Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Bella turned her face to the East, digging her toes into the earth beneath her. She felt the earth pulsing through her, much like a heartbeat, and she furrowed her brow in confusion. Closing her eyes, she spread her magic across the land, and nearly reeled back when she hit a wall. Not a physical wall, although it very well could have been, but a solid presence of evil in the land somewhere far, far to the East nearly overwhelmed her. She searched through it, feeling like she was wading through everything and nothing at the same time, hoping to find a sign. For surely something that engrossed in evil wouldn’t still be living, but she was a hobbit, and she could never give up on the land that so desperately needed help.

Although she used the land as a boost for her senses, the dead land greatly dampened it and she could feel her strength waning. In a final bid, she took a deep breath and spread her senses as far as she could and hoped it would be enough.

She waited a second, and then another, and then another, until finally-

There.

It was faint, but far in the distance she could feel a pulse, buried beneath all the evil. But if there was a pulse, then there was hope yet.

And if there was still hope left, that was all Bella needed.

Drawing her senses back to herself, she blinked at the sharp sting of the sun, before turning around and going inside Bag-End to pack.

She had work to do.

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not just any hobbit, though. This hobbit was Bella Baggins, daughter of Bungo and Belladonna Baggins, and she was as wild as they came. Her mother was a Took, and she was the most adventurous of the Tooks since Bullroarer. Bella took after her mother quite well, but she also took after her father. Bungo was a steady Baggins, the most respectable hobbit in Hobbiton, and while Bella was adventurous for a faunt (especially a Baggins faunt) she also knew where home was, and what that meant for hobbits.

Yes, Bella was the perfect combination of her two parents, with a love of adventure, home, and books, but there was another reason she was such a special hobbit.

Her magic was the strongest of them all.

Hobbits are the children of Yavanna, the Valar of the earth and green, growing things. Because of this, they were gifted with magic, a magic to make things grow and prosper. They can speak with the land (some hobbits are gifted with the ability to speak with animals as well, while others can sometimes move the land), and help it heal. Every hobbit is born with this ability, it’s just a matter of how strong that ability is. Now, obviously, having several hobbits in one spot will make the land prosper, like the Shire, but even having just one hobbit in a place where the earth is wounded helps it heal.

The hobbits of the Shire liked to stay in one place; it meant they could keep the Shire prosperous, keep its riches growing, but that didn’t mean they would never step outside it. If they heard the call of another place for help, they would pack up and move. They called them adventures, and while generally it was frowned upon to leave home and wander, every hobbit knew what the calling felt like, and knew that if somebody did leave it was for a good cause.

Belladonna Baggins was one such hobbit who, like the others, heard the call of the world outside the Shire. She just acted upon it more, and as she did so, her gift for healing grew and she was called more often than other hobbits. When Bella was born, it was a toss-up of if she would have a strong healing magic like her mother, or if she would be more laid back like her father, or if she would be a mix of the two, and her magic averaged out like the rest of the hobbits. Growing up, though, she ran around and even occasionally went on adventures with her mother to Bree, healing the land as they went but never being gone for long. When the Fell Winter came, it was her mother that led the other hobbits, her father included, to try to heal the land from the darkness that winter brought, and also to hopefully grow some defensive walls of bramble and other such to protect them from the starving wolves. Bella had to stay home, as she had fallen ill and was in the process of recovering.

Her parents never came back.

By the time the snows melted and the wolves left the Shire alone, several smials had been broken into, and hundreds of hobbits had died, whether from the cold, wolves, or starvation themselves.

After that, the hobbits focused even more on the land around them, placing their magics deep into the ground to root themselves and help the Shire grow stronger and heal from the brutal winter. No hobbits wandered off on any adventures during those first few years after, and once the land was nearly fully healed, hardly any went off again. They ignored the call from the other lands, blocking their senses to the rest of the world, and worked to make the Shire so whole it could never be hurt again.

Hardly any hobbits, except for Bella Baggins, that is.

Her magic had been exceptionally strong when she was born, and going around with her mother only strengthened it. Falling ill and the ensuing winter had dampened the ability slightly, but as soon as winter was done with, she was out there with the rest of the hobbits helping make the Shire whole again. After it was as healed as it could get from them, she turned her senses outwards and followed the call to other parts of the world, even going almost as far as the Misty Mountains at one point. She always returned back, and made sure her smial would never fall into the hands of the Sackville Bagginses. Nobody even battered an eye at her suddenly disappearing anymore. So long as her sign was posted, they knew she would be back eventually, and left her be. Some called her odd, or mad, of course, but she shrugged it off. It had been her mother’s calling and now it was hers to keep the lands alive.

That was why, when a wizard showed up at her door only to see a sign Gone on an adventure! Be back soon! nobody thought to inform him that this was a normal occurrence, and he shouldn’t try to wait for her.

The dwarves weren’t too happy at this, though, and grumbled the whole time back to the Prancing Pony Inn to restock supplies - that they wasted on a halfling with no sense of honor, leaving their home for a silly little adventure right before they were to meet with the dwarves - before heading back out into the wild, trudging their way to Erebor.

Thirteen was an unlucky number, and they all knew it, but hoped that their flaky companion of a wizard would be enough to stop the bad luck heading their way.

They hoped, but based on their absent so-called burglar so far, though, it was a very fragile one. They knew it was in vain the first night they heard the orc cries in the distance. Still, if they were lucky, some of them might make it all the way to Erebor.

That was the plan, and desperate plea by all of them, at least.

Another orc screeched.

It was going to be a long trip.

Chapter Text

Bella hummed absently as she wandered through Rivendell. She was glad for a place to rest, after being rained upon for several days and then coming across the ruins of a house that had been recently burned down, she was positively drained and ready for a respite. Sure, she was used to adventuring more than the other hobbits, especially now, but that didn’t mean she could ever get used to seeing the loss in other places of the world.

She had stayed nearby the farmhouse for a couple hours during the day, healing the land around it as it cried out, but then the hum of the earth changed to something more frantic and had started to reject her magic. Bella had only had that happen to her once before, and she knew she would only waste her energy if she continued trying to heal the land. She then heard whispers of danger, get out, they’re coming , and sent another pulse of her magic down, letting the land know she understood before hustling out of there.

When the earth spoke, she listened.

As it was, she had still had a couple of hours of sunlight left so she made the most of it and continued on her way, hiking her way over plains before finally finding the road that would lead her to Rivendell, the Last Homely House East of the Sea. Once she had arrived and paid homage to Lord Elrond himself, she was shown to the room she always stayed in during her visits to clean up in.

Bella had no idea how long she had stayed in the bathtub, scrubbing herself clean and then just soaking. She certainly stayed in until the water went cold before dragging herself out and lying down on her bed to pass out.

That was the day before, and now Bella was admiring the sights of Rivendell. She was taking the day to rest and restock supplies before leaving the next morning. Already, there were elves who were kind enough to offer gathering foods and extra clothing for her and Bella certainly wasn’t going to turn them down.

“Bella, might I have a word with you?” She blinked up at Lord Elrond in minor confusion before smiling graciously at him. She had apparently been so lost in thought that she hadn’t noticed him come up to her.

“Of course, my Lord.” She bowed her head before following him to his study.

“Welcome in.” He held the door open for her and she smiled up at him in thanks. Once they were seated, Lord Elrond spoke again. “My friend, I am glad to see you alive and in good spirits, as always. When you first arrived yesterday, I was curious as to what drew you away from the Shire this time. You have already healed much of the lands this side of the Misty Mountains; what is it that has called you from your home again?” His eyes were kind, as always, yet they were also troubled in concern for his friend.

“I do not know what has called me. Not entirely, at least. It is farther from the Shire than I have ever been, on the other side of the Misty Mountains. I heard it crying out for me while I was digging in my garden, but it was weak. It was barely strong enough to gather my attention while I was already connected to the earth in my garden, but even doing that must’ve weakened it considerably. When I stretched my magic out to follow it, I could barely feel it, and when I did…” Bella shuddered and a shadow seemed to cast upon her eyes as she looked up at Elrond. “There was so much darkness there, and pure evil that had permeated through the earth that it nearly overwhelmed me. But there is still hope there, I could feel it, faint though it was. And if there is still some hope to be had… Lord Elrond, I have to try. It would be going against everything I stand for as a hobbit and a child of Yavanna if I just ignored it. I packed and left immediately, hoping to get there as soon as I can to help it.” While she spoke, Elrond had clasped his hands together on the desk and furrowed his brow in thought. It was a few moments after she finished that he took a deep breath and spoke.

“The land that you speak of, there is only one place that I can think of that it could be. You are heading towards Erebor, where the dragon Smaug has taken up residence and let evil seep into the lands around it. The Greenwood of old has been affected and is now Mirkwood, thanks to the evil that has been festering there, and it troubles me greatly that you have been called to help it when no one else has even tried.”

“I was worried that might be the case. I know Erebor is the more likely reason, especially since it is more East, but why couldn’t it be Mordor?” Elrond sighed again, and his voice took on the tone of someone who had seen too much sorrow when he responded.

“The land of Mordor is dead. Even if the entire population of the Shire moved and settled down there, the land would do its best to corrupt them and I imagine that it would succeed against most of the hobbits. Any who survived would be dull and lifeless, merely shells of who they once were, for there is no sunlight there, and nothing green and growing.” As he spoke, Bella could feel her gut clenching at the fate of the hobbits if any tried to help the dead land. “And if, by some chance, there was a sliver of life left in the land for the hobbits to latch onto, it would take several years - decades, centuries, or even an entire Age - before they had any effect on it. No, the only place to the East that has even the slightest chance of being healed from that kind of evil is Erebor. It would take longer, but you may even be able to help Mirkwood turn Green again.”

Elrond patted her hand where it was set on the desk, and waited patiently for her to gather her thoughts again.

“Right, so I’m being called to help heal the land of Erebor, and possibly Mirkwood. Sure, no problem. Except…” Here, Bella hesitated as she looked back into Elrond’s eyes, “didn’t you just say there was a dragon currently living there?” At his grave nod, she sighed resignedly. “Right, so, dragon. Gotta figure out a way to get rid of the dragon first. Shouldn’t be a problem, right? And that’s assuming I make it all the way to the mountain without running into trouble and dying on the way.” She groaned and flopped her head on the desk.

“Cheer up, my friend. I will not let you travel for so long through dangerous territories on your own.” Bella raised her head up and looked at him in confusion. Elrond smiled at her serenely, but his eyes filled with mirth ruined the facade. “I will be sending a small company of warriors with you to help get through the mountains all the way to Mirkwood, where you will be met with the elves of that region. They will help you through the rest of the way to Erebor.”

Bella perked up significantly at that, and thanked him profusely as she left his study to go check on the status of her supplies.

The next morning, she was packed and ready to go as the small company of elven warriors Elrond had promised readied their horses. She herself had a small pony, and while she wasn’t thrilled at the idea, she knew it was necessary for speed. She turned to say her thanks and goodbyes to the elven lord before they headed off, only to return who-knows-when. She dipped into a graceful curtsy (even though she was in her traveling trousers she could still be a lady, thank you very much), bowing her head as she did so before rising again.

“Thank you, my Lord, for helping me. I appreciate all of what you’ve done for me, and continue to do for me.” She gestured to the elves around her. “They will be a huge help, I know it. I do not know when I will see you again, but I look forward to it.” Elrond knelt in front of her as she spoke, and he placed a warm hand on her shoulder.

“I look forward to our next meeting, Bella Baggins of the Shire. May your travels be swift and painless.” At this, Bella stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him in a hug as best as she could. Elrond’s arms slipped behind her and tightened for a moment, as he whispered in her ear, “ Nai Anar caluva tielyanna , Bella.” Then he released her and she mounted her pony to start the part of her journey to the Lonely Mountain.

“ Tenn’ omentielva enta , Lord Elrond.” She whispered in response as they rode out of Imladris, towards the Misty Mountains.

The dwarves groaned as they slid off their ponies to set up camp by the ruins they’d found. Thorin and Dwalin immediately set about to check the perimeter and watch for dangers, but ultimately they found nothing. Their check revealing nothing beyond an extraordinarily lush landscape all around, Dwalin went back over to help his brother, the wizard quickly taking his spot near the King-in-exile.

“A farmer and his family used to live here.” The wizard began to warn Thorin to move on, when something on the ground caught their eyes.

“What the…” Thorin couldn’t believe what he was seeing, while the wizard merely rubbed his chin with a muttered, “interesting”. Thorin called Dwalin back over, something in his voice causing the warrior to quicken his steps.

“What’s going on?” A few of the other dwarves had trailed after Dwalin, curiosity getting the better of them, but all of them stopped in surprise at what they saw.

What they thought had been an unusually green landscape around fresh ruins turned out to lead into something much more impressive. There was a veritable sea of grass back behind the building, with only boulders to break it up like islands peaking out. Somehow, the grass had grown taller and wilder back here than anywhere else along the way so far, reaching up to the dwarves’ waists, and in the distance they could see bushes as tall as trees, and trees even taller still. The gentle slope behind the farmhouse had hidden most of it from sight as they had approached from the front. They could see enormous flowers everywhere, and as Thorin stepped closer to the grass, several animals sprung out from the tall grass to run off. Birds, rabbits, even a fox or two were there.

“What has happened? Why is the land so different here than everywhere else?” Thorin directed his questions to Gandalf, only to see him assessing the land with narrowed eyes and a noncommittal hum.

“It seems we are not the only ones to have been here.” He finally replied, but it did little to stem the confusion from the Company. The rest had finally wandered over after seeing what was taking everyone so long, and the awed mutterings and suspicions from the others only seemed to increase as they all voiced their opinions over the matter. The noise grew as Thorin stared hard at the wizard, until he could finally take no more.

“Enough! Gandalf, explain. What do you mean we are not the only ones to have been here?” Gandalf hummed and rubbed his chin some more in thought before turning back to Thorin and the Company.

“I mean that someone else was here before us, healing the land. All of this land around us has been healed of any evil and disease, allowing it to grow unhindered and wild. And truly, this is not the only place where the land has been purged.” The dwarrow were now muttering to themselves in confusion, and Gandalf barely restrained huffing in annoyance. “Didn’t you happen to notice, as we’ve been traveling, that the trails have been more lush and green than any others?” The muttering grew louder and Gandalf sighed. “It means that the path we are following has been traveled by someone, fairly recently it would seem too, who has the ability to heal the land around them.”

“Someone has been following our trail, step for step? What is the meaning of this, wizard?” Wizards don’t roll their eyes, but it was a very near thing for Gandalf at the demand of Gloin.

Honestly, dwarves .

