Hobbit 1. On Her Own

The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings belongs to JRR Tolkien and the movies belong to Peter Jackson. I'm just a devoted fan.

So I went to the midnight premiere of The Hobbit and it totally inspired me to write my first Hobbit fanfiction! The title is from the Talking Heads song, This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody), which I listened to on repeat while writing the first chapter. I think the song fully describes the story I am about to tell.

Edited as of 2/19/13.

* * *

**On Her Own**

_It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in the end._  
- Ursula K. Le Guin

"Get back here, thief!"

"She's struck my stand again!"

"Don't you know some of us have children to feed?"

"Burglar! Burglar!"

She was used to hearing the screams. The thief had heard worse than the shouts listed above, some with even darker profanities. The cries and exclamations no longer bothered her as she pulled the cloak over her face and found a tight alleyway to slide into while the fat human men tromped all around Rivertown, angrily yelling to find the swift thief and punish her. She had only lived here for the past three weeks, longer than any other town or village she had taken up residence in and frankly she was surprised she hadn't been shooed out. _Yet._

Bundled up in her heavy tattered cloak, the evening sun set as the yelling died down over the crowded houses of Rivertown. Waiting until the coast was clear, she finally pulled out the loaf of freshly basked bread she had yanked from the bakery earlier this afternoon. It felt warm in her hands and the smell stirred her stomach hungry. She broke off an end piece and tossed it into her mouth, enjoying every chew. She was used to going hungry for a day or two but this was going on for three days now and she could no longer resist the hunger.

"Yum," she muttered with bread crumbs on her lips, licking them as she rested her head against the cold wall of the building, her knees to her chest as to not be seen in the alleyway.

She was a thief. A burglar, a pickpocket and a no-good, dishonest young traveler. Hardly formidable and less than intimidating, it wasn't her physical presence that caused so much alarm. It was how light she was on those bare feet of hers and how she could hardly been seen in a crowd. Being little worked to her advantage.

Thunder cracked in the night sky and the full moon shone down on the street. It began to rain and a small dent in the cobblestone path in the alleyway began to pool up with muddy rain water. She peered into the small puddle, seeing a faint dark outline of her profile in the water. Dark hair full of cowlicks, an awkward neck and those ears...Sighing, she pressed her back against the wall, hoping the rain would slide off the roof and not land on her. With no place to stay for the night, she huddled up and rested her chin against her kneecaps to keep warm.

This was Relly Crillynook's wayward life. Always travelling, always stealing, never taking up permanent residence. This was the life she had lead for the past twenty years and yet, the young thief desired more to her bare-bones existence.

* * *

It was morning and the young woman was soaked to the bone, groaning as she lifted her head off her shoulder and squinted her eyes at the morning sun. Something in her hands felt squishy and she grit her teeth in horror to learn that her bread was now damp and soggy. Disappointed, she chucked the wet loaf onto the ground, only to curse herself to doing something so stupid in the first place. Her stomach groaned and she peered out from the hood of her cloak to see if any of the shops in the open market bazaar were open yet. If she could just quickly pick an apple off the stands...

"Oi! There she is! The thief who swiped my bread!" The portly baker identified Relly as she froze up, not expecting to be caught. Without thinking, Relly turned on her heels and began running as fast as her little legs could carry her, wishing she ate more of that soggy bread for the energy. "Get back here!"

She limped, making a sharp left at a row of small tenement buildings and the one time she peered over her shoulder, it proved to be a bad idea.

_Oomph!_ She smacked her face into the back of someone, landing on her bottom as her muscles tensed up, raising her head as she looked at whoever she just ran into. He was very tall with grey clothes, a tall pointy blue hat and carried a carved, gnarly wooden staff. The thief came to the conclusion he was homeless, powerful or just plain out of place. He certainly didn't belong here in Rivertown, that was for certain.

"Oh? I'm sorry madam, it appears I stood in your busy way. Pardon me," and he stepped aside graciously for her to exit but it was too late. The baker caught up to them and he was red in the face, ready to yell until he looked at the mysterious grey figure. He paused, allowing the young woman to actually breathe for once as Relly stood up and prepared to start running once more. Unfortunately, the baker had caught up to both the grey man and Relly. She ducked behind Gandalf.

"Gandalf, yer just in the right place! This crook has been terrorizing Rivertown for weeks now, maybe you could use some of yer magicky gumbo!" the baker suggested to Gandalf. "Teach the thief a lesson!"

Her lips parted. A wizard? In Rivertown? Who would have thought it? She gulped at the thought of magic being performed on her as her hazel eyes widened, shrugging her shoulders. The old wizard curiously looked from the baker to the thief and chuckled lightly, much to her surprise. Maybe he was a kook.

"Is it true that you have been stealing from this man and others in this town?" he asked her clearly but not interrogating her like a member of the force. Not sure what to say, the thief merely nodded. She was facing the music, something she absolutely hated doing. She hadn't been caught before and now she was backed into a corner like a hurt pup. Relly's eyes darkened, rubbing her arm anxiously as she looked between the baker and the wizard.

"It's settled then. I know what to do with you, miss...?" he waited for the thief to introduce herself, his politeness almost throwing her for a loop.

Her hazel eyes narrowed a bit, not understanding why he wanted to know her name. Was he going to turn her into a bug or color her skin purple? Not wanting to change her shape anytime soon, she decided to reveal her name to the wizard in the hopes of gaining sympathy. "Er...it's Relly. Relly Crillynook."

Her surname perked Gandalf's ears but he remained calm and kept a smile on his wrinkled face, a huge height gap between the thief and the well-respected wizard. "Relly, would you like to accompany me on a trip? At the end of it, I promise you will never have to scrape nor scrounge for food again."

The thief shifted her eyes around the town square, between the seething baker and the relaxed wizard. Not having anything else to look forward to Relly nodded, accepting the offer. As the baker finally left them alone, Relly raised her head a little higher while she brushed off the dirt from her cloak, allowing Gandalf a better look at her face. He noticed her long, straight nose, almond shaped eyes and round ears with a soft point to them. She mainly had Hobbit-ish features but even Gandalf could tell she looked rather _odd._

With strange but reluctantly accepting glances, Gandalf and his new travelling companion left the gates of Rivertown. The grass was still wet from the morning dew and the smell of the day after a night of rain filled her nostrils. Relly didn't say anything at first, stuffing her hands into the sewn pockets of her cloak until she whipped her head upwards. "How do you know that I won't rob you blind and cut your throat?"

Gandalf let out a deep laugh, one that unsettled Relly to the core and left that as an answer to her question. As his laugh ended, his grey eyes fell onto Relly as the pair continued to walk. "It's a far ways away from Hobbiton, wouldn't you say? On my trips do I rarely see Hobbits outside of the Shire. Not impossible to hear of though."

Relly averted her eyes, a soft frown forming on her sharp face. "I'm not welcome there."

"Which is why you must make yourself welcome to others. I'm headed towards Hobbiton and I believe you could use a warm welcoming."

Relly inwardly groaned. _Not that place, anywhere but Hobbiton._ Granted, she was indebted to Gandalf for rescuing her from a rightfully angry baker, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to return to Hobbiton. Maybe she'd fare better back in Rivertown.

There was a reason why Relly left the Shire in the first place, why she had been on her own for most of her life. The Hobbit blood in her veins yearned for the pastoral fields and under-the-hill homes while the feverish Men blood in her craved more excitement. The thrill of stealing and living on the road clashed with the Hobbit desire to stay in one place. For a long time, she ignored all thoughts of her birth place, pretending she was born to be on the run.

Gandalf noticed Relly lost in her thoughts. He smiled to himself as the two made their way over the Eriador fields to reach the boundaries of the Shire. Gandalf hadn't expected another member to the party he was gathering but perhaps a_ real_ thief could be of some use to him and the company of Thorin Oakenshield. This Relly Crillynook intrigued Gandalf to say the least. A sudden light flashed behind his grey eyes but he remained silent, not sure if Relly Crillynook wanted to hear what he wanted to say.

Bilbo Baggins was going to be in for a real treat.

* * *

So, if you haven't figured it out, Relly is half-Hobbit, half-human which is a source of distress for her.

Please review and let me know your thoughts, okay?


	2. Good Morning

The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings belongs to JRR Tolkien and the movies belong to Peter Jackson. I'm just a devoted fan.

Whoa! Thanks for all the reviews and alerts, you guys are really kind :) Relly's really fun to write as and Gandalf is too. Is it next year yet? I cannot believe I have to wait a full year just for Desolation of Smaug...sigh...

Edited 2/19/13.

* * *

**Good Morning**

_Think in the morning. Act in the noon. Eat in the evening. Sleep in the night.  
_- William Blake_  
_

In the morning, Gandalf gave the thief half his loaf of breakfast bread, Relly contently munching and walking alongside her new companion without a single complaint. He was strange and mysterious but he also was kind and appeared very grandfatherly, which only stirred her interest in him. Gandalf reminded her of her old Grandpap Crillynook, who had died when she was a mere age of ten.

Gandalf would gently talk to Relly and treated her like a guest. They had spent the night at an inn in Bree, a village Relly was more than familiar with. She had pilfered quite the many drunk man of his wallet and belongings. Men were much easier to steal from in her experience. Women...not so much.

As the two left Bree in the early morning, Gandalf offered Relly a small sandwich and the thief more than graciously accepted it, stuffing the fresh bacon sandwich down her gullet as the grey wizard watched her with a funny curiosity. She was very bony and thin, probably from years of poor nutrition and living on her own. And that was when it hit Gandalf: Relly had angular human features to her face, not the soft plumpness he usually saw in the fairer gender of Hobbits. Relly's feet were slightly hairy and big but still slender, like rabbit's feet. She wasn't fully Hobbit as he believed her to be earlier and the more he thought about it, Relly seemed very familiar to him, not just by the last name of hers.

He decided to not say anything, for the better of his judgement. She was the daughter of a female Hobbit he once acquainted himself with.

The two stopped for the night in a forest clearing. The Shire wasn't too far from here but Gandalf noticed the thief was tired and although he could have continued walking, he took Relly's sleepiness into account. Relly fashioned herself a pillow from threaded leaves and wrapped her cloak around herself tightly for a blanket. It was endearing and somehow a little sad for the wizard to watch the young half-Hobbit be so used to going from place to place.

* * *

It was the crack of dawn that Gandalf the Grey decided to wake up Relly and continue on. It was only a few hours from Hobbiton from here and if Gandalf had done his calculations right, Bilbo Baggins would be outside enjoying a nice smoke. He just had to make sure to get there on time or else his plan would fail.

Relly slipped her dagger down her cloak pocket as she drowsily yawned and continued to follow Gandalf. She had many questions for the wizard, the words forming on the tip of her tongue.

"Why are you going to Hobbiton? Most humans don't go there," Relly asked.

Gandalf tilted his head down to her, an enigmatic smile on his wrinkled face. "Well, I suppose it is a good thing I am not human, hm?" he asked her and Relly was stumped, opening her mouth but nothing came out. It took a few more minutes for the thief to say something.

"I guess. Who, uh, do you need to visit?" Relly asked, prying into his business. Usually she wasn't so nosy but this guy did rescue her from the baker at Rivertown and Gandalf did invite her to come along. The least he could do was tell her _why_.

The wizard looked down at the half-Hobbit, grey eyes twinkling as he adjusting the hat on his head and fixed the scarf around his neck and shoulders. "I want to say good morning to an old friend, possibly get him to join our little company. He will resist no doubt but I guarantee you he will come around. He has blood of the Took in him after all," a light laughter escaping from his mouth. "Perhaps you...may know him. Bilbo Baggins."

_Baggins?_ and the last name rang a bell in Relly's mind. It had been ages since she heard the name and the old memories of all the families that lived in Hobbiton came rushing back to her: Tooks, Brandybucks, Sackvilles, Proudfoot, Underhills, Cottons, Grapevine, Baggins...

Letting down the hood of her cloak, Relly scratched her scalp, surprised she remembered as many Hobbit family names as she did. It had been well over two decades since Relly left the Shire. Maybe more. Point was, Relly did not want to dwell on how long she had been absent from her home. While walking, Gandalf grinned at the young woman, stopping in the green fields as Relly followed suit, looking at the vast pastoral countryside.

"Ah, we're almost to the borders of little Hobbiton. Just in time for second breakfast," he smirked and Relly suddenly remembered what second breakfast was. Living a vagabond life was not the kind for having elevensies or suppers or dinners on a regular schedule. Out of all the things she inherited from her mother, her love of food was one of them. Even if she didn't eat as often, Relly always appreciated soft bread or oatmeal. Nice, warm oatmeal in a bowl with some sliced apples and fresh cinnamon. Her stomach gurgled as she grit her teeth, wishing she hadn't just imagined that delicious scene in her mind. She absently licked her lips, missing the taste of oatmeal.

Gandalf and Relly did not talk for a while, instead enjoying the sights of the Shire and the little paths that curved around every hill and tree. Relly hadn't been here in so long but at the same time she felt like she was stepping back in time, a time where she actually lived with her mother in a hole in the ground. Gandalf hummed a nameless tune and Relly gently bobbed her head to the music, enjoying the wizard's musical talent.

And so, Relly Crillynook was returning to a hole in the ground, albeit a different one.

"Taking a trip down memory lane, my dear Relly?" Gandalf noticed her wide eyes.

Relly shrugged again. "I guess."

Gandalf's pace slowed down as the two travelers approached a huge hill-mansion, the biggest one Relly had seen. She blinked a couple of times, trying to remember why it was so vaguely familiar to her. The hobbit-hole was very extravagant but still down to earth, literally. Finally, the duo approached the gate of this Hobbit-hole and Gandalf tapped his staff to the cobblestone path a few times, attracting the attention of the well-dressed Hobbit sitting on the bench, smoking on his pipe.

He was rather well-dressed in Relly's opinion. A nice yellow vest, a sky blue necktie and pressed trousers. Relly bit the inside of her cheek as she stood by Gandalf and observed the bachelor Hobbit. This must be Bilbo Baggins, the friend Gandalf had told her about. This male Hobbit looked very apprehensive, shifting his eyes side to side as he tried to slyly puff another cloud of whatever tobacco weed he was smoking.

"Good morning," the Hobbit flatly greeted Gandalf and Relly, his eyes lingering on Relly as if wondering why a wizard and this weird homeless lady were at his residence.

"What do you mean?" Gandalf replied, earning a snort from Relly. He was going to pull some sort of trick, she could just sense it. And this poor, unsuspecting Hobbit was going to the butt of it. "Do you mean to wish us a good morning or do you mean that it is a good morning whether I want it to be or not?"

He looked confused, jerking his head back a few times as Relly's lips tugged at the corners, trying to hide a mischievous smile. This was very funny to her and Relly was pleased she had accepted Gandalf's offer on taking her with him. This guy didn't know what he was in for.

"Or perhaps you mean to say that you feel good on this particular morning?" Gandalf asked him, earning a befuddled glance from the Hobbit. "Or are you simply stating that this is a morning to be good on?"

"A-all of them at once, I suppose," Bilbo blurted and Relly stifled her giggle, her noise once again earning a slight uneasy glare from the male Hobbit on the bench. "Can I help you two? Are you lost?" the awkward Hobbit asked Relly and Gandalf, his tone leaning towards the idea that maybe they were just lost, homeless people and that he was the poor soul that ended up with them. Not likely.

Gandalf hesitated and slowly exhaled his breath, a small 'humm' could be heard. Relly tucked her hands into her cloak pockets as she waited for Gandalf to explain why he was visiting him. To be honest, it was starting to look like Bilbo didn't know Gandalf at all. Perhaps she was travelling with a liar who dressed in funny grey garb. As Relly contemplated on why she even accepted Gandalf's offer, her wizard companion finally told Bilbo why he was here.

"I'm looking for someone to share in an adventure."

The pipe fell out of the Hobbit's mouth, stunned at his words. _Well, there goes his lovely morning_, Relly snickered. "A-adventure? Adventure," Bilbo repeated like it were a new word he had never heard of and his face turned serious. "I don't imagine anyone west of Bree would have interest in going on an adventure."

"Oh that's not true," Gandalf stated, a bit of longing in his voice.

Relly kept quiet, observing Bilbo Baggins as he used the excuse of checking his mailbox as a way to not fully keep his attention on the two of them as he fingered through his mail. "Adventures are nasty, uncomfortable and it makes you late for dinner. Not interested."

"To think I should have lived to be good morning'ed to by Belladonna Took's son!" he harrumphed, his staff hitting the cobblestone. He sounded miffed and Relly wondered what the two of them were going to do at this point. "You've changed Bilbo Baggins, and not for the better if I may add."

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Bilbo asked indignantly, looking pretty annoyed right now as Relly stayed close to Gandalf's side. He looked at her as well. "Do I know _either_ of you?"

Gandalf huffed, his pride probably hurt right now as Relly pulled back the hood of her cloak, allowing Bilbo get a better look at Gandalf's young companion. He seemed taken aback.

"I doubt it," Relly shrugged, brushing back some floppy black hair behind her slightly rounded ears. To be fair, Relly hardly remembered Bilbo Baggins. Baggins was a familiar name, yes, but not this particular Hobbit.

"Know me? You know my name but you do not remember me? I'm Gandalf. Gandalf means...me."

Relly bit the inside of her lip, watching the wizard try to rattle the memories of Bilbo Baggins. Bilbo paused and then his face slightly lit up with a memory. "Oh, you're Gandalf the Wandering Wizard! You did the...ah, fireworks! Excellent fireworks! We had them every Midsummers' Eve!"

Gandalf looked glum but took it as a positive sign that at least Bilbo remembered him as a conjurer of small tricks. "I'm pleased to find you remember _something._"

_Ouch_. Even Relly felt that burn as Bilbo continue to puff on his pipe, not really understanding why Gandalf would have been hurt by his remark. Relly frowned, for she knew what it felt like to be disappointed in someone.

"It's decided then. I think it will be very good for you to come with us. I shall inform the others."

This time, both Relly and Bilbo looked shocked. _Others?_ Relly was not aware of any others joining their adventure. Granted, she had never really asked what adventure she was going on. That was her fault. Relly Crillynook never looked ahead; rather she lived in the moment of things. It was how she was able to continue living her vagabond lifestyle.

"O-Others? No. Nope. No adventures for me. Not today, not ever," Bilbo put down his left foot as he let out another puff of smoke from his mouth, gripping his pipe and his mail. "Go try the Underhills or, or across the water!" He began to make for the door, stopping and going like he were hesitating on leaving them out there or not. "Good morning," he muttered as he closed the door on Relly and Gandalf.

Relly exchanged glances with Gandalf, unsure of what to make of Bilbo Baggins. "I don't think he wants to go."

"Nonsense," Gandalf's humorous mood returned to him. "In the mean time, maybe you should take a tour of your old hometown, Relly. I'll join you in a while. I still have some things to take care of."

She wondered what else Gandalf had to do but did not question him. Feeling out of place where she grew up, Relly silently continued down the cobblestone path outside of Bag End, unaware that wealthy bachelor Bilbo Baggins had locked all the locks on his door and windows and suspiciously eyed her from the window, the gentle-Hobbit himself wondering why that odd thief was headed towards the abandoned Crillynook Corner.

* * *

Woo! Second chapter finished. Bilbo's such a party pooper, don't you think? I loved Freeman's portrayal of him, it was exactly how I imagined him to be :)


	3. A Winding Road

The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings belongs to JRR Tolkien and the movies belong to Peter Jackson. I'm just a devoted fan.

As always, thanks for the alerts, favorites and reviews. I know people are touchy about OC fanfictions in the LOTR/Hobbit fandom but hopefully Relly's done alright by you all. Also, I'm going to start putting little quotes at the beginning of chapters just to give a hint of what the chapter's about!

This is a good hearty chapter :D

Edited 2/20/13.

* * *

**A Winding Road**

_Memory is the diary that we all carry about with us._  
- Oscar Wilde

At the very end of a winding road far past Bag End and most of the other Hobbit-holes, there was a fork in the path and the left cobblestone road lead to a small abandoned hill-house. Relly allowed her feet to walk her to Crillynook Corner, the name of the cul-de-sac her old hobbit hole was located on. Relly felt like she was walking backwards into a dream with old memories filtering in her head. Relly had many Hobbits stare at her in a peculiar nature but the glances never lingered for too long; perhaps nobody recognized her. She much preferred it that way. Weeds were growing from the yard and an old half-decomposed wooden bench greeted Relly at the small painted gate with its small flecks of paint chips littering the front yard.

Crillynook Corner looked abandoned. Relly shook her head. No, it _was_ abandoned and no one had bothered to keep up with it. She jumped over the fence, her nimble feet launching her into the front yard. Relly approached the round red door, staring at a faded out stencil painting of the family name 'Crillynook'. Relly gripped the doorknob but it stuck. Rolling her eyes, she took out a small pin and began to pick at the lock.

She was a thief, after all. Womens cosmetics were the best kind of lock picking tools ever created. She had another pin in the crooks of her teeth in case the one she was using failed her. Finally, the door was unlocked and Relly was welcomed with a sudden rush of dust entering her nose.

"Ah-_choo_!" Her bare feet made contact with the wooden floor of the hobbit hole. The loud creaking under her footsteps echoed into the foyer. Relly shut the door behind her and looked at all the disheveled papers, furniture and old wall hangings.

"This was the living room...the kitchen...and the study..." Relly muttered softly under her breath. She entered each room and corridor of her old home, imaging how much brighter her childhood was then. Finally, she opened the door to her mother's bedroom. The only furniture left in the ransacked room was a vanity and a bed frame. Dust and dirt piled up in the corners and some papers scattered around. Hardly anything left.

She felt a twinge of guilt. Sure Relly stole for a living and for the thrill but it irked her that other Hobbits may have gone through her mother's belongings after she died and when Relly left. An empty dresser stood watch over the bare bed and an empty closet. There was a dainty wooden vanity made from the finest cherry oak and inscribed on the frame of the mirror was _Hecaterina Crillynook_ in a flowery cursive. Her Grandpap had made that for her mother when she was a young Hobbit lass. And now both of them were gone.

Relly sat on the empty bed, taking off her cloak so she could see herself in the vanity mirror and thought about how beautiful her mother had been. Her mother had had bright, curly blonde hair, big blue eyes and pleasantly plump. Obviously, Relly didn't inherit anything from her mother. Relly took after her father due to her dark black hair, hazel eyes and being flat like a carpenter's board. She was 40 odd years old, nearing the Hobbit middle age and she still never "blossomed". She tugged at her ears, not quite like Bilbo's or the other Hobbits but one could tell she definitely had Hobbit blood in her. Her heritage was a never ending source of disappointment and discontent. For sakes, she had never even met her own father!

Crillynook Corner was depressing and despite the fact that Relly was a little happier for visiting her old home, she was also starting to regret coming here. She left because her mother died and from what she remembered, most Hobbits do not like change. When Hecaterina Crillynook arrived back in Hobbiton, she was pregnant and rumors swirled around that she had eloped with a human man only for him to die at a terribly young age. The rumors were right though.

Running her fingers through her floppy but short hair, Relly knew she would have to come to terms with her identity at some point. Just not right now.

"You're trespassing!" a loud voice shouted from outside, Relly quickly pressed herself against the wall and tried to slowly inch her way out of the house, only to be faced with a very plump, very bossy Hobbit woman with her hands on her hips. "Fifth time this week I've had to shoo off vanda..._oh_."

Relly mentally cursed herself for leaving her cloak inside the Hobbit-hole, wishing she had it to conceal herself. The Hobbit woman glared at her and she approached the thief. "I can't believe my eyes! The prodigal Crillynook returning home after twenty years! Rellanora, isn't it?"

Out all the Hobbits to recognize her, it had to be _her._

Groaning at the mention of her full first name, which was a god-awful feminine name and too long for Relly's taste, the half-Hobbit folded her arms across her chest. "Yes, it's me. _Relly._ I'm back for a short while, I guess," Relly responded half-heartedly. She wished Gandalf were here to rescue her again but he had other things to do. Looks like she was stuck in this one.

Lobelia Sackville-Baggins raised a brow at her and then peered at Crillynook Corner behind the thief. "What brings you back? The vagabond life not working out for you? To be honest, we all thought you were dead or missing years ago."

"Sorry to disappoint," Relly snapped, her curt tone getting through to the nosy Sackville-Baggins woman. Relly then went back inside the house to grab her beloved cloak and was prepared to leave Crillynook Corner until she was rudely interrupted once more by Lobelia.

"There isn't much left for you here, you know. Most of your mother's pieces went...ahem, up for auction."

She knew what Lobelia meant by auction. Even though she was a burglar, something pained her knowing the Hobbits, probably Lobelia and her family, just took what they wanted and left the rest for scrap. Relly allowed the irritation to subside. She raised the hood over her head and side-skirted by Lobelia, ignoring whatever words came out the female Hobbit's mouth.

* * *

Night fell and Gandalf still hadn't shown up to find Relly. The thief had run out of places to walk around and she wasn't exactly too happy with the residents remembering Hecaterina Crillynook's daughter. Most Hobbits were distantly polite to her or flat out ignored her. It was fine, she was used to it. A little bit anyway.

Her bare feet touching every pebble on the path, Relly decided to make her way back to Bag End and noticed a faint blue light emanating from the front door of Bilbo Baggins' home. Much too curious for her own good, Relly jumped the fence and tiptoed her way to the front door, observing the strange symbol on the carved wood. It kind of looked like an 'F'. She guessed it must have been the work of Gandalf because it looked magical and she gently traced the symbol with her index finger.

A gruff pant interrupted her nosying around, surprising the thief. Relly spun on her heel and was face to face with a large dwarf with tattoos on his bald head. He looked serious and the usually calm Relly nearly leapt out of her pants. She clung to the wooden door, her eyes wide like dinner plates and her nails digging into the grain of the door.

The dwarf raised a furry eyebrow at her and must have made the connection there and then. "Were you alerted by the symbol as well, lass?" The dwarf was surprisingly well spoken, his rumbling voice slowly making Relly less and less worried and she let go of the door. "Dwalin, at your service."

This is what Gandalf meant? A dwarf? Maybe even _more_ dwarves? Relly had never actually seen a dwarf so up close. She heard they sometimes went through towns but that was more to the east, even farther than Bree. She believed they lived under mountains, mining for precious stones and gems. Then again, it had been a while since she heard any tales about the other races of Middle Earth.

"Gandalf invited me to come along. I could have picked the lock if I wanted to," she tried to impress the dwarf with her skills but Dwalin merely looked down at her. "I'm Relly."

He acknowledged her introduction and he rang the doorbell. Relly could hear a fork clatter against a plate and moments later, Bilbo in his evening robe opened the door. She had to suppress a laugh to see him in an evening shirt and in a patchy robe. He was literally the image of a wealthy, well to do bachelor. Or just a bum. Probably both. Bilbo stared at Relly and Dwalin and it was very obvious the two of them interrupted his dinner and upon realizing his evening shirt was showing, especially in front of Relly, he tied his robe hastily to look a bit more presentable.

"Oh no, not _you_ again. And, who are you?" he asked Dwalin, not sure how to react to such a burly, bearded dwarf on his front step. Smirking, her mischievous nature enabled her to slide past Bilbo and Dwalin. She took her first steps in Bag End, immediately feeling like she was another plane of living.

"Dwalin, at your service," Dwalin stood over Bilbo. Bilbo meekly accepted the greeting, introducing himself as well.

Meanwhile, Relly was smelling all the yummy food Bilbo had cooked for himself. Looking over her shoulder to make sure she was unseen, she then crept towards the dining table. The dinner smelled incredibly good and it reminded Relly of the home cooked meals her mother made for her a long time ago. Smoked fish, warm bread, flavorful potatoes...

"Lad, where's the meal? Is it down here, or there?" Dwalin asked Bilbo until the dwarf came across Relly once more, with some potatoes already in her mouth and learned where the food was. With Gandalf not around, Relly felt a bit more free to snag some food. This did not please Bilbo in the slightest.

"How did you- why are you- what do you think you're doing?" Bilbo approached her with a flustered, angry expression but Relly shrugged and swallowed the potatoes, her stomach now full of warm potato goodness. "That was supposed to be-,"

"My supper," Dwalin interrupted as he sat down at Bilbo's seat and began to dig into dinner. The black haired half-Hobbit internally sighed seeing Dwalin eat the fish, a helpless Bilbo sitting on the corner watching his dinner being gulped down by a hungry dwarf. Bilbo and Relly lost that one.

The doorbell rang again and Bilbo once again ran to the door to meet once again, another dwarf. Relly leaned against one of the columns that framed the dining room. She watched Dwalin eat more of Bilbo's food. She was hungry, yes, but did she really want to interrupt a dwarf's meal? The answer was no, no no no. Her hazel eyes landed on a new dwarf, an old dwarf who said his name was Balin. Maybe he was related to Dwalin?

And she found out two seconds later, the two were in fact brothers. Just how many of this company were there? Relly rubbed the back of her neck and then pulled back her hood, her wavy black hair hitting her neck. She caught Bilbo looking at her as she walked up to the reluctant host of the party.

"Having fun?" she was just baiting him at this point.

Bilbo blankly stared at her, and she could see the eyelid twitching. "I have two dwarves eating all the food in my kitchen, do you really think I am having fun? My night alone is ruined and I know Gandalf is behind this."

Relly shrugged, resting her arms across her chest. "Could be worse. You could have a thief and two dwarves eating your food. Oh, wait," she licked her lips to taste the remaining flavor of potato. "You already got that."

Bilbo did not appreciate that comment. He opened his mouth to speak but was distracted by Dwalin and Balin. She then turned to look at the two dwarf brothers bonk heads, suddenly glad she didn't have to do that to greet others. Relly shifted her weight to her other leg and she uncrossed her arms and stuck her hands back into her cloak pockets, watching Bilbo leave her to confront Dwalin and Balin. It was kind of cute really, how he was still polite to them and actually expected them to listen.

"It's not that I don't like visitors, I'm quite friendly really, but I'd like to know ahead of time when I do receive company," Bilbo explained to two dwarves who weren't really listening to him, "and I'd like to already know them before they come visiting."

"Quite friendly says the Hobbit who dismisses us and tells us good morning. Manners, Bilbo," Relly snarked, her mouth slightly curved at the comment, waiting for Bilbo to respond. "Balin, may you toss me a pear from over there, please?" she sweetly asked, going against her fiber to just snatch one.

Balin perked up when he heard his name being called. He found a pear in the pantry as his brother scoured the small room. His hands finding a pear, Balin tossed the fruit to her. "What a polite, sweet lass."

Once again, the doorbell rang and this time Relly decided to open the door, only to be greeted by semi-attractive dwarves. They did not look anything like Balin or Dwalin in the slightest.

"Fili!" "Kili!" "At your service, miss!" the brothers bowed their heads, both of them genuinely smiling at Relly.

"It's just Relly," she half-smiled, still not really used to being called 'miss' or 'lady'. Bilbo noticed this and pushed Relly out of the way, the half-Hobbit frowning at being so rudely interrupted.

"You must be Mr. Boggins!" Kili grinned, pronouncing his name wrong but he looked so darn adorable and earnest that even Bilbo did not correct him.

"You can't come in, you've come to the wrong house!" Bilbo attempted to close the door on them but Relly snatched the doorknob and swung it back open. Relly heard the disappointment in Kili's voice about showing up to the wrong house and the party being cancelled.

"Manners, Mr. _Boggins_," she snorted, "even the dwarves behave better than you do. Nothing's been cancelled," she reassured Kili just to spite Bilbo as the worried dwarf lit up again. Bilbo relented, allowing Kili and Fili access to his home. Fili bowed to Relly and thanked her for the kindness.

"My house smells like dirt- hey, don't wipe your boots on that! That is my mother's jewelry box!" he chased after Kili who was removing mud from his shoes on some old trunk. Fili handed Bilbo his swords and knives as Relly finally gave in and started to laugh loudly, her cheerful laugh echoing in the hobbit-hole. It was hilarious really, watching Bilbo deal with all the dwarves in his home.

"Ah, so you might you be?" Balin asked, noticing the similarities between her and Bilbo.

Before Relly could repeat her name again, she heard Bilbo yell "Nobody's home!" and the doorbell rang multiple times, like someone was tugging on the bell or something. Moments later, a pile of dwarves were all writhing on the floor and she giggled at the scene. Relly brushed off Bilbo's yelling as she nudged her way to the pantry, seeing a fat dwarf make off with three blocks of cheese. Relly snagged a plate with some chicken legs and crackers, popping a cracker in her mouth. It wasn't until Gandalf tapped her on the shoulder that she was aware of his presence.

"Oh, hello Gandalf," she looked up at the grey wizard. "I looked for you but it got dark so I met Dwalin over here," she pointed to Dwalin, "and we went into Bilbo's house."

Gandalf nodded, pleased that Relly was here. The dwarves around them startling shuttling in huge dishes of food from Bilbo's pantry, the Hobbit himself trying to navigate through the craziness. Relly learned most of the names of the dwarves in passing: Bombur was fat, Nori's hair was in the shape of a star, Bofur had an interesting hat, Ori was probably the most adorable little dwarf and Bifur had an axe stuck in his head. That last one Relly couldn't begin to comprehend how that even happened.

Meanwhile, Bilbo was struggling with trying to retain order in Bag End, each passing dwarf doing something offensive or shocking that would cause him to reprimand them. Of course, the dwarves didn't really care nor were they paying attention to the gripes of the Hobbit. Relly couldn't help but see just how lost he looked among a crowd of rowdy dwarves. For a split second, she almost felt bad for him.

"Miss Relly, would you like a cup of chamomile tea? Just brewed it," Dori, the older brother of young dwarf Ori, asked Relly if she wanted a drink after Gandalf turned him down and never being one to refuse something free, Relly happily took the hot cup of tea from Dori. She sipped from the fancy cup and for once, she felt like she belonged to something.

* * *

Perhaps being the only female in a small square area of loud, obnoxious dwarves wasn't the best idea. Food was being tossed into the air and Bombur was even able to catch the flying food in his mouth. Bofur continued to toss bread, peppers and small pieces of meat towards him, finding it an amusing game. Plates were being shuffled around and the dwarves were just being loud in general. Relly was beginning to like them but even then they were more raucous than she expected. She turned around and saw Bilbo trying to edge his way into the dining room, the poor Hobbit not being able to find a spot.

Fili began to walk on top of the table and handed everyone drinks, graciously extending his arm so Relly could reach. He winked at her as Relly held the large mug, not sure whether to drink it or stare at it. Relly hardly drank mead or alcohol or anything but maybe she deserved a bit of a break. For a few seconds, the table was silent as the men chugged down their drinks. Relly drank a small amount but it didn't taste as good as the tea. Maybe she was just more refined, despite living as a wayward vagabond for most of her life.

And then, the burping began. Gloin burped then Kili and soon enough, there was a chorus of burps, one after the other and all around the table. It was kind of funny but still gross. That is, until Relly felt a swell of air rise up in her throat.

"Urp!" she burped loudly, enough to grab the attention of some of the dwarves.

"Who knew the lass had it in her!" Bofur clapped but the victory was short lived. Ori belted out the longest, deepest burp she had ever heard in her life and everyone gave a rousing cheer of applause.

One did not have to imagine the disgust and embarrassment that Bilbo Baggins must have experienced.

* * *

Hah, well, I'm ending the chapter here. Next chapter: singing. Lots of singing. Maybe burping too. And Bilbo, as always.


	4. Out of House and Home

The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings belongs to JRR Tolkien and the movies belong to Peter Jackson. I'm just a devoted fan.

Every time I get a notification of another review or alert, it makes my writer heart swell. Thanks for being such cool peeps and checking out this story.

This is the longest chapter yet for this fic. Let's see, Relly makes friends with Ori (my favorite dwarf besides Thorin and Bofur, hahaha), Relly stealing stuff, Bilbo and Relly interaction and more. Also, since this chapter introduces Thorin, I thought a classic quote from Thorin himself should set up the chapter :)

* * *

**Out of House and Home**

_If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world._  
- Thorin Oakenshield (J. R. R. Tolkien)

Well, Gandalf was certainly right that Relly would have more than her fill of food and comfort and the adventure hadn't even started yet. As Relly finished off the jelly on her biscuit, her stomach no longer felt perpetually empty and hungry. True, she and the dwarves were eating Bilbo Baggins out of house and home and generally causing a crazy mess but Relly enjoyed it. Even though many of the dwarves were yelling (namely Bombur, Bofur, Dwalin and Nori), she had managed to talk to some of the quieter ones.

"Are you a Hobbit too, miss?" Ori asked her, his voice a little more quieter than the others. "You're a bit thinner than Mr. Baggins and your ears are a bit, um, stunted."

Relly cleared her throat, narrowing her hazel eyes at Ori. "Of course I am. What, you think all Hobbits are fat and furry?" She did not want to disclose her heritage anytime soon. It was bad enough the whole of Hobbiton already knew which led to the question of why Bilbo hadn't brought it up. Relly hoped he had forgotten, seeing as he didn't even recognize her this morning. She wasn't even sure if Gandalf knew, or if he did he knew better to not announce it anyone.

"Yes. No. Well, I've never actually_ seen_ a Hobbit," he admitted and Relly softened her glare and continued to talk to the dwarf. She had learned Ori liked to draw and write in a small journal he carried around. His brothers sometimes teased about it but for the most part, he was always scribbling something down even while drinking. Relly was already fond of the dwarf, the youngest in the whole company. And it seemed he was fond of her as well.

Sadly, the conversation between the two was cut short as Ori got up from the table and clutched his, leaving Relly behind at the table as she observed Bilbo in the midst of all the dwarves congregating in and around the household. She saw Ori walk up to Bilbo and asked him where to put his plate. Fili snatched it and thus began the great plate tossing event of the night.

"Can you not do that?" Bilbo frantically waved in the middle of chaos and plates banging and being tossed in the air. He held a dirty doily in his hands and looked very flustered indeed. Fili and Kili were throwing plates at each other and piling them neatly in stacks. A rhythmic banging and clanging of sharp knives on the table jerked his attention. "You'll blunt them!"

"Oooh," Bofur faked a gasp as he smirked with amusement. "Hear that lads? He says we'll blunt the knives," he grinned over to Relly.

Relly wasn't expecting musical accompaniment this evening but she got one alright as the dwarves at the table began to stomp their boots and pound the supper table with their knives.

"Blunt the knives, bend the forks." Kili began to sing eagerly, making up the opening lyrics on the spot as his brother Fili added in with, "Smash the bottles and burn the corks!" as he elbowed incoming plates and dishes with his elbows. Soon, all the dwarves came up with words on the spot as it went on with

"Chip the glasses and crack the plates! That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!" Gloin sung loudly as Oin and Dori backed him up.

Relly happily clapped along and even mouthed some of the lyrics as the dwarves began to sing loud and proud, much to the embarrassment of Bilbo. "Cut the cloth and tread the fat! Leave the bones on the bedroom mat!" Now the pots and pans were part of the improv orchestra, clashing in time with the tune as Relly joined in as she tossed her plate down the assembly line. Poor Ori was carrying a forever growing stack of plates in his hands, carefully treading past the merriment to put them in the kitchen.

"Pour the milk on the pantry floor! Splash the wine on every door!" More plates were tossed, Bombur eating the leftovers off every plate as he took a slice of cheese here or a morsel of chicken meat left on a leg.

Relly decided she would try to sing along even though she wasn't musically inclined nor a great singer. "Dump the crocks in a boiling bowl! Pound them up with a thumping pole!" she joined in with Bofur and stomped her foot to keep in time with the dwarves as she sung along. "And when you've finished, if any are whole- Send them down the hall to roll!"

She saw Bilbo look directly at her, not particularly happy that she was part of the whirlpool of singing, throwing things and as he just saw, Relly sliding a nice silver fork down her cloak pocket. Well, she couldn't just walk into a nice house and _not_ take a memento, now could she?

The song ended with "That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!" and many cheers and laughs were had afterwards. Bofur enjoyed her singing and Bombur asked if she was finished with her drink as she slid her mug down the table so he could finish it off. Bilbo was finally able to enter the tiny room, Gandalf presenting the Hobbit with a nicely stacked pile of plates. Singing really did make the chores go by faster, perhaps he would at least appreciate that gesture.

The laughter died when a loud, pronounced knock vibrated through the hobbit-hole. Relly was not sure who it could be, considering they already have twelve dwarves, a wizard and two Hobbits in the house. Maybe a late party guest? She looked around the table, eyeing her new friends and trying to see if their facial expressions gave away who the visitor could be. It must be a serious guest because Gandalf only stated "He's here," and left the table to greet the mysterious person at the door.

_Who?_ Relly thought as her question was about to be answered. She peeked around the corner to find it was a dwarf, but not like the ones she had supped with. He looked very serious, with thick black hair and a solemn but mannered expression etched on his face as the dwarf entered the hobbit-hole.

"I lost my way twice," he explained as he entered the foyer, his fellow dwarves all leaving the dinner table to meet their leader. Relly knitted her brows out of intrigue, for one minute the dwarves were quite merry and happy and moments later, they were respectful. "I would not have found this place at all if it weren't for that mark on the door," he spoke as he took off his heavy cloak. Relly admired the cloak and suddenly wished hers wasn't in such tatters.

"Mark? There's no...mark on my door!" Bilbo entered the foyer with the rest of the company as he denied the existence of any "mark". Relly rolled her eyes, because it was plainly obvious there was one.

"Bilbo Baggins, may I introduce you to the leader of our company, Thorin Oakenshield." Gandalf noticed Relly hanging back as he motioned to her to come to front, wanting her to meet Thorin as well.

Thorin studied Bilbo for a few minutes as his ears shifted to the sound of Relly approaching him as well as he eyed both of them. The male Hobbit he had heard about, but this female? Gandalf had never mentioned it to him as Thorin threw a glance at Gandalf, the wizard shrugging. Relly knew she was a last minute addition, choosing to accompany the wizard on a whim so she wouldn't get in trouble back in Rivertown. And judging by the questions Thorin asked to Bilbo, he was rather serious about the members on this adventure.

Which, by the way, Relly still had no idea what they were all doing. Probably should have asked before.

"And the female?" Thorin broke off his line of weapons questioning with Bilbo as he looked to Relly and then to the wizard himself. "Gandalf, I was not aware of another member of the company."

Gandalf smiled as he patted Relly on the head, the half-Hobbit not expecting the touch as she awkwardly smiled towards Thorin, not sure how to look in front of him. True, she was a girl but her gender shouldn't matter, right? She was getting along so well with the other dwarves and felt like a real part of something. "Ah Thorin, she'll be a good addition. She is light on her feet and just what you need: a burglar. Which brings me to Mr. Baggins," he turned to Bilbo, who was not expecting to be dragged into the conversation. "He is a burglar as well, unnoticeable and quick just like dear Relly here."

Relly smiled while Bilbo, well...Bilbo wasn't too happy with the title of 'burglar'. Thorin raised a brow as he muttered loudly, "He looks more like a grocer than a burglar. I wager he could not even harm a toad."

Bilbo frowned. "For what ever reason would I harm a toad?" Relly shook her head; Bilbo was missing the point.

"And your name?" Thorin turned to the female half-Hobbit, studying her as well. Relly pulled the hood of her cloak to her shoulders and was prepared to lift it over her head but decided against it.

"Relly Crillynook," she simply stated, biting the inside of her cheek from habit as Thorin now seemed satisfied with her name as he asked her about any weapons she carried.

"And your weapon of choice?"

Relly reached into her cloak pocket and touched the silver fork she pilfered earlier, before her hand moved to a small, clean dagger as she presented the dagger to him. "Just a dagger. A small girl like me doesn't need an axe, you know," and her response caused a flicker of a smile on Thorin's face.

* * *

Thorin was eating a small bowl of soup as his fellow dwarves all crowded around their king, asking him many questions about his journey to Hobbiton and what he discussed at a meeting. Relly wasn't quite following the conversation but leaned against the curve of the entryway to stick around and listen. This Thorin Oakenshield seemed serious and yet such an inspiration to the dwarves. Not to mention, a little handsome too.

_Pfft_, Relly waved that thought away as she huffed, realizing how strange it would be for a Hobbit and a dwarf to be together. _Then again, my mother and father are an exception to that_, and a frown crossed her face. She never knew her father. He had died in a tavern brawl not too long after their elopement, causing her mother to return to Hobbiton as a single mother. Relly hadn't faced much prejudice when she was young but many of the other Hobbit women would gossip and whisper behind her mother's back about her promiscuity.

"Relly?" Ori's voice popped Relly's memory bubble as she blinked, wetting her mouth with spit as she prepared to talk to him. From the looks of it, he probably wanted Relly to listen to Thorin and what he was telling the others. She tuned in right when Thorin was about to end his story.

"They say this quest is ours, and ours alone," Thorin explained, causing the guests at the dinner table to grow silent. From what she gathered, perhaps Thorin had expected more to their cause. Relly mentally kicked herself, still not asking what exactly she was invited to do. Bilbo was about to ask what was on her mind.

"You're...going on a quest?" he asked but nobody quite answered yet. Gandalf asked him to turn on more lights and as Relly looked over the wizard's shoulder, she saw him take out an old map by candlelight.

"Yes. Beyond ranges and rivers, beyond woodlands and towns and wastelands...there lies the Lonely Mountain. Come closer, Relly," he added softly to the thief as she nudged her way to stand next to Gandalf, much to the annoyance of Bilbo (now curious about the map as well).

Bilbo said the name of the mountain out loud, earning a quiet snicker from Relly who desperately wished she could say 'Good, you can read' but figured this was a more serious moment and that her snarks would be better off not said. The older dwarves talked of the omens and signs that surrounded this event and claimed this was the opportune time to reclaim the mountain. The wheels in Relly's head slowly turned as she tried to piece together what exactly this quest was about.

"You want to take back the mountain, isn't it?" Relly interrupted, the dwarves looking at her and Balin nodded his head, glad that she understood the importance of recovering their home.

"And... the beast?" Bilbo snuck his way back into the conversation again, asking the very question Relly was about to ask.

"The beast is a dragon," Bofur confirmed the nature of the beast as Relly's eyes nearly popped out of her sockets. "Smaug the Terrible. The greatest calamity of our age," Bofur puffed on his pipe as he answered Relly and Bilbo's question. "Aye lass, dragons do exist, although you've never seen it."

Dragons_. A_ dragon. Relly clutched the side of her head, hardly believing the words she was hearing right now. She honestly thought they were all gone or dead or just not real. And now thirteen dwarves confirmed the existence of one, one so horrible and evil. It didn't help that Bofur was listing all the qualities of Smaug.

"Extremely fond of precious gems and metals, claws like meathooks- trust me lass you don't want to be caught in those-," he raised his eyebrows at the surprised Relly, eyes like blazing pits of light-,"

"Yes, we all get what a dragon is," Bilbo dismissed Bofur's talk before his stomach heaved anymore. Ori looked over to Relly, seeing how concerned she was at the mention of dragons as he bolted out of his seat wanting to impress the half-Hobbit lass.

"I'm not afraid of the dragon!" he exclaimed. "I'll give 'im a taste of our dwarfish iron right up his-," but he was dragged back down to his seat with the cheers and yells of the other manly dwarves. Seeing Ori declare such a statement pushed a small grin on Relly's face, her anxiety subsiding as she rejoined the table, standing next to Gandalf.

"We only number thirteen of the best," Balin spoke, his voice ending any side conversations as everyone listened to the oldest dwarf. Relly could tell he was well-respected just as much as Thorin was. Maybe even a bit more. "Nor the brightest."

Relly pursed her lips as Fili decided to put in his two cents. "We may not be an army but we are fighters, all of us! To the last dwarf!" as he raised his mug high.

"Don't forget, we have a wizard in our company! He's slayed many dragons! We can't possibly lose!" Kili claimed, to which the dwarves excitedly cheered although Gandalf wasn't exactly too happy with Kili's words.

Relly chortled as Gandalf denied any of the rumours, although she still felt uneasy about a dragon skulking around the base of The Lonely Mountain. It was not terribly inviting, now was it? Dori asked how many dragons Gandalf had killed as the grey wizard stuttered on his words. Seems like even the great Gandalf couldn't get a word in edgewise with these hopeful dwarves. Relly exited the room, the raucous noise of dwarves clamoring to hear the amount of dead dragons a bit too much for her. Moments later, she heard Thorin shout and it ended the talking.

