Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“If any of you are ever passing Bag End, uh… tea is at four. There’s plenty of it. You are welcome anytime. Uh… don’t bother knocking.”

The dwarves chuckled. Bella gave them one last smile, before turning and joining Gandalf to go back to the Shire.

It had been forty-nine years since Bella's magical journey across Middle Earth with her beloved companions. Oftentimes she found herself reminiscing while in the middle of some project or another, and she would give a sad smile, wonder about the fates of her friends, and then continue with her project. Back then, there was never a dull moment, but now… well.

Bella puttered around her smial, looking for her nephew. Frodo’s chores were done, and as per usual he had disappeared, probably to go read a book under a tree. That was a few hours ago and now it was nearing tea time, so Bella stepped outside the back door to call him home.

“Frodo! Time to come home!”

Bella stepped back inside and set the water on to boil when she heard the bell ring. Curious, she went to the door. she wasn’t expecting any visitors, and she wondered who it could be. Opening her door, she stopped dead in her tracks.

Dwarves.

There were ten dwarves on her doorstep. And not just any dwarves. Oh no. They were her dwarves. Besides a few grey hairs on some of them, and more wrinkles on others, they hadn’t aged a day. Bella's face lit up as she saw them.

“My friends! Come in! Welcome! You’ve come just in time for tea.”

“Mistress Baggins! Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes!” Bofur exclaimed.

The dwarves all piled in, and Bella ran about furiously to get more cups and to boil more water for tea. She may be ninety-nine years of age but she was still spry enough to be a proper host to some old friends. The dwarves all filed into the sitting room having conversations with each other, this being the first time in a few years that they all gathered together again.

“Oh it is so wonderful to see you all again! Tell me, tell me. What has all happened since last I saw you?”

The dwarves all started talking again, nearly shouting over each other, each one telling of their own adventures in the years since Bella left. Bella was very attentive, and although some things got mixed around, for the most part she caught it all. Thrown in the mix of stories was talk of the guardians of Middle Earth gathering to perform some new powerful spell just after Bella returned to the Shire. Bella excused herself to get the tea from the fire, filling the cups before bringing them to the awaiting dwarves, along with some cookies and little cakes on a tray she and Frodo made just the other day. Which reminded her…

“Oh! I nearly forgot! Wait until you meet Frodo! He’s my nephew and heir. I adopted him one year ago after a tragic accident and his parents passed on. He’s quite the adventurous little thing, I'm sure you’ll just adore him.”

“Oh! Set out a few more cups for tea, would you lass? There are some people we’d like for you to meet. They left later than we did, although they should be showing up anytime.” Balin asked.

The front door opened then and she heard the unmistakable soft pad of Frodo’s feet on the floor, along with some heavier thuds behind him.

“Oh! That’ll be him now. Frodo! In here! Although I do wonder who that could be coming in with him…”

The dwarves all looked at each other, but it was Balin who spoke up.

“Ah, lassie. That’ll be the newcomers we want you to meet.”

Bella turned around as Frodo led the newcomers through the smial into the sitting room and for the second time that day, she froze in her tracks.

“Bella Baggins of the Shire, may I introduce you to Thorin Oakenshield, King under the Mountain, and his heirs, Fili and Kili, sons of Dis.”

Bella dropped her teacup, the glass shattering and tea spilling everywhere, and her hands flew over her mouth.

“Thorin… Fili and Kili… what…”

Bella was in shock. How were they alive? What happened to let them come back? They looked like they aged more as well, giving rise to the thought that it had been several years since they came back. Which led her to another thought. Why hadn’t they come to visit her sooner? Why did they wait forty-nine years to tell her this? All of this ran through her mind in the few seconds since she dropped her teacup and it shattered everywhere. Which reminded her….

Bella dropped to her knees as she scrambled to pick up the broken shards of teacup, ignoring the tea seeping into her skirts. If she focused on the triviality of a broken teacup, ducking her face as she hid behind her hair, maybe she’d be able to focus her racing thoughts and gather some semblance of self control.

“Bella…” It was Thorin's voice. Hearing his deep baritone caused her breath to hitch and she started rambling as she scrambled to clean up the mess. Valar, she wanted to stop but her brain seemed to short-circuit and it seemed all she could do was stutter out an apology. Her hands were shaking as she gathered the broken pieces, and not from old age.

“I-I’m sorry, I’ll get this mess cleaned up right away. Just… be careful where you step. Oh, and I should bring out more chairs for you. I can get Frodo to assist with that, don’t you worry.” During her rambing, Thorin had knelt in front of her, placing his hand softly over her own trembling ones. This sent her into even more of a frenzy. “And the spilled tea! Oh I am ashamed for being such a poor hostess, especially for my friends. I am terribly sorry. It won’t take me but a moment to clean this all up, and I-”

“Bella.” He said, cutting her off. Slowly, he lifted her chin so she could look in his face. As soon as their eyes met, it was as though a dam broke, and she threw her arms around him, burying her face in his neck while sobbing. She no longer cared about the tea soaking up into her skirts, nor the broken glass on the ground. Thorin, for his part, embraced her just as fiercely, and the other dwarves watching all had tears in their eyes as well. Fili and Kili knelt down next to them.

“Bella… we missed you.” Fili said softly, placing a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at the brothers, before extending an arm out and dragging them into the hug as well.

All the dwarves started cheering at the reunion.

“I-I don’t understand. What- how- when ? When did this happen and why did you never tell me?”

“Oh Bella, that’s what we were telling you earlier!” It was Ori this time who spoke. “After you returned here to the Shire, the guardians of Middle Earth gathered together for a new spell. It was a protection spell against the growing darkness. Only, instead of just a physical barrier, it also returned a few of the greatest warriors of each of the good races. Elves, dwarves, and men alike. As there aren’t really any warrior hobbits, none of your kind was returned, sorry.” At this, Ori looked apologetic. Bella gave him a reassuring smile.

“It’s okay, Ori.” She turned her focus back to her dwarf king and his nephews. “So you’re now back as a guardian?”

“It’s more of, we’re back now to help our kingdom keep the darkness at bay from Gundabad. We are the first line of defense, and I guess the Valar decided my nephews and I were the right choices for this. We were restored to the state of when we… passed on.”

“But without the fatal wounds, of course.” Kili chimed in.

“We will live out the rest of our original timespan leading the kingdom to greatness, building it, and the lands around it, up as a stronghold against the forces of evil.” Thorin finished his explanation. Bella furrowed her eyebrows; there was still one question she needed answered.

“Why… Why didn’t you come back to me sooner? Or at least send word of your return? I can understand a couple years to get erebor back on its feet, and to sort out the mess of reinstating you as king, and then a couple more years to make it a stronghold again. But that is only a few years.” She fixed them all with the stare she perfected over the years to make others squirm in guilt. “It’s been forty-nine years, Thorin. Forty-nine . I’m not a young hobbit anymore, and had you waited any longer to come, I may very well have already passed on to Yavanna’s gardens.”

Her dwarves all looked to the floor, feeling guilty. All except for Thorin, that is. He held her gaze, and spoke with so much sincerity that it made her heart hurt.

“When we first returned, we had no memories of the past, beyond the fact that I am the king of Durin’s folk, and they are my heirs. It took us several months to regain our memories of the others, and in the first few years following the return, we slowly remembered the quest to reclaim our homeland, but still we did not remember you. The others would talk about the brave hobbit lass who came with us and was vital to the success, but we could not remember you. It took several years before you came back to our memories, and as soon as we remembered the full extent of your purpose in the quest, we knew we needed to come visit you in the Shire. We could not come yet, and not for several years more as we were fighting against more forces of Gundabad orcs on one side, and goblins on the other. Because of the battles, we could not even send word by raven or messenger to you of our return, for fear it would be intercepted.”

Bella nodded her head, and adjusted her position on the ground. Noticing this, Thorin stood then helped her off the ground and into her father’s favorite chair before taking a seat across from her, Fili and Kili and either side of him.

“We knew the fighting would go on forever if we didn’t do something drastic. Somehow, the enemy’s forces never ran out, although our own armies were starting to dwindle. So, we decided to hit them at their heart. Fili, Kili, and I had been brought back by the Valar to help protect Middle Earth, and as such we had been blessed with extra protection from Mahal himself. So, we infiltrated Gundabad and struck them where they could never recover.”

Bella’s eyes had widened, and she realized she had been holding her breath throughout the story. Composing herself, she asked them, “And after? What happened after you stopped the orcs. What of the goblins?” Thorin smiled at her, and her heart started beating faster. After all these years, he still had that effect on her.

“After we stopped the orcs, we sent the rest of our forces towards the goblins and wiped them out. The new goblin king wasn’t nearly so repugnant or big as the last one we encountered, and he was easy enough to get rid of. We had to rebuild parts of the kingdom again, and help those who had been forced from their homes to find residency again. After it was finished, it had already been nearly fifty years since we last saw our dear hobbit, and I refused to go another minute without making the journey to see how she was faring.” His words made Bella suddenly blush, and she gave him a smile. She looked down at her hands, and her smile turned sad. She looked back up at the dwarven king.

“I am not as young as I used to be, Thorin. I have grown old, and weary, and even though I still have life in me yet - more so now that I have seen you again - I know my time on Middle Earth is coming to a close. I cannot bring you the same joy and life as I might have once been able to.”

At this, Thorin knelt in front of her and took her hands in his again. He lifted them both to his mouth and pressed a kiss on the backs of each.

“Bella, my dear amralime. It does not matter to me. In my eyes, you are as young and beautiful as you have always been. I have made my mistakes in the past, and surely not coming to see you sooner is a big one, but nevertheless I am grateful to you and what you have done for me and for my kin.” His words brought tears to her eyes. “I always have, and always will love you, my dear, sweet hobbit. If you are willing and able, I would be honored to bring you back to Erebor with me to live out the rest of your days as my queen.” Bella’s eyes teared up again.

“Oh, Thorin…” She sniffed, and gripped his hands, leaning forward to press her forehead against his. When she pulled back, she had more unshed tears in her eyes. “I would love to go back with you more than anything, but…” Here, she looked towards Frodo, who had taken up residence in a chair in the corner so as not to come in between the reunion. “I cannot leave Frodo alone here. He is my responsibility, and this is his home, for all intents and purposes. Not yet, at least. I must help him, so I fear my place is in the Shire, with my nephew.”

Thorin’s face fell, and the disappointment clouded the room from all of her dwarves. Bella quickly placed a hand upon his face, cupping his cheek.

“I promise you this, Thorin Oakenshield. My love. This will not be the end for us. We will see each other again, even if I have to threaten the Valar themselves. We will be together again. I give you my word, and you know I don't like to make a habit of breaking that.” She smiled at him with a determined look in her eye, and he smiled back. She then spoke again. “And this goes for the rest of you, as well. I will see you again, and we will go on another adventure.”

The dwarves all grinned at her, and she nodded, feeling pleased with how this unexpected tea party turned out.

Several years passed, and as Bella rested in Rivendell after her eleventy-first birthday party, she reminisced on the first time in nearly fifty years she had seen her dwarves. Had seen her love and his heirs whom she thought to be gone forever. Her nephew and his friends joined her for a short while in Rivendell, and after the Council of Elrond she had a surprise visitor in the form of Gloin, who informed her his son Gimli was going on the quest to destroy the One Ring. He was so proud of him, even if he had to work alongside the pointy-eared princeling who had insulted them through his photos so long ago, in the dark of Mirkwood. Bella laughed slightly, before bidding him farewell as he had to travel back to Erebor soon. He promised he would tell the others she said hello.

Four years after the fellowship destroyed the ring, Bella finally felt her strength leaving her for good. As she lay in her bed in Rivendell, Frodo, Gandalf, lord Elrond, and a few elvish healers surrounding her, she gripped Frodo's hand tight and stared into his eyes.

“Do not be sad, Frodo. You must continue on without me. I will be alright. I am finally moving on to Yavanna’s gardens, where I can wait for my love to return. And it will be there that I will be waiting for you, my dear Frodo.” She gazed at both Gandalf and Lord Elrond, before looking up at the ceiling, until her breath finally left her. She passed on to the beautiful gardens with a smile upon her face, awaiting the day when Thorin would return to her and they could go on another adventure together.

When Bella awoke, the wind was rustling the grass around her, and she felt a strength in her bones as she had not felt for years. She looked down at herself and noticed that she was younger as well, and wearing her favorite dress, Durin blue in color that had always reminded her of Thorin.

Speaking of…

She wandered the fields and flowers until she came to a grand mountain kingdom. The gates were wide open, and she walked through them, feeling the cool air wash over her. As she wandered the halls, marvelling at its strength and beauty, she came upon a great hall where a party was being held. Dwarves and hobbits alike were dancing together to the lively music, and at the far end of the hall she could see two thrones, where sat a dwarf and hobbit holding hands, crowns upon their heads. Mahal and Yavanna, Bella realized with a start. Glancing around the mountain hall again and then back the way she came, she realized she had woken up in Yavanna’s realm, which was connected to Mahal’s halls. She knew she had to introduce herself to her Lady and her husband, so she moved toward the great thrones.

She curtsied once she got the front, being as respectful as she could to the creators of dwarves and hobbits.

“My child…” A melodious voice sounded, and she could sense Yavanna moving closer to her. As Bella looked up into the face of her creator, Yavanna smiled down at her, before opening her arms and embracing Bella warmly. “It has been a long wait my child, but they have been patient. You must be patient a bit more, but for now, I believe there are some hobbits who have been waiting for you.”

Bella turned, her eyes wide, and ran into the open embrace of her parents. Belladonna and Bungo Baggins both hugged her back as fiercely as she did them. Tears were streaming down their faces, but not for sadness. Instead, the tears were joyful, and soon the three were walking around the party, Bella filling them in on her life after they passed on. They were pleased to hear about her adoption of Frodo, as well as naming him her heir. While she told them about the quest for Erebor, and Thorin, they shared knowing glances.

Bella did not know how much time had passed, although there really was no need to keep track of time in the halls, but soon she heard a familiar voice and turned to see the grinning faces of Balin and Ori joining her. They had come earlier, but did not see her until then, or so they said. One by one, the rest of the company joined them, until there were only three missing from the reunion, yet still Bella introduced them to her parents, smiling all the while. After a time, Bella looked to the doors of the party hall anxiously, wondering where Thorin was. Then, she would shake herself and feel bad for wanting him to join her soon, as he still had a life in Middle Earth.

