All's Far in Love and War

Chapter 2: Meet Thorin Oakenshield

Flora's POV:

"He's here." Gandalf says once we hear a knock at the door, not long after the dwarves singing.

"Flora dear, would you mind answering the door." Bilbo asks. I smile and nod and walk to the door. When I opened the door, I was surprised to see the one dwarf that I meet at Bree earlier.

"Gandalf I though you said this place was easy to find! I lost my way twice. If it hadnt of been for the mark on the door I might never have found it." the dwarf stated.

"Perhaps next time a map would be in handy Master dwarf." I said sarcastically. The dwarf huffed and entered our home while my father mumbled something about painting the door a week ago.

"This Thorin is our burglar. Bilbo Baggins and his daughter Flora." Gandalf smiled with a nod. "You might remember her as the one who took those two down in The Prancing Pony."

"Prancing Pony, what's a girl like you doing in the Prancing Pony?" Dwalin asked while swinging an arm around my shoulder. I lightly smiled and ducked under his arm and returning to the kitchen and put some soup in a bowl and put the bowl in front of the dwarf. The dwarf mumbled a thank you and they started to talk about the meeting in the Iron Hills. I zoned out until my father and I were handed a contract.

"What is this?" I questioned.

"It's just the usual; summary of out-of-pocket expenses, time required, remuneration, funeral arrangements, so forth." Balin smiles handing my father and I a copy of the contract that Thorin demanded that he hand us.

'"Funeral arrangements"?" my father says reading the contract, "Oh..."

"I cannot guarantee their safety." I hear Thorin whisper to Gandalf. Which to tell you the honest truth was not much of a whisper.

"Understood." Gandalf nodded.

"Nor will I be responsible for their fate." Thorin added.

"Agreed." Gandalf hesitates to which he earned a nudge and glare from me.

"Uh, "Terms: cash on delivery, up to but not exceeding one fourteenth total profit, if any." Seems fair... Uh, "Present Company shall not be liable for injuries inflicted by, or sustained as a consequence thereof, including, but not limited to...la-ce-ra-tions..." "Evisceration"?... "Incineration"?" My father stated his lip trembling.

"Oh, aye. He'll melt the flesh off your bones in the blink of an eye." Bofur nods. My father starts to look shaky.

"You all right, laddie?" Balin asked.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm okay." My father replies trying to take it in, "Feeling a bit faint."

"Think "furnace with wings."" Bofur stated, not noticing my father's stated.

"Yeah, I... I... I need air." my father stated putting a hand to his forehead.

"Flash of light, searing pain, then poof! You're nothing more than a pile of ash." Bofur added.

"...Nope." My father nods before he faints.

"Oh, very helpful, Bofur." Gandalf says sarcastically.

"Nice going Bofur." I whispered as I picked up one of my father's arms and tried to drag him over to the chair.

Third Person POV:

"I'll be alright. Just let me sit quietly for a moment." Bilbo stated.

"You've been sitting quietly for far too long! Tell me, when did doilies and your mother's dishes become so important to you? I remember a young hobbit who was always running off in search of Elves in the woods. He'd stay out late, come home after dark, trailing mud and twigs and fireflies. A young hobbit who would've liked nothing better than to find out what was beyond the borders of the Shire. The world is not in your books and maps. It's out there." Gandalf snapped, "Think of your daughter. She needs an adventure, to get out of this place. Even though there is nothing wrong with Bag End."

"I can't just go running off into the blue! I am a Baggins..." Bilbo stuttered. "...of Bag End!"

"You are also a Took. Did you know that your great-great-great-great Uncle Bullroarer Took was so large he could ride a real horse?" Gandalf stated.

"Yes." Bilbo sighed.

"Well, he could! At the Battle of Greenfields, he charged the Goblin ranks. He swung his club so hard, it knocked the Goblin King's head clean off and it sailed a hundred yards through the air and went down a rabbit hole. And thus the battle was won, and the game of golf invented at the same time." Gandalf explained.

"I do believe you made that up." Bilbo shacked his finger.

"Well, all good stories deserve embellishment. You and your daughter will have a tale or two to tell of your own when you come back." Gandalf stated.

"Can you promise that I will come back?" Bilbo asked, "That my daughter will come back?"

"No. And if you do... neither of you will not be the same." Gandalf replied.

"That's what I thought. Sorry, Gandalf. I can't sign this. You've got the wrong hobbit." Bilbo sighed. Thorin and Balin see Bilbo walk off after his discussion with Gandalf.

"It appears we have lost our burglar. Probably for the best. The odds were always against us. After all, what are we? Merchants, miners, tinkers, toy makers. Hardly the stuff of legend." Balin sighed, "Let's hope that his daughter will take his place."

"There are a few warriors amongst us." Thorin added, "And this quest is no place for a woman."

"Old warriors." Balin stated.

"I would take each and every one of these dwarves over an army from the Iron Hills, for when I called upon them, they answered. Loyalty, honor, a willing heart. I can ask no more than that." Thorin told him.

"You don't have to do this. You have a choice. You've done honorably by our people. You have built a new life for us in the Blue Mountains. A life of peace and plenty. A life that is worth more than all the gold in Erebor." Balin explained.

"From the grandfather to my father, this has come to me. They dreamt of the day when the dwarves of Erebor would reclaim their homeland. There is no choice, Balin. Not for me." Thorin explained holding the key out.

"Then we are with you, laddie. We will see it done." Balin nodded.