"If we have read these signs do you not think others have too?" Thorin rhetorically asked everyone in the room, the forced silence serving as a collective answer. "There are rumors that the dragon Smaug has not been seen for sixty years. Eyes look east to the mountain, wandering, looking...for the wealth of our people are tempting others to claim what is rightfully ours!" and he slammed his fist onto the dinner table, causing Bilbo to wince at the sound. "We cannot wait any longer! We must take back Erebor!"

Relly watched them all roused with fire for adventure, to claim their old home and the treasure...her heart stopped. Did he say _wealth_? Relly's eyes widened once more to the image of gold, all the buried treasure underneath the mountain and how even a simple gold piece could bring her some material comfort. If she went along with Thorin, Gandalf and the others, she would certainly get her portion of wealth for helping, right?

Relly grinned. Dragon or not, she wanted some treasure and stealing from the dragon's nest would prove to be an excellent heist. Her moment faded as Balin, the most pessimistic dwarf, informed Thorin that the doorway was sealed. Relly's grin curved upside down, annoyed that there was once again another obstacle.

"My dear Balin, that is not entirely true," Gandalf dismissed Balin's warning as a key magically appeared in the wizard's hand. Everyone looked in awe at the strange key and even Relly felt a strong urge to snatch it out from his hand. "It was for safekeeping, Thorin, that I held onto this key. It is yours now," as he handed it to Thorin.

"If there is a key, there must be a door," Fili stated the obvious as Relly restrained herself from laughing. She was quite sure they had just discussed the door at the base of the mountain. Gandalf only looked at Fili like he missed the point as the wizard pointed to strange lettering in the margins of the map. Relly peeked over and saw a hand symbol pointing to what appeared to be directions of some sort. Obviously she had no background in strange words but the language intrigued her, and it intrigued Bilbo too because she saw him look at the lettering next to her.

"There is a hidden passage into Erebor," Gandalf used the end of his pipe to trace a line into the heart of the mountain. "If we can find this doorway, we can get in."

Minutes passed and Thorin finally set his eyes on both Bilbo and Relly, the new recruits to the company. So far Relly believed she was in better favor than Bilbo due to her actual status as a thief. She exchanged looks with him as she kept a determined expression on her face.

"Contracts, please!" and Balin handed Thorin only one contract as the dwarf king then handed Relly and Bilbo a rolled up parchment to share and look over. Relly unwrapped hers quickly and skimmed the lettering as she looked over at Bilbo who was muttering every word.

"Oh, by the way Miss Relly," Balin called to her, "the contract still states a fourteenth of the share. Since I wasn't aware of another member 'til this evening, I suppose you and Mr. Baggins will split your lot when the journey's through."

Relly's jaw nearly dropped from her mouth. Sharing her wealth with _already_ wealthy Bilbo? She uttered a groan as she glowered at Bilbo. He didn't get why she looked so mad at him. It was bad enough she had to sign her name on the same contract as Bilbo, but split her wealth? It was truly aggravating.

"Can't I just come? Bilbo here has been reluctant of you all from the start," she accused, earning another sour expression from Bilbo. "I...I know what it's like to be shooed away from every place, to not have a place to call home. Today was my return to Hobbiton after twenty years!" she tried to make her case. "Do I really need to sign this contract?"

Thorin left his seat as he approached the thief, exhaling a long breath as his eyes stared deep down into hers. "I cannot guarantee your safety nor return, Miss Relly. I am already anxious enough letting a woman join our company and although Gandalf has informed me of your indomitable will and nimble feet, it would suit us best if you signed the contract and agree to sharing with Mr. Baggins for any treasure earned. Both of you have to sign the contract or else neither of you can go."

Relly slumped her shoulders. He didn't need any treasure, the man was already sitting pretty in Bag End! The half-Hobbit drew a deep sigh as shelooked around the home for a quill. After some light 'searching', she snagged one from Bilbo's study and ran back to where he was standing as she crouched down on the floor and grabbed the end of the paper with the 'x_' line.

"W-what are you doing down there? Can't you wait a minute, or better, actually read the fine print?" he lowered his head down to the ground, the girl uncomfortably close to his legs.

"I make you nervous or something?" she winked up at him as she handed Bilbo the quill and happily returned to the table. She was not aware that moments later, Bilbo fainted after learning what evisceration, laceration and incineration were.

* * *

"He's not dead, is he?" Kili poked Bilbo, looking a bit sad as the close-eyed Bilbo rested in a comfy chair. "The journey hadn't even started yet."

"Sadly, no. If he were, then his share would be all mine," Relly feigned a glum tone of voice as she watched Gandalf tend to the passed out Hobbit. To be honest, she did feel a little sorry for him. Learning that having the flesh seared off your bones wasn't exactly easy to absorb. The worst dangers Relly had faced were angry drunk men, angry townspeople and the possibility of legal punishment. Nothing like imminent death to really throw you for a loop.

"Can you fetch a cup of warm tea, Kili? I suspect Bilbo will be up any minute now," as Gandalf predicted when Bilbo would snap out of his little faint spell. Dori nodded as Relly sat cross-legged on the floor near Bilbo's chair. Gandalf chuckled at how close she was sitting, earning a strange look from her as he stood up and waited for Bilbo to stir. About five minutes later, the Hobbit awoke as he looked around his living room to find a warm cup of tea in his hands, Gandalf and Relly surrounding him.

"I...just need to sit for a few minutes," he repeated a couple of times, his consciousness coming to. Gandalf wasn't too pleased with what he said as Relly continued to sit on the floor.

"You have been sitting far too long. Tell me, when did doileys become so important to you? More important than friends, seeing the world? I remember a young Hobbit who would beg me to tell stories of my latest travels...he'd stay out late searching for holes and other nooks and crannys to find something interesting and new."

Bilbo stared at his feet in silence, as if he were trying to force those youthful memories away. Relly ran her fingers through her hair, remembering a time back in Hobbiton where she used to crawl into odd spaces and hide from the other children. She would have loved to go on an adventure with dwarves and a wizard. Perhaps that was why she was so eager to accept his invitation. A chance for wealth, discovery and finding her place among others. She listened to Gandalf's speech about how the world was beyond his books and out his front door.

_Like Mr. Fancy would ever want give this up_, Relly concluded as she stood up from the floor and found the contract lying on the end table. She saw her scrawled out signature on the line, waiting for Bilbo Baggins to sign his. If he didn't, then Relly couldn't go. If she turned in the contract, then Bilbo wouldn't be able to go if he had a change of heart. And for some reason, she had this slim chance of hope that maybe Bilbo _would_ change his mind.

"I can't just go running off into the blue. I am a Baggins of Bag End," he made his case, much to Relly's irritation. And she was a Crillynook, but what point was that? Her house was abandoned and sacked within an inch of its foundation. She had nothing but the cloak and clothes on her back, her dagger and this stolen fork.

"You'll have a tale or two to tell when you come back," Gandalf enticed Bilbo with the promise of having some larger than life stories attached to his name. Gandalf also meant Relly when he said this, wanting to inspire her as well. Not that she needed any convincing.

"And...can you promise that I will come back?" Bilbo asked.

Gandalf hesitated for a moment before answering, "No. And if you do, neither of you will be the same afterwards."

Relly looked at Bilbo, wanting him to come along as her eyes met his. He broke off the stare as his eyes travelled down to the floor again. Sure he was a wealthy bum and not very fun, but Gandalf seemed to have some hope for him. Even though she was the real thief, perhaps some of her talents could rub off on him. Plus, if he didn't go, she couldn't go. So he better make the obvious choice and sign the damn paper so she could come along for real.

"I thought so," Bilbo muttered and then the Hobbit drew in his breath and shook his head. "I can't. I'm sorry but I'm not going," and then he turned towards Relly. "You already have your Hobbit."

"What?!" Relly shouted at him, even though she had been expecting this answer since she walked into the door. "If you don't go,_ I_ can't go!"

"That is not my problem. At least I have considered the outcomes of the journey. I have a home and assets to think of and a lifestyle-," he was interrupted by Relly as she let out a loud 'UGH' and stormed off.

Gandalf did not like seeing the conflict between Bilbo and Relly as he excused himself, disappointed that the young Hobbit he once knew had become a bachelor shut in with no dreams of leaving.

"Looks like we just lost our two burglars," Balin stated as he saw the young female thief go into another room of the house. "Perhaps it's for the better. The odds were always against us I suppose. What are we but old warriors, tinkerers, merchants..."

Thorin remained quiet for a few seconds longer. "I will take every single one of these dwarves and turn them into an army. For when I called upon them, they answered. For all I require is loyalty, honor and a willing heart. I can ask no more than that."

* * *

Bilbo was fast asleep, curled up on a bench in the living room as he tried to sleep away the strange evening he just had. All the singing, banging, clanging, yelling, snorting and slurping finally at an end. Meanwhile, Relly Crillynook stood in the darkness, not sure of what to do next. She wasn't being creepy, rather, she wanted to watch him wake up and realize he was sorely missing out. Most of all, he was holding her back from going on this adventure.

A grin crossed her face, an idea forming in her head. She tiptoed into Bilbo's bedroom and began to pull shirts from his dresser drawer. She had no qualms about stealing men's clothes; that was what she mainly wore anyway. Plus, Relly could certainly use a new change of clothes. She stole a nice green tunic, tan britches and brown suspenders to keep the pants up. Being thin, she cuffed the ends of the pants so it wouldn't look too baggy on her and finally put on her trusty cloak back on.

"Hope you don't mind the clothes swap, Bilbo," Relly winked at the sleeping Bilbo as she found a blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders. She took one last look at Bilbo, blissfully unaware Relly Crillynook had just stolen his clothes, blanket, a burlap sack and probably a few other things too. He would certainly be in for a surprise in the morning.

Morning came, and Relly had spent the night sleeping on the dusty floor of Crillynook Corner. The dirty sunlight filtered in from the windows, waking the thief up. Noticing how sunny and bright it was outside, Relly jumped to her feet as she realized she could probably still catch up with Gandalf, Thorin and the others. Tightly folding the blanket and putting it in a burlap sack, also stolen from Bilbo's house, she nearly burst out the door as she began to swiftly run on her bare feet, hoping to catch a glimpse of thirteen dwarves and a tall wizard in grey.

After what felt like miles, she saw a long train of ponies in the wooded forest as she picked up the pace and yelled, "Hey! Hey! Wait up!"

The dwarves turned their heads, surprised to see one of the Hobbits racing towards them. Ori was especially pleased, since he did not like saying goodbye to his new friend. Relly smiled at Ori as she let down the hood of the cloak so she could see all the company of dwarves.

"To be frank, I like the lass more," Bofur whispered to Bombur. "Told you she'd come along."

"And the contract?" Balin asked Relly, momentarily stopping his pony as the others followed suit.

"Oh? The contract? Yes, ...Bilbo has it. He should be here any minute," she hastily explained to Balin and Thorin.

Relly lied.

* * *

Ha ha, I'm ending it right here. Will Bilbo change his mind? Who knows!

I _really_ wanted to add the Misty Mountains song but this chapter is long as is (at 5k words, wowee!). I don't like it when fics solely rely on copy-pasting dialogue from the book/movie so hopefully my additions or omissions make sense.


	5. Has He Gone Mad?

The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings belongs to JRR Tolkien and the movies belong to Peter Jackson. I'm just a devoted fan.

Happy Holidays~! This chapter is Bilbo-centric, a little holiday treat for all you awesome story readers. It won't be too often but I have planned a couple chapters where they will be Bilbo-centric or in his POV.

* * *

**Has He Gone Mad?**

_Adventure is not outside man; it is within._  
- George Eliot

The birds chirped outside for sleepyhead Bilbo Baggins. Every muscle in his body urged him not to move, to stay asleep and for five minutes longer avoid the truth that thirteen dwarves, a wizard and a thief had been inside his home, ate all his food and utterly destroyed the plumbing in the bathroom. The sunlight brushed his face as he stirred awake, his eyelids a little heavy with sleep. He roused awake and decided to walk to his bedroom, only to find a mess of shirts, tunics, pants and suspenders on the floor.

_Someone stole my clothes!_ Bilbo shrieked inside his mind as he frantically packed away all the discarded outfits back into his ransacked dresser drawer. There was only one culprit: Relly. He clutched his breeches as he hastily folded them into the pants drawer. How did _she_ manage to sneak into his house in the night? Well, other than the obvious answer that she probably picked a window lock open and crawled right back in. Most importantly, that thief stole his favorite green tunic shirt, the one he wore to the Midsummer's Eve festival last year. He frowned, mad that a bony little burglar made off with some of his nicest articles of clothing.

And then it finally hit him. He _remembered_ Relly Crillynook, or rather her mother. Bilbo slid the palm of his hand down his face as the mental image of the cloaked thief appeared inside his head, shaking it away as he tried to remember an earlier time, when he was a wee age of ten or so years old (which is very young in term of Hobbit years). He was too young to understand it at the time, but he recalled the day Relly Crillynook's mother returned to Hobbiton, a little over four decades ago.

He was about ten or so years old, playing outside while his mother drank tea on the stone bench outside Bag End. It was very bright, very sunny and a good day altogether. The merchant Odard Crillynook's daughter had just arrived back into town after a long absence and he, as a tyke, faintly remembered his mother being shocked by the sudden appearance. The Hobbit woman was short, her hair in golden blonde curls and had very big and bright blue eyes. Her tummy was enlarged, like she were hiding a watermelon under her skirts. A half-smile crossed the older Bilbo's face; he still remembered that watermelon thought after all those years.

As he got older, Bilbo often heard his mother talk about how Hecaterina's own child looked nothing like her. It was a source of gossip and discontent among the other Hobbit women about Hecaterina's return to Hobbiton barefoot and on the verge of giving birth. The local midwife delivered the babe and found it odd how even as an infant, she looked nothing like most of the other Hobbit babies born.

Bilbo Baggins never learned much more after that. He vaguely recalled two decades earlier when a young black haired Hobbit ventured past the Shire to seek out her own fortune. Of course, he did not pay much attention to that.

But back to the subject: his stolen clothes. And of course, he knew Relly had slipped a fork of his in that ratty cloak of hers. As he cleaned up his bedroom, he walked into the other rooms of Bag End. Everything was clean. Perhaps the dwarves hadn't been such horrible house guests. Messy, raucous and loud indeed but everything was spic and span. The other part of him wanted to believe that Relly had picked the place clean but other than the fork and clothes she nabbed, every little trinket and jar was in its rightful place. His mother's jewelry box no longer edged with mud, the bathrooms clean and water running. Even the pantry, although very empty, was organized.

He stared into the window for a long time, sliding his fingers up and down his suspenders out of a fidgety habit as he thought about last night. Something stirred in him, a faint hunger that Gandalf had awoken after all these years of living mildly as a well to do bachelor. His eyes slowly travelled to the contract Thorin had given him and Relly the night before, idly resting on the small table near the window. The black ink of her signature glittered in the soft morning sunlight, Relly Crillynook's horrible handwriting looking slightly prettier than usual. She had just signed her life away to a company of dwarves and Gandalf without a second thought, excited about an adventure she hardly asked about.

And without his signature, the thief would not be able to go. Bilbo stamped out the guilt with a more forced, reasonable emotion. The contract was calling out to him. Most of all, the Took blood in his veins urged him to go on this adventure.

Bilbo hesitated. Without a second thought, he grabbed a quill and neatly but hurriedly signed_ Bilbo Baggins_ under Relly Crillynook's signature. He was going on an adventure! And he needed to pack everything!

* * *

As he excitedly ran down the winding path that led him away from Bag End and towards the entrance of Hobbiton, many of his neighbors looked on with curious judgment and under-breath utterances of 'Has he gone mad?'. The usually quiet and respectable Bilbo Baggins was now hopping about with a large backpack and a heavy coat, running down hills and backyards of other Hobbit-holes as he kept yelling: "I'm going on an adventure!"

_They can't have gone too far ahead_, Bilbo hoped as he picked up the pace on his heavy, furry feet. Granted, it was mid-morning now and Gandalf, Thorin and the other dwarves probably left at the crack of dawn but Bilbo was actually determined to catch up with his new adventuring group.

After what felt like an hour (more like twenty minutes), Bilbo saw a long train of ponies. However, the ponies had already stopped and he saw the faint outline of a cloaked figure talking to Balin and Thorin.

"I'm beginning to believe you are stalling us, Miss Relly," Balin sounded annoyed although polite as Relly was about to say something until Bilbo yelled out,

"Wait! Wait! I'm coming along! I signed it!"

Relly turned on her heel, a wide grin on her face as she was more excited about seeing the contract signed rather than Bilbo actually showing up. "See, I told you Bilbo was coming. He was just a bit late. You know, Hobbits and their second breakfasts."

Bilbo was taken aback, looking at Relly and then the dwarves. She had gotten there first? And judging by what she just said, basically assumed he was going to show up anyway? He hmphed a bit as the feeling faded and approached Balin with the signed parchment, a proud look on his face as Balin read the signatures.

Then Bilbo noticed the tunic Relly was wearing. His eyes froze as Relly pulled a bit of her cloak over her chest, offended. "You're wearing my shirt! And those are my nice winter breeches!"

Relly faked a jaw drop, her hazel eyes filled with mischief. "What? I thought this outfit was a present. You wouldn't force a poor lady to take the very shirt off her back, would you?"

"I'd certainly like to see _that_," Bofur nudged the mane of his pony, Ori and Dori shushing him as the other dwarves watched Bilbo accuse Relly of stealing his clothes. It was quite humorous to watch.

Bilbo's frown twitched and curved a few times until he realized he couldn't really ask her to remove her clothing. Relly was part of the company now, whether he liked it or not (and frankly, he wasn't). Also, to suggest to remove her clothing was highly inappropriate. However, she was literally wearing everything she stole from his dresser drawer, including those brand new suspenders of his which did not sit well with Mr. Baggins.

"Ahem, well, everything appears to be in order," Balin cut through the drama as he cleared his throat and granted acceptance of Relly and Bilbo as their burglars. Of course, only one of them was the real burglar. 'Welcome Master Baggins and Miss Crillynook to the company of Thorin Oakenshield."

Bilbo smiled, a little grin on his cheeks as Relly walked over to where Ori's pony was. "See, told you he'd show up."

"Give them ponies," Thorin commanded as Relly's face lit up. Bilbo's smile quickly went sour. Oh no. Not a pony. Even as a tyke, he never cared for the pony. Sure, Hobbits used them from time to time but that did not mean he was going to ride one. Plus, he was allergic to horse hair.

"Relly! There's a pony beside mine, if you like," Ori offered the riderless pony beside him as Relly clamored to the adorable brown and white pony, already sitting on top of the creature as she adjusted her cloak and gripped the reigns. Bilbo felt shorter suddenly, now that even Relly Crillynook towered above him. Bilbo also felt a fleeting emotion of jealously for some odd reason; maybe because Relly was already settled in as a friend of a dwarf so soon and not afraid of a pony.

"No no, that's not necessary. I am fine on foot, walking on the ground as I should be."

Relly raised a black brow at him, snorting at how silly Bilbo was being. Even Gandalf gave a light chuckle at Bilbo's refusal to ride a pony. "What, are you afraid of a pony, Master Boggins?" and she purposefully said his name wrong just to annoy him. He was_ not_ afraid. He just did not like riding. It was a weird sensation and Bilbo Baggins was not fond of weird sensation as well as sneezing from horse hair.

Thorin Oakenshield was not the dwarf to ask something twice and Bilbo was lifted up by the arms and slammed on top of a pony. Relly, already ahead of Bilbo in the train of ponies, turned to look over her shoulder to watch Bilbo basically pout on top of riding a pony.

"Having fun?" she yelled out to him as coins were being tossed to the back of the line, due to the wager of whether Bilbo Baggins would actually come along. Relly wasn't part of the bet though considering she actually showed interest in going way before Bilbo did. He began to sneeze violently as he asked everyone to stop riding and wait for him to fish out a handkerchief.

Bofur ripped a piece of his own cloth and tossed it to the back of the line, Relly trying to suppress a laugh. She of course was used to not having homely comforts but Bilbo? No. He held it up by the very ends using as little of his fingers as possible to touch it and reluctantly accepted the so-called gift.

This was going to be a long journey, a long one even by lack of a handkerchief standards.

* * *

Hope you guys loved this chapter! I did for sure. It's short, yeah, but I can't always crank out a whopping 5k, haha.


	6. The Shallow Pool

The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings belongs to JRR Tolkien and the movies belong to Peter Jackson. I'm just a devoted fan.

I just got a Blu Ray player for Christmas and also got the LOTR movie trilogy as my first blu ray dvds :'D now I'm even more inspired. Thanks for all the reviews and comments and faves, it makes me super happy :)

I'm attempting to develop more of the dwarves, especially in regards to Relly and Ori's friendship because I feel like many OC fics just focus on getting with 'da luv interest' which is a terrible pit that I wish not to fall into. Also, this is a great chapter. I kept giggling during a certain scene...

* * *

**The Shallow Pool**

_Nature and books belong to the eyes that see them._  
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

It was a whole new experience to ride on a pony while travelling through the forest. The dappled sunlight on the ground created little holes of shadows on the forest floor and Relly would occasionally dangle her feet away from the side of her pony and let it float above the grass, never touching the ground. She was so used to walking everywhere that it did feel very strange to be riding. The river that passed by the hooves of her pony softly gurgled as Relly peered down and saw her reflection; dressed in clean men's clothing and the hood of her cloak resting on the nape of her neck. She had some dirt on her face but nothing a quick rinse in the creek wouldn't fix.

Relly rode the little pony behind her friend Ori, the dwarf who she liked the most out of all the company. He was very polite but as evidenced from his loud burps and outbursts, he could also a bit of a spitfire. His older brothers Dori and Nori were like his guardians and constantly looked after him and liked to tease him. Sometimes he'd be writing in that journal of his and Relly would ask what he was writing about. She couldn't read the dwarven language but Ori could be very secretive nonetheless.

"I can't even see it from back here Ori," Relly said. "Is it a poem?"

"No," Ori answered, slouching his back a bit. "I'm drawing this river."

Relly smiled. "I'm sure it looks great, Ori." She was not the artist so to see Ori sketch the river below them was quite impressive in her eyes. She guessed he was using the book as a way to record their adventure to Erebor. Relly continued to talk to Ori and sometimes Bofur would ask her questions about what she did before she met Gandalf.

"Definitely a hand-to-mouth existence," Relly labeled her vagabond life to Bofur, who was interested about her abilities as a thief. "I never stayed anywhere too long and when I did return home, there was not much left for me to go home to."

Bofur nodded, the usually upbeat dwarf looking sympathetic. To change the subject and cheer her up, he told her an off-color joke, one that was wildly inappropriate that it even made Ori's face turn pink.

"You can't tell that joke to Relly," Ori frowned at Bofur. "She's a _lady_."

Bofur shrugged, the dwarf knowingly guilty of not thinking before he spoke. "Aye, but she's laughing, isn't she?" as he gestured to the giggling half-Hobbit on the pony. Her face was also red from listening to the tale but she found it pretty funny despite the content. Relly laughed along with Bofur as the three of them continued to exchange conversation and Bofur told cleaner jokes after Nori called him out for telling Relly that dirty joke.

The company rode for a couple more hours until they decided to settle for the night near a large cave as Fili and Kili set up a fire. Relly happily petted her pony's mane as she joined the rest of the company in preparing for sleep.

"That is disgusting," Bilbo made a face as Relly nodded her head, the two of them watching the poor flies being sucked in and out of Bombur's mouth. "I can't possibly sleep with that."

Relly shrugged, the curves of her mouth turned upwards in an amused expression. "Me either, but I can't really sleep anyway," she got up from her blankets as she looked at the fire where some of the awake dwarves were sitting around. "Maybe you should talk to them. Get to know them."

"Talk to...?" Bilbo bunched his nose up in confusion at her suggestion but as he blinked again, Relly had already disappeared into the darkness. To be honest, he was not sure where she ran off to but she did leave her cloak behind...

* * *

The green tunic shirt, the britches and her suspenders rested on a flat stump as Relly bathed in the creek water, wanting some alone time away from well, fifteen other men. Relly liked journeying with the dwarves and especially with her forming friendships with Bofur and Ori, it felt nice to actually have social interactions with others who weren't out for her skin. Gandalf had been so nice to her and when they stopped for breaks, he would often talk to her as well.

She picked the dirt from underneath her fingernails as she caught her reflection in the rippling jagged waves of the shallow pool. Thick black strands of hair hit right at the nape of her neck, now laying flat from being watered down. Relly frowned, not really happy with who she saw in the water. A part of her wished she looked more like her mother: classically beautiful by Hobbit standards and less like her father. He had been described as sharp edges and angles, almost the extreme opposite of her mother.

Swishing her hand in the pool to break up the picture, she held her breath and went under the water to wet her hair again, enjoying the feeling of being submerged in water. It wasn't until moments later when her head broke the surface that she felt like she wasn't the only one alone near the shallow pool.

"Relly! Relly, where are you?" and the sound of Bilbo Baggins' voice nearly petrified her. Had she been bathing _this_ long? The problem with travelling with other people now was actually reminding them where she would be if she went somewhere by herself. Relly was so used to being on her own that it had slipped her mind to tell at least _someone_ where she was bounding off to. Then again, did she really want to tell a man she'd be bathing?

"You're a thief, Relly, but you're not a ghost!" he called out again, sounding strained. Had she caused a panic? A female in the woods by herself in the dark...it would certainly raise alarms. "Where is she?" she heard that last murmur as she lowered herself into the pool, feeling embarrassed again.

"Turn around Bilbo!" she finally yelled out at him, the Hobbit turning around only to find the thief sharing his fourteenth portion of treasure was in the shallow pool, her bare shoulders exposed as Relly's face turned a vibrant red. "Now, turn back around and go away!"

Bilbo stammered, surprised he found the missing member of their company as well as the fact the half-Hobbit had been bathing. "Y-you left your cloak!" and he held out Relly's tattered cloak in his balled up hand. Relly hit her head on the embankment, stupid stupid stupid! "Everyone's been looking for you! Thorin thought you had been...been..." and he trailed off as his face too began to turn a faint pink upon realizing his current situation as he purposely averted his eyes away from Relly. "I'll tell Gandalf I found you."

"You should do that." Relly frowned, keeping her shoulders above water level to give herself some sense of modesty. It was mortifying enough learning everyone was searching for her thinking she had been kidnapped or something, but Bilbo finding her when she was bathing? Once Bilbo had left, Relly bolted out of the water as she literally threw her clothes back on and rolled up the hems of the pants again as she took off, fearing a tongue lashing when she got back to the campsite.

When Relly finally arrived back to the campsite, most of the other dwarves were asleep. Kili was resting on Fili's shoulder, Dori was snoring loudly and Bifur was sleeping on his back and muttering something. Finding the dying fire, she tossed some wood to keep it burning as she sat down on the closest rock. Relly was wrapped up in her cloak, sitting by the crackling fire as Thorin Oakenshield approached her with a serious, authoritative demeanor about him. Relly remained sitting on the rock as she rubbed her hands warm, not prepared for the dwarf's words.

"I am still not entirely comfortable with a woman travelling along," Thorin put it out there point-blank, "for fear danger and harm may come to you. The female dwarves where I am from are tough, stubborn and can hold their own. You, Relly Crillynook, I am not so sure about. You _go off_," and he really stressed the phrase ' go off', "into the dark without telling me or Balin or anyone here where you decided to run off to. What if you had run into an enemy? You would be exposed," he must have known she was bathing, "and vulnerable without your weapon. Gandalf has placed his trust in you but as far as I am concerned, you have not given me a reason to give you mine."

She hung her head low, feeling the sting. Here she thought she was getting along with most of the dwarves. Thorin just said he didn't trust her. Relly felt wounded. Relly was a thief by trade, of course nobody should be able to trust her, that would be defeating the whole purpose of burglary! But why was Thorin's lack of faith in her so disturbing to Relly? She had nothing to say as Thorin stood in front of her a few minutes before finally adding, "Do not worry me again," and he left her alone, probably for her to reflect on what he just told her.

"He means well, my dear Relly. We were all looking for you, but the important matter is that you are safe and sound now," Gandalf told Relly as a means to comfort her but it did not help much.

She told Gandalf good night as she went back to where she had placed her blankets, near Bilbo and Bombur as the half-Hobbit did a walk of shame to her resting spot. Bilbo was already asleep, no doubt trying to sleep away his embarrassment. Her glance lingering on him a little longer than usual, Relly exhaled softly as she pulled the wool blanket over her body, forcing herself to get some rest for another long day of travel.

* * *

"Let me tell ya lad, I almost wish I'd been Bilbo if I were there last night," Bofur tried to smoke his pipe but the relentless rain dimmed out any chance of a good puff. Relly slumped her shoulders, already knowing what Bofur was going on about. He was just a bunch of talk, which Relly liked for the most part, but even the talkative dwarf was grating on her nerves. The rain wasn't helping with her mood either. It reminded her of that day back in Rivertown, soaked to the bone and with no shelter.

Ori frowned, gesturing to Bofur that she was listening in. The dwarf without a mental filter paused as he set down his wet pipe, his head jerked back when he saw Relly's expression. "Ah, sorry lass. I heard from Gloin you got _quite_ the chew out from Thorin last night."

Relly wrung her hands. "I'm so used to getting away with things it's a bit different being caught." Her eyes travelled to the front of the line where Thorin was leading as she lowered her voice. "He says he doesn't trust me."

Bofur chortled. "Really now?" his tone sounded a bit sarcastic but kept his smile on his face. "Thorin was looking for a burglar, and we got two with us. Dunno what he expected."

"But you're the nice one," Ori added, keeping his hood over his head and trying to keep his tiny braided beards from getting wet. "Mr. Bilbo's not even talking much today, not a single complaint about the rain."

Ori brought up a good point as Relly peered over her shoulder to where Bilbo was in the line. By what she could tell, he definitely wasn't enjoying the current weather but his lips were thinly tight. Relly turned back around to listen to Dori ask Gandalf if he could change the weather, to which Gandalf wryly responded that perhaps they should seek out another wizard.

_There's more Gandalfs out there?_ Relly thought to herself as Bilbo asked Gandalf how many other wizards there were. _He's very strange by himself, I don't even want to know how much more strange the others are._

* * *

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter :)


	7. Into the Fray

The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings belongs to JRR Tolkien and the movies belong to Peter Jackson. I'm just a devoted fan.

Reviewer PippinsGal asked me if there was going to be slight Ori/Relly in the fic. And the answer is: you'll see ;) This_ is_ a Bilbo/OC story so it's not a 'everyone falls in love with Relly' fic. As always, thanks for all the lovely support and reviews and constructive criticism. It helps me as a writer and as a fan!

* * *

**Into the Fray**

_Nothing makes us so lonely as our secrets._  
- Paul Tournier

Relly never did like the rain. Out of all precipitation, rain was her least favorite. Rain was the weary traveler's foe, a mocking of any poor soul walking or riding alone on a long journey. That night back in Rivertown was not the first time where she slept without a shelter to rest in and it certainly was not the last.

In the past five minutes, Relly had learned the existence of more than one wizard. Frankly, she believed Gandalf was enough for anyone and although she had only known the grey wizard for a matter of days, she had become close to the man who invited her to come along on this grand adventure. When she wasn't chatting with Bofur or Ori, she and Gandalf would converse about simple subjects. However, even as he spoke Gandalf always kept a twinkle in his grey eyes, a hidden light of knowledge that Relly could not access. He was wise, powerful and very amiable. It was hard to find someone with such qualities. Thorin Oakenshield would almost count but he was not exactly, as Relly would put it, 'friendly'. True, he accepted her and Bilbo's passage into the company by the signed contract but after the lecture he gave her last night for sneaking off to bathe without telling anyone weighed heavily on her mind. For the first time in a long time, she could not be solely independent and maintain her do-as-you-will behavior.

"Is Radagast like you, Mr. Gandalf?" Kili asked, curious about this wizard that Gandalf had told Bilbo about. Relly listened in on the conversation, having nothing else to listen to in the pouring rain.

Gandalf pondered for a few seconds before answering. "He's a powerful wizard in his own way. He's a gentle soul who prefers the company of animals and flora. Very knowledgeable in herbs, spices, healing...I daresay he's closer to the earth than many of us," and he tilted his hat towards Bilbo and Relly, suggesting Radagast was indeed a very 'earthy' person, much like a Hobbit.

Everyone murmured their response to learning about Radagast, the company continuing to move forward as the dwarves broke off into their own conversations once more. Relly popped a dry cracker in her mouth, needing a little something to keep her belly full.

The rain eventually ended, much to everyone's relief as the sunlight warmed Relly's slightly damp hair. She looked over to Ori, happy that the sun was out and he took out his journal and began writing again.

"What're you writing?" Relly tried to lean in so she could see what Ori was writing but he shielded the book from her view. "Oh come on Ori, I can't even read that scritch-scratch anyway."

"It's Khuzdul, Miss Relly," Oin explained to the thief, the half-Hobbit nodding in understanding so she wouldn't make the mistake of calling a language 'scritch-scratch' again. "The language of the Dwarves."

She blinked a few times, the word Khuzdul sounding like nothing she was familiar with. Still, she was unnaturally curious of what Ori was writing in that journal of his and she wanted to at least know what was in it.

"I bet it's a diary," Bofur wore a suggestive smile as he twirled the end of his flippy little hat. "Our lad is probably writing a_ love_ ballad," and he stretched out the 'o' in love in a teasing manner, earning an annoyed expression on the face of young Ori.

Dori cleared his throat. Only he and Nori could prod and tease their little sibling, especially when it came to his writing. "Bofur, you cannot even keep a thought in your noggin for two seconds! Leave 'im alone."

Bofur shut up but not without exchanging glances with his friend Relly, shrugging his shoulders. Relly's eyes followed the cloud as she looked over her shoulder, seeing Bilbo at the back of the line. To be perfectly honest, she felt as if she were adjusting to the group much better than he. Thorin also did not have the biggest amount of faith in Bilbo. As Bilbo turned his head to notice her looking at him, she quickly jerked her head back and faced the front of the line, occasionally trying to peer over to where Ori was riding to catch a glimpse of his journal.

* * *

It felt like hours until Thorin finally announced their new campsite for the night. The scenery was beautiful, yes, with the green hills and giant boulders scattered haphazardly on the terrain. Up ahead Relly spotted the remains of some buildings, a house and a few other structures. She frowned, a brick in her stomach weighing her down as she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable at this plain but eerie site.

"We shall rest here for the night. Oin, Gloin, get a fire going. Kili and Fili, gather firewood and be careful...You, thief," and Thorin actually asked for Relly as she hopped off her pony, running up to the dwarf leader with an inquisitive look on her face. "Check the ruins, see if you can scavenge anything."

Not waiting to be asked twice, Relly went on ahead, finding Gandalf poking around one charred house with a pensive expression on his wrinkled face. She searched the ground, not finding anything particularly valuable as she heard the grey wizard mutter "There lived a farmer and his family here..."

"Gandalf?" she asked quietly, picking up on the sad observation the wizard had said. "We're...okay, right?" Perhaps Gandalf had also felt the eeriness of this place.

He acknowledged her question but did not reply as he led Relly out of the decayed house and into the open once more. "I think it would be wise if we journeyed on. I worry for our safety," and his grey eyes flashed down at Relly before he focused back onto Thorin. "We could make for the Hidden Valley."

Gandalf's warning was not warmly received by Thorin as Relly stood behind the wizard, watching the dwarf king approach the two of them. "I have told you already Gandalf, to not speak of that _place_," he eyed the wizard with a stern gaze. "We will not go there."

_Go where?_ Relly wondered as she decided this was her time to scram, leaving the leader of their company and the wizard to discuss this without her presence. Outside the ruined house of where the farmer and his family lived, she spied something on the grass. It wasn't until she bent down that she realized it was a small crudely stitched doll, no bigger than the size of her palm.

"Thieving around again?" and the unwanted voice of Bilbo Baggins interrupted her thoughts and sad moment as she stood up, a deep frown carved on her face. The usually playful thief stuffed the doll in her cloak pockets. A pang of guilt hit her, the dolly now cuddled next to the fork she took from Bilbo's home. It didn't count as stealing if she felt sorry, right?

"Thorin asked me to," she answered, "but there's nothing here but empty houses and dirt."

Bilbo accepted her statement, the bachelor digging his toes in the dirt as they listened to the growing argument between Thorin and Gandalf. "I suppose you don't know why they're arguing?"

"Gandalf says we should go, Thorin doesn't want to," she put it simply. This was probably the longest conversation the two of them shared since they met each other, which was a bit strange. Relly rubbed her arm, the sudden rush of embarrassment flushing back to her face when she remembered what happened last night. Scratching her scalp, Relly excused herself from Bilbo's presence.

"G-Gandalf, where are you going?" Relly heard Bilbo try to ask the wizard, the girl turning around to see her friend storming off without saying another word.

"I'm going to seek the company of the only one around here who makes any sense," he angrily spoke, "Myself!"

Relly reached out her hand and failed to catch up with him, seeing the man who rescued her from Rivertown and the sole reason she was able to go on this trip. Thorin must have made him angry, as the thief knitted her brows when Thorin came into her sight.

"Bilbo, you're in charge of dinner tonight," Thorin commanded, the male Hobbit reluctantly, but without question, obeying the dwarf king's order. Relly felt hungry but she was somewhat upset that Gandalf left. She had only known him for a few days but he was like a grandfatherly figure and it felt strange to be part of Thorin Oakenshield's traveling group without Gandalf.

After hours of scouring for anything around their campsite, Relly returned to the group, surprised that it was night time and the grey wizard still had not returned. She saw the concerned look on Bilbo's face; he also felt a bit lost without the presence of Gandalf in their company.

"Relly, where've you been lass?" Bofur waved to his friend as Relly grabbed a bowl of crudely made soup. Granted, Bilbo was probably the best cook out of everyone. She saw Bofur hand two bowls of soup to Bilbo and asked the Hobbit to take them to Fili and Kili. "Haven't see ya all evening."

The black haired half-Hobbit shrugged, slurping some soup from the spoon as she stood between Bofur and his brother Bombur. It was hard to believe that the fat red bearded dwarf was even related to Bofur as they looked nothing alike and were very different in personality. "No, you can't have thirds," he reminded Bombur as the fat dwarf let out a hurtful sigh.

"Can I finish yours if you don't, Miss Relly?" Bombur asked, his eyes hungrily staring at her bowl. Relly brought the soup to her chest, protecting it in a half-serious manner.

Most of the other dwarves gathered around the fire, Nori and Gloin discussing the trip so far as Ori sat next to his friend Relly. Bofur also joined them as he finished handing out dinner to everyone. Sipping from her spoon, her eyes spotted Thorin sitting a far ways off from everyone. She did not understand how the dwarf king operated; one moment he'd be cheerful and grateful for his friends and allies, the next angry or serious. It was hard to please him, that was for sure.

The male dwarves had gotten on the subject of women while discussing topics over dinner. She had listened to many of Bofur's inappropriate jokes and stories concerning the differences of men and women but somehow this conversation felt a bit weird to sit in on.

"I can't imagine settling down," Nori scoffed, the dodgy dwarf detailing why his elusive and slightly illegal lifestyle would not be proper to take a wife. "Plus, the dwarven women are pickier than an axe."

"Hurm?" Oin adjusted his ear trumpet to hear better. The contraption he used for his hearing made Relly snort, finding the device funny to look at.

Gloin heartily laughed at Nori's distaste. "If it were not for my wife Adag, my son Gimli would never have been born. Y'know, he begged to come along," he explained, the fatherly dwarf remembering his sweet son. Of course, his son was probably older than Relly by dwarven standards. "Perhaps he will go on his own journey...someday."

"What about you, lass?" Bofur noticed how quiet the thief was, raising a suggestive hairy brow at her. "Is there a special lad vyin' for you?"

Relly broke out in laughter, finding it hilarious that she would ever consider something like that. "N-no way. I'm like Nori, I can't be...tied down," she shrugged, still wearing a self-deprecating grin on her face. Her mother eloped with a man who died shortly after they ran away together, a fate that Relly did not want to repeat. It was not that Relly was incapable of love, it was that she was _afraid_ of love and what it did to young couples. Plus, she had never formed that close of an attachment to someone she could consider spending the rest of her days with.

Bofur sniggered at her reaction, earning a glare from both Ori and Dori. "A wanderer? Y'know lass, it's the mystery that intrigues us," he matter-of-factly blurted out, nudging Ori's shoulder as his hat dipped down a bit.

Relly hesitated for a moment, twirling a strand of short black hair around her finger as she decided to ask some discreetly. "Do dwarves...ever...marry outside their race? I know the Elves and Humans have before..." Relly wanted to gauge their reaction. If it were positive or at least neutral, perhaps she would consider revealing her heritage, if it ever boiled down to that situation. So far no one had questioned why her facial structure, feet and even her lack of curly hair were not Hobbit-like.

Her question did not go unnoticed by Balin, the oldest dwarf as he looked at her with an interested expression on his wizened face, curious to know why that question would cross her mind. "I would hardly think so. Dwarven society is rather clandestine as is," he elucidated the subject of marriage and mating concerning dwarves and other races. "We dwarves keep to ourselves and even then, many of us choose never to marry or have children. There are many things about dwarves that Men and Elves cannot begin to understand."

Relly made an 'oh' with her mouth, comprehending what Balin told her as she returned to finish off her soup. Some of the other male dwarves eyed her after she asked the question, wondering what could have possibly brought that up. Ori's face turned a light pink, quickly hiding it as he loudly excused himself and put the empty bowl near the soup pot. Relly wondered what was up with the little spitfire but her thoughts were cut short by a loud, rippling sound of someone farting.

"Good one, Bombur!" Bofur cheered as Relly began to gag. They were dwarves, they were male, and she forgot they passed gas.

"I'm going," she held her nose as she tiptoed off into the night, wanting some fresh air. As she tied the toggle around her cloak, she remembered that Bilbo had not returned from giving Kili and Fili their soup dinner. Curious to know where the dwarven brothers and bum bachelor were at, Relly's question was about to be answered.

"Trolls!" Kili's voice rang out, startling the usually sly Relly as he nearly crashed into her from running so fast. "Oh, sorry Miss Relly! But the trolls have been stealing our ponies!"

_Trolls? No one told me there were trolls out here!_ Relly had never seen a troll nor did she have to desire to see one. Fili rushed by her as well, alarming everyone in the camp and reporting to their uncle Thorin that Bilbo had gone forth to try and rescue the ponies from the trolls. Bilbo Baggins actually doing something other than chef or complaining? That was surprising.

"My loyal dwarves," and Thorin's eye barely glanced at Relly, not bothering to correct his address to the group. "Let's go forth and show these trolls you do not take from Thorin Oakenshield and company!"

Like they were waiting for action all this time, the dwarves whipped out their respective weapons and and began to follow Thorin, Kili and Fili to where the trolls held Bilbo and their ponies. Relly put on a determined face and grabbed her trusty dagger from her pocket, nimbly running in the same direction.

And into the fray they went. Kili was the first to attack the three trolls, and they were quite ugly according to Relly, as he demanded to them to drop Bilbo. Not the best idea, she thought as she saw Bilbo Baggins flying through the air like Hobbits were meant to have wings, only to faceplant into the dirt. If they weren't fighting three abnormally large trolls, she would have found that funny. Thorin leapt from the bushes and wielded his sword like a true hero. Relly had to fight alongside the company, if for a chance to prove herself to Thorin that she was far more than a last minute addition.

With her small but pointed dagger, Relly began to slice cuts into the legs of the trolls. She figured if the legs were taken out or made immobile, the rest of the troll would be easier to clobber. She was caught in the thick of the action, avoiding the heavy steps of the lumbering trolls and like the slick thief she was, zigzagging around them and continuing to contribute her part of taking down their new enemies. For a split second she saw a blur of Bilbo but did not have the time to find him as she was swept off her feet by one of the three trolls, dangling her by the foot as the contents of her pockets fell out.

The fork and doll dropped to the ground, along with her snacks, a key she found on the floor of Bilbo's house and some trinkets. "Looks like we 'ave a thief! Up to some trickses she is!" one of the trolls, Tom, exclaimed.

"Ooh, a female lady! I hadn't ate one of those in ages!" Bert commented as a bright idea rang in that daft head of his. His brother William had also snatched up Bilbo Baggins, and the two brothers were prepared to rip him apart. Tom continued to hold Relly by the ankle, dangling over the raging campfire.

"Lay down your arms or we rip his off! As for the lady," Tom snarled as he faked dropping Relly into the fire, "she gets scorched!"

Relly wanted to say 'Put me down!' but that would mean fire and that meant pain. She squirmed in his grasp, feeling the blood rush to her head and a dizzy sensation overcome her. She did sign up for this after all.

"Bilbo! Miss Relly!" Kili yelled out to her but he was restrained by his brethren to go after his two halfling companions. The dwarves were at an impasse; drop their weapons to surrender in hopes of possibly saving Relly and Bilbo, or attempt to fight with a more than likely chance of their friends losing their lives.

* * *

Will Bilbo be torn apart? Where the heck is Gandalf? Does Ori have a thing for our half-Hobbit lady? GUESS YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO WAIT, MUAHAHA.


	8. A Confession To Make

The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings belongs to JRR Tolkien and the movies belong to Peter Jackson. I'm just a devoted fan.

Here's another Bilbo-centric chapter! Like I said, there are going to be some chapters revolving around him (not too many but some). There's just some events better portrayed through his POV. Also, your feels will hurt with joy and pain and other various emotion this chapter. Mine did when I was writing.

Thank you all so much for the love. Whenever I get a notification of a review or alert my pride swells :)

* * *

**A Confession to Make**

_When the night has come and the land is dark_

_And the moon is the only light we see_

_No, I won't be afraid, oh, I won't be afraid_

_Just as long as you stand, stand by me_

- Ben E. King, "Stand by Me"

Bilbo did not fancy the idea of being eaten by trolls tonight, and he was quite positive the rest of the company did not plan on being roasted alive either. Many of the dwarves were tied onto the roasting spit, being turned continuously like sausages. Himself and the rest of the dwarves were tied up in burlap sacks awaiting their doom. Bilbo felt like he had failed in rescuing the ponies, failed in fighting the nasty trolls and now he was truly useless, more so than the rest of the captured dwarves.

Upon realizing that the sole female of their party was in fact a _lady_, this piqued the hungry interest of the trolls as they debated how best to season and prepare the woman for eating. Setting her far away from the males as to "not spoil the meat", Relly was the only one not in a cloth sack. However, the thief was bound by the feet and hands and currently being clutched by the mighty fist of a troll. Her mouth was also gagged, rendering her unable to talk. Bilbo actually felt quite sorry for her.

"Relly!" Ori would occasionally cry out, for every time he was spun to the top of the roasting spit he would see the terrified expression of the half-Hobbit's face, squirming and writhing to no avail. "I'd kill all you trolls if I had my slingshot!"

"Shut up Ori," Nori grunted, having given up on struggling free and then sneezed as one of the troll brothers sprinkled salt and pepper over them.

"What shall we do about the female?" Bert the troll asked his brothers, "We haven't got all night to cook 'em. I don't fancy being turned to stone."

The idea struck Bilbo. _They must be stone trolls_, he concluded as his eyes widened to a small, possible plan inside that bright head of his. Before he could continue to concentrate, the trolls once again had his attention.

Tom's beady eyes travelled to the form of the tied up Relly in his clutches. "Perhaps we save her for dessert. Mmm," and Tom brought the female up to his large nostril, Bilbo wanting to gag after what happened to him when he got that close to a troll's nose. But the delightful look on Tom's face soured as he yanked the female away from his nose, Relly making choking sounds.

"What's wrong, brother?" as William cranked the wheel of the spit, more dwarves groaning from the heat and the pain. "Is she not tasty?"

Relly grunted in pain, her ribs close to cracking as Tom gripped the thief in his hand, narrowing his eyes at her as he smelled her once again. "The female smells...well, she smells not like what she is. Perhaps she's rotten."