“It’s alright, lass. He’s just taking care of some last minute things, then he will be here. He needs to make sure the boys are prepared to lead the kingdom.” Balin said to her knowingly, Dwalin behind him with a smirk on his face.

After some more time had passed, she was called up to the thrones again, but when she got there, neither Mahal nor Yavanna would tell her why they summoned her. Instead, she was left feeling anxious as she stood in front of the thrones awkwardly, her dwarven companions and her parents off to the side. They were there for moral support, but she really only needed one dwarf’s support to feel calm.

As though sensing her turmoil, Yavanna gave her a small smile, while Mahal merely grinned at her.

“Bella Baggins of the Shire, may I introduce you to-” Yavanna began, but Bella had heard that line before, and she spun around as she heard the party crowd behind her parting ways for the one dwarf she had waited nearly her entire life for. As soon as they made eye contact, she sprinted towards him, throwing her arms around his neck. He gripped her just as tightly, and for a moment they enjoyed one another’s embrace, before she suddenly pulled back, tears of joy on her face, and kissed him. She heard the whoops and cheering from everyone else but she could not care less about having an audience, for in this moment, they were finally reunited. When they broke apart, both were wearing matching grins, and she laughed in joy at the sight of her dwarf.

“Come, my dear dwarf, we must join the others. And my parents have been anxiously awaiting your arrival so they can finally meet you.”

“And what of you, amralime? Have you been anxiously awaiting my arrival?” He had a twinkle in his eye, and she laughed before replying.

“I have been anxiously awaiting your arrival for longer than you know. And you must also meet Mahal and Yavanna. They called me here so I could finally see you again, you know. We must pay our respects to them.”

“Of course, my love.” Thorin kissed her hand, and she smiled a bit wider, remembering when he would do that often as they walked during the quest, and again after he came back from the dead.

“And, you know…” Bella began, as they caught up to the others. “I do believe it is time for our next journey.”

“Anywhere you go, amralime, I will follow.” Bella paused, looking into Thorin’s eyes, and for a moment it was only them. She gave a blinding smile to her beloved dwarven king.

“Well then. Let’s go on an adventure!”

Chapter Text

Bella crawled into a small indent in the mountainside, hidden by leaves and vines so she was sheltered in a little cave of sorts. There she tried to catch her breath, one hand covering the wound on her side. She couldn't let them catch her. If she was found, she was dead.

This was the single most scary and intense game of hide and seek she'd ever played, and if she made it out of this alive she was sure to find a way to make it illegal.

Not that she was going to make it out of there alive.

The wound in her side made sure of that.

Bella heard shuffling outside as her pursuers came near. She sent up a prayer to the Valar that they wouldn't discover her. She'd rather not make a scene with the orcs, as it would most certainly catch the attention of the dwarves. All they'd see would be orcs surrounding this tiny cave and then they'd burst into the scene and discover her. She was already banished, no need to rub salt in the wound - literally and metaphorically. She pressed back further into the wall, hoping they wouldn't peek in.

Luckily, the Valar seemed to be on her side for now as the orcs and goblins ran by. A few minutes later she heard their screams and then silence. The screams had suddenly died down and Bella assumed the last of the enemy died and the battle was over. She sighed in relief only to grunt in pain as her side flared.

She heard more footsteps outside her little cave and held her breath, hoping whoever it was would leave her alone. She briefly considered putting on her little ring but decided against it. She was going to die anyway, whether from blood loss or infection or by the hand of one she had called friend. No point in making herself even more miserable by entering the ring's world to hear all of it's sinister whispers and be surrounded by shadows. No, she was going to die, and by golly she would do so with dignity.

Or as much dignity as she could while huddling in a not-cave on a battlefield surrounded by friends-turned-enemies and dead bodies. And intruders who were very much Not Welcome while she wallowed in misery.

Said intruder stepped up closer to the cave, parted the hanging vines and leaves, and peered inside her little cave. It was a dwarf, and Bella tried to push herself even farther against the wall, as if she could melt through the rock as she recognized the being in front of her. As his eyes locked with hers, he gave a sigh (was that relief? It couldn't be) and his shoulders slumped as though something was lifted from them.

"Found you."

Bella's heart hammered in her chest and she gave a whimper as she tried to stay away from her once-friend, and also as her side ached.

“Bella?” He called softly but she tried to push herself even further into the wall, eyes wide with terror and breaths coming faster. She knew she was panicking, she knew, logically, that she had to calm herself down, but her vision tunneled until all she could see was Nori’s face. Her side flared in pain again and she sucked in a harsh breath, her hand pressing on the wound as if that would do anything.

Of course, Nori noticed this but didn’t reach her before her body gave up the fight for consciousness. She heard a faint curse and then the blackness overtook her and she knew no more.

Nori cursed as Bella’s eyes rolled to the back of her head and she sagged against the back of her little cave she found. It wasn’t even so much a cave as a shallow indent in the mountain, covered by leaves and vines. He grudgingly admitted that the spot was a good one to hide in and not be found; if he hadn’t seen the orcs hanging around this particular area, sniffing for something, he wouldn’t have given it another thought.

That thought sent a shudder through him.

It was fortunate indeed that he had made his way over to this side of the battle towards the end. He quickly gathered the tiny hobbit lass in his arms, careful of her side where he could see blood seeping out, and crawled back out of the cave.

He had a hobbit to deliver.

Nori rushed across the battlefield, dodging the last remnants of the enemies who hadn’t thought to flee yet, as if they could make a difference all on their own against the combined might of dwarves, elves, and men. He went as fast as he dared, trying to not jostle the hobbit to avoid as much pain as possible, and hoping to prevent more blood loss, but she was still bleeding out and very much unconscious in his arms.

A goblin appeared right in front of him before he had time to dodge and as one all three of them went down, the goblin at the bottom of the pile. Nori scrambled up and with one hand he drew one of his knives and killed the goblin before it could get back up. After that, he braced Bella closely against his body and ran as though fire were licking at his heels.

He didn’t have time to be careful anymore.

Bella was bleeding out and he couldn’t afford another run-in with a stray goblin or orc.

When he was close enough to the encampments, Nori sighed with relief and ran through until he was in the dwarven part. Some of the Company was there already. He wasn’t sure where the others were but perhaps they hadn’t made it off the field yet. He hoped they all had made it, of course, but he couldn’t go look for the others to be sure. Not yet.

“Oin, I need Oin!” He called out to the Company as he neared, and the other dwarves parted as he ran through. Good. He really couldn’t afford more delays. “Where’s Oin?” He asked as soon as he got to the Company.

“He went in there about ten minutes ago.” Bofur pointed to the large tent beside them. “He’s in there with Thorin and the boys.” Bofur looked abnormally solemn as he intoned what Nori was dreading to find out. “They’re not looking so good. They may not make it due to their injuries.” He looked at Bella with sad eyes. “Although, it looks like our lass may not make it either if she doesn’t get help.”

“What happened to Bella?” Ori’s voice sounded from behind Nori, and a weight he didn’t realize he’d had lifted from him as he heard his younger brother’s voice.

“I don’t know. I found her right before she fell unconscious, and her wound looks severe enough that if we don’t get her to Oin, or somebody right now , she’s not going to make it. For the love of Mahal, somebody find me a healer! ”

Oin’s head popped out of the tent right at that moment and his grim face only seemed to get darker as he caught sight of Bella in Nori’s arms.

“Well, bring her in then; somebody grab an empty cot for you to set her on. No time to waste if we want to save all four of them.” His gruff voice pierced through whatever haze the Company was in and they all scrambled to get the supplies Oin needed as he barked out orders. Nori thought he heard a muttered, “ it’ll take a miracle to save these blasted fools, Mahal help us ”, but he kept it to himself.

Everyone was thinking it, but there was no reason to voice it all out loud.

As soon as Bifur and Dori dragged the cot in (another weight off his shoulder now that he knew both his brothers were safe) Nori set Bella down as gently as he could, and Oin immediately got to work. There were two other healers in that were working on the royals under Oin’s command and he left them to it while he started working on Bella.

Her clothing was soaked through with blood, and Nori has a suspicion that not all of it was hers. Some of it was noticeably darker than the rest, and he shuddered to think that she had been out on the battlefield, without any armor. Sure, she’d had the mithril shirt from Thorin, but Thorin had ripped it from her before nearly throwing her from the battlements. She was without armor, and all she had as a weapon was that letter opener.

And she’d still gone out there.

Nori wanted to say he didn’t know why she was out there, fighting, when she could’ve, should’ve , ran far away from there, but he knew better. Their hobbit lass was fierce, and loyal beyond bounds. She was definitely more loyal to Thorin and his Company than she probably should’ve been.

And Nori had a sneaking suspicion that that unwavering loyalty was what drove her to the battlefield.

Bella’s jacket was ruined; there was no way they’d be able to save it. It was in tatters and Oin barely had to spread it away from her body before it fell apart completely. Once it was gone, the wound on her side was in full view, and Nori heard a hiss from somewhere behind him. He stiffly nodded along with them - if Bella made it through this, they were going to wrap her up in so many layers and then keep her surrounded by a full army, always. Their hobbit sister was never going to be in danger and alone ever again, they’d make sure of it.

“Alright, the lot of you, out!” There were a few protests (and by a few, I mean everybody) from the Company about leaving their hobbit (and the royals, of course, but details, details) but Oin was her healer, and they trusted his judgement on these things above anybody else, so they grudgingly left the large tent to take up shifts as well as other duties around the camps and on the battlefield.

As they all shuffled out, a silent prayer was sent up to let the four (foolhardy) injured Company members live.

Nori only hoped he had found Bella in time.

It was a very gradual thing, yet it seemed so sudden as Bella came from the depths of unconsciousness. She wasn’t sure of anything, really, but her brain was so muddied it wasn’t really a surprise, as she couldn’t even remember what she’d had for breakfast.

Pain registered on her left side and for a moment it seemed that was all she knew. Pain, and the inky black in her mind being whited out. Her breathing was labored, she could hear it from the sound filtering through her ears. She could hear something else, almost like a voice, and then the cool wet of water was poured down her throat. She whimpered when it went away, but her limbs were heavy and her side was still on fire so there wasn’t much she could do.

But that wasn’t right. Why was she hurting? And why was there that voice again? There shouldn’t be anybody else nearby. Bag-End had been empty for years aside from herself. Nobody should be inside her smial with her.

Bella’s side throbbed again and then there was liquid going down her throat - a broth, this time - and she remembered suddenly the mountain and Thorin going crazy and then the battle and then her injury and-

Oh, that’s right. She hadn’t had time to eat breakfast this morning. No wonder she couldn’t remember it.

Was it even still this morning? No, probably not. The battle itself lasted for so long, and then she was injured and had passed out in that cave and Nori had found her-

Nori.

Bella’s breath shuddered and she forced her eyes open. It didn’t matter how heavy her eyelids were, she had to find out. She had to know . If Nori had found her, why was she still alive? She was certain she was going to die from one of her dwarves if they found her, yet here she was, still alive. At least, she thought she was still alive, if the burning on her side was any indication. If she were dead she was pretty sure she wouldn’t be feeling this awful.

Then again, she’d never died before, so Bella couldn’t be certain.

And she was getting off track.

As she looked up, she saw a tan fabric overhead. Maybe some sort of tent? Her eyes drifted lazily across it and to the side, where she saw somebody looking down at her. It took her a few seconds too long to recognize one of her dwarves, but as soon as she did her eyes opened wide in a panic and she tried to jerk away, as if a few inches in physical distance would do something to stop him from using his bare hands to choke her out.

She could barely hear Ori’s words over her breathing, but then there was a rumble from her other side and she caught a glimpse of a tall pointed hat and grey robes. It was as though a fresh breeze blew through her mind, and she relaxed enough for her breathing to calm down and to hear what was being said by both Gandalf and Ori.

“-elax, my dear. Nobody is going to hurt you in here, I can guarantee i-”

“-m so sorry, Bella! I didn’t mean to startle you! I promise, I was only trying to help yo-”

“-ave no worries, you are safe no-”

“-ould I go get Oin? Are you in any pain? Hang on, I’ll be right bac-”

“Rest now, little one. Your body is healing now. A battle is no place for such a small, gentle creature. I will watch over you and will keep the darkness at bay as best I can.”

At Gandalf’s reassurances, Bella’s eyes began to drift close once again.

“You were so brave, my dear hobbit. You deserve this rest.”

Bella’s eyes shut and her mind knew no more.

Then next time Bella woke, she was still in pain, but considerably less so. She slowly opened her eyes and groaned as she tried to shift. There was a rustling to her right and then there was a face above her. Even if she couldn’t hardly remember anything at the moment, the hat he was wearing was recognizable and she tried to smile at Bofur’s friendly face.

At least, until her memories came back and her smile(?) slid off her face as she tried to not panic.

“Easy lass, easy. I’m not going to hurt you. None of us are.” He was trying to calm her down, and his face was so earnest and pain-filled that Bella couldn’t help but to believe him.

She took deep breaths, a little shakily, and winced as her side throbbed, but after a few minutes she was able to calm down.

“That’s a good lass. We almost lost you, and none of us were sure when you might wake up, but we kept hoping you’d come back to us soon.”

“How long,” Bella had to clear her throat, which resulted in a coughing fit, and had to be helped with a cup of water by Bofur before she could speak again. “How long have I been out?”

“It’s been a week since you last woke up. That was two days after Nori found you and brought you back. You gave us a mighty big scare there.” Bella wasn’t sure if Bofur could see the questions burning in her eyes or if he just knew her that well, but he held up a hand as he stood up. “I’m going to go grab Oin to let him know you’re awake, and then we can answer some of your questions. I’ll be right back.”

Bella nodded and tried to adjust to get comfortable without jarring her side more. She tried to look at what they did with the bandages she could feel there, but she found her limbs too heavy still, so she gave up with a mild huff. She resorted to just looking around as best she could, and found that she was in a tent still, in an area sectioned off by the rest with a curtain. Bella frowned as she strained to hear the low murmur of voices on the other side, but soon enough the curtain parted and Bofur was back with Oin and suddenly she couldn’t see anything other than the two dwarves standing above her.

