The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings belongs to JRR Tolkien and the movies belong to Peter Jackson. I'm just a devoted fan.
Reviewer PippinsGal asked me if there was going to be slight Ori/Relly in the fic. And the answer is: you'll see ;) This is a Bilbo/OC story so it's not a 'everyone falls in love with Relly' fic. As always, thanks for all the lovely support and reviews and constructive criticism. It helps me as a writer and as a fan!
Into the Fray
Nothing makes us so lonely as our secrets.
- Paul Tournier
Relly never did like the rain. Out of all precipitation, rain was her least favorite. Rain was the weary traveler's foe, a mocking of any poor soul walking or riding alone on a long journey. That night back in Rivertown was not the first time where she slept without a shelter to rest in and it certainly was not the last.
In the past five minutes, Relly had learned the existence of more than one wizard. Frankly, she believed Gandalf was enough for anyone and although she had only known the grey wizard for a matter of days, she had become close to the man who invited her to come along on this grand adventure. When she wasn't chatting with Bofur or Ori, she and Gandalf would converse about simple subjects. However, even as he spoke Gandalf always kept a twinkle in his grey eyes, a hidden light of knowledge that Relly could not access. He was wise, powerful and very amiable. It was hard to find someone with such qualities. Thorin Oakenshield would almost count but he was not exactly, as Relly would put it, 'friendly'. True, he accepted her and Bilbo's passage into the company by the signed contract but after the lecture he gave her last night for sneaking off to bathe without telling anyone weighed heavily on her mind. For the first time in a long time, she could not be solely independent and maintain her do-as-you-will behavior.
"Is Radagast like you, Mr. Gandalf?" Kili asked, curious about this wizard that Gandalf had told Bilbo about. Relly listened in on the conversation, having nothing else to listen to in the pouring rain.
Gandalf pondered for a few seconds before answering. "He's a powerful wizard in his own way. He's a gentle soul who prefers the company of animals and flora. Very knowledgeable in herbs, spices, healing...I daresay he's closer to the earth than many of us," and he tilted his hat towards Bilbo and Relly, suggesting Radagast was indeed a very 'earthy' person, much like a Hobbit.
Everyone murmured their response to learning about Radagast, the company continuing to move forward as the dwarves broke off into their own conversations once more. Relly popped a dry cracker in her mouth, needing a little something to keep her belly full.
The rain eventually ended, much to everyone's relief as the sunlight warmed Relly's slightly damp hair. She looked over to Ori, happy that the sun was out and he took out his journal and began writing again.
"What're you writing?" Relly tried to lean in so she could see what Ori was writing but he shielded the book from her view. "Oh come on Ori, I can't even read that scritch-scratch anyway."
"It's Khuzdul, Miss Relly," Oin explained to the thief, the half-Hobbit nodding in understanding so she wouldn't make the mistake of calling a language 'scritch-scratch' again. "The language of the Dwarves."
She blinked a few times, the word Khuzdul sounding like nothing she was familiar with. Still, she was unnaturally curious of what Ori was writing in that journal of his and she wanted to at least know what was in it.
"I bet it's a diary," Bofur wore a suggestive smile as he twirled the end of his flippy little hat. "Our lad is probably writing a love ballad," and he stretched out the 'o' in love in a teasing manner, earning an annoyed expression on the face of young Ori.
Dori cleared his throat. Only he and Nori could prod and tease their little sibling, especially when it came to his writing. "Bofur, you cannot even keep a thought in your noggin for two seconds! Leave 'im alone."
Bofur shut up but not without exchanging glances with his friend Relly, shrugging his shoulders. Relly's eyes followed the cloud as she looked over her shoulder, seeing Bilbo at the back of the line. To be perfectly honest, she felt as if she were adjusting to the group much better than he. Thorin also did not have the biggest amount of faith in Bilbo. As Bilbo turned his head to notice her looking at him, she quickly jerked her head back and faced the front of the line, occasionally trying to peer over to where Ori was riding to catch a glimpse of his journal.
