-Protector Without Honor- (Thorin Oakenshield Fanfic)

Chapter 3: Evening Party for the Dwarves

"Late for what?" Bilbo asked. Much to his disturbance, Balin ignored her as he caught sight of the first guest in the living room. 

"Aha! Evening, brother!" he greeted. Kóna raised an eyebrow before showing an amused smile but quickly hid it from anyone: 

"By my beard, you're shorter and wider than the last we met," Dwalin responded. 

"Wider, not shorter," Balin said with a smile, "sharp enough for the both of us!" The two brothers put their arms on each other's shoulders, and while expecting them to hug, as they suddenly smashed their foreheads together. Making Kóna wince a bit.

"Have you eaten?" Dwalin asked. 

Balin followed Dwalin into the pantry and began to sort through the food. With Bilbo, he started to realize that everything clicked in his mind, and he scolded himself for not realizing it sooner: "You ok-?" 

"These men had come to the wrong house!" Bilbo shouted in a whisper to Kóna as he left to check on them since it was making her chuckle and shrug by waiting for the door to knock again. At the same time, Kóna watches them from afar, feeling a sense of deja vu until her mind is interrupted by a knock at the door after she opens it for the third time. 

Not bothered by it since she wanted to learn more about the story than the book, Kóna was faced by two men younger than the first two. She had no choice but to admit that they were pretty handsome for dwarves: 'Good looking. For a pair of dwarves.'  She noticed they appeared different; the first had golden blonde hair, multiple braids, and dark blue eyes.

The younger one had dark hair, a braid on either side of his head, and brown eyes. He didn't have a beard or a mustache, only scruff: "Fili," the older greeted, "and Kili," said the other, "at your service." They bowed in unison with charming smiles; Kóna felt stuck in an awkward silence back in high school after not giving a graduation speech. Never again will she ever do it: 

They both smiled at her, "You must be Miss Light!" the one called "Kili" happily declared. 

Kóna is mentally prepared for what would come since she knows how the story goes, so she greets them, "I am. Kóna Light, but you may call me Kóna." 

"You're a dwarf?" The question stunned her; Kóna didn't think it through until she remembered her reflection; she hid it by nodding: 

"Yes, I am." Her voice was evident that she was a bit nervous, "Wow, it's been such a long time since dwarf lassies existed, most of them rare, y'know." Fili tells her with a wink, and Kóna blushes a little as he enters by taking off his coat with his brother's help; Kóna feels herself in a problematic situation, mentally cursing that they were a bit tall for her. 

"Thank you, Miss Kóna ." Both said in unison, smiling at her as Kili lifted her hand to kiss it and then left with a wink, leaving her flustered by his straightforward action; to which she went to make more root beer for the dwarf men: 

"Mhmm~ What is that lovely smell?" 

Kóna replied: "It's homemade root beer. Care to drink some?" Dwalin handed the drinks to them. 

"Gadly, lass-Hey! Over here at the table!" The twins left, dashing to the dining table to sit down while Kóna started bringing food and drinks. Bilbo tried to stop her, but she gave him an 'if-you-kick-them-out-they-can-kill-you' look as he shut up and left to calm down as Kóna opened the door again and brought more food.

Only to meet Dwalin, Balin, Kili, Fili, Bofur, Oin, Gloin, Bifur, Bombur, Ori, and finally Nori, but the last one missing was Thorin Oakenshield. Gandalf, on the other hand, was helping everyone get in and sit down their seats for Supper. Kóna leaned against the wall and watched the whole place become a monastery of dwarf-ONLY men's houses. She snorted at that, cracking her neck from side to side and staying silent the entire time. 

Oin spoke shyly: "Um...W-Who are you?" 

"Kóna." She quickly replied. 

"What brings you here?" Gloin asked, making Gandalf the one to speak: "She's a well-known skilled mercenary." That's when everyone started bombarding her with questions about why Kóna does something dangerous, to which she explained in detail while drinking her root beer: "I do what I do because it's what I'm good at and enjoy. I take on dangerous missions because I have the skills and abilities to handle them. It's just who I am."

The dwarves seemed satisfied with her answer, and Kóna went back to observing the group, feeling like an outsider in this merry gathering. She couldn't help but feel a sense of unease as she watched them joke and laugh with each other, knowing the dangerous journey ahead for them. 

Suddenly, as the night goes on, they all continue throwing a party in the Hobbit Hole, Making Kóna want to join the conversation, but she doubts herself and stays quiet: 'I'm astounded by their personalities. Except Thorin Oakenshield. What's so great about him anyway?' 

Kóna pondered a bit and continued to watch the party.

Time skip~

The dwarves finished their meal, and everyone willingly cleaned the pots, plates, forks, knives, and spoons. Bilbo was so angry that he mumbled: "Be bothered and be confusticate these dwarves." 

"My dear Bilbo, what on earth is the matter?" Gandalf chirped in/exclaimed from the dining room and bent over to fit through the doorway leading to the kitchen to find Bilbo's reply. 

"I am surrounded by Dwarves!" He snapped by following the wizard. The Dwarves? They're quite a merry gathering once you get used to them!" the wizard answered.

Kóna, on the other hand, was silently sharpening her sword, carefully not wanting to say anything much about her past. By medieval standards, Kóna felt at home. For the first time, she felt relaxed and content with living without anyone to protect her. Even if it was a full house, Kóna still felt relaxed.

"Excuse me. I'm sorry to interrupt, but what should I do with my plate?" Ori asked shyly. Luna then heard the blonde dwarf speak up from behind Bilbo as she (Kóna) was cleaning the dishes from afar: "Here you go, Ori, give it to me." Fili said, and he tossed the plate to his brother, who passed it on to another and into the kitchen. 

Now they were throwing the dishes! They began singing about ruining the words. Although she usually would've found it amusing, she paid zero attention...Until the dwarves began singing.

Everyone continued singing, and Kóna did her best to sing along with them; as Fili brought her onto the floor into a dance, she gasped in shock at how he danced funnily and felt herself doing the unexpected. She smiles! Her stoic and calm expression was broken, along with relief. Kóna was brightly smiling for the first time. Never in her life, as a Mercenary, had she ever gotten the chance to smile more, and before he (Bilbo) knew it, all the dishes were clean and unbroken! In shock, Bilbo stared at the stacked crockery and turned around to see the guests cheering.

Suddenly, everyone heard three knocks at the door, which were much more demanding and louder than all the rest. She frowned once more in her stoic and calm expression as everyone grew silent and still. Kóna and Bilbo turned to Gandalf, waiting for another great explanation, 

"He's here." He announced quietly, almost gravely. 

The Mercenary slowly got up and went to open the door, wondering who it was that could silence the entire guests in the living room.