“It would appear, master dwarf, that you are the ones following their trail, step for step. Although, I do not think they mean anyone any harm, judging by the healed land around us. Nevertheless,” he stared hard at Thorin, “I do not think we should stay here. I think it would be wiser to move on towards the Hidden Pass.” Thorin glared balefully at him as the other dwarves grumbled and moved away back towards their various assignments around the camp. “We have a map we cannot read; the elves could help us. I know Lord Elrond would be willing to host us for a few days as needed to rest and replenish our supplies.”

“I told you already, I will not go there. The elves did not help us when the dragon Smaug came. We will continue on our own as we always have, and when we retake the mountain and the elves come to us claiming friendship, we will give them the same courtesy they gave us.”

Gandalf huffed and stormed off, someone calling after him about where he was going, in which he responded about the only one having sense being himself. “I’ve had enough of dwarrow for one day.” Then he was gone, and the dwarves were left to their own devices.

Everything was going well, up until Fili came running back to camp yelling about trolls and horses and Kili , and the dwarves were suddenly up in arms and rushing off to save their wayward foolish prince.

Everything really was going great for the dwarves, so, naturally, it shouldn’t have been a surprise that everything went downhill so fast. Both Ori and Kili had gotten captured, and it took a combined effort of Thorin, Dwalin, and Bifur to keep Dori and Nori from attacking the trolls again. Fili was nearly there as well, but Ballin was there to hold him back. Everyone was seething inside as they were tied to a spit or stuffed in sacks. When the trolls started arguing about daylight coming, that’s when Bofur had the bright idea to stall for time.

“Wait! You don’t want to cook us!”

“You what?” The lead troll came uncomfortably close to the dwarves on the spit, pausing as he did which unfortunately put Bofur directly over the fire to get all sorts of toasty.

“Well I can’t very well tell you if I’m stuck in one spot now, can I?” He called over to the trolls, which at least served to get them spinning the spit again. “That’s better. Now,” he said as soon as he was away from the fire, “you don’t want to cook us!”

The troll - Bert - was confused.

“And why not? Dwarves taste lovely when they’re cooked and seasoned just right.” He sighed dreamily in anticipation for his soon-to-be meal.

“Oh, normally I would agree with ye there; y’see, me brother’s a cook and,” he paused as he was turned over the fire again, waiting until he was back upright to start speaking again. “And so I know all about how well we dwarves can taste, but that there’s the issue.” He went over the fire again and came around just in time to see another troll, Tom, pick up Bombur to eat.

“I bet this one’s all kinds o’ juicy.” He licked his lips and Bombur wriggled viciously in his grasp as he was lowered closer to his mouth.

“Especially not that one!” Tom paused and glanced over to where Bofur was still turning around the spit. “He’s infected!” He didn’t pause this time as he went over the fire, just yelled louder so the trolls could hear him easier. “We all are!” Tom dropped Bombur back to the ground in disgust and the other trolls backed up. Conveniently, this left Bofur on the topside of the spit as it stopped so he had a clear view of the trolls, and an easier time speaking to them. “We’ve all ate so many other dwarves because we taste so good that we’ve become riddled with parasites. That’s why we’re on our own - we were kicked out so we wouldn’t infect anybody else. I wouldn’t risk it, I really wouldn’t.” The others had caught on to his game and called out about their parasites, how big they were, how many, and how badly they would taste.

“So what would you have us do, then? Let you go so you can go eat more dwarves and we’re left without any?” The final troll spoke up, getting up close to Bofur and poking him in the chest. Whether that was to emphasize a point or just to test how squishy they still were was anyone’s guess, but he continued on, ignoring the yells of the others. “I know what you’re up to. The rodent means to take us for fools!”

“Rodent?” Bofur asked, offended.

“Fools?” Ah, it seemed Tom won the competition of who could get the most offended. Darn.

“The dawn will take you all!” Gandalf appeared on a rock just then, splitting it apart to let the sunlight through and turn the trolls to stone. The dwarves cheered and Bofur sighed in relief. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to stall for much longer.

Once all the dwarves were free and the two princes had gotten a stern talking-to, and Bofur got the stink eye from a few of the others, they all went off in search of the troll’s horde. There, they found a veritable treasure mine of weapons, gold, and various other bits. Bones were scattered amongst it all and those who had braved the smell and ventured inside the cave were equal parts disgusted and saddened by it.

Then another wizard appeared, seeming even crazier than Gandalf, and then they were running for their lives away from a hunting party of orcs and wargs. The hidden cave in the rocks was a blessing, but it did make the dwarves wary as soon as the elves showed up to take care of the pack. Thorin glared at the wizard as soon as the path opened up to the sight of Rivendell. He knew there was something the wizard was hiding.

Their stay in the elven city was a good respite, although Thorin would ever deny that it had been pleasant . The elves were being particularly poncy and stuck up, and although Lord Elrond was willing to read their map for them, he was anxiously waiting for their chance to leave.

“Erebor…” Lord Elrond looked over at Thorin and Balin with curiosity in his eyes. “What is your interest in this map?” Before they could come up with a plausible excuse, however, Gandalf spoke up.

“It’s mainly academic. These old maps, they sometimes contain hidden text. You do still read ancient Dwarvish, do you not?” Elrond looked over at Gandalf, clearly not convinced, but nevertheless held it up to the light. It shimmered and the ancient moon runes appeared.

“Fate is with you, Thorin, son of Thrain. These runes can only be read by the light of the same moon as when they were written. That is in a few day’s time. We will reconvene then and I will be able to read the runes for you.” He handed the map back to Thorin, eyeing him with some hidden emotion before taking his leave, Gandalf trailing behind him. Thorin and Balin looked at each other in confusion before making their way back to the rest of their companions.

By the time they met again to read the map, their supplies had been restocked and the entire Company was anxious to get underway. Elrond placed the map on his crystal table right as the moonlight shone down, illuminating it, and he read the runes as they appeared.

“‘Stand by the gray stone when the thrush knocks, and the setting sun with the last light of Durin’s day will shine upon the keyhole.’” He looked over sharply when Thorin and Balin started discussing how much time they had. “So this is your purpose. To enter the mountain and defeat the dragon Smaug.” Thorin shook his head.

“We do not plan to face the wyrm yet, not on our own.” Elrond gazed coolly at him, eyes unreadable.

“There are those who would try to stop you in this venture,” Thorin began to protest, but Elrond continued speaking, “and there are those who would help you. Whether you are aware of them or not.” He spoke cryptically and Thorin narrowed his eyes at the cryptic message. “If you would excuse me, gentlemen, I must be off. There is a meeting of the White Council tonight to discuss the dark happenings of late. We will be occupied for some time.” He looked knowingly at the dwarves before leaving. Gandalf looked at them.

“You must sneak out while we are in our meeting if you want to go unnoticed. I will meet you before the Misty Mountains. Do not enter them without me.” He warned, before he too left.

Thorin and Balin looked at each other in mild confusion before they went to grab the others. They would be leaving shortly for the Misty Mountains, and everybody needed to be prepared.

Cryptic riddles and answers aside, they only had so much time before Durin’s Day. They were on a deadline for this one chance, and they would not miss it.

Chapter Text

Travelling over the Misty Mountains was not Bella’s favorite part of the journey at all, if nothing else but for the fact that it was so boring . All around them was stone, barely any vegetation at all around the base of the mountain, and when they got up into the mountains there was none around at all. Nothing to break up the monotony that was the stone around them. To make things worse, it was lightly sprinkling on them the whole time, and if that wasn’t as annoying as being poured on constantly, Bella didn’t know what was. The icing on the cake? She couldn’t feel the earth around her. They’d had to ride their horses (and pony) constantly to make good time, and as soon as they had reached the Misty Mountains the elves wouldn’t let her get off her pony.

Something about it being dangerous, and evil, and if she got down to feel the earth they’d never make it to Mirkwood.

At least not anytime within the next century.

So now Bella was cold, tired, annoyed, and saddle-sore. She didn’t make very good company to travel with this way, she knew that much. At least the elves were gracious enough to take it in stride.

It took them a total of four days to cross the mountains, and they only stopped briefly for a short rest a couple of times. At one point Bella actually fell asleep on her saddle, the elves making sure she didn’t fall off, although it didn’t do anything for her neck which now had a massive crick in it, making her even more irritable. All because of the stupid cave she’d wanted to sleep in.

“Look over there; a cave!” Bella had pointed ahead and to the left when she saw the opening. The elves took one look at it, barely glancing inside before denying it.

“I’m afraid not, Lady Bella. It’d be best if we moved on. We still have a little bit of light left, and the storm looks to be moving on; we should make the most of it while we still can.” The elf - Gwaendaer was his name - looked back at Bella in sympathy as she huffed and shifted on her saddle before trying to argue her point again as they were passing it.

“Why can’t we take a short break in there? It is surely drier in there than it is out here, and I’m certain your horses and my pony would enjoy the rest. I’ll promise not to use my magic even if it calls out to me.” She hated that her voice had a slight whine to it so she attempted to change her tone at the end, but by his slightly amused look, Gwaendaer wasn’t buying it.

“While I am certain you would do your best to make good on that promise, we are all aware of the children of the Green Lady and their call to heal the lands around them. Try as you might, you would not be able to resist the urge to help with your magic. The animals would not be able to enjoy a rest in there, either. That cave is a trap, leading deeper into the mountains where any number of foul creatures dwell. I am sorry, Lady Bella, but we cannot stop for a rest in the cave.”

She sighed in defeat, but couldn’t help but watch mournfully as it passed by. Bella sniffed right then, and inhaled the telltale scent of a musty, sandy cave, but there was something else there, too. It was very faint, but it was still foul enough to make her scrunch her nose in disgust and turn back towards the front. After a while more of plodding along the pass, her pony’s movements lulled her into a light doze, and when she woke, her neck was extremely sore and very much Not Appreciated. A day and a half later, they had made it to the other side; a lot faster than if Bella had been traveling alone and on foot.

She very nearly cried when the elves allowed her to climb off her pony again, and sat for a full twenty minutes, burying her hands and feet in the ground while the elves set up their camp for the night. They wore amused expressions at her display of emotion over the earth, but she ignored them in favor of sending her magic into the ground and healing the land around their campsite, happily ensconced in the embrace it gave in return.

It helped that she was able to sit in front of a fire and dry off completely as well.

As she snuggled under her blanket that night, she sighed in contentment. So long as she didn’t have to be cut off from the earth for so long again, she could make the rest of the trip.

She could do this.

Thorin cursed as the rain pounded down harder still. They had begun to cross the Misty Mountains, against Gandalf’s warning to wait for him, and it seemed they were being punished for it. Thorin slipped slightly against the smooth stone and cursed again. If the wizard wanted to cross the mountains with them, he should’ve been there. As it was, Thorin had to put it out of his mind; this storm was taking all of his concentration and he couldn’t be thinking about their flaky wizard if he wanted to survive this.

Unfortunately, the Valar must’ve decided to help him in that venture suddenly as a rock flew through the air and all thought fled his mind momentarily.

“Watch out!” Dwalin called out right before the rock - really, it was a boulder, and what is a boulder doing flying through the air like that? - hit the wall above them, causing stones to rain down on them.

“This isn’t a thunderstorm, it’s a thunder battle!”

“Well bless me, the legends are true! Giants! Stone giants!”

Really, Bofur, nobody would’ve guessed from the massive hulking beast hurtling rocks at us all. It took a lot of willpower for Thorin not to comment out loud, and he very nearly would’ve, had he the extra energy to spare.

The next several minutes were some of the worst of his life as they jumped for their lives while playing Musical Giants (Thorin would not recommend this to anybody as a fun excursion,and would, in fact, really only recommend they play the original version of Musical Chairs for entertainment), and he thought he would have a heart attack as his Company was split in two and very nearly turned into pancakes against the side of the mountain.

He thanked Mahal for the safety of his nephews, and the rest of the Company.

Dwalin managed to find a cave for them to shelter in for the night, but it was a little too conveniently placed for Thorin’s liking so he made sure they checked to the back. One couldn’t be too sure in mountain caves like these - they were seldom unoccupied. Luckily, it seemed to be clear of any danger so Thorin let everyone rest there, although he made sure no fires were lit.

He didn’t want to push their luck too far.

As Bofur set up for the first watch and everyone else settled down for what bit of rest they could get for the night, Thorin scanned over everyone in his Company to reassure himself once again that they were all okay. Not for the first time, nor would it be the last, he cursed their would-be burglar for running off and leaving them as an unlucky thirteen. Finally, after what seemed like forever, he settled down by his nephews, pulling them close and reassuring himself that they were still there with him.

A faint hissing sound and a slight glow from his elven blade were the only bit of warning they got that something was wrong before the floor literally dropped out from under them and they fell down a giant slide into a crudely made cage and were beset upon by goblins. So, so many goblins. The dwarves rallied as best as they could but in such tight quarters they couldn’t draw weapons without fear of hurting each other.

The goblins herded them towards a wide open cavern where the largest goblin Thorin had ever seen was jumping around - dancing? - and leading the rest of the goblins in what he assumed had to be a song. The giant thing sat back on a crude throne and eyed the dwarves in front of him.

“Who would be so bold as to come armed into my kingdom? Spies? Thieves? Assassins? ”

“Dwarves, Your Malevolence.” One of the goblins came forward, bowing to the Goblin King.

“Dwarves?”

“We found them on the front porch.” Thorin internally sighed. I knew that cave was too good to be true.

“Well don’t just stand there!” The king gestured towards the Company. “Search them! Every crack! Every crevice!” The Company was soon set upon by hundreds of goblins all at once, each trying to be the one to bring something of import to their king. The dwarves fought them off as best as they could, and soon the goblins drew back, and the Great Goblin demanded they speak, to which none of the dwarves obeyed. “Well then, if they will not talk, we’ll make them squawk! Bring out the Mangler! Bring out the Bone Crusher!” He pointed at them and grinned evilly. “Start with the youngest.”

The dwarves closed ranks around the three youngest and Thorin stepped forward. If his Company was to die here and now, he would make sure the goblins all focused on him. He could spare the others a little more time, at least.

After denying the Goblin King’s claims of Azog being alive, Thorin stood stoically as the king danced around again. The torture devices were being brought up, and Thorin would make sure he took it first so the others wouldn’t have to. Slowly, the machines were wheeled up onto the platform in full view of the rest of the cavern and the goblins were going wild. In the merriment, one of the goblins unsheathed Orcrist, and the effect was immediate. All of the goblins reeled back in fear and disgust.

“I know that sword! It is the Goblin-Cleaver, the Biter, the blade that sliced a thousand necks.” He was still attempting to scoot back as far as he could into his throne, but still the Great Goblin commanded his subjects with a voice filled with panic and anger. “Slash them! Beat them! Kill them! Kill them all! Cut off his head!” Unfortunately for the Goblin King, his orders were not fulfilled, as there was suddenly a white flash and everyone was thrown to the ground.

In walked Gandalf, and his voice cut through the silence with a promise of doom.

“Take up arms. Fight. Fight!”

