An unexpected journey

Chapter 3

 I woke up to Bilbo yelling in joy. I looked around and saw that everything was in its place and no more dwarves

"Did they already leave?" I asked my brother. He nodded smiling. He saw the contract on the counter. He took it and looked at it for a moment before throwing it out. I looked at it.

"I'm going to the market. Dwarves ate all our food. I'll be back in a few hours" He said. I nodded and he walked out the door. I bit my lip contemplating on actually doing it. I stood up and grabbed the contract. I grabbed a quill and dipped it in the ink. I hesitated one moment before actually signing B. Baggins on the dotted line. I looked at the time and gasped. I had half an hour before they left. I quickly changed into my gardening clothes (trousers, shirt and a vest). I packed some of my guy clothes. I also stole a jacket from Bilbo. I packed everything else I needed and looked at the clock. 20 minutes. I looked in the mirror and realize I forgot something.

My hair.

I grabbed the decorative sword on my wall and took a deep breath before grabbing my hair in one hand. I sliced it off and watched it fall. I messed it up and looked in the mirror once again. I kind of looked like Bilbo. I grabbed my bag and ran downstairs. Wrote a small letter for Bilbo and grabbed the contract before running outside.

"Is that Bella? It is! Where you going lass?" One of my neighbours asked.

"On an adventure" I yelled back. In no time I reached the dwarves.

"Wait! Wait! I signed it" I said. Of course I had to make my voice sound a little deeper. Balin held out his hand towards the contract. He looked it over.

"Everything seems to be in order. Welcome Master Baggins, to the company of Thorin Oakenshield" He said. I gave a smile.
"Give him a pony" Thorin said. I shook my head.

"No, no, no, no. That won't be necessary, thank you, but I'm sure I can walk. I've done my fair share of walking during the holidays. I even made it to Frog Morton once" I protested. Kili and Fili just picked me up by the armpits and placed me on the pony. I stiffened up as soon as the let me go. I was sitting on a pony.

"Come on Nori, pay up! Go on" Oin shouted as the dwarves started throwing bags of coins to each other. The ones who didn't have to pay were laughing as they received the coins.

"What's this about?" I asked Gandalf. He looked at me

"Oh, they took wagers on whether or not your brother would show up. Most thought he wouldn't. They were right, but we mustn't let them know that right Bella?" He whispered. I looked at him shocked. He just gave me a wink and looked forward.

"What did you think?" I asked the wizard.

"Never doubted you for a second" He answered. That wizard is up to something. I can feel it. I mentally went through what I packed and realized that I forgot something very important.

My sanitary pads...

"Wait! We must stop!" I exclaimed. The dwarves stopped and looked at me.

"What on earth is the matter?" Gandalf asked.

"I forgot my...uh...handkerchief" I said. I mentally face-palmed at how stupid that sounded.

"Here, use this" Bofur said as he took an old rag out and threw it at me. I wrinkled my nose and the smell of it and held it out.

"Thanks..." I trailed off. I put it in my pocket just in case I might need it.

"You'll have to manage without pocket-handkerchiefs and a good many other things, Bilbo Baggins, before we reach our journey's end. You were born to the rolling hills and little rivers of the shire, but home is now behind you and the world ahead" Gandalf said. I gave a small sigh.

"Move out" Thorin commanded from the front. The dwarves listened and started following their leader out of the shire.

.-.-.We travelled until the night had begun to take its toll on the dwarves. We set up camp near the edge of a cliff. With the help of Gandalf, we managed to make a fire in the small alcove carved into the mountain and Bombur was now cooking our supper. When it was ready, the dwarves lined up to get their bowl of Bombur's soup that smelled really good by the way.

"Here you go lad." He said when he passed me the plate. I gave him a small smile before sitting down on a boulder to eat. The soup was pretty good and I finished it rather quickly. Once I was finished, I gave my bowl back to Bombur and took an apple from his bag. I walked over to Myrtle.

"Hello, that's a good girl. It's going to be our little secret. Alright girl?" I asked the pony as I fed her the apple. Suddenly, I heard screams filling the silence of the night. I ran over to the young brothers and we heard more screams. I looked at them in fright.

"What was that?" I asked a little shakily.

"Orcs" Kili stated. I looked at him

"Orcs?" I repeated, hoping that it wasn't what I heard. From the corner of my eye, I saw Thorin jerk awake at the mention of the foul creatures.

"Throat cutters. There'll be dozens of them out there. The lowlands are crawling with them" Fili said.

"They attack in the wee hours, when everyone's asleep. Quick and quiet. No screams, just lots of blood" Kili continued. I let out a shiver a fear. The brothers laughed when they saw the look of pure fear on my face.

"You think that's funny? You think a night raid by orcs is something to joke about?" Thorin snapped putting a hand on my shoulder. He pushed me back slightly, still looking at his nephews.

"We didn't mean anything by it" Kili mumbled looking back at the fire. You could tell he felt bad for scaring me.

"No you didn't. You know nothing of the world." Thorin stated before walking back towards the camp. He stood near the edge of the cliff and just stood there looking out.

"Don't mind him laddie. Thorin has more reasons than most to hate orcs. After the dragon took the lonely mountain, King Thror tried to reclaim the ancient kingdom of Moria but our enemy got there first." Balin started. I sat down on a rock, interested in this story. I took a quick glance at Thorin. The way the light of the moon hit him made him look really handsome. I shook my head of those thoughts and looked back at the older dwarf.

"Moria had been taken by legions of orcs lead by the most vile of all their race; Azog, the Defiler. The giant Gundabag Orc had sworn to wipe out the line of Durin. He began by beheading the king Thrain, Thorin's father was driven mad by grief. He went mad, missing, taken prisoner or killed, we didn't know. We were leaderless. Defeat and death were upon us. That's when I saw him; a young dwarf prince facing down the Pale Orc. He stood alone against this terrible foe, his armour rent, wielding nothing but an oaken branch as a shield. Azog the Defiler learned that day, that the line of Durin would not be so easily broken. Our forces rallied and drove the orcs back. Our enemy had been defeated but there was no feast nor song for our dead were beyond the count of grief. We few had survived and I thought to myself then; there is one I could follow. One I could call King." As Balin told the story, I felt my initial attraction to Thorin grow. Also, the once sleeping dwarves, were now awake and listening to the tale. I saw Thorin look at his people. Those who have followed him through hell and back. Almost literally. I watched as he walked closer to the fire.

"What about the Pale Orc? What happened to him?" I asked curiously.

"He slunk back to the hole in which he came from. The filth died from his wounds a long time ago" Thorin explained. There wasn't much talking after that. The dwarves slowly fell asleep and I followed suit.

That night, my last thoughts were about Thorin and how he would feel in this position.