Chapter 40

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  "Rest up tonight. You must leave on tomorrow." Gandalf tells the two as they walk through Dale
  "What?" Bilbo and Rosa stop in their tracks
  "Get as far away from here as possible." Gandalf stops turning to them
  "I'm-I'm not leaving. You picked us as the fourteenth and fifteenth members. We're not about to leave the company now." Bilbo said looking towards Rose
  she nodded in agreement
  "There is no company - not anymore. And I don't like to think what Thorin will do when he finds out what you've done."
  "I'm not afraid of Thorin."
  "I'm not either."
  "But you should be! Don't underestimate the evil of gold. Gold over which a serpent has long brooded. Dragon-sickness seeps into the hearts of all who come near this mountain." Gandalf looks at the two appraisingly. "Almost all." Gandalf sees Alfrid walking by and calls out to him. "You there! Find these Hobbits a bed, and fill their belly with hot food. They've earned it."
  Alfrid grudgingly comes over and begins to lead Bilbo away. As they go, Gandalf grabs Alfrid's arm and whispers to him. Alfrid walks off, cursing as a group of people walks in front of him and he pushes his way between them. "Move it! Stupid!"

  By early the next morning, the two managed to get back before anyone woke up. Bilbo and Rosa agreed to keep what they did to themselves for now. Bofur smiles when seeing the two come in for breakfast. Bilbo and  Rosa quietly eat as the others chat. Rosa looked once or twice at Fili as he talked with a few of the others. As everyone was continuing to eat Thorin walks in and shouted "Everyone to the blockade now!"
  Everyone gets up at this and starts leaving the room. Bilbo and Rosa look at each other worried, Rosa pats his shoulder and tried to give him a reassuring smile following the others. As they reach the top over the blockade of Erebor, the company watches as Bard and Thranduil ride up together. Thorin draws a bow and shoots an arrow at the ground directly in front of the two making them immediately halt.
  "I'll put the next one between your eyes!" Thorin warns drawing his bow again
  The others cheered and shook their weapons. Some Elves pull out their bows, nock their arrows, and aim at the dwarves, all in one fluid motion. Their cheering stops abruptly as all of them duck behind the ramparts. Thranduil raises his hand after a few seconds, and the elves easily put away their arrows. Thorin still has his bow drawn, though.
  "We've come to tell you: payment of your debt has been offered...and accepted," Thranduil tells Thorin
  "What payment, I gave you nothing!" Thorin shouts back to him
  "You have nothing!" Thorin shouts to them
  "We have this," Bard says as he reaches into his robe and pulls out the Arkenstone, holding it above his head.
   "They have the Arkenstone? Thieves! How came you by the heirloom of our house? That stone belongs to the king!" Kili shouts to them
  "And the king may have it - in our goodwill." Bard says putting the stone back into his robe "But first he must honor his word."
  "They are taking us for fools. This is a ruse, a filthy lie." Thorin tells them then shouts "THE ARKENSTONE IS IN THIS MOUNTAIN! IT IS A TRICK!"
  Bilbo steps forward ready to speak but Rosa steps forward speaking before he could "It's no trick. The stone is real." Rosa sighed "I should know I-I gave it to them."
  Thorin looks towards her with an expression mixture of sorrow and anger feeling berated. The other dwarves looked at Rosa in shock. Bilbo looks at her afraid and worried.
  "You..." Thorin looks at her "You'd steal from me?"
  "Steal from you?" She sadly chuckles "Believe me, Thorin I would never do such a thing. I took it as part of my fifteenth share, and I'm going to let it stand against my claim."."
  "Rosa, don't," Bilbo whispered while grabbing Rosa's arm, trying to stop her
  "Against your claim?" Thorin scoffed, "You have no claim over me, shire-rat!"
  "Rosa, please" Bilbo pleaded again, but she ignored him. Bilbo felt scared of what could happen to her.
  "I wanted to give it back to you but-but..." She stops short looking off to the side
  "But what?" Thorin spat Throwing down his bow in anger and walks closers to Rosa.
  "You've changed, Thorin. The dwarf my brother And I met in Bag End would never have gone back on his word, nor doubt the loyalty of his kin."
  "Do not speak to me of loyalty, " he growled. "Throw her off the rampart!"

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