“Glad to see you awake and coherent lassie. That’s a good sign of your recovery.” Oin’s words were straight to the point as he gave her a rundown of how her body was. Despite the ill news and long recovery process she now faces, Bella had to smile at him. Same old Oin. No time to mince words as a healer, although she doubted he would even if he wasn’t one.

“Thank you, Oin. You didn’t have to, and I know you were in your right to leave me to fend for myself, all of you were, after what I did. I am in your debt, and as soon as I am able I will be at your service.” Bella would’ve bowed, had she been able, but as such her current condition she had to settle for a slight nod.

“Now hold on there, lass-” Bofur’s words were cut off by Oin’s outrage.

“You don’t owe us anything, lass. What you did earlier was the best you could come up with, and it us who should be in your debt.” By earlier, Bella knew Oin was meaning the Arkenstone debacle on the battlements. “And I know you were out there on the field, protecting us still-” Bella tried to protest, but was silenced by the Look that was levelled at her by both dwarves.

Bofur chimed in with his own piece.

“Aye, we all heard you at one point or another, warning us of an enemy coming, and once or twice we’d turn around and there’d be a dead goblin or orc that was sneaking up on us. Don’t think we didn’t notice.”

“And even if that, combined with all you did on the quest to save us, wasn’t enough for us to help you, I am a healer, and I would not be worthy of my craft if I did not help all wounded, regardless of any opinions on them.”

Bella opened her mouth to say something else, but thought better of it and just nodded after a minute. Oin smiled down at her and gave her a light pat on the shoulder.

“We’re glad to help you, lass. You are more than worthy of it anyways. Now, those other fools who are listening in, on the other hand…” There was a thump on the other side of the curtain and Bofur drew it back to see the rest of the Company on the other side, the royals still in their cots and the rest standing around. Some had the decency to look sheepish, at least. Oin gave a heavy sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Your side is healed enough that with help we can sit you up and then you can see everything better. Are you up for that?” Bella nodded, and Bofur and Oin propped her up using pillows. She looked over and saw that the royals were sitting up using similar methods. She gave a sheepish smile.

“Hi guys.”

Just like that, it was as though a dam had split and everybody rushed forward, talking over the other and reaching out to touch her, to make sure she was real while simultaneously keeping their distance, as though she might break if a breeze so much as blew the wrong way.

Bella laughed as they all regaled her with some story or another, barely keeping up with anything and she was sure she wouldn’t remember any of what was said. It felt good to laugh, and she realized she hadn’t for quite some time. Not since before they entered the mountain, at least.

She laughed again, just because she could.

Let somebody else be bothered with saving everybody. Her friends were all here, they were alive, and she was fit to sit back and relax as she tried to heal.

Nothing could bother her.

Everything was bothering her.

The novelty of sitting and healing had worn off about 2 days ago, and she was antsy to get up and do something again. She couldn’t even begin to imagine how it must feel for the Durins, who were in the same boat as her, only they were awake for longer.

Oh wait.

Yes she could.

Because she was actually losing her mind, just sitting here, she was sure.

One of the healers would come in the morning and help her sit up if she wanted, if not they’d do it later. Somebody would bring her food. Except it was still broth because she had to work up her way to eating like a real hobbit again.

(“And don’t think we won't be getting you back up to seven meals a day, lassie. You’re much too thin for even a slightly-less-than-healthy hobbit. We’ll make sure you get back to your plump self again.” Bombur had been strict about that when she had accidentally let it slip that hobbits ate seven meals a day. It was surprising, but then as she thought about it, not so much considering his love for food would rival any hobbit’s. Everyone had been promptly horrified at the thought that they had accidentally let their hobbit starve along the journey, and she tried to reassure them that she was okay. She knew the consequences of not telling them, and she knew she would rather starve than make anybody else go hungry all for the sake of propriety.

She then chuckled at that. When had she stopped worrying about propriety so much? She didn’t know, and honestly she didn’t care.)

Then one of the others would keep her company in the tent. Of course, others were there too; the Durins shared this tent with her, after all, but it was nice that somebody came and sat with her, specifically, as well. There would be meetings with the leaders that she pretended weren’t happening on the other side of her partition, because of course they demanded she not be present for them. Oin laughed in their faces and then reiterated how she was not fit to be moving anywhere, even for the sake of their “meetings”. They grumbled, but did not defy his orders as the head physician for those currently waylaid in the tent.

Bella got to stay.

After those meetings were done, it was usually fairly late and the Durins could hardly keep their eyes open. Still, they tried valiantly to stay up with her and keep her company until they could no longer do so, and then she’d be left to her own devices until either she tired out or a healer came and forced her to sleep. Whichever came first.

And then she’d sleep, and when she woke the cycle would start all over again.

Bella was tired of sitting and laying down, tired of the monotony of the healing tent, and tired of hearing the same apologies over and over and over again. She was just… tired .

It was now day five of the same cycle, and Oin was currently looking over her injuries behind the curtain. After he was done, he muttered to himself, frustrated, and Bella silently agreed with him. She was frustrated too.

“I don’t get it, lassie. You’ve been resting well enough, and your wounds are healing, but they’re not healing as well as they should be. Now, I know there are a few differences between our physiologies, but from my experience on the journey, hobbits heal faster than us dwarrow, so you should be healing faster , not slowing down.”

Bella frowned. “I actually have no idea why I’m not healing, although I have noticed that I’m always tired nowadays. I thought it was just a side effect of my injury.”

“Ah, to that, my dear hobbit, I may have an answer.” Gandalf suddenly appeared, drawing the curtain back for her to see the rest of the tent again. Oin grumbled, and tapped his foot impatiently.

“Well? You know more about hobbits than I do, wizard. Why is she not healing as fast as she should be?”

“That, my dear Oin, is a very simple answer. Hobbits are very social creatures. They thrive off of large families and close environments. They also thrive off of the energies of the ground, and in turn, help the land to grow, but seeing as how the land around here is desolate, that’s certainly not helping anything. Why do you think she healed so fast on the journey here? Any injuries she sustained were gone quickly because of her constant close contact with all of you.”

“But, Gandalf,” He turned his focus to Bella. “Why am I not healing? Ever since I’ve been awake I’ve had plenty of company, and there are always healers in here to help should anything go wrong. Wouldn’t that be enough contact for me?”

“If you had been injured much the same way back in the shire, you would not be doing so well as you are now.” At Bella’s questioning eyes, he elaborated some more. “You had been alone for so long back in the Shire, all but isolated in Bag-End without your parents there. Even with the contact of your relatives and healers, you are not so close with them as you are with your dwarves. You would heal, but it would take nearly double the time as it is now.”

“But still, why is it not enough here?”

“You are being tended to in this tent with the others, yes. But you are always in the back, ready to be separated by this curtain if needed. If you truly are to heal with any great effort, you need to be nearer to the others. You need to feel included by those you care about the most, my dear. Not just pushed in the back corner like a discarded toy.”

That last sentence he directed more towards Oin, but Bella still felt it keenly.

“It also helps,” Gandalf continued with a twinkle in his eye, “if a hobbit is near the one they love. Much like how dwarves heal faster near their Ones, a hobbit will heal the fastest surrounded by the ones, and One, they love the most.” Bella turned red at his implication, but he was up and out of the tent so quickly he didn’t see her reaction.

That, or he simply ignored it.

Rude.

Oin eyed her critically, and then called to the others in the tent.

“Well, you heard the wizard, lads. Let’s get her moved closer to everybody else. She needs to heal more before we can move her into the mountain, and it’s getting close to time to move everybody in for the winter.” Dwalin, Bifur, and Dori came over at Oin’s call. Dori picked her up gently, and the other two lifted the cot to bring it closer.

“Don’t you worry, my dear. We’ll make sure you’re right as rain in no time.” He told her as they got her cot situated. She noted, with growing embarrassment, that they put her cot next to Fili’s. Seeing her increasingly red face, Dwalin grinned at her, and Dori huffed as he set her down.

“Oh, we all know how close you two became over the quest. Even if you don’t feel the same way as Gandalf implied, he’s still your best bet for healing the fastest.” Dori set her down and fussed about her, making her comfortable before backing up finally and giving her his own critical eye, much like Oin was doing earlier.

Bella couldn’t even look to her right, her face was so red.

Bifur rumbled something in Khuzdul, and Dori tutted at him about propriety while Dwalin roared with laughter. Bella just sighed in consternation. She was never going to live this down, not if everybody noticed her slow descent into love with the blonde dwarf beside her.

She’d been hired to burgle from a dragon, and did that along with tricking trolls, riddling with creatures in the dark as well as the aforementioned dragon; she’d even burgled a group of noisy, clanking dwarves from the Elven King’s dungeons, for Yavanna’s sake! And somehow she wasn’t subtle enough in her feelings that even these hard-headed fools she adored had managed to figure it out.

She should be fired.

Actually, she almost was, literally, by Smaug, but she was trying not to think about that little factoid.

“Oh, leave her alone. I’m sure you can find somebody else to torment for a while.” Fili called out from beside her. She still couldn’t face him.

“Alright, we’ll leave you be, but don’t get too mushy, your brother and Uncle are still in here across from you, y’know.” Bofur threw right back at him. Footsteps came around her cot, and suddenly Nori was there, crouching in front of her turned head. He took her hands in his while he made direct eye contact with her.

“If you get uncomfortable, or need any help at all, just give a call and we’ll come runnin’. And Fili,” he paused while he waited for some sort of acknowledgement on Fili’s end. Nori must’ve seen what he wanted, though, because he continued, his back on Bella’s once again. “If you hurt her, our namadith, you will pay. Each and every one of us will make sure of that.” Nori squeezed Bella’s hands before standing back up and leaving the tent.

A few minutes passed in silence, and she resolutely ignored the others she was now nearby as well as her flaming cheeks. She heard Kili sigh dramatically.

“Oh, get on with it, already. If it’ll make you feel any better I’ll be plugging my ears so I don’t have to hear anything, and I will most definitely not be watching.” Dwalin re-entered the tent just then, announcing Dain’s arrival.

“Ah, Cousin! I see you are doing well.” Bella looked over to the entrance to see Dain walking in to greet Thorin with a wide smile. She caught a glimpse of Fili watching her, a mix of hope and concern in his eyes. Her face flushed red again and she quickly turned her head back.

“Actually, this would be a great time to start my training as a prince of Erebor, wouldn’t you agree Uncle?” Kili looked pleadingly at Thorin and Bella couldn’t help but to chuckle a bit. Dain looked between the four of them curiously, noticing Bella’s flushed cheeks and the way she avoided looking at Fili, Fili watching Bella, Kili anxious to leave the tent, and Thorin looking… well, like Thorin, but with an amused expression on his face.

“Ah, I see. Well, I am sure we can go start another round of negotiations with that poncy Elf king, and that leader of Men.” Dain went over to Thorin’s side and started to help him up before Oin noticed and started making a fuss.

“Normally I don’t allow for this, but Thorin and the boys are well enough they can start moving around again, albeit very slowly, and with assistance. If their wounds open up again they can get infected and I’ll not be having their recoveries set back any more than they already are.” Oin looked back between Bella and Fili. “Best get it over with now; I’ll not letting these two idiots be doing this more than once and it’ll be easier on everybody’s recoveries if there isn’t any underlying tension between the four of you.”

Dain chuckled at Bella’s squeak, and Kili nearly jumped out of his cot if it weren’t for Dwalin very carefully helping him up.

And just like that, with one last check-over by Oin, the tent was emptied of all but two.

“Bella…”

Fili started speaking and Bella stiffened.

“Bella, will you at least look at me?”

She was so not ready for this conversation.

“Bella?”

In fact, she wasn’t sure if she’d ever be ready for this conversation.

“Bella, amralime , look at me.” There was a touch on her shoulder and she nearly jumped out of her skin. The resulting hiss had nothing to do with the dwarf beside her, and everything to do with her side wound.

That still would not heal.

“Bella, is it true? Do you really feel the same for me as I do for you?”

Sweet Yavanna, she was tired. Did she ever mention how tired she was all the time anymore? She just wanted to be better already; she wanted to be walking around in what little sunlight she could get before it turned to true winter. She wanted to be healed and she wanted to be warm, and she wanted her family back - not just her parents, and her cousins and distant relations (barring the Sackville-Bagginses), - but her dwarven family as well. She wanted it to not be so awkward between them, she wanted the Arkenstone debacle to have never happened at all, and most of all she wanted Fili-

“Bella.” She didn’t realize she was crying until Fili turned her head gently and wiped her tears with his thumbs. “Bella, what’s wrong?” She looked into his beautiful blue eyes, seeing the concern there as well as something else. Love, she thought, and suddenly the tears wouldn’t stop flowing.

“I’m so sorry Filli, it’s all my fault you’re injured and I can’t do anything because I’m helpless in my situation and I think you might be better off than I am but I don’t know because I can’t actually do anything on my own and you deserve someone better than me for your One but I know I couldn’t possibly do any better than you and I just want to be someone you can proud of for your One but you’re stuck with this useless spinster hobbit from the Shire and-”

There was something on her face. Her brain registered it as some one actually, that someone being Fili, and she suddenly realized that it was Fili kissing her - when did he get so close? - and sweet Yavanna Fili was kissing her!

Her brain shut down.

As Fili pulled away he gave her a smile that made her insides go all squishy while simultaneously soothing her.

“Are you done talking now?”

Bella nodded.

“Good. Now I’m going to do my best to make sure you know exactly how I feel about you being my One. Step One to my master plan: this.”

He kissed her again.

“Do we need to go to Step Two?”

He looked into her eyes, and Bella felt as though he could see into her very soul. She shook her head, still a little shaky at this new development, and Fili grinned. “You don’t look too certain. Here, let’s try Step Two.” He leaned in and this time Bella met him halfway.

He was still healing, she reasoned. Best not to make him strain himself.