Bilbo _had_ to do something before Relly became dessert or worse. "Wait!" he yelled loudly so the trio of trolls heard him. "You are making a huge mistake!"

Bert, Tom and William all went "Huh?" at the same time, momentarily stopping the cooking of Thorin Oakenshield's company. Tom released his grip on Relly, Bilbo feeling slightly relieved at that. "What sort of trick are you playing?"

The bachelor Hobbit wildly shook his head, trying to appear like he wasn't attempting to trick the half-wits. "No no, you're going about the seasoning all wrong. All off, I'm telling you!"

"What about the seasoning?" William asked suspiciously, not appearing to be a complete dunderhead as Bilbo had hoped.

Bilbo cocked an eyebrow at his captors, tilting his head to direct the trolls' attention at the dwarves in sacks. "Hah, well, have you smelled them? If you think _she_ smells horrible, just wait til you get to the men. You'll need a lot more than sage and rosemary to prepare them for dinner."

A collective offensive sigh was heard from all of the dwarves, including the loudest one from Thorin. Relly let out a muffled sound of what appeared to be 'HEY!' or something close. Bilbo remained as level-headed as he could be, not wanting to upset either party or else his plan would be ruined.

"What would a Hobbit know about cooking dwarves?" the troll asked him before being interrupted by his brother, allowing Bilbo to fully explain how to cook dwarves.

Bilbo paused, sucking in his breath a few times as his eyes danced from the ground to his captive companions and to the night sky above him, quickly glanced at poor tied up Relly, her eyes not showing her usual mischief but now revealing a state of vulnerability. The trolls bugged him for an answer and he had to think of something fast.

"Ah well, the uh...secret to cooking dwarf is to...well, you kind of have to..." he hesitated every few words, listening to the shouts and cries of the men behind him, "You have to skin them first. Alive. Best preserves the flavor."

_Skin them? What was I thinking? They might actually do that!_ he cursed. It didn't help that all the dwarves were now sent into a panic, having to fear the looming possibility of having their flesh seared while alive. However, out the corner of his eyes he saw a flash of grey, a staff and he knew Gandalf was approaching. All he had to do was stall for time.

"And the female?" Bert wasn't quite done with Bilbo yet, Tom still grasping the girl in his fist as Relly writhed from the pressure of the troll's giant hand. "What do you s'pose is the best way to cook _her_?"

He did not expect to have to answer that question. Relly's eyes pleaded to him, the thief's expression far from any emotion of mischief or annoyance with him. Relly's life was dependent on his ability to stall the trolls until sunrise and save everyone's lives. "For her...I...uh, well, she's _very_ bony," he remembered how she scarfed down those potatoes at Bag End, "and hardly has any meat on her so I would not recommend eating her as a meal. Maybe grind her bones into bread for fiber."

"What a load of rubbish," Bert accused Bilbo of lying. "Those sacks of hers could provide some meat."

Bilbo hastily blinked, knowing what the troll meant by 'sacks' and restrained himself from turning pink. This was not the time to be embarrassed over body parts, he had to make sure body parts weren't eaten! He heard Relly attempt to scream with a gagged mouth at both the trolls and Bilbo, his time running out fast. "No no, _those_ are the last things you want to eat. It's all...fat and you can't do much with fat."

"He's right Bert," Tom somewhat agreed, "I smell some human in this one. She's not juicy plump like him."

Bilbo was not plump, he was just the right size thank you very much. However, this was not the time or place to debate that as Bilbo was surprised by what the troll revealed. The gag that prevented Relly from yelling before had become loose and she was finally able to scream, "NO!"

"H-human?" he let out, not sure how to respond to that one. "No, no, she's Hobbit. You're probably just smelling-"

"I've eaten dwarf with their skins on and with bacon, they tasted fine," Bert disagreed, getting very angry at the false advice Bilbo was providing.

"I like 'em raw!" Tom finally came up to the remaining dwarves in their sacks and with his other hand plucked Bombur from the ground, dangling the fattest dwarf above his mouth. Relly was screaming obscenities that could make Bilbo blush. Before Tom could drop Bombur into his maw, Bilbo came up with a much better excuse.

"No no! He's infected! He's got the worms."

Relly nodded vigorously at Bilbo's claim, making a gagging noise for the extra effect and complaining of worms in her tummy as the trolls looked on with disbelief. "Infected with worms?!"

Bilbo confirmed. "Yes... in his tubes." Nothing more needed to be said as the fat dwarf landed back onto the pile of his brethren, thankful for not being eaten. Bilbo felt confident that his stalling was going to prevail. He decided to run with the idea even further. "Yes, they all have it. Lots of parasites. She does too...in her sacks," he glanced at Relly, wanting to see if she'd follow suit. The dwarves weren't quite on his level yet, all of them complaining that they did not have parasites. Bilbo noticed the only one quiet was in fact their leader Thorin as he shook violently to grab everyone's attention.

"I've got parasites as big as my arm!" "I have them down there!" "My tubes are crawling with worms!"

Bilbo internally smiled, relieved that at least the dwarves finally realized what he was doing. He looked up at Relly, hoping she understood too.

"Oh yes. Tons of worms. I'm a nasty Hobbit," she played along, her voice now clear.

Tom did not look so fooled this time around. "I smell the blood of a man in you, don't lie to me you little treat!" and he clenched her tighter, the poor thief coughing up spit from the pain. "I'll squeeze the juices dry outta this one."

Relly let out a frightened gasp, squirming back and forth in a futile attempt to break free. "I am a Hobbit, don't know where you smell the man from. I am with a bunch of men!" she spoke between ragged breaths.

"What would you have us do then, Hobbit?" Bert sneered at Bilbo. "Let them go?"

_Very much so_, Bilbo thought, cracking a half-smile on his face as his over-confidence in this situation was barreling dangerously close to failure. "Ah well..."

Tom was the most impatient of his brothers as he took over the reigns of spinning the roasting spit with one hand, increasing the pressure of his grip around Relly as he glared at the thief. "That ferret is taking us for a fool! We need to go back to dinner," and he raised Relly above the fire. "Perhaps we'll see what she's made of when she pops like corn."

She let out a bloodcurdling primal scream, having never been this close to danger or death in her life. Bilbo gulped, his throat going dry as he saw her slowly being crushed by the weight surrounding her. _Gandalf, please, show up!_ he begged to himself, knowing the wizard was around the corner. But would it be too late? Time for him to improvise and use his very last resort to save Relly Crillynook's life.

"No! You can't eat her just yet. I..." Bilbo's eyes pretended to grow glassy with unbridled emotion, clutching both his hands even though the sack covered his gesture. The trolls and Relly all turned their heads to look at Bilbo. "I have a confession to make. If I can just tell Relly how much I lo-"

Luckily, Bilbo did not have to actually go through with a fake love confession as he stopped mid-sentence to see the grey wizard in the distance. Gandalf appeared on top of the divergence of the rocks in front of them, carrying the dawn of the sun behind him like a harbinger of glory and freedom. Relief washed over the brave Hobbit, glad he was able to keep the trolls at bay from eating his friends while Gandalf arrived.

"And the dawn shall take you all!" Gandalf cracked the boulders with one mighty slam of his staff, the sunlight breaking through much to the terror of the trolls and to the glee of the captives.

Relly was released from the troll's clutches. She dropped to ground, finally free as she wriggled her wrists out of the tight rope that bound her. "Gandalf!" she yelled out happily, even though her voice sounded a bit hoarse from that one scream she let out.

Bilbo was more than relieved. He had contributed to saving the company, including the life of Thorin Oakenshield. He hoped that with this act, maybe the dwarf king would finally respect him a bit. After all, he and Relly were the latest additions to the party and although Relly seemed to be in high favor among many of the dwarves, she still suffered the same lack of faith from Thorin.

* * *

Half an hour later, everyone was finally free from their sacks as Dori suggested that perhaps the sacks would be good for holding more things and even sleeping bags. Okay, maybe not sleeping bags due to them being wrapped up in them for hours on end in torture but travelling bags was a fair idea. Bilbo was approached by Gloin, Dori and Ori and was thanked for his quick thinking and abilities.

"You are impressive in your ability to distract enemies," Dwalin commended Bilbo.

"Oh, well, it's nothing. I knew Gandalf was coming, I just had to keep them at bay." Still, it was nice to receive some recognition. He basked in it until he saw Relly out the corner of his eye. She was talking to her two favorite dwarves Bofur and Ori, and he couldn't help but feel annoyed that she had not thanked him yet. He almost had to confess fake feelings for her, that was difficult enough considering he was not fond of her like he knew Ori was. He saw Relly laugh at something Bofur said while Ori looked at her like he almost lost her from being crushed. Ori was _definitely_ harboring a crush on the thief.

Relly left her friends as she broke off from the group of happily reunited dwarves, looking for something on the ground. Curious, Bilbo snuck up behind her. He could be quiet and tricky if he put his mind to it. She crouched down, picking up something made of cloth. Then she found something and Bilbo saw it was his fork. The one she stole from his house.

"Hey!" Relly shouted but her voice was so hoarse it was actually kind of funny to Bilbo. Granted, she had just screamed bloody murder for a good reason but he couldn't help but find it humorous.

"No, it's mine. You stole it from me therefore it is still mine," he corrected her, trying to yank his fork back from her. His hand brushed up against her thumb, causing the thief to let go of the silver utensil, her fingers arching in the shape of a claw as if she rejected the light touch.

"But I rightfully stole it from you," she pouted lightly.

Her words sparked something in Bilbo as he let go of the fork. Using some of the leftover confidence from earlier, he handed the fork back to her, his head cocked to the right as a faint smug smile stretched his face. "Then I'll give it to you as a present. Now you can't say you stole it from me because it's officially now a gift."

Relly frowned in confusion, not quite understanding what he meant. "I...what? But I stole this from you, you can't just say you gave it to me."

"You may have rightfully stole it from me but it's still rightfully mine. So yes, this fork is a gift. Considering I helped make sure you weren't popped corn, the least a proper Hobbit should do is show thanks."

The half-Hobbit woman hesitated, shoving the fork down her cloak pocket before she yanked it back out. "I don't really want it anymore anyway," she muttered, returning the fork back to Bilbo as she turned away from him, Bilbo not seeing the bright red streak that crossed her face. He held the fork in his hand, observing it long after Relly left the clearing. Since when did a thief return stolen goods? Smiling to himself, he was glad his little trick resolved the case of the stolen fork. But the good feeling didn't last very long as he stood up from the ground and once again saw Relly conversing with Bofur and Ori.

His face suddenly paled as the realization came from nowhere and nearly slammed him into mental submission. He _remembered_. Or rather, he pieced it all together. The troll had only confirmed it for him.

Relly was half-human, half-Hobbit.

* * *

Yay, they're free from the trolls! I hope I'm not dragging this story out too long, I tend to be a bit slow with building relationships. However, this chapter should be the first of many that hint at some feelings ;) As always, let me know your thoughts. Is Bilbo in character? That's a biggie for me!


	9. Toothpick

The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings belongs to JRR Tolkien and the movies belong to Peter Jackson. I'm just a devoted fan.

Not much to say aside from the regular 'Wow, thanks so much xoxoxo' messages I usually type so uh enjoy the chapter! I've been waiting to finally get to Radagast, he's the bomb :) I'm happy he got a bigger role in the movie because he's so underrated.

* * *

**Toothpick**

_The only secrets are the secrets that keep themselves._  
- George Bernard Shaw

Relly's throat was raw from screaming, a glum expression on her face whenever Bofur or Bombur wasn't making her laugh. Oin had given her some simple herbs to chew in order to help relieve the soreness in her throat but she knew it was going to be a while before she could speak at her normal level of volume. She was happy that she was no longer precariously hanging above a pit of fire and even felt a little appreciative towards Bilbo Baggins, until she thought of how he essentially riddled her out of the silver fork she stole.

Bilbo was a lot trickier than he appeared. Perhaps the well to do bachelor of Bag End had quite a few things up those fashionably tailored coat sleeves of his. Of course, Relly laughed when she learned he was covered in troll bogeys and was essentially used as a handkerchief. Relly rubbed the nape of her neck, telling herself that she was still the best burglar around and that Bilbo was hopelessly lost when it came to stealing.

The thirteen dwarves, Gandalf the Grey, the Hobbit and herself were currently travelling on foot following the order of Thorin Oakenshield to investigate the nearby cave that the trolls resided in. Keeping her dagger close to her side, Relly was hyper-aware of her surroundings, not wanting to repeat the troll incident again. Relly walked behind Bombur, wishing that she had gotten in line earlier because she could hear every movement the dwarf made. He was pleasant and jolly enough but she prayed that he would not pass gas in front of her.

"What exactly is this place?" Kili asked, his face turning sour from the sudden stench.

"This, Kili, is a troll horde. Be careful with what you touch," Gandalf warned Thorin's nephew and to the rest of the company as they all descended into the smelly but unyielding fortune and material wealth of the horde. Relly's eyes instantly went wide, never seeing this much stuff in one place. Even the richest houses she robbed were nothing compared to this. Weapons, gold coins, jewelry...it was everything she wanted!

"Seems a shame to just leave it lying around," Bofur suggested to Relly, the two thinking along very similar veins of thought. "Let's break out the shovels and bury it."

"I'd love to get a head start on my share of the treasure," Relly softly whispered, not wanting to stress her throat as she crouched down onto the dirty cave floor and began sifting through the coins and shoving whatever caught her fancy into her cloak pockets. She really needed to invest in a pouch. And moments later, at the very bottom of a heavy wooden chest there was a silky black tie-string pouch with some rubies in it. Grinning to herself, Relly plopped the coins from her cloak into her new moneybag as she left the chest and ventured further into the cave, despite Gloin calling for Relly due to needing some assistance with burying their "investment".

She saw Thorin checking out some cobwebbed covered swords. Being slight in stature and not having much upper body strength, heavy weapons like swords or axes never caught her appeal. Daggers and knives were more her fancy; she was a burglar after all, not a mercenary. Relly was light on her feet and a heavy sword would only weigh her down.

"Ow!" and she grabbed her foot in mid-step, having stubbed her heel on something sharp. Bending down, the light of the torch Thorin held reflected off the shiny surface on the strange object. Ignoring the cut on her heel, Relly picked up the small, slender sword half revealed in its sheath. Or rather, it was like a very long and thin knife. She shook it in the air, the blade covered in dirt, mud, spider webs and who knows what else.

"A smart choice, Miss Relly!" Fili popped up behind her, nearly frightening her. "A rapier is best for quick, thrusting attacks and is lightweight as well."

Relly rubbed the hilt of the dirty rapier on her cloak, some of the grime staining the fabric. Carefully lifting it up, she held the hilt closer to her face, Fili also taking a look at Relly's rapier. "I think I like it," she grinned widely.

"Show it to Gandalf, maybe he'll know what it is."

Excited with the prospect of trading in her dagger for a fancy new rapier, Relly approached Gandalf to ask him for any information on her new weapon. The grey wizard eyed her rapier curiously as he asked for it, Relly handing over her rapier to the grey wizard.

"I suppose you're past the cutting throats stage and would rather plunge straight through the stomach," the wizard winked at Relly, recalling one of their first conversations where Relly told him she would rob him blind and cut his throat. Strange how it had not seemed so long ago and already the thief had changed from their first meeting.

"Well, can I use it?" Relly asked. "It's pointy enough to be a weapon."

Gandalf chuckled, but his laughter faded as he looked at the decorated engravings on the hilt as Relly craned her head to see what Gandalf was so interested in. "This is no ordinary rapier, Relly. I believe only a master swordsmith could have crafted this rapier. I do not know the exact origin or who made this, but it is by far one of the most accomplished I have ever seen. Before you can wield it, it would be wise to learn how to use it."

Relly dismissed Gandalf. "You just attack with the sharp end and hope for the best."

Gandalf shook his head. "My dear Relly, promise me someone will teach you how to properly use this. There may be a time where you will either choose to fight or flee and you must know which decision is right."

The thief nodded, graciously accepting her rapier as Gandalf watched his young companion approach Fili and asked if he would show her how to use it. Their journey was still in its early stages but it was fraught with danger, as evident by their capture of the stone trolls. Still, Gandalf did not regret asking Relly Crillynook to join him on the quest. He knew Thorin would eventually respect both Bilbo and Relly for their part in the quest.

Granted, it would take a while before the stubborn dwarf lord would admit it.

* * *

Outside of the troll cave, Relly was swishing her rapier about her like it were a feather. It was very light and easy to jab at things, which is what Relly liked about it. It was also longer too, allowing her distance from an enemy. Fili showed her how to hold it properly and commented that for such a short lass, it was just a slight too big for her.

"I will help shape you into a formidable opponent, Miss Relly!" Fili promised, the skilled fighter excited to teach his first pupil how to wield her rapier. Relly had given up on correcting the dwarves who named her 'Miss'. Which was basically everyone except Bofur, Ori and Gloin. It still felt weird being addressed as such but she let it go. "My brother and I will be your partners!"

Relly nodded happily, trying to rest her voice as she unsheathed her rapier and followed the motions that Fili was showing her. Unfortunately, her time with Fili was ending as they were hurriedly told to move onward, Relly at the back of the line as she spied Bilbo with a shiny new weapon. Curious, she waited until Bilbo was by her side as she leaned in onto his personal space.

"Nice toothpick you got there Bilbo," she teased him in a softer but somewhat scratchy voice. "It fits you."

Bilbo shook his head, not wanting to start with her. She still had not thanked him for saving her life, in which Bilbo was beginning to think she never would. With what he finally figured out, he had a dig on her that she had not revealed to anyone else. "You could have been a troll's toothpick with how bony you are, I wasn't lying about that!"

She snorted at his little comment and was about to respond back to him when the loud rustling of leaves, trees and grass caught their attention, as if a strange presence was barreling towards them at a rapid speed. Not wanting to be caught off guard again, Relly took out her rapier and pointed it at the direction where the figure was coming from.

Their "enemy" was a strange looking old man riding a sled pulled by rabbits. Relly was disgusted to see bird poop in his hair and some on his face. He was covered head to toe in brown, tattered clothing and he looked like he was literally part of the earth. Not deeming him a threat, Relly backed off due to Gandalf's greeting that implied he knew this homeless looking person.

"It's been quite some time Radagast," Gandalf the Grey smiled lightly at his fellow wizard, giving the okay to the rest of the company that Radagast was a friend, not an enemy.

"Is this the wizard Gandalf told us about?" Kili recalled but got no answer considering it was quite obvious that yes, this was Radagast the Brown.

Radagast seemed to ignore everyone as he frantically told Gandalf he was personally seeking him out. "Something's terribly wrong, Gandalf. I..." and the absentminded wizard hesitated quite a few times before remembering what he had to say. "Oh, oh I lost the thought. I had it right here," he pinched his fingers to emphasize his point.

_Someone's been eating mushrooms far too long_, Relly chuckled to herself. Sure she had to scavenge for food before, usually out of garbage bins, but she never ate crazy looking mushrooms. Whatever Radagast was on was beyond her. This was proved true as Gandalf pulled a walking stick bug out of Radagast's throat.

"Absolutely disgusting," Dori muttered loudly, the dwarves agreeing with him. Relly did not appreciate the display as well, feeling some bile well up at the bottom of her throat. Even Bilbo looked visibly disturbed, but then again he was disturbed by about ninety percent of the things seen on this journey so far.

"Oh, I remember now," and Radagast's cheerful tone dropped a few octaves. "The Greenwood is sick, I can feel it in my bones. There is a growing darkness, Gandalf. Nothing grows...my animals are becoming sick and the flowers don't bloom."

"I see," Gandalf looked around the forest, half-listening to Radagast as he walked away and observed the greenery. Relly herself didn't see anything wrong with the forest but what knowledge did she have of flora and fauna?

Radagast paused before speaking again. "I smell foul decay everywhere. The webs cover everything."

When Radagast mentioned 'webs', even Gandalf was surprised. "Webs? What do you mean?"

"Spiders."

"Spiders?" Relly croaked, not liking the sound of that very much. She was not arachnophobic but the fact that giant spiders were leaving their webs all over the place was not a comforting thought. She heard Radagast and Gandalf talk about some odd place named Gol Duggar or something similar sounding; they had drifted some ways away from their group and she could not understand everything they were discussing.

"I've never seen webs this big," Kili poked a giant web with a large stick, not wanting to actually touch it. "Perhaps the mushroom wizard is right."

"You can count me out," Bofur stated, pretending to swivel on his heel to walk away. "I signed up for the beer and treasure, not for the spiders."

"Me too," Bombur agreed with his brother.

While some of the dwarves talked amongst themselves in their own conversations, Relly noticed how distant Thorin was from everyone. She still did not know much about the dwarf lord other than the story of how he earned his name Oakenshield. For someone so respected, he carried his own secrets.

_Not so different from me_, she thought as she remembered how the troll smelled human in her blood. _I almost had my cover blown by a daft, dull witted troll_, she bit the inside of her cheek. Bilbo had actually heard the giant lug say it but she was not sure if the dwarves did. Relly was also beginning to suspect that Gandalf knew more about her than he let on. She wouldn't completely doubt that a powerful wizard couldn't see the human resemblance in her face. She felt dizzy from thinking so hard. Relly was running on steam, hardly getting any sleep due to being captured by the trolls. Relly honestly wanted a good, long nap.

"Relly, are you feeling alright?" Her friend Ori approached her, a cute concerned look on his face. Relly waved him off, plastering a small smile on her pained face.

"Don't worry about me, Ori. Just need some sleep, that's all."

Ori nodded. "Oh, well, you just looked pale. I didn't wanna give up my slingshot," he brought up the issue of how the dwarves surrendered their arms in the feeble hope of saving Bilbo and Relly. "I'd have made a bulls-eye in every troll's eye socket just to rescue you...and Bilbo."

Relly felt a tickle in her sore throat as she tried to laugh with her lips closed but it came out sounding rather weird. The two stood there in the wood, Ori mainly talking to her so she could rest her voice. This did not go unnoticed by Ori's two older brothers as Nori and Dori both approached Relly.

"You know brother, I have never seen Ori hold a conversation for so long with one person besides us," Nori teased, Dori looking on at Relly and Ori with a glint in his eye, an expression she couldn't quite decipher.

Ori gently clenched his hands into fists as he straightened out his arms. Dori frowned, patting his brother on the shoulder as he looked to Relly. "It is nice that Ori has made such a good friend on our trip."

Nori grabbed his little brother by the shoulders and forcibly ruffled his hair and beard as a brotherly display of affection. "They grow up so fast."

Not sure how to make of this situation, Relly slowly sidestepped away from the three brothers as she wondered what was taking so long with Gandalf and the mushroom wizard as she named Radagast. And then she bumped into Thorin Oakenshield, who looked down on her with a serious expression. Well, that was usual but this serious face he was making suggested he wanted to talk to her.

"The troll said something last night that revealed to me that you are not who you appear to be," Thorin did not sugarcoat the subject and judging by the brick that just dropped in her stomach, Relly knew what he was going to say. "Thieves I can have, liars I cannot."

Relly was not prepared to tell the whole truth. It was not that she had lied to Thorin or anyone, merely she had just not revealed her heritage. She gauged their reaction the night when she asked if dwarves ever married other races which had led to less than stellar results. Having lived a wayward life for the latter twenty years of her life, she was not exactly the kind to be clean and upfront about her business.

But this was Thorin Oakenshield, her leader, and she could not just ignore this subject any longer. With a heavy inhale of breath as she closed her eyes, she exhaled softly and looked back at Thorin, no longer wearing the expression of the willful thief but a tired, discontent half-breed.

* * *

HA HA HA what's gonna happen now?


	10. Hero Kisses the Damsel

The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings belongs to JRR Tolkien and the movies belong to Peter Jackson. I'm just a devoted fan.

Sorry about updating a bit later than I usually do; the internet was down for a couple days and then I got sick :'P So, this chapter is actually a Relly AND Bilbo POV chapter. I usually try to keep different POVs separate but oh well, hopefully you all will enjoy it. As soon as I get my new copy of the The Hobbit, I'll start bringing in more of the book-verse into this fic as well (It's been ages since I read it, blaugh)

Special shout out to Forestwater for leaving such an excellent review/con-crit. And as always, thanks to all you lovely, beautiful readers :)

* * *

**Hero Kisses the Damsel**_  
_

_Everyone is necessarily the hero of his own life story._  
- John Barth

There is the old expression of being situated between a rock and a hard place. However, dear Relly was in a hard place with Thorin Oakenshield, which was equally difficult and hard to wriggle out of. Frankly, she'd rather be crushed by boulders than sitting down on a rotten fell log and hesitating to either lie to Thorin or finally come clean. Her identity, her mixed heritage had always troubled her ever since realized she was different from the other wee Hobbit tykes. She usually buried her problems and focused on her external issues like finding a place to sleep for the night or how to pickpocket someone's money pouch without being seen. For a while, it worked.

Thorin wanted thieves not liars. With Bofur or Ori and even the rest of the dwarves she could easily change the subject, but not with him. It was time to give up the game.

"Certainly you...uh, know what it's like to not really belong anywhere. And even when you do, it never really works out," her hazel eyes glanced to Thorin, a frown on her angular face as she looked more human in the forest light than Hobbit. Maybe if she brought him to her level, he would understand why she didn't exactly reveal her blood. Thorin's expression twitched for a split second but maybe it was just her eyes playing tricks.

"It is true then, that you are half Man and half Hobbit," Thorin merely repeated, his suspicions confirmed. However, he did not sound angry much to the relief of Relly.

"Does it make a difference?" Relly shot back, her scratchy voice attracted the attention of some of their dwarf allies. Kili and Fili looked over to the dwarf lord and the thief, wondering what they were discussing by themselves.

Not appreciating her sudden sharp incline in tone, Thorin exhaled quietly and lowered his chin to get a better look at Relly, their second master burglar. "No. It does not. If you had Elven blood, perhaps...but no, I still have my reservations with Gandalf bringing along the both of you. You still have much to prove for yourself, Relly Crillynook."

Relly shook her head as she rested her hand on the curved hilt of her new rapier, shifting her stance so that perhaps he would change his mind once he saw her body language. Thorin _still_ did not seem to hold her in the same esteem as his nephews and fellow dwarves. Relly respected him the most out of any authority figure she had ever met but that did not mean she liked him as a friend in the same way she liked Bofur and Ori.

However, she was about to follow his orders. Relly stiffened up when she heard low snarling sounds around her and Thorin, her fingers gripping her rapier as she slowly turned her head around to the source of the deep growling in the woods.

"What are those?" she ran over to Fili and Kili, wishing she had more time to practice with her new weapon now that they were _once again_ in danger. "Those don't sound like regular wolves."

"Wargs," Kili's voice dropped, his dark eyes shadowed over. Relly jerked her head to see her friend Bofur about to be pounced on by a Warg, only to have an arrow zip by her cheek when Kili shot at another Warg bounding behind her. _Talk about friendly fire_, she thought, rubbing her cheek to check if the the arrow sliced it. This was a bad time to be standing still, that was for sure.

"This forest isn't safe," Dwalin drew out his battleaxe from the bloodied skull of the Warg he slew. "We have to get out here."

"Warg scouts, this means the Orcs aren't far behind," Thorin stated as Relly drew out her rapier, wanting to immediately prove her worth to the company. Gandalf return from his little conference with the mushroom wizard. Judging by the perturbed expression on his wizened face and how he was directly looking at Thorin, there was about to be some bad news spilled.

"Who did you tell about your quest?" Gandalf directly asked Thorin, his usually twinkling eyes dark with fear. This surprised Relly; she never thought he had the capability to even sound angry. "Thorin, who knew?"

Thorin raised his chin, offended Gandalf would even insinuate that he told anyone else beyond his kin of the journey to reclaim Erebor. "No one. Do not take me for a loose-lipped fool, Gandalf! I would never risk the lives of my men in such a way!"

"We are being hunted by Orcs, Thorin Oakenshield; they must have caught wind of your quest through word of mouth!" he argued back.

_We're all in danger and they're just yelling at each other! _Relly exclaimed in her mind, annoyed that the two most powerful members in their company were bickering in the midst of being attacked by these Warg-scouts. Relly huffed, shaking her head. She had to do _something_.

"We need to GO!" Relly erupted at both Gandalf and Thorin, not caring if her voice would be utterly destroyed by the end of the day with all the talking she had done. Gandalf and Thorin both were taken aback by Relly's interference, the dwarf lord not particularly pleased with her barging in. "Let's get the ponies and run!"

"We don't have the ponies! They bolted!" Ori ruined everything as he announced the abandonment of the ponies from up on the hill. _We might as well have let the trolls eat them in the first place_, she rolled her eyes as she caught the doomed look on Bilbo's face, a pang of guilt striking her. She knew she had not said a word about Bilbo's rescue of her on purpose. Now wasn't the time to think of it though.

What was even more surprising to everyone was what Radagast said. With a mischievous but well-intended smile on his face he suggested, "I'll throw them off."

Relly raised a brow at the brown wizard, wondering what a backwoods earthy healer could do but considering that he was still one of the big five wizards of Middle Earth, she could not argue with his suggestion. Gandalf however, did. _Maybe he's just in an angry wizard mood or something_, she wondered.

Ultimately, Radagast the Brown's eager desire to help Thorin and company won over Gandalf's dismissal as the mushroom wizard ran off to his little sled pulled by these Russgerbil Rabbits or whatever they were named, since Relly did not quite understand half the things Radagast spoke of. Not needing another second to go, Relly felt like her feet were on fire; running as fast as she could on her nimble, leather-soled feet. She could hear the Wargs howling not too far from them as she caught up with Bofur and Ori.

"Relly!" Ori's eyes lit up for a split second as he whipped his head forward, keeping his eyes on the path where Thorin and the others were leading them.

Relly opened her mouth, ready to talk but no coherent words were formed. She furrowed her brows as she mentally cursed herself for speaking so much when her throat needed to rest. _I b__lame the dwarf lord_, she muttered in her head.

The dwarves, Bilbo, Relly and Gandalf finally ran out of the shady forest and into the bright, open and vast clearing. There was a smattering of large boulders in every which way but Relly was worried it was not enough cover for everyone. As Gandalf told everyone to stay quiet, Bombur's face started turning pink from holding in a burp to the best of his ability. Relly did not want to be on the receiving end of that one.

"Look at those rabbits go!" Ori said in wow, Nori elbowing him to not talk lest Radagast's diversion failed. "Sorry..." he muttered.

Relly felt like she had been running for days, not minutes judging by how pained the muscles in her legs were from constantly running and ducking whenever they came too close to the Orcs. She rested her back on the rough side of the boulder for a second, adjusting the strap that tied her rapier to her hip. Fili was right, it was a smidge big for her but nonetheless she was determined to use it.

Ori had travelled to the front of the dwarf pack, determined to outrun the Orcs that when the others had taken cover behind another boulder, he ran straight out into the open. Relly wished she could have yelled at him but luckily the youngest dwarf was yanked back. Moments later, Gandalf sent everyone off again, Relly catching up to Ori so she could try to gesture to him about how close he was to being seen. _Now I'm just like Bifur, all I need is the Orc axe in my forehead_, as she remembered that Bifur also could not talk.

She thought too soon.

A hideous Orc on his Warg was right above them, Relly holding in her breath as to not stir and make a sound. She had somehow wound up next to Bilbo as the halfling and quarterling exchanged looks, although she was not sure what she had just expressed to Bilbo other than 'oh, you're right there and there's an Orc above us'. No doubt that he was feeling under-appreciated. Her ears perked up as she saw Kili move a ways away from the boulder and drew back his arrow, aiming it at the Orc above them. The Orc's dying yell would attract others, and Relly knew this. She heard the ground thump with the other members of the Orc pack as she drew out her rapier.

"Where'd you get that?" Bilbo was not aware of Relly's new shiny toy as he gripped his sword. She couldn't help but remember calling his sword a toothpick and a small smirk crossed her face.

She shrugged, managing to curve her lip upwards as if to say 'Guess'. There was no more time to talk or gesture as an Orc approached them from the right side of the boulder and was quickly taken down by Dwalin, Thorin, Bifur and Bofur with many hacks and slices, some of the sounds churning Relly's stomach. Ignoring the turning tide in her stomach, Relly placed her rapier back into its sheath as Gandalf hurried them up.

"Lass, don't fall far behind," Gloin warned her as the fatherly dwarf urged her to pick up the pace. Relly nodded, making sure the tip of her rapier's sheath didn't drag on the ground as she breathed in and out, focusing on just finding some safety from these rampant enemies. Much to her dismay, everyone dispersed despite common sense and the whole idea of staying together. Relly stayed close near to Thorin and most of the other dwarves. She saw Ori attempt to place a sharp rock right between the eyes of the Orc coming towards them but to no avail. Seeing the fear in his eyes, Really drew out her rapier and stood next to her companion, assuring Ori she was right there.

"What do you think you're doing?" Thorin yelled out to her but she didn't care to listen at this point. "Stand down!"

_Just stab with the pointy end_, she told herself despite the small amount of training Fili had been putting her through. The Orc with pointy armor and a horribly disfigured face jeered at her, his Warg smelling the meat on her bones like she were just a dog treat. Oh, she was hardly a threat to him.

"This way, you fools!" Gandalf's words snapped Relly out of her fierce fighting stance for a moment as she turned her head to where Gandalf was poking out behind a mysterious looking rock formation. Thorin commanded his company to follow the grey wizard into the cave as Relly backed away from the Orc and fled for her life, the gaze of the Orc's eyes still burning into her back.

"Miss Relly, hurry!" Fili noticed she was lagging behind, second only to Kili who was still shooting arrows in the field at every Orc warrior he could kill.

Relly grit her teeth together, exerting all the strength in her slight body to run into the cave. The quarterling slid feet first into the dark, bumpy cave, a horn sounding off into the distance and hearing all the voices of her friends mish-mashed together...

She felt something thunk her on the head and it all went black.

* * *

"Relly? Relly, wake up!" Ori tugged at the toggle on her cloak, beyond worry for his dear friend and the object of his one-sided affection. Dori gently took him aside to assure his little brother that Relly wasn't dead and just needed to get to some shelter for rest.

"She isn't dead, is she?" Gloin bent down on his knees near Relly's head.

Thorin stood over the unconscious thief of theirs, shaking his head because he had told her to stand down. "No, she is not dead but she could have got herself killed. Her lack of experience with her weapon may as well have caused this."

Bilbo saw the small crowd around Relly, his hands gripping his walking cane as he approached her unconscious form. She looked so little even though she was only 40 or so years old, hardly near middle age like he was. Bilbo had half a mind to think that whatever Thorin and Relly were discussing in private back in the Greenwood concerned her heritage. He took in a deep breath, feeling rather sorry for the young quarterling. It was not fair that Thorin was scolding her when she wasn't awake.

"We need to get her to a healer, immediately!" Gandalf finally intervened, lifting up the woman like she were just a feather and carrying her like a newborn child. Dwalin announced he found the passage way out as everyone began to follow the strongest dwarf, Bilbo staying near Gandalf and occasionally catching himself looking at the K.O.'d thief.

"Will she be alright?" he forced out to Gandalf, the grey wizard looking down onto his old Hobbit friend with a curious expression. Relly annoyed him a great deal but that did not mean he wished her ill will and definitely not any harm.

"She is out cold and needs care but I do not see her condition being permanent," he answered Bilbo, Relly's head slightly bobbing along as Gandalf walked.

Bilbo chewed the inside of his mouth, biting his cheek as he fought the urge to tell Gandalf what he had found out about Relly. Perhaps Gandalf already knew about her mixed heritage, certainly noticing her flat forehead and upturned nose. He shook his head, wondering what the blazes he was thinking.

"There is something gnawing at you, my dear Bilbo," The lower lids of Gandalf's eyes curved upwards, knowing Bilbo was thinking hard about a particular question that he was too worried to ask.

"Do you notice anything...odd about her?"

"Odd?" Gandalf sounded confused.

Bilbo nodded but his little question was about to be interrupted by a conversation unfolding between Ori, Nori and Bofur. Gandalf smiled to himself as Bilbo listened to what the three dwarves were making fun of.

"Kiss the lass awake? It may be one of our better ideas," Nori half-jokingly suggested to Bofur and Ori, the middle dwarf brother purposely bringing the subject up just to see Ori twitch.

"I've heard in tales where the hero kisses the damsel awake," Bofur exaggerated his voice in his last few words, sounding flighty and batting his eyelashes.

"Like the story of Agnu and Dworin?" Ori perked up, remembering the bedtime stories Dori would tell him about the mighty mountain dwarf Dworin and his ill fated love with the sleeping princess Agnu. Bilbo had never heard of those two particular figures but the theme of waking up a damsel with a kiss was not entirely original to one culture. He was pretty sure he had at least five volumes of legends and ballads of such things. However, Bilbo knew that this conversation was linked to Relly being out cold. This made him uncomfortable.

Bofur puffed on his pipe, raising his bushy brows as he grinned. "Yes, lad."

Ori's face turned a shade of pink before he brushed it off like nothing happened, scrunching up his nose at Bofur. "Relly's not asleep and she's a thief, not a princess."

Nori thundered with laughter; the echo shook the rock walls around them. Bilbo did not like cramped places and this passageway was only making him develop claustrophobia. He also did not like what Bofur was implying. Bilbo knew from day one that Ori showed some signs of affection towards her and Relly was the closest with Ori and Bofur more so than he was with any dwarf in entire party. As his mind began turning, he in fact was not sure how or if Thorin knew Ori liked Relly. Would he even approve?

_I have no clue as to why I'm even thinking about this_, he concluded as Bofur recalled his days of being a toymaker, Ori would sneak a look at the back of the line where Gandalf was carrying Relly and Bilbo, well, he was just trying to make out of this quest alive. _I have other concerns to think about._

Dwalin stopped walking, his eyes amazed at what unfolded from his view. As each dwarf exited the mouth of the cave, Bilbo himself was in awe at the beauty and ethereal Elven outpost. He recognized the refuge of the Elves as a place named Imladris, the old Sindarin word for 'deep valley in the cleft'.

"Rivendell," he muttered, absorbing in all the beautiful architecture and the landscape and basically the otherworldly atmosphere. It was unlike any place he could ever imagine in his wildest yet somewhat limited imagination. He waited for Relly to say something but he realized she was unable to. A few minutes later, Thorin grumpily walked up to Gandalf and accused him of refuge with their enemies.

"You have no enemies here Thorin Oakenshield, just ill will which you have brought with you," Gandalf flat out told Thorin, not having the time for petty Elf-Dwarf hatred as he carried Relly in the crook of his arm.

Bilbo never understood why the elves and the dwarves disliked each other so much. Shire-Hobbits were less likely to meet the human men that the Bree-Hobbits lived with, but Bilbo did not think himself as prejudiced. Sheltered, maybe but not prejudiced for the most part. He was knowledgeable and curious of the world around him; the Took blood in his veins would not be quieted. Their company crossed the stone bridge into Rivendell, the two imposing statues towering above everyone as Bilbo kept his grip on his walking stick, feeling very small, smaller than usual. He craned his head to get a better look around him, hearing the calming echoes of the natural world around them. Absolutely awe-inspiring.

_I should like to write a book about this place one day_, Bilbo decided with a small close lipped smile on his face as he snapped out of his reverie and caught up with the rest of the dwarven crew and Gandalf, trying to ignore a strange wriggling worm of thought in his brain, a thought which concerned the health of the quarterling who shared his contract.

* * *

Relly ought to look where she's going next time, don'tcha think? Also, a couple of the reviewers have named Relly as a quarterling (half-Hobbit, half-man, halfling literally is "half a man") which I find really cute and apt to her heritage so she will be named as such :)


	11. The Tale of Dworin and Agnu

The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings belongs to JRR Tolkien and the movies belong to Peter Jackson. I'm just a devoted fan.

Yay, I'm glad you all liked the chapter. Thorin's not the easiest character to write as so I'm glad his dialogue sounded believable! Check me out at my tumblr, pheniaphile . tumblr . com (delete the spaces) I'll be posting all my excess feels and moments that are not quite in the fic yet soooo yeah.

I really want to stress that the romance in this story is SLOW to build. Trust me, it _will_ pay off. I have mentioned this before and it worries me that some reviewers keep demanding for romance. If you want instant lovey dovey stuff, then go find another fic. I like developing feelings rather than writing hot make out sessions (then again, who doesn't like hot make out sessions but I digress). Especially with canon character/oc stories, I don't want this fic to fall into that horrid 'two chapters and dey wuvs each oter!' sort of thing. It's terribly OOC, poor writing and Bilbo deserves much better than that, haha.

* * *

**The Tale of Dworin and Agnu**

_She sleeps: on either hand upswells _

_The gold-fringed pillow lightly prest: _

_She sleeps, nor dreams, but ever dwells _

_A perfect form in perfect rest._

- Lord Tennyson, "The Sleeping Beauty"

Relly was everything and nothing at the same time. The insides of her mouth were raw, lips chapped and she could taste her horrid bad breath inside her mouth, gurgling noises in her ear like some strange sort of liquid sloshing around in her noggin. A soft dull throbbing could be felt in every corner of her head, not painful but it was hard to ignore the throbbing. The odd part was, she could not feel a single part of her body besides her head. Relly was drifting in the planes of unconsciousness and sleep, not sure where exactly to pinpoint her current state. Her entire form felt fuzzy, hard to distinguish where her arms or legs or toes were. It was just mixed in with all this black around her.

_Am I dead?_ Relly asked herself in the eternal darkness, a small light in the shape of a frame of a doorway forming in what seemed like forever and a half away from wherever, _whatever_ she was. She willed herself to follow the illuminated doorway, feeling the warmth of the sun's rays on her face and the clouded darkness faded away as cracks of light filtered through her eyelids.

Her hazel eyes weakly opened to the dying evening sun setting. The sun! So she wasn't dead after all. Relly turned her head sideways to see the corner of the sheets hit her cheek. She was covered in sheets that felt like butter. The comforter was velvety, the sheets were shimmery and this bed was unlike any sort of bed she had ever slept on before. To be honest, this was probably the nicest bed Relly slept in since she left Hobbiton all those years ago.

"Where am I?" she whispered to no one and expected no answer. She got one anyway.

"Oh good, you are awake. I will alert my Lord Elrond," a slim male elf with long brown hair and an inquisitive face saw she had stirred from her deep coma-like sleep as the other elf stood guard, sitting in a beautiful curved bench.

"El...rond?" she muttered, raising her neck up so she prop her head on the soft pillow as to get a better look at her new surroundings. Relly immediately realized she had just spoken words and was already pleased that her voice had healed. A strained smile stretched on her face, being shushed by the female elf in the room to not make any sudden movements. "Is Elrond the name of this place?"

"No, m'lady," the female elf spoke. "You are in Imladris, or Rivendell in the common tongue. The last Elven house east of the sea," her voice sounded like liquid gold being poured into a tall glass; so feminine. Relly thought her mother had a beautiful voice but this female elf might just have her mother beat. "I am Briwen and Lindir has been tasked with watching over you until you woke."

"Where's the company? I was travelling with a bunch of dwarves and Gandalf and-," Relly's words tumbled from her mouth until she was interrupted.

The female elf shook her head, a soothing hush escaping her lips as she patted the sheets that covered Relly. "They are all here, m'lady. I believe they have been aching to see you."

Relly sputtered out a weak chuckle. "Some more than others."

The male elf Relly now knew as Lindir returned to Relly's resting room with another elf in tow. However, this one elf commanded the presence of everyone in the room as Relly looked up to see the serious but welcoming look on his face. He was definitely important.

"I am Elrond, the Lord of Rivendell and the host of your company's stay in my refuge," he introduced himself coolly but politely as Relly nodded, never having been addressed so fancily before. "I hope you are feeling well and restored to great health and spirits, Rellanora Crillynook of the Shire."

"W-wait," she stuttered, her face paling when she heard her full first name. She hadn't told _anyone_ about that! She hadn't even known this elf for five minutes and he already knew her name? Something was up. "How did you know..."

Elrond responded with, "Gandalf disclosed the matter of your heritage to me as soon as you arrived into the healing room. Do not fear me Rellanora, for I do not pass judgement upon those with the blood of Man in their veins. For you see, I too have an intertwined heritage. To deny the blood of Eärendil in my body is to deny my full existence. Denial is merely another form of rejection and prejudice, traits I do not wish to impose onto any other living being."

_So Gandalf did know all along, or at least figured it out himself_. The news did not exactly comfort Relly like she thought it would as she pulled the covers up to her chin, feeling embarrassed and shocked to learn this amazingly handsome elf was of mixed blood like her. It was not an easy subject to discuss but the fact this venerable lord had already revealed his own heritage did help her come to terms, just a little bit._ So he's kind of like me. He's a lot better looking, that's for sure. _

"Can I get up now?" she asked impatiently. A faint smile appeared on the elf lord's face as Elrond bowed out of the room and allowed his servant Lindir to give the go ahead for Relly to finally rise out of her covers.

"I picked out the dress you are wearing," Briwen beamed with her unworldly beauty, Relly not used to being surrounded by gorgeous people. "I designed it myself. I had to alter it to your...ahem, measurements."

Relly's jaw was slightly agape, looking down at her new outfit. She was horrified to learn someone undressed her while she was out cold. "I _cannot_ wear a dress!" she placed her feet on the floor of the healing room, still sitting on the side of the luxurious bed as she looked down at her toes. Clean. Her legs were still hairy and Relly tugged down at the sheer green dress, wanting to hide her unsightly legs. Being a Hobbit, a human and having black hair equaled unattractive body hair. "Give me my pants!"

Briwen sighed, her lower lip sticking out a little. "But it looks so nice on you. I think the company you travel with has forgotten you are a woman. Those gross, burping dwarves-,"

Relly rolled her eyes and cut off Briwen before she could go on a tirade about how smelly they were. "I. Want. My. Own. Clothes," she stressed the words between gritted teeth.

Briwen made an 'oh' shape with her mouth as Lindir stood there awkwardly, not sure what to respond to Relly's little outburst. "I'll go wash them," she gave up and left the healing room to go find the clothes she was wearing when she arrived to Rivendell. Fifteen minutes later Briwen arrived back to the healing room with the tunic, cloak, suspenders and britches neatly folded and set them down on the bed as she undid the silk tapestries that acted as blinds, turning the airy open chamber into a private dressing room for Relly to change. Although her cloak could never be truly clean due to twenty years of stains, travel and literally sleeping in it, the cloak felt softer and smelled of waterfalls and dragonflies. Well, if dragonflies even had a real scent but nonetheless her clothes just smelled almost new.

"Lady Relly, you are invited to dinner. Certainly your friends will be glad to see you," Lindir waited until she was finished changing as he re-entered the healing room with his arm held out for the fair maiden to be escorted. Relly pushed past him, only to get lost a few corridors away from the healing room. Shaking his head, Lindir directed Relly to the dining area of Rivendell.

"Where's my rapier?" Relly demanded to know where her rapier was. Lindir frowned for he did not know the answer as he anxiously escorted her to the patio in which her fellow dwarves and Bilbo were eating.

Relly finally allowed herself to relax as she graced everyone at the dinner table with her presence, a curved smile adorning her face as she waited for her fellow dwarves to notice her.

"Relly!" Ori chirped, setting down his giant leaf and almost leaping out of his seat as the thirteen other dwarves turned around and were pleasantly surprised. Bofur winked at her in a friendly manner as Kili popped out of his seat and waved to her as his brother Fili bowed his head in acknowledgement.

_Note to self, remember to ask them for more training practice,_ she eyed the brothers while she looked for an empty seat at the crowded table.

"Miss Relly!" "Ah good, the lass is awake. Maybe she can eat my greens." "Huh what's happening I can't hear you all!"

Relly let out a small giggle, one much more cute than her usual scratchy chuckle. Whatever she had been given while she was unconscious must have helped soothe her sore throat and perhaps the whole airiness of Rivendell was bringing out her feminine qualities.

_I wonder if there's anything I can take from here as a "memento"_, she devilishly thought as her gaze travelled to a lovely crafted drinking goblet on the table. That'd be a nice addition.

