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Chapter Text

For centuries the tales and histories of Middle-Earth were nothing more than songs and stories heard around communal fires. Then one day someone decided they should write things down, to better remember the details of what had gone on before. From there it was an easy step to also write down all that people knew of what was in the world. Thus began the honored crafts of Historians, Scribes, Archivists, and Scholars. There was nothing that these craftsmen liked better than archiving the world in all forms. So, in all truth, it was inevitable that there would one day be something that would drive Scholars into several types of fits.

Dwarves.

From the first time a curious Scholar made an innocent inquiry into the history of the small mountain people and was rebuffed there became no greater task among Scholars and Historians among men and elves alike than attempting to discover the secrets of the dwarves. The dwarves merely laughed behind their beards and made a game out of keeping their secrets while intentionally letting misinformation ‘slip’ to the ignorant. That was how the biggest mystery of all came into being about the dwarven folk. But how were they to know that a teasing comment from a spirited dwarfling would be taken so seriously among the big folk? And really, why were they so insistent upon believing that dwarves simply sprouted from the stone?

Had the dwarves known the reason Scholars were so content to believe this farfetched idea of dwarven reproduction they would have probably laughed themselves sick. The Scholars simply could not fathom how a race with seemingly no women continued to grow at a slow, yet steady, pace. For while it was true that dwarven men outnumbered the women two to one, it was very untrue that they had a difficult time reproducing. Dwarves just had a different idea on what is acceptable when it came to continuing their species.

To put it simply: nothing was sacred. When it came to continuing the dwarven species, the Valar that had created the Dwarves, called Aulë by others and Mahal by his dwarves, had gifted to them everything they needed to know to continue their kind in prosperity. Thus the female dwarves had a certain sense. And when this sense kicked in, the female would take time away from her craft and follow that sense to the male in question where she would then encourage him to do as Mahal guided. Either one of the pair could be single, married to each other, married to others, or in understood relationships. Those things did not matter when it came to reproducing because Mahal gift guided the females to those that would bring only the best qualities, however hidden, to the race and quite often the pair would never really see each other again once the female was pregnant.

Now female dwarves are almost their own race, a race within the race of dwarves. They looked to non-dwarves as any other dwarf, a fact that led almost the entire rest of Middle-Earth to easily believe there were no dwarf women. They were strong and sturdy, made to endure, with deep voices and like all dwarfs, had traces of a beard from birth that only grew as they aged. Dwarf women had their own society that was intricate and involved many subtleties that the menfolk of their kind could only grasp the basics of: braids and beads being the easiest for them to understand.

As the women had their own society, it was actually rare for them to take time out of their social intricacies and work to tend to children. So when a new dwarfling came around, one of three things happened. The most common thing was that the dwarfling was given, as if it were their own blood, to a dwarf or dwarf couple that wished to raise a child. It was the best solution as dwarves that wanted to be parents, regardless of gender, were generally the best ones to raise the children. Sometimes one or the other of the actual parents would decide they wanted to raise the child and would rearrange their lives to make such a thing happen. They didn’t always manage to work things properly for the child, but no child ever did without love and affection. The most rare cases, and almost entirely isolated in the royal families, was for the child’s parents to actually be wed to each other and raise them together.

This leads to the special qualities of the sense the dwarf women use when searching out their ‘breeding’ partners. For it is entirely proven that some women give birth to nothing more than the largest, strongest warriors while others give birth to a few brilliant scholars and still others increase the brilliance of the forgers or the most sensitive miners. Thus there are, from time to time, women born solely for the purpose of seeking out the King to become his spouse and strengthen the royal line. But while every female dwarf seems to breed toward a certain purpose, one that in light of their inner society helps give them a place in the hierarchy, there are sometimes the strange ones who seem to have no set pattern to their ‘productivity.’

Dilnobri was just such a woman. She had been over a hundred and sixty years old the first time she set aside her fine gem cutting tools and followed the call of Mahal’s gift. She was beautiful by dwarven standards, with auburn hair twisted into a spider’s web lacing of thin braids and her beard neatly twisted to the sides and twined into the pattern. Her eyes were the color of pale emeralds and, being of Durin’s Folk, she was even considered somewhat exotic in her home in the Blue Mountains. Many a dwarf had attempted to court her in her youth before determining that she was far too involved in her craft to ever bother with such things. Thus it was a surprise to everyone when she chose to rearrange her schedule and keep her first born.

Not even Dilnobri knew why she decided to keep little Dori when he had been born. There had been three couples that had let her know early on in her pregnancy that if she were willing they would take the child. But from the moment she laid eyes on the child, she just knew he would be her most beautiful gem and so she kept him close to her heart and treated him with the same love and care she gave to her best jewels.

Dori was mothered with an astonishing ferocity from the woman whom most had thought more interested in her craft than family. Dilnobri was astoundingly good at being a parent to her child, though she came off as a fussy and overprotective parent to all except the gem cutters. For like most subtle work, it was only the finished product that would shine with startling beauty that most saw and not the tiny intricate details that went into its creation. With one hand she would hold Dori close and protect him from the world and this is what the world saw. What they did not see was the other hand pushing him to learn and explore and grow into a beautiful gem.

And watch him grow they did, for Dori was quite the most beautiful dwarfling that had been seen in some years and as he grew so did his beauty. There were many watching his growth for various reasons. Some watched him because he was simply a jewel among their kind. Some watched for potential alliances for he was distantly descended from the royal line of Durin and even a distant relation would raise the standing of someone. And still others watched so that they could get an idea for what kind of dwarves Dilnobri’s breeding would add to the race.

Then, when Dori was only a lad of twelve, Dilnobri felt the call of Mahal again and not long after her firstborn was thirteen, he had a little brother. Dilnobri decided to keep her second born as well, having found that dwarflings were an entirely different type of jewel to cut and polish. A type that agreed with her, though she was a dwarf and her craft still had a set share of time each day despite now having two children to tend. And the people continued to watch, for even newborn it was obvious that Nori was just as beautiful as his brother. So, teasingly, it became said that Dilnobri’s purpose was to breed beauty into the dwarfs and people were content with this conclusion and her place in society.

Dori and Nori were very close brothers. They were identical in beauty, yet so different that they drew the eyes of all when they would run by laughing and playing. It was a common sight to see them tussling and being typical loud, rowdy, dwarfling boys and on more than one occasion covered in dirt and clothes torn from rough housing. And Mahal forbid any other dwarf, full grown or not, do anything to threaten Dori’s baby brother for the youngster was fiercely strong for a dwarf, even though he was not yet fully grown.

It was startling to the dwarves when Dori finally took up his craft, for it was a craft no other dwarf had ever taken up before. He sampled each dwarven craft and skill before going down to the nearest villages of men and returning with boxes and packages and taking up his very own craft in his room. For the craft that sang in Dori’s heart was to work with clothing! He sewed, stitched, tailored, and embroidered such clothing as to make his entire family even more beautiful than before, if such a thing were possible. It was not long before dwarrow and men alike were commissioning articles and even full costumes from the not-yet-of-age lad.

Nori, like most younger brothers, was somewhat resentful of his brother’s attention being taken from him and turned to a craft. But Nori was a dwarf and even though he resented it, he also understood it and set about dabbling in the available crafts to see what appealed to him. For a time it was thought that Nori was attempting to become a hair designer, for he changed the style he wore every two or three days into something more and more elaborate and strange until finally he settled on a very unique style indeed and was sometimes called Nori Starstealer, for his beauty stole attention away from the stars that he now rivaled. Of course Nori laughed and told them they sounded like elves and the nickname didn’t last long after that…

Then Dilnobri, her auburn locks having gone silver with time, provided her sons with a new distraction in the birth of her third child, whom she named Ori. Her newest son was just as beautiful as the other two and the dwarfs took to calling her Dilnobri Jewelbearer, for all the children she bore rivaled the best cut gems for their beauty.

Time went on, with Dori working his own craft of clothes-smithing, for what he did was far beyond mere tailoring in the eyes of the dwarves. Nori created his own craft as well, though no one knew exactly what he did, for he stubbornly refused to share his chosen craft with anyone who was not his baby brother. The craft Nori chose fascinated little Ori and soon drew thoughtful, appreciative glances Nori’s way. For what Nori did was practice and hone his body into a way of moving that was more of a dance than a normal fighting style and made his muscles leaner and his body more flexible… Yet when he did provoke other young dwarves to fight, it was not Nori that went home with bruises and aches as he moved to fast and lithely for his opponents to strike him and soon the guards were looking to recruit him to their fold.

As Ori grew it swiftly became apparent that the youngest son of Dilnobri was more of a scholarly mind. He loved to read and write. But it just as quickly became apparent that he had a talent for using a quill and ink for the more creative side of the quill. For he wrote stories of childish fancy when young, tawdry poems as he grew older, and eventually stories of battles and romance with detailed portraits to go with the scenes he wrote.

And then came the day when Dilnobri Jewelbearer vanished.

It should be explained at about this time that another of the reasons that so few outsiders knew of the existence of dwarven women was because when meeting outsiders, actual dwarf women were introduced as men. It was part of the elaborate system the true dwarf men had arranged to protect the women. So all women were identified with a shortened version of their name that and identified as the son of whichever parent they were closest to. So Dilnobri, the few times before she vanished that she had met the race of men, had been introduced as Nobri, son of Kimri. And if Dilnobri was really the daughter of Delkimri, that was no outsider’s business.

This information is relevant when it became known, two days after she went missing, that one of the guards to the gate of the city had seen Nobri, son of Kimri, leaving alone in the wee hours of the morning on the first day she was going. But he had been tired, just about to be off shift, and hadn’t been aware of what was going on at the time. The guard was soundly punished for allowing a woman to just walk out of the city without a proper guard, but everyone was at least relieved that her use of the name Nobri meant she was in her proper male dwarf disguise when she left.

Dilnobri was missing for a year and three months. It was a year and twenty-five days too long, for during that relatively brief time, Dori had changed. He fussed over Nori and Ori in ways that started to make Nori resentful and overwhelmed poor Ori into silence. It also saw his beautiful auburn hair develop wide streaks of silver from the stress of his mother’s disappearance.

When she finally returned, it was obvious to everyone just why she had left for Dilnobri was heavily pregnant. To say it was shocking was saying the least of it. For Dilnobri was two hundred and forty-two years old by then, much too old for pregnancy by the standards of all but the longer lived direct line of Durin and Dori’s stress continued to grow as he now fretted and fussed over his mother as well as everything else. A month and a half after she returned, Dilnobri gave birth to her first and only daughter. And it was painfully; startlingly obvious to everyone that got a good look at the infant that she was not a full-blooded dwarf!

She was smaller and more delicate looking than any dwarf baby without a hint of fuzz on her cheeks. She did have a slight amount of fuzz on her feet though, feet that were tougher and stronger than a dwarf, for all they were the proper size. Her ears did not stick out as much as dwarf ears and they had a delicate point! Dilnobri was obliged to threaten anyone that dared call her daughter an elf-spawn, though… Throwing one such curr out of the door!

The most astonishing thing about the new babe though, was the soft gold curls on her head that was so unlike dwarf hair that it was truly a thing of beauty. Not that her hair was the only thing beautiful about her. For despite the fact that she was a half-dwarf, it became obvious by the time the wee lass was toddling about that she had inherited the best of both her mother and her mysterious father and Dilnobri retained her title of Jewelbearer even as age finally began to weaken her. Dilnobri set aside her beloved gem crafting and put her remaining years into her family.

Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, in a land of rolling hills, a letter was being opened by a small man of a race called Hobbits with a riot of honey gold curls atop both his head and his feet. The contents of the letter were short, simple, and stunning and caused him to beckon his wife over to share in regarding the missive.

Dear Gerontius,

It’s a girl. September 22nd, 2840.

Nobri, son of Kimbri

Along with the note was what really drew the attention of the husband and wife, a hand drawn image of a beautiful baby girl with muted Hobbit features and an adorable grin. Beneath the drawing was a single word in elegant calligraphy:

Bilbori

Chapter Text

“Dorwi… Book!”

“Hmm?” Dori turned, looking up from where he was patiently fitting settings to some small topaz gems to decorate a dress order for some nobleman’s wife. He blinked at the tiny figure of his baby sister where she stood in his workroom, holding up one of the storybooks Nori of all dwarves had written when Ori was a baby. Instantly he was wary, a topaz held precariously in an unfinished setting. “What do you need, little one?”

Bilbori wasn’t impressed with Dori’s question, as indicated by the little huff she gave before holding the book higher. “Storwi, Dorwi!”

Knowing this was the time of day their mother set aside to work on her craft, for even though she was officially retired, she had spent decades devoted to her craft and couldn’t entirely leave it behind, Dori was wary of interrupting his own work… He knew he would anyway, he couldn’t say no to his baby sister, just as he hadn’t been able to deny Nori or Ori when they were little, but he still needed to go through a ritual they had before he ‘caved’ to her request.

“What about Ori?”

His little sister still wasn’t impressed, but she was at least amused by the question since they both knew perfectly well where Ori was at this time of day. “Wiff Bahwin!”

Dori couldn’t help the fond look he gave his sister. Her childish way of talking was rather amazing, since she was several years younger than when a dwarf first started to talk. “He’s with Balin, eh?” Dori pondered a moment, turning to his work to tweak one of the tines of a gem setting into place. As he tried to finish at least this one piece before story time, he asked Bilbori another question to help distract her from distracting him. “Do we need to go kidnap Ori and bring him home?”

“Yus.” The prompt answer was in a no-nonsense baby tone, but was followed quickly with. “Storwi firs’.”

“What about Nori? He did write the story, after all.” It was all he could manage not to scowl, no doubt that Nori was off getting into trouble that their mother would be too busy to smooth over and would finally finish turning Dori’s own hair silver.

Bilbori sighed, her four-year old mind growing bored with Dori’s stalling. “Nori twaining da guards.” She set the book down and used it as a sit-stool so she could watch Dori more comfortably.

The topaz slipped out of Dori’s fingers in his surprise and he turned to look at his sister. “He’s training the guards? When did that happen?”

The little girl shook her head, causing her braided curls to swing almost violently. “Dun know. He say dey get fat an’… Yazy?” She frowned, not sure if it was the right word. “Wiffout him. So Nori mus’ twain dem!” She beamed before noticing Dori had lost his topaz and scrambled up from the book to find it for him.

While Bilbori hunted for the lost topaz, Dori silently fumed. Of course Nori would try to make himself look better with their sister by making it seem he trained guards. He made a mental note to smack Nori upside his stupid head the next time he saw him. Outwardly he smiled as Bilbori handed him the topaz. He set it on his worktable and stood, swooping down to scoop up the tiny little girl. He nuzzled into her silky hair and made exaggerated kissing sounds into it that made her giggle. “Well, it looks like I’m the one reading you a story today then, beautiful.”

“Yay! Storwi!”

Dori grinned and collected the book before taking it and his sister out to the main room of their dwelling. He situated himself on a large, plush chair and Bilbori cuddled into his lap. Opening the book, Dori cleared his throat and began to read.

“In a cave in a mountain, there lived a dwarf. Not just any old cave, mind you. This was a dwarf cave, and that means wealth and splendor…”

- - -

Time passed, as it tended to do when left unchecked, and their family really only changed physically. Dilnobri spent less and less time on her craft and more time being a busybody within the community as she ‘slowed’ down. Dori’s hair finally turned pure mithril in color. He lamented the loss of the auburn, mostly because the mithril color actually had more dwarfs bothering him with offers of courtship than he felt like bothering with than before. Nori came around slightly less often and, when asked, claimed that he was courting and might even move out one day soon… Of course he said that for four years straight without ever introducing the person he was courting to the family, so no one really believed him anymore. Ori finished a very thorough apprenticeship as a scribe and was working on becoming a well-known and accomplished journeyman. And Bilbori… Well, she was growing up far faster than any dwarf child would have.

Dwarves grew physically their entire lives. Of course, how they grew varied per individual and in ways other than height, reaching their final height around the time they turned seventy. Some dwarves grew wider, some stronger, and others, like Nori, had eyebrows that continued to grow while most stopped… Some dwarves were strange in just what about them continued to grow. Especially Ori’s master, Balin. It was a long held and whispered about joke that since reaching his full height Balin had reversed and was growing shorter over the years.

But Bilbori wasn’t a full dwarf. And now that she was fifteen and showing signs of developing curves that made Ori’s old clothes that she wore for play tighten in places most dwarves never had to worry about it was even more obvious. It was a strange thing to think of their sister growing up so quickly, but her features losing the beauty she had retained as a child and becoming more exotic with her mixed heritage made it something they couldn’t deny.

Dilnobri took the inevitable facts in stride. And she made sure her sons knew about things as well. “I’ll be taking Bori to meet her father soon.”

Well, just blurting it out at dinner to all four of her children probably wasn’t the best way to handle it, but considering she had once just left without telling anyone…

All four of the siblings paused eating and turned to their mother with various looks of surprise and one that was borderline defiance.

Dilnobri rolled her eyes. “I told you boys when I returned home pregnant with your sister. Hobbits aren’t like we are. The only way I could get her father to agree was by signing a contract saying she’d visit him at least twice for at least a year each time. He wants to spend her sixteenth birthday with her and Hobbits come of age at thirty-three, so he’s requested that as well.”

Ori and Dori accepted it; a contract was a contract after all. But Nori scooted his chair closer to Bilbori’s and wrapped an arm around her. “What if we don’t want our little Bori to be so far away for so long?” He was visibly gearing himself up for an argument and, from the way Dori bristled at Nori’s insolent tone, he was willing to take it up.

Dilnobri, having spent decades with the duo’s bickering, deflated it from the start. “Then go with her.” That had the collection of wide-eyed looks back on her. “Hobbits are very family oriented. They’d understand and welcome her brothers just as they’d welcome her.” She smiled fondly reached over the table to give one of Bilbori’s curls a gentle tug.

“Ma…” Bilbori blushed, tucking the recently tugged curl behind a pointed ear as she leaned into Nori’s reassuring hold. She hesitated, fingering the tip of her ear for a very brief moment before asking shyly. “Do you think he’ll like me?”

This, naturally, started all three of her brother’s ranting about how anyone would be crazy to not like her and just wait and see what they’d do if he didn’t… Bilbori buried her face in her hands and shook her head at the shouting while Dilnobri rolled her eyes.

Dilnobri reached out to take one of Bilbori’s hands from her face and pulled her closer so she could talk without interrupting the boys listing a series of vile threats on unknown hobbits. She tilted Bilbori’s face so that the girl was forced to meet her eyes and smiled gently. “Bilbori, he wanted me to have and raise you there in the Shire. The only reason I returned was because your brothers are helpless without me. There is nothing that would stop your father from liking you. He already loves you.”

Bilbori beamed even as her brothers went silent. This did not last long though as soon they started up again… About how they were not helpless and ‘could perfectly well take care of themselves, mother!’

- - -

Hobbits, as it turned out, were exhausting.

Inevitably Dilnobri and Bilbori were joined by all three of the boys for the trip and the first thing they were subjected to was apparently a very large family in the works. For Bilbori’s father, the Thain of the hobbits, was apparently a very busy hobbit as Bilbori had four older hobbit brothers, four younger hobbit brothers, and a baby hobbit sister while her father’s wife had only recently announced that she had another baby on the way. It was rather overwhelming for dwarfs considering that Dilnobri’s four was considered a very large brood by dwarf standards. The exhausting impression was not helped at all by the fact that apparently the Tooks had been patiently waiting for them to arrive for a week and had a massive party arranged that started the moment Gerontius wrapped his arms around his half-dwarf daughter in greeting.

Needless to say, the culture-shocked dwarfs were on the verge of collapse by the time they were finally escorted to their rooms for the rest of the time they remained with the Tooks. They slept through the next day, partially from travel exhaustion, partially from party exhaustion, and partially in food comas.

The next few weeks were awkward as the dwarfs tried to fit in with the hobbits. Bilbori spent a lot of time speaking with her father, and sometimes his wife, telling him about herself and learning about hobbits. Ori was having the easiest time, treating it as an assignment. Considering that Bilbori had caught him writing down what he learned, she had no doubt he’d actually write a book and submit it as part of his scribe mastery project once he felt it was complete. Dilnobri seemed content resting outside in the warm, late summer months of the Shire when she wasn’t speaking with the various hobbit women and learning how their society worked. Dori, after the first few days of grumpily hovering, finally started to learn about the various materials the hobbits used to see if he’d be able to work out any kind of trade for his business. Nori… No one really knew what Nori was doing.

At least not until he returned to where his immediate family had secluded themselves away from the energetic Shirelings one evening and made an announcement to them.

“Bilbori is a princess.”

“What?”

“Really!?”

“Hmm…”

“Nori, what in the name of the maker are you talking about?” Everyone was tired, but Bilbori was curious enough to stir at that.

“The Shire used to be part of Arnor, but since that kingdom went splat they’re pretty much on their own and the hereditary position of Thain was created to fill in for the lack of a king. Technically they’re still part of Arnor, but no one has stepped up to reunite the kingdom. And guess who’s father was introduced to us as Thain?” Nori tweaked one of his sister’s braids.

Bilbori frowned. “No one acts like royalty here…”

“They wouldn’t, no.” Nori agreed. “They’re more like a wealthy, influential family that only butts into big disputes when they show no signs of being resolved. Very intelligent of them, if you ask me. This Shire is quite one of the most peaceful places I’ve ever ventured to.” He sprawled out next to, and half on top of, Bilbori causing her to crash into Ori who yelped over spilled ink since he’d been writing down this new information Nori had gleaned.

“Nori!” Bilbori shoved, but her brother was too solid to easily move and it wasn’t until Ori reached over, hauled Nori up, and tossed him onto the floor that she could breathe easily again.

“Not while I’m working!” Ori groused.

Amused at seeing the most irritating of his siblings getting tossed around, Dori decided to make his own less enjoyable announcement. “I’m heading back to the Blue Mountains the day after tomorrow.”

Dori should have realized this was a mistake as he instantly had both Ori and Bilbori giving him sad puppy eyes… And Nori joined in as well, most likely just to goad Dori than for any real desire for him to stay.

“You can’t leave, Dori!”

“Where would we be without you?”

“Yeah, Dori… They might actually grow up if you weren’t here to keep them in line…”

This resulted in both Ori and Bilbori smacking Nori upside his pointy-haired head.

“Ow!”

Rolling his eyes, Dori gave a huff. “Honestly, you three. I do have a business to run. And as much as I love you…” He gave Nori a stink-eye but didn’t change his words. “I miss work. Besides, you’ll be back before you miss me.”

“I don’t think its possible to be gone long enough to actually miss yo-OW!” Nori’s muttering was interrupted by a sharper cuff upside the head, this time from Dori, and another stink-eye.

“Stop abusing your poor brother.” Dilnobri intervened, reaching out to snag Nori by his sleeve and pull him in for a cuddle. He went red in the face and flailed gently, but ultimately didn’t do anything except give their mother a hug and stick his tongue out at his siblings. “You know how sensitive he is…”

Bilbori, Dori, and Ori burst out laughing when Nori blanched and protested his ‘sensitivity’ to the suddenly deaf ears of their mother. She pressed a kiss to her middle son’s forehead and made her own announcement. “I’ll be returning to the mountain with Dori.”

The four siblings gasped, all of them surprised by this turn of events and Dilnobri smiled. “As much as I would love to retire in the warmth of the Shire… My presence still makes Adamanta uncomfortable. It most likely always will. So I will be returning.” Ori and Nori started to make protests and Dilnobri rolled her eyes. “Don’t think I don’t know you’ve already gotten permission to remain here to work on a book about Hobbits from Master Balin, Ori… And we all knew Nori wouldn’t be returning until our little Bori did… So you three will be perfectly fine until you’re ready to return. Now… Give your ma some cuddles and love, we have several months worth to store up.” She held her arms out and soon her youngest three were curled up with her.

Two days later, Dilnobri and Dori left Tuckborough to return to the Blue Mountains.

Chapter Text

The day of her sixteenth birthday Bilbori, daughter of Dilnobri, also known as Bori, son of Nobri, gained a third name. Her father had spoken with her several times about it and they had decided that since dwarf women were precious that having a hobbit name would be acceptable for use in the Shire or any time she felt uncomfortable, for any reason, with identifying herself as a dwarf. So when it came time to blow out the candles on the large cake her stepmother had baked and decorated, the birthday wishes were given not to Bilbori, but to Bilbo Took.

With the discussions of familiar names and family names also came a discussion on gender identities. It was something Gerontius had really been dying to know since the day a dwarf had shown up on the stoop of the Great Smials, introduced itself as Nobri, son of Kimri, and informed him that the Maker had sent it to Gerontius to bring forth a child that would better the race of dwarves.

“It’s hard to explain.” Bilbori said. “I’ve grown up with it, so I’m not sure how to explain it so that someone can understand.” She hesitated. “Mostly its for protection. Because we’re small most people tend to underestimate us and think they can exploit us.”

Gerontius agreed. “Yes, we have that trouble with big folk as well. The ones that had never dealt with us before at any rate.”

Bilbori gave her father a gentle smile. “Then you understand how people of the race of Men can look at the women of a smaller race as well, right? They hardly honor their own women, let alone respect those of a race they already look down upon.” At his frowning nod, she continued. “You know from experience with mother that dwarf women have a definite female shape, but you also know from meeting my brothers that it is not as different from the shape of our men. Unlike the larger differences in shape between the other races.” She gave a slight smirk. “Though from the drawings I’ve seen of elves they’re all similarly shaped like stretched out twigs.”

Gerontius couldn’t help but chuckle at the observation even as he heard Bilbori mutter something about how even elves probably had difficulty telling them apart. And, since she was on a roll, Bilbori made him laugh when adding that this was probably the reason elves lived so long, trying to figure out if one was a lad or a lass…

Pleased to have made him laugh, Bilbori went back to her explanation. “So since our men and women look so alike in shape, why should we not take advantage of that wearing clothes when traveling that conceal the tiny differences and pass ourselves off as men?” Seeing understanding in Gerontius’s eyes, Bilbori nodded. “Though there are some both men and women who care not if they are seen as either, with us it is easy to slip from one role to another. A young dwarf can have a mother and a father, can introduce them as such, and yet both of the parents may be male or female. We care not. Any dwarf that identifies as a woman is respected as such.”

Bilbori waved her hand dismissing the notion. “So to the outside world we present as entirely male. Inside our communities…” She gave a slight grin. “Mother is one of the highest ranking dwarfs in our city. While we have kings to present as figureheads to the outside, the real rulings come from the women and it is more like a council. I’m only just learning about the council myself. I sit with mother sometimes as her heir apparent, but it won’t be until I find my own craft and establish my role in the community that I will gain my own rank and voice in our kingdom.”

Gerontius hummed with thought. “So dwarves show themselves as monarchies, but you’re really more of a meritocracy.” He considered this information. “Why do the women rule instead of all dwarves being given places then?”

To his surprise, Bilbori laughed at the question.

“Because dwarf men are stupid.” She said it so emphatically that Gerontius could swear she’d been talking to Adamanta for her opinion on hobbit men. “Our records indicate that at one time they attempted to combine the outer society and the inner society… But the men wouldn’t have it.” Bilbori rolled her eyes. “You know the tale of how dwarves were created. And thanks to mother you know that dwarf women can hear the call of our Maker. We call it Mahal’s Gift. It is how we know who will be the fathers of our children to bring about the best for future generations. Since we actually hear it and our men don’t, the men decided that makes us closer to the Maker and so they’re naturally inclined to listen to us instead of realizing he loves us equally.”

To say Gerontius was stunned by that was putting it mildly. Eventually he cleared his throat. “So what you’re saying is… Dwarf men are stupid?”

Bilbori almost fell out of her chair laughing.

In the end, it came down to that Bilbori would appreciate it if the non-immediate family considered Bilbo Took one of Gerontius’s sons. If for no other reason than that it would keep the world guessing as to just how a male hobbit had managed to have a child with a race of males.

That was another thing they laughed about.

- - -

Nori ended up being insanely popular with the Tooks and Brandybucks. He let them join in on Bilbori’s daily weapons lessons and would teach them tricks he had learned for sneaking around and stealing cookies. Brandybucks and Tooks were already considered wild by Shire standards and his effect only had them being considered more and more strange by the more prudish hobbit families.

Ori became almost universally adored for his sweet demeanor and love of learning. He’d sit in with the lessons of young hobbits to see how they were taught their letters, numbers, and history. He’d take notes and, when asked, would help tutor the young hobbits in their numbers. He was also willing to go out and help in the fields learning from the farmers. Ori’d spend the nights writing after a day in the field, committing everything he’d learned to paper.

Bilbori was learning to cook. It had started soon after they arrived at the Great Smials and Adamanta, stating a desire to be involved with her husband’s daughter as well, was insistent that Bilbori learn Adamanta’s specialties first. These had included embroidery, crochet, and cooking lessons. And her stepmother was questioning her at the same time.

“I can understand not having brought any with you, your pack could only hold so much after all, but would it really hurt to have at least one hobbit style dress for when you sit for the family portrait?” Adamanta was firm on having them all sit for a family portrait as soon as she found an artist she liked. She could already tell that Bilbori was wavering. “You may decide you don’t want to keep up the lad guise forever. And what if you find yourself a husband here in the Shire as you get older?”

“Why does dressing like a lad or lass have anything to do with finding a husband?” That statement baffled Bilbori.

Adamanta waved her hand dismissively. “Well what if you’re just in the mood for the flouncing of skirts around your calves then? We can get you some hobbit-style lad clothes as well.”

Bilbori made a face. “Wouldn’t going to a clothes smith go against claiming I’m a lad?”

“Clothes smith?” Adamanta took a moment to puzzle that out. “We call them tailors or seamstresses. And you wouldn’t have to go. We could take your measures here and take them in for you.” She moved over to check Bilbori’s rather well made tunic. “Who made your clothing?”

“Dori makes all my clothing. I do have some dresses, but I don’t take them when traveling.”

“Well then you definitely need something for here. Once we’ve finished making luncheon we’ll get your measures. Oh! It’ll be lovely… And I’ll have some practice for when Belladonna gets older.”

After that Bilbori couldn’t really say no.

“Do you always wear boots, dear?”

“No.” Bilbori sliced up some cold meats for sandwiches to go with the soup she and Adamanta had been making. “My feet are tougher than my brothers, so at home I tend to run around without boots. But I got used to wearing them when not at home because of an incident with a red hot silver bead an apprentice smith had dropped.”

Adamanta froze, looking horrified.

Bilbori didn’t notice, instead turning an almost delighted grin to the hobbitess. “I have a lovely scar from it. It curves from the arch and presses into my heel. Do you want to see?”

It was on the tip of Adamanta’s tongue to say no, but she was morbidly curious to see the damage hot metal could do to a young hobbit’s foot… Not to mention seeing a half-hobbit’s foot! “Yes…”

Setting the food she had been preparing aside, Bilbori quickly washed her hands and dropped to sit on the floor. She made quick work of her bootlaces and pulled them off to show the scar to her stepmother.

Adamanta’s first thought was: How cute! Bilbori’s feet were smaller than a hobbit of her age would normally have. Judging from what she remembered of the other dwarfs though, they were the proper size for a dwarf. Instead of hair as thick as fur like hobbits had, the halfling’s feet had a layer that was more akin to peach fuzz. Then she saw the scar. It wasn’t like how she had pictured, gory and possibly still leaking blood. Instead it was a pale silvery pink that looked glossy against the unmarred skin. It started at the instep and curled to a dimpled hole on the heel, almost exactly how Bilbori described it.

“Hmm. Did you want to go barefoot here? You wouldn’t be teased and there’s no hot metal to worry about.”

Bilbori considered. “You know, I think I will. Just let me put my boots in my room and I’ll come back to help finish luncheon.”

And that was what they did.

- - -

A little more than a month later Donnamira Took was born. The hobbits thought it a bit strange how wildly their dwarf relatives celebrated the birth, but Gerontius knew it was because women were held in high regard among their kind and so was indulgent of his daughter and her brothers.

“We have another sister!” Bilbori spun gently, holding Belladonna in her arms and twirling around Nori who was holding Donnamira while Ori tied a tiny knitted bonnet onto her head.

“Can never have too many sisters.” Ori agreed as he finished off the ties. He then snagged Bilbori mid-twirl and tugged her over to fit a similar bonnet onto Belladonna’s head. “I’d have made you one too, Bori… If I didn’t know you hated how they make your braids itch.”

“Ori, did you knit kitten ears onto this thing?” Nori lifted up Donnamira enough to show the ears on the bonnet.

“Kitty ears?” Belladonna lifted her tiny hands to her own bonnet. She frowned when the ‘ears’ she felt were rounded instead of pointed.

“Donnamira’s still a sweet little kitten.” Ori informed Belladonna. Before she could protest that she was sweet too, he continued. “You, little Belladonna, are a ferocious and brave little bear.”

Belladonna considered this seriously, thinking about what little she’d heard about bears. “Yup, I can be the bear.” She agreed.

“I’m kind of jealous now.” Bilbori said. “I don’t have any cute ears on a bonnet.”

“It would still make your braids itch. What kind of ears would you want anyway? Bunny ears?” Ori flapped his hands up on the sides of his head in an obnoxious attempt at mimicking bunny ears.

Belladonna giggled.

Bilbori made a disgusted sound at her brother. She reached out, pressed her hand against his face, and shoved, knocking him back on his rear.

Belladonna’s giggles turned into a squeal of laughter that was soon joined by Nori’s laugh.

A soft giggle drew their attention to Donnamira as she had her first laugh with them at Ori’s expense and soon they were once more cooing over the tiny hobbitling.

- - -

Time moved on as the two dwarfs and the half dwarf learned more about the Shire and their hobbit family. Winter celebrations were welcome affairs. Spring planting was something everyone joined in on. And early summer harvests of the quick growing foods made a welcome change to the foods. Ori continued compiling notes on the Shire. Nori kept active, teaching himself new tricks when he wasn’t teaching the young hobbits and his sister. And Bilbori started dabbling in the various crafts that could be found in the Shire.

It was inevitable, but neither Nori nor Ori were pleased when they discovered their darling baby sister sitting in with woodcarving apprentices as she attempted to learn their craft. Dwarves were generally in their twenties when they finally started poking at crafts so they didn’t really appreciate the reminder that their little sister matured faster than dwarfs.

Ori wrote home with the updates and took little comfort in the blasé response from their mother that Bilbori would be exactly what she was meant to be. Dori’s panicked demands that they keep their baby sister away from dangerous things like carving knives was a bit more mollifying. Thankfully Bilbori decided that woodcarving was useful, but it didn’t call to her and she moved on before Ori could try to carry out Dori’s wish.

Nori decided to go to Gerontius for his opinion. “Isn’t there some way to keep her from doing this? Surely hobbits don’t start their crafts so young.”

Gerontius had learned early on in their stay that Nori and Ori were a bit overprotective of Bilbori. Not to mention Bilbori herself had told him that dwarf men were stupid… So he rolled his eyes. “Hobbits don’t generally have what you call a craft. We’re mostly farmers. And you saw how even Belladonna was helping with the farm when planting season came around. I was honestly surprised when Bilbo told me that she’d never done anything except read, write, and run wild around that mountain of yours when we discussed that kind of thing.” Gerontius eyed the star-haired dwarf. “She did say she’d sometimes sit in with her mother on council meetings, but that it was a relatively recent thing. Do young dwarfs really do nothing but play? Sounds kind of boring to me…”

Nori gave Gerontius a long look before responding. “Dwarfs have it hard. No matter what we really are, we’re considered greedy and violent. We teach the young ones to read, write, and defend themselves. But aside from that, we’re indulgent to let them just be children until they have to grow up. They start looking for crafts when they feel they’re ready, not when we make them.”

Gerontius raised an eyebrow. “And doesn’t that seem like what your sister is doing? Looking for a craft because she’s ready?”

Nori, realizing he’d been beaten by his own logic, was gracious enough to only mutter, “You’re no help…” As he left Gerontius’s office.

Gerontius’s laugh followed him out the door.

- - -

Bilbori’s seventeenth birthday came and went.

Another winter happened.

Donnamira was running around on sturdy little hobbit feet and talking in incomplete sentences when the next spring planting arrived.

Having not found a craft in the Shire that called to her, Bilbori, Ori, and Nori packed up after the spring planting and said their goodbyes for the time being. It was time to return to the mountain.

Chapter Text

The night of their return to Belegost, and for nearly a week after, all of the Ri siblings slept cuddled around their mother until she got tired of them hogging her small bed and sent them back to their rooms.

- - -

The mother of the Ri line had been the older sister of Náin I and daughter of Durin VI. Her name had been Dainári. By her own admission she had given her only child to a young couple instead of keeping it as the young royal it was because she had a dream while pregnant that it was important for the line of Durin to branch away for a time. So while the Ri line had always been well cared for, they were not considered royalty. When Durin’s Bane had driven them out during the rule of her brother the family that had taken the babe had gotten separated from the Durin family in the commotion. They ended up fleeing west toward the Blue Mountains while the main Durin line had fled east to Erebor.

For many years Dilnobri had been considered exotic because of her classic Longbeard features in a city where most looked like the Broadbeams that had taken in the refuges from Khazad-dûm. She was two hundred and four when the refuges of Erebor finally arrived in Belegost and she met her distant cousins for the first time. Her young cousins Thorin II, already called Oakenshield, and Dís accepted these distant cousins readily, though their father Thráin II was lost in grief for the recent loss of his father and youngest son.

Thráin set up his own kingdom just north of the city of Belegost. But shattered by first the loss of Erebor followed by thirty years of wandering and then the massacre at the gates of Khazad-dûm, most of the younger Longbeards freely mingled with the citizens of Belegost. Not even a year after Bilbori was born Thráin took to wandering and eventually disappeared. In his absence, Thorin worked to fully integrate the remains of Erebor in with the existing community of Belegost.

Despite Thorin’s efforts to encourage integration, it was actually the combining of the women’s societies central to their community that took the longest to sort out. There were no battles, but most of the core of Erebor’s inner society had perished during Smaug’s attack and they hadn’t been able to reform it properly in the time it took them to arrive in the Blue Mountains. It ended up taking over a decade for the ranks of women to assess their value and merge with the existing structure. Dilnobri managed to retain her rank as none of the gem cutter women that had survived Erebor were above journeyman level even though she was no longer the only exotic Longbeard among Broadbeams anymore.

So while her mother and brothers could remember a time before the Longbeards arrived, the combined society was all Bilbori knew. She could tell the differences: their looks were more along the lines of her mother and like any good dwarfling she had learned early how to tell family lines and ranks by beads and decorations on clothing for those who didn’t bother with their hair. And though she was technically a Longbeard by blood and the matriarchal power of the Ri Line, Bilbori had to say she liked the Broadbeams more.

There were several reasons for this but the most important to her was a dwarf named Bifur. Though he had some ancestors that had fled west from Khazad-dûm with the Ri family, Bifur was a Broadbeam through and through. And more importantly, he was young, only a year older than Dori, and newly mastered in the craft that called to Bilbori’s heart… Rune crafting.

Bilbori was twenty-seven when she finally found her craft and became Bifur’s first apprentice. Rune crafting was fascinating and unique to the Broadbeam contingent of Belegost, for the last of the Ereborean rune crafters had perished before Khazad-dûm.

Rune crafting was not a fancy way of calling someone a writer. For while they did work with words, rune crafters learned to call upon the power of the stone and trace the runes with yet more runes to imbue the words with power. They were the magic wielders of the dwarf nations.

Bifur took delight in teaching Bilbori because she was different. Dwarf rune crafters stuck with stones, gems, and metal. But Bilbori’s mixed heritage gave a shifting to her ability to carve runes. So while her talent and interest definitely lay in rune crafting, she was just different enough in wielding it that the other masters were wary of inducting her. Had Bifur not seen it as a challenge to himself as well as her, chances are she would have been denied her apprenticeship.

So nearly every morning she would throw on her clothes, rush through breakfast, gather her luncheon basket, and charge out the door. Her feet would take her out of the residential district and deep into the mountain. Beyond the entrances to the deep mines and women’s council chambers to where the Rune Crafters taught the basics of their crafts. She’d nearly plow into Bifur in her enthusiasm before handing him a treat from her basket and set about gathering her apprentice tools while he enjoyed the treat.

“You spoil me, little one.” Bifur chuckled as he had many times before.

“Good. You need spoiling.” Bilbori paused at the tray of soft clays. “Which will we need today?”

“The blue. I’m going to start teaching you to make a basic hand light today.”

“Will it go to the miners?”

“If you do it right.” Bifur agreed as he seated himself at their workstation across from where Bilbori seated herself before placing a small blue clay sphere to the side. “Now the lines for a basic light simply say ‘This is my light, bright in the night.’”

Bilbori tittered, the simple children rhymes of the basic rune patterns always amusing her. Bifur thumped her head at the titter and she obediently picked up a fountain pen and piece of parchment to write out the lines with ink so she wouldn’t mess up.

“Now at the rune mark for a light is like this.” Bifur drew a rune unique to dwarf magic. “Changing the mark like this…” He demonstrated. “Adjusts how bright the light will become. Changing it on the other side will make it darker. The length of the change indicates how much darker or brighter you want it.” He waited until she drew out both alterations. “Now write the mark again, showing me how you want the light to change.”

Bilbori decided on a brighter light as she wrote out the rhyme and changing mark until she felt satisfied with the line indicating the brightness level. She fussed with the indicator line until she finally felt satisfied and showed him the paper.

“Good, ready to try?”

“Yes, Master Bifur.”

She picked up her crafter’s loupe, which was similar to those used by the jewelers and gem cutters, but had much stronger magnification settings. Putting it on her head, she blinked her magnified eyes at Bifur, grinned, and then picked up her basic iron stylus and the blue clay sphere. As she started to carefully etch the light rune with the brightness marker into the surface of the sphere, Bifur began to speak softly.

Bifur’s words were not meant to interrupt, they were meant to help the student focus on what they should be thinking and feeling as they worked, helping them channel their grasp of magic into what they want. A journeyman would be able to keep their focus without this constant, repetitive reminder, but it was invaluable to the apprentices.

Once Bilbori had the light rune properly etched into the clay surface she increased the magnification of her loupe and changed out her stylus for one with a thinner point. Taking a deep breath, Bilbori started the precision task of writing out the light rhyme repeatedly inside the larger rune. When she finished that, she would increase the magnification again and write the change for a thinner yet stylus to write the rhyme inside the rhyme. The entire time she worked, Bifur’s gentle voice constantly reminded her to pull on the magic she could feel tingling on her skin and push it into the words she was writing.

As they frequently did, both Bilbori and Bifur lost track of time as they worked and were exhausted when Bilbori finally drew the last line into the clay. In the same time it took her to painstakingly etch in the runes for a single hand light, Bifur had made half a dozen and Bilbori admired the show of what she would be able to do once she became familiar with the work.

Bifur picked up the clay spheres and put them in the kiln kept heated all hours of the day for the rune crafters while Bilbori spread out the double meal she had brought in the basket for them to share. She was trembling slightly from channeling the magic and always needed the pick-me-up of eating after working. They ate while waiting for the day’s project to harden.

As they ate, Bifur watched Bilbori’s hands. The trembling grew less the more she ate. “I think that your hobbit heritage is one of the reasons you are so drained when you work.” Before she could take umbrage at his words, he raised a hand in peace. “I have been watching you, as I should, when you work. From what we know of hobbits, they are more in tune with the world than dwarves.”

Bilbori tilted her head, listening.

“You have told me many times that you feel the magic of the world all the time. As far as I know, only some dwarves can feel magic, and then it is only when they are actually trying to feel it. I think that your sensitivity to the magic around us means you have your own magic inside of you. So when you work, you are pulling out some of your own magic and putting it into what you make. Perhaps that is why the Shire grows so well and why hobbits eat so often, they are using their own magic without realizing it.”

“So what does this mean, Master Bifur?”

“It means that I think we should focus on your magic for a short time, to see if we can separate what is you from what you feel of the world. If we can do that, then you can perhaps learn to not use your own magic for things that can easily be powered by borrowing from the earth. We don’t want to completely drain you and risk your health, after all. And if we can separate your magic, we can also look at it from a different angle, to see how it might be used. Perhaps you can grow a vein of gold like a tree?”

“Is that what we will do tomorrow? Work on separating my magic?”

Bilbori cleaned up while Bifur went to retrieve the spheres. He set them out, keeping Bilbori’s separated from the others, and waited for her to rejoin him before handing her the general use apprentice’s Rune Mallet. A Rune Mallet was a small hammer engraved with runes specifically designed to activate the runes worked into other projects. Making her own Rune Mallet would be her final project as an apprentice.

“No, tomorrow you will take the day off. I plan on spending it with my cousins, it’s Bombur’s birthday.”

“Many happy returns.” Bilbori stated promptly at the news. She twirled the mallet nervously for a moment before swinging it in a gentle tap against her sphere.

The sphere lit up like a star.

- - -

Learning her new craft was not the only thing Bilbori did with her days. Like all young dwarfs she had spent time in the other crafts as well and, like all young dwarfs, had used those craft dabbling to make her own personal weapons. Her preferred weapon of choice was one called a kama, styled after the small hand sickles farmers used and which she had adored during harvests in the Shire. Since the chances of her actually going to battle were slim, she had done as most non-warriors did and made her kama, of which she had two, beautiful as well as functional.

The steel blades had stylized blood splatters cut out of them. The ends of the handles were encrusted with tiny crystal chips and the part where she regularly held them was lined with obsidian. On a whim she had gotten Dori to teach her how to affix satin onto metal and wrapped green satin ribbons around the handles. And, like any good dwarf, she practiced when she had a chance.

“C’mon, Bori… Get those fancy sickles of yours and come with me.” Nori barely gave her a chance to grab her kama before dragging her out of their house.

“I’ve already practiced today, Nori.”

“I know you have, that’s not what we’re doing.”

“And?” Bilbori prompted when Nori didn’t say anything and continued to drag her along. “What are we doing?”

“You only practice alone or with me, Bori. That’s not good. You know my moves; you need to practice with others.” So saying, Nori dragged her into the guard-training field.

That reminded Bilbori of something she routinely asked. “When are you going to tell Dori that you really are a guard trainer?”

Not that it did any good to ask, Nori merely responded the same way he always did. “When that face he makes thinking I’m a real thief stops being amusing. That reminds me, I’m going to teach you to be a thief, too. Want to send Dori into a fit and tell him?”

Bilbori took the thief lessons decision in stride, merely rolling her eyes. “Unlike you, I don’t find amusement in making my big brother go into fits.”

Nori stopped and stared at her.

“What? I didn’t say anything about not finding the fits you send him into funny, I just said I don’t like making him have the fits.”

Nori laughed before turning and thrusting her in the direction of one of the guards. “He hasn’t been in a real battle yet, Bori… Don’t hurt him too much.”

Chapter Text

The next time Bilbori and her small dwarf family went to the Shire was in preparation for her brother Isumbras’s wedding the summer before her thirty-third birthday. The time before the wedding and the wedding itself was a blur of non-stop activity that left them exhausted and sleeping the day after the celebrations. The day after the recovery, Dori and Dilnobri made their routine departure and the remaining Ri siblings settled into their Shire routine with only minimal alterations.

Ori was even more of a teacher, having advanced well into the journeyman stage of his craft. And when he wasn’t teaching the little hobbits, he was learning how to knit Shire patterns from Adamanta.

Nori spent his time lounging around and doing nothing… Or he spent it charming the hobbits into giving him biscuits, tarts, or pies... Or he was playing with the new crop of hobbitlings that had been produced since their last visit. The story changed depending on who was asked.

When not being dragged around by one or another of her many relations, Bilbori worked on designing her Rune Mallet.

- - -

“May I braid your hair, Bilbo?” Belladonna’s fingers hovered over the ends of her older sister’s curls.

Bilbori turned, looking down at the shorter Belladonna before giving her a smile. “Certainly, Bella.” She moved to sit down so that the tweenaged hobbit could more easily reach her hair.

Belladonna’s face was pleased and she easily took the carved ivory comb that Bilbori had pulled from a pocket and was holding out for her. She combed the curls that were longer than Hobbit lasses generally wore their hair, giving smug looks toward where their teen sisters Donnamira and Mirabella were stuck practicing their letters under Ori’s guidance. Once she had it combed, Belladonna separated out a lock and began plaiting it. Partway into the plait she pulled it loose and attempted it again. And again… And again…

On the fifth restart of the same lock, Bilbori reached out to take hold of one of Belladonna’s hands. “What’s wrong, Bella love?”

Voice full of frustration, Belladonna looked on the verge of tears. “I can’t get it right.”

“Get what right?” Bilbori was baffled.

“Your braid…”

This did little to ease Bilbori’s confusion. “I’ve seen you braid before, Belladonna. What’s the fuss now?”

Belladonna sniffled, “I can’t make your special dwarf braids.”

“Special… Dwarf braids…” There was no sign of comprehension on Bilbori’s face.

Frustrated, Belladonna shook the curled lock she still held as if that would explain the situation. “Your dwarf braids! The ones you always wear to tell people who you are!”

Bilbori finally seemed to begin to comprehend what Belladonna’s problem was and she laughed. When Belladonna started to get in a right proper fit over the laughter, Bilbori calmed herself down. “That’s just…” She shook her head fondly. “Belladonna Took, are you listening to whispers about dwarves again? What exactly are my braids supposed to say?”

Off to the side, Ori bit his lip.

Seeing that her older sister at last understood, Belladonna was quick to explain the matter as she knew it. “They tell everything. From what family you have to who is courting you to what craft you have!”

Bilbori made a valiant effort to contain it, she truly did, but the puppy-look of excitement on Belladonna’s face at her explanation was just too much and she broke into an almost hysterical bout of laughter, which Ori joined. Donnamira and Mirabella gave up all pretense of working on their letters to stare with fascination as their big dwarf sister and brother gasped for air around their giggles. Belladonna was on the verge of going for her mother’s rolling pin in her righteous indignation at having her explanation laughed at.

When Bilbori finally managed to regain control, the laughing had managed to bring two or three of their hobbit brothers into the room. She sat up, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes and giving a random little hiccup of laughter for a few minutes as she struggled for control. And then she could speak again, a grin hurting her cheeks as she did. She paused to throw a nearby cushion at Ori to get him to stop. “Is that really what they say about dwarf braids?”

Belladonna was suddenly struck with a fit of bashfulness at the attention and nodded her head cautiously. This only caused Bilbori’s grin to grow.

“Do you remember the dwarf I told you about? Balin? The one that’s the king’s advisor and Ori’s craft master?” Bilbori glanced around, noticing several of her enraptured siblings nodding their heads. “Do you think that he would be an important person to make note of?” More nods. She nodded sagely, agreeing with the youngsters. “Yes, Balin is very important. He’s powerful, a skilled warrior, the king’s cousin, and his husband adores him…” There were several appreciative noises at that list. “And he doesn’t wear a single braid or bead anywhere.”

Bilbori’s siblings gasped at this news and a few twitters of speculation were heard before she finally relieved their curiosity. “So you see, dwarfs don’t use braids to tell such things. They can and some traditional dwarves do use them for that purpose, but there just isn’t enough time to study everyone’s braids or beads all of the time. And that’s not even mentioning what would happen if someone were careless and caught their hair on fire…” She lowered her tone to a soft whisper. “That happened to Balin’s baby brother one day, got into a fight in the forges and poof!”

A choked sound turned Bilbori’s attention to Nori lounging in a shadow and she grinned before joining her other siblings in conspiratorial giggles over the fate of Dwalin’s hair, she put the comb back into Belladonna’s hand. “Now there actually is one meaning to braids, but it’s actually a lot like the meaning for this.” Bilbori reached out and poked Belladonna’s little Hobbit potbelly.

Several understanding gasps filled the room before her age-matched brother Hildigrim, who had snuck in at some point, spoke up. “Really?” His tone was slightly incredulous. “Braids are a luxury?”

“An indulgence, yes.” Bilbori nodded firmly, her eyes still alight with amusement. “So while Balin is very important, he is much too busy with all of his important work to bother with braids. And you’ve seen the Ri braids, right?” There were nods all around, for the small dwarf family always arrived in Tuckborough together though Dori and Dilnobri always left before the first week was over. “It takes ages for us to twist our hair up into our braids. But that’s because we can afford to spend so much time playing with our hair. And you should see us when we’re busy with work orders… Hair everywhere with barely a single clasp to keep it out of the way…”

The full Hobbits were grinning at the images of their pseudo brothers with loose hair before Bilbori leaned forward, eyes full of conspiracy as she dropped into a whisper again. “Dori looks like a dandelion fluff in the mornings!”

Laughter erupted at the image of prim Dori looking like a dandelion, growing louder when Nori stretched his hands up to demonstrate how big Dori’s fluff was when left untended.

Bilbori leaned back, looking exceedingly satisfied before looking at the eldest of her younger sisters. “Now, I would be very pleased to have some Belladonna braids.” She stressed Belladonna’s name and was rewarded with a beaming smile before her hair was slowly twisted up into a new braid style.

A few days later she wore a different braid from each member of the family to her thirty-third birthday party.

And, if the next time Dori came to visit he was presented with a crown made out of dandelions, well… Bilbori couldn’t be blamed for the frantic burst of laughter that choked her the entire time he humored their little hobbit siblings and wore the thing for them.

- - -

Bilbori Took became something of a minor hero in the Shire during the late summer before her thirty-fourth birthday. While at first the presence of her and her dwarf family was whispered about by the horrible gossips, the large Took family adored them. Admittedly most of the Shire thought Bilbori was a boy, and if it ever slipped that she wasn’t then the gossips would have a field day! The whispers usually tapered off shortly after Dilnobri and Dori went back to the Blue Mountains… Back on topic, Bilbori was something of a hero. And this was entirely because she was useful in a way that Hobbits could appreciate.

She could use a forge, though it was only when necessary to repair items, as she said her calling was for another craft. She was armed, like every dwarf they had ever heard of, but her chosen weapon was so much like a farm tool that no one was really surprised one harvest when she pulled it from her belt and used it as if it were just any old sickle lying around. She could swim and she and her brothers were willing to teach all the Hobbits willing to learn how to swim as well. She wasn’t afraid to join her brothers and chase off the occasional stray predator that found its way into the Shire. And she was frighteningly strong by Hobbit standards.

Within the Blue Mountains dwarf strength is taken for granted. Everyone was strong and only grew stronger with age. According to Bilbori, she was just under average strength for a dwarf. This was amazing in itself because she was only half dwarf, but she said it was because of Nobri’s line and that her eldest brother Dori was the strongest dwarf ever with Ori second. Admittedly the middle of her dwarf brothers was only just above average, but Nobri’s call toward Nori’s father had been for agility, not strength.

But to Hobbits Bilbori was very, very strong.

The day Bilbori became a minor hero was the day she willingly, and for hours, walked behind a cart. This wasn’t just any walk, though. No… Bilbori had been walking with her brother Isengrim, heading toward Hobbiton, when they came across Cottar Cotton as he fussed over what was obviously his wagon… his broken wagon. The pony was still harnessed to it, one wheel was stuck in a bad rut that wasn’t easily noticed on the lane, and the rear axel was obviously broken. The wagon was half full of carefully carved braces, the kind Hobbits used to shore up the walls and ceilings of their holes.

“Gracious, Mister Cotton… What happened here?” Isengrim exclaimed, rushing over to, as near as Bilbori could tell, fuss at the wagon the same way that Cottar was.

“Oh! Masters Took.” Cottar blinked at Isengrim and Bilbori with some surprise. “Well, Adalgar Bolger ordered some new braces for an addition to his smial and I was on my way to deliver them… Its Carnation’s first time on the wagon and well, she took a start and the wheel hit the rut just wrong, it did.” He ran a hand over the skittish young pony’s flank, clucking soothingly to her.

Isengrim grimaced in thought. “S’pose we could go back to Tuckborough and get our wagon for you to borrow.” He gave a decisive nod. “Why don’t we go ahead and unhitch Carnation? No sense…”

His words abruptly cut off as the wagon shifted to the side and then the entire back end of it lifted clear off the ground. Both Isengrim and Cottar stared dumbly at the sight for a full minute before an amused snort came, followed by a polite clearing of a throat. They turned as one to see Bilbori giving them a small smile while standing there, holding up the rear end of the wagon in her hands, casual as can be.

“So… We’re going to Mister Bolger’s, right?”

A tip of her head toward the pony had Cottar fluster about before moving to lead the pony. Isengrim was almost left behind as he continued to stare in pure shock at his younger sister.

“Wait for me!” He suddenly blurted out, coming alive as he scrambled to catch up. Not that they’d gone far with the slow pace Cottar set, but still.

And that was how Bilbori became a hero and, upon arriving at the Bolger smial, acquired a small pack of admirers. Two hours of half carrying a partially loaded wagon and then helping fix the thing… It was too late to go to Hobbiton that day by the time they finished, but Isengrim and Bilbori enjoyed the night at the Bolgers’ before heading to Hobbiton the next day. Of course a couple of new admirers followed them and soon all of Hobbiton knew about the wagon rescue…

Afterward the gossip was still there, but it was generally kinder.

- - -

The year’s apple harvesting festival was just starting. Nori, Ori, and Bilbori were working with the Took clan, bravely scaling trees for the best apples. They’d go through their bushels later that night to find the best of their haul to enter into the contest for best picker. Near the end of the apple harvesting there’d be another contest to see if the winner from the beginning could hold their title for the year. The dwarves found it silly, but being able to tell which trees would give the best was a big thing in the Shire.

Already apples that were not shuffled into the ‘potential winner’ bushels were being turned into early pies, jams, tarts, sauces, juices, and ciders… The outdoor ovens near the orchard filled the air with the most wonderful aromas and it was not uncommon for those in the trees to retreat for quick snacks of the items being prepared. Soon they’d be sick of apples which would let the rest of the harvest that year be more evenly paced out until the next harvest.

Bilbori was admiring a particularly red and shiny apple, certain it would be a good contender for the night’s winner when she heard her name, her male dwarf name, and that of her dwarf brothers being called. She dropped down from the tree she was in and hurried over to where Adamanta was off to one side with a dwarf in full armor standing near the ovens. She frowned as she and her brothers joined them.

“What’s going on?” Nori asked.

The dwarf, one Bilbori remembered vaguely from some training exercises, turned and bowed to them. “Forgive the intrusion, sons of Nobri… It’s just that I’ve come with an urgent message from Lord Dori. It’s just that Lord Nobri has taken ill and Lord Dori isn’t sure how much longer he’ll be with us. He requests you return home immediately.”

The last sentence wasn’t even out of the dwarf’s mouth before the siblings dropped everything and raced toward the Great Smials to gather their things.

Chapter Text

Dear Father,

We were too late in our return and mother had already passed. The ceremony to return her to the stone was beautiful and I’m certain she would have loved it. I don’t really remember the rest of the evening. Dori was free with passing around the ale at our table. That was most likely because I told him I wasn’t ready to take up the role as head of our household.

I don’t recall if I ever told you before, but the Ri line has been lead by a matron since we split from the main branch of Durin’s line centuries ago. Our line is small now, with only my siblings and myself, but we’re still considered prominent in our community. I’ve placed Dori in charge of the line as much as he is able at least until I’ve reached the age where dwarfs are considered adults.

I’m afraid I am not taking things well. I yelled at Nori the other day because he was making a comment about something that happened before I was born. I was quite irrational, yelling about how he at least got to spend more time with mother before losing her. I said some hurtful things and Nori has been distant ever since. I can’t even bare to look at Ori for the looks of pity he gives and Dori has thrown himself into his work.

I feel I am tearing the family apart when I should be holding it together. I wish I could return to the Shire, but Master Bifur is pressing me to work harder on my craft. I think he can sense I want to leave and he is trying to get as much knowledge as he can into my head before I break. Would I be welcome, father?

Love, Bilbo

- - -

It should be noted that Bilbori, daughter of Dilnobri, was not widely known as being half hobbit. As far as she knew only a handful of dwarves in the mountain were aware of that tidbit. Keeping her parentage a secret was not something that had been intentionally done, but Dilnobri knew that some traditionalist dwarves would frown and raise trouble for the halfling child if they knew. So every morning she left their home one of Bilbori’s brothers would painstakingly braid her curls up into a design that she never bothered with in the Shire. The design was similar to both Dori’s look and the spider-web of thin, laced braids that their mother had worn. The official reasoning for this was to draw attention away from the fact that Bilbori, near thirty-five, hadn’t yet sprouted any stubble. Having been in the Shire now, they all knew it was doubtful that she would.

So it was that Master Bifur knew exactly when trouble cropped up with the Ri siblings when he arrived in the Rune Crafter Hall one day to find Bilbori hunched over the steel mallet she was carefully engraving runes in with her braids disheveled and lopsided. Were she older, he would have put it aside as a rush to work after a dalliance. But, as he knew she wasn’t interested in such things, this look meant that she was at odds with her brothers. Something that had never happened in the entire time he had known the Ri family. Bifur moved to sit across from her, having gotten together his own materials for the day. He didn’t say anything, merely did his work and kept an eye on the lass as they quietly worked.

As they worked in crafter silence, the kind where the only noise is the gentle murmur of instruction or the tapping of engraving tools, other Masters came and went. A couple of Journeymen of their craft worked on their own projects and one youngster dabbling to see if Rune Crafting called to him was working with Bifur’s own master in the craft off to one side. It was turning into a peaceful day in the Hall… Right up until a group of three arrived, looking around for an available Master to speak with… the Princess Dís and her young sons.

Like all craft halls, the Rune Crafters took commissions on work when not fulfilling contracts for their regular projects. By contract Rune Crafters kept miners provided with the small hand lights as well as light sources for other places where lit torches and lamps were a bad idea. They also created purifiers for the various water sources to prevent sickness from metal runoff affecting the population and various other minor things that were incredibly useful and yet overlooked. Those things only held so much power and eventually the Runes would wear off or fade and their usefulness would end so more would need to be made. It was a particularly canny decision made Ages ago to keep the Rune Crafters in business. Some private commissions would go to the journeymen while wealthier people would commission a master. The crafter would then use a portion of the agreed upon price to cover the cost of the materials for the project and then pocket the rest. Despite the profit, most Masters disliked being commissioned as it took away from the time on their personal projects.

A glance around told Bifur that the other Masters were busy, or at least pretending to be busy. Since his own work was pretty routine, a simple task he had chosen in case his apprentice finally decided she needed someone to talk to, he set aside his tools and approached the princess and young princes.

Bifur gave a half-bow as he stopped near Dís. “Master Bifur, at your service. Is there something I can help you with, milady?”

“I hope you can, Master Bifur.” Dís pulled out a parchment with some sketches and notes on it. “My brother’s birthday is approaching and my sons want to commission a toy forge for him. We can find someone else to do the basic toy work, but the boys insist that it has to glow like a real forge and so I have come here in hopes of finding someone to assist with the gift…”

Bifur nodded, taking the parchment to scan over the idea, obviously drawn by the princes, and gestured Dís over to one of the work stations to discuss the project. Neither noticed the princes drifting away to snoop around the Hall.

At ten, Prince Kíli was physically close to the development of a six or seven-year-old of men. Prince Fíli was only slightly older with his fifteen years being more like eleven or twelve. Though on a maturity level they were younger still. Both boys were curious, quietly sneaking around to peek at what the busy crafters were doing. It was rather inevitable that they’d make their way toward the noisiest worker… Bilbori.

Bilbori was engraving the basic steel mallet she had forged before leaving for her last trip to the Shire. The gentle metallic tapping of her ordinary little hammer against the end of her diamond tipped detail engraver was like a siren call to children that usually played with rowdy, loud abandon and soon the little blond dwarflings had crowded onto the chair Bifur had been using to watch Bilbori work.

Of course, being as young as they were, it wasn’t long before the dwarflings started to fuss and shove at each other, each trying to get a better view of the work. It really was inevitable that one of them would bump the table and result in Bilbori’s engraver slipping and gouging a deep line over the runes she had been making.

Freezing, Bilbori stared dumbly at the ruined work. The sudden lack of tapping drew the boys’ attention and they turned to look at her.

“Is it done?” Fíli asked excitedly. When he didn’t get a response he started to fidget… At least until the piece of metal the halfling had been working on started to vibrate all on its own and glow! “How keen!”

Bilbori’s expression shifted from dumbfounded to horror as the ruined mallet started to vibrate. She was just about to yell the call for cover when she finally registered the young voice and looked up to see the dwarflings where Bifur had been. Thinking fast she dropped her tools and dove over the table as she yelled out, “Cover!”

The princes squawked as they were tackled by the crafter and knocked under the edge of the table just as a horrible, screeching, shattering sound went off as the magic that had been building in the mallet fractured and took the steel with it!

A few minutes of utter stillness took over the Hall. Bifur was covering Princess Dís in much the same way Bilbori was pinning the princes in place. Both were holding their unexpected charges in place to make certain that the explosions were done before anyone got up. Eventually they deemed it safe and everyone rose. The boys raced to their mother and Bifur moved over to check on Bilbori.

Bilbori did not rise immediately, instead she was cringing and pulling up the torn leg of her trousers. She hadn't quite been fast enough in her dive across the table and the exploding mallet had sent shards of steel into her extra hairy calf.

Bifur knelt next to her and inspected the damage. "You've got shards that'll need removing, probably a couple stitches too." He turned to where Princess Dís and the princes were standing. "Pardon, your highness. I need to take my apprentice to the healers. I'll get another master to help you with your project before we go."

"Nonsense, Master Bifur. Take care of your apprentice first. After all, I have no doubt my boys were at fault for the injury." She glanced down at the subdued boys clinging to her skirts. "Waiting is the least we can do as a result."

"Your highness is too kind." Bilbori murmured, bowing her head as Bifur picked her up.

"Thank you, your highness. I'll return as swiftly as I can or send word if I'm delayed." Bifur adjusted his hold so that he wouldn't further damage Bilbori's leg and then carried her from the craft hall.

Dís knelt down once they were gone and tugged her boys attention away from where they were staring with wide, horrified eyes at the puddle of blood left on the floor even as other rune crafters moved to clean up the mess. "Now, boys... How are you going to compensate that poor apprentice for causing them to get injured and damage an item they were crafting?"

- - -

Two weeks later found Bilbori doing something she had been dreading. She was attending a Council meeting alone for the first time. She'd been before, sitting at her mother's side and learning as the eldest and highest ranking women of the community made decisions to be forwarded to the more public mouthpieces that were the male 'rulers' of the kingdom. Dilnobri Jewelbearer had been, as a master jewel crafter and one of the oldest dwarves in the mountain, the third highest ranked member of the Council. The only two ranked higher had been the queens of Erebor and Belegost. It was only because she had been such a high ranking member that Bilbori had been invited to the Council at all. She was too young to be considered based on age and wisdom, and since she was still an apprentice she'd have not been considered based on skill within her craft. She was allowed purely on what knowledge she'd gleaned from her mother's training and the rare way she had of looking at things the few times she'd spoken up during previous meetings that came from her Hobbit heritage. So while she'd have preferred to be making her way to the Rune Crafter Hall, Bilbori was instead heading toward the inner chambers reserved for the Council meetings.

In the antechamber, Bilbori stopped and selected one of the plain masked hoods from a display. Placing it over her head, she fiddled with it until she could see clearly through the eye holes and then moved to take a robe from one of the wall pegs. She draped it over her clothes until she was merely another one of the Council. The masks were all designed to look like the face of Mahal and the robes were all plain. While age, wisdom, and skill were requirements to be admitted, once on the Council they were all equal voices for Mahal's will. She stepped into the chamber.

Inside the room wasn't as eleborate as one would think. It was lit with the same lights the Rune Crafters made for the miners and only tapestries of Mahal and his wife adorned the walls. Central to the room was a large curved table surrounded by identical chairs. The only method they had of ranking the members were the length of time they'd been on the Council. The higher 'ranked' were seated toward the middle while the newer members ranged along the sides toward the door. Bilbori moved to take a seat at the table just to the left of the entrance.

The most excitement most Council meetings had was the opening move. Every member pulled out a dagger and slammed it point first into the table. No one could remember who started the gesture, but it was meant to state that if they were going to attack someone else present than it would be open and everyone would see since their weapon was right there. Of course all of them carried other weapons, but there was almost nothing that dwarves loved more than old traditions.

From there meetings took on a pattern. They started with greetings and the latest juicy gossip, they were women after all. Once that was out of the way issues they had picked up both by being approached outside of meetings, overhearing, and observing were brought up and discussed. Once that was out of the way they opened the doors for new business. New business involved the various males that dealt with the outer world to bring in updates. Mostly this was a simple matter of instructing the menfolk to pass along the decisions made during the earlier parts of the Council. But sometimes...

"Dwalin, son of Fundin, at Mahal's command." The tall dwarf bowed to the Council. "I have only recently been promoted to Guard Captain of Thorin's Halls after the death of Master Gronden." Thorin's Halls was the name the Ereborean refugees had decided on for their portion of the community. "My guards are having particular trouble from a thief frequently seen in both parts of the community. A dwarf known only for wearing black robes and," and here Dwalin sneered, "purple boots. Captain Forswith of the Belegost Guard refuses to meet with me to discuss how to deal with this particularly troublesome thief. I would humbly ask that the Council request Captain Forswith to finally meet with me to get this felon off the streets."

Bilbori had to bite her lip.

After a moment of silence from the women, they leaned toward each other to murmur about the topic. Bilbori found herself leaning toward the lady on her left as the dam spoke, "Is there a thief problem? I thought our guards were better than this..." The dam, obviously from the Belegost side of the community, didn't wait for Bilbori to answer before leaning to speak to the woman on her other side.

When it became clear that no one knew how exactly they should respond, Bilbori cleared her throat. She felt nervous when all eyes turned to fix upon her and she thanked Mahal for the mask.

"Apologies Captain Dwalin, but I believe that this matter is a jest made in poor humor by Captain Forswith." She almost felt bad about this. "The thief with purple boots is well known to the Captain and is, in fact, one of the top trainers of the Belegost militia. He steals only minor things to cause a scene and train the guards in pursuit techniques. Since he has become a trainer, the true crime within the city has dropped dramatically and he almost always returns what he takes."

Dwalin visibly bristled, but she could tell he was angry at the joke played upon him than at her for the information. "Almost always?"

She bowed her head in a slightly conciliatory gesture. "There are unfortunately disreputable merchants and scoundrels within the city and, as such, our trainer is not above correcting wrongs. So yes, some thefts are indeed thefts."

"In light of this information," and Bilbori recognized the voice of Princess Dís from recent events, "perhaps this should be seen as an opportunity to increase the training of the guards within Thorin's Halls. After all, being able to capture Captain Forswith's prized trainer would be an excellent way to increase the talent of the guards."

Thankfully Dwalin heard the unspoken suggestion that it would be a most satisfying way to rub the skills of his guards in Forswith's face. He bowed to the Council. "Thank you for passing Mahal's wisdom." He departed.

The rest of the session was dull, allowing Bilbori to feel smug about the extra trouble she'd essentially just sent her brother's way.

- - -

Dearest Bilbo,

You are always welcome here, my sweet child.

I was saddened to hear of your mother's passing, but I know she loved you all so deeply. I've heard tales of how dwarves are married to their crafts, and yet I know your mother much preferred her children. I cannot begin to imagine how you must feel. It will take time, my sweet. But your heart will mend.

And you should definitely speak with your brother before you do anything. Don't think I haven't seen how close you two are. The only siblings I've seen as close as you are with Nori would be your other brothers Dori and Ori. Think of how you felt with your mother, now as much as it hurts, imagine if you left the mountains angry and something happened to him. He loves you, Bilbo. Don't stay angry.

Like I said before, you are always, always welcome here, my daughter. I look forward to the next time you're in the Shire.

Love, Gerontius.

Chapter Text

Bilbori did end up making up with Nori after all. Her father was correct. She was closest to Nori and he'd just been waiting for her to get her thoughts straightened out with open arms. It wasn't uncommon after that for the siblings to sit around after dinner, just cuddling and being close. Her on Nori's lap, Ori in Dori's lap. Dori would tell stories of their mother since he'd had her the longest and remembered the most. Eventually things moved on and since none of them were jewel crafters, they'd packed up Dilnobri's tools and stored them in case they were ever needed in the future. Ori spent days drawing, shading, and using powders to color a beautiful portrait of their mother that was given place of pride on the wall where her main work table had been. Things were starting to perk back up for the family.

"Those Erebor guards have really picked up their game. I almost got caught twice last night." Nori remarked one morning as he escorted his sister to the Rune Crafter's hall.

Choking, Bilbori burst into laughter so hard she almost fell over and, while her brother was still bewildered, she took off running the rest of the way to the hall.

- - -

At times it was hard to remember that Bilbori was not a full dwarf. Even her brothers who frequently saw her fuzzy feet as she padded around inside their home with her toes bared to the world and her hair fully pulled back to show off her pointy ears. She'd shown signs in her early teens of curves that no longer fit into her slender brother's old clothes, but then her development had halted to a pace that matched that of a young dwarf. Only not. She was nearing forty-five years old, her face still bare, and getting ready to head to the Shire, when her poor brothers learned that their sister wasn't quite as little as she'd been.

"Dori! Nothing fits anymore!" Bilbori's voice called from her room.

"What do you mean nothing fits?" Dori was in the kitchen making a roast pork pie for dinner. Or at least trying too.

"My travel clothes!" The garments she hadn't worn since her last trip to the shire quite a few years before. "I can't get them to close, properly!"

Dori put the pie in the oven, though if he were telling the truth calling that mess a 'pie' was generous. He washed his hands and headed toward his sister's room. "How do they not clo-" Dori's words cut off when he saw the problem and though he flushed slightly, he'd changed her nappies and wasn't about to stop helping just because she'd apparently finished puberty at some point. He bustled over, tugging on the edges of her travel coat and gauging the width of the gap left on her chest. "It doesn't look like something I can repair. We'll have to get you new things."

Bilbori looked indignant. "How'd I miss this, Dori?! I look like a dam that's had twins... Or worse!"

"It would be easy to miss. And I'm as much at fault as you." Dori tutted and helped her out of the jacket. "We'll need to get your measures." He pulled the measuring strip he always carried from his belt pouch. "We had your clothes made for a growing dwarf and we never thought to take into account that you're a hobbit, too. You're smaller than I remember Adamanta being." He added after taking a measure. A frown graced Dori's features as he compared her new measures to what he remembered them being when they had her last clothes made up. "How long have your clothes been pinching?"

Squirming at the look, Bilbori hedged. "I don't know... I get distracted with my craft and the Council."