“I love you, Bella.” He breathed out once they pulled apart again. “None of this was your fault, and the fact of you being ‘helpless’ is our fault, actually. We should’ve made you stay in the mountain, where it was safer. And, I may be better off than you right now, but I don’t think I can be moving around between cots like this so I think to progress my healing I’ll have to stay on this one, with you. It’s like Gandalf said, we dwarrow heal better and faster when we’re with our Ones, and I thought he said something similar for you hobbits.”

“So, you’re not upset that I’m your One?” Bella looked up at him nervously. He looked slightly offended at her question and quickly put that thought to rest.

“I couldn’t have done any better than you, Bella, even if I could choose my One. There is literally nobody else I would rather have than you, and I couldn’t be any prouder of you for all you’ve done for us, and for me.” He made himself comfortable on her cot, pulling her against his chest while being careful of both their healing wounds. Then he wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her head, humming a bit as he thought. “They may have claimed you as a spinster hobbit back in the Shire, but that proves all the more that they are fools. You are beautiful, and brave, and whoever claims that you are useless, including yourself, will face my wrath, along with the other members of the Company.” He was serious about this, so for now Bella only nodded along to wipe that look off his face.

She could always argue with him on that point later.

And she would get back to it later, because she was going to be staying in Erebor at least until she healed, although probably for longer based on her current position in her dwarf’s arms.

“Will I be able to stay? With you? In Erebor?” She shifted until she could look timidly into his eyes. He nodded, a soft smile on his face as he gazed down at her.

“Amralime, you can stay in Erebor with me for as long as you want. And if you decide to go back to the Shire, we can go there too, together. I’ll be with you forever, or for as long as you’ll have me.” Satisfied at his answer, Bella lifted up and nuzzled him on the chin with her nose, before giving him a quick peck on that same spot and settling back down again, her head resting against his neck with his chin on top once again.

“That sounds nice.” She yawned. “I’d like that, Fili.” Her eyes started drooping, and she felt something press against her curls for a moment, but it was so brief she felt she had merely imagined it. “I love you, Fili. I’ll never part from you… ever… again…” She drifted off to a rumble in his chest as he started humming a familiar tune.

Far over the misty mountains cold…

Nori paused in front of the tent, listening for the murmur of voices inside. He didn’t hear any, so he slipped inside. He grinned at the sight in front of him.

Bella and Fili were sharing Bella’s cot, the lass using the prince for a pillow while he had his arms gently around her, and both were fast asleep. Bofur was going to have to pay up, and that thought alone made the scene even better.

“If you guys are snogging I’m going to gouge my eyes out; that is definitely not something I want to see!” Nori rolled his eyes at Kili’s childishness, and shushed him and the others as soon as they opened the flaps.

“Well, it’s about time.” Dori muttered and Nori had to hide his snicker. Who knew that his overly protective, fussy older brother would agree to ‘such an open display of affection between two youngsters who weren’t even courting yet?’ (Nori was quoting word for word, here.)

“Aye, and hopefully this will help them heal faster.” Oin muttered under his breath about “hardheaded youngsters who dilly-dally too long until it’s nearly hopeless to save them.” He adjusted a few pillows here and there, and then gestured for Thorin and Kili to be helped back into their cots. “Alright, and that’s enough excitement for you two today, as well. I’ll not be allowing for anymore excursions from this tent until you must or you’re healed. Everybody else, out. This is a healing tent, not a communal meeting area.”

There were a few grumbles at this, but everybody shuffled out nonetheless, Dwalin taking up position as guard right outside. Nori waited until everybody was outside and the flaps were closed for him to call out.

“Bofur! Pay up!”

Overall, it was a good day.

Chapter Text

Bella hacked and slashed at the goblins and orcs that were closest to her. She didn’t have time to think, and yet all she could think about was her family, her dwarves, and the look of total betrayal on their faces as she came clean about what she did with the arkenstone. It was supposedly a sign, the sign, that Thorin had the right to rule as King, but in the end, it was only a shiny rock. A very pretty, shiny rock, but still a shiny rock. She’d hoped that her friends would understand, would be able to see the reasoning for why she did it, for why she gave away the arkenstone, but in the end, their greed kept them from seeing it. The gold had a claim over every single one of them and the tenuous sway she had with them, keeping them from being submerged in it completely, had snapped the moment she had come clean.

She’d hoped they would see reason.

She’d hoped they’d understand.

She was wrong.

Still, even after nearly throwing her from the battlements, and forcefully cutting off the braid that had her bead in it, she fought her way through the battle, fought her way to her dwarves, because they were her friends, her family , and dang it she loved those stupid, stubborn dwarrow with all her heart. She’d never be able to forgive herself if they died because she held a grudge.

She saved that for Lobelia.

Back to the present, she ducked under an orc sword, driving Sting into its gut. Blood sprayed on her cheek, but she hardly noticed. She retrieved her sword, and turned around to face the next enemy. When the area around her was clear for the moment, she took a breath to calm her racing heart. She got it down to a manageable level, only for it to start like a rabbit in panic as she saw Thorin, Fili, Kili, and Dwalin on the backs of goats heading up towards Ravenhill. As she cast her eyes to their destination, she noticed the signal flags of the enemy and dread curdled her stomach as she realized they were probably walking - er, riding - into a trap.

She cursed her luck as more orcs pressed in around her and as she ducked a swing from a mace, she belatedly realized that she still had her magic ring. Still crouched down, she slipped it onto her finger, wincing slightly as the world suddenly turned greyscale. That part was always the worst. Invisible once more, Bella carved her way through the ranks of the enemy, desperately trying to make it to Ravenhill in time.

She stumbled to a stop as soon as she reached the top, her eyes growing wide in fear as she noticed Azog himself on the ruins of a tower, and an achingly familiar face held in his grip. Kili was nowhere to be found, but Thorin and Dwalin were standing a few yards from her, bodies tense as Azog prattled on in his Black Speech, probably gloating about how he was going to end the line of Durin.

Well, not if she had anything to say about it.

She quickly cast her eyes about her, finding several perfect sized stones. She thanked her lucky stars they were there, and then felt guilty about it immediately afterwards because of the reason it was in ruins in the first place. Bella shook her head and took a steadying breath before grabbing several of the stones. She didn’t have time for conflicting emotions. Azog raised his arm blade in anticipation for the strike, and she knew she was out of time. She kept her ring on, and prayed to every Valar she knew that her plan would work.

“Hey!”

She stepped to the side of Thorin and Dwalin, took only a second to aim, and sent her stone flying through the air. It hit Azog in the eye, and in the general confusion of the mysterious voice combined with the stone to the face, Azog’s blade arm shifted as he struck. Fili’s face morphed in agony, and Azog drew his arm back, determined to get him again.

Bella had other plans, and threw another stone, and another, and another. In between each one she ran to a new spot so they couldn’t lock on her location. Azog finally dropped Fili and he fell to the base of the tower. She heard another voice cry out and suddenly Kili was there next to his brother. He looked out towards Thorin and Dwalin behind her, then up at Azog at the top, and Bella saw his eyes harden in determination. He bolted back into the tower and Bella nearly cried out in frustration.

Her conkers skills were only so good!

Bella stumbled around the camps set up after the battle, tired, worn down, and ready to cry. She was still wearing her ring, in case anybody happened to notice her. She didn’t have the mental capacity to deal with that quite yet. She’d already heard a few people calling out her name, but she couldn’t face them.

Not yet.

Not so soon after losing the Durins.

Her heart constricted in pain and she gasped at the anguish she felt.

She stumbled into a human healing tent as tears started to leak out of her eyes. Bella tried to wipe the first few away, but they kept coming so she eventually gave up and went to where some supplies were piled up. She felt guilty about taking some of the already low supplies, but she knew she wouldn’t make it without any help.

Azog stood above Thorin, his arm poised to strike. Thorin was on the ground, barely moving, and Azog knew he was done for. He was toying with him at this point, relishing every moment of taking down his foe after all these years.

“No!” Bella rushed forward the moment Azog brought his sword down and managed to stab him in the side. Azog cried out in pain and swung his blade arm blindly as his other hand went to cover the wound in his side. Bella ducked to the side, but she wasn’t fast enough. His arm grazed her side in a scratch, and she hissed slightly in pain, but ultimately ignored it. Azog grinned in triumph at the fresh blood now on his blade. (Not for the first time, Bella regretted leaving her mithril shirt in the mountain - completely on accident, mind you, but still!)

“I’ll come find you after I finish off Oakenshield, shadowwalker.” Azog spoke in Westron, but it sounded disjointed and unnatural coming from him. He turned back to Thorin. With the distraction Bella had provided, it was enough for Thorin to regain some strength and fight back against the Pale Orc.

Bella watched, her heart in her throat as Azog threw Thorin to the ice again, and swung his blade down. Thorin blocked it, barely, and was losing ground fast. Bella wanted to go over there and help, but she knew Thorin wouldn’t appreciate her butting in on his kill of his biggest enemy after so long. So, she waited.

She should’ve done it anyway.

Thorin found an opening to kill Azog finally, and went for it. Bella cried out with him as Azog’s blade pierced his chest, even as he delivered the final blow to the orc himself. She rushed forward, only to be knocked aside as something slammed into her and she knew no more.
When Bella had come to, all she could see was black, and she was being crushed by something uncomfortably heavy. She scrambled out from underneath and realized it was a bat that had taken her down. It was probably felled by the eagles that she could remember screeching their arrival. She had looked around under the ever darkening sky and realized that she couldn’t see Thorin’s or Fili’s bodies. The others must have come to collect them already, then. She hissed as her side flared in pain and she remembered that Azog had scratched her when he flung his arm out. She looked down to see her side bleeding profusely and she realized that it was her adrenaline that had kept her from feeling it. Now, though, she could feel every scratch, bruise, and scrape she’d accumulated during the battle and Bella was certain she probably had bruised ribs as well, at least from the bat falling on her. The world was still grayed out, but she couldn’t take the ring off. Not until she was sure no one was looking for her.

Bella took off her coat and wrapped it around the wound in her side. She shivered from the cold, but until she found some bandages or something she had to keep it from bleeding as much as possible. She sighed, looking at the path down from Ravenhill covered in bodies.

It was going to be a long walk back.

Maybe after all of this she would find Gandalf and give him the tongue lashing of his life and then get him to heal her side for all the trouble she went through.

Bella sighed as she untied her coat from her side. She set it down after checking to make sure nobody was nearby, and grabbed a roll of bandages, doing her best to wrap her side. That finished, she pulled her coat back, grimacing at the feel of wet blood. Still, it was better than nothing, although she made a mental note to wash it as soon as possible. She grabbed a few herbs she knew would help for the pain, and ducked back out of the tent, sighing in silent relief as nobody was around the tent to see the flap moving suspiciously.

Footsteps sounded nearby, and Bella moved away just in time to avoid being run into by a dwarf.

What’s a dwarf doing in the human camp? Bella looked closer, and she recognized the red hair, even if it was falling out of its star hairstyle. She clamped her hand over her mouth as if to stifle her already silent breathing. She stepped back once, twice, and turned around only to nearly run into his silver-haired brother. She jumped aside as he walked up to his brother.

“Any sign of her?” Dori asked anxiously. Nori ignored him momentarily as he strode into the human tent Bella was just in.

“Bella?” Nori called her name inside a few times, but she knew he wouldn’t find her. Nobody would, she would make sure of that. Nori came back out, and his eyes held an unreadable expression as he responded to Dori. “Not a sign of her anywhere. I don’t know where else she could be besides the battlefield. Mahal, I hope she isn’t out in all that .”

“We’ll find her, nadad. We have to.” Dori put his hand on Nori’s shoulder briefly, before heading off towards the field. “We’ll find her, and bring her back to Thorin. She’ll see what she’s done soon enough.” Nori nodded, set his shoulders, and followed after Dori.

Bella bit back a sob. So they did bring their bodies back. And now the dwarves want me to see what I did when I betrayed them. I deserve all their hate; I deserve to suffer alongside them for their king. She straightened her back and stepped forward to follow after the brothers, only to stop after she took a step. But… I don’t deserve to be near their mountain. I don’t deserve to look at any of them anymore. I don’t deserve to call them friend. Bella slunk back to the shadows of the tents; she knew when she wasn’t wanted anymore.

Tears falling from her face, shoulders shaking in silent sobs, she stumbled out of the camps and began heading in the direction of the now destroyed Laketown. She realized she had to cross the battlefield again to get back to the Long Lake. Bella grimaced, but determination won out. She skirted the edges of the battlefield so she wouldn’t run into anybody looking for her. After she was far enough away to be safely in the open without being seen she took off her ring.

Bella wasn’t sure for how long she walked until she made it to the lake; her vision half the time was blurry and vaguely she acknowledged that was probably a bad thing, but she didn’t worry about it too much. Worrying would require using energy and she had precious little of that as it was. She stumbled onwards, occasionally finding herself on the ground after her vision blacked out for a moment, but she just picked herself up and continued on. Her vision going dark and then coming back to find herself on the ground was probably a bad thing too. Not to mention how difficult it was starting to get to pick herself up each time.

By the time she made it to the lake she didn’t even realize until she stepped into the actual water itself. She yelped and shook her foot to try to dry it off, but the water did its job. She was more awake now than she was for the last however long. She squinted around the shoreline and in the distance she could see the ruins of Laketown, and if she was especially creative she might have thought she could see part of the dragon sticking up from where it fell. She looked around her nearby and was pleased to find a boulder nearby she could sit on to take care of her wound.

She had to take off her jacket and set it next to her so she could have access to her wound and had just pulled off the bandages to take a closer look at it when she heard noises nearby. She stiffened and slipped on her ring just as orcs came into sight.

What are orcs doing so far this way? Bella had no idea why the orcs were around, conveniently forgetting about the recent battle and subsequent victory by the combined armies of good, but she didn’t like how they were sniffing around the area. They were talking in their guttural language, but based on how they all were screeching and their mouths twisted up into a gruesome parody of smiles, Bella assumed it couldn’t be anything good.

She shuddered to think of what would happen if she were caught. With that firmly in mind, she slipped away as quietly as she could, making her way to the trees for cover.