"Good. I was worried you would not wake up," Balin told her as the white haired dwarf set down his fork and dimples formed on his wrinkled face. Sitting next to the wise dwarf was Bilbo, whose eyes travelled up to Relly in mild surprise. Relly averted her glance to Bombur and Dori, finding a seat between the two of them as Dori poured her some water from the carafe and fussed over her like she were his little sister.

"Miss Relly, perhaps you should show Lord Elrond your rapier?" Fili suggested as he pointed to the far end of the table where the Lord of Rivendell, Gandalf the Grey and Thorin Oakenshield were all gathered at.

Relly's content smile twisted into the frown she wore minutes earlier upon learning that her rapier had been taken from her. Pursing her lips together, she took a swig of water as she got up from her seat and approached the trio of important figures with a determined look on her face. Gandalf tilted his head at Relly, already knowing what she was about to ask as she folded her arms across her chest.

"So she also found this rapier in the troll horde?" Elrond clarified as Relly spotted her lovely rapier in the hands of the elf lord, Relly reaching out her hand. "I...cannot believe this." He gingerly traced the curve of the hilt with his index finger, gazing at the inscription on the inside of the hilt as he muttered a single word under his breath. "Vancarmiel."**  
**

Relly cleared her throat. "Van-whatty-el?" she didn't quite catch that. She disliked it when others decided to speak in different tongues; it made her feel out of the loop and uncomfortable.

Elrond raised a simple brow at her as he gently handed Relly back her rapier. "Vancarmiel. 'Beautifully created'. This rapier was forged in the honor of Elenwë, the wife of Turgon."

_I have no idea who Elenwë or Turgon are_, Relly admitted to herself due to her lack of knowledge concerned famous elves in history, _but my weapon has a name! Even if it sounds weird. I'll just name it something else to my liking._

"I do not think it is best for her to carry it," Thorin decided to add his input to the conversation, not entirely sure it was the best idea for Relly to keep her own named weapon. "Not until she can learn to wield it. I do not want _you_ to foolishly charge into battle with half an idea of how to fight."

Relly groaned. Thorin was the eternal rain on her sunny day, the one dwarf she somehow could not get to remotely like her. Didn't he just tell her to prove her worth to him? How was she supposed to when he kept putting up obstacles in her path? The black haired quarterling nodded at Thorin as she made her way back to the dinner table, throwing a glance to Bilbo who kept his hand on the handle of his little sword.

_Toothpick_, she smiled to herself as she heard Balin tell Bilbo to not waste the time to ask the elf lord; his sword was nothing more than a letter opener. Relly saw disappointment wash across Bilbo's face when he heard Balin's remark. _His is a letter opener. I've got the toothpick. _

It finally clicked.

"I'll name mine Toothpick," she loudly christened her rapier as she unsheathed it and showed it to Kili and Fili again, asking the brothers if they would help train her so she could fight with her rapier. They eagerly agreed as Relly slid her rapier back into its sheath.

"Toothpick?" Bilbo's ears perked up, turning his head down towards the table as Relly. "You are seriously going to name yours _Toothpick_?" He would never understand her inner mental mechanics. Bilbo's sword wasn't even worth naming and yet somehow the immature master thief obtained an honorable weapon up near the ranks of Gandalf and Thorin's new swords. Simply put, it was not fair.

Relly placed both her hands on her hips, forgetting about her vegetarian meal on her untouched plate. "I'll name it whatever I want to name it!"

"No arguing at the dinner table!" One of the elven musicians stopped playing her harp for a moment to scold Relly and then resumed her dainty solo. Relly felt her eyes roll back into her head as she sat down, grumbling to herself as she shoved a forkful of leafy greens in her mouth. Relly was so hungry that she didn't care if her meal was basically rabbit food. Ori, Oin, Bofur and Bifur looked at her in bemusement, not believing their female companion was actually eating the food the elves served them as "dinner".

"How can you eat that?" Ori asked her suspiciously, for he didn't like anything that wasn't meat.

"S'good for you or something," Relly said in between chews, ignoring the growing disapproval on the face of Bilbo Baggins across from her. First Toothpick and now her eating habits? What was he, her mother?

* * *

Excluding Gandalf, Balin, Thorin and oddly enough Bilbo, the rest of Thorin Oakenshield's company had gathered around a small campfire in one of the multiple airy chambers in Rivendell. Bofur was tossing scraps of the meat he had tucked away for their journey into his brother's mouth. Bombur happily chomped up each bite; for a dwarf so fat he had some amazing reflexes. Bifur had gestured that maybe the greens would taste better if roasted over a fire as he held a bunch of the leafy vegetables to try and test his theory. Bofur was about to eat a bite of the cooked sausage on the stick until he got the grand idea of throwing it over to Bombur again.

"Bombur, catch!" and the sausage flew in the air, above Relly's head as Bombur gleefully caught it, only for the stone bench he sat on to crack under pressure and broke, Bombur's bum hitting the ground as Relly narrowly avoided being hit with stone debris or being crushed under Bombur's body.

Bofur, Dori and the rest of the company broke out into unbridled laughter, with the exception of their sole female member. _I really have blended into the group_, she remembered what Briwen said to her earlier this evening, _I'm not a lady. _This had never bothered her before. Frankly, she wasn't sure why the matter troubled her. Bofur told her off-color jokes and Nori had some brash behavior too. Being around men, she heard all the burps and farts. The only one who even treated her like she was a girl was Ori and his eldest brother Dori. However, they were still dwarves so the bodily noises didn't skip them out.

Relly did not know how to act ladylike. She never had to resort to feminine wiles or use sensual appeal to make a living. Relly did not really know how to act, well, girly. Her mother had tried to hammer dainty manners and coquettish charm as a young girl but once she died Relly reverted to her wild, mischievous behavior in order to survive outside Hobbiton. Her attitude had been useful for living on her own and it probably explained why she felt so strange in dresses and girlish clothing.

"Relly?" She blinked out of her thoughts as she heard Ori say her name.

"Yes?"

"Do you want to hear a story?" Ori's eyes were bright, the reds and oranges of the burning fire in front of them glinting in his eyes. She couldn't say no to him.

"Is it the tale of Dworin and Agnu?" Dori asked, knowing where this was headed. He grabbed a chunk of stone bench and sat down next to his baby brother, wanting to hear the story in Ori's words. "A lovely one, Miss Relly would like it."

Relly scrunched her lips to the side, not sure what exactly prompted the sudden story time. She knew by now the dwarves loved to tell tales but why this particular time at night?_ Dwarves are strange._

"Ah no, not that one. Why not 'Far Over The Misty Mountains'?" Dwalin shook his head, preferring a more masculine, less romance-centered ballad.

"Relly's already heard that one," Bofur reminded Dwalin as the pipe smoking dwarf rested his elbow on his knee, a grin growing on his face as he looked at Relly and then Ori. "Come on lad, sing us the tale of Dworin and Agnu."

Ori sheepishly nodded as he exchanged a tense look with Relly, the boyish dwarf standing up from his seat as he meshed his fingers together and cleared his throat in order to sing.

"Come on we haven't got all night!" Nori prompted his brother as Ori finally got the kick he needed to begin his tale.

_Far away in caverns under the mountain cold_

_Lived Dworin the Mighty, the Stonecrusher, the bold._

_Dworin fought many an enemy with strength untold_

_But his moons were waning and he was nearing old._

_._

_He learned of Agnu, maiden of the land of air_

_Her skin so pale and moon-night in her hair._

_Autumn eyes and soft lips framed her face_

_For Agnu was truly the image of beauty and grace._

_._

_Dworin the Mighty desired this treasure_

_For gold, crowns and jewels never brought him such pleasure._

_The women in his kingdom had none of his care_

_For he sought maiden Agnu so lovely and fair._

_._

_The lord of the mountain and the maiden of light_

_Upon kismet meeting their passion did ignite_

_Red-lipped, beautiful and tall where Agnu stand_

_Dworin declared his honor and life for her hand._

_._

_But there lived a dwarf in deceitful trade and twisted fate_

_Lord Gwalin the Gall formed jealousy of Dworin from his hate._

_Gwalin sought fair Agnu as his land's rightful queen_

_In the midst of midnight he stole the maiden in manner unseen._

_._

_With Agnu by his side, Gwalin the Gall set forth his dark plot_

_To give false word to Agnu that Dworin, about her, he forgot_

_In a battle against Gwalin, Dworin the Mighty was unjustly slew_

_Agnu lead to believe his devotion to her proved untrue._

_._

_With an elixir Agnu vowed to sleep until he would return_

_For her heart towards Dworin the dead did it yearn._

_She put the poison to her lips and drew a single breath_

_The maiden sought refuge in one step from death._

_._

_And forever on will Dworin rest and Agnu sleep_

_The lord of the mountain and the lady of his keep._

_Nothing on Arda could Aulë form, forge or create_

_That would ever separate the lovers from their imperturbable fate._

_._

When Ori finished singing the melody, he quickly sat back down on his seat as the rest of the company as his brothers, cousins and fellow companions all sat around in meaningful thought. He puffed out his chest a little, as if to boast that he could produce a stirring song like any of his friends could.

Relly had never heard of such a depressing, tragic story before. Being a practical person not concerned with paramours or tangled love triangles, she did not understand why Agnu could even possibly believe the lie Gwalin told her. _If it were me I wouldn't believe a single word Gwalin said_, she thought to herself. Out the corner of her eye she saw the leaning figure of Bilbo against a column— how long had _he_ been there? — and judging by the mild cloudiness in his dark eyes, he had listened to Ori sing the tale of the two lovers. _What a sop_, she snorted at the image of Bilbo crying over love songs.

To be fair, she may have felt her eyes almost water at one point. Not that she'd admit it. Her eyebrows were pinched at the combating thoughts that pitted her desire to be feminine versus her mind telling it was rather absurd to even worry about something so trivial.

"I wouldn't have suggested that tale to lighten the mood," Gloin commented, the father dwarf chewing on a near-gone piece of mutton as he shot a look at Master Baggins.

"That was a fascinating tale, Ori is it?" Bilbo asked, Ori nodding at his name as Bilbo approached the tight knit company of dwarves. "Tragically meaningful if I can say."

Relly folded her arms, stretching her legs on a small piece of stone rubble from Bombur's broken bench as she drooped her head a bit, a small 'hn' sound escaped her mouth. "For romantic fools, maybe."

Ori looked a little hurt by her remark, Bifur making a gesture with his hand as it glided across his neck, to suggest she was ruining the moment. Bofur nodded as the dwarf with the twirly hat changed seats and placed himself next to his dear female friend. "I may be just a simple toymaker who enjoys a good mug of ale every now and then-,"

"Every day!" Bombur cut in, Bofur shaking his head and mouthing quietly 'Not now brother'. Bofur would never finish his sentence.

"What is the cause for all the quiet?" Thorin Oakenshield's voice served as a rescue for Relly as she backed out of from the presence of Bofur and slipped away when Balin also made his appearance to the crew as Thorin returned to his company. Relly's action did not go unnoticed by Bilbo, curious as to why the slippery thief felt uncomfortable when attention was focused on her.

* * *

Her bare feet were carrying her to the open spaced small palaces further away from where her dwarf friends had set up camp. Pressing herself against a column or wall whenever she saw an elf pass by, Relly slunk by without a sound as the thief kept an eye out in the dark. Every now and then she would creep into an empty bed chamber or small study and pocket something. She was in her element once more, fluidly sneaking around in the night. So far she had pocketed a silver brooch lying on a carved night stand and a gilded hair comb. Nothing major but Relly remembered the velvet pouch she found with the rubies so it was at least a little something. With these two objects she slipped into her cloak, nestling it between the fabric doll and the pouch in her pocket. Her thoughts went to the silver fork but immediately remembered Bilbo tricked her out of it.

"Figures, that you're skulking around."

Relly nearly tripped mid step, not expecting to hear the male Hobbit's voice as a deep frown etched on her face as she slowly lifted her chin so her eyes were almost level to a pair of brown ones. She flinched back, bummed that Bilbo was about to ruin her fun.

* * *

We can never can have enough Bilbo/Relly interaction, now can we? Hope you guys like the poem, I literally spent a whole day just writing it. The rhyming meter's a bit off but hopefully it sounds like a dwarven ballad. Just toss a few 'mountains' and 'lords' in there and it's all good, right?

I used one of those elvish translation sites for the name of Relly's rapier. I dunno if it's 100% accurate but I like the name nonetheless :)

It was a bit tricky writing Elrond's dialogue in this fic. Elrond's pretty chill in the books compared to his movie self (don't get me wrong Hugo Weaving is _amazing_) but the Hobbit movie and the LOTR movies made him a lot more bitter towards Man than he was in the series...but I digress.

I wonder why Ori chose that story...hmmm HMMM. Anyway, next chapter is a Bilbo-centric one I think.


	12. Advice From a Thief

The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings belongs to JRR Tolkien and the movies belong to Peter Jackson. I'm just a devoted fan.

You guys spoil me rotten :') I love Bilbo-centric chapters, they're one of my favorites to write! I'm thinking about writing them more often since they do provide insight from both of our lovely main characters~ Would you all like that?

This chapter isn't exactly an exciting 'we're off to places' sort of chapter but more introspective and furthers the development of certain ~feelings~.

* * *

**Advice from a Thief**

_The robbed that smiles, steals something from the thief. _

_- _William Shakespeare

Bilbo Baggins always loved the moon. There were nights where he'd sit outside on his little hobbit-hole lawn and puff his pipe and just watch the moon in all its eternal lunar glory. It was a bit cheesy perhaps and there were whispers as to why he'd never sleep during the nights of the full moon but he always held some fascination and wonder towards the bright round circle in the sky. The moon was a subject of his many ditties and poems, a constant source of inspiration.

And he watched with amazement as he saw the moon runes on the map illuminate with the soft beams of the moon. He was honored to be among Gandalf, Balin, Thorin and Elrond to experience the secrets unearthed by the moon. There truly was nothing the moon could not reveal. Well, except maybe Relly Crillynook's true intentions.

"Figures, that you're skulking around."

He could not help but feel a little proud of himself. Bilbo Baggins had completely caught the quarterling off guard, causing her to nearly trip over her feet in the dark as she supported herself on a nearby column, her hands gripping like it her life line. And everyone thought he couldn't possibly be a sneak. He was a Hobbit after all, just like Gandalf said.

He saw Relly adjust herself, a sour frown on her face as her hazel eyes briefly met his brown eyes, seeing her barely flinch. She was not used to confrontation, that he could tell. For a brief second he wondered how she had lived her wayward life without being caught.

"What do you want?" she was suspicious because she'd been caught in the act. _Stealing no doubt_, he thought with a sigh. _We're given refuge by the Elves and she repays them by taking their things._

Bilbo did not realize he had remained quiet because Relly indignantly huffed, a sign that brought him back to the current situation as he took a step forward towards the thief.

"You're always stealing. You stole from my house, from the camp site, from the Elves...it's not right, Relly."

"I was asked to come along because I _can_ steal. You can't even steal a piece of cake," she scoffed. Obviously she did not consider the consequences of her actions. Bilbo felt his stomach stir when she mentioned cake. Oh how long had it been since he had a taste of delicious rum hole cake...he softly shook his head, the thoughts of cake fading away in his head.

"No, Gandalf brought you along because for some reason, he saw something in you. Just like he saw the Took in me," he then added, "for some reason."

Bilbo wasn't very fond of Relly, that was no secret. He did not hate her due to him being a polite gentle-Hobbit but she was very immature, had no regard for other's feelings and she was wearing his favorite green tunic! The nerve! For the life of him he didn't understand how she was able to mingle with the rest of the dwarves so easily, how she was close to Bofur and Ori, how Ori was infatuated with her. Especially that last one, that soared above the Hobbit's head. He could see it too, the way the knit-wearing dwarf looked at her when he sang the tale of the two doomed lovers.

"You didn't even want to go!" Relly raised her voice but quieted herself as to not stir the attention of any wandering elves around the chambers. "You didn't want to leave your cozy little home..." and strangely, she sounded rather sad, going from haughty to sorrowful in minutes flat. Relly made no sense to him whatsoever. Women in general made no sense to him, but that was a different story for a different day.

"I _had_ a home! Who knows what the Sackville-Bagginses are up to now..." he muttered the last part, the name causing Relly to crane her neck towards him then slightly tilting it. Bilbo blinked, seeing the moonlight capture her strange new expression. He took it as that she recognized the name.

Relly's hand let go of the column as she paused, her bare feet shuffling across the marble floor. "I remember them. Lobelia thought I died."

Bilbo's eyebrows went up, surprised she actually knew the covetous Hobbit's name. "She thought you died?" How long had _he_ been gone now? The way he exited the Shire must have seemed out of the ordinary and certainly a death wish. Heavens knows what Lobelia and Otho were doing with his mother's silks and furniture! He cut off his internal train of thought as he returned back to the conversation.

Relly slowly nodded. "I was gone for twenty years," her voice was flat rather than emotional. A simple but true statement.

Silence. She didn't seem so mad anymore, almost like she forgot why Bilbo was even here in the first place. It didn't last very long. He saw Relly shake her head and that neutral glare of hers contorted back into a grimace, an expression that nearly made Bilbo wince.

"If you're trying to tell me to stop stealing, I won't. It's what I'm here for and it's what I do best," and with a whip of her tattered cloak, Relly seemed to slip into the night as Bilbo stood there alone in the rays of moonlight.

That was quite possibly the saddest and yet bothersome conversation Bilbo had with Relly so far on this journey. He didn't even have to tell her that he knew Relly was a quarterling, she already assumed it so. Or at least, he _believed_ she assumed it so. He remembered what Grandpap Baggins had to say about assuming and the last thing he wanted to be was a donkey.

He glanced up at the moon once more. Bilbo was up rather late, even by his own standards. The Hobbit who stayed up far too late. He smiled to himself as phrases of a possible new poem whirled inside his mind.

_I ought to get some rest. If she wants to go storm off on her own and leave a bad taste with the elves then it's no fault of mine,_ he assured himself of Relly's consequences as he headed back down to where the dwarves had made their campsite. Some of them were already loudly snoring as the older dwarves such as Balin and Dwalin were quietly talking around the fire.

"Oh, Master Baggins. I wondered where you scurried off to," Balin noticed the male Hobbit as he broke off his conversation with his brother Dwalin. "Good thing you came back."

Bilbo looked at Dwalin and then back to the white haired dwarf. "Did I miss something?"

"We're leaving first thing in the morning. Gandalf's distracting the elves and wizard so we get a head start."

Bilbo made a slight 'oh' shape with his mouth, shaking his head up and down in complete understanding. He figured the elves, especially Elrond, would not take too kindly to Thorin Oakenshield's desire to continue their quest to reclaim Erebor. If it were him, he probably wouldn't allow it either. "Oh, alright. I'll just...take my rest right here..." as he found his little spot near where Oin and Gloin were sleeping.

Balin smirked. "Master Baggins, I have been meaning to ask you something."

"Yes?" he asked, confused as to what Balin could possibly want to know. Usually the dwarf was trying to discourage him from something.

"The night we were captured by those trolls, you said you had a confession to make towards Miss Relly," and Bilbo's face immediately paled. He did not like the direction in which Balin was taking this conversation.

Bilbo wildly shook his head, holding his hands up as his jaw went slack. "No, it was a ruse! I had to say something so the horrid troll wouldn't eat her. Gandalf was right around the corner so I had to stall just a bit longer so-,"

"Calm down Master Baggins, I wasn't insinuating anything of the sort," Balin weakly chuckled at the over-enthusiasm in which Bilbo said 'no'. "It was merely clever of you to come up with the idea of a 'last confession' or other."

_That was too close for my liking_, Bilbo breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, I'm off to sleep now Balin, so see you in the morning!"

Bilbo didn't see Balin smirk as the dwarf returned to his dying conversation with his brother Dwalin. Bilbo also was asleep by the time dear Relly Crillynook crept back to the campfire, with all the dwarves asleep as she curled up in her little sleeping bag with new goodies.

* * *

_I hope I come back to Rivendell someday_, Bilbo thought with a faint smile as he grabbed his walking stick and took one last gaze at the shining, ethereal outpost of the elves. He felt the faint touches of sun on his face as one of the dwarves yelled at him for holding up the line. "O-oh, sorry!" and he moved out of Dwalin and Gloin's way, nearly losing his grasp on his stick.

"Come on master burglar," Bombur cheerfully told him as the red haired dwarf walked alongside his companion. "I wish we had some breakfast first though."

Bilbo agreed with Bombur, finding it nice that his fellow dwarf shared the same pain of never having second breakfast or elevensies or lunch. As a well fed Hobbit, he did find it difficult to not constantly be eating throughout the day.

"Be on your guard, we're about to step over into the wild," Thorin informed his company as Bilbo kept up the pace, seeing the back of Relly's cloak as she stopped to talk to Kili. She was probably asking him about how to wield her rapier or something similar, he guessed.

His feet were tough, but even this rocky terrain felt foreign to him. Bumps and pebbles would dig into his leather soled feet and he couldn't help but wonder if Relly was going through the same thing. Her feet were thick too, but she was still half-human and probably not built for extreme weather conditions to her appendages like most Hobbits were.

Days passed and Bilbo kept mainly to himself. Occasionally he would talk to Bombur, Balin, Gloin and even Bifur through an intense game of charades. Relly had not approached him since the night in Rivendell. As expected, she was either conversing with Bofur and Ori or taking lessons from Kili and his brother. At night he could hear the clanging of Fili's sword with Relly's rapier. Sometimes he would watch the practices just out of curiosity, never lingering for long as to not be a total distraction.

"We shall camp here for the night. Fili, Kili, gather firewood. The air is getting colder around here, we must keep ourselves warm," Thorin commanded as the king under the mountain set down his load and started ordering his fellow men around. Bilbo was tasked with making stew since that was the only job Thorin could think of that kept the Hobbit out of his braided hair.

"I caught some rabbits with my slingshot!" Ori held out two dead conies by the ears, looking mighty pleased with himself as Bilbo forced a grin on his face. Ori was so earnest about everything he did that it was hard for Bilbo to turn down the adorable dwarf. "You can use 'em in tonight's supper!"

"I...I suppose I can work with that," he relented as Ori happily dropped the pile of dead rabbits, leaving a much bewildered Bilbo to figure out how to properly cook them. As he stirred the stew, he saw Relly playfully punch Bofur in the arm as Fili laughed at Bofur's reaction.

_They're all having fun_, he observed them all as he absently stirred the ladle, _when was the last time I had fun? _The answer was a long, _long_ time ago when he was just a wee Hobbit tyke who proudly declared himself Bilbo the Great. The adventurer, the Took blood pulsing in his veins as he used to wrap himself in white linens and pretend he was a caped adventurer. But those days had long been pushed aside for a life of comfort, ease and stability. Bilbo cast his brown eyes down into the stew pot, seeing the chunks of cony meat and broth bubble as the smell of dinner wafted through his nose. Relegated to be basically a housekeeper for the dwarves, Bilbo hit the metal rod that held the pot above the fire, signifying it was time to sup.

Kili grabbed a bowl and eagerly waited for the master burglar to pour him the stew as his uncle Thorin also grabbed a bowl. When it came for Bilbo to ladle some stew into Thorin's bowl, Bilbo looked up at the dwarf lord, hoping maybe Thorin would notice him aside from providing the night's supper. He didn't.

Bilbo was the last one to eat as he frowned at how little there was left for him. Grabbing his meager bowl of stew, he sat down on a small indent in a boulder and realized he had no spoon. It was absolutely barbaric to not use utensils to eat food. However, he was out in the wild. And judging by how the rest of the dwarves were slurping down their dinner, he might as well go along with it. Tipping the bowl to his lips, he gulped down the broth of the stew.

"It looks like Mr. Well-to-do is losing his manners," and the teasing came from no other than Relly, the cloaked thief finishing off her stew with a long gulp as she chewed her rabbit meat. "Next thing you'll be running around naked in the woods."

Bilbo gave her a flat frown, eyebrows knitted. "At least I don't go off bathing in the woods by myself."

The comment got to her as a faint pink color tinted her cheeks and although the night time prevented Bilbo from seeing her reaction, her stunted silence was more than enough proof. _She should not underestimate the sharp wit of Bilbo the Great_, he grinned to himself.

Relly tucked the bowl back into her carrying sack as she climbed the giant boulder, the very one Bilbo was sitting on. "I thought about what you said."

His ears perked up. Was she capable of remorse? "You did?"

She nodded, resting her hand under her chin. "You just need some tips."

"Tips?" Bilbo was bewildered. For a brief moment he almost believed Relly had truly thought about what he tried to express to her, that stealing from hosts was a bad idea. "I do not need advice from a thief!"

Relly bent down close, her knees hitting the boulder as her head hovered above his. "Every dwarf here thinks you can steal. I know you can't. If I teach you how to be a true master burglar, then you'll actually _be_ a master burglar."

He waved her off, getting up from the boulder as he walked over to the campfire where his stew-stained pot was in dire need of scrubbing. "Soliciting me for help like I asked for it..." Bilbo grumbled as he grabbed his pot and tried to find a source of running water.

"Ay Master Baggins," Bofur waved his hand, the cheerful toymaker calling his name as Bilbo raised a brow. "Come sit down lad, no use in trying to clean that thing."

"But I have to clean it or else the muk gets dried up at the bottom and the flavors will ruin the next meal..." he frowned as he gave up, dropping the pot to the grass as he walked over to where Bofur and his fellow buds were sitting. He saw Gloin talking to Bombur and Ori was on a stump literally knitting. Bilbo was pleasantly surprised to see the young dwarf knitting; when Thorin meant ' dwarven crafts' he may as well meant arts and crafts.

"Do you like this scarf, Mr. Bilbo?" Ori spoke up, his barely calloused hands working the needles like they were extensions of his fingers. "I made my own scarf and mitts."

Bilbo asked to touch the material of the scarf as he rubbed his fingers between the open knit of the dark brown fabric. Fuzzy. It felt rather warm and cozy. "Is it for me?" He once again assumed that Ori meant to make the accessory for him.

Gloin let out a deep chuckle and Bofur joined in, Ori's face scrunching up from the loud laughter as he looked straight at Bilbo. "No, it's a present for Relly."

Bilbo made an ass of himself, just like Grandpap Baggins would have said. "Oh."

"_Oh_?" Bofur took his pipe from his mouth and waggled it around, exchanging looks with Gloin. Gloin continued the rest of his chuckle as Bofur grabbed his whittling knife and broke off a twig from the fell log he was sitting on.

"I'm sure she'll like it," he half-heartedly said, not liking the tone of that 'oh'._ That is, if she doesn't steal it first._

Ori resumed his shy, earnest smile. "You think so? My brothers suggested other things but they don't know much about women. They can't even get the dwarven ladies to like them."

Bofur nodded. "I remember the time Nori tried to one-up Dori at the marketplace...it did not end well," Bofur recounted the tale of Nori and Dori as Gloin reminded Ori that sensitivity was how he won over his wife. That, and muscles.

The bachelor Hobbit felt a bit out of place in the conversation. There were times before Bilbo hit the Hobbit middle age that he had been crushed on by the other lasses of Hobbiton. But Bilbo was better than the tittering, giggly women and after his mum died when he was younger, Bilbo didn't really have a desire to settle down. He was a Baggins of Bag End, perfectly content to live on his own all alone.

Ori whistled a tune as he continued knitting the scarf meant for Relly. Bilbo sat there in quiet, watching the dwarves carry on as if they forgot he was there. He was aware of the young dwarf's affections towards Relly, obvious to everyone but the quarterling herself. How Ori could possibly see her more than an annoying, thieving person was beyond him. He didn't know if Ori was aware of her heritage and somehow it occurred to him that perhaps Ori could still like her no matter what she was.

"You ought to rest Ori, Thorin's not going to let us stop for any breaks in the morning. The closer we get, the longer the journey becomes," Gloin encouraged the lad to put aside his knitting project and try to rest. Complying with the fatherly dwarf's suggestion, Ori stuffed his needles and fabric back into his bag as he spread out the large blanket on the ground and prepared to go to sleep.

Pretty soon Bilbo was the only one awake as he shuffled back to where he had placed his sleeping mat. He huffed a sharp breath to see Relly sitting cross-legged on it. "Get off my bed."

"I stole it. It's mine now."

He sputtered. She was getting a nice knit scarf for this kind of behavior? "No, you cannot steal something like that," and attempted to yank the sheet under her but to no avail. For someone so slight in stature she weighed a lot more than he expected. "You're just sitting on it to agitate me."

She shook her head. "No. I burgled these sheets. I suppose you're just going to have to take them back," and she flopped down on her side and wrapped her cloak around her body like a blanket, pretending to fall asleep.

This was going to be a long night.

* * *

I'm very proud of this chapter. Bilbo's so much fun...and adorable. I want a knit scarf now!


	13. Thorn and Burr

The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings belongs to JRR Tolkien and the movies belong to Peter Jackson. I'm just a devoted fan.

I know, I'm horrible for not updating for over a week. But, here's an emotionally charged chapter to make up for it. Be prepared to cry. Trust me, _you will cry.  
_

I appreciate all your reviews and comments. Seriously, special shout outs to Forestwater and griZzlyAngel for their awesome reviews! Thank you all so much for your love towards Relly, Bilbo and everyone. It's what keeps me writing this story :)

* * *

**Thorn and Burr**_  
_

_No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear. _  
- C. S. Lewis

Even with all the wargs, Orcs, fiery breathing dragons and giant stone trolls, Relly found the world outside to be quite breath-taking indeed. As their little group ascended the trail into the Misty Mountains range, the beauty of the landscapes, waterfalls and plains was unlike anything in Hobbiton or most civilized places. The quiet, ethereal beauty of Rivendell had sublimely melted into a wild and unpredictable atmosphere, with the cold mountain air filling up Relly's lungs. As the group passed under a roaring powerful cataract, Relly felt some water droplets splash onto her face, licking her lips as a smile grew on her face. Even with the chillier weather, Relly loved the sensation of the spray of the waterfall. The feeling, for a few seconds, made Relly think her problems were so much smaller than what was truly going on in the world.

The Misty Mountains weren't named misty because of some slight foggy weather as Relly quickly learned. No, they were misty to the tenth degree of the very word as the quarterling schlepped her stuff with every heave of her shoulder, staying in line with her fellow dwarves. The advantage to her small build was her incredible amount of stamina, having been developed over two decades of being self-sufficient. Unfortunately, although larger and thicker in the soles than of the feet of Men, her feet were still quite sensitive to the cold rocky terrain and would feel her button-like toes get a little numb from walking.

Thorin had carefully instructed his group to stay close together and not break rank no matter what. If one dwarf hesitated or did not keep up, there would be some doomed consequences. They had to keep up the pace. He especially stressed this to Relly, who had a history of wandering off without telling a soul where she went to. Ever since leaving Rivendell, Thorin had kept his eye on Relly and Bilbo.

"Lass, mind tossing me a potato, would you?" Gloin asked the black haired thief, his stomach rumbling. Thorin rarely made stops except to set up for the night. However, to save time, they did not unload all of their belongings and did not set up as fancy of a campfire as usual. They also had to ration their food accordingly and when Balin checked the supplies, they were a little under than the amount Thorin wanted.

"Sure," she shrugged, decided to once again go against Thorin's rules as she threw the potato in the air and Gloin caught it with his bare hand and began to peel off the skin with his nails. She quickly looked over to see Thorin still at the front of the line, breathing a sigh of relief that he hadn't spotted her giving the red bearded dwarf an extra snack.

It was getting harder and harder to sleep though, as mountain terrain provided very few flat, non-bumpy areas to set out blankets and sleeping bags. If blowing hard enough, the cold breeze could go right through Relly's bones. Relly could only fall asleep for about an hour or two now, the pressure to get through the mountain pass weighing heavily on her mind, among other issues such as Gandalf. She missed Gandalf. The wizard who extended his hand to her, showed kindness towards her and made her laugh. He was the reason why she even came along on this journey. Relly never expected anything more to her life, constantly moving from town to town with hardly any money and little food in her belly. It felt like forever and a half ago since she bumped into the grey wizard at Rivertown and look where she was now: hundreds of miles up from the ground.

Over time, she noticed the dwarves accepting Bilbo into their little talks and helping the bachelor with setting up base and carrying things. Bofur and Ori had always taken a liking to him but even the older dwarves like Oin and Balin often invited the no-fun Hobbit to sit down and make chit-chat. For an odd reason, she could not help but flare up in bouts of jealousy. It was ridiculous, she knew, but she did not like to share things, including her awesome dwarf friends. Bilbo was a wet pile of hay, one of the least fun to be around. She pursed her lips in annoyance as she continued journeying on, occasionally looking over her shoulder to see Ori talking to Bilbo.

They settled on a rocky pass about a couple miles from where the Misty Mountains loomed over them like a storm cloud. Fili pulled his favorite thief aside, wanting to continue teaching their pupil on how to fight.

"No no, Miss Relly! A jab, then a swish and keep your hand steady!" Fili instructed her, the handsome dwarf's words reaching her ears as Relly kept her stance. As she learned from Fili and Kili, a rapier was not as brash as a sword and thus, could not be held as such. Relly kept an arm behind her back, really getting into the role of a graceful fencing lady. She was quick, light and constantly on her feet; her tutors had been using these skills to her advantage.

Kili laughed and clapped his hands, the dark haired swordsman taking Fili's shift as he approached his pupil with a friendly but determined look. "You flit about like a faerie, Miss Relly!"

She felt herself grin as she resumed her stance, prepared to thrust Toothpick into Kili's armor. The nephews of Thorin had been so nice to her, helping her with fighting. Honestly though, not all the dwarves were fearsome warriors like Dwalin. Bofur had been a toymaker, Ori a scribe, Nori a two-bit thief with his knees in murky business. So many of them had lived in exile for so long that the idea of returning to their true home was like a fountain out of reach from their thirsty tongues. Relly knew the ache of exile, except theirs was not self-imposed. She chose to leave her home. Her friends never had that choice.

"I am no faerie but a thief!" she jested back. What she had learned about the art of wielding Vancarmiel, or Toothpick as she affectionately named her weapon, was amazing. Unlike the slice and cut techniques of a sword, her rapier was best for blocking and dodging attempted strikes. A thrust to the abdomen was almost always fatal, and Relly's desire to fight alongside her friends only swelled with every bit of information she picked up from her tutors.

Ten minutes into fighting, Thorin paced by the scene of Kili and Relly fencing with a strained expression of intrigue and judgment. No doubt her late night sessions with his nephews attracted his attention. He stood tall, imposing his shadow as Relly was temporarily distracted and Kili broke her block, scoring a point on his side. Thorin shifted his gaze between his nephew and the quarterling, his face unreadable.

"Miss Relly, you must pay attention. I nearly cut you!" he tried to warn her but the eagerness in his voice caught her off guard. Breaking off the glance from Thorin, Relly furrowed her brows as she got back into the zone, the orange light of the campfire crawling up her pants leg as she resumed practice with the weapon-friendly dwarf.

_Shing! Shing! Shing!_ The sounds of the rapier and sword clanging together were like a musical performance, the notes reaching the ears of Thorin and the rest of the company as more and more dwarfs surrounded the small invisible arena that Kili and Relly formed.

"Go Relly!" Ori cheered, his older brother Nori chiming in. Bofur was taking bets on who would win. Bombur was grinning widely through that thick beard of his and Oin kept his ear trumpet up so he could understand what everyone was saying.

Relly stayed focused. She had to. All she wanted was Thorin to be impressed with her, to get him off her back about her lack of moral and interpersonal responsibilities. To see her as the competent thief and wholesome member of the party. In fact, the only other person of the party who was just as disbelieved in was, you guessed it, Bilbo Baggins. Relly reluctantly admitted she had that in common with the male Hobbit. Bilbo was the last to show up to the impromptu screening of Relly and Fili's round of fighting, interested in to see why everyone was circled around the sparring duo. For a brief second, Relly felt glad he showed up. If anything, it told her Bilbo wanted to be part of the company.

_Clang! Shing! Umf!_

Toothpick's tip pressed against Kili's stomach, the male dwarf with hardly any stubble on his face lowering his chin and staring right down at the point of impact. He then brought his head back up, his dark brows raised up with a surprised but pleased look.

"Excellent!" Fili shouted. "You nearly skewered my brother but you have greatly improved!" A couple of the dwarves laughed at Fili's statement.

Relly felt a small, unwanted blush creep on her cheeks. The recognition felt wonderful. She sheathed Toothpick as she placed her hands on her hips in a haughty stance, bangs falling in front of her face as her hazel eyes peered to see everyone's reactions. Finally, her eyes landed on Thorin's and she was hoping for some sign of acceptance or _something_.

Thorin Oakenshield opened his mouth, a thoughtful but still serious expression glued to his chiseled face. "It is late. We need to rest up, prepare ourselves upon entry to the Misty Mountains. The path ahead of us is perilous and we need to conserve our strength and energy." The leader of their company then turned his back and walked away from everyone. A hushed silence washed over the dwarves, Bilbo and Relly. The fun and games had ended and if their run-in with the wargs hadn't been an earlier indication, this quest was taking a turn in the dark.

Relly's face fell; her expression had not gone unnoticed by Bilbo. The tired bags under her eyes darkened as heat began to rise from her head. Kili blinked, stunned by her sudden change in demeanor as she gripped the hilt of her rapier and stormed off after Thorin Oakenshield. Bifur reached out his hand to try and yank her back, to stop her from confronting the dwarf lord but Relly was furious and no man, not even dwarf, could hold Relly Crillynook back from what she was about to say.

"I have been training for weeks now and you don't even care!" she spat at his back. Thorin did not turn around to face the bitter thief, his coarse dark hair shrouding himself from her like a veil. "What do you want me to do? Everyone here accepts me! Well except Bilbo but he's a wet rag..." she trailed off but quickly resumed her rant, not wanting any of her words to go unsaid. "You keep telling me you don't trust me, saying 'you have reservations' or whatever, but what can I do to get you to like me?"

Something indescribable broke inside her. Bitter water began to well up behind her eyes, her crooked teeth stapled together as she released her hand that had been holding the hilt of her rapier and formed a fist with it. She was seeing red straight at Thorin, who finally turned around to face the fuming female. He seemed to have no visible reaction as his stone-colored eyes shot down at Relly, watching her, _observing_ her. For a split second, he flashed some emotion but it vanished as soon as it wandered out of Relly's blurry eyesight.

"Why d-do you n-not like me?" she was getting angrier and angrier, letting her emotions wrangle her into shaking submission, her chin wrinkling as she raised her head up to see the source of constant put-downs. "I-I'm a f-freak, I know th-that. B-but I j-just thought t-that if I proved m-myself, m-maybe you'd r-respect me. I j-just wanted y-you...to c-care."

Her cries resounded in the empty mountain air, her friends tiptoeing over to where Thorin and Relly were standing. Some stayed far back, not wanting to intervene in such an intense moment. Murmurs of 'freak? what freak' were passed around in a circle. Relly's voice was cracking, her mental barrier was cracking. _No. NO. No, I am stronger than this, I cannot break down_, a small echo piped up in the crevices of her mind. The words inside her mind were forever hushed as Relly's head began to bob a little.

"I-I'm d-done!" she yelled at him, eyes tightly shut in order to force out her scream. "I-I a-am tired of s-seeking ap-p-proval f-from someone w-who d-doesn't w-want me a-around!"

"Relly—,"

"NO!" The shriek she emitted was the most agonizing sound Thorin had heard in a long time. Her scream was so loud it reverberated against the boulders, bouncing back and forth like ripples in a small pond. Thorin's eyebrows dropped, absorbing in the mien of the upset woman before him. He could almost hear her heart violently smashing against her rib cage, aching to burst. The crinkles in Thorin's face softened but it was too late for him to show any apologies towards his little thief. Hot tears were streaming down her dirty face as Relly's arms were shaking, fists curled as she let out one more pained gasp and rushed past the dwarf lord. Every step past him led to another sob, another sob, another sob...

The entire company was in utter shock. No one knew what to say or what to do. The Relly that had been travelling alongside them had now fallen apart and showed the men a side that they were not prepared to see. Every time a thought bubbled up in their minds, it was popped for the sake of not saying the wrong words.

Thorin allowed the woman to unleash her pent up emotions on him. He acted like a whipping post for her feelings. Thorin let out a strained and heavy sigh, his calloused hands rubbing the bridge of his nose as if he had just dealt with a petulant child. However, she was no child and her cries were far from the whining of babes. This woman was part of his company; she signed the contract along with Bilbo to accompany him on the quest to reclaim his old home. He had hurt her, not considered her in his great favor. He was a respectable leader, a serious but caring man and full of desire to take back his throne from the sleeping Smaug. But how did this reflect on his character? All he asked for was honor, loyalty and a willing heart. Did Relly Crillynook not show that, in her own way?

Thorin Oakenshield was mortified. He was ashamed of his behavior, of how far the proverbial stick was up his bottom and his need to see Relly prove herself to him hindered her development more than helped it. He could hear the sound of muffled sobs not so far off, getting quieter and quieter until it stopped completely.

Bilbo's frown deepened, wrinkles forming in his brow as he took a step forward, the crunch underneath his foot breaking the immeasurable silence. Never in a million years would he have expected to see Relly cry. Upset and irritated, maybe. But never full blown in tears. The only indication of a quieter, sadder Relly was that night in Rivendell when he caught her with the stolen goods. Bilbo saw something different in her that night and its full extent had just been revealed to everyone.

Vulnerability. Who knew the playful and irresponsible thief felt so vulnerable? Maybe it was the human blood that coursed in her veins, to feel painfully aware of every thorn and burr that pricked her side. The thick skin she wore, how she brushed off most of the natural feelings of compassion, honesty and remorse over her compulsive stealing...perhaps they weren't so unfounded as he believed them to be. Relly was like any living being and her flaws, however numerous they were, did not make her a terrible person. Maybe he had been too quick to judge her. Sure, she ticked him off and stole his forks and clothes _and_ called him a wet rag, a comment he did not appreciate in the slightest, but Relly was inherently good, or so Bilbo wanted to think. There were real monsters lurking in the dark and Relly was not one of them.

"You need to apologize," Bilbo was the first person to speak up and shatter the quiet envelope around them, the dwarves raising their heads out of surprise that mild mannered Bilbo would say anything. "I think you need to...talk to her, at least. She's bullheaded but, well, she _might_ listen."

Thorin did not appreciate Bilbo's advice at first but he realized Bilbo was right; Thorin had to face the music and apologize for his shortcomings and bring Relly back to their group. Without a word, Thorin Oakenshield walked to where he heard Relly cry, ready to make amends with the sole female member of his party. Even with the cold moon shining down on him, he could see the outline of the thief. She was perched on top of a pointy rock overlooking the view from the elevated mountain pass, feet dangling above the edge. Her back was slumped and he heard a soft sigh. He approached the rock as he sat down on it with her, the girl noticing his presence as she pulled the hood of her cloak over her head.

"W-what do you want?" her voice was barely audible but Thorin heard her question. "G-go away," she shifted her body away from him, not wanting to look at him.

He rested his hands between the space of his parted legs, his meshed fingers twitching with some slight anxiety. Thorin was already masculine in physique but he needed to man up and face his wrongdoings. It would not be easy but judging by the glowering he was receiving from all his dwarven brethren, he had to fix it or else they'd never respect him.

He took in a deep breath, turning his head in the direction he believed her face was. "I admit I had my concerns about you, Relly Crillynook. Gandalf already told me at the last moment about Bilbo Baggins' inclusion to my cause but I did not expect you to come along."

It was too dark to see her facial expressions but Thorin could hear her quietly listening to him. "I-I know that," she squeaked.

He nodded. "I know you know that, Relly. And I grudgingly put up with it. I allowed you and Bilbo to come along because I believed we needed master burglars in order to fulfill the destiny set before me. However, I did not expect for my company to become so attached to you, even though we hardly knew anything about this person who joined us. I did not trust you, and perhaps this is why I did not accept your position in my company as easily as the others did."

Thorin listened to her soft sniffling and heard the quarterling her throat. She was staying quiet and paying attention to him. Perhaps he should consult Bilbo Baggins in all matters womanly and Hobbit-ish. "It was because I did not know who you were that I confronted you about the nature of your heritage. I had my suspicions from the start, yes, but the stone trolls confirmed them."

"I-I didn't say anything because I w-was worried everyone w-would hate me and kick me out," her stuttering had come to a cease as he heard her lower the hood of her cloak, the light of the moon bouncing off her hair. "All my life I hated myself because I am a...a mixed breed."

He did not say anything for a few minutes, listening to her breathe in and out as he cracked his knuckles. Time to 'fess up, no more putting it off. "I am deeply sorry, Relly Crillynook of the Shire. You were not wrong in your accusations against me and I am guilty of withholding the recognition you have tried so hard to gain from me. All this time I have been placing obstacles in your path expecting you to climb them, building walls instead of pathways to follow me and allowing my own sense of honor and pride to hurt yours. I am ashamed of my actions and I ask for your forgiveness."

Every word he spoke was true and it stung him. He had always been a proud warrior with strong opinions but this time, the fierceness of Thorin Oakenshield ebbed into his sensitive, fatherly side. This was the part of him that had been revealed to a young Kili and Fili, who treated the boys like they were his own sons. Thorin did not show his tender-hearted side all the time since it would make his companions believe he had grown mushy. But Relly deserved to hear him admit his mistakes in the hopes she would accept his apology.

Relly perked up a little as she wiped the dried tear stains off her face with her arm. "So...you don't hate me?"

"No, I do not."

"You mean it?" she wanted the truth and she wanted to hear it from him.

"I swear as the rightful heir to the throne of Thrain II of the Lonely Mountain that you have my word, Relly. I promise I will no longer consider you an unnecessary burden, but as a true friend, if that is what you want from me," and he meant it. Thorin Oakenshield waited for her response but she said nothing, leading him to the conclusion that she was unsatisfied with his apology. "I understand that you do not see me in a positive light at the moment, Relly. But I—,"

He felt his arm constricted by a sudden tightness as his first thoughts went to shoving whatever latched on his arm away from him. Then he realized it was a hug. Relly was _hugging_ his arm. It must be her odd way of forgiving him. Thorin patted the top of her head in a fatherly manner. He allowed the cute hug for now as the thief clung to his arm happily, not saying a single word as he felt her lips grow into a grin as she pressed her mouth against his sleeve.

"And I promise I'll stop giving away the potatoes," she giggle-whispered, lifting her head up in the direction where she thought Thorin's eyes were.

His small smile immediately curved into a frown. Their semi father-daughter/brother-sister/whatever the heck they had moment was over. "So is that why our stock has been low!" he loudly exclaimed, "_You_ have been giving away the food!"

Relly smiled; everything was slowly settling back to normal. Perhaps Thorin wasn't so bad after all. She got up from the boulder as she nodded her head at him, not regretting telling the dwarf lord about the slowly dwindling number of potatoes. She left before Thorin left the boulder, her demeanor lifted into a happier mood as she returned back to their little campsite, no doubt surrounded by the curious, scared and stunned men.

Thorin allowed her to sleep. He decided he would be mad about the potatoes in the morning.

* * *

You guys have no idea how long I've been waiting to get to this chapter. It's an emotional roller coaster! I know many of you were asking for more Thorin/Relly interaction so there ya go. They will have a family-like relationship since we can't have Bilbo getting jealous...or maybe...nah, just kidding!

I hope you all loved this chapter!


	14. Where I Belong

The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings belongs to JRR Tolkien and the movies belong to Peter Jackson. I'm just a devoted fan.

If I could sum up this chapter in a sentence it would be: Bilbo, you_ dope._

A million thanks again for everyone's lovely reviews, alerts, faves and comments! Don't forget, I have a tumblr~ it's **pheniaphile**, go check it out if you like the Hobbit, reading my crazy feels or if you wanna ask me stuff about Relly :3

* * *

**Where I Belong**

_Into each life some rain must fall,_  
_Some days must be dark and dreary._

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The company of Thorin Oakenshield saw Relly Crillynook with a spring in her step. Ever since she and Thorin made up, the black haired thief had been in a perpetually good mood despite the tumultuous weather. She hummed tunes from the top of her head, was the first one to wake up after their short rest and kept up the pace that Thorin had set for their company. No one had outright asked what Thorin and Relly discussed that night in order to respect their privacy on personal matters. However, it was safe to agree that Relly forgave the under-the-mountain king and whatever Thorin said to her really brightened her spirits.

