Differently *Fem!Bilbo/Thorin Oakenshield*

Chapter 3: An Adventure!

l woke up and the dwarves were gone, a candle still smoking from their putting it out but they had left the contract. I had decided. I quickly changed into a pair of knee length  trousers, a green waistcoat, a plain white blouse with short sleeves, and my red coat. I signed the contract 'Belladonna Baggins II' and ran off with my knapsack. 

"Where are you going, Miss Bella?" A neighbor asked.

“Can’t stop, I’m already late!”I replied, still running.

“Late for what?”

“I’m going on an adventure!” I shouted with a laugh and ran towards the forest, the contract trailing behind me as I spotted their caravan of dwarves. “Wait! Wait!” I called out trying to get their attention and they stopped. “I signed it!” I smiled, catching my breath and handing the contract to Balin.

“Everything appears to be in order. Welcome, Mistress Baggins, to the company of Thorin Oakenshield.”Balin said and the dwarves cheered except for Thorin who seemed upset.

“Give her a pony.” He ordered and my eyes widened once again.

“No, no, no, no, that--that won’t be necessary, thank you, but I--I’m sure I can keep up on foot. I-- I--I’ve done my fair share of walking holidays, you know. I even got as far as Frogmorton once--WAGH!” I was steadily picked up and steadied onto a pony by the two younger dwarves.  They all took bets on whether I was coming or not.
“What did you think?” I asked Gandalf after he told me they had made bets.

“Hmmm.”Gandalf said before catching a bag of money. “My dear girl, I never doubted you for a second. But now, you’ll have to manage without pocket-handkerchiefs and a good many other things Belladonna Baggins, before we reach our journey’s end. You were born to the rolling hills and little rivers of the Shire, but home is now behind you; the world is ahead.” We rode and camped on a cliffside. I was feeding an apple to my pony when I heard a shrill scream.

“What was that?" I asked.

“Orcs.” Kili replied.

“O-orcs?” I asked.

“Throat-cutters. There’ll be dozens of them out there. The lowlands are crawling with them.” Fili said and my eyes widened as my face paled.

“They strike in the wee small hours, when everyone’s asleep. Quick and quiet; no screams, just lots of blood.” Kili said and then they laughed at me!

“You think that’s funny? You think a night raid by orcs is a joke?” Thorin was outraged that they were telling me this.

“We didn’t mean anything by it.”Kili defended.

“No, you didn’t. You know nothing of the world.”  Thorin went to sit on the cliffside and the two boys looked  saddened. I looked over at Thorin.

“Don’t mind him, lassie. Thorin has more cause than most to hate orcs. After the dragon took the Lonely Mountain, King Thror tried to reclaim the ancient dwarf kingdom of Moria. But our enemy got there first.” Balin began to explain. Telling the story of the battle of Azinulbizar. “Moria had been taken by legions of Orcs led by the most vile of all their race: Azog, the Defiler. 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 did 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.”

I could imagine Thorin facing down his enemy, bloodstained and angry ready to fight for the line of Durin.

“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 and drove the orcs back. Our enemy had been defeated. But there was no feast, no 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 who I could follow. There is one I could call King.” Balin finished but I still had questions.

“But the pale orc? What happened to him?” I asked and Thorin walked over.

"He slunk back into the hole whence he came. That filth died of his wounds long ago.” He replied and walked back over to the cliffside I turned and walked over.

"I'm very sorry about what happened to your family." I said and he looked at me as though I were crazy. 

"Why would you care about my troubles, Miss Baggins?" Thorin asked.

"Because no one deserves to lose their loved ones like that. Not a soul. You've had enough trouble in your life and you don't deserve it." He smirked at me
.
"Thank you Bella, go and rest for we leave at first light." 

"Of course but know that though you've all had your fair share of tragedy and that you're not alone." 

"I will be sure to remember that miss Baggins." He said and I walked away back over to my blankets. I fell asleep thinking about Balin's story. Thorin hadn't deserved anything that he had gotten in his life the way he did and tragedies like these often needed a good friend to get through them and perhaps I could be not only a burglar but a friend to him.