Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My promise to you is that this story will not be abandoned and one day be completed!

So far, I have around 20 to 25 chapters lined up for each book but that's always subject to change as I continue to post.

This story has been worked on in my mind and on my computer for nearly a decade now, I've squirreled it away for years afraid to put it out there for the world to see.

I decided that being afraid has made me stagnant in my writing skills. I need something to push me forward, even if it is blending a well-known story with my little daydreams about hobbits and wizards and dragons and lots of stupid people falling in love slowly.

This story will also be broken down into three books, so to speak, with each movie correlating with each book more or less because this story is a blend of both movies and book.
I've already written out basically everything so my ultimate goal is to post at least once a week, though I may post more often than that depending on how things are goin.

Hope you enjoy and have fun!

Chapter Text

With a fantastic jump for a hobbit of her size and stature, Camellia Brandybuck leapt over the wooden fence and the dog nipping at the heels of her fur topped feet. As she slid to a stop, kicking up dust, the dog barked ravenously at her as she caught her breath on the other side.

While it wanted a taste of her it also was trained enough to know better than to go crossing fences that weren’t his…unlike the stupid little hobbit leering at him.

Keeping both hands wrapped around the basket she carried, Camellia tossed her head upwards in a look of defiance and victory, a wild grin widening her mouth and dimpling her cheeks, her loose almost waist length ebony curls tussling this way and that, and as she dared to stick her tongue out at the dog, a voice cut through the air.

“What a sight to behold. I must say a Brandybuck has never failed yet to surprise me in some way or fashion when I arrive.”

Turning on heel and with wide eyes at the sudden voice, Camellia’s heart skipped a beat as she found a Big folk standing a few paces away from her.
He was an elderly man, dressed in robes of differing grays that were cut through with a silver toned scarf. His long white beard nearly fell to his knees, and she took note of two things at once, firstly his hat was widely brimmed enough to shade most of his face from view, and second the item he was leaning against was no mere walking stick.

She knew him instantly from the stories she’d been told all through her life, “Why you must be Gandalf Grey!”

Camellia had never met him face to face before, but her mother’s stories of him had been written in her heart and she’d had her Ma tell her the tales of his adventures so often she felt she knew him as well as she would a friend.

“Yes,” He didn’t lift his head in the least but somehow the shadows around his face seemed to fade from his features and she could see his expression was warm and comforting, just as she’d knew it would be, “A daughter of Mirabella Took is as unmistakable as the sky is blue, I take it you are young Camellia?”

“Indeed I am, Mr. Wizard.” She smiled broadly at him, sliding the handle of her basket through one arm to free the other enough to extend a hand to him in greeting, “I’m Camellia Brandybuck, it’s so very lovely to finally meet you. Oh, my Ma will be over the moon to know you’re back in the Shire!”

“The pleasure is all mine, my dear.” He took her hand in his, eclipsing her own small fingers in his broad hold, but his touch was gentle and considerate for their difference in strength and height.

He then glanced towards the fence line where the dog had taken to watching them, though now he was as quiet and still as a mouse, “I see you’ve inherited your mother’s love for mischief as well as your father’s swift feet.”

“I’m afraid so.” She tried to look chagrined but failed under an impish one instead and his bushy eyebrows rose high only for an instant in chastisement only to break under a sly smile of his own. “I’m quite glad to hear it, the Shire could use a bit more Tookish blood running through it to liven things up. Now,” He stood up a bit straighter and looked down the road, “I’m searching for your cousin, Belinda Baggins, might you be able to put me on the right path?”

“I can do better than that, I’ll lead you to Bag End itself.” She hoisted up her basket further up her hip and readjusted the cloth overtop, “I won’t be able to walk you all the way there though because I’ve got to get to my great aunt Druselda before noon. I’ve been staying with her the past few week’s and she lives in a smaller hovel near hill…but you probably didn’t want to know all that....”

She felt her face heating up as she realized she’d been blabbing on though the wizard had been kind enough to listen in companionable silence, “how about I tell you something you do want to know. Ask me anything, I know all the lovely gossip this side of the river and over it!”

The wizard chuckled warmly as he walked side by side with her and she was delighted to find that when the tip of his staff caught the light of the sun the dull crystal set into the wood flickered like firelight for just a moment.

He questioned her about the comings and goings of the Shire, asking in particular about her cousin and her own family past the river running, and Camellia answered all his questions with as much knowledge as she had. And she had plenty.

Like all hobbits she was accustomed to gathering an ever-flowing stream of gossip on all the goings on of every hill and hovel from this side of the river clean to the lonely woods.

While not one of the ones liking to spread gossip, Camellia picked up on it and held close for opportune moments and she filled in the wizard within reason, saving the deeper bits of knowledge for her and her mother to discuss when she traveled to Brandywine hall on weekends.

As they neared the vast hill where Bag End was built within, the smaller dips and valleys surrounding it holding the other far smaller but no less manicured hovels, Camellia looked up at the wizard and sighed, “Here is where we part ways, Master Wizard. I hope I can see you again before you leave the Shire, be sure to come by Brandywine hall before you leave, I know both my parents will by pleased to see you.”

“I have no doubt our paths will cross again, Miss Brandybuck, and I no doubt will take you up on that offer as soon as I get the chance.” Gandalf smiled down at her kindly and she gave him a smile in return then bid him farewell and took one of the branching paths away from the hill towards her great aunt’s home.

“Miss Brandybuck?”

She paused and looked back at him, and she could the wizard now had a curious expression on his face, a mixture of concern, and thoughtfulness, and perhaps even a bit of mischief, but most of all he seemed as kind as ever, “I’m planning on stopping by tomorrow afternoon to visit Miss Baggins again. I think perhaps she would rather enjoy having your company as well if you can make it.”

“Oh,” She blinked in surprise and then felt suddenly bashful, “I’m not…I mean, I don’t wish to invite myself over even though I would love to come.”

“Don’t worry about that, my dear.” He waved a hand nonchalantly, “I’ll take care of Belinda for you, besides, I’m quite certain she’ll appreciate your help.”
Camellia smiled at his reassurance and nodded, her sudden excitement showing plainly on her face, “Very well then, I’ll see you around…?”

“Seven.” He told her and she nodded again then both said goodbyes, and it wasn’t until Camellia made her way to her great aunt’s house and closed the door behind her that she realized he’d worded things rather oddly.

First of all, he’d invited her over without even knowing if Belinda would be busy the next afternoon, and second of all…
Why would Belinda need her help?

Chapter Text

Belinda Baggins had just set down for a nice cup of tea and a lovely piece of fish, caught just that morning by one of her neighbors, when her front doorbell rang loud enough to be heard clear down the dell.

Of course, this had her instantly remembering she had preemptively invited a certain wizard to tea yesterday morning after practically being heckled by him to do so, and she went racing down the hall as fast as her furred feet would take her.

“I’m so very sorry to keep you waiting, Gandalf.” Is what she meant to say, but instead as she opened the door, her words left her stupidly silent.

Before her stood, not the tall gangly form of Gandalf, but at a short statured very bald, very hairy dwarf.

He looked her over once and stated in a gruff and no-nonsense tone that demanded respect, “Dwalin at your service.”

Then, he slid past her and inside faster than she could react.

As he took off his cloak and put it, rather neatly one must add, on the peg near the front door, he sniffed, “First one here, I see.”

“I…uh…yes?” Belinda stammered as he looked back to her for confirmation and then gave her a firm nod of approval.

Making his way deeper into her home he questioned, “What’s for dinner? I’m nearly starved.”

Some minutes later, Belinda set and sipped at a fresh pot of tea and watched the strange dwarf inside her kitchen eat her perfectly beautiful fish fillet like a ravenous wolf.

At least he had the decency to compliment her cooking, but once done, he tore into the lot as if hadn’t had a hot meal in a while, and despite feeling a twinge of pride at his singular compliment to her good cooking skills, she couldn’t stifle the confusion and irritation bubbling up within her.

The front bell rang again, this time a bit softer than before, and Dwalin half glanced up from his plate, “Someone at the door.”

“Of course.” Belinda stated flatly, setting down her tea with a forced smile and as she rushed back to the door, she felt her face heating up with all the things she was going to say to Gandalf for this nice little surprise.

The door was opened and yet again it wasn’t Gandalf who greeted her but rather her younger cousin from Buckland, Camellia Brandybuck, who had been staying for some weeks with one of their elderly Aunts keeping house for her.

She was dressed neatly and looked as bright and fresh as a daisy.
The complete opposite of how Belinda felt at the moment.

Her chemise, just peeking out from around the rim of her blouse and at the edge of her sleeves was stark white, a perfect contrast to the deep cherry colored bodice she wore. Her skirts were full, with more than one petticoat underneath, fluffing the edges and making the dark emerald color stand out all the more, and her dark hair was bound back from her face with a singular ribbon the same color as her bodice.

In all her cousin looked like a perfectly bright red strawberry and just how Belinda would’ve wished to present herself to her guests should she have been given the time to properly see herself made up.

“Afternoon Belinda,” She said brightly holding up a basket she was carrying with both hands as she did, “I brought a set of fresh crumpets from great Aunt Druselda for our tea. Once she heard I was coming she wouldn’t let me come without, but I think she just wanted the good wizard to taste her cookin’”

Her cousins face fell as she took in Belinda’s expression, “Oh dear…he didn’t tell you about me coming over, did he?”

“No,” Belinda sucked in a deep breath to keep her temper, knowing her cousin wasn’t to blame in the least, “He did not, and he also forgot to mention the dwarf that is sitting in my kitchen right now eating my dinner.”

“A dwarf?” She blinked in surprise, “Oh you mean Old Sadin from the East hills? He hasn’t traveled out this far in quite some time.”

“No, I do not mean Old Sadin from the East hills,” Belinda huffed, peering beyond her and hoping to find Gandalf coming up the lane, “come inside and see for yourself!”

At that she dragged her cousin in, though she hadn’t to struggle hard for Camellia was more than eager to catch a peek at the strange intruder, and once they were tucked away in the shadows of the hall looking into the kitchen, Camellia sighed in clear disappointment.

“Oh, he looks nothing like how I thought he would.”

Belinda restrained from pinching the bridge of her nose, sometimes she felt her cousin didn’t have sense enough to walk around.
She should have been worried to find a strange dwarf in her house not disappointed he didn’t meet her expectations!

Camellia suddenly shoved her basket into Belinda’s hands and darted into the kitchen and introduced herself, this merely got a grunt of acknowledgement and a short, “Dwalin.” And then she was scampering back to Belinda to state with wide eyes, “He’s not very friendly, is he?”

“Well, I doubt every dwarf is going to be like Old Sadin, Camellia.”

The dwarf they were referring to was one of the few that had settled on the edge of the Shire some years ago and did most of the iron working for the farmers, repairing tools and wagon wheels and pots and pans and such.

His roots had been laid deep into the community, and he was as well respected as any other iron monger was in the valley, perhaps all the more considering the quality of his work.

Her front doorbell rang again, and Camellia looked at her expectantly to which Belinda sighed, “That had better be Gandalf.”

It was not.

The kindly faced dwarf, that greeted her at the door, with beard and hair almost snow white, had her at a loss for words and to his simple, “Balin at your service.”

She could scarcely mutter, “Good afternoon.”

He glanced back at the night sky overhead and then looked to her with a good-natured smile, “It is, isn’t it? Though I think it might rain later.”

His cloak and a few tools were carefully set aside, next to Dwalin’s, and once he saw them, he remarked good naturedly, “Oh good, they’ve begun to arrive.”

The word ‘they’ sent her mind into a tizzy, and she took a moment to recover in the hall because of it.

Camellia appeared before her a few minutes after with a puzzled look and she hummed, “They just knocked heads.”

Belinda blinked, wondering how two grown dwarves could injure themselves in unison like that, “Accidentally?”

Camellia shook her head slowly, “No…not at all.”

The bewildered hobbit didn’t have much time to make sense of that, for her common sense was kicking back in at this time, and she began to remember her manners.

Despite the confusion and irritation she felt towards Gandalf, he clearly wanted her to meet the odd gaggle of dwarves, and as a proper host she couldn’t deny them a proper hobbit welcome even if she was upset at the wizard.

She couldn’t deny hosting them even if she wanted to toss them all out on her doorstep and have a large glass of wine, a full pipe, and as much cheese as she could physically eat before sleeping until noon.

Getting Camellia to help her, they went in and reset the kitchen table for another place and then made sure the pair of dwarrow had as much to eat as they were able to handle.

This meant the good seed cakes Belinda had just made that morning were set out, a few jars of her nicest jams, a nice selection of teas, both black and herbal, bread and butter, great aunt Druselda’s crumpets, and the last of the pan fried fish.

They found both dwarves knew one another, for they were brothers and hadn’t seen each other in some time, and the conversation between themselves was interesting enough that neither Belinda or Camellia felt too inclined to talk and merely set back to listen.

Just as they finished and settled down for a cup of tea for themselves, the front doorbell was ringing off its hinges again and Belinda darted off towards it with a clearer mind.

As she opened the door, she wasn’t surprised this time to find two new dwarfs standing before her and greeted them far more properly than she had the others, “What can I do for the both of you?”

She was surprised to find they were far younger, and far more handsome than they had any right to be, and if she still wasn’t as irritated as a hornet she might have been a bit intimidated.

As it was, she greeted them plain and simple and later found that had been for the best.

The one on the left, golden haired with a strong nose and bright blue eyes that gleamed a bit brighter when he smiled, bowed his head, “Fili.”

The one on the left, dashingly dark haired and eyed and with a mischievous little smirk about his mouth that foretold trouble, bowed his head, “And Kili.”

They both bowed in unison at the waist and stated, “At your service.”

Belinda recovered with enough grace to at last give the proper answers in reply, “At yours and your family’s.”

As they slid inside, Kili, or at least she thought it was, stated, “Oh good, Dwalin and Balin are already here, lets join the throng!”

Belinda pursed her lips and tried not to panic at the word ‘throng’ because it implied so many more dwarfs than what they already had.

She then remembered who else was inside her home and the thought had her suddenly darting forward past the two newcomers and calling out, “Camellia, why don’t you go get a few bottles of my best port for our guests?”

Camellia’s answer sounded off in the distance as the two dwarrow began unloading themselves of their coats, for they wore no cloaks as the other two had, just thick coats laden heavily with all manners of belts and bobbles.

As she left to help her cousin, for she wanted to give her a bit of warning and a short word to not be too nice to anyone tonight, she found Camellia with her hands full and looking quite panicked, “How many more have arrived? We’re running out of crumpets.”

“Only two, but I’m certain now it won’t be the last of them, I need your help setting out a bigger dinner than just a light tea. And, Camellia,” She gently rested a hand on the younger hobbits shoulder as she passed by, “Keep your wits about you tonight.”

At the bewildered raise of her cousin’s brows, Belinda merely shook her head, “Gandalf might have invited them, but they’re still strangers.”

“Don’t worry, Belinda,” She snorted softly, green eyes gleaming in a way that made her all the more nervous, “I won’t declare any marriages tonight...I’ll wait a few days so we can at least learn each other’s names forward and back and then I’ll run off.”

Belinda tried to swat at her shoulder, but she was too fast and skipped away lightly humming an old Shire tune in a very saucy manner.

Her cousin was almost a compete opposite to her not just in looks.

Where her skin was more easily tanned, Camellia’s was a creamy white, where her hair was a golden almost chestnut brown, Camellia’s was as dark as ebony, where Belinda was more reserved, Camellia laughed and loved in equal terms and half the young suitors beyond the Brandywine were already deeply in love with her despite her clear love of freedom.

She was more than beyond the average age for marrying but was following in Belinda’s footsteps.
Camellia didn’t seem inclined to marry anytime soon, that very fact was the only thing that kept Belinda from being too worried about her.

That and the fact the last two suitors who’d attempted to woo her cousin had been rather confused when she’d quite literally run off to Bree for a few weeks with one of her elder siblings to get away.

Camellia wasn’t one easily caught by any sort of wooing. Belinda hoped it would stay that way.

Belinda’s fears were lessoned by Camellia’s clear-cut tones sounding off down the hall as she suddenly chastised someone, “Oi! What do you think you’re doin’ scrapin’ your nasty shoes on my Aunties heirloom setee?”

Hearing a stammered apology in reply, Belinda knew the voice came from one of the younger dwarves, not to mention the older two were still seated comfortably in her kitchen slowly going through her larder, and she felt relieved at how quickly Camellia had made at least one of the lads uncomfortable.

The next thirty minutes saw another slew of five dwarves entering her comfortable home, and also found them rearranging every table in her house to accommodate the ever-growing group.
She feared how many more would appear considering she didn’t have a table left to add to the thrall.

Her pantry was ransacked, though she made certain they didn’t get to the last few bottles of her father’s best wine, the ones he’d laid years before for special occasions and this most certainly wasn’t a special occasion.

Belinda and Camellia found themselves catering to the new group with sudden florish and as fast as if they’d been working a night shift at the Green Dragon.

Besides the previous four there were now Dori, Nori, Ori, Oin, and Gloin to care for, and they all wanted tea or coffee or wine or beer, or even just plain milk.

They all wanted cakes and crumpets and scones. Eggs and bacon. Jams and jellies, and plenty of butter and honey.
They wanted everything all at once and as quick as a flash, and the two little hobbits were rushing around as fast as their feet could carry them to accommodate them all.

At last, just as they finished plating everything up there was rush of dwarves inside the pantry and the tables were set up as chaotic as ever but with everything rearranged so that no one would be at a loss for food.

Another great peal of the front bell sounded off so loudly through the house that Belinda thought for certain this would be the end of her poor bell.

As she stalked off towards the door, she muttered to herself, “Blast it all, Gandalf! I wish you’d at least had the smallest bit of decency to let. me. know!”

At the last of her speech, she yanked the door open and jumped back in alarm with a little squeak as three figures came clattering in at her feet.

They fell one on top of another like a deck of cards and as the fattest of them all landed the other two cried out loudly in protest.

The tall figure of Gandalf standing over them all and leaning against his staff merely laughed long and loudly at the sight.
Belinda was not amused…

Chapter Text

The three newcomers picked themselves off her front mat with great mumblings and shouts in a language she didn’t understand, but their tones indicated enough that she felt horrible about the whole thing.

The first two were the most put out, having the unfortunate luck of being under the fattest of them all when they fell.

In this manner she met Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur and none were too pleased about it.
They were so disgruntled in fact they didn't bother with proper introductions, and she didn't blame them in the least.

As they were shuffled inside to find the others, Belinda still apologizing profusely for having opened the door so quickly as to cause their fall, she caught Gandalf by the edge of his robe and kept him stationary in the hallway.

“Gandalf, how could you?!” She kept her voice low but she in no way squelched the amount of irritation she was feeling, and he at least had the decency to look the smallest bit chagrined.

“I’m sorry my dear, but if I’d dared to tell you the whole truth, you’d never have agreed to it.” He glanced down the hall where Camellia was carrying another tray of drinks to the boisterous group inside, “I thought your cousin’s presence might make things a bit easier.”

“Easier!” She scoffed, then bit her tongue and sighed, “Gandalf, why exactly did you ask an entire band of dwarves to overtake my home?”

“All will be explained soon” He calmed her with a little gesture of his hand, expression shifting towards that look that was so difficult to deny, “have just a moment’s more patience, my dear Belinda, I promise it will be well worth your while.”

Belinda found her curiosity was winning out over her anger and merely nodded and swept back into the side hall that had been transformed into a vast dining room.

She found her cousin sitting at the table between two of the newcomers, the fattest of the dwarves and one of the friendlier looking ones wearing an oddly shaped hat. Her and the hat laden dwarf were already in a deep friendly looking conversation, and it was clear her cousin was enjoying herself immensely despite the odd situation.

Her cousins smile was dazzling as she talked and Belinda glanced down the table and found the younger of the company making poor attempts to not study Camellia and rolled her eyes at the thoughts that dared enter her mind.

They had better behave themselves.

Lonely maiden of Bag End or not, Belinda knew how to deal with an unwanted suitor or two, and dwarf or not, she knew she’d be able to handle more than a few if they dared make a pass at her young cousin.

A little gasp escaped her as one of the dwarves scraped together her knives and forks in an irritating noisy way, and she called out, “Oh please don’t do that, you’ll blunt them!”

Thus began a nightmarish scene, seeing her discomfort was one thing, hearing it was another, and Belinda almost closed her eyes and left the chaos of having her finest dining sets tossed around like toys around her head.

When at last she dared to breathe again she found everything in its place and cleaned to a fine shine to boot, not a single plate or glass had been broken.

Through the good-hearted laugher of the dwarves around her there was a deep-set knock at the front door, the first to sound off all night and give her front bell a break, and at the sound Gandalf announced in far too ominous a fashion, “He is here.”

Belinda opened the door one last time and found herself staring into a pair of deep blue eyes that commanded attention.

His dark hair and beard were streaked with gray and the braids he wore, unlike some of his companions, were subdued yet clearly done with care.
Surprisingly enough his beard was clipped close to his face, unlike the younger dark-haired young dwarf inside she could tell it was intentional and if there was any indication from the rest of the group inside her house, she could also tell it was unusual.

His gaze darted across her once, and in such a way that made Belinda realize painfully that she’d been wearing her dressing robe this entire time.

She was, of course, still fully dressed underneath, a soft cotton button up and plain brown skirt were all that remained of her mornings gardening attire, but her hair was unbound and fell around her shoulders in haphazard curls, and the patchwork quilt robe she wore still gave her the unkept look of someone just about to turn down for the night.

Unsurprisingly, that was exactly what she’d been about to do before all chaos had broken loose, but she didn’t feel the urge to go announcing it.
Especially not to certain strange rather too-handsome-for-his-own-good dwarves standing on her front doorstep!

Restraining the urge to tighten her robe, for his gaze was so intense and unaffected by her sudden bashfulness it made her feel as if she were wearing less than she was, Belinda stepped to the side to let him in just as Gandalf and Dwalin made it to the door.

“You’ve made it at last.” Dwalin greeted him warmly and they clasped each other by the forearms, though like Camellia had indicated much earlier they did not bonk heads.

The newcomer spoke and his deep-toned voice held as much dominance and strength as his gaze had, it sent a light shiver up Belinda’s spine though she wouldn’t admit it to herself, “Lost my way twice, this place is like a maze.”

Gandalf then stepped forward and introduced him, “Belinda Baggins, I would like you to meet Thorin Oakenshield. He is the leader of this company and the very reason why I have overfilled your home with dwarves.”

Belinda had just a moment to log that into her memory before the dwarf was stepping close enough to her that she could smell the dust of the road still clinging to him.

He gave the smallest bow of his head, and while respectful, was still as haughty as ever, “At your service.”

She returned the gesture by lifting her chin a bit higher to show she was unaffected by his intensity, “And mine and my family at yours.”

Then he was walking away, and she felt as if she could breathe a bit easier.

Once greetings were exchanged all around and Thorin settled himself at the head of the table, Camellia sliding a bit of leftovers in front of him when he did, the conversation at the table grew stagnant as they waited for their leader to eat his fill and begin whatever council they had decided to hold in her house.