Even Bilbo noticed she did not tease him as of late. For someone who was constantly the butt of her jokes, Bilbo was not sure what to make of Relly's sudden change in attitude. She still had his blankets much to his dismay and he knew she had a couple other things in those cloak pockets of hers but she hadn't insulted him at all. The thief kept a goofy smile on her face, often chattering with the dwarf who harbored a more-than-likely unrequited crush on her.

Ori was nearly done with the scarf he was knitting for the woman of his affections, making sure Relly wasn't around so he could present the scarf as a surprise gift. Bilbo found it funny, in a sad way of course, of how everyone in the company was aware of Ori's feelings for Relly except for the lucky lady herself. Thorin hadn't said anything on the matter, probably due to his idea of romance being a trivial pursuit. Even if he was aware of the youngest dwarf's feelings, and considering his newly mended relationship with Relly, it was hard to say whether Thorin would support the two together or not.

_That is, if Relly even feels the same way about Ori._ Bilbo blinked, scrunching up his nose at the little annoying thought that dug into his brain.

Bilbo had never been a particularly romantic fellow, even with his love for books, poetry and the simple pleasures of pastoral life. He had respect for women, yes, but he had been called snobbish due to his ridiculous standards of courting and marriage. In his youth, he Hobbit ladies had quite a crush on him due to his good reputation in Hobbiton, the wealth of his home Bag End and well, he _had_ to admit, he wasn't horrible looking. His mother Belladonna had been quite attractive in her youth and his father Bungo was well known for his quips and quotes, many of which Bilbo knew by heart. However, he had resigned himself to a life of eternal bachelorhood, never quite pleased with the incessant tittering and dimpled faces of the female Brandybuck, Took, Proudfoot and Boffin lasses. Of course they were all married off by now so Bilbo doubted any woman still held feelings for him.

He quickly shook his head, the crackled thundering and heavy showering of rain and hail disrupted his inner thoughts. He gripped his walking stick, the wetness making it somewhat difficult for him to keep a good grasp. Frankly, he did not understand the trail of thought that led him to remember about the ladies of Hobbiton. Perhaps he missed the warmth and security of Bag End and the green hills, bright brown dirt and calmer weather of the Shire than this hell they were walking through.

Unfortunately, not even Relly's good cheer could save Thorin and Co. from the awful weather of the Misty Mountains. Rain and hail fell from the grey-black skies above them and never relented in its fury. Thorin yelled to them to stick together and make sure no man, or woman, was left behind. The rain made the narrow mountain "pass", _if you can even call the sliver of available walking space a pass_, made it harder to keep in formation because everyone's shoes, or lack thereof, were soaked.

Bilbo's bare feet betrayed him as he felt the heel of his foot slip and he was face forward into the chasm of the Misty Mountains. He was freaking out internally and felt himself dip into the never ending fall. _Well, as far as painless deaths go, this isn't what I had in mind._

"Bilbo!" Dwalin yelled, having been right behind him as his and multiple other hands grabbed onto his backpack, trying to drag him back onto the path as they all grunted and groaned until they finally dragged Bilbo back onto his feet. Their portion of the line was stopped in its tracks, relieved that they recovered their master burglar Baggins from such a short notice near-death.

"Thank you," Bilbo honestly meant it as Dwalin patted the back of Bilbo's shoulder roughly, a sign of the fierce dwarf's friendly care for him.

"Be careful, Master Baggins," Dwalin warned.

"We must find shelter!" Thorin yelled, but his thoughts of safe shelter were replaced with a flying projectile aimed right at their position. "WATCH OUT!"

Bilbo's face drained of any color as the enormous boulder flying over their heads crashed into the peak above them, splitting the boulder into a rock avalanche, the debris falling around them. Everyone pressed their backs against the wall, hoping that the rocks would pass by them and not split the pass they were walking on. Bilbo turned his head to see how his comrades were doing. Everyone was frightened in some manner, even if their faces did not show it. From the corner of his brown eyes, he saw Relly's face just as pale as his was; she was just as scared.

The mountains were coming alive. No, _literally_, they were alive. He hardly believed it with his own eyes. The darkened outline of what he assumed was another mountain started to rumble and revealed itself as a strange rock being hundreds of feet tall. He heard the words 'thunder battle' passed around and then Bofur let out a yelp.

"The legends are true! The stone giants have come to life!"

First stone trolls, _now_ stone giants? What was next, stone Orcs? Bilbo's head spun with the scary possibilities. There was so much screaming and yelling flying about that Bilbo did not know who was saying what or who was giving the commands. All he could do was hold on tight and pray that he would not become a Hobbit flapjack. Bilbo looked down at his feet, the edge of the cliff crumbling beneath him as he looked ahead of the line and saw Relly smushed between Kili and Fili. Then it happened. A giant, jagged split formed into the mountain and Relly let out a loud screech, her feet on opposite sides of the growing crack in the mountain. Fili lunged to grab her and luckily grabbed the quarterling onto their side of the mountain. Bilbo's heart was thumping, paralyzed by the fact this mountain was living, walking stone giant and that if two of them were playing a thunder battle, no doubt their little lives were tossed in the balance of this third stone giant. Most of all, he heard the anguished yell of Fili, who saw his brother being torn apart from him.

"Kili!" Relly cried out, not wanting her tutor to be separated from her. She tried to make a running jump but Fili held her back, not wanting her to fall into the void. "No, no, I can still make the jump!"

"No, you cannot!" Thorin did not need to tell her a second time as Relly still grabbed at the space in front of her with her hands, watching in horror as her friends were on the opposite kneecaps of the stone giant.

For what felt like years, the half of the company Bilbo was with were waiting for the opportunity to leap onto the only stable mountain in the entire range as they all watched and waited for Kili and the others stranded on the legs of the stone giant to somehow find a way to rejoin them. When the third stone giant finally approached where they were standing, every single member of the group hoped they could jump off the platform and be with them. Relly needed to get a running start so she was the last to make it, much to Bilbo's relief.

Everyone watched as their stranded half of the company stayed on the kneecap of the stone giant. The tension was palpable, thick enough to slice with a knife or even Bilbo's own "letter opener" as Balin named it. Bilbo swallowed his fear, seeing Kili and his dwarven friends come closer and closer...

_WHAM!_

The stone giant's leg collided with the rock wall, the crunchy sound of contact wrenching Bilbo's gut. When the thunderous being fell, there were no dwarves left on the cliff. Bilbo felt as if he were about to vomit. Thorin yelled for his nephew, running headstrong into where the kneecap of the stone giant had collided with the mountain they were on. They _couldn't_ be dead. A part of Bilbo wanted the miraculous chance of them to have survived the crash, to be waiting around the corner like nothing happened. _I'm so sorry_, he thought to himself, a sharp twinge of regret searing through him when he saw the crestfallen face of young Ori, staring in shock at his fellow friends' apparent demise.

However, fate had a better plan. The voices of Thorin, Balin, Bofur and Ori changed his mind as Bilbo snapped out of his mental anguish and listened to what they were saying. Around the corner were the crumpled up forms of the dwarves moaning at the pain of landing on such a hard. The brick in Bilbo's stomach vanished as he cursed himself for even thinking about such a fate, quickly running to where Thorin and the other dwarves were at...

_Not again_. He slipped, and was hanging on for dear life one again. It hadn't even been the span of twenty minutes and Bilbo the damsel in distress had somehow gotten himself into a pickle once more. _No, I'm going to die for certain this time, _he mentally panicked as glimpses of his ever-green childhood flashed before his open eyes. Bilbo struggled, trying to propel himself upwards if he could just get his feet to touch the mountainside and climb. It was to no avail. _I suppose there will ballads written about me, the ill-fated Bilbo Baggins. If Hobbits were meant for mountains, we would have been born dwarves._

"Ack!"

His absence and loud yell attracted Relly's attention as she doubled around the corner and she almost tripped over her own bare feet when she looked down and saw him hanging on the ledge for dear life. In any other situation where he wasn't near eventual death, she would have called him a damsel in distress, a whiny little princess. This was not such a time. Bilbo looked up frantically to see the fear plastered over the thief's face. In what Arda did Relly Crillynook come to his aide? Maybe he really was dead._  
_

"Grab my hand!" she dropped onto her stomach and reached her arm over the ledge, waving it around until Bilbo grabbed her wrist with one free hand. The rain was drenching both of them, making it difficult to hold on as he rearranged his fingers to grip her wrist. Relly let out a squeak of pain due to his weight, not used to trying to pull up a full grown male Hobbit. "HELP!" her strained voice cut through the thunder and lightning. She herself was slipping and if they weren't careful, Relly would also fall to her more than likely death.

"Bilbo!" Bofur finally joined Relly, along with Dwalin, Bifur, Oin and everyone clamoring at the edge of the mountain, waving and shouting as Relly felt her own body yank itself over the edge. Gloin, Nori and Dori held onto Relly's legs to prevent her falling as Dwalin and Oin tried to pull Bilbo up. _I'm going to die. I'm going to DIE._

It wasn't until Thorin finally intervened and climbed down the mountainside to give Bilbo a push up that he finally felt somewhat okay...only to see Thorin himself fall over the edge. They had just traded places; Bilbo stared in shock as he stood still against the rock wall of the misty mountain, promising himself to never go near another cliff again in his life.

"Thorin!" Relly's voice mingled with the other 'Thorin' exclamations as Dwalin finally rescued the leader of their tight-knit company back onto his feet. There was a short lived moment of joy upon saving both their burglar and mountain lord. But there was no joy inside Bilbo's heart as he gasped for breath.

"I thought we lost our burglar," Dwalin stated to Thorin, serious concern in his voice for the bachelor Hobbit. Bilbo's ears perked up when he realized Dwalin was talking about him, not Relly. "Had it not been for Miss Relly, I dare not want to consider what could have happened."

Thorin turned his head around to glare at the source of their misfortune and mishaps. "He has been lost ever since he's been here. Bilbo Baggins should never have come. Hobbits don't belong on mountains."

Bad choice of words. Relly drew in a sharp huff as Thorin realized his mistake, the dwarf lord fully facing Relly as her lips formed into an offended pout, with her arms akimbo and hands on her hips. "You're doing it _again_, Thorin!"

"Relly, please, this is none of your concern. You have proved your place, Bilbo Baggins has not." his tone changed when he spoke to her, like a father to his daughter. This did not go unnoticed by Bilbo.

Bilbo could not believe it. Relly was actually standing up for him? The Relly he met at the beginning of their adventure was nothing like the black haired thief before him, a sudden change that had formed over the past two days. To be honest, Bilbo felt his masculinity challenged. Normally he would be appreciative of Relly's sticking her neck out for him, which was a miracle in of itself, but at the same time this was not her battle. Thorin was right in that Relly had already confronted the heir of Erebor and rightfully earned her spot in Thorin's company. _He_, however, had not. And the reality of the situation stung him.

Thorin ended any chance of defending Bilbo Baggins' case as the dwarf lord led the way, no one daring to say a word. Relly opened her mouth again to speak but had no words to say, reluctantly accepting her place as she kept her hand on the hilt of her rapier. She glanced ruefully at Bilbo, moving on ahead as the tired and downtrodden company headed for shelter within the cavernous jaws of the Misty Mountains.

* * *

No fires burned in the hollow, empty cave as everyone inhaled the musty smell of the last-minute shelter. Thorin told everyone to get some sleep and that they would head out on first light. No one needed to be told twice. The cave was winding but littered with rocks and stalagmites, proving a challenge to the men and woman who wanted to lay their things down. Hardly any talking was heard and for good reason; most of them couldn't believe they were still alive after such an ordeal. Bilbo hardly believed _he_ was alive. Forget wargs and Orcs, nature was the real killer here.

_I don't belong here. I never have. I am only fooling myself into thinking I ever had a right to be among true adventurers. I belong in Bag End, sitting in my arm chair with a cup of hot tea, a slice of rum hole cake and curled up with a good book._

He could not sleep. He tossed and turned but the words of Thorin Oakenshield were eating him alive. He gently raised his head to get a good look at his sleeping companions. His eyes landed on the form of Relly Crillynook. She was buried underneath all the blankets, looking like a little mole underground. A faint half-smirk began to grow on his face but was stunted at the last minute, changing his mind about thinking of the quarterling.

Bilbo looked up at the dripping stalactites above him, blinking his eyes every time a drop of water landed on his nose. He knew this was his only opportunity to willingly leave. Maybe he could go back to Rivendell, the beautiful home of the Elves. Perhaps Gandalf would still be there, waiting for him. Certainly the grey wizard would understand his plight, possibly even blame himself for ever showing up on Bilbo's doorstep that morning. But deep down, Bilbo knew that was far from likely. _No, he would be disappointed in me._

He made up his mind. Quickly and quietly he began to pack up his belongings, stopping to consider if he wanted to take back the blankets Relly stole from him. He decided against it for some reason. Once the sore adventurer finished gathering up his items, he carefully tiptoed across the snoozing lake of dwarves, sucking in as much air as he could as to not breathe loudly. So far so good. Thorin himself was asleep, unaware that Bilbo was leaving them behind.

"Where do you think you're going, lad?" Bofur's voice called out to him in the dark.

Great, just when he thought he was in the clear. Bilbo shamefully turned around, the determined expression on his face betraying his body language as he kept a strong grip on his walking stick. "Back to Rivendell. Back home, to where I belong."

The dwarf with the curly hat knitted his brows in confusion, his mouth open. "No, no!" he harshly whispered, shaking his head side to side. "You can't just turn back. You're one of us. You're part of the company now."

It was kind of sad how much attention Bofur was giving him. He had always been rather friendly towards him and was generally optimistic, but Bilbo had no time for the concerns of the toymaker. "I am not. You heard Thorin himself say I don't belong here. I should have never left Bag End."

"Ohh," Bofur said. "You're homesick. I understand."

Bilbo's features darkened. "No you don't. You don't understand. None of you do. You're dwarves, you're used to being on the road with _this_," he gestured wildly, "life of yours. You never stick around in one place for too long, never belonging anywhere!" Once again, Bilbo Baggins made an idiot of himself as he saw the hurt expression on Bofur's face. He cursed himself for just spouting off all that junk without realizing that the dwarves were on this journey to reclaim their home. He literally just missed the whole point. "I'm...I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said any of that."

Bofur sadly shook his head. "No, no you're right lad." Bofur inadvertently stared off into the direction where Relly was sleeping. Bilbo avoided looking in that direction, his body still turned towards the exit of the cave. "I just feel bad for the lass. Y'know, I believe she's grown quite fond of you lately."

_Fond? Of me?_ He scoffed at the idea, despite having just considered that realm of possibility. Relly could not have possibly outgrown her childish tendencies so quickly, even if she did just help save his life...and stand up to Thorin for him..."N-no, Relly has an entire company who's fond of her. She's got you, Thorin, Gloin...well, she also has Ori..."

Bofur rolled his eyes at the male Hobbit with no common sense, knowing perfectly well what Bilbo meant. "She doesn't love Ori, lad. As much as I encourage the boy to admit his feelings for her, I doubt she wants a romantic relationship with him."

Bilbo jerked his head back, surprised by what Bofur revealed. He was trying to _leave_ the company, not stick around for their melodrama. "Then why even encourage him if she doesn't love him back? He's only going to get his feelings hurt."

Bofur raised both his hairy brows, a smirk growing on the dwarf's face as his eyes curved in a smile. "Have you ever been _in love_, Bilbo Baggins?"

_What sort of question is that?!_ Bilbo's face grew a light shade of red. The flustered bachelor twisted his frown as if he had just ate something too spicy, twitching his nose. How absurd! What could have possibly possessed Bofur to even ask him such a stupid, unrelated question! He absently glimpsed over to where the dwarves were sleeping to avoid looking at Bofur, immediately regretting that because Bofur caught his glance.

"That is absolutely none of your business. It's been nice talking to you Bofur, but I must be going now." Basically, no, he had never been in love before. Of course, he'd never outright say that. In fact, he could not remember the last time he even found a lady attractive. Maybe Galadriel. She was beautiful and majestic but he wasn't necessarily attracted to the female elf.

Bofur exhaled softly, nodding his head. "I understand," and he allowed Bilbo to go on ahead without any more interruptions. The watchman sat back down on his rock, an enigmatic smile replacing his smirk. "I wish you luck, Bilbo Baggins. I really do..." but his smile faded as he saw hint of blue light shining from Bilbo's side. "Er, what is that?"

The Hobbit looked down at his sword, slowly pulling it out to reveal more of the blue light. His heart stopped because he realized he just missed his chance to flee. That is, if he ever had one.

* * *

I'm mean for ending it right here aren't I? Next chapter will be split between Relly and Bilbo's POV because well, I GOT SOME PLANS AHAHA.

Stay tuned for next time ;)


	15. A Real Master Burglar

The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings belongs to JRR Tolkien and the movies belong to Peter Jackson. I'm just a devoted fan.

I have something to confess to you all. Bilbo and Relly won't happen. Because this is actually a Gollum/Relly fic. Relly dumps Bilbo for our favorite cave dweller and they live happily ever eating fish and cursing Bilbo Baggins for stealing the precious :D

...just kidding! Haha, I'd never do that to you guys. To make up for that cruel joke, I've finally written the feels everyone's been waiting for. The Bilbo/Relly train is chuggin' along and it's full steam ahead the next few chapters~

* * *

**A Real Master Burglar**

_We all walk in the dark and each of us must learn to turn on his or her own light._  
- Earl Nightingale

The worst sort of alarm to wake up to was the kind that placed you in perilous doom and danger without any time to prepare for said doom and danger. For dear Relly, this was how she woke up. Relly was tuckered out from the mountain escapade and did not want to be disturbed in her few hours of rest. Sadly, her time of rest was coming to an end as she felt a low rumbling shake underneath her blankets. She murmured something incoherently, turning on her side as she licked her chapped lips, squirming around as she rubbed her cold feet against her legs.

_I must be dreaming_, she hazily thought in her half-awake state of mind. _There's no way the ground is shaking_.

"Wake up!" Thorin's voice boomed in the cave as Relly stirred, her yawning only to turn into a scream as the ground beneath her turned out to be a trap door, launching Relly and the rest of Thorin and company down the bumpy, rocky and orange-illuminated chute that seemed to have no end. Everyone was tossing about and screaming until they all landed into one big pile, Bombur being the cherry on top as everyone felt the wind knocked out of them. Relly groaned, her leg smushed under Oin and Bifur as she tried to worm her way out of the cluster.

When she finally wriggled herself free, she heard hundreds of voices echoing down the pathway and the thunderous sound of stomping getting closer and closer to where she was. Relly quickly got on her feet, only to discover a horde of nasty, ugly goblins charging at them with torches in hand and malicious smiles on their faces. Relly was caught in a tangled mess of limbs, weapons, yelling and awful smells as Relly tried to reach for her rapier, only for her to be bogged down by three goblins. It dawned on Relly that these goblins weren't fighting them, but capturing them instead.

"Let go of me, ugly!" she hocked up her spit in one goblin's face, trying to distract him so she could make a run for it. It worked, but it was a short-lived victory as the second goblin snarled in her face and gripped her arms behind her back, forcing her to move. The walkways were overrun with these underground dwellers and Relly was too tired to feel any more frightened than she usually would. She had just spent hours trying to walk on a mountain pass with stone giants and thunder battles; she did not want smelly goblins on that list.

"Smells human," the third goblin next to Relly smelled her skin, her skin crawling from the creepy sensation. "Haven't had human in a while!"

"No, I'm a Hobbit," she grunted, hated being shoved around by these beasts. Could every evil creature on this entire earth smell the human in her? It certainly seemed like it. Relly kept her mouth shut, running off multiple curses in her head as she squinted her eyes to find Thorin. He, of course, was at the front of the line.

_Maybe they know it's him_, Relly concluded, frowning at the idea that these goblins actually knew _who_ they were dealing with, rather than just carting them off to supper. She gulped, the pit in her stomach growing deeper from her realization that this was all just a trap. Relly turned her head behind her to see the rest of the dwarves. She counted every dwarf in the line: Bofur, Bombur, Dwalin, Balin, Ori, Nori, Dori, Oin, Gloin, Bifur, Kili, Fili. Thorin was at the front of course but Relly felt like she was missing someone..._Where's Bilbo? Why did Gandalf have to abandon us now, in all of this?_

Relly did not have time to think over his disappearance as she was being forcibly pushed over rickety wooden bridges that were hardly held together by dwindling rope as she felt herself shrink at the vastness of this underground realm, lit up by large torches and makeshift tree houses that hovered above them. Thousands upon thousands of goblins screeched and made noise upon their arrival to the center of the goblin kingdom. Relly's blood was on fire; she desperately wanted to whip out her rapier and drive Toothpick into the fat, greasy bellies of her captors but she would most likely be killed in a matter of seconds. She resigned herself to take no action as the goblins in front of her stopped, having arrived at their destination.

_He looks like a wart._ Relly wanted to puke. _A pus-filled, bulging wart_. This "wart" she was referring to was none other than the lumbering, monstrous Goblin King who sat on his too-tiny throne in front of them with a sadistically gleeful smile stretched on his too-fat face. The smell enough was horrible but this Goblin King made her one step closer to throwing herself off the wooden platform to escape the stench. _Maybe I should jump_, she contemplated.

She was forced to give up her rapier as the goblins snatched it from her, including her little dagger she had been hiding in her trouser pocket. Relly had never seen such a pile of sharp, shiny things and she made a grabby hand at Toothpick just carelessly tossed aside like it were just a stick. _Toothpick, my baby!_ she cried in her head. She wanted to knee every goblin in the groin in revenge but, like her previous half-baked plan, this also was a bad idea.

"Who would be so bold as to enter my kingdom?" the Goblin King eyed every single member of the company with his bulbous eyes. The most disturbing facial feature was that sack of a chin. Relly's throat burned with vomit. "Spies? Thieves? Assassins_?_" he raised his voice even louder. "I ought to rip your heads off with my own hand!" and he shook his fist threateningly at all of them.

A smaller goblin stepped out of the group. "Dwarves, your malevolence. And a human...ish creature," he gestured to Relly, taking another whiff of her scent, causing more goosebumps to prickle her skin All of the dwarves, save Thorin, looked at her in shock as Relly gave them a weak frown. Thorin knew of her mixed blood, but none of the others did. If they even got out of this pickle alive, she did not look forward to that discussion.

_If_ they got out alive.

* * *

Bilbo's eyelids fluttered awake, slowly adjusting to the darkness that enveloped him as he smelled the musty air of the unknown territory. He was at the bottom of the pit no doubt, and frankly he was once again surprised to find himself breathing. He felt dirt caked onto his face, a few cuts stinging his arms and legs and the stench of the goblin who had caused his fall. The sounds of skin scuffling along the rocky ground caused Bilbo to freeze up as he laid still, wondering who or what else was down here in the dark. He only know of the goblin, no other creature. The low hisses of mouth breathing added more tension to the air, his bones feeling so brittle.

"Yess...a treatses for us..._gollum, gollum_!" The hacking and swallowing of the odd word 'gollum' frightened but intrigued the reluctant adventurer as Bilbo continued to listen to the eerily ecstatic creature hover over his eventual dinner. He heard the dragging of the almost corpse, mutterings of 'goody tasties' and 'for us, preciousss' bouncing off every rock in this cavern. What exactly was this thing?

Bilbo, going against every fiber in him that wasn't of the Tookish behavior, decided to investigate through the peephole of one rock as he saw the creature and the goblin fight, until the skin-drooping creature ended its life with a rock in hand. Bilbo thought he saw something glint on the ground but he knew better than to risk his presence right now.

After the 'gollum' sounding creature left, Bilbo took out his blue-shining sword and waved it around the ground, the color of gold attracting his eye as he bent down and picked it up with his fingers. It was a plain gold band, very similar to the kind a married couple would wear. He banished the thought as he observed the details, or in this case lack thereof, as he felt the smooth gold curve on the pads of his fingers. It struck Bilbo as very peculiar that an ordinary gold band would be found in such a dark and dreary cave. It was almost so fascinating to just keep looking at the ring...to be entranced by its plain but powerful beauty.

_Did this ring originally belong to that creature? Was it stolen by him? Who owned this ring beforehand?_ _Does this make me a thief if I just pocket it for later?_ Bilbo remembered how Relly offered him advice to be a thief. Well, it looks like he was one in the making and without her help thank you very much. He couldn't help but internally smirk to himself, realizing that he had the potential to be a real master burglar.

Breaking off his thoughts of the ring, Relly and his morals concerning stealing, Bilbo heard the loud mutterings of the crazed creature as he, with sword in hand, followed the source of the gurgling voice. In the middle of the stagnated cave water, there was a small island of rock. On top of the tallest rock he saw the dark outline of the gollum creature bent over what he assumed to be the dead goblin and ..._singing_?

It was singing. A sick and twisted song about stones, bones and guts but it was a song nonetheless. Whatever race this animal may have been once upon a time ago, it had learned the common language because he was singing. Bilbo had never heard of such a thing. Stories were passed around the races capable of intellect, such as Hobbits of course, but how could a deformed little critter stranded at the bottom of the Goblin kingdom imagine such words and songs?

He ducked behind a giant boulder, wishing his sword was not shining so brightly for fear of attracting the gollum creature's attention. He saw what he did to the goblin. Even if Bilbo was taller than the depraved cave dweller, he could not doubt the fact the creature could probably kill him with brute force. Much to his relief, the blue light flickered off as he took in a deep breath, resting his head against the slimy texture of the boulder. Opening his eyes, he turned his head to look over to the island again, only to find nothing. Where did it go?

And then he looked up to find the skulking figure hang over him like a bat. His heart stopped from the sight of the Gollum, as he would now label it from here on after, so close to him. Upon closer look, he found Gollum to have deflated, wide blue eyes that echoed a sad remnant of a time before Bilbo. This creature was far different from an Orc or Goblin.

"It splashes, preciousss. Ahh, that's a meaty mouthful," Gollum opened his jaw and nearly squealed in delight at the sight of Bilbo, or rather how fat he was. "Yum, yum, yum for us, precious!"

Bilbo pressed the tip of his sword right into the indent of Gollum's throat, forcing the self-named sound to be produced. He felt himself gain some courage as he straightened his form and held the hilt of his sword with both hands, believing himself to actually have a fighting chance against this Gollum. "Stay back. I-I'm warning you to stay back. Don't you dare come any closer!"

The creature was retreating with fear in his runny blue eyes. "He's got an elvish blade preciouss...yes, yes, I knows that but those nasty elveses, not tasties at all." It was working so far as Gollum stayed away from Bilbo and continued talking to himself further away. Wait, how did Gollum know about elvish blades?

For every question Bilbo asked, he got twenty more in return. He heard Gollum ask him who he was and took it upon himself to answer. "My name is Bilbo. Bilbo Baggins."

Gollum looked befuddled and less murderous than before. "Ba...Bagginses? What is a Bagginses, precious?"

"I'm a Hobbit," Bilbo found himself short of breath, adrenaline pumping through his veins as he kept a slightly shaky grip on his sword. "A Hobbit from the Shire." The voice inside his head was telling him not to divulge so much information but being a polite gentle-Hobbit, Bilbo was taught to always introduce himself, even to creepy little cave dwellers like Gollum.

The creature nodded, somewhat understanding Bilbo. "Ohh, we like goblinses, batses and fishes but we haven't tried Hobbitses before!" he kept shaking his head up and down, eyeing Bilbo's flesh with a starved look. Bilbo suddenly wished he wasn't so pudgy. "Tasties, tasties, Hobbitses be hasties!" he began to sing off-key, bobbing his head side to side before launching into a crazed, hungry mood. He lunged at Bilbo, wanting a taste of his pudgy body.

"No, no!" If Fili or Kili could see how he was waving his sword about, they'd probably have a fit on how he was handling the weapon. Even Relly would probably chastise him, and she was even less mature than those two. However, Bilbo was trying to make Gollum cower so he could demand to be shown the way out. He wasn't keen on fighting Gollum and was focused on leaving this cave _alive._

Little did Bilbo know that a game of riddles would change his life forever.

* * *

Her gut was knotted up, a fire building in her throat as Relly fought the urge to vomit. Thorin was about to be decapitated and everyone else likely killed too. She saw the horn held above Thorin's head, so close to his eyes as the dwarves and Relly helplessly stared at what would be the bloody death of Thorin Oakenshield.

When all else looked bleak, a bright light blinded Relly's eyes as a powerful wave of energy could be felt in her bones and she was positive everyone else could feel the familiar presence. Through squinted eyes, she saw structures blown apart, goblins flying off the platforms and the crash of the Goblin King falling onto his side. The despair Relly had felt evaporated into the bare bones of relief.

_Gandalf_. Relly blinked with a hopeful flame in her eyes, so glad to see Gandalf come at their aide. The goblins screeched in pain from the brilliance of Gandalf the Grey as she felt her arms released, rubbing her wrists to soothe the pain as she lifted her chin to see the wizard revealed with sword and staff in hand.

"Gandalf!" and she plunged herself into the frenzy, trying to make her way towards the pile of weapons that were forcibly taken from them. If she could just reach Toothpick and her dagger, she'd be more than set to slice up some goblin meat. A fat goblin bumped into her, causing her to trip over her feet and land on her knees, gaining a few scrapes on her legs. She then heard her name being yelled out.

"Miss Relly!" Dwalin threw her Toothpick as she sprung up and was happily reunited with her baby as she scrambled to find her dagger. Unfortunately, her dagger would have to be set aside for now as she felt eyes on her back and swiveled around on her bare heel, driving the sharp end of Toothpick into the flabby belly of the goblin that attempted to kill her.

"Take that!" she grinned, her rapier effortlessly gliding out of the skewered stomach as the goblin sputtered for breath and fell on his backside. Not phased by the red stained on Toothpick's blade, Relly focused on what she had learned from Fili and Kili as she fought her way to Gandalf and where the rest of the company was. She paused when the goblin in front of her just got decapitated by Gandalf, which was pretty awesome but also very gross, even by her standards. Relly tucked her illness away on the backburner as she exchanged quick glances with the wizard who invited her on this journey.

"Good to see you, Relly," Gandalf's breath was short, "but follow me! Everyone, follow me!" and soon enough, a train of dwarves started making their own path as Relly contributed to clearing the way so they could get out of this hole.

She skidded on her feet, nearly knocking Balin off the creaky rope bridge, and holding up the line much to Gandalf and Thorin's dismay. "Wait! Where's Bilbo?" she asked loudly, earning some grunts and groans from the company.

"Relly, no!" Ori's pained screech ended any thought of finding Bilbo as she turned her head around and saw the wall of goblin warriors coming closer and closer as she struggled to keep up, Ori reaching out his hand to yank her along. She accepted it, giving him a small, out of breath smile as the two fended against the goblins swinging above their heads. Relly kicked a goblin off the platform, the deformed creature falling to its death as Relly felt a twinge of regret for not going back for her dagger.

The stronger dwarves such as Dwalin, Bifur, Bofur and Gloin managed to grab a long pike of wood and use it to clear a path, which really helped the younger members of the company such as Relly, Fili, Kili and Ori pick off the stragglers. The way Thorin was slicing up goblins and using his sword as if it were an extension of his own arm was truly mesmerizing; he knew how to fight in the field unlike Relly, who had been tutored by his nephews and never been in a battle such as this one.

"Cut the ropes!" Thorin's command boomed as everyone began to slice off ropes to the rickety platform they were on. Relly grimaced as she looked down into the vast expanse of cave, heart dropping all the way to her stomach. If she didn't have a fear of heights before, well, she just developed one now. The enemy's arrows began zooming across, one stray arrow cutting her cheek open as she pressed the palm of her hand against the slightly gushing face wound.

"Augh!" she hissed in pain. Granted, it could have driven into her skull and instantly killed her, but the pain was searing through her face as her left eye twitched from the bleeding. Letting go of her face she sprinted across the bridge that Bofur and Kili just made, barely making it onto the landing as the goblins dropped like flies. Oin noticed her wound, the grandfatherly concern expressed in his eyes. Now wasn't the time for patching up, Relly had to make sure her eye wasn't taken out next.

The line momentarily stopped as Relly figured out that it was the end of the pathway, squinting her eyes to see Gandalf at the front. The goblins were still following her and although no more arrows were slinging in the air, Relly did not want another gash on her face. With the ropes cut once more, they swung in the air like a deadly game of see-saw, Relly's newly formed acrophobia not helping the situation. She was part of the group that jumped off first, feeling slightly more relieved she wasn't in mid air anymore.

_But where's Bilbo?_ Even in the midst of all the fighting, tumbling rocks and killing goblins left and right, Relly desperately wanted to go back to find the Hobbit. The problem was, she had no idea where he was. Was he dead? Alive? Ran off? And even upon the countless goblins chasing after them, which ones knew exactly where they were possibly imprisoning Bilbo?

Sure, he was ill-equipped for the journeying life, and he wasn't on Thorin's most respected list. Bilbo had no idea how to live a life on scraps and rough edges. He wasn't even a real thief and his stubbornness to not sign the contract almost ruined her chances of joining Thorin's quest. At the same time, he could cook. Like that coney stew he made a couple times on their journey. Relly liked his cooking, though she never said it. There were times when he wasn't a complete wet stack of hay. Relly's eyes rolled in the back of her head, her bloodied palms sweaty as she remembered how she never thanked him for stalling the stone trolls long enough for Gandalf to rescue them. Would Bilbo have done something similar to stall Thorin's almost-decapitation?

If she weren't literally running for her life, she would have given the subject more consideration.

* * *

Bilbo waved his fingers approximately five inches away from his own face, his eyes wide at the discovery of his new found ability to be cloaked from Gollum's eyes thanks to this plain gold band on his finger. He internally freaked out when he felt his body go fuzzy and the world around him seemed...different.

Hazy. Grey. The tangible world was ephemeral and when he wore this strange, curious ring he felt like he was in control of this wispy new plane of dimension. He knew Gollum was still hot on his trail, labeling him a thief and that he hated him for stealing the precious. Bilbo glanced at his ring finger. He must be wearing the 'precious' that Gollum claimed to love dearly.

Love. It was sickening for Bilbo to try and understand the grimy clockwork that was Gollum's thinking process, but taking into account how long Gollum had been isolated from contact with the outside world, it made sense that the sad little creature developed feelings, developed attachment to something so material. As Bilbo hid in the crevices of the rocks around him, his eyes steadily gazing on the hunched over form of the croaking cave dweller, he felt some pity well up in his heart. He was walking closer with his sword in hand, locking in on the fleshy skin of Gollum's neck. Ready to strike down the very creature who threatened to eat him.

_True courage is not knowing when to take a life, but when it spare it,_ Gandalf had wisely told him when he first obtained his sword. He held his sword with both hands, eyes narrowing at his target...until Gollum turned around with those runny blue eyes of his, sunken into his skull and although Bilbo could not be seen, Gollum was looking directly at him.

Gollum had been something once. He saw the loss in Gollum's eyes, the desolation of being robbed of its only comfort in the cave. This thing tried to eat him, kill him, lose him in the cave and trap him. Gollum let out a small whimper, like a lost starved puppy. And yet, Bilbo could not bring himself to kill Gollum, feeling disappointed and relieved at the same time. Anyone else in his position would have slayed the creature: Thorin, Relly, all the others. _Me?_ Bilbo sucked in his breath quietly as to not stir the senses of Gollum. _I am not a fearless warrior, or a heartless person. I am a Baggins of Bag End and I cannot kill something so pitiful._

In one swift Hobbit jump, Bilbo leapt over Gollum, running towards the exit of the cave as he felt the dying evening rays of light hit his face. He heard the fading curses of Gollum as his feet carried him into the wide open of the forest, so exhausted from the events of the past twenty-four hours. Him trying to leave, falling through the trap door, nearly dying, his encounter with Gollum and of course, this ring of gold.

_Oh, I'm still invisible,_ he remembered as he mulled over taking the ring off. However, he did not know if he was still being followed by an enemy. For now, he would remain invisible until he felt safe. He continued running down the hill until a familiar voice made him stop in his tracks. He couldn't believe Gandalf had returned, but when?

"Where's the Hobbit?" Gandalf demanded to know, Bilbo hiding behind a tree as he poked his head out to see Thorin and Co. in the forest clearing. "Where's Bilbo?" he reiterated as to not confuse the company with Relly.

Bilbo saw all the dwarves look at each other and then at the empty space around them, most of them not realizing he was missing until now. He frowned. _I guess I haven't made that great of an impression_, he glumly thought as Gandalf cursed them for losing their master burglar.

"I think I saw him slip away before the goblins cornered us," Nori, the sole witness to Bilbo's escape, finally answered. Bilbo continued to watch the scene unfold, his eyes focusing on each dwarf and lastly, Relly. She looked visibly upset.

"What happened exactly?" Gandalf interrogated Nori but to no avail, the dwarf unable to answer. Thorin took it upon himself to come up with his own account, Bilbo digging his fingers into the bark of the tree. "Tell me!"

"I know what happened. Master Baggins saw his chance and took it. The other night he was ready to leave us!" his voice struck some pained chords in Bilbo's heart, knowing that every word he said was right.

"I talked with him last night," Bofur admitted, the usually optimistic toymaker sounding a little ashamed. "I tried to tell Bilbo he was part of the company but I suppose his heart wasn't in it," and Bofur looked over to Relly, who had previously been unaware of Bilbo's attempt to leave their group.

Gandalf looked furious to the point he could have had steam blowing out those wrinkled ears of his. Thorin continued on with his rant. "He has thought of nothing but his soft bed and cozy home since he stepped out of his front door. We will not be seeing our Hobbit again."

It was quiet for a few seconds. Although he could not see Gandalf's face due to his back turned, he could sense the wizard being affected by what he just learned. Maybe he was nothing but a burden from the start. His eyes flickered to where Relly was standing, the half-Hobbit woman with her arms folded and a rueful look on her face. She was a much better fit for Thorin's party, not him. Then, something unexpected happened. Bilbo did not expect Relly to cut into the conversation and what she said met him without warning and definitely threw the entire company for a loop.

"If I got lost back there, would you have come back for me?" She didn't sound like her usual self. This was a more adult Relly speaking, a young woman with hurt in her voice as the hazel eyed quarterling stared right at Thorin. Thorin turned around to face his thief, the mountain lord searching himself for an answer.

"For you, yes," he admitted with a fatherly tone in his voice. The feeling changed as Thorin straightened his back and walked a few ways away from Relly, father-daughter moment over. "Bilbo did not get separated from us. Bilbo Baggins was lost the moment he joined us," Thorin stated, no emotion in his voice. Bilbo clenched his teeth, not wanting any more daggers spoken about him. The more he spoke, the more Bilbo actually wanted to reveal himself to the group, just to show up Thorin and break down his walls of disbelief. "He is long gone."

"No, he got lost back there! And he may be a bum, and-and a wet blanket but..." Relly listed his less-than-stellar qualities before switching gears to make her point, "what if he got stuck back there? I didn't sign up for his blood on my hands!"

Bilbo froze up, his eyes shifting from the sky above him, the forest in front of him and lastly his feet below him. Once again, Relly was standing up to Thorin in his name. It was ridiculous, really. Weeks ago they hardly got along. She stole his utensils, clothing, grated on his nerves with her carefree stealing compulsions and her lack of manners. Now she didn't want his blood on her hands, wanted to go back for him.

With a deep breath, Bilbo left the tree he had been hiding behind and walked towards the company with the ring still on, waiting for everyone's backs to be turned or away from him so he could reappear. With a weak smile, he removed the band off his finger, waiting to be noticed. And noticed he was.

"He isn't gone. I'm here."

Everyone gasped or showed some visible and audible reaction to his entrance. Thorin definitely was not expecting Bilbo to be standing right there and Relly looked stunned, probably because she had just looked in that direction seconds ago. Bofur softly chuckled along with Bombur and Gloin as nearly all the dwarves were relieved and curious as to how Bilbo managed to find them relatively unscathed.

"Bilbo Baggins, I've never been so glad to see you in my life," Gandalf smiled widely, all anger forgotten. "We needed another Hobbit to keep in check with this one," he pointed over to Relly, who stuck out her lip at the comment.

Bilbo walked down the hill to get closer to the company, resting his hand on Balin's shoulder as he half-heartedly pretended to look not as tired as he actually felt. Fili and Kili were amazed, asking him every question about how he got past the goblins and what he used to fend for himself. He laughed, then stuck his hands in his vest pockets as he struggled to find a plausible explanation for how he was able to be reunited with the company without revealing his new little secret.

"Ah well, what does it matter? Our Hobbit is back here safe and sound with the rest of us. Let us be grateful we suffered no casualties," Gandalf was his saving grace as the grey wizard eyed Relly's cheek injury. "Oin," he spoke loudly for the dwarf with the ear trumpet to not require its use, "if you have any gauze on you, do try and heal Relly's wound."

At the mention of Relly's name, Bilbo looked to where Relly had her injury. He nearly winced. A hit from an arrow most likely. The cut was about two inches long and trickling blood. Oddly enough, the cut didn't mar Relly's face too much. He snapped out of it, not liking it when he looked at her for too long.

"It matters to me. Why did you come back, Bilbo Baggins?" Thorin was insistent and Bilbo couldn't talk his way out of this one. Thorin Oakenshield wanted an answer and Bilbo would provide him one.

He tilted his head to the side, finally gaining enough courage to talk to Thorin and defend himself without Relly's help. "Look, I know you doubt me. You had no faith in me since the start of this journey," he began. "I don't blame you. I wouldn't put much stock in me either," he shrugged once more, averting his eyes to the ground but forcing himself to look at Thorin directly to make his point. "You're right. I do think about Bag End. I miss my books and my arm chair, and my garden. See that's where I belong."

Everyone was probably wondering where Bilbo was going with this but no one interrupted him as Bilbo gathered up his feelings and put them into words. "That's my home. That's why I came back. Because you don't have one. A home," and he let his eyes fall on every individual dwarf until he saw Relly again, biting the inside of his cheek. Technically she _had_ a home but she abandoned Hobbiton for twenty years. She was just as homeless as the rest of her dwarven friends. "Your home was taken from you, and I will help you take it back if I can."

Thorin bowed his head lightly, his eyes downcast. Bilbo secretly wanted him to feel ashamed of his words and maybe his little speech would eventually work his way into Thorin's favor. With nothing left to say, Bilbo merely shoved his hands back into his vest pockets, basking in the acknowledging look Gandalf was giving him.

He was allowed to mingle with the rest of the company for a few minutes, Bofur giving him a hearty slap on the back and telling him, "I knew you'd come back to us, lad. Relly here was prepared to go after you."

The dragging of Relly into their conversation annoyed the thief as she kept her arms tightly folded across her chest, her rapier strapped to her hip and looking bloodied and battle-worn. "No, I didn't say that."

The bachelor Hobbit almost snorted at her response but sobered when he remembered what Relly meant by his blood on her hands. She didn't know it but Bilbo heard what she said and it sounded like she actually did, kind of, care for him. Perhaps Bofur had been right about Relly growing fond of him, even if her fondness wasn't typically shown in the most orthodox of ways.

He pretended to play dumb. "You wanted to go back for me?" he asked. "For me, the Hobbit who you have to share a portion of the treasure with?"

Bofur seemed to enjoy this too much as he motioned to his brother Bombur and Bifur to watch them interact, slowly wheeling himself out of the conversation to allow Bilbo and Relly to talk. Relly knitted her brows, obviously annoyed that Bilbo had a sharp tongue as she did.

"Only because I—" she shouted back but zipped her lips at the last second, wondering why she cared. "I..." she hesitated, glancing from Bilbo to her hands, displaying signs of nervousness. "I mean, I did sort of save your life," she dug her heel into the dirt, running her hand through that floppy black hair of hers as she added, "and you saved mine."

Bilbo couldn't help but find it cute how moments ago Relly had argued for his sake. With his presence revealed, she acted like nothing happened and now she was hesitating with every sentence she spoke. He shook his head, realizing he had just described her actions as _cute_. No, not appropriate. It was humorous at best but certainly not "cute" of her to care. Then it hit Bilbo: Relly was _thanking_ him, granted she wasn't outright saying 'Thank you Bilbo, you're so clever and such a humble gentle-Hobbit for saving me from those nasty icky trolls', much to his disappointment. All that time he spent thinking Relly was incapable of appreciating anything, prepared to do whatever she could to meet her selfish ends...

"You're thanking me?" Bilbo repeated quietly, not quite believing it himself.

Relly's face turned tomato red when she heard him, which intrigued Bilbo even more as he studied how bright her cheeks contrasted against her sharp, angular face. His observation of her didn't stop Bilbo from the shade of pink sneaking across his face as he found himself fidgeting with the gold ring in his pocket as a way to distract himself, not sure what to say to the thief who had just thanked him in her own way. It was...well, quite endearing to him. Not very practical but the blush on her face confirmed that she was, in fact, appreciative of his efforts.

"Well, I—" Relly tried to speak but the howl of the Wargs destroyed their little moment.

* * *

This is the longest chapter I've written for this story at a whopping 6k+ words. I think it paid off though! I thought about splitting this chapter up but this is such a crucial part of the story so I kept it in one piece. For plot's sake and for brevity, I cut out some parts. I mean, if you wanted every single detail and dialogue, then go read the book or watch the movie again. Anyway, I'm personally pleased with this chapter :)

I'm excited :D I truly hope the romantic development between Bilbo and Relly these past few chapters has been believable. It's subtle, I think. He notices her face more, lol :P Their interactions are my biggest concern and what I work on the most when I write these chapters!


	16. Flame of Hope

The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings belongs to JRR Tolkien and the movies belong to Peter Jackson. I'm just a devoted fan.

This is the last chapter following the movie-verse story line. As much as I love PJ's movies, I am **not** waiting until December 2013 for the next installment. I'm much too impatient for that. I finally found my copy of the Hobbit so I can continue the fic from where the movie ends and where the book begins :) I'll probably change some things around (damn PJ bringing back Azog :P) but it'll stick to book canon for the most part.

Hope you all enjoy this chapter :) Too bad Thorin hugs Bilbo before Relly does, hehe. I know last chapter I promised Relly's backstory/Ori's confession but...that will have be put on hold just an _eetle_ bit longer. Forgive me?

* * *

**Flame of Hope**

_Courage is found in unlikely places._  
- J. R. R. Tolkien

There was never any rest for Thorin Oakenshield and his ragtag group of miners, warriors, knitters, toy makers, Hobbits, thieves and their token wizard. They had survived not going back for Bilbo's handkerchief, avoided being eaten by trolls, ran away from Wargs, ate green food, snuck away from the Elves, trekked across moving mountains during a storm, and now they had narrowly escaped a horde of goblins. However, this time looked far more bleak than any other situation the adventurers had been in. They were exhausted, hungry and they had none of their equipment or belongings thanks to being dropped down a chute to the goblin kingdom. All the company had were the clothes on their backs, trinkets in their pockets and their respective weapons. No food, no necessities, only a small flame of hope to keep them warm and the constant reminder of the aching of their bones.

Relly turned from red to white as color drained from her face, the moment between her and Bilbo over as the howl of the Wargs entered her ears. Relly grit her teeth, forgetting everything that happened in order to focus her exhausted mind on the present danger.

Danger. Funny to think that she willingly signed up for this all that time ago, eager to find some treasure and go on a grand adventure. Sure, she lived a vagabond life for two decades but the worst of her fears were angry bakers and shopkeepers. Never mountains, trolls or goblins and certainly not malicious Orcs riding on bloodthirsty Wargs.

The dwarves groaned, unhappy that evil was once again on their doorstep. Gandalf's wispy eyebrows were pressed together as the wizard gripped his staff, already concluding what was about to happen. Everyone was cranky, tired and bereft of any comforts they had carried with them. Relly was lucky her stolen objects were tucked safely in her cloak pockets. Despite all her running around in the Goblin kingdom, they never fell out. She patted her pockets for comfort as she drew her rapier, her bloodstream pumping with last-minute adrenaline to kick start her body into fight-or-flight.

