Chapter 51
Miranda's POV
"Bilbo?" I called, breaking the hobbit out of his trance. "I wasn't there when you entered the goblin tunnels, I only knew that it happened. Will you tell me about it?"
The young hobbit turned away from the sapling and towards the fire. "I don't know much about what happened with the others myself," he hedged.
"Then please, tell me what you do know," I begged. I of course knew already, or at least had a good idea about what had happened, but it was so nice to talk to someone about Thorin without receiving a look of pity. Bilbo was someone who had been there, who knew, who understood.
"We had stopped in a cave for the night to rest and wait out the storm. Without warning, the ground gave out from under us. We had been laying on a trap door," Bilbo began, and I nodded along. "I was separated from the others right away, falling down a crevice with one of the goblins. By my understanding they were taken before the Goblin King and with Gandalf's help, escaped. But not before killing the horrible looking Goblin King."
"And what happened on your end?" I asked.
"Nothing much, I just made my way out of the tunnels as fast as I could," He replied, avoiding my eyes.
"You're lying," I stated. "Perhaps not entirely, but you are leaving out very important information."
"No, I'm not," Bilbo argued, meeting my eyes for a moment and immediately looking away.
I sighed wearily, "Bilbo, I need to hear what happened down there, in your words." Bilbo looked up at me and we stared at one another.
"Fine," Bilbo caved. "There was this creature, it ate the goblin that had broken my fall. It was singing about how delicious the things it eats are." He shivered at the memory. "I watched it, it seemed to talk to itself. Then it saw me, it wanted to eat me, but I convinced it to play for it. The right to eat me. We gave each other riddles until that, thing, could not answer. It looked for something and when it couldn't find it, accused me of stealing it."
"And?" I asked.
"What?" Bilbo questioned, confused.
"Did you?" I reiterated.
"No!" Bilbo cried, a little too forcefully. I nodded and let him continue. "It chased me out of the passages and with some luck, I managed to spot the others fleeing and joined them."
"And that's it?" I asked, raising a brow at him.
"Yes," He stated. I raised my eyebrow higher and he gulped.
"Bilbo," I started. "Where is the ring?"
The hobbit in front of me blanched. "What?" He squeaked.
I looked at him, unamused and tilted my head, "Where is the ring?"
"What ring?" Bilbo questioned, rubbing his hands together, nervously glancing at the mantle.
"The one you picked up in the goblin tunnels," I replied patiently.
"But I didn't say anything about picking up a ring?" He stated, feigning confusion.
"Please stop playing the fool." I pleaded. "I don't actually need to ask." I stared pointedly at the box on the mantle.
"You can't take it!" Bilbo yelled suddenly, jumping to his feet.
My eyes widened a fraction and I smiled, "So you do have it."
Bilbo stared at me wide-eyed and slapped a hand over his mouth.
"Bilbo," I began. "Its power shall corrupt you. It will take your soul, twist it, until there is nothing left of who you used to be." He shook his head violently in disbelief. "You will become the same as that creature which you saw in the goblin tunnels. That is what that ring does to those who it does not belong to."
"But it does!" Bilbo yelled wildly. "It does belong to me! It's mine! Mine!"