Dori graced the squirming girl with his best suspicious look. The one normally reserved for Nori. "Well, we might as well get you a whole new wardrobe fixed up then. It's been a while since I've made you anything." That was one of the downsides to dwarves being so into their crafts, they'd forget to replace their clothing until it was falling apart, even one who made clothing as their craft. "And we'll see what we can rig up to hold you down, otherwise no one will fall for the 'no dwarf women' line if you go around without."

Bilbori snorted. "I'll just push my hair back, show off my lack of beard, and say I'm a tiny elf."

"Absolutely not!" Her brother looked scandalized. "Besides..." Dori took her chin in his fingers and tilted her head from side to side. "I do believe you're starting to get a dusting of sideburns!"

"Really?!" Her eyes brightening, Bilbori put her hands to her cheeks and rushed over to peer into her looking glass. She didn't see anything, but Dori had never lied before. She preened, turning her head this way and that, trying to picture herself with some pretty braided sideburns.

"Yes, really." Dori's response was firm. "Now, put on a robe and we'll head to check my stock of cloth. We'll get you something made up and then head to the leatherworks tomorrow to get some more materials."

Of course, being Dori, he went beyond what was needed. Certainly she had a new everyday set that still left her pleasantly gender neutral once she had her new binding in place. And her new travel clothes were comfortable and worn despite being brand new, a bit of magic that Dori no doubt imbued the clothing with, the magic only he seemed to possess though he denied it. And he made her a fancy traditional dwarrowdam dress for any functions she chose to attend as a dam. And a fancy traditional tunic for when she felt like maintaining a gender neutral presence. He would have made her some hobbit style clothing as well, but they agreed that what they remembered might no longer be in fashion and so she'd just have to get outfitted there.

And then there was the beautiful, unique gown he'd created just for her that was unlike anything any dwarrowdam or hobbitess had ever worn.

"Well," said Nori as the brothers admired their sister showing off the new gown. "Think she's done growing? She's overage for a hobbit and under for a dwarf."

"She's barely any taller than the last time I took her measure," Dori remarked. "So it's possible."

"Doesn't matter." Ori said as he helped Bilbori twist her curls up in a way that showed off her family, craft, and social beads while this time not obscuring her ears. If she ever decided to show off both sides of her heritage she'd need a good style. "We'll just get the fun of dressing her up all over again if she grows more."

Bilbori beamed and kissed Ori's cheek.

- - -

All told it was a quick trip to the Shire, there and back again. Bilbori had gone with Nori since they were the quickest and sneakiest of the Ri siblings. Not to mention they were still getting used to each other again after their relatively minor rift. They arrived the day before a coming of age party and then in a swirl of energy, whisked the birthday girl away the very next day before anyone had a chance to even come up with any objections. Not that objections would have worked in this case... A week or so later, they had returned to Belegost.

Standing atop a cliff that overlooked the exterior portion of Belegost, Bilbori hugged the smaller woman beside her. She kissed the side of a curly head. "Welcome to Belegost, Belladonna!"

After a few minutes admiring the view, Nori took both of his sisters by their hands and guided them down the cliff and into Belegost proper.

- - -

"I think you were not quite truthful about the braids, Bilbo." Belladonna declared as she poked at the boots she'd been given. She understood it was a precaution from things she'd not have to worry about in the Shire like random bits of molten steel, Bilbori's scar was not a secret with her bare feet in the Shire, after all, but that didn't mean she had to like it. Understanding and actually facing the things were two different matters entirely. "Everyone I saw on the way in was braided and beaded and I'd see them staring at eachothers heads like they were reading books. And that was just on the way in!"

Bilbori snorted a laugh as she set a plate of stew and a mug of ale in front of her sister. "You were tiny, do you think I wanted to explain dwarf hair culture to you?" She shook her head, beads clacking together. She leaned over and whispered just in Belladonna's ear. "It's one of those things dwarf women tell dwarf men about to keep them occupied while we do the real work." At Belladonna's amused squeak and giggle, Bilbori leaned back. Tapping the side of her nose with a satisfied smile.

Belladonna laughed, curls bouncing. "I'm not quite sure I believe you, but I want to." She took a bite of the stew and made a face at the unfamiliar seasonings. "Who cooked this?"

Plating up her own stew, Bilbori considered. "Well, since you didn't choke immediately I'm going to guess it was Ori before he went to the Scribe's Guild."

Giving her older sister an incredulous look, Belladonna gasped. "Does that mean Dori actually chokes people with food?" The concept was alien to a hobbit.

"Not intentionally. He's actually quite good at cooking. But he can't tell the seasonings apart without the labels and one of Nori's great joys is switching the jars around. It makes mealtimes interesting."

Belladonna was appropriately appalled at the entire idea. "That's horrifying!" She took another bite before adding, "remind me to do that the next time mama loses her glasses before making dinner! I want to see how well she remembers her seasonings!"

Bilbori giggled. "Oh! Imagine doing it when she's baking for the harvest festival!"

The rest of dinner was spent with the young women giggling over prank ideas.

- - -

Dori hummed softly to himself as he drank some tea.

A crash happened in the background.

The humming continued as Dori took a deep, relaxed breath.

The sound of a thud and some awful Khuzdul swears filtered through the air.

Dori admired the soft glow of the distant forges on the cavern wall.

A series of smacks and pained yelps split the serenity.

The teacup was refilled and a cube of sugar was lightly dropped into the warm liquid.

A higher pitched cackle of laughter followed the sound of something shattering.

Dori tilted his head in a polite greeting to a passing dwarf that paused to look toward the house behind him, "Good morning!"

The sound of steel ringing on steel preceded a startled shriek.

Finishing his second cup of tea, Dori finally sighed. He picked up his tea set and headed back into the house. Bypassing the main room, he didn't even bother to look at the trio of occupants inside as he made his way into the kitchen to clean up his dishes.

Belladonna froze guiltily when Dori went by, but she was surprised when he didn't do anything. She glanced at where Bilbori was holding one of her kama, fending off a dagger Belladonna hadn't even known Ori had on his person. The duo were covered in red marks that would probably darken into bruises and focused on each other from their tangle on the floor. Belladonna slipped around them and followed Dori into the kitchen. She gave him a hug from behind as he washed up. "Hi, Dori!"

"Hello, Bella-dear." Dori patted her hand after he finished drying his dishes. "Do I want to know what set them off?"

"I'm not sure what it was exactly. Ori and I were chatting and Bilbo came in and said something in Khuzdul and then they were on each other. I've got enough older brothers back in the Shire to know to get out of the way unless I want to risk a bruise, but I wasn't expecting them to draw blades!" Belladonna's eyes were wide. She looked worried. "They won't actually hurt each other, will they?"

"No, they won't. As much as I hate it, the two lunk-heads are very well trained in their weapons and even when angry they never do more than a light scratch." Raising his voice and angling his head toward the door, Dori added, "and they know better than to get blood on the rugs!"

Belladonna squeaked at the mention of blood.

"Don't you fret, dear." Dori gave Belladonna a hug. "Though we seem all diamonds and silk, we are siblings and sometimes things set us off. Now, let's go see if we can figure out what set them off this time."

Putting on his best 'disapproving parent' look, Dori led the way back into the main room. He was relieved to see both dagger and kama off to the side of the room, but he wasn't impressed with the shade of Ori's face from the headlock Bilbori had him in or the way her face was scrunched up with how Ori had her leg twisted in his grasp. Without a word, Dori stomped over, grasped both Ori and Bilbori by their hair, and clonked their noggins together hard enough to have Belladonna wincing!

Releasing their holds on each other, Ori rolled off to one side and rubbed at his reddened throat.

Flopping over onto her side, Bilbori hitched her leg up and dug her fingers into the viciously cramped muscles.

"What are you two doing scaring your little sister like that?!" Dori demanded. He turned to Bilbori first, since Belladonna had indicated the first strike had been from her.

Bilbori puffed up, pointing a figure accusingly at Ori. "He took my things!"

Ori puffed right back. "What are you talking about!"

"You know what you took!"

"I didn't take..." Ori paused, thinking. "What? Those stupid ink blotters you keep? I needed the texture for a portrait I'm working on! They can be replaced any time!"

Bilbori turned a frightening shade of red as she jumped to her feet and screamed, "Ori! I need those for my bleedings, you can't just take them and not replaced them right away!"

As soon as her words registered Ori's face drained of color and he looked horrified.

Belladonna gave a mortified gasp before quickly dissolving into her familiar, cackling laughter.

Dori rubbed his forehead. He was so done with this family.

Chapter Text

Belladonna had decided to join the great species confusion during her stay in Belegost. When she wasn't in her siblings' house, she bundled up in furs, let one of her siblings braid her curls, and even put on boots! All in all she had a grand time pretending to be a dwarf before she returned to the Shire with her sister. Bilbori had even thought up a fine dwarf name for her sister and Belladonna, daughter of Gerontius, became Beldon, son of Geron. The siblings knew they'd probably have to come up with dwarvish nicknames for their other hobbit siblings after the stories were told.

- - -

"Breathe. Feel the air around you. Don't try to focus on anything, just let the world speak to you."

Bifur's voice was a soft, familiar comfort in Bilbori's ear as he coached her through trying to tap into the hobbit side of her talent. It would have been easier if Bifur had any connection to it himself, but he enjoyed the challenge. This attempt had them working together in the Shire itself, the strongest area where they'd be able to potentially feel out the magic of hobbits and see how it could work with Rune Crafting.

It had been something Bifur had considered ever since their attempts at figuring out hobbit magic within Belegost had stagnated. So when it was time to take Belladonna home, Bifur had volunteered to escort the ladies and remain for a time to work on sensing Bilbori's abilities. In his mind, if they couldn't access the hobbit while buried in the mountain, perhaps the dwarf would doze off in the Shire so that the hobbit would come out to play. Bilbori had always found Bifur's views refreshing.

And it helped that he was a powerful and trustworthy enough warrior that her brothers could be convinced to stay home!

Mostly.

Bilbori was positive she'd seen Nori slinking around once or twice on the journey, but not since they'd entered the borders of the Shire itself and the protection of the Rangers and Bounders.

In any event, Bifur was doing his best to help her feel the magic of the earth that was not stone.

"You've felt the power of the mountain. You know how it thrums against your bones. You've felt it deep, like all dwarves can. The mountains are not here now." Bifur looked around at the rolling green hills of Tuckborough. "There's still something, you can feel it. A power that's buried away when you're in stone." His voice was the same, soothing rumble she'd been listening to for decades. "What does it feel like? What can you feel?"

Focusing, Bilbori let her consciousness drift to the place where she felt the magic when Rune Crafting. The familiar deep pulse that was normally in her bones while within the mountain was indeed missing. She could feel her ears flicking as if trying to detect where the 'sound' of the mountain had gone. Taking her body into consideration, she tried to feel if anything was different than what she was used to feeling. Because it was such a nice day, it actually took her a few minutes to sort out just what was different. There, just beneath her skin. It tingled gently, a steady hum vibrating. And it felt warm, like she was in the sun. So much so that she opened her eyes to make certain she was still in the shade of the maple tree they'd settled under for luncheon and meditation.

"It feels... Warm. Tingly" Bilbori lifted a hand, looking at both sides to inspect the skin. "Like I've been in the sun too long, but... happy?"

"Where does the feeling come from?" Bifur asked curiously.

Bilbori tilted her head, eyes closing once more as her brow furrowed. She tried to trace the sensation. "I don't... Everywhere?"

"Does it change at all?"

Holding her arms out, Bilbori kept her eyes closed as she felt around. "Feels like... Pushing."

"Like you're pushing something?"

The furrow deepened before she gave a shake of her head, curls tossing. "No. Like it's being pushed. From the ground?" Her voice was confused. "And over there?" She extended a hand in the direction of the maple tree.

"Here, keep your eyes closed." Bifur stood, taking hold of Bilbori's hand and pulling her up to her feet. "Keep focusing." He guided her toward the tree, an expectant air about him.

"The pushing feels stronger now."

Bifur noted that the small hairs on her visible forearms had raised along with little chillbumps on her skin. He released his hold, moving around behind her so that he wasn't blocking her from the tree. "Now?"

Bilbori tilted her head. "It split... It's behind me now, too."

To say Bifur was surprised was an understatement. He'd figured plants because hobbits and how green and fertile the Shire was, but to feel him as well? That was definitely a surprise. He almost asked another question, but then he noticed a tremble wash over the halfling. "Okay, let it go, now."

It was harder to let go of the warm tingling sensation than she expected, but years of being smacked over the head to break her focus on the deep pulse within the mountains had trained Bilbori well in letting go of magic. She blinked up at the tree in front of her and then spun in place to see Bifur. Surprised, she wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "Do we have any cookies left in the basket?"

Bifur scoffed. "With you deciding to eat before lessons? No." He held her until she felt steady on her feet and then picked up the basket they'd already packed away their luncheon supplies in. "But I bet there's something warm back at the smial."

"I'm not taking that bet." Bilbori snorted. "It's a hobbit smial, of course there's something warm to eat." After a pause, she asked, "What are the thoughts on today?"

Offering his arm in escort, Bifur walked back toward the smial with the halfling. "I think that you feel life. And more than just the life of a mountain. All life. Perhaps tomorrow you should try crafting some runes onto plants and see what happens."

That definitely sounded intriguing. "I wonder what I could do with some vegetables. Maybe grow them bigger? I'd have to get my smallest burins out..." She remarked on her engraving tools. "Think I could win prizes at the harvest festivals?"

Giving her a half-hug, Bifur laughed. "Of course, you'll soon have the best tomatoes in all the Shire."

- - -

It wasn't until toward the end of that particular visit to the Shire and many charred seeds and burned seedlings later that Bifur and Bilbori considered there might be something with their approach to Rune Crafting plants. Though both found it hilarious when non Took or Brandybuck visitors to the Great Smials would faint when a seed suddenly exploded on the table. The Tooks thought it was amazing and a few had even tried to copy the results without success.

"Maybe..." Bilbori considered. "It's the language."

"Oh?"

"Well, Runes aren't exactly flowing," she started to explain.

Bifur looked genuinely curious, a trademark that was not common among dwarves. Another Rune Master would have thrashed her for any hint of an insult to the language they crafted with. "How do you mean?"

"Well, the letters themselves." Bilbori quickly traced the runes for turning a wheel onto the table with her finger. "See? They're sharp angles and edges and straight lines. Plants don't grow that way. So maybe find a different language?"

"That..." Bifur tapped his fingers on the table. "Makes a great amount of sense. I don't recall Hobbit letters looking any different than normal Westron though, except for embellishments. Let us go ask your father about it."

Picking up her tools and sweeping the ash from some seeds into the nearest bin, Bilbori followed Bifur in search of her father.

It turned out Gerontius didn't know anything about any specific Hobbit languages and it wasn't until one of Adamanta's cousins got them in touch with the Baggins family that they found anything.

"Oh yes." Bingo Baggins said, leaning back in his chair to look at the strangest of his eldest brother's sweetheart's siblings and his dwarf craft master. "Hobbits did indeed have a much different language centuries ago. But no hobbit speaks it these days." At the disappointed looks, he took a sip of his tea and considered. "There are books, however. In the Mathom House over in Michel Delving. Written in old Hobbitish. No one could read it anymore, so they got dropped off there instead of taking up space on book shelves."

Neither dwarf nor half-dwarf could fathom just forgetting your original language. It was beyond comprehension.

"Mayhaps," Bingo said as he poured fresh tea for all of them, "you could teach yourself old Hobbitish from books. That's how Bungo's been learnin' Sindarin hoping to impress your sister."

After a pleasant tea, which was only interrupted once by an angry, screeching Belladonna running through the room as she and Bungo went about their strange courtship dance, Bifur and Bilbori bid Bungo farewell and headed toward Michel Delving.

- - -

"What is a Mathom?" Bifur asked after they got directions to the Mathom House upon reaching Michel Delving.

Bilbori's lips twitched. "Dust gatherer."

"Wha-" Bifur's words cut off as they entered the Mathom House and looked around.

There were shelves and display racks everywhere. The items on display ranged from rusty kitchen knives with plaques claiming they were from the original settling of the Shire to swords that glinted and a golf club that proudly stated it had belonged to Bandobras Took. A whole table without any kind of security was covered in what was clearly gold jewelry decorated with various gems and another table with silver jewelry. There were old suits of armor propped up next to stacks of delicately painted crockery with a sign saying it had been a gift from some human lord once upon a time and elfish arrows dangling from hooks in the ceiling. Shelves and shelves of books lined the walls. And indeed, the entire lot had a layer of dust covering it.

Nestled in the back of one of the more dimly lit rooms was an elderly hobbit, snoring in his chair next to a large, opened ledger. There was no one else in the building at all.

Bifur turned an incredulous look around at the selection. He saw all the wealth and history just ignored without guards and... Mahal wept! There weren't even any locks on the doors or windows! "Oh!" Bifur staggered, looking around at one atrocity after another. "I think... Air... I need air."

Bilbori, trying not to laugh, carefully patted Bifur on the back. "Breathe, Master Bifur. You know hobbits value different things."

Once he was certain he wasn't going to do anything as unseemly as faint, Bifur straightened up. "I think..." He caught sight of a silver spear still stained with blood, a bit of rust visible where the steel head met the wood shaft. "Nope. I'm going to wait outside. You speak with the hobbit about the books."

Using what strength he could gather, Bifur stumbled out of the Mathom House and into the fresh air.

Bilbori at least gave him the dignity of waiting until he was outside before exploding in a fit of giggles.

- - -

It took Bilbori five years before she and Ori decided they were as fluent as they could get on the ancient Hobbit language with only books to guide them. The only time they hadn't spent working on it between various other daily activities had been during the sudden rush of visits to the Shire as several of their Hobbit siblings decided they were ready to get married. The dwarves were fascinated since marriage wasn't nearly as formal among their kind. The only real weddings they had were when royalty decided to marry and then it was mostly a big political show. All four of the Ris attended every hobbit wedding they were invited to, regardless of how close they were to the Took relative that sent the invitation.

During one of the weddings, Bilbori and Ori were introduced to some of the Rangers. And the Rangers knew Sindarin. So naturally the two word-wise siblings inquired about lessons. The Ranger gave them a small Sindarin book of poems and offered to bring them more books from Rivendell as well as speak with them when they had chance to meet. He also told them that Rangers were often in Bree and would be willing to exchange lessons for stories if asked politely.

And so the next several years involved many visits to Bree.

One midsummer party hosted by her father, Bilbori was chasing after her toddling nephew Jago, Belladonna calling to them as she followed, when she caught the boy whacking a toy sword into the legs of a tall person wearing grey robes. She didn't recognize this person and stopped, surprised.

Belladonna ran up, laughing as she scooped Jago into her arms. "Ha! I win!" For they had been making a game of catching the toddler together. She then noticed the tall person as well, but instead of being confused, she beamed. "Gandalf! Lovely to see you! Oh! Where are my manners, this is Bilbo and Jago!" She bobbed her head twice vaguely, never once clarifying which was which. Then they heard their little sister calling in the distance. "Must go, do enjoy the party!" She took off running with the toddler.

"Jago! Bella! Bilbo!" The distant voice of Donnamira could be heard. "Come on!"

"Pleasure." Bilbori nodded her head and took off after her sibling and nephew, not sparing the old man another glance.

Gandalf considered the departing hobbits curiously, but before he could do more than consider it, he found another cluster of Took energy distracting him quite thoroughly.

- - -

A little more than ten years after her first attempt at rune crafting seeds, Bilbori crept slowly and silently into the infirmary while carrying a small basket. It was the middle of the night and she had only just returned to Belegost from her most recent trip to the Shire. She moved swiftly, checking one room after another before finding one with a couple of dwarves sleeping next to a familiar still figure lying on a bed.

Her feet bare to aid in her stealth, the halfling lass edged over to the side of the bed. She gazed down at the dwarf, seeing the broken off piece of a weapon peeking from the bandages. Carefully placing the basket onto the bedside table, she knelt beside the bed. One hand over her mouth to stifle any sounds she might make, she slowly reached out and brushed her fingers against the unconscious dwarf's cheek. When he didn't so much as twitch from the touch, she was glad she had preemptively covered her mouth as it prevented her sudden sob from waking the two dwarves sleeping nearby. She took his cool hand in hers.

After a good long while she stood again, bending to press a kiss on the side of his forehead opposite his new addition. Bilbori murmured against his bandages. "Please wake up, Master." She tightened her grip on his fingers. "Please..."

Another couple of minutes drifted by before she stood. Taking one last look at the trio of dwarves, she left as quietly as she had arrived. The only sign of her late night visit was when Bifur's cousins found a small basket of ripe tomatoes on the table next to their cousin's bed.

Two weeks later, Bifur woke up different.

He was never able to return to the Rune Crafters Guild.

Chapter Text

When Bifur'd first woken up from his injury, he hadn't known anything. He couldn't walk, talk, and could barely move. It wasn't until many months had gone by that he was finally able to move around and communicate. His hands had shaken too much to hold the finely pointed burins required for Rune Crafting though and the focus required to channel the magic into the runes made his head ache. His ability to communicate was hindered and, despite his best efforts, most of the time he couldn't tell one person from the next.

Despite all of this, Bilbori visited him as often as she could. She made certain to visit him when he was alone so that she wouldn't confuse him when there were too many people around. She didn't want him to be overwhelmed. Bilbori always left him with some of the vegetables she was slowly crafting to be better and better thanks to his help. She had yet to see any sign that he recognized her, but she retained hope that one day he would.

Bilbori was, thankfully, far enough along in her training that the loss of her Master would not hinder her studies. Thanks to Bifur's careful work with her, the other masters were willing to assist her when her self studies required aid and they were willing to supervise her experimental works as long as she did them while they were already in the crafthall. The only problem was that Bilbori really missed Bifur. She was grateful that he still lived at least. She didn't want to have another moment like when she'd lost her mother...

Which reminded her... Bilbori's father was no longer young by Hobbit standards. He was still spry, but according to her siblings he was already a decade older than any hobbit they'd seen pass on to the golden gardens.

With the loss of her craft master and the aging of her father, Bilbori started to visit the Shire more often. Thus she was there when Belladonna had her first and, what would ultimately be, only child. They named him Drogo.

- - -

Bilbori inspected baby Drogo as she held him, tilting his pointy little ears and fluffing the fur on his tiny feet. Her other nieces and nephews had been older when she'd finally gotten to see them. Drogo was only hours old and she was surprised at how similarly he looked to the sketches Ori had drawn of her as a baby. She was surprised she didn't look more hobbit-like than she did.

"So when are you going to settle down and have some babies, Bilbo?" Belladonna asked from where she lay, exhausted, on her bed. She'd sent Bungo out of the house over an hour ago when he wouldn't stop fussing.

Bending down to rub her nose against Drogo's, Bilbori scoffed with a smile. "Nori'd kill anyone that touched me. I'm not even of age yet by dwarf standards."

Belladonna laughed. "Oh that's right! It's hard to remember you're still considered a tween when you were already twelve before I was born." She smiled fondly, watching her older sister tickle the baby. "You must have your eyes on someone back in the mountain though, right? Or are you hoping for a nice hobbit lad?"

"No one has caught my eye at this time. I may end up being wed to my craft." Bilbori was enamored of little Drogo when he gave a mighty yawn and she cuddled him close.

The new mother frowned. "That's a shame. Seems like you'd make a great mother."

Bilbori looked at her sister, amused. "Bella... My mother was craft-wed."

Belladonna's mouth dropped open. "Oh! I just... Well, I guess that explains why neither you nor the others spoke of a father back in the mountain... Oh dear. I didn't know... Is that a thing dwarves can do?" She sounded embarrassed, scandalized, surprised, and thrilled all at the same time.

"Of course it is!" Bilbori laughed quietly, nuzzling Drogo where he'd fallen asleep in her arms. "Aulë may yet guide me to craft a child. I may even decide to call it my own."

The hobbit sat up better and leaned forward. "What's this? You may call it your own?"

It was Bilbori's turn to sound surprised. "You haven't heard? I thought certainly you'd have picked it up. But I guess I never got around to asking about how hobbits did things..." She shook her head before going imparting dwarf 'secrets' on to her sister. "Aulë made certain that there would always be a steady dwarf population. So when the time is right, a dam will hear the sound of mithril being forged in a smithy. She'll follow the sound and find the perfect mate to bring forth a child that will make the dwarf race better." She planted a kiss against Drogo's brow, inhaling that new baby smell.

Belladonna looked stunned. When she finally recovered enough, she couldn't help but ask, "What if she doesn't want to have a child?"

"Not everyone does. But a lot of dwarves do and anyone that does will apply to the dam crafting the babe. The child is always given to the one that will love and care for it best. Sometimes that's one of the ones that crafted the babe, more often it is not. That's how mother knew to find father."

"But..." Belladonna seemed unable to grasp the matter. "She wouldn't be married... Doesn't that hurt her reputation?"

Bilbori scoffed, giving her sister a disappointed look. "Did my mother seem like she had a bad reputation?"

Belladonna was quick to shake her head in the negative.

"Dwarves are crafters. Making a babe is the hardest craft there is. Why in the world would we look down on someone able to craft new life?"

"I didn't think of it like that. I'm sorry, Bilbo." Belladonna said in a small voice.

"Apology accepted." Bilbori beamed at the new mother. "You didn't know. To me this thing hobbits, men, and elves seem to have requiring marriage to have babes is strange." She didn't completely understand or even know just how bad it could be. "Hardly any dwarves get married anyway and that's usually just the royal families."

Belladonna quirked her head, curious. "Why only the royal families?"

"Politics, from what I understand. No one in our house has marriage prospects, so we don't bother to talk about it much. I just remember Ori teasing Nori about it once when Nori was talking about a sweetheart and Nori said, 'Do I look like I want to get into politics?'" Bilbori shook her head when suddenly Belladonna's stomach rumbled. "Oh!"

Belladonna blushed.

"Here," carefully handing Drogo to his mother, Bilbori stood. "Let me go get you something to eat. Then I'm going to check on that husband of yours."

"Thank you, Bilbo."

- - -

Bilbori sang a soft hobbit song as she sat next to Bifur. The older dwarf was munching on a stalk of celery that she'd brought on this particular visit while she taught him the tune. The song was one she'd only just learned on her most recent visit to the Shire; a gentle lullaby. When the song was done, she sang it again. After a time, Bifur made a gesture that vaguely looked like 'good girl,' before he patted her hand and gestured toward the door. Understanding, she rose. Lightly pressing her forehead to his, she squeezed his shoulder and then headed off until her next visit.

- - -

A couple of years later and Bilbori was finally of age by the standards of both of her races. She and her brothers sat down in the records hall to design her official mark, the sigil she'd sign next to her name on important documents and etch into the work she did. Once they'd picked the mark, the records keepers would verify it and then send it along with all other new marks to be added to the records in other dwarven kingdoms with the official yearly updates. After that was done the siblings all went to the nearest pub and got drunk on ale, wine, and mead.

Her brothers gift her a fancy burin that the tip could be easily removed and changed out with others in various sizes. They even gave her a set of tiny detail tips the points of which are various gemstones.

That was also the year that Bilbori started crafting a marriage bead. She didn't have any plans to use it, but everyone tended to make one eventually just in case. She didn't have any design set in stone yet, but she knew she wanted to do something special and so many things from gemstone language to magic runes were considered. It would be a long time before she finished the thing. Which was good, because she didn't want to get married.

Bilbori did still look, though.

She couldn't really help it. Ever since she'd talked with Belladonna she'd wondered. What was it like to be touched? And so she'd venture off to various gathering spots around Belegost, curious.

"I hope you're not planning what I think you're planning." Nori said, sitting down beside her at the table in the crowded pub.

"I'm an adult," was Bilbori's response.

Nori scoffed, but didn't argue the point. "I didn't want to have to kill anyone this year..."

"It might be my craft." She smirked into her mug while he sputtered at the idea!

"Goat dung." He was both impressed and disturbed at the idea. "Your head's swimming with runes."

Bilbori narrowed her eyes in consideration. "I wonder if painted runes could work. The right thing runed onto someone's body..." Of course her real thoughts were along similar, though different, lines.

That was definitely a disgusted sneer aimed at her head.

"You haven't heard anything out of the ordinary lately, have you?" That was as close as Nori would ever come to actually asking her if she was hearing Mahal's Gift.

"No. And I've visited the healers recently."

He nodded. "At least you're being smart about it. So then, what's your type? Gotta know what craft hall I'm going to poison after all..."

Bilbori laughed.

- - -

Later that same year Bilbori was working on some projects in the Rune Crafters' Guild Hall. The particular project she was working on was a model for an a way to move swiftly between the larger mines that sprawled among the immense network of caverns within the Blue Mountains. Perhaps even all the way to the city of Nogrod where the majority of the Firebeard clan resided. She was working quietly in one of the far corners of the large main room within the hall when out of the corner of her eye she saw someone she somehow wasn't expecting to see walk into the building.

Prince Fíli.

It had been decades since she'd seen him at all that she only recognized him due to the familiar mark of Durin burned into his leather vambraces and guessed which of the younger Durin sons he was based on his coloring as they'd never been introduced. She couldn't help but wonder why he was there at all. In fact, she wondered if even he knew why he was there with the way he was shifting from foot to foot and looking uncomfortable.

After a few minutes of him just standing there, Bilbori mentally shrugged and went back to drawing runes on a piece of parchment. The designs looked vaguely like engineering blueprints that someone dropped an ancient text onto. The next time she looked around her spine felt stiff and there are fewer dwarves within the hall. She rose, stretching her back with a satisfying series of cracks, and started to clear up her mess. She was halfway to the door when her steps paused.

Fíli was hunched over a table with one of the masters seated at his side. There were several small squares of soft practice clay in front of him and in his hand was one of the hall's general purpose burins.

Bilbori couldn't help but be interested. At his age she'd have thought he'd already decided on his craft. Perhaps it was an Ereborean thing. Or maybe a royalty thing. The more she considered it, the more she figured it was a royalty thing to be familiar with all crafts. Either way it wasn't her business. So with a mental shrug, she quietly left the craft hall and headed home for the evening.

- - -

Though she was old enough now that she probably could have gotten away with insisting on making the journey to the Shire on her own, Bilbori was glad for the company as she and Ori made their way toward Hobbiton. They had just recently left Bree and were planning on stopping there to give Bungo a book he had requested before they headed down to Tuckborough. The air was surprisingly cold for the Shire and neither she nor her brother were particularly looking forward to the week it would take them to get to their sister's smial.

"We should have bought ponies while we were in Bree." Bilbori sulked along. "We make this trip all the time. Why do we not just have ponies anyway?"

Ori rolled his eyes. "We don't make the trip that often and you know it. Besides, ponies cost a lot in room and board. And I don't think there's a field big enough for them in the mountains." He shaded his eyes from the dim sun filtering through the clouds as he peered up at the sky. "Are the clouds getting thicker?"

"Probably." She shrugged, uncaring of the weather. "Maybe we can get a battle ram if we can't get a pony."

That startled a laugh out of her brother. "Can you imagine charging through the Shire on a battle ram? I don't think the poor hobbits would survive the shock!"

Bilbori snickered. "All those snooty little hobbits fainting dead away."

As the siblings giggled to each other over fainting hobbits, each trying to find a more dramatic and silly reason for the fainting, the first snowflakes started to fall.

Chapter Text

By the time the Fell Winter ended both Ori and Bilbori were exhausted and worn thin. They didn't require as much food as the hobbits so they had easily given up all but a single small meal a day in favor of letting their siblings have more. They had spent the first part of the winter in Bag End with Belladonna, Bungo, and Drogo. Once the weather had seemed to clear up some they'd moved on to the Great Smials where the rest of their Took family lived. But once the horns of Buckland had sounded... Well, both of their weapons saw a lot of blood after that.

"Wolf meat tastes disgusting." Ori noted, gnawing on a piece of wolf jerky that had survived the winter and was part of their small stock of food to see them back to the mountain.

"Maybe one of us should pick up a bow and see if we can become a great hunter." Bilbori chewed on a piece as well, rudely talking with her mouth full as they walked. Both were eager to get home and see how their brothers had fared during the winter.

Ori nodded. "Right, you can do that. My catapult's good enough for rabbits." Not that they'd seen any rabbits since the previous fall.

"Maybe I'll work on throwing my kama. Nori's been wanting me to do that anyway."

A few miles later they were still walking and both were tired.

"Maybe we should have stayed at least until the first spring harvests and gotten a full meal under our belts."

"Nah. Poor hobbits are even thinner than us for all they got thrice as much food. They don't need us emptying their pantries."

"Think we should actually try to hunt on the way back? We might find some game around somewhere."

"Why not? Imagine us bringing back something to shove in Dori's face that we aren't helpless."

Bilbori knew that Dori's continuous babying of Ori continued to chafe. She also knew that most of the time Ori adored the attention. She spent so much time traveling between the Shire and Belegost that Dori's overbearing nature would drive her insane because she just wasn't used to it. "Sounds like a plan!" She chirped.

In the end, they didn't hunt anything at all. That wasn't to say they didn't bring anything back, but being hunted by a few emaciated wolves that were probably leftover from the packs that had attacked the Shire wasn't the same as hunting. They did get fresh meat, even if it was wolf, and they harvested the corpses for what would survive the rest of the trip back to Belegost, but aside from that, neither really proved their hunting ability on that journey. The pelts did at least end up making a nice blanket when they finally got home and they were both proud when they huddled under it together sipping Dori's tea and letting him and Nori both fuss over them.

- - -

"Father misses you." Bilbori remarked from where she was working on a set of runed cylinders for the carts that were being built for swift travel around the mountain. "He wanted to send you some of that lettuce you love so much, but they were bad by the time we'd made it to the borders of the Shire. I guess they don't travel well."

"I don't mind. Thank him for me, please." That was mostly what Bifur said. The ancient Khuzdul that left his lips was not as familiar to the modern dwarves, but it was close enough that she got the gist of the comment. It helped that he used the Iglishmêk hand signs as well. "Are you going to stay and meet my cousins, finally?"

"No." Bilbori smiled impishly. "I like them thinking you've got a fairy friend that brings you vegetables." Though she felt the slim carrots she'd picked up on the way to the Ur residence was a poor offering compared to what she usually brought.

Bifur chuckled fondly and ruffled her curls. It wasn't much longer though before his mind slipped away to a different time and she packed up her things and excused herself.

- - -

Despite the refugees of Erebor having been in Belegost nearly all of Bilbori's life, the two clans did not mix as often as one might assume. They still had separate royal families and most of the Ereboreans lived in one side of the city that had become known as Thorin's Halls. Since her own craft hall and the main market were both in the Belegost side of the city, Bilbori rarely had cause to venture into Thorin's Halls. Unless she was visiting Ori while he was working, that is.

Ori was still a journeyman of the scribe's guild. This was not due to a lack of talent, no. Ori had talent in spades. But there were a lot of scribes and, as such, it took a genuinely impressive masterwork to be granted a mastery in that craft. Ori had been apprenticed to Master Balin of Thorin's Halls for as long as Bilbori could remember and so, when she went to visit her brother during work, that was where she had to go. It was on one such visit to Thorin's Halls that she learned probably the best opening to a joke that she'd ever heard...

Shrieks and shouts alerted Bilbori to a disturbance. The startled and scandalized sounds were quickly followed by hoots and catcalling and she looked up in time to see three dwarves racing as fast as their legs could carry them out of the archives where Ori worked. A blonde, a brunette, and a redhead... All three laughing and very, very nude!

The trio of youngsters, for only tweens on dares would do such a fool thing, raced down the corridor and were soon out of sight.

Utterly flustered at being subjected to naked hairy backsides, Bilbori scuttled into the archives and went searching for her brother. When she found him, Ori was kneeling down and picking up a scattering of loose parchment.

"Please, please for the love of Mahal tell me there's a good punchline to follow 'Three dwarves, a blonde, a brunette, and a redhead raced down a corridor naked...'" Bilbori couldn't conceal the begging in her tone.

Ori scowled impressively, though his face was bright red. "I'm not sure what those three were up to, but it seemed to involve racing into the archives, kissing everyone, and then racing out again. I'm positive Balin's going to petition to Princess Dís to have their hides flayed off and displayed in the great hall."

Looking around, Bilbori burst into laughter at seeing the impressive shade of purple Balin had taken. "Oh I have to tell Nori! He'll find out what happens easily!" She shoved the basket of ham and scones she'd brought into her brother's arms and took off out of the hall.

"No! Bori, wait!"

But she was already gone.

- - -

Bilbori never really spent time with Dori anymore. It wasn't that she didn't love him, she did. He just had a tendency to barricade himself in silks and brocades while affixing jewels and metal to cloth in a way that somehow looked natural and no one else had managed to duplicate. It didn't help that she ventured off to the Shire any time the mood struck. They'd just naturally never been as close as she was to her other brothers. Ori's continued work on a book about hobbits allowed him to make trips to the Shire with her when he could and she'd always been closest to Nori. Somehow, even though they lived in the same house, she barely saw her eldest brother.

Dori sighed, face almost pressed against the satin he was working with when he should have been sitting down to dinner. "Bori..."

"Hmm?" Bilbori had her face pressed into his hair, leaning heavily on her brother's back and forcing his nose to be nearly buried in his work.

"I'm trying to work, Bori."

She grinned. "I'm not stopping you."

Shaking his head, Dori reached up and behind. He grasped the halfling's shoulders and pulled even as he stood so that she was dangling over his shoulder. "Alright, trouble. What do you want?"

Bilbori giggled and squirmed slightly. She pecked a kiss to his cheek before presenting a book she'd been holding. "Story, Dori?"

Dori's heart melted. Even as he carried her out of his workroom and into the den, he asked, "Do we have to rescue Ori from Balin?"

"Always." She declared.

Soon enough Bilbori found herself cuddled up to Dori's side while he read her a story as if she were still a dwarfling instead of the near ninety-year-old dam she was. It didn't take long before both Ori and Nori drifted into the room for storytime as well and soon all four of the siblings were cuddled together while Dori read.

- - -

"I think... I'm going to move to the Shire."

Bilbori's visits to the Shire had lessened since her father finally passed at the ripe old age of one hundred and thirty. Apparently he had been the oldest hobbit on record. In any event, she hadn't been there in a long time and the news at breakfast was startling to say the least.

"Why?" Ori gave his sister a betrayed look.

She frowned in return. "Belladonna hasn't been feeling well since Bungo died. She's not sure how much longer she can hold on and Drogo isn't old enough to be on his own just yet. The Bagginses are jerks and the Tooks would accidentally eat the poor dear alive with how proper he's gotten."

Dori considered his youngest sibling with a shrewd gaze. "That's not the only reason you want to go, is it?"

"No." Bilbori flushed.

"It's not some hobbit lad, is it?" Nori menacingly twirled the knife he'd been using to butter a roll.

"Absolutely not!" And she couldn't help turning redder when a faint memory of a muscular backside racing down a corridor flickered across her vision. She moved on before her blush melted her face. "I just, I've gotten an idea for my masterwork and I think it would be easier to work on in the Shire."

That news received a mixed reaction. Ori brightened up, excited at the prospect. Nori remained skeptical, certain she had some hobbit lad she didn't want to tell them about. And Dori felt as if his baby were growing up. Moving out, wanting to attain her mastery... Oh dear.

"That's wonderful!" Ori exclaimed. "Are you going to give us a hint or leave it a surprise?"

"Definitely a surprise!"

"To work on your masterwork? Are you certain? I remember you mentioning a certain Brandybuck the last time you were there..."

Bilbori gaped at her brother. "Are you serious, Nori? Gorbulas is the same age as Drogo! A tween! And I mentioned him because he and Drogo had poured moonshine into the cider barrel at the fall festival that year and gotten half the hobbits in attendance drunk! If anything, Drogo's the one with a fondness for Brandybucks!"

Nori paused, remembering the tale of that mischief. "Oh, right... I remember now. You said Drogo'd gotten his hide tanned and been forbidden from visiting Buckland again for over a year. Good lad, needs work though if he's getting caught."

Though he'd been working himself into a right proper fret, Dori had to facepalm at the approval in Nori's tone. "Are you sure this is what you want to do, Bori?"

Gazing up at her brother, Bilbori gave him a sweet smile. "Yes. It'll be good for me. I'll get to work on my mastery and Drogo will be able to stay in his smial without being harassed by relatives." She'd always been particularly fond of Drogo.

Dori, who remembered being fond of Ori in that same way, returned the smile. He had no doubt that if hobbits parented the same way dwarves did that Bilbori would have petitioned to be Drogo's parent as soon as she'd met him. It would do her good to get to parent him for a while. "Well alright then, dear. See if you can't get him to visit sometime. The lad would do well if he'd get out of the Shire sometime. All hobbits would at that... Do you know when you plan to leave?"

"I need to pack and buy a cart... I might actually get that pony I've been wanting." She teasingly stuck her tongue out at Ori who returned the gesture. Then she became subdued, "and say goodbye to Master Bifur."

It wasn't until she said it that she realized just how few dwarves she socialized with enough that she'd want to say goodbye.

"What about the Council?" Nori inquired.

Bilbori gave an exhausted sound and slumped in her chair. "Ugh. It would be a vacation. Prince Thorin's practically scheduled to come in at precisely the same time of week over the same thing again and again these days."

"I still don't know why he doesn't just allow his advisors to crown him. His father's been missing for decades," mused Dori.

Bilbori knew from Council gossip and she suspected from the way that Ori was suddenly so interested in his eggs that he knew as well. And Nori knew, because he was Nori. But none of them bothered to enlighten their brother for different reasons. Bilbori didn't because she didn't want to talk about Thorin's insane idea of gathering an army to march to Erebor. Nori for pretty much the same reason. He did work with the Belegost Militia every day, after all. It was his friends that would be on the front lines. And Ori didn't speak up because he was probably under some scribe oath not to talk about what went on that wasn't part of the official records. So poor Dori was left out.

"I think the hardest part about moving will be..." Bilbori was quick to change the subject, pausing dramatically until she had all three of her brothers looking expectantly at her. "Battling with Ori over what books I can take!"

The siblings all tensed at the words and, with hardly a breath, Ori and Bilbori were both up from the table and racing toward the nearest bookshelf.

Nori laughed.

"Oi! You two come and finish your breakfast!" Dori fussed after the two who had somehow managed to already tumble to the floor in a vicious wrestling bout over books of all things!

- - -

Like the first time she went to the Shire, all three of her brothers escorted her on what was potentially her last time making the trip. They were subdued, but still a merry bunch as they took turns riding in the cart with their things. When they arrived at Bag End, they could see why Bilbori had decided as she did. Belladonna looked awful and Drogo was worn thin trying to tend to his mother and take care of the estate. Her brothers ended up staying for a month before they finally said their goodbyes and returned to Belegost.

Chapter Text

Running her fingers through his curls, Bilbori leaned down to kiss Drogo's sleeping brow. They'd just had an exhausting few days culminating in Belladonna's funeral and she'd allowed the tween to get completely sodden drunk at the Farewell Party, staying by his side to make certain he didn't get sick or do something stupid. Once he'd passed out she carried him back to Bag End and tucked him into bed. Once she was certain he wouldn't wake up with any body aches, though his head would probably kill him in the morning, she placed a glass of water on his nightstand and headed back outside.

It wasn't until she was almost back to the gathering that Bilbori realized how few of her hobbit siblings hadn't died of old age. Her siblings were almost all gray and wrinkled, stooped with age and complaining of joint pains. Their spouses were also getting older. The younger siblings of spouses showed signs of aging as well. Her nieces and nephews were almost all grown. Some of her nieces and nephews even had children now! And here she was...

Bilbori stopped just outside the range light of the bonfire they'd made in the field with the Party Tree. She looked down at her hands, the only difference since she'd hit thirty-three was that she had more callouses and some scars from her burins slipping. She knew if she'd seen a mirror that she'd have only a few lines on her face. Her curls still held their natural color, lightened only slightly from the sun since she spent more time outside in the Shire than she did back in Belegost.

She had known, on some level, that she wouldn't age the same as her hobbit family. But it had never really hit her. Even though her father had only been one hundred and thirty at his death, he still hadn't really seemed old. Though thinking back he had been exceptionally wrinkled and gnarled with age. But even compared to that the oldest dwarves she knew only looked like that the last year or two of their lives... And they were always over two-hundred. She wondered, still looking down at her hands, how long she'd live. A hundred? A hundred and fifty? Would she age like a dwarf but die like a hobbit? Would she get more and more wrinkled and die at two hundred and fifty looking like a crumpled husk?

Bilbori shuddered.

"Bilbo!"

Startled, she looked over at the approaching hobbit. She couldn't remember his name off the top of her head. He was someone related to her sister Donnamira by marriage in some way. Decades of interacting with hobbits and she still couldn't keep the family trees straight. Belladonna used to tease her that she'd never be able to pass as a hobbit without being able to recite every tree from memory.

"Last thing Bella would want is you standin' there in the dark on your lonesome, Bilbo." The hobbit looked at her consideringly. "Come on. You need a drink just like that lad of yours."

Bilbori's mind was blank as she stared at the hobbit. He didn't waver though, holding a hand out to her and prepared to drag her off to the nearest keg. Blank... Blank. Oh! "Thanks, Blanco." She took his hand.

"Don't you fret about it, Bilbo. No one wanted to see you standing there so lost and sad." Blanco pulled her along, pouring her a mug of the stronger mead mixed with Greenhand Moonshine Belladonna had loved. "I'm sure one of your siblings would have come over, but they're already halfway to sloshed. Besides, it gives me a chance to see if I can out drink a dwarf."

Though her being only half-hobbit wasn't exactly a secret, it was one of those things that wasn't spoken of except by the Tooks. She couldn't help the surprised look she gave him. Blanco just smiled, seemingly pleased with himself.

"Well, Mister Blanco... I think that's a mighty fine idea, right there." Bilbori tipped her mug and drank deeply while he laughed and joined.

- - -

The last time Bilbori's head had felt this bad was the day after her dwarf coming of age party. She blinked at the wall of her room, wondering how she had gotten there. She remembers teaching her rowdy Took and Brandybuck nephews some dirty dwarven drinking songs. Dancing. There was definitely dancing. She's pretty sure she'd used a throwing knife to get some apples out of a tree at one point.. Maybe? She remembers throwing her knife and sometime after that there were apples. Was that why her arm was numb? Did she throw the knife too hard? She moved to roll out of bed and her arm was stuck. Well, she couldn't remember that happening in bed before.

Bilbori closed her eyes, turning her head to the side and waiting for it to settle from the movement before she opened them. Yup, that was a Blanco in her bed. She lifted her head. Correction, a naked Blanco in her bed. She let her head drop heavily back onto her pillow, wincing at the ache.

"You awake then?" Blanco asked, obviously having already been awake.

"No." Bilbori decided, letting her eyes close again.

"A'righty. Cause, I've been up for a while and had some time to think," he sounded just as pleasant as he had the night before. "And I'm pretty sure that you being half-dwarf isn't the real secret you wild Tooks have been keeping from the rest of the Shire."

Bilbori was positive he sounded like he was grinning. She used her awake and unstuck hand to cover her mouth for a yawn. "It's too early for this." She felt Blanco shift and raise up, turning to face her.

"Really? Because, I was kind of hoping we could talk about it... You know, just a bit."

That was definitely a soft hobbit hand moving up the inside of her thigh. She opened her eyes, meeting Blanco's gaze. He definitely looked eager. She tried to remember more about him, but her mind was still slightly muddled from alcohol and sleep.

"Or we could not talk about it."

Bilbori drew in a sharp breath when his fingers drifted high enough to graze at the apex of her thighs. She couldn't hold back a moan when he moved his hand higher still and dipped unerringly within her curls.

"I just figured, might be a good conversation to have, you know. Before your boy woke up with the morning afters."

"Well," gasped Bilbori. "I suppose it would be a good talk to have..."

Blanco grinned and dove down for a kiss.

- - -

Bilbori did eventually find out just how her sister Donnamira was related to Blanco. Donnamira's husband was Hugo Boffin and Hugo's youngest sister Primrose was Blanco's wife... A wife that had died almost four years before Bilbori had moved to the Shire. She couldn't help but feel mixed emotions over the fact. Ultimately though, she was pleased. Because Blanco made sure she was pleased. At least twice. Every time they had a chance for the next two or so years.

They had ended their affair amicably after Blanco's then eighteen-year-old daughter Lobelia had caught them in the act one day. Lobelia was, like most of the Shire, still somehow under the assumption that Bilbori was a man despite having caught them and so she never spoke a word of what she saw to anyone except for her father. That didn't stop her from disliking Bilbori with a passion though! The girl made sure to be as catty as she could get away with any time she was forced into Bilbori's presence. Of course, having grown up with Nori and Ori, Bilbori was more than up to giving the little tween worse than the girl gave. If Lobelia wasn't so set on being angry, she could actually like the girl and see them being friends.

Lobelia's attempts to get Bilbori called 'Mad Took' were met with laughter by all and sundry. After all, the Tooks were all 'mad.' The only thing Lobelia did manage to stick were the rumors that gained Bilbori the title of 'Confirmed Bachelor.' But neither Bilbori nor anyone who knew the truth could stop snickering behind their handkerchiefs anytime that was mentioned.

- - -

"Uncle Bilbo!" Drogo's voice rang across the market.

"What?" Bilbori yelled back from where she was inspecting a tray of apricots. She'd have normally just grabbed the nearest ones, but hobbits were weird about wanting people to take the time to find the perfect ones. The hobbitess selling the fruit looked scandalized at the yelling.

"Uncle Bilbo!" Drogo wasn't as loud that time, slamming in to her side. She was thankfully solid enough that she only rocked slightly from the weight of sudden hobbit tween hitting her. Drogo panted, out of breath. While he caught his breath, she paid for half a dozen apricots and added them to her basket. "Odo Proudfoot was saying that you brought some treasure from the dwarf hills and I know you didn't, but I do know that you've got something. So I was just wondering if you had something I could borrow for a few minutes so I could show Odo what dwarf treasure looks like! Please?!"

Bilbori blinked at the fast speech, taking a few minutes to decipher the rushed words. The hobbitess at the fruit stall looked curious at the idea of dwarf treasure as well. "Well, I don't really carry treasure on me. You know that, Drogo."

Both Drogo and the hobbitess looked disappointed.

Sad hobbits had to be the most evil thing every created. Bilbori mentally sighed. "But..." Both her audience members gasped. "If you're very, very careful with it..." Bilbori reached behind her, hand moving under the back of the jacket she wore over her waistcoat. There was a snapping sound and then she was pulling out one of her kama. Drogo gasped and she was pretty sure the hobbitess was about to faint. She twirled it in one hand, the sun glittering off the crystals embedded in the handle and shining off the polished steel.

Drogo looked like he might faint when Bilbori set the handle into his hand. "Are you sure, Uncle?!"

Bilbori set down the shopping basket and used both hands to unclasp the sheath from where it was attached to the twin sheath. She handed it to him and supervised while he placed the weapon within the leather. "You have ten minutes. If I have to track you down or find out anyone ended up bleeding..."

"You're the best, Uncle Bilbo!" Drogo was already running away before she could finish her sentence.

"Be careful!" She yelled after him, picking up her basket again. She looked up and flashed the hobbitess a smile. "Good afternoon!" With a polite nod of her head, she moved on to continue her shopping.

- - -

"Do you think I might have a craft, Uncle?" Drogo asked one night while watching her work on the runes for her masterpiece. He already knew he couldn't pull off the things she did, having tried years before.

"Would you even want a craft?" Bilbori wondered. "You're certainly wealthy enough with your tennants that you don't have to do anything you don't want to."

"Well, I kind of liked carving when I tried that out, but not really. It felt off."

She hummed. "Maybe you're not a woodcarver then. Maybe you're an architect."

"I did like helping uncle Isengar fix their barn last winter. But still..." he was pouting now.

"What else do you like?" When Bilbori saw him just shrug, she narrowed her eyes. "Well if you don't know what you like... What do you dream of?"

Drogo hesitated before leaning close and lowering his voice. "Sometimes, I dream that I'm swimming. And I never come up for air and just live in the water!"

Bilbori looked surprised. As far as she knew no hobbit would even dream of having a dream like that! They tended to drown too easily. "Well, I don't think that can happen... But how about we head over to Buckland next week and I teach you how to swim?"

It was Drogo's turn to look surprised. "Really?!"

"Of course! I can't believe no one's taught you yet. I would have ages ago if I'd thought about it."

"Oh!" Drogo exclaimed. "Maybe I can build a boat!" He hopped up and ran to his room. "I have to start packing!"

"Drogo! Next week is still four days away!"

But it was too late.

- - -

Bilbori yawned, stretching out on the bench in front of Bag End. Drogo had come of age just the week previous and she still felt exhausted from the party they'd thrown. She was wearing her hobbit lad disguise, with her curls twisted and pinned in a way that made them look like a long, shaggy mess of curls that hid the few braids she wore in the Shire. It looked longer than a truly proper hobbit lad would wear his curls, but not as long as those of a lass. The sideburns she'd grown in over the last decade were pulled up and pinned in a way that hid them under the loose ends of her curls. Her bare feet were stretched out, toes digging into the cool soil, and her pipe smoldering away in her hand, forgotten. All in all she looked enough of a proper gentlehobbit to silence even the most stodgy Bagginses.

And what oddities she did have in her appearance were easily blamed on her Took blood.

Drogo himself had gone off to Buckland ostensibly to begin learning the proper ways of boating but was in truth on account of a pretty young tween that had caught his eye at his party. She trusted her sister Mirabella to keep an eye on him while he was there. True the lass in question was his first cousin, but considering he was half-Took and she was half-Took, half-Brandybuck, if it got more serious they'd just blame the wild Took blood. But there were years yet to go before the lass was of age and that kind of thing needed to be considered.

For now, she just relaxed. The work on her masterpiece was going well and she had hopes to finish it within the next year. Once it was complete Bilbori planned to go back to Belegost to present the work to the guild masters and, hopefully, attain her mastery. Already she'd worked her tomatoes into the best in the Shire, constantly winning prizes and making the other hobbits jealous that the strange son of Old Took who spent more time with dwarves than hobbits should grow anything better than they. She just laughed at them and won another prize.

Bilbori had just raised her pipe for another puff when a cloud of more bitter pipeweed than the Old Toby she was smoking wafted into her face. She coughed at the stench and waved it away, looking up at a tall figure she didn't recognize.

The tall man, for he seemed a man with that height, was wearing grey robes, a matching scarf, and a blue hat that she could see. He was leaning against a staff he held in one hand and holding a pipe in the other. And he was gazing at her as if she were a puzzle. "Why Bilbo Baggins... You look just like your uncle Jago did at your age!"

"What?" Bilbori was instantly confused. Why would anyone ever think she was a Baggins of all things? And looking like her uncle? Jago?! Jago wasn't her uncle. The old man was obviously off his rocker. "I'm sorry... Do I know you?"

Chapter Text

After probably the most confusing conversation of her life where the wandering wizard Gandalf kept referring to her as a Baggins and referring to Belladonna as if the lass had been her mother instead of her sister, Bilbori slammed the door to Bag End closed and headed deeper into the smial without another word to the barmy old codger. He was clearly insane, mumbling about informing others and completely ignoring her when she informed him that her name was Bilbo Took... She was convinced the old man was some spy after information and used his insanity to torture others!

After she'd cooled down from her wizard induced frustrations, Bilbori headed toward the market. She was feeling like fish and wasn't in the mood to head off to the nearest pond to spend hours on the chance she'd catch something worth keeping. She wasn't even to the stalls proper yet when she was suddenly grabbed from behind and bodily shoved around a corner and behind the stalls! She instantly lashed out, kicking her hard-soled heel into soft flesh and throwing out an elbow as she turned. The elbow hit padding... And armor!

"Ow!"

Surprised, Bilbori turned. "Nori?! What in the world are you doing?!"

Nori made a hushing gesture and pulled Bilbori back into cover. He winced, rubbing at his leg while catching his breath. When he finally felt he could speak, he did. "We have to hurry! Where's Drogo? We need to get him out of the house and away!"

Feeling years of developed protective instincts coming to the fore, Bilbori grabbed Nori's arms tightly. "What do you mean? What's going to happen to Drogo?"

Looking stunned at the ferocity on his baby sister's face, Nori momentarily forgot himself. He visibly shook off the sensation. "That cursed Gandalf has a quest in mind. Said we needed a hobbit. He said, 'Baggins.' and gave us maps to Bag End. I ran all day to get here before the rest of the Company... Come on. We have to get Drogo hidden away!" Nori grasped her arm and started to drag her back toward Bag End.

"Is that what this was about this morning?!"

Nori paused, but quickly enough he continued trying to get his sister to Bag End. "He's already been here? Damned that wizard... We have to hide Drogo very well if the wizard's already sniffing around."

"Wait! Nori!" Bilbori dug her heels into the ground, hauling back to force her brother to stop. "Drogo's not here!"

Stopping, Nori turned to look at her. "Where is he then?!"

Crossing her arms, Bilbori huffed. "He's in Buckland to start a boating apprenticeship. He left a week ago, right after his birthday."

Nori slumped visibly in relief. But then he was just confused. "If Drogo isn't even here, what in Mordor is that wizard smoking?"

"That's what I'd like to know!" She tossed her hands up in frustration. "He showed up, calling me Bilbo Baggins, speaking as if Bella was my mother, and saying I looked like my nephew then said he'd tell the others!"

With each statement, her brother grew more and more still. Then he cursed violently! "I'm going to gut him... I'm sorry, Bori... That damned... You either need to get Bag End ready for a baker's dozen dwarves or be halfway to the Great Smials by dinner. I have to go warn Dori and Ori that you're a hobbit either way!"

With that, Nori smacked a kiss to her forehead and took off the way he'd arrived. He was swiftly out of sight.

- - -

Ultimately her curiosity over Nori's visit more than anything had Bilbori eating a late fish and chips luncheon at the Green Dragon before hiring a couple hobbits to come and help her cook the pantry's contents. After all, if Nori had truly wanted her gone, he wouldn't have mentioned warning their brothers about her being a hobbit. Silly Nori, he must be slipping into an early dotage. Finally she paid the hobbits, thanked them for their time, and sent them on their various ways. Now all she had to do was wait.

Waiting sucked.

Bilbori ended up turning down the beds in the spare rooms, locking the door and windows of the master bedroom where Drogo slept, and checking to see if the spare blankets were clean. Once she'd done that, she took a bath, making sure to keep her hair pinned and twisted up. She was halfway dressed, binding back in place, trousers, shirt, and bracers... When the bell rang. Picking up her waistcoat, Bilbori was fastening the buttons when she opened the door and saw someone she hadn't seen in years. She only just caught herself before greeting him by name.

A relatively short time later, Bilbori rocked on her heels as she waited. Dwalin looked different from the last time she'd seen him. It was one of the many times he'd come before the Council to complain about Nori's training methods. He was broader with muscle, his mohawk had been shaved, he had more tattoos. She slyly flicked him an admiring glance while he ate. Before her thoughts could drift too far, the bell rang again.

Balin looked the same as she remembered. Mostly. As Dwalin had mentioned he was wider than before. Of course, she'd spent a good portion of her life among those who admired wideness, so she could see the appeal there, too. And his white hair was almost as fetching as Dori's mithr... Wait, he really did look shorter. She'd thought that was a teasing rumor!

Then... Oh!

Bilbori was stunned. The young princes certainly had aged well over the last couple of decades since she'd really seen them.

"You must be Mr. Boggins!"

Her stunned look turned into a scowl. "It's Took! If you're looking for a 'Boggins' you've come to the wrong place!"

But no, they were in the smial anyway. The elder brother attempting to use her as a weapon rack and the younger looking around while using the boot scrape she kept for when her brothers visited. She looked at the blades, then at the blond, then raised a brow...

Fíli's cheeks went noticeably pink; his fair coloring did him no favors in trying to hide it. He took the blades back and cleared his throat. "So, where's a good place for me to set these?"

Rolling her eyes, Bilbori led the princes to Drogo's old room and allowed them to settle their things there. While they were still sorting themselves out, she heard the bell again...

And winced in sympathy at the pileup of dwarves that ended up at her feet. She scowled at the wizard bending to peer into the door. "For the last time, my name is not Baggins! It's Bilbo Took!"

- - -

She'd had only a chance to squeeze hands with Dori and Ori all night, but that wasn't what had Bilbori in a tizzy at the moment. She had been practically vibrating with energy since the large group had fallen into the foyer. Oh... Nope! She snatched a bowl of tomatoes out of her brother's hand. "Not my prize winners!"

Turning, Bilbori came face to face with the one that had caused her such excitement. She pressed the bowl into his hands and leaned in close to whisper. "Prize winners, Master Bifur... Just like we talked about."

"Best girl!" Bifur signed quickly, leaning close for a quick forehead tap. If anyone saw, no one mentioned it thinking Bifur too addled to realize what he was doing and that a hobbit would not know what he was doing in the first place.

Bilbori practically floated through the rest of dinner, giddy at her master's approval. She didn't notice a pair of eyes following her as she nearly danced around the table, refilling empty platters and placing desserts down.

- - -

Bifur had tried to introduce her to his cousins decades ago and, for one reason or another, Bilbori had declined. At first she'd been too involved in the excitement of starting her craft. Then she'd been shy at the idea of meeting them. Then she'd been too busy running between Belegost and the Shire. Then Bifur'd had his accident and she'd found her role of vegetable fairy too entertaining to come out of hiding... But now she couldn't help but wonder why she'd waited so long. They were so handsome! A part of her couldn't help but wonder if Bifur had been trying to play matchmaker when she'd been younger.

Bombur appealed to her both as a dwarf and as a hobbit. He was nice and round, and hobbits did love round things. He obviously enjoyed eating and a healthy appetite was a good sign. Then he was graceful, moving his bulk around the other dwarves almost like a dancer. And the speed with which he could catch flying food out of the air was certainly a hint that he absolutely knew how to move when he so wished. She openly admired him. Well, she did right up until Bifur thumped her upside the head and quickly flashed the sign for 'married' at her. A part of her lamented the loss. But no dam ever stepped into a marriage unless Mahal's Gift guided them.

The elder of Bifur's cousins was a miner by trade, if the hefty mattock he'd brought along and was now leaning against the wall in the foyer was any indication. She knew from visiting the mines in her days searching for a craft that miners and smiths were both quick to divest of shirts when the work got sweaty and so she knew what kind of muscles were hiding under Bofur's worn coat. He was also delightfully charming with his bright smile and easy laugh... And he certainly had a quick tongue and wit if the tawdry jokes and jaunty tunes he seemed to think of on the spot were any indication.

Unfortunately for her, Nori had caught her looking a bit too long at one or another of the dwarves and he didn't seem pleased. He was quick to distract her with swiping things he knew weren't supposed to be messed with and being generally obnoxious any time her eyes lingered too long.

"That's not a dishcloth!"

When Bilbori had a moment with Nori, she quietly questioned it. "What? I was starting to think you were all here to try to arrange a marriage! Bringing so many attractive dwarves into my home..."

She already knew Glóin was married, he'd been vocal about it enough just in the short time they'd been in the smial. And Bifur'd told her that Bombur was married. She wasn't sure about the others though. Perhaps they were craft wed.

"Do you really think I'd have been trying to get you to leave town if we were trying to get you married off?" Nori seethed, furiously.

He had a point, but he couldn't get in to the details because she rarely got to be near him for more than that moment the whole night. Dwalin was watching Nori like as if her brother were a prisoner and Dwalin was his personal guard. She narrowed her eyes at the various implications.

- - -

"Axe or sword?"

"Pen." At Thorin's incredulous look, Bilbori crossed her arms. "There's more lasting damage as comes from a derogatory song with a catchy tune than a sword to the belly. It is rather difficult to get people to take you seriously or fear you if they're too busy laughing behind your back."

She couldn't tell if the snickers from the others were aimed at her or her answer. Thorin gave her a thoughtful look at the idea of long term planning when it came to fighting and headed further into the smial.

- - -

Gandalf did himself no favors by referring to her as Bilbo Baggins no less than three times. He ignored every single time she corrected him that her name was Bilbo Took. Thankfully Balin was paying attention to the growing fury on her face every time she corrected the daft wizard and was making a note on a piece of parchment.

Said parchment turned out to be the biggest farce of a contract she'd ever seen. It was in absolutely no way legal in any dwarven court of law and it was just Balin's bad luck that she was familiar with dwarven law. She didn't spend decades on the Council and read over the official family paperwork before handing it over to Dori to deal with for nothing, after all! But she bit her tongue on the absurdity of the contract and glared blankly at the wall, ignoring the silent group of dwarves watching from the dining room.

Bofur became less appealing with what was, ultimately, a rather pathetic attempt to scare her. Though in his favor it might have worked had she been a hobbit that'd been raised sheltered in the Shire.

- - -

The singing was nice. It had been a long time since she'd been able to listen to the deep voices of dwarves singing songs of old. The ones that stirred the soul and could be felt down to the marrow. Those were the best songs.

- - -

Bilbori shoved the dwarf onto her bed. Ignoring his startled yelp, she crawled up after him. She raised her leg up and over until she was straddling his hips and, when he reached his hands for her, she quickly grabbed his wrists. Tightening her grip, she shoved his hands down onto the mattress above his head. Once he was secure, she leaned down to stare into those achingly familiar, wide, startled eyes. When she was close enough to touch her forehead to his the loose ends of her pinned curls fanned down to block their view of anything but each other.

"What in the name of Mahal are you three doing on this insane quest, Ori?" Bilbori hissed, radiating fury.

Chapter Text

Despite his sister's obvious displeasure, Ori's jaw took a stubborn tilt. "I'm the official scrivener for the quest."

Tightening her grip on his wrists, Bilbori narrowed her eyes. "I figured that, what madness made you do that and drag our brothers into it?"

"It's going to be my mastery. Balin said so himself. And I didn't make them sign up. I specifically told them to stay home."

"But they aren't at home! They're here on this fool's quest that the Council has turned down for decades! Why'd the Council change their tune?"

Ori tried to get up, "I don't know why Nori signed up, he won't tell me. But it was after that when Dori decided he was going, too!"

Bilbori shoved him down again, twisting to dig her knee into his side. "So what were you three planning, just leaving the house empty so when I returned to Belegost no one would be there?!"

"No!" Surging up at that, Ori rolled to the side. Unfortunately he rolled toward the edge of the bed and the sudden drop startled a yelp from Bilbori as she hit the hardwood floor and Ori landed atop her. It didn't help that she thunked her head into the side table and knocked it over. The items atop it clattered to the floor. "We were coming to the Shire, we were going to stop for a visit and suggest you stay here until after the quest!"

Head aching from the sudden bang, Bilbori released one of Ori's wrists and moved her hand down. In a quick move, she darted her hand under his tunic and pinched his side. Hard. "And what if you didn't come back?! What if you were dead?!"

Ori squealed, darting back up and away from the pinching fingers only to find himself grabbed in a headlock. He cursed. "What's Nori been teaching you?!"

"Oops!" The sudden loud voice from the doorway drew both siblings attention to the door where they saw the just mentioned dwarf standing there. Nori had a definite shit-eating grin on his face. "Sorry! Didn't realize you were having a private party with our host there, Ori!"

While his younger siblings gave him outraged looks, Nori closed the door loudly and then stomped his feet in place to make it seem like he was walking away. After that he knelt down and grabbed an ear each of Ori and Bilbori. Keeping his voice low, he gave them a scolding compliment. "And here I was going to offer to pay attention to our little Bilbo to keep the wrong sort from trying. Good job, Ori. You're much more respectable and this little tryst you two were making sure everyone heard will make it work all the better!"

If the two younger Ris hadn't known their brother, they'd have thought he was genuinely impressed. But they did know better.

Ori snorted, "You prefer improvising anyway."

Nori pinched their ears a little harder before releasing them. "Now what's this fight about?" He jumped onto Bilbori's bed, making sure it made a ruckus that could be heard outside of the room when he did.

Bilbori cringed at the idea that someone might think she was having sex with her brother, but it was a bit late now. And it wasn't a bad idea to give people the wrong idea on a trip like this, all things considered. Then she remembered her ire. "Why'd you do it, Nori? Why are you on this foolish quest? Why'd the Council agree to it?"

Giving a sigh, Nori leaned back. He debated not saying anything, but his sister had been showing signs since he'd cornered her in the market that she was nearly ready to take over the head of household title. He didn't want to give her a reason to pull the Matriarch crap until she was fully ready, though. "I tried to steal Ori's contract and got busted because someone who shall remain nameless," he glared at Bilbori, "encouraged Dwalin to increase the training and security in Thorin's Halls decades ago."

"What?!" Ori's startled shriek prompted Nori to amusingly clatter about some more furniture. Ori gave him a disgusted look in response. "Why would you do that? This quest is my Mastery project!"

"It's a dead man's quest, Ori!" Nori hissed back. "Without Bori there to keep talking sense into the Council, Dís talked them into permitting a small strike force of volunteers to head in first. I'm pretty sure Thorin blackmailed her into it because she was pissed when he announced he was taking the princes and she still didn't speak up."

Bilbori groaned, flopping back onto the floor and ultimately managing to hit her head on the bump she'd previously acquired. She hissed at the sting and gingerly rubbed the spot. "Now I have to go. I don't want to sign that contract. It's full of contradictions and can't possibly be legal with parts of it sewn on!"

Both her brothers looked alarmed.

"What do you mean?!" Ori cried out. "You can't go!"

Sighing, and lamenting the stupidity of dwarven men for at least the millionth time, Bilbori stood. "Did you notice there aren't any dams in the Company? You need someone with a functioning brain along." And, while her brothers sputtered their indignation, she flung open the door to her room. Closing it gently behind her, she padded on silent feet down the hall.

Her feet took her down the familiar route of her sister and brother-in-law's smial and into the dining room. There, still atop the table, was the contract. She picked it up and carried it to the library where she could... Adjust it. Not to mention she had letters to write.

Some time later, having neatly disposed of the original of one of the sewn on flaps that she'd replaced with a new section, and glad it was in Ori's writing that she'd learned over a lifetime how to duplicate, she signed her name to the bottom. Bilbo Took, son of Gerontius. There, that was perfectly legal. More legal than the farce of a contract, anyway. She blew gently to dry the ink and refolded parchment. She stuck the letters into her pocket. Then she blew out the candle and headed to put the contract back on the table.

Once complete, she grabbed an apricot from the pantry and went to return to her room. In the hallway she bumped into a dwarf as they abruptly exited the bathroom. Startled, she fumbled the apricot only for the other dwarf to catch it. She looked up at him as he placed it back into her hands. His eyes sparkled like stars in the dim lighting.

"Sorry, wasn't expecting anyone." The dwarf gave her a grin, casually looking her over from head to toe. "Did you have a fun party?" His tone and the twinkle in his eyes indicated he did not mean the larger gathering.

Bilbori straightened up, about to smack the dwarf, but the pull on her bindings reminded her that she was still in her male hobbit attire and the dwarf only knew her as Bilbo Took. Instead she said, "That was merely a lesson being taught."

The star-filled eyes widened at the insinuation. He opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't seem to decide how to respond immediately. Finally, he leaned slightly into her space and softly inquired, "And what could possibly earn a dwarf that kind of lesson?"

She almost had to admire the audacity of the dwarf, but instead decided to tilt up her nose in the snootiest gentlehobbit snub. "Nothing pleasant, I assure you, is certainly what comes of dwarves heathen enough to try putting filthy footwear in my bed! Good night!"

Without waiting for a response, she huffed back to her bedroom. When she arrived, she found Nori gone and Ori sitting on the bed waiting for her. She made certain to stomp on one of his bare feet before sitting beside him.

Ori almost shouted at the stomp, but he knew none of his siblings would genuinely cause him pain without reason, so he didn't. Instead, he sighed and wearily asked, "How much did you change?"

"Not much." She bit into her apricot, only just remembering she hadn't thanked the dwarf for catching it and handing it back. But then again, he'd been the reason she'd dropped it in the first place. "Did you not bother to read it or were you just copying words as they said them?"

Ori blushed and didn't answer.

Bilbori stomped on his foot again.

"Ow..." Ori sounded more petulant than pained, though they both knew her half-sized hobbit clodhoppers could easily break the bones in his feet if she tried. "Why am I starting the quest out with a limp?"

"Two reasons. One, I bumped into someone in the hall and said I hurt you for putting dirty boots on my bed." Ori looked indignant at the idea that he could ever be so uncouth. "Two, if we're going with Nori's plan of pretending to be bedmates, I don't want anyone to think I'm not good enough to leave you without a proper limp to remember the night!"

Ori made a disgusted sound and shoved Bilbori off the bed.

- - -

They were almost late the next morning. Bilbori insisted on giving her hair a good washing and then Ori stayed to help her oil it and twist it back up into the style that helped her look like a hobbit lad. Then she slid a detailed letter to Drogo under the door to his bedroom. Locking up the rest of the smial, she and Ori left. On the way out she dropped a more vague letter to Drogo into the post box along with an even more vague letter to Mr. Greenhand asking him to make certain the property was in order while Drogo was in Buckland. The reason she'd given for her absence in those vague letters was merely that her oldest brothers had a family emergency that required immediate attention. Only the letter on the floor of the master bedroom contained enough to hopefully soothe the young hobbit's worries about a missing uncle.

By the time they caught up to the rest of the Company Thorin was glaring moodily from atop his pony.

She was mildly pleased at the amused hoots they got due to Ori limping from a nearly crushed foot. His cheeks were flushed with anger, easily mistaken for an embarrassed blush. She almost laughed out loud.

Less than one mile down the road Bilbori was already irritated with absolutely every male in the Company, especially Thorin and the million and two glares he sent at her and everything in the Shire. Then, it occurred to her... They hired a gentlehobbit.

"Wait!" She hauled her pony to a stop, lifting her hands up for attention. "We have to go back! I've forgotten my handkerchief!"

- - -

Early on in the quest, while they were still between Bag End and Bree, Bilbori made certain to have a little bit of alone time with Óin. The pretense was that she was making certain the Company healer knew what sort of thing hobbits would need in a medical emergency. In truth, she was making sure the old healer was fully aware that she was female and that to her knowledge only Ori, Nori, Dori, and Bifur were aware of the truth. She wanted to make sure that her secret would not be revealed if she needed medical attention unless absolutely necessary. Making certain one's healer knew what he was dealing with was always a good idea. It wouldn't do for him to think she was injured if someone spotted blood on her bedroll or trousers, after all.

It never occurred to her to tell Óin how those particular dwarves knew, just that he be aware they did know if he ever needed assistance while providing care.