Grabbing Camellia by the arm and pulling her into the hall, she whispered to her hastily, “Take care of whatever they need, I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Camellia nodded with a sudden determined set of her mouth and Belinda knew she could trust that her cousin would toss them all out if need be.

Leaving the lot to their fate should they become too rowdy for Camellia’s liking, Belinda almost ran down her hall to her room and closed the door painfully slow before rushing to her dresser and began searching for something more proper.

In the end she put on a simple dark brown corset over her blouse as fast as possible, the dark ribbons that tied the front taking longer than she wished to pull together, and she rearranged her hair into a bun at the nape of her neck with a ribbon the same color as her corset with well-practiced ease.

Double checking her reflection in the small dressing mirror near her bed, Belinda thought the effect a bit more proper than her previous attire, the deep brown of the corset blended quite well with the mousy brown of her skirts and the cream color of her blouse brought out the honey-colored highlights of her curls. Taking one more moment to put on her mothers heirloom anklet she left her room feeling a bit more herself.

Coming to the edge of the dining hall she caught Camellia’s searching gaze and got a nod of approval from her cousin before she stepped back into the fray and found more than one of the group looked her over again with sudden interest.

She didn’t care what they thought, she just knew she was a bit more confident of meeting things head on now that she was dressed in a more respectable manner for her station.

If the newcomer had noticed the change he didn’t comment on it, though Belinda did note he tossed her a quick glance as she took a place beside her cousin at the table.

At last, he shoved his plate aside and looked to Gandalf, “Where is this burglar you so highly speak of Gandalf.”

“You are currently sitting at her table,” The wizard gestured to Belinda, “May I introduce to you one Miss Belinda Baggins of Bag End. Your burglar.”

“You?” He questioned in such a way it had her bristling up though she wanted to question a few things in a similar manner to Gandalf.

He looked her up and down again, this time with a different air then before and she felt every second keenly, “She seems more like a florist than a burglar.”

“A florist!” She objected loudly, though she had no ill will towards florists, in fact she’d wanted to be one when she was younger, but the way he stated was so demeaning it made her feel as if it were some great travesty to be a said as such.

Beside her she heard Camellia suck her teeth in a way that indicated she was trying hard not to make a noise at the comment for she knew good and well that Belinda wasn’t about to take that one sitting down.

All at once the room was alight with conversation and yelling and arguing over whether or not she could do the job, or if she were right, or if she did indeed look more like a florist than a burglar.

“Enough!” Gandalf’s voice boomed above the rest, causing everyone to fall silent and beside him Camellia to almost slide under the table from the shock of it.

“If I say Belinda Baggins is a burglar, then a burglar she is! Hobbits are remarkably light on their feet, and can pass unseen by most if they choose,” he gave a little wink at Camellia in the form of an apology and continued, “and while the dragon his accustomed to the smell of dwarf, the scent of hobbit is all but unknown to him, which gives us a distinct advantage. Thorin Oakenshield, you’ve asked me to find additional members to this company and I have chosen Miss Baggins as one of them. There is a lot more to her then appearances suggest,” Belinda tried not to get out of shape at that comment, “She has a great deal more to offer then any of you know…including herself.”

The room was silent and stayed silent until Thorin gruffly broke it, “Give her the contract.”

The kind looking dwarf with a long with snow white beard took out something from his jacket and they passed it down to Belinda, Gandalf’s hand stopped her as she began to unfold it, “Speaking of hobbits being unseen, they also possess other certain talents as well. The art of good food and conversation and deal making, and I believe that it wouldn’t be wise for the team to just take just one lone hobbit on the journey.”

He rested a hand against Camellia’s shoulder causing her to look up at him in silent alarm as he stated slowly, “two are often better than one. Especially when it involves dragons.”

“You never said anything about a 15th member!” Dwalin barked out causing Belinda to bristle again, she didn’t want her cousin getting caught up in all this, but she’d be dead rather than see anyone try to demean her cousin in any way.

The others looked about ready to join him in his outburst, but Camellia piped up, “I’m quite new to the idea as well!”

All eyes fell on her, causing her voice to waver ever so slightly thought she continued with a brave face, “I was told I was coming for a nice afternoon tea, should’ve suspected more with a wizard around I should ‘av.” Her voice tilted up and down, accent blazing Tookish with a hint of Brandybuck sass. “But I’m quite willing to hear everyone out if everyone’s willing to do the same for me. Besides, Gandalf is right, two hobbits are always better than one!”

There was silence all around, excepting Belinda’s bewildered intake of breath, making her cousin think she was wanting to say something but hadn’t quite built up the courage yet. Which was indeed true.

Balin stood with a comforting smile, “Well, I can’t argue with a wizard, and I shouldn’t think that no one else is going to take that offer up anytime soon.”

He held out his hands as some murmuring ran across the table, “at the very least, I don’t think it would hurt anything for you to take look at the contract we’ve made and decide for yourself if you wish to do.”

Camellia gave him a bright smile in return; glad at least one of the dwarves wasn’t ready to toss her to the side even if she wasn’t too sure she wanted to go on an adventure on such short notice.

Belinda slowly unfolded the long-complicated contract, and both hobbits raised their brows as it kept opening and folding out, with little pieces added to the sides, and addendums plastered over numerous sections.

Belinda stood and began lightly pacing the hall as she read, lips murmuring silently for the most part as she scanned every word, and Camellia shifted in her seat to get more comfortable as she realized this was going to take a while.

Chapter Text

Camellia listened with growing alarm as her cousin read off increasingly worrying addendums to the contract she held.

“The present company shall not be liable for any injuries inflicted by or sustained as a consequence thereof, including, but not limited to….” Belinda suddenly half whispered, “Lacerations…Evisceration…Incineration?”

At the table Bofur suddenly gave a little laugh, “Aye, Lass,” he moved his hat further up off his forehead as he spoke, “Smaug’ll melt the flesh off your bones in a blink of an eye.”

Belinda’s face grew pale, and Camellia looked to Bofur in wonder, mouthing the word Smaug like a bad word.

“Think furnace with wings!” Belinda blinked a few times, causing her cousin to stand in alarm, she knew that look too well.

Belinda waved her worry away as she placed the other against the frame of the doorway for support.

Camellia pushed her seat back and began making her way towards her.

Bofur continued his talk, oblivious to the older hobbit’s panicked look, “A flash of light, searing pain, then puff! You’re nothin’ more than a pile of ash.”

Camellia made her way to her more quickly as her cousin got a look on her face that told she was about to scream, to her vast surprise when Belinda opened her mouth, nothing more than a half choked, “I wish I were underneath a carpet” came out before she keeled over in the middle of the hall just a moment before Camellia was able to reach out and grab her.

Thankfully she collapsed against the doorframe and sort of slid down to break her fall, but hearing Bofur quietly question behind her, “Oh, think I might’ve said too much?” had Camellia turning around to stare at him in bewilderment.

There was plenty of scuffling about and comments and concerns, and more than a few looks of disapproval thrown there way, but Gandalf ignored them all as he helped Camellia lift her weak legged cousin of hers off the floor and towards one of the back rooms to recover.

Belinda hadn’t really feinted in a true sense of the word, the stress of the night had merely turned her legs to jelly once dragons and death had mingled into her mind until her feet could no longer carry her.

As they settled her comfortably into the armchair before the hearth in her bedroom, one of the older dwarves, Oin, appeared with a cup of something warm for her to drink and offering his services, for he told them he was a healer, Belinda declined in favor for just a bit of peace and quiet.

Leaving her cousin to that peace and quiet she so sorely needed, Camellia caught Gandalf by his sleeve and tugged at him gently into the hall, “What’s all this about, Gandalf? What are you tossing us into?”

Gandalf sighed, looking both disappointed and disheartened, “An adventure Miss Brandybuck. Your cousin has set stagnant for far too many years pining over things that will never return, and so has Thorin Oakenshield. Both are quite ready to return to the world, but Belinda needs a far greater push than he ever did.”

He paused at the concerned expression on her face and raised his eyebrows at her, “You on the other hand need no such encouragement and despite your eagerness to join such an adventure I know that you will need a companion of a similar mind at your side. Belinda is the perfect companion for you and you the perfection companion for her, you need one another, and most importantly of all, this company needs the both of you.”

Camellia pondered that and furrowed her brow, “Will it be dangerous?”

The great wizard shook his head, “Nothing in this world is completely safe from harm, but I can promise you that I will do my best to keep you both as safe as a I can.”

She looked to the floor and studied the fur overtop her feet, the anklet around her left ankle gleaming softly in the candlelight, “I’ll talk it over with her.”

Gandalf rested his hand gently over her shoulder for the briefest of moments then looked towards her cousins bedroom door, “Allow me to speak with her before you do.”

What he said to her she’d never know, Camellia kept far enough away from the room to give them their privacy as well as listen in on the dwarves still filling the halls to make sure they weren’t getting themselves into mischief, and after Gandalf left she spent a long time lost in her own thoughts.

She thought about the challenges of going on such a dangerous thing as an adventure…her mind and heart racing at the thought.

Such a thing suited her perfectly, she’d been feeling rather bored of late and it was just what she needed to get going…that and it would keep her from anymore unwanted suitors who kept throwing themselves at her.

Still, she trusted Gandalfs wisdom and knew it wouldn’t be wise to go running about on her own, not just for the reason that she would be alone in the company of so many dwarves but because she knew her own strengths and weaknesses, and knew quite well just as the wizard had said she needed Belinda to set her straight.

It took another ten minutes of waiting for Belinda to finally poke her head into the hall ask her inside and once she did she found her cousin was blazing mad.

Once the door was closed behind them, Belinda began her rant, “How dare Gandalf not tell me about all this!” she grabbed the book resting on the arm of her seat and nearly tossed it into the fire out of pure spite, “I invite him to tea and he brings me an adventure!”

“You sound as if that’s a bad thing.” Camellia chuckled lightly as she refreshed Belinda’s cup of tea, Oin had appeared again some time ago to bring them a fresh pot when Camellia had been waiting in the hall.

The older hobbit blew on her tea before taking a thoughtful sip, “Well it has its merets, and I won’t lie, I used to think about taking a trip or two myself in my younger days, but I just don’t think I can do it!” She gave her cousin a look of exasperation, “Besides, he wants you to come along, and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if anything ever happened to you!”

Camellia waved off her worrying, “Don’t you think I’d be the same way if you went alone, and something happened to you?”

Belinda bit the bottom of her lip and gazed into the fire as her cousin continued, “If you go, I go. If you stay, I stay. But whatever your decision is I hope you make it with your heart not your mind. Besides if you do go, I’d have to go with you if only to be an escort. I’d be improper for a lady hobbit such as yourself to go tramping around with a band of dwarfs such as that, even if they seem a rather decent lot…well,” She grimaced, “Most of them do.”

Belinda didn’t reply, she only set her cup down on the table near her chair and continued to watch the flames lick at the golden logs in the hearth, and for a long time both were lost I thought.

‘Far over, the misty mountains cold.’

Camellia slowly stood as the deep voices of the dwarfs singing filled the house. Leaving Belinda, she walked as if in a trance down the hall, and stood next to Gandalf near the front door.

They sang of fire, and gold, and of their home so far away.

It awoke something like a flame in her soul, and she wanted more than ever to see such things and suddenly Belinda was beside her with her face shining with determination.

Clearly the Tookish side of her cousin was winning out.

“I’ll do it.” She stated in an almost breathless tone, seemingly herself, “I’ll go on this adventure.”

Camellia grasped her cousin’s hand with silent delight and Gandalf smiled gently down at them, “Well then, we had all better get a proper night’s sleep. We leave at noon tomorrow.”

Belinda nodded and Camellia almost bounced up and down in excitement and then embraced her cousin so strongly Belinda had to wheeze out for her to let go.

Belinda just hoped she was making the right decision.

Chapter Text

Having made up her mind and deciding determinedly not to back out now, Belinda decided to make her decision more permanent by stepping into the living area where the dwarves had lain scattered around the room in varying degrees of relaxation after their round of singing.

“Well,” She spoke up forcing her voice to be as firm and proper as she possibly could, “seeing as it’s too late for everyone to be making their way to the nearest Inn I can provide whoever wishes to stay a room for the night.”

A few thanked her heartily while a few more grumbled they’d just sleep outside and as she counted those who had taken her offer, she pulled free the contract she’d been given from her robe pocket.

“I thought perhaps one of you might wish to look over the contract and make sure the proper wording is in order so that my cousin and I might sign it.”
She set the lengthy piece of parchment on top of her writing table as she talked and got a bright smile from Balin in response as he stood and hurriedly made his way forward, “I’ll gladly take care of that!”

It took them nearly an hour to go over the finer details of everything, as well as add yet another addendum to one side that changed enough wording to add her cousin into the contract. After she was satisfied with the explanations and promises she’d been given, Belinda signed it, Camellia signed it, and then she tucked away the contract back into her pocket and nodded as Balin wisely told her to keep it close to her at all times.

Then she went about finding places for everyone to sleep.

She had rooms a plenty but certainly not enough for almost thirteen dwarves, though three in the end decided to sleep outside.

Camellia offered to sleep with her in her own room though more for safety of numbers than an offer of consideration, seeing as despite Gandalf being there they were both still very aware they were the only females present. This left Belinda to bundled up more than a few pairs in the same room to leave Gandalf his own bed to stay and she got all but one settled in quick time.

While living alone, Belinda was still used to having cousins or friends staying over for long weekends and holidays and she felt she was fairly capable of seeing all the dwarves put up comfortably for the night.

In this manner, as she put up everyone else in all the rooms she had in her smial, she found herself face to face with the leader of the company and not much left to say.

Thankfully for her any lulls in conversation could be taken up with directing him to where everything was as she led him to the last unoccupied room she had.

“The washroom is down the hall last door on the left, the kitchen is behind you, again on the left, if you get a bit peckish during the night, though I doubt there’s much left to eat. There are extra linens in the cupboard in your room if you get cold and there should be enough firewood in the bin should you wish to keep the coals going all night.”

As she spoke, she opened the door to her second-best room in the house, the one concerningly next to hers but she’d already decided to lock her door after she and her cousin settled in for the night, and turned to find the dwarf studying the bedroom with an almost curious air.

She stepped inside without thinking and turned down the bed for him, her mother’s proper habits for guests overtaking her common sense for the briefest of moments, and she made her way back towards the door as she gestured to the circular window set within the upper portion of the wall, “If you wish you can open the window for a bit of fresh air, just remember to close it in the morning, do you need anything else before I retire?”

The stately dwarf seemed almost taken aback by her sudden question and clearly pulled himself out of whatever deep thoughts he’d settled into, and he straightened and stated quietly, “No thank you. This will be fine.”

Belinda nodded and hesitated as she got to the door and then decided it wouldn’t hurt after all and wished him a goodnight, again he seemed surprised at her hospitality and as she closed the door her sharp ears caught the almost whispered response of, “You as well.”

Sleep did not come as easy to her as it did her cousin, Camellia fell asleep almost instantly and was taking up more than half of the bed as she sprawled out, and as Belinda lay on her nice comfortable feather mattress and tried to force her mind to calm itself and just sleep, she heard a soft noise coming from the room beside hers.

It was a harp. She’d noticed the lot had brought many instruments with them and they had played them when they’d sung earlier but she hadn’t realized that the leader of the company had been playing the harp.

She listened to its soft soothing sound, even with a wall between them its gentle melody lulled her deeper towards sleep.

It was the tune they’d sung earlier, but softer, almost like a lullaby, and its mournful tones stirred up different feelings than the ones she’d felt before.

They stirred up not the feeling of adventure, or loss of their home, but the loss of someone dear.

Belinda listened for a while, feeling a strange mixture of understanding as well as a sudden fear of being caught listening in on what was clearly a very private moment even though again a wall lay between them and there was no way he knew she was still awake.

She firmly closed her eyes and tried to put the tune out of her mind but when she finally fell asleep, she dreamed of lonely mountains and soft haunting melodies.

Chapter Text

Belinda woke and was packed long before her usual hour, Camellia had woken even earlier to go back to her own smial to pack for herself, and any lack of sleep was lost underneath the excitement buzzing through Belinda at the sudden spontaneous decisions of the previous night. Though it all still felt very dreamlike.

When she at last exited her room, she found the house clean as a pin, empty, but with clear signs that that something grand had taken place last eve.

Her favorite armchair near the fireplace in the living room had been moved to the opposite side, her dining room table was set with chairs that should’ve been in the study, and while her larder was spit and span, the lack of food inside was proof she had in fact not been dreaming, and she had in fact signed a contract that would see her far further away from her home than she’d ever been before.

Despite the rather spotless state of her smial, Belinda couldn’t help but dust up anyway and soon found a note on her mantle place, it was simple and gave sharp dictation of another proof of contract as well as a meeting place at the Green Dragon and it was signed with a short but flourishing signature of ‘Thorin Oakenshield’Carefully folding it and tucking it inside the contract that she’d already neatly folded and sealed and had kept safe in her pocket, Belinda doublechecked the time found she had plenty of time to finish packing and made her way into her room to do just that.

The necessities were easy to pack, rags and a fine-tooth comb, a few ribbons for her hair, the only pair of knitted socks she owned in case it got far too cold at night, something to clean her teeth with and plenty of nice floral soap to wash with.

Her travelling attire was another thing altogether.

Belinda was far more used to skirts than she was trousers, and while it wasn’t unheard of for a hobbit maiden to wear trousers while traveling, she did most of her own hiking through Hobbiton in skirts and blouses.

At last, she settled to dive into her fathers old clothes she kept stored up safely in her back closet. She should’ve gotten rid of them years ago but memories still clung to them and she had yet to give them up.

Three sets of his old trousers fit nice enough that she packed two in her pack and wore the last; she also packed two shirts, two vests, one extra corset, and an extra overcoat.

In this manner she dressed as neatly as she could, with a dark brown pair of trousers, a crisp white chemise with a corset in similar color, a cream button up, a dusty green vest, and overtop it all a dark burgundy overcoat.

She pulled back her curls from her face and bound them up much as she had the previous night with a few rounds of ribbons in deep green and as she studied herself in the mirror, she found the look simple, stately, and effective.

As she safely tucked her contract and the letter deep into her traveling pack and tightened the straps securely, her front bell rang, and she slid her pack on to answer it.

Camellia stood before her as bright and cheery as if she’d gotten a full night’s sleep.

Her own dark hair was pulled from her face but in thick two braids that gave her a more youthful appearance, she was wearing trousers as well just in a lighter color, a deep gold vest over top a crisp white shirt and all was covered prim and proper with a dark blue overcoat.

Her pack seemed smaller than Belinda’s but she suspected it was because her young cousin knew better how to prepare for long trips, she often went to the town of Bree with her older brothers when they went to trade their produce and even more often than that went camping with friends in places they shouldn’t.

“Oh good, you’re up and ready!” Camellia greeted her with cheer and Belinda nodded, listening for a moment with satisfaction as the clock behind her chimed the hour, “I was just about to go and get you, they left a note that said they want us to meet them at the Green Dragon at eleven. If we leave now we’ll be able to get there before them and have a bite to eat before they eat the tavern out of their own larder.”

“What fun!” her cousin beamed, “I’ve already told Aunt Druselda where we’re going, she promised to send word to my Ma and Da and to watch over Bag End for you, I’m sure Asphodel or Rorimac will take hold of the place while you’re gone.”

Belinda nodded at the mention of Camellia’s older siblings, while not as old as she was, they were still two of the more responsible of the gaggle of Brandybuck cousins she had.

She could trust that either one would see to it to take care of Bag-end should the need arise and told Camellia, “I’ve also written to Hamish Gamgee, he’ll keep up the garden as well as Aunt Druselda.”

She closed and locked her front door as she spoke and pocketed the key, “Well then, shall we?”

Camellia held out her hand to her and they linked arms, “We shall!”

Together they had a peaceful pleasant walk through the Shire, walking together and in a manner that indicated they were just out for a stroll if one ignored the heavy packs at their back, and they warded off anything other than well-wishers for a bright day as they chatted about nice things and had a pleasant morning.

They made it to the Green Dragon well before the intended time and settled into a seat near the front door to watch for the others, Belinda even took the time to pay for a few trays of crumpets and pots of tea to be set out for the company on her own dime for when they arrived.

In this manner, her and her cousin had a wonderful elevensie, crumpets with plenty of butter, scones with plenty of cream, a pint of ale for her, a pint of milk for Camellia, mounds of strawberry muffins and sausage and beautifully crisp bacon, and by the time the first of the company appeared both were stuffed, content, and took watching the other patrons.

Gandalf was clearly pleased to find them already there and smiled broadly at them in greeting as he stepped inside, and soon he was seated before them with his own simpler plate of food sipping at a glass of wine Belinda specifically ordered for him.

By the time he finished, a few more had entered and with surprising glances their way, for they clearly hadn’t thought that the two hobbits would actually come, Gandalf took out his pipe and began puffing great plooms of smoke to the ceiling and even dared to show off a bit of his skill and made more than a few shift color and shape which delighted both hobbits.

The rest of the group entered and one of them cried out cheerfully, “Hey! They beat us to it!”

Questions were thrown in all directions, and Camellia could’ve sworn she heard one ask, “Who, Miss Boggens and Brandybuck?”

Then their table was surrounded with the younger three of the group plastering themselves nearer her cousin and Balin and Bofur next to Belinda.

Bofur grinned good naturedly at Belinda, “Good to see you both.”

Balin greeted her just as warmly in his own more subdued manner as he’d shown last night, and Belinda returned the comment, “You as well, I’ve brought the contract if you need to look it over again.”

“Once is enough,” Balin stated as he settled in his chair to sip at a fresh cup of tea, “I believe we covered all bases very well last night.”

Belinda nodded at him and pushed the plate of scones nearer to Bofur as he settled across from her, stating, “I went ahead and ordered a few plates of scones for everyone, as for whatever else you might need, Mr. Cotton and his wife Lily can take care of the rest.”

The next half hour was spent with the company getting their breakfast and making a surprisingly solemn ordeal of the matter, Belinda wondered if it was because they were now in the presence of Thorin Oakenshield that they weren’t as noisy but would later learn it was only partially because of it, the other half lay in the fact that all were eager to at last get on the road.

As they finished up their meal and paid their tabs, Gandalf gave her a nod of approval as she waited for the others to leave first and as her and her cousin neared the door, Camellia suddenly darted ahead with an elated cry of, “Ponies!”

Belinda made her way out to find a sturdy group of ponies with far shaggier manes than the strong Moorish things most farmers used around the Shire all tied to the long fence before the Inn.

She wondered if they were a particular dwarvish breed, for their manes seemed far thicker than normal and their legs strong but quite short.

Bags and bundles were piled around them and she noted that there were exactly the same amount of ponies as company and realized with some embarrassment that she’d wrongly assumed they’d be on foot.

Her cousin was delighted at the merry looking ponies far more than the dwarves that surrounded them and immediately took to petting the closest one and asking the dwarf who Belinda remembered to be Dori what all their names were.

He wasn’t certain and seemed amused by her questioning and then the dark-haired youth was sliding up next to her cousin and proposing they give all their ponies proper names.

