Chapter Text
She stood there, dazed and shocked as she stared blankly at the contract that had been passed over to her, along with a mention of funeral arrangements, as if the earlier talk of a dragon hadn’t been enough to scare her witless.
As a well-read hobbit, she immediately began skimming it the moment it was placed in her hands, barely registering the majority of it until she opened up a side section.
"Evisceration, incineration." she murmured faintly then rounded on Gandalf, shaking the contract at him as if it was a weapon.
"Incineration!" she hissed.
He smiled at her peacefully, "There is a dragon."
“Oh yes,” Kili chimed, “A fire breathing beast with great big fangs,”
“An impenetrable hide,” Bofur added with a grin,
“Claws of steel,”
“A ferocious temper,”
“A tail like-“
Thorin glared and the two fell silent, “Enough. This is no time for such nonsense.”
“Mister Belba,” Balin interrupted, “What we have neglected to mention that the dragon might not even be alive.”
Belba hummed, “But that is not what you believe to be true, is it Mister Balin? You may hope it is dead but I can tell that not one of you here truly believes that.”
There was a silence that fell after her response and she could tell that not one of the dwarrows knew how to respond to that.
She chuckled, “A dragon. Well, that is a bit more of a challenge than I expected.”
At these words the creases around Thorin’s mouth deepened and his brows furrowed, “This is no joke, Mister Belba. You would be the scout. Therefore, you would be the one who would be in the most immediate danger once we reach Erebor. I suggest you consider this matter very carefully because, in all honesty, I doubt that this is a task you are capable of.”
Belba’s eyes hardened, “Yes, well, I doubt there is much you believe me capable of.”
Thorin made to speak again but she held up a hand to silence him and continued, “Nevertheless, I will put your mind at ease. I am fully aware that this is a ridiculously dangerous venture that I will most likely gain very little from. I wish to proceed regardless. Please stop underestimating me, Master Thorin.”
“Gain very little from?” Balin arched an eyebrow, “The contract promises you an amount upto a fourteenth of the entirety of Erebor’s treasury.”
Belba looked at them from underneath hooded eyes, what she wanted was to escape the Shire and to find a place where she would be accepted and not so alone. She wished for a home and companionship, it was not the sort of thing you could ask to be given.
She smiled wryly, “Nevermind, I am being foolish. I can ask for no more.”
Slightly bewildered the dwarrows watched silently as she continued to comb through the contact displaying a wide variety of emotions as she did so until she came to the end of the contract.
“Well, that’s that, I suppose.” She said with a firm nod and stood to go fetch a pen.
Thorin stood with her and halted her exit with a hand on her arm, “Wait a moment, Mister Belba. This is not a decision you can make so lightly.”
She wrenched her arm from his grasp, “Enough, Master Thorin! You have sought me out to ask for my help and yet you also seek to dissuade me, if this is how you approached your allies it is no wonder they refused to help you!”
Thorin’s face creased in fury and, after tearing the contract from her hands, he bellowed, “If you are not capable of keeping apace with us, you will put all our lives in danger! Think upon that, you fool of a hobbit!”
Belba stood firm, refusing to break down in front of this disagreeable, moron of a dwarf. She refused to even let her voice shake!
“Very well, I will not reduce myself to fumbling for the contract like a child fighting over a toy. I give you my word that I will think deeply over it tonight. However, Master Thorin, when I sign that contract in the morning you will accept my decision without a word of complaint, you hear me?”
Thorin held her eyes for a moment, his brow still creased in anger, but quickly gave in with a slight nod. He knew he could not ask for anything more.
Belba gritted her teeth and turned away from him, she would show him. She would be so capable and clever during their traveling that she’d be the one they rely upon. She was certain she knew more than some stuck up, stubborn, royal dwarf! She’d been on more walking trips than anyone else in the Shire!
As she stormed out of the room, Gandalfs parting comment of “We plan to leave before dawn,” was acknowledged with a sharp nod and a scowl.
She was strong and she was determined that they would all know it before the journey’s end.
The next morning, when Thorin awoke he was presented with a signed contract and steely glare, both of which left him certain that the journey would be a trying one.
Despite commenting to Gandalf the prior night that he held no responsibility for the hobbit’s life, Thorin knew that the moment the being was in danger that he would willingly place himself in harms way to save him.