"Got everything you need then, lad? I didn't think to carry a stock of those herbs..." Óin didn't seem to have any negative reaction to Bilbori supplementing her Westron with Iglishmêk so she didn't have to yell.

"I have all I had in my smial. I'll buy out the stock in Bree when we stop there."

"Good." Óin nodded approvingly. "If you need funds for it, let me know and I'll have them provided for you. Medical care was provisioned for in your contract."

"Thank you, Master Óin." Bilbori gave him a bow and they both returned to where the Company was settling into the Frogmorton Inn for the night. At her brothers' questioning looks, she merely rested her hand on her hip where she kept some of her feminine supplies for easy access when traveling. They looked away again without a word.

- - -

"Weren't we formally introduced to him back when they had first arrived in Belegost?" Bilbori murmured to Dori one afternoon. They were near the back of the train of ponies and her gaze was toward Thorin's back at the front. "I remember Ma talking about how they acknowledged us as cousins..."

Dori frowned, thinking back. "We were."

"And he doesn't remember that you have a sister? Seems odd." She knew that the Ri siblings more than others didn't look anything alike, but for a dwarf to forget a dam existed was indeed odd.

"To be fair," her brother started. "He probably thinks you're still somewhere in Belegost. Craft wed or married, raising dwarflings or other." Dori huffed, remembering. "And if I recall correctly you had wandered off during that meeting and by the time you were introduced you were covered in Mahal knows what, reeking like a pig sty, and asking mam if you could keep that war piglet you'd managed to catch from the pens." He shook his finger at her. "I doubt that's the kind of memory one would ever associate with a fussy hobbit whinging about forgotten handkerchiefs."

Bilbori blushed at the memory. She had never gotten her pet war piglet... Seeing movement from the corner of her eye, she spotted one of the Company looking back at them with bright, curious eyes. She immediately realized the scolding look Dori was giving her and huffed, putting on her best scandalized look. "Well, I never!"

Nudging her pony to pick up the pace, Bilbori continued in an offended tone. "And here I thought you seemed the sort to appreciate the finer things in life like handkerchiefs, doilies, and tea sets!" She continued her fussing until she'd left the memory of being 'introduced' to Thráin, Thorin, and Dís, her amused brother, and those eyes behind. She muttered under her breath about getting a war piglet as soon as she could and how amusing it would be to ride the thing to Highday Market and make hobbits faint...

- - -

Bilbori slowed her pony as much as she could get away with as they neared the Brandywine Bridge. It wasn't as if she were expecting anything to happen, but one never knew what might happen. And what she was hoping would happen would be that Drogo would be somewhere near the bridge. It was part of Buckland, after all. But alas, it was not to be. Brandy Hall was a day or so further south and there were no boating hobbits anywhere in sight of the bridge. She decided to send another letter once they reached Bree. It would probably be her last chance for a good long time. She really felt bad about not getting to say goodbye in person.

- - -

When they did finally make it to Bree, the Company had to split up between two inns to find enough rooms for all of them to avoid having to sleep on the ground. It would be a long time until they were able to even consider another chance at sleeping in beds.

When they'd divided up the rooms she managed to get into a man-sized room with two beds and was sharing with her brothers. Aside from getting to sleep in a bed, Bilbori also took a nice bath and got Dori to help her with her hair. He always did the tightest and neatest braids. All four spent the night quietly bonding and working together on a joint letter to send to Drogo. For the last decade she'd been living away from them with only the occasional visit from Nori and letters to keep her company. So they spent a good long while curled up on the beds and just whispering about things they'd missed and wanted to share. She felt so relaxed the next morning it was as if she'd gotten twice as much sleep as she actually did!

Before they left Bree, Bilbori remembered to buy out the stockpile of herbs to help with her monthlies. On a whim she also bought the apothecary's remaining stock of hobbit-grade contraceptive tea. One could never be too prepared, after all. And she was traveling a long way. Who knew what could happen! Maybe she'd get a chance to meet an elf like Belladonna always went on about in her later months.

Afterward, she browsed the market for a bit before the Company gathered to continue their journey. She made a point of openly folding a newly purchased handkerchief and tucking it away in the breast pocket of her jacket, much to the amused laughs of several members of the company. Her new spare handkerchief was tucked into her pack alongside Bofur's recently scrubbed pocket.

Then they were truly into the wild for who knew how long. Bilbori couldn't help but feel anxious for the road ahead.

Chapter Text

There were many, many times during the beginning stages of the quest that Bilbori would have cheerfully killed every single one of the others. Not even her precious brothers were spared from their fates. Well, maybe they were. She was more or less used to traveling with her brothers, at least. The others though... She would gleefully smother Óin and Glóin in their sleep if they continued to snore like mines collapsing. She was positive it wasn't as bad when they were still in the Shire and Buckland. But once they'd made camp that first night out of Bree they'd seemed to unleash some beasts in their chests during sleep.

So with the lack of proper sleep her temper wasn't faring any better. She was also getting tired of Bofur's bawdy jokes when they set down their bedrolls at night and she curled up in her brother's arms. Sure she hadn't argued against letting the Company think she was fooling around with Ori, but seriously! As if she'd do anything so uncouth as tumble someone right there in front of everyone. More than once she'd thrown a nearby pebble at Bofur's stupid hat when he started his off color humor. Not that it seemed to stop him. The daft dwarf just laughed.

Maybe she needed to throw one of her knives instead of a pebble...

No, that would just get his royal highness in a more of a snit than usual.

"Why are you fidgeting?" Ori whined. "I'm trying to sleep..."

"Wanna put a knife in his ear..." came Bilbori's grumpy mutter.

"Ugh. Sleep."

But when another half hour of a squirmy baby sister didn't result in Ori getting any sleep, he shoved her bodily out of his bedroll. "Go gather something for breakfast tomorrow if you've got so much energy."

"Fine," she hissed. "I will!"

Bilbori glanced around at the sleeping dwarves. She saw Bifur was on watch and quickly gestured to him that she wouldn't wander too far. The older dwarf nodded and signed back for her to scream if she needed help. Grinning, she headed beyond the reach of the fire's light.

She slept much better after a midnight snack of fresh mushrooms.

- - -

"Now, Bilbo," Gandalf tutted. "There's nothing wrong with being born a Baggins."

"Of course there isn't." Bilbori agreed. "My nephew's a Baggins. And his father, Belladonna's husband, was a Baggins." There was extra emphasis put on the words pointing out that the name belonged to others. And referencing her nephew as being Belladonna's child, which would definitely mean Belladonna was not her mother!

"I simply don't see why you deny the facts, Bilbo! I remember your mother introducing us as clear as if it were yesterday."

Bilbori's teeth were going to be ground to dust at this rate. And she was ready to hit someone. Most likely Gandalf, but with the way Nori was turning red while trying not to laugh, possibly him. Or maybe the princes who weren't hiding their snickers in the least!

"No, you remember my sister introducing you to me and our nephew Jago!"

Gandalf hunched over in his saddle, puffing frustratedly on his pipe. Finally he seemed to reach a conclusion. "Is this because you don't want the dwarves to know you're only forty-six?"

The sound of startled gasps from the eavesdroppers nearly drowned out Bilbori's screech of outrage.

"Don't worry! I assure you all, for Bilbo's sake, forty-six is well beyond the majority for a hobbit." Gandalf seemed pleased with his conclusion.

"Valar above, Gandalf! Belladonna was my sister! My baby sister!" She couldn't decide if she wanted to pull out her hair or Gandalf's beard! "Jago was Donnamira's son! How many times do I have to repeat this?"

"No, no... You're not nearly old enough to be Belladonna's elder." Gandalf adjusted his hat, peering at the halfling. "Definitely not old enough! I've been around hobbits long enough to know how they age. You are definitely Bilbo Baggins, I don't know why you deny it."

Dori only just caught Bilbori's arm in time to prevent her from actually pulling a weapon on the wizard.

With the grounding touch of her eldest brother centering her, Bilbori took several deep breaths. "Gandalf... If you want to be completely mad, fine. But let's get at least this one thing straight." She glared at him. "You are aware that in the Shire there will sometimes be a son or daughter in the family that decides they want a new name, correct?"

Gandalf considered this. "I do seem to recall something..."

"Exactly! This is how the Gamwich family became the Gammidge family and has now moved on to become the Gamgee family in the newest generation. And even then the eldest has started calling himself Roper instead."

"I had wondered where the Gamwich family had gotten to since last I was in that area..."

Bilbori pinched the bridge of her nose, ignoring the snickering dwarves around them. "So believe me... While there is nothing wrong with being a Baggins... I. Am. A. Took!"

Gandalf considered Bilbori for a long, long time. Finally, he said, "Well! My dear, Bilbo... Why ever didn't you just say so to begin with?"

The sudden raucous laughter of dwarves drowned out the enraged, feral snarl that came from Bilbori as Dori was forced to catch her when she tried to launch herself from her saddle to attack the wizard!

- - -

Being driven into near-frothing insanity by Gandalf somehow didn't do any permanent damage to Bilbori's reputation among the Company. A few of them admired her bravery in attempting to attack a wizard. It had actually changed a few opinions of those who thought she was just a weakling when they saw the actual effort Dori had been forced to put into keeping her contained. Dori was absolutely no slouch and it was rumored only his siblings could match him for strength. So that a hobbit could cause trouble for him was very impressive. That or Dori was slipping.

Poor Dori had been forced to deal with a few jokes on how he must be losing his strength if such a little thing proved bothersome. Of course no one took Dori up on the polite offers to test his strength if they were so worried...

Ori's defense of Dori that his brother just hadn't wanted to risk accidentally breaking the wee little hobbit only ended up earning Ori a share of laughter when Bilbori decided to use it as a chance to set up her bedroll off on her own for the night.

"Now, now lad. That's no way to stay on the good side of your sweetheart." Glóin helpfully informed Ori. "They like it when you..." Glóin cut off as he saw the look aimed at him from Bilbori's newly chosen spot. He felt a chill go up his spine and he swore that someone had just finished digging his grave. He'd seen that look before, but he'd thought only his own wife could pull it off... Not some scrap of a hobbit lad! He abruptly turned away from the conversation and busied himself with his pipe.

When the others turned to see what had caused Glóin to act that way all they saw was an empty bedroll and no sign of the hobbit.

- - -

Bilbori crept through the darkness. Crouched low to the ground, she moved with complete silence as she cautiously stalked her prey. She'd needed to get away from the camp before she'd act even less like a hobbit than she had been and this was the perfect use of her energy. Stalking closer and closer, she finally froze. Soon, just a moment more and it would be the perfect time to....

Strike!

The halfling launched herself into the air and came down upon a patch of wild strawberries!

Plucking a juicy berry, Bilbori popped it into her mouth and chewed happily. Crouching down even lower than when she'd been stalking, her cloak settled in a way that would easily make her look like a random rock in the tall grass that surrounded the bare area they'd set up for the night. She reached for another strawberry. There was no way she was sharing these tasty morsels with those worthless fleas back at camp.

The soft sound of applause coming from behind her caused Bilbori to whirl. On instinct one hand dipped for a knife and she was throwing it even as she half stood and backed away from the sound.

A surprised Khuzdul swear alerted her to the fact that it was just one of the dwarves and soon he was standing up from where he'd dived to the side to avoid her sudden throw.

"And here I was just going to compliment you on your fine hunting skills..." The dwarf gestured to the berry patch. "And then I find out that you would be a fine hunter indeed."

Bilbori stood up the rest of the way, briefly mourning the loss of her knife since apparently he'd dodged it. "How did you find me?"

"I was right behind you when you left camp." Her apparent stalker admitted. "You were muttering to yourself. I honestly didn't think hobbits knew that many ways to cook dwarves." His voice was a mixture of amusement that bled to admiration when he added. "It wasn't easy. I lost you a couple of times and only found you again when you started muttering again."

Something about the way he spoke caused Bilbori to tilt her head as she met his gaze. She couldn't help but notice the way his eyes caught the moonlight and sparkled like stars just as they had that last night in Bag End with the dim candlelight that'd drifted into the hallway. She took a subconscious step back from him. "Why did you follow me?"

His lips quirked slightly in his smile, a hint of confidence that hadn't been there before even as he took a step forward to match her step away. "You left angry. Most people that leave angry don't intend to come back directly. It isn't safe out here. There's no telling what could be hiding in this tall grass."

"In the tall grass... Indeed." She mused, turning to look around at the grass where she couldn't even see the glow from the campfire. Her ears twitched, hearing the distant sounds of snoring dwarves. When she turned back to the dwarf she was surprised to find him directly in front of her and she gasped softly with surprise.

"You know." He murmured. "You're very bad at pretending to have an affair with poor Ori. Should I tell him that you're just toying with his affections?"

Bilbori had been about to bolt at finding him so close, but then his words... It was all she could do to keep from laughing in his face. She needed a distraction and quickly!

Nature decided to show pity on Bilbori when she saw the moonlight glisten on his cheek as a drop of dark wetness slid down the side of his face.

"Oh! You're bleeding!" She reached her hand up, brushing her fingers over the shallow cut and wiping away most of the blood. Well, at least it looked like it with the lighting. She was probably just smearing it.

The dwarf hissed slightly at the sting of the injury being touched and the look in his star-filled gaze darkened. "I guess you're an even better hunter than I first thought."

The way his voice deepened when he spoke caused her gaze to turn toward him like some startled animal and like a startled animal she fled when he started to lean toward her! "Yes, well..." Oh right, Ori! "Just because I'm irritated with him at the moment doesn't mean I'm finished with him." She made a hasty retreat.

Back at camp, Bilbori was startled by Bombur's voice from where he sat at watch. "Is that blood, Bilbo? Did you get hurt?"

Thinking quickly, Bilbori raised her fingers to her lips and sucked the blood from them just as the dwarf she'd been speaking with by the strawberries arrived. She saw him freeze at her action. She saw his eyes darken with arousal. She slowly pulled her fingers free, glancing quickly to make sure there was no visible blood. She turned to reassure Bombur. "No, just found some strawberries. There weren't many." She abruptly remembered she still had one in her hand. "Saved you one!" She offered the strawberry to Bombur.

"You are a thoughtful one, aren't you?" Bombur inspected her fingers when accepting the berry. Once he was certain there wasn't any bleeding he patted the hobbit's hand. "Best get some sleep. Thorin was grumbling more than usual earlier." He didn't seem to care that Thorin was awake and could most likely hear them from where he was no doubt glaring broodily into the darkness.

"Thank you, Bombur. Have a good night." Bilbori cast one last glance around the camp before going to bed.

- - -

The next morning Bilbori opened her eyes and had to close them again at the glare of light reflecting off of metal. Once she moved her head enough to get the direct glare out of her eyes, she opened them again. She stared.

There, sitting on a small bundle, was the knife she'd thrown just the night before. It was clean, looked as if it had recently been sharpened, and was definitely freshly polished with the way it was sparkling. She took the knife only to notice the bundle it had been resting on was a lumpy bit of folded cloth. Carefully unfolding a corner of the cloth, she discovered that it was a handkerchief. The material was soft and plain, but neatly stitched and well cared for. And it was wrapped around a pile of strawberries.

She'd only been on this quest a few weeks and she was already in so much trouble.

Chapter Text

The one thing Bilbori hated most about this quest was the lack of proper bathing facilities. She smelled, the males she was with absolutely stank, and she was positive her nose was never going to recover. Not to mention the lingering feeling of grody feeling of not being able to wash off the lingering funk from her recent bleeding. She felt disgusting though thanks to her fussy hobbit nature she didn't look as bad as she felt. And she thankfully didn't smell as bad as those of the opposite gender. Though she was willing to admit she smelled overripe as well and didn't linger too close to anyone.

So all told, when the rains started they were a mixed blessing. The first day everything smelled like wet hair. Horse hair, pony hair, dwarf hair. So much wet hair. The second day it smelled like soaking wet hair, but the stench of body odor was contained under the tightly held and layered cloaks, oil skins, and rain slickers. By the third day the various methods of trying to keep anything dry at all were failing and everyone was cold, wet, and miserable. Day four and everything was soaked, no one was happy, tempers were snapping.

On the fifth day, Bilbori didn't even bother to put on her cloak or rain slicker. Instead, before they'd even mounted the ponies she'd gone off and adjusted her clothing. She wore only her trousers, her binder, and her waistcoat. The lack of a proper shirt under her waistcoat left her arms bare and still kept her binder concealed so she could continue to pretend to be a hobbit lad. Not a very proper hobbit lad if any of the dwarves were in the know. Her arms were more muscled than even the hardest working hobbit lads could manage. Not that the dwarves knew that.

Her change of attire garnered her some odd looks, but when Bilbori pulled herself into her saddle as if nothing were wrong and as bare as she could get without being bare, they just shrugged and put it aside as a hobbit thing. Less than a mile out from camp and Bilbori was pulling the pocket Bofur had given her and a bar of soap from one of the packs strapped to her saddle. Right there, in the pouring rain, she soaped up the scrap of cloth like a wash cloth, and began to clean all of her visible skin. She even pulled up her trousers and washed her legs as well!

More than one dwarf was watching her attentively while her brothers were mortified!

Bilbori started humming a happy hobbit song! She was finally going to stop smelling so badly and her brothers couldn't stop her because they hadn't revealed they were her brothers!

Bifur must have had the same thought because he started laughing wildly. He even followed her example and scandalized Bombur as he stripped down on his pony and searched for his own bar of soap and a bit of cloth!

It was entirely possible some of the other dwarves caved to the idea of being clean, but Bilbori wasn't paying attention at that point. She'd washed as well as she could while not being able to strip completely. Some parts ended up having to be washed through the material of her clothes. She absolutely didn't want the hassle that would come with revealing her gender mid-journey. Best to let the menfolk think they're clever for as long as possible.

Bilbori turned her attention to washing her clothes as best she could. They were already wet, they might as well be clean and wet!

As the rain washed away the remaining suds on her skin and clothes, Bilbori was left with an internal debate. She reached up and touched the sodden tip of a curl. She was surprised no one had noticed how unnatural they looked when wet like they were. Maybe they just thought hobbit hair was patchy.

The mere idea that she could be considered mangy made up her mind for her. They didn't know enough about hobbits to know for a fact that the lads had short hair, after all.

Setting her soap in a pocket for the moment, she reached up to her hair with both hands. She caught a couple of the dwarves riding ahead and to the sides of her pony, now less clothed than they'd been at the start of the day, watching her as she fiddled with her hair. Because she was watching them, she saw the way their jaws dropped and their eyes widened when they realized she wasn't just going to wash her hair. She was unbinding it from what was now obviously a stylized series of braids!

Bilbori felt her cheeks flush as she pulled out the pins that had been holding the tight braids in place. One by one the braids fell free. And she knew she was doing it; seducing all those who dared to watch as she pulled the braids loose and ran her fingers through them. She maintained just enough modesty to keep her sideburns pinned up. She'd look far too unhobbity if she took those down as well. Then she reached for her soap, working the bar into a lather that she rubbed atop her head to get the oil and grime out of her curls. She felt herself purring as the rain rinsed away the filth that her fingers massaged off of her scalp. She ended up soaping her locks up twice before she decided the rain had cleaned her hair as well as it could.

Then, because she was feeling particularly saucy, Bilbori pulled a comb out of her pack as she put away her soap. Happily resuming the hum of the song she'd started earlier, she closed her eyes and combed out the tangles in her curls. Finally, finally, she finished her exquisite torture of her admirers and put away her comb. Tossing her head to loosen the curls as much as they could when soaking wet, she resumed riding as if she'd never started an erotic torture session.

But did she ever enjoy the view!

Making sure to swing her waist-length curls, for the curls were still evident even when soaking wet though they would not be so long if they were dry, Bilbori looked around at the scenery with a carefully mastered look of innocence like only a hobbit could pull off successfully. Of course the dwarves didn't seem to realize they were the scenery...

Muscles.

Everywhere Bilbori looked there were muscles. And body hair. Tattoos. And some even had the glint of metal from various piercings. Yes, she'd been right about Bofur during that first night in Bag End. He definitely had the strong build of someone who swung a pickaxe and hefted stone all day. Dwalin was a massive mountain of muscle, inked designs and words and dates on everything she could see. Fíli's golden waves had been pulled straight by the water and he was also taking the chance to wash his hair, though she could see he still had his braids in. The stretch caused by his arms raised to wash his hair caused the muscles on his back to flex in a pleasing way. Kíli was...

Oh, goodness.

Bilbori had to avert her gaze, uncertain as to how she should respond. The youngest member of the Company had stripped completely bare to give himself a good wash. The daft dwarf. A part of her wanted to laugh hysterically. Another part wanted to watch attentively.

She peeked.

Even though he was married, she still gazed over at Bombur. There was no harm in admiring what was on display, after all! He had a lovely thick amount of fiery hair covering his roundness that put her in mind of a pelt. She freely imagined his wife must love cuddling him. Her only lament was that neither Balin nor Thorin, who was a handsome grump for all his years, indulged in the rain wash.

Oh well, a lass couldn't have everything it seemed!

- - -

Of course it wasn't long after the day of the riding shower that Fíli and Kíli almost drowned saving one of the pack ponies. And not long after that when they all nearly lost the benefit of the shower by encountering the filth of trolls.

Around behind a tree, Bilbori's jacket was shoved up high and her trousers and bracers and the belt under her trousers were being tugged all over the place. The dwarf behind her was cursing.

"If you don't keep these on you at all times..." Nori griped as he hastily clipped the sheaths for her kama to her belt and arranged them so that they'd be above her trousers without showing off her bum. "I'm going to cut your curls off!"

Bilbori didn't bother to acknowledge the empty threat even as she was glad she'd twisted her curls up again that morning. Instead she was watching the fight going on between the other dwarves and the trolls. As she watched, Bofur swung his mattock in a heavy arc that crunched painfully between the legs of one of the trolls making it squeal. A moment later, Dwalin's hammer smashed into the face of another troll, knocking teeth out. "Do you think it's an Ereborean thing?"

"You didn't even have them with you!" her brother muttered before registering what she'd asked. "What is?"

"Look, I've seen Dori, Bofur, and Bifur all swing and stab for the naughty bits. Ori's aiming for the eyes and I don't think I want to eat anything Bombur's ladle has touched ever again! But the others, they're just going for limbs, torsos, heads, and face."

Nori tugged his sister's jacket back down, hiding her kama from view. He paused to see what she meant and indeed, the group not trained by the Belegost guards and militia were being almost... Honorable. "You know... I think it just might be an Ereborean thing. I thought it was just some weird thing with Dwalin when he tries to catch me. I always wondered why he didn't just kick my stones in."

"Should we tell him?" Bilbori was, of course, considering actually telling Dwalin this very important information for very important reasons.

Nori, aware of what a brat his sister was when dealing with Dwalin's efforts to catch the guard trainer of Belegost, pinched the tip of her ear. "Absolutely not!" He ran off to join the melee once he'd seen to it that his sister was properly armed again.

On the plus side... She got a cute new short-sword out of the kerfluffle with the trolls!

- - -

"What exactly are you supposed to be?"

"A hobbit."

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Well, if you insist."

Wizards all needed their teeth knocked in. This one at least had adorable rabbits.

- - -

There were times Bilbori wondered if a scythe would have been a more entertaining weapon to have chosen. Twirling a kama in hand and whipping it around to slice the front half of a warg's muzzle off just before it could bite her was one of those times. She'd have had much better range with a scythe. Even Nori's preferred long mace showed the sense of keeping a better range. Why had she chosen close range combat weapons again? She spun, slicing open the hamstrings of a passing orc. With her other hand, she unsheathed her new short-sword and buried the glowing blade into the orc's face. She'd have probably done more if Nori hadn't grabbed her arm.

"Hobbit, come on." He hissed, both informing her to get moving and reminding her that she was supposed to be a gentlehobbit as he pulled her away from where the other dwarves were finishing off the last few orcs and wargs. "Clean those up before someone sees, yeah?"

Bilbori nodded, turning and pulling out one of the several handkerchiefs she'd accumulated over the course of the journey from a pocket and began wiping her weapons clean as Nori left. She was done and had the weapons sheathed again before anyone noticed that the Company hobbit had bloodied 'his' blades. Then, of course, she noticed that she was covered in blood splatter and a sly Tookish look was briefly visible before it was gone.

Blood. All. Over. Her. Skin. And. Clothes.

The high pitched shriek the halfling emitted drew the attention of the entire Company. Once they determined that no other orcs or wargs were around, they moved over to determine why the creature was screeching.

"Bilbo! Whatever's the matter!" Ori rushed over and inspected Bilbori as much as he could without stripping her to check for injuries. Thanks to their supposed affair he was the only one that could get away with it unless Óin decided a proper inspection was required. And it was the best he could do to prevent Dori from going into mother-hen mode.

"What's the matter, Mister Boggins?"

"Are you hurt, Bilbo?" Bofur placed a concerned hand on the halfling's shoulder, leaning closer despite the halflings supposed beau being right there.

"Look at me!" Bilbori shrieked, her tone dripping with anguish.

Despite the halfling's obvious distress, more than one member took the order to get a bit of a leer in on the hobbit. They were told to look, after all. Small, check. Soft, check. Surprisingly sturdy, check. Bare teasing toes, check. Enticingly blood streaked, check. The only thing they could determine was wrong was that Bilbo had pulled his long curls up into that infuriating style that made it look like a short mop atop his head.

"You don't look injured." Glóin ventured carefully.

Dwalin frowned. "Doesn't look like you used your blade. How'd you get so bloody?"

"The halfling got too close to Dori when he popped that warg earlier." Nori outright lied with a straight face.

"You look stunning!" Fíli blurted. As soon as he registered the words his damning complexion turned pink. He really needed to work on his brain to mouth filter. It was the stupid key and door thing all over again.

Bilbori plan faltered at that, her gaze flicking to the golden haired dwarf. She stared at him wide-eyed for nearly half a minute before she remembered herself. "Are you kidding me?!" Her voice was loud, outraged, and distressed. "I just had a bath! I washed! And now this! There's no water nearby! I'm disgusting! This is disgusting! Oh! I think I may faint..." Bilbori made a show of flapping her hands as if she were trying to give herself some air.

Nori had to abruptly turn away, hand covering his face as he bit his tongue to prevent himself from laughing and even Ori was biting his lip to stifle his amusement.

"Calm yourself, burglar." Thorin ordered, his expression angrier than usual. "You're going to attract more orcs down on our heads."

Arseface said what, now?

"More orcs!" the halfling's hysteria seemed to grow. "They'd just make more ick! Oh! Nope!" And Bilbori abruptly let herself go boneless, dropping to the ground.

Both Ori and Bofur rushed to catch the falling halfing before she could hit the ground.

"Really?" Thorin turned his disgusted ire upon Gandalf. "This is the burglar you want to steal from a dragon?"

"Yes... Well..." Gandalf huffed. "Come along then, we're not far from Rivendell. If nothing else, they'd have a bath to prevent this situation from getting worse if Bilbo doesn't get a chance to get clean."

- - -

Sometime after pretending to faint and letting the menfolk deal with the cleanup, Bilbori had found her body being transferred to one pair of arms and then another. She'd actually been lulled into a nap by the steady sound of a heartbeat under her ear with the way she was cradled to a strong chest. By the time she stirred, she let herself assess the situation. The large arms and solid chest were a comfort. So when she finally opened her eyes and found herself looking up into the stoic countenance of Dwalin she was surprised.

Feeling the movement in his arms, Dwalin looked down to see those wide eyes staring up at him. He tried for a reassuring smile. "Don't fret, hobbit. We'll be in Rivendell soon enough and you can get a nice bath there."

"Thank you." Bilbori murmured. She didn't even try to get out of Dwalin's arms and unexpectedly he didn't try to set her down either. She stared, watching his face as he watched his step. He was definitely aware of her stare though, because after a while, a delicate blush tinted his cheeks.

Chapter Text

The bathing facilities in Rivendell were some of the most beautiful things Bilbori had ever seen. They were pools carved from the stone that reached right to the edges of cliffs overlooking a waterfall caused by the pool's drain water that sent enough steam and mist up to make it seem as if they were floating in a cloud with nothing but sky as far as the eyes could see. They were open, and yet hidden from every other part of Rivendell... And this was just the women's bathing facilities.

Bilbori lounged in the shallow side of the steaming pool of water, a glass of wine in one hand and a plate of sliced fruits on the edge of the pool beside her. There were elf maidens in the pool with her, some going about their own business, others were lingering near the halfling as if fascinated. They wanted to help with her cute fuzzy feet and comb her curls. She allowed the ministrations on her feet, but politely declined to allow them to play with her hair.

"And you say they have yet to realize you're a woman, my lady?" One of the brunette maids giggled behind her fingers.

"My mother told me, as her mother told her, and her mother before her..." Bilbori was a dwarf and could go on all the way back to the first of the Ri line and beyond to the original Durin if she so wished. "Men are stupid." Dilnobri had specified dwarf men, but Bilbori had yet to see what difference race made in that judgment.

Another brunette elf laughed gaily. "I've certainly seen our men behave in a manner lacking intelligence."

Several others agreed heartily.

Bilbori wasn't sure why she kept referring to them as one brunette or another. She had yet to see an elf that wasn't some shade of brunette since arriving in Rivendell.

She was all over a prune when she finally emerged from the water. She made her way into the dressing room where clean clothing was provided. They'd made her a new binding based on the old design that was falling apart from the constant wear and she was grateful to them. They planned to make her some new clothing before the Company left, but for now she would be wearing some trousers and a tunic that had belonged to a young child relatively recently. But first...

The elf maidens insisted on giving her a massage to help her relax further from traveling and Bilbori felt like a puddle of goo by the time they determined that she'd been properly massaged. The only things she continued to deny them was access to her scalp, hair, and ears.

"I'm sorry. You're all so lovely, but I'm afraid I'm not attracted to you, so please don't touch my ears..." and, "Its a dwarf thing. Hair's for family and unless one of you can convince one of my brothers to wed, I'm afraid we'll never be close enough for that."

One of the maidens looked shrewd. "Which ones are your brothers?"

A couple of others looked interested.

Grinning, Bilbori described her brothers. "Dori is the strongest dwarf I know, but so kind and gentle. His hair and beard are the color of mithril and he's always turning down marriage offers back home. He's the one that designed and made most of my clothing. Nori's lean and quick. He's also as red and tricky as a fox. Why he'd come in and steal a lass's breath before they even knew he was there! Ori's also gentle, but he's so very sweet and he wears pretty ribbons in his braids. He knits a lot of his clothing himself, you know! He can write books and poems and the pictures he can draw! You'd expect them to just step off the page they're so real!"

Bilbori couldn't believe she was trying to tempt elf maidens into attempting to court her brothers. It was the best idea she'd ever had! And what was better, some of them sighed happily at the way she described her brothers!

She lost track of time, chatting with the elves while they lingered in the dressing room. By the time Bilbori had managed to finish getting dressed her curls had dried into a soft golden halo all around her and the sun had set. She lingered, appreciating the view the bathing pool gave at night, the glow of candles dancing on the water that also reflected the stars. The mist and steam hiding the world below. It was serene. When she parted ways with the elves, she was humming a peaceful lullaby as she strolled through the halls of Rivendell. She really should have expected it when, several halls later, she found herself staring into the a far more familiar glimmer of stars.

The light was brighter than she was used to when encountering him, so the sparkle in his eyes that drew her was brighter as well. She abruptly felt rather like a moth, not realizing she was standing less than a single pace away from him, her head tilted up to meet his gaze. This time, he didn't return her unblinking stare. His eyes were instead gazing upon her hair.

"I didn't realize just how gold it was." He murmured. "It looks so different when you have it pinned up." Before Bilbori could realize what he was about, he'd reached out and taken one of her curls between his fingers. He stared at where his fingers held the golden curl, as if he couldn't believe his own audacity. He pulled his hand away, the curl pulling almost straight as it slipped through his fingers. Before it could fall, he'd moved the end of the curl to his lips. His eyes closed. A gentle press of a kiss later and he allowed the curl to spring away and fall to her shoulder. He boldly met her gaze."Like silk."

Bilbori's lips parted at the scandalous action and she almost swayed closer to him! She caught herself in time, narrowing her eyes at her own reaction before she spoke. "I should just cut it already. It would be one less reason for the other hobbits to call me 'mad.'" She felt a twisted sense of pleasure at the gutted look that flashed across his face at the mere idea. But his face wasn't made for that kind of look and she relented. "But my mother loved long curls and so they shall stay."

"Belladonna Baggins?" He retaliated, grinning broadly at the flare of rage that swept across the hobbit's face. Before the hobbit could attack him, he impishly added, "Just teasing. It would be a shame to cut such a wealth, your mother must have been very wise."

This time Bilbori spotted his hand moving and she stepped back before he could touch her hair again. She spun on her heels and marched away from the dwarf yet again, replying over her shoulder as she left, "You have no idea."

- - -

Bilbori was treated to the glorious pleasure of seeing her brothers fumbling at the attentions of various elf maidens over the next few days. She had to bite her knuckles to keep from bursting into laughter at the bewildered looks on their faces.

Her favorite incident was when Ori had been unexpectedly cornered by two elf lasses while he was looking through the available selection within the library. The crafty elves had found him between the stacks, one coming up casually behind while the other went directly toward him from the front. Somehow, and Bilbori hadn't heard the entire conversation, the lass managed to get Ori to recite his favorite poem... A dwarven verse that involved bloodshed, death, and a wedding taking placing between swings of axes.

By the time Ori reached the end of the poem, he was sitting on a chair with both elf maidens seated at his feet and gazing up at him adoringly. Ori had apparently felt as if he were being hunted by something he'd seen in their eyes and he'd scrambled over the back of the chair, knocked over a table, and fled the library with two elves hot on his heels.

Later Bilbori was positive she had hurt something during the resulting laughing fit at watching her brother flee from two amorous elf maidens. And it only got worse that night when all three of her brothers had huddled together like frightened prey, refusing to tell a soul why they were behaving so oddly.

- - -

"There's a fountain big enough for a bath!" Kíli announced as he skidded to a halt just inside the room where the Company had gathered.

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Bilbori was up and out of the room. She absolutely had other places to be right that minute.

While the dwarves were quick to be tempted at the idea of bathing in the fountain, Bofur looked around. "Where'd Bilbo go?"

"I'm sure the lad will show up." Balin said. "You know how he feels about baths."

This response garnered some chuckles and rolling eyes, but there was a bath to be had, a fountain to vandalize, and possibly some elves to scandalize.

Bilbori was racing through the halls of Rivendell, gathering together the ladies she'd befriended and informing them that there was absolutely some place they needed to be if they wanted to a lovely show!

It didn't take long, whispered giggles among ladies traveled swiftly and soon her little entourage had made their way to the fountain where the dwarves were starting to make their appearances. Unfortunately for the dwarves, and fortunately for the ladies, the dwarves failed to look up and so they failed to notice the elves and Bilbori perching in the tops of the trees across the path from the fountain. The ladies got a lovely view of them stripping down and diving into the fountain!

They almost got caught when Elrond and Lindir came across the dwarves, the ladies muffling their giggles. Elrond tilted his head in their direction, but never actually looked up. Surprisingly, not long after that, a blushing Lindir and a couple elf lads sneaked into the tree to join the ladies as they admired the dwarves.

As for Bilbori... Well, she enjoyed getting her eyes full of all the dwarves this time, even those who had been too prudish to bathe or fully unclothe for bathing during the rain shower.

- - -

Bilbori sought out Lord Elrond and boldly requested a resupply on the various herbs she'd lost during the week of rain. Somehow she managed not to blush at the knowingly raised eyebrow he gave before directing her on where should could find the herb stores. The elf lord was generous enough to permit her to take as much as she wished of what she needed.

She bowed, replying in a dwarfishly accented Sindarin. "Thank you, Lord Elrond. You have been far more gracious than we deserve."

"You have a charming accent, Mister Took." Another of those knowing looks.

"Yes, well... I've only had Ori to speak with in a long time. I suppose I just copied what I've been hearing. I do apologize."

"Not at all." Lord Elrond's smile was beatific. "I find it refreshing to hear a hobbit speak the language of elves with the tongue of a dwarf. If only your companions were as daring. Perhaps I will seek council with this Ori you have mentioned."

Bilbori grinned. "Ori can be quite bashful, I dare say you'll have a time getting him to speak at all."

"The I shall take that as a challenge for the remainder of your visit." The elf declared. He bowed to her and took his leave. Before he had left the room, he turned to regard the halfling. "If you should ever need aid, please don't hesitate to send word. You will ever be welcome within these halls, Bilbori Took."

Lord Elrond bowed once more to the now stunned Bilbori and departed.

- - -

It was times like this that Bilbori was positive Gandalf knew the truth and just took a great delight in being infuriating. Otherwise he would have absolutely no reason to make certain she was invited to the map reading. Of course now she wanted to swipe the map from Thorin to examine the moon runes. Was it something the Ereborean Rune Crafters had used? Or was it just a particular way of writing? She didn't know, but when the runes on the map had lit up she had definitely been able to sense the energy woven into the runes and she wanted to study them! She'd have to pull Bifur aside for a quiet conversation on the matter sooner rather than later.

Chapter Text

Bilbori adored her Master. He had always been sweet, gentle, and quick to smack her head when she lost focus. The injury he had taken, that he still possessed with an axe stuck in his skull had changed him. He was still sweet and gentle, he still smacked her when he felt she needed it... But now his mind would drift. He couldn't maintain the same focus she remembered. He hadn't even been able to make simple miner lights when he'd tried to return to his craft. In other ways the injury seemed to have opened his mind and made him see things that no one else saw, feel things that others could not. He just knew things at times.

A perfect example of this was how she was speaking Ancient Hobbitish to him, which he understood without having been taught, and he was answering in discreet Iglishmêk. Bifur had become adept at timing his signs so that no one saw him speaking this way when he wished to communicate with Bilbori and she adored him all the more for joining in the fun of keeping her dwarven heritage secret. He'd still add a few words in Khuzdul, mostly for emphasis, so the combination of her lilting Hobbitish and his random Khuzdul words probably made them both look more than a bit insane.

It was wonderful!

"I just hadn't realized it was possible to rune parchment like that. I don't recall any of the masters back in Belegost doing such a thing." Bilbori mused. It had been bothering her ever since the map reading.

"Parchment breaks too easily." Bifur gestured. "Possible, but not smart. Easier to rune things that are more substantial."

"And the ink didn't even appear until it was in the moonlight. Elrond said that it required a specific moonlight. How is that determined?" She rubbed her chin thoughtfully as the trailed along at the end of the line as the Company moved toward the Misty Mountains. "It seems awfully complicated to rune into the magic to just appear on a specific night. Do you think it held true and every year on that exact moon? Or was it every month on the same phase? Or did they somehow get it this exact moon phase on this exact year?"

"We'd need to study the map." The older dwarf pondered the idea. "Are you going to ask for it or steal it?"

"I saw where he keeps that thing." Her lip curled in a sneer. "I'm not putting my hands there!"

"I don't think he'd appreciate us tearing the map apart, either." Bifur actually looked sad at not getting a chance to tear up the map. For studying, of course.

Bilbori commiserated. She had a healthy respect for heirlooms, but studying runework was incredibly appealing. "Maybe after the quest he'll let us study it?" She didn't sound confident in the suggestion.

"Might be easier to steal then." Bifur agreed.

She grinned, tugging distractedly at her upper lip. She gasped, dropping her hand as Bifur immediately bopped the back of her head. She turned wounded eyes up to her Master.

"Keep that up and you're going to pull off your mustache."

Bilbori's eyes widened and she reached up, feeling at her upper lip where she definitely felt whiskery hairs. "Oh no..." She turned a stricken gaze up to Bifur. "My sideburns are easy to hide in the Shire and some hobbits can grow them, but my mustache? I've been shaving it for years. My brothers don't even know I can grow one! And I've forgotten my razor!"

"Seems like something Thorin might have actually turned around for instead of a handkerchief." He teased. "Razors can be dangerous, he'd have thought you actually knew weapons if you had one."

Fretting, Bilbori shook her head. "Nori might have one, but he'd never let me use it."

Bifur frowned. "So just tell them hobbit beards grow in slow."

"And if they ever meet another hobbit and see that they don't grow at all?" She looked thoughtful. "I suppose I'll have to scrape it best I can with a knife."

"Or you could just tell your brothers, let them know hobbits don't have mustaches, and let them help."

That brought a pout to her face. "But then I can't grow it out fabulously and surprise them if they already know about it."

Bifur tapped two fingers to Bilbori's forehead. "It already is fabulous."

Bilbori cooed. "You're such a sweet talker. How are you still single?"

"Wed to a lady that I can never dance with again," he lamented.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking." She'd known he was craft-wed for decades. "Maybe we can try working on some new runes to help?"

He shook his wild mane. "Doesn't feel right. Maybe one day. But something tells me not yet." Bifur gripped her shoulder fondly. "Go tell your brothers. And then shave or don't. No one will mind either way. You'll have stars on you no matter what you pick."

Bilbori's focus shot to Bifur's face, but he was staring up at the clouds as they walked and from the vacant look he'd developed, she could tell he'd worn himself out with the conversation. Bouncing up on her toes, she pecked a quick kiss to his cheek. "Thanks, Master."

With that, she took off running further ahead of where they'd been straggling at the end of the line. "Ori!"

- - -

Having a family meeting in the middle of nowhere when one person wasn't openly known as part of the family was not easy. The Ri siblings were huddled together around their bedrolls, blocking out the rest of the Company as they whispered to each other. There were many confused looks aimed in their direction.

"I don't like this." Nori whispered even as he slipped a razor over to Bilbori.

"None of us like it." Dori responded, scowling down at where he was fiddling with a loose string on his bedroll. "But for some reason they still think Bilbo's just a hobbit and it would be a big giveaway."

"If it wasn't so much fun seeing how long it takes them to figure it out, I'd agree." Ori probably shouldn't be grinning like he was as his sister pocketed the razor.

Bilbori smirked. "Master knows. I'm surprised he hasn't told them off for various reasons since we you arrived at Bag End."

Ori snorted, looking borderline gleeful. "That's because it's just as fun for him." He turned to face Bilbori more directly. "Let me see before you get rid of it." Reaching out, Ori took hold of Bilbori's chin and tilted her face up. He gazed at the faint mustache on her upper lip before meeting her eyes. "Beautiful." He tipped his head forward, pressing their foreheads together affectionately. "Mam would be so proud of you."

She glowed at the praise.

- - -

On the other side of camp, a certain dwarf watched the group huddled around the hobbit with suspicion. There was something off about them tonight. They'd always been oddly close to the hobbit, but now it seemed the elder two were unhappy with the situation and the younger Ri and the hobbit seemed thrilled. Were they, perhaps, discussing betrothal contracts? It hadn't seemed likely, with how the affection was distant at best though they slept in each others arms nearly every night.

And then the look. Ori had tilted Bilbo's head, gazed as if he were about to kiss the lad, pressed their foreheads... And whatever the scribe had whispered had the hobbit practically incandescent with joy!

His eyes burned with envy. He regularly showed more interest in the hobbit than Ori ever did! He'd never even seen them sneak off or anything else before this sudden whatever it was. He grimaced, maybe Bilbo had been right when he'd said that he wasn't finished with Ori... A nudge into his ribs jolted him from the path his thoughts were taking and he turned to the dwarf beside him.

"Don't go there." The dwarf whispered. "They've not made any formal declarations or even added courting braids. You still have a chance to talk the lad into your bed before they can get serious."

That... was a very good point, but also completely off point. Nonetheless he smiled appreciatively at the other dwarf before turning his eyes back to the hobbit, a renewed desire burning in their depths.

- - -

"I still think one of you should add a courting braid." Nori muttered. "I'd have already done it if you hadn't had your tryst back in Bag End and ruined my plans."

Bilbori gave him a disgusted look. "Your plans were for me to be halfway to the Great Smials before you'd even got to Bag End."

"Would that have worked?" Dori was curious. "Surely if Gandalf had wanted Bilbo along then he'd have gone even there to make certain he got his way."

"The only way to prevent me from coming along would be for you three to not go along either." She muttered, looking around the camp. She smiled at Bifur who tilted his head and then waved happily when she returned it with a nod.

Ori poked Nori's ribs. "Bad enough you've got us in this mess with your words. If it were up to me Bilbo would be single and free to flirt with every one of the Company if she wished. What if one of them were her soulmate?"

"Then I'd gut them," was Nori's glib reply.

Bilbori turned a fierce glare on Nori, but it was Dori who swiftly reached out and smacked the redhead. "You'd do no such thing."

"Fine," the smacked redhead petulantly grumbled.

"Maybe we should break up? Have a big row, go our separate ways..." Ori mused.

Dori had to scoff there. "After that little show you two just put on? If I didn't know who you two were it would have looked very intimate and you'd have a time convincing anyone you were splitting after that."

At his words, Bilbori felt a surge of panic and she whipped her head around. Like magnets, her eyes met the familiar gaze across the fire. They didn't sparkle like stars tonight. With the fire crackling between them they burned like molten stone and she felt as if she were being consumed within their depths. She felt a wave of relief even as tingles swept over her skin.

The positioning of the fire was fortuitous, because her brothers just decided she was staring at the fire when they had to drag her attention back into the conversation.

She did not correct them.

- - -

The next day they reached the spring that was the source of the river they'd been following to the mountain pass. They did not camp close to the water, not wanting to scare off any potential game that might come that way, but close enough that once camp was set up they took turns indulging in getting the last wash they would get before crossing the mountains.

Bilbori, still having yet to get a chance to shave without being noticed, was standing with Bofur at the pot as they made a stew from the last of the non-preserved foods they had from Rivendell. Her head was down as she hummed a jaunty hobbit song and chopped zucchini into the pot. Without noticing, she tapped a foot in time.

"Hey now, that sounds a right merry tune. Sing it for us then?" Bofur nudged her side as he stirred the pot.

"Oh!" Bilbori hesitated. Though the dwarves sang often she rarely joined in. After all, she wasn't supposed to know the words and no one had 'taught' her any of the songs as yet. Though she was able to join in on repeated verses. "Well, it's just a silly thing. One of my favorites, actually."

Bofur continued to look at her. "Now, you know I always enjoy a good tune. Don't hold out on me now!"

Flicking her gaze around to see who might be listening, she cleared her throat and sang the tune softly.

"Sing hey! for the bath at close of day
that washes the weary mud away!
A loon is he that will not sing:
O! Water Hot is a noble thing!

O! Sweet is the sound of falling rain,
and the brook that leaps from hill to plain;
but better than rain or rippling streams
is Water Hot that smokes and steams.

O! Water cold we may pour at need
down a thirsty throat and be glad indeed;
but better is Beer if drink we lack,
and Water Hot poured down the back.

O! Water is fair that leaps on high
in a fountain white beneath the sky;
but never did fountain sound so sweet
as splashing Hot Water with my feet!"

When she finished, Bilbori shuffled her feet nervously. "Just the thought of getting in that cold spring brought it to mind..."

Had she been looking at anything other than the zucchini in her hands, she would have seen the look of awe Bofur was giving her. "That is a mighty beautiful voice you've been hiding."

Bilbori's cheeks turned pink.

"Hey, don't be bashful. We'll have to trade songs now, yeah. I'd love to hear that voice spinning around some old dwarf tunes I know. Tell me how the verses go now."

She hesitated, feeling guilty for some reason she couldn't explain. Probably because he seemed to genuinely like her voice and Bilbori hadn't been singing along already. Which she definitely had a masculine voice as far as hobbit vocal ranges went, her singing voice was higher than even the dwarf women she'd heard sing back in Belegost. She'd be like a bird singing around the deep voices of the Company. Since she tended to easily write poetry as part of the rhyming trick when rune crafting, she wrote poems and songs as a way to relax back in Bag End. So she definitely knew the appeal of a high voice weaving through the deep. She supposed the only way she could get rid of the strange sense of guilt would be to agree to Bofur's terms and so she started teaching him the Bath Song.

One verse at a time as they cooked, Bilbori taught Bofur the words to the song and then they sang it together once. Bofur wanted to try again and on one of the verses he interrupted loudly with improvised words.

"Better than rain or a rippling brook, is a mug of beer inside this Took!" At the last word, Bofur shoved a mug of beer from the last keg they'd swiped in Rivendell into Bilbori's hands with a laugh.

Laughing along, Bilbori chugged the beer to the cheers of the dwarves.

Of course that was when Thorin decided that he'd had enough hobbit music for the night. "You'd better take your turn in the spring, Master Took. We wouldn't want your delicate sensibilities overcome by trail dust." His words earned a few snickers at Bilbori's expense, not that she minded. That had been a hilarious prank as far as she was concerned. "Fíli, Kíli... Make sure the halfling doesn't drown."

Though she'd been moving to pick up her bathing supplies, Bilbori froze at the end of Thorin's order and looked at her brothers with a flash of panic in her eyes.

Ori and Nori had just returned from the spring and were drying their hair. They both froze and, after Nori kicked Ori, the younger of the two spoke up.

"T-That's okay, Thorin. I can go keep watch over Bilbo."

Thorin gave Ori a look before responding. "And have you two get sidetracked? I think not. My nephews still need to bathe as well and we need someone to help with the ponies while they're gone."

"Actually, Master Thorin..." Bilbori frantically tried to think of something. She spied Óin and came up with a plan. "It is quite against the customs and traditions of the Shire to be seen in such situations with no less than three chaperones at least fifty years older than the persons being chaperoned." She bustled over, promptly taking hold of the older dwarf and tugging him along. "I had been hoping Master Óin, Master Bifur, and I might use this time to discuss herbal remedies for cephalgia and dysmenorrhea based on the plant life in the local area..." Bilbori pulled Óin over to Bifur, taking hold of her laughing Master, and dragged both with her in the direction of the spring. "So, thank you for your concern, but I have this sorted!"

After a few moments of silence, the dumbfounded dwarves that remained at the camp heard Bilbori's voice call back, "And I can swim very well, thank you!"

Chapter Text

"No, no... This just won't do." Bofur wasn't as happy as he could have been. "Sure it sounds nice and all, but it could sound so much better." Bofur had really gotten into finding ways for their voices to sound better. "Here, try singing the line this way..." He demonstrated, slowing the tempo down and drawing out some of the words so that they caressed the steady thrum of the deeper vocals.

The way their voices sounded in the mountains around them only added to the experience. They were surprised at how often their experiments gained applause from the other dwarves as they walked. The first few times they'd both blushed, but soon a few of the other good singers joined in with Bofur and she let her voice drop and rise, weaving in between the different tones the dwarves produced. When the song ended they couldn't help but just admire the echoes fading through the mountains... And then the echoes of wolves sang back.

They didn't sing after that, not wanting to draw anything to their position.

- - -

Clinging to the side of a mountain after falling off the knee of a stone giant sucked. At least it did as far as Bilbori could determine. And, as she was the only one in such a situation, it rather made her the authority on the matter. Therefore, it sucked.

Looking up into Bofur's and Ori’s frightened faces was enough to shake off her fright. After all, she was a child of Dilnobri and descended from Durin VI himself! And if there was one thing the children of Dilnobri were known for, it was for their strength. While she was the weakest among her siblings, Bilbori still had the strength in one arm to cling to the side of the cliff while shifting her weight, which she did. Wiggling her free arm, she jiggled one strap of her pack free before swinging the arm back up and switching the hand that was gripping the stone protrusion that was her current lifeline. An easy tilt of her newly relaxed shoulder had her heavy pack sliding down her arm where she caught it in her free hand before giving a swinging lurch and sending it flying up and over Ori’s head to smack safely against the cliff where a quick scramble from Bifur saved it.

Freed of the excess weight, Bilbori shifted again, pulling her own weight up enough as she did that she could swing her arm again and this time clap her hand into Bofur’s outstretched one with a solid smack. Bofur’s grip was like iron as he clasped her hand and heaved her back up onto the path with enough strength that he fell back and she landed on him with a relieved burst of laughter. She only had a moment to register Bofur’s startled look before Ori had swept her back onto her feet and managed to twist her around so that she was surrounded by a huddle of her brothers.

"Thought we’d lost you..."

It felt as if they were about to have a capital eff Family moment, but since she was still ostensibly undercover as a Hobbit, Bilbori cast her gaze around for a distraction. She paused looking down on Thorin where he was crouched down near the edge of the cliff, one foot hanging over the side and his hand down on the ground. He was staring at her with an expression that made it seem as if someone had just told him that sapphires weren’t real, did he really want to affix those blueberries to his formal brooch?

Bilbori said the first thing that came to mind. "Do you think sapphires are like blueberries to stone giants?"

Thankfully Dwalin announced that a cave had been found to get them out of the weather just then. Which was excellent for her as Thorin's incredulous look said he was seriously questioning her sanity. She did end up having to deal with more than the fond, teasing sound of Nori whispering 'blueberries' in her ear before flicking said ear’s tip. As they settled down in the cave, Bilbori ended up with Ori cuddled on one side, Nori on the other, and Dori blocking them all into a corner while they tried to get some sleep.

It wasn’t long after that attempt to sleep that Bilbori also became the authority on falling off a bridge in Goblin Town. For the record, it sucked too.

- - -

There was a foul energy in the air, rippling and pulsing. It was almost as if it were breathing, but in an almost relaxed way. As though the energy were sleeping. Bilbori adjusted her eyes as best as she could to the gloom within the cavern she had found herself in. Since she was only half-dwarf, her dark sight wasn't as good as it could be, probably a little less than half of what a dwarf would have seen in the same light level. So she fumbled in the pouch at her back, just under the sheaths for her kama. With one hand she pulled out a small round ball of hardened clay. The other pulled out a little hammer only slightly larger than a pen. She tapped the hammer to the ball and it lit up with a faint blue tint.

"AHHHHHH!"

Startled, Bilbori dropped the light and stumbled back as a creature that had been blinded by the unexpected light scuttled back into the shadow after screaming and scaring the daylights out of her! She unsheathed her kama, holding them back and ready. "Hello?"

There was a faint, whining sound. "It hurts us, Precious... It hurts us..."

"You're... Hurt?" Bilbori was confused, edging away from where it seemed the creature was hiding and toward what looked like several of the Company's packs that had fallen from above.

"You did it to us!" A similar, yet slightly off voice snarled. "Burns us with nasty tiny sun!"

"Well you shouldn't have been skulking so close to me!"

"We was just curious, Precious." The first, slightly sweeter voice insisted as a mangy, nobbly head with giant eyes cautiously peeked around a large rock. The eyes were squinted almost closed. "We've never seen anything likes yous before. Have we, Precious?"

A moment later, the creature seemed to spasm, jerking its head to the side. "We don't cares what it is! Gollum! Gollum!" The thing choked on its own saliva. "We just cares if that it's fat and juicy!"

Bilbori frowned, adjusting her grip on her kama. "That is something you'll never find out!"

The creature snarled at her before hiding behind the rock again. "Nasty sun bringer! You'll never get out of here and then we'll eats you anyway!"

"I'd like to see you try!"

"But we don't, Precious!" The sweeter voice entreated. "We's just been so lonely. Only goblinses and batses and fishes..." The voice trailed off and she heard it scuttling away into the shadows.

Bilbori waited a moment before cautiously moving around to check behind the rock. She didn't see anything, so moved over to start picking up what she could of the packs that had fallen. She'd almost packed up the most she was willing to try carting around down here when the sound of a pebble falling came from behind her. Whirling, Bilbori lashed out with both kama! There was a sickening crack sound followed by a choked gasp and when it finished, Bilbori found herself looking into the eyes of the creature...

The thing was nearly the same height as her and he currently had the blades of both her kama planted into his shoulders, just behind the collarbones. The crack had been his collarbones breaking under the force of her strike. Judging from the bubbles in the blood coming from around the blades, they had pierced into his lungs. The creature's huge eyes were wide and surprisingly bright blue as he looked at her in shock. "But... We just... Wanted to play... Precious..."

Bilbori had the feeling that was going to haunt her for a while, but she was still running on adrenaline at the moment and so she just lifted one foot, planting it on the thing's thin chest, and shoved even as she jerked her arms toward herself. The blades of her kama ripped brutally out of the thing's chest through the ribs, slicing clean but pulling the bones through the flesh with the force.

The body fell back, dead.

Stumbling back, Bilbori hissed as her foot came into contact with whatever was giving off the foul energy she'd felt. Looking down, she saw a plain ring that reeked of magic. She could tell it was evil and since it was an evil mountain with evil creatures inside, she shouldn't leave it. So using the bloodied tip of her kama, she hooked the ring and dropped it into the pouch where she kept her rune crafting materials. The seals on the pouch muffled the energy and she sighed with relief.

Quickly cleaning the blood off her kama, Bilbori quickly looked around. She grabbed up the things she had been planning to carry with her, picked up the miner's light that had initially blinded the creature, and started walking in the direction the mountain was telling her would lead her to the open sky without looking back once.

- - -

"He saw his chance to leave and took it!" Thorin's angry snarl echoed through the trees.

"Bilbo would never abandon us! The Company!" Ori's shouted response was furious and loud.

"BILBO!" Several voices called.

The frantic yells of her brothers and the few others that didn't seem to share Thorin's loud opinion spurred Bilbori to move faster. Such was her haste that she didn't bother cleaning the blood from her elvish short sword or what was left on her face from killing the guards at the tunnel door. Instead, she sprinted in the direction of her brothers, bursting onto the scene of the dwarves straggled together. She dripped blood and looked altogether a wild thing as she quickly moved into the startled group. Without seeing who it was, she latched herself onto the nearest brother, which judging from the way her bruised ribs screamed in protest at the returned hug, was Dori.

"How did you get passed the goblins?" Fíli sounded amazed.

"What? Give me a sword and not expect me to use it?" Bilbori broke her hug on Dori and moved to hug Nori, pecking him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Nori taught me how," which was the absolute truth though it had been decades ago.

"Why did you come back?" Thorin demanded.

"Excuse me?" Having moved on to hugging Ori, Bilbori turned a confused look to Thorin.

"Why did you come back?" Thorin repeated himself, looking angry at the matter.

Bilbori's face went from confused to blank and if anyone happened to notice they'd have seen her brothers shrink back slightly at the sudden change.

"You had your chance to go back to your beloved Shire... So why did you come back?"

"First of all, Thorin Oakenshield... I fell! I did not sneak, walk, nor run away from the Company at any point in time. I fell! I don't even know how far it was. And then some creature down there in the mountain tried to eat me! Hobbits cannot see in the dark! How exactly was I supposed to pick which direction I was walking down there?! I was lucky I made it out alive at all, thank the Valar, and you want to fuss over which direction I came once I was out!" Bilbori moved closer to Thorin, her voice seething with rage. "I don't know about you, Thorin Oakenshield, but when I make a promise I carry through on it! And I promised to see this mission through to the end. So you can take your accusations about me being a coward who runs away and stuff them up your jacksie!"

Whirling away from Thorin, Bilbori buried her face into Ori's shoulder and let herself cling to him. She trembled with rage in his arms while he rubbed her back soothingly and sent Thorin a glare of anger and disappointment.

Since it was clear Thorin was trying to think of a way to save face after that dressing down, Gandalf took pity on the dwarf. "We mustn't linger. The goblins will be free to pursue us come nightfall. Come, let us away from here."

That reminded Bilbori that she was still burdened with extra packs and she quickly shrugged out of them until she had only her own on her back. "Your things are heavy." She remarked tonelessly before heading off to follow Gandalf's lead. She'd have to get the things that were not hers out of her pack and return them later.

How had they not noticed just how much the little hobbit was carrying?! Without checking what was whose, the two extra packs the hobbit had been laden with were picked up and the rest of the dwarves followed.

Chapter Text

Bilbori was well and tired of running. Her ribs, still sore both from falling twice while in the mountain and from being crushed in her brother's hugs, now burned a she tried to draw in her breath as they ran from an ever increasingly larger wolf pack. She wished she had packed some of her lass shirts. She'd have happily given up the lad charade just for a chance to remove her binder if not for the fact that her bosom was too large for poor buttons on her lad shirts to contain. Just when it felt like she couldn't run anymore, she felt Dori grab hold of her and toss her up into the air!

Squeaking, Bilbori found her arms grabbed by Fíli and Kíli as they pulled her up into a tree. She saw Dori toss Ori up as well and then help Bombur up before climbing and soon the entire company was spread out among several trees as they gasped for breath. The wolves soon caught up and jumped, trying to catch hold of anything and she found herself and the others in her tree shuffling higher into the branches. Soon enough she was wedged between the younger Durins on a high branch and clinging for balance.

"So..." Fíli started once they'd caught their breath back. "There's something very important I've been meaning to ask you ever since that night in your hobbit hole."

Bilbori turned to regard the blond dwarf with wide eyes. "What?"

"What happens if a room catches on fire? It's underground, almost everything is made of wood, and you use open flames all over the place." Fíli looked genuinely upset about the potential fire hazard.

Bewildered at such a random question, she took a moment to respond. "Above each doorway there's two or three pegs. If you pull out those pegs, the entire roof of the room will collapse and bury it under dirt. It will smother the fire and then you just have to dig the room out again."

Fíli considered this. "That's... Quite clever actually. Thank you, it's been bothering me."

- - -

"I spy something furry." Kíli said.

This had been going on for at least an hour as they shuffled about on their branches. Bilbori was certain she was going to kill him.

"Is it a warg?" Nori asked from the next tree over. That had been the answer the last four times someone spied something furry.

"No."

Balin guessed, "A squirrel?"

"No. One more guess."

Bilbori looked around, wondering just what was furry this time.

"Bilbo's toes!" Bofur declared from the tree he shared with Bombur, Bifur, and Thorin.

"Correct!" Kíli cheerfully replied. He gently nudged his shoulder against Bilbori's and waggled his brows at her, grinning down at her bare toes.

Flexing her toes before curling them, Bilbori absurdly wished she was in a position to kick him without the risk of falling off the branch. "You leave my toes out of your games."

From her other side, Fíli leaned in close to whisper, "What about other parts of you?"

Kíli heard the whisper and grinned, leaning closer as well. "Yes, Bilbo... Can we bring other parts of you into our games?"

Leaning her head back, Bilbori stared up at the leaves on the thinner branches above and wondered if they'd take the weight of her and her pack. This was torture. One minute she wanted to smack them both and the next she was lamenting the fact that they were stuck in a tree with everyone else within sight and a massive wolf pack circling the tree trunks. It certainly didn't help that they were seated so close on the branch that the only thing separating them were various layers of clothing.

Dori saved the situation. "Heads up!"

Startled, the trio on the branch turned just in time to catch the earth-bread Dori tossed over.

"May as well eat something while we're all stuck up here. Though I don't want to think about following Bifur's example." Dori shuddered at the memory of earlier in the tree seige when Bifur had stood on his branch and urinated on the wolves below. It had been hilarious, but Dori was as bad as an actual Baggins over those type of things.

Earth-bread was one of those things dwarves kept secret from other races. It was the root of a plant that grew deep in the caves of their mountains. Rather like a potato in size and coloring, the root tasted like fresh baked bread after being boiled. Soon everyone was enjoying the tasty distraction.

- - -

By the time the sun had well and truly set, goblins had joined the wolves. The goblins were taking delight in jeering at the Company trapped in the trees. It didn't take long before their was fire involved and then they were jumping and leaping from tree to try, trying to stay out of the fire and everyone got mixed up and tossed around and the next thing Bilbori knew she was on the back of an eagle! An eagle of all things!

"I was so worried about you." The soft voice of the dwarf that had been tossed onto the eagle with Bilbori murmured. "These last few days... I saw you fall." He was pressed up against her from where they were both laid flat on the eagle's broad back and clinging to the feathers. Only her pack kept him from being on top of her with how close he was. "I thought my heart stopped."

Bilbori shivered at the words in that achingly familiar tone. She tilted her head, gazing into his star-filled eyes from the nearly non-existent distance between them. "I'm surprised you didn't do anything once I showed up outside of Goblin Town then."

The dwarf smirked faintly. "I had good reason for that. Your protectors were all over you and I couldn't let your beau know he has competition just yet. He might do something to try to keep you out of my arms."

She noticed he had somehow managed to slide his arm between her back and pack when he squeezed her close. She hissed with pain, her bruises not taking the gesture as kindly as her heart did.

"Are you okay?" He was instantly worried, loosening his hold.

"I am one giant bruise from all the falling."

His lips brushed gently against her forehead. "Sorry."

She hummed, forehead tingling pleasantly. "What makes you think you can get me out of my beau's arms?" She still had trouble not laughing every time she referred to Ori as if he were anything other than her brother, it left her eyes dancing with merriment as she waited for his answer.

The dwarf smiled. "I can feel it. Any time we're close, I just want to be closer. When you walk into a room I feel you. When I dare to touch... It's like lightning dancing on my skin." He pressed close, whispering in her ear. "You feel it too. I've seen you leaning into me. Even now you can't pull away."

He was right, blasted dwarf, but she wasn't going to admit it. "If I pulled away now I'd fall hundreds of feet." She pointed out snarkily. Then she reminded him that she'd left him at every encounter. "Seems your senses are a bit off, seeing as I have no trouble walking away."

Instead of being disheartened, he seemed amused. "It's just because you're a hobbit. The pull's strange for you, so naturally you run from it."

Bilbori looked at him, confused. What was that daft dwarf on now? Pull? She'd never heard such a thing. "I thought the only thing dwarves ever felt a pull to was a craft..."

His grin grew larger. "Then maybe you're my craft... What ever could I do with you?" He reached up as if going for the ends of her curls and accidentally grazed his hand along the line of her ear.

Bilbori's eyes squeezed shut and she couldn't stifle the sudden toe-curling moan at the sensation. Even playing around with Blanco they'd rarely touched ears and the suddenness of it combined with the electrifying tingle she felt when that particular dwarf touched her skin... She was breathing harshly when she finally managed to open her eyes only to find him frozen in place, a look of wonder on his face and awe in his star-filled eyes.

"You are my craft." He stated in a voice full of wonder.

Before Bilbori could say anything, the eagle spoke. "Time to land, brace yourselves." And their private little world tilted as the eagle angled to glide down toward the massive nests.

As soon as the eagle had landed, Bilbori slid down to the ground. She scurried to the front of the eagle and bowed. "Thank you so much." With that, she rushed over to where Ori was just getting off his eagle and plastered herself to her brother's side. She did not look back at the dwarf.

- - -

That night Bilbori was poked by the tips of no less than fifteen feathers that were buried in the nest she was curled in with her brothers. No doubt it bothered her because of her less than dwarvish layer of plushness. That and her thinner hobbit clothes. Speaking of, her clothing was getting threadbare. She absently pulled each feather out as it woke her and went back to sleep until the next poke. She had a pile of feathers ranging from as long as her hand to as long as her forearm by the time morning came around and, without thinking about it, she stuck them in her pack. Perhaps Ori would like an eagle quill one day.

The eagles were kind enough to fly the Company to something Gandalf called the Carrock that morning, but they would not go further from their nests at this particular time. Saying their farewells, the Company started the involved process of hopping down the massive stairs carved into the Carrock. By the time they reached the bottom, all of them were feeling the exhaustion of the last several days.

Hearing a stream in the distance, Bilbori pointed. "Water!" And she took off in that direction only to be pulled back by Gandalf's grip on her pack.

"None of that now, Bilbo. We must continue."

"But, bath!" Bilbori turned pleading eyes up to the wizard. Her face still had traces of dried blood on it and she was positive she smelled like whatever was in that creature's cave, old sweat, blood, and smoke from the fire. Not to mention that musty bird smell from the eagles.

The plaintive tone she used along with that particular word caused tired chuckles to go through the Company.

Gandalf gave her a fond look. "My dear, the sooner we reach our next destination, the sooner you can have a hot bath!"

Bilbori's breath hitched and her eyes went huge and suddenly she was pulling various dwarves trying to get them moving faster. "Which way? Bless it all, which way?"

When Gandalf pointed the appropriate direction, Bilbori started off at a run that caused more than one of the older dwarves to groan at the sudden surge of energy even as the younger dwarves saw it as a challenge and took off after her! Her brothers gave startled squawks either way and took off as well, not wanting their sister out of their sight after the near-loss in the mountain.

- - -

"How much further?" Bilbori's burst of energy hadn't lasted long against the bone-deep exhaustion and now she trudged along with the others at a more reasonable pace.

"Not much longer now. You'll have to come in first with me to talk him into helping us."

"So... You showed up at his house this morning to try to butter him up, failed, and need to bring in reinforcements?" she snarked, reminded of the invasion of Bag End.

Gandalf huffed. "You know perfectly well where I was this morning. He is simply the type to enjoy solitude and rushing us all in will not aid our cause. He could very well kill us."

"We're too tired to rush." Bilbori waved a dismissive hand. "And if he's so dangerous you say he'd kill us, I doubt he'd be bothered if we joined him one at a time or fifty at a time." She blew out a puff of air up to try to get a stray curl out of her eyes. "If it were me, I'd rather start with an honest front." She didn't say anymore though, best to let him mull it over for a while until he decided the idea was his own.

An hour or two later, the summer heat beating down on them, they came across what was obviously tended oak trees and massive beehives with equally massive bees. Flowers were everywhere and the hobbit part of Bilbori wanted to run squealing into the field but they continued on instead. Soon they came to a massive hedge of thorns.

"Ahh, we're here! Now to find the gate..."

Chapter Text

Beorn was quite the tallest and most massive person in the mortal world. Bilbori was positive of it. She hadn't felt so small since she was a wee lass, toddling around knee-high on her brothers and gazing up at the world around her. It was a queer feeling and, from the looks on some of the others, they felt it too. Of course being made to feel very small didn't stop Bilbori from smacking Beorn's hand and firmly telling him, "No! Bad bear!" when he'd moved to pluck her off the ground. He had been startled, laughed boisterously, and warned everyone to beware the bunny's teeth...

Ori leaned over to whisper in Bilbori’s ear later as they sat on benches to eat at the giant's table. “Do you want that bunny-eared bonnet now?”

A thud followed by a burst of laughter drew the attention of everyone toward where Ori and Bilbori had been sitting. Ori was on the floor, clutching his stomach as he laughed. Bilbori’s arms were crossed over her chest and she had a very indignant look on her face, nose in the air and pointedly ignoring the hysterically laughing dwarf.

- - -

Bilbori was ready to propose to Beorn as she luxuriated in a nice, hot bath. Of course she wouldn't, he was far too big to be sensible in the slightest, but she could certainly appreciate the luxury. One of the sheep had even brought her a honey-based salve to apply to her bruises. Just the thought of having to get out of the water and pull her clothes back on made her whimper. Though she finally did relent enough to pull her binder into the bath with her. It was the only article of clothing she didn't have a spare of and it was as sorely in need of washing and mending as she was.

A hissing sound drew her attention up to where Ori had apparently sneaked into the bathing room. He was peering down at her bruises from where he was leaning over the edge of the massive tub.

"That looks like it hurts, how in the world were you racing around like a maniac?" Ori sounded both exasperated and baffled as he gestured to her torso which had blossomed into a fantastic array of blue, purple, and black markings.

"Oh, you know, us hobbits don't feel pain," she flippantly replied.

"Bori..." Ori's soft disapproval made her feel guilty.

"Sorry."

"Dori doesn't want you to put your binder back on." He appraised her bruises. "I don't either."

"Neither of you gets a say in that. I don't want to be treated differently."

"They wouldn't..." Ori cut himself off. "Okay, some of them would, but most wouldn't. You're still Bilbo."

"The important people already know." Bilbori stated. "As for the others... Well, this will only last so much longer with the constant wear." She wrung out her binder and handed it to Ori who dutifully hung it up near the fire that was keeping the water toasty warm. "I don't suppose Dori has the materials to make a new one, does he?"

Ori shook his head before he peeled off his clothes and joined her in the tub. Without asking he started to pull out her braids even as she reached to return the favor. "No, his pack was lost in the goblin tunnels and nothing of his made it into the things you managed to salvage."

"Oh no! Did he lose his entire kit?"

Every dwarf had a kit filled with their personal favorite and most commonly used crafting tools. Bilbori's kit contained the adjustable burin with the jeweltips her brothers had gotten her for her dwarven coming of age, her tiny rune activating mallet, a lump of raw clay, a small pre-runed miner's light, that foul ring she'd picked up in the creature's cave, her magnifying loupe, the beads she hadn't been wearing, some coins, a couple pieces of jewelry, and a few small projects she had been working on during the journey when no one could see, including her masterpiece. Kits were generally worn on a dwarf at all times. Bilbori wore her kit in a pouch at the small of her back just under her kama sheaths and hidden by her jacket and waistcoat when dressed as a hobbit.

"Only the spare cloth he'd been lugging around. He still has all of his tools."

"That's a relief." Bilbori noted as she lathered up her brother's hair. She wished she could get away with washing her other brothers' hair, but couldn't as long as she was pretending to just be a hobbit.

Ori seemed to pick up on her shift in mood, lathering up her curls even as she washed his hair. "They miss getting to pamper their sister, you know."

"Pampered by three handsome dwarves... What a lucky sister you must have." Her tone was facetious as she rinsed his hair.

"The best." Ori agreed before grinning. "I could never introduce you, of course. She'd steal you in a heartbeat."

"Always after her brothers' toys, is she?" Bilbori grinned as well even as Ori poured water over her head.

"Nah, you'd just see she's the best of us." Ori gave her a fond look, tapping his forehead against hers.

"Sap." She mumbled before yanking him around to scrub his back.

"Hey, Ori!" Nori's loud voice rang out as he opened the bathing room door. "Have you seen Bilb- Oh! Nevermind! Sorry to interrupt!" He closed the door just as quickly as he'd opened it, whistling as he wandered away.

Ori went red. "I know he thinks he's protecting you, but I'm going to kill him if he keeps it up."

Bilbori dropped her forehead onto Ori's shoulder, laughing helplessly.

- - -

Bombur was probably the only person that appreciated Beorn's seemingly eternally stocked pantry as much as Bilbori. As such they spent a lot of time stuffing their faces on the sweet, delicious repast. And if Bilbori intentionally made eye contact with a certain dwarf that was not indulging in the abundance as she licked cream and honey from her fingers... Well, one really couldn't blame a lass. Especially not after seeing the way his eyes grew dark, his throat bobbed, and how he tellingly shifted in his seat. She winked at him before hopping up from her seat and following one of the sheep into the kitchen.

She didn't see the amused way Bombur rolled his eyes at her antics as she left.

- - -

"Kíli, which one of these- What are you doing?"

When Bilbori had gone looking for the younger prince she hadn't expected to find him hiding away outside behind the bathing room, missing his shirt, and painting his hair while looking into a small mirror. She was torn between admiring his form and trying to figure out what he was doing.