Belinda was gratified that Camellia either ignored or didn’t catch his obvious flirting and agreed in such a hearty way it squelched some of his teasing.

She left them to name the ponies whether they were named beforehand or not and made her way over to Gandalf who was discussing something with the head of the company.

Maintaining a respectful distance, she saw with some alarm that the first batch of hobbits out for a nice midday pint were heading their way.

Gandalf noticed her sudden change in expression and where her gaze was lying and smiled, “I take it you wish to be off as soon as possible?”

“If it’s not too much of a bother, yes.” She answered primly and simply, not wanting to beat around the bush yet not wanting to be rude and was completely undermined by Thorin, who she hadn’t realized had heard her stating, “Fine.”

Then he raised his voice and stilled the entire company around them with an impressive control over tone, “Find your steeds, we’re heading out.”

The group was scattered for a few minutes as they decided, and argued, where exactly they’d put the hobbits; for there had been discourse among more than a few if they would even join them and they’d saddled the two extra ponies they had left with all their extra luggage.

At last, they cleared a spot for Camellia atop a spotted white and grey pony she had named Grisly, and another for Belinda atop a brown pony the young dark haired dwarf, Kili, had named Myrtle, and finally they were off.

To her amazement, Belinda remembered well the pony rides her father used to take her on as a child and found she could sit in her saddle with for more confidence than she knew she possessed, which resulted in her stifling a smile at the fact her young cousin was clearly struggling keeping her seat as they took off in a slow measured pace.

They passed far slowly through the outskirts of the Shire than Belinda would’ve wanted, and more than once a hobbit lad or lass on their doorstep sweeping where there was nothing to sweep called out to them. Belinda answered vaguely once to one of the gardeners who took care of her fruit trees, but Camellia was the one who had taken over the responsibility of answering their calls with a sort of artfulness that kept gossip at bay.

Camellia, the daughter of Mirabella Brandybuck nee-Took who had been the most adventurous of the three Amazing Took daughters, had a sort reputation that crossed rivers and hills.

Those who saw her cousin first didn’t seem inclined to wonder why she was on the back of a pack animal trailing a line of dwarves and a wizard.

It seemed more in her nature to do something so brash as to cause her family grievance in gossip and worry, the rest of her siblings certainly didn’t hold back when it came to having adventures of their own.

Belinda could only turn her face away from those who tried to get a better look at her.

She was the daughter of Bongo Baggins, respectable, calm, and reliable.

While her mother had been Belladona Took, her mother’s Tookish side had quickly been subdued as she fell into an easy, quiet sort of life raising Belinda and caring for Bag-End and her beloved garden.

If anyone related to the Baggins side of her family would’ve recognized Belinda, they likely would’ve thought she’d gone mad.

Ignoring prying eyes, Belinda decided looking ahead of her was the best way of quieting the sudden fears flaring up within her, and turning her face towards a promising adventure she took in a deep breath and thought of happier things.

Chapter Text

The company was just nearing the edge of one of the larger markets when they decided it best to go on foot for a while so as to better navigate the crowd that had appeared before them.

It was the weekend, and while markets ran throughout the weekdays, everyone who was anyone met up in the market square on Saturday and Sunday to go through gossip gathered and show off new dresses and coats and wares made and bought.

Belinda would’ve led the group down a less worn path, but she hadn’t the courage yet to speak so directly to their leader. While not rude per say to her, she could sense he wouldn’t take to such suggestions well. Belinda knew every path and twist and turn that lay in the Shire, for she loved to walk on bright cheery mornings, and sometimes not so cheery afternoons, and had marked out all her favorite paths in red ink on a map she’d personally drawn in her living area.

Gandalf seemed to sense her hesitancy in leading them towards a better path, but he was of no help because he kept glancing at her in an amused manner.

In this way, Belinda stayed vigilant as they neared the market crowd and her wary eyes spotted something no one else was looking out for: Lobelia Sackville-Baggins.

Without a word, she let go of her pony’s reins and silently fell to the ground, using the low stone wall that ran around the market as cover as she peered over the top.

With sharper ears and eyes than their companions, Camellia heard the slight scuffle behind her and twisted around with a confused expression.

She then looked ahead and did much the same as her cousin had, though her landing was a bit less graceful as she plopped beside her in the grass.

Lobelia was clearer to spot than most hobbit lasses, for one her sour attitude seemed to contain a sort of aura that could be sensed for quite some time before one ever saw her, for another she more often than naught wore the most garishly colored outfits one could imagine.

Today’s choice of dress was a vibrant pink that hurt one’s eyes when looked at for too long, covered by a short coat of rich thick velvet that was far too rich and far too thick for the mild weather. This was all topped by the large hat she wore over her mound of glossy black curls, something that truly was to be admired for she took wonderful care of her hair and always kept her curls pristine.

Both cousins peered over the edge of the stone wall as one of the dwarves leaned in closer to them with a look of amusement on his face as he’d seen their scramble and tracked their line of sight, “Something wrong?”

Belinda knew him as Bofur and waved him off with a little grimace, “Nothing really, it’s just that we seem to be in need of a bit of a rest an---”
Camellia butted in, knowing her cousin would avoid telling the actual truth of the matter and begin to ramble on if given the chance, “---and we spotted a nasty relative of Belinda’s who hates her and will no doubt gossip to the whole of the Shire that we’re both losin’ our marbles if she sees us with you lot.” She took a breath and winced, “No offence, of course.”

He was as cheerful as ever as he stated with a nod, “None taken. I’ve got plenty of relatives like that. Need any help getting’ out of here?”

Belinda frowned and both cousins ducked out of sight again as Lobelia wandered closer towards their group, Belinda had been keeping a sharp eye on the nasty hobbit as they’d talked, and it was clear that the longer they stayed put the larger the crowd of interested busybodies grew around the company.

While seeming uninterested, and failing quite spectacularly at that, the hobbits of the Shire were very keen on trying to figure out why such a large grouping of dwarves were making their way through their weekend market.

At most the Shire got one or two dwarves running through on any given month, each trying to sale what wares they had brought with them or made. Old Sadin in the east hills was the only permanent resident dwarf of these lands and he’d been working nearly thirty years to get a clientele big enough to stop all rumors that he was days away from packing up and leaving again.

If they dwindled any longer there would soon be no way out without being spotted, and once they were spotted there was no doubt they would never be able to leave as they would be overwhelmed on all sides with questions and concerns as to what they were doing.

As the rest of the group caught on that the end of the company had halted and the two hobbits were huddled together near the stone wall, another of them boldly stepped forward who had heard their plight, “Here, allow me to distract them for you, dearies.”
The dwarf, Nori, suddenly pulled a suspiciously familiar candlestick from his coat pocket, much like the ones seen on the tables at the Green Dragon, and with one smooth motion he threw it dead center into one of the market stalls causing the fabric tarp to not just collapse on the fresh produce, but on the hobbit tending to it as well.

In this manner, chaos ensued, and as half the dwarves admonished Nori for what looked like a random act of violence on his part, and half the crowd of the market flooded into a panic, for most hadn’t seen what exactly had happened and all they knew was that a stall had all but exploded inwards, Belinda and Camellia made their escape.

“We’ll meet you near the edge of the forest!” Belinda called back to no one in particular as they rushed by, and as she glanced backwards, she could’ve sworn that Lobelia spotted her among the frantic rushing crowd.

……

Camellia pulled the mass of her ebony curls into a hasty ponytail as they both raced down the winding trails leading out of Hobbiton. 

They headed down the path and over the bridge, and passing by few other hobbits Belinda tactfully ignored their questioning until they got to the edge of the forest.

It was only when a particularly nosy hobbit called out from his front step, “Oy, where are you two going!?”

Belinda dared to called back to him, “An adventure!”

He huffed at them both as they scaled a wooden fence that ran along his property and rushed out of sight, and it made her more than a bit worried that the gossip that would surround her might be about something other than her going on an adventure.

There was of course the law of marriages after all; many a hobbit throughout their history had mysteriously vanished for weeks on end only to reappear married and content. Mostly those cases were done in secret as to not arise any bad feelings between arguing relatives on both sides but it also had a certain sort of charm to it that couldn’t be denied.

She knew despite the notes she’d left for numerous family members detailing her absence, only her Tookish relatives would truly understand her leaving in such a rush, and they would no doubt be the only ones to believe her when she stated she was merely going on an adventure.

She had no such notions of marrying anytime soon.

As longtime a friend as Hamish Gamgee was to her, he would likely be one of the biggest gossipers about her even after he read the letter she’d left him.

Even then, Belinda knew her childhood friend would still be loyal enough to keep up her garden, as well as her Aunt Druselda’s, without much complaint while she was away.

She just hoped she wouldn’t be gone very long.

“Come on!” Camellia cried as Belinda slowed to a stop to lean at the foot of a tree; they were passing through a large field, and the older hobbit had been struggling to maintain the pace that Camellia was going at.

She wondered why her cousin was so good at running.

As Camellia brushed a stray curl from her face, she encouraged her, “Don’t give up now, I’m sure we’ve nearly caught up to them!”

She pointed to a clump of trees some distance away, “Look, there’s the beginning of the old forest, they can’t have made very far in with what shortcuts we took, and I know that Gandalf kept them from moving on without us.”

Belinda, still breathless, looked up at her cousin in silent despair; the start of the forest seemed so far away she wondered how she was ever going to make it.

Bark! Bark! Bark!

Both hobbits started in alarm as the shrill calls of a dog came from behind them and Camellia instantly cried without even seeing what it was as if she knew it already, “Oh no, Mr. Sackvilles mutt!”

Belinda found new strength as the two practically flew across the field with the mutt hot at their heels and though she wished to question why her cousin knew the dog personally she didn’t have the breath to do so.

It was only after they entered the edge of the forest and scurried up a low branched tree did the mutt loose interest, though Camellia kept the game up a bit longer than was necessary as she hurled surprisingly varied insults at the dog…and Belinda found it odd that the girl seemed to know the dog personally.

They waited impatiently as the dog took his time meandering back to his own property, and once he was gone they both jumped to the ground in relief.

“Well at least we’re in the forest now.” Camellia smiled weakly as she brushed the dirt from her pants.

Belinda glared at her cousin, then with a sigh began to run again.

A few miles down the path they found the company and the company found them.

They were both equally delighted to find that they had in fact been waiting for them, apparently Gandalf, Bofur, and Nori had stood up for them, and one of the younger of the group had spotted them stuck in a tree with the mutt below so there was no complaining about their being late.

They of course wondered why no one had come to help them, but Belinda decided later they were likely judging if they could outrace a little thing such as dog and decided not to hold it against them.

She would’ve doubted her too.

Now back on their ponies, as the line of horses slowly started to walk down the dirt road leading away from Hobbiton, the dwarrow around them did something odd.

They began tossing small bags to each other and noticing glares of defeat and smiles of success on their faces, Belinda turned to stare in disbelief at Gandalf, “Were they betting on us?”

Her voice was incredulous, and her blue eyes flashed at the very thought.

Gandalf raised a hand to catch a small bag being thrown his way, and turned back in his seat with eyes gleaming in silent laughter as Belinda huffed.

Trying to look dignified Belinda fell in line a few paces behind her cousin who seemed to be having as difficult a time handling her pony as she was.

While slightly more accustomed to the pony that Camellia was, hobbits still weren’t much known for their horsemanship skills and now outside of the Shire the ponies seemed to sense their hesitancy and were acting accordingly.

For the next few minutes things were pleasantly quiet.

Only the sound of hooves clomping on a dirt path and the wind blowing through the trees was to be heard, it was soon interrupted by a loud sneeze.

“Excuse me.” Belinda sniffed, patting at her burgundy coat pockets, “oh no…no…no.” she cursed her ill luck, “my handkerchief!”

The line of ponies came to a halt, except for Camellia who was currently having trouble stopping her pony, and to make matters worse he was going at a snail’s pace.

By the time Dori came to her rescue, her pony had taken her near the front of the line, so she was now most uncomfortably near Dwalin and his intense glare of disapproval.

“What is it now?” Thorin almost barked out at her, looking Belinda over with impatience while giving Camellia a sort of irritated glance at her incompetence to keep her pony under control.

Though it must be noted he almost seemed to pity Camellia as she looked so frustrated at not being able to stop her pony it clearly subdued anything he might have said in her cousin.

All looked to Belinda as she sniffed, both out of sudden haughtiness and truly needing to use a handkerchief, “It’s nothing. I just seem to have… forgotten something.”

She kept her gaze steady as she met his own. Somehow, knowing if she told him the truth that she had forgotten a pocket handkerchief of all things she would be losing some standing with the leader of the company, so she kept quiet.

“Move out!” Thorin called out, turning back to the path and urging his steed forward with a look of displeasure on his face. 

Belinda gave the back of his head a disgruntled glare then glanced to Bofur as he cheerily said, “Here you can use this.”

He ripped something off his person and tossed it at her face, she was extremely thankful she caught it in time before it actually touched her face for it, whatever it was, looked like a dead rat.

“Thank you.” Her voice held a half-heartedly grateful tone, but Bofur didn’t seem to notice he only gave her a wide cheery grin in return.

So, with home behind them and the world ahead, Belinda Baggins began the adventure of a lifetime, she just hoped she wasn’t making a big mistake.

Chapter Text

The first night of camp was such a boring one, Belinda hardly made note of it, instead it was the first light after a fortnight of riding through pleasant country with surprisingly pleasant company that brought the first interesting moment of their journey.

Time passed more swiftly than Belinda would’ve thought, especially since all they did was ride until late in the night, camp, then leave before the sun rose, but being amid a band of rough and tumble dwarves, she found it nearly impossible to be bored.

Most of her time riding was spent in pleasant conversation with Bofur, Dori, and Balin, and she often found herself laughing heartily at Fili and Kili’s tales as they were more than ready to try and amuse her and her cousin, well, mostly just her cousin, but she soon found herself in on more than few of their jokes.

Gloin, and Dwalin still seemed the most suspicious of the two, but Gandalf’s glares of disapproval at their attitude towards them kept anything they might have wanted to say from bubbling forth.

The leader of the company though barely gave them any sort of acknowledgement they were there, so far other than the few words she’d exchanged with him in her smial, Belinda had said maybe half a dozen words to him in as many days.

Camellia seemed to be getting along with the others just as well; the only flaw in her cheerfulness when she confided in Belinda was that Dwalin was openly irritated by her presence: it didn’t help matters that first night camping she nearly destroyed his pack by Grisly running aimlessly over it.

Though to be honest it was more of the pony’s fault than hers.

And then the next morning Grisly had eaten part of Dwalin’s coat, again the pony’s fault and not her own, but that hadn’t stopped him from getting onto her for not keeping her pony in check even though Camellia was doing everything she could to just stay on her pony during the day.

Other than those few hiccups, Belinda was surprised at how much she was enjoying herself, and at night had soon settled into a routine of sitting by the campfire and talking with Gandalf about anything and everything.

She was more than delighted to continue the friendship with the wizard her mother had begun, and she never felt she was a bother to him when they talked.

So, far, things were merry and bright, and Belinda was content…if she only knew what awaited her on her journey she perhaps would’ve treasured those first weeks all the more.

……………….

The small lake they had camped by had been dazzling during the sunset the previous night and as the sky began to lighten and threaten another cheerful sunny day, it was no less as beautiful in the soft haze of the morning.

Belinda and Camellia had just finished neatly packing away their bedrolls and gone through their own morning routines and were waiting near the lake for the dwarrow as they went through their morning ritual of braiding their hair and beards.

Two facts both hobbit lasses quickly learned about dwarves was one, they snored loud enough to wake the dead.

The 13 of them together was nearly enough to deafen them.

And two, every morning, before they even had breakfast, they took the time and pride to braid, pin, and bead their fantastically detailed beards and hair.

This ritual took a good thirty minutes and was so far as essential to them in starting the morning as it was for the hobbits to have a hearty breakfast.

Camellia, earlier, had been watching Ori intently braiding his hair, fascinated by how small he could make such braids with the thicker dwarvish fingers he possessed while her own more nimble ones always struggled to do the same.

“I wish I could braid that well. Could you teach me?” Camellia stated to him as he finished and to her surprise Ori’s face flushed bright red and behind her Balin, who had been repacking his things, quickly stated, “As long as you don’t ask him to braid it for you, I’m certain Ori wouldn’t mind teaching you.”

Her brow furrowed and Belinda found herself just as confused, pausing as she finished closing up her own pack, but Balin explained, “Braiding another’s hair is only reserved for siblings or wives…or in both your cases, husbands.”

Instead of being embarrassed by her naivety, Camellia nodded in understanding, “Oh, so it’s just like complimenting another’s feet then.”

“Camellia!” Belinda gasped at her cousin’s brazen comment, her own face brightening and while Camellia grinned at her she heard a soft snort of laughter and turned to find Thorin of all people listening in on their conversation.

She almost apologized for her cousin but realized he likely didn’t understand the full implication of what Camellia had implied, yet upon closer inspection there was a sort of soft gleam in his eyes that indicated he had.

It was only confirmed when he stated before he left, “I’ll be sure to warn the rest of the company.”

With both their packs tucked away and Belinda’s embarrassment at an all-time high, she convinced her cousin to walk down to the lake while the rest of the company finished breaking down camp.

She needed to clear her head and also wanted to prevent Camellia from getting into any more dangerous and embarrassing conversations.

………….

Belinda was content to simply admire the water, but Camellia’s energy was too high to simply sit and do nothing.

Bending down she searched the rocky shore for just the right pebble.

The morning air was still quite cool while the sun still lay over the horizon, a soft mist covered the lake and almost obscured the view of the other side, and as she searched the lakefront for her pebbles the birds in the woods around them began their morning songs to start the day.

She found one at last that suited her need, flat and smooth and as she rubbed it lightly the surface skidding against her fingertips caused her to smile.

Turning with a smirk to her cousin, she goaded, “Bet I can beat you at a game of darts before the others get ready.”

Belinda looked to the pebble in her cousin’s hand then to the lake.

With a playfully haughty look, Belinda sniffed, raised her chin high and smiled, “I highly doubt that.”

As she searched for her own pebble, she lightly warned Camellia, “Don’t go pouting when I beat you. I wasn’t dubbed the best dart player over the hill for nothing.”

Finally finding a pebble to her liking, she stood and gazed at the lake, pointing to a piece of driftwood floating in the distance as she told her, “That’ll be our mark. First hobbit that misses it has to brush down the ponies when we camp.”

Camellia made a face because she knew that meant brushing them down when there at their dirtiest and smelliest, but she agreed to the terms all the same.

She mentioned for Camellia to go first and watched as the young hobbit carefully took her stance.

Stooping low to the ground she flicked her wrist and smiled in satisfaction as the pebble made a perfect skip across the lake and hit the edge of the log with a dull thud.

“Hmmm, your title may be under siege, dear cousin!”

Her face went blank as Belinda’s pebble hit the log with enough force to break off a small twig.

“Time will tell.” Came her soft remark.

Thus began a duel between cousins, and they soon fell into a pattern.

Hit the log, look for a pebble, take their turn, and stand to the side for their opponent.

By the twentieth time both their wrists were aching, but neither one seemed intent on giving up.

“Wrist bothering you?” Belinda asked slyly as yet another of her pebbles hit its mark.

“Maybe it’s bothering you.” Camellia replied without thought, her hand stopping massaging the pain in her wrist to pick up another pebble.

They both inwardly sighed as it too hit the log.

“Perhaps we should call this a tie.” Belinda suggested her gaze turning upwards noting how the sun was now beginning to peak through the trees, Gandalf and Thorin would be itching to get back on the road and she didn’t want to delay them.

“Oh, no.” Camellia shook her head, her mane of ebony curls bouncing back and forth as she did, “I’m either going to lose this or win it. Tying at something is like getting a job half done, you get no satisfaction, just an empty feeling in the pit of your stomach.”

Belinda crinkled her nose, “Fine.”

With a careful pause, she skipped the pebble in her hand and this time both sighed out loud as it hit its mark.

Camellia picked up a stone, aimed, then sneezed.

The pebble flew from her grasp, aiming high, and sailing over the log to plop into the water.

“No!” she wailed heavenward with a look of pure agony, “My title!”

Belinda snorted softly and then kindly reassured her, “Well, no one will ever know, I mean it’s only us down…oh.” Belinda trailed off as she turned and saw everyone standing some distance behind them.

Gandalf was leaning on his staff, his gray eyes shining with laughter, she wondered at this until she looked to everyone else.

The dwarves were all looking at them in varying degrees of interest. Some looked surprised, others amused, and more than a few annoyed at the delay in getting on the road.

But it was Thorin’s stare that caught Belinda’s attention, he was looking at her with an expression that was hard to read, but at least he wasn’t upset about them delaying their start time.

She looked back to Camellia, whose face had taken on that unreadable blank expression again.

Thorin suddenly announced, “Your bet is done. We move out.”

He left and the others trailed behind, and Camellia’s face scrunched in anticipation of what was to come at night.

Once on the road, questions from all directions poured in, and the two hobbits found that dwarves weren’t born with a natural talent of good aim, most, like Fili who specialized in throwing knives, had to hone their talent with many devoted hours of practice.

For a hobbit the act was natural, though they did have to practice in order to get good, practice came easy for darts or any game involving aim and skill made hobbits fiercely competitive; and when a bet was on the line a hobbit took it as serious as could be.

Especially if losing a bet meant buying round of pints for the table.

This simple game of skipping stones impressed the company more than they knew because it showed that the two hobbits had more to them than what could be seen. Sharp eyes and sharper aim were highly coveted for dwarves and if little hobbits possessed these, what other skills might they be hiding?

That night when they camped Belinda kindly answered as many questions as Ori could ask about hobbits and their natural talents, and while he scribbled away in his book, she couldn’t help but smile as she glanced at Camellia every few minutes.

The girl only turned her back to her and began the tedious job of getting bristles out of the next horse’s mane she was tending, she was irritated but begrudgingly accepted her fate all the same.

Chapter Text

A few more weeks on the road they decided to camp under a formation of rocks near a cliffside that overlooked a deep valley.

The area of bare rock was large enough for the entire company to settle down across and they seemed more eager to set up camp that night than ever before. Both Belinda and Camellia wondered if it was like the need they sometimes got to go wandering through soft tilled soil.

As Oin and Nori made a robust fire underneath a large chunk of overhanging rock, the fires warmth radiated through the rock and made the small almost as cozy as if they’d been indoors.

Even though it was nearing summer, the nights were still often cold and damp, and a bit of fire chased away the lingering chill the night brought.

Belinda stretched her hands towards the fire and closed her eyes in pure bliss as the warmth enveloped her like a gentle embrace.

Camellia, helping stack firewood in Gloin’s waiting arms, saw with a gleam of amusement in her eyes that the leader of the company, Thorin kept glancing to Belinda.

She knew how horrible she was at matchmaking, her younger sister Primula told her she seemed to break more couples up than make them, and Belinda never had taken to any of the respectable gentlehobbit’s she’d tried to set her up with, but she could see the strange light that was glowing in Thorin’s eyes wasn’t just from the fire and it made her want to try all the same.