That was all the dwarves needed to get up and start hacking their way through the goblins to freedom. The chase through the caves was harrowing, and the dwarves all very nearly died. Except, they didn’t, because they were full of righteous fury and refused to be brought down by the maggots that called themselves goblins.

When the Goblin King crashed through their platform, smugness oozing from his every pore like the pus there, the Company was ready to tear him to shreds, but Gandalf got to him first. Then the platform they were on decided to freefall through the mountain and they all clung to the rotting wood for their lives.

It was only natural that they couldn’t have a clean getaway, and the Great Goblin’s body crashed on top of them.

It was also natural that they would be cornered by orcs and wargs and the apparently still alive and very much not dead Azog the Defiler.

Thorin was not happy.

Neither was Dwalin when he finally managed to climb up the fallen tree and slay the orc about to behead Thorin.

Wielding his battle axes, he tore through the orcs and wargs with a fury that could rival a dragon’s. The others managed to jump into the fray as well and protect their fallen King, driving back the orcs and wargs for a bit. When the eagles came and picked them all up, they heaved great sighs of relief as the Misty Mountains fell behind them and for the moment, they were safe. They were worried about Thorin, of course, but the wizard was there and as soon as the eagles set them on the Carrock, he was there working his magic.

Everyone heaved great sighs of relief as Thorin opened his eyes and demanded about the others.

He struggled to stand and as soon as he was in range, Dwalin smacked the back of his head.

“You! What were you doing? You nearly got yourself killed!” Thorin looked back at his brother-in-arms, a wounded look on his face. “You ever do something that stupid again I’ll kill you myself.” Thorin looked at him before nodding back gravely. Dwalin sighed and grasped Thorin’s forearm, before the gasps of surprise sounded from the rest of the Company. Releasing their arms, Thorin and Dwalin turned towards the others before noticing what they were looking at. A silent awe passed over the dwarves of the Company, and they all had tears in their eyes at the first sight of the Lonely Mountain.

“Erebor. Our home.” Thorin spoke reverently by Dwalin, and Balin came up on his other side. A bird flew by, chirping happily, and the others couldn’t help but agree with the sentiment.

“A raven! The birds are returning to the mountain!” Oin’s voice called out, and the others were suddenly reminded of the prophecy he intoned to them before they began their journey.

“That, my dear Oin, is a thrush.” Gandalf corrected the old healer. Thorin turned back to look at the loyal dwarves behind him, his Company.

“But we’ll take it as a sign - a good omen.” He locked eyes with every dwarf there, and then the wizard.

“The worst is surely behind us now!” Kili’s voice popped up, joy radiating from him as his arm was around his brother’s shoulders. Thorin and Dwalin both mentally sighed at Kili’s verbal challenge against the Valar, although they couldn’t do anything about it now.

They just hoped the Valar would give them this brief respite before hurtling everything at them once more.

Chapter Text

Bella stared up at the towering form of their host - Bearo, maybe? She couldn’t remember his name - and sighed. Why did all the creatures have to be so much taller than her? Why couldn’t they be sensibly sized, like all hobbits?

And why did he insist on calling her “Little Bunny”? It was rude and Bella did not appreciate it.

The elves seemed to be stuck in a state of amusement and terror as he glared at them all except for Bella. When he looked at her, his eyes were kind and knowing.

“Your kind has not been seen in these parts for many generations. What cause has brought you back this direction once more?” He directed his question to Bella, although his gaze was once more focused on her elven companions. Gwaendaer stood tall, and proud, although his hand was hovering over the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it at a moment’s notice if the giant bear-man decided to do anything untoward against Bella. She appreciated the sentiment, although she seriously doubted he would be able to do much good against the guy. He was huge! Bella shifted on her feet a bit as she focused once more on Bearo. She bowed low to him.

“My lord Bearo-” Gwaendaer coughed, and whispered Beorn and Bella corrected herself. Oops… “- Beorn , I have traveled far from the Shire and over the Misty Mountains, answering the call of the Green Lady to assist a desolate land heal and thrive once more. I am heading towards Erebor, to purge it from evil, and I am hopeful that in doing so it will heal the nearby lands as well.”Kneeling, Beorn now focused all his attention on her, and when he spoke, his voice was grave.

“Dear child of the Green Lady, those lands have festered in evil for too long to be healed by one single hobbit, even one so brave and powerful as you. I can feel the power of the Mother flowing through you, and it is strong, but even with that power it is too big a task for you.”

“Which is why we are asking for your help.” She walked closer to him, and set both her hands on one of his larger ones, gripping them with earnest fervor. “I will need all the energy I can muster to even think to start healing the land, and that is after we take care of the dragon. Please, any help you can give us to do so would be much appreciated.” She stared into his eyes, determination and hope warring, and waited for his answer. After a few moments, which felt like an eternity, Beorn sighed and lifted his other hand to place it on her head.

“I will help you all that I can. I cannot help with the dragon, but I will give you shelter to rest and let you restock your supplies here.” He patted her head before standing back up, extracting his other hand from her grip as he did so. He looked once more at her elven companions. “Come, you will be shown to a room to place your things while you recover from your journey thus far. I don’t usually keep visitors, but your Lady Hobbit is quite convincing so I will help you in this.” With that, Beorn turned and led them inside the giant house. Their horses and pony were led off by the horses already living there so they did not worry too much.

They only spent two days in the company of Beorn before they were heading towards Mirkwood. Beorn followed them there from a distance to make sure they made it safely. Once they reached the edge, Bella and her companions stopped their mounts and waited. After a few minutes, a company of Mirkwood elves emerged and greeted the small company waiting there. A blond male and a red-headed female stepped forward from among the ranks.

“ Suilad! I am Legolas, son of King Thranduil, and this is the Captain of my father’s guard, Tauriel. We are glad to see you made it here safely.” Legolas spied Bella among the Rivendell elven ranks and nodded at her. “This is the halfling we are to escort to my father’s halls?” Gwaendaer opened his mouth to speak, but Bella shoved her pony forward in a fit of indignation.

“I am half of nothing , Lord Legolas, I am a hobbit, and have been chosen by the Green Mother, Lady Yavanna herself, to come this way to heal these lands. The name is Bella Baggins of the Shire, thank you very much.” She finished her scolding with a small huff at the elven prince, even as she was internally berating herself at the impolitenes of scolding a stranger on the first meeting. For a moment he looked taken aback, but composed himself quickly with a hint of a smile on his face as he looked at her.

“I apologize, Lady Bella. If you are ready, my father is awaiting your arrival.”

Bella nodded before turning back to her previous companions.

“ Navaer , my friends. Nai Anar caluva tielyanna .” She gave them the same farewell as Lord Elrond gave her before parting from Rivendell. The response was the same, as well.

“ Tenn’ omentielva enta , Bella.” She nodded, before turning back around to face her new elven guides.

“Well, shall we?” She looked at Legolas and Tauriel before focusing on the woods behind them. They nodded and turned to lead the elvish guard back to the kingdom of Mirkwood. Bella inhaled, held her breath, and let it out slowly as she prepared to enter the diseased wood. Even without touching the ground, she could feel the evil that infected the land.

She knew one thing for certain.

Compared to the evil that lurked in front of her, crossing the Misty Mountains was going to feel like a breeze in her memories.

Thorin was going to kill his nephew. As soon as they could find a spot to hide from the massive, furious bear, Thorin was going to kill his youngest nephew. Kili just had to go spout off a challenge to the Valar, didn’t he?

Dwalin was thinking much the same thing, as well.

He could see the fear in Thorin’s eyes for the Company as they were all pursued by the bear, and he was sure that once they found some cover he was going to rip into the youngest Durin. Honestly, if they even survived to be able to scold the young prince, Dwalin would count it as a win.

They broke from the treeline into an open field where they spotted a massive house not far away. Dwalin only hoped that whoever lived there would excuse them for barging in unannounced, as they had no time to think about diplomatic niceties while running for their lives.

They managed to get inside before the bear - barely - and bolted the door. All were breathing harshly, as their adrenaline slowly faded.

“What is that?” Ori asked, and they turned to Gandalf for answers.

“That… is our host.”

After the revelation of their host being a skinchanger, and the Company settled down to rest for the evening, Dwalin watched as Thorin sat next to his nephews and pulled them close. After the events of the day, he needed the extra reassurance that they were still with him, were still alright. As he did so, his eyes wandered over the members of his Company, silently noting their positions in the room. Dwalin did the same, even as he momentarily gripped Balin’s shoulder next to him. Balin did the same back to his brother, and with a smile he gently lowered himself to the hay on the ground. Dwalin made sure he was alright before turning back to his watch over the Company. Gandalf may have insisted they were alright here for the night, but years in exile taught Dwalin to be cautious.

One by one, the dwarves all fell asleep in their strange host’s home, hoping for a brief respite to heal before having to continue on their way.

In the morning, they were introduced to the skinchanger, who went by the name of Beorn, by a stuttering Gandalf. None were really surprised that the bear-man hadn’t actually heard of the wizard; the wizard tended to do as he pleased. Still, they were nervous that because of their trespassing into his home that they wouldn’t be able to stay. Beorn questioned them about their quest, and why the orcs were chasing them in the first place, until he seemed satisfied. The last question he gave, however, threw them off.

“Are you following the Little Bunny, then?” Beorn eyed them all while he asked this, as though the answer they gave was vitally important. The dwarves were only confused by his odd question.

“We haven’t been following any bunnies, and even if we were able to find one, we would not hunt them while we are on your lands.” Thorin answered with all the dignity his station in his current situation gave him. Gandalf seemed to know what Beorn was asking, though, as his eyes lit up in understanding.

“Ah, I see. Passed through here, did they?” Beorn nodded.

“They did. Little Bunny made quite a convincing argument, and they rested here for a couple days before moving on.” Beorn turned his focus back to the dwarves. “You are being hunted by Azog the Defiler himself. I don’t like dwarves, but orcs I hate more. What do you need?”

The Company of Thorin Oakenshield stayed for a week at the skinchanger’s home to restock their supplies, and to let the injured (read: Thorin) rest a bit more before moving on again. All too soon, it was time to leave again, and the Company was anxious to move on. They saddled the ponies Beorn loaned to them for use, on the promise that they would return them as soon as they reached the Mirkwood gate. Beorn watched them, making sure they treated his animals with all care.

“Go now, while you have the light. The hunters are not far behind.” Thorin nodded at his words, and called for his dwarves to start moving. “Oakenshield.” The grave tone in Beorn’s voice made Thorin pause. “The Little Bunny has already passed through here and into Mirkwood. She plans to continue on to your mountain, and to heal the lands around it. Like I told you before, I don’t like dwarves. They’re greedy and blind, blind to the lives of those they deem lesser than their own. But I can’t follow Little Bunny to keep her from harm. I am trusting her safety to you, Oakenshield. You must hurry through Mirkwood and keep my Lady’s Bunny safe. Do not fail me in this.” Thorin nodded solemnly to Beorn.

“I will keep an eye out for your Bunny.” He responded, before turning back to his Company, who had all paused to watch for their leader. “Move on!”

As they rode away from the home of the skinchanger, Thorin could only puzzle over the riddle in his last words to him. His Lady’s Bunny? What did he mean by that?

If only he’d hired somebody who was secretly good with riddles to his Company, then maybe there wouldn’t be as much confusion. As it was, Thorin could only shake his head and push it aside for now.

They had reached Mirkwood.

Chapter Text

Bella absolutely hated Mirkwood.

She thought the Misty Mountains were bad because she wasn’t allowed off her pony, but Mirkwood was so much worse.

Because she could still feel the cries of the decayed land around her, begging for her to heal it all.

Logically, Bella knew she needed to stay on her horse so she couldn’t accidentally touch anything and get sucked in trying to save everything. She knew that, she did, and yet…

Another tree nearby started screaming as she faced her head forward, her jaw clenched tight, and continued ignoring them all. Forgive me, Lady Mother. Bella prayed as they rode on in silence. Well, silence for the elven party, but loud screaming all around for her from the trees. She grimaced and barely refrained from putting her hand to her temple to relieve the oncoming headache. The elven guard captain, Tauriel, explained to her that it was a week’s ride from the entrance to the Elvenking’s Halls. Bella had grumbled a bit at that but sighed as she resigned herself to sleeping in the saddle again.

No way was she going to fall asleep while riding with these elves that she just met. Maybe if she had the Rivendell elves with her that she knew and trusted more, or if even Gwaendaer had come with them she could sit with him and let him do all the hard work of holding her while riding the pony, and she could try to sleep away this entire blasted trip through these twisted trees of agony and death. Bella huffed, tightened her grip on the reigns, and stubbornly looked ahead, boring holes in the back of the poor elf in front of her.

It had barely been an hour since their journey started through the dark wood, and Bella was already sick of it all. If this was how the rest of the trip was going to be, then she was going to die of boredom after going deaf from all the screaming done by the poor trees and other vegetation around them.

She hated Mirkwood.

Hindsight, Bella decided, was working side by side with Karma. They probably huddled together in a dark corner of the universe somewhere, rubbing their hands gleefully and cackling at her plight while making it worse. They were three days into their trip, and it was going smoothly; a little too smoothly, if you asked Bella. That’s when the giant bloody Valar-forsaken spiders dropped on them. Literally dropped , and Bella was crouched onto her pony, flattening herself as much as she could while the elves were fighting them all around her.

This is what I get for daring the Valar. I dared to be bored on a trip though a cursed land, and now they’re making up for the easy journey so far. The only thing worse than this right now that could possibly happen is if a dragon decides to drop in and join the party.

Or, get knocked off her pony from a spider that managed to break through the elven defense.

It attacked her pony, killing it while trying to get to Bella. The pony reared up in defense, but doing so dumped Bella who was not prepared to face the dang thing, and she screamed as she fell to the ground.

Bella was wrong.

She was so, so, so, so, so wrong.

A dragon joining was not the worst thing that could’ve happened to her.

It was, in fact, getting knocked to the ground in the middle of a cursed land that she was not mentally prepared to heal yet.

As soon as she hit the ground, she understood why the elves did everything in their power to avoid letting her touch anything. As soon as she touched ground, she was submerged into a world of decay. Her vision went dark, and her other senses faded as well, leaving her blind to everything around her.

Everything was so wrong .

Her sight was supposed to be replaced with the lights of the magical auras around her that were in every living thing. Instead, it remained dark, only a fuzzy haze allowing her to slightly sense the vegetation around her. Her magic cried out to her, begging her to let it out to heal the poor trees, and as it tried to leak out she felt some of the dead energy come back to her. She shivered in disgust. The aura itself felt like mold, trying to clog up her senses. It wasn’t just the mold either. There was something else there, too. A different power mixed in. She could feel it crawling up her spine, trying to overwhelm her, and she grit her teeth, ready to try to fight it with her own magic.

