Thorin's Long Lost Daughter

Bilbo was sitting on his chair, and he held a mug and he began to talk to Gandalf.

“I’ll be all right, let me just sit quietly for a moment.” Bilbo said, uncertainly.

“You’ve been sitting quietly for far too long! Tell me; when did doilies and your mother’s dishes become so important to you? I remember a young Hobbit who always was running off in search of elves and the woods, who’d stay out late, come home after dark, trailing mud and twigs and fireflies. A young Hobbit who would have liked nothing better than to find out what was beyond the borders of the Shire. The world is not in your books and maps; it’s out there.” Gandalf said, a bit loud at first, but then he quieted down.

“I can’t just go running off into the blue. I am a Baggins, of Bag End.” Bilbo said, a bit too proudly.

“You are also a Took. Did you know that your great-great-great-great-uncle, Bullroarer Took, was so large he could ride a real horse?” Gandalf added, and when he mentioned that Bilbo was also a Took, he rolled his eyes, and Gandalf looked over to a portrait of Bullroarer Took, who was on Bilbo's wall.

“Yes.” Bilbo sighed.

“Well he could. In the Battle of Green Fields, he charged the goblin ranks. He swung his club so hard it knocked the Goblin King’s head clean off, and it sailed a hundred yards through the air and went down a rabbit hole. And thus the battle was won, and the game of golf invented at the same time.” Gandalf said, with a slight hint of amusement in his voice.

“I do believe you made that up.” Bilbo said, rolling his eyes.

“Well, all good stories deserve embellishment. You’ll have a tale or two to tell of your own when you come back.” Gandalf said, sitting down from across the Hobbit.

“Can you promise that I will come back?” Bilbo asked, in a small voice.

“No. And if you do, you will not be the same.” Gandalf said, in a quiet tone.

“That’s what I thought. Sorry, Gandalf, I can’t sign this. You’ve got the wrong Hobbit.” Bilbo said, as he stood up, and he walked down the hall, and Gandalf sighed. Balin and Thorin watched Bilbo walk away.

“It appears we have lost our burglar. Probably for the best. The odds were always against us. After all, what are we? Merchants, miners, tinkers, toy-makers; hardly the stuff of legend.” Balin said, sadly.

“There are a few warriors amongst us.” Thorin smiled.

“Old warriors.” Balin retorted.

“I will take each and every one of these dwarves over an army from the Iron Hills. For when I called upon them, they came. Loyalty. Honor. A willing heart. I can ask no more than that.” Thorin said.

“You don’t have to do this. You have a choice. You’ve done honorably by our people. You have built a new life for us in the Blue Mountains, a life of peace and plenty. A life that is worth more than all the gold in Erebor.” Balin said to him, Thorin looked at the ground, before he held out the key that Gandalf had given to him.

“From my grandfather to my father, this has come to me. They dreamt of the day when the dwarves of Erebor would reclaim their homeland. There is no choice, Balin. Not for me.” Thorin replied simply, Balin smiled at him

“Then we are with you, laddie. We will see it done.”

The dwarves gathered in Bilbo’s living room, and they smoked their pipes by the fire. Evelynn sat in front of the fire, alone. The firelight, dancing on her eyes, making them seem darker than they really are, and the firelight, made her look......sadder. Kili sat down beside her, and he gave her shoulder a gentle nudge.

"Evelyn..." he said, gently.

"Hi Kili..." She said, grimly.

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing..." Was all she said, before she cast her gaze back towards the fire, but she looked back at the group, when they all started to hum, and soon enough, Thorin began to sing, in his deep voice. Gandalf listened nearby, and Bilbo listened from his bedroom

“Far over the misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away ere break of day
To find our long-forgotten gold" Thorin sang, before the Dwarves, even Evelyn joined for the next stanza.

The pines were roaring on the height
The winds were moaning in the night
The fire was red, it flaming spread
The trees like torches blazed with light”

When the song was over, the Dwarves found a comfortable place to rest for the night, Evelyn stood up to walk outside, but she felt eyes on her, and she turned to her left to see Kili, and Thorin looking over at her, the fire, lighting up half of her face. She averted her gaze quickly, and she walked through the small Hobbit door, and the darkness swallowed her up. A few hours later, she crawled under the door, as a ladybug, and she took a step into the living room, and through the shadow of the moonlight streaming through the window,the shadow of her original form, climbed up the wall, and she slipped down beside someone, pulled her hood over her head, and she fell into a restless sleep.

A shadow began to cover the massive gates of Erebor. Sometime later, a paper dragon kite was being flown over Dale, along with other childrens’ kites. Suddenly, a great wind came, blowing the trees on the mountainside until the bend and creak. The first she heard was a noise like a hurricane coming down from the north. The pines on the mountain creaked and cracked in a hot, dry wind. A roar sounded, and torrents of fire rained all over Erebor; The kites from earlier were suddenly burned away. The people in the town of Dale screamed in fear and panic as Smaug destroyed their city, setting fire to many buildings and demolishing others. She cried as she watched her doll burn in the street.

Evelyn shot up, it was still dark out. She was shaking and sweating. She looked around at the sleeping Company, relieved that she had awaken no one. She looked down at her hands, and she could faintly see nail marks embedded into her palms, blood coming down in small streams down her palm. She remembered holding that rag doll, and she cried when she watched her doll burn in the streets. Tears brimmed her eyes, when she thought back to that day, and she wiped them away, with the back of her hand.

"Evelyn..." She heard someone say, and she silently cursed herself. She looked over, to see Kili, prop himself up on his elbows, and he looked at her intently, and he sat up.

"I'm fine Kili, go back to sleep..." She said, her voice betraying her.

"But you're not fine Evelyn. Trust me, you smacked me in your sleep..." He said, turning his face, to show her the slight bruise on his cheek. She touched his cheek gingerly, and she felt something warm, and sticky. She gently took his hand, and she pulled him over towards her, and she touched his face, to turn his wounded cheek towards her. Thankfully, it wasn't a very bad scratch, but compared to what she was capable of, this was the tiniest injury she could give someone, and she drew her hand away, and she clenched it into a fist.

"Feel lucky..." She said, softly.

"Evelyn, it's fine, it was just a scratch..."

"Compared to what I would've done, it's nothing, but that is still something .." She loudly whispered, but then she bit down on her tongue, preventing herself from saying anything more. She slid back down onto the mat that she was sleeping on, and she pulled her hood over her face, and tears slid down her cheeks. She felt someone gently unclasp her fingers from around her cloak, and she became face-to-face with Kili. He brought his hand to her cheek, and he gently caressed her cheek. She felt her cheeks hoten, but she turned her gaze to the ground.

"Get some sleep, Evelyn. We leave at dawn..." He said, before he leaned forward, and pressed his lips against her forehead, before he lay down on his mat, and he fell asleep.