I'm Staying With You (A Hobbit Fanfiction)

Chapter 7

Thorin looks over and sees us standing there.  He smiles slightly and he places his hand on Kili's shoulder. 

"Come on, you three."

We all walk into the living room, where a red flame dances on the burning logs.  Most of the other dwarves are already there, staring into the flame and humming the song of our people.  We walk in slowly and start humming, me doing the soprano line that none of the others can do. 

Thorin stands next to the hearth, a pipe in his hand.  The air is smokey and the music sends chills up my spine, even though I've heard it many times before.  Thorin starts singing, and his deep voice echoes through the house. 

"Far over the misty mountains cold.  To dungeons deep and caverns old.  We must away, 'ere break of day, to find our long forgotten gold." 

The rest of us join in, and I can't help but feel happy as I sing. 

"The pines were roaring on the height, the winds were moaning in the night.  The fire was red, it flaming spread, the trees like torches blazed with light." 

When the song ends, everyone remains quiet.  The crickets outside are chirping and the sky is dark and dotted with tiny stars.  Fili takes my hand and taps his brother's shoulder. 

"Come, I know where we'll sleep tonight." 

We find a small guest room with a two large chairs and a double bed.  Without thinking, we all collapse on the bed and fall asleep side by side. 

Thorin wakes us up early in the morning. 

"Come on.  We're leaving," he grumbles. 

"What about Bilbo?" I ask through a yawn. 

"He'll come when he comes," Thorin replies. 

We all grab our packs and cloaks and head outside, getting ponies to ride.  We get an extra pony in case Bilbo decides to come, but for now we use it for extra luggage.  Gandalf gets a larger horse than the rest of us, and we start riding right away. 

"So, do you think he's going to come?" Gloin asks all of a sudden.  

A chorus of no and yes ring out, and Bofur holds his hands up. 

"Everyone, we'll make bets.  If you're right, you get ten coins!" 

Taking turns, we all announce our bets.  I say yes, as does Fili.  Others say no, such as Thorin and Kili.  Gandalf says yes, as do a couple of others. 

"Well, only time will tell who's right," Gandalf says, a twinkle in his wisdom-filled eyes. 

We continue to debate about our choices for a while, and eventually I'm sick of it. 

"I said it.  Didn't I say it?  Coming here was a waste of time!" Dori says.

"That's true enough," Gloin says, agreeing with him. 

"Ridiculous notion.  Use a Hobbit?  A halfling?" Dori exclaims.  "Who's idea was it anyway?" 

"He's going to show up, I can feel it," I say, butting into their conversation.  Gandalf looks at me and smiles slightly.

As he does this, a small voice rings out through the woods. 

"Wait!  Wait!" 

A smile grows across my face.  It's Bilbo!  I knew he would come. 

"Nossa, you were right!" Dori says, shocked.

"Woah, woah," Thorin commands, stopping the caravan of horses.  The look on his face is one of utter disbelief. 

"I signed it," Bilbo announces, holding the agreement contract in his hand.  The wind is flapping it around, but he manages to keep his hold on it.  He hands it to Balin, who checks it over with a tiny magnifying glass. 

"Everything appears to be in order," Balin announces.  "Welcome, Master Baggins, to the company of Thorin Oakenshield." 

Everyone starts chuckling and chattering spontaneously, but I continue to watch the Hobbit.  He looks utterly terrified of the ponies, which I find rather hilarious. 

"Give him a pony," Thorin orders.  Bilbo's eyes widen and he shakes his head. 

"No, no, that won't be necessary.  Thank you, I'm sure I can keep up on foot.  I've done my fair share of walking holidays, you know?  Even got as far as Frogmorton once!" 

With that, Ori and Nori grab hold of the straps of Bilbo's backpack and hoist him up onto a pony, causing him to yelp in alarm.

Once he's settled onto his pony, we continue walking.  Bilbo holds the reins far out in front of him like they're poisonous and he eyes the pony with distaste. 

"Come on, Nori!  Pay up!" Oin calls. 

"One more," Kili calls. 

"Thanks, lad!" Oin says. 

"What's that about?" Bilbo asks. 

"Oh, they took wagers on whether or not you'd turn up," Gandalf explains. 

"Most of them bet that you wouldn't," I add from behind them.   

"And what did you think?" 

"Well..." Gandalf begins, looking at me.  At the same time, we both catch bags of money and Gandalf tucks his into his bag while I put mine in my pocket. 

"My dear fellow, we never doubted you for a second," Gandalf says. 

Bilbo nods, then sneezes.  He sighs deeply and begins rummaging through his pockets, looking for something. 

"It's horse hair.  Having a reaction," Bilbo explains as he continues his pocket search.  He groans, then begins to search harder. 

"No, wait, wait, stop!  We have to turn around!" he calls, and I resist the urge to smack my forehead. 

"What on earth is the matter?" Gandalf asks. 

"I forgot my handkerchief," Bilbo says. 

"Here, use this!" Bofur says.  He rips a small potion off of the edge of his jacket and tosses it to the hobbit, who catches it in the air and stares at it with disgust.  We all chuckle, and Thorin starts up his pony again. 

"Move on." 

"All that fuss over a handkerchief," Fili chuckles. 

"Yeah, he has way bigger problems to deal with," Kili says. 

"Like the fire breathing dragon we want to face off against?" I ask. 

"Exactly," Fili says.  

We continue on our trek and it isn't half bad.  The grass is green and the sky is blue, and it's the perfect temperature.  I can just hear Gandalf talking to Bilbo amidst the muttering of other voices. 

"You'll have to manage without pocket handkerchiefs and a good many other things, Bilbo Baggins, before we reach our journey's end.  You were born to the rolling hills and little rivers of the Shire, but home is now behind you.  The world is ahead."