Before she could, however, a golden ray broke through the black haze, bringing her back to reality. She gasped, feeling as though she was taking a breath for the first time. She blinked her eyes back into focus, and whipped her head around, but all she could see was a blur of trees. Wind whipped at her face and tore at her hair, but still she was able to hear faint elvish coming from above. She looked up, and was surprised to see the elven prince, Legolas, looking down at her. It was only briefly, but she could see the relief in his eyes before looking back up to focus on the path ahead of him. She glanced around them, and noticed for the first time that he was holding her on his horse, and they were racing through the trees. The rest of the elven guard was surrounding them, all eyes alert to their surroundings. Captain Tauriel was just ahead of them.

“Legolas..? What’s going on? What happened?”

“I am sorry, Lady Bella. We thought the spiders were being suspiciously quiet recently. We foolishly thought they would continue to do so while escorting you back to my father’s Halls, and were not fully prepared for their attack. One of them broke through and attacked you and your steed. The pony didn’t make it, and you were thrown to the ground. We worried you wouldn’t wake, and rushed to get you to my father as quickly as possible. Lord Elrond’s missive to us explained that you were connected to the land through the power of Lady Yavanna, but we did not know it was this powerful.” At this, Legolas looked back down at Bella. “You did not respond, and were barely breathing, and we worried that the sickness of the wood was too much for you to overcome on your own. My father is especially talented at healing, and has a connection with the lands as the King.”

“Lord Legolas, how long was I out for?” He hesitated only briefly before answering Bella.

“You were out for a day and a half. We have been riding hard after finishing off the spiders, and we should be there soon. My father will still want to look at you, to make sure there will be no lasting effects.” Bella nodded, and looked ahead. She lost herself to her thoughts when they broke through the treeline and came upon the Elvenking’s Halls. The guards snapped to attention and opened the gates for the thundering troop. They finally slowed down, and stopped just inside, the elves seamlessly dismounting from their horses. Legolas lifted Bella off the saddle, and more guards came to take the horses to the stables, their sides panting from the long run. Bella worried over their state before being whisked away, still in Legolas’ arms, towards where she presumed the Elvenking would be.

Oh goodie.

When Bella was finally set down, it was on a bed in what appeared to be some sort of medical wing. She took in her surroundings, ignoring the elvish dialect being spoken above her head. Let them worry about the wither-tos and why-fors; Bella was a scholar and her curiosity wasn’t yet satiated.

Before she could do much more than stare at the herbal cabinets on the other side of the room, the doors opened and Bella felt the power of… something engulf the entire room like a cloak. It was similar to her own power, yet… different. Ancient yet new at the same time, and the sight that greeted her was just as odd. She wasn’t connected to the earth, yet her sight was almost completely overtaken by the golden aura surrounding this being. When she blinked, she could see the elf that she was certain was her host. King Thranduil himself. Her vision continuously switched between his aura and his real self, and Bella could feel a migraine start to build. She groaned slightly and closed her eyes, shoving the heel of her hand into one of them, attempting to stop the onslaught. Suddenly, there were gentle fingers prying her hand away and gentle elvish words, and she opened her eyes to see Thranduil in front of her, his form still flickering.

“My Lord, I know this is terribly rude to ask, but if you are going to be in the same space as myself, could you stop flickering?” She mumbled out, squeezing her eyes shut again. The other elves in the room, Legolas and the healers, as well as two of Thranduil’s guards stationed inside, muttered in confusion, but Thranduil silenced them with a hand.

“Please, young one, explain yourself. What do you mean by flickering?” Thranduil’s cool voice had a touch of confusion and concern in it, and Bella briefly opened her eyes again to meet his own before closing once more. She waved a hand in the air around her vaguely.

“You keep flickering in my vision between your true self and glowing golden, and it is causing an abysmal migraine.” She swayed a bit, and felt several hands reach out to steady her, before laying her back down completely.

“Rest well, Child of the Green Lady. When you wake, everything will be fixed.” Bella felt Thranduil’s hands over her temples, his voice soothing and then she knew no more.

Bella woke as though she was surfacing from a deep sleep, and as she opened her eyes, she noticed once again that she was in a different room. Huh. I’m seeing a bit of a trend here. I don’t know if I should be disturbed or not. She huffed a slight laugh, only to shriek in surprise as a voice suddenly spoke next to her.

“It seems you are awake now. Good. It’s been nearly two days.” Bella turned her head to the side while sitting up, and saw King Thranduil sitting in a chair by her bed. To her relief, he was no longer flickering. His eyes focused intently on hers, and she stared right back at them, feeling herself suddenly in a silent test. Before long, something flickered in Thranduil’s eyes, almost like approval, and he stood, turning toward the door. “You have indeed been blessed by the Green Lady, and have a strong will to come out this far on your own.”

“Ever since Rivendell, I have not been on my own.”

“Even with your guards and guides from Lord Elrond’s house, you are alone in this venture, the only halfling to come so far.” Bella bristled at the insult.

“My people are called hobbits , not halflings .” Her face twisted in disgust at her own usage of the term. “We are half of nothing , and you and everyone else would do well to remember that.” She sniffed in disdain, barely resisting the urge to cross her arms in front of her chest. Thranduil didn’t smile, but there was a hint of one in the corner of his mouth, and when he spoke, there was only the barest trace of amusement hidden in his cool voice.

“My son tells me that you corrected him quite viciously when he used that term before. I suppose I must apologize to you for using it, but I needed to see for myself.”

“See for yourself what?” Her anger fizzled away into confusion at this. Thranduil didn’t answer for a moment, instead standing up and moving to the window, his hands clasped behind his back. When he spoke, it was with a gravity that made Bella shiver.

“I needed to see for myself if you would have the strength of will to face the darkness.” His eyes bore into Bella’s again, and again she stared back, determination shining bright in her own. Thranduil nodded once, and turned to the doorway to leave. “You must get yourself ready. You are to be my guest tonight at dinner, and tomorrow we will begin preparations for you to continue on.” And with that, he strode out the door, his guards’ footsteps just behind him.

Bella stared out the door in confusion before giving up and flopping back on the back with a sigh.

Well, she wasn’t chosen by Lady Yavanna for nothing. Rolling herself over to the edge of the bed, she made up her mind, once more determined.

Whatever was calling her for help, it was desperately needed, and even King Thranduil feared it, enough to try to test her resolve.

Bella just needed to locate the source, and purge the land.

After all, it was just a dragon.

No biggie.

Bella snorted.

Yeah, right.

The next five days were a rush as elves and hobbit alike were busy gathering supplies and preparing to continue on to the last leg of the journey. King Thranduil was kind enough to lend her supplies, giving her blessings in Quenya of peace and protection, and several of his subjects did the same. An honor guard was formed to lead Bella the rest of the way through Mirkwood and on towards Laketown, as they had to cross through there before being able to go on towards Erebor.

Just the thought of an entire town over water made Bella’s insides twist with nerves. She was perfectly fine not needing to go over water, no thank you. Dry land only for this hobbit, thank you very much.

Still, Bella realized the necessity, and resigned herself to her fate. Prince Legolas and Captain Tauriel weren’t in her honor guard, as they were sent to wipe out the spider’s nest. Bella was sad that they were not going to be travelling with her, as she had become fond of them (as well as the fact that they were some of the only elves she knew here), but she knew they had their jobs, and she had hers.

Soon enough, the days had all passed, and it was time for her to leave. A pony had been provided for her, since hers had been killed by the horrifically large spiders, and before she mounted it, she turned and bowed to Thranduil.

“Thank you, Your Majesty, for your help in this venture. I am indebted to you for your help and kindness, and I hope one day that I will be able to repay you for it and help you rid your own lands from the evil festering here. It would be my honor.” She straightened and received Thranduil’s answering nod in return.

“Go now, young one, and may the Valar bless you. Tenn’ omentielva enta .”

Bella nodded and mounted her pony, riding through the rest of Mirkwood towards the Long Lake, her guard flanking her on all sides.

Somehow, she had a feeling this was like the breath before the final plunge.

Chapter Text

The dwarves were only a few days into Mirkwood and Thorin was already sick and tired of it. To be fair, he was entirely done with Mirkwood before they had even stepped foot inside, but he grit his teeth and led his companions through the dark trees. Even in the middle of the day, when the sun should be shining the brightest, there was hardly any light filtering through. It was a lucky thing that dwarrow were able to see so well in the dark; otherwise they would’ve been stumbling around the forest, lost, for days.

Not that it would’ve been much different from what they were doing now.

He would never admit it to the others, but Thorin was not so proud that he couldn’t see the issue with him leading them through unknown territory. Still, his men followed him without hesitation, and he was continually humbled by their loyalty. He was a blessed King, indeed.

Well, King-in-Exile, but he would soon remedy that.

For his people.

At least, as soon as they could make it out of this blasted forest.

Thorin growled as he spotted a patch of fallen leaves in front that one tree for what seemed like the hundredth time. “Is there no end to this accursed forest?”

He could hear his men muttering to themselves, although he doubted it was anything of consequence. They were all going mad in this forest. Whatever spell the Elf King had placed over it to keep out intruders was working quite well in muddling their brains. One of his men was now going on about a bag of weed he found on the ground. Bofur , he thinks, before forcing his thoughts to focus, and realized that they were no longer on the path.

“Spread out; find the path! Find it!” He called out, and immediately they all moved to search for the path.

Thorin sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose before joining his Company in their frantic search for the lost path.

He only hoped they could find it before something else found them.

Well, they didn’t find the path. Gandalf was absolutely right when he said if they lost it they would never find it again, which was something Thorin would never ever admit out loud. The wizard’s ego was already big enough, no need to spur it on.

What they did find was a suspicious river with an equally suspicious boat (and by boat, he meant slightly more refined than a raft) to get them across. They were almost all across when a stag bounded into view and knocked Bombur into the water. They were all relieved to pull him out and find him breathing still, especially his brother and cousin, but they had to carry him now because he was unconscious. Thorin ordered for a litter to be made, and then they moved on, hopefully stumbling across the path again.

Yeah, right.

When Bombur woke up again, a few days later, they were all relieved, although it was more for the fact that they wouldn’t have to carry his substantial girth around anymore. Unfortunately, Bombur had a brief bout of memory loss and only talked about a feast he had dreamed of, setting them all more on edge, and Thorin almost wished more for his silence from when he was still unconscious. They had run out of food the day before and were now going on what they could forage.

Which was to say, absolutely nothing.

He was almost relieved when the spiders dropped down on them a few days later.

How Ori, of all people, was able to cut out of his bindings first and rescue them all, Thorin couldn’t say, but he was grateful all the same. As soon as he was on the ground again, he was swinging his swords at any spider that dared come near him. He was tired, hungry, and by golly these spiders were going to feel his wrath.

“Grab its legs!”

Several of the dwarrow grabbed the legs of one spider, right before it ate Bombur. Despite his earlier misgivings about Bombur for speaking consistently about food, Thorin still liked the dwarf, and he certainly didn’t want him to die. They fought off those spiders immediately surrounding them before running through the trees, hoping to lose them.

They did not, in fact, lose their pursuers, but did, instead, gain another set in the form of elves. Thorin cursed his luck.

“Kili!” FIli’s agonized yell for his brother had Thorin cursing his abysmal luck once again. Before anybody could do anything to rescue his beloved nephew, however, one of the elves ran forward, dismantling the spider’s limbs efficiently from its body. Thorin, however, was greeted with an arrow to the face.

“Do not think I won’t kill you, dwarf. It would be my pleasure.” The annoying shade of blonde hair with blue eyes reminded him of somebody, but he could not place who it was at the moment. He lowered his bow and began to walk away from Thorin. “Search them.” At his command, the other elves came forward and began stripping the Company of their weapons. Thorin’s eyes followed after blonde elf as he walked over to Gloin and found his precious locket.

“Hey! Give that back! It’s private!”

“Who is this? Your brother?” At the insult, Gloin very nearly growled.

“That is my wife.” LEgolas raised an eyebrow at that, but looked at the other picture in the locket.

“And what is this horrid creature? A goblin mutant?” Thorin thought for sure Gloin was going to shave the elf bald for that one.

“That’s my wee lad, Gimli.”

The other elves were searching the rest of the company at the same time. Thorin watched as an elf continued to find Fili’s hidden knives, and had no doubt they were doing the same to Nori as well. He was sure he would’ve found amusement at it in any other situation. As it was, he growled as the elf searching him took Orcrist away. Despite the sword having been made by elves, Thorin had to admit it was an extraordinary weapon, and had grown semi-attached to it. The elf showed Orcrist to the blonde one, who stopped what he was doing immediately as he focused on it, knowing right away what it was. He spoke in elvish about the elven make of the blade, as though Thorin couldn’t understand him.

He may hate the elves, but he admitted it was useful to know their language so they didn’t have to rely on translators in any meetings. It was a skill he learned long ago, and one it seems elves forgot about, as they continually spoke as though they couldn’t understand them.

“Where did you get this?” The blonde elf spoke directly at Thorin this time.

“It was given to me.”

Obviously, the elves thought very highly of Thorin and his dwarrow as he leveled Orcrist at Thorin, a dangerous glint in his eye.

“Not only a thief, but a liar as well.” He sheathed Orcrist and called for his men to move out. They dragged the dwarves with them towards Mirkwood’s palace.

As Thorin was separated from his Company, all of them shouting insults at the elves for doing so, he realized why the annoying blonde elf looked so familiar.

He was the son of the blasted Elven King , Thranduil-the-Mighty.

As Thorin stood there listening to Thranduil drone on about white gems of starlight, and quests, and understanding, he observed the other King. Haughtiness was there, of course; Thranduil wouldn’t be himself without seeming so high and mighty. There was anger there, anger at the dwarves for allowing Smaug to come, as though practically inviting him in, as though Thorin was to blame for his grandfather’s - admittedly - poor actions. But there was something else there as well. It took a while for Thorin to place the hidden look in Thranduil’s eyes (although, really, he had the time; Thranduil was still going on), but he finally recognized what it was: fear.

Fear. Something had Thranduil afraid.

In all of Thorin’s many years, and acquaintances with Thranduil, he had never once seen the King look so terrified in his life. Although he hid it well, the elf king could not entirely mask that emotion, and that alone is what gave Thorin pause, instead of just yelling outright about Thranduil’s cowardice and false promises.

“I would not trust Thranduil, the great king, to honor his word, should the end of all days be upon us!” Thranduil’s features twisted into anger, and he called for his guards to take Thorin to the dungeons.

“Stay here, then, if you will, and rot. A hundred years is a mere blink in the life of an elf. I am patient. I can wait.” Throin was practically dragged to the dungeons, spitting insults in Khuzdul as he went. As much as he was concerned, he was still incensed by the way he and his dwarrow were being treated. After he was thrown into his cell, Balin asked about his conversation with the king, and if any deals were offered.

“There was.”

“And?” Balin prompted.

