Golden Eyes

Chapter 8: The Road Goes and It Goes

                                                                      ¤ Outskirts of Hobbiton ¤

Dawn soon came and the morning sun covered the hills in a golden light, which warmed the earth up so the dew, that had gathered though out the night, soon began to evaporate and become a low hanging mist. The morning light and the warming feeling of the sun wakened Smaug. The sun gave her energy and she rose from her grass bed and flexed her muscles. She put a finger in each corner of her mouth and whistled. A whinnying noise was heard and from behind one of the green steaming hills, a black horse suddenly emerged. The mane was still damp and small droplets fell as the mare cantered towards the woman who smiled at it. Smaug greeted the mare as she stroke its muscular neck, "Greetings Fenya, my friend, how are you faring these days?" If the horse could answer in the language of sound, one might know, that it greeted Smaug as mellon and told of many travels far and wide in the company of her son, Shadowfax. Smaug gathered her weapons and swung herself up on Fenya's back, and the mare reared before it galloped towards the place, Smaug had agreed to meet with Gandalf, before they would meet with the dwarves. It was a small clearing in the edge of the forest and Gandalf was fiddling with his pipe when Smaug came. He smiled when he saw who accompanied her, "I see The Mother of Horses are with you, a magnificent creature indeed," he said and bowed his head to Fenya. Smaug smiled, "Yes we have travelled through many dangers she and I and are old friends". They were interrupted by the sound of breaking branches and rustling leaves. First one, then two dwarves emerged from the bushes. It was Dwalin and Balin. They had fortunately brought some horses with them so the company would be able to travel faster across the land. Dwalin looked from Gandalf to Smaug, "Not backing out are ya' las?" He asked in a serious tone. Smaug shook her head, "I am coming with you master Dwalin, yes". Balin smiled, " I must say I am impressed. It is not every day; one meets a person so eager to defy a dwarf like Thorin, let alone a maiden like yourself". Soon after he had said this the other dwarves arrived and soon they were all gathered in the small clearing. That would be: all except Bilbo. "The hobbit will not come, let us move on!" Thorin ordered. They fell in on the long row of horses with Gandalf and Thorin in the front and Smaug chose to be the last one leaving the clearing. They had only been riding for few minutes before they heard a voice from behind, "Wait Wait!" It was Bilbo. The hobbit had gathered all his courage and was now determined to come along. The hobbit, though, when presented with a horse said he would prefer to walk. The dwarves, however, would have none of this, raised him up by the arms, and sat him on a small pony, which suited his size perfectly.

They travelled the whole day before making camp. Kili had to help Bilbo down from the horse, "you are not used to ride, are ya'?" he grumbled as he pulled a very stiff and very tired Bilbo down from the horse. The dinner consisted of a thin stew made of whatever they had found in the forest. Whether it be squirrel or bird it ended in the stew. The company gathered around the campfire, chatted, and laughed of stories only they could tell about. Bilbo sat and listened with them and despite his sore body; he had a smile on his lips. Smaug stood alone in the cover of the trees. She watched them from a safe distance. Despite her politeness towards Bilbo and some of the dwarves, she still loathed their kind. The dwarves were a greedy kind. They flourished in gold and food while others starved and gave little to no consideration to those creatures they thought less of. She also had to admit that she held no regrets for killing not too few when she took over Erebor. It might have given them a lesson that they are not as all powerful as they might have thought. She had to credit them for their stubbornness though. It was not a praise yet she admired it. The hobbits where an entirely different matter though. From what she had seen in The Shire, the hobbits ever so peaceful and kind to each other. They, however, gave little thought to the world outside the borders and Smaug could not fathom how one could live a life not knowing what happened in the wide world. The hobbits were a peculiar kind indeed. Morning came and it brought rain with it. They travelled by tortuous roads and across small streams for days. The scenery changed and presented Bilbo with many sights he had not seen in The Shire. There were sharp cliffs and powerful streams that between sharp rocks. Bilbo was used to the round hills and small, calm streams in Hobbiton. The scenery changed but unfortunately, the weather did not. Horses and riders were soaked to the core and the dwarves damned the weather. They even asked Gandalf to do something about it but he refused. They had to travel for a few more days before the sun finally began to shine and dry their clothes. The laughter soon replaced the sulking and the dwarves were merry as ever. Smaug patted Fenya's neck and drew into a halt. The dwarves did not take any notice since she had been the last rider in the column. It was a good moment to tell the horse about the plans. It was, after all, no ordinary horse, that was chosen as her companion.