Hide it as he may, Camellia was very skilled in reading people, and she could spot quite clearly the tale tell signs of growing admiration in his serious eyes. It seemed the dwarf had a bit of a crush on her cousin and if she wasn’t too in her own head about the idea, her cousin might just have a crush on the dwarf.

If she was wrong, she’d eat the very coat off her back.

Camellia had noticed for the past couple of days he seemed to distance himself from Belinda, of course that wasn’t too strange considering he rarely ever communicated with either of them except to order a task, but it caught Camellia’s attention sure enough.

And let’s be honest, Belinda was posing a rather pretty picture, her face all aglow by firelight, eyes closed, a smile dancing across her lips as she was in deep thought, the stars shining behind her form giving her an almost ethereal look.

The sound of something clattering to the ground had Camellia jumping out of her own daydreams to see Gloin had left her to deposit his pile of wood closer to the fire.

Belinda’s eyes opened at the noise, and she raised an eyebrow at Gloin as he plopped down as close to the flames as he could get without scorching his beard, and to Camellia’s disappointment, Thorin suddenly mumbled something under his breath and walked off.

As Gandalf lit his pipe and cast Camellia a significant look, Thorin stationed himself near the edge of the fire’s glow against a sharp outcrop of rock with his back to the group…and to Belinda.

Camellia held back a sigh as she stepped up and sat on the trunk of a fallen tree the others had moved near camp, and stare into the fire to lose herself in her thoughts.

The company was a bit more subdued tonight; the days ride had been harder than normal with the land around them slowly turning more sparce.

The hills were no longer as green, the sky as clear, and the people as kind.

The deeper they traveled through unknown lands the more unease both hobbits felt.

If Gandalf hadn’t been with them, Camellia might have even dared to back out of the deal, she didn’t like the look of the big folk they passed and what little contact they had with them on the road was filled with a silent sort of wariness that sent her on high alert every time they dared make conversation with the company.

Half an hour passed in quiet talk leaving most to wrap themselves tightly in their bed rolls and begin snoring away the night, a thing both hobbits still hadn’t figured out how to deal with because nothing they did could block out such a rumbling in their sensitive ears.

With more than half the group asleep and the rest scattered across camp in small groups talking and planning before they turned in for the night, this left only Camellia, Fili, and Kili closest the fire.

Belinda had wandered off near the horses, her body secretively close to her pony’s head for she was giving her a late-night apple as a reward for a good day of riding, and Camellia had taken to poking at the flames with a stick she’d found as she tried to coax the flames back to life without having to get up and throw another log on the fire.

A spine shivering wail filled the air, it echoed through the woods below the cliff-side and deep in the valley, and it caused Camellia to jump in alarm and lose her stick in the embers as chills ran up and down her spine.

“What was that?” Belinda asked, trying not to let fear creep into her voice as she quickly made her way back to the fire to be nearer to her cousin.

Camellia felt her heart was in her throat and as the wail faded away, she couldn’t stop the sudden memories filling her head, the sudden echoes of nightmares dancing in her mind, the sudden chill of ice in her bones.

“Orcs.” Kili answered in almost a whisper causing Belinda, who had come to stand behind Camellia out of solidarity, to stiffen, “Orcs?”

This time the fear was evident in her cousin’s tone and Camellia saw Thorin, who had fallen into a light doze where he was seated, wake and stiffen only to scan the forest around them.

“Throat cutters to be precise,” Fili told them as he stared out into the darkness that lay beyond the fires glow, “There should be dozens of them out there by now, creeping around in the lowlands.”

Another wail filled the air causing Camellia to jump from her spot to move closer to Belinda and Belinda let her get as close as she wanted not just for her cousin’s comfort but for her own as well.

Both were fighting echoes of nightmares now.

Kili spoke slow and soft, as if afraid to make any sort of noise that might bring a whole pack of the creatures upon them, “They strike in the wee hours of the morning.” His eyes gleamed dangerously in the low light of the fire, “No screams… just lots of blood.”

The hobbits visibly paled at this, causing the two brothers to look to each other and exchange looks that would’ve had them both fuming had they had enough sense to realize see it. They were scared though, and fear made them blind.

“You think that’s funny?” Thorin’s voice pierced the air like a blade, bold and unafraid of what might lie beyond their campsite, and both nephews visibly winced.

Camellia was on the verge of tears and Belinda was trying to comfort her by placing an arm across her shoulders, but she looked just as upset as her cousin just in a different manner.

She looked angry.

Such talk brought back her own memories of harsh winters and hungry beasts and great famine.

Belinda remembered it all as clearly as if it had been yesterday.

While Camellia only had ghosts of memories to haunt her, they were still enough to have her more than frightened.

Both dwarven prince’s looked to them meekly and seeing their visible fear, Fili looked away shame faced, leaving Kili mumbling weakly, “It was just a joke.”

“A night raid by orcs is nothing to joke about.” Thorin’s voice was like ice, and it caused them all to shiver.

“We didn’t mean anything by it.” Kili ventured to add his face now burning nearly as hot as the coals in the fire.

Thorin turned away from them with a scowl, “You know nothing of the world.”

He walked away from the camp to station himself at the edge of the cliff and stare out across the valley.

His stature had a rigid stance and even from behind he looked livid.

Balin, who heard the whole of the conversation walked nearer to the fire, his face solemn and worn, “He has more right than anyone to hate those horrifying creatures.”
“Why?” Belinda asked softly once she’d recovered her composure, though her face still pale as she studied Thorin.

Balin then told them both the tale of the pale orc, of Azog the defiler and their ill attempt to take back Moria.

Camellia covered her face in horror at the mention of Thorin’s grandfather being killed, and Belinda’s brow furrowed as she asked Balin after his horrid tale was finished, “What of the pale orc? What happened to him?”

Before he could answer, Thorin’s deep voice rumbled out from the shadows, “That filth died of his wounds long ago.”

Out of the corner of her vision Belinda saw Gandalf stiffen slightly and as he saw her stare, he gave her a tired smile; she decided it best not to mention anything, simply crossed her legs and looked to Dwalin as he walked up.

The dwarf had set in silence as he’d listened to the soft conversation between Belinda and Balin, and only now did he move towards the fire.

As a few of the logs in the fire settled with a loud noise and a bright flash of embers, Camellia jumped lightly in alarm and Dwalin gruffly stated the obvious, “Fires getting low.”

His gaze fell on Camellia, who was still a bit paler than usual, as if in challenge, and she met it.

Standing with an unconcerned air about her, she announced, “Well then, I’ll just get more firewood. On my own… alone.”

She simply knew he saw her as a scared little fauntling who didn’t have a brave bone in her body, and that might be true, but she was going to prove him wrong.

Dwalin had been picking on her ever since the start of the journey and it was getting on her last nerve.

He gave her more work than any other when tending to the fire, didn’t help her unpack her pony at night even when she struggled to do so near him, kept giving her long intense stares when she dared to complain about the weather or even mention it.

Camellia knew she was technically just a spare in case something unusual happened to stop Belinda from burgling for the company, but that didn’t mean he had to be unkind to her.

Waving off any help from the others, she stomped off into the darkness and into the forest that surrounded their camp.

As Camellia entered the edge of the forest, slowly now that she was away from the bustle of the camp and most of the light from the fire, she took in a deep breath and thought of nice things.

Things that weren’t orcs.

Things that weren’t wolves…and certainly not harsh winters.

Keeping to the pools of shining moonlight that graced the forest floor, she began picking up as many pieces of wood as she could carry.

This wasn’t nearly enough to keep the fire even going an hour’s worth of time, but venturing into the stillness of the night helped clear her mind and perhaps lessen some of the ire Dwalin held towards her, and she wanted nothing more than to prove she could be helpful.

Still, even though she knew it was just her imagination she couldn’t help thinking that something was watching her from the shadows.

A scattered thought of some strange beast lurking through the forest in search of his next meal hit her and she shivered as she truly felt the gaze of something around her resting upon her.

Her emerald eyes searched the woods for a moment as the wind whipped through the trees rustling the leaves and her courage with one mighty blow.

A stray curl fell across her face as she stooped to pick up one more piece of wood and she brushed it aside as her heart began to pound.

Her feet were cold.

She felt sick.

Something moved in the brush behind her, and she was gone in an instant.

The wood in her hands clattered to the ground as Camellia darted into the underbrush to hide and then she looked behind her to find Fili of all dwarves looking around him with clear bewilderment.
“Camellia?” He called out as he scanned the clearing she’d been in, and Camellia realized to his dwarven eyes it had likely looked as if she’d just disappeared from sight.

Hobbits were known for their quiet ability to slink away without making any noise and both her and Belinda had quickly found that being quiet in any sense of the word was difficult for a dwarf.

She stepped out and was surprised again to find him spot her long before she made any noise, and Camellia wondered if he had better vision at night than she did. She’d heard years ago that dwarves possessed not just good night vision but also a keen sense of where they were when underground.

Fili raised his hands in defense as her expression showed she wasn’t pleased about being snuck up on, “I just came to help.”

She lifted her head a bit higher looking incredulous as she stooped to pick up the scattered wood, “Just help? Are you sure you aren’t here to tell me I’m about to get eaten by a pack of wolves?”

Fili bent down to help her and forced her to meet his gaze by picking up the other end of the branch she was holding, “I’m sorry about what we did. I shouldn’t have made light about something as horrible as an orc raid.”

Camellia studied his face for a moment, dark blue eyes shining with regret, mouth slightly frowning in anticipation of her reply.

She stood slowly and looking up at the trees overhead, she sighed, “I’ll forgive you on one condition.” She glanced to the wood in her hands, “You have to take all this back to the camp for me.”

“Deal.” Fili smiled his brightest as he took the pile from her, and bundling it up, he hefted it onto one shoulder as if it weighed nothing.

“If you don’t mind me asking…” He began slowly and she looked to him with an open expression, and he continued, “you and your cousin seemed unusually scared by what we said.”

He then frowned after a moment’s thought, “That is to say, even though orc raids are something to be scared of, you both seemed to take it far harsher than I thought you would.”

“Well,” She pushed the stray curl from her eyes that refused to be tucked behind her ear and studied the shadows around them as they slowly walked back to camp, “The Shire might seem a very soft peaceful place, and it is, but even hobbits get nightmares. We aren’t a fighting people, but many of us have seen death, and many more have died to famine and fell beasts than a dwarf might think.”

Camellia now walked through the forest without fear, but as they neared the fire, she stopped dead in her tracks, so suddenly Fili kept walking for a few paces before he realized and retraced his steps.

“Dwalin.” She sighed in a defeated manner, looking to the tattooed dwarf talking with Kili by the fire, “I think he hates me.”

“He’s just protective,” Fili told her as they studied the company from the safety of the shadows, “He merely thinks you’ll get hurt, it took him from the Blue Mountains to your cousins smial to warm up to the idea of Kili and I joining the company. I have no doubt he’ll warm up to you eventually.”

“I hope so,” She shot back almost flatly, “He seems to think I’m only of worth as a spare.”

Fili thought a moment with a little purse of his mouth, then smiled and called out loud enough for the company to hear, “Are you sure you don’t need any help, miss Brandybuck?”

She looked to him in surprise but quickly answered back as he winked at her, “No, thank you, I can manage!”

He gave her a nod and then hefted the lot of firewood into her arms and the sudden wheezing sound she made had him steadying her as she sucked in a breath, “Oh Yavanna, maybe I do need---” Before she could finish, he snatched off enough of the load so that she could carry it alone and tossed it back into the forest.

He then gave her a big smile before he walked back to the fire.

Camellia readjusted her hold with a little laugh at just how smoothly he’d done that and then walked back into camp.

She let the heavy logs fall a few feet away from the flames then turned and clapped her hands together to get all the grime off.

Dwalin was looking her up and down as if he couldn’t decide whether she’d been brave or was lying, but he only hurrahmped in reply as she gave a delicate yawn and looked to her cousin, “Well, I think it’s about time for me to turn in for the night.”

Belinda stood and stretched, “A good idea.”

She said her goodnight’s to the others then followed her cousin to a small hollowed out section in the rock side where their bed rolls lay.

Dori had found the spot when they first decided to camp here and insisted that both ladies take it for it was the best spot to be sheltered from the wind and he was one of the few dwarves in the company that was always looking out that they get the best place to sleep and the first lot of food.

As they rolled out their sheets, Belinda discreetly asked, “Did you really bring all that wood back to the campfire by yourself?”

Camellias face flushed as she pulled her blanket over her head, “No, Fili helped me…and,” there was a slight pause and her voice was muffled from underneath the cover as she almost rambled, “he also apologized for scaring us both earlier. He was very sincere about the whole thing, I honestly don’t think he and Kili meant to scare us that badly.”

Belinda turned on her back so that she was staring up at the sky, smiling to herself at her cousin’s reaction though slightly concerned about it at the same time, “I’m sure they didn’t…though I was wondering where he’d disappeared off to.”

Taking Camellia’s sudden silence as a sign to stop all conversation on the matter, she turned and murmured softly, “Goodnight, Camellia.”

There was silence for a few moments then Camellia uncovered her face and rolled closer to Belinda, the older hobbit made room for her under her blankets and waited patiently for her to readjust their cover.

Camellia rested her head against Belinda’s arm as her cousin wrapped her safely into her hold and both fell asleep comforting one another from bad thoughts and worse dreams.

Thankfully, when Camellia at last fell asleep her dreams were filled with a certain dwarven prince.

Belinda had no such luck though and when she woke, she found herself exhausted from dreaming about the long-repressed memories she’d so desperately tried not to think of.

The dwarves never talked of orcs again, likely having been warned not to do so, but that didn’t mean that Belinda didn’t stop dreaming of Fell winters and long horridly lonely nights.

Chapter Text

The company had halted in front of a great flowing river that lay blocking the path before them.

A few wide blocks of stone on either side were all that remained of an old bridge, indicating that what people who had settled in the area had clearly abandoned the desolate land they had been travelling through.

The river here was wide and deep and though they could see where the path picked back up on the other side, the rushing of the water was proving a problem for their ponies to cross.

It was clear a heavy rain had fallen somewhere upstream, for the current was sharp and quick, and as the group grumbled about the possible delay, Gandalf called Camellia up front.

Belinda went with her and as they stopped before a grouping of Gandalf, Thorin and Balin, the wizard looked to the youngest of the company, “Camellia, I believe this is where your expertise lies, do you think you can find us a path across, or do you deem it impassable until the river lowers itself?”

Camellia, who had been studying the river intently since they first came upon it, shook her head and then looked up to the sky, her brow furrowing lightly, “Well, it doesn’t look like rain and the river hasn’t risen any since we stopped…” She pursed her mouth to one side as she studied the river again, “I think the chances of us finding a proper crossing further down is rather good, but I wouldn’t recommend crossing here by any means.”

“Scout the area then.” Thorin suddenly ordered as he looked to her, and it startled her because she had at this point very little interaction with him.

As she nodded, he raised his voice and gestured sharply, “Ori, accompany her.”

Ori, who had been helping his brothers tend to the ponies, gave a little start and then, much like Camellia, nodded mutely.

The two youngest of the company exchanged looks before Camellia gave a little shrug with her hands, and as Ori walked over, she met him halfway and then pointed further downstream.

As they walked the edge of the river, searching for a safe passing, the moment they were out of earshot, Ori murmured, “I hope we can find a crossing soon.”

“So do I,” Camellia frowned heavily as she looked toward the dark forest on their right, “I don’t want to think about camping here any longer than we need to, this place doesn’t exactly feel welcoming and nice.”

“Oh good,” As he sighed in clear relief she looked at him and then he blushed, “I…I thought I was the only one who felt that way.”

She smiled, “Belinda feels that way too, she just tends to hide it better than me…in fact, she tends to do a lot better than me in a lot of things. I’m just thankful right now I’m proving to be of any help, even if is just finding a crossing.”

As they walked their conversation shifted towards nicer things in hopes to lift the droll spirit that had fallen over the company, they had been travelling through desolate lands and it’s gloomy nature was beginning to affect more than just the both of them.

“Look!” Camellia suddenly called out and, pointing further downstream Ori spotted the area she’d seen that was far shallower than the others.

They carefully made their way over a large outcropping of rocks and boulders that showed the water pooled lower in one area before further downstream it cascaded over into a wide and lengthy waterfall.

“It’s dangerous for sure, especially close to those falls,” Camellia stated after they’d walked the distance to the area and stood there studying it for some time, “but I think if we’re very careful we can make it.”

Ori nodded and she knew he had little knowledge of how rivers worked and was simply taking her word for it as learned dwarves didn’t take much to water or rivers, and she herself was an oddity among hobbits.

Her Brandybuck self, as well as her immediate family, took to water like ducks while most in the Shire never even learned to swim. She’d learned to swim when she’d been very little and spent many a spring morning and summer afternoon playing in the river that ran through Buckland with her friends.

Gandalf had been right to get her opinion on the matter because at the moment, other than himself, Camellia was the best bet they had at finding a safe crossing.

By the time Ori and Camellia returned, the sun had settled low on the horizon and the company had already begun setting up camp some distance away from the river. Thankfully Camellia had found that they had enough sense to camp far enough away enough from the water to accommodate for rising waters if there was any more rain further upstream.

Belinda spotted them first and made her way over to announce, “We’re camping for the night, have you found anything?”

Camellia nodded, “I think so, it’ll still be a bit dangerous because its closer to a waterfall, but I think it’s our only chance.”

“We start crossing at first light then.” Thorin ordered as he’d made his way over the moment he’d spotted the pair returning, and with that he left to make his pallet for the night and the rest of the company did the same.

As Camellia set out her bedroll near Belinda’s, she studied the river again and frowned as she saw it was moving faster than before, she prayed there hadn’t been another rain somewhere upstream and settled into her bedroll to hope for a sleepless night.

Despite her attempts, she dreamed she was stuck underneath a waterfall and no one could save her.

…………

Camellia bit at her lip as she studied the river.

“I don’t like this,” She spoke loudly enough over the rushing of the river to be heard by most, “The water wasn’t this high yesterday. I think there must’ve been another storm during the night.”

“We cannot afford to wait for the river to calm,” Thorin stated firmly, having stationed himself near her to get her opinion and had been studying the stream with a similar expression of frustration, “We’ll just have to take our chances, you did well finding the safest place to cross.”
Despite the rush of elation she felt at Thorin acknowledging her in any way in a positive manner, for so far all she’d gotten from him were serious looks and plainly stated orders, Camellia was intensely worried with what they were about to do.

Yes, the river was lower here than in any other place, but that didn’t mean it was any less dangerous.

Things started out as perfectly as they could and she volunteered to lead the way, but Thorin wouldn’t let any other lead the charge across and crossed first without incident.

They then crossed one by one, safely, only once was there trouble with Bombur’s horse as it stopped mid river and would’ve been in risk of being swept away had the dwarf not been so large to keep the steed in place until it gathered its courage.

Then came the two princes turn, Fili dipped into the river with slight difficulty as his pony tried to do the same as Bombur’s but he was on high alert and quickly urged the steed forward.

Camellia saw trouble for Kili before it even happened, he was letting his horse’s nose dip too low, and the moment its nose touched the frothy waves it reared back in alarm.

Fili, not yet all the way across, instantly turned back in his seat as Kili cried out, and in doing so his own pony reared back and suddenly both princes were tossed into the rushing waves with their steeds attempting to move forward without them.

Camellia was running before either even hit the water and despite knowing it was quite stupid of her, she rushed beside the river ahead of them as the others behind her comprehended what had happened and cried out.

“The tree!” She cried as she ran, “Swim for the tree!”

They both did as she told, fighting hard against the current towards the fallen tree trunk further down battering the waves and held in place by larger boulders, and she watched as Fili caught hold, being closer to that side of the bank than his brother, and then amazingly managed to catch hold of Kili’s hand as he rushed by.

Camellia didn’t stop running though because she saw something neither of them could, and her foresight prevailed as what tentative grip the brothers had on one another was broken the moment one of the packs on the ponies that had fallen off crashed into Fili’s side.

He was swept underneath the log from the force of the blow while Kili barely managed to keep his grip and his head above water with a cry at his brother’s sudden disappearance.

The last thing she heard before she rushed the edge of the fallen tree was Belinda crying out her name, then she was leaping off the end of the trunk and hitting the water feet first.

Without knowing what lay beneath the swirling waters she knew well enough not to dive in headfirst, and letting the current take her for just a moment, she moved with the flow of the water and pulled her head free of the waves.

Gasping for air as she popped back up, she shook the water from her eyes and searched until a spark of golden hair met her sight and she swam as hard as she could.

They were almost parallel to one another, but Fili clearly wasn’t used to swimming such tremulous waters, if at all, and was being buffeted around much more than he should’ve.

Not to mention the fact that while his steed had managed to make it across, Kili’s pony had gotten swept in with them and it was creating a new obstacle to get to him.

Camellia had to tread water to let the pony pass by her before she could get to Fili and she felt horrid for it, but there was nothing she could do for the pony, she was doing her best just to keep her own head above water as it was.

The moment they were close enough, Fili caught her hand and did what she feared most, he latched onto her in a way that was making them both sink, so she did what she needed and dove under the waves until his fear of being dragged under with her forced him to let go.

Then she was popping back up and grasping the back of his jacket, “On your back and go limp!” She cried in his ear above the roaring of the river and as he surprisingly complied, she dug into the waves with one arm while keeping the other firmly gripping his clothes.

As she slowly pulled them to safety and the ever-swirling waves around them battered them around, she realized with sudden horror she couldn’t get them to safety ahead of the waterfall and watched in more horror as the pony was swept over first.

“Swim, Fili, swim!” She ordered fruitlessly and as they both did their best to dig into the water, he suddenly grabbed her around the waist but in a way that she knew was to protect her, then they were being swept over the side.

“Goldberry!” The cry escaped her lips almost without thought before all her senses were lost as they were tossed over the edge and into the frothy water below.

Camellia felt herself being tumbled over and over like clothes in a washing bucket, the strength of the rushing river so strong it nearly buffeted the air from her lungs, but amazingly she still felt Fili keeping a solid hold around her waist.

Then, all at once she felt a slender pair of hands grabbing both her own, delicate soft fingers wrapping around her wrists in a comforting embrace, and daring to open her eyes among the froth and chaos, she saw a soft golden glow had enveloped the water around them.

There was a split second where it seemed the world had stilled, the water had calmed, and all was well, then her head burst forth out of the river as if propelled by unseen help and she found her body pressing against solid ground again.

A gasp and cough had her looking to the side to find Fili washed up beside her, one arm still wrapped around her waist, his hand gripping her overcoat, and as she struggled to pull herself up further away from the water she collapsed against the riverbank and sighed out her thanks.

A pony’s frantic squealing had her lifting her head again and she saw with relief as Kili’s pony was scrambling up the side of the riverbank, wet but looking no worse for wear as it made its way up without help and was seemingly as uninjured as themselves.

Hearing yells they looked up to see the rest of the company on the waterfalls edge trying to figure out a way to get down to them, and Camellia realized with start that very little time had passed between Fili and Kili falling into the river, her diving in after them, and the pair of them being washed up on the river bank below.

Thankfully for them, they had also washed up on the right side of the river.

Pushing herself onto her hands and knees she felt Fili’s arm fall off her waist and he pushed himself up beside her as she moved further away from the water.

