Hiding Myself. A fem!Bilbo Bagginshield fanfic

Chapter 16

Thorin Oakenshield watched the thrush that had perched on a rock near them for what felt like the hundredth time since they'd moved their camp onto the Lonely Mountain. The rest of his Company, minus Bombur and Bifur who'd stayed behind to guard the stores, was spread out on the faux porch.
He spotted their burglar, Bella Baggins, sitting with his nephews not too far away. Thorin yearned to pull Bella over to him, to his side.
"What're ya thinkin about, Thorin? " someone said beside him.
Dwalin. Of course.
"Nothing, Dwalin. Just..... "
His friend nodded. "You're thinkin about Miss Bella over there, aren't you. " Dwalin said. Thorin knew it wasn't a question. He nodded slightly.
"Of course I am, Dwalin. She's....... She's my Ghivashel. "
"And you're sure about that? I know that's not something to be taken lightly. "
Thorin turned to his friend. "Yes, I'm sure. "
"Alright. " Dwalin muttered. "But if you do anything I don't find proper, I'll not be responsible for my actions. "
The dwarf king nodded at Dwalin's warning, taking it seriously. All of the dwarves seemed to be incredibly attached to the small burglar who had stolen his heart.

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Bella was napping when she heard a knocking noise near her head. She lifted her head from the mountainside and glared at the thrush sitting near her. It tilted it's head sideways when she tried to shoo it away. It knocked the snail against the rock again and again, and suddenly she understood.
She stood up and waved, shouting at the dwarves to get where she stood. They ran up, some tumbling over the rocks to get to her. Quickly, she explained.
As the sun sunk lower in the sky, the dwarves' impatience grew. They grumbled and groaned, but Bella stood almost completely still. At the moment when their hope was as low as it could get and the sun was hidden from view, it happened.
A single beam of light appeared through a hole in the clouds and shot like a bullet onto the smooth rock face. The thrush gave an impromptu trill as a flake of rock split from the wall. It revealed a key-shaped hole about three feet from the ground.
The dwarves began pushing on the rock, but to no avail.
"The key! " she squeaked. "The key! Where's Thorin? "
Thorin rushed up to the door.
"Use the key! The key that went with the map, try it! "
He pulled the key off of the chain around his neck and put it to the keyhole.
Snap!
It fit, and Thorin pushed the door inwards just the sun finally disappeared and the moon was gone. Evening was upon them, and before them stretched the darkness of the tunnel.

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The Company stood before the opening, five feet high and three broad it was, and impossibly long. Bella looked up at the dwarves nearest her.
"I suppose it's my job to go in there now. See if Smaug is at home, right? "
Thorin nodded reluctantly. "Of course. "
Her nod was slow and hesitant. "I'll be fine. "
"Alright... "
Bella crept into the opening and listened to the sound of Thorin's footfalls behind her. She gazed around at the tunnel. It was no rocky goblin tunnel or rough wood-elves cave, but a Dwarven tunnel made at the height of the dwarves' talent. It was straight as a ruler and ran perfectly into the heart of the Mountain.
Thorin stopped at a part of the tunnel where he could still hear the Company outside. Bella stopped and turned towards him.
"I'll wait here in case you need help. Stay safe, Ghivashel. " he murmured quietly. Bella smiled and caught his lips in a kiss. His hands nestled on either side of her face. When she pulled away, he forced a smile.
"Don't worry, Thorin. "
The dwarf king quickly reached up to one of his braids and pulled the bead off of the end. Thorin laid it in Bella's hand and closed her fist around it.
"What-"
Thorin smiled, for real this time. "Keep it. It can be a good luck charm for you, my Bella. " he said. "My grandfather gave it to my grandmother, my father to my mother, and now I want to give it to you. Keep it and yourself safe, and hurry back to us. "
The feeling Bella got when she gazed into his eyes, barely visible in the low light from outside, was indescribable. She quickly affixed the bead to the leather chain around her neck beside the ring.
After kissing the dwarf once more, she smiled nervously and began trekking along the tunnel. A light appeared and grew, the orange-red light of a fire. The glow filled the tunnel. The glow of Smaug.
The real battle was fought in that tunnel, before she even knew what she was really up against. She struggled to summon up her courage to face the dragon at the other end.
Through the opening, Bella's head peeked out of the tunnel. She looked incredibly small in the enormous gap.
Ahead of her, laying on the hoard of gold, lay Smaug. He lay, an enormous golden-red dragon, with his huge wings folded like those of a bat. Bella could see the shimmering armour-like covering on his stomach. Behind him on the nearest wall she could see swords and weapons hung, coats of mail arranged, and helms and axes on it.
She shook herself out of her stupor and, grasping a nearby golden cup, raced out of the treasure-hall before Smaug could wake. Behind her the dragon stirred, stretched out a claw, and drifted into another dream.
When the hobbit stumbled into the hall, Thorin put his arms around her before she fell. She grasped onto his furs and straightened herself up. Kili was the first to notice the cup clutched in her small hand. She held it forwards and Balin grabbed it before it fell to the ground.
"Is he down there? " Kili asked softly.
The hobbit nodded, standing up. Thorin's arm moved to her waist, where it rested. "Yeah. Luckily, he was asleep when I was down there. Just laying on all the treasure, like it was a bed. "
"Of course he is. " came Thorin's murmured reply. Bella felt him tense up beside her, his grip on her waist tightening. She laid a hand on his back in an attempt to comfort him.
As the Company passed the cup around, Bella stood by Thorin with her lips turned up in a smile. The dwarf king leaned down and pressed a kiss to her curls, his hobbit giggling quietly.
They all stumbled when a roaring noise came from inside the Mountain, down the tunnel.
Smaug. He knew.