My Heart, My Mountain, My King {Thorin Oakenshield Fanfic}

Chapter 17 - Friend or Foe?

The sun rose the next morning earlier than I would've liked. I had hardly gotten any sleep that past week and I didn't see any hope of recieving a nap any time soon.

We started for the mountains and hiked along a trail. Suddenly, in the distance we heard the howling of a warg.

"That was fast," Thorin muttered.

"Bilbo!" Gandalf said. "You're our burglar. Go scout and see how close they are."

"Oh, um... alright," Bilbo said. He scampered off. I wandered what had happened to him in the goblin caves. He seemed to be much braver after that.

"Wait here," Gandalf said to us. We nodded and the dwarves sat down.

I approached Gandalf. "Gandalf," I asked.

"Hmm?" he replied, smoking a pipe.

"It is silly of me to tell you this, but I think Thorin is growing fond of me."

He raised an eyebrow. "Goooood," he said. "That is definitely an improvement."

I shook my head. "No, Gandalf you don't understand," I protested. "I think he sees me in a way that he shouldn't."

"And what would that be, Little Jaedda?"

"Don't call me little!" I snapped.

He gave me an exasperated look.

"What are you discussing?" Thorin asked as he approached us. I whipped my head around and suddenly tried to act natural. I scratched my scalp.

"Um...nothing...?" I replied.

"Tell me," he said, grinning.

"Really, it was nothing," Gandalf said. "Jaedda just wanted to know how much gold was in Erebor." He winked at me. I let out a small sigh.

"Ah, the gold." Thorin crossed his arms. "Picture an ocean," he said. "And replace the water with treasure."

My eyes widened. He laughed.

"There's no way that much gold even exists!" I exclaimed.

"It's true," Balin said, overhearing our conversation. "There's more gold in that mountain than any dwarf, man or elf could ever hope to spend in his lifetime. It's truly breath-taking."

I smiled. "I see why you want to take back the mountain so bad."

The company laughed, as did Thorin, which warmed my heart.

Just then, Bilbo came running back through the path.

"How close is the pack?" Dwalin asked.

"Too close," Bilbo said. "A couple of leagues, no more, but that is not the worst of it."

"Have the Wargs picked up our scent?" I questioned further.

"Not yet, but they will; we have another problem," he said shakily.

"Did they see you?" Gandalf asked. "They saw you!"

"No, that's not it," the hobbit denied.

Gandalf smiled and turned to the dwarves.

"What did I tell you?" he asked rhetorically. "Quiet as a mouse. Excellent burglar material."

The dwarves chuckled loudly in appreciation of Bilbo. Bilbo looked exasperated that no one was listening. Frankly, I was exasperated too.

"Will you listen- Will you just listen?" he finally got out. The dwarves finally shut up. "I'm trying to tell you there is something else out there."

The dwarves suddenly got worried looks on their faces. What was he talking about? What could be worse than orcs?

"What form did it take?" Gandalf asked. "Like a bear?"

"Ye..." Bilbo paused and looked curiously at Gandalf. "Y- yes. But bigger, much bigger."

"You knew about this beast?" Bofur asked Gandalf.

Gandalf turner and walked a few steps away.

"I say we double back," Bofur suggested.

"And be run down by a pack of Orcs?" Thorin questioned.

"There is a house," Gandalf spoke. "It's not far from here, where we might take refuge."

"Whose house?" Thorin asked. "Are they friend or foe?"

"Neither," Gandalf answered. "He will help us, or he will kill us."

We looked at each other in dismay.

"What choice do we have?" Thorin asked.

A roar split the night behind us. It was the bear.

Gandalf looked at us. "None."

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Shoooort chapter. Wrote it in like, 10 minutes. :>

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