"Bilbo!" Startled, Kíli dropped the paintbrush he'd been using, splattering a dark substance onto his trousers when the brush fell into a shallow bowl filled with the substance. "I'm not doing anything..." He cringed at his own words.

"Kíli, I'm looking right at you. I can see you're doing something." A part of her wanted to pet him and tell him he was so pretty. She took a step closer.

Unexpectedly, Kíli flinched away. He looked ashamed, turning his gaze toward the substance and then looking around for where he had placed his tunic.

Nope, Bilbori decided. Whatever made him want to put on his shirt was a bad thing. She'd entirely taken too much of a liking to having dwarves without clothes on during this quest, it seemed. "Kíli!" Her sharp voice caused him to freeze. "I'm not trying to get you in trouble. I'm just curious."

Kíli hesitated, toying with the edge of his tunic. "Do you remember, back in the mountains, when the stone giants nearly killed half the company?"

"Well considering I nearly fell to my death, yes I remember." She wondered where this was going.

"Heh. Blueberries." Kíli muttered softly before continuing in a normal tone. "Thorin called out for 'Kíli' as he ran forward. You probably didn't see since you were just hanging there, but I was behind him. It was Fíli that Thorin meant."

"So he got you confused?" That truly baffled Bilbori. "How?"

Kíli shrugged, looking miserable. "He has problems with his vision sometimes. And it used to be worse."

"How could it be worse?!" The mere idea of confusing the princes boggled her mind.

Hesitating, Kíli looked uncomfortably like he was revealing a state secret. Which he could be if it was something that had Thorin confusing his nephews.

"Kíli?"

"Fíli and I have the same color hair." Kíli finally just blurted it out. "I bought some elvish hair potion to make my hair dark and I have to repaint it sometimes or I'll be blond again."

Bilbori was stunned. But if she thought back hard and far enough... She could remember the two little princes, both golden-haired, sitting across from her while she tried to make her first rune activating mallet. Looking at the prince now, with his hair half painted with hair potion, and she noticed smudges where he'd been painting his body hair as well, she wondered what he would look like blond now. She tilted her head, wondering how bare he'd have been if she had arrived a few minutes later... And why was he doing it outside the bathing room instead of inside? Of course the wind shifted slightly and she smelled a foul aroma coming from the potion and that question was answered.

Unaware of her thoughts, Kíli shifted self-consciously. "Thorin doesn't mistake us nearly as often now..." He defended.

"Do you need any help?"

"What?" Kíli stared at her.

"Painting on the potion." She gestured to the abandoned brush and bowl of potion. "Do you need any help painting it on?"

Kíli went a fantastic shade of red and yet he hesitated, clearly torn, before finally saying, "No... Why wou- What were you looking for me for?"

Some predatory part of Bilbori she'd been seeing more recently in her life wanted to press the issue, but she also didn't want to insist when something was making him uncomortable. A hobbit would never deprive someone of comfort. Why was she pretending to be a hobbit again? So instead she held up the items she had been carrying. "Which one of these is the best?"

"What?"

"Which one is the best?" Bilbori repeated her question, holding up multiple items in her hands up higher to 'help' the dwarf see them better. Which was really kind of an insult since he had the sharpest eyes in the Company.

"Are those... My arrows?" Kíli sounded baffled.

"Yes," was her shameless assent. "Which one is still in the best shape?"

Confused as to why the hobbit was asking him something like that, Kíli actually did look over the arrows he'd managed to hang on to over the course of the journey. There were not many and he needed to make some more now that it was brought to his attention. "Umm..." He pointed at the arrow with the smoothest fletching and sharpest tip. "That one."

Extracting the indicated arrow, Bilbori bundled up the others and stuck them back into Kíli's quiver, which had been hanging from her arm.

"Thank you," she gave him one last head to toe look and then headed back to where the Company had been keeping their packs and weapons to return the quiver.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Kíli hopped up from where he'd been sitting and followed the hobbit. He arrived just in time to see Bilbori place the arrow he'd singled out within her own things. "Hey! I don't have many of those left."

"So make more."

"I haven't exactly seen any birds around here for fletching." Kíli snarked. "With as much as he bakes, you'd think Beorn would have chickens at least. It would give him a wider variety to bake if nothing else."

Bilbori paused, turning to regard the dark haired prince. "You know about using eggs in baking?"

The prince didn't look pleased with her insinuation. He crossed his arms defensively. "I enjoyed baking while I was trying to decide my craft. I still do when I can." He added, "I'm not stupid."

"I didn't say you were. I know you act stupid sometimes, but you've proven more than once just since Bag End you that you are not. I was just surprised you knew how to bake. It seems a bit of a calm activity for someone with your energy."

Kíli regarded the hobbit for a while before deciding that the statement was sincere. "Are you kidding? When you bake you get to have your hands all in the food, no one minds if flour gets everywhere, and you end up with sweet treats. How is that not something I'd want to do?!" He was incredulous.

"Well, when you put it that way..."

"And I haven't forgotten you stole my arrow. I saw the whole thing. You're a terrible burglar."

Bilbori narrowed her eyes at that comment. "Maybe, but did you see me taking your pipe?" She handed it back to him even as he checked his trouser pockets in surprise.

"Okay, maybe not a completely terrible burglar. But I'm still out of feathers unless you can burgle some of them, too."

"Oh! But I have!" Bilbori had actually forgotten. She shuffled some things around in her pack before pulling out the eagle feathers. "I took them from the eagle's nest." She held out the feathers like a bouquet and offered them to Kíli.

Kíli stared at the feathers. "You stole... Eagle feathers... Right from their nest... And now you're offering them to me? Are you trying to court me?"

Squinting at the dwarf, Bilbori let the question hang for a minute. She could see where the thought might come from. Since they tended to refer to her as a burglar then stealing things could be seen as her craft, and giving a gift you acquired using your craft was a romantic sign... She actually debated before slowly responding, "I'm offering to trade for an arrow."

"Oh." Kíli's cheeks went pink at his misunderstanding. "I thank you then." He took the feathers. "I'll be able to make a lot of arrows from these." He hesitated, eyes flicking as if he saw something behind her, before backing toward the door. "I'll just go... Do that then. Make arrows, that is." Kíli quit the room.

Startled, Bilbori yelled after him, "Finish your hair first!"

"Right! I'll do that!" Kíli ran by the doorway, bright red again, heading in the opposite direction.

Bilbori turned to look around behind her but didn't see anything except Glóin taking a nap. She hummed, turning to peer in the direction the young dwarf had fled with a confused and thoughtful look on her face.

She couldn't help but feel that the entire encounter should have been different.

- - -

Bilbori lay in the grass of Beorn's garden with her eyes closed. She was surrounded by plants in bloom and others heavy with fruits and vegetables. The air was filled with the hum of the giant bees buzzing among the wonders within the garden. From time to time a bee would land on Bilbori's lips as if mistaking them for a flower. The bee's legs would tickle and cause a soft giggle to escape her lips and the bee would buzz away again. She couldn't remember the last time she had indulged in something so delightfully simple and hobbitish as lounging in a warm garden and a pleased sigh escaped her lips. She could feel the life thrumming around her in beautiful harmony and she was certain that Beorn must have created a piece of Vána's own Golden Garden here on Arda.

"And here I was starting to think you weren't a hobbit at all." A familiar voice spoke nearby.

Bilbori's lips quirked with amusement. "I assure you, I am very much of the hobbity sort."

"A hobbit that's familiar with a sword, daggers, and that strange sickle you so enjoy."

She hummed. "Us Tooks always were a bit more wild and dangerous. And that 'strange sickle' is very useful when it comes time to harvest."

"Yes, Tooks..." Gandalf hummed as he seated himself nearby. "I believe I owe you an apology."

Puzzled, Bilbori opened her eyes and sat up. She tilted her head to regard the wizard. "Howso?"

"I still do not believe you are as old as you claim, but I do believe you are indeed not a Baggins in any way. And so I apologize for causing you distress by calling you such."

"Gandalf... Gerontius was my father. You were friends. Did he..." She hesitated, "Did he never speak of me at all?"

"I do not recall him ever speaking your name." At Bilbori's crestfallen look, Gandalf added, "Which could be as much my own fault as his. Often times we spoke more of goings on outside the Shire than on what transpired within. I do remember him remarking on a baker's dozen fauntlings a time or two, though. Though my memory may be failing, I do know that he only ever mentioned his children with love in his eyes."

Partially mollified, Bilbori only nodded.

"I am overjoyed to see how well you have been getting along with these dwarves. I thought for certain it would have taken you much longer to adapt to their ways." Gandalf carefully picked himself up.

"They're lovely, every one of them. How could I not get along with them?"

"Well, some far more than others. Why if I didn't know any better I'd say that Óin were preparing to adopt you, for all the times you two wander off to have private discussions and return looking pleased."

Bilbori couldn't help but facepalm. Of all the things for Gandalf to notice he would see the times Óin took her aside to make certain she still had enough herbs to help with her various cramps and offer new travel remedies he had remembered from days gone by. She didn't know if she wanted to laugh or cry at how horrible Gandalf really was. Horrible at seeing what went on in front of him, or horrible in that he was intentionally trying to drive her insane. Either way he was a horrible old man. It had to be intentional. She obviously was too sane for having agreed to join this mad quest. Yes, that was the reason. Gandalf was intentionally trying to turn her completely and utterly insane.

"I'm certain that's not on Óin's mind. And if it were I would have to decline. I had two very wonderful parents that do not need replacing."

"He will be disappointed, I'm sure. Now, if you will excuse me, I must assist with the final preparations for leaving." With a tip of his hat, Gandalf wandered out of the garden.

Looking around, Bilbori took in the garden. She sighed at the feel of the energy and tried to soak in as much as she could to fortify herself for the next bit of the journey. After a few minutes she noticed she was alone. Taking another good look all around her, she scurried over and hid away behind a raspberry bush. Once she was as hidden as she could be, she took out her tools and went to working on her masterpiece. It was nearly done.

Chapter Text

"Mirkwood. Mirk. Wood. Wood of the Mirk." Bilbori mused aloud from where she was standing in front of Mirkwood with the rest of the Company.

Gandalf had apparently grown bored of his quest to drive her mad and had departed from the group. No one was quite ready to step into the wood just yet and so they were just standing around. Her toes burned just at the idea of passing the border. And it truly was a border. There was an oddly visible treeline that separated the world from light and dark and she could practically feel a wall thrumming with energy between the side they were currently on and whatever it was within the forest. She was not looking forward to entering.

"Do you suppose it's a terminology thing?" Balin wondered.

"Like once it was Green but then they changed it?" Ori wondered, easily catching his master's train of thought.

"If that's the case," Bofur caught on easily as well, though the majority of the Company seemed confused. "Then maybe we should change it to Smirkwood?"

"What are you all on about?" Dwalin wondered.

"It's a literary thing." Bilbori continued to muse. She wasn't surprised that the four of the group most involved with wordplay would be on the same train of thought. "You don't name a place, you create a place. Surely the forest was not always here. But someone named it Greenwood, so a wood grew nice and green."

"And then one day, perhaps in jest, someone called it Mirkwood." Bofur agreed. "And the name caught on. So naturally since it wasn't Greenwood anymore, it had to change."

"Smirkwood would be a much more pleasant place to visit." Balin certainly sounded pleased at the idea.

Bombur seemed to be catching on. "What if we called it Muttonwood instead?"

"I would love some mutton after being in the land of the meatless." Glóin was nearly drooling.

While the Company played around on what exactly they should start calling Mirkwood, Bifur watched Bilbori very carefully. He didn't add any suggestions, but he kept his hand near the pocket where he kept his carving knife and leaned heavily on his spear.

"Enough!" Thorin finally roared over the debate. "We need to move or we'll never get through Treeshagger Splinterwood!" With that, Thorin led the way into the wood... Only to stop, because the lack of noise told him that the Company hadn't moved so much as a step. He turned back to see everyone staring at him with jaws dropped. It took him a moment to figure out that he'd actually said that stupid name out loud and he rolled his eyes, huffed, and walked into the forest.

Behind him the Company burst out laughing.

The merriment of the Company didn't last long though and, as each ceased laughing, they started into the forest. Eventually only Bilbori and Bifur had yet to cross the invisible boundary. She hemmed at the line, but didn't quite step across. Bifur was waiting for her to make the first move.

"Bifur! Bilbo!"

Bilbori looked up to find Fíli looking back at them. His yell had caught the attention of several others though and they were turning to look as well.

"Planning on joining us?" Fíli wanted to know.

Steeling herself, Bilbori determinedly stepped across that invisible line and into Mirkwood.

- - -

Stepping into Mirkwood was a big mistake. Huge. Bilbori had never done anything she regretted more. Nothing. The instant she crossed that invisible boundary she had felt as if she were being brushed all over with sandpaper. She hadn't been able to hold in the whimper and Bifur had gently put an arm around her shoulders and guided her forward. But it didn't help. The further she'd gone into the forest the more she'd leaned against Bifur. The deeper into the woods they went, the more it hurt. Everything hurt.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

Bilbori barely registered Fíli's voice as he fell back to walk near her and Bifur. She just grit her teeth as she forced herself to set one foot in front of the other. The direct contact with the tainted earth hurt worse than the time she'd stepped on the molten hot metal ball as a dwarfling and it covered every inch of her poor feet. She tightened her hands into fists for probably the hundredth time as she grit her teeth. As he had every time before, Bifur pried her hands open before she could damage them with the tightness of her grip.

"Sick forest." Bifur grunted at Fíli by way of explanation.

Fíli matched their steps, worriedly watching the pained way the hobbit moved. "Can he keep up like this? We could turn back, we're not too far in..." He turned to look at the path behind.

"Durin's Day." Bifur reminded Fíli of the deadline they had. There wasn't enough time to go around Mirkwood to the south and the way north was more dangerous than the Misty Mountains had been.

"What can we do?"

"Thinking." Bifur tapped the side of his head, as clearly as he could communicate that he was wracking his knowledge of runecrafting on how they might help. If they'd known the forest would be like this, he'd have conferred with Bilbori about how best to handle it all the way back when they were still in Bag End.

Fíli worried at his lower lip as they walked. He flinched when Bilbori stifled yet another pained cry. He didn't know how someone could go from being the energetic life-filled creature the hobbit had been just that morning to this thing hobbling along and barely able to keep up. And he grimaced when he noticed the hobbit's feet dragging and saw that the entire reason they was keeping up at all was because Bifur was forcing them to keep up. Thankfully it had gotten so dark that he knew it wouldn't be long before Thorin called a halt for the night.

Because he was watching so closely, Fíli saw the moment Bilbori's knees buckled. She pitched forward with a mixed cry of surprise and pain and the next thing Fíli knew he had an armful of hobbit. He held the trembling halfling while Bifur tugged and pulled until he'd taken the hobbit's pack.

"Carry. Don't let him the touch ground, its bad." Bifur gestured to Bilbori even as he opened her pack and started pawing through the contents for what he knew was hidden away inside the thing.

Confused at Bifur's invasion of the hobbit's personal belongings, Fíli nonetheless followed the order. He lifted the soft hobbit up into his arms though the pained sounds at being touched and moved that slipped from those soft lips made him wish there were any other way. Soon enough he had the hobbit cradled to his chest as small, slender fingers gripped the front of his coat tightly.

"Shh... It's okay, Bilbo." Fíli couldn't resist pressing his lips against the golden curls stuck to the hobbit's sweaty forehead in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. "We'll figure something out. Bifur may seem odd, but he's the smartest dwarf I've ever met. Smarter than Balin even. He'll figure something out."

"Hurts," Bilbori's soft voice was barely audible through her clenched teeth. Her eyes were squeezed shut, though it didn't stop tears of pain trickling down her cheeks.

"Sorry." Fíli murmured, unable to think of anything else to say.

Bifur had made his way up to where Thorin and Balin were leading the group and was gesturing and grunting at them both. The older dwarves turned to look back at where Fíli was trailing behind the group and carrying the hobbit. Thorin looked around, judged the lack of lighting beneath the thick canopy, and finally called a halt for the night. While Thorin was setting down his pack, Bifur was accosting Balin and commandeering the white-haired dwarf's full, leather gloves.

Finally catching up to the group, Fíli found Nori suddenly in his face.

"Bilbo! What happened!" Nori's cry drew the attention of the rest of the dwarves to the plight of the halfling and expressions of concern went out. He reached out to take Bilbori from Fíli's arms.

"Stop!"

At Thorin's order, Nori froze before turning a furious glare on the king.

"Master Bifur says that Master Took is in pain. If you shuffle him around you'll just make it worse. Let Fíli hold him until we figure something out."

They turned around to see Bifur taking one of Ori's spare belts just as he had taken Balin's gloves and, when he walked by Bofur on his way back to Fíli and Bilbori, he swiped his cousin's hat as well. Shuffling over to where Fíli was carefully moving into a seated position, trying his hardest not to jostle the hobbit, Bifur dropped the items on the ground and then upended Bilbori's pack entirely. He shuffled through the contents and pulled out something no one had known she carried, not even her brothers... A pair of short, leather boots.

Bifur knelt on the ground and started tracing various lines and runes into the dirt. He'd consider them for a moment and wipe them out again. From time to time he'd grunt something, a question about Bilbori's pain, and Fíli translated as best he could for the hobbit, unaware that she could understand the dwarf. Bilbori answered the questions dutifully, curled up in Fíli's arms in the least painful position possible.

While Bifur worked, some of the dwarves shuffled quietly, getting camp ready for the night while Dori kept himself distracted passing out food to everyone. Others drifted over to watch Bifur, knowing he had once been a master of his craft and curious as to what he could accomplish. Bombur and Bofur watched worriedly, knowing that Bifur hadn't been able to manage this kind of work since before his accident.

Bifur's mind was racing as he plucked runes he couldn't ever remember seeing from his thoughts. He drew them in the dirt, wiping them away and redrawing until he got them as near to perfect as he could. Once he felt they were right, he took one of Balin's gloves and set it down. Pulling out his carving knife, he carefully set it against the soft leather. His hand trembled from the strain as he tried to feel the power of the stone from the forest path, the random rocks strewn all around, the gleaming metal and jewels on the various members of the Company... Bifur's head was already starting to ache as he slowly carved the first line into the leather.

It was only because the gloom of the forest was so deep around them that everyone watching could see the very faint silvery glow that rippled across the rune as Bifur connected the last line.

Bombur, watching Bifur like a hawk, was the first to notice the thin drop of blood starting to trickle down from the elder dwarf's nose. "Bifur, stop... No more. You're hurting yourself."

Various sounds of distress at that rippled through his audience.

"Can't." He waved at where Bilbori was curled in Fíli's embrace, her muscles tense. "Must help..."

"You're not going to help Bilbo at all if you kill yourself, Bif." The usual cheer was missing from Bofur's voice. "Óin can make something to help with Bilbo's pain for now, even if we have to knock him out. You can work on your solution with breaks in between."

Though he wanted to rush help for his sister, Dori had to agree with Bofur. "Bilbo wouldn't want you hurting yourself, Master Bifur. He... He's strong. He'll survive."

Looking over at Bilbori's white-knuckled grip on Fíli's clothes, Bifur had to admit that he couldn't rush this. The strain of making just a single weak rune left him shaking, his nose bleeding, and his head pounding. Finally he relented, setting his carving knife down.

"Too bad we don't have any other rune crafters here, you could teach them what you're trying to do." Dwalin said. After a moment, he added, "What exactly are you trying to do?"

"Feels life." Bifur pointed at Bilbori. "Plants, ground, everywhere."

"And you said the forest was sick." Fíli remembered. "Ugh, to feel sick life all around, no wonder Bilbo's hurting."

Several sympathetic looks were sent to the miserable halfling, not that she saw with her eyes squeezed shut.

"So the runes you're crafting?" Balin prompted.

"Shield." Bifur gestured simply. He took a pain potion Óin handed him before the hearing-impaired dwarf moved to coax Bilbori into drinking some as well.

"But... If Bilbo can feel the life, wouldn't not feeling it hurt just as much as feeling it sick?" Kíli worried.

Bombur fiddled with the loop of his beard. "We won't know until we try. We can't just do nothing."

Dori, Nori, and Ori looked at Bilbori. Bifur looked at her brothers. Everyone else turned to look at Thorin for the final judgment. Thorin looked... Like he was staring off into the east and ignoring everyone. After several long minutes, he spoke.

"Work on this shield when you can but don't kill yourself over it, Master Bifur." Thorin turned, focusing his eyes on the trembling hobbit. "Pain can be endured, just make certain he eats and drinks until he can function on his own again."

It wasn't until Bifur caught a barely visible nod from Nori that he accepted Thorin's ruling on the matter.

- - -

Hours later Fíli whispered into a pointed ear. "I'm so sorry. I don't want to hurt you more, but... Forgive me." Raising his voice, he said plaintively. "Not that I don't want to keep holding our hobbit, but I really need to use the trench... Please."

Chapter Text

During the time he worked on carving the runes into the clothing he had confiscated, Bifur insisted that Bilbori never touch the ground and so she was moved from one set of arms to the next as the Company walked along the forest path. They moved her as little as possible, but she still got jostled and jarred about from the various movements. At first Ori had tried to take over the duty since he was the one that was supposed to be pretending to be her beau, but no one wanted him to be taxed to carry the whimpering hobbit the entire time. Then they tried to just switch between Dori, Nori, and Ori, but that didn't go over well either.

For some reason, Thorin insisted that they all take turns carrying the hobbit so no one would be subjected to the stress of trying to comfort the pained halfling for too long. And they did try. They couldn't help it. Bilbo was tied for shortest in the Company with Ori and was softer and looked more delicate than the scribe by far. Feeling the hobbit trembling with pain and making soft gasps and whimpers when the jarring was too much brought out the protective instincts and they all tried to offer comfort. All except Thorin, Óin, and Bifur took turns. Bifur because he needed to keep as much of his strength as he could to work on the shield runes every time they stopped, Óin because he needed to be ready with dosing the hobbit and Bifur with pain potions and sleeping concoctions, and Thorin because as the best fighter everyone decided he needed to have his hand free at all times, not to mention some thought it beneath a king to carry a hobbit...

And so Bilbori went from one set of arms to the next. Sometimes she slept, because it really was a mercy to just knock her out most of the time, but normally she just clenched her teeth and bore through the pain while listening to whatever dwarf was carrying her whispered reassurances. Thankfully, as Bifur finished each piece, the pain did start to lessen.

- - -

"I hate what this place is doing to you." It was inevitable that she would end up in his arms, her starry-eyed dwarf, and this was not the first time she'd heard him say as much. "If I thought we'd survive and it would help I'd set the entire forest ablaze this very moment."

She was wearing Balin's gloves and Ori's belt, all three items carved over with the shield rune Bifur had created, and so her pain was no where near as strong as it had been. She murmured a response. "I would help."

"That doesn't sound very hobbity." He noted.

"You don't really know hobbits very well." Neither spoke above a whisper. "We intentionally set farmland on fire every year."

The dwarf was silent for a long time, obviously having trouble deciding if she was being truthful or not. Finally, he let it pass. "While I hate what this is doing to you, I love that I get to hold you like this."

Bilbori felt his lips press against her forehead. It was something several of the dwarves had taken advantage of during this time when she was forced to be carried and she sighed in response. Thankfully the rune shields she wore had reduced her sensitivity and light touches no longer hurt, allowing her to enjoy the tender gestures she received. "No consideration for my beau?"

The dwarf gave a near-silent scoff. "He hasn't even looked over once since you were fully settled in my arms."

Bilbori glanced ahead, only then noticing that the dwarf had slowed his pace and they were trailing several meters behind the group. "So it seems..."

"I find myself wondering why." The dwarf confessed. "I've seen things, I've heard things... And you claim you aren't finished with him. You bring him up constantly when we're together and yet he can't be bothered to check on you. Does he not see how amazing you are, Bilbo? How gloriously beautiful, intelligent, and caring?" As he whispered those words, his thumb brushed against the back of her knee through her trousers.

She felt the material hitch higher with the movement, coming dangerously close to letting him touch bare skin. She shivered with the way the light sensation felt, not triggering the pain she felt below the surface that still kept her from moving overmuch.

"Does he toy with your affections?" His tone took on a deeper, growling note. "Appease you to keep you for when he wishes and ignore you the rest of the time?" Those starry eyes turned burning, an aggressive look sent toward the honestly innocent in all this mess Ori.

Bilbori genuinely worried for her brother for a moment. Hoping to change the subject, she said, "If you're looking for a quick roll in the hay, you could just ask." She felt weird phrasing it like a hobbit tween looking for a tumble. Not to mention the hollow feeling she'd developed in her chest. "You don't have to keep slandering poor, dear Ori's honor."

The dwarf stopped walking. The muscles around his eyes tightened and his jaw clenched as he stared ahead at the widening distance between them and the rest of the Company. Finally he turned those intense eyes onto her own, his gaze burning and making the hair along her arms and the back of her neck prickle.

"When I take you to my bed..." He emphasized that he would with confidence, as well as stating he would not be so uncouth as to take anything less than a real bed. "There will be nothing quick about it. And I will not let you go. He will not have you back. You will be mine." The possessive growl was unmistakable and, while Bilbori was looking up at him with wide eyes, the dwarf swooped down, pressing his lips against hers. The tingle he felt every time their skin touched caused him to moan and when the hobbit in his arms gasped, he took advantage of the lips opening and slid his tongue between them, pouring everything he was feeling for the halfling into the kiss.

Bilbori couldn't help the way her brain went fuzzy at the possessive growl. She was half-dwarf and raised mostly-dwarf after all and possessiveness in a partner was something they tended to be attracted toward. She couldn't even find herself arguing his bold statement of ownership. And then his lips! She felt as if lightning ripped its way through her entire body, tingles swept over her skin, radiating from the place where his mouth was against her own. She gasped and suddenly she felt consumed as he took her mouth. None of the full sexual encounters she'd had compared to the way this kiss electrified her body. She couldn't help moaning as he deepened the kiss, tilting her head further back for better access and then...

Pain!

The shifting of her head caused the pain she felt from the sickened forest to flare from her neck and radiate down her shoulders and spine. She tensed, her moan of pleasure quickly becoming a stifled cry of pain. Thankfully for her, the dwarf holding her was hyper attuned to her in a way she hadn't known was possible and instantly broke the kiss.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry. Forgive me." He murmured against her lips, easing off so she could resume her less pained position. "I would never hurt you on purpose. You drive me crazy and I lost control... Forgive me."

Teeth clenched, lips burning with remembered pleasure, Bilbori mumbled, "I think I need a potion."

"Of course," The dwarf started moving again, picking up his pace to catch up with the Company. "I'm sorry."

"There you two are!" Ori exclaimed as they caught up. "I was worried. Oh! Bilbo! You look flushed. You don't have a fever do you?" He reached to place his hand against her brow.

Bilbori flicked her eyes from Ori to the dwarf holding her before looking at her brother again when she responded. "Sorry, just wanted to check on a plant I saw back there. I didn't realize we'd fallen so far behind. I could use a pain potion though."

"Of course! I'll tell Óin right away!" Ori turned and picked up his own pace to move ahead further up the line to speak with Óin.

As her brother moved ahead, Bilbori watched her starry-eyed dwarf. His expression had carefully shifted into an entirely different look as soon as they'd reached the Company and his eyes burned with some veiled emotion that she believed to be jealousy before he turned to look at her, his expression softening.

"You said you weren't done with him yet." He murmured. "When you are..."

And then Ori was back with Óin and Bilbori was being dosed. The healer decided she was warmer than she should be and gave her the sleeping concoction with the pain potion and soon she was drifting asleep. By the time she woke, Bilbori was being carried by Dori, she hurt a lot less, and Bofur's hat had been added to the runed items she now wore, the runes carved on the interior of the hat.

- - -

It ended up taking Bifur more than a week to finish the shield runes on the items he'd confiscated from the other dwarves, saving her boots for last. Though she had worn boots almost all the time in Belegost and when traveling between there and the Shire, Bilbori had not worn her boots in years. So she felt awkward walking along with the Company wearing the boots she had packed 'just in case.' It did not help that they were so used to her bare feet that even they were giving her boots odd looks. Or maybe it was the obviously foreign design of the boots. Dwarves tended to wear boots reinforced with steel and trimmed with fur. Her boots were soft leather with double-layered soles, decorative stitching on the seams, only reaching her ankles, and laced with braided leather thongs to hold them on her feet. Entirely unlike boots worn by any other race... And just the fact that her long-exposed toes were covered drew attention!

But regardless of the shift from bare toes to covered, Bilbori was moving about without pain. She still felt off from the sickness of the forest that still seeped through all the runes decorating her at hands, feet, waist, and head, but at least now she could function. And she spent most of that time functioning by helping Bifur. And gently scolding him for hurting himself like that.

"You didn't have to, Master." She said softly.

Bifur thwapped the side of her head like he always had when she said something stupid during lessons.

"Really, I could have endured."

Bifur thwapped her again.

"I've had monthly cramps worse than that." She quietly insisted.

There was another thwap.

Pouting now, Bilbori leaned against him. "Thank you, Master."

Bifur gave a pleased hum.

Bilbori slipped him the last cucumber from Beorn's that she'd been hiding in her pack.

Later that night...

"Cor! How'd that sneaky vegetable fairy find ya out here, Bif?"

- - -

It felt like they had been traveling beneath the canopy forever. Bilbori was even less affected by the forest thanks to the items Bifur had made. She had studied the runes Bifur invented to shield her and had added them to the straps of her pack and her bedroll. She had even swiped some of Ori's ink to draw them onto her skin. Dwalin had even given her the fur mantle he usually wore around his shoulders so she could add runes to it for her protection, though he did think she was letting Bifur add the runes.

The only downside to the shield was that in blocking the effects of the forest on her, it also blocked out her ability to sense life. She had to be pressed up against someone to even feel their energy. Thankfully Óin had insisted that even with her renewed mobility she should not be sleeping directly on the ground and so she still got to cuddle up to someone when they finally stopped for the night. Not that she minded, it was comforting being able to feel someone was alive in all the gloom of the forest.

Though she was careful after their last encounter to not share the arms of a certain dwarf for sleeping. She didn't want the temptation when there was no chance for privacy.

Sleeping situations aside though, she was terribly glad she no longer had to be escorted on every trip to the trench. Not that that was where she was going on this night. She slipped further away from the sleeping dwarves to take care of more intimate female matters without risk of being seen if someone else needed the trench.

She was just finishing up when she realized she couldn't hear the snores of the dwarves anymore. Perking up her ears, Bilbori turned to face the direction she knew they should be. She had been hearing them just minutes ago, after all. Without thinking about it, Bilbori reached to release her kama from their sheaths as she inched closer to where she had left the dwarves.

Upon reaching the small clearing, Bilbori was met with the horrifying sight of Glóin and Bofur, both of whom had been on watch duty, struggling weakly as massive spiders worked to truss them up. She could barely hear the sounds the two dwarves were making as they struggled against the thick webbing. A couple other spiders were trussing up some of the dwarves that had been sleeping. While she watched, more spiders were making their way down from the trees above and creeping out across the forest floor. She saw one rearing up, readying a vicious looking bite. Before another second could pass, she did the first thing she could think of...

She screamed!

Chapter Text

The piercing sound of Bilbori's scream caused the dwarves that were still sleeping to jerk awake, hands scrabbling for weapons even before they had a chance to take in the situation. The spiders, startled by the high-pitched sound jumped in surprise before scrabbling to secure the dwarves they had already captured while other spiders rushed forward. The once peaceful camp quickly became a battlefield.

Seeing one of the spiders dragging off a heavily wrapped dwarf, Bilbori threw one of her kama. As the weapon flipped through the air and embedded into the spider's abdomen she could have sworn she heard alien, hissing words as the spiders cursed. The one she had struck writhed, cursing as it shuddered and died. Running over, Bilbori drew her elvish short sword from it's sheath and rushed over to the webbed dwarf. She slashed another spider's legs off as she ran by where Ori was smashing one with Dwalin's hammer and then she was atop the wrapped dwarf and using her sword to cut away the webs to reveal Bofur.

"Bilbo! Thank Mahal!" Bofur's struggling did not help her much since she was trying to avoid cutting him at the same time he was trying to get out of the webs. Eventually he was free and, after quickly grasping Bilbori's shoulder, he dove over to his mattock and swung into the fray.

It quickly became evident to Bilbori that for some reason the spiders were avoiding her. Well, not so much avoiding her, but like they could not tell she was there at all. One ran over her without notice until she stabbed her sword up into it's belly. Baffled, Bilbori used this strange phenomenon to lash out, damaging the spiders from behind while the others distracted them. When she could get to them, she cut others free of their web prisons.

"Stings! It stings!" One loud spider yelled after being stabbed right before Bombur crushed it's head with his ladle.

"Sounds like you've got a name for your pin there, Bilbo!" Bombur said, turning to swing his ladle at another spider.

"What? Sting? That's stupid." Of course she knew now that Bombur had named it that it would stick. Though she inevitably wondered, "What's your ladle named then?"

"Smacker!" Bombur cheerfully replied, taking the long handle of his battle ladle in both hands. He took a perfect golf swing and smacked the end into a slightly smaller giant spider causing it to go flying off into the trees.

"Bilbo!"

Bilbori turned at Nori's voice just in time to catch the kama she had forgotten in the dead spider earlier in her haste to cut open the web. "Thanks!"

"Maybe you should name your little sickles too, you'd be less likely to forget them." Her middle brother snarked.

"Whatever for?" She had not really thought of naming her weapons, it was more of a thing males did as far as she could tell. And hobbits rarely had weapons as it was, so they obviously did not bother with naming them. Of course, she did not want to give Nori a chance to name them either. He called his long mace 'Bonk' after all. It was hilarious, but stupid.

"Because it's fun!" Surprisingly that was Dwalin, roaring happily as he used Grasper to slice a spider clean in two. Gore sprayed in a broad arc.

Rolling her eyes, Bilbori went back into helping attack the spiders. The spiders that never once even tried to hit her. She thought it very odd. Eventually though, the area was covered with spider corpses and panting dwarves and it seemed they were in the clear.

"Gather everything. We're moving out now." Thorin ordered, wiping spider blood off his sword as he moved over to his own pack.

Before anyone could actually do anything, a heartbroken wail drew their attention off to one side where Kíli was hovering over Fíli who was kneeling on the ground before his brother.

Everyone gasped, expecting the worst as Thorin ran over to his nephews.

"What happened?!" He roared as he pulled Kíli back only to reveal... Fíli, on his knees, with his mustache braids impossibly mussed up with spiderwebs.

"One of them shot him in the face!" Kíli wailed. "We can't get it out! It'll have to be cut!"

Most of the Company made commiserating sounds at the fact. But what could they do? Bilbori felt vaguely guilty as she absently brushed over where her mustache would have been if she had not shaved back at Beorn's. It did not grow in fast enough for her to feel anything yet.

"I can't..." Fíli despaired.

Seeing that his nephew was actually fine and that the boys were just being dramatic, Thorin put a hand on Fíli's shoulder. Kissing the top of Fíli's golden head, Thorin then went on to collect his gear.

"I'll do it." Kíli declared. He held his hand out, steeling himself as Fíli put his sharpest knife in his brother's hand and closed his eyes. Kíli took a deep breath, reaching out to take hold of one of the short braids near his brother's mouth and raised the knife up. His hand was visibly shaking as he built up the nerve to start cutting. And then he did, moving so very slow... One hair at a time slowly severing...

"STOP!"

Kíli instantly jerked the knife away from his brother's face.

"Are you serious?" Dori stomped over. He yanked the knife away from Kíli and shoved the younger prince aside. "I'm surrounded by idiots." He declared, throwing the knife down so hard that the blade drove completely into the ground and the handle wobbled from residual force. Dori reached into his pockets to pull out a small jar with one hand and a small bottle with the other. He opened the jar to reveal a white cream. From the small bottle he poured a couple drops of liquid into the cream, stirring it with his finger. He took a glob of the freshly mixed substance out of the jar before snagging Fíli by his webbed mustache braids. Plucking the beads from the ends, Dori handed them to Fíli with a stern look and massaged the mixture into the webbing for a few minutes. Then he plucked a small, fine-toothed comb from another of his pockets and combed the webs right out of the hair. Once done, he wiped the comb clean, returned the jar and bottle to his pockets and nodded. "There. Let's move on."

"That was amazing!" Fíli looked at Dori with awe. He inspected the damage with his fingers only finding one or two bits that felt like stubble, so it would not be visible that they had been cut. His blue eyes looked up at Dori adoringly. "How did you know how to do that?"

Dori sniffed primly as he hefted his pack onto his back. "Your little brother is obviously far kinder than mine was as a child." Dori glared over in Nori's direction.

Nori whistled innocently as he adjusted his own pack and followed Thorin out of the area.

- - -

They made it perhaps a mile further down the path before Bilbori's sensitive ears picked up the first scuttling sounds in the trees. She picked up her pace until she was next to Thorin at the head of the path. "I hear spiders."

Thorin looked from side to side, not yet seeing anything. Though she knew thanks to Kíli that Thorin did not have the best vision. "How close?" he wondered.

"Closer than I'd like. They'll be upon us soon."

"Weapons ready!" Thorin called back and the Company responded even as they continued to walk swiftly.

Straining her ears, Bilbori heard the spiders coming up on both sides. "They'll have us surrou-" Before she could even finish the warning spiders swarmed them from all directions!

"Shall we get you a pen so you can write a derogatory song for the spiders, Master Took?" The snark was strong with Thorin as he swung Orcrist and sliced off all the legs on one side of a spider in a single sweep.

Those near enough to hear the comment and remember the reasoning for it guffawed.

Fuming as she stabbed another spider in the abdomen, Bilbori chanted out, "Lazy lob and crazy cob are weaving webs to wind me." She sang out loudly as she sliced the same spider across the face when it turned at the stab. "I am far more sweet than other meat, but still they cannot find me!"

Bofur nearly fell over in his hilarity at the situation and in the glance she got at Thorin even he seemed to be impressed at her improvisation. The spiders were not. They attacked more viciously.

There were many more spiders this time and they seemed to just keep coming! The dwarves were exhausted from the lack of proper sleep the night before, plus the earlier fight, then the swift walk to try to get a safe distance... They were flagging under the energy they'd expended, most of them only just realizing they hadn't even passed around food since the previous night's dinner.

Just when it looked like things were going to shit... They did. A wave of arrows swept into the fray followed by the tall forms of Silvan elves as they leapt from the trees. Arrows flew, swords flashed, and the next thing the Company knew, they were surrounded by elves with arrows pointed at them.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Thorin demanded.

"You are trespassing in the Realm of the Woodland King, dwarf." A sickly looking redheaded elf stated. "You will be taken before the King himself. Now drop your weapons."

Thorin assessed the situation. He'd seen how his Company was ready to drop from lack of proper rest, not to mention the rationed supplies they had been on since entering the forest. With the elves bows drawn and aimed at the hearts of his men... Thorin could not see a safe solution. The chances of all of them surviving if he forced them to engage, for he knew they would if he gave the order, were not good. "Drop your weapons." He told the Company.

"Make certain they're disarmed." The redhead told her patrol.

Following her orders, half the elves lowered their bows and moved forward to check the Company for weapons. Then one of them made a big mistake. In his search for weapons, he moved to reach inside Bilbori's coat!

Unable to control herself, nerves frayed from the last day or two, Bilbori lashed out. The air was torn by the resounding crack of flesh being struck with force and when every head whipped to look at the scene they found the elf forced nearly in half by the tight grip Bilbori had on a thick chunk of his hair. A knife was in her other hand and held in a way that threatened both the elf's hair and his neck. Instantly the drawn bows were aimed at the halfling even as the captured elf raised his hand to stall them.

Furious, Bilbori hissed so that only her captive could hear her. "I am a woman and if you even think about touching any part of my person I will make certain that you are also a woman before you can even draw your hand away." The cold fury in her voice caused what little color the elf had to drain from his face, highlighting the bright red from where she had struck him. "Do you understand?"

His voice cracking with the sudden shiver of fear that swept over him, the elf frantically signaled for the others to stand down. "Absolutely."

With a single swipe of her razor sharp knife and a vicious snarl, Bilbori held her prize aloft: a thick chunk of platinum blond hair from the side of the elf's head. She folded it, tucked it into her pocket, and then rather politely handed the knife over to the elf that was frozen in shock. She no longer kept her voice low when she stated, "Good!"

"No!" The redhead stepped closer to the blond, her voice horrified as she saw over half of his hair had been shorn nearly to his ears in one swipe of the halfling's blade.

Though they did not know what caused the halfling to lash out, the dwarves drew themselves up with pride at the result. They wore big grins on their faces as they were bound. The grins lasted the entire time they were escorted to the keep of the Woodland King and even being forced into his presence did not stop the smiles. Somehow, they did not even mind when they were escorted into dungeon cells soon after.

- - -

They had been in the cells for about four days when something changed. Bilbori still had most of her items, only having surrendered a few things voluntarily and the blond elf had refused to let anyone search her after having his hair butchered. She did not mind being in the cells though. The elves were feeding them and it gave her time to work on her special projects. Not to mention that the Woodland Keep itself was mostly free of the sickness within the rest of Mirkwood so she could take off all her shielded garments. Most of it anyway. She left the boots on because the elves hadn't seen them bare yet. So she just sat quietly in her cell and worked.

But then, the change.

"Halfling."

Finishing the rune she was drawing first, Bilbori finally looked up from the piece of wood in her hands. She saw the sickly redhead and three other elves. The redhead stood straight while the other three had bows drawn and arrows pointing into the cell at Bilbori. "I'm busy at the moment, talk to my assistant if you'd like to make an appointment." She returned her attention to the wood she held.

"Unfortunately for you, his majesty demands your presence now." The redhead opened the cell door. "Unlike the last elf that tried to touch you, I am already a woman and do not fear your reprisal."

Bilbori huffed. "Well, turns out elves are just as stupid as dwarves." She lazily put the items away, slipping them back into the kit at the small of her back. She stood and stretched. "I suppose I'm willing to grace his royal highness with my presence." She was not sure what it was. She had loved the elves back in Rivendell, but these Silvan elves... They brought out the dwarf in her.

Pausing to pick up the gloves, mantle, and hat she had removed, she draped them over an arm and sauntered out of her cell. She did not realize how deep her cell was until she was escorted at arrow point by half the Company on the way out. She paused when she saw Bofur. "Oh! I forgot! Thanks for loaning me your hat. My head's much warmer now." She gave Bofur his hat, winked, and continued on her way as if the stroll were by her own choice. The act was repeated not long after with Dwalin's mantle, but she did not see Balin on the way out so tucked his gloves into Ori's belt, which she still wore. She whistled the Bath Song as they continued on.

Bilbori was certain the redhead's eye was twitching by the time they arrived at the throne room.

The throne room was impressive in a way. Beautiful, but so impractical. Just looking around she could see a dozen places where assassins could hide. A few of those places even had elves in them that were no doubt guards. They might have thought they were hiding, but Bilbori could hear and feel them. Elves, even the jerk elves, had strong life forces that she could sense even with the runes Bifur had created to shield her senses. So involved was she in looking around, that Bilbori did not even notice the king lounging on his throne or the blond figure standing at attention at the bottom of the steps leading up to the throne.

Eventually the redhead cleared her throat and nudged Bilbori's shoulder to get her attention.

Bilbori shot a faux sympathetic look to the redhead. "I thought you were ill when I first saw you. Perhaps you should go visit a healer if you've reached the coughing stage."

The redhead shot Bilbori a spiteful glare before affixing her face into a neutral expression and addressing her king. "Your majesty, the halfling you demanded." She bowed and stepped back and away from the situation.

The trio of guards that had accompanied her kept their arrows trained on Bilbori.

"This?" The silky tones of Thranduil Oropherion, King of the Greenwood, caressed the air as he looked disdainfully down at the dirty little creature. "This is the creature that dared to mark you and shear your hair?" He stood, striding gracefully down the stairs before stopping to give a disappointed look to the elf waiting there. "This tiny thing managed such a feat?"

Bilbori turned her eyes on the scolded elf, the one she had taken care of during the 'search' of the Company. There was a dark bruise only starting to fade on his cheek and she felt a visceral pleasure at the sight. Her eyes burned with it as she caught the elf's blue gaze before he turned his head away, cheeks colored with shame. She noted that since she had cut off his hair someone had evened it out so he did not look completely ridiculous though it was now shorter than the way she pinned hers up to look like a hobbit lad. Seeing an elf with such short locks brought a vicious smirk of pleasure to her lips.

Thranduil saw it all.

Striding forward, Thranduil did not stop until he was directly in front of Bilbori. He leaned down until the halfling was forced to look at him or bodily turn away. "Tell me, creature. Why should I not have you flayed alive and thrown to the spiders for what you have done to my son?"

Chapter Text

Bilbori looked into Thranduil's steel blue eyes. They were very intent, like he was trying to read her soul. She almost laughed. While he did that, she let her gaze roam to his thick brows, his porcelain skin... Her gaze lingered on his left cheek, her brow furrowing slightly as she could sense the magic swirling. She could not tell what it was doing, just that it was there. She flicked her eyes down the silky length of his platinum locks. She wondered if it would feel like his son's, coiled in a basic braid she had twisted it into before tying off the ends and sticking it back into her pocket days ago. She looked at his pointy ears, different and yet similar to a hobbit's. She could not help but notice that her own ears were closer to an elf's than a hobbit's. He wore an interesting headdress of branches and silvery robes. Finally, she moved her eyes back to his, deciding that he would probably lose patience with her soon if she did not. Males tended to be unappreciative of being ignored.

"You're very pretty." Bilbori started with and she could see the flicker of surprise in his eyes. "And you moved with quite a bit of grace." Her words sounded sincere. "It's such a shame that when you opened your mouth I started to see the dwarves were correct in all the times they tried to tell me that you are a jackass."

Silence.

It was rather interesting how much Bilbori loved evoking that sort of a response. It was soothing as well. But she felt a surge emanate from the king, a ripple seemed to shiver over him and for a brief moment the skin of his left cheek warped before returning to normal. She stared into his eyes, seeing the rage boiling within them. For some reason, he held himself in check.

"And what would the dwarves be telling a child like you that you would make such a claim?" Thranduil questioned once he could control his tone.

Bilbori raised her brows, smiling. "Ah! That's just the thing, isn't it? A 'child' like me... You see, of the dwarves I know, only two of them are old enough to have ever seen your face in person. And both were children the last time they were this side of the Misty Mountains. So the question is..." She held up a finger, emphasizing her point, "What have they been told that turned you, the Great Thranduil, King of the Greenwood, into the villain of their history? The reason they hate all elves." She tilted her head, seeming genuinely curious as to the answer.

Thranduil's eyes hardened. "And yet all I hear are more reasons to be done with you." He stood, peering down his nose at her. "You have one chance to convince me what you did to him was justified or you will be thrown into the woods with not even the boots on your feet."

"Your son," she used a blithe tone. "Tried to put his hands on my person." When Thranduil gave her an incredulous look at the seemingly reasonable reaction his son had to a prisoner trying to avoid being disarmed. "I do not know about your people, King of the Mirkwood, but in no culture of which I am aware is it permissible for a man to lay hands upon a lady when she is not amenable to such actions."

Thranduil stood up straighter, whipping his head around to stare at his son.

The short-haired blond seemed to be trying to shrink in on himself and hide.

Without turning to look at Bilbori, Thranduil spoke again. "You realize in this situation I cannot just take your word for this."

"I am familiar enough with politics to be aware of the severity of this matter. However, I request that the elf maid that verifies be one that has not had any part to do with myself or the Company with which I travel."

"A fair request for an impartial witness." Thranduil conceded generously. He turned fully and strode back toward his throne. Twirling gracefully he seated himself in a smooth motion. "I trust you also know that since you choose to travel with dwarves and in the manner of a dwarf that I cannot punish my son beyond that which you have already done without taking away your right to choose."

"That is reasonable. I have my prize, after all." She patted the pocket that held the elf's braided hair. "Perhaps in exchange you might be willing to allow me to negotiate for the release of my Company."

Despite himself, Thranduil looked intrigued. "Perhaps." He gestured to the guards. "Escort the halfling to the bathing chambers in the north wing. I'm sure they'll feel better once they've had a chance to freshen up."

Though she knew the excuse of a bath was just so an attendant could verify her claim, Bilbori could not help the beaming smile she sent to Thranduil at the suggestion of a bath. "Your majesty is most generous." She gave a bow, only showing respect because she had developed a fierce love of bathing thanks to this quest, and then she was escorted from the room.

- - -

Bilbori was never leaving the bath. Screw Thranduil. Screw Thorin. Screw the quest. Screw everything. She was so tired of tromping all over in filth. Standing in front of royalty smelling like rot and death... It was disgusting. Perhaps she had lived in the Shire too long, she did not remember it being as big of a deal when she was younger. Eh, whatever. She just wanted to be buried in a bath after she died. That sounded pleasant. She heaved a big sigh and sank deeper into the water.

Perhaps ten minutes later the bathing attendant returned. It had not taken long for the attendant to verify Bilbori's claim and, after taking the halfling's filthy clothing, she had retreated from the bathing chambers. Now she had returned with fresh, clean clothing that had obviously been hastily modified from some child elf's clothes to fit her different build, but she could appreciate the gesture. Actually, as the elf shook it out, it was some weird hybrid of an elf adult and child's clothing.

"Forgive me, Mistr... Master Took..." The elf attendant obviously found it difficult to address the obviously female figure with the masculine terminology. "Your binder will not be cleaned or repaired in a timely manner, so we were forced to drastically alter something to fit your unique build. We mean no offense..."

In other words, even as a half-dwarf half-hobbit she had bigger breasts than an adult elf and only the entire general size difference made an adult bodice come close to fitting correctly.

"As long as none of my Company see me, there shall be no problem." She could be gracious. "The silly menfolk can't see what's right in front of their noses." Bilbori shared an amused look with the attendant. One day, perhaps, she'd remember the name of one of these elf maidens. They really were sweet in their own way.

"My Lord Thranduil has requested that you join him for dinner to begin negotiations." When Bilbori looked sadly at the large pool of water she was still floating in the attendant rushed to add, "There are still several hours until dinner, Master Took. You have plenty of time to finish your bath and perhaps take a nap before then!"

"Please convey to Lord Thranduil that I would be happy to join him for dinner." Eating at the King's table was surely better than dungeon fare again, after all. She only felt slightly guilty that the Company was still in the dungeons. But for now, she had a bath to continue enjoying! With a happy sigh, she pulled her hair loose for a proper cleansing.

- - -

Hours later, hair once more pinned hobbit style, Bilbori was seated at the high table with Thranduil and his son, whom had been introduced as Legolas. Legolas was determinedly staring at his plate and doing his best to ignore both his father and the halfling. Bilbori herself was perched on a nice, soft pile of cushions to make sitting at the large table slightly less ridiculous with the height difference. The food was delicious. The company... Not so much. Though she admittedly kept feeling a strange possessiveness every time she saw the bruise on Legolas's cheek that honestly disturbed her slightly.

"Now, what could you possibly possess that makes you think you would be able to negotiate favorably toward the release of my prisoners?" Thranduil lounged just as indolently in his dining chair as he did in his throne.

Bilbori thought discussing business during dinner was rude, but then Thranduil was rude. "As a hobbit I have a unique ability that allows me to sense life and magic." She let her gaze drift to his left cheek again and Thranduil narrowed his eyes in understanding. "I can tell your wood is sick. I do not possess magic with which to heal the wood, but I can feel it and have learned some abilities." She made a vague sort of gesture. "When I was young, I traveled to the dwarven settlement in the Blue Mountains. There, I learned about an ability they possess. Rune crafting."

Thranduil and Legolas both sat up, focusing their attention on the halfling. There had not been a dwarven rune crafter near their realm in centuries. And, admittedly, even before Erebor fell to the dragon, their Rune Crafters were dwindling.

"I was lucky and found a Master of the craft that was curious enough to try to teach me." She pulled one of Balin's gloves from Ori's belt that she'd wrapped around the dress she wore. She dropped the glove onto the table, rune side up. In the elf king's halls there was enough ambient magic to have the rune rippling and glowing in response. "I have been working on my Masterpiece during the course of this journey in the hopes that the Masters in the Iron Hills would put their seals of approval on the result." She paused, honestly considering what she was about to offer.

They both waited, wondering what was going to be said next.

Finally she spoke, "I ask for relatively little. Some time to finish my project without the Company distracting me from delicate work. That you allow me to stage an escape with the Company when we leave so as not to hinder my continued travels with them. And that some few items be added to our provisions before we leave; food and medicines. In exchange I will gift you my Masterpiece just before we depart."

Thranduil drew in a breath at the offer. It was not one made lightly. He had seen the Masterworks hall in Erebor long ago. It was filled with priceless artifacts of beauty and wonder from all craft halls. The rarest were from the Rune Crafters, for very few dwarves had the ability and patience for the craft.

"I do wonder what kind of dwarf would deign to teach one of their most unique crafts to an outsider."

Bilbori's face took on the fond, loving smile she often wore when thinking of her Master. "You could ask him. He's within your dungeon now."

Raising a brow at the knowledge that there was a Master Rune Crafter in his dungeon, Thranduil frowned slightly. "And how do I know he did not make these runes you show so willingly."

Bifur had, but Bilbori had learned at her mother's knee and Nori had helped refine how to phrase lies out of the truth. She shrugged. "They were made some time ago," she conceded. "But that does not change the fact that I possess the ability. If he were to use his craft now he may well perish from the effort." At the questioning looks of the elves, she clarified. "He's quite remarkable, seeing as he's had an orc axe stuck in his head for many years."

That certainly got their attention.

Thranduil looked at Legolas, his brow raised in a manner that questioned the truth of her statement and then the other raised when Legolas was forced to nod that yes, a dwarf with such an injury was in their dungeon.

"You know what Thorin, son of Thráin, will try to do once he is free to head east, do you not?" Thranduil inquired, taking a drink of his wine. "Even if he plans to head to the Iron Hills he will not hesitate to turn toward Erebor. Young you may be, but even you should know what lies within that mountain."

"What lies within the mountain," Bilbori softly mused. "A store of knowledge hundreds of years old. A wealth of history even older. Sturdy walls that could withstand a calamity. A potential home for a people that sit dying within a mountain that is taxed with more than it can provide for."

"The calamity itself." Thranduil added, just as softly.

Bilbori inclined her head. "Well it is wise indeed that he has seasoned warriors and practiced rune crafters in his Company, is it not?"

Thranduil leaned back once more. "Would you be requiring conferences with your Master during this time?"

Another incline of her head.

Continuing to lean back in his chair, Thranduil said nothing else as Bilbori finished her dinner. It wasn't until she nearly finished the sweets that had been served for afters that he spoke again. "I need time to decide how far down this path I will go. For now, you will be given a room in the guest wing to work on your projects. I will assign someone to fetch anything you may need." He rose, his robes swirling around him as he departed. "Good evening, Master Took."

Legolas rose as well, having said not a word all dinner. He hesitated, looking at Bilbori intently for a moment before turning and following his father from the room.

Chapter Text

The first thing Bilbori did when shown to her guest room was to demand to know where the nearest bathing chamber was located. She also asked for her pack and weapons to be returned, she had work to do drat it all! After cleaning up, checking her gear, sending the rest of her garments to be cleaned and mended, she stripped out of the dress she had been given, threw herself down on the massive, plush bed, and slept for hours.

Bilbori only felt slightly guilty the next morning over the Company still being in the dungeons.

She probably would have felt a lot guiltier if she had realized how panicked and angry they were getting after having seen her escorted out but not returned. Then again, being in the dungeon was probably the only way to keep them out of real trouble while they were in Thranduil's Palace. No matter how angry they were.

Moving to the desk in the room she had been given, Bilbori dumped out her kit. She organized things until she came to the foul ring she'd picked up back in the Misty Mountains. Frowning at it, she considered trying to melt it down. But gold was ultimately useless in her plans, so she just stuffed it back into the pouch. Moving over, she upended her pack and shuffled through the items until she pulled the arrow she had traded off of Kíli from the contents. The arrow was placed on the desk as well. She had an idea... Sort of.

The desk itself contained parchment, quills, and ink which was convenient.

Bilbori walked over to the door... She was just about to open it when she remembered she was still nude and about faced to walk back over to where she'd dropped the altered elf dress. Tugging it on, she only bothered to make certain it was fastened enough to be decent before she was back at the door and flinging it open. The elf standing right outside jerked at the sudden sound.

"I need arrows, clay, and iron. Steel eventually, but raw iron will do for a start. And breakfast! A very, very large breakfast!" Bilbori slammed the door closed again, turning and heading toward the desk. It did not occur to her until she was scrawling plans onto the parchment that the elf she had just given orders to was Prince Legolas.

- - -

"I need food regularly brought up." Bilbori told Legolas when he had returned to personally deliver her breakfast while others gathered the rest of the items she had requested. "I don't know how dwarves do it," it was not a complete lie since she technically only knew the theory of how dwarves sensed magic being as she was only half-dwarf, "but working with runes drains me. I always needed to stop to eat when taking lessons."

"Will you be needing to consult with your Master today?" Legolas wondered. He was standing strangely close as he surveyed the initial stages she had drawn up for her idea. He was obviously curious and just as obviously did not understand a thing written on the parchment or even recognize the tools set out.

Bilbori considered the question as she ate the breakfast of eggs, fruit, toast, and cheese. There was even a large fruit filled muffin on the tray. After washing a bite down with cool spring water, she replied. "If he is feeling well, I welcome his advice. His injury affects him differently each day and can change swiftly."

Legolas shifted his gaze to the halfling as she ate. "Is your Master aware of you gender or should we rush the repairs to your own garments?"

"I would rather the repairs not be rushed. Master Bifur is aware. As is Master Dori." She made a vague gesture toward her head. "He has mithril colored hair. He was the one that always saw to my clothing as needed when I was studying with the dwarves." She was practiced at phrasing her words to be truthful while insinuating something else after so long with half the Company thinking she was a simple hobbit lad. "If your tailors require assistance with repairing or replacing anything, he would be the one to ask."

"I will have Tauriel check in on your Master Bifur. She has frequented the dungeons more than she should of late, she may as well make herself useful down there. I will tell her to bring him up if he is well."

"Who?" Bilbori wondered as she tilted her head up to look at the prince. As it had every time she had seen it, the bruise on his face made her feel strange when she saw the mark and her breath hitched slightly at her internal confusion. Though she was not aware of it, her eyes darkened at the sight.

Legolas was plenty aware of it though and he subconsciously shifted closer. "Tauriel is Captain of the Guard." His lips quirked slightly. "The 'sickly' redhead."

Tearing her eyes away from the bruise, Bilbori plucked a dish of sliced apples from the breakfast tray and handed it to Legolas. "With her poor health she shouldn't be hanging around in the dungeons."

He looked bemused at the plate of fruit now in his hands even as he cracked a smile at the comment against Tauriel.

"If you're going to be here while I eat, you're eating too. Eating in front of someone who is not is uncomfortable."

"I believe she has become enamored of one of the dwarves." Legolas mused as he peered at the selection of apple slices before finally just eating one. He did not want the little rune crafter to be uncomfortable before he saw her actually work magic, after all. At least, that's what his father told him to do. Make certain she was actually working rune magic and was not just planning to have the dwarf do it for her. "When I asked she just said, 'He's quite tall for a dwarf...'" Legolas put on a falsetto voice for the quote and then made a scoffing sound.

Bilbori gave a short chuckle at the falsetto, but her mind was churning, comparing heights of the various company members. The tallest ones were Thorin, Dwalin, Óin, Glóin, and Kíli. She paused, wondering when Kíli had been added to that list. He was barely taller than his brother back at Bag End. He must have had a late growth spurt. "If she's so interested in someone tall, why is she bothering with a dwarf?" She wondered aloud.

"Sometimes," Legolas began, "a person can grow in your memory. And when you see them again, they are much smaller than you feel they should be."

Finishing up her muffin, Bilbori did not notice the way the prince's eyes were on her as he spoke.

Legolas put the apple dish back down on the tray, only the single slice having been eaten. He abruptly lowered himself down to his knees, "Would you show me?" Cheeks flushing at his own temerity, he deliberately angled his head to give her a clear view of his bruise while making it seem that he was just looking at the runes she had drawn. "Just a little something? I've never seen true rune magic before..."

Bilbori's eyes snapped to the darkened flesh, highlighted by his blushing, even as she slid the last bite of muffin between her lips. She chewed slowly, watching the damaged skin shift when he spoke. He was close enough that she could actually make out the thin lines that defined her fingers branded into his skin and the knowledge had a startling wave of something so strong it almost felt like arousal sweep through her. She swallowed down the bite of muffin and reached for her goblet of water. She felt as if she were playing with fire.

Fire...

"You wish to see rune magic?" She drawled the words out carefully. When his clear blue eyes turned to her and he nodded, she reached out for the dismissed dish of apples and picked up a slice. She then took the basic steel tip of her burin. Pushing aside the empty plate in front of her, she turned the apple slice over and reached for the ambient magic around them. She could feel the stones in the dungeon below the layers of the tree and the elvish magic soaking the air all around and so she pulled. Concentrating, she drew delicate runes into the surface of the apple slice while the prince watched.

Legolas was not adept in the use of magic, but he could feel it. And he certainly felt it shift as the hobbit gathered her materials. He felt it twisting as she drew. And he saw the runes shimmer with blue light as she finished each one. After a relatively short time, she set the slice of apple down and reached for her mallet.

"Big projects don't require outside activation." Bilbori commented as she tapped the mallet to the apple slice. The mallet glowed for a brief moment, the glow transferring to the runes on the apple slice even as she pulled it away.

The slice of apple burst into blue flames with a flash of light and heat. The flames quickly died down and the remains of the apple were in the shape of a tiny, charred apple tree surrounded by a pinch of ash.

Legolas's jaw dropped as he stared at the tiny tree left in the remains of the slice. Very carefully he reached out, but stopped just shy of touching it. "May I?"

Bilbori shrugged. "Fruit isn't the best thing to rune, so it will most likely just fall apart if you handle it."

Though it was painfully obvious he wanted to touch it, he pulled his hand back instead. "You did that very quickly."

"It's the crafters equivalent of a party trick. Intentionally designed to be fast and flashy, but not lasting." Thinking she knew what he was on about, she added, "My masterpiece is very much designed to be lasting. And I've been working on it off and on for years."

Legolas shot her an incredulous look that gradually became troubled. "Without it you won't attain your mastery..."

Bilbori shrugged. "I am not at death's door yet. I have time to create a new masterpiece." It went unsaid that duplicating a masterpiece was abhorrent. "My companions are worth the loss of this one." There was something sly about her as she sat back. Though now that she had used some energy, she was already reaching for the rest of the apple slices that had previously been ignored. She had not been kidding about the need for food when working, after all.

Tearing off a corner from an unused sheet of parchment, Legolas carefully slid it underneath the tiny tree. He used the parchment to help him delicately transfer the object to his cupped hand. "If this is merely a party trick... I look forward to the chance to see what a Master can accomplish." He stood slowly so as not to jostle the tiny piece of art. As he did, he noticed that the hobbit was slightly paler than she had been just a short time ago. "I will have more food brought up and send Tauriel to check on your Master."

She nodded. "Thank you." Setting the empty dishes back into the tray, Bilbori pulled over the papers she had been writing rune plans on and reached for the quill. Like an afterthought she added, "Don't let your guard captain molest my poor Master..."

Surprised into laughing, Legolas hesitated when it came time to depart. It was something he did with increasing frequency around the small woman. He started to say something, but was interrupted by a knock on the door. Striding over, using all the care he had not to move too swiftly for his tiny prize, Legolas opened the door to find the halfling's requests being delivered. "The items you requested have arrived."

"Set them there, please." Bilbori gestured vaguely to the floor at the left of the desk without looking up from her work.

Hanging around just long enough to supervise the delivery, Legolas waited until they were alone before saying, "I will return," and then he departed.

As soon as the door closed behind him, Bilbori slumped. She put her hand over her face and drew in a deep breath. "What in the world is that?" She wondered aloud at her reaction to the stupid bruise.

Draining her water and wishing it were wine, Bilbori shook herself and went back to work. She had to take advantage of the privacy the dwarves being in the dungeon afforded her.

- - -

Several days later, while leaning over to inspect the runework Bilbori was creating, Bifur wondered as well. "What is going on with the prince?"

Bilbori's strange attraction to the elf thankfully seemed to diminish the fainter the bruise got, though it was strangely replaced with irritation. She was still tickled every time she saw his short hair, at least. She shrugged. "I have no idea." She did not want to admit that the prince joined her for breakfast every morning. Or that just that morning he had presented a proper dress for her, not just one that was adjusted from ill fitting garments, along with the request that she wear it to dinner with himself and his father that night. "Maybe he's just not used to women? That sickly elf is the only one I've seen him talk to."

Bifur made a disgusted face at the mention of Tauriel. "Seems like she's got her sights set on Kíli." Bifur gossiped. "They spend hours chatting about the moon and stars of all things. It gets boring fast, so I don't listen."

Bilbori's face matched Bifur's at the news. "Has she touched him? I'm positive she has some illness that I'm sure is contagious. Should I have Legolas send a healer down there to check on everyone?" Her expression grew dark. "Then again, their healers have obviously missed whatever is wrong with her..."

Laughing, Bifur shook his head. "Nah. The lad humors her, but when she moves closer to the cell he always moves out of reach." Bifur's cell was in prime location and he was able to see and hear all of the others from his spot. Which, in retrospect, was very good since it allowed him to keep everyone up to date on their halfling. At Bilbori's request the reason he had given for her not being returned to her cell was that the illness of the forest beyond the borders of the palace was still affecting her. Thus Bofur's hat and Dwalin's mantle had been returned to her possession, but the healers insisted on keeping her for observation. Only Bifur had been allowed to 'visit.'

A knock on the door followed by the sound of footsteps leaving let them know that someone had left a tray of food outside for them. Bilbori retrieved the tray.

"I should feign sick, too. Better food up here." Bifur commented as they ate.

When it was time for Bifur to be escorted back to his cell, she handed him a lump of iron. "Are you sure you can manage this part? I can see if the elves can do something if it would hurt you."

"This, I can manage." Bifur gestured. "It will be a pleasure." He pressed his forehead to hers. As he left, he turned back and using purely hand signs said, "Bed the elf already and get it out of both your systems. It's disgusting."

Bilbori's disgusted cry caused him to laugh the rest of the way to the dungeons.

Chapter Text

As Bilbori looked at her reflection in the mirror, she was glad that she had never been seen by any of the Mirkwood elves with her hair down. The dress she had been given for dinner was a pretty thing, in a way. But it seemed to her more like what a wee hobbit lass might wear before she reached her tweens. It was several shades of green with wild layers that put her in mind of some kind of forest fairy from a storybook. It did not help that Legolas had provided both a bracelet and a crown of flowers for her to wear with the dress. She did not want to know what they would have tried if they had seen how long her hair really was.

She sighed.

Then she primped slightly, because it was fanciful. Perhaps the dinner party was a sort of costume ball. She had heard of those, though she had missed the one that had been held in the Shire some years back and she had not yet been born the last time there had been a big costume ball in Belegost. She twirled in place, feeling the varying edges of the skirts swishing around her calves. At least they had not tried to replace her shoes. Her own leather boots were in place and easily overlooked. She actually thought she would have looked better barefoot, but since the elves still thought she needed shoes wearing them was currently part of her disguise.

Another sigh. She was getting tired of the disguises. Always having to watch what she said and whom she was near was exhausting. Dori should be pleased she was finally getting a break from the binder, at least. Before she had a chance to think on ending her disguise much more, someone knocked on her door.

- - -

Bilbori was pissed.

She was not even the fun kind of pissed where she had had too much ale and was singing on the tables until she fell over. No. She was furious. And at his high and mighty jackass Thranduil, at that! The bastard was hosting a dinner party. A dinner party with elves from his court and the traders from the nearby town of men called Esgaroth that had brought the most recent shipment of trade goods to the palace. Thranduil had the nerve to introduce her! Taking away her right to decide how she wished to be addressed by the humans!

Legolas seemed to sense that she was about to take his father's hair as well, making excuses about how she had been busy writing all day and must be famished. She could have kissed him... Except that she was furious at him, too!

Not that she really had a reason to be furious with Legolas. But when he had shown up at her door to escort her to the party, she had been stunned. Legolas had done something, magic or other, that completely hid any trace of a bruise. It had felt like someone had punched her in the stomach when she saw the mark missing and her first instinct was to smack him silly again. The instinct disturbed her and she had been so confused by the whole thing she just felt angry. And the daft elf was not helping anything! Every time her eyes blazed with her irrational anger he actually seemed to step further into her personal space. It was like he was egging her on and that just infuriated her more and for Mahal's sake was that fluff-head blushing now?!

Bilbori calmed down then. Legolas's blushing showed a spot on his cheek that did not color naturally. So obviously he ha used something to cover the mark. It was still there, it had not been healed. She did not have to lash out like a crazy person. She took a deep breath and accepted the plate of dainty morsels the prince handed to her without a word.

"They're already well into their wine." Legolas assured her as he escorted her to a comfortable seat. "They'll never remember meeting you, let alone who you were."

It was strange that Legolas knew the source of her irritation so easily and was quick to reassure her. Was that normal? Normally she would only expect that level of understanding from her brothers, Bifur, or from... She had the strangest urge to rub her fingers through the elf's shorn hair, only his height prevented the gesture from becoming reality.

"I refuse to dance." She leaned, sulking, back in her chair. Since the chair was built for an elf, leaning back caused her to sink even lower, almost making her invisible.

Legolas looked amused. "Father may notice." He warned. "If he comments, we shall merely tell him you feared being stepped on by drunken men." He poured her a glass of wine, watching the way her small fingers curled around the thin stem before she sat back up and took a sip. "I've arranged for one of the guards to conveniently not notice you if you wish to sneak behind him into the dungeons later, after you've had a chance to change of course."

That certainly got her attention. "It's a bit early for an escape isn't it? I haven't finished my work..."

His short locks fluffed in an interesting way when he shook his head. "You'll need an excuse for being able to locate all of their cells more easily when you do stage your escape."

"Has your father officially decided then?"

"Officially he will never agree. Unofficially? He very much wants your masterpiece, no matter what it may be."

Bilbori made a face. "I hate politics."

Legolas tilted his head in agreement, taking a drink from his own glass of wine.

- - -

Citing weariness, Bilbori made her excuses to his royal prissiness. Not that Thranduil noticed, as deep into his wine as he was by the time Legolas had indicated it was a good time to depart. She had immediately returned to her room, stripping out of the gown and leaving it on the floor as soon as the door closed. She tugged on her normal clothing with relish. Oh it was strange how she had actually missed the evil binder. She sighed happily, running her hands down her front and sides to luxuriate in the tightness of the material and the way it squeezed her softness into a flat and decidedly less feminine shape. Then she pulled on her trousers, shirt, bracers, and waistcoat. She left her jacket and everything else before scurrying back out of the room and following Legolas down the hall where he nodded to one of the guards waiting by a thick wooden door.

Before she could follow the guard through the door, Legolas paused her with a hand on her should. Looking up at him, she could not help blushing when he plucked the crown of flowers from her head and the bracelet from her wrist. He winked at her and then ushered her on her way.

What followed was an exhausting round of repeating the same reassurances over, and over, and over in hushed whispers as she stopped at each cell along the guard's route. Surprisingly none of the dwarves seemed to notice how the guard conveniently kept having to stop and dawdle on his route, but then Bilbori noticed the guard was carrying a bottle of wine and sipping from it every time he paused. So the elves were not completely stupid after all.

Then she was nearing the cell she had been most anticipating...

"What's this Bifur's been saying about you falling for some elf?" Nori wondered softly.

Leaning close to her brother's cell, Bilbori pressed her forehead to his through the bars. "The prince." At his soft, impressed whistle she gave a slight nod. "He's been assisting me. He's the reason I could get down here tonight."

Nori reached out through the bars and took her hand. "What are you giving them, Bori?" he murmured. "What are you giving that bastard elf king in whatever this plan you've come up with is?"

She shook her head. "Nothing you'll have to go gutting anyone for."

"That bad, huh?"

Another shake. "Remember Thráin?" She wondered, apropos of nothing.

Nori considered the various implications of this and then cursed softly. "No, Bori."

Bilbori grinned, but a flicker of sound told her the guard was ready to move on and so she pulled away to keep following him. "I'm not sure exactly when, but I'll get us out of here..."

Nori let her go. As he watched her swiftly disappear into the darkness, he couldn't help muttering. "Dammit."

- - -

Further into the dungeon and Bilbori looked into the open area that was lined with pathways and cells and a sheer drop. From where she was, she could just barely see Bifur's distinctive mane leaning against the bars below. She had already visited him and knew he was probably already asleep. She could not see any of the others from this angle... At least, not until she slid in front of the nearest cell and turned, coming nose to neck with the dwarf inside that had apparently been waiting. Arms squeezed through the bars, pulling her as close as the cell door would allow.

"I could feel you getting closer." He murmured, pressing his lips against the loose ends of her curls. "How did you slip away from the healers?" He obviously trusted Bifur's news about where she was and why.

"They feast often and get drunk." Buried against his throat as her nose was, her voice was barely audible. And as close as she was, she could not help it when her tongue slid out, pressing against his bared throat. She heard and felt his breath catch as she held it there, feeling his pulse against her tongue. Without thinking she kissed the soft skin, sealing her lips and creating a gentle suction.

He whined, his grip on her tightening convulsively. "Please," he begged. "Please tell me you're done with him."

Bilbori bit down on his flesh and one of his hands abruptly released her so that he could stifle the cry he made at the sensation. She was not gentle; her teeth just shy of breaking skin as she sucked hard. She slid a hand up, taking hold of his hair and pulling hard to further expose his throat to her mouth. When she finally released her bite, she lapped her tongue tenderly over the spot and placed soft kisses on it in an apology. Between kisses, she murmured, "Not yet."

"Cruel hobbit." He lamented. "When?"

"You'll know." She sounded amused. "Everyone will know. It will be very, very obvious..."

Pulling back, Bilbori stared at the spot where she had just marked his throat. The discoloration caused by the burst blood vessels did things she had been hoping for... But so much more. If she had thought the bruise on Legolas's cheek stirred her possessive dwarven nature, it was not even a spark compared to the roaring blaze of want and need that swept through her body at seeing the mark she had made on her dwarf's throat. She was an inferno and she wanted to consume him...