Both sat next to one another and Camellia pushed back the wet curls from her face with a little scrunch of her face in disgust, “I’m going to look like a great big ball of wool before nightfall.”

Fussing over her hair and trying to ring out as much water as she could, she glanced to Fili to find him staring at her with an odd expression on his face, and she couldn’t help but question him on it, “Are you alright?”

“Yes.” He nodded, his expression still hard to read and then the rest of the company was upon them and within thirty minutes there was a nice roaring fire drying out not just the both of them but Kili as well.

Thankfully Kili had managed to be rescued by the others, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t been almost half drowned before they’d gotten to him because he’d gotten stuck and buffeted around on the underside of the log he’d been clinging to.

Still, he had his own miraculous story to tell and said that something seemed to grab his clothing and pull him up over the log at the last possible moment before he’d lost his breath.

Camellia wisely stayed quiet on such matters, knowing full well that they’d never believe the truth and was content in letting them all believe what they wanted to on the matter.

As for what Fili had experienced, he merely had felt as if some unseen force had pushed them free of the waterfall, he had seen no such light as Camellia had nor felt those delicate hands pulling them to safety, and many, including himself, were thanking Mahal for protecting the princes and the young hobbit lass.

Gandalf sent Camellia a curious and understanding look after Fili had regaled them with what had happened, and she knew he likely guessed the full story.

Wizards, like certain little Buckland hobbits, were also friends of great protectors of ancient forests and daughters of rivers, but like Camellia he left the group to praise their luck.

Belinda was the only one who most certainly understood, but the silent exchanges between cousins as she helped her take her wet things and exchange them from dry ones from her own pack were all that was to be said on the matter. She clearly didn’t wish to go making any grand statements about anything and was wise enough to know when to speak and when to stay silent.

Besides, she knew just as well as Camellia if she were to have stated what really had happened they would never believe her either.

Set with her feet curled up close against her and her head rested on top of her knees so that her hair could try and dry out, Camellia hoped her curls wouldn’t puff up too much from the heat of the fire but foresaw they would no matter what she did.

Kili was half asleep underneath a third of all the blankets they had, Fili was underneath his own pile, and Camellia had unwrapped herself from her cocoon just enough to dry out the curls on the tops of her feet as well as her hair.

An odd noise had her turning her head to find Fili managing to somehow move the mass of blankets he was underneath to inch closer to her.

“I never got to thank you.” He said as soon as he settled back down, she wasn’t used to seeing him without all the braids in his hair and beard and found the effect rather interesting.

Camellia’s brow furrowed as she processed his words, “For what?”

“Saving my life.”

“I…” Camellia began to protest but knew better, so she accepted the ill placed thanks with something like shame heating her face.

“Anyone would’ve done it.” She shrugged and tugged one of the blankets a bit closer around her body, watching from the corner of her eye as Fili shook his head, “Maybe, but anyone didn’t. You did.”

She dared glance at his face and found him smiling at her and she couldn’t help but smile back, then she sneezed so harshly it hurt.

Fili snorted suddenly in laughter, and she looked at him in surprise and then couldn’t help but smile again.

From that night onwards Camellia found it far easier to talk to Fili, he seemed more open to conversation and when nights were quiet and the company had settled down at camp, he often sought her out with a story or a joke.

Kili also treated her differently, his own jokes more subdued, the teasing still there but it had a different air to it that she couldn’t quite place, and she found the rest of the company had warmed up to her more and seemed to respect her more.

Ori…was Ori, the friendship they’d formed remained consistent, there was no reason for it change in any manner and they continued on in much the same way.

Of all the company though, Dwalin’s attitude towards her changed the most. He seemed to respect her a bit more, and one night when she struggled to get her pony’s pack off, he even offered his help.

Of course, he didn’t say much when he did, just gave her a little grunt of irritation and moved to help without even a word, but she was surprised by it all the same.

Meanwhile, with every other crossing they had to make on a river without a proper bridge, Belinda practically roped herself to Camellia’s side.

She was proud of her cousin but at the same time fearful she’d do something bravely stupid again, and from then on the company, and more importantly Thorin, listened when Camellia told them when a river was too fast or deep to cross.

None of them took such chances again.

Chapter Text

Days began to meld together into the same routine, up before sunrise, scarf down a quick breakfast, on the road till dusk, dinner, sleep, repeat.

Belinda was beginning to get bored of this monotonous routine until the rain came.

Then she got very bored of it.

The land in which they currently were riding was desolate and abandoned, what houses they passed were old, worn, and looked about to fall apart, but it was the rain that caught Belinda by surprise.

It fell harder and thicker than any rain that had ever passed through the Shire, and to make matters worse it was as cold as ice.

The dwarves grumbled angrily as this new weather fell upon them but it was the poor hobbits that suffered the most.

They soon found dwarves ran warmer than they did, accustomed to deep tunnels and thick rock, their bodies kept in warmth and maintained it longer than most. Even Gandalf was better equipped for such weather and merely huddled down in his cloak, wrapped his scarf securely over his beard and face, and kept his hat down low against his brow so that as they rode, he looked more like a bundle of gray scraps than wizard.

Luckily for the hobbits, Bofur and Ori had two spare cloaks or else they might have frozen all together and when they camped the dwarves and Gandalf kindly made sure to put them as closest by the fire as possible.

With the desolate land and the never-ending rain, the company’s moral was beginning to fall for the first time since they’d left the Shire, and was tensions rose, so did tempers.

…………………

Wrapped up in such a way that only her face was showing, Camellia looked to the sky in a silent plea for the heavens to stop.

If the sky could be angered, she must have said some nasty things about its mother, for with a vivid flash of lighting, soon accompanied by a deafening peal of thunder, the rain began to pour down even harder than before.

All moaned at this turn of events and Nori called out to Gandalf, “Can’t you make this rain stop, Wizard?”

Said wizard looked back to him in annoyance, the rain wasn’t helping his mood either, “If you wanted someone to control the weather you should have gotten another wizard.”

Belinda, repositioning her hood, paused and looked at him with interest, “There are other wizards?”

“Yes, five in fact,” He answered reigning his horse back a bit to ride beside her, “Besides’ myself there’s Sarumon the white the leader of our group, then there’s the two blues…” he paused, “It seems I’ve forgotten their names; they moved out to the east so long ago.” There was silence from Gandalf. 

“And who’s the last wizard?” Belinda asked after a moment, blinking away the raindrops falling in her eyes.

“That would be Radagast the Brown.”

“Oh, is he a great wizard too or is he,” She paused, unsure of how to go on and finished her sentence rather lamely, “…is he more like you?”

It was best she wasn’t in view of Gandalf’s face at that moment for he looked so disgruntled that it nearly made Dwalin nervous.

“He’s a very talented wizard,” he grumbled at last, “Though some think him a bit odd.”

Gandalf’s mood was so disgruntled after that, that everyone kept their distance from him until at last the rain abated and the sky grew light again.

But even that brief moment of sunshine was short lived for as they came to a break in the woods it began to pour again.

“We camp here for the night.” Thorin’s voice called out as they came upon what looked to be an abandoned farm and slowly the company began to make camp in the driest spots they could find.

After surveying the grounds around the camp with Nori to make sure the area was safe, Belinda walked from tree to tree until she came upon Thorin and Gandalf underneath part of the dilapidated house on the edge of their camp. It offered the most shelter from the incessantly dripping rain, but it was barely even doing that.

There wasn’t much left of the house to even be considered good cover, most of the roof was gone, the majority had been burnt to the ground but even to Belinda’s untrained eye she could tell that something rather large and scary had crashed into the east side of the house before the rest had crumbled to pieces.

She didn’t wish to know what could cause such damage in such a place as this.

Her pointed ears picked up the tones of anger in their voices as she neared them and when she came into sight Gandalf noticed her, stood, and started to walk off. With a frantic look from him to Thorin, who was looking far more miffed than usual, she called after Gandalf, “Where are you going?”

He paused, turning to her with as grim face as he’d shown since they left, and he placed his hat on with a huff, “To obtain the council of the only member in this company that has any sense left.”

Belinda blinked, “Who’s that?”

“Myself!”

She watched him go, not knowing whether to be upset at his comment or at Thorin for clearly causing division and forcing their only wizard to leave to compose himself. She chose Thorin, for as she turned to him, he quickly turned heel and left her standing in the middle of the house.

Wrinkling her nose at huffy wizards and stubborn dwarves, she stomped off in search of something to expend all the anger building up inside her.

If the great high and mighty Thorin Oakenshield wanted to ignore her, then she’d ignore him back!

She helped set up camp and even tried to help Bofur and Oin start a fire, a thing they were usually experts at doing, but it was too rainy for even them to get an ember going.

So, to the chagrin of the group, a cold meal was served in even colder rain as night began to fall, and moral fell just a bit more.

Belinda, being done with her food, silently walked back to the farmhouse where they had put up a few tents across old beams and patches of stonework, and she gently repositioned the cloak laying atop the sleeping form of Camellia underneath one of the tarps.

In spite of all the rain and such a meager ice-cold meal she had fallen into a deep sleep after helping pitch the tents.

As Camellia slept soundly Belinda paused a moment to study her cousin.

Despite what Dwalin or any of the others might think about her, Belinda thought Camellia the bravest hobbit since Bullroarer Took, she was risking life and limb just to accompany her on her quest and that touched a soft spot in Belinda’s soul. She silently vowed to protect her cousin through whatever happened to them.

How prophetic that vow was she only realized a few days later.

And that was only after everything, and everyone, had calmed down.

“Eh, lass,” Bofur called out to her as she walked back to the group sitting around the small pile of what would have been their fire, but it was only wet wood. “Would you care to take these out to Fili and Kili for me? They’re keeping watch over the ponies.”

He held out two bowls filled with a meager dinner of dried meat and berries, and Belinda took them with a smile, “Of course. I’ll be back in a moment.”

Bounding off into the forest, she walked the pathway down to an old, dilapidated barn where the ponies were being kept.

It was set further into the woods than the house and was just as burnt and disheveled as its counterpart, and again, Belinda wondered what could cause such devastation, and again, she wished to never learn.

Seeing Fili and Kili side by side staring off into the forest beyond the barn, she stepped towards them and held out their meals, “I brought supper. Hope you don’t mind a cold meal, no one could get a fire going in this rain.”

When they didn’t respond, she tracked their gaze and peered into the dark forest around them, “Something wrong?”

“Well,” Fili sighed finally turning to her, “we have a bit of a problem.”

She looked to Kili as he mumbled, “We had sixteen ponies.”

Fili finished for him, “Now we only have fourteen.”

“Oh dear,” Belinda whispered setting down the food atop the fallen tree trunk in front of them. “That is a problem.”

She studied the barn and the ponies behind them, “Should we tell your uncle?” With a little gesture to trail them as they walked around the rest of the ponies to double check they were properly tied, Kili told her with a cheery grin, “No, he’s got more important things to take care of, besides, we wouldn’t want to worry him.” His eyes then gleamed with a sudden thought, “We’ve also got our burglar! I’m sure you can figure out what happened and bring them back.”

She glanced around the area they were in for a second before her eyes fell upon the fallen tree, noting fresh dirt along its roots and she pointed to it as she walked over, “Well, this looks like it was shoved over by something rather big.”

Fili ran a hand along the bark and patted the trunk with a nod, “That’s what we were thinking.”

The sound of branches and twigs snapping in the distance, along with a dull thumping noise that shook the ground below their feet, had all three of them jumping and without a word both brothers took off into the forest.

Belinda leapt over the fallen tree and raced after them only to pause and turn back to grasp the two bowls only to realize that would be stupid of her and left them behind.

She’d almost caught up with them when the crashing noise and thumping underfoot got louder and Belinda barely had enough time to duck behind a tree as a huge figure stepped past them, a squealing pony stuck under each armpit.

“It’s got Myrtle and Minty!” Belinda half whispered to the dwarven princes only feet away behind a tree of their own, her heart ached at the thought of her beloved pony being hurt.

“What was that thing? Was that a troll!?” Belinda asked a bit louder as it disappeared from sight into the thick forest; she knew plenty of stories of trolls from many an old gaffer in the Green Dragon, but to see one with her own eyes was something different altogether.

She suddenly wished very much that Thorin hadn’t run Gandalf off so quickly.

“Yes, that was a troll.” Kili shortly replied, mentioning for her to follow.

They continued trailing the troll until another voice joined his, and yet another chimed in, and the blazing light of a fire was soon to be seen.

Trolls were apparently better fire starters than dwarves.

“Oh no!” Belinda gasped, her mind having grasped at a sudden thought, “Oh they’re going to eat the ponies aren’t they!? We have to do something!”

“Yes, you should,” Kili called out causing her to stare at him blankly as he continued, “Mountain trolls are big and stupid and you’re so small they’ll never see you.”

She started stammering out her refusal, but he gave her a light push forward with an encouraging gesture, “Don’t worry it’s perfectly safe, we’ll be right behind you.”

She looked to Fili for help, but he only nodded in agreement with his brother, “If you run into trouble hoot once like a barn owl and once like a brown owl.”

Belinda soon found herself walking deeper into the woods murmuring, “Twice like a barn owl once like a brown owl.”

Until she stopped both walking and talking when she realized she didn’t know what either owl sounded like and she couldn’t make any sort of bird noise to save her life, and she was quite sure she’d need to know these things to save her life. She turned back to Fili and Kili only to see they had disappeared.

“Well, that’s just wonderful!” she angrily muttered, but in all honesty, she was thankful they hadn’t come along. Traveling with a band of dwarfs the past two months enlightened her on the fact that they were awful at sneaking around.

Both her and Camellia often thought they were the loudest group of people they’d ever met and even when they tried to be quiet, the hobbits felt as if they could be heard for miles.

Without a sound, Belinda crept up to the edge of the fire to stare in disgust at the three grotesque giant creatures bending over the flames.

One grasped at a rag near his dirty trousers and with a sound like a trumpet blew his nose, and it bothered her something fierce to suddenly know that a troll had a handkerchief and not her!

The one to his right, slowly turning a whole sheep over a spit, grumbled, “Mutton today, Mutton yesterday, and blimey if it idn’t mutton tomorrow. Why can’t we be eatn’ on dem nice little beasts you got Tom?”

Belinda saw Tom, the one who had taken Minty and Myrtle, step closer to the fire to pinch off a bit of the sheep only to get his hand smacked away, he growled. “Because, I said so! I take the time to kill this sheep for ya, and now you’r gonna eat it, besides ponies can wait till tomorrow.”

During this conversation that was hovering closely to the lines of becoming a fight, Belinda snuck past the trolls and to the small pen that was holding the ponies. “Don’t worry,” She quieted them down as one started to neigh at the sight of her, and rubbing at one of their noses in comfort, she whispered, “I’ll get you out of here.”

She frantically tugged at the thick knots holding the pen together but they were too tough for her small fingers to unravel, and she felt as if some latent tricky magic had tightened them all the further.

Something gleamed bright in the corner of her vision and she turned to see Bert, the one blowing his nose every few seconds into a large rather obscenely nasty rag he had in hand, had a knife stuck in his belt.

Keeping to the shadows, she inched forward ever so slowly and getting close enough she reached out gently grasped the hilt.

Then she noticed something interesting, she noticed a wallet of all things in the pouch at his waist and Belinda had a sudden hare-brained thought.
She’d been hired on as a burglar, why not take a chance and do some burgerling along the way?

She could easily get both knife and wallet at the same time, they were so close within reach, and the trolls were too distracted to notice her.

Why not?

What could go wrong?

So, with infinite care as she slid the knife from his belt she reached with her other hand and slid the wallet out, but Belinda didn’t know that trolls had special magic too and by some keen trick the wallet screamed almost as soon as it met her hand.

It was then she saw him move and before she could quite comprehend what was happening Belinda found herself snatched up by the troll and into the sticky mess of his handkerchief that had such a smell it sent her gagging.

If given the time she would’ve let go of her dinner, but she didn’t have the thought for barfing at the moment as Burt was screaming out, “Eh, look at what I caught trying to nab me wallet!”

She winced as he tightened his grip around her waist causing her to squirm.

“What is it?” William barked out leaning closer to examine her as Burt began shaking her up and down crying, “Oi! What are you?”

Belinda gasped out, “I-I’m a…bur---" She stopped herself from saying burglar just in time only to squeak out, “Hobbit.”

“Ah Burrohobbit?” Tom sneered, “What in the world is a burrohobbit?”

He didn’t get an answer for at that moment Fili and Kili came bounding out of the shadows.

Fili kicked at the fire causing a spray of embers to cascade into Tom and William and while they cried and stumbled blindly backwards, Kili menacingly ordered, “Put her down!”

“Or what?” Burt held up Belinda for him to see, suddenly flipping her upside down and dangling her overhead which made her squeal in alarm.

Kili’s answer was the rest of the dwarves coming crashing into camp and everything was suddenly turned upside down for Belinda as Burt tossed her to the side.

Luckily for her she was tossed into a bush so most of the fall was broken by the branches, but it still dazed her enough to not be able to comprehend much of anything for a few moments.

She still had sense about her to roll out of the way though as Tom’s feet stomped dangerously close to her.

Camellia in the meantime, having disobeyed the order given by Balin to stay at camp, was dodging between the trolls feet and dwarves in all directions as she searched for something to free the ponies with.

She quickly found a blade lying near the fire, unknowingly picking up the knife Burt used as a toothpick, and she grasped at its hilt to pick it up.

Or at least she tried to pick it up, it was nearly as heavy as her, despite being so small, but she didn’t know that it was another bit of tricky magic placed upon its hilt.

Trolls and dwarves loomed around her in an epic fight and twice she was nearly crushed by a huge foot as she struggled to drag the blade across the camp.

William stumbled near her, and she winced in anticipation of him falling on her, instead he caught his balance but as he did something fell from his disgustingly worn trousers.

Grasping at it as she passed by, Camellia shoved it into her jacket pocket almost without thinking, and ran the rest of the way to the pen holding the ponies.

Like Belinda, she was having trouble with the knots.

“Hey!”

Camellia whorled around to see Tom standing behind her the look on his face had hers paling.

“Get away from there!”

A brilliant, abet crazy, thought scattered through her mind and holding her head high she called back as saucily as she could and with a story ringing in her pointed ears, “Make me, you big stone head fool!”

 It is commonly known that when cave trolls meet with sunlight they turn to stone, and it is even more commonly known that all trolls hated to be reminded of this fact.

Camellia had quite intentionally hit a soft spot.

Tom’s dull eyes blazed at her insult and with a cry of rage he ran toward her.

At the last possible second Camellia dove out of the way and grinned as the ponies galloped into the forest to freedom.

“Stop!”

Camellia looked towards the center of the clearing and paled at the sight before her.

Belinda was struggling to get loose from the two pairs of hands holding her up in the air by her arms.

“Drop you’r weapons or we’ll yank it’s limbs right off!” One of the trolls grinned.

Camellia’s brow furrowed when the dwarves didn’t comply immediately, but as the two trolls tugged at Belinda causing her to cry out, Thorin whipped his head around to glare at them and with metal clanging against metal all weapons were tossed to the ground.

Camellia, her mind being filled with nothing but worry for her cousin, didn’t notice Tom standing up from the broken horse pen until it was too late.

Chapter Text

“Put me down! You put me down right now!” Camellia yelled as the troll waved her around in the air painfully by one foot and she squirmed and struggled to get free.

“You sure we can’t eat just one of ‘em?” Tom asked eyeing her hungrily as he lifted the hobbit to eye level.

He had been tricked into losing the ponies because of this thing and he wanted revenge.

But of course, bringing her to eye level was an unfortunate thing for him to do, for the moment she saw her chance, Camellia bent back her free foot and whacked him as hard as she could in the eye.

With a howl of pain and rage, he let go of the hobbit and she fell to the ground on her back, a look of pain over taking her features as all the air was knocked out of her lungs.

Before she could even think about scrambling away, William picked her up and shoving her upside down in a sack he tossed the hobbit to the side causing her to go tumbling through the air until she landed with a low Omf! on top of Bombur.

Of course, Bombur was none too pleased with having a hobbit, no matter how small, being rammed into his gut, and he cursed the lot of them loudly for it.

Only the ebony-haired tops of Camellia’s feet were to be shown, and they were kicking back and forth rapidly as her muffled screams and cries were heard.

(They were later to learn that a giant bug had decided to roost atop the bridge of her nose and no amount of screaming or squirming had gotten it off.)

Belinda frowned from her place on the ground next to the pile of dwarves around her. Almost half of them had been placed into sacks, some with their heads free like her, and others, like the unfortunate Camellia, had been put in upside down. But none were more unfortunate than the half of the company who had been stripped down to their underclothes, a thing that had Belinda (and Camellia when her head had been uncovered) blushing, and tied to a giant spit where they were now slowly being roasted alive.

Thankfully dwarrow were naturally more fireproof than most and even with being set over such a large fire, those ‘roasting’ were getting little more than ‘toasted’ as it would’ve taken a much larger fire to truly get through their thicker skin.

Still, that didn’t mean that they weren’t getting uncomfortably warm all the same.

The Trolls argued amongst themselves for what seemed to be hours, going back and forth through the notions of roasting the other half of them alive, or peeling them and smoking them, or sitting on them one by one and turning them into jelly.

All this talk had Belinda quaking on the inside but on the outside she just looked annoyed.

Something in her caused her to look towards the giant rock that set just behind the fire’s glow, and as a shadowy figure moved across it in the blink of an eye Belinda knew without a doubt that it was Gandalf.

Her mind raced at the very thought, knowing that whatever he was planning needed time or else he’d have shown himself by now.

“Wait!” Belinda yelled out, causing both the raging Trolls and all the company to look to her.

She struggled to stand to her feet, an awkward thing to attempt with one has been tied up in a sack, and bouncing forward she warned them, “You can’t eat them!”

William leaned forward his glazed eyes squinting at her, “Why naught?”

“B-because…” her mind nearly went blank, but her sharp wits saved her and kept her mouth moving despite its dryness, “You have to prepare them first!”

The trolls actually stopped what they were doing and stared at her.

“And how do you do that?” Tom asked with a sudden snarl, and she nearly felt her courage fail her before she reminded herself that Gandalf was close by and wouldn’t let them harm her or the rest of the company.

“Y-you…well you…” She thought franticly and came up with something insane, “You squish them,” The dwarves protested loudly, and she continued on over their cries, “But not before skinning them!”

They protested even louder, “but of course one can’t skin them before blanching them!”

Their yells were nearly deafening.

“Blanching?” Burt repeated with clear confusion and in spite herself Belinda explained, “bobbing them up and down in a bit of boiling water.”

All three trolls nodded, “Oh, well then, get on it Burt, heat up some water.”

Belinda felt her face paling and as the dwarves around her cried out in protest, she even heard a few insults thrown at her, again she ignored then all to call out, “But wait!”

The trolls surprisingly paused again, they might have captured them but that didn’t mean they weren’t big and stupid, and Belinda carefully stated, “You can’t eat these dwarves at all.”

“What’s stopping us?” Burt all but growled and Belinda having felt her courage weakening by the moment barely managed to squeak out, “They’ve got worms….in their tubes?”

