Stay With Me [Thorin Oakenshield]

Chapter 4: Parasites

The next few days came and went quickly. They were spent travelling, conversing with each other every now and then but most of the time was spent riding alongside each other silently. One afternoon they approached an old farmhouse, that had clearly seen better days. Louisa wondered what might have happened that had caused it to be left abandoned as such houses were usually passed on within the family. It made her feel slightly uneasy, Thorin however did not seem to share her sentiments as he slowed down at the front of the company and turned to them. 

"We'll camp here for the night.", he said while Gandalf ventured into the abandoned ruin to investigate. "Fili, Kili, look after the ponies. Make sure you stay with them.", he continued before Gandalf spoke up. "A farmer and his family used to live here", the wizard mused. 

 Thorin didn't take notion of what he had said and turned to the rest of his company. "Oin, Gloin, get a fire going.", he asked of them while approaching the wizard whom he now noticed to be hesitant. "I think it would be wiser to move on.", Gandalf intervened. "We could make for the Hidden Valley.", he proposed cautiously, being well aware of the dwarf's sentiments towards that option. Thorin, to Gandalf's frustration, reacted precisely the way he had expected him to. "I told you already", the dwarf responded dismissively, "I will not go near that place."

"But why not?", Gandalf questioned exasperated. "We could get rest, food and advice. I know that you don't want to admit it but these are things we are in dire need of." Thorin turned to the wizard offended: "I do not need their advice." Gandalf however would not give up trying to reason with the king. "We have a map we cannot read. Lord Elrond could help us; he is one of the few who can.", he pressed on.

Thorin scoffed at this in dismissal. "What help ever came from the elves?", he asked with disdain. "Why should I expect any help from them, or even accept if they were to offer it, when they betrayed both my grandfather and my father?" Gandalf sighed at the stubbornness of the dwarf. "You are neither of them. I didn't give you that map and key for you to hold on to the past.", he objected. This irked the king, and he hissed back at him: "I did not know that they were yours to keep."

Finally, the wizard couldn't conceal his frustration and annoyance anymore. With a disappointed shake of his head, he stormed out of the farmhouse, and past the company. Bilbo noticed this and questioned the wizard's intentions: "Everything alright? Gandalf, where are you going?". Said man didn't bother to slow down and instead approached Louisa who was way in the back of the camp while answering. "To seek the company of the only one around here who's got any sense." Bilbo furrowed his brows in confusion. "Who's that?", he questioned. "Myself, Master Baggins! And perhaps Louisa.", he shouted over his shoulder as he approached her. "I've had enough of dwarves for one day", he mumbled. She looked up at him in a mixture of amusement and worry as clearly his patience had run thin. 

"I assume you agree with my hesitance to camp here?", he demanded of her. The hobbit glanced past him and towards the farmhouse as she responded hesitantly: "Yes. I don't have a good feeling about this place. Usually in these terrains there should have been nothing to drive away the inhabitants of this house. Something unusual must have happened for them to abandon it.". Gandalf nodded in agreement and leant down towards her placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Stay alert while you are here. Thorin will not be persuaded, and I cannot stand to be in his presence right now, so please look after them for me in case they decide to do anything stupid.", he bid her. 

Louisa nodded with a soft smile. "I will try my best. Although I doubt that they would listen to me.", she confirmed despite being unsure of herself. 

He gently squeezed her shoulder in thanks before straightening up and leaving the camp to go wandering off into the forests as she looked after him worriedly, not noticing that Thorin had watched their exchange carefully. He nearly considered her words before dismissing them and simply hoping for the best, being too stubborn to openly admit that he may have been wrong.