He was not the sort to callously abandon an ally, even if they had not yet proven themselves to be trustworthy or useful. Still, that he would have to deal with an ally that was both disrespectful and burdensome was almost too much to bear.
He inspected the contract and thought deeply for a moment but knew he was honor bound.
He gave a grunt of affirmation before moving to walk past the hobbit.
“Well?” Belba demanded, blocking his way.
Thorin’s confusion was faint upon his face but still present so Belba knew that she needed to rephrase her query, “I am coming, yes? I only ask because you didn’t say.”
He smiled dryly, “My silence was not a denial it was simply because I had agreed that there would be not a word of complaint, as I doubt there is little about your presence that I won’t want to complain about, I believed silence to be the best option.”
Belba paused, not having expected to hear humor from the sour faced royal, and Thorin took advantage of Belba’s shock to slip past her.
“We shall break our fast and then leave before anyone rises. We want none to know of our destination. Pack sensibly for a long journey.”
“At-choo! Atc- Atc- choo!” Belba sniffled, feeling for her pack before giving up with a grumble, “Bother. I forgot my handkerchief.”
Trotting beside her was Gandalf, on a steed a fair bit sturdier than hers, puffing merrily upon his pipe as he replied.
“Well, we are not turning around for it.”
She scowled, “I wouldn’t have forgotten it if someone had bothered to mention that we were to be traveling by pony. I’m allergic, I need something.”
He glanced at her out of the side of his eyes, clearly in a mischief making mood, “I suppose we could ask Thorin if we could quickly turn around.”
“Pah. No need.” Belba scowled, her voice petulant and determined simultaneously, “I am perfectly capable of rustling something together. I just have need of a- ah ah-tchoo!”
“That was quite some sneezing. Yer not coming down with anything, are you Belba?” Bofur said with a mixture of concern and amusement, having coaxed his pony to her side.
Belba pinched her nose and gave Bofur a somewhat resigned smile, “Ah not truly, it is just that there is something about ponies makes my sinuses flare up.”
Bofur chuckled, “Yer a dainty, little thing, aren’t you?”
She rolled her eyes and punched him lightly upon his arm, “Oh yes, enjoy my misery, why don’t you?”
He held a hand to his chest and adopted a mock wounded expression, “Are you implying that I am cold hearted enough to enjoy watching a friend suffer?”
The disbelieving look on her face was a clear enough response to his question and he chuckled once more before throwing her a dirty scrap of cloth from his pocket.
“Here then, Great and Delicate Master Belba, a token for our friendship. A hanky for your sensitive button nose.”
Belba caught it with a watery smile, though it was given to her in jest it meant more to her than Bofur knew, “Many thanks.”
She used it to lessen her sniffling and sneezing before neatly folding it and tucking it carefully into her pack. She had been truthful when she told Bofur that hobbits gave gifts at the beginning of a friendship, she just hadn’t told him that they both had to exchange a gift for it to be official and, somehow, it had happened despite his lack of knowledge.
Now something inside her had settled at that simple, kind gesture and she suddenly felt certain that this path was the right one, that she was finally on her way to happiness.
However, it seemed the joy she felt was fleeting as a call from the front was quick to filled her with dread, “We’re nearing Bree!”
She gripped her reins tightly, she had forgotten that they would need to pick up supplies from Bree and there was little she could say against it. It was a miracle that she had escaped the Shire without the dwarrows seeing the scorn she faced from all and to hope to be unseen in Bree at this time of day was foolishness. The moment they saw another hobbit’s reaction to her there would be questions and none of the sort that she’d want to answer.
Her knuckles were white and her thoughts were racing furiously, she knew it was unlikely that she’d find a place for herself here among the dwarrows but to have the opportunity so cruelly torn away before she had even tried would be too much.
“Wait!” She called out, her heart in her throat, “We can’t!”
“Belba?” Gandalf queried, his eyes a mixture of bafflement and concern.
“What is it Halfling? Why do you call us to stop?” Thorin said.
She pursed her lips, “We can’t stop in Bree. You said you didn’t want anyone to know of our location and Bree is filled with gossips. A group of dwarrows, a wizard and a hobbit is sure to draw the all the wrong sort of attention. I suggest you send a small innocuous group to get the supplies whilst the rest of us go around the long way and meet up with you on the other side.”
“Unacceptable. That’s an unnecessary delay.” Thorin said with a shake of his head.
