The Hobbit: Aria's Story

Chapter Four

It soon came to light that we needed to set watches. Gandalf had made it pretty clear he was exempt fron this, as he wouldn't be here all the time and he was more than three times our age. He sat at the side whilst Thorin spoke. Thorin told us that we would all need to get into pairs, and two people would take a two hour watch. Dwalin went with Balin, Fili with Kili, Dori with Ori, Nori with Bifur, Bofur with Bombur, Oin with Gloin and Bilbo with me. Thorin checked that we had all sorted ourselves out. I thought he would be fairly pleased - as far as I was concerned, every pair had at least one competent fighter in it- but he wasn't. He stopped in front if Bilbo and I.
" I don't think we can have an elvish traitor and a hobbit that could run off home at any time doing a watch, can we?"
My blood boiled, but I kept my mouth shut. I had learned to do that long ago.
" Balin, can you go with Bilbo? I shall have to keep an eye on the elf. Dwalin, you may do an hour watch alone."
My first thought was that I wasn't fully elf. My second was how on earth was I going to cope with two hours alone every night with someone who believed I was an elvish traitor?
***
I was woken with a rough shake from Thorin. I jumped up, trying not to show how petrified I was. He sat down about five feet from the front of our camp- the back was protected by a rocky outcrop.
" Sit down. We have a watch to do."
He spoke gruffly and quickly, almost as if he was nervous himself. I sat down about a foot away from him and stared into the night.
***
After about an hour of awkward silence I couldn't stand it any longer. The words 'elvish traitor' had been hanging over my head ever since Bag end. But before I could speak, Thorin spoke, again in that gruff, quick voice that sounded almost nervous.
"Why did you come on this quest?"
"Because I want to reclaim the mountain. I saw the lonely mountain and dale before the dragon- I saw the peace and prosperity, the happiness and trade. I saw the friendliness between races, the contentment. There were no poor. No one struggled to earn a living there, even me. Everyone was accepted, even me to a certain extent. I would bring that back, as far as I can. Also, your people have no home. I would have them have one. "
There was a pause, but something in the air between us had changed. This time, the gruffness and fast speech had gone, replaced with his normal voice.
"Perhaps the dwarvish side of you has come through. You are not fully elf. There is hope for you yet. "
"Hope in what respect?"
"You may still find a place amoung us."
My heart lept inside my chest. I hadn't known how much being accepted (even if I was only partly) had meant to me. It seemed Thorin and I shared the same dream.