The Warrior Who Waited

Unwanted Help

Disclaimer; I only own Andreth and her story line. The Hobbit and characters are owned by Tolkien.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Key -

italics; internal thoughts

3rd person POV.

To say Bilbo Baggins was overwhelmed was an understatement. Twelve bumbling dwarves crowded his hobbit hole, eating all his food, clogging his pipes, and no one would answer his question of why they were there. The wizard was no help either, even asking for some wine himself, the bastard. Bilbo's attention is now drawn to the dwarves manhandling his furniture as Gandalf starts counting everyone in the company.

"Fili, Kili, Oin, Gloin, Balin, and Dwalin. We appear to be one dwarf short." He announces. And one elf short as well. Gandalf thinks to himself; Not to worry, she'll find her way here.

Gandalf's internal monologue is interrupted by Dwalins' reassurance of the missing dwarf; "He is late, is all. He traveled North to a meeting of our kin. He will come."

Later on, all the dwarves are surrounding Bilbo's dining room table, filling upon all the food Bilbo's pantry had to offer. With all this merriment happening, well for the dwarves at least, it left Gandalf to his thoughts about the unexpected guest he hoped would join the company's aid. Gandalf liked to think that if she could sway them with her abilities of survival and in defending, then maybe the dwarves, mostly Thorin, could look past her pointed ears and immortal beauty. He continued to dwell on this as the dwarves finish their feast and start to clean up. Hearing a commotion in the kitchen, Gandalf enters to see Bilbo stressing about his dollies, he chuckles, hobbit's concern for their knickknacks never gets old.

Outside the Baggins' hole, you can hear the loud chatter and clatter of dwarves cleaning and conversing. Neighbors peek their heads out of windows in wonder and curiosity at the unnatural noises coming from the normally peaceful Baggins residence. Hearing the clattering of hooves on the ground, many scurry away in fright, and others continue to watch on, hidden behind window coverings with just barely an eye shining through the window. A chestnut horse pulls up by the hobbit hole, a cloaked rider atop it. Not much could be seen about the rider besides the worn leather boots on their feet and the forest green eyes that showed the light of the moon. Noticing the mark on the green hobbit door, the rider swings off their horse in a fluid motion and with nothing more than a soft crunch of grass when landing; swiftly moving towards the door, checking the mark to be sure, before nodding to themself. Turning their head slightly, the rider mutters something to the horse in a language unknown to any Hobbit or Dwarf. The horse turns around and trots off into the darkness around the curving road.

Back inside, the company was gathered around the table sharing stories, when they were interrupted by a soft knock on the door. Suddenly everyone quiets down, some looking confused, others looking on excited and nervous. Balin, however, looks at Gandalf in confusion as the wizard rises, "That was not the knock of any Dwarf I know."

Chuckling Gandalf replies as he moves to open the door, "That, Master Balin, is because it's not a Dwarf at all.". The door opens to show the cloaked rider, standing at 5' 9", pulling down her hood to show her pointed ears for the dwarves to see. The elf in particular had golden-brown hair, curls cascading down her back with braids creating a crown on her head. She wore a simple green tunic with some holes from previous adventures and brown leather tights, her cloak being dark brown. Along her waist was a belt holding her sword, which was almost half her height, a pouch containing herbs, and another holding water. On her back was a quiver full of arrows, a bow, and daggers hidden from the eye that only she knew about. The she-elves face held a welcoming smile, green eyes only showing friendliness, as her face was speckled with light freckles which was an unfamiliar characteristic shared among but a few special elves.