Powerful love (The Hobbit FF)

1. The meeting

~Δ~

You took a deep breath, gathering your courage as you knocked on the little door. A hobbit door in the shire to be exact. The mark of the wizard was glowing faintly, slowly fading away. Grumbling sounded from behind the door and pulled you out of your thoughts.

"I swear if it's another dwarf I am going to lose it!" The door swung open and a hobbit appeared. His brown curly hair bounced a bit from the gush of wind. You were a little taller than him but if you were to stand next to a human, you'd look small nonetheless. 

"Oh... You're not a dwarf. What would you need, young lady?"

You gave the hobbit a smile and stepped into the little home, muttering a small 'excuse me'. The hobbit seemed a little surprised you just entered but then again, this whole evening was strange to him. He just hoped everything would go back to normal soon.

Entering the hallway you walked towards the noise coming from the dining room. It was almost a funny sight to see a wizard and 13 dwarves cramped in the room. But you were too distracted to really notice. You kept quiet as you took in their appearences and listened to the conversation.

"The dragon never smelled a hobbit before." The wizard spoke to the dwarves seated at a table. "You'll need a burglar, and a good one at that."

"I also wish to come with you." You finally decided to speak up.

Immediately everyone turned to look at you. Thorin frowned and looked at the wizard who just stared at you. "Who are you?"

"I'm Tegwen" You did an awkward little bow.

"Sounds strangely familiar..." Balin said mostly to himself.

"No offense, young one, but wouldn't it be too dangerous for the likes of you?" Kili spoke before Thorin could say anything. You lightly chuckled at this.

"I appreciate the compliment but I do believe we're somewhere around the same age. And me being a woman shouldn't be a point, I've always taken care of myself." This made everyone silent.

All eyes were on Thorin, who seemed deep in thought. You were not sure if he was thinking of what to say or how to show you the door. "Why would you want to help us?" Dwalin broke the silence.

"I want to do this as a thanks to your father Thrain, Thorin Oakenshield." This made him look at you, frown deepening if that was even possible.

"You knew my father?" When you nodded he scoffed. "My father wouldn't know a girl from the race of men."

Smiling a little, you sat down on the only empty chair that the hobbit had brought. "I am not of the race of men."
To be honest, everyone staring at you in silence was getting kinda old. But you kept your cool and waited.

"Then what are you?" Bofur asked.

"I am not from a race that your knowledge knows of." Everyone shared confused glances. Could this conversation get anymore confusing? You were considering whether you should tell them what you knew or keep to yourself. Even though you knew Thorin's father, could you trust them all the same?

"It couldn't be." Balin spoke, slightly standing up. He looked over at the wizard whose name was Gandalf.

Gandalf grunted and nodded, as if confirming his own thoughts. "She is coming with us." Thorin didn't look too pleased with that and at least demanded an explanation from you. That darn wizard really got on his nerves sometimes. Maybe often.

You sighed a little and felt your mood dropping as the memories returned to you. "I do not remember much, as I was as little as the two prince brothers."
So you explained to the best of your abilities how you were given to be taken care of to the king under the mountain from an unknown power.

"It was his responsibility to look after and protect the most precious treasure with the utmost care. 'Till this day I still do not know what treasure that may be, but it had to do something with me being there. The power talked to the king alone, so no one else knows. The king made it Thrain's job to care for me. But a sickness came over the king and he discarded the treasure. The cause was this jewel that had caught his eye. He forgot his duty and the most precious treasure as all he cared for was this white sparkling jewel. From that day on it only got worse. Your father took care of me in secret, scared of the king finding out."

"The arkenstone...." Gloin whispered. You nodded, smiled sadly and looked at Thorin. He was, again, deep in thought.

"I am forever grateful and wish to reclaim what's yours." Your voice was surprisingly firm.

The silence after your story was deafening. The dwarves were either exchanging looks or looking at Thorin expectantly. Eventually Thorin spoke "Fine, you can come. But don't hold us back and we also don't take responsibility for your potential death."

You agreed, ignoring his bluntness. "I expected nothing more from you Thorin Oakenshield."

The attention was finally turned to the hobbit, known as Bilbo Baggins. It was funny and kind of sad to see Bilbo so scared he fainted. When he came by and had talked to Gandalf, you sat down across from him. The fire instantly warming you.

"Master Baggins, I understand you're scared. To be honest I am too. But this isn't about me or you, but about them." You pointed to the dwarves who were silently sitting in the living room. "Maybe you could reconsider."

You stood up and walked away to let Bilbo think about everything. You sat down in the, now empty, dining room. Your thoughts were interrupted by the deep humming of the dwarves. You knew that song.

Silently you stood up when they sang their last words. "The trees like torches blazed with light." Walking into the living room where only humming remained you continued the song. Even though you were kind of scared. You closed your eyes, focussing on the song.

"The wind was on the withered heat,
but in the forest stirred no leaves.
Their shadows laid, be night or day,
and dark things, silent, crept beneath.

The wind went on from west to east,
a movement in the forest ceased.
The trill and harsh across the marsh,
its whistling voices were released."

You were aware that everyone, including the wizard and hobbit, were staring at you. But you were so carried away by the song that you couldn't bring yourself to care. This song made you recall memories. Besides, they had stared at you the whole time you were talking.

To them your voice sounded almost magical, like it painted an image right in front of their eyes. You opened your eyes when you heard two other voices join you. Fili and Kili both sang along to the last verse.

"Farewell we call to hearth and home.
The wind may blow, and rain may fall.
We must away, ere break of day,
far over the wood and mountains tall."

~Δ~