“And I didn’t take it. He doesn’t deserve any of our treasure. He claims to be benevolent, but he is just as selfish as he claims us dwarves to be.”

Balin sighed. “That’s it, then. A deal was our only hope.”

“Balin.” Thorin waited until he was sure he had Balin’s complete attention. “Something was bothering Thranduil.” Dwalin scoffed, as did a few others. It seemed he had the attention of almost everyone there, then. There were a few mutterings as well about the King and some not so flattering observations. “Quiet!” Everyone immediately quieted down, but the contempt for their “host” was still there, and Thorin didn’t blame them. “I agree with you all; Thranduil does not deserve our concern. Still, there was a fear lurking in his eyes. I have never seen him look so unsettled; he has always had his emotions tightly locked under his control, for as long as I have known him. For him to not be able to hide it all completely from showing… as much as I despise him, there is real cause for concern there, and I will not deny it out of spite for his haughtiness.”

“Well then,” a voice drawled from farther down the row. Thorin saw something flash briefly from Nori’s cell, and thanked his forefathers that the elves hadn’t discovered his lock-picking set. “I suppose it’s about time we got ourselves out of here, huh?”

Thorin grinned at the tri-haired dwarf.

Despite Nori having his lock-picks still on his person, and assured them he would be able to get them out in record time, they still were forced to wait a few days. They found their opportunity to escape during what had to be a celebration as there were hardly any elves around at all. It made them all nervous by just how smoothly their escape was going, and somehow they ended up in the cellars, bypassing the two guards down there that were passed out drunk. Bifur noticed the lever, pointing it out to Bofur, who made note of the trap door and the barrels lined up, and Thorin knew what they needed to do to escape.

It wasn’t going to be very pleasant, but they were still on a timeline, and couldn’t afford any more delays.

They climbed into the barrels.

It was fortune that looked down upon them as one of the drunk elves woke up briefly to send the “empty” barrels down the river. The ride was slightly chaotic; there were horns blown and yelling as well as brief snippets of Black Speech accompanied by weapons clashing, and Thorin knew there was a battle being raged around them. Still, he didn’t dare attempt to open the lid on his barrel. Their escape depended upon them going by unnoticed. By the time the noises faded, the river had slowed down considerably. Thorin gave it another few minutes of floating before deciding it was as good a time as any to peek outside and determine whether it was safe or not.

Luckily for them, it was, and he called for the others to open their barrels as well and push for shore. As soon as everyone was accounted for, Thorin allowed them to rest for a couple minutes before they would need to continue the trek onward. He walked a few steps away and looked for which direction they would need to travel, Balin joining him, and they spied a boat nearby. Before they could do much more than briefly wonder where the captain was, a commotion behind them had them turning around, both wishing for their lost weapons.

A man was standing on a rock above them, bow and arrow pointed at the youngest three of their group, not a hint of hesitation in his stance.

“Do it again, and you’re dead.”

Chapter Text

Altogether, Laketown wasn’t a super interesting place to visit. Definitely not a place Bella would want to visit again, certainly. If nothing else, just for the fact that they were over water was enough to keep her away.

The boat ride was fairly uneventful, luckily, but she was still green by the time they made it to the docks. In the distance she noticed a bridge and briefly wondered why they couldn’t have gone a little more on land to the bridge to get across, but she knew they were short on time for it. So, she suffered through a horridly smooth boat ride, to an awfully placed town over water, and lamented over her mother’s tendencies to be more wild than all the other Tooks and- no, that wasn’t right. It was her decision to pass them to her only daughter, and teaching her to be more in tune with the land than any other hobbit, that Bella lamented. Thus sending her on this journey to do her duty and save the land far to the East, because she was the only one who could .

Oh, well. No use crying over spilled milk, and all that. She was here now; she’d already made it this far, past other horrendously cursed lands and if she could face down those Valar-forsaken spiders (or at least live through them; she didn’t actually face them), then she could face down deep waters and eventually, a dragon.

(She hoped she didn’t have to face him, because he was already dead and she could just heal the land, but she knew it was unlikely.)

The meeting with the Master of the Lake wasn’t anything special, besides him being a sleazy scumbag who would rather let his people suffer as he became rich, than to actually do anything to help them. Just from sitting through a dinner with him as the “guest of honor” - luckily with her elven guards acting as a buffer between them - she knew he was only “helping” them because it was Thranduil’s orders. The thought of the ancient dwarven gold waiting as his reward for helping them was also a big motivator, she was certain. Although, one of the guards was very kind to them, if a little wary. Bard, his name was, and he was put in charge of overseeing their lodgings by the Master. He conversed with the guards a bit, giving them the lay of the land; waterways, land trails, and which wildlife was safe to eat versus not.

As they spoke, a thrush came fluttering by, chirping over Bard’s head before practically dive-bombing to Bella. She ducked, before noticing it was chirping at her in greeting, and she tentatively held out her hand for it to land on. The thrush did so, chirping a greeting again, and Bella smiled back at it softly.

“Hello, little thrush.” She spoke softly, and ignored the curious looks given to her by the elves and Bard. “My name is Bella Baggins, a hobbit of the Shire. And what might your name be?”

“He doesn’t have a name,” Bard spoke up and both Bella and the thrush looked over to him, “but I call him Berion.” Bella looked back to the thrush.

“Berion.” She smiled at the bird. It chirped in response. “I like that.” He chirped again. She chirped back, thoroughly confusing the men next to her. She glanced at them from the corner of her eye, before altogether ignoring them in favor of chirping with Berion.

My speak not good as like. You have knowledge of land? Inwardly, Bella cringed at how awful she was at communicating with the wildlife. Granted, that was never her strong suite; she was more handy with the land, but her mother made sure she was able to at least speak with the creatures around her. The thrush didn’t seem to mind, however.

My Lady, I must warn you of the danger crossing this land poses. The great drake Smaug still lives, and while he has never smelled your kind before, he is sure to notice the decrease of his magic on the land. He hopped a bit on her palm before nuzzling it with his beak and continuing. However, should you so choose to continue onward, my kin and I will aid you across the lands to where the evil festers. Bella smiled gently at him. We don’t have much time before he will wake again.

Thank you, friend. Much like help from you and family. I come far already; I cannot end now.

Then we will aid you, Lady Vessel of the Green.

Bella smiled once more before refocusing on her travel companions and Bard.

“Berion and his kin have kindly offered to guide us through the land to where the drake lies and evil festers. I have accepted his help, and we will have to leave shortly if we wish to make good time before he wakes. I- what is it?” She was supremely confused by the odd looks sent her way, although her elven companions were quicker to recover than Bard was.

“Forgive me, My Lady, I was not aware you were able to converse with the thrushes as well.” Bard bowed slightly as it was Bella’s turn to look slightly startled.

“Oh, you are able to communicate as well? I unfortunately am not as fluent as I would like to be, as it is not my given ability from Lady Yavanna. Other hobbits are more talented and speak easier with the wildlife than I, but my mother made sure I was able to do so. Over time, as I have traveled more so than my fellow hobbits, my abilities have gotten stronger and it gets easier to do other things I was not able to do previously, but I am still not very proficient in some areas versus others.” She laughed softly at the flabbergasted look they gave her once more. Bard, once again, surprised her as he recovered.

“Then by all means, let us prepare to leave by morning, Lady Vessel .” Bella blushed at the title given to her by the thrushes being used by the man. She, however, couldn’t agree more.

Time to leave this horrid water infested place of residence the people call home.

She wasn’t sure how he did it, but Bard was able to pull together supplies needed and have transportation ready by the morning, even volunteering to accompany them for a certain distance on land before he had to return to his post. She thanked him profusely before he left, vowing to remember his kindness and to help him in any way that she could.

“Come, Lady Bella. We must continue if we wish to make good distance before dark.” She nodded to the Captain of her Honor Guard and mounted her pony once more. Berion was fluttering nearby, anxious to start leading the way once again.

“Then let us be on our way. Berion, lead on.” The thrush chirped before flying forward, their horses and her pony following along behind.

He led them through the day, across hidden paths and through ruins of settlements until they came upon the ruins of Dale. They had ridden mostly in silence, small scatterings of conversations here and there, but it was comfortable. Once they started through Dale, however, it became almost oppressive. She could feel the evil wafting through the air, and knew it was only going to get worse the closer they came to the Lonely Mountain. She knew it was going to be hard, but the air around them reeked of terror and pain, and evil .

So, so much evil was around them, it almost choked her.

She pushed her pony onwards.

It was with mixed feelings of dread and relief that they made it to the other side of Dale, about to step on the lands between there and Erebor. Berion landed on the head of her pony, dipping his beak and almost looking ashamed. Regretful?

I am sorry, My Lady, but this is where I must leave you. I cannot lead you any further for fear the dragon will wake early. All you must do now is travel forward until you hit the mountain. Once there, any spot along the sides will do for the cleansing, although I would recommend having good shelter for when the dragon awakes. Until we meet again, Lady Vessel of the Green. Bella dipped her head at the thrush.

Farewell. I thank you. Until meet again, Berion. He flew off without another chirp, leaving Bella and her elven companions to their own devices. Clapping her hands, and summoning the most convincing smile she could at the moment, she looked to her guards.

“Well! Shall we continue on?” Grimly, they all nodded, following her lead as she nudged her pony onwards towards the Lonely Mountain, an already imposing figure from a distance, but now so, so much worse. Her pony seemed just as hesitant as she did.

Comforting.

Bard was wholly unimpressed by Laketown’s most recent visitors. He knew exactly who they were, and if their recent arrival just barely missing Lady Bella’s departure was any sign, he knew the coming days were not going to be easy.

So if he took a slight vindictive pleasure in letting fish be dumped all over them, muffling their curses?

Well, really, who could blame him?

Chapter Text

Thorin was sure the lakeman was out to get him. Bard? Yes, him. He was purposefully rude to the dwarves in his Company, but especially him. Thorin was also half convinced that Bard knew exactly who he was.

And this just confirmed it.

Appealing to the Master of Laketown was not very high on his list of to-do’s, and quite honestly if he could’ve avoided dealing with the greedy man in the first place he would’ve. Unfortunately, this was unavoidable. And after his intro, courtesy of Dwalin, it was nigh on impossible, and a necessity to deal with him if they wanted any sort of support against the dragon. He still hadn’t forgotten how Gandalf’s burglar fell through, and the resulting luck, or lack-of, that occurred ever since.

Dwarves were hardy folk, though, and this just proved to Thorin that his Company could handle any new challenges they faced. Truly, though, the entire Quest was a testament to that fact, plain and true, and Thorin was proud of his Company for their perseverance. Now, before they could continue on towards the mountain, they had to make it through this next challenge: a feast with the Master of Laketown.

“So! You are here to claim back the mountain, correct?” The Master clapped his meaty hands, smiling greedily as the thought of gold filled his eyes.

“We are here to reclaim our Home, yes.” The emphasis Thorin placed on the word home was hopefully enough to deter any overlarge requests or gestures of grandeur from the man, but as his smile grew even wider, he sighed internally.

“Wonderful! And am I correct in assuming you are here as a separate party to the one sent by the Elven King a few days ago?” That question stopped all the dwarves in their tracks, and Thorin carefully concealed his expression before he could give anything away. A lack of control for even just a moment could give the Master something to sink his greedy paws into to work to his advantage. Balin took over the questioning for him and he saw Thorin was unable to continue any conversation for the moment.

“Ah. We were unaware King Thranduil had sent out a traveling party already. We met with him a few days back, ourselves.” Okay, so ‘met with him’ may have been stretching it just liiiitle bit, but Balin wasn’t the advisor to the King (in-exile) for nothing.

“Oh, but of course! A host of them, an entire guard for one measly halfling came here, on orders from King Thranduil himself. Of course we hosted them and held a feast of highest honors. Wouldn’t want them to think we were undeserving hosts or anything like that.” Thorin shared a look with Balin. An elven guard for one halfling? A hobbit. “In fact, you barely missed them. They departed from our town not three days ago.”

“Is that so? Do you happen to know the path they took towards the Mountain?” Bless you, Balin, for having the foresight to ask the important questions. Thorin was shocked speechless by all the Master was saying.

“Hn, no, I do not. But one of my men does; he escorted them to the edge of the territory, you see. He could help you. Ah, Bard!” The Master called out and internally Thorin groaned. Why did it have to be Bard? Why always him?

Said man entered the room before giving quite possibly the shallowest bow Thorin had ever seen, and he had seen quite a few from many snobby nobles over the years.

“You called?” The tone and laid back attitude were amusing to witness against the Master, Thorin had to give him that. It seemed the dwarves weren’t the only ones unimpressed and disgusted by the Master’s fake opulence. The Master, in turn, leveled a glare at him before smirking and gesturing to the dwarves smugly.

“Yes, it appears you have just the information and skillset needed by our guests! So congratulations ,” and here his smirk grew and his eyes narrowed even more, “you get to guide them along the path taken by the halfling and her guards.”

Her? The dwarves came to a full stop at that, and one by one looked towards Thorin before turning to the Master. Thorin, himself, felt his blood run cold at the thought of not only a halfling, a creature smaller than dwarves, even, who are known to love food and comfort, and know no bloodshed, out here , where danger and evil are in abundance, but a female one as well…

If this was the burglar the wizard had originally intended for the Company, Thorin was going to give him another reason to dislike dwarves. No matter that he could be useful, in a pinch.

The dwarves would make him pay.

“As you wish, Master .” Bard practically ground out his agreement, spitting out the word ‘Master’ as though it was a vile thing. Which, granted, in this case it really was. He stiffly turned around and left the building swiftly, calling out over his shoulder just before he disappeared. “We leave at first light. I suggest you make all needed arrangements before then.”

He made an excellent excuse to leave, though.

Credit must be given where credit was due.

“And with that, I must beg our leave. We have much to do in preparation before we depart in the morning. It was,” not “a pleasure.” Thorin inclined his head slightly in a bow before standing up to leave, his dwarrow following suit. Once they were back in their rooms given them for the night, the Company all turned towards Thorin with worry and rage in their eyes.

“Thorin-” Balin began, and that was all that was necessary for the others to voice their concern and displeasure all at once. Thorin gave them a few minutes, before quieting them down.

“Enough!” All noise stopped immediately, although the upset in his dwarrow were still visible. “I can only hope that the halfling knows what she was getting into before leaving her home so far behind, and getting involved with elves , of all creatures. And I can only sincerely hope and beg to the Valar that she is not the one Gandalf intended for us to hire as our burglar.” Cryptic messages floated through his brain.

“It seems we are not the only ones to have been here…. I mean that someone else was here before us, healing the land…. Didn’t you happen to notice, as we’ve been traveling, that the trails have been more lush and green than any others? It means that the path we are following has been traveled by someone, fairly recently it would seem too, who has the ability to heal the land around them.”

“Someone has been following our trail, step for step?”