She made it to the trees and past a few of them before she bumped into a massive orc. If she hadn’t already faced off against Azog and his spawn, Bolg, she would’ve thought that this orc was the largest one she’d ever come across. As it was, as she fell down, the ring fell off her finger and she scrambled to grab it before anything could happen to it. It was her ring, after all; no one else could have it. The orc, for his part, looked confused as he was forced back a step in surprise. (Bella seriously doubted he would’ve budged if he had seen her coming first.) When he spotted the poor hobbit on the ground in front of him, he grinned and grabbed her arm, forcing her to her feet, and marched her back out from the trees.

“Look what I found, boys!” Bella dug her feet into the ground, trying to slow him down, but the orc just wrenched her arm behind her back and Bella cried out as she felt her shoulder pop and pain went searing down her arm. “Move on, halfling.” He growled, and Bella felt indignity fill her entire being at that.

“I am half of nothing, filth, and you would do well to remember that before the end.” Bella growled right back at him, and the orc just laughed at her show of bravery.

“Oh, a show of bravery, eh? Save your energy, halfling , you’re going to need it. I want to hear you scream .” He pushed her forward into the group of orcs and suddenly she was surrounded by jeering and not understanding a word of what they said in their language. Based off their faces and the laughing, she could only assume they were saying the most vile of things, but then again, they seemed to make those faces all the time so maybe she wasn’t all that special after all.

Bella wanted oh so bad to use her ring and disappear, but she couldn’t risk it while she was surrounded this closely by the orcs. Besides, why give away her trump card before she could actually use it? No, she would have to bide her time and wait to escape, and hope that her wounds wouldn’t drop her dead first.

The orcs ripped Sting from her waist, and searched her for any other weapons. Bella huffed at the indignity, only to cry out as they jostled her arm. That seemed to make them especially screechy in joy, and they tried to make her do it again, but she resolutely clamped her mouth shut. Try as they might, Bella would not give them the satisfaction of hearing her cry out in pain.

Until they discovered the wound in her side.

They poked and prodded at that, raking their disgusting claws down her side and then pushed her shoulder for good measure and Bella could not help the whimpers that came out of her mouth. After a while, they must’ve gotten bored with her noises of protest because they dragged her arms in front of her and tied them roughly with rope. They proceeded to drag her behind them along the edge of the lake.

Bella wasn’t sure for how long they walked, but she knew her feet were getting cut up - when she looked down to watch where she put her feet she had seen blood on the rocks trailing where she had stepped and it definitely wasn’t from her side. It was dark when they finally stopped and Bella sighed silently when they tied her to a fallen tree. At least she was able to sit down finally. She heard footsteps crunching nearby and looked up to see the leader coming her way. She felt dread coiling up in her gut as she noticed the grin he wore.

“Come on, halfling, you’re not tired , now, are you?” The others started muttering amongst themselves and the dread that had started coiling now settled like a lead weight as he undid her ties and dragged her to the center of their camp. “Well, boys,” he said, looking around at his buddies, “are we having meat tonight, or what?” At this point, the others were positively screaming , barely holding back from launching themselves at her by a thread. The leader stepped up and pulled out a dagger, bringing it closer to her face.

It went as simply as this: one moment, Bella was panicking internally, knowing she was about to die horribly and alive , the next, she wasn’t. Her mind said “bye”, packed itself up, and hitched it off to somewhere else. Her body shut down all feeling, becoming numb to everything around her.

She knew she was facing her death, and yet she couldn’t bring herself to feel anything.

She would’ve laughed hysterically at that if she could.

The orc leader grinned at her expressionless eyes, and raised his knife to her face, ready to carve his masterpiece, before freezing suddenly. Distantly, Bella heard the thunk of an arrow, and she raised her eyes to see one protruding from his forehead before his body toppled backwards. Absently, she thought it was a pretty arrow. The other orcs only paused momentarily before going into a frenzy, pulling their weapons and attacking their unwanted guests. She also registered a war cry from somewhere around her, perhaps multiple, but she couldn’t place if she knew them or not.

Bella blinked, and she was on the ground again. A weight settled on her (good) shoulder and she looked at it only to find a hand. Her eyes followed the hand up along the arm attached to it and slowly but surely she found the face attached to the body directly in front of her. She vaguely thought she knew the person, but her brain was so muddled that she couldn’t place anything. The person was saying something, their lips were moving, but she couldn’t hear anything beyond the ringing in her ear.

She frowned. That wasn’t right. She lifted her arm to try and rub at her ear, see if she could fix whatever was making everything muffled. Or, well, she tried to. Her shoulder was still injured and was basically useless. She frowned again.

There was a gentle pressure under her chin and it lifted her face back to the person in front of her. She squinted at them, her brain taking a minute to process information, and it took longer than she was proud of to admit, but she was finally able to place a name to the face.

“Gandalf.”

The wizard said something else, but she couldn’t hear anything still. Warmth spread through her shoulder from where he touched her, and her eyes rolled to the back of her head before darkness took her.

As Bella slowly regained consciousness, all she could feel was pain. She grimaced as she tried to remember what had happened, and brought her hands to rub at her temples. It was a valiant effort, truly, but she hissed in pain as she belatedly remembered her shoulder had been injured, and her other arm was pinned down by something heavy, something that shifted as soon as she made noise.

“Bella?” She blearily cracked an eye open, then two at the sound of the familiar voice. She tilted her head toward the sound and tried placing the name to the face that was just above her, but exhaustion was calling her back under.

Bella wasn’t entirely certain exactly when she woke up next but she slowly registered the sound of a voice talking. She was confused at why he seemed so upset, but she wasn’t sure she’d have been able to stop his ranting and pacing, even if she’d had the energy to.

“-and you were gone, had just up and disappeared. I don’t know why you thought it’d be a good idea to leave before you got your wounds at least looked at , but that was a very stupid thing to do. And then to find out that you had been captured by a group of orcs left over from the battle, and that they had nearly killed you, and I wasn’t anywhere near you to protect you!” The footsteps stopped suddenly, before coming nearer, and Bella could feel a weight on her hand again. She supposed it was probably the dwarf currently ranting and raving that was holding her hand now with a gentle but firm grip, as though she would fade if he wasn’t touching her. “I nearly lost you, Bella.” His voice had lowered to barely a whisper and his grip tightened slightly. Bella also thought she heard his voice break, but it could’ve been her mind playing tricks on her. Still, she strained her ears to pick up what this dwarf was saying. “You’re my One, and I almost lost you three times. How can I ever make up for that - how can you ever forgive me for what I did, for not being there to protect you?”

Bella felt a tear slip out from underneath her eyelashes, but her subconscious was pulling her under again so she did not hear the gasp from the dwarf next to her, nor did she hear his calling her name to see if she really was awake.

At one point Bella woke up briefly to hear somebody scolding her as her bandages were being changed. The words foolish and hobbit were said multiple times, and as she was settled back down she was able to pry her eyes open to look up tiredly at the healer. His eyes met hers and there was a moment of shock on his face before it was replaced with a warm smile.

“There you are, lass. We were wondering when you’d come back to us again.” A warm feeling filled Bella’s chest as she heard these words from the deaf healer in front of her, and she attempted a smile of her own.

It was a far cry from even a parody of a smile, she was sure, but the corners of her mouth must’ve twitched just enough for Oin to realize what she was trying to do, for his eyes crinkled and he gently patted her hand before readjusting the blanket around her.

“Just rest up, and you’ll be right as rain and ordering us around in no time.” He patted her hand again. “It’s good to have you back, lass.” With that, he left the tent she suddenly realized she was in. Bella’s eyes were drifting shut as the tent flap opened up again and she saw a familiar star-haired dwarf walk in, but she was too far under to do much more than attempt to twitch her mouth into another attempted smile before she succumbed to the dark.

At one point Bella remembered waking up in a panic, fighting off invisible creatures that tormented her almost constantly in her sleep. Now that she was waking up more, she was dreaming more often than not; although more often than not she wished once more for the blissful empty black that once filled her while unconscious. Her dreams usually morphed into nightmares, and there was nothing she could do to fight them off.

The nightmares that haunted her always seemed too real, and as she fought against the grip of another monster pinning her, she realized there was an actual weight on her, pinning her down. This led to her panicking even more, her half-asleep brain thinking she was once more in the clutches of the orcs, and she attempted to shove them off of her, ignoring the pain in her shoulder and side.

After a few minutes - although it felt like hours - of this, she could hear a voice filtering through the haze in her mind. It was soft, soothing, and it was calling her name.

“Bella, Bella it’s me. Come back to us, lass. You’re safe now.”

Bella gasped and tried to slow her breathing, prying her eyes open to look at the owner of the voice. She was confused when she saw Dori and Oin above her - Dori seemed to be the one doing the talking. After a minute she realized he was also the one pinning her down, although her brow furrowed in confusion at that.

“Bella? Can you hear me?” Dori spoke again, and Bella opened her mouth to answer but ended up in a coughing fit instead. After a glass was pushed into her hand and Oin helped her drink, they settled her back, Dori no longer holding her down but hovering nearby just in case. "Bella?"

She could barely manage a nod, but it was enough, apparently and they both seemed to lose whatever weight they were holding.

"That's a good lass." Oin spoke this time. "You were having a nightmare, and thrashing about. It was all we could do to keep you from reopening your wound." He gave her a stern eye before continuing. "It took a long time to stitch up your side, and that was after having to disinfect it. I don't know what you were thinking when you wandered off without having it tended first, but I'm not about to let all my hard work go to waste." Bella's eyes were starting to droop again, but she counted it a win that she was able to stay awake longer this time. She heard a sigh that morphed into a chuckle, and then there was a pat on her head. "Get some more rest, lass. At this point you're rivaling those stone headed Durins for who's making us worry more, although I think you win points for being the favorite."

Durins? Favorite? What? But she couldn't focus on a single strand of thought and she fell asleep again.

Bella managed to wake up for longer periods of time until soon enough she was able to stay awake for most of the day, with a little cat nap here and there. All the members of the company (Bella’s heart clenched as she tried not to think about her friends who had died right in front of her eyes) came to visit her, the relief palpable among them. She was relieved beyond belief that they all forgave her for the arkenstone debacle, some even commending her on doing what they could not in the hopes of saving them all.

She blushed prettily at that comment, and waved them off, but inside she was preening.

A few times Thorin and his nephews were mentioned and her insides twisted and died a little more inside. Whenever this happened, her face fell before she shook herself and forced herself to smile a little more at whoever she was talking to. She didn’t for a second think they didn’t notice, but they were all kind enough not to mention anything.

It was in the middle of a conversation with the brothers ‘Ri that the Durin trio was brought up again and she couldn’t take it anymore. She had to know before she shriveled up inside completely.

“How are you all able to handle it so well?” She whispered during a lull in the conversation.

“Handle what so well, Bella?” Ori, ever at the ready, had a quill and ink ready along with some paper as he documented her recovery. For what purpose, Bella didn’t know, although she suspected it had to be for Oin, who had never worked on a hobbit before with a wound like hers. He probably wanted it for future reference, although if any of the company had anything to say, Bella wouldn’t see the light of day again without having several other persons with her.

Right. Off topic.

“Bella? What’s on your mind, lass?” Dori’s voice was so kind, so comforting, that she couldn’t help the few tears that trickled out, although she quickly wiped them away. “Hey, now, there’s no need for that, lass. Now, what’s got you all worked up for?”

“It’s just- they’re dead , Dori, and it seems like I’m the only one who’s still mourning them.” She sighed, letting her shoulders sag in her sorrow. When she spoke again she was whispering once more. “They died right in front of me, and I couldn’t do anything to help, to somehow keep them alive. I mean, I know they were fighting against Azog himself and his spawn, but I could’ve still helped out - no, I should’ve still helped out somehow. Ugh, I’m so useless!” She looked down at the blanket covering her and idly picked at a loose thread.

“Now, what’s this about being useless? I remember you saving us at least three times, and I know you saved Thorin’s sorry hide several more times, just himself without the rest of the Company tagging along.” Bella sniffled, but continued to pick at the blanket until a warm hand covered her own. Her head shot up and she found herself looking into the eyes of Nori, who looked more serious than she had ever seen him before. “You were never useless , Bella. Never. And I’ll not be letting you talk like that about yourself ever again, you hear?” He spoke with such conviction Bella’s breath caught in her throat as she stared into his eyes.

His grip tightened on her hand and Bella looked down, feeling as though she were watching from a distance as Nori wove their fingers together. With his free hand he gently lifted her face until she was looking at him again, and then very carefully he wiped the few stray tears from underneath her eyes. Distantly, she heard Dori mutter some excuse and then watched from the corner of her eye as he herded Ori out of the little tent, before her focus was completely focused on Nori once again.

“What you said about Thorin and the boys being dead, that’s not true, either. They all managed to survive the onslaught from Azog and his filthy spawn. They almost didn’t make it, but the elves grudgingly stepped up to help them and after the first two days passed without them getting worse, they deemed it safe enough to be cautiously optimistic. After four days they showed signs of getting better and we could all focus more on searching for survivors, specifically you. It took a week after the battle for you to be located, and imagine all of our surprise when the wizard came rushing back with you in his arms, followed by the princeling and Beorn. It was another half-week before you woke up for the first time, and we’ve been waiting for you to stay awake long enough to tell you.”

Bella thought she was going to be sick. They were alive? They had been alive this entire time? And she had been ready to leave them all behind without any evidence, had almost died , for Yavannah’s sake! All because she was, what? Too chicken to go face the consequences of her actions, to truly apologize before it was too late? Bella was a fool, she knew, but she promised to herself that she would make it up to them. All of them.

“I meant what I said before, y’know.” Nori’s voice cut through her self-deprecating thoughts like a hot knife through butter. “I know you’re berating yourself right now, I can read it all over your face. And I’ll thank you kindly to not talk to yourself like that again. I’ll spend the rest of my life making sure that you don’t, if needed.” Bella froze, while on the inside her heart leaped and danced about as his words truly registered in her mind. “That is, if you’ll have me?” He sounded so unsure, so vulnerable, and it was so unlike his usual self that Bella couldn’t help but be taken aback. The light of hope he had allowed to show in his eyes dimmed and he pulled back, starting to untwine their fingers so he could leave, and Bella realized she had taken too long to respond.

