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“Bilbo, Bilbo, come on down, we have to close the gate.” Balin said coming up next to the shivering hobbit. Bilbo nodded and took one more look over the white landscape and the dark heavy clouds on the horizon and followed the advisor down the stairs back into the safety of the mountain.
“It’s going to be a bad one this year,” the dwarf continued. “It’s a good thing Dáin was able to get us supplies before he left. We won’t be leavin’ the mountain til spring.” The dwarf looked up as a cold wind whistled around the mountain. “Probably late spring. I’m going to go talk with Bombur, make sure our rations are set. I’ll see you later Bilbo.” he clapped the hobbit on the shoulder before disappearing down the hallway.
Bilbo looked back over his shoulder as the door to the last walkway outside. The thud of the gate blocking out the grey winter light was echoed in his stomach filling him with dread. The hobbit turned away with a frown shaking his head as he continued down the hallway himself, headed for the library, and hopefully for a distraction.
About a month and a half into the mountains lockdown had some of the dwarrow worried about their resident hobbit. He was rarely leaving his rooms and when he did he moved like a shade, there physically but far from his normal sharp wit. The Ori was the first to figure out something was wrong when Bilbo stopped showing up to help organize the library. Dwalin was the next one to realize something was wrong as the hobbit stopped baking for the dwarrow. A quick word to Nori gave the hobbit a team of watchers the few times he left his rooms.
By the third month, Bombur realized something was wrong, as the dwarrow tasked with bringing the hobbit his meals came back saying that the tray from the morning was still full when they delivered dinner. Of course, once Bombur realized something was wrong, Bofur and Bifur were clued in quickly after. Dori picked up on the issue after hearing his brothers compare notes about the mountain’s hobbit.
The fourth month had the entire company worried for their hobbit. It started when Bombur went to deliver the hobbit’s breakfast and found him passed out on the floor. A trip to the infirmary had the entire company crowded around waiting for new. Fíli and Kíli questioning who would hurt their hobbit, only to be corrected by Dwalin, the one who had carried him with Thorin at his heels, that the hobbit had lost more weight than he had in Mirkwood; now little more than skin and bones. Thorin had ranted and raved to the company begging for the information that had been carefully kept from him. When they were done explaining everything they had noticed, he was as white as a sheet and muttering about how didn’t he notice this, he should’ve been spending more time with Bilbo, what happened, etc. They all breathed a sigh of relief when Óin came out and told them he just hadn’t been eating enough and he would be fine.
That hope didn’t last long, it started minor, a confused comment or odd look from Bilbo but the longer winter lasted the odder and odder the hobbit became and the more and more worried the company became. It didn’t take them long to realize that their hobbit was seeing things and hearing things that were not present. He was now confined to his room, a member of the company constantly by his side. Óin and Ori spent their days combing the library looking for any hint of what had befallen their companion. Thorin sent raven after raven from the mountain, sent to Mirkwood, Rivendale, after Gandalf, or toward anyone who might know what would cause this.
The hobbit still slept and rarely ate. Generally, he knew the company but he would get confused and look toward empty corners tilting his head like he was listening. The entire company was on edge and the mountain was picking up on it as well. Rumors spread like wildfire through the halls, some saying the hobbit was dealing with dragon sickness, others that he was dying, nothing could stop them. Nori kept track and Dwalin strengthened the number of guards both on Bilbo’s door and on the rest of the company as well. They just waited hoping for some good news, any type of good news to come through the door.
Finally, nearly five months after the gates closed, Ori came rushing through the doors, an old scroll cradled in his arms and a grin on his face. Óin was just behind him huffing and puffing.
“I found it!” Ori cried. “I know how to help Bilbo!”
“What!” Fíli cried and Kíli took one look at the pair of scholars before running from the room to gather the others.
“I don’t know how we didn’t realize it?” Óin muttered.
“Realize what?” Nori asked, coming through the door.
“No, wait.” Fíli said, raising his hand, “we should wait for the others.”
Ori frowned but nodded, pacing the room impatient as the rest of the company pushed their way into the room.
“What did you find, Ori?” Thorin asked the last to arrive, Dwalin at his heels.
“Hobbits are Kaminzabdûna ’s children. They literally are the guardians of green and growing things. They used to live just on the other side of Mirkwood, so when Erebor was first founded we traded with their people and they would stay at the mountain sometimes. But if they stayed for too long without seeing the earth, growing things, and the sun they would get ill and if they still didn’t get those their mind would start playing tricks on them.” Ori said in a rush. “It happened once to their diplomat during a bad winter like this. He was trapped in the mountain for months and then when the thaw finally came, the dwarrow were worried about sending him back to his people and tried to get him to stay in the mountain. But some dwarrow thought that he would appreciate seeing the spring while he waited for an escort of his own people and kept taking him out onto the balconies and to the royal garden whenever the sun was shining. By time his escort arrived a fortnight later, he was himself again. We just need to take him outside!”