It felt like hours until Thorin finally announced their new campsite for the night. The scenery was beautiful, yes, with the green hills and giant boulders scattered haphazardly on the terrain. Up ahead Relly spotted the remains of some buildings, a house and a few other structures. She frowned, a brick in her stomach weighing her down as she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable at this plain but eerie site.
"We shall rest here for the night. Oin, Gloin, get a fire going. Kili and Fili, gather firewood and be careful...You, thief," and Thorin actually asked for Relly as she hopped off her pony, running up to the dwarf leader with an inquisitive look on her face. "Check the ruins, see if you can scavenge anything."
Not waiting to be asked twice, Relly went on ahead, finding Gandalf poking around one charred house with a pensive expression on his wrinkled face. She searched the ground, not finding anything particularly valuable as she heard the grey wizard mutter "There lived a farmer and his family here..."
"Gandalf?" she asked quietly, picking up on the sad observation the wizard had said. "We're...okay, right?" Perhaps Gandalf had also felt the eeriness of this place.
He acknowledged her question but did not reply as he led Relly out of the decayed house and into the open once more. "I think it would be wise if we journeyed on. I worry for our safety," and his grey eyes flashed down at Relly before he focused back onto Thorin. "We could make for the Hidden Valley."
Gandalf's warning was not warmly received by Thorin as Relly stood behind the wizard, watching the dwarf king approach the two of them. "I have told you already Gandalf, to not speak of that place," he eyed the wizard with a stern gaze. "We will not go there."
Go where? Relly wondered as she decided this was her time to scram, leaving the leader of their company and the wizard to discuss this without her presence. Outside the ruined house of where the farmer and his family lived, she spied something on the grass. It wasn't until she bent down that she realized it was a small crudely stitched doll, no bigger than the size of her palm.
"Thieving around again?" and the unwanted voice of Bilbo Baggins interrupted her thoughts and sad moment as she stood up, a deep frown carved on her face. The usually playful thief stuffed the doll in her cloak pockets. A pang of guilt hit her, the dolly now cuddled next to the fork she took from Bilbo's home. It didn't count as stealing if she felt sorry, right?
"Thorin asked me to," she answered, "but there's nothing here but empty houses and dirt."
Bilbo accepted her statement, the bachelor digging his toes in the dirt as they listened to the growing argument between Thorin and Gandalf. "I suppose you don't know why they're arguing?"
"Gandalf says we should go, Thorin doesn't want to," she put it simply. This was probably the longest conversation the two of them shared since they met each other, which was a bit strange. Relly rubbed her arm, the sudden rush of embarrassment flushing back to her face when she remembered what happened last night. Scratching her scalp, Relly excused herself from Bilbo's presence.
"G-Gandalf, where are you going?" Relly heard Bilbo try to ask the wizard, the girl turning around to see her friend storming off without saying another word.
"I'm going to seek the company of the only one around here who makes any sense," he angrily spoke, "Myself!"
Relly reached out her hand and failed to catch up with him, seeing the man who rescued her from Rivertown and the sole reason she was able to go on this trip. Thorin must have made him angry, as the thief knitted her brows when Thorin came into her sight.
"Bilbo, you're in charge of dinner tonight," Thorin commanded, the male Hobbit reluctantly, but without question, obeying the dwarf king's order. Relly felt hungry but she was somewhat upset that Gandalf left. She had only known him for a few days but he was like a grandfatherly figure and it felt strange to be part of Thorin Oakenshield's traveling group without Gandalf.
After hours of scouring for anything around their campsite, Relly returned to the group, surprised that it was night time and the grey wizard still had not returned. She saw the concerned look on Bilbo's face; he also felt a bit lost without the presence of Gandalf in their company.