"Out of the frying pan," Thorin gravely muttered.

"And into the fire. RUN!" Gandalf completed the phrase and yelled 'RUN!" once more. He didn't really even have to say that because everyone took off running after the first exclamation. Relly put her tiredness on the backburner as she gripped the hilt of her rapier, mentally kicking herself for leaving her dagger back in the Goblin kingdom.

The howl of the Wargs sent chills down Relly's spine as the quarterling sprinted across the forest, trying to outrun her enemies. This was unlike the first time they encountered the Orcs; they were much too prepared then and they had help from Radagast and the last-minute arrival of the Elves. Now, on their last legs of energy and with bellies grumbling, the company of Thorin Oakenshield had a significantly higher probability of not being able to complete their quest. There was no savior this time.

The once welcomed sight of evening was fading into night, the warm oranges and yellows twisting into unnatural shades of dark blue and black as Relly sadly realized they would be at a major disadvantage of running in the dark. Wargs could smell them, hear them, see them better and even with the natural Hobbit ability to slink away quietly, it would not work here. Panting, Relly kept up with her friends as everyone skidded to a halt when a ferocious Warg leapt over them and landed a few feet away, blocking their path with its menacing pair of teeth.

And the Warg leapt at poor straggler Bilbo, who had always been kind of the slowest runner of the bunch. Relly gasped in horror as the beast lunged towards the Hobbit's throat. She doubled back to Bilbo, only to discover that the gentle-Hobbit had stuck his sword into the creature's head...and the Warg collapsed and fell to its side. Bilbo stood there dumbfounded, hardly believing that stunt actually worked. Relly put her hands on her hips, glaring at him. She couldn't believe that just happened either.

"You _idiot_!" Relly yelled at him, embarrassed that moments ago she had basically thanked him for saving her life. Maybe that time was just a fluke. There's no way that Bilbo Baggins could really be so courageous, clever, handso— "That's not how you stab!" Great, now she was sounding like Fili.

"At least I killed it!" he argued back, even though both of them perfectly knew well this was no time for arguing. His first official kill, and Relly could see his uneasiness in the darkness around them. The yells and roars of the remaining army of Orc and Warg echoed loudly as Bilbo hurriedly walked past Relly to retrieve his sword.

_He's going to get himself killed. Everyone else is already ahead of us,_ she grit her teeth as she tried to get her feet to move so she could catch up with the dwarves and Gandalf. Yet she didn't budge. _I can't leave him behind again, not like we did back there_, Relly reminded herself how she noticed his absence in the Goblin kingdom, _Gandalf would hate me if I left him behind._

Bilbo tried to pull his sword out of the eye of the Warg. He was getting absolutely _nowhere_. Relly huffed impatiently as she rolled up her tunic sleeves and roughly pushed Bilbo out of her way. Relly placed both her hands on the hilt of his sword. She grunted and finally yanked the blood stained weapon from the carcass, pointing the sharp end at Bilbo with her eyes half-lidded, trying to pretend that she didn't care. "I'm _not_ doing this as a favor, you just can't die after worrying Gandalf so much." Her lips were pursed together, nearly driving the sword into Bilbo's belly as he took it from her, the two avoiding glances at each other.

"What ever happened to 'You saved my life, Bilbo Baggins, thank you so much'?," Bilbo muttered as the land-thunder from their enemies was growing closer and closer. He couldn't help but mention that, even at the most inopportune time. Hobbit nature, after all.

His comment did not go unnoticed as Relly let out a loud 'tch' from her lips._ I said nothing like that_, Relly said to herself, merely narrowing her eyes at him and then focused back on running for her life. After what felt like forever, she finally saw her friends coming into her range of vision, everyone starting to gather at the very edge of a lonely cliff with some tall, scraggly trees. Relly stopped on her heels, looking over her shoulder to see Bilbo huffing and panting. He had managed to fall behind again. She shook her head, cursed to be stuck with a Hobbit who seriously needed to learn how to build up stamina.

_What are we supposed to do now? Jump?_ For a moment there, like she had thought of back in the Goblin underground, she considered jumping to escape. But one distressed look from Ori changed her mind as she joined her close friend in their loose circle of tired comrades. Her smile was worn out and stretched thin but she gave him one nonetheless. "What's next?" she asked no one in particular.

Gandalf heard her as his eyes travelled up to the trees. "Jump into the trees! Climb, climb!" he urged, and Relly smacked her head with her open palm, feeling dumb that she didn't consider that option. Then again, she wasn't the plan maker around these parts.

"Relly, up here!" Ori asked her, and she joined him. The two climbed into one of the trees, Relly up a bit higher than her dear friend as she spotted Bilbo a little ways away from them. She dug her nails into the bark of the tree, hearing Ori shift nervously as they waited for their fate.

The beasts gnawed at the roots of the trees but the Wargs cannot climb, so the small victory went to the Oakenshield company. Relly sucked in her breath, afraid even a single gasp of air would break the good luck they had. She peered down at Ori, the dwarf lifting his head up with an unreadable expression on his face. Lately, the eager yet anxious young dwarf had been hard to decipher, unusual since Relly could usually tell what was up with her artistic companion. _Men_, they were hard to understand.

"I bet I can take 'em out with my slingshot from this angle," Ori tried to boast but Relly hit her foot against the trunk of the tree to dissuade him. "Well...I could."

She tasted iron in her mouth, realizing she bit down on the inside of her cheek too hard from her nerves. Relly did not want to admit she was nervous but she couldn't keep her pride when a white Orc was hunting them down. Wait, a white Orc? Relly squinted her eyes, finding an oddly bright white Orc down on the forest floor. He had a strange grabby fork thing attached to his arm, and if she weren't holding onto a tree for dear life she would have laughed. This was however, not the time to joke. This was bad, bad, bad. And judging by what she just heard, this villainous Orc knew Thorin personally. And now, this pale Orc had just set more hounds upon them.

"I thought they couldn't climb?!" Relly shrieked, the Wargs leaping into the air like they were spring-loaded, biting off the lower branches of their tree as Relly scrambled to get higher. Ori was frightened too as the dwarf followed her lead, his foot almost slipping as Relly let go of her branch with one hand to drop and try to grab Ori's hand. "Don't slip!"

Ori was alright but he appreciated her selfless gesture as the two avoided the jaws of death, quite literally. Ori clung close to the trunk of their tree, his eyes peering out from the opposite side as Relly white-knuckled from holding the branch in front of her so tightly. She felt the tree sway ever so lightly and it dawned on Relly that the Wargs weren't trying to _bite_ them.

They were trying to topple the trees into each other. Once again, all color drained from her face as her neck slowly turned to face Ori, motioning to him that they were rapidly falling. Fear was written all over his face as both of them let out a yell, the tree crashing into the one next to them, everything falling over as if it were a game of knock-downs.

"We need to go now!" Relly yelled, already flinging herself to the next stable tree as Ori copied her, the two safely, but not gracefully, clutching onto the same branch of tree. She felt her hands touch his as she safely flung to the next one. That was weird.

"Relly, we have to jump again!" he alerted her as Relly realized her mistake as the two continued to hop from tree to tree like they were frogs in a dangerous game of lily pad hopping. Eventually, she and Ori finally clung to the one tree everyone had managed to latch onto: the sole remaining tree unaffected by everything. The beasts snapped at the ground below them, preventing them from coming down.

Relly was on one of the higher up branches, Ori on the one next to her as she spotted Gandalf above her. She wanted to feel relieved, to feel safe but not even the presence of Gandalf calmed her worries. _What if we don't survive? _The half-Hobbit woman rested her head against the bark of their tree, a deep frown etched onto her face. She wanted to bring her knees close to her chest and wrap herself in her cloak like she used to back when she was a vagabond, but it would solve nothing.

Relly never really thought about death despite her high-risk thief lifestyle. If anything, once upon a time she could have said she was used to death. Her father had died before she was born and her mother caught pneumonia and died. And yet death never bothered Relly. Not until the past few days where their quest had become less of an adventure and more into a game of falls, cliffs and evil creatures. Now, death bothered Relly Crillynook. _I don't want to die. I may not have much to live for but...I don't want to die. Not like this._

A bright flame caught her eye, her thoughts concerning death temporarily pushed to the side as she watched Gandalf light pine cones and throw them onto the ground to scare the Wargs. She didn't smile but a wave of relief finally washed over her, glad that for the moment Gandalf wasn't so keen on everyone dying tonight. She waved her arm to grab his attention as Gandalf tossed her a flaming pine cone.

"Ouch!" she yelped, her little cry heard by Ori as he asked her what was wrong. "Just toss them!" she explained to Ori as she threw her flaming pine cone onto the ground, rolling to its eventual spot. The fire scared them, which was quite effective in driving the Wargs away from the base of their tree. The dwarves began to cheer loudly for their success, Ori joining in on the short-lived mirth.

And short lived it was. The tree, probably cracking under pressure of its many occupants, began to lean towards the gaping edge of the cliff, everyone freaking out. After thirty or so seconds, the tree finally stopped leaning but the tree was now at an 180 degree angle. In other words, they were about to plummet to their deaths. Relly wasn't counting on any miracles tonight.

Relly's heart stopped when she heard Ori shout, her dear friend slipping from his branch and falling. Relly almost dived after him had it not been for Dori that Ori could cling to. Dori grunted, unprepared that his baby brother would be hanging on for his life over the vast expanse of the deadly drop. "Ori, hold on!" she yelled towards him. Ori had been her best friend, besides Bofur of course, on this entire journey. She would be beyond upset if he fell. Relly did not want to think about her best friend's death.

"I'm-I'm trying!" Ori wanted to assure her but he couldn't hide the fright in his voice.

"Mr. Gandalf!" Dori choked out, his neck hitting the branch. "Please, help us! I cannot hold on much longer!" and he let go, two dwarves falling to their deaths. Relly screeched, falling from her own branch as she managed to land on one at the last second. Luckily, Gandalf lowered his staff at the precise moment so both Ori and Dori could grab onto it. The weight however, was too much as Gandalf strained to pull them up.

It was funny, how attached Relly had become to the company. Relly had only ever relied on herself for the past twenty years. She ate alone, travelled alone and all her stolen spoils were never shared with an accomplice. She didn't need anyone. And then she bumps into Gandalf and everything changed. Relly could no longer sneak off in the night or act so rashly without consent. The choices of Thorin Oakenshield affected her, and her interactions helped mold the friendships she now carried. Now, she relied on others. _I need them_. Relly glanced at Ori, then Dori and slowly looked around to every single dwarf on the tree, Thorin being the last dwarf she looked at. She gazed at Gandalf and lastly, Bilbo Baggins.

Relly's head hurt. It had been a long time since she had such an emotional epiphany, if ever. Feelings hurt. No wonder she tried to avoid them for so long. Her moment of self-reflection ended as her eyes shifted to the slowly moving form of Thorin Oakenshield. Relly watched him, confused as to why he was _leaving_ the tree. Weren't they supposed to hide in the tree?

He was a mass of tangled grey-black hair, a hulking frame against a backdrop of flame and night. Thorin Oakenshield was majestic. She knew he was heir to the line of Durin but it wasn't until now that she saw her near father figure as an actual future-king to the throne under the mountain. He had substance and a powerful bloodline, Relly was a nobody with dead parents and an Elven rapier. For a split second, the dam holding back her insecurities started leaking as she fought back the urge to succumb to her worries. _No, not now. We need to get out alive._

Relly saw his stride as Thorin walked through fire to face Azog the Defiler, to show how defiant he was in the face of the awful Orc who was the source of all their problems. Well, except for Smaug but Azog ranked like second on that list. Wanting a better look, she crawled down the trunk, exchanging glances with Bofur as she stayed by her hat-wearing friend. The cheerful dwarf had no trace of a smile on his bearded face.

"Is the lad alright?" Bofur seriously asked her. She nodded, pointing over to where Dori and Ori were clinging onto Gandalf's staff.

She still feared for their safety. Dori was barely holding on and Ori was slipping every second. Relly had nothing else to say as everyone watched their leader go forth into the flaming forest, sword in hand. If Thorin could slay Azog, they had a chance of surviving this.

The chance was snuffed out as Thorin Oakenshield fell to the ground with one swift move from Azog. Relly's guts knotted up, feeling very ill all of a sudden. Was he..._dead_? He couldn't die, he was Thorin Oakenshield, son of Thrain. They had just mended their friendship. Thorin respected her now. Relly almost saw him like a father of sorts, a very serious but caring dwarf who did have his best intentions at heart. Much to her relief, Thorin managed to stand up again but Azog knocked him down once. It was a powerful hit and Thorin the Mighty toppled.

At the very sight of Thorin suffering a mighty blow from the mace, Balin blurted out a guttural cry. Fili looked on in horror as Kili yelled out for his uncle. Relly didn't yell or screech; she was far too tired to do such displays of emotion now. She stared at the spot where Thorin fell, watching the pale Orc laugh cruelly at the dwarf lord's demise. _Thorin can't die. He's the leader. We just started to be friends...he can't just go and die on us! On me..._

Thorin Oakenshield was about to make her cry for a second time, and she was tired of tears. Through smoky, blurred vision Relly raised her head to see Bilbo Baggins letting go of the tree branch and following in the steps of Thorin. The curves of her mouth twitched, on the verge of screaming "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" but decided against it. Bilbo was being an idiot, a courageous idiot. The modest, unassuming Hobbit that had initially refused to sign the contract, the very one who wanted to go back for his hankie, was about to ambush the Orc executioner. A very stupid move, but a brave one nonetheless.

A small smile carved itself onto her face. She was changing, and perhaps Bilbo Baggins had changed too. That smile dramatically twisted into a frown as Relly saw Bilbo almost had his head cleaved off by the giant Orc. He was squirming about, using his wily Hobbit frame to evade every move even while being pinned down. The tables turned when Bilbo came out on top and with one deft stab, he drove his sword straight into the Orc's chest. Relly couldn't help but admire that Bilbo actually stabbed the bad guy right this time around.

It was Bilbo Baggins against Azog the Defiler, a showdown no one could have predicted. Anyone could tell that Bilbo was still unfamiliar with his sword, wildly slicing the air. His stance made Azog chuckle darkly and slowly, ever so quietly the Wargs circled around Bilbo, prepared to rip him apart. Relly steeled herself, hand going for Toothpick. She couldn't just hang back and judging by the looks from her fellow companions, it was about time for everyone to join Bilbo.

Relly flung herself into the fray, a gaping grin on her face as she furrowed her eyebrows and sought out the closer Warg and rider to her. With a quick cut and plunge, Relly took down the Warg before moving onto the Orc itself. She felt her energy draining, using every ounce of adrenaline to pump her heart and stay on her feet. Her cheek stung from her earlier injury, ignoring the sudden pain as she locked herself into battle.

"Guh!" Relly's throat became constricted, a sudden yank of her cloak made her choke from lack of air. A Warg had attacked her from behind and was now biting down on the hood of her cloak. Relly struggled for air, letting go of her rapier as she made the universal sign of choking, hands clutching her neck as the Warg dragged her on the ground. If she didn't do something quick she was going to suffocate to death, or worse.

_If I let go of this cloak, I'll lose all my stolen stuff_, she briefly contemplated in her mind as she felt her face go blue. She saw the jaws of the Warg, its rider laughing as the Orc told the Warg to eat her. _I can't keep wriggling_. Ultimately she would hate this move as she undid the hook around her neck, finally free from the Warg's grasp. _I didn't want to do that,_ she frowned. Relly was quickly reunited with Toothpick only to turn around and see that Dori and Ori had let go of the tree. They fell.

"NO!" Relly yelled, running back towards the tree, forgetting about Azog. She halted in surprise as she saw giant dark forms in the night sky, flying about. She closed her eyes, not sure what to make of all this chaotic mess. She thought about running back to see if she could possibly save her cloak but one fell swoop of a giant eagle changed her plans.

Having developed acrophobia since her escapade in the goblin kingdom, Relly was internally freaking out as she felt the grip of the talons around her body, staring down from the high altitude as the eagles picked off Orc and Warg on the fiery battlefield. It was different being high up in a tree since she could actually see ground but in the air...Relly wasn't faring so well.

"Let me go, let me go!" she squirmed. Like the eagle had listened to her, it let go. Relly screamed again, rapidly plummeting to her assumed death. "NO, NO I WANT TO BE ON THE GROUND!" In a matter of seconds, something soft and downy cushioned her fall, even though she was still flying. She flipped onto her stomach, gripping the feathery surface as it dawned on her that she was riding an eagle.

Letting herself breathe through the small anxiety attack she was currently experiencing, Relly lifted her head up to see more of these giant eagles. It comforted her to know these birds were on their side, or so she believed. She saw all her dwarf friends on the backs of eagles as she saw Gandalf flying the biggest eagle of all. Gandalf had truly saved their hides this time around. And here she thought they would not have a last minute miracle.

The tired party of Thorin Oakenshield flew without stop into the night, Relly watching the pale moon following their every move. Relly wanted to sleep but she couldn't close her eyelids. It was hard to rest knowing you were thousands of feet off the ground and her fear of heights was in overdrive. Her breathing had become regular but her heart was banging around in her rib cage. Goosebumps formed on her skin, Relly not used to travelling without her cloak keeping her warm. _I can't believe all my goodies are back there. Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

Relly hated that all her stolen stuff was forever lost from her. The doll she found, the elven accessories, the little sack of rubies and gold coins...all gone. All the trinkets and "novelties" she had picked up on this journey were out of her reach. Granted, she did have her trusty Toothpick but it ached knowing all her thievery had been in vain. _I'll just have to find more things to replace them._

The quarterling let out a sad little laugh to herself, eventually drifting off to sleep despite her fears.

* * *

The rising morning sun filtered through Relly's eyelids. Relly's heart raced when she learned she was still on the back of a flying eagle. However, she tried not to flip out too much. She saw mountains scrape the sky, gripping the feathers when they made a sudden dive off a cliff. She squinted her eyes, curious as to why the eagles were now circling around this weird rock formation. _I just want to be on land again.  
_

One by one, the eagles perched on the rock and allowed their passengers to jump off. Thorin was laying on the flattest part of the rock, still out cold from the battle. When her eagle finally made contact with the rock. Relly could not have left the eagle any faster. It was a wonderful sensation for her bare feet to touch land again. She still didn't like how high up they were but at least she could feel the earth beneath her. Not long after, Bilbo also got dropped off as he made his way towards Thorin and Bilbo. She awkwardly avoided him.

"Is Thorin okay?" she asked Gandalf, concern in her tone as she frowned. "He's...he's gonna make it, right?"

Gandalf hummed under his breath, his eyes curving into little half-smiles as he gingerly pressed his hand above Thorin's face and then hovered above the rest of his upper body, muttering words Relly couldn't understand. She grinned when she saw the dwarf lord's eyes open.

"Thorin!" she let out a weak cheer, still aching. Nonetheless, she was more than happy to see Thorin breathing and alive. His eyes darted over to her, recognizing her form as Relly held her hands behind her back.

"Wh-where am I?" he breathlessly asked Gandalf, weak from all the injuries he sustained. Gandalf quietly hushed his old friend. "Are we safe?"

"We're all fine, Thorin. We're quite safe. Even Bilbo is here," and Gandalf motioned to the attention-shy Bilbo, who merely stood there with a funny little look on his face.

"You!" Thorin confronted Bilbo, pushing away his comrades as he stood up on his own. "What are you doing here?"

Relly slid her hand down her face, shaking her head as she watched the scene unfold between Bilbo and Thorin. Frankly, Thorin owed an apology considering Bilbo risked his life for Thorin and was the first to fight against the Orc riders, something none of them were willing to do. She ignored her own personal thoughts that were mainly about how brave he was. Relly Crillynook did not _gush._

"You nearly got yourself killed!" And with every step, Thorin said another insulting comment. "Did I not say you would be a burden? That you would not survive in the wild?"

Relly wanted to intervene, to defend Bilbo and tell Thorin he was just trying to save him, but the expression on Bilbo's face changed her mind. It was like he wanted to hear whatever Thorin had to say. Bilbo was going to stand up for himself. Thorin was close enough to Bilbo that he could swiftly punch him and knock Bilbo's lights out. Relly put one step forward but Bofur's hand on her shoulder held her back, a light smirk on his face as he kept Relly from cutting in. She grumbled softly, biting her lower lip out of worry. Worry.

"You had no place amongst us," Thorin spoke so quietly that hardly anyone heard what he said. A tension-filled minute passed before Thorin spoke once more, his gaze softer and more appreciative. "I have never been so wrong in my life."

Thorin wrapped his arms around Bilbo and gave him the most emotional, manliest hug Relly had ever seen. She tried to stifle a giggle but a little snort squeaked from her nose as she sucked her lips in. The caught off-guard look on Bilbo's face was priceless. Relly heard her dwarven brethren cheer as she figured it would be okay to giggle now, her giddy laugh joining the chorus of dwarves who had been waiting for ages for Thorin to accept Bilbo in their company. Kili and Fili cheered the loudest while everyone was patting each other on the back or exchanging glances of relief and comfort. She kept a wide smile on her face as well, resting her hand on her hip as she swore she caught Bilbo smiling as well.

"I am sorry I doubted you, Bilbo Baggins," Thorin apologized as he also turned his head to look over his shoulder to see Relly. "I should have never doubted the both of you."

Relly shrugged, wishing he hadn't done that. Thorin already apologized to her, accepted her, let her hug him. She was just happy Thorin recognized Bilbo as a member of their company. True, she didn't particularly like his annoying nature at the beginning of their quest but his cooking was quite good. He was...useful, even if he had never left his hobbit-hole or actually stolen anything despite his title as "burglar".

"It's alright. I would have doubted me too. I, er, did doubt myself," he admitted, eyes averted to the ground before he faced Thorin again. "I'm not a hero, not a warrior," and the way he looked at Relly when he said "or a burglar" caused a horrified blush on her face. She had to turn her back away from him for a few seconds, cursing herself as to why she was acting so dumb and weird. Relly continued to listen to his little speech, constantly rotating her head to make sure no one saw her beet red face. "I'm just Bilbo Baggins of Bag End. And like I said before, I will help you in any way I can to reclaim your home."

The flapping of the eagles wings echoed softly in Relly's ears, the young woman lifting her head to see the giant birds flying away from them. _How come they get to come and go as they please? What important business do giant birds have?_ Then again, she didn't want to fly on the backs of eagles again lest she get another panic attack. She stared down at her bare feet, sighing as she felt a breeze on her cloak-less body.

Relly watched the sun take its place in the sky as a close-lipped smile formed on her face, her red blush fading to a light pink on her cheeks. So long as the mornings arrived after the long nights, the company would forge on.

* * *

300 REVIEWS :D Woohoo! I'm in shock. Thank you all so much for reading this story. It makes my heart swell~


	17. The Thief's Past

The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings belongs to JRR Tolkien and the movies belong to Peter Jackson. I'm just a devoted fan.

Sorry for the long wait. I do, surprisingly, have a life outside the internet, but this is another super de dooper long chapter so this should more than make up my absence. I took some liberties with this chapter and Relly's involvement with the company does um, change things but I think I made it believable.

Also, naked dwarf time. And Beorn. I can't wait to see Beorn in the movies. I did my best writing as him so please let me know if he seems in character!

* * *

**The Thief's Past**

_I change shapes just to hide in this place_  
_But I'm still, I'm still an animal_

- Miike Snow, "Animal"

As the eagles took off into the morning sun, a floating hum of hunger hung above Thorin Oakenshield's company, some bellies grumbling louder than others. Bilbo Baggins heard the grubbly-wubbly of his tummy, suddenly embarrassed that after a friendly moment with Thorin Oakenshield, he would ruin it by his loud, pudgy belly. He wished the giant birds could have at least brought them food or _something_. They had no pots or pans to cook with, much to his dismay, and Bilbo had no snacks in his pockets. Even after all his time here on this journey, Bilbo's appetite was still on Hobbit time, sorely missing the second breakfasts, elevensies and tea times back home.

"Aye, I'm starving myself," Bofur commented on the loud rumble of Bilbo's tummy, the dwarf with the curly hat scratching his stomach as he eyed his fellow companions. "When do we get to chow down again?" His question was met with laughs, though many of the dwarves were serious in that they were all hungry and wanted some nourishment soon. There was never a fury like a dwarf hungry.

"If only the Goblins hadn't forced us to leave our belongings!" Kili grumpily exclaimed, the young nephew of the dwarf lord looking more like a pouty child than a fierce warrior. He, Fili and Ori were the youngest of the company but Bilbo knew better than to assume their age made them less qualified to be here. "I want to fight them and reclaim our stuff!"

"Kili, while your enthusiasm is inspiring, it would be unwise to risk our lives to go back," Balin sighed, showing the young dwarf lad some exasperated grandfatherly affection. Bilbo liked Balin, even if the wizened dwarf occasionally called his sword a "letter opener". True, to a grown up man it would be best suited as a dagger, but it rightly sized for him. Bilbo glanced down at his sword; unnamed after all this time. Relly had named her weapon Toothpick and the more he reluctantly thought about it, the more it suited her.

_"You could have been a troll's toothpick with how bony you are."_

Skinny, lanky, gets right in the annoying cracks of the teeth. He blinked a few times, realizing that just described Relly in general. His mind quickly flashed back to last night when she grudgingly removed his sword from the dead Warg's skull. He saw she pretended not to care, how she avoided looking at him this morning when he gave his little impromptu speech, maybe even seeing a hint of sunrise red on her face. Shaking away his thoughts of the quarterling, Bilbo focused back on the important task at hand: leaving this giant rock.

"Er, Gandalf?" he called for the attention of the life-saving grey wizard. Gandalf turned around, expectantly curious of the question the master Hobbit was about to ask him. "Where exactly are we going to do next?"

Gandalf let out a light chuckle, his head tilted towards Thorin. "I believe we would like to leave this rock, what do you think Thorin?"

Thorin agreed as he ordered his men, and Relly, to get in line and begin the trek down the stony path of the towering Carrock. With mutterings of food, eagles and other tidbits of information, everyone filed into a singular line due to the narrow steps and followed Gandalf and Thorin down the path, partials of conversations wafting in Bilbo's ears.

"I'm just glad to be on the ground again," Relly explained to Ori. "I hated riding on those eagles."

"But they saved our lives," Ori replied to her statement, confused as to why she would hate the eagles so much. Bilbo had to hide away some unnamed feeling, watching Ori eye Relly like a young boy with a crush on his playmate. Since day one Bilbo, and the rest of the entire company minus Relly, had been aware of Ori's affection for the thief. Relly, however, was oblivious to such feelings. He remembered asking Bofur why Ori would even bother revealing his feelings for her if he was just going to be rejected.

_"Have you ever been in love, Bilbo Baggins?"_

Bofur asked Bilbo that question the night he was planning to leave the company behind. The question had thrown him off-guard, flustered him. He accused Bofur of asking such an ridiculous question. The truth was, Bilbo had never been romantically attached to anyone. Platonic love, yes. But never romantically, _fully_, in love with anyone. He wanted to stop thinking about that subject, for it made his toes curl up weirdly and tightened the muscles in his chest. Although he was a middle-aged Hobbit at the ripe age of 50, he was past the usual courting age and the girls who did have crushes on him were already married off anyway.

His mind needed stronger reins than to wander off to such inane subjects. Bilbo shifted gears and focused on the path ahead, wondering what other new experiences were in store for him. Now that Thorin saw Bilbo as a valuable asset to the company, he wanted to continue proving himself and stay on Thorin's respectable side. The chattering died down for the most part, with the exception of Fili and Relly. Thorin's nephew was complimenting Relly's ever-blossoming fighting skill, the black haired thief smiling at every word he spoke. "Er...thanks?" How she answered Fili was almost a question, like she was unsure of how the word 'thanks' tasted.

Bilbo grumbled as he straightened out his back and broadened his shoulders, annoyed that Relly actually said 'thanks' to Fili when she was all red and stammer-y the other night towards him. She made absolutely no sense whatsoever. He continued to walk with his new stance, as if he had just grown a couple inches taller in the past few seconds. Bombur, who was surprisingly keeping up with the pace set by his dwarven brethren, followed behind his Hobbit friend while panting out of breath.

"What's wrong Mr. Bilbo?" Bombur curiously asked, finding it strange that Bilbo would suddenly get so stiff while walking. Bilbo stretched his lips to the side, his eyes landing on the jolly brother of Bofur as his shoulders relaxed.

"Nothing, nothing at all Bombur," Bilbo was glad he remembered the dwarf's name. Then again, Bombur wasn't hard to miss or forget.

"Oh, alright." Content with his friend's answer, Bombur ended the subject and went back to his usual self.

The stone trail from the Carrock ended by a gurgling river near a cave, and Gandalf decided this would be a good place to settle down and discuss some business he had been meaning to say for some time now. As the hungry company sat down on some flat topped rocks near the cave, Thorin waited for Gandalf to speak. Bilbo sat near Oin and Gloin, a few seats away from where Relly and Bofur were sharing a rock. He kept his eyes on Gandalf, wondering what the grey wizard wanted to talk about. Gandalf looked at every single member of their little party, from the fierce Dwalin, wise Balin, hard of hearing Oin and lastly, their little thief Relly. He drew in a breath as his grey eyes shined with some saddening news. Bilbo's gut told him he would not like what the wizard was about to say.

"I have always meant to keep you all safe, if possible, over the Misty Mountains," Gandalf started, clutching his staff with a lopsided smile-ish frown on his wrinkled face. "By good management _and_ good luck, I have done that. But," he hesitated. "This, sadly, is _not_ my adventure and I have other serious business to attend to, things that I cannot reveal to you all in the hope and understanding that there are some things better left unsaid," his voice dropped, the dwarves scratching their heads as to what pressing matters Gandalf could possibly have. "I have traveled much farther with you all than I ever expected, and have learned many a thing of the curious natures of Hobbits and Dwarves," his tone lightened up a little. Did he just wink at Relly? Bilbo was not sure.

With the rise of mutterings of "Is he leaving right now?" and "What?!", Gandalf decided to make himself a bit more clear about the situation. "I will not disappear this very instant, much as you all are beginning to think," he shook his head. "I won't simply abandon you in your desperate plight. After all, we are without baggage, food and no ponies to ride on. I will stay with you all for a day or two more, enough to get us back onto the main path and to lead you to _someone_ who may be able to help us."

Although Gandalf was not leaving right away, Bilbo felt the pit in his stomach deepen. Gandalf had been their last-minute miracle for all the danger they had been put through; what if something happened that was truly out of their realm?

"Huh? What'd he say, lad?" Oin gestured to his ear as Bilbo let out a stuttered sigh and spoke loudly to the dwarf about Gandalf's intentions to leave. Oin, understanding now, thanked him and mumbled about losing his ear trumpet.

"Who is this someone?" Thorin asked Gandalf, eyeing the wizard with a suspicious glare. "Can we trust him?"

Gandalf chuckled. "This Somebody is a bit gruff if I do say so, but I believe he will be hospitable to us if we time it right. You know, he carved out the stairs we just walked on," he held out his open palm to the Carrock stairs. "We must go to him now for it would be unwise to linger here much longer. We shall go and find him, and if everything turns out successful I will bid you all a fond farewell."

This didn't go over too well with everyone. Bilbo rubbed both of his temples with his thumbs, not wanting Gandalf to leave them. Bombur pledged to stop eating if Gandalf stayed. Thorin even tried swaying Gandalf's mind with the treasure he'd promise him, but wizards are rich in merit and wit and had no such desire for precious metals or valuable stones. "I would think I earned enough of your dragon-gold," Gandalf laughed, "when you do finally get it."

* * *

It was agreed they all needed a bath to wash themselves of the blood, grime, dirt and who knows what else caked up on their bodies. Although Bilbo had his reservations about bathing with other dwarves, he desperately wanted to feel clean and well, they were all male weren't they? It wouldn't be too terribly awkward, even if Bilbo did feel a bit self-conscious about his body around other men. Scratch that, he had always been a little too aware of his body. In Hobbiton, it was seen as a positive thing to be chubby, pudgy, plump and with meat on the bones. It meant you had good food, great health and a happy living. But with his life on the road and having become accustomed to not eating as much, it was not until recently that Bilbo began to truly appreciate how well off he was back home.

As Bilbo removed his trousers, he overhead the loud conversation taking place between Thorin and Relly not too far from the riverbed. His eyes widened, feeling rather exposed at the moment as he quickly swam further out into the water, peeking from the large ford rocks in the Anduin river to see what Relly and Thorin were talking about.

"You can't expect me to bathe with them," Relly puffed out her cheeks and gave Thorin a thin-lipped frown while her dark eyebrows went bumpy across her forehead, using one hand to shield her eyes from the dwarves now disrobing and dunking themselves in the clear river. "It'd be _weird._"

Thorin placed his hand on Relly's right shoulder, like a father about to tell his daughter to suck it up and get used to it. Thorin turned his head towards a more secluded side of the great river, noticing some large rocks blocking the view from the large group of males bathing. There was no four star inn around these parts, they had to make do with whatever was available. However, Relly appeared distressed at the very idea of being naked around other men. Thorin couldn't say no to her. "See where those rocks part the river? You may bathe over there."

A chorus of "Awws," left the group of the younger male dwarves, although this was more teasing in nature as Relly stomped off, avoiding looking at the river full of naked dwarves. She did not need that mental picture and she deserved some privacy for decency's sake. Bilbo watched her leave to the other side of the Anduin, where large grey rocks blocked their view. He shook his head, shuddering that he would ever _dare_ look over in that direction.

A few minutes passed and initially, no one talked because well, it was bath time. Eventually though, Fili and Kili began chattering and soon the conversation turned to a logical subject that naked male dwarves would discuss: women. Bilbo tried to stay out of it but as always, he was dragged into the things he never asked for.

"Ori here is too shy to admit he is fond of our little thief," Nori brought his brother into a headlock, mashing his knuckles into Ori's wet braided hair before he released the squirming young dwarf. Dori stepped in, fussing over Ori's hair as he yanked him away from the middle brother. "The boy better speak up, just saying," Nori dissented.

"Leave Ori alone, he'll tell her when he's ready, isn't that right?" Like a mother hen, Dori waited expectantly for an answer from his baby sibling. A scarlet tinge brushed Ori's face. Bilbo could only imagine how vulnerable and on the spot the artistic dwarf felt. Personally, he wished they would stop talking about Relly, _only_ for the reason it was bothering Ori.

Ori lowered himself into the water, only his chin above surface level. "It's none of your..._business_...and don't talk too loud, Dori," he muttered, still red in the face. Bifur let out a gurgled chuckle, pushing his fist down onto Ori's head and dunked him in the water, much to Ori's dismay as Nori, Oin and Bombur laughed at the scene.

"Mr. Bilbo, you're a Hobbit!" Kili gleefully stated the obvious as he waded his way over to Bilbo, not aware of the concept of personal space. "If _you_ were a female Hobbit, how would you like to be confessed to?" he genuinely wanted to know, wanting a male Hobbit's advice. Unfortunately, Bilbo had no answer prepared for that question.

Bilbo sputtered out, "W-well, I'm not one so I have no idea and therefore cannot offer any opinion. Go ask Relly," he folded his arms across his chest. He hadn't meant to sound so final but it certainly came across that way. Kili gave him a strange look, scrunching his eyebrows together as if he were not entirely satisfied with the flustered Hobbit's answer.

"Come to think of it, those goblins said something very odd about Relly," Gloin cut in the conversation as he rubbed his bearded chin. "I heard the one next to me say she smelled human. That's not right though."

_Well, she is half-human_, Bilbo said in his mind but did not say out loud. It took him a while but Bilbo figured it out thanks to his fuzzy childhood memories of Relly's mother being ostracized for carrying a Man's child, and the hazy rumors he heard from his own mother and other female Hobbits about Ms. Crillynook's circumstances. Yet Relly had dared not mention her mixed blood. Gandalf _had_ to be aware of it, and perhaps Thorin as well, but everyone else? Not so much.

"Human?" Bofur perked up, somehow managing to keep his hat on even while bathing. "Well, aye, the lass doesn't really fit the image of what I imagined for a lady Hobbit, but..." he shrugged as his expression changed to a more somber one. "She would have told us if she was."

_I doubt that_, Bilbo rolled his eyes as he decided it was time for him to leave the river, feeling very uncomfortable. He climbed out, the rays of the sun baking his skin with welcomed warmth. He sighed when he saw how many buttons were missing from his vest. It was his favorite too. Perhaps when this was all over and done, he'd sew new brass buttons back on. _If this journey ever ends._

Bath time was over as the company gathered back in front of the pebbly cave, Relly the last to join them considering her love for long, private baths. Bofur and Ori stood close by her, the young dwarf silently admiring how the sun reflected off her black hair. It was so painfully obvious that Ori liked her, the very thought causing Bilbo to cringe. With her hair flatter than it usually was, he clearly saw the two-inch cut on her cheek, guessing the gauze must have peeled off since her dip in the river. The scar would never fully fade away.

The company set off once more, with Gandalf leading the way to wherever this Somebody lived. Bilbo put his faith in Gandalf; if the wizard trusted someone, he or she would definitely be an ally to their cause. Plus, he was sore all over and although the refreshing vitality of the Anduin did soothe some of his pain, he was also very hungry and began to think of the Hobbit hole rum cake his dear mother used to bake. He absently licked his lips at the fond memory, craving a slice right now.

"Mr. Gandalf, who are we seeing, exactly?" one of the dwarves asked Gandalf. Gandalf had been very discreet about the identity of this Somebody who lived in the Old Ford, only mentioning little tidbits here and there. Bilbo himself wanted to know the name of this strange male Someone. About four or five impatient questions later, Gandalf finally revealed who he was taking them to see.

"This Somebody I know is a very great person. You all must be polite and on the best of behavior, since he does, if I do recall, have a bit of a nasty temper. Now listen: I will introduce you all to him two by two; and you must be careful to not agitate or annoy him or you will truly see the consequences. However, he is quite kind and good hearted so perhaps...we will be alright." At this point, Gandalf was mainly talking to himself until Thorin demanded the name of this "very great person", snapping the wizard back into the conversation.

"Don't be so impatient, Thorin. I was about to say that his name is Beorn. He is very strong and he is a skin changer, if you shall call it."

Bilbo was about to make an idiot of himself. "You mean, he changes the skins of squirrels and such, like a furrier?"

Gandalf just stared at him, close to whipping him with his staff for Bilbo's silliness. "Good gracious no! Don't be so foolish, Mr. Baggins. Say that in front of Beorn and you will not have much skin left afterwards," his warning caused Relly to snort, Bilbo glaring back at Relly, the mischievous thief hiding her smirk with her hand as Bofur encouraged her little laugh. Bilbo once again made a fool of himself and it felt worse now that Relly saw him ask such a dumb question.

"He is a skin-changer. He can turn into a bear as he pleases, and can speak the language as such. That ought to be enough for you nosy dwarves and Hobbits," he ended it there, obviously not wanting to divulge any more information about this Beorn fellow.

"A bear-man?" Dwalin stated, liking the idea of transforming into a mighty, fierce creature. The other dwarves discussed the topic, very intrigued that shape-shifters existed in their world. It was not out of the realm of possibly after all and even Bilbo found himself enamored with the dream to be able to morph into any creature at will. Ultimately though, he much preferred being a Hobbit than any other animal or race.

Bilbo and the dwarves did not bother Gandalf with any further questions, left to wonder among themselves the nature of Beorn as Bilbo admired the lovely scenery unfolding around him. All the sloping hills of clovers, large patches of flowers and even the luscious green grass tickling his bare feet...it almost reminded him of home, but not quite. The Shire was more pastoral while the ford was...well...crisp, clean and very wild. Thorin allowed the company to rest a few minutes, perhaps feeling some sympathy for his men and Relly. Bilbo sat down on the ground, smelling the sweet scent of honey floating in the air and the noises of busy bees buzzing loudly around him.

Bilbo leapt up, saving his bottom from a nasty bee sting as he saw the plump bee land on a flower. _The last thing I need is a sore bum,_ he thought to himself, watching the bee zip from flower to flower. The adventurer Bilbo Baggins and how he was undone by a choice sting to the bottom. That would make for an interesting if not humiliating ballad, as Bilbo began to imagine poetic lines in his head about the lovely scenery.

"Time to go, we must continue on," Thorin's steely voice prompted the company back on their feet, ending the romantic landscape moment that Bilbo was experiencing.

"A picnic would have been nice on such a day," Bilbo sighed, brushing his finger past one last little honeysuckle before standing up and following his friends, his statement overheard by Ori.

"I like picnics too," the young dwarf commented, giving Bilbo one of his cute eager smiles, similar to the ones Kili often wore. Bilbo suddenly fell ill at the very sight of Ori, as if he had ate one too many slices of homemade cream cheese cake. "M-may I talk to you privately, Mr. Bilbo?"

Bilbo raised a brow as his interrupted frown curved into a wrinkled half-smile. He couldn't really turn him down. "Um, sure, what did you need Ori?" He already knew the answer to his own question as Ori walked beside the bachelor Hobbit, his fingers curled up in the open knit of his scarf.

"Er, well," Ori began and the yarned up lad began to glow bright red. "How would one...go about telling a _special friend_ that they're rather—," his voice dropped to a softer octave, "that you like them very much?"

The genuine expression in Ori's eyes could have stung Bilbo. "I suppose, well, if I were to tell someone about any possible feelings— not that I do— but if it were the case, I would tell them directly, honestly and hope for the best."

"Really?"

Bilbo nodded, assuring Ori. _Of course, this is truly hypothetical._ Ori could be brave and boastful at times but he was still in his adolescent dwarf years and suffered the same pangs of hormones any other living being did. There was no possible way he could _really_ sum up the courage and tell Relly about his strong feelings towards her. And even if Ori did, Relly would surely reject him, right? Bofur even implied she did not see him more than as a dear friend. Bofur also told Bilbo that Relly had been growing fond of him, but Bilbo chose to ignore that particular memory at the moment.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Bilbo!" Ori graciously thanked him, his sense of politeness having been stemmed from Dori drilling manners into Ori's skull as the dwarf bowed his head and left him.

Bilbo weakly smiled. "You're welcome," he trailed off, watching Ori catch up with the rest of the dwarves as the pit in his own stomach grew into a chasm of strange confusion.

* * *

The company had finally reached the quaint cottage of Beorn the skin-changer, much to their delight. Unfortunately, Gandalf abruptly reminded everyone about his plan to slowly introduce them to Beorn in pairs, as to slyly sneak everyone into the cottage without alarm from the bear-man. He decided to bring Mr. Baggins and Ms. Crillynook first, failing to mention that Beorn was not exactly fond of dwarves. They would soon learn that as pairs of dwarves filtered into Beorn's cottage within spans of five minutes each, as to not upset their new host.

Relly liked Beorn the very instant she met him, finding his rugged and wild aura very alike her own, the both of them headstrong and coarse around the edges. She spoke rapidly towards the mountain bear-man, her subjects changing every few seconds or so before Beorn could even answer. Bilbo found the whole event to be quite humorous, yet he was deeply annoyed that Relly would so easily talk to a stranger over someone she had been travelling with for months, say _him_. Gandalf also noticed how quickly Relly befriended the skin-changer, using her as a distraction so he could allow more dwarves to walk into Beorn's cottage.

"I don't tolerate thievery," Beorn gruffly warned Relly, his words sliding off Relly's back like water to a duck. Meanwhile, Bifur and Bofur entered the cottage, extending their services to Beorn.

Relly shrugged, keeping her twitchy hands behind her back. "Well...er...there's not much here I would even _want_ to take," she honestly told him, half-lidding her eyes at the hairy man. "Unless you got food...or something...I haven't eaten in three days because we lost our things and..." she continued to talk.

Beorn heartily chucked at Relly's attitude, finding her a breath of fresh air compared to some of the female critters his animal friends put up with, as he told the quarterling herself. Bilbo wasn't jealous, no he was _much_ better than that.

"Well, little one, I suppose I must feed you and all your friends now, all...wait, I only counted _twelve_ of you here a minute ago and now it has become _sixteen_?" Beorn raised his voice, realizing he had been deceived by Gandalf the Grey. "...as it may be. You all are probably making up your adventure and your female friend here is chirping at me louder than the swallows in the trees, but I suppose you deserve a supper for it all the same. Let's eat!"

The company could not have agreed any louder, Relly grinning her stupid, crooked grin as they all took their place at a dark dining hall soon lit up by torches brought in by Beorn's familiars. Compared to the dinner had at Bilbo Baggins' home all those months ago, it was certainly different and Bilbo was unnerved by how normal Beorn treated this. _Dogs on two legs and horses with torches? They would laugh at me back home if I told anyone about this_, he mumbled in his mind.

The way everyone was seated at the long dining table, Bilbo was sitting right across from the highly talkative Relly, two seats away from Beorn in his blackthorn chair, the young woman still chatting to him. The sheep, the rams, the dogs, ponies and all of Beorn's animal servants set the table and carted the food around them as everyone hungrily dug into their long-deserved meal.

Beorn spoke of rolling hills, thunderous night skies in the summer and the wild lands that bordered his property, even detailing the forests of Mirkwood. Bilbo found his tales amazing even with the mountain man's less-elevated vocabulary and the rough speech the man used. The dwarves exchanged dialogue about gold, silver and precious things; Bilbo could tell Beorn was quite bored with their stories, eyes flickering to a dog servant sniffing the shoulder of Relly as she drank some mead. Peculiar, peculiar indeed but Bilbo was distracted by the smell of honey once more as he slurped every sip.

It was times like this that made the journey nearly worth it, with all its dangers, horrors and mishaps. Bilbo was respected by Thorin now, the dwarf lord even directly talking to him over the dinner table. His modest pride swelled, his plump cheeks puffing up with self-assured happiness. It wouldn't last.

"Hey! Stop that! S-stop it!" Relly smacked the dog's nose when it tried to bite her, a scowl twisting her angular face. Beorn noticed this, speaking in his queer and beastly language as the dog barked back in a odd pattern that vaguely reminded Bilbo of words. He wondered what could possibly be wrong.

Beorn cleared his throat, bare arms resting on his wooden table as he raised his head and rested his dark eyes on Relly. After a tense few minutes, the skin-changer loudly laughed, his left hairy arm pounding the surface of the table, the force causing some dinner plates to shake. "I grow drowsy of hearing dwarves' stories. No, I want to hear hers, the female. Tell me, little one," his voice dropped, "how are you human and this...Hobbit race, as wizard Gandalf puts it? I had a hint but even my animals smell the two bloods in you; you cannot deny that."

Every dwarf in the room whipped their heads to look at Relly, the expressions ranging from shock to surprise. Gandalf's brows arched in concern but said nothing, waiting for an overdue honest confession from Relly Crillynook.

Bilbo heard her audibly _gulp!_, how scared and pained she looked. He didn't see a trace of mischief on her face, only the two-inch cut on her cheek and her hazel eyes lit up by the candle on the table. He felt sorry and yet, this was an explanation she owed every single member of the party. The revelation was met with loud mutterings by every single dwarf, Bilbo spending more than a second's time studying Ori's frown.

"I..." she hesitated, desperately seeking some savior to interrupt her but none came. She had to own up. "I tried. I tried to tell everyone but I got scared," her eyes darted from face to face. "Thorin knew, Gandalf knew...even Bilbo knew," she avoided looking at him despite her glances at Gandalf and Thorin. "I just...didn't know how to say it to you all, my friends."

Beorn's look marginally softened, Bilbo seeing that his rash words were hurting Relly's feelings as the thief continued to talk. "The trolls smelled it, the goblins smelled it and now these dumb dogs know," she sighed. "I didn't mean to lie...or...well, maybe I _did_ lie. I'm just so used to lying and I just put the whole idea off."

Balin finally spoke, his fellow dwarves not having the nerve to speak so soon. "I admit, I am unearthly surprised, but did you honestly believe we would hate you, Miss Relly?" he asked. He did not immediately get an answer.

"...I did, at first. But I liked you all so much and I know what it's like to not a home and I..." she hesitated again and decided not to speak whatever she was about to say, "so I decided not to bring it up. But Thorin found out and he didn't say anything to you all," and some of the dwarves immediately looked to Thorin, as if he should have informed the company. Bilbo himself though she was shifting the blame but her next words erased that opinion of his.

