***
I decided to give a link here too. To one of my new videos. This one is about our Kili! I did the edit myself. Edit has nothing to do with the story I wrote. So please don't worry. I made it to the original story.
Feel free to watch🤭🤗
***
When we got to the Shire, it was already dark. We were very tired and hungry, but Gandalf assured us that the food would be there. However, we didn't go with the whole Company to Bilbo, we divided into groups. I walked with Kili and Fili. We talked along the way about what could happen to us, what our burglar would be like, and what would be to eat. All I knew about the hobbits was that they were slightly smaller than us, dwarves, and that they had feet so big that they couldn't wear shoes. In addition, they're very hospitable. But I didn't know how the hobbit might react, to whom a Company of fourteen dwarves would come, along with me, plus a wizard.
"Ohh... " My thoughts were interrupted by Kili.
"What happened?" Fili asked.
"Look at my shoes. " Kili replied. "They're all in the mud. "
"Come on. " I interjected. "You'll be fine, prince. " I smiled.
"Exactly. " Fili laughed. "And besides, every decent dwarf should have a doormat in front of the house, so... " He added shrugging his shoulders.
Kili looked at his brother with a surprised expression.
"But he's not a dwarf. " He noted.
At the sight of their mines, I started laughing. I stopped between them, took Kili and Fili by the arms and dragged them on their way.
Boys are really funny and sometimes quite unbearable. But it's impossible not to like them anyway. I've known them since I was a kid, they're very important to me, just like Thorin. For all these years, they have been my family. We also do great in combat, just like the rest of our Company. Kili wields a sword very well and shoots a bow perfectly. Me the same. Thorin taught me sword fighting and Kili taught me how to shoot a bow. In addition, Fili taught me how to outwit the enemy, which has been useful to me recently. The last time I practiced with Kili, I managed to outwit him. He knocked me over and enjoyed the win until I put his leg up and he fell over himself. He immediately passed grumpy and looked at me with a begging look to leave the dagger I was holding to his throat. Together with Fili, we had a moment to make fun of him for losing to a girl. Kili was angry with us for plotting against him, but it passed him as quickly as it appeared.
Boys are brothers, but they differ a bit in appearance. Kili is a brunette. He is taller than me by the forehead, has brown eyes, shoulder-length hair, which he has slightly fastened at the back of his head and delicate stubble on his chin. Fili, on the other hand, is blond. His height is the same as Kili's, he has gray eyes, shoulder-length hair and he has braids on them here and there. And like his brother, he has a delicate beard on his chin.
***
Shire is quite large. It was night, but you could still see the meadows and hills where the hobbits' houses were. We would probably wander there for hours if not the sign on the door that Gandalf left there.
"See?" Kili looked at Fili. "There is no doormat. " Added, glancing at me, to which I only rolled my eyes.
"How can it be? " Fili added, shaking his head.
"Okay, guys. " I sighed. "Just be nice. "
Kili smiled goofisely.
"Sure, nice. " Added and winked at me.
I'll admit that I couldn't help but smile.
"Ready? " Fili asked.
"Yes. " Kili and I replied.
"Okay. Let's get to know our burglar. " Fili said and knocked on the door.
Boys were standing in front and I was behind them. We waited for a moment until the door finally opened and the hobbit appeared before our eyes. He was wearing a white shirt and a bathrobe of dark colors on it. He had light shabby hair and dark blue eyes. In addition, he looked at us with surprise.
"Fili. " Fili introduced himself.
"Kili. " His brother introduced himself.
"Malia. " I introduced myself last.
"At your service! " We all said together and bowed.
"You must be Mr. Baggins. " Kili said with a smile.
" Nope! You can't come in.
You've come to the wrong house. " Baggins replied in a hurry and wanted to close the door, but Kili stopped him.
"What? " Brunet said. "Not only do you not have a doormat, but you also say that everything is canceled? "
"No one told us. " Fili added.
Bilbo looked at us with his eyes frozen.
"No, nothing's been canceled. " Hobbit replied confused.
"That's good. " I interjected.
I passed Kili and Fili, smiled at the hobbit, and was the first to go inside.
I looked around. From the outside, the house seems much smaller, but inside there is much more space than I thought.
"It's really nice here. " I said.
"Thank you. " Bilbo replied, closing the door.
You can see that he wasn't very happy with our visit, but nevertheless he still behaved culturally towards us.