And the cursed bars of the cell door were in her way!

Her dwarf could read her so very easily and his eyes were just as hungry for her when they met through the bars. "And how long shall I wait after you are done with him? Shall I take you in my arms right then? Claim your lips in front of everyone? Touch you? Leave you writhing in need so that all can see how much you are mine? Or would you prefer that I wait and take you aside privately? That I lay you down and taste every inch of your flesh until you are sobbing with want and all you can say is my name?" He could practically smell the halfling's arousal as his words continued. "Say it now, so I know..."

Moaning at the pictures his words painted, Bilbori rose onto her tiptoes and moved in for a kiss, his name on the tip of her tongue...

A sound from down the hall caused her head to jerk to the side, eyes wide. The guard she was supposedly 'following' was in the opposite direction. Turning a distressed look toward her dwarf, she pulled away and fled down the way her guard had gone before another word could pass between them.

- - -

Bilbori was not pleased as she made her way through the door to the dungeon. Not only had she been forced to end her playtime with her dwarf early, but she had literally stumbled upon her guard on the way up the stairs. Apparently his pretend sipping at the wine had resulted in him drinking the entire bottle and he had fallen asleep on the stairs. So here she was, dragging the guard through the door while an amused Legolas held the door open for them. Once the door was closed, he plucked the guard from her grasp and they walked down the hall together.

She knew now. Whatever she had felt for the bruise on the elf's cheek was something else. It had nothing on the true arousal she felt marking and seeing her mark upon her dwarf. Now she just had to figure out what in the mixed up hell it was... But then she had figured it out, had she not? She had even told Nori... Kind of.

After they had relocated the drunk guard to the nearest room, Legolas escorted her back to the room she had been given.

"Master Took." The prince bowed, preparing to depart.

"Wait." Bilbori was nott sure exactly what she was doing, but after her trip to the dungeons and seeing everyone again... "Stay." She entreatingly held out her hand. "Please..."

Legolas regarded the hobbit, something had changed with her visit to the dungeon. He could almost smell the change in the air. He reached out and took her hand, allowing her to pull him into the room.

Chapter Text

The visit with her dwarves had renewed Bilbori's desire to get completely out of Mirkwood. That and the fact that it was steadily creeping out of the summer months and into fall. Durin's Day was approaching fast. She was not certain of the exact date, but she was pretty sure they were into September already. She wanted to be out of this place before her hundred and first birthday and to do that she had to work harder than she could ever remember working. She pulled, twisted, drained, and shoved magic into bits of metal as fast as Bifur could give them to her. Legolas was constantly by her side, making sure she had something on hand to eat and drink and forcing her in to bed when she was swaying from the day of channeling magic.

And he was making sure she stayed there, too. Ever since the night she had visited the dungeons, Legolas had been sleeping in Bilbori's bed with her. Just sleeping.

Visiting the Company had reminded her that her closest family and friends were forcibly separated from her and that, after months being practically on top of each other, she missed them. So in her moment of weakness, she had asked the prince to stay the night. He had. And he had let her hold him close, wrapping his too big frame around her like she was a plush doll. Somehow, despite it being her emotional turmoil that had caused the encounter, by the time morning came, Legolas had been crying in her arms. She had spent the morning petting his hair and whispering reassurances to him, trying to figure out what had caused the breakdown.

Apparently, despite being an adult elf and thousands of years old, Legolas had a lot of issues. And with what he had chokingly whispered to her about his father's behavior after his mother's death, she could believe that the issues had taken root long ago. It was during this time that she finally fully recognized and accepted the type of possessiveness she felt for the elf. Visiting her dwarf had helped her to clarify the feeling. Though admittedly it was other recent encounters with her dwarf that had caused her to confuse her possessive feelings in the first place.

"I've seen it before. When visiting Esgaroth... How parents are supposed to act." Legolas whispered one morning while she cuddled him.

Bilbori's nose was buried in his short hair and she hummed softly while listening. Her arms were wrapped around his shoulders. Inside she felt her heart breaking for him. Here he was, an ancient being, longing for a proper parent. And suddenly a woman comes along, smacks him for being naughty, scolds him, thoroughly punishes his bad behavior, then looks at him like she wants him for her own and shows him little joys he had never had before...

Legolas had seen a mother figure.

And that mother figure was a confused idiot that had been so twisted up with emotions over the course of the quest and from the suddenness of the capture by the elves... Bilbori had not recognized the feeling as the same one she had felt for Drogo from the moment she had first held her nephew in her arms. It definitely did not help that Legolas was much older than her, only adding to her confusion. She really was a poor excuse for a mother.

"Shhh... Aulë is infinitely wise and knew I'd be as stubborn as a dwarf. I'm just sorry you had to be bruised for me to recognize that you were mine all this time." She placed a kiss atop his head.

Legolas made a content sound at being called hers and snuggled further into her embrace. After several moments of silently enjoying being held, Legolas spoke again. "You do that a lot."

"What's that, dear heart?"

"Refer to Aulë. When you're working and get upset you curse to him, usually calling him Mahal as the dwarves do."

"Hmm. I spent most of my life among dwarves. I'm sure that I picked up more than that from them."

"There's more, isn't there?" Legolas's arms were loosely wrapped around her torso and he was completely pliant against her.

"Yes." She agreed. "One day I will tell you. But not here." After a few more minutes of silence, she asked, "When is the next full moon?"

He tensed. "You're leaving soon, aren't you?"

"You knew I couldn't stay here forever. I have contracts to fulfill and the project I negotiated to work on is almost complete." Bilbori was, in fact, giving a final test of the project that morning. She had used mostly clay and wood for the test runs. If this run was successful, she would assemble what she could of the final product and pack it away to add the final touches while waiting for Durin's Day. "Once my task is complete, I'll contact you."

The elf's arms tightened around her. "You could be eaten."

"What? Me?" she scoffed. "There's not even enough of me for a mouthful to a dragon... But you have given me an idea!" Bilbori turned Legolas's face up to peer at him, a wide smile on her face. She pecked a kiss to his forehead. "Come, we need some breakfast, and I have a project to finish and a new one to at least get started before the full moon." She disentangled herself and hopped off the bed.

- - -

"Is that... What was supposed to happen?" Legolas timidly asked as he looked at the destruction in the otherwise empty room that Bilbori had been using for testing.

"Absolutely." There was something almost giddy in her voice as she strode around the protective barrier and peered at the damage. "It might even have been better."

Legolas gulped, slightly terrified at both the devastation and the hobbit's obvious glee at the results. "I find myself glad hobbits do not engage in warfare if this is your intended outcome."

Bilbori entertained the notion of hobbits waging war... And how it would be more like forcing everyone to sit down to a proper elevenses than what she had just done. She giggled at the absurdity.

Her giggling did not reassure Legolas from his own mental images of fire, explosions, dismemberment...

- - -

Bilbori was flanked by both Bifur and Legolas when she carefully set the arrow down on the desk. It shimmered, a pulse of green and gold energy visibly rippling over the surface. The moment her fingers left the arrow, it rose, hovering an inch above the desk with nothing to hold it down. She rubbed her fingers together. "Tingles. It's vibrating..." At her gesture, the other two touched the arrow so they could feel it as well. When no one was touching it, the incredible speed of the vibration caused the arrow to hum with a steady tone.

"You did this in less than a month." Legolas eyed the ball of iron that was near the arrow and was glowing green to match the shade of green on the arrow. He was not comfortable with how close the two items were, but the arrow was just innocently floating there... As innocently as a floating, glowing, humming, vibrating arrow could be anyway.

Bifur gestured, grunting to emphasize his point.

"Master Bifur is correct." Bilbori nodded. "Desperation is a cruel and efficient task master."

"And this?" Legolas touched the half formed blob of some gray metal he did not recognize that was nearby.

"A hope. I'll have to finish that one once the others are looking for the door. I will work on it while waiting for the full moon, but we should get the presentation area ready instead." She did not hope to actually finish the 'hope' before she needed it, but all she could do was try.

Bifur wrapped the arrow and iron ball in silk before handing the items to Bilbori. "Put them away. I will see you when we leave." He showed himself out of the room where the sickly redhead peered in the opened doorway to glare at how closely Legolas stood to Bilbori before escorting the dwarf to the dungeon.

Bilbori stuck her tongue out at the redhead's back.

Legolas laughed.

- - -

The room Bilbori stood within met her requirements. It was high enough within the king's palace and there was an opening that allowed the sunlight to shine within... Now it showed only the full moon overhead. A pedestal that was shoulder-high on her was centered in the patch of where the moonlight would normally reach. For now, a canopy of silk tented the area over the pedestal and kept it in shadow. The pedestal itself was made of stone, brought up from deep within the palace, below even the dungeon level. Elves had carved it with beautiful simplicity to resemble something like a large open flower. Atop each of the flower petals was a shallow glass bowl. The center of the pedestal was bare, waiting for a Masterpiece.

For the presentation Bilbori had chosen to wear the green fae dress Thranduil had provided along with a fresh flower crown Legolas had woven. Feeling decidedly nervous, for not only were Thranduil and Legolas present, but every elf that could fit within the room and still bear witness was present. After the presentation, Thranduil was hosting a feast that would conveniently distract the guards long enough for Bilbori to make her escape with the dwarves... But now, she took a deep breath and walked gracefully over to the pedestal, her Masterpiece tightly clenched within her hand.

Carefully, Bilbori placed her Masterpiece in the very center of the pedestal. She fiddled with it, positioning it perfectly based on the placement of the petals that held the shallow bowls. Once she was satisfied, she walked backwards away from the pedestal and took up her place. With a nod, one of the elves standing off to the side pulled a cord and the silk tent that had been blocking the moonlight from the room fell away.

Sitting atop the pedestal was a single acorn, no bigger than the real thing. It gleamed bronze with copper and brass highlights and the light shimmered over thousands of tiny runes etched into the surface.

Nothing happened.

The elves started to murmur among themselves. Thranduil started to get angry. Legolas turned to look at Bilbori only to find her watching the acorn with open fascination. He turned to regard it more closely.

One by one the tiny runes lit up as the acorn soaked up the light of the full moon. They lit up sequentially, spiraling down the surface until it started to glow more obviously. No one else seemed to notice.

Thranduil, thinking he had been duped by the hobbit, turned angrily. He had just opened his mouth to demand what game the halfling was playing when an audible squeal like metal rubbing against metal was heard.

The elves stopped talking, eyes whipping to look at the metal acorn that was now visibly rocking in place. As they watched, the metal rippled and then sagged before bursting at both top and bottom. Like a true acorn, it sprouted. The squeal of ripping and stretching metal was unlike anything any of them had heard and they could only stare, dumbfounded, as the acorn grew. Metal roots dug down, the crackling of stone audible beneath the metallic whine as they dug into the pedestal, cementing it's place atop the pedestal. The roots were visible on the outer portion of the pedestal as well, trailing down to the ground in a natural pattern as the ends dug into the very floor.

The other end of the acorn grew upward, thickening and spreading before branching out, reaching toward the moon. When it reached a height of about three feet, the ends of each of the branches swelled before a faint popping sound heralded each swollen end unfurling. As they unfurled, oak leaves in translucent green crystal with silver veins rustled with the gentle chime of jewels.

When the sound of growing and moving metal stopped, the elves were impressed at how a three foot tall oak tree had grown atop the pedestal. The trunk was made out of bronze and brass with copper accents and the leaves looked like emeralds veined in silver. The elves murmured appreciatively at how the colors looked. Just when they were starting to leave though, the true nature of the Masterpiece came into play...

The entire thing started to glow silver with the light of the moon. The glow flowed up from the roots, through the trunk, flashing over the thousands of runes etched into the surface in three different languages, and finally into the leaves that lit up like emerald beacons before condensing into a liquid that beaded onto the silver veins before dripping from the leaves to begin filling the shallow bowls on the pedestal with glowing liquid.

While they watched, the moon moved along the night sky until it was no longer casting its light upon the metal tree. The moonlight finished condensing and when the last drop fell into the bowls, Bilbori quickly grasped Legolas's hand and gave it a squeeze before releasing it and walking over to the pedestal. She picked up one of the bowls and approached King Thranduil. Smiling up at him, she stepped to the side where she had requested that a wilted and dying plant be placed. Bilbori tilted the bowl and allowed the glowing contents to spill out into the soil in which the plant was growing. Before their astonished eyes, the plant perked up, the browned leaves and stems returning to a vibrant green and the delicate buds of blossoms forming with the renewed life.

Bilbori looked up at Thranduil, offering him the empty bowl. "The liquid does not hold the power for long once it has been created. But every full moon you can acquire a little more."

Around the room, the elves burst into cheers and applause. The Masterpiece was an unexpected source to help them combat some of the sickness within the once Greenwood.

Thranduil, his expression stunned, accepted the empty bowl from the halfling. He placed within her newly empty hand a ring of keys. "I trust you will continue your plans in a timely manner." Without further acknowledging her, he walked over to return the empty bowl to the pedestal even as he instructed some of the elves to rush the remaining bowls of shimmering liquid to where they would be most useful before the magic wore off.

Legolas watched it all, amazed beyond belief and approached the metal oak tree with awe. He gently brushed a finger along the edge of one of the leaves and turned to congratulate Bilbori...

But she was already gone.

Chapter Text

Rushing back to the room she had been given, Bilbori was out of the fae dress without even bothering to close the door. She placed the flower crown on the desk and then struggled to race into her hobbit lad clothes as fast as she could. She clipped on her belts, kit, kama, and dagger sheaths before picking up her already packed pack and darting out of the room. She ran down into the lower levels. Unsurprisingly a guard was conveniently napping at the door. She slipped through and went to the lowest level where various storage rooms were first. She checked to make certain all of the Company's gear was where Legolas had told her it would be.

She breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the packs and weapons. After a quick check to make sure that the provisions had been supplied she raced out again, turning to head toward the dungeon cells. She was running full tilt, her steps not silent at all by hobbit standards, when she burst into the twisty mess of paths and stairs where the dwarves were located. She froze, hearing voices.

Glancing up and around Bilbori saw that sickly redhead and she growled furiously. That thing was not supposed to be here. Legolas had told her that the place would be free of guards for the presentation and the following feast.

Slowly, Bilbori made her way to the nearest cell. It was Balin. Making a silencing gesture and pointing in the direction the voice was coming from, she unlocked his cell and let him out. She was surprised when he gave her a hug, but she returned it happily.

Tiptoeing, Bilbori led Balin toward the next cell, Ori... And then Bombur... And so on. With each cell she shushed the occupant and ended up getting a hug for her efforts. Finally only three were missing while they waited in the shadows of an unlocked cell for the elf to leave.

The wait seemed to take forever. And, when the redhead finally did finish her conversation and move on, for one heart stopping moment Bilbori thought she was going to head down and see all the empty cells. Mahal was with them, though. For the redhead turned, said one more thing, and went the opposite direction, heading directly up the way toward the main part of the palace.

Sighing with relief, Bilbori led the group to the final three cells and let Kíli, Thorin, and Bofur out. The only one that didn't give her a quick hug was Thorin, he merely clapped his hand to her shoulder. She gestured them all to follow her and led them back down in the direction from which she had arrived.

"Where are you leading us, Master Took?" Thorin demanded in hushed tones.

"Out." Bilbori responded. And, when it looked like Thorin would get riled up, she added. "Did you really think I was just idling up there with the healers all the time? I've been sneaking all of our things into one of the store rooms. And while I was doing that, I found the way out."

Hushed mumbling let her know the Company was spreading this news, making sure everyone heard. She rolled her eyes. If there was one time she wished she wasn't pretending to be a hobbit it was every time when just telling them all in Iglishmêk would be more convenient. Though why they didn't spread the news using the hand signs confounded her.

And look, just like the first week of the quest here she was, wanting to kill them again. They were trying to sneak out of a dungeon and as soon as they saw their packs and gear they became noisy dwarflings! She would have cheerfully bashed their heads in one at a time before going back up to the soft bed she had been given.

"Shh! Come on, we have to leave!" Bilbori was glad that this was a staged escape, otherwise they'd have been caught a dozen times by now.

There was confusion about where she was taking them when she dragged them, quite literally since she had a hand fisted into Thorin's coat and was dragging him, further into the storage area. Eventually she reached a room filled with stacked barrels. While the Company idled in the doorway, she scampered down the stairs and started prying the lids off of the barrels that were tipped onto their sides.

"Quickly, everyone in!"

"What?!"

"Are you insane?"

"Piss off, I'm going out the front gate!"

Furious, Bilbori glared. "There are at least a hundred elves prancing around the halls upstairs. Drunk or not there's no way you could get out that way. Now get in the barrels!" On the last command, she was matching eyes with Thorin.

Thorin looked at her, something in his gaze that she felt she should recognize, but she was too irritated to try to figure it out. Eventually he spoke. "Everyone in." And he put his words to practice, being the first to stuff his pack, Orcrist, and himself into one of the barrels.

Soon enough everyone was being stuffed away as she shoved lids back into place. By her own determination, she packed away her brothers last, giving them each a fond forehead press before sealing their barrels. "See you all soon." She sealed her pack into one of the remaining barrels, but kept her weapons on her person. Then, with an amused smirk, she hung the dungeon keys onto the key ring beside the door, almost skipped over to the lever, and released the barrels into the river. She dove in after them just before the trapdoor could close.

- - -

The river was freezing!

Bilbori couldn't remember the last time she'd been so thoroughly soaked in such cold water. It took her a while to manage it without falling back into the river, but eventually she pulled herself up to straddle one of the barrels as if it were a pony. She wasn't certain if there was anyone in the barrel, but it kept her out of most of the cold water. And she just had to keep her balance now. So she enjoyed the scenery. After a time, she noticed that the current wasn't that fast yet, though she knew once they hit rapids or something it would pick up. As the sky cleared out some she turned to look back up the river. She thought she saw movement in front of some lights up there and imagined it was an elf taking in the night view from a balcony.

She waved.

Snickering at her own silliness, Bilbori turned to look ahead. Of course, since it was night, she couldn't see much and so she leaned forward until her torso was pressed against the barrel. She shivered. It really was cold. And it didn't help that her boots were soaked too. She'd never worn boots outside long enough for them to get soaked like this. It wasn't pleasant. After a while, still shivering, she drifted off.

- - -

A change in the current caused Bilbori to wake, her barrel bumping into something below the river's surface and spinning lazily as it picked up speed. Groaning, she pulled out one of her kama. Praying that there wasn't a dwarf inside the barrel and in the way, she stabbed the blade into the wood and used the handle for a better grip on the barrel. Soon the banks of the river seemed to fly by as the barrels sped along in the water and she was pretty certain she was going to be ill if her barrel didn't stop spinning soon. Feeling sufficiently ill and still shivering, she leaned down, holding her kama's handle in a death grip as she pressed her forehead to the damp wood slats of the barrel.

Hours passed. She wasn't certain how long they had been following the river. It felt like the whole of the day, but then, the barrels caught on something. Feeling the momentum arrested, Bilbori dared to look up. She saw a net had been strung across the width of the river, no doubt to catch the barrels. Checking both banks, she saw that one side was set up with ropes and hooks for dragging the barrels to shore.

Bilbori tugged her kama free and sheathed it before dropping off of the barrel. She swam over to the bank with the ropes. When she was almost there, she pushed the barrel closest to the bank along with her. Once it was mostly out of the water, she rolled the barrel around to find the top and then pried the lid free with fingers swollen from the grip she'd had on her barrel. To her relief, Dwalin was inside.

"Never again." He stated, sagging there for a minute before pulling himself out of the barrel.

"Agreed."

Though Bilbori had already started retrieving the second barrel by the time Dwalin was recovered enough to help, he did indeed help and soon enough they were dragging the rest of the barrels ashore. Since she was already soaked, Bilbori stayed in the water to turn the barrels so Dwalin could drag them out with the lids at the best angle for getting out and staying dry. Her shivering had increased tremendously by the time she dragged herself out of the water.

It took the dwarves some time to pull themselves together after being twisted and spun about inside the barrels. Bilbori couldn't imagine how miserable being inside one had been, especially not with the way Fíli turned green every time his brother tauntingly talked about some apple treat he missed being able to get during the quest.

While the dwarves started to gather their things, even finding the barrel that had Bilbori's pack, she just stood there. Her arms were wrapped around herself as she shivered uncontrollably. It was a testament to how out of it the dwarves were that it took some time for even her overprotective brothers to look and see why she hadn't moved in several minutes.

"Bilbo!" Dori's surprised voice was shockingly loud among the soft tones the others were using. "You've gone blue!" Dori bustled over, fully intent upon stripping his sister out of her soaked clothes. He managed to get the jacket off before her icy hand stopped his on the buttons of her waistcoat.

"Don't." Bilbori's voice was soft, eyes pleading as she looked up at her brother. She didn't want to be outed yet.

Dori was obviously unhappy, but complied. Very reluctantly. "Nori, give me your coat."

Thorin, from where he was standing aside observing everything, stated, "We must hurry. I don't want to be here when whomever is tasked with these barrels comes along." His gaze was on where the Ri siblings were hovering around the halfling. "Carry Master Took if you must." He turned, taking his nephews by their arms and hustling them ahead of him on the path running beside the river. He paused to help Bombur to his feet while the others followed the princes.

Dori divested Bilbori of her waistcoat, but left her shirt on over her binder as he wrapped Nori's light travel coat around their sister. He scooped her up into his arms. Once he held her securely, Ori started tugging off her soaked boots. He made a face at her waterlogged feet.

"Did you get to take these off at all in Mirkwood?"

"In the palace sometimes." Bilbori chattered back, pressing her freezing nose against Dori's dry tunic.

Nori reached out to brush her scraggly looking hair back. He hissed when his fingers brushed the side of her head. He glanced around to see that the others were out of easy earshot and following the path. "You're too warm, Bori." He looked up at Dori. "She's gettin' sick. No telling how long she was in that cold water. Just look at how blue her toes and lips are."

Ori pulled the wide knitted scarf from around his neck and wrapped it around Bilbori's head, neck, and shoulders. "Best we hurry and get to the Lake Town then."

"At least we're not far from town." Bilbori murmured.

"How do you reckon that, sweetness?" Nori pulled off his outer tunic, wrapping it around her legs like a blanket.

Snorting at his question only resulted in a gross sound followed by a sudden hacking cough from Bilbori. When she could finally speak, she was trembling even harder. "Can hear the smithy."

Ori squeaked.

Nori tripped.

Dori froze, looking cautiously at the halfling curled in his arms. "Where's the smithy, Bori?" He whispered.

Bilbori pulled one hand out from under the folded edges of Nori's jacket and waved ahead of them.

Ori, Nori, and Dori looked in that direction indicated. Ahead of them only the rest of the Company and the distant rooftops of Lake Town could be seen. The town itself was too far away for even a hobbit's sensitive ears to hear anything.

Falling asleep as she was, Bilbori missed the horrified looks her brothers shared.

Chapter Text

By the time the Company reached the gates of Esgaroth, more commonly known as Lake Town, Óin was walking beside Dori and holding one of Bilbori's wrists so he could easily keep track of her pulse. Her breath was rattling in her chest and she was more unconscious than asleep. Everyone in the Company was aware that she was sick and all sent worried looks in her direction. So when they reached the gates, Thorin was a bit more forgiving of the attitude of the guards than he wished. They needed to get the halfling in somewhere warm where Óin could provide proper treatment.

The Master of Lake Town seemed to think otherwise. He kept the Company talking for an infuriatingly long time. Well, he kept Thorin talking while refusing to allow the rest of the Company to be excused from the proceedings. The longer he kept things up, the angrier the dwarves became. And as their anger grew, the worry of the Ri brothers increased.

"Gettin' warmer here, lads." Óin murmured, the backs of his fingers pressed to the unconscious Bilbori's brow.

Nori frowned before making his way deliberately over to stand next to Thorin. He didn't acknowledge the Master at all as he started speaking over the man's annoying voice. "Prince Took is getting worse, your Majesty. He needs a place to sleep and medicine. Now."

"What's this?" The Master leaned forward. "You have another Prince among you?" His beady eyes moved greedily from Thorin to Fíli and Kíli before sweeping over Nori and locking on to Thorin again.

Drawing himself up, Nori spoke again before Thorin could open his mouth. "Prince Took's nephew is the current King of the Shire and he stands second in line to the throne. He has been traveling with us in disguise for some time and as one of his personal guards I am entrusted with seeing that his health and welfare come before all else, including keeping his identity secret." Nori made his tone as haughty as he could. "His highness is quite ill and if he is not treated soon I will be forced to report this lack of proper aid to his highness King Fortinbras the Second. I'm sure he will be most displeased at the treatment of his uncle."

The Master peered suspiciously at Nori before leaning to peer around the dwarves. It took a while, but his beady eyes finally landed on where Bilbori was bundled up and being held in Dori's arms. It was clearly visible to every dwarf present that the Master was assessing the validity of Nori's claim against the potential risk of bringing an entire nation's wrath upon him. Finally, he spoke up. "Do forgive me..." No one believed he was sincere in the slightest. He leaned toward the slimy toady hovering at his shoulder. "Henning's old estate hasn't been dealt with yet, King Thorin and his companions may use that for their stay... Have the prince and his guards escorted there and send for the healer."

"I'm sure his highness will be most grateful." Nori said, without even trying to sound like he meant it. He moved to join Dori, Ori, and Óin as they made their way to follow the escort the toady quickly called together.

"Balin, Dwalin, with me. The rest of you go with the others." Thorin never took his eyes off the Master, daring the greedy human to try to counter his command. "I'm sure the escort will be kind enough to point out where we may acquire some food for our Company."

Though it was obvious the Master wanted to object, he didn't say anything as the bulk of the Company left the building.

- - -

First thing that happened when they arrived in their temporary lodgings was Dori ordering Ori to clean up the dust on one of the chairs before setting their sister on it. He left Óin to work on checking Bilbori's symptoms and mixing up medicines. From there, he dragged his brothers through the filthy house to inspect it. They found the bathing room and he set Ori to cleaning it while sending Nori to fetch fuel for the fire. Bilbori would feel better after a bath, he knew. While his brothers did that, Dori went in search of a room where Bilbori could be settled into a bed once she was clean and in fresh clothes.

- - -

As Nori left to find whatever the men used for fuel in the wooden city on a lake he was joined by Bifur, Bombur, and Glóin. Once they found where the firewood was stored, Bombur and Glóin separated to go to the local market while Nori and Bifur were left to transport the wood back to the house. "Hey, see if you can get us all something to wear after we've had a chance to wash up!" Nori called after them.

Glóin waved back over his shoulder, not bothering to turn around or verbally respond.

"Hey Bif," Nori whispered. "What'd Bori give up to get us out of there?"

Bifur regarded the redhead while helping to stack wood in a public use wheelbarrow. He shook his head.

"Come on, Bifur... I know she made some kind of deal."

"Nothing." Bifur signed. When Nori looked like he was going to open his mouth, he added, "That she wasn't perfectly willing to give."

Irritated at being thwarted, Nori debated how easily an ill Bilbori might be to interrogate.

- - -

Back at the house, Ori made quick work of cleaning the bathroom. On his way out, he stopped to check on Bilbori. She was sleeping, at least he hoped she was just sleeping, but she seemed to be having trouble breathing. Since Óin had trouble hearing, he used Iglishmêk to speak to him. "Breathing okay?"

Óin shook his head, chosing to speak aloud. "Not good. But I'll wait until after the lad's been cleaned up any leftover lake filth before putting a poultice on his chest." He looked significantly at Ori.

Ori nodded slightly. "Thank you, Óin." He knelt down in front of the chair Bilbori was in and brushed the ends of her curls from her forehead. He leaned up and pressed a kiss to her brow, disturbed by how warm she was. "The bathing room has been cleaned, Nori can start a fire as soon as he gets back."

"We'll go help him." Kíli said, abruptly rising to his feet and dragging Fíli along with him out of the door.

Standing, Ori went to go help Dori with cleaning up whatever room he had picked.

- - -

When Nori and Bifur were halfway back to the house, they came across the princes. He gave them directions back to where the firewood could be acquired and then they continued on their way. Once back into the house it was a quick matter to get the wood put away, start some water started heating, and headed back out to help the princes with the wood while Bifur took care of the fires and filling the tub to Óin's specified temperature. He arrived with the wheelbarrow just as the youngsters were seeing how much they could carry without toppling the stacks of wood in their arms.

"Use the barrow, boys." Nori told them. "We don't want to accidentally cause trouble, do we?"

The princes looked like they might object before putting their loads in the wheelbarrow. They finished loading it before both princes took a more reasonable load of wood in their arms and all three started back to the house.

"Is Bilbo really a prince?" Fíli wondered softly, deciding to ask the source of the new rumor.

"As far as anyone here is concerned." Nori affirmed.

"And as far as the Shire's concerned?" Kíli asked, more shrewdly than Nori expected.

"Exactly," was all the response Nori gave to the inquiry. And then they were back in the house just in time to see Dori and Óin taking Bilbo into the bathing room.

- - -

The water Dori eased Bilbori into was the same temperature as his skin. He couldn't feel a difference. But to his sister's burning skin it was obviously freezing. She whined, muttered about being cold, and weakly tried to pull herself out of the tub. He didn't even have to fight her on the matter, she was too weak from her illness to put much effort into her struggles. He couldn't help but worry at the feverish flush to her otherwise pale skin and the way that she was barely aware of what they were doing at all. "Is she going to be okay?"

"Aye," Óin confirmed as he added some remedies to ease breathing into her bath water. "Getting her out of that binder will go a great distance to aiding her all on its own. I never could understand why they have to be so tight."

Dori, who worked with clothing for his craft, didn't even try to explain to a medic why holding flesh down required a certain amount of tension. Then again... "The same way stitches need to be tight to hold the skin in place."

Óin huffed acknowledgement to the statement. "You boys going to keep her in that room the whole time?"

"Of course. She's not ready to be seen as anything different."

"Good." He put a jar down on a nearby table. "Rub that on her chest and back after you've dried her off."

The door abruptly opened allowing Ori to swiftly slide in before closing once more. "Glóin found some shirts that are big enough for us to wear until either our things are mended and cleaned or we've had new things made." He set a folded shirt down on the table next to Óin's medicine. "There's one for Bori."

"Good lad." Dori approved.

Óin nodded, "I'll go start some tea. I'll bring it to the room you picked when its ready."

Once Óin had left, Ori moved over to help hold Bilbori up in the tub while Dori pulled her braids free and washed the river water from her curls.

"I don't know what she was doing while we were in the dungeons, but it couldn't have been good for her. It reminds me of when she was learning her craft and would eat everything in sight before falling asleep." Dori mused. "For her to get sick... I don't remember her ever getting more than the sniffles during the coldest parts of winter."

"Bifur kept giving her sad looks." Ori remembered, he was observing the Company for the chronicle, after all. He hesitated. "Do you think she's really hearing..." He couldn't bring himself to finish.

"We'll just have to keep an eye on her. She's sick, so that'll make it easy."

Giving their sister a final rinse, Dori and Ori worked together to get her out of the tub, dried off, Óin's medicine was rubbed into her chest and over her back. Then the shirt was pulled over her head. The shirt was designed for men, so it reached down to her ankles and hung off her arms. Ori rolled the sleeves up, thinking she looked adorable even if the flush of her cheeks was from fever and not from being the sweet little girl that used to wear his old play clothes even when they were too big for her. Once that was done, the brothers worked together to get her hair as dry as they could before Dori once more took her into his arms.

Ori wrapped his scarf carefully around Bilbori to hide the difference in her shape without the binder before picking up her discarded clothes. He followed Dori out of the bathing room, up some stairs, and into the room Dori had selected for their sister to convalesce where tea and warm blankets awaited.

- - -

The next couple of days found Bilbori slipping in and out of consciousness. When she was awake she spent most of her time coughing and spitting up disgusting things. Óin said it was a good thing; she was getting the illness out of her lungs. But most of the time she slept like the dead with her brothers surrounding her. Most often it was Nori and Ori in the bed with her, one on either side, with Dori in the chair in the corner. She had no idea what anyone else was doing, her only memories being of her brothers and sometimes seeing Óin when he brought more medicine and, on one occasion, Bifur. He had been sitting beside her while her brothers were all off doing something of which she wasn't aware. She had held her master's hand as she drifted back to sleep.

- - -

The strong, steady ring of steel on mithril woke Bilbori from her sleep. She wasn't sure how long she'd been sleeping or even where she was. She could see her brothers spread out around the room. Nori and Ori were on the bed next to her and Dori was curled up in a chair in the corner of the room. All three of them were sleeping.

Barely giving her brothers a glance, she slowly wiggled her way off of the bed. She didn't notice how in all her squirming to escape the bed she'd accidentally wiggled out of her nightdress as well as the blankets. Once she was free of the bed, she carefully stretched her sore limbs and neck. She felt strange. Like she was floating. Her head felt fuzzy and, though she had no way of knowing it, she still burned with fever from the illness she'd picked up due to recent events. The only thing that was clear to her was the sound she could remember all of her life; the ringing sound of forging metal.

Stealthy as any good hobbit, Bilbori turned and walked out of the room without waking any of her brothers.

Letting her ears guide her feet, Bilbori followed the clear ringing tone. The building she walked through was dark and silent, night having settled upon the town. She could faintly hear the sound of water lapping against wood, but the bell-like tones of the forge were calling. She vaguely remembered going down some stairs and giving a shiver as the cool night air brushed over her skin. And then she was opening a door. Ahead of her the dim light from the hallway landed upon a pale face with flushed cheeks resting atop a pillow and then she was closing the door.

She slowly approached the bed, seeing but not really seeing the figure lying under the blankets. After a few minutes she reached out and touched, waking the bed's occupant with a gentle nudge to their shoulder.

A faint hiss came from the one she'd awoken, followed by sleep fogged and weary words. "Bilbo? Wha? What's going on?" The voice sounded off somehow and was followed quickly by a tired yawn.

Bilbori reached up, letting her fingers brush hair from the other's eyes. When she spoke, it was in Khuzdul and her voice sounded to her own ears as if she were in a dream.

"Mahal has lead me to you that we may craft the dwarven race anew. Will you bring the mithril to my forge?"

A gasp came from the bed as she waited.

After what felt like an eternity, her hand was taken. She felt fingers lace with her own and the blankets were pulled aside even as she was pulled into the bed...

- - -

An indeterminable amount of time later, Bilbori had no idea how she found herself in the bathtub. Only that Dori scared the life out of her when he threw the door open in a panic and jolted her out of a nap. Which was probably a good thing considering that she still wasn't one hundred percent and was napping in the water in a man-sized tub.

She ended up having to endure being babied as Dori helped her finish bathing and hustled her out of the tub. And then she was bundled up in towels and herded back to her room where Nori and Ori joined in the fussing. Really, how no one had figured out she was their sister by now was anyone's guess. They helped her dress, tucked her back into bed, and had Oín bring her another dose of medicine which she drank gratefully. The medicine washed the strangely alcoholic taste out of her mouth even if it ended up making her tired.

She drifted back to sleep.

- - -

One good thing they found found out when Bilbori woke again a couple of hours later, sometime during the night her fever had broken. Dori even relented enough to allow her to leave the room to sit down for a proper late breakfast. Though he wasn't happy when she insisted on putting on her binder before leaving the room. He was about ready to burn that blasted thing for all the harm it was causing his sister and complained as he twisted her hair up into her hobbit style.

While eating breakfast with her brothers, Bilbori's attention was drawn to movement at the door. She looked, her eyes meeting those of her starry-eyed dwarf and she perked up, remembering the last time she'd been able to talk with him in the dungeons. "Good morning! Will you be joining us for breakfast?"

The dwarf's expression was confused and, while Bilbori watched, a look that seemed full of heartbreak swept over his face. He shook his head, muttered something about looking for someone, and rubbed his hand over his chest as he left.

Thrown off by the encounter compared to how he normally responded to her, Bilbori continued to stare after him. She was so distracted she didn't notice Ori had moved up behind her until he was pressing a kiss to the top of her head and whispering.

"Happy birthday."

- - -

As the Company left Lake Town, Nori couldn't help casually asking. "Did the smith's hammering bother you?"

Bilbori frowned, "Hammering? What hammering? I don't remember even seeing a smithy while we were there..." She twisted around, giving Lake Town a dubious look as if trying to decide where a smith would even set up in that mess of a place.

Since she was looking behind, she didn't notice Dori's and Nori's faces draining of color as they started a discreet round of Iglishmêk and darted their eyes around to see if anyone was giving their sister unusual looks. They didn't see anything out of the ordinary and decided to keep a sharp eye out.

"My mistake." Nori's words were cautious. "I guess the sickness had your ears too fluffed to notice it."

Dori pinched the bridge of his nose. It felt like mother all over again...

Chapter Text

The further away from Lake Town they got, the better Bilbori felt. Well, the better she would have felt if she weren't stuck in a boat with her brothers. All three of them were being irritatingly clingy after her illness and they were obviously feeling protective if the suspicious glares they were sending around to everyone were any indication. She loved them, but the urge to clonk their heads together just kept growing the further they got from Esgaroth. It didn't help that she was still mad at Nori... His ridiculous idea to pronounce her as 'Prince Took' had forced her to put on her best hobbit manners and give a flowery speech of gratitude for the slimeball the citizens called the Master before they left. Just remembering it made her want to retch.

Needless to say, Bilbori was grateful they were putting Lake Town behind them.

Of course putting Lake Town to their backs brought her attention to the great big mountain ahead. She looked up in wonder at Erebor. Even from a distance where she couldn't see anything the dwarves of old had done it was magnificent. If for no other reason, making the journey might have been acceptable just for the view. Though she could have done without quite a few incidents that haunted her dreams. She'd much rather have more interesting dreams. She looked around at the other boats as the Lake men rowed them further north away from the town.

In the boat at the lead was Thorin with Balin and Dwalin. Of the Company only Thorin and Balin had ever seen Erebor before and Bilbori rather wished she could see their expressions as they stared forward at their goal. As it was she could only see Balin reaching up to wipe at his eyes while Dwalin placed a hand on his older brother's shoulder. Thorin was at the front of their boat, staring forward. She could see the way the lake breeze tugged at his hair and, not for the first time, she wondered if Thorin had some rune tattooed on him that caused the wind to give the perfect ruffle of his long hair to make him appear more majestic no matter what he was doing.

Bilbori snickered at the stray thought.

Another boat held Óin, Bombur, and Bifur. They were gesturing to each other in Iglishmêk. From the angle she was at, it seemed to be a conversation on what kind of minerals they'd have to mix with the soil to get it to produce new growth. She smiled. It felt like a very hobbity kind of conversation to have, but it was practical really. Even from the boats they could see where the line of growth dwindled into nothing the closer to the mountain it reached. She wondered what actual hobbits would say and made a note to remind herself to write a letter to her nephew should she survive this insanity.

The last of the four boats held Glóin, Fíli, and Kíli. Glóin looked vastly irritated with having drawn the short straw and winding up in the same boat with the princes. Though he was obviously trying to engage one of the rowing men in a discussion. Knowing Glóin it was about either his wife Gísla or his son Gimli. The princes were huddled close together, foreheads almost touching, and seemed to be deep in discussion about something or another. Neither one looked happy about whatever they were discussing, so Bilbori felt confident they weren't planning mischief. Then she narrowed her eyes. Perhaps they were planning mischief and just couldn't decide which plan was better. She sighed and settled back in her seat.

"Don't worry, your highness," one of the men in her boat said. "We won't let anyone fall in." He'd obviously mistaken her reasoning for scanning the number of dwarves.

Bilbori sighed again, irritated that Nori's story had spread. "Would you be terribly upset if I said my nephew was a steward at best and not a king at all?"

Nori turned to flash a smirk in her direction.

"Not at all, your highness." The lake man confessed, sounding amused despite the neutral expression on his face when Bilbori looked up at him. "The Master was being an arse, what with you being ill and all. He deserved to be brought to task like your companion did." He nodded appreciatively at Nori.

She rolled her eyes when she saw Nori preen at the compliment, but she really found it interesting that the other men in the boat seemed to share the talkative one's assessment of the Master's treatment.

"I did not see much of this 'Master,'" and she said the word as if it left a foul taste in her mouth. "But from what I gather he is altogether an unpleasant person. Why does he remain Master?"

The man's expression became grim. "He has gathered enough wealth that he can pay his lackeys enough that they follow his orders and the people fear his wrath."

Bilbori frowned. It only took her a moment to decide that the men of Lake Town were just as stupid as everywhere else. "Perhaps I miscounted, but it seemed there were far more people within the town than just the Master and his lackeys." Her brothers and the lake men were all giving her glances, wondering where she was leading this. "So it seems dreadful that no one has realized that they easily outnumber the ones they rule. Even armed a soldier can easily be overwhelmed by numbers." She tipped her head to her brothers. She sniffed delicately before pulling a new handkerchief from a pocket and wiping at her nose. "Perhaps your lake people are too content to do nothing. In the Shire such a person would be driven out in the worst possible way."

Though she never said it, she was certain her brothers and the lake men were picturing blood and death. It was ridiculous really, her brothers should know better. Driving someone out in the Shire would start with a lack of invitations to tea and end with them so humiliated by song and rumors that they'd never want to show themselves again. To Bilbori's knowledge it had only happened once, centuries ago, to a Stoor that had done something so horrible they wouldn't even write down his crime. She shuddered, thinking about the cruelty of hobbits.

"No one else is willing to step forward to lead, though." The man stated, looking ahead at their destination as they neared.

"No one else wants the temptation of power after seeing what happened to the Master, you mean." An older lake man said, all the others looking at the original one she'd spoken to before the old one looked at Bilbori. "The Master was not always the way he is. Once he cared about the people, now he only cares about the power. If only King Girion's heir would step forth." The old man was staring at the one who had started the conversation.

Though she picked up on the elder's insinuation, and for a brief moment she wondered just how much older both she and her brothers were than this elderly man, she could also understand not wanting to be in power. She looked over to see Dori giving her the same look the old man gave the younger.

"We're here." The apparent heir of King Girion said, effectively ending the conversation as the boat pulled up to the shore where two of the other boats had already been pulled up to allow the dwarves to disembark.

Once they had removed their gear and prepared to go their separate ways from the boat men, Girion's heir stopped Bilbori with a hand on her arm. Her brothers, still lingering close, stiffened at the contact and placed hands upon their weapons. She looked up at the man, curious.

"You seem to have more sense than those you follow, Master Took," for no one had ever introduced her as anything other than Prince Took to the people of Esgaroth. "I beg of you. Talk sense into your companions before they bring fire down upon the lake." He gave her one last pleading look, not even waiting to see if she responded, before turning and leaping into his boat.

Bilbori lingered for a few minutes watching the lake men row away until her brothers finally nudged her along.

- - -

"You can feel life, right?" Bombur wondered as he walked beside Bilbori along the memory of a path. "That's what Bifur said back in Mirkwood..."

"I can." Bilbori was looking down as she walked, placing her booted feet with care. She hadn't wanted to wear them, but Dori insisted until they were off the lake. She'd take them off once they stopped for the night.

"Is the land here dead? Is that why you're not hurting like you were then?" Bombur tugged on the braided loop of his beard.

Bilbori made a face. "All of Mirkwood was sick. The land, the plants, the water, the air... It was horrible. I don't feel sickness here. If I touched the ground directly I may feel something."

"Any hobbity guesses?"

Lowering down between one step and the next, Bilbori quickly swiped the tips of her fingers along the ground before rising up and continuing normally. She considered the way her fingers tingled as she looked at the weird mixture of dust, dirt, and char on the tips. "Sleeping?" Raising her fingers to her lips, she dared to touch her tongue to it, getting a more earthy feel of the land. "But deep. Hibernating? Like the earth is waiting?"

"That doesn't sound bad." Bofur butted in from behind them. "The earth knows we'll get rid of the dragon and wake it up!"

Bilbori pursed her lips. "I didn't say that."

But it didn't matter, dwarves weren't the best at actually listening to what they heard and Bofur was telling the 'happy' news to the others before she could stop him. She sighed and Bombur gave her an apologetic smile.

- - -

They had not yet reached the ruins of Dale when Thorin decided to stop them for the night. As close as they were getting, Bilbori had to admit she was surprised he didn't run them into the ground. Then again, unless they were running for their lives, Thorin had been remarkably conscientious of how long they traveled per day. She really had to remember that while Thorin seemed to enjoy being an ass he did have military training and was very familiar with how long dwarves should march and still be able to last all night and into the next day fighting if they had to. It was how they managed to survive the spiders until the elves arrived, after all.

When they did finally set up camp the first thing Bilbori did was remove her boots and throw them as far away from her and the camp as she could. She heard her brothers all sigh with exasperation even as a couple others laughed.

"Now, now, Bilbo... Tell us how you really feel about them." Bofur laughed.

Bilbori responded with a blistering Khuzdul curse that if anyone had tried to actually do it they'd have been intimately acquainted with part of an orc's anatomy that no one wanted to even think about.

Kíli promptly seemed to choke on his tongue, falling over in a fit of coughing.

Bofur blanched at the idea.

The other dwarves were a mix of shocked at the language falling from her lips as well as shock at the words falling from her lips!

Bifur threw his head back and burst out laughing.

"And where did you learn that, lad?" Balin demanded, looking scandalized at a hobbit speaking Khuzdul.

"Dwalin said it in Mirkwood when the elves were escorting us to the dungeons. Multiple times." Bilbori was pleased she could truthfully say this, wiggling her toes with pleasure as she smiled. "It sounded most delightfully foul."

Balin and the other dwarves worried about the language relaxed. Though he did swat his brother on the shoulder.

Fíli moved over to check on his brother who was still coughing weakly. He started whispering into his brother's ear as soon as Kíli seemed to recover.

Nori caught her eye and winked, wearing a proud smirk at her sneakiness.

The only one who didn't react to the situation in any way was Thorin. He merely sat off to the side like he usually did, staring into the distance. Only this time he was staring at the mountain. In his hands he held the key to the hidden door, twisting it around his fingers without thought.

Chapter Text

The group was subdued from passing through the ruins of Dale. Everyone seemed lost in their own thoughts as they trailed along the broken remains of a road that headed toward Erebor. No one was in a rush this close to the mountain. There was still plenty of time left to finish the walk and they wouldn't be starting their search for the door until morning. The corpses burned to coal and left in places that should have been sheltered and safe had been horrible and heartbreaking. Lives forever trapped in place. It had been a terribly beautiful sight, one that made the Company want the dragon gone more than ever before.

Bilbori observed the Company, her mind horrifying her with images of how they would look as burned statues forever frozen. And the nightmare upon the nightmare, what if one was crushed and the statue became no more than dust? She shivered. Looking around for perhaps the sixtieth time since leaving Dale, she counted their numbers. Some of them were already recovering. They seemed more determined as they strode toward the mountain. But one of them...

There was something unnatural about the furrowed brow on Kíli's face as he trailed behind the Company. The last time she had spotted him Fíli had been whispering in his ear, but now he was alone and a quick glance around told her that Fíli was talking with Ori. She frowned, looking back at Kíli once more. Her head tilted and then her eyes brightened as she remembered something... Something important.

Bilbori let her pace slow until the rest of the Company had moved ahead and she was lagging behind. It wasn't long before Kíli's slow steps had caught up with her and she matched his pace. She used both hands to reach behind herself, fingers finding the hidden snaps until she could pull one of her kama, sheath and all, free from her belt. She reached out, holding the kama in front of Kíli's face.

Kíli jerked his head back from the sudden nearby movement, blinking confusedly at the weapon. He'd seen it in the hobbit's hands before, slicing spiders to bits, but the reason it was in his face bemused him. "What's this?"

"It's a kama." Bilbori spoke slowly. "Kind of like a sickle, but made more for fighting than harvesting, though both are capable of either job."

"Yes, I know what a kama is." Kíli looked embarrassed that he'd left himself open for that trick. "I want to know why you're showing me."

"I want your bow."

Kíli stopped walking, staring incredulously at the hobbit.

Bilbori stopped as well, turning to look at the dwarf as if he were being strange.

"My bow... You want to trade your kama for my bow? Why would I do that? I don't know how to use that thing..." Once Kíli had picked the bow as his primary weapon he'd only taken sword and knife lessons so Fíli could have a sparring partner that could keep up with his energy.

"Not a trade. In trust."

"What does that even mean?"

Considering the question, Bilbori hummed. "Perhaps it's a hobbit thing." She knew perfectly well it was a hobbit thing. "I don't want to keep your bow. I want to borrow it. So I give you something of mine that's of equal or close value. That way you have something you can trust that I will want returned so that I will bring your bow back safely. If I don't bring it back safely, I can trust that you will either keep or destroy the item I have given you."

Musing over the foreign concept, Kíli said, "It must be a hobbit thing. I can't imagine any dwarf giving someone anything that they're willing to allow be destroyed." The more he thought about it, the more fair it seemed. But, "What could you possibly need a bow for without arrows?" He paused, thinking. "Unless..."

"I still have it." She confirmed before he could ask.

He was reaching to pull his bow free before the hobbit had even finished speaking. He held it out, feeling a blush on his cheeks for some reason he could not fathom.

Bilbori smiled brightly at him as she accepted the bow. She placed the handle of her kama into his open hand. Once the transaction was complete, she pulled the bow to her chest and began walking again.

After a moment of turning the kama over in his hands, Kíli caught up to the hobbit. "This is interesting." He was admiring the stylized cutouts in the kama's blade and the way the crystals sparkled in the light. Nosily he pulled it free of the sheath and inspected how the ribbon was somehow merged into the metal before turning it around to look for the maker's mark. When he found it, it was one he did not recognize. "Do you know who made it?"

Bilbori actually had to consider the best way to respond to that with as little lying as she could. Hobbits wouldn't know how to make something designed to be a weapon if their lives depended on the skill. "The heir to the house of Ri... Or so I'm told." Her mother had still been alive when Bilbori had made her kama, after all. So technically she had been the heir when she made them. Something had caused Kíli's frown to return though and so she timidly asked, "Are they... Bad?"

Startled from wherever his thoughts had gone by the question, Kíli focused on the weapon again. He tested the blade, nearly cutting his finger despite his care, and lifted it to get a better look at the way it switched from crystals to leather and all wrapped in ribbon. It was sparkling clean and obviously well cared for. The weight seemed correct, for it's odd shape, able to balance on his finger. "I've never used a weapon like this, so I'm not sure. But it's lovely and I've seen you kill with it both at range and in close quarters... I would say it's a very well made weapon." He inspected the maker's mark again, trying to puzzle it out. Hadn't Dori been the head of the Ri family for decades? It definitely wasn't Dori's mark... He placed it back in its sheath, inspecting the clasps before he clipped the sheath to his belt at his hip.

Bilbori was inordinately pleased at the compliment to the weapon, considering how ridiculously flashy she'd made it, not to mention how young she had been. But making their primary weapon theirselves so that they knew it as well as their craft was something all dwarves were taught. She had been using them for decades before she'd received her mark to add to the hilt.

They walked in silence after that, both lost in their thoughts. Bilbori was running her fingers along the arrow rest on the bow. Whatever Kíli was thinking about had sent him into brooding thoughts again, making him look more like his uncle than normal. She hoped he wasn't thinking about Dale's dead again. She hummed as she trailed fingers over the surface of the bow, plans forming.

- - -

When the Company finally called a stop at what would be their final camp until they found the door there was quite a stir at the sudden change of weapons. Bilbori ignored it, sitting off to one side next to Bifur with the bow resting across her lap.

Kíli tried to ignore it, explaining that the hobbit must have wanted to try archery because they were only borrowing the bow. First he had to point out that the chances of finding game this close to the mountain were non-existent as long as the dragon lived. Then he had to point out that they'd see trouble coming long before it arrived with the way the vegetation had been destroyed. And that led to him trying to explain the 'trust' concept that he'd only just recently learned about himself.

He did not have fun that night and the hobbit was no help at all.

- - -

Bilbori took to waking up as early as she could once they settled into the camp Thorin had selected. Every morning she would drag herself out of her bedroll, grab a roll of cram, her waterskin, Kíli's bow, and wander away from camp. She'd nod to whomever was on watch before she left, giving a wave and smiling as she walked away. It was dark and cold when she'd wake, the desolation hauntingly beautiful and eerily still. Every morning she would head to a secluded spot she had found, sit down, eat her cram, and then pull her crafter's kit from her belt.

It was a simple matter of arranging the miner's light she kept so that it lit up her area as she peered at the piece of parchment she'd had tucked away within the kit before leaving Mirkwood. With the parchment guiding her, she carefully etched runes into the arrow rest of Kíli's bow. She prayed to Mahal he'd forgive her for the transgression even as she poured magic into rune after rune, overlapping them. When it reached a point where the runes started to shimmer she couldn't help but cringe. He was definitely going to yell at her if nothing else. She already mourned the loss of her kama in exchange for the damage.

It was a price she was willing to pay for her plan to work.

- - -

A little less than a week later and they had moved to what would be either their final camp before moving into the mountain, or their graves when the dragon descended upon them. On the western side of the mountain, nestled between two large spurs. The southern spur was lower and they had discovered a crude staircase going up the length of it to a platform that was beneath a large flat surface of rock. Too flat to be natural. Not to mention both Bifur and Bilbori could sense the magic rippling within the stone. The camp was far below and they tied ropes to the platform for moving up and down more swiftly than taking the long staircase along the spur.

"I hate this." Bilbori told Bifur one night where they were both sitting on the platform above the camp. Though Durin's Day was still nearly two weeks away, at least one person was assigned to watch the door at all times just in case. At the moment it was just the two of them, allowing them to talk freely.

"Me too." Bifur whittled away at a piece of wood.

"I want to tear it apart."

"Me too."

"The plans for making this stupid door had better still be in there somewhere or I may do something violent."

"Aye."

"Do you think-"

"Stop letting it distract you."

Bilbori made a disgusted noise before spinning around with her back to the door. She adjusted the angle on her light and increased the magnification on her loupe before pulling the bow up and bringing her finest tipped burin to the arrow rest.

Pausing in his whittling, Bifur looked over at the halfling. Others may see their sister or a simple hobbit lad, but when he looked over he saw the same eager youngling, not even thirty, trying to convince the stodgy masters to teach her their craft. He saw the adorable look of concentration as she made her first miner's light. He remembered how it nearly blinded everyone, far brighter than even learned masters could manage. She could channel more raw magic than any dwarf he'd ever met and he was absolutely confident in his apprentice's plan... Even if she wasn't technically his apprentice anymore, or an apprentice at all with her journeyman ranking.

Bifur wanted to ruffle her curls, but he refrained so as not to disturb her. Instead, he hummed and went back to whittling. He had plans of his own the needed to finish in time. As he turned the beginnings of a toy dragon over in his hand, he smiled.

- - -

Less than a week until Durin's Day, it happened.

"Emig! Emig!"

The foreign voice calling from the distance brought the entire camp of dwarves to their feet, except for the two far above on the platform. Of those below, only two understood what word was being spoken. One of them looked worried. The other stepping forward in the group of dwarves with an eager smile.

"There you are, Emig!"

The dwarves could only look on, dumbfounded, as the tall form of an elf with incredibly short hair practically danced into their camp. He looked giddy, a bright smile on his face as he moved directly in front of Bilbori. While the dwarves watched, the elf dropped to his knees at the hobbit's feet and wrapped his long arms around her in a hug! Bilbori responded by petting his pale locks and cooing nonsense into the top of his head.

"Emig, I missed you so!"

"What is the meaning of this?" Thorin thundered, pointing at the elf with Orcrist.

Fussing with the elf's hair and the collar of his tunic in a way that was eerily reminiscent of Dori, Bilbori seemed to ignore Thorin's demand. More than that, she was preventing the elf from responding as well. But, just when it looked like Thorin was going to lash out, she patted the elf and said, "Introduce yourself, dear."

The elf stood, turning to face Thorin. "Legolas, son of Bilbo." He swept into a low bow, arm sweeping in a flourish. "At your service."

Chapter Text

The elf stood, turning to face Thorin. "Legolas, son of Bilbo." He swept into a low bow, arm sweeping in a flourish. "At your service."

Bilbori wished that someone had been taking a drink because Legolas would have just caused them to spit it out and a part of her thought that would have been delightfully entertaining. As it was, she reached a hand out for her adopted son and pulled him to her side. She proudly met Thorin's gaze, defiant of any censorship he might bestow.

Thorin walked over until he was facing off with the halfling and glared up at the elf. "I know that name... Elf. Son of Thranduil would be more accurate."

Straightening to her full height, which was terribly unimpressive when next to the tallest of the dwarves and an even taller elf, Bilbori was obviously about to say something that would not turn out well. Thankfully, as he had back in Mirkwood, her new son sensed where her mood was going and tried to deflate the situation.

"Once, perhaps." Legolas agreed, the happy smile never leaving his face. "And while I admit it has been some time since I personally had cause to deal with dwarves, is it not your practice that if a better parent presents itself that the child should go to them?"

Someone in their audience snickered, followed swiftly by another giving an amused snort.

"While that is our way," Balin seemed to catch on to the attempt to defuse Thorin before he really got going. "It is something done with infants and toddlers, the wee ones."

Legolas tipped his head to acknowledge Balin's words. "Perhaps that is the way of things, but what of those who were not blessed enough to have the luxury to be given to a parent who wishes to have a child?" He knew he was on the right track by the grumbling from some of the dwarves at such a thing. He smiled down at Bilbori when she took his hand. "Should I not have the choice in finding someone I would much prefer to name my parent, should they be agreeable? Someone who makes me feel wanted?"

Bilbori smiled adoringly up at the elf and kissed the back of his hand.

Off to one side, Dwalin huffed and sat back down. He put his axes aside, knowing he wasn't going to get to fight now regardless of what Thorin may or may not say. He almost looked like he was pouting.

Thorin huffed, turning away and moving back to his spot. "You had better pray your pet does not kill us in our sleep, Master Took."

That earned Thorin an eye roll from the halfling. She tugged Legolas's hand, pulling him over to her bedroll. "You can set your things with mine." She frowned down at the way the bedrolls were arranged, with Ori's on one side of hers and Dori's on the other. She dragged Ori's aside to make room. "These are Ori's... He won't mind."

"Ori? Isn't he your b-" Legolas cut himself off at the sudden, sharp look from Bilbori. "Beau?" He continued smoothly. "Should I take to calling him father yet, or is it too soon?"

"NO!"

The shout drew all eyes to Ori. He shuffled nervously, moving over to adjust the bedroll Bilbori had moved. "It's... Much, much too early." He squeaked, trying to avoid the furious look Nori was sending him.

The others snickered and mumbled about trouble in paradise again... Bifur just sighed, wondering when he'd started to see Bilbori's point about the intelligence of dwarves.

"As you will." Legolas had yet to stop smiling and now shrugged off the pack he'd been wearing. Once he'd dropped it, he easily removed his bow, quiver, short-swords, and even the daggers in his boots. He handed them all to Bilbori, "There you are, Emig. Now you need not worry I shall kill someone as you sleep."

"What's that you keep calling Bilbo?" Dori looked and sounded irritated when he asked.

Legolas's smile turned into a smirk. "Index finger."

"You call Bilbo your parent and call him a finger?" Glóin sounded outraged. "What in the blazes for?"

"Because even now Emig points a finger and laughs at Thranduil." He grinned.

As soon as the words left his lips, Bilbori burst out laughing. Her laugh was so full of joy that the others couldn't help but smile and even a few of those more prone to cheer joined in.

"Sounds like an amazing joke," Bofur laughed. "Mind sharing the punch line?"

"Before absconding from the palace, Emig gifted Thranduil with a small oak tree of some value." Legolas's grin just grew wider as he spoke.

"He found it, then?" Bilbori asked, breathless from laughing.

"He did!" Legolas gave a musical laugh. "He was so furious, he threw an entire bottle of wine across the room and nearly threatened to have the tree uprooted."

Bilbori's laughter only increased until she fell down, clutching her stomach.

"It took the efforts of four advisors to prevent him from destroying it and even then he broke everything on the way to his quarters."

Her face had gone red and Bilbori was in serious trouble of passing out with laughter.

The others were laughing at the ridiculousness of the halfling, since they were still not in on the joke.

"So what caused it?" Fíli demanded, curiosity coloring his words.

"Emig had affixed silvery enarmes on the back of every single leaf on the tree, turning the entire gift into a display of oaken shields that will remain in Thranduil's palace forever."

The laughter around the fire lasted for a very, very long time.

From where he was brooding about the sudden addition to the camp, not even Thorin could resist giving an amused smirk at the temerity of the halfling to give Thranduil such a gift.

- - -

It was surprising really, the way everyone adjusted to having an elf among them. It probably helped that Legolas had willingly disarmed himself. And it certainly didn't hurt that he kept insisting he was Bilbo's son and that his former 'guardian' was a self-absorbed ponce. The latter had earned more than one amused laugh. For the most part, the dwarves decided to act as if the elf were some strange, oversized hobbit.

Bilbori had wandered away from camp taking Legolas with her, she could only handle being stuck in a camp with the dwarves for so long. It wasn't nearly the same as being stuck in a town with them. Not long after they left Ori and Dori followed along. Nori, when he finally joined them, was a lot more clever in his approach for having taken a different route. Eventually, all five of them settled down on a place not far from where the Company had originally camped at the foot of the mountain and near the River Running.

"So how'd you go from slapping him silly to cuddling and calling him 'son?'" Nori demanded, arms crossed.

Selecting a nice, big rock to sit on, Bilbori settled down. It wasn't long before Legolas seated himself at her feet and leaned back against her legs. She reached out to pet his the short, silky strands of his hair. "It was a long and confusing process. My mind was all mixed up from the illness of Mirkwood and..." she didn't want to let them know about a certain dwarf yet, "Things." She finished lamely.

"That I am older than Emig did not help." Legolas smiled up at Nori.

Ori smiled at the name. "Emig... That's a cute way to hide what you feel for her."

"What's this?" Dori demanded, plopping down on another rock. "You said you called her index finger." He looked disapproving.

"Emig does mean index finger... In a way." Legolas admitted. "The way that we teach little children the names for fingers during play." He pointed at his thumb. "Atheg." The his index finger. "Emig." The middle, ring, and smallest finger followed. "Honeg, nethig, gwinig." He gave a small, pleased smile before pointing at each again. "As the children say in their games: little father, little mother, little brother, little sister, and baby."

"That is cute." Nori admitted. "Too cute; stop it."

Bilbori threw a pebble and hit Nori's forehead.

Legolas tilted his head back to peer up at Bilbori. "Is it too soon to call them uncle?"

"Definitely too soon. Only Bifur knows the full truth." She kept her voice low even though she knew no one was nearby except them.

"It seems strange that you've chosen to hide who you are."

"Dwarves are... Complicated."

"Let's just say," Ori cut in. "That if Bilbo were to tell the truth the rest of the Company would be relieved and very happy... But Bilbo would be the opposite. Even just at home she never wanted to take up the mantle."

"Aye," agreed Dori. "That's why I'm still regent for our House."

Legolas frowned. "I cannot pretend to understand, but I shall play along and see if Emig is correct in her frequent comments about dwarf men lacking in intelligence."

At her brothers' indignant looks, Bilbori burst into laughter.

- - -

"Do you think it's odd?" He wondered as he walked up behind her. "That we've never been assigned watch together?"

Bilbori tensed slightly, her fingers tightening around the burin she held in one hand and the bow held in the other. Since they had moved camp to below the hidden door she had found a perch on the southern spur from their camp to work. It had a great view and the dwarves were generally too lazy to make the effort to climb up and bother her. "Considering I rarely get assigned watch at all... Thorin doesn't trust me to keep anyone safe."

"Perhaps." The dwarf took a seat beside her, facing her. One of his legs was curled between them, the other was stretched out behind the halfling. "I had a dream." He stated. "And it seemed very real." One of his hands reached up to brush against the ends of her curls. "But when I woke up it was all a dream and it hurt."

"Why did it hurt?" She turned to look at him, surprised to find he was leaning so close she could see within the stars his eyes held.

"It hurt because you weren't there. You weren't the you from my dream and the you in my dream wasn't you... And when my eyes opened you weren't there."

Bilbori thought he was going to kiss her, but instead he just pressed their foreheads together. His beautiful eyes closed as he leaned into the contact. She closed her own in response, enjoying the simple touch.

"I don't like waking up without you there." The confession was barely audible. "I am yours, I feel it every time we touch. I feel better just being near you... And you won't claim me." His voice cracked. "Why?"

Feeling her heart on the verge of breaking, Bilbori angled her head so that their lips just barely grazed when she spoke. "It will change things. So much will be changed. I'm not ready. Please." Her skin burned where they touched. "Not yet."

"Is it him?" He asked dully, a tear sliding down his cheek.

Abruptly making up her mind, Bilbori confessed. "There has never been anything with Ori."

The dwarf jerked away from her, surprised. His eyes were wide. "What?"

Surprised by the move, Bilbori opened her eyes. "Nori walked in on Ori and I talking... It was Nori's idea to pretend so that my virtue would be protected." She couldn't keep the irritation from her voice and she rolled her eyes.

"But you keep denying us..." He was obviously torn by the confession.

"I told you." She reached up, brushing her thumb over his cheek to wipe away his tears as she cradled his face. "I'm not ready. Not yet. Not until everything calms down."

He nuzzled into her hand, unable to help himself. "You could die tonight."

Bilbori flinched at the reminder. "We could all die tonight."

"I want to be with you." He leaned into her space once more, pressing his lips to the corner of her mouth but not claiming a kiss though she would have allowed it.

"We still have time yet." Bilbori leaned against him until her side was pressed to his chest and his arms were wrapped around her. His forehead pressed to her temple as she absently moved her burin back to the arrow rest, she still needed a few more lines to finish her plan. The plan that would hopefully let them all survive.

As they sat there together, the sun rose on Durin's Day.

- - -

Everyone stood in front of the opened back door into Erebor, even Legolas. Not a single dwarf had wanted to remain below. The tunnel within was dark and a musty draft wafted out in regular intervals. Bilbori hated to think it, but it was as if the air were being moved by very, very massive lungs. She twitched, sliding her free hand into her pocket to make certain she still had the two large balls of metal she had placed there before climbing up the ropes. She wiggled her toes and twitched her ears, staring into the void within the tunnel.

While Bilbori twitched, one by one the dwarves turned to look at her. Had she been paying attention, she'd have wondered what they were thinking that their burglar was currently a twitchy little hobbit lad holding a bow that didn't belong to him and a silk wrapped arrow... Abruptly she shook herself and moved to stand in front of Kíli. She held the bow out to him.

"I thank you for the loan. I apologize for giving it back slightly damaged and accept the forfeit of my kama. Please accept this by way of apology." She held out the arrow wrapped in silk to him.

Kíli looked at his bow as he took it back, the arms were decorated with swirling lines that glowed with a faint silver sheen and the arrow rest was glittering golden. Confused, he opened the silk to see the same arrow he'd traded for some feathers so long ago. It was humming and shivering with energy, glowing green while gold rippled through the glow. He looked up at the halfling, eyes wide with awe.

"Master Took." Thorin interrupted.

"You know... Just in case." Bilbori told Kíli, giving him a twitchy shrug before she abruptly turned and walked into the tunnel.

Though her pace was brisk at first, she froze just before her steps would carry her feet over the line across the floor between the light of outside and the dark depths of the passageway. She turned to look over her shoulder, inspecting each face in case it was the last time she ever saw them. Finally, she grinned.

"If I'm not back by second breakfast..." She turned and strode with all the bravado she could muster into the darkness. "Just wait longer!"

Chapter Text

The deeper Bilbori went into the sloping tunnel, the warmer it became. After the chill outside it was almost welcome. Or it would have been, if there hadn't been only one thing in the mountain that could provide that level of warmth. But still she continued on, ignoring the faint echoes of whispers she could hear as those above spoke. She was pretty sure she heard a furious Nori at some point before she was too far to make out the whispers clearly. As she walked through a doorway that matched the one at the other end of the tunnel the echoes faded out and the heat increased.

Bilbori took a deep breath, wincing at the way her binder felt bruising against her chest. It had been getting harder to keep the thing on lately, which she figured was lingering from her illness back in Esgaroth. She was absolutely going to have to come out soon, because she severely wished to be done with the binder. But first things first...

Eventually the tunnel leveled out and a third doorway led to a small landing with a staircase. At the top of the stairs, she froze. The cavern was massive and lit with an orange glow... A glow that centered on the chest of the absolutely enormous dragon curled like a cat atop the mountain of gold that was shoved into piles, deepest against the far wall. She couldn't help it, she was part-dwarf after all, she just stood there and stared at all of the gold.

While she was distracted staring, Bilbori became aware of a deep rumbling sound. It was like that of a cat, purring... She looked incredulously at the dragon.

Oh, right... Dragon.

Bilbori moved down the stairs and flinched when the gold shifted under her feet. She'd never done walked on gold coins before, but near as she could tell it was like trying to walk across a mound of gravel. She flinched at the noise of shifting metal with each step. It wasn't until twenty or so feet later that Bilbori felt it... The bottoms of her feet were tingling. It didn't feel like the illness in Mirkwood, so it wasn't sick. But she had touched gold before and never felt anything from it. In fact, it felt more like...

She paused. The gold felt like it did when her starry-eyed dwarf touched her! The sensation was there, the same... But nowhere near as strong. She could suddenly understand why dwarves would fall to gold sickness if they felt that without anything to counter the sensation. Knowing what she was feeling made it simple to brush aside. If she could manage to push aside her dwarf when all she wanted was to be consumed by him, then this gold would never sway her heart or mind.

More determined now, Bilbori continued her search. She couldn't resist picking up the occasional piece and admiring it, however. The craftsmanship was unlike anything she'd ever seen before. And that made perfect sense as everything she'd seen before had been made in the popular styles of Belegost or the Shire. Obviously things made hundreds of years ago in Erebor would look different. She decided it was beautiful.

It didn't take long for her to see something that was different. There, amidst all the dwarven coins, was one with an unfamiliar marking. She picked it up and inspected the coin. Looking it over, she tried to recall where she had seen the symbol before. It didn't take long to search her memory, a flash of the symbol carved into stone on the side of a soot stained wall behind which charred corpses were frozen...

"Dale." Bilbori whispered. She wondered how much of this mountain of gold belonged to the descendants of Dale's people.

Turning the coin over in her hand, Bilbori considered the gold for a full minute as she took a few more careful steps. Then, she turned and flicked it in the direction of the dragon. Holding still, she watched the coin land five feet from the dragon's massive snout before bouncing and finally settling. She held her breath.

The dragon continued to rumble in sleep.

For a brief moment Bilbori entertained the idea of walking right up to the dragon and petting him. How often did people get to say they'd pet a live dragon? The urge was so strong in that moment she actually took a step toward the sleeping beast. But her common sense valiantly battled forth to prevent the action. Instead, she spun and walked in a different direction. She was already ignoring her common sense in being in here in the first place.

Bilbori eventually decided, after looking around and gauging distances, that she was as close as she could get to the exact center of the vast treasury. She took one last look at the dragon before closing her eyes. She knew what it was Thorin wanted, and something like that wasn't natural. Therefor, it had to have some type of magic to it. Stretching her senses out, she felt for the different magics within the room.

The biggest source was obviously the dragon. It felt wild and powerful, like it would crush anyone without even noticing they were there. Aside from the dragon, the treasury was dotted with different enchanted pieces of jewelry or trinkets. But the stories told her that the stone had glowed from the moment it was found. Something like that had to feel different from normal enchantments, right? Her brow furrowed as she tried to feel something different among the myriad other sensations. Why had she never tried to hone this sense before? She'd have to correct that at some point, assuming she wasn't on her way to being a pile of dragon dung by morning.

She had no idea how long she stood there, trying to feel something different, when she finally felt a prickling of something off in one direction. She opened her eyes, facing in that direction, and started to walk as carefully as she could over the shifting pile of mathoms. Bilbori quirked her lips, imagining Bifur might actually faint if she started calling the treasury a Mathom House.

The closer she went to the sensation, the stronger it became. It felt like the pile of gold did, like it was trying to lure her in, but stronger. And while the gold just felt like a weak lover's touch, this sensation felt more possessive... Which wasn't really different, but it wasn't a fun possessive feeling. It was like it was trying to capture and ensnare. And finally, she saw it. Half buried under a gold plate was something that glowed with a pale light. Moving aside the plate, she looked at a multifaceted jewel easily as big as her fist. It was like nothing she had ever seen before, beautiful, cold... And she instinctively wanted to shatter it with the way it radiated energy.

Bilbori reluctantly reached out and picked up the stone. She hissed at the burning in her fingers from the contact. Her awareness of the sensation allowed her to throw off the effects. She tried to stick it into her crafter's kit with the foul ring, but it was too big. It would fit in her pocket, but she didn't want to confuse it with the items already in her pockets and so she ended up reaching into her shirt and stuffing it down the front into her binder.

No matter how much Thorin wanted the damn thing, he wasn't getting it until she had a chance to carve runes into it to block off or at least counter the energy it was emitting.

Once the stone was tucked away, she turned to regard the dragon again. Her hand dipped into her pocket as she traced her fingers over both runed metal balls within. She double checked which was which, reassuring herself that she had remembered, and then started picking her way to a spot that was between the dragon and the stairs leading back to the tunnel. On her way, she picked up choice pieces of treasure.

Finally Bilbori stopped and took a deep breath. It was time. Time to see if the plan she'd frantically began working on at Beorn's would work. She took one of the pieces of treasure she had picked up... And threw it at the dragon.

The first piece, a goblet, fell short of the dragon. It crashed loudly into the gold and clattered to a stop a few feet away from the side of his head. Bilbori stared, waiting to see if there was a reaction. She wasn't sure, but she thought she saw a muscle twitch.

Selecting another piece, Bilbori twirled, flinging a serving tray like a discus at the dragon's head. The tray flew over the dragon, grazing his tail as it traveled beyond and crashed into a wall. The massive tail moved, sliding aside and pushing gold out of the way. The rumbling continued.

This time Bilbori hefted a golden apple. She regarded it, bouncing it in her hand, and then pulled her arm back... She adjusted her grip, remembering the way her father showed her how hobbits threw things instead of the way Nori showed her and launched the apple forward. It sailed through the air and Bilbori could see that it would hit this time... And hit it did!

Right into the massive eye that had just opened.

The dragon reared up, suddenly and terrifyingly awake as he roared at the pain of the strike. He raised a clawed wing to rub the joint against his eye.

Bilbori dropped the remaining treasure she carried at his movement and cowered down in instinctive fear at the roar echoing through the cavernous room. She couldn't help but think that this was a very, very stupid plan...

