Hope and Memory[Thorin Oakenshield Love Story]

[Chapter Eighteen]

"Bilbo!" Freya called out again for her cousin as she searched around her. She was sure he was with them this entire time. The hobbit stopped, when she came to think about it. She didn't recall seeing him in the throne room. So much had happened, she had forgotten to make sure he was alright. She turned back in the direction they had come from. She drew her sword and started running back the way they came when she was yanked by her arm.

" Let me go!" The woman demanded.

" Freya, your can't fight all those goblins on your own, they'll kill you." Thorin pressed to her, not letting her go.

" My cousin is in there! I'm not just going to stand here and leave him to rot. Now let me go!" Freya snapped. Thorin didn't budge.

" Curse the Halfling! Now he's lost? I though he was with Dori!" Gloin argued. Freya shot a look at Gloin. They were all against going back in there for their burglar. The dwarves began to argue about what had happened to the hobbit.

" Don't blame me!" Dori cried out, not appreciated being accused.

" Well, where did you last see him?" The wizard questioned, getting flustered with all their bickering, hoping nothing had happened to his friend.

" I think I saw him slip away, when they first collard us." Nori stated. The wizard than turned to look at Nori, wondering what else he might know.

" Then what happened, exactly? Tell me!" Gandalf ordered. Thorin let go of the woman and stormed passed Dwalin and climbed to higher ground to look at all of them.

" I'll tell you what happened. Master Baggins saw his chance and he took it. He has thought of nothing but his soft bed and his warm hearth since first he stepped out of his door. We will not be seeing our hobbit again. He is long gone." Thorin stated harshly to all of them.

The woman looked at the prince as the dwarves looked at one another, hearing this from their leader. " Your wrong!" Freya yelled as she shoved the leader. She went to get passed him but he stopped her once again.

" You go back in there, you'll just end up dead like your cousin. If he did make it out, he is long gone. Your safer with us. Don't be a fool!" Thorin begged her, as he looked at her with pleading eyes.

" He's my family, and I don't leave my family behind!." Freya said in a cold tone.

" Your cousin is gone. He is never coming back!" Thorin yelled at her. The woman could feel her eyes about to water as she fought back the tears that tried to come out. Thorin realized he never meant to yell at her as harshly as he did.

" No, he isn't" Bilbo's voice came from behind them. The dwarves look up in shock and relief. Freya looked up with a smile on her face.

" Bilbo!" Freya exclaimed. Thorin let her go as she rushed over to her cousin and hugged him as if she hadn't seen him in ages " Bilbo Baggins don't you ever scare me like that again!"

" I won't ever do it again." Bilbo insisted as he gave his cousin a little chuckle.

" Promise?" Freya said.

" I promise." Gandalf let out a laugh at the sight of these two.

" Bilbo Baggins! I've never been so glad to see anyone in my life." The wizard said cheerfully as he approached the two hobbits. Bilbo walked forward, giving Balin a pat on the shoulder.

" Bilbo. We'd given you up." Kili stated as he looked at the hobbit, surprised he had escape with barely any scratches on him.

" How on earth did you get past the goblins?" Fili questioned, making the others a little suspicious of his great escape. Thorin eyed him, being the most suspicious out of all the dwarves.

" How, indeed." Dwalin mumbled as he waited for the hobbit to speak. Bilbo stood there awkwardly in silence. trying to think of what to say. In the end, he gives a nervous laugh as he quickly slips something into his pocket and placed his hands on his hips.

" Well, what does it matter? He's back." Gandalf insisted as he noticed the hobbit's hesitation. Thorin gave Gandalf a look and than turned back to Bilbo.

" It matters. I want to know. Why did you come back?" Thorin demanded. Freya looked from Thorin to her cousin.

" Look, I know you doubt me. I know you always have. And you're right. I often think of Bag-End. I miss my books. And my armchair. And my garden. See, that's where I belong. That's home. That's why I came back. Cause you don't have one. A home. It was taken from you." Bilbo said. Thorin looked at hobbit, with a hint of sadness across his face, him and his kin didn't have a place to call home.

" You were going to go back without me?" Freya said in an upset voice. Bilbo turned his attention to his cousin and saw the hurt on her face.

" Freya, I....I knew you wouldn't leave even if I asked you. It's your nature to help others.

" I would of gone back with you." The woman insisted, even though she would have hated to leave these dwarves on their own, but Bilbo was her family and best-friend .

" But you were right. This is the right thing to do" The hobbit stated to his cousin as he searched her eyes looking for forgiveness from her. She hugged her older cousin, happy that he had changed for the better. Bilbo stepped passed his cousin to look at Thorin and the others. " And I will help you all to reclaim your homeland if I can."

The dwarves stand there in silence, thinking about what Bilbo said. Their heartfelt moment didn't last as long as they had wanted. They hear howling from up the hill. They realized the wargs had followed them through the goblin tunnels.

" Out of the frying pan." Thorin murmured.

" And into the fire." Gandalf stated. " Run. Run!"

The dwarves, the two hobbit's and the wizard took off with their weapons drawn running down the mountain side as fast as they can. The wargs followed them rapidly. The light in the sky had faded and darkness had come. It wasn't long before the wargs caught up to the company. Bilbo had a warg leap at him and land in front of him.

The woman was running down the path, she could hear the growls behind her getting close when one leaped over her head and landed a few feet in front of her as it slowly stalked towards her with its teeth bare. She held her sword in front of her when she heard a snarl behind her and another as they cornered her, backing her up against a rock.