As soon as he turned around, Fili handed him his weapons.
"Careful with these. " Blond boy warned. "I just had them sharpened."
"It's nice. " Kili interjected, who, like me, was looking around the apartment. "Did you do it yourself? " Asked and began to wipe his shoes on the trunk.
"What? No, it's been in the family for years." Hobbit replied. "That's my mother's glory box. Can you please not do that? " Baggins said, who in the meantime was trying to somehow keep Fili's weapons.
"You had to have a doormat in front of the house. " Blond man said and went to the kitchen.
I just nodded.
"Don't pay attention to them." I said and smiled at Bilbo.
I walked over to Kili, took him by the arm.
"Malia, Kili! " We heard a familiar voice, and when I turned around I saw Dwalin.
"Ooh! " Kili called cheerfully. "Mr. Dwalin. "
"Come, you'll help us. " Dwalin replied and dragged us to the kitchen.
Also in the kitchen was Balin, Dwalin's brother. I walked up to him and hugged him as a greeting.
"Good to see you. " Dwarf said with a nice smile.
"You too. " I replied nicely.
Kili, Fili and Dwalin began to make more space in the kitchen to fit the rest. When Baggins saw what they were doing, he began to inquire what was going on. Balin explained to him that the others of our Company had to fit in. And just at that moment, the bell rang, which meant that someone had come. Bilbo went to open, but now he was completely angry.
"No, no, no..." He said under his breath. "I already have too many dwarves in the kitchen! If that's some stupid joke... It's extremely bad! "
He opened the door, and the rest of our Company, including the wizard Gandalf, burst in.
***
The Company was very hungry. As soon as they entered the kitchen and found Bilbo's pantry... All the food disappeared in the blink of an eye. We were sitting at the table, in the hobbit's dining room. Me between Kili and Fili. Everyone ate so fast and took such handfuls of food, as if they hadn't eaten anything for a week. They laughed, fooled around, and finally started throwing food at each other.
"Bombur, catch. " Bofur called and threw the boiled egg straight into the mouth of Bombur, who of course caught it and ate it, to which everyone began to laugh.
Thus began the war on throwing food. I threw sliced cheese at Kili, and he threw one of the cupcakes in me. After all this war, I helped the brunet pull the cheese out of his hair. I'll admit that he looked really comical with it. Later, the dwarves began to drink beer and, as they often did, they made a burp contest. They started burping one by one, and I just laughed, looking at them all. Bofur recently won, but this time Ori won. No one paid attention to Baggins, who was standing in the pantry and still couldn't believe that we had taken all his food. I felt sorry for him.
"No, no, no. " I took Kili one free plate. "This is for Bilbo. "
"You're so kind." He said and kissed me on the cheek which surprised me a little.
"I know. " I said and sent him a smile, which of course he reciprocated.
So I took a plate and put two sausages, bread, and some salad on it. I found a free cup and poured water into it. However, I didn't know how to go to the hobbit, because the Company sat down so much that it was impossible to pass at all. So I decided to walk around the table. I got up and walked on top of it.
"Carefully. " Gloin said.
I walked slowly so as not to step on any food, jumped off the table and ran to the hobbit.
"Hey. " Bilbo turned toward me. "Here... " I said with a nice smile and handed him a plate of food and a cup of water.
Baggins was a bit surprised.
"T- thank you. " H replied hesitantly. "But it wasn't necessary. "
"It was. " I replied. I turned around and pointed to the Company. "I'm sorry for them. It's really a very cheerful bunch. They're generally very nice and cultured, but when they see the food... "
"They're hungry. " Bilbo replied. "I understand. " He smiled.
"I'm very sorry. " I said.
"It's okay, really. And... Eem... Thank you for the food. "
He seemed very nice and sympathetic. I had a feeling that we would make friends.
"Lia! " Kili called me. He always called me that, I got used to it.
I turned around and ran back to him.
***
After about ten minutes, everyone started to disperse around the rooms. Full to their heart's content, they talked or smoked pipes. I saw Gandalf talking to Baggins when Ori suddenly approached them and asked him what to do with the plate after eating. Fili took it from him and threw it to Kili, but I overtook the brunet and I was the one who grabbed the dish.
"Hey! " Dwarf called.
"Sorry. " I smiled. "You have to be faster. " Winked at him and threw the plate further, to Bifur, who was just starting to wash the dishes.