"Relly, where've you been lass?" Bofur waved to his friend as Relly grabbed a bowl of crudely made soup. Granted, Bilbo was probably the best cook out of everyone. She saw Bofur hand two bowls of soup to Bilbo and asked the Hobbit to take them to Fili and Kili. "Haven't see ya all evening."
The black haired half-Hobbit shrugged, slurping some soup from the spoon as she stood between Bofur and his brother Bombur. It was hard to believe that the fat red bearded dwarf was even related to Bofur as they looked nothing alike and were very different in personality. "No, you can't have thirds," he reminded Bombur as the fat dwarf let out a hurtful sigh.
"Can I finish yours if you don't, Miss Relly?" Bombur asked, his eyes hungrily staring at her bowl. Relly brought the soup to her chest, protecting it in a half-serious manner.
Most of the other dwarves gathered around the fire, Nori and Gloin discussing the trip so far as Ori sat next to his friend Relly. Bofur also joined them as he finished handing out dinner to everyone. Sipping from her spoon, her eyes spotted Thorin sitting a far ways off from everyone. She did not understand how the dwarf king operated; one moment he'd be cheerful and grateful for his friends and allies, the next angry or serious. It was hard to please him, that was for sure.
The male dwarves had gotten on the subject of women while discussing topics over dinner. She had listened to many of Bofur's inappropriate jokes and stories concerning the differences of men and women but somehow this conversation felt a bit weird to sit in on.
"I can't imagine settling down," Nori scoffed, the dodgy dwarf detailing why his elusive and slightly illegal lifestyle would not be proper to take a wife. "Plus, the dwarven women are pickier than an axe."
"Hurm?" Oin adjusted his ear trumpet to hear better. The contraption he used for his hearing made Relly snort, finding the device funny to look at.
Gloin heartily laughed at Nori's distaste. "If it were not for my wife Adag, my son Gimli would never have been born. Y'know, he begged to come along," he explained, the fatherly dwarf remembering his sweet son. Of course, his son was probably older than Relly by dwarven standards. "Perhaps he will go on his own journey...someday."
"What about you, lass?" Bofur noticed how quiet the thief was, raising a suggestive hairy brow at her. "Is there a special lad vyin' for you?"
Relly broke out in laughter, finding it hilarious that she would ever consider something like that. "N-no way. I'm like Nori, I can't be...tied down," she shrugged, still wearing a self-deprecating grin on her face. Her mother eloped with a man who died shortly after they ran away together, a fate that Relly did not want to repeat. It was not that Relly was incapable of love, it was that she was afraid of love and what it did to young couples. Plus, she had never formed that close of an attachment to someone she could consider spending the rest of her days with.
Bofur sniggered at her reaction, earning a glare from both Ori and Dori. "A wanderer? Y'know lass, it's the mystery that intrigues us," he matter-of-factly blurted out, nudging Ori's shoulder as his hat dipped down a bit.
Relly hesitated for a moment, twirling a strand of short black hair around her finger as she decided to ask some discreetly. "Do dwarves...ever...marry outside their race? I know the Elves and Humans have before..." Relly wanted to gauge their reaction. If it were positive or at least neutral, perhaps she would consider revealing her heritage, if it ever boiled down to that situation. So far no one had questioned why her facial structure, feet and even her lack of curly hair were not Hobbit-like.
Her question did not go unnoticed by Balin, the oldest dwarf as he looked at her with an interested expression on his wizened face, curious to know why that question would cross her mind. "I would hardly think so. Dwarven society is rather clandestine as is," he elucidated the subject of marriage and mating concerning dwarves and other races. "We dwarves keep to ourselves and even then, many of us choose never to marry or have children. There are many things about dwarves that Men and Elves cannot begin to understand."