She realized it had been so long since she had done anything besides stare at him, really, that his pulling back made her jump into action. She blinked and tightened her grip around his fingers, yanking him back toward her body. Luckily, he didn’t give much resistance, as Bella would have had a hard time actually pulling the dwarf anywhere if he’d had a mind not to go. Careful of her stitches, Bella reached up and pulled his forehead so it rested against hers.

“Careful with your words, thief. I’ve half a mind to take back what you stole from me, but after that pretty little speech of yours I find I can’t do much but let you keep it.” Nori’s eyes were wide, so Bella continued on, fully aware she was putting everything on the line for this dwarf. “Did you really mean it? You’d really want to spend the rest of your life with me?”

Nori finally got his expression under control, although his eyes still shone with such affection it made her heart stutter.

“I meant every word, amralime. You are my One, and I was a fool for not realizing it sooner. I would be honored to be able to spend the rest of my life by your side, if you’d but give me the chance to make up for my mistakes.”

“Oh, Nori.” She breathed, and then feeling suddenly bold, she closed the distance between them in a tender kiss. Nori didn’t miss a beat at all before he was kissing her back, just as gently. When they drew apart, Bella laughed softly. “I would give anything to spend the rest of my life with you. I love you, my stupid dwarf.”

“And I love you, my ridiculously brave little hobbit.” He pulled back farther as his face drew together in thought.

“What is it?” Bella tilted her head at him, squeezing his hand. He returned the squeeze absently, before turning his shrewd gaze to her.

“It’s just something Dwalin told us. I have to disagree with what you said earlier though, yet again.”

“What?”

“You said you didn’t do anything to help, when you thought they had all died in front of you. I’d actually like to disagree with you on that.” At Bella’s questioning gaze, he elaborated. “Dwalin was there with Thorin. He told me of the hidden voice, and the rocks flying through the air. He said that if it wasn’t for you , none of the Durins would be alive. He said you taunted them, somehow staying hidden, and when Thorin battled Azog on his own, the pale orc kept getting mysterious cuts on his body. You provided the distraction needed to save Thorin, as well as Fili and Kili, so actually,” Here he leveled her with a look that said they were going to be speaking about her habits of following dwarven kings into danger despite her very little battle experience later, “you did what none of us, not even Dwalin, could do.”

Bell’s breath hitched, but she managed to keep the tears from escaping this time. Before she could say anything to her dwarf, though, he wrapped her in a hugh, burying his face in her curls.

“ Please , don’t go doing anything like that again, ghivashel. I don’t think I could take the panic of you being out there without me nearby to protect you. You’ve done more than enough for us dwarves. Please don’t make me go through that again.” Bella thought she was imagining the fear in his voice, but when he started to lightly shake, she realized he had been truly scared. She set a hand on top of his head and lightly stroked his hair, hoping it would soothe the distraught dwarf.

“I promise, Nori. I can’t promise what will happen to us, though, as I’ve been cast out from the mountain. I could probably stay in Dale, so that I can be nearby. It would be rough, but we could make it work.” At her words, Nori stiffened, before drawing back slowly to meet her eyes. There was a hard-set determination in there that made Bella wonder what he was thinking.

“Thorin had woken up briefly before the healers got to him. He was asking for you, and was distraught when we told him you were not found yet.” Bella was confused. Why would Thorin be distraught over her? Nori seemed to know what she was thinking, though, and his explanation stole all the breath from her body, making her feel winded. “He rescinded your banishment, Bella. You’re a hero, the hero of Erebor, and we’ll be making sure everybody knows it.” He leveled her with a serious look again. “I’ll not be letting you get away again.”

Tears streamed freely down Bella’s face as the realization of what just happened set in. A laugh bubbled up inside her, and she let it out, although it was a half sob as she was still crying. Nori looked at her in concern, and reached to wipe the tears away again. Bella merely shook her head, smiling at him through her tears and he sat back.

“We’ll be together forever, ghivashel, I promise you.”

From his pocket Nori produced two beads, and Bella’s tears ran anew as she realized the first had been the bead that had been cut from her hair - her family bead given to her from the company as a whole. The second bead was new, and she realized it was Nori’s courting bead.

Reaching out, Bella covered his hand holding the beads with both of hers. She smiled at him tenderly, if a little watery.

“You stole my heart, thief. I’m holding you to it.”

Chapter Text

Bella could feel her lungs burning, and her sides cramped in pain from running so hard. Even still, she was one of the last ones in the line. The others were already almost inside the grove of their unknown host, and she would’ve been more excited to see the end of this trip in sight if she had any extra energy to give.

Behind them, a massive bear burst from the trees. Really, what kind of creature has any right to be that big? By now, she could hear some of the dwarves slamming into solid wood and panicking as they suddenly forgot how to open a dang door. The bear roared again and the panicking grew louder. Bella still wasn’t there yet, and she knew it would take a miracle to get there in time.

Now, it was just her, Ori, and Thorin in the back, Thorin staying last to make sure the others made it.

A sudden thought popped in her head, though more like an old memory trying to resurface after several years of being suppressed. It was a story all faunts were told, though many chose to ignore it as they grew into respectable hobbits; most, except for the Tooks. They held fast to this story as it was one of the only stories left from their Wandering Days. Back before the Wandering Days happened, really, when they were still settled peacefully in the Vales of Anduin. They lived nearby strange creatures who would protect them. These creatures looked like men, only they were taller, much, much taller, and could shift into amazing creatures. These creatures would also be massive, much larger than normal, and it was because of this gift that they protected the hobbits.

“Because, you see, hobbits used to possess this ability as well, Bella. We are so small compared to the tall folk, even though we are perfectly normal sized, we were extra small to these skin-changers, and often that would come out when we shifted as well. Our creatures were typically prey animals, or small predators, like a bunny or a ferret. So these larger skin-changers took pity on us and protected us from those who wanted to hurt us, and in return we helped them tend their land.” Belladonna’s voice held a trace of amusement at the wonder in her daughter’s eyes as she listened to the story for what had to be the hundredth time.

Bella grit her teeth and ignored her pounding heart as she suddenly stopped and turned back to the bear.

She wouldn’t make it to the door in time, anyway. She may as well give the others a chance.

She could hear the dwarves calling for her frantically, and she turned briefly to Thorin who had shoved Ori forward and had turned back for her.

“Bella! What are you doing? We need to go!”

“Get them in, Thorin. I know what I'm doing." Thorin still wasn't convinced so she flashed her eyes at him, letting them turn gold. " Go. I'll be just fine, Thorin." I hope.

After a few precious moments that they really didn't have the time to waste, Thorin nodded and turned back around, rushing back to the other members of the Company. They started to protest but he yelled something at them in Khuzdul and they all shut up, hurrying into the house, Bella hoped. By this time, she had turned back already and the bear was nearly upon her.

Bella took a deep breath, shoving her terror aside for the moment, and angled herself slightly, raising her hand up in the process. The wind whipped her hair around as she flashed her eyes.

"Peace."

The bear slid to a stop, his snout mere inches from her hand.

"My friend," Bella hesitantly put her hand on his snout, and spoke quietly as she brought her other one up to join it. The bear stayed still. "We need your help."

"We have to go back out there and save her!" Kili was near bouncing in frustration and anxiety while his brother paced agitatedly next to him.

"She said she knew what she was doing. I had to trust her." Thorin sighed as he looked around at his Company, the looks of disbelief and anger on their faces, although he knew that underneath it all was fear for their burglar. He himself was filled with it as well, and he was close to going back outside and pulling her from whatever mess she got herself into this time. Even the wizard seemed nervous for his friend, although he hid it well.

"Even if she seemed sure of herself, she's just a wee thing, up against that.. that.. that beast! " Dori was shaking as he struggled to control himself, and his brothers were standing close by, in case they needed to step in and prevent any fights. Thorin sighed again.

"You didn't see her eyes." He made eye contact with each and every single person in the room before continuing. "I trust that she knows what she is doing, just like she said. As you should do as well." Everybody seemed sufficiently cowed and looked down, but knew they couldn't do anything to change it now.

Before they could wallow in their grief any more, the door was pushed in an attempt to open it, and then realizing it was locked, whoever - or whatever - was on the other side knocked instead. The dwarves all looked at each other before rushing to the door to undo the latch and threw it wide open.

There, in front of their very eyes, was Bella, a sheepish smile on her face, and behind her-

"Gentlemen, I'd like you to meet our host, Beorn."

The bear huffed, sending Bella’s hair flying.

Bella shrieked as she was lifted into the air, again, and set on a massive shoulder, again . She had protested the first time it happened, but Beorn merely laughed, patted her head, and refused to let her down, no matter how much the dwarves glared at him. She would’ve jumped, except it was a long way down and she was sure the dwarves wouldn’t be too keen on staying any longer than they needed so that she could recover from what she was sure would be several broken bones.

Therefore, staying up higher off the ground than any sensible hobbit could even imagine back in the Shire, Bella stayed put, while occasionally clutching the bear-man’s head for dear life as he moved around. She was not too happy.

“Oh, does the Little Bunny not like it up so high?” That was another thing. Even though she told him her name, several times, he still stubbornly called her Little Bunny. What was so hard about saying ‘Bella’? It was really easy: Bel-la. It was even half the syllables of his nickname for her; definitely much easier to say.

“No, Beorn,” she readjusted her grip on his head, “the Little Bunny does-” she slipped a little and shrieked again as she caught herself, “-does not appreciate being called that, or- or- or being treated like one, or any other animal, for that matter.”

“I would call you a Little Ferret if you were just a bit feistier, but I think Little Bunny suits you better.”

Bella thought back to the trolls, and being called a ferret by them too.

“No, I think I would just prefer it if you called me Bella. Simply, Bella.” Beorn ducked inside and turned to the kitchen. Once there, he set her on the counter next to him.

“Well, Little Bunny, here we are.” He gestured grandly at the kitchen around them, and Bella simply crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him, not impressed.

“And for what reason, exactly, are we here now?”

“We’re about to supply you for your journey! If I recall, hobbit-folk ate several meals a day and had soft, round bodies. You look much too thin to be a proper hobbit, so we must fix that.” Bella wasn’t entirely certain whether she should be offended or cheered by his statement. If she were honest, it was probably a mix of both.

“Oh, well. I, uh-” She shifted a bit on the counter and cleared her throat. “I thank you, Beorn, for your thoughtfulness. And if we live through this, I will come and visit you again so I may teach you proper hobbit manners and brush up on your knowledge of hobbit meals. No doubt the world would be a better place if everybody abided by hobbit meal times. Food fixes almost everything.” At this, Beorn threw back his head and laughed heartily.

“I look forward to it. You can also teach me about some of your hobbity meals so I can feed you better next time around.” Bella definitely did not have tears in her eyes. It was merely dust, in Beorn’s fairly spotless kitchen. Yep. That was her story and she was sticking to it.

“I’d be delighted to teach you some proper hobbit recipes. They are most wonderful, and there is hardly anything we hobbits love more than food. You won’t be disappointed.” Everything important had been said by now, so they dove right into cooking and packing, getting Bella ready for the next few weeks of proper hobbit food (although, really, she was determined to make it last longer than that and also share it with her dwarves, so they were really outfitting the rest of the Company with food as well), telling stories to each other of their peoples and the history between the two.

By the time they were supposed to be leaving, Bella and Beorn had become a dynamic duo in the kitchen and had prepared as much as they could allow the company to carry. It was quite a bit. Everybody had loaded the packs and saddlebags on the ponies and were just waiting for the order to move out. Beorn was talking with Gandalf and Thorin, warning them of the dangers that awaited them from there on out. When they broke apart, Thorin and Gandalf climbed onto their mounts while Beorn came to talk once more with Bella. She sincerely hoped it wouldn’t be the last time she got to speak with the skin-changer; they had really bonded over the course of the last few days in the kitchen.

“And you are sure you do not want to stay with me, Little Bunny? I would feed you your hobbity recipes and we could work on regaining your ability to change forms as well, and we could tell stories to each other every day. You have a good start on it already; your eyes flash gold when you want somebody to listen to you. Like an animal’s eyes in the middle of the night.” Beorn looked at her, and she was sad to see him sad on her behalf.

“I’m sorry Beorn, I made a promise to these dwarves; I signed a contract, and a Baggins never goes back on her word. Besides,” she added when his eyes saddened, “I wouldn’t be happy staying here forever. Sure it’d be fun to visit you and we could tell stories around the fire and cook, but then I’d want to go back home - either back to Bag-End in the Shire, or back to these dwarves that I’ve grown terribly fond of. But like I said before, I’d love to come visit you and we can go over recipes some more.” Thorin gave the order to move out and the ponies started forward, following after him. “And if you really think it will work, I’d be willing to try to learn the ability that my ancestors had, if you’d be willing to teach me.” She smiled at him, and Beorn grinned in return, even as her pony moved away from him.

“I look forward to it, Little Bunny. Stay safe on your journey, until we meet again.” Bella waved at him, which he returned, and then she faced forward to follow her dwarves to the entrance of Mirkwood.

As they traveled, she could swear she saw a shape following them in the distance, and she squinted until she could make out the vague form of a bear. She took comfort in the knowledge that Beorn was following them to make sure they stayed safe, to make sure that she stayed safe.

“Until we meet again, Beorn.” She whispered under her breath.

They would meet again, she’d make sure of it. Even if she had to slay Smaug herself, she would come back and see her friend again. After all, she gave him her word that she would.

And a Baggins always kept their word.

Chapter Text

Aaaanndddddd… post! Bella sat back with a contented smile on her face. She had just posted her latest one-shot on her fanfiction profile. She was particularly proud of finishing this one, as she was almost fresh out of ideas of what to write. She was in need of some inspiration. The door to the coffee shop made a happy jingle as someone else walked inside. Bella glanced up and smirked to herself as she opened up a new document on her laptop.

The Durins had arrived. Oh, her readers were going to eat this up .

It looked like her inspiration had arrived.

See, Bella was an avid writer, and she always brought her laptop with her to this one specific coffee shop for her inspiration. Why? Because it was semi-close to home, had decent coffee, and because certain people came to this shop. And Bella was not about to let perfect opportunities pass her by.