"Who dares come into my mountain and attack me?!" The voice was deep and terrible.

And no one had told Bilbori that the dragon spoke! Though she could remember Bungo telling Drogo stories about the great wyrms so she should have known, but no one else had spoken to this dragon so... She shivered before taking a deep breath and standing, arms splayed to show she carried nothing.

"Forgive me, oh Smaug, greatest of dragons!"

The massive head swiveled, those enormous eyes fixing on her and she was abruptly glad she had gone to the trench before heading up to the door for the opening. She gulped.

"I apologize tremendously for the rudeness. I was playing a game that went terribly wrong."

The head lowered, turning so one eye could focus on her. "And what game was this that you dare to play here?"

"The game is to find the most dangerous and breathtaking being you can find and see how close you can toss a gift to them without accidentally hitting them." She bowed low. "Forgive my aim, I meant not to strike you, oh great one."

The dragon turned, inspecting the treasury for these so called 'gifts,' but he saw nothing that was not already there. "Who are you that dares to come in here and lie so prettily to my face?"

"No one of import, I assure you. Merely a simpleton that doesn't have the sense to stay where they ought not to go."

"A simpleton, you say? I think not... You are a thief, here to take that which is not yours." The gold crunched and spilled as he moved closer.

"Nay, oh Smaug the stupendous. There is naught in my pockets but that which I came in with."

"Perhaps, but you made a terrible mistake. You've brought gold into my mountain and all gold within the mountain is mine. So, thief, what say you now?"

Bilbori backed up several steps, almost losing her footing at one point. "I would normally say that is a good point, but surely you have enough to allow me to keep my trinkets?" She couldn't believe she was trying to bargain possession with a dragon. And over what? A few beads and a ring? She knew she'd made a mistake as soon as the words left her mouth, she didn't even care about most of the 'treasure' in her kit. Absurdly she wondered how the dragon had even moved small treasures to the treasury. He didn't seem capable of picking up all the coins and things she'd seen.

"I grow tired of your words, thief. If you will not give me my treasure, then I'll just take it!" And his massive head moved forward, maw opening to eat her in one massive bite...

It was what she was waiting for.

Dipping her hand into her pocket, Bilbori pulled out one of the metal balls in her pocket. The emerald glow of the metal told her it was the right one as she drew her arm back. She pulled on her hobbit aiming skills and threw with all the strength a Ri was famous for. The ball sailed through the air and down the dragon's throat!

Jerking backward, the dragon choked at the sudden intrusion even as Bilbori scrambled aside. Nothing came up though and soon he moved toward her with more ferocious intent. "Nasty little creature, I'll pull the gold from your smoking corpse!" He drew back slightly, his chest and then throat lighting up.

Bilbori pulled out the second ball of metal and threw it at the dragon's face. She didn't even stop to watch, diving behind a convenient pillar as she heard the crackling of flames.

The dragon's breath flew out, melting swiftly through the ball of metal. Before it could melt entirely, it flashed in the flames and whirled out in an increasing spread. The metal stretched, like a glittering spiderweb before wrapping around the dragon's muzzle and pulling taut. The ends of the web dug through the gaps in the small scales on the dragon's face and dug into the flesh, holding fast.

Smaug thrashed as his fire was abruptly cut off, his roars stifled in his clamped muzzle and furious snarls rippling through the treasury.

Bilbori peeked out of her hiding spot, thrilled to see that the last minute addition to her plan worked. She laughed at the dragon. "Now you're just a magnificently fat and useless worm crawling through the tubes of the mountain!"

The dragon zeroed in on her and, despite his muzzle being trapped, he charged.

Bilbori sprinted, just barely missing being tromped as she headed into the tunnel. She called back, "Catch me if you can, slug!"

The tunnel shook with the force of the dragon smashing into the entrance, but he couldn't reach in and he couldn't flame in. So he turned, racing toward the front gate so he could catch the thief on the other side.

When Bilbori burst out of the tunnel she startled everyone. She absently noted that the sky was starting to lighten, but she was too giddy with fear and excitement to notice much else as she laughed hysterically. Finally she blurted out, "Get ready! He's coming!"

"What have you done?!" Thorin furiously roared before he and everyone else turned in the direction of the front gate where the sound of crashing stone could be heard.

"He's coming!" Bilbori repeated.

Finally jerking into motion, everyone grabbed something and ran to drag as much as they could into the open tunnel in the hopes of surviving what was to come. Bilbori did not join them and, before he could join them, she snagged hold of Kíli's sleeve and held him fast.

Whipping his head around, Kíli stared at her.

Bilbori grinned, "Just in case, right?"

Understanding dawned and Kíli pulled out his bow and the glowing arrow he'd been given. He shook his head, refusing when both his brother and uncle tried to get him to go into the tunnel with them. He wasn't sure exactly why, or what hobbit magic Bilbo had put on his bow and the arrow, but he trusted it.

Having moved to climb up higher onto the ridge of the southern spur, Bilbori looked around. "I see him!" She raised her voice. "Getting slow in your dotage there, Smaug the magnificently lazy!" Seeing the dragon turn toward them, Bilbori slid back down and ran over to stand beside Kíli.

"You're insane! You know that, right?"

Bilbori giggled, "I've been insane since the moment I signed that contract. Might as well enjoy it!"

Just then Smaug flew over the spur. The sun had risen, turning his scales into brilliant hues of red that shone like fire. He really was terribly beautiful... And terribly furious! He snarled, the skin on his face torn from where he'd obviously tried to pry the metal web free.

"When you're ready." She told Kíli, smiling serenely and looking far more relaxed than she should.

Confidence flowing at the calm hobbit beside him, Kíli knocked the magic arrow. As he drew the string back the entire bow seemed to shiver in his hands as the silver glow from the runes along the arms rapidly moved, coiling the length of the string and meeting in the middle. He sighted the dragon, a very simple task, and fired.

Kíli wasn't sure what to expect when he fired a magic arrow from his obviously enchanted bow. But it certainly wasn't for the arrow shaft to spark as it dragged across the arrow rest. It wasn't for the arrow to take off as if launched like one of Gandalf's fireworks. It wasn't the shrieking whistle that pierced the morning air as the arrow sped to the dragon with ferocious speed...

And he certainly wasn't expecting the dragon to drop and for the arrow to completely miss.

He cursed. "We have to hide!" Kíli grabbed Bilbori's arm and tried to pull the hobbit into the tunnel.

"Wait!" She resisted, eyes peeled as she watched.

Turning, he saw the arrow visibly arc around and start to fly toward Smaug once more.

Smaug heard the piercing sound of the arrow approaching him again as well and turned to see it once more coming at him! He flew up, moving away as rapidly as his wings could carry him. The arrow followed. Worse, the arrow was gaining!

While Bilbori and Kíli watched, the arrow slammed into the dragon's back. The impact made an audible crunch sound and then there was a whining hiss as emerald sparks and shaved bits of scale started to fly from the point of impact.

The dragon screamed, feeling the arrow drilling its way into his hide. His wing beats faltered and he fell out of the sky as the arrow broke through and continued drilling into his flesh. Once it was through the tough parts, the arrow swiftly dug through the tender flesh until it hit the glowing orb of metal within Smaug's body. It hit hard, despite having to drill through scale and flesh to reach the orb. The arrowhead dug deep into the iron where it clinked against a small lump of steel within and transferred its remaining energy...

From the vantage point of the door's ledge, Bilbori and Kíli witnessed as a muffled sound like that of a giant boulder being thrown into the side of a mountain heralded a grotesque warping inside of Smaug's body. A moment later, the heads of at least a hundred arrows pierced through his flesh... From the inside.

Silence descended as Smaug went still.

The others emerged from the tunnel as a growing pool of blood spread out from the many arrow wounds in the dragon and from his mouth.

Kíli appeared more than a little terrified when he said, "You're... Kind of scary... For a hobbit."

Bilbori looked innocently up at Kíli. "What are you talking about? You're the one that shot him."

Chapter Text

What followed was the most disgusting week of Bilbori's existence. And she had lived with three older brothers.

Thorin, in his infinite wisdom, deemed that once the initial celebration for the dragon's demise had ended that they were to harvest the carcass. This meant that almost all of them got to use various swords, daggers, picks, mattocks, and even shovels to pry off the scales and remove the flesh from the bones. They did have to be slightly careful though, Thorin wanted the skeleton as intact as possible to be used for a trophy within the mountain. The first day Thorin led the task, taking obvious delight with each swing of his axe into the dragon's carcass. Not that Bilbori saw it. After being in the treasury and running from the dragon she was told to sleep it off and so she did exactly that on a soft pile of all of her brothers' bedrolls while Legolas let her use his softer elvish bedroll as a blanket.

During the course of the cleaning of the bones it became something of a game to see who could pull out the most arrows from the flesh for while some of them poked clear out of the skin there were many more that hadn't made it that far and the entire body of the dragon was riddled. There ended up being two hundred and seventy-three arrows littered throughout the dragon's corpse.

Fíli won the contest, finding thirty-seven of the arrows as well as the original one that no longer glowed.

Though the group started strong with all thirteen of the dwarves and Legolas working on the corpse, by the end it was down to four dwarves, Legolas, and Bilbori. Thorin had sent Bofur and Bifur to search for the salt stores within the mountain so they could preserve what they could of the meat before it went bad seeing as they had learned that dragon steak was rather tasty. There was a constant fire going with meat cooking at all hours, someone had rigged up drying racks nearby to make strips of dragon jerky, and once they started salting it the meat would hopefully last into the winter.

But meat and cram were not Bilbori's idea of a balanced diet and she really, really wanted some parsnips. The closest chance they'd have to finding some would be Esgaroth and so she found herself trudging down the tunnel and into the treasury... Where Thorin had been since the third day after Smaug's demise. Once he'd taken out his aggression on the corpse, he had taken the majority of the Company into the mountain to search for the Arkenstone. It was his decision to leave the disgusting work to play with the gold that had Bilbori feeling not an ounce of guilt for not giving him the damned stone. And she was too busy helping cut up Smaug to bother trying to shield the thing's energy.

Bilbori looked around the treasury as she entered. It no longer possessed the glow that came from Smaug, but the dwarves had lit the old lamps and braziers within the hall and so the mountains of treasure still glimmered and sparkled. The only real difference she could see to the treasury was the pile of dragon scales off to one side. She ignored it all, marching as best she could on the unsteady surface and searching for Thorin. When she found him, he was shifting through a pile of gold with a shovel. Thorin had dark bags under his eyes, seemed paler than usual, and his long hair was greasy and limp. He looked terrible. And he was clearly ignoring Balin who was trying to speak to him though she thought she heard the word ravens and mention of Dáin as she approached.

"Thorin!" Bilbori barked his name, the loud sound startling him where Balin's soft words had not seemed to have gotten through. "We can't live on meat and cram. Someone needs to go down to Esgaroth for more supplies if we're going to winter here."

Thorin stared blankly at her. After a moment, he went back to shoveling gold.

Balin looked like he was going to say something, but Bilbori was not in the mood. "Hey!" She moved over, shoving Thorin's shoulder.

Whirling around, Thorin glared at her furiously. "You dare?!"

"We're going to get sick without a wider variety, Thorin! You're supposed to be looking after your people, not in here shoveling this sparkling shit!"

By the time the last word left her lips, Bilbori had drawn a small audience and a few of the dwarves ordered to help look for the stone were on the verge of snickering. Well, Fíli and Kíli were on the verge of snickering, since they were bored and wanted to explore the rest of the mountain.

It was like the barrel incident again, with Thorin staring down Bilbori as she furiously returned his look. And, as he had before, he caved. "Balin, take some gold and one or two of the others to Lake Town. See what provisions you can acquire to supplement our supplies." Without another word, he turned back to shoveling gold.

Having gotten her way, Bilbori turned to Balin. "I want parsnips if they have them. And some carrots, onions, and potatoes. See if they have any winter cabbages, while you're at it... But especially parsnips."

Balin's lips twitched at the list. "I will do my best, Master Took." He gave her a bow and turned to call the princes to make the trip with him.

- - -

Once the bones had been picked clean and scrubbed, the stronger dwarves separated it into manageable sizes and hauled it away to do whatever they needed to do to preserve the skeleton. They never could get the metal web off of the skull, the ends having dug deep into the bone. After that it was a matter of cutting, cooking, curing, and drying the meat which ended up taking a long time with most of the dwarves put to work in the treasury.

While they did that, Bilbori set herself to searching Erebor. Most of the time she had Legolas with her as Thorin wouldn't permit the elf to wander in the treasury unsupervised and no one wanted Bilbori wandering Erebor alone. Thus those dwarves not working to preserve the dragon meat or prepare the skeleton were free to dig through piles of gold looking for the Arkenstone. A task that nearly ended when one day Bilbori came screeching into the treasury.

"I found it!" She screamed. "I found it! Finally! Oh sweet Valar above, I found it!"

"The Arkenstone?!" Thorin yelled, running over from where he was, and he was not the only one.

"No!" Bilbori's gleeful screech rang through the chamber. "The public bathing rooms!"

More than one dwarf suddenly had a bit of gold or a jewel to throw at the halfling's feet as they groaned in disgust.

- - -

The dwarves that had gone for the supplies to supplement their stores had returned while Bilbori was making thorough use of the bathing rooms.

Bilbori was generally more agreeable when clean, a fact wholly created by the quest. But she was sure more than one dwarf was scowling in her direction as she chomped into some raw parsnips. Of course, they could have been scowling because she had an elf seated behind her carefully braiding her hair into a distinctly elven style. In fact, Bilbori was pretty sure it was the style Legolas had been wearing shortly before she had sliced his locks nearly to the root. Whatever he was doing as he braided was managing to pull her curls straight too and she was positive her hair had never been as long and silky as it was when he finally tied off the last braid and finished brushing out the last traces of curls. It figured her adopted son's ability to use magic would focus on hair...

"Well now, if you two don't look like a right fine pair of elves." Bofur complimented in a backhanded sort of way with a smile.

"I agree." Ori stated more genuinely. He was off to one side of the camp, which had long since been moved into the mountain, sketching the scene like he tended to do when the words for writing the quest didn't want to flow correctly. He looked around and sighed, "Is Thorin still in the treasury?"

"Yes," multiple voices affirmed.

As if on queue, an exhausted looking Thorin stumbled into the dining hall they had transformed into their new main camp. He moved over to a spot between his closest cousins and nephews and dropped onto his rear like a stone. Immediately Fíli and Balin started to fuss over him, giving him food and water and settling him down to rest.

"This does not bode well." Legolas murmured so softly that Bilbori was certain only she could hear.

She nodded her head in agreement, watching.

- - -

"I miss your curls." He murmured, lips pressed against the back of her head.

The dwarf was wrapped around her from behind as they sat atop a broken column and surveyed the dwarves searching the sea of gold below. With Thorin's insistence that they search, being above the level of gold was the best place to hide in plain sight.

"They'll be back as soon as I wash my hair again." She sighed, moving her head to the side so that he could easily brush his lips against her neck and shoulder should he wish...

He wished.

The arms wrapped around her waist moved so that the hands on her stomach could glide upward leaving a tingling sensation in their wake despite the layers between his hands and her skin. She shivered from the sensation as well as the tickle of hair against her neck. And then she flinched. His left hand had brushed over her bound breast and it felt like he was pressing a bruise though she knew that she didn't have a bruise. Not to mention it was uncomfortably close to where the Arkenstone was nestled.

Bilbori reached up, taking his hands in hers and lacing their fingers together as she moved them back down to a relatively safer area.

He sighed in resignation and acceptance, placing a kiss on her shoulder.

Biting her lip, Bilbori considered. "I think I'm r-"

"Thorin!"

The voice below startled them and they looked down to see Balin rushing into the treasury. He raced over to Thorin as fast as the gold would allow. "The ravens say there's an army approaching! Men and elves!"

Gasping, Bilbori turned and shared a look with her dwarf before they were both scrambling to get safely down from the column.

- - -

"The Master claims that you owe Esgaroth for the use of the house during your stay with us. Because you were there, he was forced to decline an attempt to purchase the property and lost out on the sale of it." The smarmy man was lying through his teeth and every dwarf, halfling, and elf atop the wall could tell. Possibly every man and elf below could as well.

"Is that why you are all here? Baseless lies of a greedy Master?" Thorin called down.

"No." One man stepped forth at the urging nudges of some of the lake men near him. "I come to you as the Lord Girion of Dale's heir. I am named Bard. It is my understanding that the treasury that used to belong to Dale now resides within the treasury of Erebor." He held up one of the Dale coins that had recently been used to purchase supplies. "I would request the treasury of Dale be returned to its people that we may rebuild as well and once more work with Erebor."

The smarmy lake man looked over at Bard with hate.

"And you, elf?" Thorin looked at Thranduil.

"I came as a friend to Bard and now I find I am to congratulate you. I know not how you defeated the dragon, but I see it no longer resides within the mountain. Who may we honor for this gift to Middle-Earth?" Thranduil started off graciously.

"My nephew, Kíli," Thorin pulled Kíli to the fore. "Fired the arrow which caused the death of the dragon."

Kíli looked incredulously at Thorin, but the king silenced him with a minute shake of his head.

"Hail and well met, Kíli Dragonslayer. May all of Middle-Earth sing you praises and good fortune." Thranduil bowed his head from atop his white stag. That complete, he turned his attention back to Thorin. "Though I came for love of a friend, I see now that not only have you stolen away from my kingdom, but that you have stolen my very son!"

"Lies!" Legolas stepped forth, but he stopped when Thorin held up a hand and Bilbori took hold of his arm.

"I will address you each in turn... To the Master of the Lake nothing will be given. He made no terms upon the use of the house and any loss he may have encountered is of his own doing." Thorin turned to address Bard. "To the Heir of Girion, we may yet speak of peace, but not when you stand armed with those who would imprison us and call us thieves at your side." To the elf king he said, "If this elf is truly your son he is held by no will but his own. He has claimed one of our own as his parent and thus he shall remain one of our own until he claims otherwise. Now begone from my step and return when you have left your armies at home."

The smarmy man, Bard, and Thranduil conferred for a moment and it was obvious that none of them intended to just walk away when faced with the allure of a mountain of gold with only a handful of dwarves blocking the path. The raising of tents could already be seen by those atop the wall. Finally, Bard stepped forth.

"We shall depart for now, but we will return when sense has had a chance to return to those within the mountain."

The Company watched the elves and men walk to their rising camp before Thorin dismissed them. "Nori, keep watch here. The rest of us must find the Arkenstone."

Bilbori and Legolas trailed behind, moving slowly as the dwarves hustled down to the treasury. As soon as they were out of sight, Bilbori ran to the nearest working privvy where she was violently sick.

- - -

The stress of the situation wasn't helped when every time the elves and men showed up Thorin became more and more adamant in his refusal to speak with them. He also became more insistent that the Arkenstone be found. Because he was being so stubborn, Bilbori couldn't get a chance to slip away and try to carve shielding runes into the cursed stone. To make matters worse, she found herself getting ill at random times of the day and was more than willing to glare death at anyone that tried to force her into the treasury. It wasn't until the third day of not being able to keep her food down that Ori pulled her off to one of the rooms further into the mountain. Dori and Nori were already there, waiting with Óin.

"Finally," Óin said. "I didn't think you'd ever come to me about being sick." He poked around in his medical bag. "Stress most likely, what with this seige business, but we have to rule out illness first. Could be from all the dragon meat. It might not agree with hobbits... Tell me anything that's been out of the ordinary..."

Twenty minutes later Óin had wisely left the room...

Nori was turning an alarming shade of purple from lack of oxygen as Bilbori's hands were wrapped tightly around his throat. "You're always stifling me! Always threatening to gut anyone that dared touch me!" Neither Ori nor Dori were having much luck trying to pry her off of Nori as she raged. "And you fell asleep! All of you! When I told you I had heard Mahal's Gift?!" She shook her brother as she strangled him.

Dori finally succeeded in prying her off of Nori.

Nori fell down, gasping and choking for air.

"It isn't like that, Bori... We didn't mean to! We were all trying to stay up and just..." Ori worried his hands together, trying to stay as small as he could.

"You shut up!" Bilbori roared at Ori, spinning in Dori's hold to face him. "Don't you try and placate me! You're not the one that's been pregnant for almost two months without even knowing it happened!" She jerked out of Dori's arms, turning to face all three of her brothers. "Do you even have any clue as to who it was?!"

The brothers reluctantly shook their heads.

"All this time... And I didn't even..." Tears started to form in her eyes. "I wanted to know! I wanted to experience it all knowing it was happening!"

Dori started to panic at the sight of tears. "You know now... It'll be okay, Bori."

Instantly her eyes returned to rage. "Did you even try to find out who it was? Who I went to?!"

"We looked! No one's acted different at all!" Ori defended.

Nori finally managed to get back to his feet. "But if you remember who it was, let us know... He's got a date with my knife."

Bilbori snarled and whirled on Nori so fast he didn't even have time to block as she smashed her fist into the side of his jaw.

Nori dropped like a sack of bricks.

Without even looking at her other brothers, Bilbori jerked free of Dori's startled hold and stormed out of the room.

Chapter Text

The next couple of days were unpleasant for anyone trying to interact with the resident halfling of Erebor. The only one that could safely approach her was Legolas. Whatever was going on in her head caused her to flip between either a fierce rage that sent Dori, Nori, and Ori fleeing any room she was in or a somber melancholy that left everyone worried. But mostly, she was thinking. Bilbori tried to remember the events of Lake Town until her head hurt. At best she could remember flashes, but nothing solid. What she was mostly thought about was the siege and Thorin's continued refusal to speak anything but an ever increasing anger and hate down upon the elves and men. He was on the verge of declaring war and she knew once Dáin arrived, that's exactly what he would do.

Pulling herself from her latest bath as a plan began to form, Bilbori dried off. She struggled into her increasingly painful binder complete with new Arkenstone adornment, pulled on the rest of her clothes, and went in search of Dori. She would have use of his talents.

Almost two hours later she was speaking with Legolas, telling him that he needed to remain with Nori or within sight of Nori as much as possible. She then tugged him down to kiss his cheek, patted his hair, and went to the next person with whom she wished to speak.

Speaking with Bifur was easy. He always seemed to know what she wanted and he was willing to help to the best of his abilities. She hugged him and moved on. As she left him, she made a couple of gestures to the wary Nori on her way to the next dwarf.

Óin was surprised when she just flat out spoke to him in Iglishmêk instead of bothering to mess with trying to be quiet while at the same time keeping their conversation private. The more she 'spoke' the wider his eyes became until he was nodding along and agreeing to her request.

Her last stop was with Ori and she spent hours with him, rolls of parchment, and pens. Thankfully the ink in Erebor was easily revived with a little bit of water. They whispered to each other as they wrote, crossing things out and rearranging other things. When Ori asked a specific question he looked like he would faint at the answer. But by the time she was done, they just had to wait.

Dinner that night was tense. Dori had yet to return from the project Bilbori had given him and both Óin and Ori were fidgeting as they picked at their dragon stew. Bilbori had taken one whiff of the stew and retired to the far side of the room to pick at a bland roll of cram. Somehow no one picked up on anything being off and soon they were heading to bed for the night.

- - -

Two hours later Bilbori approached with Ori, Óin, and Bifur to where Nori and Legolas were watching the armies from atop the wall. She stopped, giving Nori a hug and kissing his bruised jaw.

"I'm not sure exactly what you're doing... But I trust you." Nori told her as he returned the hug.

Legolas tossed a rope over the edge of the wall and was soon kneeling to accept a hug from Bilbori as well.

"Do you want me to pass along any messages?" Bilbori asked him.

"If he asks, merely say I have found my Emig." Legolas kissed her cheek before standing and helping her over the ledge. "Safe journey."

"Of course." Bilbori winked up before lowering herself down the rope. She was not alone for long. Bifur, Ori, and Óin soon joined her.

Once the quartet was complete, Bilbori turned and led the way to where the armies had set up camp.

- - -

"I have come in good faith to speak with Bard, Girion's Heir. These gentledwarves are very trusted companions." Bilbori stated with a regal air. She hated having to use that tone. It reminded her so much of arguing with Dís in Council meetings. Funnily enough, continuing her arguments with Dís would have prevented this very event ever occurring. So naturally when Bilbori wasn't there to continue the arguments, Dís had won by default. If Bilbori ever found out what caused Dís to finally cave to Thorin on the matter of this fool's venture...

Before she could finish the thought, Bilbori and her companions were escorted into King Thranduil's tent where he was lounging indolently and drinking wine as Bard stood nearby. She almost scoffed at how contrived the scenario was.

"Master Took," Bard started by way of greeting. "I'm not sure what help a hobbit could be in changing Thorin's mind, but I thank you for whatever you did to prevent the dragon from burning the lake. King Thranduil told me that you are a Master of your craft and it could only have been by your doing that the dwarfling slew the dragon."

Bilbori couldn't help the surprise at Thranduil calling her a Master though he knew perfectly well her Masterpiece would never be accepted and it would take a long time for her to make a new one. "I thank you for your kind words, your highness, but Kíli has much skill with the bow and merely needed to know where to shoot." She tipped a shallow bow to Thranduil who accepted the gesture with a graceful incline of his head. She turned her attention back to Bard. "You are in luck, Lord Bard. For I am the only hobbit within the entirety of Middle-Earth capable of changing Thorin's mind."

With no further preamble, Bilbori pulled a silk wrapped bundle from her pocket and opened it to reveal...

"The Arkenstone." Thranduil said, raising up from his position and looking stunned. After a moment he turned that expression on Bilbori. "Thorin will kill you if he finds out you have brought his line's most prized jewel out of the mountain."

Bard looked alarmed at that statement.

Bilbori smiled sweetly. "There is no need for concern. I am in less danger within the mountain than I am out here. But I am not here to barter. Tell me, Lord Bard... Do your people know of the trust system?"

It turned out the lake men did not know of the trust system and so Bilbori explained it as she once had to Kíli. When she concluded her explanation, she added, "And so I will give you the Arkenstone in trust that when we can gather the treasury of Dale it will be returned unharmed in exchange."

"Why not give the gold now?"

Bilbori shook her head. "I have seen the treasure. I have walked atop the treasure. Smaug was not careful. It is piled within the treasury, all mixed together in large mountains and deep enough that the dragon could have hidden within it had he wished."

At their skeptical looks, Bilbori gestured to Bifur. Bifur pulled an object easily half the length and width of a man's torso from within his coat and placed it on the table. It was a tooth. Both taller men stared.

"That was the smallest tooth Master Bifur could prize out of Smaug's skull. He was not a small beast and the treasure he stole was not small either. It will take time if you want your treasure back properly."

"And how do we know Thorin will honor this matter? He seems to easily change his mind on his word..."

Bilbori and all of the dwarves with her grinned. "A piece of advice when dealing with dwarves, Lord Bard... Always get it in writing."

At her word, Ori set down three copies of a contract stating almost exactly what Bilbori had explained about the hobbit method of holding things in trust.

"I have brought my witnesses, dwarves of good standing and reputation." She gestured to the dwarves with her. "Thranduil can be your witness or you can invite others."

"Three copies?" Bard asked, reading them to see that all were identical. Thranduil was reading them as well.

"One for you, one for me, and one for the records hall in Erebor."

"Contracts must be appropriately filed." Ori muttered stuffily.

"This seems fair." Bard mused. "More than fair, as you allow for jewels that would not be as easily identified as belonging to Dale."

Bilbori flicked her fingers. "Dwarves have a mark, assigned to them at their coming of age that is then added to everything they have made. We just look for items without dwarf marks and go from there. Items of greater value will have records of sale within-"

"The hall of records." Bard finished, rubbing his temple as it should have been obvious from the moment the halfling mentioned getting things in writing.

After conferring with Thranduil on the matter everyone took turns signing the contracts. Thranduil added his seal in wax on each copy. When it came to her turn to sign, Bilbori adjusted a ring on her finger that had not been there before that night and did the same. Ori gasped at seeing the ring and after the seal had been placed he snatched her hand and looked at it. Bilbori waited, meeting his eyes once he'd determined it was the ring he thought it was and gave a halfhearted smile at his sad look.

Bilbori folded her copy of the contract once the ink had been blown dry and placed it within her shirt. Ori did basically the same for the copy that would be going to the hall of records and Bard took his own copy.

"Before you leave..." Thranduil stopped them before they could depart. "There is the matter of my stolen son."

"Your son has not been stolen, your highness." Bilbori smirked. "In his own words, he has merely found his Emig."

Surprisingly, Thranduil pinched the bridge of his nose. He asked no one in particular, "Is this because I wouldn't let him keep that spider when he was 1700? It is... Isn't it?"

Bilbori hesitated. "Your highness, might I stop at your healing tent and visit one of your healers before we leave?"

"Yes, yes." Thranduil waved a hand dismissively, pouring himself more wine.

Bowing to both Thranduil and Bard, Bilbori led her entourage out of the elven king's tent and asked for directions to the healer's tent from the nearest guard. As they rounded a corner, Bilbori heard Gandalf's voice greeting Bard and Thranduil, unaware that he'd just missed Bilbori's group. Bilbori heard him though, her sensitive ears twitching and she paused the group to listen for a few moments before they continued on their way. They had to get back to the mountain as soon as possible.

- - -

Hours later Bilbori was soaking in yet another bath after a few poor hours of sleep. She was alone for now, though she knew Dori would be waiting for her to appear. After what felt like hours, but was only a few minutes, she washed and emerged from the pool. Wrapping herself in a large, plush towel she picked up and inspected her clothing. Without putting it on she tossed the trousers, shirt, coat, and underthings into the basket that was designated for her dirty clothing before she left the bathing room with her binder in hand. Hair loose, wearing only a towel, Bilbori walked through the various rooms until she reached the dining hall where the camp was set up. She headed to the fireplace and tossed her binder into the flames. She watched it burn for at least a minute before turning and heading off to meet with Dori.

- - -

"I will have war," Thorin said when Bard, Thranduil, and the nameless smarmy man arrived the next day, "before I will treat with any man in league with elves!" He had not even waited for them to speak, as he could see Dáin and his army cresting the ridge nearby and everyone atop the wall was already armed and armored for the day.

"We do not ask for treat, King Thorin." Bard said agreeably. "We have merely come to inform you that peace has been negotiated and we shall wait patiently for your end of the agreement to be fulfilled before we return this." Bard pulled the Arkenstone from inside his coat.

"How did you get that?!" Thorin demanded, rage spreading across his face.

"It was given to me. In trust." Bard held up a folded piece of parchment. "Along with a signed and witnessed contract stating that I may hold it until debts are fulfilled."

"Who-" Thorin spluttered, "Who dares to think they have that kind of authority?"

There was only a moment of silence before a voice spoke from behind Thorin, a familiar voice.

"I have that authority."

Thorin whirled around to confront the halfling and hesitated.

Bilbori stood there. Draped in a hooded cloak, she was flanked on her right by Dori. On her left was Nori. Behind her were Ori, Bifur, and Óin. All five of the dwarves were obviously acting as guards for the smaller being front and center of the small group. For this occasion, Legolas was on the far side of the wall from her so he wasn't in immediate sight.

"You!" Thorin's rage burned away the moment of hesitation and he strode purposefully toward the group. "You dare think to give away the King's Jewel?! Betrayer! Miserable little half-" His hand moved to grab the halfling, or strike, it was impossible to tell.

Less than a hand's width from making contact, Thorin's action was forcibly stopped. He stiffened, his words breaking off as he looked first at the hand gripping his wrist like iron and then turned his fierce gaze at the dwarf it belonged to. "You betray me as well?"

"Begging your pardon, your majesty... But if I were to let you finish that move I would be making an even worse betrayal than any I could do to you." Dori actually looked apologetic, but his grip remained firm and his resolve unwavering.

Save for one, every other dwarf atop the wall reached to place hands on their weapons, though it was obvious everyone was reluctant and unsure of just what they were going to do. The tense situation just seemed to demand weapons be at hand.

Thorin's hateful glare turned back to the hooded figure that had not yet moved. "What madness makes you think you have the authority to steal from me? To turn my company into betrayers!"

"I was hoping you would ask that..."

Bilbori reached up and pushed her hood back to reveal her golden curls fixed in a decidedly dwarfish style. The sides and top of her curls were twisted up into a lattice of braids that were gathered to form a thick ridge atop her head reminiscent of a mohawk that accentuated the points of her ears. The braiding stopped where it met the rest of the curls, left to tumble free halfway down her back. Her ears were still pink at the lobes and pointed tips from new gold piercings that dangled diamond drops from both locations and were connected by delicate gold chains. The style also displayed the sideburns that were visible for the first time since before the quest began and reached her shoulders when braided. Pretty golden beads decorated the ends of those braids. The only downside was that her mustache had yet to start growing back in since she had last shaved it after Smaug's demise.

With her hair braided as it was, all of the multiple beads decorating it showed clearly. There was a Ri family bead, a head of household bead, a high-ranked rune crafter journeyman bead, a councilwoman bead bearing the mark of Belegost, and a similar one bearing the mark of Erebor.

While they were still digesting that reveal, she unclasped her cloak, pushing back the edges and shrugging her shoulders so that the deep ruby colored gown she wore was revealed. The cut left her shoulders bare and the sleeves ended above her elbows. Sigils embroidered in gold thread on her sleeves stated the same things as her various beads. The curve of the bodice, covered in diamonds that went around the entire upper line of the gown, made it glaringly obvious that she was a woman. The skirt was cut at a rounded slope that had the hem just below her knees on the front, showing off legs and feet that were bare of all except golden anklets, and nearly touched the ground at the back. The entire gown had a sheer overlayer that was pinned above her left hip with a diamond brooch.

Bilbori also wore a delicate gold filigree necklace, diamond bracelets on her wrists, and a gold anklet around her right ankle to intentionally appeal to the dwarven desire for gold and jewels. On one of her fingers was the silver ring with the official seal for the House of Ri.

Off to the side, a couple of the dwarves seemed to choke on thin air even while the others gasped.

"I am Bilbori Took, daughter of Dilnobri Jewelbearer of Belegost and Gerontius Took former Thain of the Shire, Matriarch of the Family Ri, Journeyman of the Rune Crafters' Guild, formerly of the Council of Belegost, and first dam of the new Council of Erebor." Her voice was firm; her gaze unwavering. Bilbori took a confident step forward, placing herself firmly within reach of Thorin's free arm as she tilted her head to boldly meet his eyes. "On whose authority do you dare to place Erebor at war?"

Chapter Text

Jaws dropped at not only Bilbori's list of titles, but the threatening tone she had used to question Thorin's authority. The silence was thick, not even a peep from the men and elves below to break the standoff, not that they were currently speaking loud enough for the elves or men to hear. Unless someone else declared themselves a dam and were then willing to try to talk her over to Thorin's side... He had absolutely no authority by their culture and traditions to even take up the crown that was his birthright should she deem him unworthy. And every dwarf present knew it.

All eyes atop the wall turned to Thorin, waiting for his response.

Thorin met the eyes of the being he had formerly been introduced to as Bilbo Took. His mind raced. He did not even consider questioning the name. It was glaringly obvious she was a dam and as such she had the right to any masculine name she wished to use and if her name was Bilbori and her father was that Gerontius Took fellow, then Bilbo Took was a perfectly acceptable name in both dwarf and Shire traditions to his knowledge.

He also recalled Dilnobri Jewelbearer, if for no other reason than the rumors of her children all being beautiful. Thorin looked at Bilbori, his mind shifting to include 'dwarf' in his thoughts and he tried to look at her with new eyes. While Thorin did not think Bilbori was painfully beautiful like her brothers, he supposed she was pretty enough and her hobbit blood made her look a bit exotic. Add to that the fact that she was claiming to be a Ri made instances where he had seen her use strength like no hobbit should have been able stand out. And, if he thought enough about it, he remembered that the other hobbits he had seen had all possessed feet that were larger and covered in more fur than the ones she currently had on display.

Then there was the simple fact that he had met Dilnobri long ago and the elderly dam had definitely introduced the entire Durin family at the time to four children. He tried to see the girl he remembered in the woman before him, but his gold-addled mind was not letting him remember clearly.

Though Thorin could not say for positive if she had been on the Council in Belegost, since the dams all wore hooded robes and masks, he had no authority to prevent her from claiming a seat on the Erebor Council. As a dam she was closer to Mahal than any of them and that gave her the right to reform Erebor's Inner Council. Only the remaining members of the original Ereborean Council could deny her and if any still lived they were all the way back in Belegost. She was absolutely right that as current Head of the Council she had the authority to overturn every ruling that Thorin gave and... a part of Thorin was relieved.

Unable to help himself, Thorin's mind drifted to the image of him just wandering through the treasury and admiring his gold while leaving the kingdom to Bilbori's capable hands. But to do such he would be placing Fíli in the position of having to act as her buffer when dealing with the outside world. Like most dwarves, he coveted what power he possessed. Even if that power was only in carrying out the commands of one blessed with Mahal's Gift and acting as her shield from the dangers of the outside world and other races. And he truly did not want to make Fíli shoulder that responsibility just yet.

Thorin broke the stare-off with Bilbori, looking around at the other dwarves. His gaze lingered on some dwarves in particular and the stupefied looks they wore. He knew without asking that in this situation not a single one of his men would back him if he defied the 'Will of the Council,' which was as good as Mahal's Will, and to force them to make the choice to turn against him would be cruel. So Thorin decided it was time to prove he was worthy of his crown.

Taking a deliberate step away from Bilbori, Dori releasing his hold when Thorin did so, Thorin lowered his eyes to the ground and bowed deeply. "Forgive me, Lady Bilbori. I fear the stress of the last few weeks has clouded my judgment. What is Mahal's will on this matter?"

Relieved sighs could be heard from around the two and while Bilbori wanted to join them, she merely took a controlled breath and maintained her stance. "While delivering the contract to Bard, my guards," she gestured to the five dwarves standing with her even though only three had actually been present at the time in question, "and I discovered that Tharkûn," since they were speaking in normal tones she used the Maia's Khuzdul name, "had arrived bearing news of a massive army of orcs heading in this direction. It is our preference that matters dealing with the men and elves be put aside in favor of the contract currently held by Bard in trust with the Arkenstone to be dealt with after the upcoming war. We need to work together if we are all to survive."

Mentioning the Arkenstone was a mistake and Bilbori could tell by the sudden flash in Thorin's eyes as he stood tall once more. Before he could open his mouth and mess up again, she moved her hand into a deliberate gesture over her abdomen. "I need to survive to finish forging Mahal's Gift for the reclaimed Erebor."

And that started up the choking and gasping again as that announcement registered.

Thorin inhaled sharply. "When?"

Bilbori narrowed her eyes at the rudeness of the question. "My brothers tell me that I first mentioned hearing Mahal's Forge after the barrels. I was fevered at the time with my illness and have no recollection of the events. By the time my fever had passed, I heard nothing." That was not entirely truthful. She had thought hard and could remember pale skin, flushed cheeks, a burning pleasure that seemed to drive her mad... "Óin has confirmed to the best of his ability and last night I had one of the elven healers confirm as well."

Abruptly turning away, Thorin strode back to the parapet and raised his voice. "Erebor shall let the contract stand in good faith. Allow my cousin, Lord Dáin, to pass. We will be coming down to discuss plans for fighting the orc army."

The Company cheered and moved to follow Thorin toward the stairs that led down the wall so they could open the gate.

Legolas finally moved from where he had been all but hiding. He stepped over to where Dori had remained behind with Bilbori. He clasped his hand to his Emig's shoulder, turning to look over the parapet down at where Thranduil was speaking with Bard.

Dori, having lingered, leaned toward Bilbori. She had yet to move so he inspected her coloring. "Are you sure going down there is a good idea, Bori?" he murmured.

"I have to, Dori." Bilbori did not face her brother, her eyes instead boring into a familiar gaze that was watching them as he slowly trailed after the departing dwarves. She flicked her hand in a quick gesture for 'later' and watched as the dwarf nodded before he picked up the pace to catch up with the others. Only then did she turn to face her brother. "You know I don't want to be in charge of anything." Her soft murmur was barely audible. "But if I don't do it now, no one else can keep Thorin from getting us all killed from his gold sickness." She briefly tensed her fingers over her abdomen before dropping her hand. "I just hope I don't get us all killed anyway."

Taking his sister's arm, Dori gently guided her away from Legolas and escorted her after the others. "You are not capable of getting any of us killed. Though I do wish you'd go hide somewhere deep in Erebor until this is all over... Even after it's all over."

"But if I hid away forever I'd never attain my mastery." Bilbori turned her nose up at the idea before giving Dori a sly, yet somehow bashful, smile. "And you'd never get to meet the little one."

Dori's eyes widened. "Oh! Well... We'll have to rethink that plan, then." He paused them part of the way down the stairs, turning to look at the distracted elf. "Nephew, come along now."

Startled, Legolas turned to look at Dori with wide eyes before he smiled and practically skipped to follow. "Yes, uncle!"

And then they joined the rest of the group as they opened the gate and headed to join Bard, Thranduil, and Dáin as a whole.

- - -

Down in Thranduil's tent, Bilbori was formally reintroduced to Bard, Thranduil, and Gandalf. Bard looked confused. Gandalf was choking on his pipe. And Thranduil looked as if he were grinding his teeth. Legolas whispered to her that it was because if Thranduil had been aware of her true identity, he would have negotiated more carefully back in Mirkwood. She smirked at that before she was introduced to Dáin and his generals.

"Ye have no idea how glad I am to see ya here, lass." Dáin stated, bowing low in greeting. "None of our dams wanted to make the journey this time of year and it has been a shame to travel without their lovely beards to admire."

Though Dáin openly gazed at Bilbori's braided sideburns as he said it, Bilbori's mind translated it to mean that he was thanking Mahal someone with sense was present to keep an eye on things. It was nearly impossible for those who did not grow up speaking Khuzdul to correctly understand certain things when dwarves spoke Westron. It was one of the things that dwarves laughed about when scholars came along...

"Lord Dáin." Bilbori raised a brow slightly at his greeting. "I'm afraid that all I know of you is how you refused to aid his majesty King Thorin when he decided to retake Erebor."

Dáin visibly winced. "Yes. Well..." He rubbed the back of his neck. He abruptly and very obviously changed the subject, "Ah! Kíli lad! What's this I hear about you slaying dragons before you're eighty?!" He moved to greet Kíli.

Bilbori rolled her eyes, shifting her focus and finding herself facing Gandalf. She looked up at the wizard, a stubborn tilt to her chin as if daring him... Daring him! To refer to her as Belladonna's child again.

Gandalf turned an all-knowing look upon her. "I'm so glad you've decided to finally be yourself, my dear."

She narrowed her eyes at the wizard, not buying his attempt at omniscience.

It seemed Gandalf stood up to her looks about as well as Dáin did, for he turned to poor Kíli as well. "Yes, dear boy. You must tell us how you managed to defeat the beast."

Kíli looked uncomfortable at being put in the spotlight, but everyone was watching him now. The Company looked as if they were trying to encourage him to say specific things with just their eyebrows. Dáin, his generals, and the tall folk with open curiosity. Bilbori looked expectant as she met his eyes, wondering how he would respond. Kíli fidgeted slightly before he pulled his bow from his back. The arrow rest still glittered golden and the arms shimmered silver.

"I acquired an enchanted bow." He displayed said enchanted bow, but demurred allowing anyone else to inspect the item as he decided how to phrase the incident. "When the opportunity to fire presented itself, I chose to have faith."

Bilbori smiled.

- - -

An hour later and Bilbori was bored out of her mind at the same time she was annoyed. She was seated within reach of where Thorin and Dáin stood at the table with the other leaders and generals while the Company ranged around the tent. More than one dwarf was amused when she would have to lash out with a foot, kicking the two dwarven leaders when their words started to become too negative for the conversation. The first time she had kicked Dáin for a racist comment he had turned angrily. Bilbori had given him a no-nonsense look and quietly asked, "Would it make it easier if I wore my mask?"

The mask she was referring to was one of the masks that the dams of the Inner Councils wore. What other races did not know was that the first and last face every dwarf ever saw in their life was that of their maker, Mahal. And so the Inner Council, acting as Mahal's Will, wore masks carved in the likeness of His face. Bilbori's offer to wear her mask would have made her censorship more than just the relatively mild rebuke it was and, as it turned out, Dáin was not ready to be scolded by Mahal.

"Nay, lady. I apologize." Dáin bowed slightly. "Just not used to working in these conditions."

Thorin surprisingly took every kick in stride, changing his words without pause to something acceptable. It was definitely entertaining for the Company to see their king reprimanded like a dwarfling while speaking after months of hearing Thorin spout out racist commentary about elves whenever the mood struck. Not to mention there were times when his gaze started to turn dark again, obvious to those of the Company that he was thinking of the gold.

She kicked him extra hard then.

Bilbori was starting to wish she had picked out a nice new pair of solid boots when even her tough hobbity toes started to get sore from constantly connecting to hard dwarven limbs. She was on the brink of rising to strike one of the dwarves when she suddenly found a bowl thrust in front of her. She blinked, looking down to see it was filled with parsnips that had been roasted in a honey-butter glaze. Bilbori turned to find Glóin holding the bowl.

"It's past luncheon." Glóin explained, not meeting her eye. His wife had been pregnant after all, now that he knew the truth he also knew how to behave with the knowledge.

Narrowing her eyes, Bilbori accepted the bowl and settled back in her seat to enjoy the food. She caught a smirk on Thorin's lips from the corner of her eye though and kicked him again.

"Ow!"

- - -

The next day saw some rearranging of the army camps. The healing tents had been moved closer to the gate to keep them safer while still allowing ease of access. At Thorin's request, Dáin hand-picked a group of his most trusted soldiers to act as guards for the treasury and nearly half of Dáin's army moved in to help clean up the rooms and halls nearest Erebor's front door so that those wishing to remain when Dáin decided to return to the Iron Hills would have places to stay until they could get the residences ready for habitation.

Later that day more of the soldiers from Esgaroth arrived. Though they reported that the Master was against this, they had seen wisdom in Bard's word, delivered by one of Erebor's ravens, that the orc army would not be content to stop at Erebor if the elves and dwarves should fail. Esgaroth may not have been the best place, but it was the only home they had and so they joined with the small army of men already there to do what they could despite a lack of training.

That night the ravens reported that the orcs were closer than Gandalf's estimate had placed them.

Chapter Text

Despite the preference of everyone, Bilbori moved freely around the massive joined camp of men, elves, and dwarves. She was pleased to note that everything had happened so fast with setting up and rearranging in preparation for the orcs that there was no segregation of the races. At the moment, she was walking with Dori as he read a contract aloud to her in hushed Khuzdul. It was the first petition she'd received once news of her pregnancy had spread among the dwarves. The petition was from one of Dáin's generals.

"This looks promising. Steady work, his mate is the quartermaster. They've been together for almost thirty years and have petitioned four times since they wed, one of which was accepted. So the little one would have an older brother." Though he was being fair to the petition, Dori felt as lost as Bilbori felt as he read it. Though he obviously didn't know how Dilnobri had dealt with petitions when she'd been pregnant with him, he knew she hadn't even looked at any of the petitions for Nori, Ori, or Bilbori. And Dori remembered seeing them arrive. He remembered how their mother was polite when receiving them, and he remembered as soon as they were alone she tossed them into the bin without even opening them. So that he was reading one for the first time felt several kinds of awkward. "Wouldn't Ori be better at helping you read these?"

Bilbori didn't answer.

Dori looked around, noticing that somewhere along the way he'd lost his sister while he'd been reading. "Bori?" he called.

When he heard nothing, Dori started to retrace his steps. "Bori?!" It took a few minutes, but he faintly heard his sister calling from a couple tent rows to the side of where they had been.

"Dori..."

"You can't wander off like that." Dori automatically started scolding.

"Dori."

"What?" Dori finally look at what his sister was about and his jaw dropped.

Bilbori was standing on the bottom rail of a hastily erected pen that held several massive war boars. Her eyes were huge as she regarded the beasts. It was only a matter of moments before she turned those bright, wide, excited eyes onto her poor brother.

Dori cut her off. "No."

"Please, Dori..." She somehow increased the appeal of her expression.

"No." Dori remained firm.

"But, Dori!" Bilbori sounded heartbroken and the evil halfling even had tears welling up in her eyes.

"Absolutely not." Dori hated hobbits. Because it had to be from hobbits that she got that ability that broke his heart just for being sensible. "You are pregnant. The last thing you need is to romp around the mountain on a war boar!"

Bilbori's lower lip trembled and the tears started to fall.

Steeling himself, Dori took Bilbori by the arm and helped her down from the rail. He led her away from the boar pens even as she fell into his side with heartbroken sobs. He knew from talking with Óin after finding out she was definitely pregnant that the strong emotions were most likely caused by the changes in her body, but she'd been wanting a piglet for as long as Dori could remember and telling her no now was cruel. He relented... Partially.

"When you're not pregnant anymore and everything settles down... I'll talk to Dáin about getting you the best war boar there is."

Bilbori sniffled, "Promise?"

Dori shook his head exasperatedly and sighed as he started to lead his sister back into Erebor so they could make her a new tunic to go with her hobbit trousers so she wouldn't have to keep wearing the dress for lack of anything that would fit without a binder. "I promise."

- - -

"What will this do without a magic arrow?" Kíli had managed to shuffle Bilbori away from the elven tent that had become the war council room. Once he'd gotten her away from all those that had been willing to play escort since she'd revealed herself, he held the bow out and wondered. "I don't have another bow if this one won't work. The ones back in Erebor are too rotted with age, none of Dáin's soldiers are archers, and the bows of men and elves are too big for me to get a proper draw..."

Bilbori bit her lip, feeling guilty. "I'm not sure." She took hold of his sleeve and pulled him further away from the tents, heading to where the elves were giving some of the lake men emergency archery lessons. "There's only one way to find out."

Commandeering a range from one of the young lake boys that could barely even draw the string of the bow he'd been given with nothing more than a hasty, "Just need to borrow the range for a moment," Bilbori positioned Kíli so that he was facing the target. She waved at the target. "Well, go on then."

Kíli hesitated when he saw the elves that were teaching the lake men starting to look over curiously when they saw the glowing bow in his hands. When Bilbori nudged him, he finally pulled out one of his regular arrows and knocked it. Drawing back the string even as he raised his bow, he noticed the way the silver on the arms once more swirled up and then down the string, protecting or making it stronger or whatever it was doing to the string as it wrapped around it. He took a breath on the exhale he released.

The arrow whistled shrilly as it flew. A clear trail of golden sparks following in its wake as it sped at easily three times the speed of a normal arrow. It slammed into the target and clear out of the other side before crashing into a large rock hard enough to shatter it. The rock was apparently solid enough to stop the arrow, but the straw in the target caught fire from the speed with which the arrow had gone through and soon the startled elves and lake men were rushing to put out the flames before it could spread.

Bilbori stared at the shattered rock where she could see the unbroken arrow lying amidst the rubble. "Well, I think the bow is still useful."

Eyes wide, Kíli wordlessly returned Bilbori's kama.

- - -

The orcs arrived even earlier than their adjusted timetable suggested and without warning.

One moment Bilbori was heading with one of Dáin's soldiers toward the war council tent after visiting the war boars and then making an emergency trip to the trenches and the next moment bodies were flying as giant worms erupted from the ground and orcs charged out of the tunnels they left in their wake. Her escort was lost when an orc arrow slammed into his face and so she ran. Racing through the madness that was happening much too quickly, Bilbori tried to find a friendly face even as she lashed out at the bodies of any orcs that got near with her kama. She wasn't even sure where she was going when she heard the distinctly piercing shriek of an arrow flying from the enchanted bow and she turned to run in that direction. Surprisingly, the first familiar face she saw was Thorin. And there was a warg racing straight for him!

Without thinking, Bilbori threw one of her kama across the battlefield and watched as the blade sank into the warg's skull while it was mid-leap. The beast hit the ground without so much as a whimper, dead.

Thorin spun in place, blade ready, and saw the dead creature with the familiar weapon embedded in it's skull. He glanced around, eyes widening when he saw her on the field with her matching kama still in hand. Immediately he shouted at the nearest dwarves, "Get her into the mountain! Protect her!" With a nod of thanks to her, Thorin turned to face the next orc as two nearby dwarves rushed to follow his order.

Only pausing to yank the kama from the dead warg, two dwarves flanked Bilbori and escorted her through the battle and into the gates. As they fled the battlefield she could hear the whistling of the enchanted bow unleashing arrows piercing above the sounds of steal clashing together as the armies fought. It wasn't until even that sound was barely audible that one of them, one of Dáin's soldiers, determined that the task had been properly completed and left them to return to the battle. The other was one of the Company and, with her hand held firmly in his, continued to urge her deeper into the mountain. They ran until they were out of breath and utterly lost from any of the places the Company had yet explored and then somehow they managed to run further still. Finally, both of them were unable to continue running and Bilbori found herself suddenly pulled into his arms.

"My heart stopped when I saw you out there!" He pulled back, checking her over for any injuries. But aside from some orc blood she'd gotten while damaging the enemy and gasping for breath from their run, she was fine. "I'm starting to think that you're trying to kill me." Without another word, he pulled her into a frantic kiss.

Bilbori, riding high on adrenaline even though she was exhausted from the run, melted into the burning feeling of his lips on hers. They had not properly kissed in far too long and she wrapped her arms around him, pushing into the kiss.

Finally they eased up as the exertion of reaching the depths of the mine caught up with them and they separated. He pressed his forehead into hers and whispered, "You're you. From my dream. It was real." There was no mistaking the wonder in his voice. "You said the words and it was real..." He still didn't sound like he quite believed it.

Bilbori shivered when she felt his hand slid over to rest gently on her abdomen. "It's true... Right?" His tone was full of his need for reassurance. When he looked up, he could see confusion in her eyes and he recalled what she had told Thorin. "Do you really not remember?" His expression was grieved.

Understanding dawning in her eyes, Bilbori's expression softened. "Not entirely true. I remember cool night air. Pale skin, flushed cheeks..." She tilted her head, looking down at the dwarf that was peering up at her with eyes that glistened like the stars even in the dark of the mine. Her lips quirked up into a half smile. "A fever dream of pleasure..."

The dwarf blushed, though it was too dark for it to be seen. He was close enough that she could feel the faint increase in temperature from his cheeks.

"Why didn't you say anything after?" Bilbori asked him. "I know Dori and Nori were on the look out, but no one acted odd."

"I... I had gotten drunk at the Master's party." He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to will away his blush. "And I really did think you were just a hobbit lad. So there I was, not-sleeping, still drunk, and suddenly someone I wanted desperately that I thought was a lad came in with their hair all unbound, obviously not a lad, and speaking those words in a language I thought they didn't know..." He gave a self-deprecating chuckle. "I figured I had fallen asleep and was having a very interesting dream. I was determined to make it enjoyable." He paused. "You weren't there when I woke up. So I really did think it was just a dream. I even swore off drinking for a while." The dwarf hesitated there. "I was very, very surprised on the wall when you dropped your cloak and told us your name. All the times I had you in my arms and I somehow never suspected."

"I'm sorry." She whispered. "Dori found me that night. I'm not even sure how long after. I was sleeping in the bath. He didn't notice anything off and just took me back to bed." Bilbori snorted softly. "Well, nothing off except apparently I had wandered out of my room in naught but my skin and gone to take a bath."

They shared a soft laugh.

"Don't worry! I've been found in worse places in naught but my skin." He leaned back to better take in her expression. "And you're from Belegost! Did we ever meet? I don't remember..." His gave a shake of his head. "I don't see how I could forget you if I'd seen you there."

It was Bilbori's turn to blush. "We did meet. It was a long time ago, though. I'd be more surprised if you did remember."

They were both silent for a time, contemplating the battle going on somewhere above them. The dwarf broke the silence this time.

"I wouldn't mind doing it properly, you know. Forging, that is!" He immediately gaped at his own audacity as his brain caught up with his mouth.

Bilbori threw her head back and cackled out a laugh. Once she'd gotten herself under control she immediately teased, "Right now? It seems in bad taste to do such a thing when there's a battle going on..."

He covered his face with a hand, moaning in mortification. "I didn't mean it like that..."

She continued to giggle at him.

Taking a deep breath, the dwarf lowered his hands as he stood up straight. He looked her directly in the eyes. "I just meant, you were feverish and I wasn't much better being in my cups and all. Neither of us remembers it properly. I think that, sometime, in the future, if you wanted to make a real memory for it, I would be honored."

"Oh!" Bilbori couldn't help looking surprised. And then, since he'd offered, she allowed her gaze to consider the way he looked in his armor. He was definitely a sight to behold. "That's very sweet of you to offer. I..." She reached up, pulling his head down to press their foreheads together again. "When the time is right. There is much going on for me right now with having to step up as our family Matriarch and reforming the Ereborean Council..."

The dwarf regarded her for a while, debating her sincerity versus all of the times previously she'd pushed him away saying she wasn't ready yet before he gave a decisive nod and relaxed. For a moment he really wanted to beg her to claim him again, but he didn't want her to turn him down for what would feel like the thousandth time. After another bout of silence, he spoke again. "Do you know yet if you'll be raising the little one yourself or not?"

Bilbori shook her head. "Not yet. It's still a bit of a shock to me." Then she couldn't help teasing a bit. "Especially since I didn't really remember doing anything that could have caused it." She grew more serious after that. "A part of me does just because it would be an honor to be the parent of the first child born in the rebuilt Erebor, but if that's my only reason then the answer will be no. It's a horrible reason to hoard a child. I have already received a petition." After a pause Bilbori gave him a thoughtful look. "Do you wish to be known as one of the crafters?"

Parenting a child was all about consent for dwarves even if consent was dubious about 'crafting' the child.

The dwarf was at least seriously considering the matter. "If you do not wish to remain the parent then I don't know. It's kind of like you said. A part of me wants the honor, but that's no good for a babe." He sighed. "If you wish to be the parent, then absolutely. I am yours and one day you will acknowledge that where everyone will know." He drew one of her hands up, pressing a kiss to her palm.

The words were on the tip of her tongue to claim him then, but Bilbori's reasoning was still valid and so she shifted the topic back with a faint smile. "Thankfully Mahal was smart when instructing us on how to properly set up families. My father had thirteen children including me and I'm certain there were times when he didn't even remember half of our names." At his astonished look she nodded. "He loved us, but I don't believe he would have wanted to be a father to all of us if he were given a choice, but hobbits do things like elves and men when it comes to families. And hobbit families are usually much bigger."

It wasn't long after that, still in each others arms, that they realized they were the only things holding each other up. Both of their legs felt like jelly after their frantic race into the mines. Her dwarf was the first one to find a suitable spot for them to sit, since his dark sight was better. He led them both to a boulder that could fit them both and pulled her close as soon as they were seated.

"Are those emeralds?"

"Looks like it." Bilbori commented, squinting into the distance. "But I'm only half dwarf, so my dark sight isn't as good as it could be." She peered toward where a faint glimmering came from a wall opposite them, separated by chasm some ten yards or so wide and an unknown depth. She checked the contents of her pockets, but couldn't find anything useful at the moment. "Are you going back to the field?"

"No. I'm not leaving you alone. My heart couldn't take it." The dwarf looked around at the area they had ended up. It was basically a wide spot on a ledge rather like the one that had been a giant's knee at one point in time. There were traces of old scaffolding and ropes in one or two places. After determining that it was safe enough for now and that it went deeper still if needed, he wrapped his arms around her. "What are you looking for?"

Bilbori finally gave up on finding anything useful in her pockets and let her hands fall limp in her lap. "I'm a Rune Crafter, remember? I always carry a spare miner light in my kit. But apparently I didn't pack my kit on my person today." She sighed, Nori would be so disappointed that she was unprepared.

"That might be for the best. A light could attract unwanted attention."

"True. I've been thinking too much like a hobbit lately, I guess."

"I fell in love with you thinking like a hobbit." He gave her a sappy smile. "That you can also think like a dwarf just makes you more perfect." He brushed his fingers through the loose length of her curls.

"You're ridiculous." But she couldn't hide the pleased smile on her face nor the pink staining her cheeks. A moment later she was worried. "Are you disappointed? That I wasn't the hobbit lad you fell in love with?"

"No." He said it so simply she couldn't help but believe him. "You're still the Bilbo I dreamed about. You're just more now. Besides," he took on a cheeky tone, "It isn't difficult to visit a toy maker and then pin your hair up if we want to play."

Inhaling sharply, Bilbori turned a heated look upon her dwarf and suddenly they were attached at the lips once more.

- - -

They fluctuated between making out and speculating about how the battle above was going. They honestly didn't mean to do as much of the making out part as they did, but any time they accidentally brushed skin to skin it was as if both were magnetized and they were unable to resist. It was always an accidental touch to parts of Bilbori that had grown painfully tender that jolted her to her senses. And no small amount of guilt at taking pleasures when their friends and family could be dying kept them from intentionally seeking the contact.

The worst part was that neither of them knew what was going on above or how long they had been down there.

After an indeterminate amount of time they took turns napping in the other's arms. When her dwarf woke from his nap, he had looked up at her with awe and whispered, "You're here..."

Bilbori's heart melted.

The only clue they had as to how long they had been down there was when Bilbori's stomach complained about being empty. She didn't have anything, but her dwarf had some strips of dragon jerky and some raw parsnips in his pockets that he gave her easily. She made him eat a strip of the jerky despite his protests. They were eating when they heard the distant voice.

"Bori!"

Both of them turned to look in the direction the sound had come from. The dwarf then looked curiously at her, unused to her being called anything other than Bilbo.

"It sounds like Nori." She whispered, but she didn't move.

"Bilbori! Are you down here?!" The voice grew closer, obviously following the only trail down to where they were located. It wasn't until they could see a light and recognize Nori's star-shaped silhouette that they finally responded.

"Nori!" Bilbori called as she stood up from the boulder. Her brother broke into a run and within moments he had wrapped her into a hug.

"We were so worried!" Nori exclaimed. "The battle's over... Have you seen-" He cut off, having spotted Bilbori's dwarf moving to stand. "Oh! There you are..." He suddenly looked grieved. "Hurry, it's just awful... There was no saving..." Nori was unable to continue and turned, pulling Bilbori back up the tunnel.

Panicked, both Bilbori and her dwarf followed.

- - -

It seemed to take forever for them to make their way back out of the mine into which they had fled. After a time, Nori calmed down enough to speak.

"I almost didn't even know where to look for you two," he said. "If you weren't still barefoot I wouldn't have noticed anything off with the tracks left in the dust down here."

Looking down at her feet which were indeed still bare, Bilbori squeezed Nori's hand. "Nori... Is everyone okay?"

Nori choked off a sob at whatever she'd reminded him of and just shook his head, pulling her along faster.

Bilbori and her dwarf exchanged worried looks and soon enough they were back into familiar territory.

The familiar territory soon led to the entryway. The sounds of pained screams, groans, and whimpers burned their ears as they passed through the gates and into the healing area that had been set up. They looked around at the carnage. Everywhere dwarves, elves, and men were covered in blood. Healers raced from tent to tent, there were more injured than there was room for them.

Nori led them in a specific direction and even he jerked to a halt at what was sitting outside of one of the tents.

Looking around him, Bilbori and her dwarf both gasped in shock. Bilbori's hand rose to cover her mouth.

There, seated on a crate outside of one of the tents, was Bifur. In his arms he tenderly cradled the bloody remains of what was once his cousin's massive, looping beard. While they watched, Bifur absently drew his already bloody fingers over the length of the braid in a futile attempt to clean it.

Chapter Text

Gasping, Bilbori ran around Nori and slid to a halt at Bifur's feet. She reached out, placing her trembling hands on his over the length of beard. "Oh, Master... I'm so sorry..." She raised her eyes from the beard, turning them up to her beloved Master's face and gasped again. There was a deep rectangular pit on his forehead where his axe used to reside. Looking at it made her feel nauseous in a way she could not explain and she gulped at the sudden taste of bile. When Bifur didn't respond, she searched his face but saw only the blank look she had come to associate with his mind having a spell where it wandered to places no one could follow. Bilbori caught sight of her dwarf heading passed her into the tent Bifur was seated in front of as she turned to look at Nori.

Nori grimaced and shrugged. "He wasn't doing that when I left to find you. Not sure when it started." He looked nervous as he watched Bifur, having never felt as relaxed around the dwarf as Bilbori did since the initial accident. "Best leave him to it and come in..."

It was a testament to how well the elven healing tents were made that the sounds from outside almost completely cut out when Bilbori finally went inside. Not that there was much room as she immediately crashed into a dwarf. A quick look and she saw familiar hair and then her arms were wrapped around Ori, hugging him tightly.

"Bori!"

At least that's what it seemed Ori was trying to say and Bilbori pulled back to look at him, her eyes welling with tears at what she saw. Ori's nose was swollen, having been broken at some point. His lips and chin were stitched together from where the skin had been burst open in probably the same injury that had broken his nose and his entire face was already turning purple from the bruising. And the idiot was smiling, showing off that he'd lost several front teeth in the same injury. He looked thrilled despite his injury.

"We were so worried when Nori took so long to find you." Ori hugged her tightly before pulling her over to where Dori was seated.

Dori pulled Bilbori right out of Ori's arms and into his lap. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with her eldest brother, aside from being covered in blood and looking irritated. Especially when he yanked Ori into his lap as well and looked around for Nori who was deliberately on the other side of the tent where Bilbori could see Thorin unconscious on a cot... At least she hoped he was just unconscious. His entire torso was covered in bandages.

"Are you okay?" She asked Dori.

"I'm fine, dear." Dori pecked a kiss to her forehead. "Just a twisted ankle. There are others more seriously hurt." He leaned back slightly, turning his head to look behind him where Bilbori now became aware of Bombur...

Bombur was pale and he had bandages around his throat that rather explained why his beard was missing.

"He was very nearly decapitated." Dori explained. "His beard saved his life. He was awake not too long ago."

Twisting more in Dori's hold, Bilbori looked around at the rest of the Company.

Bofur didn't seem to be hurt, merely sitting quietly next to Bombur and holding his hand.

Dwalin wasn't hurt either, merely giving his brother a hard time. It seemed Balin had managed to pull or twist something and his little brother was loudly commenting about how it wasn't Balin's fault that age was slowing him down.

Glóin's face was bandaged on one side and from what Ori was saying he'd most likely lose his eye from the damage unless an elf could get back to them before it was too late. Apparently the elven healers had just made certain no one would immediately die before moving on to treat others.

And Nori! She hadn't noticed before because of the rush to leave the mine, but her brother had a bloody bandage wrapped around one of his arms.

"Where's Óin?" She asked, still looking around. Then she gasped again as she spotted the princes.

They were sitting, wrapped in each others arms, at the foot of Thorin's cot. But what had drawn her eye was that between the two of them there were only three arms.

"He's gone." At Bilbori's panicked look, Dori quickly amended, "to help the other healers. He doesn't have the magic of an elf, but not every injury requires magic."

Bilbori nodded, though didn't even seem to hear as she looked around. "Where's my son?"

Nori shrugged as he came over. "Don't know exactly where he is at the moment, but he's the one that carried Thorin here after he fell." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder toward Thorin's cot. "After the prince went down, Thorin acted as his shield while binding the wound. He got a couple arrows in the chest and a spear in the gut for his efforts. Our Legolas scooped him right up and carried him like a babe straight to the healers and ran back for the other before anyone knew what was what."

"And?" Bilbori demanded, "Where is he now?"

Nori opened his mouth to answer and then snapped it closed, looking thoughtful.

Before Bilbori could get even decide how she was going to beat Nori up for losing track of someone else, Balin cleared his throat and gained her attention.

"Your lad went and commandeered an entire troop of elves from their king. The last I saw of him, he had them all dispatching wounded orcs and carrying our wounded off the battlefield and to the healers." He smiled at her. "You've picked a good one there, my lady."

Bilbori couldn't hide the flinch when Balin addressed her as such. It was the little things like that which were behind her primary reason for never revealing her gender during the journey. Though she supposed technically she had officially promoted herself to the Ereborean nobility when she claimed her titles atop the wall.

Dori noticed the flinch and sighed heavily to distract his sister. "Great. Now I have a thief for a brother, a burglar for a sister, and a mutineer for a nephew."

"Would it be a mutineer? He wasn't exactly part of the elf king's army at the time." Ori wanted to know.

Bilbori wasn't sure how, but the question soon had everyone that was conscious debating exactly what kind of criminal a person was when stealing part of an army that was not theirs. She shook her head at the absurdity, but the distraction was very thorough if everyone was able to forget their worries over certain individuals and injuries and contribute.

- - -

A few days later, when Bombur and Thorin were more stable, the Company were moved out of the healing tents and into Erebor. They took up residence in the dining hall they had picked out at the start of their occupation, primarily because of its close distance to both a kitchen and a water closet, but also because it was the cleanest place. With Thorin mostly out of commission, Bilbori stood with Balin and Dáin when interacting with Bard and Thranduil. The injured were all permitted to move into the mountain as the weather was turning and the tents could only keep in so much warmth. A portion of the healthy were cleaning up the battlefield and another portion was preparing the mountain for the new occupants.

Of all the training Bilbori had received in her life, it was surprisingly learning how to throw a party in the Shire that was coming in the most useful during this situation.

What she was having trouble with was being in the spotlight, so to speak. While she had known that high ranking members of the Council had to sit in audience of meetings so that they could direct their Lords with quick Iglishmêk gestures, she had never had to do such a task and she was surprised at how easy and difficult it was at the same time. Apparently the tall folk had not realized that her frequent kicks to both Thorin and Dáin were more than just an irritated female. She grieved for the other races not having the wisdom to make certain their womenfolk were guiding them.

One thing that would come to surprise her was learning that despite all the dwarves already aware and both Legolas and the elven healer being in on the knowledge, none of the others present were aware of the fact that she was pregnant. She would have thought that the elven healer would have told their king, but Legolas informed her that unless it were absolutely necessary, no elven healer would speak of their patients to anyone else. And she quickly noticed during meetings that any time she signaled that she needed to use the water closet again Balin was quick to go off on a rambling tangent that usually caused Dáin to jump in while they tried to correct each other on the facts and Bilbori herself would have to bring an end to when she returned.

At least, no one was aware until Thranduil spent a good portion of one meeting staring at the halfling woman that seemed to have no business being present during the talks.

Balin noticed this. He saw the speculative look on Thranduil's face as he watched Bilbori and when Balin turned to see what the elf king saw he felt his stomach dropped. She was leaning back in her chair, her hand gently rubbing circles over her abdomen, and she had such a content look upon her face as she stared at nothing. He quickly looked back at Thranduil and saw the moment that the king realized what her actions meant.

Thranduil started to open his mouth, eyes still on Bilbori...

"Well, there is much that we need to bring to Thorin's attention. We'll see you in the morning." Balin abruptly ended the meeting. He took hold of both Dáin and Bilbori, guiding them out of Thranduil's tent and heading into Erebor. He shook off Dáin's inquiries and let his cousin go as soon as they were a safe distance away, but he continued to guide the confused Bilbori all the way back to their dining hall. Balin's eyes landed on his brother just as they entered and he stated, "Gather the Company. But not our newest member." He turned an apologetic look toward Bilbori before adding, "This won't be pleasant."

- - -

Balin ignored any questions as the Company gathered in the dining hall. He watched as they took up seats, as Bofur helped Bombur to sit up, as Ori did the same for Thorin. It was thanks to daily visits with magical healing from the elves that the two were able to sit up at all so soon after their injuries. And Balin did his best to ignore the stern look Bilbori was giving him for intentionally excluding her adopted son. He was thankful that she didn't press the issue at least, having realized this must involve one of those things dwarves liked to keep secret. And he was extra pleased when she finally turned her attention to fussing with the bandage on Nori's arm.

Óin moved to start tending to Bombur immediately upon his arrival. His trouble hearing properly meant he would most likely stay out of the discussion to come.

When everyone was finally gathered, he moved to stand center of the room and nervously cleared his throat. "This is a matter of some grave urgency that I had not thought would be an issue until it was an issue."

"Does this have anything to do with what I heard that ponce king asking Óin when I went to collect him?" Dwalin wondered.

"If he asked what I think he did, then yes." Balin sighed before turning his apologetic look back to Bilbori. "Forgive the impertinence, Lady Bilbori... But we must have a serious discussion with you regarding yourself and the babe." Balin took a deep breath and eventually down in one of the seats within the dining hall when his bruised ribs from the battle protested the simple act of breathing. Balin's words drew the attention of everyone except Óin.

Bilbori looked up from where she was leaning against Nori, her fingers tightly pressed against the bandage on his arm. She was startled by both the weariness and the gravity of Balin's expression. Sitting up properly, she turned to address him. "What must we discuss?"

Balin scratched the back of his head, looking decidedly uncomfortable. "As much as it pains me to even suggest this, my lady... The elves and humans are completely unaware of our customs and traditions in this matter. They didn't know about your pregnancy until today, if I'm not mistaken." He turned to look at Dwalin.

"Aye." Dwalin confirmed. "I caught the elf king asking Óin who the father was so he could offer up congratulations."

"It is as I feared then." Balin sighed. "I'm afraid, Lady Bilbori, that if you are not married when the babe is born, they will look down upon both you and the child by their own traditions. As much as it hurts me to say it, there would even be some humans that would throw things at you or spit on you just for walking too close for such a thing. There have even been incidents among the men of people physically assaulting unwed mothers."

Every single member of the Company looked furious at the mere suggestion of such behavior!

"Surely the elves have known dwarves long enough-"

The elder son of Fundin cut Bilbori off with a shake of his head. "I do not think Thranduil would have tried asking that question if he knew about our customs. Thankfully he asked Óin and obviously couldn't be heard to be given an answer." Balin shifted, seeming as if he were waiting for an explosion. "I'm afraid the babe would only have half a chance of being given the respect they were due from the humans and elves if it went to a married couple of noble birth. But they'd still treat you badly, lass."

Bilbori closed her eyes, seething silently. "I had heard through the Shire that single mothers had their reputation hurt, but I didn't realize it was this horrible... Is this why the royal families and prominent nobles wed?" Bilbori demanded, furious that she'd never bothered to really inquire into such things before. But she really hadn't wanted to be in the Council or take up her Matriarch position so hadn't looked too deeply into the details of working with the other races. "So that they can pander to these barbaric creatures?"

"I'm afraid so, my lady." Balin sighed. "While they absolutely do wed for love, you've certainly noticed that the upper class do things differently than the rest of society and look upon the normal families with envy..." Rubbing thoughtfully at the family bead he wore hidden under his beard, Balin gave a quick shake of his head. "Unfortunately, you've had to make yourself too prominent in the eyes of the elves and men here for this to stay out of their attention."

