Reverie - 𝓣𝓱𝓸𝓻𝓲𝓷 𝓞𝓪𝓴𝓮𝓷𝓼𝓱𝓲𝓮𝓵𝓭 𝔁 𝓞𝓒

Chapter 15 - Transparency

"Not really sure it is a sword," Balin said to Bilbo, shaking Blair out of her thoughts. "More of a letter opener really." Bilbo was looking down at the sword Gandalf gave him, a bit disappointed.

Blair mindlessly picked at the salad in front of her, completely missing the conversation.

"Blair, did you end up finding something in the troll hoard?" Balin asked, forcing her to look up.

"Oh, no, but I was promised a sword when we . . ." she started saying but stopped. "No. No, I didn't."

"Well, not to worry. Plenty of swords were brought with us," Balin comforted. "But let's hope we won't have to use them anytime soon." He gave a knowing look before going back to his food. Bilbo continued to look down at his sword a bit glumly. Blair dared to glance at the table across from hers, where Lord Elrond, Gandalf, and Thorin were seated.

"What were you doing on the Great East Road?" she heard Elrond ask.

"Excuse me," Thorin said in response, getting up from the table and walking out of the room.

"Is he alright?" Bilbo asked Balin. Before he could respond, Nori let out a dramatic sigh.

"Change the tune, why don't you? I feel like I'm at a funeral!" he cringed. Oin, who Blair had come to realize had a bit of a difficulty hearing, lifted his hearing trumpet to his ear.

"Did somebody die?" he wondered, looking around. Blair couldn't help but smile. The music didn't seem all that bad to her. It felt very calming and peaceful. It somehow reminded her of reading one of her books, curled up in an armchair in her hole back in Hobbiton.

Suddenly, Bofur got up out of his seat abruptly. "Alright, lads," he announced, then looking down at Blair, "lass."  He climbed up on the table, not bothering what food he stepped on. "There's only one thing for it!" Immediately the elvish instruments stopped playing.

"There's an," he began to sing, opening his arms for dramatic effect. "Inn, there's an inn, there's a merry old inn, beneath an old gray hill!"

All the dwarves joined in the song, clapping their hands, and stomping their feet. Blair barely even noticed her hands and feet went on stomping and clapping with them, even though she had never heard the song. She was too busy laughing and cheering to mind.

"And there they brew a beer so brown the Man in the Moon himself came down!" the dwarves sang. Suddenly, the food prepared for them started flying around the room. This was one habit the dwarves had Blair did not yet understand. She didn't understand it back at Bilbo's house, and didn't understand it now. Some sort of unrecognizable foreign food flew past her head and hit the wall right next to the elf who had first greeted them, Lindir. She cringed slightly at his disgusted face, but continued to clap and laugh anyway.

The song made her forget about the earlier interaction with a certain someone and any other worries she might've had. It just felt like good natured fun. Looking to her right, though, Bilbo looked a bit embarrassed. She elbowed him in the arm, a look of annoyance being given in return.

"Come on, liven up!" Blair prodded, clapping. He looked down, a bit wistfully. "What's the matter?" she asked at a level only he could hear. He shook his head and looked back up with a fake smile.

"Just homesickness. I'll be fine, I think I might head to my room early, though," he said, starting to get up.

"Oh," Blair said. "Want me to leave, too?" Bilbo immediately shook his head.

"I'm fine, you're having fun. Stay here," he encouraged, walking out the room. Blair felt a little less enthusiastic now. She knew Bilbo wasn't exactly having the time of his life, but she thought he'd at least be somewhat enjoying the adventure. Sure, she knew he'd miss his armchair or books, like she missed her gardens from time to time, but the experience felt so much bigger than everything back in the Shire.