An Even Fifteen (Fili x reader)

(4) To Laketown

You bid goodbye to a distressed Radagast in the morning, promising to return as soon as you could. You hitched the Rhosgobel rabbits to your sled, thankful that he had given you permission to use it. You had to make impossibly quick time to catch up with the company, and the rabbits would make quick work of the distance. You were also particularly fond of the creatures, and you would be glad of their company.

Gandalf's goodbye was brief. A quick clasp of his hand on your shoulder, a promise that he would join you and the company at Erebor shortly. You had hoped he would introduce you to the company to ease your integration, but he had said the night before that he still had urgent business to complete before he could rejoin the dwarves. So, you set off toward Erebor through the forest with only a fleeting glance over your shoulder to see Radagast and Gandalf waving farewell in front of the home you had come to love.

Further into the forest, you steered the rabbits clear of Thranduil's stronghold. You didn't want another run in with the self-righteous elf king. The sled made good time, and you were put of the forest by the end of the day. You had to make camp once night fell, and you slept with the Rhosgobel rabbits piled haphazardly on either side of you.

You woke at dawn and started your journey shortly after. Maybe it was sleeping on the cold, hard ground for the first time in your life, maybe it was being so far away from home, but you suddenly began to doubt the wisdom of your plans to join Thorin's company.

What if you were too late? What if you arrived and they had already taken their mountain back? Or worse, what if you got there in time, but they did not want you? You did not think you could bear it if you made it all the way to them and found yourself on the wrong end of a foolhardy dream.

At your home, Gandalf had assured you this was the quest of a lifetime, and that you were as necessary to its success as the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins. Flattered as you were by his insistence, you did not fully believe him. Doubts hounded you. Surely you had done nothing yet to prove yourself worthy of such a quest.

But perhaps the quest itself was meant to be a proving of worth?

And what if the company did not want you? Gandalf had insisted they would, and had even given you a contract to sign so that they couldn't turn you away, but you couldn't help but feel that perhaps the king under the mountain would not welcome such naive company members such as yourself. You had signed the contract, though you had not read it. The scroll was long, and the writing small, and you'd never had much patience for reading anything beyond a good fairytale. But the contract now bore your signature, and was tucked into the bag on your belt. You did hope that you wouldn't need it.

The rabbits made swift time in the forest, and you were in Dale by the afternoon. The town, a gathering of more people than you'd ever seen in your life, buzzed with energy. You weren't sure if it was usually so lively, but the place bustled with activity. People stared as you stopped your sled. You looked around nervously, trying to find a friendly face to ask about the dwarves without leaving the safety of your place on the sled.

"Oi!" A voice as gnarly as the ancient tree roots of your forest shouted. "You got a permit for that ridiculous means of travel?"

You turned to find a man not three feet from your Rhosgobel rabbits, with a face like an ogre's and warts the size of your pinkie. You cringed and glanced around, not sure he was speaking to you.

"You deaf or something?" The ugly man was definitely speaking to you. "I asked if you had a permit? Or registration?"

You looked at this man, baffled. "I don't know what you mean?" Your rabbits watched the man warily, and a few of them had their ears laid back as if they would bolt any moment. You didn't blame them; this strange environment was enough to make you nervous, and this confrontation was not helping.

"Alfrid! Leave the poor girl alone," a calmer voice spoke up, and a tall man with dark hair pushed his way through the crowd. He wore a long coat that had been patched one too many times, and his features were firm, but kind.

The ugly man, apparently called Alfrid, muttered something harsh that only the new man seemed to hear before turning on his heel and sauntering away. The new man stepped toward you with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry about him. My name is Bard," he said, holding out a hand. You took it warily and shook it, introducing yourself in return. "What brings you to Laketown?"

"I'm looking for Thorin Oakenshield and his company," you said. The simple statement caused emotions to flicker across his face quickly: surprise, anger, confusion. His face finally settled on dark wariness as he glanced at the crowd around you.

He put a gentle hand on your arm. "We must speak of this elsewhere," he whispered. "Follow me, but leave your sled here. It will not fit on the paths."

You made quick work of unhitching the team of Rhosgobels from the sled, and Bard tucked it back in an alley and draped a tarp over it. You looked to your rabbits, seeing they were still nervous in the strange place full of so many people. "May the rabbits come? I'd rather not leave them alone with so many strangers around."

Bard sighed. "I suppose. But no funny business," he insisted, looking at you pointedly. You nodded and followed Bard through the town, over tiny bridges to a house that looked to be built on a dock, over the water of the lake with a long boat tied in the water nearby. You held your rabbits' lines and led them up the stairs after Bard to the door.

"Da!" A little boy and girl cried as the door opened, and the girl rushed out to hug Bard. Bard hugged her quickly before ushering her back inside, holding the door open for you and your rabbits to enter before closing it behind you. What you could see of the house was cluttered but comfortable, much like Radagast's home in Greenwood. An older girl sat at a long table in front of the kitchen, opposite four familiar dwarves. You stopped in your tracks as every eye in the room turned to you and your rabbits.

"Not another one, Da," the oldest one sighed.

A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you did, please give it a vote! And don't be afraid to comment and let me know what you think!
--RA