“It would appear, master dwarf, that you are the ones following their trail, step for step.”

“There are those who would help you. Whether you are aware of them or not.”

“Are you following the Little Bunny then?”

“Ah, I see. Passed through here, did they?”

“The Little Bunny has already passed through here and into Mirkwood. She plans to continue on to your mountain, and to heal the lands around it…. I am trusting her safety to you, Oakenshield. You must hurry through Mirkwood and keep my Lady’s Bunny safe. Do not fail me in this.”

Thorin drew a sharp intake of breath. The entire Quest, Gandalf and others had been putting out clues. It could be a coincidence, of course, but of this level… Well. Let's just say dwarves don’t believe in coincidences.

“Thorin? What is it?” Balin looked at him in concern, but Thorin was still trying to pull his thoughts together after his revelation.

“This entire time… Balin, the wizard knew this entire, blasted time .” His advisor still looked confused, so he  gave examples. “Back in Rivendell, when Elrond tried to warn us. I thought at the time he was being cryptic and referencing to himself and Gandalf when he mentioned others who would try to help us. Before Rivendell, even. Back at the farmer’s house, with all the healed land around it. Gandalf mentioned it, that we were following someone who could heal the land.” Balin’s eyes widened as he caught on to what Thorin was saying, and the others were not far behind. “There was even that moment at Beorn’s house.”

“You mean when he was talking about us hunting rabbits?” Fili called out.

“Yeah, I thought we already cleared it up with him that we weren’t hunting anything on his land.” Kili added in. Some of the dwarves voiced their agreements and confusion, while the others slowly had understanding dawn upon their features.

“No, not rabbits, Fili.” Thorin said, gathering all attention on himself. “ Bunnies .” Bless his nephews, but sometimes they were extremely dense. Dwalin picked up where he was hinting at, though.

“Beorn is so large that anything smaller than him seems tiny, and halflings are even smaller than we are. He could have been referring to them.”

“Didn’t Gandalf mention a ‘them’ though, when he was talking with Beorn?” Nori piped up. “What if he was referring to the whole party of elves also?”

“But the Master said the elves were from the poncy Elf King. Beorn’s home was before we ever touched Mirkwood.” Bofur brought up a good point. But Thorin had been analyzing every interaction and mention of anybody else brought up on the quest previously while the Company was having their debate.

“But we stopped in Rivendell earlier on, and even Lord Elrond mentioned ‘others who would help us’ and I would be willing to bet that he was referring to this mystery halfling. He probably gave her guards to guide her towards Mirkwood before trading off with some from Thranduil.” Thorin paused before another realization dawned upon him. “Thranduil was fearful. He hid it well, but when I spoke to him, there was fear in his eyes, and he guessed early on about us taking back Erebor. I do not like that” here he spit out several choice words of what he really thought about Thranduil, “elf, but he is not stupid. He is the King for a reason, and while he would have most likely guessed our intentions sooner rather than later, he should not have been able to guess it so early on. If this halfling told him of her intent to heal the land, he would definitely have cause to be more fearful. If we are lucky, we’ll be able to catch her before she makes it to the mountain. If she has this ability, as Gandalf hinted at, then her doing so could lead to the dragon awakening.”

Thorin looked them each in the eye, a grave expression on his face.

“If the dragon is still alive, we cannot allow it to awaken.” The Company members nodded their heads all at once. “We should all get some sleep before leaving tomorrow. Who knows when our next peaceful rest will be.”

“It may not be until we are united in Mahal’s Halls, at this rate.” Dwalin said as he walked up to him and clapped him on the shoulder, ever the faithful guard, ready to be first on watch. Sure they were in Laketown, supposedly safe, but dwarves didn’t trust easily, and the race of Men were often cruel to their kind.

The others took their cue and lobbed off towards their beds - sleeping rolls - in their meager lodgings. The sad fact that this was one of the finer houses in this town reaffirmed Thorin’s desire to reclaim the mountain.

To destroy the wyrm that resided within.

To win back his people’s home, their honor.

To make the land prosperous again.

And if he had to sacrifice himself to do it, he would.

Of that, Thorin was certain.

Bella gulped as she looked up, and up, and up. The mountain was so tall she couldn’t see the top of it. She looked back at her guard, her faithful companions of the past weeks, before looking around and spotting a decent place of shelter. She made sure her guards were situated before closing her eyes, repeating the mantra her mother taught her.

We protect the land, and the land protects us.

We are our Lady’s chosen beings.

The land knows our intent and will.

We are the good. We are stronger than the evil.

The land will obey our power.

Bella took a shaky breath before climbing off her pony.

Her senses faded, the world became dark.

A twisted, golden light suddenly overtook everything .

And the midst of it all, she saw a flash of flaming eye, before flickering to a golden one, and she heard a voice whisper in her mind.

“Well, thief… where are you?”

Chapter Text

“ Well thief… where are you? ”

Bella shivered as she felt the rage coursing through her mind. It was all-consuming, like a hellfire never to be satiated, burning everything in its path. A tsunami of hate, roiling through her body, and she gasped as though she were a fish choking on air. The gold overtook everything, the eye all-seeing. And yet, it couldn’t find her. The earth shielded her from its gaze, and in the midst of the golden flames, she curled in on herself, trying to weather the storm.

Bella finally gathered enough strength to stand on shaking legs, sending out her presence through the earth. The eye turned its burning gaze of hatred towards her, although it didn’t seem to know where her physical body was hidden, surrounded as it was by the earth and the elves.

“ Come now, don’t be shy… step into the light… ” The eye seemed to be having a hard time focusing on Bella, as though it couldn’t quite see her. Good. reaching out, she began the lengthy process of sending tendrils of power through the land. She straightened more, her legs firming underneath her as she did so. “There you are… thief in the shadows!”

“Excuse you, I am no thief!” Bella cried out, indignant. The nerve! “I have not come to steal from you, O Smaug the Unassessably Wealthy.” She huffed.

“ Is that so? Then why have you come? ”

“I came to see if the tales of you were true, to see the mighty wyrm who destroyed these lands. To see if you were as great as they say. I did not believe them.”

“ And do you believe them now? ” The eye seemed to have a shadow around it as though it were a great dragon with its wings spread. The shadowscape shook as a great roar echoed through Bella’s mind and she cringed, trying to cover her ears with her hands as though that would stop it. It was the single most terrifying thing she’d ever experienced, and it shook through her down to her very core. Distantly she wondered if anyone else could feel the shaking or if it was just in her mind. It took her a few minutes after it stopped to calm herself enough to be able to continue.

“Truly, the tales and songs fall utterly short of your tyranny.” She finally wheezed out after a bit.

“ Do you think flattery will keep you alive? ” He sounded amused. Bella rolled her eyes at his condescending attitude. They're all the same.

“No, I merely assumed it would distract you enough.”

“ Enough for what? ”

“For this.” Bella felt her eyes glowing as she felt Yavanna’s power flow through her, using her as a vessel. The tendrils she planted earlier suddenly began to grow exponentially, speeding through the ground towards the mountain. She knew the moment it touched the gold - a ripple rebounded off back through the land towards her. The evil shot out, wrapping its tendrils around her, trying to consume her as well. Bella grunted, but continued on, absorbing it and cleansing it through Yavanna’s power and sending it back out again towards the mountain. Several times she did this until she finally reached her true target - Smaug.

“ You, who sneaks through shadows! Who tells riddles in the dark! You have no power here. I am King Under the Mountain! ” He roared again, great and terrible. “ It is Oakenshield - that filthy Dwarvish usurper! He sent you here for the Arkenstone! To keep me distracted as he and his ilk search for the King’s Jewel! ” Bella paused in confusion, having to gather her bearings before continuing her crusade against the dragon.

“No, I - I came here of my own accord.”

“ Don’t bother denying it - I guessed his foul purpose some time ago. But it matters not… Oakenshield’s quest will fail… ”

“ What are you talking about? What quest? And who , in Yavanna’s green world, is Oakenshield? ”

Smaug wasn’t listening anymore, continuing on his tirade about destroying some Oakenshield fellow, and Bella was very confused. She felt Yavanna’s power leaving her as she stood on in confusion, so she shook her head and sent out even more tendrils than before.

“ My teeth are swords! My claws are spears! My wings are a hurricane! ” The fire raged once more in her head and she grit her teeth, her energy beginning to wane. “ I’m almost tempted to let you continue on, futile as your attempts may be to stop me. ” His voice grew colder, then, even as the fire raged ever stronger around them. “ But I think not… I think our little game ends here… as I have found where you haven hidden yourself away. So tell me, Thief, how do you choose to die? ”

The flames grew to incredible heights then, all-consuming and Bella felt the last of Yavanna’s magic leave her as her body could not take the burden of it anymore. She gasped as she lurched upright, her mind and body connected once again to the outside world just in time to see the elves let through a group of dwarves, lead by Bard of all people and - oh.

They were all staring at her.

There was a mighty crash of stones and everyone snapped her heads over in the direction of the mountain. Bella was able to see a flash of golden scales emerge with a roar and wow , Smaug was absolutely massive , before her view was filled with the back of a trimmed coat. Her elven guard all took up positions around her, the dwarves in front of them, with Bard to the side, slightly concealed from view by foliage, and hefting a giant black arrow, aiming for the drake.

What..?

Thorin did not grumble as the rest of his Company did, following along behind the Man. Kings were above such things.

Outwardly, at least.

In all actuality, Thorin was as put out as the rest of them. Bard could have just taken them to the edge of Laketown and pointed them in the right direction (not that he didn’t know where he was going), and they all could’ve been on their merry ways. But noooooo. The slimy supposed “Master” and his sniveling lackey sent Bard to “guide” them to the halfling and her elven guards.

No , Thorin was not pouting, shut up Dwalin.

It didn’t matter, not really. At least the Man seemed to be somewhat prepared and brought along his hunting gear. He had his bow and arrow, but what Thorin wasn’t quite able to parse out was the purpose of the package he was carrying. It was tall and thin, and covered in cloth, but Bard refused to elaborate on what it was. Thorin let him be, and gestured for the others to do the same. If Bard wanted the extra weight dragging him down, that was his problem. Thorin’s focus was on getting to the mountain. Preferably before the halfling unleashed a nightmare upon the land.

The ground shook then, great and thunderous, and some of his Company murmured amongst themselves.

“What was that? Was it an earthquake?” Kili asked, the others nodding along in agreement.

“That, my lad,” Balin answered, “was a dragon.” Thorin could see both his nephews’ eyes widen, as well as several others in the Company, and opened his mouth to hurry them along. Bard beat him to it. Thorin narrowed his eyes in contempt.

“We have no time to waste. Lady Bella is going to need assistance if she has truly woken the wyrm.”

“Lady Bella?” Balin asked, innocently. Bard stiffened ever so slightly. So he did not mean to give away her name. Interesting. Who is this halfling who holds the loyalty of so many?

“Enough. We must continue on. If Smaug is truly awake…” Thorin looked each of his brave followers in the eye. “Durin be with us all.”

The shakes and roars grew in intensity with every step they took closer to the mountain, until it was all they knew for miles. At one point, a bird flew right up to Bard’s face and chirped loudly at him. Bard, in a show of complete insanity, seemed to understand exactly what it was saying, frowning and nodding along seriously to it before it suddenly flew off. He turned to them.

“Come, we must hurry. Bella has indeed woken the dragon, and he will be hunting for her soon enough, along with the rest of us. We cannot let him get to her. She is the only one who can save us all.”

“What’s that supposed to-”

“There’s no time!” Bard cut Dwalin off. Dwalin, in turn, looked about ready to cut him in half, barely managing to restrain himself. Bard hurried on, leaving the dwarves no choice but the follow lest they get left behind. On their own Quest. To their mountain. Not on Thorin’s watch.

“Come. we can save our questions for later.”

“And what if this Lakeman doesn’t want to answer anything?” Ori piped up from the back. Thorin turned in the direction Bard disappeared to, his glower getting ever darker.

“He will give us the answers we seek. Or he will face the consequences.”

By the time they caught up with Bard, he was in front of a group of elves, shoulders tensed and glancing uneasily towards the mountain. The elves stiffened and drew their weapons as Thorin adn his Company approached. He could see behind them was another elf kneeling on the ground, one hand hovering over a small form.

The halfling.

The dwarves were tense and uneasy as they approached the elves, but dutifully kept their weapons away as Bard gestured, and soon the elves lowered their own and let the Company get close enough to see this mysterious “Lady Bella” for themselves.

She lay on the ground, eyes closed, forehead furrowed with one hand clutching a small patch of grass. Her clothes, most likely given to her by the Woodland King himself, may he choke on his own spit , were rather plain, a muted brown and green combo that were still too elegant and not at all for stealth, and looked as though they were nearly worn through. So much for elvish finery, hah.

Before Thorin could analyze her further, another roar shook the earth, this time seeming louder and angrier, and she lurched upright with a gasp, a strange glow leaving her eyes as she clutched her chest briefly, likely attempting to calm a racing heart. She looked around in a panic and slight confusion as her eyes landed on their group, before everyone’s attention snapped to the mountain as Smaug broke through walls.

Erebor. Their home. Thorin’s birthright. And all of it was being destroyed by a selfish, gold-hungry, malevolent, wyrm .

Thorin saw gold - his gold - dropping from Smaug’s scales carelessly, and he saw red. He knew the moment the dragon saw them, his eyes narrowing as he hissed and shot straight for their group, jaw opening and the glow of his internal forge gearing up for a breath-taking and body-stealing flame of hate. He also saw the missing scale where Girion of Old chipped away at his defenses, and briefly mourned that they would not live to see him slain. His dwarves were brave, and selfless, all of them, to the very last one, and he knew they would fight to their dying breath, but he also knew how dragon fire was absolute, and how it would consume them all before they would raise their swords and axes higher.

Before he could do more than brace himself for the searing heat, Thorin heard a twang and a distant whoosh and watched as a black arrow, possibly the last Black Arrow in existence, soared through the air, landing squarely in the spot of the missing scale, burying itself into Smaug’s evil heart. Smaug abruptly changed direction, flying upwards as though to chase away the pain, before suddenly he stopped, falling back towards the ground and landing with a great crash . The assembled dwarves and elves all stared before a small voice behind them trembled as it spoke.

“He’s… dead.” A slightly hysterical laugh. “Smaug is dead . Bard, you beautiful soul, you did it! ” Everyone turned to the halfling as she stood up, brushing her trousers off, a tired but genuine grin plastered on her face as she looked towards Bard. “ Thank you. ” She staggered forward, nearly collapsing back to the ground as elf rushed to catch her. She patted his arm absent-mindedly while she turned towards Thorin and his dwarves, thrusting her hand out towards him.

“So sorry about that, I’ve nearly forgotten all my manners.” She looked Thorin straight in the eyes as he took her hand. A pulse reverberated through them both from their joined hands, and a haze he hadn’t even realized was there suddenly disappeared. “My name is Bella Baggins, at your service.”