She didn’t quite mean for it to come out in a questioning tone but thankfully the trolls didn’t notice.

Kili behind her cried out, “I don’t have worms…you have worms.”

Belinda turned back to him with a glare that could’ve melted stone, which instantly caused Thorin to whack into his side giving him a glare of his own.

“I’ve got the biggest worms!” Kili quickly changed his mind, and the rest joined with him in a chorus of yelling about worms and parasites.

The trolls, instead of being concerned by this new dilemma, seemed only to grow more and more impatient.

But their impatience was short lived for a figure suddenly appeared atop the crest of a large boulder to everyone’s left.

“Dawn take you all and be stone with you!” Gandalf’s voice boomed as he jabbed the end of his staff against the rock he was standing on.

With a noise louder than thunder the rock split in half and the rising sun shone brightly across the clearing, turning all three trolls to stone.

Gandalf’s first task, after he gave the pile of dwarves on the ground a hard glare, was to help those of the group who were still slowly spinning around on the giant spit over the fire.

After this was done, he moved on to help those who were stuck in sacks upside down, for their predicament was all the much worse considering their noses had been trapped in smelly damp sacks that had used to be filled with things best not mentioned.

Finally, after this was accomplished, the dwarrow roasting were cooling down, the rest of the dwarrow and one little hobbit were free of their sacks, and the brave hobbit had caught both breath and color back, he left them to fend for themselves as he scouted the area.

Belinda, took the sack she’d been stuffed in and balling it up tossed it into the dying embers of the fire with a open look of disgust.

She refused to take in her current state because she knew without a shadow of a doubt she was a mess; a snotty, smelly, mess.

“It is just as I’d thought.” Gandalf told them as he reappeared from the shrubbery, “The trolls have a cave a short distance away.”

He then left again, forcing everyone who was free to follow, excepting those of course who were hastily putting their clothes back on.

Camellia came up to the group consisting of Thorin, Gandalf, Dwalin, Nori, and Bofur, just as the dwarves began to loudly complain.

She heard the words locked, hopeless, and key before she understood that they were talking about the huge door made of rock set in the side of a tall cluster of boulders.

“Oh!” Camellia exclaimed with sudden realization causing all eyes to turn to her, “are you searching for this?”

She took the object she’d seen fall out of Williams pocket from her own, in her hands though it was almost comically large, and Thorin scowled, “Why didn’t you tell us sooner?”

Camellia held out the key for him as he walked up to her and innocently replied, “I would have if I’d known what you were talk’n about.”

Thorin’s glare softened a bit, though his stance was still rigid, when he realized she wasn’t being daft and genuinely hadn’t known what they’d been arguing about.

He tossed Gandalf the key, and though the door was now unlocked it took five of the dwarves to shove it open, and once it was everyone scrambled to higher ground as a foul stench came drafting out.

“What’s down there!?” Camellia gagged, holding her nose and shaking her head as if to clear the smell from her mind.

“Trolls keep everything they have in their caves.” Ori began to tell her after he stopped dry heaving in the bushes, “It’s most likely filled with the bones of their victims including whatever treasure they find, for their rather stingy when it comes to keeping stuff that isn’t there’s.”

She held both hands over her nose, closed her eyes, and stated in a muffled voice, “Well, I for one am keen on staying where I can still breath,” she shivered thinking again of the sack she’d been stuffed into, “I’ve had enough of horrid things for one day.”

Ori volunteered to stay with her and inform her of more light hearted subjects as the others explored the cave, and Belinda, who was keeping up wind noticed out of the corner of her eye that Fili stiffen slightly when her cousin accepted the offer.

Belinda waited for him to say something about staying behind as well but to her surprise Fili turned and walked into the cave, and it was made all the more a surprising action solely by the fact he did so without even a twitch of the nose at the stench evading from cave.

She shook her head at this and taking a few deep breaths of fresh air resolved to enter in as well, but the putrid smell coming from the cave combined with all the gunk, now dried, on her clothes and in her hair made a mixture that was almost too much for her stomach to handle and she was forced to sit a good distance away from the opening to wait out her time until the others reappeared.

She didn’t feel too poorly of herself though because those who entered soon returned, for even the toughest of them couldn’t stay but a few minutes at a time in such filth.

Soon Belinda was forced to move from her spot as Nori, with the help of Dwalin, struggled to carry a huge basket filled to the brim with gold from within its depths past her, and she watched them with interest as they began digging a deep hole before Thorin was stalked past her taking her attention away from what they were doing.

He was carrying a sheathed sword and looked deeply troubled.

Gandalf appearing beside her stopped her from asking Thorin what the matter was, and the wizard held out something for her to take as she looked to him, “Here this is about your size”

She grasped it and immediately tried to give it back, but Gandalf had cleverly let it go the moment her fingers had wrapped around the hilt of the little blade he’d offered her.

“Oh,” she shook her head, feeling her face go pale as she stared at the sword she now held, “I can’t take this.”

Gandalf ignored her rising panic and calmly stated, “The blade is of elvish make, which means it will glow blue when orcs or goblins are nearby.”

Belinda’s mouth pressed into a thin line, and she took a heaving breath, “I…I’ve never used a sword in my life, Gandalf.”

She looked so horribly scared that Gandalf’s kinder side kicked in and he gently told her, “And I hope you never have to.”

His face grew serious. More serious than she’d seen in a long time, “But if you do, remember this. True courage is about knowing not when to take a life, but when to spare one.”

Belinda unsheathed the blade just a tad to study the gleaming metal, finding the edge just faintly etched with runes she couldn’t understand.

She sheathed it and looked up at him, “I’ll try and use it wisely.”

“I know that you will.” He seemed proud of her then looked up at the sky, “Well, I believe we all deserve a bit of a rest before we continue on, and I’m sure you and young Camellia both would like to get cleaned up?”

Belinda felt her face paling again as she realized she was still covered in muck and only Yavanna knew what else, and nodded faintly, “Yes, that would be…nice.”

He seemed amused and was trying hard not to show it and then Thorin stepped up to them, “We should not camp here, this place is far too foul.”
“It won’t be after I’ve finished with it.” The wizard leaned against his staff and looked to the gave with an intent stare, “besides, I’m quite set on putting as many runes on that cave as I can to keep such creatures from ever taking root in there again. It is now much clearer why this land is so desolate; the trolls have run too many men from these hills and in order to keep them from returning my magic needs time to properly set.”

To Belinda’s surprise, Thorin didn’t argue with him, and instead turned his gaze towards her, his eyes quickly roaming over her, “You should get cleaned up while you can, I’ll have a few of the company guard the river for you.”

She blinked and felt her face heating up as he turned before she could say anything in response, and looking to Gandalf she found the wizard curiously turned away from her.

“Very well.” She said in no one in particular, then called out to Camellia to join her.

Chapter Text

To both the hobbits surprise, not only did the dwarves offer to guard the river further upstream to allow them to bathe without fear of anything or anyone bothering them, but they could also hear them taking a chance to get a good wash in as well.

As both hobbits stripped down to their chemises and underthings, Camellia all but leapt into the water leaving her cousin to descend in a more proper manner.

While Belinda stuck to the shallows along the bank and took her time to carefully wash her hair, Camellia ventured out far enough to make her worried she’d be dragged away by the current and watched as her cousin dipped in and out from under the water and thoroughly enjoy herself.

Shortly after they entered the water, they could hear the dwarves singing some rowdy tavern song and both hobbits had a good laugh at their choice of melody.

Soon, Belinda couldn’t help but hum her own little song as she bathed and Camellia, wading back towards her, picked it up and as they both washed, they sand loudly a cheery tune Belinda’s mother used to sing at bathtimes,

Sing hey! for the bath at close of day

that washes the weary mud away!

A loon is he that will not sing:

O! Water Hot is a noble thing!

This went on for a few more verses, and of course there was no hot water to be had at the moment, but the little song and cheerful melody lifted their spirits far more than anything else might have, and both found their fears washing away from their hearts as the dirt and grime washed from their skin.

What’s more, is that as they sang, they could slowly hear the dwarves picking up on the tune and soon they listened in as they made up new verses to the song and both joined as the company sand loudly in the distance,

O! Water cold we may pour at need

down a thirsty throat and be glad indeed;

but better is Beer if drink we lack,

and Water Hot poured down the back.

Of course both hobbits found it amusing the dwarves picked their merry little tune up and began singing of beer and of all other good drinks to be had. Soon enough though, they put their clothes back on, rung what water they could from their curls and didn’t mind that they were thoroughly soaked through and dripping as they climbed up the little hill back to the troll caves.

Everyone was in a far greater mood than before and more than ready to leave, and as they made their way back to where Gandalf was they found he had used a bit of clever magic in conjunction with runes the dwarves made earlier to close off the Troll cave in a safe and proper manner.

They all agreed to come back much later when their journey was completed to gather the gold that lay inside, but for now the combined magic of both wizard and dwarf would hold steady until they could return.

As both hobbits walked towards the group, a sudden noise had them turning, and as Belinda pulled Camellia to a stop, they both listened intently to the forest around them.

It was an odd sound, unlike anything both had ever heard, and it was growing steadily louder, is if coming steadily towards them, and it alarmed them both.

Gandalf in the distance noticed and as Belinda realized the others hadn’t picked up on the odd noise, Belinda called out to him, “Something’s headed this way!”

Thorin immediately ordered to the company, “Arm yourselves!”

Everyone moved into action.

Belinda grabbed Camellia by the arm and all but shoved her towards the company and as she unsheathed her new sword, she quickly studied the blade for any signs of light.

Unblemished silver steel was all that met her gaze.

At least that meant there were no orcs or goblins nearby but that didn’t mean she wasn’t nervous all the same. 

She rushed up next to Fili and Oin just as a voice wailed out, “Thieves! Fire! Murder!”

The dwarves around her readied themselves and she weakly raised her sword without the faintest idea how to fight, and as her eyes locked with Camellias on the other side of the group, they all watched in bewilderment as a sled being pulled by great rabbits crashed through the shrubbery.

Belinda blinked, rubbed her eyes, and blinked again.

Her mind wasn’t playing tricks on her at all; she truly was staring at a dozen rabbits the size of large cats pulling to a very sudden stop a sled made of scraps of branches and twigs and seemingly held together by string.

So sudden was the stop in fact that the crazed looking man, nearly went tumbling off and over the front of the odd sled.

“Ah Radagast!” Gandalf called out in a relieved tone, making everyone around him relax slightly.

“Radagast the Brown.” Gandalf announced as the man, the wizard, stepped off the sled. 

Even though his welcome had been friendly enough, Belinda definitely heard a bit of annoyance in the grey wizard’s voice as he asked, “What on earth are you doing here?”

“I…I was…I was looking for you, Gandalf!” Radagast breathlessly told him, glancing around him as he spoke, his eyes landed for a split second on Belinda, and she noted that he spotted and stared at Camellia rather hard before he looked back to Gandalf. “Something’s wrong, something’s terribly wrong.”

The grey wizard raised his bushy eyebrows in slight confusion, “Yes?”

Radagast’s face blanked, “Ah, just give me a minute,” he frowned, “oh, I had a thought, it was right there, it was on the tip of my tongue...” He trailed off suddenly, looking around the group with his bushy brows pinched together as his gaze landed on Belinda, and he stared at her hard enough and long enough that she grew nervous and looked around for help.

Then his eyes were snapping back on Gandalf, and he stated plainly, “The greenwood, its dying.”

“Dying?” Gandalf sounded concerned enough it got all of their attention, and they listened intently as Radagast told him of the sickness that had fallen over the forest he called Greenwood, and Belinda’s fears grew as she recognized that the longer Radagast spoke the more Gandalf’s expression soured.

Suddenly the gray wizard pulled the newer one aside and as they walked further off to converse amongst themselves, Belinda found Camellia wandering slowly toward their direction.

“Stop that.” She ordered in a half whisper and Camellia shrugged, her feet still shuffling towards the wizards and their distant conversation, “Doing what?”

“That.” Belinda pointedly told her and Camellia shrugged again, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Camellia.”

“Belinda.”

Her cousin looked innocent and meek, still shuffling away, and Belinda quickly looked around and saw only Nori was noticing their odd behavior, and seemed more than amused by it, and she quickly moved towards her.

As she caught her cousin by the arm to pull her away from the secret discussion between the wizards, she froze as she heard what they were talking about.

This time when she glanced to her cousin, she found all Camellia’s slyness gone under an expression of worry and both listened in as the wizards talked of dangerous and dark things.

Belinda, noticing movement out of the corner of her eye, glanced to the side to find Thorin had moved in closer to listen in as well.

He seemed almost concerned by the expressions on their faces but they both knew questions couldn’t be asked at the moment.

A few minutes more listening in, and Belinda found herself frowning as she realized that this Greenwood, the forest that lay directly in their path to the lonely mountain, and its slow decay was most certainly going to be an issue later on for the company.

Another quick glance at Thorin found his expression was showing he felt much the same and then the wizard Radagast was saying something that had them all freezing.

“…it is a shadow of an ancient horror,” The brown wizard was almost tremored with a quiet sort of terror that instilled terror in them to know that a wizard could become so afraid,  and they all froze as he stated, “one that can summon the spirits of the dead.”

Camellia reached out grasped Belinda’s arm and murmured in a half-strained voice, “Do they speak of burrow wights?”

Belinda quickly shook her head, “No…I don’t think so, burrow wights don’t leave the burrow downs.”

“As far as we know they don’t.” Camellia replied faintly and Thorin suddenly murmured, “Whatever they speak of is not our concern. Do not worry yourself with wizards and their troubles,” Belinda saw he was looking to Camellia as he spoke, “We have enough troubles of our own to deal with.”

She was thankful he’d even taken the effort the consul Camellia because her cousin did seem a bit less troubled for it, and then he was gesturing to the hobbits with a sharp tilt of his head, and they made their way back towards the company a bit more somber than before.

Camellia made herself useful by helping Bombur look over their food supplies, some packs had been all but trampled by the Trolls during the fight and he wanted to take inventory again before they left, and Belinda made herself useful by staying out of the way of everyone and trying not to look as worried as she felt.

A wail filled the air, sending chills up Belinda’s spine and as she drew closer to Bofur, they looked to one another, “Is that a wolf?”

“No,” he shook his head, concern clearly showing on his face, “That is not a wolf”

Then, much like before, Belinda heard the noise at the exact same time as Camellia, and as both their heads whipped around towards the sound, she found herself frozen with fear at the sight of a great mangy beast creeping up over the rock side towards the company.

Camellia spotted it a moment after she did and stumbling backwards let loose a gasp of alarm, Belinda didn’t even have enough time to cry out in warning as the beast, locking onto her cousin as she was the only one to move, leapt towards Camellia only to fall to the forest floor writhing as Thorin leapt between it and its prey and took it down with a few slashes from his sword.

Another beast attacked from the other side and was quickly dispatched by Dwalin and Gloin, and Thorin sneered at the creature he’d killed as he removed its blade from its throat.

“Warg scouts.” He studied the forest around them, “which means an orc pack is not far behind. We’re being hunted.”

“Who did you tell about your quest beyond your kin?” Gandalf seemed to appear before Thorin and in response Thorin barked out, “No one!”

“Who did you tell!?” Gandalf questioned again, and they could hear a tremor of something terrifying in his voice. Fear.

This time Thorin answered grimly, “No one.”

“What’s going on, Gandalf?” Belinda questioned breathlessly and the wizard set his mouth into a thin line, “We’re being hunted.”
The wails of great beasts in the distance echoed through the forest as Gandalf closed his eyes for a moment, and Belinda drew her blade just enough to look at the steel and found it faintly glowing in a way that had her stomach twisting to knots. If the color and brightness were any indication there were orcs nearby, and plenty of them, but not close enough yet to find them.

Then Gandalf was looking to them all, “We must run for it. We have no other choice.”

“I’ll lead them away!” Radagast leapt onto the back of the sled with a sudden strength that was at odds to his hunched over form and strange nature.

“You’ll be caught!” Gandalf objected as he stepped up to his side and the brown wizard smiled, “I still have a few tricks up my sleeve, old friend.”
There was a moment of silence as the pair stared at each other and then Radagast was nodding as another distinct wail filled the air, “We won’t go down without a fight!”

With a sudden flick of his wrists the reigns in his hands snapped and the rabbits took off, as he disappeared into the woods, Gandalf called out to them all, “Follow me!”

So, they ran, and ran, and ran, until the woods fell away and transformed into great plains of golden grass.

Scattered here and there were outcroppings of great boulders, just big enough to hide their company but scarce enough to make racing between them a dangerous thing.

Camellia kept close to Ori and Ori to her and as they raced across the grasslands, he kept putting himself between her and the sounds of the orc pack chasing them, though she could tell he was just as scared as she was. She thought him rather brave for it.

As for Belinda, she kept close to Gandalf and the leader of the company, for both kept glancing back and making sure she was keeping pace with them, and as they rushed towards one of the larger sections of boulders, Thorin’s arm suddenly caught her and pressed her back against the rocks as the calls from the wargs around them sounded off much closer than before.

Belinda realized with a shudder that one of the scouts was on top of the boulder they were nestled up against.

With his arm keeping her pinned, Thorin suddenly nodded at Kili on the other side of her, and with a nod of his own, Kili moved quickly and surprisingly quietly for his stature and knocking back an arrow he shot the scout.

The only issue was that the scout didn’t die quietly and screeched and cried and cursed so intensely that Belinda felt ill and within moments the sounds and cries in the distance grew louder as the orc pack realized where they were.

“Run!” Gandalf cried, “Don’t think about staying hidden just run!”

As they ran, the company broke into sections as small packs of orcs and their wargs rushed upon them, but each group were quick dispatched the wargs and their riders to keep from being cut off from the others completely.

The biggest issue was keeping up with Gandalf as they became separated from the group he led.

Soon enough Belinda found herself startlingly far from Camellia, and her cousin being paired with only Ori was currently facing off a warg on their own.

Ori made a desperately brave attempt to scare the beast off with the small slingshot he carried as Camellia did her best to scoop up rocks and began pelting both beast and orc with well-aimed hits of her own. Though their hits landed their marks, all it did was seem to make the beast angrier and the orc sitting atop it grinned cruelly as he urged his mount onwards, and then Belinda was relieved to find Fili rush toward them. With intense accuracy he flung one of the knives he was so skilled in at the orc and she watched as the knife imedded itself deep into the orcs throat causing the horridus creature to fall to one side dead, and because it was still attached to the harness it sent the warg stumbling to one side which gave Fili the opportunity to take down the beast with another pair of well-aimed daggers.

Then he was leading them towards the rest of the group and as the pair trailed Fili towards Gandalf and the relative safety of larger numbers, Belinda found herself in trouble as she turned around and watched an orc scrambling over the boulder, they were rushing past to cut her off from the rest.

Coming to a stop, she unsheathed her blade and held it between them but despite her best efforts to look brave the sword in her hands trembled.

The orc studied it and then a twisted smile lifted the corners of his mouth as he realized quite rightly she had no skill in using such things and as he rushed towards her with a sudden cry, a figure was leaping between her and it, and Belinda could only watch as Thorin in two quick moves slashed the orc across the waist and then at the neck.

The sight of its headless body falling to the ground was eclipsed by Thorin grabbing her by the arm and pushing her forward, “Move!”

She did as she was told, ignoring everything to focus on running and she somehow managed to sheath her blade again as she ran and found Gandalf at last.

The wizard was ordering the dwarves into a small gap between two large boulders and Belinda was relieved to find both Camellia and Ori in the group waiting their turn.

“Go, Camellia, go!” Belinda cried out to her cousin as she refused to jump without her, she could tell just by the set of Camellia’s brows she was hesitating to do so, and she felt a rush of relief hit her as Bifur grabbed Camellia around the waist and jumped for the both of them.

As her cousin’s scream faded in the distance, Belinda put on an extra burst of speed and leapt head over heels into the space the others had disappeared to and soon found herself tumbling aimlessly heels over head as she painfully rolled down a steep incline.

Finally coming to a stop, she gingerly picked herself off the ground, tensing as she searched for any broken bones and thankfully only found what she knew would later be dark wine-colored bruises, and she looked up to find the rest of the company picking themselves off the ground around her.

Then, something was crashing into her, and Belinda went tumbling over again only for that something to land almost on top of her and she looked up to find Thorin staring down at her.

If romantic scenarios were to be had in such ways, this was certainly not one of them.

Instead of their eyes locking and new possibilities blossoming between them, Belinda only had the breath left to painfully wheeze out, “Get off me.”

He did just that, quickly scrambling off her and even going so far as to offer her a hand up but she refused them all with a frantic wave of her hand and then all attention was drawn to the opening overhead as a new sound echoed through the air.

Loud and clear the trumpets call sounded off and its very bright and almost silvery tone sent a sudden spark of hope swelling up within her.

Belinda stumbled backwards and was caught by Dori as an orc came tumbling down the hole and landed far too close by her feet for comfort.

It was dead, an arrow protruding from its body, and as Thorin reached down and savagely plucked it free he studied the arrow tip before throwing it to the ground with a near snarl, “Elves.”
There was no love lost between elves and dwarves, even hobbits knew of the unbroken line of hate between both races, but even Belinda thought this a bit extreme considering the elves were clearly solving their orc problem overhead.

“Let us move on, and quickly,” Gandalf ordered the company as he moved past the dead orc, “We must make haste to put as much distance between us and the orc pack as possible.”

As the rest of the company were quick to take the sound advice of the wizard Thorin looked more than a tad suspicious, “Where are you leading us to, Gandalf?”

Gandalf curiously didn’t answer and as he moved on Belinda had a moment to shoot Thorin a bewildered look of her own before she was trailing the wizard.

The path through the ravine they were in bent and weaved, this way and that, that way and this, and twice Bombur got stuck so fast both hobbits were worried they wouldn’t be able to free him, but at last the space between the rocks opened and the air grew sweeter and cleaner.

Closer to the front of the company now, Belinda trailed her cousin and suddenly with a gasp Camellia took off in a run around a bend.

“Camellia!” Belinda cried, trailing her hot on her heels, but her own curiosity overwhelmed the worry she felt as her ears picked up on a curious noise.

The ravine suddenly widened and dropped off at one side to show a lush valley of trees and rivers below, and all was forgotten at the sight of the beautiful sprawling buildings nestled deep within the valley and over the rivers and among the trees like spires of the softest white and most elegant gold.

They glittered in the setting sun and the rivers and waterfalls surrounding them were almost aflame with light.

“Welcome to the last homely house,” Gandalf’s voice called out softly, “The city of Rivendell, managed by the wise elven lord, and my dear friend, Elrond.”

Chapter Text

Belinda stuck close to her cousin as they traversed a dangerous path into the ravine and eventually the rough stone trail they’d been following turned to paved rock and smooth brick and Belinda was in awe at the beauty around her.

It seemed everywhere she looked the valley they were in was dipped in the most richest emeralds, the trees were full and laden with both boughs and leaves, and while they had all but passed the blooming season of spring flowers there were still plenty more scattered around the well-kept lawns and delicious looking alcoves she could see in the distance connected to the buildings and on the sides of lavish gardens.

