An Unexpected Addition (Thilbo - Bagginshield)

Kidnapping

"Can I look at the pretty stone stand, Uncle?"

The markets of Erebor were crowded in the afternoons, dwarves out on their mid-day breaks stocking up on supplies both for the forges and their homes. Bilbo was quietly browsing a stall of baking ingredients at the moment, a long list in his hand of everything he needed to purchase to feed his hoard of dwarves. Coin wasn't a problem since three of those mouths belonged to the royals, but Bilbo was trying to figure out how Glóril, Frodo, Dori, and himself were going to carry all of it back.

"Not right now, darling," said Bilbo, blue eyes skimming over the various types of flour and sugar the vendor offered. "Hmmm, Bifur might like this..."

Frodo sighed, leaning against the stand and looking around the immense room. Dori was speaking with a dwarf woman across the aisle, two bottles of wine in his hands as he debated between the different flavors. The markets had seemed so interesting an hour ago, but having to stay right at his uncle's side made it terribly boring. He'd barely make it twelve feet before one of them had grabbed him.

"I hate shopping," mumbled a voice next to him. Frodo looked to his left side and noticed a red-haired boy who looked a little bit older than him. "And it's not like I'll ever get anything from it, either."

"I know," said Frodo. "We've been here an hour and all the adults have looked at is food and clothes and more food. Oh, and wine."

The other boy stared at him. "You look funny."

"No, I don't," retorted Frodo. "I'm a normal-looking hobbit. It's you dwarves who look funny. Too much hair all over the place."

"Hobbit?" The dwarfling looked thoughtful. "What's a hobbit?"

"We're halflings. From the Shire in the west."

"Oh, the puny, fat people from the holes," said the dwarfling. He shuffled closer to get a better look at Frodo. "We passed through that place on our way here. From the Blue Mountains."

"We do get kinda wide," admitted Frodo. "My Uncle Rorimac was always eating, but he hardly ever got up to do anything. My cousin Merry once rolled a pumpkin down a hill at a party to see if he'd go after it. He just sat there."

"They just gave us stink faces the whole time we were passing through," said the other boy. "My amad told me to ignore them, but they seemed so cranky. The apple pies that I found cooling on a windowsill tasted really good, though."

Frodo gaped in amazement. "You actually took one?"

"Aye! Right from the window as we were walking by one of those hole houses," cackled the dwarfling. "The fat lady was so busy glaring at my amad that she didn't even see me swiping it. We ate good that night."

"I tried doing that once to my Aunt Amaranth, but she just chased me and Merry off with a broom. Whacked my cousin right over the head." Frodo demonstrated a wide arc for him to see the collision. "A hobbit lady with a mop's as dangerous as a dwarf with a hammer. They'll bash your brains in!"

"My amad's got a mean right hook with her dish cloth," agreed the boy. "Every dwarf in my family avoids her when she's really, really mad. Like right now." He pointed to the woman Dori was talking to at the wine stand. "My father drank all of the good wine she brought with her from back home. She's not happy."

"What's that crying?"

"Ugh, those are my stupid lil' sisters," groaned the dwarfling. "They've been loud and stinky and crying all morning, but no one says anything because they're both girls and they're twins, so that makes them special."

"I don't have any brothers or sisters," said Frodo. "My parents are dead."

The dwarfling stared at him with wide brown eyes. "That's kinda...sad. My amad can be scary sometimes, but I like her alive. And maybe my sisters, too."