Chapter Text

“So. This is the halfling.” As soon as the dwarf opened his mouth Bella knew he was gonna say something colossally stupid. She bristled and opened her mouth to interject before he managed to ruin everything she literally just traveled across the entire continent for.

“Excuse yo-”

“Tell me, have you done much fighting?”

Oh she was going to throttle him.

“Pardon me?”

“Axe or sword? What is your weapon of choice?”

“Well I do have some skill at Conkers, if you must know.”

“Thought as mu-”

“ But ,” Bella smirked internally at the glower he sent her for interrupting. Serves you right. “I also have another weapon. It’s called wit , and quite sharp if wielded correctly.” The dwarf (-ves, they all did it) raised his eyebrow in judgement. “I find I have no need for an axe or sword when I can use wit and sharp words to cut down someone before they become my enemies. Something you obviously have never tried doing if you must rely so heavily on your precious weapons of choice .”

Okay, so maybe she had a biiiiiit of a temper but he insulted her first. Twice!

“I beg your pardon?” Good.

“Yes, you most certainly will beg. My name is Bella Baggins, and I am a hobbit of the Shire, and if you insult my kin or I ever again you will find that I can use a knife, kitchen or otherwise, just fine .” She had regained enough energy and balance that she no longer needed the help from her guard to stand anymore. She stood at her full height before taking a deliberate step into the pompous dwarf’s space and poking a finger into his chest. “I am not a halfling , dwarf , and I would thank you not to use that word ever again.”

There was a snicker, either from her elven guards or Bard, she couldn’t tell who. The dwarves behind the one she was currently in the process of verbally eviscerating shuffled and were murmuring amongst themselves, probably in offense that someone would dare to correct them - him - but she was focused on the dwarf directly in front of her. He had an annoyed look on his face, as though she were no more than a fly hovering above a freshly baked apple pie and deciding whether it was worth it to shoo it away to have it come back later or to get rid of it altogether.

“Baggins?” Someone behind him piped up.

“That’s right.”

“You wouldn’t happen to be friends with Gandalf the Grey, would you? And live in a hole on the top of the hill with a round green door and a symbol in the corner?”

“It’s called a smial, and I just repainted that door a few weeks ago. As for Gandalf, he was an old friend of my mother’s although I have not seen him for some time. Why do you ask?” She paused, stretching a little to peak around the (large, very large ) dwarf on the receiving end of her ire. Her eyes narrowed on the elderly dwarf with the white beard who seemed to have been the one to speak. “Did you say symbol? In the corner?”

“That’s right, Miss Baggins.” Well, he seemed to have proper manners, at least.

“And you’ve been in contact with Gandalf, you said?”

“Yes. He accompanied us for some time on our journey, although we parted ways a while back.”

“That… that wizard! ” She turned away from the dwarves and paced a few steps. “If he damaged my door, in the hopes that I would join you-” she turned back towards the dwarf who had spoken “-he did say I was supposed to join you, yes?”

“Not necessarily in those words, and we were not given all the details either, but yes. We were supposed to meet at the - smial you said?-” Bella nodded in confirmation, “smial, where we were to acquire a burglar for our journey. A burglar by the name of Master Baggins.”

Bella nodded once again, as everything started clicking into place.

“I see. That explains a lot, actually.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, that Gandalf the Grey Wizard is notorious in the Shire. He used to accompany hobbits on journeys across the lands, before we started keeping to ourselves more. Eventually it was only my mother and a few other Took relatives who would leave with him, until it was only my mother. But we have not seen him in the Shire for quite some time. And,” she added with a wry smile, “he is notorious for evading answers and giving half hints.”

“I see.” The old dwarf stroked his beard thoughtfully. “If we had known he had chosen you to be our burglar, we would’ve never accepted it.” He noticed Bella’s slowly narrowing eyes, and the way the elves and Bard tensed, and rushed to correct himself. “Nothing against you, Miss Baggins, it is only because you are a female.” Everyone tensed more and he clarified more. “Women are precious to us dwarves, and we would never willingly put one in harm’s way, if we could help it. From what you have said, obviously, you do not care about that, or are at least the only one of your kind who would be willing to help in any way, but the point still stands.”

Bella sighed, before dropping her guard a bit and nodded towards them.

“I understand. I can’t say I agree with it, and had I been there when you arrived I would have definitely argued with you over it, but I understand where you are coming from. I suppose it doesn’t really matter anymore, as we are all already here. Now,” she turned back towards the arrogant dwarf from before, “you all know my name, but I have not a clue of who you are.”

The dwarf bristled a little, but he at least had the decency to give her an answer.

“I am Thorin Oakenshield, and this is my Company.” He turned to give a name to all the dwarves, each one nodding when they were introduced. “My sister-sons, Fili, and Kili,” oh those two were definitely troublemakers, Bella could tell, “Balin, Dwalin,” the elderly dwarf nodded, alongside who must’ve been his brother, and a guard, “Oin Gloin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Dori, Nori, and Ori.”

“Thank you. Now that we’ve been introduced, why don’t you tell me just what you were doing that would require a burglar from the Shire for?”

Thorin wasn’t quite sure what he thought about the halfl- the hobbit. On one hand, she was a female. A female, and a hobbit? From what he understood, they kept to themselves in their green land, rarely venturing away ( except for this one, apparently ), and they were a soft folk. Unused to the dangers of the world, staying in the comforts of their homes. They were more of grocers than burglars, and yet… Yet this one was different. From her account, and to some extent Gandalf’s, if his choice for which one , was anything to go by, she often left her home to travel. She turned potential enemies into allies using words, of all things, and Thorin could believe that, if the way she tore into him was any indication.

She would be an exceptional counselor in my court. He mused. The dwarf lords wouldn’t know what hit them. Realizing his train of thought, he mentally shook his head. She was a hobbit from the Shire, a soft country filled with soft people. They were dwarves. She would not fit in well at all. But wouldn’t she? He shook his head again. Time to get back on track.

“We are getting distracted. We need to find a way inside the mountain, check to see what damage the wyrm had left behind in his wake. We should also prepare for visitors.” Balin nodded along, seeing where he was going with this, Dwalin not far behind.

“He’s right, lads. Others will have heard of Smaug’s demise; Laketown may have even seen it. We will be getting visitors as word spreads and others come to check to see if he is actually dead, and to see who holds the mountain.”

The hobbit spoke up then, and Thorin felt his annoyance spike once again.

“Actually, I would wait to enter the mountain.” There was a cry of outrage from his Company, and Thorin was right along with them.

“And why is that?” He demanded.

“I need to go in first and-”

Her words were drowned out as the dwarves started yelling, and Thorin didn’t see a need to calm them. They were perfectly justified. Why should she, a hobbit who they just barely met and has caused them so much trouble, be the first to enter the mountain?

“ Shut it! ” The sudden volume had everyone quieting, in surprise more than anything. Thorin watched as she deliberately unclenched her fists, smoothing down the front of her vest. She cleared her throat. “Thank you. As I was saying , before being rudely interrupted,” and here she leveled them with a baleful glare, “I need to go in first and make sure there are no lasting impressions from Smaug.” Thorin was certain he was not the only one confused at this point.

“What do you mean, ‘no lasting impressions’?” Ori piped up from the back before Dori could stop him.

“Do you think us fools? You’ll be going in to take our gold! That’s dwarven gold; you have no right to take it from us!” Gloin was in an outrage, stirring up the other dwarves into a righteous fury as well, and Thorin let him be. He was right; who was she, this halfling , sent to undermine his authority with help from the elves and men and wizards?

“Oh dear.” Was all Thorin heard before a small palm slammed into his chest. He felt no pain; it was hardly any effort of violence at all. A dwarfling had more force than that when first starting training.

And yet…

There was a force that was sent through her hand, and the power it yielded, the pure, raw , untainted power coming from the creature in front of him was enough to send him staggering back a few steps.

His mind cleared once more, and he glanced down at the woman in front of him. Her stance was one of a warrior: right foot forward, left foot back. Her right arm outstretched and her palm, still on his chest, was steady. Glancing down briefly at it he could see a faint golden glow emanating from it, and when he looked back up to her face, he saw that same faint glow in her eyes. Her eyes, which showed great determination, and which were staring right back at him. The world narrowed down to just the two of them, until Thorin could feel every trace of the furious haze leaving him.

Thorin heard groans and muttered curses from behind him, and he turned his head to see what the commotion was.

He blinked, and suddenly the world came into full clarity once again. Birds were chirping, elves were wary and hands hovering over their weapons, Bard much the same.

And his Company, picking themselves up off the ground in utter bafflement.

“What…” Kili started off.

“...just happened?” Fili finished for him.

“Well, gentlemen, it seems as though I will be staying for a while yet.” Thorin turned back around to see Miss Baggins, hands on hips, looking around at their group.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Dragon sickness.” She leveled him with an assessing stare. “Smaug has been lying here for years, tainting this place and the surrounding areas with his greed and malice. And unfortunately for you lot, dwarves are extremely susceptible to it, although nobody is quite immune.” She hummed in thought for a moment more before adding on, “Except for, perhaps, myself. But that is purely by virtue of being so connected to Lady Yavanna, I suspect.”

“ Which means..? ”

“It means, Thorin Oakenshield,” Here, she looked him dead in the eye and he felt a sick dread settling in his stomach, “that my work here is just getting started. This place has been infected. And I was sent here to heal it.”

Chapter Text

Thorin cursed his luck. Not only has the place been infected because of the dragon, but his people were apparently extremely susceptible to it. And twice now within the few minutes of him first meeting their supposed “burglar” they have fallen prey to it. How was he supposed to welcome his people back home in victory if they were all going to fall again? And if they did manage to get rid of it, who’s to say the taint won’t resurface again after an age?

Well, he supposed the hobbit could take care of it.

Thinking of the hobbit, it made Thorin wonder if the other hobbits had more to them than meets the eye as well. If the rest of them had this kind of power as well, it was no wonder Gandalf insisted on one. And if not, if it was only this hobbit that carried this ability, well.

Thorin could see the value in bringing her along, even if he only realized her potential now. Now how to make her stay to protect the land from further issue…

“Thorin!” His nephews came running, interrupting his musings. “Thorin, the people from Laketown, they’re on their way!” Alarm spiked in the dwarves, and Thorin could hear their muttering growing louder as they came together around him, questioning what they would do. Thorin could hardly blame them, the mountain had just been reclaimed from the wyrm, and now others were coming to try and lay claim to their treasure?

A shadow was growing over his mind and he registered small hands grabbing his face before he suddenly had startling green eyes filling his vision.

“Thorin, you need to focus on my voice.” Were all hobbits eyes so green? Was it only this one? “Thorin. Thorin. Hear my voice. Feel the Valar’s power. ” Thorin gasped for breath as the hobbit released him and he stumbled back. He shakily made eye contact with the hobbit ( those bright green eyes, like emeralds- ) and she blew out her own breath before hanging her head and sighing. “Oh boy. This is going to be a long week.”

“A week? You’re supposed to be here for a week? All alone in the treasury?” One of his Company called out in bafflement.

“At least. I’d expect longer though. This is a big mountain and a dragon’s been sleeping in there for several years. Don’t expect it to go so easy.” She answered the question easily, and there was more muttered grumbling. She gained a spark in her eye even as she narrowed them at his dwarves. “Well,” she began, “I suppose I could leave you to your own devices to deal with it, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Give it about a week before you lot start growing suspicious of each other and the infighting begins. Then,” she continued, raising her voice just slightly to be heard over the growing clamor, “when your people come from wherever they’ve been hiding out, they can see the result of your noble quest, and see the destruction that comes from a dragon, even one that’s dead.”

A great uproar began and Bella stood proud in the center of it all, not even the slightest flinch as the dwarves grew more and more angry. Her eyes met Thorin’s and she raised an eyebrow before gesturing to the mess around her as if to say see?

Thorin had to admit she had a point.

“All of you, settle down!” At the king’s voice, the dwarves grew silent. “As loath as I am to admit it, the hobbit raises a fair point. So, she will be staying to heal our mountain.” His eyes met hers in slight triumph, his lips quirking ever so slightly. “She has a month.”

“A month?” The shock evident on her face almost made the whole affair worth it.

“A month?” His dwarves echoed.

“Yes, a month. One month to rid the mountain and surrounding land of this sickness. You will be the only one entering the treasury to clear the gold; on that you have my word. But!” He had to shout to be heard over his dwarves’ yells once more. “But, should betray me or my kin, or turn out to be a thief, bent on stealing my people’s treasure,” his eyes smoldered as he took a step, then another, towards her, “there is no place on Arda that you may hide that I will not find you. You will receive all due punishment and be branded as a traitor for all to see, should you betray this trust.”

He left her stammering as he led the Company closer to the mountain to find a way in.

Perhaps they could still find the hidden path…

Well, this was just great.

One month? One, singular, month? To heal that massive mountain, plus the surrounding lands? The dwarf king had to be out of his mind! There were all sorts of hidden tunnels all throughout the mountain, not to mention whatever they had dug underneath the mountain for centuries , oh, and let’s not forget, of course, the massive treasury .

Plus the surrounding lands!

Listen, Bella was strong, she was not afraid to admit that she had power, and a lot of it due to her stronger-than-the-average-hobbit connection to the Green Lady, but even she needed time to heal that much surface area! Even pushing her limits to the max, and drawing whatever extra energy she would need to speed up the process, it was not a short process.

If she didn’t strangle the blasted rocks-for-brains King Under the Mountain before this month was over, it would be a surprise to all involved.

She stomped over to the elves and Lakeman for some quality conversation (even if said conversation would be mocking the king and his dwarves) before coming to a complete stop.

“Quiet.”

The conversations from the dwarves continued in the distance, even as the elves and Bard immediately stopped talking, all attention focused on Bella.

“ Quiet! ” She called out again, and she vaguely registered them quieting down, but her attention was focused on the ground under her feet. The ground was completely still, and yet…

The tremor was faint but Bella was not Lady Yavanna’s Chosen One for nothing. Even with the tainted land her connection was there, and growing stronger every second she stood there. Her eyes widened and she shot her head up, immediately turning towards Thorin. He had drawn closer while she was focused, and she only had to jog a short way to reach him.

“I hope your mountain is prepared for company, O King.”

“What?”

“A siege, Thorin! You have a week at the most, although perhaps sooner. I may require longer than a month to heal your precious dwarven lands. Even with me being here, it is still very tainted, and it’s about to get a lot worse.”

“Explain.” Thorin’s eyes grew serious, no longer the sly joking from earlier. His dwarves all had equally similar expressions, and she would bet the elves and Man coming up behind her were as well. The ground trembled again.