"No, it's not his place to tell you. I should have told everyone but I was too afraid and didn't want to ruin anything," she sunk into her seat, ashamed of herself. She choked on the apology. "I-I'm sorry."

Relly did not shed a single tear in her apology but it would be foolish to not be aware of the pain in her voice. She looked at every person now, including Bilbo as she decided to tell Beorn her story. "My mother was a Hobbit and her name was Hecaterina Crillynook. My father, well I never knew him, but he was human. His name was Rellan and I have this really ugly name in his memory."

"Your name isn't Relly?" Bombur interrupted, Bofur elbowing him in the gut. Relly didn't take offense as she slumped her shoulders.

"Relly's just short for Rellanora. It's a mouthful and Relly's better, I think. Um," obviously she was not used to telling her backstory. "well...my father died in a tavern brawl months after my parents eloped. Wrong place, wrong time sort of thing. So my mother left to return home. She gave birth to me in Hobbiton and raised me there but we kept to ourselves and didn't really talk to anyone. My grandpap died when I was ten or so. Then my mother caught pneumonia and died right before I turned twenty," she revealed.

"Oh no," replied some of the dwarves, sorry to hear of such a tragic death. Even Bilbo did not know that her mother passed away due to pneumonia; he just knew she died. Relly waited for everyone to stop talking again, her hazel eyes focused on the wooden floor. Beorn also listened with intent, much more curious than he was when the dwarves talked of mining and mountains.

"I don't really have a home. Well, it's there still, kinda, but there's hardly anything good in it since it got ransacked by the same people who hated my mother," she quietly spoke. "I didn't really fit in with humans either. So I stole to make a living and after a while, I got pretty good at it. For twenty years I lived like that. Then I met Gandalf in Rivertown and well, I'm here," she ended it awkwardly. "I just didn't want to be hated," she quietly repeated.

Relly was not a storyteller by heart and even the dwarves noticed large gaps in her story and they started to ask her many questions. It should have comforted Relly that they did not say they hated her but Bilbo could see the distress on her face. Relly was trying so hard to be honest and judging by how strained she was when she talked about her mixed heritage, even Gandalf did not prompt her to say more. Bilbo's own heart hurt, probably because he didn't even know the entirety of the thief's past. He had a loving mother and father, Bag End and was educated by books; Relly never had the opportunity.

* * *

Bilbo could not sleep that night. Even on homemade straw mattresses, heavy woolen blankets and with a roof over his head, the Hobbit could not sleep. He tried thinking of poems he once read or even making up a poem to put him to sleep. None of these methods were to his avail and so he stared up at the ceiling for quite some time, his eyes wide open, occasionally gazing at the milky white moon reflected on the floor to try and lull himself to bed. Again, this did not work.

Trying not to make his bed creak, Bilbo slowly rose out from his bed and placed his bare feet on the wooden floor. Beorn had set up their beds in the hallway and he was surrounding by the snoozing, sleeping forms of Thorin, Gandalf and twelve other dwarves. But the cot that should have held Relly was empty and the blankets were pushed aside as if she had pretended to fall asleep.

_She must have run off,_ Bilbo concluded. This reminded him of that night in Rivendell except this time, Relly wasn't looking to steal elven possessions. Bilbo took it upon himself, due to his Baggins' tendencies, to look for the upset thief. He heard a low growling sound and scratching from the front door and he almost curled back up under his sheets but he was determined to find Relly before anyone else woke up.

"Relly?" he whispered harshly, wishing he had a candle so he could see better. He used the moon as his light, to peer around corners and empty rooms in the hall. Something stirred as he froze still, his heart beating inside his chest. He didn't have to look for her. Certainly by morning she'd be back in her own bed and buried under the covers. The Baggins blood in him ebbed to the Tookish blood, feeling more adventurous as he tiptoed around corners.

He was out on the veranda, where the night time spring air touched him, the soft wind flirting with his exposed skin. A dark form was sitting on the floor, just staring out into nowhere. "Relly?" he quietly asked, not wanting to wake any creatures lurking around. Bilbo hoped Beorn was asleep.

It was indeed Relly out on the veranda, but she didn't answer, not at first. Bilbo frowned when she was silent. "You ought to be in bed like everyone else inside. Gandalf himself said you should be the first to rest and you're out here, not sleeping."

"I don't feel like it."

Bilbo was taken aback, almost relieved she was being her normal stubborn self. Well, almost. _I'm going to catch a cold from being out here in the dark and it will be all her fault._ "Why?" he gently shook his hands at her.

"You hate me so why are you even out here?" she accused him. "Just go away, leave me alone."

Ouch. If she had told him this at the very beginning of their journey, he would have most certainly done as she said, just so he wouldn't have to deal with her. But Bilbo had seen Relly stick out her neck for him, drop to her stomach to try and pull him off the ledge and defend him in front of Thorin a couple times. A few months ago he would have left her alone but now, Bilbo would feel guilty to abandon her outside just so he could get some sleep.

"I don't hate you Relly, if that's what you mean," Bilbo quietly answered, looking down in the direction of where he assumed his feet were. He stepped closer into the moonlight, seeing more of Relly's profile. "You are selfish, rather annoying sometimes with your talking and I don't even know _how_ you charmed Beorn long enough to allow Gandalf to bring in the dwarves, but..." he paused, feeling some color rise to his cheeks. "You can also be selfless, friendly and Thorin respected you before he saw me as his equal. You even saved my life. So no, I don't hate you Relly."

Silence, then she said: "I don't hate you either."

"Well that-that is good to know. But you ought to go to bed right now." Bilbo was about to say something more but he was beginning to feel sleepy, strange as that was.

He could hear her smile. "You're just scared Beorn's going to turn into a bear and eat you."

"No I am not," he denied. "Beorn would not eat me."

"Pfft," and he thought he heard a small little laugh from her, but the howl of a faraway dog jolted through him as he dropped his jaw and slowly inched away from the veranda. "Fine, I'll go to sleep. Only because you're too _scared_ to walk back by yourself."

Bilbo shook his head, relieved Relly was finally going back to her little straw bed even if it meant wounding his pride in the process. He heard her footsteps behind him and for the first time, he was uncomfortable walking in front of her. Like he were walking on eggshells the entire time they were in the hallway, right up until he saw the vague forms of their beds. Bilbo would definitely fall asleep this time around as he felt the welcomed heaviness of sleep on his eyelids. He tucked himself under the covers, safe again.

" 'night, Bilbo."

* * *

"I don't hate you" is the new "I love you". Just kidding. Sort of :D

Okay, so I really, really, _really_ want to hear your feedback/opinions on this chapter. Please? Esp. if I portrayed Beorn realistically and the Bilbo/Relly development.


	18. The Ones You Care For

The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings belongs to JRR Tolkien and the movies belong to Peter Jackson. I'm just a devoted fan.

You all are too kind and sweet for me. Thanks for being such awesome readers of this fic. I enjoy reading your thoughts, critiques and comments. It seriously makes my day. To some of you anons, I hope you get accounts because I'd love to reply to your messages :')

So, I'm in the process of editing/re-writing the first 4 chapters of this story because compared to my latest chapters, the opening isn't as strong and has some errors. I've already edited chapters one and two and while nothing story-wise has majorly changed, it does allow you all a better insight of Relly's past earlier in the story. Also, it's made clear Gandalf knows who she is from the start. If you want to, go back and read them!

* * *

**The Ones You Care For**

_How strange that nature does not knock, and yet does not intrude!_  
- Emily Dickinson

It would be lying to say Relly did not feel completely awkward that following morning. After all, she had finally revealed the truth about her mixed heritage towards all the company now. Thorin, Bilbo and Gandalf were already aware of Relly's quarterling status but the other twelve members of the party were left in the dark. The source of her insecurities had its roots in her half-human, half-Hobbit blood and for years she struggled with trying to fit in.

It was why she felt so welcomed among most of the dwarves anyway. At first, it was just for the treasure and adventure but as time wore on, Relly became attached to every dwarf. Whether it was the outspoken Gloin, wise Balin, fierce Dwalin, thief in trade Nori, kind Dori, the healing hands of Oin, jovial Bombur, the wild Bifur, the humorous Bofur, faithful Ori and her eager tutors Kili and Fili. She laughed with them, burped with them, survived countless dangers and fought alongside Thorin Oakenshield as his newly respected equal. Relly wouldn't say it out loud _ever_ but Thorin was becoming like a father to her. She desperately needed a father figure and Thorin, even with his gruffness, filled that role completely. In fact, she was pretty sure she was the only one who could get away with hugging him for no reason.

Much to her delight, no dwarf had brought up the topic. Life seemed to carry on as usual, as if she had never revealed her past last night. It needed to be addressed at some point but for now, Relly wanted to enjoy her breakfast.

"Relly, hand me the cinnamon bowl will you?" Dori asked Relly to pass the cinnamon bowl, snapping the thief out of her morning reverie as she tossed the wooden bowl to Dori, almost causing the lid to fall off. "Where's Bilbo? He's missing out on this delightful breakfast."

Kili ate two biscuits at once, attempting to carry on the conversation with his mouth full of bread crumbs. "I bef hesh stul asheep."

Fili translated, "Still asleep, I believe."

Relly didn't say anything as she continued to fork egg into her mouth. She knew why Bilbo was awake last night, and he was sleeping in like he were back home in his cozy bed. The cold milk she was drinking couldn't settle down the hotness in her face, remembering what she had talked to the gentle-Hobbit about. Bilbo had come looking for her, asking her to go back to bed. It was the most recent time she had actually _talked_ to him, besides their exchange in Rivendell. It was actually, well, quite pleasant. Bofur saw her sudden ruddy complexion, raising both brows to himself as he cleared his throat.

"I'll go fetch the lazybones," Bofur volunteered to wake up Bilbo, the dwarf excusing himself from the table as the other dwarves began to finish off their plates. Relly looked outside, the same direction she faced last night when she was out on the veranda. There was no sign of Beorn anywhere, which made Relly curious as to what the skin-changer did in his time.

Licking her lips for any remaining drops of milk, Relly patted her stomach as the quarterling exited the veranda. As she walked down the hallway, she found herself absolutely bored. Gandalf was nowhere to be seen as well and would not return to the cottage until that very evening. She decided to spend her time wisely, to soak up any minute of relaxation and rest before heading out on the road again.

After another day's rest at Beorn's cottage, it was time for the company to continue on their quest. Beorn now fully believed their cause due to his own investigations and had given them supplies, weeks worth of food, water skins and even ponies as tokens of his fondness towards them. However, there was enough time for one last gift.

"Here little one," and he handed Relly the now cleaned Warg skin he had previously nailed to the tree in his yard. "A token of our friendship. For a strange creature like you to brave the wilds, I honor you."

Relly peered down at her new gift. She still wasn't quite used to presents or saying thanks but her chest felt warm at the very gesture. Beorn was a fierce enemy but she also saw in him traits she admired: toughness, independence, and just his general aura. She felt a grin grow on her pointed face as she looked up at Beorn and bowed her head.

"Thanks." The word tasted funny but she was trying to be gracious. Of course, she had no idea what to do with a Warg skin, but she figured it would be a good blanket for the cold nights ahead.

Everyone said their fond farewells as Beorn stressed the importance of the rules he had specifically told them about the dark days ahead, including the warnings about not drinking or bathing in the queer black stream in Mirkwood and to stay on the path. As they all waved goodbye, the company continued on their journey as the miles stretched between their current place and Beorn's cottage. The adventurers were now back in the world of unknown terrors, no soft beds and the realization Gandalf was leaving them soon as well.

"Are you really leaving us, Gandalf?" Relly quietly asked the wizard. He had looked out for her since she met him; he was the whole reason why she was able to join the company. The grey haired wizard had rescued them so many times with his magic and skill. If they were ever backed into a corner again, they would have to rely on themselves than the power of Gandalf the Grey.

"The ones you care for never truly leave you," Gandalf replied to the young thief. "I believe you of all will be just fine, my dear Relly. Why, I remember when I first met you and you threatened to slit my throat and take my things!"

Relly gave him a shy smile at the mention of the memory. She would miss him terribly, like she missed her own grandfather. "I wouldn't have done it anyway. You didn't have anything good on you worth stealing."

The wizard and the thief laughed together as they rode on the ponies, their laughs attracting the attention of some of the dwarves. Relly had found a father in Thorin, playful older brothers in Kili and Fili and a kind grandfather in Gandalf. There couldn't possibly be anyone else to fill up a role in that gaping heart of hers.

* * *

At first, Relly saw frolicking rabbits chase each other and heard the birds chirping high up in the trees. Deer would pause in their tracks and run at the very sight of the sixteen member group and light would filter in through the gaps of the leaves above them. However, the woods began to darkened and the common fauna were no longer to be seen. The edges of Mirkwood crept closer and no birds sang as an ominous cloud hung over them.

"Well, here we are, at the very touches of Mirkwood. I hope you like the look of it," Gandalf described Mirkwood to the less-than-impressed party. Relly rolled her eyes. Liking was far from the choice of words she had in mind. _More like depressing._ "Now, it would be nice to send the ponies you have borrowed back to Beorn."

"What?" Bofur complained. "Certainly Mr. Beorn wouldn't mind if we held onto them wee bit longer-,"

Gandalf bellowed, "No! Beorn is not as far from you all as you'd like to believe. It would be wise to keep your promises to Beorn, as he is an enemy you do not want to have. You all do not understand the amount of kindness he has shown you by allowing dwarves to ride on his ponies," Gandalf's voice was low and his eyes a darker shade of grey.

An indignant frown was on Thorin Oakenshield's face, his eyes glaring at the very horse Gandalf was riding. "And what about that one?" he asked. "You didn't mention you would return that horse."

Everyone glued their eyeballs to Gandalf. The grey wizard gave a small 'harrumph!' as he looked at his horse. "I didn't because I'm _not_ sending this one back."

"Then what do you intend to do with it, Mr. Gandalf?" Ori piped up although his question was not appreciated.

"I am not sending the horse back, I am riding it!" Gandalf fumed. Relly forgot that the good-natured wizard was capable of a temper and held her tongue for fear of upsetting the wizard even further. A few tense minutes later the wizard seemed to have calmed down as he took in a deep breath and spoke once more.

"It is no use arguing. I have already extended my original plan of stay with you all and I have business in the south that needs taking care of," he explained again. Relly did not want to be reminded that Gandalf was leaving them since it hurt her heart. "We may yet meet again, not too soon though. It all depends on your courage, senses and luck. It is good of me to send Mr. Baggins and dear Relly along with you. I have said from the start their resourcefulness will be an advantage and it certainly -_hah_- hasn't failed to surprise me as well."

Relly started grinning, hearing the very mention of her name giving her some new recognition. She had Gandalf and Thorin's respect and her pride swelled, side-eyeing Bilbo. He also had a smile on that round face of his, Relly snapping her head back into position as Gandalf cheered them.

"Cheer up Thorin and Company, for this isn't the end. Forget about the forest and dragon for tonight and dream of treasure instead!"

Morning came and to ignore the ever present future of Gandalf leaving them for good, the company filled up their water skins by a clear spring designated as safe to drink from and began the distribution of wares and supplies. Without the ponies, they would once more have to carry their lot on foot, much to the chagrin of many dwarves and of course, Bilbo.

"Oh, but mine is so heavy," Bilbo lamented. This wasn't entirely true as each member of the party had to carry a certain weight of items but he sounded like a lame child.

Relly reached her arm over to his pile of stuff, grabbed some food containers from him and put them in her own sack. "There. Now you don't have to carry as much."

Bilbo looked bemused at her actions but ultimately was grateful that Relly was nice enough to share the load. She was finding it harder and harder to cover up her good deeds with excuses or back handed compliments. Her words were flimsy around Bilbo and she had to actually concentrate on what she was going to say, unlike before when she could just tease him without ease. It was a weird sensation that never quite left the back of her mind, like she couldn't poke fun at him like she used to.

Ori noticed Relly's actions and offered to carry some of her things in return. Relly shook her head, rejecting his well intended offer. "It's okay Ori, I can carry this. It's not-," and she hauled the strap of the sack over her shoulder, "_too_ bad." _No, this is really heavy_, she resigned, _but I can't let anyone see it's too heavy for me._

The first order of business was to send the ponies back. As the ponies trotted away, Relly couldn't help but be jealous of them returning home safely to Beorn. As much as she liked being on this adventure, she was growing tired as well and found it harder to sleep for more than an hour every night. The idea of Death started to crawl under her skin unlike before when she was carefree and pushed Death aside. If anything, Relly was aware she was becoming more vulnerable to such thoughts.

The time came for Gandalf to send off his final farewells to everyone, the moment no one had been looking forward to. His absence would more than likely doom them. Relly had grown so fond of Gandalf, the wizard who saved her from an angry baker and whisked her away on a quest. He was their last minute savior, more powerful than any being Relly had ever known. And he was leaving them for "business", whatever business a wizard could possibly have was over her head.

"Good bye, good bye!" Gandalf waved his hand to them. "Just stay on the straight path and remember! Do not stray for if you do, even I cannot predict the dangers that may befall you." _How comforting to know_, Relly groaned.

"Is there truly no way around?" Bilbo asked. Relly glared at him in disbelief. One moment he was worth saving his life; now was not one of those moments. "Isn't there another way other than this creepy forest?"

Gandalf nearly berated him. "Bilbo Baggins, I am ashamed of you for ever thinking of such a thing. You cannot go under, over, around or sideways, it is far too late to go back. You must go forward. Someone has to keep an eye on those dwarves and Relly for me," and he gave both of them an odd look that made Relly's skin crawl with goosebumps. Not that he sounded scary but she didn't like the hint in Gandalf's voice.

"Well that's very a very comforting thought," Thorin made a sarcastic remark, his slate colored eyes hiding his worry that Gandalf was truly saying goodbye. Relly walked closer to Thorin, looking up at him as to assure him that everything would turn out alright, even if she personally did not believe so. "If you won't go any further with us, then just bid good-bye already!"

Not liking to be cut off, Gandalf let out a small forced breath as his wrinkles softened and looked at every single member of Thorin Oakenshield's company. He patted the neck of his horse as he said, "Good bye then!" and the horse turned around and off they went. However, that wasn't the last thing he said. "Good bye again! Take care of yourselves and remember, DON'T STRAY OFF THE PATH!"

Relly stood in her spot for a few moments, watching the grey dot disappear from her viewing horizon. That was it. How easy it was for people to come in and out of her life. She wanted to believe that Gandalf would cross paths with them again, maybe after they reclaimed Erebor and slayed the dragon Smaug. With a tiny sigh, Relly exhaled all of her sadness as she cracked her knuckles and saw Bilbo sitting on the ground, slumped over and appearing to be rather depressed.

"I cannot believe he would leave us behind," Bilbo grumbled with dismay. "I did not want to think that day would ever come."

Relly crouched down on her knees beside him, looking in the same direction the gentle-Hobbit was gazing at. Her body had a mind of its own and she hadn't actually planned on sitting near him. She kneaded her lips a little, unsure of what to say to try and cheer up Bilbo. He could be such a whiny worrywart. Her ears perked up a little when she remembered what Gandalf told her about people leaving. _That should comfort him, just as long as he doesn't start crying like a big baby._ Her throat went dry as soon as her jaw creaked open to say the quote but she swallowed her spit and said it anyway.

"'The ones you care for never truly leave you.' That's uh, what Gandalf told me," she added that to make sure Bilbo didn't get the idea she came up with the phrase. Bilbo raised his chin a little and looked at her, a little longer than Relly was comfortable with. "I mean, _of course_ he'd say that, I wouldn't say something so du-," but she was interrupted by Bilbo.

"That's very...nice of you, Relly," he said to her and was that a closed lipped smile on his face? She turned her head away, gulping quietly to herself. Whenever he said her name in conversation, the muscles in her chest tightened up and her neck felt like a thick vine was constricting her airflow, as if she were choking. "I suppose Gandalf wouldn't want us to worry about him, would he?"

Relly picked at her nails as a way to avoid looking at Bilbo and to pretend she didn't care as much as she did. "I guess not. Anyway, we need to get our stuff and go. Thorin wants to go into the forest right now," she nervously ran her hand through her hair and stood up, shoving her hands into her trouser pockets and making a beeline for her sack, not once looking over her shoulder.

_I don't even know why I did that. _Relly told herself over and over why she didn't know but like all things true, the real answer had been apparent for quite some time now.

* * *

Those steps were the first steps into the wild wood without Gandalf and nobody said a word for the longest time. What was there to be said? Even Thorin, who did not always agree with Gandalf's decisions, was quiet and kept a stone-hard gaze on his face, his eyes locked in on anything moving in the dark wood.

The lichen glimmered with an odd emerald green and by now Relly had become accustomed to the darkness. Bilbo's eyes were the sharpest out of anyone's, much to her wounded pride, and he would often point out the things they missed such as one solitary bird and black squirrels scurrying around the wood. Every gnarled tree looked the same to Relly and she soon grew sick of seeing trees, trees, trees, the occasional nasty set of stringy cobwebs and you guessed it, more trees.

"I'm sick of all these trees," Gloin couldn't keep it unsaid any longer. "I'm used to the tunnels but this...I feel like I'm suffocating!"

The other dwarves murmured in agreement. Dwarves were used to winding, dark tunnels but Mirkwood was a whole other story of twisting, never ending paths.

What Relly hated the most were the nights. The nights weren't particularly cold or warm, just very unnerving. It would be incorrect to say she never saw anything in the forest but she did often see beady yellow eyes peering at her and the thought of being watched by unknown creatures made it even more difficult for her to fall asleep. This was why she often volunteered to keep watch. Everyone huddled close together with sleeping bags often touching others but it was the only way anyone could feel safe.

Relly felt her head nod but she jerked herself back awake, sitting on a fell log as she sat above her sleeping companions. She believed she still have half an hour left on her shift, or who knows. It was not easy to keep track of time in this forsaken forest. Wearing the Warg skin as a blanket, Relly pulled the fur closer to her shoulders as she spotted a pair of bright red eyes peeking at her. She wanted to yelp but the eyes flickered away as soon as they appeared.

When Relly was by herself and the world was alone and quiet, it allowed her time to glimpse at her friends. Even the mighty Thorin had fallen asleep and she gently smiled at her father-like dwarf, eyes closed just like any other being. Thorin had split his bread with her and talked to her even more now that they were travelling once more. Her thoughts trailed from Thorin to Bofur and Ori, her closest friends. Lately Ori had been rather withdrawn from her and only answered her in short sentences. This bothered her since Ori was usually the most talkative around her. She stifled a yawn as she rested her chin on the palm of her hand.

She thought of Bilbo and she was thankful the night was so pitch dark or else an animal might see her face turn scarlet. Her old self wanted to continue thinking Bilbo Baggins was a bum bachelor with no desire to be here, that he was a wet rag and a stick in the mud...and her head started to spin a little bit. Yet he had rescued her from the stone trolls, knew how to cook, was the first one to leave the tree and fight Azog and now, well now, he was causing her to feel rather ill whenever she was around him.

_I'm just exhausted_, Relly shooed away her feelings as she fought off sleep for half an hour more until Bifur woke up groggily and replaced her. She more than accepted sleep this time around.

* * *

It's kind of a boring, shorter than usual chapter but I tried adding in the boat episode and just, the pacing was all wonky and I am a firm believer in ending chapters without them ending awkwardly. So that's for next time. I think the next chapter might be in Bilbo's POV too.

There's a kiss next chapter. Hmmm._  
_

Once again, you guys are totally precious :)


	19. His Peace of Mind

The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings belongs to JRR Tolkien and the movies belong to Peter Jackson. I'm just a devoted fan.

*evil cackling*

your heart is going to ache :'D and this is a **super** long chapter (clocking in at 9k words, wowee) so bring a box of tissues and maybe some popcorn or a hot cup of tea!

* * *

**His Peace of Mind**

_Your soul is a dark forest._

_-_ Marcel Proust

_I'm so thirsty._

Bilbo held the leather water skin to his ear to judge how much water he had left so he could justify drinking a few sips to slake his dry mouth. The weak swishing of liquid disappointed the Hobbit even further, wearing a lame little frown on his chubby face as he stuffed the water skin back into his sack. Since their trek into Mirkwood, there had not been a single spring safe enough to drink from. The group had to adjust to the constant thirst in their throats, resisting the urge to chug down the remainder of water left in their water skins. How funny was it to be surrounded by vegetation yet not allowed to eat or drink anything, or so Bilbo darkly thought.

Over the past few days, Bilbo noticed how much lighter his pack was on his shoulders. Remembering what Thorin said about wishing the packs were heavier with food, he couldn't help but feel a little guilty for eating more than the rest of his companions. True, he wasn't gorging _but_ he certainly wasn't just nibbling either. _Eat up so you'll be a healthy, happy Hobbit_ _lad_ was what his dear Mum told him every mealtime, and even in the darkest, deepest parts of the winding forest he could still hear the childhood memories ring in his mind.

"Your _mom_ has a beard?" Relly's stunned exclamation echoed through the dim woods, shaking Bilbo out of his contemplative moment.

"Yes?" Kili answered her, confused as to why she would even ask him something so obvious in the first place. "Why wouldn't she?"

Fili chimed in with, "She has the finest side wisps of hair ever seen! Our mother is beautiful!"

Bilbo absently scratched his chin, a frown forming on his lips. Most Hobbits were incapable of growing facial hair unless they were of Stoor descent and even then, it wasn't guaranteed. Being surrounded by beards, braids and mustaches did a damper on his own masculinity, though he got over it eventually. He looked ahead to the line in front of him, watching Relly's expression change as Kili told her more about their mother Dis with Bilbo occasionally listening in. It was hard to imagine Thorin Oakenshield having a sister since he seemed so solitary all the time. However, Thorin must be doing something right to have two devoted nephews and Relly as a weird sort-of daughter. Thorin even patted her on the head like a little child, an action the thief did not seem to mind.

_Of course if I did that to her my hand would be clean removed from my wrist_, he softly grumbled, snapping out of that mood as he kept up with the pace, eyes peeled for any suspicious activity. He did, after all, have the sharpest eyes of the entire party, a title he liked to wear with modest pride. He continued to follow along the path with the company until they all reached an impasse.

A river laid before them and judging by its contents, Bilbo was unsure whether this water was safe to drink from. Beorn had warned them of dark, murky streams that would cast spells on wearisome travelers.

"Do you think it is safe for us to replenish our water skins?" Dori asked.

Thorin shook his head, able to observe just how murky the stream was even in the dark. "I do not believe so. To think had it not been for Beorn's warning, we would be drinking and bathing. No, we must find a bridge...or a path...somehow."

A slight groan was uttered by the thirsty members. Bilbo stepped closer onto the riverbed of the fast river, seeing that there had once been a plank bridge but lost over time due to decay. His hope took a direct blow as he feared the worst. That is, until his beady Hobbit eyes spotted a boat across the river.

"Wait! I see a boat! But only if it could be on our side!" Bilbo pointed out the shape of the boat on the opposite riverbed.

"Well?" Thorin prodded him. "How far do you think it to be?"

Bilbo made a rough estimate. "Twelve yards or so. If we had some rope, perhaps we could bring it over here."

Thorin snorted, which sounded more like a sarcastic laugh than an actual snort. "It may as well be a thousand miles from us! And what if the boat is tied up or beached onto the riverbed? We cannot wade in the water or jump to it."

Bilbo wanted to say that all dwarves lacked common sense and that they all had the odd tendency to be select of hearing when it came to suggestions but instead he held his tongue. Didn't want Thorin to find a reason to dislike him all over again. "I don't believe it to be tied to the post...well, alright I am not entirely sure. In fact, if we just had some rope I'm sure we could yank it over to us."

After a couple back and forths, Bilbo successfully convinced Thorin to allow Kili to toss the rope into the boat and see if it would hook. Fortunately it did, but unfortunately as they all soon learned, the boat had in fact been tied to the post and it took all fifteen of them to yank the boat free. After a close call of nearly losing their boat, now the company had to decide who would ride first.

"I shall," Thorin said, "along with Fili, Balin and you too, Bilbo Baggins."

"But Miss Relly's a lady and she should cross the river first," Dori pointed out, his hand gesturing to the less-than-excited quarterling. "And I believe she is the lightest of us all."

Though the polite thing to do was let Relly cross the river first, ultimately she was paired off with the heaviest of the bunch: Bombur. According to Thorin's reasoning, it made complete sense for the fattest and lightest members of the company to share the boat as to not capsize. The first group to ride the boat would be Thorin, Fili, Balin and surprisingly, Bilbo himself. He was pleased to learn that Thorin liked him enough to share a short boat with him. The good feelings faded away as he sat on the small bench in the boat, seeing Relly look less than pleased on the opposite shore.

_If she falls in, it will be Bombur's fault_, Bilbo glumly thought. It would be like that time Relly knocked herself out after leaving the Greenwood. Last thing they needed again was a sleeping damsel.

"Out of the boat, Mr. Baggins," Balin reminded him, the 'pop' of his mental bubble being pierced as Bilbo more than happily obliged to leave the boat and shoo away those strange thoughts. As Bilbo touched land with his feet, he felt secure once more. Being over water made him rather antsy.

Kili, Balin, Dwalin and Oin were next and Fili had successfully strung their oar-less boat along by using the trees around them. Ori, Dori, Nori and Gloin followed after. Left on the other side of the stream were Bifur, Bofur, Bombur and Relly. Bifur and Bofur shared their boat ride as Bofur cracked a joke.

"Dwarves on the water! Who would have thought _us_ as sea-farers?" he laughed, putting Bifur at ease as they stepped off the boat, joining the thirteen others.

Relly crossed her arms, eyeing Bombur and Bilbo could make out her uneasy expression. She probably did not want to be last to ride but that was what it boiled down to.

"Be careful!" Ori shouted across, worried for his dear friend.

Bombur approached the creaky boat first, sitting at the opposite end so Relly could step onto the boat without squeezing by him. So far so good. Everything was going smoothly and it seemed every dwarf was holding his own breath to make sure the boat didn't sink. Even Bilbo found himself forgetting to breathe, not wanting either one to fall into the black waters. The boat was nearing the riverbed, Bombur more than ready to finally step out and leave. But with all things on this journey, something bad was bound to happen.

"Deer!" Kili shot off some arrows but much to his misfortune, the wild deer had somehow avoided every shot. With the exception of Thorin and Bilbo, the deer bowled over the group of dwarves, the odd deer charging through on its panicky legs and stirring panic. Bombur gasped for breath, Relly trying to calm down the gentle giant as the deer skidded off into the woods, dashing any hopes of venison tonight.

"Help!" Bombur teetered on the nose of the boat, much to his dismay. He had one foot on land but the other one was somehow glued to the boat end, the poor dwarf frightened. "I'm going to drown!"

His Hobbit ears perking up, Bilbo started towards him and so did Fili and Oin, but Bombur was suddenly headbutted by Relly as an act of saving him, causing the fat dwarf to tumble onto land safely. Unfortunately, the force of Bombur tipping off the boat pushed Relly off the boat as the thief yelped before she dipped into the murky waters.

_Oh no!_ Bilbo stared in horror. She literally risked her life pushing or rather _headbutting _Bombur onto land, which in turn caused her to fall into the water. If he weren't pressed for panic, his faith in her selflessness would have been fully confirmed.

"Relly!" Bofur yelled, the hatted dwarf running towards his friend but was stopped by Thorin, who ordered Fili to throw the hooked rope towards Relly. "We're coming to get you lass, don't you worry!"

"Relly, catch!" Fili shouted, panic and urgency pulsing through the veins of every company member.

"Got it!" she responded although her voice seemed rather off. With a heave-ho, everyone pulled the feather-light quarterling onto land only for them to discover that for the second time in their journey Relly had become unconscious.

Bilbo peered down at Relly, a frown carved onto his face. Seconds ago Relly had been awake and now she was magically asleep, just like Beorn had warned them. He bent down on his knees and looked at her closer, inspecting for any cuts or scrapes. Fili yanked the rope from Relly's hand as she laid perfectly still on the riverbed. Thorin was furious that such ill luck befell him and his travelers.

"That could have been me!" Bombur realized, his chubby mouth gaping as he watched the sleeping girl on the bank.

"It may have well been _you_!" Thorin scolded Bombur as he pushed Bilbo aside and fished Relly's sack and Warg skin from the river, making sure not to touch the water else he'd fall asleep too. "Once again, she is incapacitated," he spoke with frustration, his slate grey eyes watching Relly sleep peacefully like she weren't in the wood.

The men sat for a long time beside the gurgling stream, cursing the water for bringing misfortune upon them. Dwarves were highly superstitious folk, much more than Bilbo ever expected, as many of the dwarves tossed around ideas as to why things ended up this way. Supplies were low and now Relly was asleep for who knows how long. Anything else could potentially go wrong. Idle conversation eventually started up between the younger dwarves. Bilbo remained silent as his eyes occasionally glanced over to Relly before he averted his attention to Kili.

Fili rested his chin between his hands, puffing his cheeks out a bit as he sat on a fell log. "I wish Gandalf were here, he'd know a way to wake her up."

"Ori, here's your chance to kiss her," Nori elbowed his baby brother, causing the young dwarf to go full red in the face. "C'mon lad, we're all tired of you trailing behind her like a lovesick pup."

"I'm _not_ lovesick," Ori corrected his brother but remained blushing all the same. This disconcerted Bilbo, having heard this suggestion before when Relly was knocked out the first time. Plus, he did not want to see Ori kissing Relly, _only_ because he felt like it was taking advantage of her. That, and Bilbo didn't want to see him kissing her in the first place.

Thorin finally intervened in the subject of _anyone_ kissing their only female companion, an act that brought much relief to the gentle-Hobbit. Thorin picked up Relly as if she were a sack of flour in his arms, the thief curled up near his chest as if she were a young child. It looked so strange to see a dwarf carry a small half-Hobbit being, almost comical if it weren't for the strange irritable nagging at the edges of Bilbo's mind. He knew that Thorin only viewed Relly as a little foundling, but it also unnerved him that Thorin could carry her so easily.

Funny really, how Bilbo expected Relly to wake up and say "Just kidding!" to everyone or to murmur something under her breath. He waited for any sign but Relly didn't open her eyes even once that night. _If only Gandalf had not left us, maybe this wouldn't have happened to her._

An ache seared through him like a fire to the kettle; in fact Bilbo felt a bit ill. The pain he was currently experiencing wasn't from a named physical source and it wasn't the emotional drag he once felt for being a burden to Thorin. No, this pain was very specific and whenever he saw Relly fast asleep in Thorin's arms, it felt like a burning stab in his rib cage, right above where his heart was.

"We'll take turns carrying Relly," Thorin's voice cut through Bilbo's mental fog as the Hobbit propped his elbows on his knees and listened to what the leader had to say about their new luggage. "If we ever get out of this forest of madness, perhaps we can decide the course to take with her if she is still unconscious by then."

"Where's Mr. Gandalf when you need him!" Kili woefully sighed, the dark haired dwarf pouting as he plucked the string on his bow. "What if she—?"

"Doesn't wake up? For our sakes, I hope she will," and Thorin ended any what-if's right then and there. He did not want his men to dwell on such a fate. They had to keep moving and in the back of everyone's mind; at least they wouldn't have to lug around Bombur had he been the unlucky one.

* * *

Three days passed and Relly remained sleeping like a newborn babe. Thorin had carried her the most, probably out of a sense of fatherly obligation. Despite the emptiness of their bellies, Thorin had made it clear to everyone to not eat Relly's stash of food, since if anyone needed their strength it would be her. However, the desire was tantalizing; knowing there was still a store of food but out of everyone's reach.

"Your turn, Bilbo," Bofur walked to the back of the line to pass on the duty of carrying their little thief to him. "Even you should be able to carry her."

Bilbo forced a thin smile. He had never carried another person before and the fact it was Relly sort of made him feel strange. But he couldn't argue with the task set before him. "Fine."

Bofur winked at him. "Be careful with the lass," but the way he said it hinted at something else. Bofur was always so enigmatically cheerful to the point where it would unnerve Bilbo.

The male bachelor Hobbit was handed the precious cargo as he felt his knees bend a bit from the sudden weight. He adjusted his arms so her head rested in the crook of his elbow. Still asleep, no surprise there. With the pack on his shoulders and a sleeping quarterling in his arms, Bilbo certainly had a lot on his plate. He tried to keep up the pace set by Thorin as he trailed behind the group, being careful as to not drop Relly.

Every now and then Bilbo would glance down at the unconscious damsel in his arms, having to force himself to look away for fear in the off chance Relly woke up and caught him looking at her. His mind wandered to the night he approached Relly on the veranda at Beorn's cottage. How different she looked just sitting on the floor, staring out into the night landscape. Bilbo remembered his strong desire to sit alongside her, just so she wouldn't be completely lonely...

Bilbo meant every word he told her that night. Relly was selfless, as evidenced multiple times in their journey. She saved his life, she stood up for him, she made sure Bombur touched land before she did. She became dependent on other people rather than relying on herself and only caring about her needs. Relly was still mischievous and wild but over time, she had become friendlier and performed good deeds even she was a bit unorthodox about it.

The dawning realization crashed upon Bilbo like a falling sack of bricks as he felt that same stabbing ache in his rib cage. He _cared._ Bilbo Baggins, the solitary bum bachelor of Bag End, deeply cared about this little half-human, half-Hobbit resting in his arms. Relly Crillynook had slowly wormed her way under his skin and there was no use in denying her presence in his mind any longer. Biting the inside of his lip, he awkwardly used one of his free fingers to brush aside a chunk of black hair that had stuck to the sides of Relly's slightly parted mouth.

"There, much better. Now you won't drool all over the place," he quietly told her, as if he had done it out of good faith. It didn't stop the tiny genuine smile on his dimpled face from growing as he walked a little faster as the dull ache in his chest faded away.

The scenery around Bilbo eventually changed as the company was almost inclined to cheer for the fresh change of landscape. The trees started to look slightly different from one another and butterflies would gently float above their heads. A hint of an autumn breeze would waft through the undergrowth, which only reminded Bilbo just how long he had been away from his home. He wondered if Lobelia and her Sackville-Bagginses brood had finally grasped their claws on Bag End. The thought was chilling enough so he stopped thinking about it.

At night, sometimes Bilbo heard laughter far off into the forest. He wasn't just imagining it as other members pointed out the odd lights bouncing around in the distance and sounds of merriment. Bilbo wondered who could possibly be so happy in such a gloomy, twisted place.

"I wonder what she's dreaming about," Dori pondered as it was now his turn to keep watch of their sleeping companion while the rest of the company tried to rest. Bilbo almost didn't want to let go of Relly, only because he had become quite comfortable with the petite thief in his arms. She was laid on her Warg skin, the only member of Thorin Oakenshield's party to have such comfortable bedding on the forest floor.

"What makes you think she's dreaming?" Gloin asked, suggesting that perhaps Relly was in a continual state of nightmares. "With such an enchanted stream, I do not think any good comes out of that!"

"I just want her to wake up soon," Ori sighed as he cupped his own cheek with hand and rested his elbow on his knee, the dying flames of the fire illuminating his facial features. "I miss her very much."

Thorin didn't say anything as he ate the very last of his honey bread. Bilbo saw the guilt etched onto the lines of the dwarf lord's face and the worry seeped into him as well. What if Relly never woke up?

_She's just like the princess from that song_, Bilbo randomly recalled the ballad of Dworin and Agnu. The following lines also appeared in his head: _Her skin so pale and moon-night in her hair / __Autumn eyes and soft lips framed her face. _Now he knew _why_ Ori picked that ballad. Relly certainly had the facial features of the princess in the poem. Her autumn hazel eyes closed shut, the stillness of her moon-night hair...

Bilbo held his hand up to his forehead as to shield his expression from the rest of the males. The difference between Agnu and Relly was, _well_, Relly didn't purposely put herself to sleep. The thief said it so herself about how silly it was to be romantic. She could be coarse and unrefined, and she probably didn't put too much stock into fairy tales or love stories. He gulped. Relly as a princess? Not likely. A damsel, _definitely_. And even then, Bilbo couldn't deny the quiet prettiness that surrounded the quarterling thief as she rested on her Warg skin, unperturbed by the world around her. She was not afraid of the dangers at every corner or the trouble ahead of them. She was suspended in sleep, resting forever like Princess Agnu.

Bilbo didn't just deeply care for Relly. No, it was much more complex than that. It was this very feeling he had been making excuses for such as trying to hide away or rationally explain why he did the things he did towards Relly. Not only that, but the similar actions shown to him by Relly: her stuttering, looking away, turning red in the face...

The Hobbit held his tongue, not wanting to arouse the suspicions of his companions. Instead he settled on gently admiring Relly's sleeping form as he let out a small yawn. He wasn't sure how to say it exactly and now he was worried Relly would never hear him say anything. Even worse, Ori was also competing for her affections albeit Ori had his eye on her long before Bilbo ever considered Relly a viable romantic partner.

Bilbo meekly chuckled in his throat. It was too late for him.

* * *

Two slow, agonizing days passed. Thorin was getting angrier and angrier with the labyrinthine clockwork of Mirkwood and one could not ignore the loud Khuzdul cursing under his hoarse breath. Sure, the scenery had changed but now it all blended in with one another so it was like the beginning of this accursed journey in the woods again. Bofur tried to pass the time by whittling branches and twigs but no one seemed to find much joy in that.

"Oh come on lads, just trying to lighten things up a bit," he grumbled, the usually happy toymaker dwarf in a sour mood himself.

Not only that but Bilbo feared Ori was becoming more and more confident in his romantic affections towards Relly. He often heard the artistic young dwarf pine over losing that scarf he had made for Relly and had planned on making it a confession-gift of sorts. Bilbo couldn't help but take a little pleasure in knowing the scarf was lost. He liked Ori for the most part but he also tried not to get too close to him due to their mutual crush on Relly.

"Master Baggins, you've looked lost in thought lately. Are you quite alright?" Balin observed the far-off look on the Hobbit's face. Bilbo shook his head, clearing his throat as he shook his head multiple times.

"No, no, I'm quite fine. Hungry and tired like everyone else," and he added in a fake chuckle. Balin didn't seem to buy his answer but left the topic alone.

Night fell and morning came once more, like a sadistic cycle of surreal forest time. The men sat down to eat a meager breakfast of the last crumbs of food and drink the few sips of water from their containers. Relly's water skin was the only one with a good amount of spring water left but Thorin made sure no one touched her supplies.

"Just one sip shouldn't hurt," Nori begged but he was shot down.

"If I find that any of you have eaten even a speck of her honey bread, you will not eat anything else on this journey!" Thorin sounded ridiculous but as they all knew the majestic dwarf, he meant what he said.

Bilbo and the dwarves ate in silence, dry crumbs in their mouths only adding to their un-ending thirst. _I'm going to die in this forest and a hundred years from now some poor explorer will find my bones and meet the same fate_, he melodramatically imagined the whole scenario.

"I'm hungry!" piped up a female voice.

Bilbo nearly jumped out of his seat and many members of the company also turned their heads in shock. After many days of sleep, Relly Crillynook was finally awake and apparently very starving as she grabbed her pack and started shoving food down her gullet.

"Relly, Relly!" the dwarves cheered and Bofur began to approach his dear friend but an odd thing happened. Relly's eyes narrowed as she scooted away, still weak from lack of activity as she grit her teeth towards them.

"Who are you?" she angrily asked, keeping her stash of food close to her as she wildly turned her head. "Where am I? Did you kidnap me? If you did, you're going to regret this!"

_Oh no_, Bilbo's heart dropped. All that progress...gone, thanks to amnesia. Right when Bilbo was considering his feelings for her did she do a complete personality swap. It simply was not fair.

"What are you rattling about? We didn't kidnap you!" Dwalin told her but Relly seemed less convinced. "Lass, you've been travelling with us for months!"

The hazel eyed thief snorted as she drew her unfamiliar weapon, turning it around in her hand as if it were a foreign item. "I'd_ never_ travel with a bunch of dwarves or men. I rob them, not stick around."

Ori looked crushed. Gloin and Oin exchanged worried glances and Bofur also looked concerned. Bilbo stepped forward from the crowd, his presence suddenly made aware by Relly as she tilted her head at him, her lips pursed together.

"You're a Hobbit, aren't you?" she asked curiously with less anger in her voice but still defensive. "Do I...know you?"

Bilbo nodded, wanting to encourage her into remembering. "Yes, yes you do. I'm Bilbo Baggins and you're wearing my clothes. You, er, robbed me."

Relly glimpsed at her outfit and plucked the suspender strap in her hand. "So I did. But that doesn't explain why I'm," and she paused to get a gander at her surroundings, "here in a forest or with you weirdos."

Thorin decided to step in as leader and placed his hand on Relly's shoulder, but the thief shrugged it away. Bilbo saw this hurt Thorin. "We are not 'weirdos' as you call us. I am Thorin Oakenshield, son of Thrain in the line of Durin. Dwalin speaks the truth. You have been in my company since May and have proved yourself to be a honorable member of my party," as he gently bowed his head towards Relly. Before she could say another word Thorin continued with, "You fell into an enchanted river when you saved Bombur here," and he guided her attention to the fat dwarf. "You've been asleep for days."

"It's true," Bombur nodded. "You fell in after I made it on land."

Relly was more inclined to believe Thorin as she loosened her shoulders just a little. "Then why don't I remember any of this? I was just asleep in Rivertown days ago..." she muttered.

It was at that moment everyone realized her erased memory was much more severe than they thought. Months of memories- gone! No recollection of Gandalf or Rivendell or the goblins, Orcs, Beorn...nothing! Even worse, Relly appeared to be back to her old self, not the indomitable young woman Bilbo had begun to care for.

"Well I'm leaving so thanks for the food but bye!" and she turned on her heel and began to walk in the opposite direction of the path, everyone scrambling to stop her. "Hey, let me go!" she jerked her arm away from Dori and Bifur.

Bilbo spoke up once more, determined to make the thief believe their story. "Relly, you told us about your parents."

This seemed to work as Relly's mouth froze open, her eyes wide as she gawked at Bilbo. "Y-you're lying. You _don't_ know anything about me, and you don't need to!"

"Mr. Baggins is right, Miss Relly," Balin cut in. "It was at Beorn's cottage that you finally told us about your heritage. How you are," and he sighed, "of Hobbit and human blood, shall I put it."

"No, I'm all Hobbit!" but even she knew her words were futile against the truth of her background. "I'm..." but she didn't finish her words.

Nobody talked. It was depressing to know their little quarterling had forgotten everything about their quest and it would be a difficult task to rebuild her memory. So far she listened to Thorin but her faith in the company had significantly plummeted. It was going to take a lot of work to remind her of her time spent with the adventurers.

The next few days Relly stayed away from everybody, choosing to eat her honey bread in a small corner of the path as she had her back turned to everyone. Frankly Bilbo was surprised she hadn't tried to run off into the forest yet but he guessed that even she knew her chances of survival depended among them. Bilbo was hoping she'd magically gain her memory back but to no such luck.

_I hate this forest_, Bilbo frowned as he got up from his seat and walked over to where Relly was sitting. Being careful as to not startle her, Bilbo called her name.

"Oh, it's _you._ What do you want?" she asked, her cheek stuffed with bread with her hazel eyes wide up at him. Bilbo had to suppress a laugh at her facial expression; how absolutely cute she looked. He'd berate himself later for even labeling her as cute.

Even Bilbo had to ask himself what he wanted. Well, he wanted Relly to get her memory back as well as her developed personality and maybe even start blushing around him. He had his hopes a bit too high for that last one though as he inched towards her.

"Do you remember anything at all?" he asked her, not realizing he sounded much sad than he intended. "Even a little detail about the adventure?" he nearly begged.

Relly arched a brow at him, feeling rather uncomfortable around Bilbo. "No. Stop asking me. I don't remember anything, nothing about Gandalfs or Orcs or anything!" she frowned at him, making eye contact with Bilbo until he was the first to turn away.

It hurt. It hurt Bilbo knowing Relly didn't remember anything. Any chance that she might have felt more than fond of him was dust now. So much for Bofur's words.