On the fanfiction site, she went by the moniker Underhill . She kept everything about herself secret: name, gender, age, job, everything . She never posted author’s notes beyond a single disclaimer, and she kept to a strict schedule if she posted multi-chapter fics instead of her usual one-shots. And it annoyed her readers to no end. At the same time, though, her writing was good, and she continued to gain new readers with every new story she posted.

And she posted. A lot.

One-shots, multi-chapter novels, ficlets, she had it all, for several different fandoms. She did all kinds of ratings, mostly keeping it G-rated, but she had a few more mature stories. Those ones were always pretty popular.

Her most popular stories, though, were her reader-inserts. Specifically, the reader-inserts featuring the Durin family.

Which is why she frequented this coffee shop for inspiration.

See, the Durins came to this shop every morning like clockwork. Sometimes it was just one or two every so often, each on their way to work or wherever it was they were going. She assumed it was work. But every weekend, Friday through Sunday, they would come in as one big group and have coffee together. They would take two booths next to each other after ordering their coffees and a muffin or pie or something like that, and then celebrate something or other as though they hadn’t seen each other in a year.

It happened every weekend.

And every weekend Bella was there with her laptop ready, a new document pulled up, earbuds in, though not playing any music so she could listen in to conversations, her fingers ready and waiting to type up what she observed and serve it fresh on a platter to her ever faithful readers.

Really, the royals were so predictable. If the Durins didn’t want themselves to be fodder to her fanfics, they really shouldn’t be so consistent with their morning coffee routine.

But then if they did that, she wouldn’t consistently have fresh ideas for her stories, so maybe they could keep doing it for a little bit longer.

Bella walked in the coffee shop, her bag with her laptop thrown over her shoulder. She ordered her coffee as per usual, and turned to her normal table before stopping in her tracks. She blinked, pulled out her phone to check the time to confirm she wasn’t later than usual, and looked back at her table. Sitting there at her table was the blond haired prince, Fili Durin. Bella blinked again, took a deep breath, and walked over to the table before stopping in front of the prince.

“Uhh… hi.” She gave an awkward half wave to the blond beauty. He looked up at her, raised an eyebrow and waved back.

“Can I help you?” He smirked at her direction, and Bella couldn’t decide whether she was offended or in awe at being spoken to by the prince.

“Uh, yeah, I’m sorry but… you’re kinda in my spot…” She trailed off awkwardly. If possible, his eyebrow raised even higher. Bella hurried to explain herself, hoping this didn’t seem as awkward to anyone else as much as it did to her. “You see, I always sit here, at this table and in that seat every morning. And I know I didn’t get here later than normal so there shouldn’t be anybody else sitting there yet, at least not until after I leave.”

“I know.” Was all the prince replied. Bella spluttered.

“You- you know? You know what ?” Bella heard her name called for her order. “Hang on, I’ll be right back. Don- don’t move. Wait. Actually, if you could move that would actually be for the best. Please.” Her name was called again and she hurried to the counter to get her drink. She thanked the barista and went back to her table and the intruder in her seat.

“I know you sit in this seat every day. You’re always typing away on your laptop. Is that what’s in the bag?” He gestured to her backpack, and Bella shifted awkwardly before nodding. “I was curious as to what you could be working on, every day at the same time, in the same spot. Especially since it seems to involve watching my family and I.” Bella’s face colored prettily as she realized that she wasn’t as subtle about her observations as she’d originally thought.

“I- I don’t know what you’re talking about..” She tried to play dumb, but by the ever-growing amused expression on his face, Bella wasn’t very successful.

“Oh, but I think you do.” His voice turned almost… flirty? “So then,” he glanced at her cup of coffee, “ Bella , just what do you find so intriguing about us that gives you so much inspiration? Is it all of us you find interesting, or just me ?” Bella blushed again.

“Wh-what are you talking about?” She squeaked, her mortification plain as day on her face, she was sure. The blond prince stood up before gesturing at his vacated chair.

“Here, have a seat. It is, after all, your seat, and I would be a poor example of the royal family and my mother if I kept you standing there. Although,” he stepped closer to Bella as his smirk grew, “your face is super cute with that shade of red on it. It matches your eyes.”

At this point, Bella didn’t think she could be any more embarrassed. In a moment of instinctual panic and self-preservation, she stomped on his foot before jumping back and skirting around him to her seat. The sudden shock on the prince’s face gave way to a genuine grin and he started chuckling.

“I suppose I deserved that. My apologies, Bella. My mother would be appalled at my behavior, so let me at least introduce myself to you before I scare you away from this coffee shop forever. Then I wouldn’t be able to see your adorable attempts at observation anymore.” He winked at her. “Fili Durin, at your service.” The prince - Fili - then bowed before taking her hand in his and pressing a kiss to the back of it. Bella took back her earlier statement. She most definitely could get more embarrassed. After floundering for a few moments, with Fili’s eyes focused up at her face, she managed to find her voice.

“Bella Baggins, at yours and… your family’s.” She cleared her throat awkwardly. “I’m sorry, but could I have my hand back now?” Fili chuckled, but he dutifully released her hand. Bella sat down in her now vacated chair, and busied her hands with her backpack, ignoring when Fili sat across from her. She pulled out her laptop and phone, jammed her headphones in her ears, cranked up her music, and set to work typing away on her laptop.

As she pulled up her document to type on, she smirked internally. Let him try to glean information about my fanfics from this , then! She could see the prince watching her curiously from her peripheral vision, but she couldn’t care less. She was on her “fail-safe” document, one she created to use if anybody ever caught her observing the royal family. She’d hoped she wouldn’t ever need to use this document, but one could never be too prepared.

Never had she been so glad for that.

“So, what are you working on, then? If I may be so bold as to ask.”

Bella continued to type on, as though she hadn’t heard him, then after a minute (when her song ended), she pulled out an earbud and turned her laptop around to face the blond prince. While outwardly she seemed annoyed, inwardly she was smirking (and still annoyed, but less). Carefully, she watched his face for reactions.

He read what was on the screen with an even face, but after several weeks ( probably more, but who’s counting) of observing the royals, she could tell when he was amused. A subtle twitch to a cheek here, a slight crinkle of eyes there, and when he looked back up to her, his eyes were bright with mirth. Oh yes, the document worked like a charm.

“ Bella’s Guide to Becoming a Professional Stalker , huh? I must admit, the title is pretty catchy, if not just a bit too long.” Bella frowned at his comment, but otherwise made no notion of speaking to the golden prince. She silently pulled her laptop back to herself, but Fili’s hands suddenly covered her own and oh my gosh why is he so warm my fanfics never prepared me for this what do I do what do I- “Now hang on, I wasn’t finished reading that.” He started pulling the laptop back towards him but Bella’s mind short circuited with Fili’s hands on her own and she yanked it back, slamming the lid down in the process.

“I’m sorry, I just remembered that I have to… go.” She was certain her face was beet red but she was already shoving everything back into her backpack at lightspeed. She pushed her chair in, grabbed her bag and drink and was rushing out the door into the warm summer morning before Fili could say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. She really hoped the prince would forget all about her.

After observing him for so long, Bella really doubted it.

The next morning, Bella walked cautiously into the coffee shop, her backpack hanging from one shoulder, hoping beyond hope the Durins would forget this one day of celebration with each other and leave her to her own mortification. After looking around the shop like a total creeper, she breathed a sigh of relief after not seeing anybody there and walked to the counter to order her usual drink. She paid and went to sit down at her blessedly empty table. After a few minutes the barista called her name and she walked to the counter to grab her drink. As she did so, the front door chimed and whaddya know , in walked the Durin clan.

Please don’t notice me, I’m begging you.

Bella made it to the counter safely, grabbed her drink and turned to go back to her table, when she bumped into something solid and dropped her drink.

That something turned out to be a some one ; a very specific someone who she couldn’t get out of her head for the past twenty-four hours, and who also caught her drink before total calamity could happen.

“I think you dropped this.” Bella’s eyes widened in horror at the voice very near her face, and she mechanically grabbed her drink before raising her head to meet the eyes of a smirking, infuriating Son of Durin. His eyes twinkled with mirth, and Bella blushed.

“Ah, I- Well-” She lowered her eyes to his collarbone before trying to speak again. “Thank you. I would’ve been sad to see my perfectly good coffee go to waste like that.” She glanced up at him briefly to see him still smiling, and forged on. “If you’ll, ah, excuse me…” Bella skirted around Fili towards her seat, only to freeze in terror as she caught sight of the rest of the Durins.

And they were all at her table.

“I didn’t think you had two sudden appointments two days in a row, so I brought the rest of the family over to meet our ‘ Professional Stalker ’.” Bella’s look of terror fizzled down and was veering off towards annoyance as he threw her decoy document back in her face. She could feel his smirk as he stood behind her, ready to guide her towards the others if she tried to run again.

There was nothing for it. Bella was going to have to move her services to a different coffee shop.

If the prince continued to pester her, she might just move to another city altogether.

She was brought back to the present by Fili nudging her towards the table, and Bella watched in horror as they all turned to look at them at the same time. Their expressions were dangerous. She gulped and slowly shuffled forward.

As soon as they reached the table, the tri-peaked red-head - Nori, Bella remembered his name was - stood up and offered her his seat, giving her a wolfish grin as he did so. The grin didn’t reach his eyes, and that, combined with his hairstyle and outfit - a nondescript, average Joe suit that would cause her eyes to completely skip over him in a crowd - gave her chills, but she valiantly gave an awkward smile back as she sat down. Her bag was still by her seat, on the other side of the table, and she knew if they opened it to look through her laptop she’d be doomed .

Her drink was on the table in front of her now, her hands gripping it like a lifeline and she was mildly impressed by the quality of the styrofoam cups.

“So, Bella , since you’ve obviously been trying to meet us in person, I decided to grant your wish and introduce everybody! Although,” Fili grinned at her as he gestured around to the others, “based off Bella’s Guide to Becoming a Professional Stalker , I would imagine you have us all down to a T. You want to give it a go?” His grin morphed into a smirk and Bella knew she was backed into a corner. If she denied it, Fili could call her out on it, and if she showed them her fail-safe, they would have access to her other documents as well, and she definitely didn’t want that to happen.

Her hands gripped her cup tighter and she desperately tried to think of a way out of it without entirely sacrificing her coffee, but her brain short circuited when she felt warm hands covering hers. Her eyes flickered up to meet Fili’s, and she thought she saw a flash of concern momentarily before his smirk returned full force and dismissed it.

Nope. No way was he concerned about her internal panic. He was merely trying to get her flustered again.

Well.

Two can play at that game.

Bella rallied herself internally and then smirked right back at him, letting go of her coffee cup and yanking her hands back so it was only Fili that was holding it now.

“Well, if you wanted the coffee so badly, you could have just asked.” She raised an eyebrow at him and deliberately looked at his hands. “Although I don’t think this is your flavor.” She made a show of picking at lint on her sleeve before lazily looking back over at him. “As for being introduced, well, how would I know everybody’s names? Normally I keep my headphones in while working on my laptop, it’s not my fault if my eyes flicker over to you all. It's a natural reaction to movement in the peripherals; you guys are just always so rowdy that they flicker to you more often than not.” She leaned back in her chair and outwardly relaxed, while inside she was still coiled tight.

Fili stared at her for a moment in shock, before grinning at her response. She didn’t believe for a second they weren’t fooled, but she could still dream. He casually draped an arm around her shoulders and gestured to the others.

“Well then, in that case, let me introduce you to my family .”

Chapter Text

The battle was raging all around them. Friends and foes, all fighting, unable to tell who was on their side because of the blood and grime covering everyone. Dusk had not fallen yet, it was still fairly light in the sky, but everyone knew that once darkness fell it would be that much harder to fight their enemies. Everything was going as well as it could have gone in a battle for their lives, when they felt it.

A ripple went through the ground, and they could feel it travel through their bodies, almost crossing the expanse of their very souls , and a hush fell over the battlefield that had not been present since early that morning. Across the gory grounds, a commotion had started, goblins and orcs fleeing a section of the field while the combined forces of elves, men, and dwarves looked on in wonderment. In the center of the newly cleared (of the living, at least) ground, stood a single figure, shoulders squared, head held high, and a look of determination across their face, a challenge in their eyes daring anybody to get within reach of their sword.

Well, more of a letter opener, really.

Bella Baggins stood proudly, the sun starting to fall behind her, as her enemies fled from before her. The wind was brisk, ice filling her lungs with each breath she took, but it was a welcome reprieve from the sweat soaking her as she ducked and weaved through the battlefield earlier. Her green eyes narrowed as the orcs and goblins ran towards the good armies, her dwarves among them, and she growled under her breath as they fought to get away.

“Oh no you don’t. Not today, buddy.” Amid the chaos, she slipped on her ring and took off like a shot, racing towards her enemies. Her soon-to-be-very-dead enemies, especially if they target her dwarves, her family . She slashed and slid, felling goblins and orcs with extreme prejudice, when suddenly her attention was pulled to the side and she watched as a group of orcs swarmed and were attacking Ori, his slingshot having long been forgotten in favor of a battle axe, his brothers nowhere in sight. Bella cursed (something she never did until she spent entirely too much time in the exclusive company of dwarves) and immediately changed directions, rushing towards Ori, who was quickly becoming overwhelmed as more orcs continued to take the place of their fallen comrades. There was a little rise behind them, and Bella used it to her advantage. As she ran across the field and up the little slope, she twisted Sting in her hand and took her ring off.

She wanted these pitiful creatures to know who exactly was going to be delivering their deaths on a silver platter.

“Hey!” She shouted right before launching herself off the ground, falling towards them, her sword in a plunging motion.

Her aim was true, and she took down one orc before ripping her sword out and swinging at the others around them. Another three fell to her sword as she wove between them before they realized what was happening. Bella backed up towards Ori, crouching down as she did, and making eye contact with the disgusting creatures. They saw the pure death in them and they turned tail and fled. Bella stood and turned towards Ori, her eyes constantly shifting to the battle around them.

“I don’t know how long you’ll have before they’ll start swarming again, so catch your breath while you still can. And find your brothers! All of you stupid dwarves are gonna get the tongue lashing of your lives when this is over, and if any of you die before then I’ll drag you back from the Halls to give it to you and then kill you myself. Just see if I don’t.” She huffed before turning back to the battle, and her attention was once again snagged by four rams jumping up to the top of Ravenhill, and she swore again.