Positive that she had never been more furious, Bilbori felt her muscles tensing. This really was a mess if that was how humans and elves thought of women and families. She was carrying the first child of Erebor rebuilt, a blessed child that would have been a noble no matter who their parents ended up being. And humans would dare to spit at her child unless she just gave it to some married nobles, nobles that might not even want to be parents! She couldn't even fathom that, let alone how they would treat her for following the will of Mahal! Her fingers tightened in her anger, not even noticing that her thoughts had started to refer to the child as her own.

A sudden yelp from beside her startled Bilbori out of her thoughts and she whipped her head around to see Nori trying to pry her fingers off of his arm. Gasping, she released her hold and scooted away.

"Geeze, Bori... I'm going to need that arm again some day." Nori rubbed at his injury, but he couldn't tell if the redness on the bandage was due to the stitches being pulled from his sister's grip or just the normal seeping the wound had been doing. He continued in a dark tone, "after all, there are apparently a lot of elves and humans I'm going to have to kill."

"How in all of Arda did none of us realize you all were siblings?" Dwalin asked incredulously, not really expecting an answer.

Bifur gestured rudely at Dwalin. "I knew."

"What is your official advice on this matter, Balin?" Bilbori stood, moving to a basin to wash her brother's blood from her hands. Once they were clean she started to slowly pace through the room.

"This is outrageous." Glóin muttered, clearly unhappy. "Taking away the right to choose like a woman should have. What's wrong with those poncy elves and barbaric men?"

Balin gave a helpless shrug. "Find someone you think you could live with, marry them quiet-like, and if anyone dares to ask how long you've been married, just say a while. Worst case scenario, pick anyone and then after a suitable time arrange for them to be removed. As much as I dislike it, it has happened in recorded history before."

Nori was obviously surprised at that information. "If we'd bump off her husband, why not just say she's a widow already? Make up some dwarf."

Surprisingly it was Dwalin who shook his head. "The timing's off for the babe in that case. Thranduil knows she wasn't when we escaped Mirkwood. So unless you want to try to make them believe that we found a dwarf just as we were leaving Esgaroth and he died between then and the time they arrived..."

"So it was... One of us?" The soft and pained question came from Bombur who'd looked as if he'd just been told vegetable fairies didn't exist which didn't help the already pallid and deathly look he'd had since his injury.

"Or one of the lake men." Bilbori bluntly told Bombur, causing him to blanch at the idea and look even worse than before. Her dwarf hadn't had a chance to decide, she would not take his choice from him as hers was taken. She turned her attention back to Balin. "What about finding the right parents for the child?"

The older dwarf tugged at his ear, thinking. "If you decide to pass the babe to other parents, we'd just say that they're fostering the child while you focus on your craft. It's not ideal, but it would mean you'd both retain your standing in the eyes of our allies. Of course, finding a husband who looked like the babe's father would be ideal, since the little one might look like them because another hangup the tall folk have is about staying true to your spouse."

"No wonder they're so wrong in the head if they trap their lines to just their spouses." Fíli muttered darkly as he rubbed at his shoulder.

Bilbori rubbed her brow as she paced, muttering. "I wish I could blame you for this mess, Thorin. I really do. But it was that damned gold sickness that forced my hand." She huffed angrily, "I was feverish, Balin. I don't know what they looked like, let alone who it was!" She made it another round of pacing, listening to the others muttering angrily over the stupidity of elves and men which somehow exceeded the stupidity of dwarf men in her opinion, when she was stopped mid-step by forcefully bumping into someone. Startled, she looked up.

"But you do know who it was."

There was no way Bilbori could hide her surprise as she looked up into those familiar starry eyes.

'Thank you.' He mouthed before taking her hands in his, earning her curiosity. "Mahal guided your steps to my side and his lady wife Yavanna has guided me to yours." He raised her hands up, pressing a smiling kiss to her knuckles. "I love you. I have been waiting for you to publicly claim me. Now your choice is being taken from you. And I cannot bear the thought that you would choose anyone else in an effort to protect me. It would be my greatest honor, my dreams come true, if you would allow me to name you as my wife and be the father to our child."

Bilbori studied those beautiful eyes. She remembered their talk in the emerald mine and wanted to be certain he was sure. She did not see any reluctance in his gaze though, only wonder and excitement. Distantly she was aware of a commotion going on around them, but it may as well have been on the other side of the world for all the attention she gave it, lost as she was in those eyes. She could see it, a little dwarfling with those star-filled eyes, and she knew he'd bring nothing but joy to a little one. And he'd already made her many offers; had begged her, in fact. She couldn't even remember why she turned him down. Bilbori drew in a breath to give her answer. "I would absolutely love to be your wife, -"

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Nori roared.

Chapter Text

At Nori's roar, both Bilbori and her dwarf turned wide-eyed, startled looks on him. Bilbori took one look at him, dropped her true beau's hands, and shoved the taller dwarf so that she stood between him and her brothers before he could so much as register the murderous look in Nori's eyes. She tilted her head up, hands loose and ready at her sides, and returned her brother's murderous look with one of her own.

"You're right." Glóin said, leaning toward Dwalin. "How did none of us realize?" The matching looks on the faces of the confrontational siblings only highlighted the features they shared with their mother and other siblings.

"Move out of the way, Bori..." Nori growled, raising his favorite knife that had appeared in his right hand at some point.

Bilbori moved a step back, pressing against her dwarf's front. She bared her teeth. "In your dreams, Starfish."

"Bilbori..." Nori tried to portray a calm confidence. "We've talked about this since you were seventy..." He slid into a fighting stance.

"Seventy?" Someone whispered in the suddenly tense atmosphere. "Didn't Gandalf say Bilbo was only forty-six?"

Someone else whispered back, "Gandalf also said she was a he, and a hobbit, and a Baggins... I think he's gone senile."

The reminders did nothing for Bilbori's rising temper and it was showing in the way she tensed.

Her dwarf, thinking to help calm her down, slid an arm around her middle from behind for a hug.

Nori snarled at the blatant touching and suddenly he was moving. "No. One. Touches. My. Sister!" He lunged, moving to dart around Bilbori in an effort to reach the startled dwarf behind her.

Before anyone else could react, Bilbori had her own dagger in hand and had spun out of her dwarf's arm to block her brother's path. They both slashed at the same time and the dining hall was filled with the clash of steel against steel.

"You don't get to decide that, Nori!" She snarled as she shoved him back and away from her dwarf.

With a sneer, Nori feinted to one side before lunging in the other direction to try to get around her. Unfortunately for Nori, he forgot who it was he had taught all his tricks to.

Bilbori's foot connected with Nori's hip with enough force to knock the redheaded guard trainer off balance and he had to spin to deflect the follow up swipe of her blade.

"Should they be doing this?!" Balin asked, worried.

Thorin rubbed his temples off to one side and asked Óin for some pain medication that wouldn't knock him out, ignoring the ridiculous Company that he had somehow managed to take back Erebor with.

While Nori and Bilbori exchanged fast paced blows with arms, legs, and blades, Dori and Ori were casually making their way over to the dwarf that had been forcibly hiding behind their sister earlier.

Said dwarf was now staring at the siblings fighting with a strange intensity to him.

Dori misplaced his the foot with the injured ankle while trying to sneak and a hiss of pain left him. Before anyone knew what had happened Dori was suddenly on the floor with a scream and a furious Bilbori was standing over him, her foot placed close enough to his twisted ankle that it was obvious she had kicked the injured spot.

Bilbori pointed her knife in Dori's face. "If you even think of doing anything other than welcoming him, you'll regret it!"

The strange intensity on the face of Bilbori's beau shifted into a star-struck look of awe as he watched the love of his life move smoothly from putting one brother down hard to going back for the other brother... All because she was defending her right to choose him!

To the astonishment of the watching dwarves, Bilbori abruptly got the upper hand on Nori. She kneed him viciously in the groin which caused him to double over and she followed with a swift knee to his chin and an elbow in the back. As soon as Nori hit the ground she had her foot at his throat. She had her dagger up, like she was about to slice off his beard when a surprised squeak from over by her dwarf caught her attention. Without lifting her foot she turned, her knife ready to be thrown...

And paused...

Ori had slipped by, being more careful than Dori, and was in front of her wide-eyed and startled dwarf... And was kissing her dwarf! It was a tender kiss at that, which was understandable since Ori's face was still bruised and his lips swollen and covered with stitches.

While everyone watched the tender little kiss in the sudden silence. After nearly a minute, Ori pulled back to smile happily up at the dwarf before wrapping him into a hug. "Welcome to the family, Kíli!"

- - -

With Nori's obvious displeasure over the recent revelation and whatever it was Dori had been planning before Bilbori took proactive measures against any possible negative response there, no one had been expecting Ori to give a such a traditional welcoming gesture to the surprised Kíli. It was a devilishly clever move on Ori's part and, as he released Kíli from the hug and patted the younger prince's shoulder, his smug smile let everyone know he was aware of the move. His brothers could not shun Kíli now without insulting not only their sister, who had literally just beaten them both to the ground for her right, but also their sweet little brother whom everyone felt bad when they accidentally made him upset.

Bilbori returned Ori's smug look and removed her foot from Nori's neck. She sheathed her dagger and moved over to give Ori a quick hug. When she released him, Ori went to help Dori stand.

"Lady Bilbori." Thorin spoke up from where he was drinking the medicine Óin had just given to him. "Apologies for not being able to rise." He held a hand out and gestured for her to come closer.

Smiling, Bilbori moved over to the cot Thorin was propped up on and knelt before him. She tilted her head up to gaze into his clear blue eyes. She could see the pain within them from his injuries, but also acceptance.

Thorin carefully lowered himself to press a light kiss to Bilbori's lips. He didn't linger long, the pain of his wounds having him moving upright as soon as he could. "Welcome to the family."

Knowing that the injuries made him rush the little tradition, Bilbori gave the king a quick hug as she rose to her feet.

The king nodded appreciation at the variation to the welcoming ritual.

As soon as she turned away from Thorin, Bilbori found herself face to face with Fíli.

"I had a bit of a crush on you, you know." Fíli admitted. "Back at Bag End. You just looked so cute and flustered and the candlelight made your hair sparkle..." Fíli's cheeks flushed as he remembered. "Well, I might still have just a teensy bit of a crush. So you'll have to forgive me." With that, Fíli wrapped his arm around Bilbori and pressed his lips to hers. It didn't take long for him to tease her lips into parting and then he was indulging in a very welcoming kiss with the startled halfling. When he finally ended the kiss, he gave her a cheeky grin as he pressed his forehead to hers. "Welcome to the family."

Just a bit breathless from the unexpected depth of the kiss, Bilbori reached up to steady herself by gripping Fíli's arms... Or arm. She gripped his empty left shirt sleeve before giving him a sad look as she moved her hand up to where the cloth covered his bandaged shoulder.

Fíli shrugged, still grinning. "That's what I get for trying to learn to use a bow in a battle and not watching my surroundings."

Both of them turned to look at Kíli who had watched the welcoming with a strange mixture of fondness and jealousy. He smiled when he saw them looking and held out his arms for Bilbori... Only to have Dori step into them instead.

Dori gave Kíli a precisely timed hug and an equally bland and timed kiss. "Welcome to the family." He was definitely disgruntled, turning to look at Bilbori as soon as his part was over. "I wasn't going to hurt him, you know." He hobbled over to a chair.

"Sorry, Dori... You can blame Nori for that."

"Don't worry, I will."

Every eye in the room turned to Nori as the only family member left present closely related enough for the welcoming tradition to involve. Nori had picked himself up and dusted himself off, trying to save face. He would never admit that he had been so focused on getting to the youngest Durin that he had not remembered training his sister to fight dirty. He would just let them assume he had been holding back because she was pregnant. That was the far safer option anyway and he was always good at finding the safer options in things. Noticing everyone was looking at him, he narrowed his eyes before looking at the prince he now had to welcome to the family. Grumbling, he stomped over.

"If my sister won't let me gut you, then you'd better be willing to show me what she finds so worthwhile in you..."

Kíli looked startled at Nori's demand before turning a questioning look toward Bilbori. It was painfully obvious that he wanted to know if her brother was serious or not.

Bilbori gave Kíli an amused quirk of her lips and then spread her hands in a universal gesture that left the decision on how to respond directly in Kíli's hands.

Mentally debating his options, Kíli took his time right up until Nori spoke.

"Well? Do you want to be welcomed to the family or not?" Nori's challenge was obvious and off to one side Bofur and Dwalin were making bets on what Kíli would do and how Nori would respond.

Narrowing his eyes at the challenge, Kíli did the thing that he did best... He thought of Bilbori. Nori didn't look like his sister in the traditional way, none of the Ri siblings really looked alike, but there were expressions and quirks that made them almost identical despite the unique look each possessed. But Kíli turned to look at Bilbori, smiling brightly at her, before moving in to wrap his arms around the shorter Nori's shoulders. He leaned down the slight difference, tilted his head, and pressed a perfectly familial kiss on Nori's lips.

When Kíli pulled back, he was still grinning. "What she finds of worth in me... Is not for you to have."

Nori couldn't help it. He laughed. "All right, cheeky brat. Welcome to the family."

Dwalin grumbled, smacking some coins down into Bofur's hand.

"Now that the welcoming is out of the way... When shall we hold the wedding?" Balin wanted to know.

As the discussions on wedding dates started, Bilbori moved over to take Nori's place in her Kíli's arms. She reached up to cup his face, brushing her thumb over his lips as if to wipe away her brothers' kisses as she gazed up into his beautiful brown eyes that reflected every light as if to rival the stars in the night sky. She smiled.

Kíli turned his head slightly, kissing the pad of her thumb. Then, the world around them forgotten once more, he leaned down to kiss her.

"STOP!"

The shout startled them less than an inch away from touching lips as everyone jumped with surprise.

Startled eyes all turned to look at Bifur. He was standing, looking wild, and pointing at the newly revealed couple. "Not another inch!"

"What are you talking about?" Glóin complained. "They're sweet!"

"No! They're disgusting!"

Jaw-dropping was not enough to describe the shock that rippled through the group and no words could describe the heartbreak that swept over Bilbori's face...

"Any time those two touch they're all over each other!" Bifur continued, heedless of the original misunderstanding to his words. "I'm sick of it! And you can't postpone the wedding! They literally cannot touch without locking lips and petting and touching more! How have none of you noticed this?!"

Bilbori's heartbroken look swiftly turned to embarrassed and she felt her face flaming. A quick glance told her Kíli was blushing as well.

"I noticed!" Ori smiled as brightly as he could without pulling stitches. He moved over to his journal and pulled out one of his hand drawn pictures. "All the way back in Rivendell!"

The picture was snatched from his hands by Nori who took a look, huffed disgustedly, and passed it on to Dori. The drawing made its way around the room until Bilbori and Kíli could see... It was the two of them, standing in a corridor, nearly touching, and Kíli was kissing a lock of her curls. The architecture around them was unique to Rivendell. Though she hadn't known it at the time, she could see the longing drawn on both faces and she smiled.

"May we keep this, Ori?" Kíli wanted to know.

Ori considered the question. "Allow me to use it for reference for a new copy first and then you may have it."

"Thank you, brother." Kíli gave Ori an almost shy smile as he returned the drawing.

"Only in Rivendell?" Bifur asked, "I noticed some odd looks right after we left Bag End. And neither could stop watching the other in the rain shower."

Fíli choked a laugh. "That's right! Why in the world did you strip completely nude on your pony, Kíli?"

Kíli grinned, turning that grin to shyly smile at Bilbori. "I had to take my chance and show Bilbo everything I could offer." He winked. "All things considered, I think it worked." He lifted one of her hands, lacing their fingers together and kissing the back of it.

Bilbori gravitated toward him, her skin tingling at every direct touch.

"I see what you mean, Bifur." Thorin stated, observing the way the two leaned toward each other closer and closer. "There's no way they could be near each other and not be married if anyone of the other races saw them." He rubbed his chin. "Well, is anyone doing anything else right now?" He turned to the once again startled couple. "Do you have your marriage beads with you?"

The room was suddenly a flurry of activity.

- - -

Kíli and Bilbori knelt in front of each other on the floor before the cot in which the injured Thorin had been carefully propped up into a better-seated position. They were nearly pressed flush, torso to torso, separated only by the hands they had clasped together as soon as they had retrieved their marriage beads. Since taking their positions they had not stopped gazing into each other's eyes. Kíli's were bright, sparkling in the candlelight and crinkled slightly at the corners due to his large smile. Bilbori's return gaze was almost shy, her lips quirked with delight. As she studied his eyes, she almost seemed to actively be trying to remember that night in Esgaroth.

Fíli was seated on his heels on the floor behind his brother. Dori, as her eldest brother, was seated similar to Fíli behind Bilbori. The positioning created a mimicry of the mountain with Thorin at the peak. The rest of the Company ranged around them, standing or seated as their injuries permitted. Ori was sketching the scene from his spot, thankful for his photographic memory.

"Well now, ain't that a lovely sight." Dwalin murmured to no one in particular.

Thorin cleared his throat, which he shouldn't have because it just caused him to have a genuine cough. Once he recovered, he mumbled an apology before speaking, "Beloved friends, cherished family... We are gathered here to honor the wishes of these two blessed of Mahal and his lady Yavanna in their choice to bind their lives together. If there are any who wish to express their concerns over this union, please speak them now."

The question was a formality, they had all discussed the necessity of the union beforehand. And even if they had not, there was no denying Kíli was pouring his heart into the match and Bilbori had literally beaten her brothers to the ground for the right to make this choice. Had those things not been taken into account, the way they looked at each other would have stilled tongues before doubts could be voiced.

"Dori, son of Dilnobri, as acting head of the Ri family, are there any objections to Prince Kíli joining your family?"

Bilbori could not officially be the head of her family during her own wedding.

"The Ri family welcomes Prince Kíli among us." Dori formally responded.

"Fíli, son of Dís, as acting head of the Durin family," Thorin could not be head of the Durin family if he were officiating, "are there any objections to Lady Bilbori joining your family?"

Fíli's response was just as formal, with the addition of formally changing Bilbori's rank. "The Durin family welcomes Lady Bilbori as our newest Princess."

Thorin smiled slightly at Fíli's amendment to the traditional words, nodding his head approvingly. "Lady Bilbori, if you so choose to bind your life to Prince Kíli, show all of Mahal's children by weaving your bead in his hair."

For the first time since this situation started, Bilbori and Kíli unclasped their hands. In one of her hands was the elaborate bead she had started crafting decades ago. The platinum bead was a short cylindrical shape. The main body was encrusted with tiny sapphire and emerald flakes all the way around. The upper and lower rim were engraved with the symbols of the house of Ri and Bilbori's personal symbol that she'd acquired when coming of age. Though it wasn't visible, there were special runes etched all over the interior of the bead. With steady hands, Bilbori gathered a lock of Kíli's hair at his left temple and wove the strands together before clasping it with the bead. Her eyes never left his.

Kíli's smile just seemed to grow bigger as he retook her hands until it was his turn.

Somewhere in their audience, a sniffle could be heard.

"Prince Kíli, if you so choose to bind your life to Lady Bilbori, show all of Mahal's children by weaving your bead into her hair." The fondness in Thorin's voice was unmistakable.

Releasing his hold on Bilbori's hands once more, Kíli reached for the curls just behind her left ear where her lattice braids didn't already claim the loose strands. He paused the moment his fingers touched it, the silky texture reminding him of plunging his hands into those curls back in Esgaroth. He felt his cheeks flushing as he started the braid. Once it was done he clasped his bead into place. It was made of mithril and barrel shaped. On one side of the bead his personal symbol was engraved around tiny rubies embedded within the metal while the other side had the Durin symbol etched with a tiny sapphire at the cross point of the hammers. He never broke his gaze into her eyes, fingers lingering on the silky braid for a moment before once more grasping her hands. His smile was not as large as it had been, but his entire demeanor had become more intense.

Bilbori's smile grew, a mixture of amusement and affection on her face.

Bofur's soft whisper came from somewhere that may have been a million miles away, "First wedding in Erebor in over a century..."

The sniffler from earlier smothered an emotional sob.

Thorin sounded amused now, able to pay attention to the antics of the audience in a way the two youngsters getting married could not. He was also trying to remember the last time he saw either of them blink... "With the Blessings of Mahal and Yavanna, I am honored to declare these two bound for as long as they so will. Together Kíli and Bilbori are one, Prince and Princess of Erebor."

The witnessing dwarves erupted into cheers.

Bilbori bit her lip and released one of Kíli's hands. She reached up to flick the bead she'd placed in Kíli's hair. It gave a crystalline chime sound. Kíli started to question the action and sound when his new braid was suddenly grasped by Bilbori's freed hand. She used it to pull him down the height difference separating them and into a kiss. Her daft dwarf seemed surprised before enthusiastically applying himself to the new task.

Kíli had been riding an emotional high ever since he'd proposed. When he'd seen her there, learning how the elves and men would treat her just for following her heart and she'd seemed fully willing to just accept anyone for the sake of a child she wasn't even certain she was keeping... And she'd left him free to make his own choices! He'd known, he'd always known, that there wasn't any other choice he wanted except to be with her. He didn't want her to find some other dwarf who'd only be interested in her rank or her wealth or worse, just her body! She was a genius, a pillar of courage, and so very strong in everything she did... So he'd proposed. And she'd said yes! He'd held her as much as he could after, hardly dared to take his eyes off of her, afraid she'd disappear and it would seem nothing more than a dream like he had thought Esgaroth had been... And then she kissed him and he felt for certain that his heart exploded!

While kissing was not a requirement for a wedding, it was considered a good sign if the couple were overwhelmed enough by the ceremony to do such a normally private thing in front of people. And their audience certainly got an eyeful! The two certainly had physical attraction going for each other, if nothing else! As if the fact that the bride was already expecting weren't enough of a sign of that!

Bombur blushed bright red and rolled over on his cot to hide away from the scene as Bilbori pulled harder on Kíli's braid.

Ori continued to draw, having shifted to a new page to draw the kiss.

Nori had curled up in Dwalin's lap and was blubbering like a babe over the surprisingly emotional wedding. Dwalin rubbed his back and murmured reassuringly to the redhead.

Bofur was teasing Nori, seeing how much more he could get the thief to cry, reminding him about how the newlyweds hadn't wanted to separate and kept their eyes on each other through the entire thing... His expression turned more and more gleeful with each new sob he got from the emotional mess even as Dwalin gave him an exasperated growl.

Óin, after wishing the two the best, not that they heard it, and checked Bombur and Thorin before he left the room to return to helping the other healers.

Glóin and Bifur were congratulating each other, as if the wedding were entirely their doing. They left to go get food for the remaining Company.

Balin helped Dori to his feet. He took a moment to assess his friend who seemed to have gone into a state of shock at seeing his baby sister get married. Shaking his head, Balin wrapped an arm around Dori and guided him toward the door. "I don't know about you, but I think I could use some tea..."

Fíli helped Thorin lie down in a more comfortable position for his injuries before sitting next to his uncle's feet. He shifted uncomfortably even as he watched the sapphires and emeralds on Kíli's new bead randomly flash with blue and green lights. "Should we... Stop them?" Fíli gestured toward his brother and new sister... And he was pretty sure that his new sister's hand, the one not clinging to Kíli's braid, had just vanished underneath his brother's tunic.

Clenching his teeth over the discomfort changing positions had caused to his injuries, Thorin shook his head slightly. When he adjusted to the pain, he spoke. "If they haven't stopped soon, I'll take care of it." He eyed the tankard of cold water on the table next to his bed.

Fíli grinned, waiting to see what would happen. He had a good feeling his brother was going to get an impromptu shower very soon.

- - -

Not long after a sudden splash of cold water and a quick dinner, Kíli admired his new braid from where he was lying in the room he normally shared with Fíli, on his own bed, next to his new wife. They were both still awake after the busy day, snuggled together on the bed, one of his arms was around her and holding her close. They were both dressed since they were sharing the room, but it was still intimate. The arm not around her was holding up his new marriage braid so that he could admire the bead. "Fíli said it was flashing colors earlier." He whispered.

"I'm a Rune Crafter." Bilbori reminded him again, her voice barely a breath. "The sparkles meant it was working."

"What does it do?" He adjusted his grip on the braid to try to puzzle out the bead, but all he could see other than the emeralds and sapphires were the runes of her family and herself.

"Kiss it."

"What?"

"The bead. Kiss it."

Thinking that he was just humoring her, Kíli pulled the braid around and kissed the bead. Instantly he felt an explosion of emotions wash over him and he dropped the braid, startled. Once the bead was away from his lips the emotions were gone. "What was that?!"

Bilbori gave a pleased hum. "That was us. What we felt during our kiss. It will always stay in the bead. Any time you want to feel it again, just kiss it."

Kíli felt himself tearing up at the idea. He angled his head, pressing his lips to her brow. He smiled against her skin. "Oh look... I felt it again!"

"Daft dwarf." Bilbori murmured with a smile, but she couldn't resist and raised up for a proper kiss before snuggling down into the bed once more.

Together, they drifted off to sleep.

Chapter Text

Though they had napped within the mines during the battle, their wedding night was the first time Bilbori had actually slept next to her dwarf that she could remember. It was an interesting experience for her. Kíli, for all his seemingly inexhaustible energy when awake, was very still in his sleep. He had not squirmed, kicked, stolen blankets, or tried to hog the bed they were sharing. And he most certainly had not relinquished his hold upon her all night.

Bilbori was not as kind. Though she was used to sharing sleeping space with her brothers thanks to the journey, the one she had cuddled with most was Ori... And Ori was a lot softer than a dwarf that had done extensive military training for most of his life. It also did help that, as a rule, she was used to squirming a lot to intentionally aggravate her brothers when sharing a bed. That habit had gotten her kicked out of Ori's bedroll more than once during the course of their journey. And now her breasts were still tender and her lower abdomen was feeling harder and it was making it uncomfortable for her to lay in one position for too long.

To his credit, Kíli never once got frustrated when her shifting managed to wake him. He merely smiled sleepily, hummed a pleased sound, pulled her a little closer, and drifted back to sleep.

Waking up was an even better experience.

Kíli woke her with soft, gentle kisses along her jaw and chin. When her eyes fluttered open he gave her his brightest grin and tenderly said, "You're here..."

Before she could say anything, he was pressing his lips to hers. He made sure she was thoroughly kissed good morning despite what felt like death incarnate taking up residence within her mouth. And he was not idle either, his strong hands slid up under her shirt and she could hear herself moan as he found her breast.

"I'm still here, you know."

Pausing, both Bilbori and Kíli turned to look at the other bed in the room where a grumpy, disheveled Fíli was carefully pushing himself into a sitting position.

Kíli groaned, dropping his forehead down to rest on Bilbori's shoulder.

Wrinkling her nose up, Bilbori was abruptly reminded that she'd been laying down for several hours and squirmed to try to get free. "I have to go."

"No..." Kíli whined, hugging her tighter.

"Kíli!" Bilbori laughed. "I have to go." She emphasized the last word and Kíli finally relented, allowing her to leave the bed.

As she left the room, she heard Kíli complain to Fíli. "This is your fault..."

- - -

"You have your mother's eyes." Thorin said out of the blue early that afternoon. He was still confined to his cot in the Company Dining Hall with the injuries he'd received during the battle and Bilbori had just brought him lunch.

"Beg pardon?" having been about to leave, Bilbori stopped and turned to regard the king.

"Your eyes." He waved a hand at her before picking up his fork. "Dilnobri's were just like them. I admit I was unaware your father was a hobbit, so I was confused at first. But seeing you, being teased by your brother just the morning after we left Bag End... I started to think. It was too familiar for even Nori to behave with a stranger. And the weeks after, watching how the behaved around you, I was reminded of a little girl who once tried to talk her mother into allowing her a war boar."

Stunned that apparently Thorin had known the entire trip, Bilbori pulled a stool over and sat at his bedside. "Why did you never say anything?"

"Because you didn't say anything." Thorin explained between bites. "It is ever a dam's right to reveal herself, not to be revealed." Then he gave a soft smirk. "And it was amusing watching you play the Company like a fiddle."

Bilbori chuckled. "I admit, a lot of what I did was spurred on by your own quite rude comments." She hesitated. "Why were you so surprised atop the wall that day?"

Sighing, Thorin set his fork down and moved his tray aside. He reached out to take one of her hands. "I was truly lost to the gold madness. I will never feel worthy of even asking for your forgiveness. You did not wish your hand to be forced and it was. I took so many choices away from you with my behavior. And when you stepped up so beautifully... I was relieved. I knew you were part of the Belegost Council by name if not by sight, but I couldn't dare attempt to make you part of Erebor's Council. I was floundering without Mahal's Will to guide me as I tried to keep Erebor ours while the sickness tore into my mind and heart."

Not for the first time, Bilbori lamented the fact that dwarf men were so blind they could not see that Mahal loved them just as much as the women that heard His Gift.

"I admit," Thorin continued, "that I more than once intentionally sent you, or tried to send you, on tasks with my nephews in the hope that some affection would form." He gazed at her marriage bead, smiling fondly. "When you accepted his proposal I was so pleased. It was a sign. We have records, here in Erebor, of when the Ri family split from the line of Durin. The mother of your line, Princess Dáinari, quoted a dream she had stating that Mahal told her the line of Ri must part with the line of Durin. For a time." Thorin emphasized the last part. "When Dilnobri introduced herself as the Matriarch of the Ri family, I was reminded of this. And it has ever since stayed with me. Your brothers, you... And then Dís had her sons and you were so similar in age I felt hope. For surely if the line of Ri was returning to the line of Durin it meant blessings upon our people."

Bilbori watched Thorin as if he were a familiar stranger.

He squeezed her hand gently. "Now look at you. Bilbori, Matriarch of House Ri, Princess of Erebor, soon-to-be mother of the next crown prince." At her startled look, Thorin grinned. "Don't tell me you hadn't heard Fíli already talking about naming the child his heir..."

Blushing, she nodded slightly. "I had heard this morning, but for some reason I set it aside as one of the jokes he and Kíli so enjoy."

"No jokes. Fíli has ever been serious about family and duty. And speaking of duty..." Thorin released her hand, reaching to pull the ring with the Durin seal from his finger. He pressed the ring into her hand, closing her fingers around it. "As Princess of our line, member of the Council, and Matriarch of one of the highest ranked Houses in Erebor, I'm placing you in charge of the negotiations until I am well enough to step forth. Though..." and here Thorin smiled slyly, "Considering old prejudices, I may continue to convalesce until the elves have returned to their wood."

Bilbori's eyes went flat as she stood up. "And here I was considering forgiving you for the mess you caused. You can forget it, now." She turned, stomping her way out of the dining hall.

Thorin chuckled as she left, "See if you can get Fíli to actually help with the negotiations instead of shirking his duties!"

Her voice drifted back from the hallway, "Unlike some people I could name, he's actually being useful!"

- - -

The biggest difference that came from the wedding was that Kíli no longer went out of his way to give Bilbori as much space as he could. He had held back so much before because he had feared being caught would have a chaperone placed upon them and prevent him from getting as much time as he could with his hobbit. Now though, he freely walked as close as he could to the halfling without tripping her and every time someone turned around they were indeed touching... Just as Bifur had stated would happen.

Despite their desires to show off their new braids and beads, the prudence of dwarves had them hiding them within their preferred hairstyles. This was not done to hide the fact that they were wed, it was merely because marriage beads were always made of the most valuable materials a dwarf could get their hands on and tended to be flashier than normal beads. It wouldn't do to draw potentially unwanted attention to the wealth hidden in their hair.

Bilbori's was twisted into the lattice that lead up to the braided ridge atop her head and the bead was hidden within the fake mohawk that the ridge formed.

Kíli's was pulled back underneath his hair and held under it with the clip he wore. Though when tasks forced Kíli from Bilbori's side he was often spotted with his braid loose and the bead pressed against his lips when he didn't need his hands. He always wore a smile when he did.

Though their wedded symbols were worn hidden, it was the physical cues from the Company that let all of the dwarves that had arrived with Dáin know that they had wed. They received quiet congratulations and hearty back slaps all around. It wasn't until Bilbori had to sign off on the first new treaty with Dale using her new title that the non-dwarves became aware.

"Princess of Erebor?" Bard had been helplessly confused ever since meeting 'Prince Took' on the boat leaving Lake Town. "You signed the trust as Matriarch of House Ri..."

Bilbori almost felt bad. Bard was a good man and he didn't deserve to be pulled into the confusion of dealing with dwarves. Then again, he made a cutely hilarious face when confused... "Yes, politically I could not act against my own house as Princess of Erebor in the Arkenstone situation." She lied without lying so smoothly, because she wasn't of the house of Durin at the time and so it wasn't her own house to act against. "But my birth position as Matriarch of House Ri allowed me to stand against them."

Thranduil watched on, curious despite himself. "And the House of Ri is politically powerful enough to stand against the line of Durin?"

"Of course it is." Bilbori stated as she took the Durin sigil ring from the chain around her neck where she had placed it after Thorin gave it to her. She affixed the seal next to her name before standing aside so that Dáin could sign as witness. As she returned the ring to the necklace, she continued. "The House of Ri traces it's lineage all the way back to the first child of Durin the Sixth." She gave a smirk at the startled faces of every single male within the room with the sole exception of Ori. "We are, in all technicality, the Elder Line of Durin."

With that, Bilbori tipped her head politely, giving a significant look to Ori to collect Erebor's copies of the contracts when they were done. "Gentlemen, I believe my husband is here to escort me to luncheon." She turned to exit the tent, accepting the just arrived and brightly smiling Kíli's offer of escort as they departed.

- - -

They didn't make it all the way to the dining hall when a gentle, absent-minded brush of Bilbori's thumb against Kíli's wrist brought an instant reaction. Before she knew what was happening, her back was pressed roughly against the nearest wall, one of Kíli's hands cradling the back of her head as he tipped it back so that he could take her lower lip between his teeth. He nipped gently before licking his way into her mouth. Once he deemed it a worthy kiss, he pulled back just enough to speak. "Everyone is driving me mad, but you most of all."

It took Bilbori a few moments to collect her abruptly scattered thoughts. The process was not helped when Kíli hitched one of her legs up to wrap it around his hip as he pressed close. "What did I do?"

"Nothing... Everything!" When Bilbori snorted at the reply Kíli groaned with frustration. "Everyone seems to be timing their moments to interrupt us... And we don't have our own space... And you walk around all day, looking so beautiful, bossing everyone around as if it were your birthright, and I know I can touch now but then we get interrupted..."

Bilbori grinned, bringing her hands up to frame Kíli's face as she pressed her forehead to his. "Aww, poor Kíli." She cooed before kissing the pout from his lips. It didn't take long for the kiss to start to heat up and Bilbori was moments away from climbing her dwarf right there in the hallway when...

"Emig?! What's going on?!"

Chapter Text

"Why..." Kíli whined, thunking his head on the wall as Bilbori squirmed out of his grasp.

"Legolas!" She swiftly moved over to wrap her arms around her adopted son.

The elf barely had time to attempt to return the hug before he suddenly found himself bent in half with his ear burning!

"Where have you been, young man?!" Bilbori demanded, twisting Legolas's ear. "I have been worried sick!"

"Ow! Emig! Please..." Legolas whined, his arms flailing gracelessly as he tried to not swat the halfling's hands away from his head. He didn't want to risk accidentally hurting his Emig, after all.

"I thought you were sick because of the baby..." Kíli sounded worried, moving over to check Bilbori.

"What?!" Bilbori shot Kíli a confused look before releasing Legolas's ear to fend off her husband's questing hands... Only to start giggling when the brat she had married decided this was the perfect opportunity to start tickling! She didn't notice Kíli winking at Legolas over her shoulder while she laughed. When she started to turn red in the face she yelled, "Stop!" And kicked Kíli's leg out from under him.

Kíli toppled to the floor, looking up at Bilbori with adoration.

Bilbori straightened her tunic before turning back to Legolas. "Sweetheart, remember who I told you about in back in the forest while I was working on the arrow?"

Legolas blinked down at Kíli a couple of times, rubbing at his bright red ear. "Atheg?" He turned to look at Bilbori, raising his eyebrows as if to ask if she were serious. Then the look shifted to understanding. "Is this why you kept calling the guard captain 'The Thing?'"

"I call it a thing because it's a thing." Bilbori sneered slightly before turning narrowed eyes on her tall son. "Now where were you? It's been days!"

"Forgive me, Emig. I was helping with the deceased and then I took a platoon to sweep the borders for lingering orcs. On our return trip, I found some of my kind playing with something that did not belong to them..." Legolas pulled Kíli's enchanted bow from where it had been hooked to his back. Without even attempting to keep the item, he handed it over to Kíli. "I believe this is yours, Atheg."

Having finally picked himself up off the floor, Kíli accepted the bow with a surprised look. "Oh! Thank you, Legolas." He ran his fingers over the shimmering length of engraved wood before quickly slipping his arm into the gap between the bow's arm and string. He wasn't wearing the proper gear to strap it to his back at the moment. "I had thought it lost with Fíli's..." He trailed off, looking guilty.

"Unfortunately that is where it was found. Along with these." Legolas holds out the rings that had been on Fíli's fingers the day of the battle as well as the daggers that had been up his sleeve. "I wished to return them to him."

Grimacing, Kíli wrapped an arm around Bilbori's waist as he gestured for Legolas to walk with them. "He's been helping to clear out and clean up residential quarters. He should be joining us for lunch." He looked up at Legolas with a sharp eye. "You will be joining us, too. I don't know what you've been eating, but it isn't enough."

Bilbori watched their interaction with a delighted smile, snuggling against Kíli as she reached out to take Legolas's hand as they walked toward the dining hall.

"What does Atheg mean?" Kíli wondered.

"Thumb." Legolas and Bilbori said at the same time, grinning at Kíli's bewildered look.

- - -

Bilbori's good mood did not survive arriving in the dining hall that the Company still claimed as their primary location within the mountain. And, as should be expected, the source of this change was one King Thorin II Oakenshield. More specifically, the way he was standing at one end of the table and stretching across it to reach for a bottle of wine instead of asking for someone to pass it along like a normal person.

Striding over to the table, Bilbori picked up the nearest item within her reach and threw it across the table without a thought!

The entire hall instantly dropped into silence.

Everyone within the hall turned to look at Bilbori as she stood at the end of the table. A soft splat sound drew their eyes to the other end of the table where Thorin was bent over mid-reach... Mashed potatoes dropping from his face, hair, and beard in a way that disturbingly reminded them of Radagast. His eyes were locked onto the halfling that had struck him with such an indignity. A clatter from the other end drew eyes back to Bilbori as she dropped the large wooden serving spoon back into the bowl of mashed potatoes. She was plainly furious. Eyes swiveled back to Thorin...

Thorin, slowly, cautiously, sat back down into his chair. He reached for a napkin, wary eyes remaining locked onto the halfling as he attempted to clean his face.

Bilbori was nearly spitting with anger when she spoke. "I have been working for days to finalize compensation negotiations and open trade agreements while you have been allowed to lay on your arse to heal... And I return to find you risking your still healing injuries not only stretching over the table, but reaching for wine. Wine, which I will remind you, is on the list of things you are not allowed to have while your body heals. Along with other things like beer, mead, ale, and any other such spirits as would cause your body to not work properly..."

With each word out of Bilbori's mouth, Thorin wisely sank back into his seat and tried to make himself look as small and nonthreatening as possible.

"And everyone here was just going to let him?!" The last was snarled as Bilbori slammed her hand down onto the table hard enough to rattle the various plates and cups.

Everyone jumped.

"Now, I wasn't... I was just fixing up a plate for Bombur and didn't see him!" Bofur defended, picking up his own plate off the table and hastily making his way over to where Bombur was setting aside an already empty plate...

"I'm not going to tell my king and cousin what to do." Dwalin opted for the truth.

The others rattled off various excuses for why they weren't stopping Thorin from reaching for the alcohol until only Thorin himself and Nori had yet to answer.

"What?" Nori shrugged. "Fíli said Kíli went to get you, I knew you'd be here soon and it would be funnier to wait." He pointed to where Thorin still had mashed potato in his hair. "See?"

Thorin scowled, reaching for a clean napkin.

"Nothing to say for yourself, your majesty?" Bilbori narrowed her eyes, gritting out the title.

It was amusingly, painfully, obvious that Thorin's mind was racing as he tried to think of a way to get out of this situation he had gotten himself into. He knew he was in the wrong, what's worse he had gotten a pregnant dam upset with his actions... Thankfully for him, he had a hidden savoir among those gathered.

"Oh! Thank you for reminding me, uncle." Legolas nodded politely at Nori before making his way around the table to where Fíli was seated.

Fíli was studiously trying not to look at his new sister with open devotion like his brother was doing. It was hard because he still had a bit of a crush on her and, like his brother, he couldn't help but admire watching her put others in their place... That she was using that talent on his uncle, someone that had long held a position of authority in his eyes, only made him feel as though he should be her eternal devotee. He was carefully spooning some chunks of roast onto his plate when he noticed the tall form of the elf approach. He looked up, both curious and wary.

Legolas knelt down beside Fíli's chair and reached out to carefully place Fíli's previously thought lost rings and daggers onto the table next to the blond dwarf's plate. "Forgive me, uncle. I would have returned these sooner had I known that they had been recovered. Would that I could return that upon which you wore them." He bowed his head.

Looking at the jewelry and daggers, Fíli set down his fork and reached to pick one of the rings up. He twirled it in his fingers before glancing around the room. Everyone was watching. The expressions that stood out were the suspicious look of his uncle that was bordering on rage at the manner in which the elf addressed Fíli, Bilbori's surprised, but pleased look as she regarded them both with fondness, and the soppy lovesick look Kíli was still sending to Bilbori. After a moment to consider, he reached out and placed the ring, a golden one bearing a large emerald surrounded by smaller sapphires in Legolas's hand before closing the elf's fingers around it.

Legolas looked up, surprised, just in time for Fíli to lightly brush his lips against those of the elf. A startled squeak came from Legolas's throat.

Fíli pulled back with a smile and wrapped the kneeling elf in a one-armed hug. "Welcome to the family, nephew."

Almost syncronized, Nori, Bilbori, Kíli, Ori, Bofur, Dwalin, and Bifur burst out laughing as they realized the position in which the crown prince had just placed their king.

Before the laughter even died down, Legolas found himself besieged with brief kisses and hugs from a whole collection of dwarves all calling him nephew and welcoming him to the family. Ori was first to follow Fíli, then Nori, then Dori, Kíli brought a variation when after a hurried conversation with Bilbori he pecked a kiss to the elf and gave him a hug welcoming his 'Nauthion.'

The elf was clearly confused, bringing amused and tolerant smiles from those around them. But the greeting from Kíli brought a shy smile from the elf as he studied the floor, the fringe of his short hair hiding his eyes. When silence fell around the room he looked up again to see everyone looking not at him, but at Thorin...

Thorin sat at the head of the table looking as if someone had stuffed a lemon filled with hot peppers into his mouth. The bits of potato still in his hair and beard were the only things to soften the vicious look he was throwing to his heirs for placing him in this situation. He did not move from his chair, staring at Fíli who had gone back to eating without even sparing Thorin a glance.

Bilbori moved over to help Legolas up and moved him to a chair a decent distance away from Thorin where she seated him and started filling a plate for him. "Don't mind him, he'll give in eventually. It's just a hard thing for him to swallow."

Legolas leaned close to her, whispering, "I don't understand, Emig..."

Stopping to peck a kiss to the top of the platinum blond head of the elf folded over at a table designed for people over a foot shorter than himself, Bilbori softly replied, "It's part of that thing we spoke about back in Thranduil's Palace, dear. Dwarves are big on picking your families and when someone else adds a new member the others like to show they acknowledge and accept your choices. Just as I claimed you as my son, so they claim you as the son of their sister." She paused to press a kiss to the top of Kíli's head as well as he seated himself next to Legolas. "Or in the case of an Atheg claiming his Nauthion."

Kíli beamed a smile at both Bilbori and Legolas before narrowing his eyes and adding extra ham and buttery scones to Legolas's plate. "You're too thin." He chided.

Legolas looked uncertainly toward the head of the table before venturing, "But Thorin?"

"It's generally just the more immediate family members that welcome the new member. If he refuses, he's insulting all of our choices and declaring he will not acknowledge the new member while publicly disowning himself from our core family unit... He won't do that, so he's having trouble digesting the bitterness of Fíli putting him in the position of having to formally accept you as a member of our family." She sounded amused as she moved to take a seat in Kíli's lap, much to his surprised delight.

"I believe I am beginning to understand why fa...Thranduil used to frequently complain about headaches when returning from trips to Erebor." Legolas was bemused as he picked at the food that had been piled high atop his plate.

"You're as good as a dwarf now yourself, Nauthion." Kíli said after swallowing down a large bite of pork. "Giving other races a headache is one of the perks." He speared a chunk of parsnip from his plate and offered it to Bilbori.

Bilbori accepted the tidbit before pressing a kiss to Kíli's cheek.

Watching his new parents with a fond smile, Legolas wondered, "Emig spoke of you sometimes while working on her projects in the woodland palace. I had not realized how newly married you two were at the time. It must have been terrible to be separated while there."

Bifur snorted. "You should have seen when they finally got to see each other during Bori's visit... I had to cover my eyes."

Both Kíli and Bilbori flashed grins at Bifur.

The older dwarf laughed. "I'm just glad there were bars separating them."

"Oh, I don't know... There was more than enough room betw-"

Bilbori slapped a hand over Kíli's mouth as several of the dwarves laughed at the unfinished sentence. She twisted in Kíli's lap until she was facing someone else. "So... Glóin!" When the redheaded dwarf looked startled to be addressed so abruptly Bilbori faltered before falling back on her talent of saying the first thing that came to mind. "We should arrange play time with our sons!"

"What?!" Glóin spluttered. "Why would he want to play with an el-" He cut himself off, since they had literally just proclaimed the 'elf' to be an honorary dwarf.

"Oh, I'm certain there won't be any objections to arranging play time. My Legolas would be a good influence on your boy." Bilbori's expression turned sly. "Unlike his other friends who would lead the lad into running nude through the scribes' guild in broad daylight."

Abruptly both Fíli and Kíli started to choke on their food.

- - -

Luncheon was just wrapping up when Thorin pulled himself out of his seat. With as much dignity as he could muster, and finally free of potato traces, he walked slowly and carefully over to where his nephews and new niece sat with the elf. Taking a deep breath, he pulled the startled elf into the briefest hug he could while giving an even quicker brush of his lips in the traditional welcoming kiss.

"Welcome to the family, nephew..."

Turning on his heel, Thorin walked back over to the cot he had been using since his injury and let Óin fuss him back into the proper position before giving him a potion for pain that would also put the frigid king to sleep.

Chapter Text

Dearest Drogo,

I'm sorry it has taken so long to write to you, but so much has happened! But first things must come first. How are you, dearest son of my heart? Is your apprenticeship going well? Have you reached any agreements with your sweetheart? I hope you will at least wait until the dear is of age before asking for her hand. Those Brandybucks aren't giving you too hard of a time, are they? If they do, just send me word and I'll march all the way back there to put them in their places! Are you well, my sweet? I hope you haven't been having any trouble since my abrupt departure...

I cannot begin to apologize enough for leaving the way I did. But like I said in the letter, the matter was urgent. You will be pleased to know that all of your dwarf uncles have survived and our journey has been successful... But I have even greater news, my dear Drogo! I have adopted a son! He has been named a dwarf, though is an elf by blood. His name is Legolas and he will be joining me when I get a chance to return to the Shire, for things have been very busy to me here in Erebor because during the course of our journey I found my truest heart and we have wed!

My husband's name is Kíli and he is part of the royal line of Erebor. Since he is a prince, my new role of princess has kept me very busy. This is on top of the role I have taken on the Council of Erebor. Yes, I know I would frequently complain about being on the Council back in Belegost, but there was no one else for the Council in Erebor and the position needed to be filled urgently. We are currently in the process of finalizing agreements with the nearby kingdoms as well as rebuilding the ruins that were once a great dwarven kingdom. The nearby ruins of the city once called Dale are also being rebuilt and, since it is close to Erebor, the men working on it are staying within the mountain as well. There will be plenty of work for dwarves, men, and even elves in the years to come.

I don't suppose any hobbits would be willing to join the dwarven caravans heading this way and help us bring new life to the region? Think about it, my dear. Or at least ask around and see if you have any cousins that would consider the venture. This place could be such a bastion of hope if we could unite all of the free peoples of Middle-Earth here...

Drogo, my dear, I know I have already surprised you a great deal with news of a successful quest, a new brother and a new set of uncles for you... But I have other news as well. There is already a brand new little sibling on the way! I know hobbits tend to carry as long as the human women, but dwarf women don't carry nearly as long. Their bodies were formed of stone and don't stretch easily around little ones. As half dwarf I'm uncertain just how long it will take for the little one to arrive, but know that the entire kingdom is already waiting to celebrate the arrival!

I wish you could be here with me, but I know you have your own life to lead there in the Shire. Know that you will ever be welcome and, if you have not already moved this way, as soon as the little one is old enough to travel we will be coming to visit! I look forward to seeing you, my dearest. Please be safe and happy.

Love,

Uncle Bilbo

- - -

It had taken a couple of days for Bilbori to stop fiddling with the letter and pack it up to send. She had taken it up to Ravenhill where a young raven had agreed to map out the Shire for future correspondence while delivering the letter. The ravens had been decidedly reluctant to go as far as the Shire at first. It was her reassurance that the Shire was well known for an abundance of food and any raven venturing there would have trouble flying for as fat as the hobbits would make them that proved to be a good enough argument. After wishing the raven safe winds, Bilbori stood atop the hill, watching as the raven disappeared in the distance.

"I heard you were heading up this way."

Bilbori turned to the voice, mildly surprised to see Fíli instead of his brother tracking her down. "Fíli." She greeted.

Fíli walked over until he was standing next to Bilbori. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders in a friendly gesture. "You seem to be getting better at sneaking out of Kíli's sight." He sounded amused. "Though if he starts whinging like he did while he thought you were with Ori I'm afraid I'll have to step in and help him pin you in place."

Grinning, Bilbori turned into the familial hug to press her cold nose against Fíli's covered shoulder. She wrinkled her nose at the thick smell of dust that lingered on him. "I'm sure that wouldn't happen."

"Oh it absolutely would happen." Fíli nodded. "He's been disgusting about you ever since Bag End. He woke me up in the middle of the night talking about how amazing you were and what he wanted to do with you. Though admittedly it was just about sex in the beginning. He said he tingled every time you looked at him. And don't get me started on how he was when you two touched. Claimed he felt it all the way to his toes. And he just got more sickening once he told me that apparently you're his craft."

Bilbori had blushed at first, but by the time he finished she was giggling into his shoulder. "He told me that, too. He's ridiculous." There was no hiding the way she sounded terribly pleased at her ridiculous dwarf.

Decidedly chuffed with himself, Fíli jostled her with a gentle shake of his arm. "Come on, let's go get cleaned up. I have a surprise ready for you two."

"Oh? What kind of surprise?"

"The kind that makes me the best brother ever."

- - -

Apparently when Fíli said they were getting cleaned up, he meant it. He led Bilbori to the public bathing pool she had found relatively early in their occupation of Erebor and where half the Company had already gathered and were lounging around in the water. He had guessed correctly that it was her desire to maintain her hobbit lad disguise and not some strange hobbit preference that prevented her from joining the group when it came to bathing times. Despite his correct guess, this was actually the first time she had joined them. She usually bathed while the others were still sleeping in the mornings.

Bilbori didn't even think twice when she followed Fíli into the bathing room. She merely went to where the Company had left a double row of baskets for their dirty and clean laundry and started to remove her clothing. She had already divested herself of her jacket, tunic, undershirt, and was pushing her trousers down to show her shiny gold panties that she heard someone choking from the pool. She turned, finding that almost every dwarf in the water was watching as she and Fíli got undressed.

Rolling her eyes, Bilbori nudged her elbow into Fíli's side. "You have admirers." She turned to him, only to find him staring at her and his gaze was not on her eyes. She smirked. "Like what you see?"

When Fíli didn't immediately respond, she took it as an open invitation to return the appraisal. Unlike her, Fíli had already managed to fully undress since most of his clothing had been redesigned by Dori for easy on and off with only a single arm. He was very nicely proportioned and, though he had new scars and some still healing bruises and damage from the battle, the only thing wrong with him was the missing arm.

"You have a tattoo." Fíli blurted. Then, predictably, his face went red. "I just, I don't know. I wasn't expecting it for some reason." Before he could embarrass himself further, he fled to the pool and all but jumped into the waist deep water.

At Fíli's announcement, everyone else took it as consent to give a good long look as well and Bilbori shook her head as she finished getting undressed. Tossing her trousers and panties into her dirty clothes basket, she strolled with a casual, hip swaying stride before pausing on the edge nearest Fíli. "Don't be shy now, get a good look." Turning, she thrust her left hip toward Fíli, where he could see much better from the height difference of her standing on the edge of the pool and him inside of the water.

The tattoo was all black ink and, unlike the angular designs of most dwarf tattoos, was much more flowing. At a glance it looked like a design of flowers and vines. But from the height difference and the nearness, Fíli could see that it wasn't that at all... Centered on the side of her hip was a very realistic looking heart with thick arteries and veins that coiled up and down and to the sides like vines. They tapered to a point at the top near her waist and was probably only just covered by her trousers when she was wearing them. The bottom point ended a few inches above her knee. On the sides it curved to the front of covered half a cheek of her bottom. Each vein and artery was covered with many leaves and flowers making it look like a plant.

Fíli, though embarrassed at first, noticed something on the tattoo that caused him to lean in closer for a better look. There were names! And some of them he recognized! The three biggest arteries held two names he recognized: Dilnobri and Gerontius. He remembered her naming those as her parents when she had pulled Thorin in line atop the wall, but he didn't know who Adamanta was on the third artery. There were many, many names on the leaves and he only recognized three. Ori, Nori, and Dori. One of the flowers held the name Drogo... There were no other names listed.

"These are... Your family?" Fíli raised his hand to touch, stopping at the last moment.

Bilbori smiled. "They are... So now that you've figured it out... Which leaf would you like your name to be on?"

Fíli looked up at her, confused. "Me?! Leaf?"

"Of course. The leaves are my sisters and brothers."

Looking floored, Fíli gaped. "But there are so many!"

"That's because hobbit is translated to rabbit." Kíli said as he finally arrived. At Bilbori's scoff, he grinned. "Or at least Gerontius and Adamanta translate to rabbits. Her father had thirteen children!"

More than one dwarf choked on the news and Fíli hastily backed away to find a spot to clean up. Nothing had happened, but he hadn't just been looking at his new sister's tattoo... He repeated 'sister' to himself multiple times, trying to fix his mindset.

Kíli went to his basket to undress while Bilbori lowered herself carefully into the pool of water.

"You stay in the cool end, missy." Óin said from where he was soaking in the hot end of the bath. He didn't even bother to open his eyes.

Bilbori scoffed. "I'm not going to boil the baby alive, Óin. I'm not that stupid."

Kíli whirled around, making an inhuman screeching sound. "That's a thing?! That's possible!" He immediately rushed over toward Bilbori, still wearing his trousers. His progress was abruptly halted as a strong arm grabbed him around the middle.

"Aye." Óin said, not bothering to acknowledge the spreading panic he'd started.

"Let go!" Kíli demanded of his captor, squirming enough in his eagerness to check on his beloved that he managed to lose his loosened trousers, but he didn't escape.

"No" Bifur grunted. "You two are disgusting enough when you're clothed. I don't want you two near each other when you're naked and I'm in the room." He carried Kíli over and plopped him into the warm end of the pool next to Dori...

Dori promptly grabbed Kíli's arm and refused to let him go check on Bilbori as well. "Our mother bathed nearly every day during four pregnancies and never boiled a babe alive. Bilbori isn't stupid. Stop being foolish."

It took another minute and Bifur was able to join the bath, putting himself between Bilbori and Kíli just in case Dori lost his grip on the prince.

Kíli eventually calmed down, allowing reason to win. But he pouted about the forced separation. Since he couldn't join Bilbori, he went over to help Fíli with his hair. "You tricked me." He told his brother.

"You should have paid attention then." Fíli calmly said, letting his brother help.

Seeing that Fíli was keeping Kíli occupied, Dori moved over to help Bilbori with her hair. "I remember the tattoo was just a heart in Belegost. When did you get the flowers and leaves added?"

"When Bella died. Drogo and I went to get some nightshade tattoos to remember."

"That's sweet." Dori tugged a lock of Bilbori's hair. "Thank you for including me."

"It's for my siblings." She raised her voice. "You still need to pick a leaf, Fíli. Or I'll just pick one for you, you have time. We don't exactly have a tattoo artist present at the moment."

"Which leaf did Kíli pick?"

Kíli laughed. "I don't get a leaf." Seeing Fíli turn a surprised look to him, Kíli returned it with a smug smile. "I get my name on the heart."

- - -

Fíli gave Bilbori and Kíli their surprise that night. After the bath they had supper and after that he led them through a seemingly random series of passageways until he opened a door and led them into a room that already had a fire lit. It was a simple, undecorated, series of rooms. There were chairs and a table in the main room, a water closet, hearth set up with a banked fire already burning to keep the place warm, two empty rooms down a side hall, and one room set up with a bed covered in new, clean linens.

"My wedding present to you." Fíli grinned. "Now... Let me get some sleep!" And then he left the newlyweds in their new apartment...

They did not show up for breakfast the next day.

Chapter Text

An indeterminable amount of time later found Bilbori was once more taking up residence in the bathing pool. This time she was seated on the edge of the pool with her feet on the bench below the water's surface, soaking them in the warmth. Her legs were spread wide and nestled between them was her husband. His back was toward her and he was humming contentedly as she carefully painted the elvish potion into his hair. She was a bit disappointed, having been able to see the golden roots before she painted them dark, but everyone else was working on the restoration and they took the opportunity to sneak away.

"Will you ever let it grow gold again?"

Kíli hummed for a bit longer, eyes closed as he basked in the sensations, before answering. "Oh day, perhaps." He quirked his lips, looking amused. "When Uncle Thorin's vision goes enough that he's calling all of us Fíli." He ended with a grin.

Smiling fondly down at her dwarf, Bilbori said, "If you didn't have this foul smelling stuff in your hair I would kiss it."

Without even thinking about it, Kíli started to turn and stand up. He wanted a kiss...

Bilbori gripped her fingers tightly into Kíli's hair before he could finish rising, causing him to hiss at the sudden sting of pulled hair. She used her hold to force him back into place. "Not until we're done." She chided.

"Not supposed to do that..." Kíli whined, squirming in his spot. "When we're not in our room..."

"Do you really think anyone is going to dare tell me what I can or can't do right now?" She purred, pulling his hair to tilt his head back so she could look into his now opened eyes.

Kíli tried to get up again only to be halted once again.

Bilbori had quickly slid her legs up between his arms and body to wrap them around his torso. She locked her ankles over his stomach and grinned. "Behave." She applied more of the potion to his hair.

While Bilbori worked on his hair, Kíli washed the lingering potion off of his arms and torso. Water alone didn't affect the potion, it required soap when cleaning up. Not only that, but it wiped cleanly off of his skin and left the new color soaked into the hair so thoroughly that it would be months before any hint of the natural color would show. The only problem with it was that it required wearing it for a certain amount of time to sink properly into the hair. Since Bilbori had wrapped her legs around his torso, he quickly washed them for her before the traces of potion could darken the golden fuzz curling over her legs and feet.

It was Bilbori's turn to hum in contented pleasure when Kíli switched from washing her lower legs and feet to massaging them. She tightened her fingers in his hair once more before letting go and massaging the potion into the rest while she could still think clearly.

"I should have let you help me when you offered back at Beorn's."

"I'm still not sure why you didn't. You were so odd that day."

Kíli considered the memory for a while as he gently, but firmly, massaged her feet. "Only Fíli and Mam knew about me painting my hair. Everyone else just thinks it got darker as I got older as sometimes happens. So at first I was surprised that you caught me. You're so much quieter when moving around than everyone else... Then you asked about the arrow. And, don't get me wrong, it was amazing what you did with it, but at the time it was strange." He paused to hum when she got a particularly good spot on his scalp with her fingertips. "And then I noticed Glóin."

"And you didn't want anyone to think you were after Ori's hobbit?"

"No. I didn't want to risk being caught with you because if you had touched me then like you do now... I wouldn't have been able to control myself. And then Thorin would have insisted we were never alone again, regardless as to if you were supposedly with Ori or not." He grumbled. "We would have been chaperoned for the rest of the journey and things like Mirkwood would never have happened."

"Do you want to know a secret?" Bilbori leaned down to whisper close to his ear.

He nodded, turning to look at her lips as she spoke.

"Thorin already knew who I was. He kept trying, badly, to get me alone with you and your brother hoping something would happen."

Kíli's gaze flicked from her lips to her eyes, widening. "Are you serious?" When she nodded, Kíli burst out laughing. When he could finally speak again it was to say, "The whole thing sounds like some ridiculously funny play."

Bilbori's gaze brightened when Kíli laughed and she couldn't help but smile. At his comment that their romance was worthy of theater, she grinned at the way the stars danced in his eyes with his amusement. "I love you."

Inhaling sharply, Kíli's expression darkened with arousal and he moved forward for a kiss... Only to get her hand in his face for the attempt. "Hey!"

"You've got potion all over your face, daft dwarf!" Bilbori pulled her hand off of his face to show the potion that had stuck to the skin before she washed her hands with soap.

Growling, Kíli swiped up some soap and started furiously scrubbing the potion off of his skin and out of his hair.

"Has it been in long enough?"

"If not, we'll just have to do this again sooner..."

Narrowing her eyes, Bilbori was soon helping him scrub the rest of the potion away. When Kíli pulled away to rinse the soaped up potion off, she slid off the edge of the pool and into the water as he dunked underneath for a thorough rinse.

Turning around once he was rinsed, Kíli rose up out of the water facing Bilbori. He kissed his way up, starting low on her abdomen, working his way tenderly over the visible swell growing there, up her torso, between her breasts, up the line of her throat, on her chin, and finally placed his lips against hers. He wrapped his arms around her, his entire body feeling as if he were burning from her touches as she threaded her fingers into his hair and slowly pulled in the way he loved so very, very much...

Bilbori melted into Kíli's kiss, pulling on his hair before moving her arms to hook her hands on his shoulders as she hopped up and wrapped her legs around his hips. She pulled him tightly against her, pressing as close as she could. And it was because she was so focused on the familiar tingling that she noticed a difference right away. She broke the kiss. "Kíli, stop."

Giving the familiar whine that he'd developed swiftly with how often they were interrupted early in their marriage, Kíli tried to give her more kisses.

"No. Stop it." Bilbori grabbed his ear and pinched it. "Do you feel that?"

Paying attention thanks to the unpleasant sting on his ear, Kíli tried to determine what she was ta-... "Oh..." He looked down between them, not that he could see anything with how tightly they were pressed together. "Is that-?"

Biting her lip at the stunned look on Kíli's face, Bilbori nodded. "Yes."

"Oh." Kíli stepped forward, seating Bilbori on the edge of the pool again. He loosened his hold, sliding down her body until his face was even with the swell of her abdomen. He pressed his face against the swell until he felt it. There, on his cheek, the fluttering of movement.

"Hello." Kíli whispered, pressing his lips against the fluttering. "I can't wait to meet you..."

- - -

"I must admit... I was not expecting this, Princess Bilbori." As Balin walked into the office in which Bilbori had taken up residence he tossed a folded parchment onto the side of her desk.

"Formalities, Lord Balin?" Bilbori didn't look up as she took notes from the various parchments spread out on the desk. She was familiarizing herself with old treaties and contracts from the hall of records so that she would be able to better determine what Erebor was capable of once it was rebuilt and running again.

"When dealing with contracts, your highness."

Scowling, Bilbori set her pen down and leaned back in her chair. She folded her hands on the edge of the desk and looked expectantly at Balin. "And which contract requires such formality, Lord Balin?"

"Your contract, your highness." Balin seated himself at the chair on the opposite side of the desk.

Her scowl shifting to something amused, Bilbori tilted her head. "What about my contract would you like to discuss, Lord Balin?"

"While I am assuming that within the boarders of the Shire your legal name is Bilbo Took as you have signed the contract, I couldn't help but notice something that unfortunately renders the contract null and void, your highness."

"Really?" She blinked innocently at the older dwarf. "And what is it that voids the contract?"

Balin regarded her calmly for a long time before he snorted. Picking up the contract, he unfolded it until he flicked out one of the flaps that had been sewn on. "I believe it is this line right here where it says, and I quote, "I am familiar with dwarven law, you rascally old coot. Don't even think for one moment that you can actually uphold this contract as legally binding. I will bring this farce of a contract before the Council if necessary." End quote. This segment was signed by one Bilbori Took, daughter of Dilnobri..."

"Oh my." Bilbori said mildly. "It certainly seems this Took person knows where to bring invalid contractual matters..."

The older dwarf couldn't help a twitch of his lips. "Aye, so I figured I would save them the trouble and bring the matter to the Council myself..." He set the contract back onto the desk and folded his hands over his stomach. "What is Mahal's Will on how this horrific tragedy disguised as a contract be handled?"

Plucking the contract off of her desk, Bilbori regarded the parchment for a moment as she decided how to phrase her decision. "Considering the change of both rank and position of the burglar contracted so poorly," she began, "It is Mahal's Will that the person contracted be allowed to access the necessary funds they might require directly from the treasury itself as the contracted has neither the desire nor the need to use even half of the promised amount. Furthermore, as the person contracted has no intention of leaving Erebor, what funds they are not actively using shall be placed forth along with the greater portions of the shares belonging to the royal family for use in the day to day rebuilding and maintenance of the kingdom of Erebor."

Balin stared at Bilbori for several minutes before he chuckled ruefully. "I greatly look forward to working with you on the Council going forward, your highness. If you will excuse me... Thorin requested I be present while he sees the elves off. And I'm sure you would appreciate someone keeping an eye on him as well." He rose from the chair, bowed, and departed.

Bilbori waited a minute or two before looking over the contract once again. It really was a ridiculous thing. She carefully folded it up and slid it into one of the drawers in her desk. She would have to get it framed later. But for now...

She returned to reading through old records.

- - -

"Are you trying to make me sick?!" Bilbori growled.

"But... They're parsnips?" Poor Kíli looked confused as he held out the treat.

"And they're going to make me sick!"

Kíli had been stuffing his pockets with parsnips for weeks and this change completely threw him off. "You just had some this morning..."

"That was this morning!" Bilbori's face turned an alarming shade of pale and green as she abruptly turned away from Kíli's offering and ran for the nearest anything to empty her stomach.

Letting the parsnips fall from his fingers, Kíli quickly emptied his pockets of all the rest he had been carrying. He dropped those to the ground as well before taking off after his wife, "Bilbo! I got rid of them..."

- - -

Bilbori found herself in one of the informal council chambers where the King's advisors would normally gather to rephrase the will of the inner Council into something easier for other races to digest. With her in the chamber were Thorin, Fíli, Balin, Dáin, Bard, his son Bain, two of his friends that he had named his advisors, and the slimy creep she had never gotten the name of but wanted to drive the blade of her kama into that was supposedly representing Esgaroth in place of the Master. She would be so glad when other dams came forth that were able to join the Council to ease some of her responsibilities for this kind of thing.

All of the humans present had dumbfounded looks upon their faces as they ranged around the room in various seats. It was understandable, considering the dwarves had just escorted them through a tour of the treasury.

Finally, Bard was able to find his voice. "I know you said there were mountains of gold, Master Took, but to see it..." He flinched. "Apologies, princess."

"No need for apologies, Lord Bard." Bilbori graciously allowed. "In the manner of my people, I answer to many names and I am named Master Bilbo Took on all legal documents within the Shire."

"So you're not a prince like that lying dwarf said?" The slimy one even sounded sleazy.

Before anyone else could say anything, Fíli spoke up. "The princess's nephew is indeed the current ruler of the Shire. And that 'lying dwarf' is her brother. Certainly you cannot fault a woman traveling with her brothers and husband the security of changing her gender for the duration of the journey." Fíli's hand rested on the hilt of his sword as he spoke, staring at the sleazy worm.

Bilbori never took her pleasant look off of Bard during Fíli's statement.

"Why are you even here?" Dáin demanded. "The matters we're discussing today have to do with Bard and Dale, not Esgaroth and it's supposed 'Master.'"

"Considering that those planning on moving to Dale were once part of Esgaroth and that Esgaroth is one of the primary sources of supplies involved in this rebuilding business... The Master felt it was only right that we be aware of possible changes to any income that will be helping to support us during this time of transition."

The words sounded well enough, but something about both them and the slime delivering them made Bilbori want to pull a blade on the cretin. And judging by the way nearly everyone else in the room shifted, she wasn't the only one.

"And why is this... 'Princess' here?" The sleaze questioned, leering across the table.

Dwarven blades started to come out of their sheaths, though a flick of Bilbori's fingers halted them even as Bard's voice quickly spoke up. "Master Took was the one I made the original contract with. From a legal standpoint only death or illness should prevent her from attending any meeting which concerns the contract."

The look the creep gave toward Bilbori's visible and still growing stomach indicated he thought she was suffering from an illness. "No offense meant." He lied badly. "Just didn't want to strain the poor little thing with matters best left to men."

"Do you have any understanding of true legal matters?" Thorin demanded, when the greasy imbecile stuttered, he scoffed in response. "I thought not. Keep silent or you will be escorted out of the mountain one way or another." He unsheathed Orcrist, moving the sword to rest within easy reach atop the table in front of himself.

As the situation unfolded, Bilbori's pleasant look had merely grown into a pleased smile as she continued to watch Bard.

Once he was certain the creep wouldn't speak again, Thorin turned his attention to Bard. "Now that you have seen the extent of the treasury we have to search for the wealth of Dale, we hope that you are willing to consider a variation of the contract."

Balin spread out the new contracts on the table much as Ori had done in Thranduil's tent so long ago.

Knowing what he did now, Bard picked up a copy and began skimming over it as Thorin started speaking again.

"As per the new contract Erebor is willing to cover any and all expenses for the rebuilding of Dale. These expenses include food, tools, building materials, housing within Erebor, and transportation to and from Dale as it is available until such time as the workers feel Dale is once more safe and habitable for relocation. All expenses will be tallied without added interest to be removed from the Dale treasury total once we have the people and time to sort out the mess within the treasury. As per Princess Bilbori's stipulation, Erebor will provide the services of a Master tailor to ensure that every new citizen of Dale and their immediate families has at least two clean and sturdy sets of clothing and a warm coat as soon as a shipment of cloth work materials that has already been arranged arrives from the Iron Hills." Thorin nodded toward Dáin. "Erebor does not wish to steal the wealth of Dale. We merely need time before we can sort out the treasury."

Bard and his companions took turns looking over the contract. It was as plainly written as the one Bilbori had initially brought over along with the Arkenstone. After some discussion among them, he turned to the collection of dwarves. "How does one go about changing which contract is valid?"

Balin set out the copy of the initial trust contract from the hall of records on the table. Bilbori pulled out her copy and set it down as well. Seeing this, Bard pulled out his copy, but did not add it to the table.

"It's quite simple, really." Balin said. He pulled a pad of ink and a stamp from within his pockets. "We stamp the back of all copies with this, which merely states that the contract has been invalidated in favor of another contract. Both contracts will have an identifying number assigned to them to bind them together as the valid and invalidated contracts. The two primary signatories of the initial contract, in this case yourself and the princess, as well as two witnesses sign off on the stamps to prove that you agreed with the transition. When the copies within the hall of records are filed, they will be placed together for easy location."

Bard leaned back, clearly considering the two contracts.

Thorin caught a flick of Bilbori's fingers and frowned. He managed to not flinch when she kicked the side of his leg in response to his frown. "We are not asking you to return the Arkenstone. We merely wish you to know we are not ignoring the people of Dale and will ensure they are taken care of during the time it will take us to return that which belongs to Dale."

Fiddling with the contract, Bard obviously wasn't listening to the other humans murmuring near his ears. Instead he was looking speculatively at Bilbori.

In response to Bard's regard, Bilbori gave him a grin that wrinkled up her nose and crinkled the corners of her eyes.

Unable to help himself, Bard quirked his lips into something that was almost a smile. "I agree to the new terms."

What followed was a long session of signing off on the invalidating of the old contracts and validating of the new contracts. The number assigned to the situation was the current date along with an arbitrary catalog number just in case someone else filed something on the same date. Not that it was likely with how few people were currently in Erebor... But eventually the contracts were signed and sorted and they started to leave the room.

As he was leaving, Bard sent his son ahead before lingering back. "Master Took..."

Bilbori paused, "Yes?"

Bard spent a moment collecting his thoughts on what he wanted to say. Then he noticed the slimy toady lingering within earshot and he spoke clearly, "With the way things are shaping up with me being forced into ruling Dale, my daughters will become princesses in their own right... I wonder if I might send them to you so that you may instruct them on what would be useful for them to know."

Aware that was not the reason Bard called her back after the meeting, Bilbori went along with it anyway. "I was not born into the role, but I was among the higher ranking Houses. If they are agreeable to learning, I would be happy to give them advice and instruction such as I am able."

"I admit that I do not have much experience with royalty, but I do believe that there is much royal about you, Master Took." Bard bowed. "I thank you for your time and will send my daughters along once they've arrived from Esgaroth."

As they parted, Bilbori couldn't help but wonder what Bard had really wanted... She narrowed her eyes as she caught sight of the creep slithering along in Bard's wake.

Chapter Text

Two weeks after the reforging of the Trust Agreement with Bard found Bilbori helping Dori set up the hall he had selected for his temporary workshop. The shipment of materials and tools needed for making the clothing that Bilbori had promised the new citizens of Dale had arrived and Dori was finishing organizing the room to his liking. While he and Bilbori sorted things, Dori had his new apprentices going through old bits of artwork and records on patterns to find what used to be popular in Dale before the dragon came. Dori fully intended to use these references to create a new style for Dale. The apprentices he could have done without, but Dáin had sent them along to keep track of the shipment and so Dori had agreed to use this as a trial period for the potential tailors.

"No, no, Bori!" Dori bustled over, preventing his sister from pushing a table aside. "Thungrif, come move this table... And make sure she doesn't try to move heavy things again."

"Yes, Master Dori." The young dwarf, barely forty, said as he scampered away from looking through the records to assist.

