The Story of Hazel Baggins

Chapter 4

The group left right as Thorin said they would, the crack of dawn. The moment the sun showed its first light Hazel was rudely woken by Thorin saying it was time to go, and with her not being a morning person she threw a pillow at him. You can guess how that went.

An hour later the sun was up and they were all on horseback, starting their long journey towards The Lonely Mountain. As they left Hazel insisted that they leave the contract behind because she was sure that Bilbo would change his mind. In fact they all made a bet whether he would or not. Her and Gandalf were the only ones that believed in him. And they were right.

"Wait!" Called a familiar voice. "Wait!" The group turned to find Bilbo running towards them, the contract in his hand.

"I signed it!" He exclaimed. Giving it to Balin who examined it.

"Well, everything seems to be in order." He said. "Welcome to the company of Thorin Oakenshield, Master Baggins!"

They got Bilbo's horse ready but he quickly insisted that he could walk on his own. He ended up being forced onto the pony.

"Enjoying the ride?" Hazel teased.

"No, I am not." He grumbled. He wasn't fond of horses.

He suddenly noticed the bags of money being tossed around. "Um...what's going on?"

"We all made a bet whether you'd show up or not." She replied.

"And what did you bet?" He asked skeptically.

"That you would." She said as she caught a bag of coins.

Bilbo suddenly sneezed. "Ugh, it's this horse hair, I'm having a reaction." He searched his pockets only to find he forgot his handkerchief. "Wait! Wait! Stop!" He cried, causing the company to stop and face him. "We have to go back! I forgot my pocket handkerchief!"

Hazel and Thorin both rolled their eyes at him. "Here, use this." Bofur said, giving him a piece of his sleeve.

"Move on!" Thorin commanded.

***

Later that night, Hazel lay awake, not being able to sleep because of Bombur's snoring. So she got up to join Fili and Kili on watch duty. They had a pleasant conversation about practical jokes and she found she had a lot in common with the two. She suddenly heard some kind of screech in the distance, startling her.

"What in the bloody world was that?" She exclaimed. "That didn't sound like any animal I know of."

"That's because it was an orc." Kili replied, but she instantly knew it was a joke.

"Oh, very funny."

"Orcs?" Bilbo asked suddenly, sitting up. Apparently he could sleep either. Hazel noticed how quickly Thorin sat up at the mention of those foul creatures.

"Throat-cutters. There'll be dozens of them out there." Fili added.

"The lone-lands are crawling with them. They strike in the wee small hours when everyone's asleep. Quick and quiet, no screams. Just lots of blood."

The two began to snicker seeing Bilbo's terrified expression. "Relax, Bilbo they're just teasing." Hazel said with an eye roll.

"You think this is funny?" Thorin asked, glaring at the brothers. "You think a night raid by orcs is a joke!?"

"We didn't mean anything by it." Kili replied, looking down shamefully.

"No you didn't. You know nothing of the world." Thorin said, going to look off the edge of the cliff they were camping on, brushing past the woman.

"Excuse you." She grumbled, but he ignored her.

"Don't pay him any mind, laddie." Balin told Kili. "Thorin has more cause than most to hate orcs."

"Why is that?" Hazel asked, sitting by the fire.

"Well, after the dragon took the Lonely Mountain, King Thror tried to reclaim the ancient Dwarf Kingdom of Moria. But our enemy had got their first. Moria had been taken by legions of Orcs, led by the most vile of all their race: Azog The Defiler."

The name sent an unpleasant chill down her spine as he continued.

"The giant Gundabad Orc had sworn to wipe out the line of Durin. He began by beheading the king. Thrain, Thorin's father, was driven mad by grief. He went missing, taken prisoner or killed we do not know. We were leaderless. Defeat and death were upon us. That is when I saw him. A young Dwarf prince...facing down the Pale Orc."

Hazel listened intently, eager to devour each word.

"He stood alone against this terrible foe. His armor rent, wielding nothing but an oaken branch as a shield. Azog the Defiler learned that day...that the line of Durin would not be so easily broken. Our forces rallied...wand drove the Orcs back...and our enemy had been defeated. But there was no feast, nor song that night. For our dead were beyond the count of grief. We few had survived. And I thought to myself then...'there is one I could follow. There is one I could call King'."

Hazel stared at Thorin with a newfound respect, he was also staring at her. "And what happened to the Pale Orc?" She asked.

"He slunk back into the hole from whence he came. That filth died of his wounds long ago." Thorin replied, heading back to the camp and sitting next to her.

"Well yeah, I'm pretty sure anyone would die living in a butthole." Hazel remarked, causing everyone to laugh. Except Bilbo, who immediately reprimanded her for the joke. What went unnoticed however, was the hint of a smile on Thorin's face.

Hope y'all enjoyed. I know I did.