Relly made an 'oh' with her mouth, comprehending what Balin told her as she returned to finish off her soup. Some of the other male dwarves eyed her after she asked the question, wondering what could have possibly brought that up. Ori's face turned a light pink, quickly hiding it as he loudly excused himself and put the empty bowl near the soup pot. Relly wondered what was up with the little spitfire but her thoughts were cut short by a loud, rippling sound of someone farting.
"Good one, Bombur!" Bofur cheered as Relly began to gag. They were dwarves, they were male, and she forgot they passed gas.
"I'm going," she held her nose as she tiptoed off into the night, wanting some fresh air. As she tied the toggle around her cloak, she remembered that Bilbo had not returned from giving Kili and Fili their soup dinner. Curious to know where the dwarven brothers and bum bachelor were at, Relly's question was about to be answered.
"Trolls!" Kili's voice rang out, startling the usually sly Relly as he nearly crashed into her from running so fast. "Oh, sorry Miss Relly! But the trolls have been stealing our ponies!"
Trolls? No one told me there were trolls out here! Relly had never seen a troll nor did she have to desire to see one. Fili rushed by her as well, alarming everyone in the camp and reporting to their uncle Thorin that Bilbo had gone forth to try and rescue the ponies from the trolls. Bilbo Baggins actually doing something other than chef or complaining? That was surprising.
"My loyal dwarves," and Thorin's eye barely glanced at Relly, not bothering to correct his address to the group. "Let's go forth and show these trolls you do not take from Thorin Oakenshield and company!"
Like they were waiting for action all this time, the dwarves whipped out their respective weapons and and began to follow Thorin, Kili and Fili to where the trolls held Bilbo and their ponies. Relly put on a determined face and grabbed her trusty dagger from her pocket, nimbly running in the same direction.
And into the fray they went. Kili was the first to attack the three trolls, and they were quite ugly according to Relly, as he demanded to them to drop Bilbo. Not the best idea, she thought as she saw Bilbo Baggins flying through the air like Hobbits were meant to have wings, only to faceplant into the dirt. If they weren't fighting three abnormally large trolls, she would have found that funny. Thorin leapt from the bushes and wielded his sword like a true hero. Relly had to fight alongside the company, if for a chance to prove herself to Thorin that she was far more than a last minute addition.
With her small but pointed dagger, Relly began to slice cuts into the legs of the trolls. She figured if the legs were taken out or made immobile, the rest of the troll would be easier to clobber. She was caught in the thick of the action, avoiding the heavy steps of the lumbering trolls and like the slick thief she was, zigzagging around them and continuing to contribute her part of taking down their new enemies. For a split second she saw a blur of Bilbo but did not have the time to find him as she was swept off her feet by one of the three trolls, dangling her by the foot as the contents of her pockets fell out.
The fork and doll dropped to the ground, along with her snacks, a key she found on the floor of Bilbo's house and some trinkets. "Looks like we 'ave a thief! Up to some trickses she is!" one of the trolls, Tom, exclaimed.
"Ooh, a female lady! I hadn't ate one of those in ages!" Bert commented as a bright idea rang in that daft head of his. His brother William had also snatched up Bilbo Baggins, and the two brothers were prepared to rip him apart. Tom continued to hold Relly by the ankle, dangling over the raging campfire.
"Lay down your arms or we rip his off! As for the lady," Tom snarled as he faked dropping Relly into the fire, "she gets scorched!"
Relly wanted to say 'Put me down!' but that would mean fire and that meant pain. She squirmed in his grasp, feeling the blood rush to her head and a dizzy sensation overcome her. She did sign up for this after all.
"Bilbo! Miss Relly!" Kili yelled out to her but he was restrained by his brethren to go after his two halfling companions. The dwarves were at an impasse; drop their weapons to surrender in hopes of possibly saving Relly and Bilbo, or attempt to fight with a more than likely chance of their friends losing their lives.
Will Bilbo be torn apart? Where the heck is Gandalf? Does Ori have a thing for our half-Hobbit lady? GUESS YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO WAIT, MUAHAHA.