The Hobbit (A Retelling of a Great Work, Now Ruined By Me)

Chapter 2

The instructions the Wizard left the young hobbit were clear. When the sun had set, thirteen dwarves would appear on the doorstep. They would ask for food. So, Belle cleared her pantry and put everything on the table. 

"If they have half the appetite of a hobbit, then this will do." She said to herself. 

With food prepared and all her best alcohol ready for her unfamiliar guests, she began to prepare her home for her departure. She wrote a brief note for her family if they would be looking for her. Not that they would particularly care. They would only be upset that the wedding festivities would be canceled. She also left a note for her brother, Bilbo. She told her brother that if she did not return in a year her belongings would go to him. Meaning he would only take their mother's cutlery and china set. He always eyed it when he was over. The rest would be sold off. And any trace of Belladonna Baggins would be erased. 

Outside her home, she dug and picked any produce she could harvest and took it to the market to be sold. The money she acquired, was then put into her money purse to be used on the road. For the first time in Belle's life, she felt uncertain. All her life, Belle knew what would come the next day and the next. She even anticipated marrying a man she didn't even like. Now, with this new adventure on the horizon, she didn't know what to expect.  

Belle watched as the last rays of the sun went down. She sat, lounging in her favorite chair by the window in a little sitting room off the front door. She took in one deep breath to calm the nerves that were brewing inside her. In the corner of her eye, she saw someone walking up to her hobbit hole. This someone was clearly a dwarf. His long beard and tattoos gave him away. He had an axe strung behind his back and wore leather armor. His head was bald but it was made up for the thick beard he wore. 

The dwarf knocked thrice on the door and Belle got up quickly to answer the door. As she opened it, the dwarf's brows rose high. 

"Are you Baggins?" He gruffly asked.

"I am, sir Dwarf," Belle answered carefully.  

The dwarf grunted in response. Belle could not decipher if it was ill-favored or not.  "Dwalin, at your service." That was all he said.

"Belladonna Baggins, or Belle at yours." She greeted in return. "Please, come in."

Belle closed the door behind the dwarf when he entered and they both stood awkwardly in the foyer. With nothing else better to say she quietly uttered, "There is food, down that way."

The dwarf didn't even falter, he quickly made his way to the dining room to eat. Belle decided it was best to wait in the sitting room for the rest of the guests. They did not take long to come. 

The next dwarf that arrived, was an older dwarf. However, he did not carry himself like an old man but in a sprite way like a small child. He had a white beard that curled up at the ends and his hair was styled to look like a white crown around his head. When Belle opened the door to let him in, he greeted her with a warm smile. 

"Balin, at your service." 

"Belle Baggins, at yours." 

The old dwarf stepped in and looked around in a curious manner. "It is quite bigger inside than I imagined."

Belle did not know how to respond to that.

"Am I the first to arrive?"

"Balin!" The first dwarf came marching over his arms extended and a big smile on his face. The hobbit couldn't help but find the smile a little menacing even given to a friend. 

Dwalin reached the two and embraced the other dwarf. When the most unexpected occurred, the two dwarfs knocked heads together making a loud clonk. They laughed at each other and walked together back into the dining room. 

Belle grew a little anxious by how the dwarves behaved. Would she be able to handle such loud behavior? Unfortunately, she could not dwell too long on the thought as there again was another knock. 

This time, two dwarves appeared on Belle's doorstep. The two dwarves there were far younger than the two already inside. Their beards were short as if they only began growing hair a few years ago. It didn't take long for Belle to notice that the two were in fact brothers as they looked so much alike. 

"Fili," The one said with strawberry blonde hair. He clearly was the older brother.

"Kili," The younger brother greeted. 

"At your service." They said in unison. They didn't bother waiting for the door to be opened to them, they quickly just pushed through.

"Belle Baggins." Belle greeted in return but the two recipients were not paying attention anymore to their host. 

"It looks like some of the others have already arrived." The dark-haired one said to his brother. 

And just like that, Belle was left again in the foyer to wait. Which again was not long because the door knocked again. Only this time, eight dwarves fell into Belle's foyer with the Wizard Gandalf behind. 

"I hope you were not waiting long," Gandalf said to Belle. 

Belle watched as the dwarves on the ground gracefully sprang to their feet. They began arguing with each other over whose fault was the dogpile. All eventually came to the agreement that it was the fault of the largest dwarf whose name was Bombur. 

None of the dwarves paid any mind to their hostess. And the hostess was rather glad not to meet their gaze. They were an intimidating lot and she didn't know how to accommodate these guests. It was Gandalf who voiced the opinion of the lot. 

"A spiritful bunch they are, no?" He said. 

They both were in the entryway of the dining room watching the group of dwarves ravish the food that was placed on the table. There were no manners to be had at this dinner table. They all talked with full mouths and didn't bother with pleasant chatter. They reached over each other to grab what they wanted and would occasionally knock over dishes in the process. Belle sprang into action. Righting tipped glasses and cleaning the spilled messes. 

"Oh, please do be careful with the dishware." Belle pleaded with a dwarf with red hair and a red beard. "They were my mother's and I do not wish for them to be shattered." 

But the dwarf only looked at her and continued to eat. Belladonna Baggins felt helpless. She was not as strong-willed as her mother. If her mother was here, she would be screaming at the lot to put everything down. But Belle's voice did not come. 

As if something was testing her she heard a crash in the kitchen. Belle quickly made her way to the kitchen and saw the two young brothers surrounding a smashed plate with cookies on the floor. It was her large serving plate that she loaded the cookies on. Now it was shattered into pieces on the floor. 

The young dwarves saw something flash in their hostess's eyes and they hurriedly picked up the broken pieces and collected the cookies that were on the floor. They gave her apologetic looks while cleaning up the mess and silently they walked back to the dining room after the mess was cleaned. 

An odd sense of satisfaction came over Belle. She found it peculiar that she felt that way when she didn't do anything. All she did was look over at the boys in frustration and then terror as her now favorite plate was ruined. Belle took a few shaky breaths to get her back into her usual self. 

She made her way over to stand by Gandalf again who was counting the group before them. "Twelve." He declared. "Only he is missing."

"Who is missing?" Belle asked Gandalf.

"The head of our party-"

Just then, the door knocked and everyone became silent.