The company stared at Ori in shock for a moment, such a simple fix. But moments later, Dwalin was bellowing into the hallway for someone to see if any of the balconies were free of ice and snow or any of the outside walkways and Dori had marched into the hobbit’s room and was forcing the uncooperative hobbit into warm clean clothes.
“Where are the royal gardens?” Kíli asked, looking at Thorin.
“I’m not sure but we are finding them and restoring them by next winter.” the king vowed.
Soon enough Dwalin had found a part of the mountain that had been protected from the snow and ice enough that it had already started to thaw and small green shoots were starting to grow through the nearly gone snow. The company as a group dragged Bilbo, a pile of blankets, cushions, and food out to the space and settled there for the rest of the day. For the rest of the week, as long as the sun was out that was where you would find the company, many bringing their work with them but the entire group scattered about the protected clearing all watching their hobbit. Every day he got better, staying awake longer, no longer listening to invisible voices, and finally eating; slowly becoming the hobbit they had been missing. By the middle of the second week, he asked why they had been hiding away in the abandoned garden, listening in horror as his companions explained the terrifying winter that he had inadvertently put them through.
“The Shire’s winter is never this bad,” he explained looking down. “The snow rarely gets deeper than our foot hair and never lasts long. The only winter in recent memory that it did, the snows didn’t stop, the sun didn’t return, the river froze...was the Fell Winter. Many died but I don’t remember anything like you were describing.”
“You still left your homes or saw the sun sometimes then right?” Ori asked.
“Yeah, briefly,” Bilbo explained, “We needed food and firewood. People still got sick but maybe…”
“We know for the future,” Thorin said laying his hand on top of Bilbo’s. “We’ll find a solution, even if you end up spending the winter with the elves. We’ll keep you safe.”
The rest of the company nodded, wrapping the hobbit in a tight hug.
Xxxxxxx
Autumn had swept across the plain and Bilbo was pacing his rooms waiting, Thorin had said the company had wanted to show him something at dinner tonight. They had refused to talk about what he could do for this winter, changing the topic as soon as he brought it up and they were going to talk about it tonight. Yavanna help him.
Thorin knocked on his door, sweeping him into a tight hug before steering him down the hall. They followed a few twists and turns before coming to a door just on the edge of the royal wing. Thorin smiled wide as he pushed the door open and pushed Bilbo through. The rooms were finer than his current ones and there was a large clear window on the right wall. On the far wall, there were a trio of doors.
Thorin stepped in behind him and Bilbo spun around.
“My rooms were fine, Thorin. You-”
“ Ghivashel,” Thorin said, pressing his finger to Bilbo’s lips silencing him. “Please see the rest of it, before you start scolding me.”
Bilbo narrowed his eyes at the king before stomping off. The leftmost door led to a small kitchen area, fully stocked based on his quick glance. The next led to an extravagant bathroom, far larger than a single hobbit would ever need. The next led to an equally impressive bedroom. Bilbo rounded on Thorin again but he just chuckled and shook his head pointing to a set of large curtains that Bilbo had missed so far. His eyes narrowed but he stepped forward pulling them aside. He frowned and opened the glass doors and stepped through into the most illogical space that he had ever seen.
Thorin stepped up behind him. “It's called a greenhouse, some groups of men use them to grow small batches of crops year-round. The crystal won’t break, the cold won’t reach here. The sun will always reach this space and the water will never freeze. The far side has a door to the rest of the royal gardens, that I’m sure you will bring back to your standards in the spring.”
Bilbo continued walking through the space, his eyes wide, taking in the few near fully grown plants, the seedlings, the small stream of water pooling in a small pond, the new gardening tools leaning against the wall before turning and throwing himself at Thorin wrapping him in a tight hug.
“So he likes it then,” Bofur said, stepping through the door to the living quarters. The others from the company trickled in large grins on all of their faces.
“I can’t believe you did this for me,” Bilbo said looking at them with tears in his eyes.
“We ain’t losin’ ya to the winter this year,” Dwalin said gruffly.
“Ya took enough years off my life last year, scaring me like that,” Óin muttered.
“Thank you,” Bilbo said empathetically looking over the entire company.
“You’re welcome, ghivashel.” Thorin said wrapping his arm over Bilbo’s shoulders, briefly kissing the top of his curls. “You’re welcome.”