“There’s an army of darkness, orcs, I believe, led by one so shrouded I don’t even know what it is.” They bristled and she could swear she heard a faint Azog come from the king’s mouth. Bella turned to the elves. “Return to your king, and have him lead his army here. Bard, you do the same. Have your Master bring his soldiers, whoever he may send.”

“I will not allow the Elf King, nor any Man on my lands, near my gold. Not after they spit upon us, and cursed us, and imprisoned us. Let them rot in their lands, and leave us be-”

“You don't have a choice, Thorin!” Bella stampeded over whatever he was going to say, because there was limited time, and dwarves seemed to be notorious for not listening . “You don’t have any time to argue with me. There’s an army, yes, but there’s a second army coming as well from the other direction. They’re going to try to surround you, and I imagine take you by surprise since one army is farther away.” She stepped closer to the king to be able to get in his face, forcing eye contact. “You are just thirteen, and while I am sure you are confident in your abilities to fight, these are still two massive armies, all determined to end you.”

“We are not so small a people that we have no other options.” Thorin turned to a couple dwarves. “Dwalin, Nori, send out ravens to Dain, and call for aid. He will come. With his army, we will need no other ‘ help ’.” He turned a contemptuous eye on Bella. “We will have our army. We do not need them.” He turned to his dwarves and began leading them back towards the mountain again.

“No, you are not listening to me. Thorin. Thorin! ” Bella grabbed his arm, nearly flinching at his icy stare but standing her ground anyways.

“Release me.”

“No.”

“Release me this instant or I will have your head.”

“No!” She met his glare head on with one of her own. “You are not listening to what I have to say, and if this is the only way to get you to do so then so help me, by the Valar I will hold on.” Thorin’s glare turned absolutely frigid, but he made no moves to dislodge her arm, so Bella continued. “I know you don’t have a pretty history with the elves and men, but, Thorin, if you want me to heal this land then you will do as I say so that there will still be dwarven land to heal!”

Bella broke eye contact with Thorin to look at the Company behind him, one by one by one. She looked back at Thorin so he could understand the gravity of what she was saying.

“We need those extra armies. We need those warriors. Promise whatever you need to but you need to get those other armies here because however large your dwarven army is, I can guarantee they will double it. At least . And they are coming with bloodlust, and they have every intent to utterly destroy you.

“Swallow your pride and accept the aid or by next week I can promise you there will be no King Under the Mountain.” She paused to let that sink in, before adding on, “Or his heirs.”

Thorin flinched back out of her grip as if physically struck, and the rest of the dwarves were no better. Good. If they realize the full situation then perhaps we may survive this crazy endeavor yet.

Thorin sighed before turning back towards his Company, moving towards his nephews, gripping their necks and resting his forehead against theirs, one by one. He clenched his eyes shut as if in pain, before letting out his breath and turning back towards Bella and her guards.

“Very well. If you say the armies approaching are so deadly, then we will accept any aid given to us. But- ” he held up his hand before they could say anything, “should they decide to turn their backs on us and try to gain our land, our treasure, for themselves, then I will not be held responsible for what will happen after.”

“Very well.” Bella nodded her head in agreement, as did the elves and Bard.

“As loath as I am to do this, I would ask for the aid from your king,” Thorin spoke to the Captain of her guard, “and in repayment I would deliver him the white gems which he so cherishes.” The Captain’s eyes widened ever so slightly, and Bella knew a grand offering had just been made. He bowed his head before turning to Bella.

“I would not leave you unprotected, my Lady.”

“Oh, I’ll be fine. If nothing else, I’ll just toss the nearest dwarf at anything that tries to harm me and let them annoy it to death.” She chuckled, trying to lighten up the mood a little bit. The guards seemed unconvinced. “I’ll be fine, really. I’m not so dainty that I can’t protect myself, you know. Although I’m honored you think so highly of me. Now, hurry up and bring King Thranduil back, with his son as well. We’ll need their help quite a bit, I’m afraid.”

“As you wish, my Lady.” Her Honor Guard rode off quickly, and she and Thorin turned back to Bard.

“As for the Master of the Lake-”

“He will take nothing less than an extravagant amount of gold, of that I can assure you.” Bard interrupted Thorin before he could get too far. Thorin’s eyes narrowed and Bella just knew his suspicion was growing.

“Is that so?”

“Unfortunately, yes. And if he so much as suspects you to have shorted him one gold piece of what he believes he is owed, he will not send help.”

“What would you have me do, then?”

“If you will allow me, I will rally the menfolk of Laketown, gather who I can, who would be willing to fight for this cause, and bring them here.”

“And if none decide to join you?”

“Then you will have one Lakeman willing to fight with you. I stand with Lady Bella, and if she deems this a worthy cause, then I will fight and die for it. There is none other I would do this for.”

Thorin nodded his head gravely.

“And you would be justly rewarded for it. You and any who would follow you. We would be honored to have them fight.”

Bard nodded, before riding towards his people, those who were already on their way to try to gather any who would follow him for this coming battle. Thorin watched him ride off for a while before turning back to the Company.

“I am sorry, my friends, to have to call you to battle so soon, without the true might of our people behind us. We will not be so alone in our upcoming fight, as I am sure Dain will come and will bring his warriors with him. Even still,” he looked upon his Company, pride shining through, clear as day, “I will fight for our land, for our freedom, and if necessary I will die for it. And I would ask of you, would you join me, fight with me, one last time?”

There was no hesitation before the dwarves, one by one, knelt in respect before their king, pledging themselves once again to him. Bella felt in awe watching this happen, and she knew she would fight for this land with everything she had as well.

That kind of loyalty was not bought, it was earned, and Bella had every intention of finding out why.

Thorin turned back to Bella, face serious.

“For everyone’s sake, I hope you are right.” She looked at him, green eyes meeting blue, both hard with determination.

“Lady Yavanna has trusted me with protecting her land from evil.

“She will not lead me wrong.”

Chapter Text

Three days had passed and the dwarves were getting antsy. Bella couldn’t blame them; only she was allowed in the treasury as promised, and the first thing she had done was find all the armor and weapons she could to bring back to arm them all. Not without purifying them first, of course, because Valar forgive her but dealing with temperamental dwarves on the cusp of dragon sickness was hard enough. Fully under the influence dwarves? Not a chance.

So.

Purified armor it was.

Not that she would do anything less than her best, of course. She was a hobbit, and more than that, she was a Baggins, and the Bagginses did everything to the utmost. She made a bargain, and a Baggins would not go back on her word.

Even still, with all the extra armor and weapons she found, she knew it would not be enough. The men of the lake were to be arriving soon, whoever Bard could convince to follow him. Based on the state of Laketown, she knew they would need whatever extra protection they could get.

Still not enough.

With any luck, the arrival of Bard would also herald the arrival of Thranduil and his army. Bella could feel the darkness creeping ever closer, and it would be sooner than the week she had predicted. They had a day, two at the most.

She was startled out of her musings by the treasury doors being thrown open and jumped up, whirling to look at who was interrupting her and breaking Thorin’s vow. She had her mouth open, ready to begin the lecture of a lifetime, but was cut off in surprise when she saw who it was.

“Gandalf. It has been some time since I last saw you.”

“Ah, yes, my dear hobbit, indeed it has been too long.” Bella raised a singular eyebrow at his response.

“Indeed.” She smiled politely, not a twitch belying her true feelings. “I heard you were looking for me some time ago. Something about a job opportunity with a dash of traveling- something to make it worthwhile.” The wizard didn’t outwardly twitch, but she could see it in his eyes- she had him on the ropes. She grinned viciously in her head.

“Indeed.” He responded, vague as ever. “Thorin and his dwarves were looking for someone to assist them, and I happened to mention your name to them.”

“And the symbol?” She inquired innocently. Gandalf shifted. Gotcha.

“Symbol? There have been many symbols on this quest. Whichever one do you mean?” Bella narrowed her eyes at him.

“The one on my door, in the corner. Scratched in my fresh coat of paint. The one that i imagine left paint marks on your staff as you scratched it in. Look-” she gestured to the bottom of his staff, before pausing mid-lecture. “Wait, what happened to your staff?” She looked up into his face, and saw Gandalf look weary for the first time since she was just a faunt. “Gandalf, this isn’t the staff I remember you having. What happened to it?”

“That, my dear, is why I am here.”

Thorin’s eyebrows were furrowed in concentration as he paced nervously. Dwalin watched nearby, eyes narrowed in thought. Thorin hadn’t seemed himself these past few days, and yet he was now the most himself Dwalin had seen since they first left on this blasted journey. Part of it was the wizard, part of it was the hobbit, and part of it was the mountain.

Dwalin wasn’t quite sure what to think of this all. The wizard had rushed in suddenly, surprising everyone, and he only paused briefly to inquire about the hobbit before rushing off to the treasury, despite the Company’s protests. He and Thorin had followed, intent on stopping him, but quickly halted themselves right outside the throne room as they heard muffled shouting from the hobbit. They looked uneasily at each other before Dwalin shrugged and turned to lean against the wall. He would jump in if it seemed to be escalating, but until then he would continue to follow Thorin's orders of nobody else entering the treasury.

Besides, after the trouble the wizard put them through, let him face the hobbit’s wrath for disturbing her. Dwalin was under no impression that the hobbit couldn’t fend for herself, after the show from outside the mountain from their first meeting.

He was a little torn over how to feel about the hobbit. On the one hand, she was female, and it was in his blood to protect them from any danger, including dealing with whatever sickness was hanging over the land, and whatever trouble was coming their way currently.

On the other hand, she had proven herself to be a mighty warrior, and while her strengths may not be in the physical sense, she had shown to hold great power. Power that even the elves, man, and wizard respected.

The shouting cut off as suddenly as it started, and the two dwarves straightened as the door to the treasury opened.

“Gandalf, these are two of the dwarves from the quest. I trust you've met them, yeah?” Dwalin raised an eyebrow at the guts the hobbit continued to display. From the corner of his eye, he could see Thorin do the same. The wizard merely sighed.

“Yes, my dear, I have indeed met them. I was the one to accompany them on this quest, after all.” Dwalin had to cover a snort at the muttered “barely” that came from Thorin. Based on the muted sigh from the wizard and the grin from the hobbit, he was confident they heard it as well.

“Good. In that case, since introductions have been taken care of, let’s get to the real issue here.” Bella made eye contact with each of them to emphasize the gravity of the situation, as she was wont to do. “We are faced with three evils approaching, plus a fourth that is already here. We have very few warriors to defend against them all, and relying on the hope that we will have backup coming before calamity arrives.

“First, we have an army arriving, the brunt force alone will wipe us out. Second, we have a second army arriving, and their force will wipe out anything good left. Third, Gandalf has come with grave news concerning the entirety of Middle Earth.”

“Indeed.” Gandalf took over from there. “The Nine have arisen once again.” Thorin drew in a sharp breath, and Dwalin had to agree. Everyone knew of the nine fallen kings who served the dark lord. “Radagast and I discovered their empty tombs. He has left to inform the White Council of their return, and I have come to inform you. It is pure luck that you have already met up with Bella, as she will be key to your survival.” The hobbit in question looked grim, as though she already knew this, and was hard pressed to accept her fate. She looked up at the three males, and spoke again.

“It will be a hard battle on all fronts, and if what Gandalf says is true, then I will have to provide support to the White Council as well as the rest of you lot. Luckily, they will not need nearly as much help as you, which leads us to the fourth. There is still dragon sickness over the treasury. I have been working nonstop to purify the armor, at least, so you and any lakemen who join you, may have something to protect yourselves with. But it still won’t be enough. Even if I am able to rid the treasury, much less the whole mountain, of the dragon’s influence, it still won’t be enough. It could provide sanctuary during the battle, but I will still need to be working constantly in order to help guard against the armies arriving. And I fear I have run out of time. I can feel them getting ever closer; the earth trembles at their approach.”

“How long do we have until they arrive?” Thorin asked the question on everyone’s mind.

“Less than a day. They have sped up their approach, and where we had a day, maybe two, it is now a matter of hours. We still have no backup, besides Gandalf, and you better pray he is enough until help arrives. It is no longer a matter of when the enemy arrives, it is a matter of if we survive. And I hope your walls are prepared for a siege.”

Dwalin frowned, and at the nod from Thorin, he headed off to inform the rest of the Company, leaving the three of them to continue their discussions. He entered the common room the Company took up residence in, the other dwarves looking up at him.

“Fortify the gate.” Confused murmurs broke out among them. “We have incoming company, and not of the good kind.”

“Dwalin, what is happening? What has Thorin said?” Fili came closer, Kili right behind him.

“The wizard claims the Nine have risen from their tombs. The hobbit claims the two armies have sped up and we now have mere hours instead of days. We must prepare.”

The dwarves sprang into motion at that, rushing to the front of the mountain to fortify the gate. They were a stubborn lot, but even dwarves were able to see the value of another’s words when they’re warning of such a devastating danger.

Some time later Thorin arrived and began to help fortify the wall. Dwalin came by him, both working together to lift up pieces of rubble. It was peaceful, for the moment, and Dwalin could understand. The hard work was calming, in a sense, helping to clear their minds as they prepped for the upcoming battle. If what Bella and Gandalf were saying was true, then it was very likely they would all perish. It was humbling, to know their doom was approaching, closer than it ever did over the course of this quest. He knew Thorin was thinking the same thing as well.

Eventually, the wall was fully fortified and all they could do now was wait.

Someone cleared their throat, and the dwarves all turned to see the hobbit standing there, Gandalf at her side.

“I know we haven’t known each other for very long, and our first meeting wasn’t very promising, but I will stand by you. I am a Baggins, and I’ve made you a promise. And we Bagginses don’t go back on our word.”

“Miss Baggins, it’s okay, you don’t need to-”

“Besides,” she steamrolled over whatever Thorin had to say, and by the slight smirk as she spoke, she knew he wasn’t pleased by it, “someone has to keep you lot alive until backup arrives. And,” she paused, her expression becoming serious once more, “I’ve seen the loyalty you all have for each other. That doesn’t just happen overnight. It’s more than anything I’ve seen in a very long time. So, I will stand by you, and I will help however I can, even if we lose our lives today. Valar willing, we will survive this, but if not, then I will go to my Lady’s Gardens with my head held high.”

The resolve in her eyes was steel, and Dwalin knew she would keep her word. Thorin nodded, then turned to the rest of them.

“This may be our last battle. We may not live through this day, but I am honored to fight and if need be, die with you. My brothers, my kin.”

Horns blew in the distance.  The Company lined the top of the wall, Thorin in the middle, Dwalin flanking him on one side, Fili on the other. Their armor gleamed in the sunlight, weapons were held in hand, shields were up. They were ready, or, as ready as they ever would be. The wizard stood to the side, the hobbit standing next to him. Approaching the mountain was a massive orc army, led by the white monstrosity himself.

It was time. They would defeat the enemy, or die trying.

This would be their final stand.