The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings one shots and Imagines

The apprentice - Part 1 - Dwarves x Reader

For once, I actually know where I want to go with this story. Buuuuuuut, I thought that I would leave you guessing as to who the character will be, until the next part.😁 Hope you enjoy.

(Y/n) looked up at the great entrance to the home of the dwarves. Erebor! She had finally made it. It had taken her so long to make her way to the Lonely Mountain from the Blue Mountains, alone. Her bag of heavy tools and her sword which were slung over her back, her only protection from the dangers of the road. Yet even though she had made it, it wasn't guaranteed that the inhabitants of the Lonely Mountain would accept her. So, all she could hope for, was that her old master had made it back to his ancestral home.

(Y/n) was an oddity in the Blue Mountains. The mountain range, situated in the far west of Eriador was usually home to dwarves and elves. Yet she was neither of those, (Y/n) being the only mortal in the whole region to call Ered Luin, home. She had never known how she had come to be there. All she could remember was that she had been a child. Small, dirty and hungry. Eating whatever she could to survive. But then one day, a master blacksmith by the name of Gunri, had come across her. The elderly dwarf believing that the short haired, dirty faced little mortal was in fact a rather scrawny young male dwarf, and had taken her in. Gunri had had no children of his own, the blacksmith wishing to pass on his skills to another generation before he passed. So, when he had finally realised his mistake, and what he did actually have on his hands was a little girl, it had been too late. The dwarven smith realising that the small mortal child did in fact seen to have a skill for the craft. The blacksmith deciding that despite who and what she was, that he would make her his apprentice. And so, he had. The old dwarf teaching the small mortal to fashion weapons, armour, and anything else that he believed that she should know. (Y/n) growing from a tiny, malnourished little girl, into a strong and healthy woman, that even the dwarves would visit to have her fashion new weapons or sharpen their blades.

Yet when the dwarves of the Blue Mountains had received word that Thorin Oakenshield and his company had retaken the Lonely Mountain, Gunri had decided that he would like to see his old home before he died. The elder dwarf promising to send for his apprentice once he had settled. But that was so long ago now. (Y/n) had waited. And waited. And waited some more. But as more and more dwarves left the Blue Mountains to make their way back to Erebor, she had decided that she could wait no longer. That she longed to see the old dwarf again, and so, she had packed all her best tools. Packed the sword that Gurin had given her as a gift and left the only home that she could remember. The young woman making the perilous journey to a place that she had only ever heard the dwarves talk about, as they had drunk copious amounts of ale.

She had first stopped in Dale. The once destroyed city, slowly being reborn under the rule of Bard. Yet she didn't know other mortals. She didn't trust them. So, her only hope now, was that large mountain that she now stood in front of. Her only hope, that Gurin would be there.

Cautiously she made her way to the large gate, her hand reaching up to knock. Yet she hesitated. If the dwarves turned her away because she was a mortal, where would she go? It was true that Dale may have need of a blacksmith. There were certainly still enough things to repair, and tools would always need to be fixed and sharpened. But she didn't know of other mortals. She had only heard the stories from Gunri and the others about the worlds of men. How mortals couldn't be trusted. And anyway, Gunri was the only family she had ever known. She was used to his grumpy and gruff demeanours. Used to the way that he would grumble and growl. How he would scold her for her mistakes, and huff as he complimented her on her work. Always adding that she could still do better. So, there was nothing else for her to do. She had to knock.

"What!?" A gruff voice suddenly asked. (Y/n) slightly startled as a smaller door in the huge ingress opened. A wizened looking dwarf looking her up and down, as she waited for her to reply.

"Ya in tha wrong place. Dale is ova there. Now be off with ya." The dwarf added, as he went to close the door. Deciding that he was far too busy to give the mortal chance to tell him why she was there.

"Master Gunri! I'm here to see Master Gunri. He's my fath..........I am his apprentice. I have travelled from the Blue Mountains to see him. Please........" (Y/n) explained, as she held her arm against the door. Hoping that the elderly dwarf would know the name of the blacksmith.

"Gunri, ya say. His apprentice, ya say............." The dwarf mussed for a moment. (Y/n)'s heart pounding violently in her chest, as she waited for the dwarf to decide whether he should allow her into the great mountain.

"Ya better come in, child." The dwarf finally replied. Opening the door fully so that she could make her way inside. The hunched, grey haired dwarf beckoning her to follow him, as he led her into the gloom.

(Y/n) had to admit that she had never expected this. That despite all that Gunri had told her about the Lonely Mountain. About its splendours. Its great halls. The mines. The gold. It had been nothing to what now lay before her. A smile coming to her lips as a few little ones ran past her. The sound of dwarves singing making her feel as though she was home.

"(Y/n)!? Is that you child?" A female voice suddenly asked. (Y/n) turning to see a familiar face.

"Mistress Dava! Oh, thank Aulë. I feared that I would never see a friendly face again." (Y/n) exclaimed, as she raced over to the pale haired, female dwarf. The larger mortal engulfing the dwarf in an embrace.

"Its nice to see you again too, (Y/n). Now what are ya doing here? When we left, ya were still working in Gunri's old forge." Dava chuckled. Pushing her fingers through the tired looking young woman's hair. Helping (Y/n) take her heavy load from her shoulders.

"That is exactly why I'm here, Mistress Dava. Master Gunri said that he would send for me when he had settled back in Erebor, yet that was some time ago. So, I decided that I would make my way here, and hope that the old dwarf hadn't forgotten about me. Is he here somewhere? I have missed the grumpy old thing so much." (Y/n) replied happily. Hoping that the female dwarf would be able to take her to see the gruff old dwarf that meant so much to her.

"Oh, yes......Gunri." Dava said softly. Her expression turning sad. (Y/n)'s brows furrowing as she wondered why the old dwarf's demeanour had changed.

"Why don't you come with me? I am sure that Drog would love to see you too. We will have some tea, and then talk about Gunri." Dava finally added. Her tone slightly happier as she offered the young mortal her arm. Leading (Y/n) through the great halls to find her husband. The old dwarf knowing that she would have to find a way of breaking the news to (Y/n).