“Bella-” Ori was cut off as Bella slipped her ring back on, disappearing to go find Gandalf.

Bella muttered angrily under her breath as she, once again in the world of the ring, made her way up Ravenhill. She felled every stray orc and goblins she came across as they tried their hand at joining the battle below. None saw her coming, and her mutterings ceased being verbal and instead ran rampant in her mind as she cursed everyone and everything around her.

She was having a very bad day.

This was driven home as she reached the top of the Hill only to find Thorin battling for his life against Azog, and Dwalin farther away surrounded by goblins and orcs. That at least explained the sudden influx of enemies on her way up. That was two of her dwarves accounted for, at least, but there were two more to go, still. She had seen four rams going up, and Gandalf had said Fili and Kili were supposed to be with them.

So where were they?

She strained her eyes against the washed out world of the ring, and in the distance she spotted him.

Fili.

With a cry, Bella launched herself forwards, towards him, dodging everything in her path until she came upon the broken and bleeding body of Fili. How long had it been since he came to be this way? Who made him like this? She heard a rattling noise, and watched Fili’s chest rise as he attempted to take in a breath.

“Fili! Oh, Fili, no, no no no no. Don’t die on me, please .” Bella ripped off her ring and stuffed it back into her pocket. She knew this put her in danger to those behind her, but Fili’s half-lidded eyes told her he was still alive, if only just. He needed to see her there, and she would provide. Bella shrugged off her torn and useless coat, and pressed it onto the wound she could see in his chest. She wanted to stop the bleeding as much as possible, and she wasn’t sure if what she was doing was being of any help.

Distantly, she heard yells of rage and agony, the sound pulling at her to go find whoever it was and help them, but she couldn’t just leave Fili alone like this. Looking around, she saw some bricks on the ground, no doubt from the tower nearby. She rushed to them and grabbed one, hoping it would be a good enough substitute for a weight to press down on the wound, and hauled it back over to the golden prince. She looked down apologetically at Fili, his eyes barely open now.

“I’m so sorry, Fili. Just hang in there; we’ll get you home, I promise.” She set the brick on top of his chest and her jacket, hoping it would provide some good to staunch the bleeding. There was no more time to help him, as she heard a cry of agony in the distance and her heart stuttered in her chest. “Kili.” She would know his voice anywhere, and now he was in as much danger as his brother.

Bella put her ring on and ran.

When she finally found him and the elven Captain, horror washed over her. Tauriel was off to the side, crumpled against a wall, and Bella couldn’t be entirely certain she was even still alive. Kili, though, was held by Bolg, spawn of Azog, and was about to be made into a shish kebab.

Not on her count.

Bella launched herself down towards them, readying Sting as she did so, and as she got close enough, she slashed the back of Bolg’s legs, the parts that weren’t covered by metal. He roared in agony and twisted around to find the culprit, throwing Kili to the side as he did, but saw nothing. Bella watched Kili’s chest, looking for a sign of him breathing, and nearly sagged in relief as she watched him gulp down air. While watching him, she wasn’t paying attention to Bolg at all, and so didn’t see him sweep the air around him with his sword, sending Bella flying in the process and landing next to Kili. She cried out as she landed on her arm, certain something had snapped.

“Bella?” Kili’s voice brought her out of her slight daze, and her eyes focused on him. He was looking around frantically as Bolg came ever closer. “Bella, are you there?” She reached out with her good arm, and touched his face lightly.

“I’m here, Kili. I’m here.” He reached up with his hand and covered hers, pressing it to his cheek as he did so. Bolg was nearly upon them and was furiously scanning the landscape for any sign of his invisible attacker. Bella knew the moment he saw Kili holding something invisible, and with a roar he closed the distance between them and lifted his sword.

Bella took her hand back and rolled out of the way, just in time as Bolg swung downwards. If she had stayed put he would’ve chopped her in two, she was sure, but as such, he missed.

He was very angry.

So was she.

Bella ignored the agony of her broken arm and ran around Bolg until she was on the other side, and as far away from Kili as she could get. She took off her ring, calling out to Bolg as she did so.

“You want me?” He turned around, his eyes narrowing on her small form, and came quickly towards her. She ignored Kili’s cries to get away, and instead taunted some more. “Come and get me.” Her own eyes narrowed, and she put her ring back on, jumping away from his sword as he swiped down and around himself, trying to hit her body. But this was one hobbit who was done with playing games. She was fighting for keeps. He wanted her and Kili?

Well he couldn’t have them.

Bella dodged and ran until she was completely behind him, and breathed deeply in, then out. She had one shot to get this right. One chance, or else they were all dead. Her, Kili, Fili, and probably Tauriel, if she wasn’t already. She leapt from the frozen ground and onto his back, holding on for dear life as he suddenly thrashed and swung his sword, trying to remove the sudden leech. She readied her sword, before plunging it into his neck, watching with a detached awareness as he stopped and fell to his knees. She jumped off as he fell backwards on the ground. She slipped off her ring before retrieving her sword, and stared into his cold, cruel eyes.

“I want you to know that your death did not come from a great warrior who matched your skill and proved just slightly better. It came from an insignificant creature that is unknown by most people, who barely knows how to hold a sword.” Her eyes matched his in coldness, and she leaned in closer, lifting her sword as she did. “I am Bella Baggins, a hobbit from the Shire, and I will be the last thing you ever see.” With that, she swung downwards, finishing the job.

Bella breathed harshly, the clashing of swords from the battle below a muted background noise. There was a touch on her arm, and she jumped, swinging her sword around as she did. It didn’t get very far as it was blocked, and Kili’s face came into view, Tauriel standing behind him. His lips were moving, but it was just part of the background noise, and she narrowed her eyes as she tried to make out what he was saying. His voice, like with the battle below, was muted, and she struggled as she tried to make sense of it all. Suddenly, as though a bubble popped, all sound came rushing back at her, and she groaned as she brought her good hand up to cradle her head, dropping her sword in the process.

“Bella? Bella, amralime, can you hear me?” His arms gripped her shoulders and she pressed harder against her head, trying to stop the oncoming headache. His grip shifted and he gently placed both hands on the side of her head, one over her own hand, and gently tried to smooth her brow with his thumbs. “Shh, it’s okay, it’ll be okay. Can you look at me?” She slowly lifted her head, her eyes meeting his, and nearly staggered at the relief she saw in his gaze. She closed her eyes as he brought her closer and leaned to place a kiss on her forehead.

Another cry of rage sounded in the distance, along with an ominous cracking sound, and Bella suddenly remembered the rest of the battle. Her mind once in again in laser-set focus, she stepped back and bent to retrieve her fallen sword.

“Bella-” Kili started, but another yell and Bella was rushing off towards the sound.

“Thorin needs our help!” She tossed back over her shoulder. “I refuse to let him - or any of you - fall! Not after all we’ve been through!” She heard footsteps behind her and knew that Tauriel and Kili were following. As she skidded around a corner, she saw Thorin and Azog locked in battle on the ice once again, and it looked as if Azog had the upper hand. With no time to don her ring, Bella plunged forward, her feet skidding on the ice towards them. She nearly lost her balance, but managed to stay upright and slide towards the two, her sword in hand and ready to give Azog the thrashing he deserved.

He already put the princes’ lives in danger. She refused to let him finish the job with Thorin’s.

Bella staggered into the makeshift camp, her energy all but spent. Sometime after the defeat of Azog, she had been separated from her dwarves, and she fought her way through the last of the armies, her eyes dark with vengeance against her foes. Every time she slew another one, it was as though the very air rippled, and charged with an energy no one could explain. Her mind blocked out all sense of time and place, beyond the now and the enemies , and by the time her senses came back to her it was dark. She saw lights in the distance and had slowly made her way towards them.

As soon as she stepped foot into the camp, though, the air rippled once again, causing everyone to stop what they were doing and look around, and soon everyone was staring at her. She ignored everyone as she staggered forward, her one focus on finding her dwarves and making sure they were all safe. She needed to know if Fili still lived, what had happened to Thorin, Kili, and Dwalin after they got separated.

She needed to find her family .

She had made it nearly halfway through the camp before she was found by Nori. She blinked once, and suddenly he was there, inspecting her, asking her questions she couldn’t understand through all the fog in her brain. All she could manage was a brief smile, although it came out more as a grimace, before she allowed herself to succumb to the darkness, pitching forward into Nori’s arms.

When she awoke, she first noticed the drab color of the tent above her. Her eyes blinked very slowly, and she sluggishly turned her head to her right. Sitting next to her cot, her hand held within his own, was Kili. His face held such a look of relief that she was forced to take in a deep breath.

“You’re awake.” He breathed, and she nodded, albeit a little late, her mind still struggling to focus. “Thank Mahal.” He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it. “Don’t ever scare me like that again, amralime.” He said with such intensity in his eyes that she could do nothing but nod in response. She noticed some movement behind him, and saw the others piled up around him, sans Thorin and Fili. She turned her head to look on her other side and saw Gandalf sitting there, his pipe in hand, and looking down at her with pride, joy, and relief. She heard rustling and turned back towards Kili just in time to see Oin come forward, ready to check on her.

“You are very lucky, lass, that Nori found you when he did. I don’t know how you kept going as you did, with all the injuries you sustained.” At her confused look, Oin elaborated. “Aye, you were severely injured. Broken arm, several broken and cracked ribs, several lacerations that were starting to become infected, although some looked more like claw marks than an actual sword strike. You were lucky Gandalf was nearby with one of the leaf-eaters and were able to stop the internal bleeding.”

Bella looked around at everyone, and cleared her throat, only to end up coughing until Kili pressed a cup of water to her lips and helped her to drink it. After several gulps, she cleared her throat again, and opened her mouth to speak.

“What of Thorin? And Fili?” She grimaced at how scratchy her voice was, but continued on. She needed to know. “What happened to them?” A look of pain passed over Kili’s face and he took a steadying breath to explain, before Gandalf cut him off without a chance to.

“The king and prince are in another tent. Dwalin and Kili found them and brought them back.” That still didn’t answer her question and he knew it.

“Did… did they make it?” Gandalf’s eyes flicked to hers briefly, and Kili spoke up.

“Uncle is expected to make a full recovery. Fili, though… he’s still alive, for now, but it’s been touch and go for three days already. Somehow, he managed to stay alive after being run through by Azog.” Bella let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

“It worked, then.” She sighed in relief. At the confusion on the faces of the others, she went on to explain. “I found Fili still alive, on the ground, and tried to stop the bleeding. I shoved my jacket into his wound as much as possible, but I had to leave him so I put a brick on my jacket, hoping the pressure would help stop the flow. I hadn’t been able to go back and find him afterwards, because I got separated from you.” She closed her eyes briefly. “I’m so glad it worked.”

There were gasps of surprise at her explanation, and she thought she heard a few sniffles and whispered thanks at this, confusing her. Why would they be teary? She did what she could, and it was still entirely possible Fili wouldn’t make it. Gandalf spoke once again, causing her to turn her head to see him properly.

“I suspect you are confused at their reactions, my dear.” He waited for her slow nod before continuing. “It’s true, Fili may not live through the night, but I suspect he will. From Kili’s account, when Fili was dropped from Azog’s grasp and landed, he was already dead.” Bella furrowed her brow in confusion.

“But that’s not possible. I saw him, he was breathing. He was looking at me while I was trying to stop the blood flow.”

“I believe you, my dear. And even after a hundred years, there is something new to be learned from hobbits. It was fate that you came on this quest with these dwarves when you did. It was fate that you all journeyed at this time, and that you encountered all you did. Together, you faced the odds and defied all logic, growing closer together than you would have had you been all born of the same family. ‘Blood is thicker than water’, and all that.” Bella was still confused, but at least she saw from the corner of her eyes that the dwarves were as well, and muttering under their breaths at this not-explanation. Gandalf sighed. “I see you are all still confused. Very well, then. I will tell you exactly what I mean.

“As you journeyed, you faced trials that brought you all closer together. These trials forged a bond that can never be broken, not even entirely by the Dragon Sickness.” His eyes focused on her dwarves. “You saw how Thorin broke out of his madness, a feat never thought to be possible until now. It was the strength of your bonds, as well as his own determination, that cured him. These forged ties are ties that bind , and to bring a hobbit into your folds as family, well… it was fate that you brought her along with you. Hobbits have a strong sense of family, you see.” He looked fondly down at Bella. “Bella has been without familial bonds for so long that she had started to wither away. Until you all came along and accepted her. Now, she is stronger than ever, and that comes with its own benefits.”

“Gandalf, you’re still not making any sense. What does finding a family have to do with anything?” He chuckled at her softly.

“It’s more than just finding a family , Bella Baggins. It’s being accepted, and loved , and loving them all in return. Indeed, I believe that without that love, none of you would have survived this trip. When a hobbit is surrounded by those they love, they can do anything. In the shire, great feats are not required, as family is all around them, but out here where there has been nobody to share with, you found, and made , a family. And for that, you would do anything to keep them alive. Hobbits have a knack for growing things, and keeping them alive, you know. I believe it is this power that has saved young Fili’s life.”

The tent had grown silent at this revelation, and at the not-so-direct answer Gandalf had given them, but they understood it well enough. Bella had managed to do the impossible. By the grace of Mahal’s wife, Yavanna, she saved the line of Durin, as well as several others in need. They saw Bella in a new light, and vowed to always treasure their sister, their friend, their love, their hobbit .

“Bella,” Kili breathed reverently, and she felt herself blush at the pure love and adoration in his gaze. “You beautiful, stubborn hobbit.”

All the others nodded their heads and murmured in agreement.

After it was all said and done, and they were able to move into the mountain for the winter, there were whispers throughout the combined allies of men, dwarves, and elves. Whispers of a being so pure and loved that she could bring the dead back to life. Others responded to those whispers with ones of their own, accounts of all enemies fleeing before her might. Before long, Bella was made into a legend, and awed stares followed her wherever she went, whispers of her legacy and power filling the halls and homes as much as the legends of heroes of old. There was an adage, a story from generations before that was once again brought to life in the wake of the Battle of the Five Armies.

Demons run when a good man goes to war.