"Wait a minute! " Bilbo protested. "This is porcelain from the western quadrant, after the mother. It's over a hundred years old! Can you not do that?" Shouted at the dwarves who took the knives. " You blunt them!"
Fili handed me another plate, this time I handed it to Kili, and then kili, Bifur. From dwarf to dwarf we served each other dishes and started singing a song along the way.
" Blunt the knives, bend the forks
Smash the bottles and burn the corks
Chip the glasses and crack the plates
That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!
Cut the cloth, tread on the fat
Leave the bones on the bedroom mat
Pour the milk on the pantry floor
Splash the wine on every door!
Dump the crocks in a boiling bowls
Pound them up with a thumping pole
When you're finished if they are whole
Send them down the hall to roll
That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!"
We cleaned everything up in the blink of an eye, and at the sight of Bilbo's surprised expression, everyone started laughing.
And only now it dawned on me that there's not one dwarf with us. Thorin.
Just as if on cue, the doorbell rang and I already knew it would be him. My assumptions were confirmed by Gandalf. The wizard went to the door to open it.
"Gandalf. " Thorin said as he walked inside. "I thought you said... This place would be easy to find. I lost my way, twice. "
Thorin looked around the Company, seeing if everyone was there. When he saw me, he nodded to me and smiled. I did the same thing.
"I wouldn't have found it at all had it not been for that mark on the door." He continued, taking off his cape.
"Mark? There's no mark on that door. " Bilbo protested. "It was painted a week ago. "
"There's a mark. I put it myself. " Gandalf replied with a smile. "Bilbo Baggins, allow me to introduce the leader of our Company.. Thorin Oakenshield. "
Thorin handed kili's coat and approached the burglar.
"So, this is the hobbit. " Thorin said thoughtfully.
He began to ask Baggins if he preferred to fight with a sword or an axe. But I doubted Bilbo would ever fight any of these weapons. What he said was that he was great at shooting from a slingshot.
"He looks more like a grocer than a burglar. " Thorin said, to which the rest of the Company began to laugh.
***
We all sat back at the table. I gave Thorin something to eat, and then I took a seat between Kili and Fili. Balin and Dwalin began to ask Thorin if the dwarves of Iron Hills would join us, but Thorin said no. Gandalf, seeing our disappointed faces, asked Bilbo to give more light.
"Far to the east..." Wizard began to say. "Over ranges and rivers... Beyond woodlands and wastelands... Lies a single, solitary peak. " Said, unfolding the map next to Thorin.
"The Lonely Mountain. " Bilbo read aloud.
Gloin mentioned that Oin had read the signs and that the time had come. They began to talk about the prophecy that proclaimed the end of the power of the beast - the dragon, Smaug. Hobbit began to ask what beast he meant, and Bofur quickly explained to him, to which the other one turned pale.
"The task would be difficult... With an army behind us... " Balin interjected. "But we number just fourteen. And not fourteen of the best nor brightest. "
"We may be few in number..." Fili interrupted conversation. "But we're fighters, all of us! To the last Dwarf! "
"And you forget, we have a Wizard in our Company. " Kili added. "Gandalf will have killed hundreds of dragons in his time. "
"Oh, well... I wouldn't say... " Wizard replied at once.
After a moment of silence, everyone started arguing, but Thorin managed to silence them.
"If we read these sings... Do you not think others will have read them too? " Asked. "Rumors have begun to spread The dragon, Smaug, has not been for sixty years. Eyes look east to the mountain, assessing, wondering, weighting and the risk. Perhaps the vast wealth of our people now lies unprotected. Do we sit back while others claim what is rightfully ours? Or do we seize thic chance to take back Erebor?!" Everyone agreed with Thorin, but Balin unfortunately stopped cheering.
"You forget, the Front Gate is sealed. There's no way into the mountain." Dwarf said.
"That, my dear Balin, is not entirely true. " Gandalf interjected and took out a small key, which each of the Company knew.
The key to Erebor.
He also said that Thrain, Thorin's father, give it to him.
"If there is a key... There must be a door. " Fili interjected thoughtfully.
"Yes. " Gandalf confirmed and showed something on the map. "These runes speak of a hidden passage to the Lower Halls. "
" There's another way in." Kili said, looked at me and sent me a smile, which I immediately reciprocated.
"Well, if we find it. " Wizard sighed. " But Dwarf doors are invisible when closed."