And the buildings! Such architecture astounded her; everything was rich and warm, the colors of the roofs were in shades of reds and oranges, the color of the stonework of the buildings a soft cream, Belinda could easily see that in the autumn months the buildings would blend perfectly among the fall foliage.

As it was now, they stood out beautifully among the emerald greens of a fine summer valley. For the rivers that ran through everything though, Belinda couldn’t help but feel slightly weary of them even though they were gorgeous.

She kept Camellia’s hand tight as they crossed over one of the bridges to enter a large courtyard, more than half afraid her cousin might fall into the valley so far below.

As they trailed the company into the courtyard a figure awaited them in the distance and as he took the long set of stairs leading downwards, Belinda could see he was very clearly an elf. His hair was long but was pulled back from his face enough to show a fine pair of pointed ears, and despite the slight widening of his eyes at the sight of so many dwarves before him, Belinda thought he looked rather kind.

The elf hesitated slightly as the steps leveled out and he stood before them, and though the dwarves thought it was because of them and bristled all the more in response, in actuality, it was because he caught sight of the two little hobbits at the back of the group beaming up at him in clear delight.

Both were looking on him in varying mixtures of awe and excitement, Belinda of course being far more subtle than her cousin who was grinning widely and in cheerful greeting, and though he had lived many years, this would be the first meeting Lindr of Rivendell had with the fair little folk of the Shire.

Recovering smoothly, he looked to Gandalf as the wizard stepped out from the group, “Mithrandir!”

And Gandalf greeted him as an old friend, “Lindir!”

They spoke softly in the elvish tongue for a few moments and then Gandalf announced in Westron so that all could hear, “I must speak with Elrond.”

The elf dipped his head in a sigh of respect and pressed his hand against this chest, “I’m afraid to say that Lord Elrond is not here.”
“Oh?” Gandalf raised a brow, “where is he?”

Before Lindir could reply, the call of a horn pierced the air and Belinda recognized it as the one they had heard as clear as a bell after they’d tumbled into the secret entrance to the valley.

She knew the elves were on their way and turning she found she could spot a rather large group of them on horseback galloping down a larger valley path than the one they’d taken earlier.

Thorin suddenly cried out something in khazdul and Belinda had no time to squeak in protest like Camellia as they were both unceremoniously caught up by the company and pulled into its center as a pack of dogs might have guarded their young.

Both weren’t too pleased about it either, but had no way of saying so, as they were caught up in watching half a dozen horses and elves ride across the dangerous bridge and begin circling the group.

All in unison, though no command had been given, the elves reared their horses in to a stop and turned their weapons on the company, and as the dwarves readied themselves for a fight, an armored and shining elf broke from the line up and stepped from his horse to greet Gandalf with a welcoming smile.

His face was open and his eyes kind, though as he glanced towards the dwarves armed and waiting for them to strike, he seemed wholly unaffected by their intense stares.

A brief conversation was to be had between him and Gandalf, for this was the lord the house, Elrond, and the pair had been friends for many a century.

Then, the kingly elven lord turned towards the group and looked to Thorin, “Welcome Thorin son of Thrain.”

Though Belinda couldn’t’ see his face she could sense his distrust as Thorin stated, “I do not believe we have met.”

Elrond shook his head slightly with an almost sad look in his eyes, “You have your grandfathers baring. I knew Thror when he ruled under the mountain.”

“Indeed?” Thorin questioned with a slight raise of his head, “he made no mention of you.”

If Belinda’s leg could’ve reached that far she would’ve kicked Thorin right on his backside, but lord Elrond again seemed unaffected and merely turned to the rest of the company, “I welcome you all to Imladris. Though in your tongue it is more commonly known as Rivendell.”

“It is not!” Dwalin objected loudly but the elven lord all but ignored him as he smiled at the two little hobbits who moved forward to greet him, “Ah, it has been many years since our presence has been graced by one of the fair folk from the Shire, I welcome you both Belinda Baggins and Camellia Brandybuck to the valley. May you all find rest and peace here for as long as you stay.”
They glanced at one another for neither had a chance to tell him of their names and Gandalf certainly hadn’t the time but Belinda took it all with grace and the knowledge that elves had many tricks up their sleeves and likely more ways of getting information to them than any in Arda.

Curtsying as best she could while not wearing skirts, she stated slowly but properly in a bit of the Sindarin that her mother had taught her long ago, “It is an honor to meet you lord Elrond.”

Open gasps of disgust and shock sounded off from behind her, but she ignored the company’s rudeness at her speaking elvish as Elrond looked more than touched that she’d made such a rudimentary attempt at it.

Camellia greeted him in a plainer manner, and stepping forward held out her hand with a friendly smile, “Also, thank you for saving us back there. We likely would’ve been a wargs dinner if you hadn’t gotten them before they got us.”
Elrond bent slightly to take her small hand within his and shook it with a sort of grace to make the whole exchange seem smooth and proper even though Belinda could tell he likely hadn’t shaken a hand in centuries, if ever.

“Think nothing of it, Miss Brandybuck. My sons and I often go hunting along the plains surrounding our fair city, and I am glad we could be of service. Now,” He stood and held out his hands in a welcoming gesture, “If I could speak to Mithrandir and the leader of your company for a moment alone.” Gandalf stepped forward without hesitation, but Thorin stayed put for long enough that Belinda found her fighting the sudden urge to kick him in the butt to get him moving, he had after all moved closer to her side the moment Elrond had stepped closer to them in greeting.

It took the obvious raising of Gandalf’s bushy brows for him to give off a disgruntled sigh and move forward at last, but once he did the two little hobbits found themselves being pulled back into the fray behind them and a thousand questions poured in to Belinda as to why she knew Sindarin.

She ignored them all and waved her hands in desperate attempt for them all to quiet down, the other elves who had surrounded them had yet to leave and though most had dismounted she knew they were close enough to hear them all, and Belinda heard Ori ask Camellia in an almost pained tone, “Do you speak it too?”

Camellia shook her head, “No, but I wish I did, it sounds rather pretty…sort of like a song.”
The chorus of groans and obvious disappointment met their ears and then Thorin was peeling off from where he’d been conversing with Gandalf and Elrond and he looked none too happy.

“We stay here for the time being.”

Another chorus of groans and objections met him, but he silenced them all with a pointed glare, clearly wanting to voice his own but knowing better, and he took in a slow breath before stating, “The elf has offered us shelter and food. We will take advantage of it for as long as we can, once we regroup and refill our supplies, we leave.”
Though disgruntled the others didn’t have much to say in the way of argument, especially considering Thorin was their leader and in spite of everything he was right.

Belinda found herself being shaken thoroughly as Camellia latched onto her arm and practically jumped up and down, “We get to stay with the elves!”
Though just as excited, she hid it far better as Thorin’s gaze landed on her, and she met his eyes with a sort of primness than Camellia certainly wasn’t showing at the moment.

He might not like it, but they all needed a good rest, and what better place to do it than in the safe haven of the elves?

……………………………………

Some hours later, the company had been led to given a cluster of rooms to stay in, practically their own wing in one of the bigger houses along the slow murmuring river, and the two little hobbits found themselves for the first time in rooms all to themselves with beds big enough to hold a bundle of hobbits much less one.

Both hobbits were awestruck and almost overwhelmed by the sights around them and even more so by the presence of elves that spoke so gently and almost floated from place to place.

It wasn’t until one attendant mentioned the state of their clothes and offered to mend any items they wished that the pair realized the elves didn’t wish for anything in return other than a few stories of their journey as payment.

The very first thing Belinda dared to ask for on her own was a bath and Camellia quickly asked the same once she knew that was an option.

……

Camellia squealed like a little girl when she saw the wonderful bath that had been drawn for them and Belinda wasn’t too far off in joining her.

The vast room was elegantly tiled, smooth underfoot and polished to perfection, curtains around the edge of the great stone arches gave the area privacy but there was still enough of an opening to look out towards a waterfall on one side to give it a picturesque sight of the valley.

In the center of the room was a huge tub carved into the floor, something just perfectly sized for an elven lady, but wonderfully vast for two little hobbits.

Steam rose up from the water’s surface and it was scattered with both flower petals in varying colors and bubbles aplenty and it looked an absolute dream after cold rain, and rivers, trolls and wargs.

Both felt as if they could’ve spent a lifetime soaking away their aches, pains, and fears, and as Belinda gave a little sigh of disappointment after they’d been just sitting there for a good half hour in knowing they’d have to leave soon, Camellia suddenly slid underneath the water.

There was a moments worth of panic before her cousin was shooting up and splashing her all over, and Belinda shielded herself as a shriek of laughter escaped her, then, after a moment’s hesitation she gave the water a mighty slap and threw a good wave back into Camellia’s face.

Thus ensued a war of waves between them and by the time one of the elven ladies who had offered to attend to them returned, they were soaked head to toe, covered with bubbles, flower petals stuck in their damp hair, and laughing with an ease they hadn’t felt in weeks.

After they’d both dried off and were wrapped in numerous fluffy towels, Belinda found their clothes gone and at her look of alarm, the elven woman smiled softly, “I hope you don’t mind that we took the liberty of washing and mending your traveling clothes.”

“Not at all!” Belinda cried while Camellia murmured, “Yavanna bless you!”

Thus, they were given new clothes to mend the gap while their others dried, elven in make, soft in texture and color, and in a style very unusual to what they knew.

Both dresses were scoop necked, with long sleeves that ticked the tops of one’s hands, both skirts were long but had been gathered at the waist to accommodate their short statures, though Belinda wondered at just how they’d been able to adjust the hems perfectly without measuring them, and both were clearly former garments of some elven princess when she’d been young.

Camellia’s was a soft gold, embellished lightly at the neck and cuffs of her sleeves with real silver thread, while Belinda’s was a pale blue embellished with similar design in a dazzling gold thread.

They pulled Camellia’s dark curls from around her face and left most cascading down her back so that her ears showed beautifully, but for Belinda they gathered all her curls and wove them into a bun at the nape of her neck, somehow managing to hold it all together with a single silver comb.

When they were through, the kind attendant retreated and left the two hobbits to stare at their reflections in the wide mirror they’d been set before as she’d fixed their hair.

“My oh my,” Camellia sighed as she studied her reflection and found a much different hobbit staring back at her, “if only my sisters could see me now!”

“If only my mo—” Belinda trailed off suddenly at the thought and without warning Camellia turned her by the shoulders to face her, reached up, and pinched the sides of her face lightly but firmly and in a few short bursts.

“Camellia!” She protested in shock, but the young hobbit continued until she was satisfied and then pointed to the mirror, “There! Now you’ve got a bit of roses in your cheeks.”

She leaned forward and did the same to herself and then chewed at her lips causing them to flare a bit redder, “Those dwarves never did get the chance to see us in our Shire’s finest, I suppose Rivendell’s finest will have to do for now.”

“I doubt they lent us their very finest.” Belinda objected, but on the inside, she was rather curious as to what the reactions from the company would be.

After all, they had been travelling with them dressed rather unusually for two hobbit lasses; pants, button ups, and waist coats were usually only reserved for men.  Only those women who dared adventuring like they were or used to taking long walks around Hobbiton really took the time to invest in a solid pair of breeches.

Camellia stood and gave a little twirl which caused her cousin to laugh and silently approve of the way the fullness in her skirts dress made her appear a bit more hobbitish than elven, “Come on, come on! I can’t wait for a nice hot dinner and a long night’s sleep!”

Belinda couldn’t argue that and together they left the room with arms linked and laughter flowing freely.

The peace of the valley was contagious, and they found Elrond’s house was easy to enjoy oneself in, even if it was for just a moment.

…………….

Camellia made sure to dart ahead of Belinda just before they stepped out into the open-air veranda where dinner had been set up so that she could catch sight of something important.

If any looks were sent her way, she was oblivious to them as she caught sight of Thorin and Thorin caught sight of her, and she gave him a grin that could’ve melted butter.

His expression was carefully controlled, though she was certain she saw a bit of shock at just how elven she’d been dressed.

Camellia didn’t give a twig about what he thought of her though, and she was rewarded for her scheming when Belinda stepped into view behind her.

Thorin’s expression was still so seriously neutral, but the moment he caught sight of Belinda it faltered just enough to see past his look of indifference.

If she hadn’t been staring at him so intently, she wouldn’t have seen it, it happened so fast, as it was, he looked bewitched, then he scowled, and then he turned away from them, and she was only all the happier for it.

If he’d gone all lovey on her over Belinda, she’d have resented him, he’d be no different to every other hobbit who’d tried to seduce her cousin for her money in the Shire. Instead, his scowl indicated he wasn’t looking to fall in love with anyone and Camellia found that that created the best matches of all, it made her wonder if he was suddenly thinking about how her cousin would look far better dressed in a different sort of finery.

Such as how a more dwarven style of dress might suit her lovely cousin?

For now, Camellia was content, and she slinked away deeper into the company to let Thorin get as many glances at Belinda without her knowing as possible before dinner began.

The moment they were all settled, and the first plates arrived, Kili, who she was seated to the right of, paid her compliment.

“You look like a great pat of butter, Camellia.” His grin belayed his words, and it caused Camellia grin back at him.

“Why thank you!” She pulled a single curl free from the twisting style that kept it from her face and toyed with it around one finger, “That’s the first thing that came to mind when I saw myself in the mirror.”

He snickered and then made a face as his brother, seated across from them, threw a roll at his head and it bounced off with a surprisingly dense sound.

Fili stated firmly, “Leave her be, Kili. They probably took her traveling clothes to mend. Besides,” He then looked directly at Camellia and his gaze was intent, “I think you look nice.”

Camellia didn’t need to pinch her cheeks to get any color in them anymore, his soft-spoken compliment was enough to have her suddenly wishing he’d look elsewhere just so she could recover.

It was clear Fili saw the effect his compliment had too, as he suddenly hid a smile from behind the cup he lifted to his mouth.

Beside her, Kili snickered again and she just barely restrained elbowing him as hard as she could, the only thing truly stopping her being the elven attendants standing around the tables in waiting.

Meanwhile, Belinda was listening intently to the conversation that flowed between Elrond, Gandalf, and Thorin.

At the mention of their elven blades, she frowned and pursed her lips, but beside her Balin gave her arm a gentle pat, “I don’t think it’ll be of any use asking about your sword, Miss Baggins. It doesn’t seem as if it had the chance to do any great deeds like the others,” he then smiled softly, “it seems more of a letter opener than a real blade.”

Belinda nodded, trying not to feel disappointed and not sure why she felt so keenly on the subject, for some reason it felt demeaning to refer to her nice elven blade as letter opener of all things.

As the conversation drifted and she handed her cup over for the attendant to refill her drink with a murmured thanks, Belinda caught Thorin gazing at her again out of the corner of her eye.

Her cheeks felt warm, and she wished Camellia hadn’t pinched them so hard, but even if Camellia hadn’t pinched her, she wasn’t so sure her face would’ve been any less red.

She wanted nothing more than to focus on the very lovely hot meal before her, after so many eaten cold or in the rain, or the dark, or on horseback, it was such a treat to be served something warm and fresh and quiet well prepared, but Thorin at the edge of her gaze was unnerving her enough to actually tarnish her dinner.

To think! A hobbits dinner interrupted again by such dwarves.

She supposed it came easy to them, to come bursting into a hobbits life and deny them a simple meal, after all that’s how she’d come to be part of their company, but Yavanna held them if they continued to make every meal uncomfortable for her!

At last, as they finished up dinner, she left as the rest of the company began getting rowdy and being far too improper for how well they were being treated, and finding Camellia had managed to slip away Belinda was more than a bit surprised to find her cousin already making friends.

They had been introduced earlier that afternoon to Elrond’s twin sons, Elrohir and Elladan, and Camellia was walking side by side with the pair as she clearly made her way back to her room.

For a moment Belinda hesitated, not knowing if she should be worried or not her cousin was already befriending anyone, but then one of the twins was glancing behind as if he sensed she was there, and he gestured her forward with a smile that eased Belindas fears.

The walk back to her rooms was far more pleasant than she thought it would be, and Belinda surprisingly found she was enjoying herself and the lighthearted conversation that flowed freely between the pair of twins.

That night, Camellia appeared at the edge of her bed and without a word Belinda moved aside to make room for her, they had spent far too many nights under the stars nestled nearby and Belinda was grateful her cousin had been the first to find her because if she hadn’t Belinda had been moments away from finding Camellia.

Chapter Text

They had been in Rivendell for a few wonderfully relaxing days when a bit of mischief between the dwarves and elves happened that found both the hobbits at its center.

Belinda could’ve easily lost herself wandering around the elven city but she soon found that a dwarf was never too far away from her at any given time.

At first, she wondered why, but she quickly realized that the rest of the company thought the elves were apparently going to whisk her and her cousin away from them forever.

Despite objections against such notions, the company didn’t leave them alone and when both hobbits made a plea to Gandalf for help, the wizard merely shook his head with a twinkle in his eye that clearly told that while he was amused he could do nothing to compel the dwarves to leave them be.

The dwarves were so openly distrustful of the elves that Belinda was amazed at lord Elrond’s patience in letting them grace the halls of his home.

She found Elrond a more than admirable host and after a chat by the fireside one afternoon she also found him a sympathetic one as well. Her first meeting with the company was thoroughly discussed and they found themselves rather kindred spirits when it came to such topics.

As it was, things came to a head on the afternoon when Camellia slipped away from the company to enjoy one of the gardens nestled around the elven city.

Belinda had taken advantage of an earlier offer from lord Elrond to search the vast library for something good to read and thus wasn’t able to keep her cousin out of mischief.

……………………….

While Camellia knew the names of all the flowers she saw by heart, she was in awe of how gorgeously deep the colors of the petals were in the elven city.

It was as if every flower had been dipped in the richest of paints, even the grass underfoot was as soft as silk and as green as emeralds.

Or so she supposed, she’d never really seen an emerald before, she just knew by all accounts they were a rather beautiful green. She supposed she would soon see her fill of emeralds if Mr. Balin’s tales of what lay for them in the lonely mountain were true, but such thoughts were far from her mind as she enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine and the sound of constant roaring waterfalls in the distance.

Glancing around the covered stone walkway that ran around the large garden, Camellia found herself quite alone and took the opportunity to run to the thickest patch of grass she could find and flopped face down into it.

Joy filled her as she rolled around in the grass and as she turned onto her back, she found two shining faces staring down at her.

She was too happy to scream at their sudden appearance, and knowing them instantly, she was neither afraid or embarrassed at being caught.

Sitting up and shaking the grass from her curls, she grinned up at them, “Hello, Elrohir, Elladan.”

“Hello, Camellia!” Elladan stated cheerfully while his twin greeted her in a more reserved manner, “Good afternoon, Miss Brandybuck.”

Over the past few days Camellia had found herself befriending lord Elrond’s twin sons, though she’d been trailed by more than one of the company during their wanderings around the valley as they showed her around, they had managed twice now to escape prying eyes and had taken her to the tallest of waterfalls and the deepest of the dells to explore.

Despite only knowing them for the better part of a week, they reminded her so much of her older brothers Dodonas and Dinodas that Camellia ached to see them again and spending time with them lessened that aching in her heart just a tad.

She soon found out that most who didn’t know them closely couldn’t tell the pair apart, for they were almost perfectly identical in looks, and they used that bit of knowledge to its highest advantage, telling her all sorts of tales of such grand pranks and jokes she felt in awe of what they’d been able to accomplish.

Though she knew them to be over a thousand years old, at times, Camellia found they were as young as she was.

Standing and barely coming waist level to the two tall elven warriors, Camellia looked to Elladan as he was struggling to hide a mischievous expression, “What are your plans for the day? Do you wish to go exploring? I still have to teach the pair of you the best way to tie a fish hook you know.”

While skilled in much, when Camellia had suggested they go fishing along one of the rivers one afternoon, she’d found surprisingly enough that neither one had fished much and she’d vowed to teach them her best secrets.

The twins exchanged a look and this time Elrohir spoke up, “We have to train today, little one, but tomorrow I promise we will take you on another adventure in the valley and let you teach us how to listen to the river.”

“Training!” She gasped at the very thought, “With swords and bows and everything? May I watch? Oh, I’d love to watch! Oh! Are you going to ride horses!?”

The last question was said with more emphasis because while Camellia had dearly loved the pony she’d ridden and lost to the Trolls, she had yet to get close to one of the strong proud-looking horses the elves rode. Despite her eagerness to see such animals, she was still horridly afraid of how large they were and how small she was and wouldn’t dare go near one without someone with her.

Elladan laughed and the sound was as light and clear as silver bells, “You may watch us if it pleases you so much. No one will stop you here, little one.”

“Oh how lovely! Thank you!” Camellia all but clapped her hands together and stopped herself at the last moment to keep from looking as childish as she felt, “Where do you train? I’ll meet you there and I’ll make certain to come alone. My friends might be able to track me around the valley but I’m still lighter on my feet than they are. I’ll make sure you both aren’t bothered by them. Oh,” She suddenly hummed with a gleam in her eyes, “I can pack us a nice elevensies!”

It was then she noticed that Elrohir had something strapped to his back and as he pulled it free with a soft smile he told her, “That would be very nice, but you needn’t go to such trouble, today, we train here.”

She looked to Elladan as he gestured to the blade she hadn’t noticed was strapped at his waist and then she looked and found the twins had numerous blades on their persons and got all the more excited.

As they instructed her to find a safe place to watch them, Camellia quickly found a wonderful little spot in the gardens covered with the same lush grass she’d been rolling in earlier and half hidden by a great flowering bush.

It was there she set watched one of the greatest feats of swordsmanship she’d witnessed yet in her life and would witness yet for some time.

Even as the future held great battles and deep goblin caves, and horrid orcs of horrid size, the dance of elven blades enraptured her like nothing else because it had no gruesome horrors behind it.

It was deadly for sure, but it was also graceful.

As both unsheathed their weapons and stood before one another, the twins held out their blades, bowed their heads briefly in a clear sign of respect, and then began.

Camellia thought for a moment they would fight as the dwarves did, in strong sweeping movements designed to end a fight as quick as possible and use the natural strength they possessed in the best possible way, instead what unfolded before her was a dangerous dance.

Their blades moved so fast and their feet so smoothly it seemed as if they could read one another’s minds, with each move made another countered it, with each step taken another taken back or forward or side to side.

They even used the gardens to their advantage, Elladan once leaping from the bubbling fountain in the center and striking his blade down in a move that his brother countered with such skill and grace, that Camellia nearly cheered at the sight.

Back and forth, here and there, the twins fought and toyed with one another and though their swords met and scraped along each other, the elven steel the blades were crafted from made an almost lovely sound as they fought.

If their sparring was almost dancelike, the touch of elven metal against elven metal was almost musical.

At last, and for reasons Camellia couldn’t see, Elladan leapt back, flourished his blade, and conceded, and then both brothers bowed at one another and turned towards her.

The fight was over, Elrohir was clearly the victor, Camellia was confused as to why, considering it hadn’t looked as if either one had messed up, but this time she was leaping from her place and cheering loudly, “Incredible! That was absolutely incredible!”

