped out Glóin.
"Whether you so choose to believe me or not Master Dwarf, that is your choice. I have given you the information you so required, and I will not have you bully the girl for more … it is up to her, if and when she decides to part any information," said Gandalf with a tone of finality. He turned to the girl and poured her another glass of water.
"I cannot guarantee his safety, nor will I be responsible for his fate Tharkûn," said Thorin adamantly, referring to the Bilbo.
Nodding, Gandalf said in a weary tone, "Understood." Just then, poor Bilbo Baggins fainted from the information overload that Bofur gave him about the dragon incinerating his flesh.
"You're very helpful Bofur," barked Gandalf in disapproval, standing by the unconscious hobbit and taking him into the living room, leaving Lux-Vita with the thirteen dwarves for a while, all of whom stared at her, looks ranging from curiosity, to annoyance to hostility and anger.