“You say it is unnecessary now but isn’t it best to err on the side of caution?” The other dwarrows dropped all pretense of not eavesdropping and drew their steeds closer to the two of them.
Nori came even further forward to interrupt, “Thorin, what the lad is saying is valid. It would be unusual and people remember unusual. We don’t need to go the long way round to avoid that though, we just need to make the group seem a bit less suspicious.”
Thorin scowled, “And how do you suggest we do that?”
He shrugged, “Smaller groups, people that arrive at different times and have different goals. Also, give them something even more unusual than lots of dwarfs arriving at the same time.”
Gloin seemed intrigued, “Like?”
“Not sure.” Nori said, “It has to be flashy though and something that no one will suspect of us.”
“I don’t like the sound of all this sneaking around,” Dwalin grumbled, “It's cowardly.”
Nori huffed, “It is strategic. You wouldn’t say that ambushing a party with larger numbers was cowardly, would you?”
“Not right now, you two.” Balin said, interceding before anything escalated.
Ori fidgeted at the back of the crowd, pulling nervously at his sleeves before shoving his hand into the air with gusto. “I have an idea!”
Belba was astonished to see Thorin noticeably reign in his scowl as he turned to face the shy dwarf.
“Yes, Ori?”
Now that the attention was entirely focused upon him, Ori seemed to lose some of his strength and his voice was now much more nervous than when he’d first called out. “Um… well, I was thinking about what causes the most gossip and… well, it tends to be love.”
Bofur laughed, “How obvious! Love!”
Nori’s smile was full of teeth, “What sort of love are we talking about?”
Surprisingly, Ori’s returning smile was almost equally frightening, “The best sort, unrequited. Tragic. Dramatic. Violent.”
Belba’s spine stiffened and she clenched her teeth, “I don’t think violence is particularly romantic.”
Ori stumbled at that, “Oh no. I don’t think it is either. I meant violence in the sense of two suitors fighting for a lady’s hand.”
Belba thought over it for a moment before shaking her head, “The most common races in Bree are men and hobbits, the men wouldn’t mind a brawl but the hobbits would be horrified. You are thinking like dwarfs. We don’t have to be flashy or ridiculous to distract them. We just need your race to be overshadowed by your news.”
Thorin growled, “Yes, and by having something distract the crowd as we pass through we will go unnoticed for the most part.”
She sighed, “I do not wish to argue, just give me a moment to think of something a bit more subtle. What supplies do we need?”
“Food mainly,” Bombur commented, “Some cloths and sewing materials too.”
Belba nodded, “What type of food?”
“Stuff that’ll last a long while and that is good for travel.”
“I need new boots!”
“A spare flint!”
She pursed her lips together, “And that is all?”
“Aye.” Thorin said, “Though, I hardly see how this is relevant.”
“Well, we need food, gossip exciting enough to distract them and a reason for multiple dwarrows to be traveling together.”
She grinned, “Can you not see it?”
They all looked at each other in confusion.
“A wedding!” she chimed, a grin wide upon her face and she hurriedly outlined her plan.
"It is something common enough that no one will think it unusual and you won't have to put an unwarranted amount of effort into it. It is market day and most of the stalls are being run by some hobbits from the Bridgefields, they'll be so excited by the thought of a wedding they'll probably not even noticed that you are all dwarfs. Gandalf and I will pass through after you, so that there is nothing suspicious about your party and we will pick up the camping supplies that you cannot. It would work better it you pretended to be hobbits but your beards-"
"No, no." Balin shook his head and Kili clutched desperately at the fuzz on his cheeks, "Your original suggestion will do."
They talked over the last few details and Thorin quickly listed the specifics of the camping supplies that they required, reluctantly handing over a bag of coin, before they all left for Bree.
Gandalf watched the backs of their ponies, waiting until they were all well out of ear shot before turning to Belba with a small smile.
“That was very cunning of you, Belba Baggins. But while I do commend you on being convincing enough to get Thorin to go on with this fraud, I still fail to see why it was necessary.”
Belba sighed, “I didn’t want them to wonder. To wonder about the looks, the whispers or why I hid myself. I hadn’t planned on them taking my suggestion as far as they have, I had only intended on us going around or perhaps traveling apart from them but… it hardly inconveniences them. In fact, I daresay they’ll receive a lot of positive attention for their mistruth.”
Her eyes grew shadowed, “Hobbits love weddings.”