Elrohir gave a broad smile and bowed in her direction while Elladan rolled his eyes and made faces behind his brother’s back

As Elrohir seemingly sensed his brothers teasing and twisted on heel to began chastising him in sindarian, Camellia noticed something interesting about them both.

Neither one looked the least bit tired.

No sheen of sweat, no labored breathing, not even a hair out of place, the twins looked merely as if they’d just finished a casual stroll through the gardens and as they looked at her, Camellia couldn’t help but praising them again.

“Oh that was such a wonderful fight, I wish I could do something like that!” She sighed and Elladan smiled broadly while Elrohir accepted her compliment by resting his hand across his heart with a soft sort of smile of his own.

Then a new voice sang out, “It was nice for an elf, perhaps, but no one can match a dwarf when it comes to sparring!”

Camellia knew from the gleams of amusement in the twins eyes they had seen the newcomer long before he made his presence known, and she turned to find not just Kili, but Fili as well, leaning against the railing that ran around the gardens.

Kili jumped over the railing with an impressive move and sauntered towards them while Fili took a more sensible approach and rounded the railing just left of where Kili had been to walk beyond the archway leading more sensibly into the gardens.

She knew instantly trouble was on the horizon just from the challenging set of Kili’s brow, and was slightly surprised to find Fili a bit more somber faced than was usual for him.

As the dwarven brothers stepped up to her, Kili shot her a wink, then looked to the twins as he raised his chin ever so slightly, “That was quite an interesting sight to see, but when does the real sparring start?”

Camellia frowned and opened her mouth to chastise him only for Elrohir behind her to speak up before she could.

“Clearly you wish to show us how things are done,” He held out his hands in an open gesture, “we have no objections, Master dwarf. Please, show us.”

“And have the pair of you work some magic to trip us up?” Fili studied them both with open distrust, “No, I think not.”

Elladan’s eyes widened slightly, “We would never do such a thing…at least,” He glanced to Camellia with a slight smirk twitching at the corner of his mouth, “Not while Miss Brandybuck is here to stop us.”
She was looking as stone faced as she dared because she could sense this conversation would lead to bad places and then Kili was speaking up again before she could stamp things down.

“Go on then, step aside so we can show Camellia how it’s truly done.”

With a silent exchange, Elrohir did just that, and as Elladan followed him and they left to walk to the railing where Fili and Kili had been, Camellia looked to the dwarven princes in alarm, “What do you two think you’re doin?”
Kili blinked in surprise while Fili crossed his arms, “We’re just showing them how things are done.”

“It’s just a bit of fun.” Kili grinned and the pair exchanged a look she instantly recognized because it was one she’d often seen on her brothers faces before they did something stupid, “More likely you’re just trying to rile them up! And after all Mr. Elrond has done for you and your kin! Well,” She placed her hands on her hips and frowned, “that’s not very nice of you. Either of you.”

She gave them both pointed looks to which they had at least a bit of decency to look chagrined at, but her slight victory at getting them to realize this was a horrible idea vanished as soon as it appeared, as in the distance, Elladan called out, “We do not mind them, little one! My brother and I would be overjoyed to see what skills the dwarven princes possess.”

Camellia turned a look of disgust toward the elven brothers now, and their faces instantly lit up with amusement, clearly it had been many a year since anyone other than a close friend or relative had dared to chastise them, even if by just sight, and though she didn’t know it the twins were more than delighted to see such a look coming from such a small hobbit.

Thus, Camellia begrudgingly took her seat again on grass and watched as Fili and Kili tossed their overcoats off and then their vests, she was afraid they’d keep going, but maintained her composure as they stopped at their under tunics.

Only once they were unburdened did they pull the tough steel of dwarven blades free of their sheathes and for the first time Camellia was quite alarmed at the realization that they’d had them in the first place. Not only were both as heavily armed as if they were about to fight a pack of wargs, but they had hidden their weapons so cleverly that she hadn’t noticed them until they’d taken off their jackets and vests. Though Camellia knew the twins had likely known of the blades from the beginning, it still made her uneasy to think of how little the dwarves thought of the elves that they felt the need to arm themselves just for walking around the city.

The ceremony before the princes fight differed greatly compared to the elves.

Both brothers bowed their heads, but before they did, they reached out, clasped forearms, and then pulled one another close to ram their foreheads against one another.

It wasn’t a friendly gesture either, Camellia at this point knew the difference between greeting and threat, it was violent, clearly meant to harm or at the very least disorient before any sparring took place.

As they turned to walk a few paces away from one another, Camellia was slightly amused to find Kili wincing and trying his best to hide it and as Fili turned to face his brother, she found him as unaffected as ever.

She stored the fact that Fili was thick headed in the back of her mind to tease him about later and settled in to watch.

The dance the dwarves wove was beautiful in its own way compared to that of the elves.

Where the elves had grace and fluidity in their movement, the dwarves had raw almost explosive power.

Each swipe of the blade, each step, each lunge was taken forcibly and in a calculated manner, they used their shorter stature to stay closer to the ground, and they didn’t flourish their moves more than they used every gesture to its highest advantage.

Dwarven steel against dwarven steel sent shivers down her spine and sparks flying in the air when their blades crossed at just the right angle.

At one point the odd notches and angles in Fili’s blade caught against Kili’s and tore the sword from his hands, but that only sent Kili barreling towards his brother in a move that made Fili fall back as Kili tried to ram his head into his brothers gut.

A laugh escaped Fili as he leapt to the side and Kili to yelp as he smacked him with the flat end of his sword on the rump and then Kili was scooping his blade up again and they went back to sparring.

While Camellia had been in awe of the elven brothers sparring and still was, there was a certain sense of merriment in the dwarves way of sparring that had her cheering more openly and teasing both as one would get the upper hand at certain times.

At last, when Camellia had cheered for both Fili and Kili in a short manner of time, Kili cried out though a laugh, “Just pick one of us and stick with it!”

“Just for that, I hope Fili wins!” She cried back and seeing as Kili was distracted by giving her a pointedly hurt look, Fili did in fact win as he rammed his elbow into Kili’s stomach, seeing an opening, and flipped his brother clear on his back before pointing his blade towards his throat.

“Thank you, Camellia.” Kili groaned out on the ground while Fili turned towards her and flourished his blade and bowed low at the waist, “My thanks as well, Miss Brandybuck. Without you cheering me on I surely would’ve lost.”

Soft clapping filled the air and they looked as the two elven lords made their way towards them again.

“Well done.” Elrohir stated with clear sincerity while Elladan said nothing out loud but said much in the look of amusement he was giving them.

Kili saw this look of amusement and instantly challenged it, though he said so still more than breathless from his fight, “I know what you think of us, that we’re children playing games. Well, I’d like to see one of you go against a dwarf. You’d think differently on the ground with our blades at your throat!”

“Kili!” Camellia stated sharply at such a blatant insult, and was no less alarmed by Elladan throwing his head back and laughing loud and hard.

Beside her, Fili seemed annoyed at his brother’s outburst and was clearly holding back from speaking and it seemed Elrohir was on their side as he showed the slightest expression of exasperation, yet, despite this, neither brother did anything to calm the rising tides as Elladan grinned down at Kili.

“Well, if you wish to show me how it’s done, then I accept.” He held out his hands in an open gesture, “Mind you, though I have not accepted such a challenge in many a year, I have never lost one either. Pick your weapon of choice, Master dwarf.”

“You can’t just… you can’t…” Camellia sputtered and looked helplessly to Fili, “Stop them!”

Fili shrugged and she could tell he was torn between letting his brother try his luck at besting an elf and stopping the whole charade, “I could stop Kili, but I don’t have any hold over the elf. If he wants to challenge my brother, I can’t stop him.”
“Can’t or won’t.” Camellia tsked and looked to Elrohir who was suspiciously quiet, “You could stop him if you wanted to.”

She then looked to Elladan, “You could stop yourself if you wanted to as well.” She crossed her arms and sniffed, “If you want to show off your skills to one another that’s fine and dandy, but I’ll have no part it in!”
That immediately got Elladan stating, “You must watch us, little one. Who will decide who is the best of all of us if you do not?”

Camellia refused to answer, and then Elrohir finally spoke up, “Perhaps you will feel more comfortable if I propose a contest instead of a true fight.”

Elrohir spread his hands with a certain air of calm that made him look all the more like his father, “We will each take turns in showing off the best of our talents and whomever wins shall be graced with the knowledge that they have bested, not only their opponents, but have done proud by their lineage. Miss Brandybuck no doubt will also be gratified with the fact that we will not cut one another into little pieces doing so. After the end of each round, Miss Brandybuck will choose a winner. At the end of four rounds, she will decide who is best of all.”

Camellia thought over that for a long moment and came to the singular decision that despite her best efforts on persuading both sides not to do anything foolish, it was clear they wouldn’t listen to her either way, so, she accepted the terms with one singular condition of her own.

“Fine, but we don’t do it here. We do it in full view of anyone who wishes to watch.”
All four males looked at her in differing forms of shock and Camellia stood her ground at last, “We either do it in front of a crowd or not at all…and what’s more, my cousin Belinda must also be a judge. That ways it will be fair. Two hobbits judging two elves and two dwarves.”

To that Kili grinned and looked smug and Camellia knocked his pride down a notch as she knew he was expecting an easy win, “Don’t look so happy Kili, Belinda is the most judging person I know. She won’t go easy on either pair of you I can guarantee that. Belinda Baggin’s wasn’t a judge ten years running for the bi-yearly pie contest in west farthing for nothing. She judged so fiercely one year she was banned for making too many lasses cry. She’ll have no mercy on your souls.”

So, it was decided, the two hobbit lasses would judge a contest that would decide the lasting fates of who was better.

Elves or dwarves.

Camellia’s only problem now was in figuring out how to convince Belinda to help judge the contest.

Chapter Text

“Please?”

“No.”

“Please?”

“No.”

“Please!?”

“Camellia.” Belinda looked to her cousin practically on her hands and knees before her begging and questioned flatly, “Why didn’t you stop them?”

“I had no choice!” The poor girl cried, “I could see it in their eyes. It was either this or watch the four of them be cut up into tiny pieces as they tried to prove their worth to each other.”

Belinda gave her an incredulous look, “So you decided letting them prove their worth in front of the entire city of Rivendell would be better!? What if the elven twins are better? What will the company think of that? What will they think of us if we chose them to win over Fili and Kili!?”
Camellia stood and composed herself again, smoothing down both the front of her blouse and pushing back her curls as she stated primly, “We’re not like either one of them, Belinda, we judge things differently. I think we can do this and keep both sides amiable…at least until we all get out of here.”
Belinda blinked in surprise, “So that is why you’re doing this? To keep things, calm until we can leave?”
Her cousin blushed and looked away from her and Belinda tilted her head to the side until she caught Camellia’s gaze again, “Camellia? What do you know that I don’t?”
Camellia’s mouth pursed to one side in clear frustration, and she thought for a long few moments then sighed and looked towards the ceiling, “One night as I was heading back to our rooms, I overheard a group of elves talking about the company. They don’t like the dwarves. The company doesn’t like the elves. No one likes anyone here. It was either this or something else was bound to happen before we left. I thought having us judge the whole ordeal would make things go a bit smoother, they might not fight over it too much if we decided who won. Besides, I already talked to Gandalf about it and he agreed it was a wonderful idea.”
Belinda raised a brow in silence and Camellia broke, “Fine, he said somethin’ along the lines of, ‘as long as they don’t kill one another, I think things will work out.’ I considered that permission enough.”
Belinda thought deeply, her own mouth pursing into a thin line as she understood the tension Camellia had picked up, for she’d heard and felt it on her own.

While their stay had been peaceful, food and rest plenty and often, Belinda couldn’t ignore the underlying tension that lay between the company and the elves. It was constant, like a simmering pot always in the background of whatever they did, and if a comment here or there wasn’t said about the dwarves from the elves it was said about the elves from the dwarves.

Gandalf was the only one who seemed wholly unaffected by it all, and was seemingly content in meandering along the valley, disappearing and appearing in odd places throughout the day, and was more than happy to spend long hours smoking by the fireplace in the grand hall at night.

At first Belinda had been horrified by the open disgust the company showed, but as the days rolled by she began to understand it wasn’t as one sided as she’d first believed.

While lord Elrond, his sons, and his closest of advisors never showed any blatant repulsion towards the company, it didn’t stop the other elves of Rivendell from looking on the dwarves as one might look at a pack of mangy flea ridden dogs.

Despite all these strange tensions and silent glares, Belinda found herself enraptured by the elven city and its people and she knew if she wasn’t pulled away soon, she’d be scheming on how to get lord Elrond to let her rent a room or two in one of his halls for a lovely getaway home whenever she needed it.

Looking at her forlorn cousin before her, Belinda knew that though she’d made a hasty and brash decision, she’d done the only thing she could to stop the pot from boiling over into the fire.

“Very well,” Belinda sighed at last, “I’ll help you judge the contest.”
Camellia squealed, but it was stamped down quickly as her cousin held up a finger in silence, “On one condition.”
……………………………………

The stage was set.

An expansive clearing among the lower part of the valley on the edge of the city had been set up for the ever-growing event.

In the distance at differing intervals targets made of wood and colored hay were set up for archery, to the side, heavyset wracks and tables held weapons of such array there were more than a few Belinda had never seen before much less knew the names of, and along the edges of the field small tents and tables and chairs had been set up to enjoy the show.

A wooden platform had been constructed along the largest edge of the field, and a thick cloth tarp had been stretched over top for shade, it was here the Shire judges, lord Elrond, his attendants, and a handful of elves set.

With a fresh morning breeze and a bit of sunshine, Belinda found herself oddly enjoying herself on the plush seat she’d been given as they waited for the warriors on both sides to ready themselves for the tournament.

Belinda wondered why they had such a tent and platform and everything else ready for a tournament, at what she felt was a moment’s notice, but she realized that something like this must be common occurrence for the long-lived elves.

It seemed if one lived long enough you were ready to do almost anything one could suggested just to have a bit of fun and break up a long, and likely, monotonous life.

In fact, looking around the crowd, Belinda noticed that the elves enjoying themselves and making merry around the little tables crowded with food and drink were treating this as one might a party that were known to spring up at a moment’s notice in the Shire.

Aside from lord Elrond, his group of three advisors, and a handful of elves she had yet to meet, Belinda and Camellia were the only other occupants of the tent; the company refused to step foot underneath any tarp put up by elves and instead dispersed throughout the crowd in little clusters.

Despite Camellia’s best attempts, even Ori refused to sit with them, but Belinda suspected that decision had been made by both his brothers considering they were the quickest amongst the group to gossip about the elves.

Dori would be concerned, and Nori would be weary, and she knew they would never allow their youngest brother to willingly step in harms way even if there was no harm to step in front of.

She couldn’t blame them for feeling that way, but she also couldn’t stop herself from feeling annoyed at how the company was treating this entire arrangement.

When the news had been broken the night before, both Fili and Kili had wanted not just Camellia but Belinda to be there for it, likely as a shield from the rest of the company’s rage, and all had been absolute chaos as the company went into a fit.

Dwalin even suggested they flee the city that very night, but in the end, after many an hour and many a discussion, things calmed down enough for rational conversation again and most surprisingly of all, Thorin agreed to it.

Of course, he did so with a sly grin that foretold all he saw was his nephews winning and the elves disgraced on their own homeland, but Belinda thought it a slight victory that at least he hadn’t suggested an all-out war.

Now, here she was, sitting underneath a tent on the edge of a field on a fine summer morning, watching two conflicting groups ready themselves to try and outmatch the other…like little boys playing a dangerous game of master of the hill.

Glancing towards lord Elrond on her left, Belinda was surprised to find he looked slightly exasperated, and trailing his gaze she saw he’d been studying his sons in the distance as they were talking and readying themselves with leather arm braces for archery and sturdy looking pieces of armor for sparring.

He caught her look and smiled faintly, “It has been many a year since they have had a chance to spar with someone other than friends. Do not worry yourself though, Miss Baggins, they will not hurt the young princes.”

She wasn’t worried about that, she was more than worried about the young princes hurting his sons, and he seemed to read her mind as his smile lifted just a tad more, “They can handle themselves well. I am certain this fight will not harm either party.”
It lessened her worries only somewhat, but it didn’t vanish them completely.

Belinda looked to her cousin on her right only to find Camellia had slipped away and was seated next to Elrond’s assistant Lindir and had somehow managed to pull the weary elf into a conversation.

It was mostly one-sided on her part, Camellia kept asking him questions and when he hesitated to answer she just moved on to another one until he eventually was forced to speak or risk having her keep rambling.

Searching the crowd around the field, Belinda chided herself for being surprised at finding Gandalf in the distance, spotted by his tall gray hat weaving and bobbing among a larger grouping of elves, and knew the wizard was likely mingling with old friends and very likely would barely bother to watch the fight soon to take place.

It wasn’t that he was unconcerned about the princes, it was more than likely he just knew the outcome of the match already and was much keener on spending his morning imbibing a bit and smoking a lot.

A sound on her righthand side had her glancing to find Thorin stepping onto the dais and moving towards her; he stopped just at the side of her seat, a respectful enough distance away to not make her uncomfortable but still allow conversation should she want it.

Belinda found surprisingly she did wish to speak with him, and as lord Elrond stood to move to speak to the crowd as he noticed Thorin had arrived, she dared to say to him, “Just so you know, I still think this is a horrid idea.”

She could see him from the corner of her eye turn his head towards her and heard a slight bit of amusement in his tone as he said, “Win or lose, my nephews will make me proud.”

Belinda turned in her seat to face him with wide eyes, “You don’t think they’ll win?”
Thorin smiled boldly at her, “I never said that.”

Then, his expression sobered, and he shrugged his shoulders lightly, “It does not matter what happens, they will make me proud no matter the outcome.”

Belinda blinked as she turned back in her seat, and she found herself so surprised by Thorin’s sudden indifference about the whole ordeal, she barely heard what lord Elrond was saying; she only came back to herself as the crowd around them cheered and both parties were stepping forward to salute the tent.

It was then she noticed Thorin was standing and seemed content to watch the fight doing so, and seeing there was a spare seat beside her she realized he hadn’t taken it out of decorum.

This very thought made her trying to stamp down a sudden blush at his thoughtfulness.

“Please take this seat,” She told him as warmly as she dared without making it sound as if this was anything more than just an offer to sit, “I’ve never been to a fight like this before, I don’t know how long this will take and I’ll feel horrible if you have to stand for it all.”
Thorin did as instructed with what she thought was a quickly stamped down smile and then they were both watching as Kili and Elladan broke off towards the center of the field and Fili and Elrohir to the side as the first round began.

Stepping close to one another but still far from reach of either of their weapons, the pair saluted each other in strange fashion.

Elrohir bowed his head low, and Kili hesitated only momentarily as he was likely so used to smacking heads with his opponent he had to reconstruct his thoughts.

In the end, he gave a quick bow of respect then they were both turning towards the dais and saluting in their proper manners to the group underneath the tent, then the match began.

Belinda found herself sucking in a sharp breath at the speed at which they began. Both elf and dwarf keen on taking the other by surprise and as a result their blades clashed together in quick succession, dwarven steel and elven craftmanship creating a unique noise as the blades scraped over one another.

Then both were feinting back from one another.

Elrohir twirled his blade around in a circle as his feet slowly did the same around his opponent and Kili surprised her by staying almost motionless where he’d leapt back, his posture stiff as he eyed the elf.

Then Elrohir was leaping forward, and Kili was leaping to the side and Belinda found herself tensing as they exchanged a quick blow during this motion that would’ve tore open Kili’s back if he hadn’t blocked it.

A soft noise from Thorin had her glancing at him and she found that while he wasn’t frustration per say, he wasn’t pleased either, “He should have met him head on.”

The pair were circling one another again and twice they leapt into one another’s reach long enough to exchange a pair of blows before retreating.

“You’ll be sore tomorrow if you don’t relax.” At Thorin’s comment Belinda looked down to find she was gripping the arms of her seat intensely and pried her hands away only to clasp them before her.

“I don’t know how you can stand this.” She dared to comment back, wincing lightly as Kili only just managed again to avoid a nasty blow.

“Kili’s doing well enough,” He glanced at her as the pair retreated again to circle one another, “I’ve seen him in more difficult fights than this.”

Then as Kili struck high and Elrohir low, Thorin snorted, “His footwork is sloppy, he’ll be on his backside in a moment if he doesn’t keep his feet up.”

True to his prediction, Belinda watched Kili stumble backwards and he would’ve fallen if he hadn’t made a fantastic move that put Elrohir on the offensive for a moment.

“At least he recovered rather nicely.” She glanced at him hoping she’d gotten that right and found he seemed almost amused at her attempts to figure out what was going on and who exactly was winning at the moment.

She sucked in a sharp breath as Kili stumbled again then blinked in surprise as he recovered far faster than he should’ve and caught Elrohir by surprise again.

Beside her, Thorin made a noise of pride at the sly move on his nephew’s part, and she watched more closely at how Kili was moving now.

After a moment and another stumble from the dwarven prince, Belinda gasped in realization, “He’s doing it on purpose.”
“The first time, no,” Thorin shook his head, “but Kili’s always been a fast learner. He better not test the elf’s patience though; an elf does not tire as quickly as a dwarf, even I can admit that, he’ll have to take him down soon if he doesn’t wish to exhaust himself.”
True to his word, Belinda looked closer and found Kili was already sheen with sweat and trying to hide the fact he was panting heavily.

Elrohir seemed unaffected, and she would’ve thought from the set of his expression he was almost bored by the duel if she hadn’t noticed a particular gleam of excitement in his eyes.

From both their expressions it was more than clear they were enjoying this.

Then, all at once it was over.

Kili leapt forward in a daring move, Elrohir leapt forward to meet him, and at the last possible second Kili used his shorter stature to roll underneath the elven blade, around the side, and pull his sword up in a move that would’ve done devastating damage to Elrohir’s spine if Kili had not stopped the arch short.

There was a moment of silence where no one seemed to breathe, then the crowd erupted into a volley of cheers and cries.

Belinda was most surprised of all when she found the crowd around them were cheering for Kili’s win, and as she studied the faces of the elves she saw not a bit of disdain among them.

It seemed the fresh air, drink, food, and a good fight made the crowd amiable to anything.

With a broad grin Elrohir admitted defeat and bowed his head, Kili doing the same, and then the cheeky prince played to the crowd and raised his blade high in victory which caused the elves around them to cheer again.

Belinda glanced to Thorin to find him grinning openly at his nephews win and as Elrond stepped forward and congratulated the winner, she saw in the distance Elladan and Fili talking intently.

Both Elrohir and Kili stepped up on the dais and took empty seats brought specially for their arrival, and as Kili picked his up and set it between Camellia and Lindir, the hobbit and dwarf fell into conversation immediately.

Belinda shook her head at Kili’s slight rudeness at the gesture but couldn’t help but notice Lindir seemed relieved to have the dwarf between him and her overly chatty cousin.

Then she was focusing on the field before her as Fili and Elladan made their way to the dais.

She silently prayed that the next half of the tournament would go just as smoothly, she silently feared it wouldn’t, all she could do now was hope that things would stay amiable between the two groups as the tournament continued.