" And this map? " I interjected. " Can you read it? "
" The answer lies hidden somewhere in this map... And I do not have the skill to find it. But there are others in the Middle-Earth who can. " Gandalf glanced at Thorin, and I immediately guessed that he was talking about elves. " The task I have in mind will require a great deal of stealth. And no small amount of courage. But if we're careful and clever, I believe that it can be done. " Said, glancing at hobbit.
" That's why we need a burglar. " Ori concluded.
" A good one too. " Bilbo confirmed. " An expert, I'd imagine."
" And are you? " Kili asked.
The Hobbit looked at him in surprise. Then he turned behind him to make sure the dwarf was talking to him.
" Am I what? Me? No, no, no... " Bilbo denied. " I'm not a burglar. I've never stolen a thing in my life. "
" Well, I'm afraid I have to agree with Mr. Baggins. " Balin interjected.
I disagreed, but before I could say anything, Gandalf spoke. He got up visibly and it suddenly became dark in the room.
" Enough! If I say Bilbo Baggins is a burglar, then a burglar he is! " Wizard sat back into place and therefore brightened up again.
" Gandalf is right. " I added. " Hobbits are light on their feet. In fact, they can pass unseen by most, if they choose. And, while the dragon is accustomed to the smell of a dwarf... The scent of a hobbit is all but unknown to him, which gives us a distinct advantage."
" Yes, this gives us a great advantage. " Gandalf added, and then headed for Thorin. "You asked him to find the fifteenth member of this Company and I have chosen Mr. Baggins. There's more to him than appearances suggest. And he's got a great deal more to offer than any of you know. " Looked at everyone in the audience. "Including himself. You must trust me on this. " He addressed his last words to the Oakenshield.
I knew that Thorin was very stubborn and that it would be difficult to convince him, but I hoped he would agree.
" Very well. " Dwarf replied after a moment of reflection.
He asked Balin to give the hobbit a contract. Baggins took it and began to browse.
Bilbo passed out after reading the contract and hearing Bofur's words-
" Ah, and why did you say that? " I scolded Bofur and ran to hobbit.
***
Gandalf went to talk to Baggins when he had already woken up. He tried to convince him to join our trip. Bilbo got used to living a quiet life. Such an expedition is a real challenge and you're not guaranteed a return.
" Do you think he'll agree? " I asked Kili.
" We'll see. " He replied.
We all gathered by the fireplace. Thorin started humming such a well-known song, and after a while we all started singing it together:
"Far over the Misty Mountains cold,
To dungeons deep and caverns old,
We must away, ere break of day,
To claim our long-forgotten gold,
The pines were roaring on the heights,
The winds was moaning in the night,
The fire was red, it flaming spread,
The trees like torches blazed with light."
***
The next day we set off. We didn't know if Mr. Baggins would join us, so we started making bets. I, of course, bet on the fact that hobbit would come. And Kili, that probably not. I was hoping I would be right and Bilbo would show up. Not only because I wanted to win against Kili, but because, as Gandalf said, we need him. He underestimated himself. It was the same with me so I know this feeling very well.
" Wait! " We heard someone's voice. " Wait!! "
I turned around and as I expected it was Bilbo. We stopped to wait for him. He was really fast since he caught up with us on foot while we were riding a horse.
" I signed it! " He called and gave Balin a contract.
" Everything appears to be in order. " Balin confirmed when he reviewed the document and hid it. " Welcome master Baggins, to the Company of Thorin Oakenshield. "
"Give him a pony". Thorin said after a while.
"No, no, no. " Bilbo protested quickly. " That won't be necessary. Thank you. I'm sure I can keep up on foot. I've done my fair share of walking holidays, you know? Even got as far as Frogmorton once. Aah! " He didn't have time to finish, because Kili and Fili drove up to him from both sides. One on the right, the other on the left, and they grabbed hobbit by the shoulders and put him on a pony.
I suspected he was probably afraid of them, but when boys put him on a pony, he didn't speak anymore.
" And what? " I drove up to Kili.
" What "what"?" He asked as if he didn't know what was going on.
" Oh, don't pretend anymore. "
" I'm not pretending. " Avoided eye contact, but I saw that he was smiling.
" Pay me. " I said.
"You wish, forget it. " He turned to me and grinned his teeth, and then accelerated and drove forward.
"Kili! " I shouted and followed him.
And so another day passed. We have a long way to go, and we have less and less time...