Unexpected Assistance (A Hobbit Fanfic)

Chapter 2 - Lessons In Respect

In the next moment, an assortment of weapons were pointed in the general direction of the newcomers as the dwarves around the table stood hurriedly from their seats. The strangers were also prepared, however, and Thorin soon found himself face to face with a small axe, a sword, a bow and a mace.

The bow came from the red women, and an angry look crossed her face. "You should have more respect for your superiors, Thorin Oakenshield, supposed king under the mountain."

"My superiors?" Thorin yelled, enraged. "I am a king! Your sorcery has no place here and you are definitely not above me in power."

"Enough!" Gandalf's raised voice and darkened face quickly silenced the room once more.

The wizard turned to the figure in the grey cloak. "My apologises, Erion, it appears that my company have not quite realized who it is they are in the presence of and do not give you the greeting that you deserve."

The figure slowly removed his cloak to reveal a man, older than the red women, with curly black hair and stormy grey eyes.

"There is nothing to apologise for, Gandalf. My sister is also in the wrong; her emotions often cloud her judgement," Erion replied, sending a glare towards the lady in red, who in turn gave and huff before lowering her bow. "My name is Erion; these are my sisters, Faenor and Demetria, and my brother, Destan."

At the mention of her name, the lady in red, Faenor, nodded and the figure in the green cloak brought down her hood. Demetria seemed to be the same age as Faenor, with warm green eyes and long blonde hair. The blue cloaked figure, Destan, was older than the pair, and had shockingly blue eyes and short black hair.

"We are the Guardians of the elements, keepers of the balance of Middle-earth," Erion finished.

Destan chuckled and muttered under his breath as he put away his sword, "Keepers of the balance of Middle-earth, that's a new one."

Faenor gave a slight giggle as well, but the two were silenced by a stern look from Erion.

An old dwarf with white hair looked at the four in wonder, before giving a low bow. "So the legends are true..."

"See, some recognition, that's what I'm talking about," Faenor grinned.

"Gandalf," Erion spoke, ignoring the comments from his sister, "it has been a long journey; may we sit?"

"Of course; Bilbo, I think that we are in need of a few more seats," the wizard replied, prompting the hobbit to hurry off again.

After the dwarves quickly grouped into a small circle and the old dwarf's voice was heard whispering sharply, the company turned to face Erion, Faenor, Destan and Demetria once more. In an almost rehearsed fashion, each dwarf (or pair of dwarves) stepped forward, announcing their name, followed by a quick "at your service" and a bow. This started with Thorin, who spoke almost begrudgingly, and ended with the two younger dwarves. First, the pair looked at each other with matching grins before stepping forwards further than was probably necessary.

"Fili and Kili, at your service," they said in sync, bowing before gesturing to their chairs.

"Take our chairs."

"We insist!"

The two girls looked at each other in amusement for a second before complying and sitting in the chairs offered to them, the grinning pair hastening to stand behind them. Then, Bilbo came back with a few more chairs and Erion and Destan took their places at the table.

"Back to business then, now we are all acquainted," Gandalf's voice echoed around the room. "Balin, I believe you were about to give the contract to Bilbo here. I've already filled our new friends in on the details of your quest."

Bilbo immediately began to protest as the white haired dwarf retrieved a roll of parchment from under the table. He handed it over and, as the hobbit read through it, the dwarves murmured amongst themselves.

"Will the Guardians also require contracts?" Balin asked.

"That won't be necessary," Erion said with amused smile, "we are a thick-skinned bunch; if this quest managed to kill us I'd be thoroughly impressed."

During this interaction, the blonde-haired guardian, Demetria, seemed restless. She turned in her seat on occasion to look towards the window behind her, and it had not escaped her sister's notice. Faenor glanced back at the window as well to see what the fuss was about and smiled when she realised Demetria's problem.

"Fili, is it?" Fae asked with a sickly-sweet voice, gaining the attention of the dwarf behind her.

"Aye, my lady," he responded, a winning smile plastered on his face.

Faenor smiled back and gestured to the window. "You wouldn't mind getting that plant for me, would you? The potted one on the windowsill."

The dwarf paused for a second in confusion, but retrieved the plant none the less. It had once been beautiful, with large red petals, but it had since withered and died.

Faenor pushed the plant towards her sister. "Go on then. I've seen you looking, Demi."

Demetria turned to her sister in surprise and looked at the plant in front of her. She began to reach out for it, but a voice from down the table stopped her.

"What are you two doing down there?" Destan asked.

"Demi saw a dead plant in the window and she was getting antsy, you know how she is," Faenor replied innocently.

Demetria nudged her sister in protest and Faenor merely grinned as Destan sighed.

"Hurry up then, before Erion tells you off for not paying attention!" Destan jested, ignoring the look that Erion sent him.

Unaware of her growing audience, Demetria reached out for the plant again and cupped her hand around the bottom of it. For a second, nothing happened, but then she removed her hands from the once dead plant, revealing petals that bloomed and opened out into her palms, their once vibrant colour returning. Demetria smiled and pushed the plant back towards her sister.

"See, Destan, wasn't it worth it for that smile?" Faenor laughed, before turning back to Fili. "You can put that back now, thanks love."

Once Fili could manage to rip his eyes away from plant, he did as he was asked with a dazed smile at the pet name, and the stunned silence that echoed down the table was soon lifted as Bilbo began to read out the list from the scroll with increasing panic. With no help from Bofur, Bilbo's breathing became rapid.

"Lacerations, incineration-" Bilbo stopped and turned back to the company. "Incineration?"

"Oh aye, he'll melt the flesh off your bones in the blink of an eye," Bofur supplied helpfully.

"You alright, laddy?" Balin asked with concern as Bilbo continued to breathe heavily.

Destan leant towards Erion and whispered in his ear, "Hope you're ready to catch him, E."

The man in question nodded as Bilbo continued to speak, "Feel a bit faint, actually."

"Think furnace with wings."

"Air- I need air."

"Flash of light, searing pain, then poof- you're nothing more than a pile of ash!"

Bilbo straightened up and looked around for a second. Sensing what was going to happen, Erion raised his hands.

"Nope," the Hobbit squeaked, and promptly fainted.

Thankfully, before he hit the ground there was a gust of wind and, for a second, Bilbo was suspended in midair. The dwarves looked on in shock as Erion slowly lowered his hands, gently placing the unconscious hobbit to the ground.

"Thank you, Erion," Gandalf sighed. "Obviously there was no help from you though, Bofur."