Bilbori grumbled. "I'm not an invalid, Dori."

"Of course not, but we don't know how this pregnancy is going to go... You're the only halfling any of us know." Dori waved a hand dismissively as he moved over to check the progress of the other apprentice, a thirty-two-year-old lad named Forthund.

It was not long after that when the sound of ripping cloth drew the eyes of all three dwarves to where Bilbori had been moving around one of the tables. She was standing by the table, looking down at where a splinter had caught on the skirt of her dress and tore the sheer over layer. She frowned and broke the splintered bit of wood off of the table's edge before flicking it into the fireplace.

Dori scowled. "Why are you even wearing that? I thought you hated dolling up like you should for your rank... What's wrong with your every day clothes? Have you outgrown them already? I knew I should have left more room in them, but I hadn't gotten a chance to make you new trousers yet, had I?" He bustled over, already pulling out a needle and thread as he fussed.

"There's nothing wrong with my other clothes except they're dirty."

"It's not like you to let dirty clothes pile up..." Dori looked up from where he had knelt to fix to tear. "Did you hurt yourself?"

"No, Dori. I am not hurt." Bilbori huffed. "Kíli insisted he wanted to take over my more mundane chores so that I could focus on Council business and babysitting the Company." She rolled her eyes. "Needless to say, I'm still waiting for clean clothes."

Giving an amused snort, Dori finished repairing the dress with a quick embroidered flower to hide any hint of a fault. "How much longer are you going to give him before you just do it yourself?"

"Assuming I don't accidentally destroy the dress before then, two more days."

"Well, if nothing else, it's a thoughtful sentiment he had." Dori stood, adjusting the way her dress lay as she stood before he pulled out his string and took the measure of her expanding waistline. "You're growing differently than any other dam I've had to make clothing for. I'm not sure what it means. By the time mother was this size she was close to giving birth."

"You didn't see Belladonna when she had Drogo." Bilbori held her arms out in circle that reached far in front of her.

Dori looked incredulous. "Tell me you're joking!"

"Not at all. Hobbits aren't crafted from stone. They stretch." She pinched Dori's cheek and tried to tug the flesh to demonstrate... It barely moved.

Swatting her hand away, Dori hugged his sister. "Well it should be over soon."

"It will take as long as it takes. Óin said as long as the baby keeps moving things are fine." Bilbori shrugged, patting a spot on the side of her stomach that was feeling rather tender from repeated kicks.

Whatever Dori was going to say in response was interrupted when the door to the repurposed hall opened and Nori led two young women into the room. His steps visibly slowed as he saw her and how she was dressed.

Bilbori could feel her eyes rolling even as Nori opened his mouth.

"Princess Bilbori..." Nori bowed with a flourish to his little sister. "Master Dori..." He ignored the two apprentices. "May I introduce you to Lord Bard's daughters, Lady Sigrid and Lady Tilda." He bowed again. "Ladies, may I introduce you to my brother Master Clothier Dori and Lady Bilbori, Princess of Erebor." The redhead bowed even more extravagantly than before. With a cheeky wink in the direction of his siblings, Nori departed as quickly as he had arrived, leaving the young ladies behind.

Since Bard's request, Bilbori had made some inquiries and had learned that the elder of his two daughters was apparently considered of an age to be married by human reckoning. The younger was only a few years behind her and could have been betrothed or even married herself. Thankfully for Bilbori's peace of mind neither was so much as courting, let alone betrothed or wed. She really did not want to go into the absurdity of humans when it came to their marriage practices.

Both girls dipped into stiff and unpracticed curtsies before muttering, "Your highness," in more or less unison.

Bilbori tilted her head, her eyes narrowing, as she regarded the girls thoughtfully. The longer she dragged out her response, the more tense and hunched the two became. Finally, she quirked a smile. "Do relax, ladies. Once your father has been officially crowned you will share rank with or outrank everyone in this room." She quirked a brow before angling her head ever so slightly toward the apprentices. "It's nearly time for afternoon tea, Forthund."

The young dwarf hopped immediately to his feet, "Yes, your highness." He fled the room, having already learned early on that both Dori and Bilbori took tea time seriously and that he should step-to when bringing the food and tea from the kitchens.

Dori openly laughed at the reaction before he bustled over to the girls. He was nearly tall enough to look Tilda in the eyes, but Sigrid was easily the tallest in the room by far. "That, my dears, is an eager young dwarf who is absolutely thrilled with his work."

"Are you sure?" Tilda looked disbelieving as Dori started to measure her. "He seemed more terrified to me."

While Dori assured Tilda that was not the case, Bilbori made her way over to Sigrid. She reached out, placing a hand on the young girl's arm. "Relax." She murmured, noting how the girl hunched her shoulders as if she expected to have to defend herself. "There's not a dwarf alive who would harm you or talk ill of you, no matter your rank."

Sigrid seemed to mull this information over before she murmured back, "I've heard the dwarves talk ill of a lot of the men, though..."

"Ah!" Bilbori raised a finger in a telling gesture. "Of the men." She emphasized the gender. "Dwarves react to men and women much differently than humans." At Sigrid's confused look, she raised up onto her toes to whisper, "Women are the true rulers of the dwarven kingdoms."

Furrowing her brow as she thought, Sigrid finally asked, "Is that why father said you were at every important meeting?"

"Indeed it was." Dori piped up as he moved to poke Sigrid into standing up straight and tall so he could properly measure her. "As of this moment, my sister is the highest ranked dwarf in the entire mountain and even King Thorin will bow to her decisions." Though his tone was pleasant, he didn't look happy with sharing the information unlike his sister who was grinning impishly at the girls.

Thungrif wisely continued to do the job Dori had originally given him of sorting patterns and sketching ideas for new ones as he pointedly ignored what the royalty present were discussing even as he kept an ear open in case he was addressed.

"We already have clothes." Tilda stated loudly.

"You certainly do," Dori agreed. "But your clothes are Lake Town clothes. We will be making you new things befitting of the princesses of Dale.

Tilda moved over to look the shorter dwarf princess up and down. Her father had told her the princess was an adult, and now that they could see she was pregnant as well, she wondered at how tiny the woman was. "Do all dwarf women look like you? We've only seen the men on the way here." Her eyes were on Bilbori's pointed ears and then turning to look at the male dwarves who had rounded ears.

"Of course all dwarf women don't look like me." Bilbori calmly replied to the inquisitive younger girl, ignoring the way Sigrid hissed at Tilda to not be rude. "It would be terribly boring if they all looked like me."

"But you're so pretty!" Tilda's wide eyes were filled with youthful honesty. "It would be lovely if they all looked similar to you."

Bilbori looked surprised for a moment before turning thoughtful. "Well, our mother," she tipped her head toward Dori, "was named Jewelbearer because all of her children were considered beautiful. Though when Dori's in the room there's hardly a dwarf that can take their eyes off of him to see anyone else."

Both girls turned clearly disbelieving eyes to the mithril-haired dwarf that was writing measurements into a ledger.

"But that's not why you're here, is it? Your father said you would need help learning to function as royalty... I'm afraid my only experience in acting as royalty isn't anything other than being a stiff, confident, and snooty version of myself." Bilbori hummed thoughtfully. "It's rather like High Tea back in the Shire."

Dori suddenly laughed aloud. "I had forgotten how ridiculous High Tea is in the Shire."

"The Shire?" Sigrid wondered.

"Where my father's people live." Bilbori waved a hand. "We can talk about that some other time. Now... There's normal tea, like we'll be having when Forthund returns, and there's High Tea. High Tea is when those who are considered socially important gather together to show off their finery while trying to impress others with their own importance." She gave a slight laugh. "Now, I'm not certain how the men treat their royalty... But your father obviously doesn't want you to behave that way. So the important thing to remember is..." She paused, looking thoughtful before saying, "The only people who can command you are those whom you allow."

Sigrid looked thoughtful.

Tilda grinned. "So I don't have to listen to da?"

Bilbori shook her head. "You are still young, Tilda. Do you think it would be wise to ignore your father? Especially if he's giving you orders for your protection? No. You must use wisdom in your actions. Ask yourself why. Why did they give you the order? What would happen if you ignored the order? As much as you and I may or may not like it, we've been placed in positions where people will be watching us. If you rebel against your father, the king, how are people going to see that? Will they decide that if his own children won't listen to him then they shouldn't? There is more going on in a royal family than just being a family."

Forthund returned with afternoon tea and set the tray down on a mostly empty table which he cleared and pulled up chairs around.

"Now we can have an example of High Tea!" Bilbori cheerfully said.

- - -

It wasn't until much later that Sigrid approached Bilbori as the pregnant halfling rubbed at the small of her back absentmindedly. "Bilbori..." She didn't seem comfortable not using a title when addressing the elder woman, but Bilbori had insisted that they were equally ranked despite Dori having said that his sister was the highest ranking dwarf and, well, Sigrid honestly was getting a headache just like father had warned her.

"Yes?" Bilbori looked up from the fabrics Sigrid had selected for her clothing.

Making certain Tilda was still distracted with the dwarves designing what would be her first formal gown, Sigrid seated herself so that it was easier to whisper to the small woman. "Father wanted you to have this." Sigrid pulled a familiar bundle of silk from her pocket and held it out to Bilbori.

Looking confused, Bilbori didn't move to take the bundle. "The contract has not been fulfilled." She murmured back.

"He doesn't like it." Sigrid confessed. "He said he thinks it's cursed because he has found himself staring at it all night more than once. He doesn't want it anywhere near us."

Remembering what she had felt from the thing, Bilbori readily accepted it back. She at least understood the way magic felt and it was, in retrospect, a horrible thing to not warn the man about when she'd given it to him. Even through the protective layer of silk she felt the pulse from the object within. "I'll take care of it. And Erebor will continue to honor our part of the agreement."

Sigrid looked relieved as soon as the thing was out of her hand. "Thank you."

"Now," Bilbori casually tucked the wrapped bundle down the front of her dress before raising her voice to a more normal level. "I know I'm not as agile as I normally am." She placed a hand atop her abdomen. "But I can certainly start you and your sister on the way to learning how to properly wield a blade."

"What?!" Sigrid was stunned.

"Of course! You can't just pull out a kitchen knife and wave it around. You'll have proper weapons and we'll see what style of fighting works best for you and your sister." Bilbori took hold of Sigrid's hands. "Your father wanted you two trained by a dwarf princess. There's no dwarf alive that doesn't know the basics of weaponry and we're all proficient in at least one weapon by the time we're adult-sized!"

- - -

That night Bilbori was seated at the desk in one of the rooms in the apartment she shared with Kíli, one she had taken over for her personal crafting projects. In front of her was the Arkenstone sitting, seemingly harmless, atop the silk cloth. The stone glowed with a pale light that glinted on the tools of her trade that were also spread out on the table. There was also a pair of leather gloves with runes etched into them, Balin's gloves that still bore the runes Bifur had cut into them in Mirkwood. There was also parchment and she flicked her pen idly in her fingers as she considered how to properly shield the stone.

"Are you coming to bed, Bilbo?" Kíli wondered as he wandered into the room. His steps slowed as he saw what she was on her desk. He hummed thoughtfully. "Are you going to give it to Thorin?"

"No."

Leaning over, Kíli wrapped his arms around her in a hug and rested his chin on her shoulder, surveying the collection of items on the desk. "Okay." He pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Come to bed, then."

Floored by the way he didn't even question her decision, not to mention how he was more interested in her than the cursed stone, Bilbori flicked the silk cloth to cover the stone as she stood. "You know what?" She turned in Kíli's arms. "I think I'd like that."

Kíli really did have the best ideas sometimes.

Chapter Text

Kíli turned out to be one of the best possible assistants when it came to working. If not the very best. After all, she was not certain, but she did not think that a normal assistant would treat her with random massages and press kisses into her skin while she focused. He had even taken the time to craft a lock box for her to store the thing in when not working on it. Warding the box was easier than finding the proper wards for the stone itself. For the more normal matters, Kíli made certain she had food and drink and, most importantly, he fielded any requests for her time that would bring her away from the project upon which she was working. He was surprisingly adept at weeding out what really needed her attention and what the others could manage on their own and she sometimes wondered if he had done the same for Dís.

In any event, he was a blessing that she thanked quite frequently.

Bilbori was not certain of how the Arkenstone came to emit such a horrible energy, but it was certainly something she wanted shielded before risking it in anyone else's possession. She did not even dare to risk bringing her beloved Master in to help her with the runes, using only his shield runes from Mirkwood as a stepping stone. The hardest part was, she couldn't actually carve the runes into the thing until she knew they would work. There was only the one Arkenstone after all.

Honestly she would have preferred to smash it into dust and flush it down a toilet drain.

When she was not fussing with the Arkenstone, she had taken to regarding the foul ring. She rarely touched it, but she considered why it was so different from the stone. Bilbori figured it was because the stone's vileness was somehow natural while the ring was clearly made. Though the more she thought about it, the more the ring reminded her of Mirkwood. If she had been able, she would have tossed the ring into a forge fire and been done with it, but that was something she would have to supervise and the fumes in the forge were not good for those currently forging more important matters.

Her attention diverted to her most important project, Bilbori rubbed one hand over the side of her belly where the babe within was apparently practicing for later swordplay. With her other hand, she pulled down the most recent applications from potential parents. She had not made up her mind on if she wished to be this particular baby's mother in more than name. Like Balin had warned, she was too prominent in the eyes of the other kingdoms for anyone to ever consider someone else the true parent of the child. It was a tricky situation.

On one side she wanted children, she had ever since she had first held Drogo. On another side, she only had actual parenting experience with 'children' that were already grown. Then there was the side where Kíli got that look on his face every time he whispered against the swell of her stomach, the way the stars in his eyes sparkled brighter. The resigned look he got every time he added a petition to the stack... It really was not fair that he was so enamored of the idea and, well, she was really kidding herself if she thought she would do anything other than be the baby's mother at this point.

She sighed even as she looked at the petition that she always kept atop the stack even as new ones were added. It was, as she should have expected from her conversation with Thorin, from Fíli. Certainly if he was planning on naming the babe his heir he was more than willing to be the parent as well. The second one on the stack was also one that should not have surprised her. Dori. The third and fourth ones did surprise her. Bofur and Óin. But the next one on the stack was the one that had truly surprised her... Nori and Dwalin had petitioned... As a couple.

Bilbori burned with curiosity over that, but she had not had a chance to speak to either to learn the details. Though when she thought about all of the formal complaints Dwalin used to make against Nori at Council meetings... She should have seen it coming from miles away. With the way the petitions were going, it was doubtful the child would ever leave the care of the Company.

Entering the room, Kíli made a face when he saw her looking at the petitions again. He plucked them from her hand and set them aside. "Come." He gently tugged her to her feet. "It's dinner time and you haven't left the apartments in two days."

Suddenly overcome, Bilbori gazed up at Kíli as her eyes filled with tears of wonder. "How are you so perfect?"

Though he had been alarmed at the sudden tears, Kíli smiled and leaned down to kiss her once she had spoken. After a time of trading kisses, he mumbled against her lips, "I'll always be perfect for you... You're my craft. It's my job to make sure you're just as perfect as I can make you."

They were late to dinner.

- - -

Though they had sent the first correspondences back to Belegost right after the Battle, it wasn't until months later that the news became more interesting. At first the letters had been short and pointed, making certain people were still alive and well. Then the letters became back and forth lists of the things Erebor had versus what they still needed and what they had already contracted with other nearby towns and settlements to acquire. Finally, the news changed again.

"Your mother and father will be leading the caravan of those who wish to move to Erebor." Thorin told his nephews at the Company dinner one night in February. "They are leaving Belegost at the beginning of April. With luck, they will arrive here by mid-summer." He then addressed the others. "Bombur's wife will be joining them as well as Glóin's family." He regarded the parchment. "Apparently Lady Gísla has a surprise for you, Glóin."

The gathering cheered at the news before bets started to fly around the table at what the surprise would be.

Bilbori should not have been surprised when she saw Legolas sliding some coins to Nori and whispering his bet in the dwarf's ear. It was inevitable that some dwarven corruption would seep into the mind of her precious darling. She sighed.

"I can't wait to introduce you to mother!" Kíli said, wrapping an arm around Bilbori's shoulders.

"I've already been introduced to your mother." She squashed the surge of irritation at Dís before Kíli could notice.

Giving one of the ridiculously giddy looks he would get when playing the fool, Kíli pressed his forehead against hers. "Maybe. But she's never met my wife before."

Kíli really, really had to stop saying things like that. Bilbori's eyes welled up with tears again and before she could second guess her decision for the hundredth time, she murmured against his lips. "And you can introduce her to our child, as well."

Pulling back, Kíli studied her eyes for the truth. When he got it, the resulting squeal of glee deafened at least half of the people in the dining hall.

- - -

No one was expecting the Rivendell elves.

An entire contingent of nearly thirty elves arrived from Rivendell in mid-March. The leaders of the contingent were Elrond's twin sons Elladan and Elrohir. They were quick to assure the citizens of Erebor and Dale that Elrond merely wished for some of the younger elves to gain much needed experience with other races, and what better location at this time than the place where three races lived in harmony?

Bilbori's bullshit meter was ticking over into the 'we irritated our father and he wanted to send us away for a while and so created this mission on the fly for us' side with alarming speed. Her meter was very detailed after living with Nori for so long. From the look on Thorin's face, he had a similar meter after helping his sister and her husband raise Fíli and Kíli.

But the elves were useful, when not staring with horror at the short locks Legolas was sporting. Apparently they had known him from past visits to Rivendell when his hair had been long. They had a variety of skills that, for the most part, would be useful when helping to rebuild the surface buildings of Dale. There were even a couple of healers in the group. And a very determined young elf maiden who Bilbori finally recognized as having been one of the ones from the brother chasing incident Bilbori had caused in Rivendell.

It took a long time for her laughter to die down upon making that discovery.

- - -

"I'm afraid I didn't think it through completely, Mistress." The elven maiden who had reintroduced herself to Bilbori as Liltare said one afternoon while she shared tea with the halfling. "I remember being caught up in the idea and that it was fun, chasing after dwarves that is." She looked around as if someone would appear in Bilbori's apartments just to listen to them. "And there are books that Erestor keeps hidden in the library, about romances between our peoples in the days before things soured... They're so exciting... But then I saw him again and spoke to him... I don't know what I was thinking."

Bilbori felt bad. Here she had laughed at encouraging the elf maidens to chase her brothers and one had even uprooted herself to follow to no end. "I'm sorry." At least she had a good reason she could give. "I guess I had hoped that my brother would marry one day. I never truly thought about what it meant every time Dori said he was craft-wed." And in a way she never had.

"It's not your fault." Liltare assured Bilbori quickly.

That did not help, because it really kind of was Bilbori's fault.

"But there's still something exciting about the idea of a dwarf husband." Liltare gushed. "I'm not sure I would want to go back to Rivendell when the rest leave. There's something about the idea of staying here, possibly meeting my love..." She fanned herself.

Grinning, Bilbori took a drink of her tea. "They don't all look like my brother, you know." Because even though Liltare wouldn't say it, Bilbori knew that Dori wasn't what elves would normally be attracted to despite looking so much like a dwarf it would trigger whatever fantasies those books aroused. "And they aren't all craft-wed. It's entirely possible you will find a dwarf here and I'll sponsor you if anyone gets the bright idea of trying to make you leave."

"Would you? Truly? You are a very dear friend to have, my lady."

"We're friends right? None of this formality nonsense. Call me Bilbori." And Bilbori reached over to pull the startled elf into a hug.

- - -

Bilbori had taken to training Sigrid and Tilda less and less as her pregnancy progressed. She was already beyond the expected time for when a dwarf woman would give birth and still showed no signs of even being close to done crafting her child despite the large size she had grown. The consensus between Óin and the elven healers was that she would probably carry the closer to the nine months that hobbits and humans carried. She did not let that stop her completely though. After all, one day Sigrid or Tilda might need to know how to defend themselves while pregnant so all three took it as a learning opportunity.

Tilda had a love of experimenting with all of the weapons, though she was favoring swords and bows more as their training progressed. Bilbori considered her various options for continuing archery training with the girl. With the various duties they all had, perhaps Legolas would be the best choice.

Sigrid favored the knives, especially when Bilbori showed her the pockets hidden in the skirt of the new dress Dori had made that allowed her to secret them away. Bilbori thought that she would have Nori further train the elder girl as time went along.

She had just dismissed the girls from their training for lunch and Tilda had, predictably, flown out of training room as soon as the words left Bilbori's lips. The halfling had laughed and started to clean up the various weapons left strewn about the room. Sigrid remained behind to assist.

"How do you know so many different weapons?" Sigrid wondered.

"My brother, Nori, was one of the military trainers back in Belegost. He had to learn every weapon in the armory for his duties. He trained me." She made a face, pressing her hand against a ripple of pain in her lower back.

Sigrid looked over. "Are you well, Bilbori?"

"I'm fine. There are just so many odd pains these days. I'm told it's normal." She sighed before looking at the remaining weapons. "Run along now, make sure Tilda actually made it to lunch and didn't detour at the boar pens again." Bilbori's lips quirked, having made the same detour with Tilda many times.

"Are you certain?"

"Of course, dear Sigrid. I'm just going to finish putting these away and sharpen my dagger before I head that way. If you beat me there, tell my daft husband that I'll be along soon." She meticulously started to sort the daggers.

Grinning at the way Bilbori frequently referred to every male as if they were stupid, Sigrid agreed. "Very well then. Shall I save you some fig and honey pies?"

"What an absolutely ridiculous question!" Bilbori's current favorite food were tiny fig and honey pies that Beorn was kind enough to supply the ingredients for.

Laughing, Sigrid departed.

It did not take Bilbori all that long to sharpen her dagger. She had mostly wanted Sigrid to run along because she knew that if Tilda showed up without Sigrid and Sigrid was not close behind that Bard would yell his overprotective head off for hours. When she finished, she sheathed her dagger, absently noticing that she had forgotten her kama again. She had been doing that a lot since the baby had really started to grow, the sheaths not fitting well with her new shape, so she did not think on it overly much. Finally, she doused the lights and left the training room.

Most of Erebor's halls were empty with the relatively small amount of people within a mountain meant to hold thousands. So it was a rather dim and very quiet passageway that she moved through as she went toward the more populated areas. It ended up being a good thing that it was so quiet, otherwise she'd never have heard the soft whimper even with her more sensitive hearing.

Bilbori stopped mid-step, her ears twitching as she looked around. The sound had come from a passage that split from the main one. She slowly, curiously, followed the passage. What she saw stunned her for a split second before rage boiled up in her veins so fast she was frozen at the change...

Sigrid was pinned to a wall by that slimy creep that was supposedly representing the Master of Esgaroth!

The knife Bilbori had given Sigrid was on the floor along with a still burning torch that Bilbori knew the girl hadn't had and so must have belonged to the creep. The creep that was running a hand over Sigrid's torso while the other hand was clamped over Sigrid's mouth hard enough to pin the girl against the wall by her head! And the words coming out of his mouth!

"Now you just relax. You'll enjoy it, I promise." The sleaze ground his crotch against Sigrid and the girl whimpered again, her hands digging into his arms and trying to push him off. "And once you're fat with my child I'll come to your father and confess our love... And then we'll marry and I'll be the new prince..." He licked the side of Sigrid's neck.

Finally breaking free of her shock, Bilbori lashed out. The just sharpened dagger flew and suddenly the handle was sprouting from the slime's upper arm!

The cretin shouted at the sudden pain, pulling back and turning to see the source. Sigrid tried to run for it, but he quickly grabbed her hair and jerked her back against him.

Without thinking about it, Bilbori rushed forward and slammed her foot into the sleazeball's leg. Unfortunately for her, the fighting work she had been practicing lately was with blades and not her body... The change to her weight had shifted her balance and so she staggered even as her foot connected.

The creep nearly fell with another cry of pain. He twisted his arm back and flung Sigrid to the ground before grabbing hold of the halfling and slamming her front first into the wall. Holding her in place by the back of her neck, he pulled the blade out of his arm moved and it to her neck. "You have been causing a lot of trouble, little bitch." He spat.

"Sigrid, run!"

"Uh uh uh! I don't think so..." The creep moved the dagger almost lovingly from Bilbori's neck down to rest the blade against the side of her stomach.

Sigrid froze even as she was pulling herself to her feet.

"Maybe I'll just see what keeps the dwarves bowing at your disgusting feet. Maybe you're a good little cock sucker...You're the right height for it, too. Is that why Bard fawns over you? Is that little runt even the father? I bet you spread your legs for all of them..."

Bilbori thought she was going to vomit when she felt something hard rub between her shoulder blades.

"Maybe I'll cut out that dwarf spawn you're carrying and have you bo-" The creep's words abruptly cut off in a gurgling sound and his grip on both Bilbori and the blade went slack.

Twisting free, Bilbori turned to see the blade of a familiar sword sticking out through the slime's throat. She followed the blade down to the handle, up the arm, and into the absolutely furious face of her gorgeous, beautiful, absolutely perfect husband.

Sigrid rushed over to Bilbori.

"I don't think you'll have anything." Kíli snarled, jerking his arm to the side and ripping his blade out through the front, tearing the sleaze's throat completely open. He twisted his arm and stabbed the sword into the creep's face, slamming the body down into the ground hard enough that the blade sank several inches into the stone floor.

Without even sparing the slime another look, Kíli turned toward his wife only to have his face drain of color at seeing her bent over, her face a mask of pain. "Bilbo! What's wrong!" He rushed over to her.

It took a minute for Bilbori to catch her breath, but when she did, she only said one word. "Baby!" And then she was grimacing in pain again.

Panicking, Kíli scooped Bilbori into his arms. "Sigrid, run and get the healers! I'm taking her to our apartment!" And then he was racing off, unable to spare a moment for the girl.

Sigrid cast one look at the slime's corpse, gave it a good kick, and then took off running to fetch the healers.

Chapter Text

Fíli and Kíli were heading toward lunch from where they had been working on rebuilding another set of apartments for members of the Company. It was something Fíli had started with his gift to his brother and sister. After that, Kíli had joined in and they were slowly moving the Company out of the dining hall even as the other members of the Company worked on helping the people with mining, forging, and stone cutting to rebuild so that the others could move out of the barracks and inns that had been repaired to house them through the winter. The princes did not think it was fair and, since Fíli now had trouble being of help, the brothers were often left to their own devices. Kíli, feeling guilty because it had ultimately been his enchanted bow that resulted in Fíli losing an arm, was more than happy to assist his brother while his wife busied herself rebuilding treaties and laws for the kingdom.

The brothers were joking around, shoving each other and teasing, when suddenly Kíli stopped. A confused look furrowed his brow.

"Kíli?" Fíli wondered.

"Something... Doesn't feel right."

Fíli frowned. "Did I bump you too hard?"

Kíli shook his head. "I don't know... Something... I have to go." Without waiting for his brother to respond, Kíli took off at a dead run down the hall.

Confused, Fíli rolled his eyes. Kíli probably realized he had not seen Bilbori in a couple of hours. His brother was absurd when it came to the halfling. Sighing, Fíli continued in the direction of the dining hall at a more sedate pace... Only to stop as movement through a doorway caught his attention.

Retracing his steps, he soon found himself looking out at one of the terraces that gave a lovely view of the fields around the mountain. On that terrace, was an elf. Dancing... At least he thought it was dancing at first glance. But the flash of light on steel quickly drew his eyes and he saw the long daggers twirling in her hands as though they were extensions of her body. It was as if she were dancing with death.

It was an embarrassingly long time before Fíli realized his mouth was hanging open as he stared at the elf. He must have made some sound though as suddenly the elf was poised elegantly, facing him, daggers at the ready...

"You're beautiful." Fíli blurted. Instantly mortified, Fíli felt his face flush as he rushed to clarify. "Your form... Er, the way you move... The Dance! I'm sorry!" Fíli fled, leaving a surprised and very confused elf in his wake.

He did not even make it to the dining hall before he walked into a rush of activity heading in the opposite direction from where lunch was being served. "What's going on?"

"It's Bilbo!" Bofur said, his face nearly splitting from the size of his grin. "She's having the baby!"

"What?!" Fíli took off running with the others.

- - -

Kíli was absolutely furious! His Bilbori was hurting and they were not even letting him into the apartment! Of course it was entirely his own fault. He had been clinging and getting in the way of the healers and he probably should not have threatened to cut that elf's hand off when they had tried to take off Bilbori's trousers... But considering the situation he had found her and Sigrid in, he could not be blamed for wanting to be with her! And they still were not letting him in!

Struggling against Dori's grip for the hundredth time, Kíli growled angrily.

He was not the only angry one at least. It was not until everyone was evicted into the hallway outside of the apartment that they had been able to see the disheveled state Sigrid was in. It took a lot of gentle coaxing from Ori to get the story of what exactly had happened from the girl. In the end she had collapsed into Ori's arms, crying, while someone was sent to fetch her father from where he was working to help rebuild Dale. Dwalin and Nori were keeping Tilda distracted with a shady story involving theft, romance, and bloody fights in the street... Parts of it even drew Kíli's attention and made him remember the petition that was still in Bilbori's workroom. He tried to remember the story because it sounded suspiciously like they were telling Tilda about how they had courted and he knew Bilbori would love to hear the tale. And then he was reminded that he was being kept from her...

It seemed like every time Kíli started to calm down, he could hear Bilbori scream. No one else reacted though, so he knew he was imagining it. But it was driving him mad! He kept seeing her, pressed against that wall, the knife against her belly, that creep touching her... And then he would hear her scream and it was driving him insane! He struggled against Dori's hold again. He once more failed to break the dwarf's immensely powerful grip.

Whimpering, Kíli was starting to feel despair even as his brother wandered over and nudged Dori.

"Let him play with his braid." Fíli said. "That usually calms him when they're apart."

Humming thoughtfully, Dori released one of Kíli's arms.

Automatically Kíli reached up, pulling his braid from the clip in his hair. He pulled it around and pressed the bead to his lips. While tears filled his eyes at the wave of emotions that swept over him, the others got to see the sapphire and emerald flecks sparkle and glitter brightly with inner light.

No one bothered to pay attention to the passing of time before finally the door to the apartment opened. Everyone was suddenly on their feet and looking at Óin.

"Kíli..." Óin gestured wearily for Kíli to follow him and, as soon as Dori released him, he darted into the apartment.

Óin closed the door again, leaving the rest of them out in the hall.

- - -

Kíli hurried back to the bedroom he shared with Bilbori, nearly tripping over an elf on the way. Óin had not seemed excited and so his heart was in his throat when he burst into the bedroom... And froze.

Bilbori was laying still on the bed. Her face was pale, dark circles under her eyes, her hair damp with sweat... He could not remember a time when he had seen her look more beautiful than when she turned her tired gaze from the bundle on her chest to him and smiled.

"Kíli..." Bilbori's voice was soft and hoarse. "Come meet our daughter."

Tears welling, Kíli went to join his wife on the bed so that he could meet the second love of his life. As he climbed into the bed, he whispered, "And here I was going to surprise you tonight..."

"Oh? What for?"

"Because it's our anniversary." At her confused look, Kíli added, "One year ago today you opened that round, green door and changed my life." He looked with starry-eyed wonder at the infant resting on her chest, cautiously reaching out to brush the tips of his fingers on the barely there wisps of golden hair. "Nothing I planned could ever compare to what you give me every single day..." He turned his awed gaze up to hers. "That you allow me to call you mine."

- - -

Adjusting to having a baby in her life was an amazing experience. Never before had Bilbori had so many sleepless nights, such pained ears, such a persistent headache, such a lingering stench... And then she had to add a newborn to the mix as well. One thing she knew for certain was that she would not trade a moment of it for anything in the world. Though admittedly the fact that she had such a large group of willing babysitters was a massive help for when she needed rest or to work. But most of her days in the first month or so since giving birth were very similar...

Bilbori was seated at her work station, carefully carving tiny runes into the facets of the Arkenstone. Seated nearby on a plush rocking chair that had been a gift from Bofur, Kíli gently rocked back and forth while humming to the sleeping baby in his arms. As she finished another rune, she paused. Like every other time she finished a rune, she turned to look at the peaceful look of contentment on Kíli's face, his eyes closed, gently petting the short cap of golden curls on their daughter's head. From where she was seated, Bilbori could just barely make out the tiny points of her daughter's ears peeking from her wispy curls.

"You're staring again." Kíli murmured without opening his eyes.

"You stare, too." Bilbori defended, because he absolutely did.

Kíli grinned. "There's never anything better to look at." He slid his eyes open, angling his head against the back of the chair to admire her.

Bilbori slid out of her seat and walked the two steps it took her to reach the rocking chair before she leaned over and pressed her lips against Kíli's. The kisses were surprisingly chaste considering the way her lips tingled at the contact and she knew Kíli was experiencing something similar from late night talks they had had. After a few tender kisses she moved to the front of the chair and crawled up into it until she was seated across Kíli's lap, wrapped around the baby as she reached out to pet her hand over the sleeping girl's back while Kíli kissed the top of Bilbori's head. She sighed, resting her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes in contentment.

"Have you finished fixing it yet?"

"Soon. I can't even feel it anymore. I can be done tonight if you want to take her to dinner without me so I can focus."

Even though she could not see it, she could feel Kíli pouting. "But I like going in there with both of my ladies on my arms... Seeing everyone looking jealous that I get the two most beautiful dams in the mountain..."

Poking Kíli's side, Bilbori chuckled. "The only dams in the mountain..."

"In the world." Kíli corrected immediately.

Whatever response was going to be made was cut off by the sound of a tiny, squeaky yawn followed by an 'oof' from Kíli as their daughter woke up with a kick to his ribs. Immediately she had the attention of both of her parents as she blinked open deep brown eyes. After squirming for a bit, she lifted her head briefly before letting it fall back against Kíli's chest.

"Good morning, my precious." Bilbori murmured, smiling as she brushed her fingers against the soft, chubby cheek. She got a hum followed by a squeal in response, causing her to go cross-eyed as her ears were assaulted by the sound from so close.

Kíli chuckled, pressing a kiss to the baby's curls even as she kicked him again. "Just like your mother," he whispered. "Keeping us Durins in line."

"Oh the poor dear!" Bilbori feigned dismay. "She'll never get anything done with that task!"

Twisting his arm around, Kíli pinched Bilbori's side on a spot he knew was sensitive. She squealed in response and jerked away, falling off of his lap and onto the floor. Startled by the sound, the baby started to cry. Kíli laughed helplessly even as Bilbori picked herself up, complaining that he was a daft fool for upsetting the baby. Eventually they got ready to go to dinner together where their daughter was promptly stolen by her Uncle Fíli who had taken to wearing a baby sling at all times, just in case.

Bilbori finished the Arkenstone the next day, putting it away until Bard said he was comfortable returning it to Thorin.

- - -

Sigrid had taken to joining Bilbori and Liltare for afternoon tea. Since the attack the girl had been more determined to increase her combat proficiencies and Liltare had taken to assisting Bilbori in training. It was easier for the elf, being closer in height to the human and better able to show her how to attack similarly sized opponents. Bilbori's training had been excellent, but it was that of a dwarf aiming at someone twice their height. When Sigrid was not training with Liltare and Bilbori, she had taken to training with Nori who was teaching her the sneaky ways to fight back. She was becoming particularly proficient at aiming between the legs of her opponents.

When not helping Bilbori train Sigrid, Liltare spent her days in the terrace garden. Unlike what Elrond's sons had first claimed their reason for arriving, Liltare had told Bilbori that she had been ordered by Elrond to bring Bilbori a supply of some specific herbs... And the seeds with which to grow more. Liltare had been one of the primary caretakers of the gardens in Rivendell and so was happy to take over the small herb garden for Bilbori. She even helped with the farm lands that were cropping up between the mountain and Dale.

Bilbori had been grateful for the herbs. She had not had her special supply since Mirkwood and she did not want to get pregnant again while still nursing her first born. Speaking of her first born...

"Bilbo, I think she's hungry..." Fíli wandered in, the baby was in his sling and his arm was wrapped around the fussing infant. "She's clean, changed, had a nap recently, and even threw up on Uncle Thorin earlier when he tickled her too lon-" Fíli broke off his words, almost tripping over his own feet when he saw who had joined his sister for tea.

"Fíli, you remember Sigrid, yes?" Bilbori watched her newest brother like a hawk as he absently nodded his head.

"Good afternoon, Princess Sigrid." Fíli bowed slightly, not wanting to tip the fussing baby too far. His eyes never left the elf.

"And this is my friend Liltare. She arrived with the elves from Rivendell."

"Good after... Afternoon, Lil-... Lilly... Liltare!" Fíli's face was bright red and it was all Bilbori could do to not laugh. "I just remembered! Uncle wanted me to go check the...thing..." Turning abruptly, Fíli started to flee.

"Fíli!" Bilbori called sharply, causing him to freeze in place. "The baby..."

"Oh! Right...Umm" Fíli sheepishly moved over to Bilbori so she could take the baby out of the sling... His face was even more red than before. As soon as she was safely cradling the infant, he fled. "Sorry! Bye!"

The door had barely closed before all three women were giggling.

- - -

Dear Uncle Bilbo,

Or are you finally going by Aunt Bilbo now? I must admit I didn't receive your letter for some time. I was still in Brandy Hall when it arrived. Thankfully the Roper boy was there to give that raven something to eat. And goodness was I shocked to learn that ravens could speak! The Roper boy, Gilbin, said it was supposed to give the letter to me, but since Gilbin didn't know how to give directions to Brandy Hall he managed to talk it into giving the letter to him. He was kind enough to leave it in the post box of Bag End for me... And what news!

Did you really face a dragon? And Orcs? And get married! Oh! I have a new dwarf cousin! The Tooks will be so jealous that I got to know first when I tell them! I'm ever so pleased at the news. It never did feel right that you were always alone. I remember you were happier with Blanco, but it was more like you were happy with the idea of him than him. I'm so excited by the news I can barely think in correct sentences! But oh... Things are going so well in Brandy Hall... And I haven't finished my apprenticeship there. And, well, I can't see myself wanting to go anywhere without Primula and she's not wanting to even accept courting yet...

I'm sorry, Aunt Bilbori. I don't think I can bring myself to leave the Shire. I'll do my best to see if anyone else might like to relocate, though! I promise. And I do hope you can come visit when the baby's older! To think, a new dwarf in the family! I'm going to go write the Tooks now. Good luck!

Love, Drogo

- - -

Months later and still no one had managed to pull Kíli's sword from the floor where he had embedded it while exacting justice. They had been forced to cut the corpse away from around the sword to dispose of it. Eventually things had reached a point where one day Bifur had simply hung a plaque on the wall of the hallway closest to the sword and put up a fence around the area. The plaque read:

"This sword is a testament to the strength of Mahal's Will. Here Prince Kíli of Erebor slew a vile man caught in the act of assaulting both the Prince's wife Princess Bilbori of Erebor, who was pregnant with their first child, and their dear friend Princess Sigrid of Dale. No one has been able to move the sword since. Let it stand as a monument to the strength Mahal gives us in keeping safe that which He has declared should be honored above all."

- - -

"Da!" The joyful yell came from Kíli as he leaped into the arms of an older dwarf that was in the process of climbing down from a wagon. "Your leg's better!"

"Of course it's better, boy! It was just a break!" The dwarf laughed, hugging Kíli tightly.

On the other side of the wagon, Fíli was similarly assaulting another dwarf with red hair nearly as bright as Bombur's. "Mam!"

"Fíli! What in the world happened!" The revealed Dís was grasping the empty sleeve hanging on her son's left side.

"I was stupid!" Fíli cheerfully replied, using his remaining arm to pull his mother into another hug.

Over on the other side, Kíli had already dragged his father off to introduce him to his wife. "Da, this is Bilbori! My wife!" While his father was still stunned at the abrupt revelation, Kíli turned his huge grin to Bilbori before saying, "This is my Da, Fraylik."

Shaking her head with bemusement at her husband, Bilbori looked at the introduced dwarf. He looked like Fíli... If Fíli were a hundred years older, had brown hair close to the color Kíli dyed his, and had green eyes that is. Fraylik's beard was much longer as well, reaching halfway down his torso in a single thick braid and he was lacking Fíli's distinctive mustache braids. "Welcome to Erebor, Prince Fraylik." Bilbori greeted with a welcoming smile.

Fraylik looked the small dam up and down. He noted that despite the finery she wore her feet were bare and her ears had an odd point to them, but she did not seem tall enough to be part elf. He looked to where his youngest son was regarding his wife with a besotted grin and smiled at her. "None of that now. I haven't seen my son smile that brightly in... Well, I don't think he's ever reached that level of bright before!" He pulled her into a hug, quickly skimming his lips against hers. "I'm sure you don't need it now, but welcome to the family, daughter."

Bilbori beamed up at him.

That was when Fíli brought Dís over to them and the brothers swapped which parent they greeted. After several minutes of excited chatter, exclamations over a missing limb, and questioning over the health and welfare of everyone in general, Kíli finally drew his mother over. "Bilbo, you know my mother Dís."

"Of course." Bilbori agreed, smiling pleasantly, even if the expression was fixed in place. She tilted her head politely. "Your highness."

Though she didn't recognize the small woman her son had decided to introduce her to, something about the voice caused Dís's spine to stiffen.

"Mam! This is Bilbori, my wife!" Kíli beamed happily, wrapping an arm around Bilbori.

Whatever Dís had planned to say froze on her tongue and she immediately narrowed her eyes. Whatever new thing she was about to say was interrupted by the unmistakable squeal of an infant. Both younger dwarves turned toward the sound as if trained and Dís followed their gazes to see a tall elf with short blond hair emerge from the mountain holding a tiny bundle. From the top of the bundle poked a head of golden curls. To Dís's shock, Kíli's grin grew even brighter and he bounced over to the elf. "There she is!"

The elf leaned down to safely transfer the bundle to Kíli who adjusted his hold on the baby. He supported her in his arms while she looked around with sparkling brown eyes. Kíli gestured for the elf to follow as he made his way back over to stand next to his wife. "Mam, Da... I'm so very happy to introduce you to our daughter, Fílikori!"

- - -

While everyone else was greeting the arrivals from Belegost, Thorin and Bard were meeting with the newest representative of Esgaroth. The man was watched every moment he was in the mountain and scuttled about as if afraid one wrong move would see him meeting his predecessor's fate even months after arriving. It had taken ages of traveling back and forth for the Master to properly convey that he had had nothing to do with the miscreant's actions and that he only had the best intentions in dealing with both Erebor and Dale. But eventually they had reached an accord and so while they would both have preferred welcoming the arrivals, they were unfortunately busy.

- - -

Later that night, Dís was expressing her displeasure. She had been tense, looking a cross between horrified and furious ever since being introduced to Bilbori and Fílikori, and she apparently could not hold it in any longer. Fortunately for her, Bilbori had already taken the baby back to her and Kíli's apartment for the night, the short-haired elf following as a guard.

"I don't like this. You wanted nothing to do with just any dam, Kíli. She's obviously a gold-grubbing, power-hungry creature that managed to trap you! Where did you even pick up that thing?"

Had Dís been paying better attention, she would have noticed the suddenly cold look that had fallen over not only Kíli, but every other dwarf that heard her that had been living in Erebor since the battle.

Fraylik noticed, though. "Dear, I don't think that is..."

"And really? Pretending to be a dwarf when she's obviously got elf blood? And that elf that follows her around? Why was no one keeping an eye on Kíli when that thing was around?" Dís turned a furious look onto a random dwarf on her left who, unfortunately for her, happened to be an absolutely enraged looking Ori... A dwarf she recognized as Balin's apprentice. Startled at the look from the usually timid dwarf, Dís finally looked around and realized that she had somehow infuriated everyone... But most especially her youngest. She shivered at the pure cold rage with which Kíli regarded her.

"I love you, Mam..." Kíli began, his tone deceptively calm. "But if you ever insult my wife and daughter like that again, I will petition to the Council of Erebor to have you banished from the mountain."

Pulling back sharply, Dís looked stunned. But though she looked, she did not see anything in her son that indicated he would do any less than what he said. And from the silence around them, no one would argue. She quickly backtracked. "I'm sorry, Kíli. Truly. But you must admit this is a surprise. You've never shown interesting in anyone, you haven't since you were such a small thing."

Kíli's brow furrowed. He knew he had not shown interest in much aside from the bow back in Belegost... having spent time hunting when he could not find a craft.. But he knew what his craft was now, so that was no longer important. "Well of course I wouldn't show interest in anyone. I hadn't met Bilbori, yet."

Neither of them heard the amused snort coming from the side of the room.

"There, you see!" Dís stated, "This is the first time you've shown an interest in anyone since that apprentice!"

Fraylik suddenly threw back his head, laughing loudly. "I remember that! He went on for, what? Four years? About the pretty dwarf with the 'sparkle hammer.' Ha! I lost track of how many times we had to hunt him down when he got lost trying to find that apprentice."

Stunned, Kíli glanced over at Fíli who shrugged. "I kind of remember something about a sparkle hammer. It was a long time ago."

"What are you talking about?" Kíli was bewildered.

"Oh you boys wanted to get a special present for Thorin one year." Fraylik said cheerfully. "You wanted to make a toy glow like a real forge. So Dís took you to the Rune Guild. Apparently you two caused a ruckus and made one of the apprentices blow something up. The apprentice saved you but you'd seen the hammer sparkling and the apprentice had to be taken to the healers for some cuts to the leg from what I understand. Kíli wouldn't stop talking about the apprentice for years. Kept saying how warm and happy they were and that he wanted them." Chuckling fondly at the memory, Fraylik rubbed his chin. "It wasn't until we got him his first toy bow that we had any peace."

Off to one side the amused dwarf from earlier burst out laughing.

Confused, Fraylik looked around to see the dwarf with the strange rectangular pit in his skull laughing... And several others had changed their looks as well. Ori and his brothers were looking at Kíli with a new degree of fond acceptance and Kíli... Kíli looked as if he had just been handed the moon.

"This is... Perfect!" Kíli no longer even remember being upset with his mother. "Da!" He threw his arms around his father before giving his mother a hug as well. "Don't you see?! I can't wait to tell Bilbori! Oh! She already knew! That beautiful, brilliant woman!" There was no mistaking the besotted glow as Kíli ran out of the room, no doubt heading toward his wife.

"What am I missing?" Fraylik wondered.

It was the laughing dwarf who spoke up. "I was there that day. It was my apprentice that got caught in the explosion saving the boys."

Realization setting in, Fíli felt his jaw drop. "Truly?!"

Several of the others were cluing in as well and ever single one of them could not have looked more pleased.

"What is it that we're missing?" Dís and Fraylik were both still confused.

"My apprentice," Bifur began, "was Bilbori, Kíli's wife and, apparently, the woman he's been in love with his whole life... And we always thought he was joking when he claimed exactly that." At the stupefied look on Dís's face, Bifur burst out laughing again.

Chapter Text

Dís was up early, walking through the halls. She had been so young when Erebor fell, barely ten, and had no real memories of the mountain. It was giving her time to think while she explored. When Thorin and Fíli had escorted her and Fraylik to their apartment, Dís had been fascinated to learn it had been hers... Nearly two centuries ago she had lived in that room and now it felt like a temporary place in a passing inn. Thorin had been pleased to show her and tell her stories he remembered of playing with her and Frerin in the halls she now walked through. It had only been Fíli's calm silence, despite Thorin praising him and his brother for fixing the rooms their selves, that had clued her in on the fact that perhaps Thorin had only been pleased to see her because he had not been present for the incident.

Sighing, Dís shifted her thoughts away from the incident as she continued to explore. It did not take her long before she found her feet taking her to the throne room. It was not the throne room used for outsiders. That thing was a death trap hanging over a pit deep into the mountain. No, this was the throne room used for the citizens of Erebor when court was called. A glimmer of light caught her attention and she peeked in. It did not take her long to recognize her brother's head from where he was sprawled mostly sideways on the throne. He was facing away, probably having fallen asleep. She started to leave, when a soft voice caught her attention.

"And this will be your throne one day." Thorin's soft rumble carried in the silent chamber. "And outsiders will praise you as the best King in the world because you will have your mother's wisdom and your father's joy..."

Expectantly, Dís looked around for Fíli, but she did not see him. She finally walked softly into the room only to find that the baby Kíli had introduced as his daughter was leaning against the leg Thorin had propped up on the arm of the throne, happily chewing on one of his braids. The baby spotted Dís first, giving a gummy smile around the braid in her mouth and Dís was amazed at how much she looked like Kíli at that age. But Dís's mind still did not want to believe.

"I'm surprised they found someone willing to let them be parents with the mountain still in such disrepair."

Thorin stiffened slightly at the voice and words. When he spoke, it was with the same soft rumble that he had used with the baby. "The only one that gifted them a child was Mahal." He smiled tenderly at the baby as she yanked on a braid that was not in her mouth. He glanced over and saw the disbelieving look on his sister's face.

"Are you telling me that Mahal decided they needed a baby during a quest involving a dragon?" Dís was clearly incredulous, looking down at the infant.

"We were surprised as well, even Bilbori was surprised."

Now Dís was really disbelieving.

"She had gotten ill after a night spent drifting down a river. She was barely aware of herself, let alone what was happening when she heard the call of His Forge. You would know something of that, wouldn't you?" Thorin turned his gaze back to Fílikori as Dís took a step back. "It led her right to our Kíli. And I am grateful. Little Fílikori here saved our lives." He leaned down to nuzzle against the baby, making her giggle and smack the sides of his head.

"How?"

"I was mad, Dís. Mad with the gold sickness. I was prepared to pit thirteen dwarves and what I thought was a hobbit against an entire army of elves and humans over gold. If Bilbori hadn't learned she was pregnant and took steps to ensure our safety, I'm not certain what would have happened." He huffed a laugh, tickling Fílikori's chin as she yawned. "No, I am certain. We would have died because I was being stubborn."

"So this creature, that looks barely old enough to even be an adult, claims to be Master Bifur's apprentice from over sixty years ago, and somehow manages to stop you from getting everyone killed?" Dís shook her head. "Can you see why I find this so hard to believe?"

"Not really, no." Thorin admitted. He pulled Fílikori up into a hug as he moved to sit properly on the throne. "But I can also see from your expression that no one has properly introduced you to Bilbori... That you can remember." At Dís's confused look, Thorin nodded. "She was introduced to us, long before Fíli and Kíli were born. Before you even married Fraylik. She may look strange because her father was a hobbit, but she is our cousin, daughter of Dilnobri Jewelbearer and currently the Matriarch of House Ri."

Dís's jaw dropped as her brain tracked down the memory as well as the history of House Ri.

Thorin nodded again as he saw the realization settling in. "If she were so inclined, she would be King Bori and we would all be following her rule." He allowed himself to smile at the look on Dís's face. "In fact, we are anyway."

"What do you mean?" Dís's tone was wary.

"There has been one dam in the mountain since we returned... Who do you think has been running the Council this whole time?" He then flicked a slightly scornful look at Dís. "It isn't as if you or any other dam volunteered to join us or appoint anyone else to the role."

Dís stiffened at the accusation because Thorin knew full well why she had not joined the quest. She changed tactics, moving over to get a better look at the girl. The baby peered up at her with Kíli's big brown eyes under a mop of golden curls before babbling something around Thorin's braid. "So now you sit here in the dark, on your throne, and babysit while the elder line rules the kingdom?"

"Of course." Thorin confessed. "I have to be early if I'm going to get any time with my granddaughter before Fíli gets a hold of her." He tickled the baby again...

And just in time as one of the side doors slammed open and Fíli stomped into the throne room. He looked supremely irritated as he headed straight for Thorin. Stopping in front of the throne, Fíli demanded, "Give me my Kori." He held his arm out expectantly.

Laughing, Thorin stood. As he did, Fílikori noticed Fíli and stretched her arms out with a happy squeal. He easily handed Fílikori over to her uncle. While Fíli cooed nonsense at the baby, Thorin tugged the sling Fíli wore around to secure the baby in place against Fíli's chest. He pressed a kiss to Fílikori's curls and gave Fíli a gentle head bump.

Fíli, his niece acquired, turned to depart. He hesitated when he noticed Dís and gave her a polite, though curt, nod. "Mother." And then he left.

Dís's heart hurt at the entire scene. Her proud, beautiful son requiring assistance just to securely carry his niece, and the bitterness he had grown for herself. "What happened to his arm? No one told us..."

"Your daft son decided to try using a bow in the middle of a full scale battle against orcs."

Sighing heavily, Dís rubbed her brow. "He barely ever touched a bow before the quest, why would he do that?"

Thorin just smiled, shaking his head. "Sister." He waited until she was looking at him. "If you do not wish to alienate your children further... Visit the northwest corridor from the training room nearest the main armory. You'll know what you're looking for. And when you find it... Think long and hard on what exactly it means." Patting his sister on the shoulder, Thorin departed.

Dís decided to do exactly that, leaving the throne room and following the plaques that were obviously new giving directions to various locations. It took her a while, but she eventually found what Thorin was talking about. A sturdy, decorative fence blocked off a section of the corridor and wrapped around a spot that was stained with blood. To one side of the stain, her youngest son's familiar sword was half buried in the stone. She stared for a long time before noticing the plaque on the wall. After reading it, she couldnot resist reaching over the fence and wrapping her hand around the sword's handle. She tugged.

The sword did not budge.

There was not even a wiggle. No matter how Dís shifted or pulled the sword did not have even the tiniest smidge of give for how firmly it was embedded in the solid stone floor. She read the plaque again and started to think. As much as she hated it, there were more and more signs that Mahal very much approved of the pairing. She needed to think about what was more important to her, holding on to whatever irritation she felt for Bilbori merely existing... Or realize that, as unexpected as it was, she now had a granddaughter she could enjoy.

The more she thought about it, the more it sounded as if Kíli had been thrilled with the idea of springing the surprise on her... And she had been a bitch in return. She had a lot of apologizing to do. Starting with her son and his wife.

- - -

Things had been hectic the first day or two after the arrival of the dwarves formerly of Belegost. It turned out that none of the original Council of Erebor had lived to see the return to the mountain and so it was up to Bilbori to begin considering who she would allow into her Council. As such, she had to go around and meet the ladies. So, naturally, the first ladies she went to were Bombur's and Glóin's wives.

Glóin had absconded with his family right after they arrived, taking them to the apartment Fíli and Kíli had cleared for him for their own private reunion. It was not until the next morning at the group breakfast that they learned the surprise Gísla had for Glóin... Apparently, thanks to Glóin's enthusiastic goodbyes before the quest, Gísla was able to present their second child to him. A daughter she had named Grélla that was currently being held by her big brother Gimli. Bilbori recognized Gísla's voice from Council meetings, so Bilbori knew the dam would not have too much trouble should she be invited to the Erebor Council. But the way she was currently doting on both of her children, with Glóin doing the same from Gimli's other side, she might not want to join right away.

Poor Gimli wore a long suffering look at the parental attention. The lad looked first toward Fíli, but the crown prince was busy cooing at Fílikori and spooning applesauce into the baby's mouth while Fraylik made goofy faces trying to get her to giggle. Gimli tried Kíli next, but his cousin was being disgustingly adorable with his wife. Sighing, Gimli looked around at the rest of the table until his eyes landed on the one he never would have expected to see at Thorin's table... An elf. He got so distracted that it was not until Grélla yanked his beard and screamed at him, demanding his attention, that he remembered where he was and gave his tiny sister a spoonful of eggs.

Letting her gaze move along from watching Gimli, Bilbori's eyes stopped on the other dam present. She had been briefly introduced to her earlier and she had been stunned. Her name was Faetrill and she was absolutely the most delicate and dainty dwarf Bilbori had ever seen. Not that it seemed to matter, she had seen the dainty thing stand strong under Bofur's enthusiastic greeting, so she was obviously as sturdy as any dwarf. Which made Bilbori feel more secure in the dam's welfare, as she was Bombur's wife! She made Bilbori seem like a full sized dwarf. Despite herself, Bilbori felt her mind boggling at the mechanics of that pairing before she shook it off. Faetrill was pretty and soft and seemed very kindhearted... Council sessions would probably eat her alive. But there was something about watching the little dam twist Bofur's ear and threaten to wash his mouth out with soap for whatever he had said that told Bilbori she would survive. And her kindness would be useful to offset the conflicts that would absolutely would arise due to one very important fact...

Bilbori allowed her gaze to move to where Dís was whispering furiously at Thorin from her seat at his side.

Though Dís had given both Kíli and herself a heartfelt apology, Dís did not offer the traditional welcome. Thankfully for Kíli's sake, she also did not reject the addition indicating she was still considering the matter. There was absolutely going to be conflict there. Even back in Belegost when Dís had never known her name they had argued constantly during Council meetings. She recalled one of the dams had warned that there would be complete chaos and possibly the mountain would collapse if the two ever agreed on anything. Bilbori quirked her lips, amused at the memory. And then Kíli was distracting her from her thoughts with a well placed brush of his scruff along the rim of her ear and she let thoughts of the Council drift away.

- - -

Bilbori was tending to a matter she had been meaning to look at for a while. But it was the first time she had a chance to look into it. She had given a well fed and sleeping Fílikori to her Papa Bifur for his turn cuddling the baby and told Kíli she had craft business to tend to in the forge. From there, Bilbori had gone to retrieve the foul ring from the lock box that still held the now safely inert Arkenstone. Relocking the box, she pocketed the ring and headed down to the forge.

Since at least one forge was always lit, it did not take long for Bilbori to activate the bellows pump and get the flames burning bright. She pulled on some thick leather gloves and added more coal to the forge before then placing the ring inside a crucible. Using tongs, she placed the crucible into the fire. What better way to get rid of a foul gold ring covered than to melt it down?

Slipping off the gloves while she waited to give the fire a chance to burn hot enough to melt the ring, Bilbori moved over to one of the drafting tables out of the immediate range of heat from the forge. She sat down and started doodling sketches for possible ideas. One thing she wanted to do was make a big rune powered cart to carry people back and forth between Erebor and Dale. It would take some time though, as there were very few Rune Crafters in Erebor. Only one Master had transferred from Belegost and none of the journeymen or apprentices had joined him. So that left three Rune Crafters in all of Erebor. Master Thescond, Bilbori herself, and Master Bifur, which had thrilled everyone when they learned that without the axe in his skull he no longer had headaches when channeling the magic. He still had difficulty with keeping his hands steady enough for the really fine details, but he was able to work on his craft once more.

Having gotten lost in her thoughts, Bilbori was startled by the sound of a dwarf bringing a new load of coal into the great forge and she sighed at her silliness. Standing, she pulled the gloves back on before she made her way over to the forge and, once again using the tongs, pulled the crucible from the fire... She tipped the gold out of the crucible onto a work surface only to nearly drop it in shock when the perfectly intact golden ring fell out of the glowing hot crucible. Setting it far aside, Bilbori moved to investigate the ring... There were words on it that had not been there before, glowing with a fiery menace and it radiated the foul energy even more strongly than before.

Hesitantly, Bilbori pulled a glove from one of her hands and stretched it out, getting a feel for the dark energy that radiated from the ring. It was thick and heavy, like it could cut skin just picking it up... And there was no heat from the ring at all. She carefully picked it up, feeling that it was still quite cool. Just staring at it for a while, Bilbori watched as the words seemed to ripple and vanish again into a plain gold surface. Bilbori narrowed her eyes before dropping the ring back into the hot crucible. She pulled the glove on and returned the thing to the fire.

This time when she dumped the ring out, she quickly took it to the drafting table and copied down the runes and words on it as clearly and exactly as she could. She tucked the parchment away so she would not lose it and regarded the ring again. She could not leave it as it was. It was completely unacceptable to have such foul magic around. So she cast her gaze around the forge as an idea formed. It did not take her long and soon enough she was dropping the ring into a mold filled with molten iron. Once the iron had had time to set, she dumped the mold into a bucket of cold water.

Giving it time to cool as she sketched ideas at the table, Bilbori muttered to herself. Of course, when it was cool enough to investigate, she discovered that the ring was heavy enough to sink to the bottom of the iron and thus was visible on one side of the metal ball. Grumbling to herself, she set to work on getting the ring to stay firmly within the center of the iron ball. Once that was complete and the metal was sufficiently cold to the touch, Bilbori tucked the ball into her pocket, gathered the plans she had drafted, turned off the bellows, cleaned up any mess she had made, and left the forge...

As soon as she walked out of the room she was met with a pouting Kíli and a fussing Fílikori. Apparently Bilbori had missed several meals and though she had been given soft foods to help tide her over, Fílikori had not wanted to nurse from Gísla, though the dam had been willing to try. Giving a quick trade of her items for the baby, Bilbori was soon walking tiredly with Fílikori at her breast and Kíli beside her, heading back to their apartment.

- - -

The next few days were like the Arkenstone all over again, but thankfully Bilbori already had a rune set to work with when shielding dark energy. The iron ball was soon a map of runes hiding any trace of the ring buried within. But it still did not seem enough to Bilbori. She had not been able to discuss it with Gandalf since he had faffed off in the middle of winter, so she could not bring the parchment to his attention yet, but she would as soon as he returned. Until then, she felt the thing needed to be hidden and a metal ball covered in runes was not good hiding...

So Bilbori did the smartest thing she could have done in the circumstances. She covered the iron ball with clay and turned the whole thing into a modified version of a miner's light. Pressing three of the runes on the modified light's surface at the same time caused it to light up and pressing them again turned the light off. With that done, Bilbori left the light in a dish on the back of the toilet in the water closet, pleased with her efforts to disguise the thing.

- - -

It was perhaps a month later when Dís was spotted heading into the Council chamber with a determined look on her face. Not long after, Balin emerged from the room carrying a sheaf of parchments before scurrying off as quickly as he could. Bets were soon being placed on whom would survive the encounter that was inevitably going to take place.

Inside the chamber, which was just one of the more cozy sitting rooms with only Bilbori yet on the Council, Bilbori herself was working on putting away the records of crops Liltare said were starting to be harvested already and which portions would be going to Dale and which were being brought to Erebor. Balin had just left with the records of what wages were to be paid where to take to Thorin when Dís walked into the room.

Dís looked around, taking in the very informal way Bilbori was dressed as she sat cross-legged atop her desk while sorting papers. Though considering the size of the desk, it did make it easier to use the entire surface from that spot. "So this is the Council of Erebor."

"Unfortunately." Bilbori agreed as she marked off a page before gathering a stack together and sliding them into a folder.

Pausing at the response, Dís regarded the creature she now knew was half-dwarf, half-hobbit. She tried, briefly, to see what drew her son to the small woman; what had drawn him for decades apparently. "You do not like being the ruler of Erebor?"

"Dís..." Bilbori sighed, looking up from her papers. "I will be honest with you. I never wanted to be on the Council back in Belegost. I was there at first out of respect for my mother's memory and to honor the trust I was given for being on the Council at my young age. I was planning to step down. And then your brother walked into the session one day to request the armies be sent to take back Erebor."

Dís frowned, able to place the voice now that Bilbori had confirmed she had been on the Council. "You objected. Quite loudly. Why? You rule the mountain now, why would you object to sending armies?"

"My brother was an officer in the Belegost Militia! I would never send him on such a death sentence."

"A death sentence! Thorin succeeded and here we all are, safe within the mountain."

"Do you have any idea how many times your sons nearly died that I personally know of, Dís?" Bilbori asked, moving aside the papers so she could slide off the front of her desk and confront the elder princess. "First they nearly drowned because a pony fell into the river. Then three cave trolls wanted to have us all for dinner. Then we were attacked by orcs with a pack of wargs... All of that was within the span of a week!" She ignored Dís's horrified look and continued. "After we left Rivendell we wound up in a thunder battle of stone giants throwing boulders in the mountains during a rainstorm and all of us were nearly crushed, nearly fell, and were almost crushed again within a matter of minutes! And that very same night we nearly fell to our deaths again, only this time we ended up inside Goblin Town within the Misty Mountains. I don't even know how many times they nearly died there because I got separated from the group for two days!"

Dís opened her mouth to say something, but Bilbori was not finished.

"After that we were nearly burned alive in the tops of trees while wolves and goblins danced around the flames, risked falling off of eagles, and risked the wrath of a giant man that could turn into a bear! Thankfully for us Beorn is actually very kind and helped us a great deal. But then Mirkwood! Mirkwood was driving us insane! We were low on food, half starved, and almost eaten by spiders that were bigger than horses and then taken captive by Thranduil and left in his dungeons where I got separated again because they found out I was a woman and didn't want to leave me with the others. I went weeks without seeing them!" Bilbori's voice was a low growl as she listed off the ways her family could have died. "Then we escaped in barrels of all things and had to float down river for two days without food and only what water seeped into the barrels."

Once more Dís tried to speak up, but Bilbori was not finished. "Then we at least had a moment to breathe while we waited for Durin's Day. But then it was the dragon! Do you know what the dwarfs not in the Company call me now?" She drew herself up to her full height, which wasn't that impressive, but the air about her... Dís could absolutely see the shadow of Durin himself into this halfling descendant with the way she looked. "I am Bilbori Dragontongue because I went into this mountain and spoke with the dragon himself, luring him out of the mountain so that your son could face him and become the Dragonslayer. And after that your brother, Thorin, the one who had been trying to get the armies in the first place, was willing to go to war with men and elves over gold that rightfully belonged to Dale in the first place! And just when I managed to defuse that situation, an army of orcs more than three times the size of our combined armies, arrived. The only reason Kíli didn't die in that fight was because he went with me into the mountain so that our daughter was not at risk. Fíli lost his arm and nearly bled to death with Thorin nearly doing the same protecting him with a spear in his gut and arrows in his lungs."

By the time she finished, Bilbori was nearly panting with suppressed rage. "So tell me, Princess Dís... What exactly was it that made you actually endorse Thorin to sway the Council into agreeing to this farce of a quest that was as good as sentencing your sons to death?"

Dís had lost all color in her face by the time Bilbori's question came. She felt sick. She had no expected any of that. None of the others had said anything about it... And yet she could not see a lie on Bilbori's face. She opened her mouth to answer, but the words stuck her tongue to the roof of her mouth and she could only stand there gormlessly. And then the question fully registered and her mouth snapped shut as she stood up straight. She looked down her nose at the smaller halfling and, despite having lived her entire life as royalty, she could not help but feel like a commoner under the imperious look she was given in return. When she finally did speak, it was with the only thing she could say.

"You truly are a Durin." Dís gathered what bravery she could and pulled the obviously furious Bilbori into an abrupt hug before pecking a quick kiss onto the halfling's lips. "Welcome to the family, daughter. I hope that one day I might help you rule." Once more sealing her lips closed, Dís turned and walked out of the Council room, keeping her secrets her own.

- - -

Bilbori was perched in the middle of a soft, plush sofa that had been moved into what was once a dining hall. Though it was quite a distance from where all of their apartments had ended up being, the dining hall that the Company had claimed right after Smaug was killed had been turned into a cozy den for them to gather and just relax. The decor was a mix of dwarven angles and stone with curling woodwork and soft cushions everywhere. It was quite the most comfortable place in the mountain. On this particular night, the day after Durin's Day and technically the anniversary of their first night in the mountain, the entire Company was present as well as their immediate family members. She let her eyes drift around the room, taking in the relaxed postures of most everyone present.

The soft rumble of voices did not drown out the sound from where Bofur was teaching Faetrill and Gísla to sing the song they had worked on as they climbed into the Misty Mountains what felt like a lifetime ago. Bombur was humming along, his voice never having fully recovered after the horrific injury that had nearly cost him his life. Near them, Bifur and Balin were speaking intently with Liltare about some crops Bifur wanted to try growing over the winter.

Glóin, Dwalin, Nori, and Thorin were indulging in ale and talking over a new trade proposal they wanted to present to the 'Council' once the holidays were over. Glóin was holding the sleeping Grélla in his arms.

Óin was conversing quietly with Dís off to one side, their half Iglishmêk conversation obscured by the angle of their bodies.

Ori, his new Master bead visible in his hair, was quietly sketching. He was probably recording the moment so he could show a comparison of what the room looked like now compared to the dusty image of bedrolls spread out among the dining tables and chairs that it was their first nights within the mountain.

Off to one side, Fraylik was entertaining Dori with stories of the attempts other dwarves had made in Belegost to replicate Dori's masterpieces, much to her eldest brother's amusement. Frequent laughter could be heard from the two.

But two sights in particular kept drawing Bilbori's eyes from the task in her hands. The primary one was right beside her where her beautiful starry-eyed dwarf was cuddling with their daughter and whispering sweet nothings against the golden curls even as he tried to get the little one to hold still enough to weave some tiny braids into her hair.

The other sight that drew her eye was where Fíli and Gimli were huddled near the fireplace whispering. Every four minutes, like clockwork, Fíli's head turned to gaze at where Liltare was speaking intently with Balin and Bifur. He would stare, start to turn red, and Gimli would quickly jab him in the side where Fíli's missing arm prevented him from dodging the strike. With a flinch Fíli would return to their whispered conversation. Gimli, in turn, kept getting distracted as he turned to look in Bilbori's direction. Fíli always returned the favor, though Gimli's ribs were not getting anywhere near as bruised.

Despite this, Bilbori knew it was not her that Gimli kept looking at. The young dwarf was instead looking between Bilbori's legs... Where Legolas was seated on the floor in front of her. Her attention once more drawn back to the task literally in her hands, Bilbori combed her fingers through Legolas's pale locks. With a soft hum, she pulled out a section to a specific length and snipped the lock off with the scissors she was wielding.

Almost as one, every dwarf within the room seemed to hear the sound of scissors slicing through hair regardless of the background noise and every one of them flinched. It was hilariously funny to the halfling and elf. Both Bilbori and Legolas grinned every time they witnessed the actions. Without saying a thing, she continued to slowly massage her elf-son's scalp as she measured the length of his hair and trimmed it to a length only slightly longer than it had been after the initial cut she had given him so long ago. The cut length was dropped into a bin beside Legolas.

Bilbori was just finishing with cutting Legolas's hair when Faetrill suddenly spoke up. "How?!" She practically squeaked. "How do you even know how to cut hair?"

"Hobbits regularly cut their hair." Bilbori explained, tossing the long curls she had left unbound save for her marriage braid that day. "My hair is not quite as curly as a hobbit's hair and when the curls get too long they tangle horribly. So lasses will regularly trim the ends and tie it up into buns while lads keep their hair short. Just long enough to cover their ears." She outlined the length on Legolas's convenient head. "I spent ten years living in the Shire taking care of my nephew until he came of age and a wizard showed up on my doorstep. I learned to cut his hair for him."

"So you give your elf son a hobbit haircut?" Fraylik sounded amused.

"There are no elves here." Thorin stated firmly, taking another pull from his mug of ale.

Nearly everyone cracked a smile at what had become almost a joke at his long standing declaration that Legolas was just a tall and awkward dwarf. When asked if Legolas wasn't more like a tall hobbit, Thorin had denied it, claiming that half a hobbit was already more than the mountain could handle... Bilbori had nearly broken his leg with the kick she had given him for that comment and it had taken both of her children and her husband to calm her down from that fit.

The others had glanced over at Liltare who, though Bilbori insisted she be present, had not been officially adopted into any dwarf family. Even Liltare looked surprised and started to speak up.

"Not a single elf!" Thorin insisted before anyone could actually question his declaration.

Rolling her eyes, because of course Thorin was slowly getting drunk over there... She blamed Glóin for it, he always seemed to turn drinking into a competition. She shook her head and turned her attention to her father-in-law. "No, Fraylik. Unfortunately his hair is lacking the proper curls to ever be hobbit hair." She drew her fingers through Legolas's short hair once more, checking to make sure it was even one last time before she fluffed it slightly. "I do believe that's done it."

Turning in place, Legolas leaned over to wrap his long arms around Bilbori's waist and rest his head in her lap. "Thank you, Emig." He murmured happily.

Bilbori leaned over to press a kiss to the top of his head. "You're welcome, dearest."

Legolas then stood, taking the scissors from Bilbori and putting them away even as he cleaned up any stray hairs and placed the bin back where it belonged. He was soon moving back over to take up the empty spot on the couch next to Bilbori. He used his height to lean over and peek at his tiny little sister where she was cooing in their Atheg's embrace.

Bilbori promptly complained about being squished between two giants causing both Kíli and Legolas to laugh even as they shifted aside to give her more room.

Fílikori noticed her big brother and was soon reaching her chubby arms out for the not-elf.

Kíli gasped. "I see when I'm not wanted!" He feigned a broken-heart even as Legolas plucked the baby from his arms and pulled her in for a cuddle while she squealed happily. "This is mutiny, I'm sure of it..."

"Well, he did steal an army... What's one more mutiny?" Bilbori wondered.

"I've married into a line of thieves." Kíli lamented.

"And just think..." Bilbori leaned over to press a kiss to her faux-pouting husband and whisper into his ear. "One day Kori's going to steal the throne!"

Kíli grinned. "I think I can live with that. She deserves no less!" He pulled Bilbori into his arms and nuzzled her.

"Mahal help us!" Gimli exclaimed. "They really are disgusting!"

Fíli burst out laughing.

- - -

Winter was nearly over and Bilbori's thoughts had been bothering her lately. She tossed and turned despite Kíli trying both to give her room and to cuddle her close. Eventually she would get out of bed early and head to her workroom where she toyed around with ideas that flittered through her mind. After almost two weeks of this, Bilbori had a different destination in mind when she kissed her sleeping husband's brow. She checked on Fílikori where she slept in the bassinet within their room and then, once she was certain both were sleeping soundly, she left the room, closing the door quietly behind her. From there, she left the apartment entirely, still in her night clothes.

Moving with a purpose, Bilbori traversed the rather impressive distance between their apartment to the one that Fíli had selected for himself while they were picking places for the Company to live. She stopped outside the door and banged loudly on the wooden surface. After a few minutes of silence she banged again. This time she could faintly pick up sounds within and a few minutes later the door opened.

Fíli was clearly half asleep, wearing only a pair of hastily pulled on trousers, and rubbing sleep from his eyes. "Bilbo?" He blinked in the dim lighting of the hall. "What's wrong?"

Staring intently at Fíli, Bilbori considered the half-clothed blond for several minutes. She stared long enough that he inevitably started to blush under her regard. "Fíli..." Bilbori began slowly. She moved her gaze up to meet his eyes. "How do you feel about... Experimenting?" As she asked the question, Bilbori reached out to place her hand upon Fíli's shoulder.

Narrowing his eyes, Fíli looked confused, horrified, and intrigued. Eventually curiosity won out and he stepped aside, allowing Bilbori into his apartment.

The door closed.

- - -

~Fin~