* * *

The forest no longer scared Thorin Oakenshield's company. No, the real beast in the woods was hunger and it was beginning to grow difficult ignoring that starving pit in their bellies. Relly had eaten the last of her food and had an empty stomach shortly after.

Thorin had tried to hold meetings over who would be sent into the forest to find out the source of the lights; the lights and sounds they often heard at night had become irresistible fodder to their thoughts. Unfortunately, no one had come to a final decision on who would be sent and thus any chance of democracy ended there.

Meanwhile, Relly had become more compliant with staying with the company, although she still was quite wary of everyone much to the disappointment of the dwarves and Bilbo. Every single one of them had approached her with their own story to tell her about her place in the company but Relly either paid little heed or found it hard to believe the tales. The only ones making any sort of progress were Thorin, Bofur and Bilbo himself.

"You knew my mother?" Relly asked in a soft voice. Anytime Bilbo mentioned her mother, her expression turned more forlorn than angry.

Bilbo sort-of lied. "Yes. I was just a tyke but I remember her coming back into Hobbiton with a big belly." This part was true, although even Bilbo's memories were quite hazy of the actual event. "I believe she kept to herself while raising you."

Relly gripped her Warg skin close to her. "Sounds right. I guess you're aren't lying then," and she left it at that.

Bilbo found it harder and harder to ignore the fact Relly was far more than just under his skin. Oh no, it was much more than that. The plucky thief had managed to steal his piece of mind and perhaps something else, a something he didn't want to admit so easily.

"Seems to me Relly's quite taken to you," Bofur chirped happily, whittling a stick with his knife as he hummed a nameless ditty. "Or maybe that you've taken to her."

Bilbo scoffed. "Hardly. It's like she's a different person."

The toymaker dwarf rolled his eyes, shoving his knife in his pocket as he stretched a smile on his face and leaned in towards Bilbo. "No use in denying it, lad. I can see it written on your face. You _like_ her, don't you?" he raised both hairy brows at his Hobbit friend before he launched into a sing-song, "You _do_ like her very much~!"

Bilbo stubbornly said, "Bofur stop that. Seriously," and his frown deepened at Bofur. "I mean it! You better stop singing for it is very annoying and your voice is horribly off-key," he tried to dissuade the go-lucky dwarf from belting out a song. Fortunately, Bofur shut his mouth before Bilbo could get any more embarrassed.

Before either of them could talk again, Bombur exclaimed about the lights in the distance once more. It agitated everyone to the point where the only semi-logical thing to do was to plunge themselves into the thicket and forget about the path. Bilbo was reluctant to follow the frenzy but he was hungry too and so he went. But the lights went out and the singing stopped and the only loud things left in the forest were a bunch of mixed up lost dwarves, Hobbit and half-Hobbit stranded in the maze of Mirkwood. Names were being yelled out, some more than others as the fifteen members of Thorin Oakenshield's posse became entangled in the greenery.

He found himself going in circles, every stump looking the same as he continued to yell out the names of his friends. "Dori, Nori, Ori, Oin, Gloin, Kili, Fili, Bombur, Bifur, Bofur, Dwalin, Balin, Thorin, RELLY!" he shouted Relly's name but to no avail. Occasionally he heard his own name in the forest but as he ventured deeper into the hell-forest, it became apparent evil was at work. The night swallowed up their cries and Bilbo was left alone in the darkness.

_I wish I knew where I was_, he sighed as he kept his hand on the hilt of his unnamed sword. He really ought to give the thing a name, having used it so much since he was given the sword by Gandalf. _I may as well wait for day to come so I can do something._

So Bilbo fell asleep against the trunk of a tall tree, resigning to sleep because he could not do anything for the company when nighttime ruled over Mirkwood. When he awoke, he felt something stringy and sticky in his palm. It wasn't just around his palm, it was tied around his hands and as he shifted his head he saw his legs were bound by the strange substance as well. He tried to stand up but fell and rolled over onto his side, squirming around like the prey he had become.

_Once again I am covered in grossness_, Bilbo recalled the time he had been used as a hanky for a troll's bogeys. By now he should be used to being covered in nasty residue. He struggled to free himself from the trappings but the soft lumbering of the giant spider who had bound him up distracted him. Luckily only his hands and feet were tied so he managed to somehow break free. Before the spider could wind him up again in its silky thread, Bilbo brandished his sword.

The giant spider hadn't expected to dance with its food, as Bilbo nimbly sliced each leg with Hobbit-like precision. The spider's eyes unnerved him and almost made him falter in his footsteps but Bilbo courageously stood his ground against his enemy. As the spider lunged at him, Bilbo stabbed it right between its sets of eyes, causing a loud screech to emit from its unholy maw. The spider flailed around and madly leaped before Bilbo gave it the final killing blow and ended the spider's life, driving the sword into the spider's abdomen.

_I did it,_ he thought to himself as he observed the black blood on his sword, wiping it off on the grass below him. _No help from Gandalf or Thorin or anyone...I killed the beast._

Bilbo Baggins felt unstoppable. Despite his rumbling stomach, Bilbo had surprised himself once more with fierce courage and quick wit that even Gandalf would be proud of. He admired himself through the reflection of his stained sword blade and the name just popped into his head.

"Sting," he spoke. "I know what to call you name, and it will be Sting." _Sting the Spider's Bane_ he hummed under his breath, having found inspiration for a new song to sing as he set out to explore Mirkwood and figure out just where Thorin and Co. were being kept.

As a caution, Bilbo slipped on his magic ring so he could move undetected. It was strange being invisible because Bilbo didn't exactly feel human or tangible when he was in this form. And yet it gave him a surge of power; that a Hobbit like him had access to a powerful little ring. Taking in a deep breath, he marched on into the forest and looked for any signs of dwarves or Relly.

After hours of stealthily wandering in the brambles and thorns, Bilbo came across a bleak shadow that even in the gloominess of the forest seemed quite off from the rest of the black. As he got closer to the spot he noticed the silvery strands of spider webs and instantly knew that this must be the place where all the giant spiders wove their webs. He may have been invisible but even Bilbo the Great was trembling at the very sight of these malicious creatures. Even worse, he could understand what they were saying!

"It was a sharp struggle but worth the chase," the skittering voice of a spider said. "Nasty tough skins though but what tasty good juice inside them!"

Bilbo wanted to retch. Referring to the dwarves as juice sacks made him feel queasy but he couldn't back down now. He had Sting and that meant he stood a chance against these nasty arachnids.

"They'll make a fine eating, especially that small one," another spider said. Bilbo didn't want to think that the 'small one' was Relly but it was certainly possible. "Let 'em hang a bit."

"Don't hang them too long," interrupted a third one. "Ruins the taste."

He saw one abnormally swelled up spider slide on one of its web ropes and hung near thirteen dangling bundles of cocoon wrapped spider prey. This only confirmed Bilbo's fears. He saw arms and noses stick out and the very last bundle was tiny in size. _Relly!_, he thought frantically. Right when he believed them to be unconscious, one spider was chucked to the ground by one swift kick. For now, at least they were alive.

_I have to distract them_, Bilbo eyed the forest floor for a stone or rock to toss at the spider webs. He may not be a great shot with arrows but Bilbo knew how to throw a rock. His fingers curled around an egg-shaped stone that would work perfectly for knocking one of those icky spiders off its ledge. He waited for the opportune moment to strike as the stone was released from his clutch.

_Thunk!_ The spider near the fattest cocoon, one Bilbo could only guess as Bombur wrapped inside, crumpled to the ground like a common house spider. This was when the commotion started as Bilbo began to toss more and more rocks at the spiders, ambushing the giant nasty arachnids with a shower of stones. The dwarves must have heard the screeching of the hit spiders. His plan was to distract the spiders long enough so he could rescue his captured companions. Like shadows themselves the spiders crawled under the protection of the black night, but they were no match for Bilbo the Great, the Sting Wielder.

As Bilbo wildly danced in the trees and bulleted the spiders with heavier rocks and stones, he starting singing a song with words at the top of his head:

_Old fat spider spinning in a tree!_

_Old fat spider can't see me!_

_Attercop, Attercop!_

_Won't you stop,_

_Stop your spinning and look for me!_

_Old Tomnoddy all big body,_

_Old Tomnoddy can't spy me!_

_Attercop, Attercop!_

_Down you drop!_

_You'll never catch me in your tree!_

Pardon Bilbo's rather juvenile taunt for you see, he was improvising at the moment and he was too caught up in this spur of imagination. With Sting as his blade and the trees as his fortress, Bilbo Baggins was a force to be reckoned with. Even the spiders, who did not know exactly what a Tomnoddy or Attercop were, did not like to be insulted by a hairy little worm. To make matters worse, he spun another song, about calling them crazy cobs and lazy lobs. His baiting would bring faster results than he expected.

Bilbo slashed through threads of spider silk, making his way closer to where his friends were being dangled. He had very little time to save them as he approached one slow, old spider and slayed it before the spider had time to react. His feet working faster than his brain, Bilbo calculated which bundle to chop first. Judging by the stray blond hairs poking out of the spider's silk, he thought it to be Kili as he hacked and slashed away at the covering. He took off his ring, nearly forgetting he had still remained invisible after all this time.

"M...Mr. Bilbo?" Fili spoke woozily, full of spider poison in his system. Bilbo had to stifle a laugh from seeing Thorin's nephew dangle like a puppet.

"Yes it's me," Bilbo nodded as he hushed Fili, gesturing to the half-awake dwarf to start dragging up their friends on the branch and cutting them free. Bilbo took it upon himself to find Relly and save her personally, in the small hope that maybe she'd remember the last time he rescued her from peril. _Maybe then..._

Fili and soon Kili, Dori, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur and Nori were freed and began working on the next set of dwarves. Bilbo traveled further down the line and at last saw a little wriggling spider bundle. "Relly? Relly, I'm here, I'm freeing you," he assured the squirming lass.

He lifted up the cocoon and gently sliced away the silk until he saw the familiar moon-night hair peeking through. He hesitated for a moment, admiring its sheen before he slapped himself out of it and freed Relly.

"Er..." she rubbed her arm as she paused to say something but held back. She kept her hand on her rapier as she scooted past him, the cries of Bombur distracting Bilbo as he saw the fat dwarf being carried away. Sliding the magic ring back on his finger, he ran after the spider responsible for the dwarf-napping.

How his blade shone in the moonlight! It was becoming like his own hand, slicing and stabbing the hairy legs of frothy spiders to and fro in a deadly waltz. He killed about maybe six of the arachnids as he revealed himself to Bombur and said, "Come down from the branches! Don't get netted again!"

Noticing the spiders form a circle around them in the trees and the forest floor, the dwarves and Relly jumped or climbed down to the floor and readied themselves for a last stand against their captors. Some had their weapons, others had stones or sticks and generally under-prepared for a battle against these bugs.

The little war waged on and Bilbo came to the sad conclusion that they wouldn't win. The dwarves and Relly were tired to the point only five of them remained standing. For every spider killed, ten more popped out of the woodwork. The only way anyone would get out alive was if Bilbo let the company in on his little secret, a tactic Bilbo wasn't too particularly keen on. But if it meant saving his friends' lives, then he would do it.

"I am going to disappear and I will keep the spiders at bay," Bilbo revealed to the company left standing. "Now run off- but keep together and in the same direction! Maybe left, that was were the fires and sounds were!"

It took the company a few times to drowsily understand his words but Bilbo yelled "RUN!" and they didn't need another reason. Bilbo wore the ring once more and to everyone's shock, the little Hobbit disappeared in front of their sleepy eyes. Truly a sight to behold but Thorin and Co. couldn't stick around. Bilbo made sure they were a considerable distance away before he trailed after them, seeing the plight his friends were in.

"No go on, I will do the stinging!" he proclaimed in a loud voice, making his appearance known as he darted under the abdomens of the spiders and began hacking, slicing, cutting and stabbing at any spidery appendage he could find. This ordeal seemed to last years as Bilbo himself felt the weight of aches and tiredness upon him. Just when he had to gnash his teeth to raise his arm, the spiders stopped biting.

Now afraid of the spider's bane, the arachnids receded into the darkness and followed the company no more.

With a triumphant but tired grin Bilbo sheathed his sword and immediately felt the effects of using so much energy. This part of the forest they were in provided a resting area away from the dark magic of Mirkwood. Nobody said anything for the longest time as everyone from Balin to Relly panted and huffed. What was there to say? Bilbo found a small boulder to sit on as his chest heaved in and out, hardly believing all his bones were not broken from his exciting escapade.

Unfortunately he was bombarded with hundreds of questions relating to his confrontation with Gollum and how he obtained such a unique ring. Balin especially seemed the most interested as the wizened dwarf asked tons of questions about the nature of the riddle game.

"I guess you can say I tricked the poor creature," Bilbo shrugged as he explained how he was able to win through a loophole in the riddle game. "Maybe it's why I didn't kill Gollum."

Dwarves were fascinated by mercy and the fact that Bilbo, who had very much a reason to slay the pitiful creature, chose to leave Gollum its life was an interesting tale indeed. Even Relly, who had her back turned to the group, looked over her shoulder a couple of times. Bilbo put on a little close-lipped smile for her but she turned away again. If she had her memories intact maybe she would have been impressed that Bilbo stole something.

* * *

Hours passed and soon almost everyone was out sleeping or awake but not talking. Bilbo remained on his little rock, not caring that the boulder provided less comfort. Just when his eyelids drooped, he heard the crackling of sticks.

"Who's there?" he demanded but immediately softened up when it was no one other than Relly. He relaxed his shoulders as she approached the Hobbit. The quarterling had both her hands in the pockets of her trousers and wasn't making eye contact with him.

"I've been thinking about everything," she muttered quietly, her hazel eyes constantly looking around.

Bilbo didn't quite understand what she meant. "About?"

"Being here. Some of it makes sense. I don't have my cloak or my dagger but I have this rapier and...I just feel very dizzy."

"Well don't strain yourself Relly," his brows knitted together from concern. As much as Bilbo would like her to have her memory back he didn't want the woman to beat herself over it. "I can't imagine how difficult this must be for you."

Relly chewed her bottom lip. "I guess it's not too bad. Kinda like a new slate or whatever that saying is," she got the gist of the phrase. "Kili and Fili told me I was pretty good with this thing..." she tossed her rapier between her hands before she sheathed it again. "Was I?"

He nodded. "It's true," he told her as he noticed Relly was sitting on the boulder as him. He blinked a few times, not remembering her being this close to him. His fingers latched onto a small crevice in the rock, as if he were gripping on for life.

"I remember bits and pieces but it's just feelings and nothing specific. It's really dumb, I know," she slumped over a bit.

Relly didn't say anything as she kicked her legs back and forth and shifted her eyes around to the greenish light of the forest around them. As much as Bilbo wanted to say something to break the awkward silence between them, he may have liked this.

"Um, thanks," she rubbed the back of her neck as the quarterling looked down at her bare feet. "I guess, for saving us and _me_...before..." she trailed off, turning beet red to where her blush contrasted with the green light around them.

Her appreciation caught him off guard. Not ever expecting a true 'thank you' from the mischievous thief, Bilbo turned his head to look at the now painfully shy Relly and opened his mouth to say 'you're welcome'. He didn't even get the 'Yuh' out.

Relly Crillynook, that annoying little thief that had stolen his forks, clothes and his peace of mind, was chastely kissing him on his lips. Judging by how direct she was, the poor lass probably never kissed a bloke before. Nonetheless, it was very sweet and Bilbo found himself kissing her back without a second thought, his hands leaving the edge of the boulder and gently placed upon her own. If someone had told Bilbo Baggins a year ago that he'd grow affectionate for a thief, let alone _kiss_ one, he would have politely but sharply told you to turn around and go back whence you came.

"WHERE'S THORIN?" Dwalin roared and any chance of that small romantic moment going somewhere was halted as Bilbo broke off the kiss and jerked his head up, beyond the definition of the very word 'embarrassed' that he had just been caught kissing Relly by most of the company.

* * *

*continues evil cackling*

I figure after all the buildup, it should finally just *happen*. I think it's realistic for them at this point. Hopefully. Hm. Anyway, there's your kiss. It may not be much but it means something in the land of Bilbo/Relly, and I'm glad it was in Bilbo's POV. Relly's going to eventually recover her memories, just rather slowly!

Yes, I _know_ that I did skip over some things in the Mirkwood chapter such as Bilbo climbing to the top of trees and coming across the elven feast. Like the forest itself, that chapter dwindled on 5ever until we got to the exciting spider part. As much as I love Tolkien, jeez the guy can write about nothing for pages on and on. Plus, if you wanted to read that stuff, go back to the book :P I don't like literally following word for word so yeah.

ELVES. NEXT CHAPTER. YAY. FINALLY. That means Thranduil :) I'm super psyched about Lee Pace as Thranduil...mmm. How will Thorin feel about Relly and Bilbo kissing? And what about Ori? Bofur? Azog? GOLLUM? Okay, just kidding on that last one..._or am I?_


	20. Dwarf Style Interrogation Time

The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings belongs to JRR Tolkien and the movies belong to Peter Jackson. I'm just a devoted fan.

I know, it's been a while. And I'm sorry for the lack of updates, I really am. But I'm a double major in college with a part time job and a boatload of personal issues, so I would really appreciate it if ya'll cooled off with the 'UPDATE PLZ NOW UPD8!' messages. I have no intention of putting this story on hiatus or anything, but sometimes life happens.

I'm glad the kiss got such great response! I had fun with that last chapter, esp. when Bilbo brushed aside her hair on her face. Gosh, precious babies :') I've even gotten fanart...that's so sweet of you guys~

WE GET ORI'S CONFESSION THIS CHAPTER OK IT'S BEEN LONG OVERDUE. It may not be as dramatic or swoon-worthy as I originally planned but I just needed to tie up that loose end before we get to some adorable Bilbo/Relly times...does that ship even have a name? Belly? Rilbo? who knows...

* * *

**Dwarf Style Interrogation Time**

_Talk not of wasted affection - affection never was wasted._

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Relly Crillynook had never considered herself pretty or even remotely good looking. She was scraggly with sharp bones and floppy black hair and as she soon learned, wore a two inch scar on her left cheek from a Goblin arrow hit. She had traced the line on her cheek over and over, realizing it didn't really mar her face as badly as she thought. Relly definitely took after her father, with the exception of slightly rounded eyes from her mother. Still, while she was short and a little hairy on her arms, legs and feet like her mother, she mainly resembled a human and could honestly pass for one if she tried hard enough.

She never thought about having a normal or decent life. Being a wayward vagabond meant uncertainty, instability and a not so great lifestyle for settling down and raising children. She was supposed to be carefree, independent and only focused on herself and her needs and gains. With a chunk of her memory gone, it was harder for her to accept the view that the dwarves and Bilbo held about her. It was like waking up in an alternate universe where everything was real but still felt fake and forced. Relly had been acting in a role and now that the play was over, she was out of character.

Relly remembered some feelings and emotions, even with how vague and strange they were. Over the last few days, blurred images filtered inside her empty head as she tossed and turned in her sleep. She desperately wanted proof that everything she had been told was true and that she wasn't insane or being kept against her will among dwarves and a Hobbit. So far, the bits and pieces she finally recovered matched a little of the mental puzzle she was putting together, but some things still didn't add up.

Oddly enough, she felt comfortable if not slightly nervous around Bilbo Baggins. He seemed to know her back story well, a sign that maybe the company was correct in their facts about Relly's place in the group. She didn't remember stealing his forks, clothes or his poor insults but whenever she saw his curly brown hair or cute dimpled face, her stomach would tie itself in knots and the back of her neck would creep up with goosebumps, which joined the feverish redness that spread across her thin cheeks.

Maybe that was why she kissed him so suddenly. She had never been great at saying 'thank you's (for what reason would a thief ever need to be gracious?) and perhaps she had been a bit _hasty_ of her affection for Bilbo. Relly wondered if she had intensely liked him before she gained amnesia, if she really felt this strongly about the well dressed Hobbit. It made sense and yet it didn't. Feelings, what a drag.

Relly still had her lips pursed out when Bilbo broke the kiss, leaving the poor thief hanging as she opened her eyes and immediately sucked in her teeth upon seeing the looming shadow of Dwalin above them. She craned her head back towards her shoulders and forced a meek smile on her face. Relly averted her eyes from Bilbo as she nonchalantly whistled an improvised tune. As far as first kisses went, this could have been much better if she weren't surrounded by sweaty, dirty dwarves and an equally sweaty, dirty Hobbit. Granted, Bilbo did smell just _a little_ nicer than the others but not by much.

"Uh..." Relly bit the inside of her cheek as she bolted from the boulder, leaving behind her poor Bilbo. She had just kissed him and what was she supposed to do next, _talk_ to him? Relly had never kissed another person, let alone talk to someone after the fact. The worst part of this entire experience was that a majority of the dwarves saw it take place. She slumped her shoulders, averting her eyes from everyone in the company.

With red flaming up his tattooed head, Dwalin interrogated Bilbo about the event that just occurred between him and Relly. The male dwarf was already mad with realizing Thorin was absent, mostly likely kidnapped, from their group, and now assuming Bilbo had taken advantage of Relly lunged him into a fierce anger.

"Did you force it on her?" Dwalin changed the subject violently as he grabbed Bilbo by the collar and lifted up the pudgy burglar with his death glare boring into the squirming Hobbit's eyes. "_Did you_?"

Bilbo wildly shook his head. "N-no, she kissed me! And I—," poor Bilbo was hot in the face, throwing a glance over to Relly as if asking for her confirmation that she had initiated the kiss or else he'd be at the rapidly dwindling mercy of Dwalin the rough dwarf warrior. "I would _never_ do anything to hurt her!"

Dwalin begrudgingly set down the Hobbit, casting his hardened gaze over to Relly as he lifted a hairy brow in question. "Is he right?"

Relly blurted, "Yeah. I-I'm okay." Not the best answer, but her head was still reeling.

Her hazel eyes glanced over to Bilbo, who appeared alarmed and perhaps a bit hurt by her answer. She gulped. What was she supposed to do? Relly had made the mistake of giving a simple little kiss to him and suddenly it was dwarf style interrogation time.

"We don't have time for foolish behavior," Dwalin grumbled under his breath as he walked away from Bilbo and Relly, deciding to take action over the plight of their missing, most-likely kidnapped leader.

Relly liked Thorin, or at least what she could remember about him. He was like a grumpy, heart-of-gold fatherly figure which was nice considering Relly never knew her own father. He, along with Bofur and Bilbo, was one of the few in the company Relly could honestly believe the words he spoke. Maybe it was because how serious he was or the kindly look in his grey eyes that made Relly believe him. Either way, she was actually quite sad to learn he had gone missing when they had all been captured by those icky spiders.

Meanwhile, the male dwarves who had witnessed the kiss between Bilbo and Relly all had varying reactions to the whole event. Bofur had a smug, stupid grin on his bearded face, happily nudging Gloin and Bifur as the two tossed Bofur a small bag of coins as part of some unknown bet. Kili and Fili high-fived themselves, having happily suspected it for quite some time now. Balin wore a knowledgeable smirk, one that faded after a few seconds before he shook his head. Ori looked completely heartbroken. In fact, Relly felt a stinging flinch of pain when she looked at her dear friend.

Unable to do anything at night, every member of the company anxiously went to sleep, though very few if any could find rest in the twisty maze of the forest. Relly was still wide awake as she tied the Warg skin around her shoulders and quietly stood up, scanning the forest floor for any disturbances. She crept back over to that boulder, the very one where hours ago she kissed Bilbo. She ran her hand along the craggy edges of the boulder, gripping it hard before letting it go.

"Relly?" a hushed voice crept up behind her. She was startled at first but relaxed when she saw the faint outline of Ori.

"Ori?" she faintly remembered, squinting her eyes at him as she sat down on the boulder. She didn't feel uncomfortable around him but she was not sure what to say to him.

"May I sit with you?" he asked.

"Yeah," she responded and she heard her friend sit not too close from where she was.

It was silent for a few moments and Relly's eyelids began to feel heavy. However, Ori's question surprised her awake.

"Do you like him? I mean, do you..." and he hesitated with what he was about to say next, "remember caring about him so _affectionately_?"

Relly's lips curved downwards as uncertainty etched into her skin and she wrung her hands. "I...maybe. I dunno, he did save our lives, and mine. It's all vague and emotional and I don't like it at all."

Ori was quiet yet again as Relly's stomach tied itself in knots. Had she really been so oblivious to Ori's feelings towards her before her amnesia? Then again, Relly was not one to ponder on affections and as evidenced by her kissing misadventure with Bilbo Baggins, she was not the expert on romantic relations.

"I like you very much Relly," he finally blurted out to her but was careful as to not stir the attention of anyone unless he wanted Dwalin at his collar like what happened to Bilbo. "Ever since I met you, I just thought you were very different and pretty, _very_ pretty even if you didn't think so. I...I wish you had your memory recovered so you'd remember all the stories I told you and all of Bofur's jokes and everything..."

She felt herself blush at his words. Although Relly did not care for Ori romantically, it felt nice to have someone say such pleasant words about her. She smiled in the darkness and patted Ori's hands, a reassuring gesture for our young love struck dwarf.

"You're a very good friend Ori and even if I can't remember much I think I'd like to hear some of those stories."

Even though she had basically rejected Ori, she had tried to make it as painless as possible. After all, she still wanted Ori as a companion even if it wasn't quite the companion Ori was hoping to be. If she ever beat this amnesia she wanted to look back on the journey and remember all the good times she shared with her friends.

Ori meekly smiled back, a little down that he had been correct in his worst assumptions about Relly's feelings. He straightened out his back and faked a confident appearance. "If Bilbo ever hurts you he'll have to deal with me and my slingshot."

Relly stifled a giggle. "Um, okay."

And for a moment, everything was alright.

* * *

The morning came and with it brought the aching and the groaning of weary bones and muscles that forced themselves to start walking in the messed up mazes of Mirkwood. With all the drama and the stress that had occurred in the past two days, there was not one single party member that was a) thirsty, b) tired or c) absolutely fed up with this horrible never-ending forest. Their food and water long since gone, even Relly's safely stashed supplies did not last as long as she hoped it would.

"So...hungry..." came the complaining and whining.

"We've past this stump ten times!"

"If only Thorin was here!"

The dwarves, the Hobbit and the quarterling all had grievances of their own. Relly noticed how awkward Bilbo was whenever she was near him and she was scared to approach him ever since she essentially ditched him after kissing him.

_I probably should not have done that_, she frowned as she saw Bilbo's eyes quickly change direction when he glimpsed at her. _I've never got this far with someone. What exactly happens after you kiss someone?_

Those questions would have to wait. As night enveloped the forest once more, torches lit up in the gaps of the foliage surrounding the travel weary companions. In fact, there was hardly a struggle. Relly almost wanted to be captured just for that sake that maybe there was food at the end of the tunnel.

"Stop!" harked the Wood-elves and with the exception of Relly, all the dwarves knew which creatures spoke. "You are trespassing in our corners of Mirkwood!"

Nobody even considered fighting. Sleepy, starving and most certainly under prepared for a skirmish, the dwarves all plopped down on the ground and merely waited to be lined up and taken to where Thorin was being held. Unbeknownst to Relly, Bilbo had made himself invisible and slipped away from being blindfolded and tied with elven rope to be taken single file to the fortress of the Mirkwood Elves. Just like the days and nights before, the company was shrouded in eternal darkness.

Relly's legs did not appreciate being forced to walk so hastily. She especially did not like being blindfolded and tied up like a common prisoner, a fate she had avoided in her early thieving days. "Where are we going?" she asked angrily, but got no response. Instead the elf-guards began singing in a language unknown to the ears of Relly and it greatly annoyed her that she did not understand the words to the eerie song.

After what felt like an eternal walk, the line finally halted. The elves removed their blindfolds at the command of the Elvenking as Relly absorbed in the unfamiliar surroundings. In a strange way, this throne room was very beautiful but earthy and did not match her expectation of Elf kingdoms. She vaguely remembered the ethereal quality of Rivendell from what images she pieced together.

The Elvenking himself looked very strange, with a crown of branches and berries covering his brow and looked more like he were part of the forest than king of it. "You mat untie them for here is no escape from my magic doors for those who are once brought inside," he spoke in a haughty voice as his wild but restrained blue eyes skimmed over the captives, raising a surprised brow at the lone female of the group.

_That's inviting_, Relly surly thought as she dug her heel into the dirt floors of the throne room. There was hardly a polite bone in her body, if there had ever been one. In the back of her mind, she noted the absence of Bilbo Baggins and wondered where the male Hobbit had wandered off to.

"Now, hopefully I can get some answers as to why dwarves are traipsing around in my wood and disrupting my festivities," he snarled, leaving his thorny throne and making long strides towards the now freely untied members of Thorin Oakenshield's company. "Nasty, smelly mining disturbances..." but he caught himself when he noticed Relly once again. "Though it is odd a female Hobbit would be among your ranks, wouldn't it be?"

He began interrogating the dwarves one by one, starting with the eldest Balin. But even the white bearded dwarf gave him no answer than a venomous statement about if it was a crime to be tired, hungry travelers hunted down by spiders. The elvenking got no better responses from the rest of the company.

Relly glowered._ More like a Jerkenking_, she snorted as her hazel glare bored into the king's eyes. Flustered and angry that a spry weird Hobbit lass would stand up to him, he only got angrier as he paced back to his chair.

"Do you not think I have a right to know what tromps around in my realm? I want to know what brings you here and if you refuse to tell me now, you will all stay in prison until you wise up and learn some manners! Guards!" he over-enthusiastically clapped his hands to gain attention. "Place them in separate chambers and give them food and drink! Perhaps then they'll think kindly to answer my questions."

If prison had been like this all along, perhaps Relly would have let herself get caught by the authorities long before.

Relly felt much better with the meal she had been given, even if she was separated from the rest of her companions and that her head was murky with dreams and blurry memories that made no sense. At night she would curl up on her Warg skin and hope that she would be rescued, having given up on breaking out of her little prison cell. It was actually quite comfortable for a cell, with a pillow and a tankard of fresh water to refresh her.

The time away from the male dwarves gave her some space to think about her confused feelings for Bilbo Baggins. She noticed he was not among those captured by the Mirkwood Elves and she wanted a sign that he was safe somewhere. Or even better that he was planning a big prison break and set them free.

_I wasn't right to run away_, she glumly peered out the bars from her cell at coming to the conclusion. _Now he probably doesn't want to talk to me and I messed it all up._

She gripped her head from her emotions, gritting her teeth as she rubbed her temples with the palm of her hand to ease away the throbbing in her head. Maybe she had been rash in her actions but it wasn't far from the truth that she did hold Bilbo in a high regard, before and after her memories were erased.

_I would like to kiss him again_, Relly grinned to herself as if she were being watched, hiding her face away from the open bars as she snuggled onto her Warg skin. _Just to say I'm sorry._

* * *

I know, I know, it's a measly 3k chapter compared to the 5-9k I usually type up. I'm kinda tired at the moment and need some sleep. But hey, I'm saving the sweet barrel rides for next chapter as well as some fluffy Bilbo/Relly moments because let's face it I'm mean and awful for making Relly run off and not smushing those two lovebirds together already, hehe.


	21. The Unspoken Chain

J.R.R. Tolkien wrote the series. I didn't. Peter Jackson directed the movies. I didn't.

Hey guys. I am so sorry about the long absence. Between end of semester exams, work and home life issues in the past few weeks, I hardly had the time to write about our dear Relly. Tomorrow I'll be leaving for Italy for over two weeks so I won't have time to update in that span of time.

Thanks for sticking by this story. I know it's been a while but if you all still love Relly, Bilbo, Thorin and the rest of the company hopefully you all will forgive me for my disappearance. Now, on with the fic! This chapter is split between the POVs of Bilbo and Relly :)

* * *

**The Unspoken Chain**

_For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams..._  
- Edgar Allan Poe, 'Annabel Lee'

There is nothing lonelier in the world than being a strained whisper in the open spaces of the Elf-king's unwelcome forest palace. Poor Bilbo Baggins was to remain silent, invisible and swifter than an elf maiden's sewing needle. Once again, the Hobbit had escaped another captor of Thorin and company and he was forced to meander in the Elf-king's territory like a causeless ghost.

He dared not remove the gold band around his ring finger. This ring by chance was the only advantage the mild-mannered Bag End bachelor had above the arrows, parties and attitudes of the Wood-elves. However, the hazy and shifting-sand sensation Bilbo felt when he was in this strange form was hard to ignore and he slept very little due to his body prickling from the exterior surfaces and textures that rubbed against his invisible skin. He would have almost traded sleeping in the clockwork hell-forest for a night in whatever dungeon Thorin, Relly, Bofur and the others were currently imprisoned in.

Bilbo didn't know what to do without the dwarves, without Relly. His lower lip twitched just thinking about the quarterling girl, his stomach not grumbling from hunger or sickness. He missed her terribly, even more terribly than one would miss a long-lost friend or forgotten family member. Granted, the last time he spoke to her led to an awkward but comforting moment. The lines in his forehead crinkled when he remembered how abrupt Relly had scurried away from him after the kiss; he was hurt by her so-sudden actions.

_She is truly something else entirely. I think I do, in fact, love h—_ He shook his head as his ears perked up when he heard the distinct crunching of boots not so far from where he had been sleeping. He had taken up in a cave not too far from the magical gates that led into Thranduil's wooded hall. It smelled of perpetual autumn but was very cold and musty; not at all like the earthy and warm smells of his hobbit-hole back home. Until he could come up with a grand idea to break free his companions, Bilbo was stuck stealing bread and apples from the Wood-elves' feast tables and plucking berries in the wild bushes. Stealing, living by the scruff of his skin while never knowing what the next day brought...Bilbo really had been _too_ harsh on Relly when the two first met and if this dreary, dull experience taught him anything, he regretted being so tough on the half-Hobbit for her lifestyle.

It began to rain. Bilbo peered outside his cave to see the torch lights in the distance dulling from a brilliant orange to a dying garnet color. Taking in a deep sigh, Bilbo peeled the apple in his hand with his own dirty fingernails as he took a bite, his head heavy with thought as well as his heart.

"I am like a burglar that can't get away," Bilbo glumly spoke, "one that must go on miserably burglaring the same house day after day. What sort of adventure is it for me to be stuck in a hard place_,_" and a lilt of a faint smile crossed his pudgy face but quickly faded as the torch light fizzled out and left Bilbo alone with his thoughts. Night seeped into the crevices of the forest as Bilbo tossed away his apple core and stared out into the familiar darkness.

Bilbo Baggins was once again the only hero that Thorin and company could count on. Bilbo almost wished he were up against mindless spiders than the Wood-elves and their king. Straightening out his button-less vest, Bilbo cleared his throat and faded into the night, raindrops soaking his clothes but not dampening his spirit. An ingenious idea popped into that curly head of his: he was going to track down every individual dwarf and Relly to find out the location of their prisons in Thranduil's fortress.

* * *

Relly Crillynook was a pain in the rear for the prison guards and definitely a thorn in the side of King Thranduil. Since her imprisonment, Relly had attempted to break free from her jail a total of five times. At first she had the luck of her bobby pins, and sadly the first time was the only time Relly managed to even leave the stone chamber. The last four times were not as successful.

"If your insolence keeps up, King Thranduil will not be so kind as to give you fresh river water daily," one of the wood-elf guards sternly reminded Relly as the black haired thief gripped the bars of her cell. Insolence, _sminsolence_, it was part of Relly's nature to never give up. The wood-elf excused himself from her presence and went back to guarding the entrance to her chamber as Relly let go of the cell bars and untied the Warg skin around her neck.

_Prison isn't so bad_, Relly thought as she scarfed down most of her loaf of bread and chugged down a mug of fresh, non-magical river water. _If they'd let me out to talk to Bofur and Ori I wouldn't try to break out so much._

The loneliness worsened due to all the glazed over memories of the adventure funneling into her brain while she slept. It was like looking at someone else's adventure through foggy glass; Relly's journey alongside her companions became clearer to her the more time she spent in her cell. The amnesia still made some things difficult to remember and sometimes she wasn't sure if she was dreaming or reliving episodes from the adventure. Either way, Relly wasn't so lost in the world as she had been before.

Relly kicked the mug with her hairy feet as she curled up at the back of her cell. She missed her friends. More importantly, she was currently feeling a strange emotion named guilt wracking her brain and her heart concerning a handsome Hobbit. During her time in prison, Relly tried to uncover her feelings for Bilbo and wanted to look back on the mostly-remembered past to see what made Bilbo so fascinating to her.

_I didn't like him at first. Bilbo was so stuffy and didn't like me either. I thought he hated me_. Relly scratched her scalp as she took another chomp of her bread loaf. Emotions and fondness weren't Relly's strongest traits and as she thought about Bilbo, she pieced together images of her and Thorin as well. The leader dwarf was possibly the closest father figure Relly ever had beside Beorn and she felt awful that Thorin had been kidnapped first.

"I'm sorry," she breathed, the phrase still unfamiliar on her tongue as she folded her arms against her chest in a pensive state of mind. Her time in the elf-king's captivity had prompted the quarterling to focus on her internal conflicts and feelings; things that Relly never felt the need for to sit down and sort through all the clutter inside her mind.

"I accept your apology," and the very voice she heard stunned Relly to her spine. The thief nearly jumped out of her skin as she flung herself to the front of her prison and lo and behold, saw Bilbo Baggins vanish and reappear before her. Was he for real?

"Bilbo?!" she exclaimed in a weird mix of shock, happiness and a tinge of embarrassment. She was about to ask how he slid into the chamber but realized he had that magic ring of his. "Bilbo, I...well that sorry wasn't meant for _you_ but uh..." as she figuratively stuck her foot in her mouth and clammed up. That apology could have been meant for Bilbo too but _this was Relly after all_ and she often forget to think through her words before speaking.

A slight chuckle escaped the Hobbit's mouth as he anxiously looked around and peered at the slightly cracked door behind him. "I hardly have the time to talk but I found Thorin and I'm going to set every last one of you all free. I haven't the foggiest idea how but...I suppose it's all up to me once more to rescue the company."

Relly bit her lower lip and her hazel eyes danced around her cell before she looked at Bilbo again. She wanted to say she missed him terribly but she was afraid of sounding stupid. It was rather ridiculous really. Relly kissed Bilbo before; was it really so hard to tell him something so simple? Apparently so. Her lips parted but no sound came out and a pale pink blush crept across her pointed face.

Bilbo hesitated and his shoulders leaned toward her as if he waited for her to tell him what was on her mind. The two awkward love birds stared at each other for a few seconds longer, neither one wanting to break the unspoken chain between them. Sadly, Bilbo heard the guards outside her the chamber stir and without a word he regretfully placed the ring on his finger to disappear into the background. Relly heard light Hobbit footsteps slipping past the guards as she slunk back into the darkness of her stone cell.

_Why am I so stupid? _Relly rested her head between her curled up knees as she began to doze off in her Warg skin. _I wanted to say I missed him._

* * *

Immeasurable prison time passed before Relly had the slightest inkling of when she'd see Bilbo again. He said he was going to rescue her. So where was he?

_Maybe he got caught_, she wondered before shaking her head to immediately dismiss the theory. _No, I would hear the guards say something about that. He better hurry up or else he'll wish he was with the spiders by the time he frees me._ Relly wanted to be rescued and although she hated playing the part of the damsel she had exhausted all her resources, namely her bobby pins, and Thranduil was getting irritated with the stubborn prisoner. If Bilbo didn't hurry up, she would grow a beard just like the dwarves!

Relly rubbed her chin, imagining a beard like Dwalin's on her chin. The image was quite funny. Relly wasn't the most imaginative or creative being but having nothing to do in a stone cell 24-7 left her with very little entertainment. She would sort out all her memories in a mental pile and decide which ones were actually true or fabricated. Although the amnesia had nearly worn off, there were still some gaps here and there in the half-Hobbit's mind.

Relly supposed that another day or two passed and when she opened her mouth to drink some water, her throat felt rusty and stuffed with sawdust. Her chest ached with a possible cold and she had been coughing quite hard. The elf-guards had sent in a female healer to tend to Relly and soothe her sore throat but to no avail.

_Great. I'm gonna die and never see Bilbo again. Good going Relly._

She hadn't seen her companions in weeks and the lack of social interaction was beginning to grind down on her mentally, emotionally and physically. Before going on the journey Relly could go weeks without talking to a stranger. But now she had ties to her dear friends and Relly found it difficult to be alone once more.

_Clink a clink a link!_

The quarterling's ears perked up as she tied the Warg skin around her neck like a cape and approached the front of the cell bars. It just hit Relly that she hadn't seen the elf-guard lately and as the clinking came closer, a small smile crossed her face. She weakly coughed once more as she blearily opened her eyes to see a most welcome sight in the moonlight.

_Bilbo!_

Twelve dwarves and a Hobbit filed into her chamber as Bilbo's hand trembled with the jailer's keys. Relly was indescribably happy and out of such emotion she nearly grabbed the keys through the bars to set herself free. Bilbo yanked them back as he, with a shy grin, unlocked the cell door.

"Relly!" cried out most of the male dwarves, elated to see their dear thief girl finally free. Relly cracked a smile at the dwarves as she nearly stumbled out from her cell and joined the newly freed prisoners.

"Balin! Bofur! Ori! Dwalin!" and Relly named the rest of the dwarves as she was given a giant bone-crushing hug from her companions. After all the merriment and adjusting to walking Relly turned to Bilbo, her close-lipped smile twitching from anxiety to joy. Bilbo's eyes lingered on her for a moment longer until he shifted to the entire group and cleared his throat.

"Thorin is in the deepest part of the fortress and although I haven't seen a single guard, we cannot just be thumping abound like ponies in a corral!" Bilbo looked irritated by the loud racket the dwarves had been causing upon their arrival to Relly's chamber. Relly blinked as she laughed quietly alongside Ori and Bombur, her eyes hardly leaving the back of Bilbo's vest.

"Is it true you were able to almost escape?" Ori asked wide-eyed when Relly told of the multiple attempts to break out of her chamber. Of course, she did embellish some of the details.

"With her survival wits, I would not be surprised," Balin commented as he gave a quick smile of the eyes to Relly. "Though, I am glad our Master Baggins was able to sneak in with that magic ring of his."

Relly rubbed her neck, the familiar blush creeping up her neck. "Yeah, me too."

* * *

After much bumping about and running into each other somehow the dwarves, half-Hobbit and the hero were able to locate Thorin's cell. Much to Bilbo's luck Thorin was located near the cellars where Bilbo had spotted the wine barrels earlier before. The gleeful exclamations awoke Thorin and the pepper haired dwarf nearly leapt to the front of his prison as Bilbo released the last member of their troupe.

"Mahal..." Thorin muttered as he left behind the cell to face Bilbo once more. "Once again, we owe our lives and freedom to the Hobbit from Bag End. Gandalf spoke true after all," and a hint of humor could be heard in his tired voice. "I am sure we are all forever in your service, whatever happens after this. Now, what is your next plan?"

Thirteen dwarves and his lady all looked at him for his plan. He puckered in his lower lip, not sure how to explain his wild escape in a believable sense. 'Oh let's just jump into the barrels and float on down the lazy river' would not go over well and his concerns were justified as he opened his mouth to tell the company how he planned to break out of Thranduil's halls.

"Er, well...You see, I was thinking we take the empty wine barrels from the cellar and tie us together so we could all float downstream to the next town over."

Silence. And then the loud ruckus of "What?" "That's ridiculous!" "This is a mad idea!" and many others littered with similar feelings.

Bilbo swallowed his words as he slid his hand down his face. Announcing had never been one of his best skills. He managed to save the rears and hides of his friends many times on this quest and yet here they were acting like faithless babies. Faithless bearded babies.

"You know what? Fine then," and he spun on his heel and pretended to walk away. "I will just escort all of you back to your cozy cells and lock you in if you're so content to do so. But I don't know of any other opportunity when I'll have these keys," and the jingling of the spinning jailer's keys seemed to quell any complaints of Thorin and the rest.

Bilbo could be sassy when he wanted to and he winked at Relly as he slipped the jingling jailer's keys in his front pocket. With the reluctant and grumbling acceptance of the backed-in-a-corner dwarves, Bilbo lead the company down into the deepest cellars, passing by the snoring guard and butler. The two were in a deep sleep from tasting the Dorwinion wine and their relaxed faces caused Bofur to crack a joke about how hung over they would be tomorrow. Feeling a little guilty that the elf-guard would most likely receive a scolding from King Thranduil, Bilbo attached the keys back onto the jailer's belt.

"It's not entirely his fault, you know," Bilbo answered the silent question inside Thorin's head as he walked alongside Oin and Bifur. "He was quite decent, for a jailer anyway. Hopefully the elven-king won't punish him too harshly. They will all think we had a very powerful magic to slip by their enchanted locks and doors."

Thorin still didn't look too pleased with the explanation but eventually his grumpiness subsided as the dwarf under the mountain talked to his daughter-figure. Bilbo could hear Relly chirping about how she had nearly regained most of her memories before the river incident. Her words brought a small grin to Bilbo's face; perhaps not all was lost and he promised himself that as soon as the two of them were out of danger he wanted to talk to her.

"It's a good thing we were able to find our weapons," Kili spoke as he gripped his bow, happy to be reunited with his weapon of choice.

"Yes, but now we only carry the clothes on our skin and the dulled blades of our axes," Gloin muttered with his empty stomach.

Everyone was tired and hungry, the two conditions that Bilbo himself could not cure. The least they could do is be appreciative of his half-baked plan, even if Bilbo hadn't quite revealed the fact he didn't know where the barrels were exactly headed. The company finally reached the innermost wine cellar while Balin and Bifur stood guard in case some stray drunk guest passed by the cellars.

Upon viewing the vast collection of wooden stock, Bilbo was pleased to learn that most of the barrels were wine barrels but there were also some filled with apples, butter and other treats. _At the very least we should have snacks on the journey,_ he smiled inwardly at his mild joke.

The task of finding barrels for every individual dwarf was somewhat challenging. Many barrels were in fact too roomy and spacious and Fili brought up the acknowledged point that he might get bruised from all the bouncing and shaking about. He decided to enlist the help of Fili, Balin and Dori to pack straw into the extra-large containers so at the very least the dwarves stuck in those barrels would be snugly packed. Thorin and Balin had been the biggest pains to fit because they kept complaining about the air holes or how stifled they felt. Bilbo tried to make sure every barrel was secured as possible but even then he held his reservations.

"Bilbo?" Relly's voice broke his concentration as the Hobbit turned around to look at the thief.

He hesitated. "Yes?"

"Do I _have_ to be in a barrel?" she asked with uncomfortable concern in her eyes. "It's not that I hate cramped spaces but...well, I don't like them very much after being in that cell for weeks."

Bilbo glanced from the barrel he was stuffing straw in as he let go of the rim and inhaled. "Relly. I want you to be with the others. I need you to be safe. Just...jump in this one right here. I've made it extra cozy for you," and he waved his hand over the full straw barrel. It was true, Bilbo had padded the smallest apple barrel with the most straw, intending that it be for Relly.

Relly pursed her lips tightly as she folded her arms. "Then why aren't _you_ getting in one then?"

Bilbo grit his teeth in impatience and hurry. "I-I can't. Relly, we don't have much time, please get in the barrel_—,"_

The merry whispers and joyful stomping of feet echoed not too far from the cellar as the feast guests entered the cellar. Poor Bilbo did not know what else to do with a stubborn half-Hobbit so he grabbed her by the wrist as he slipped on his magic ring, turning the both of them invisible. He clamped his hand over Relly's shocked mouth, preventing a yelp from the sudden transformation. The two of them watched the number of elves sing snippets of songs as they approached the bundle of barrels that Thorin and company were hiding in.

_Curse me for being so attached to such a loudmouth_, came his exasperated thought as he continued holding on to Relly's hand. He could feel her clammy warmth spreading through his palm. Even though the two had kissed once, the act of hand holding caused tiny moths to flutter in his stomach.

However, this was not the time or place to feel like a young love-struck Hobbit lad. Bilbo and Relly anxiously watched Galion, the half-drunk butler, order the other elves to begin heaving the barrels through the trapdoor and into the gurgling river below.

It was precisely at this moment that Bilbo realized the weak link in his chain of a plan. Well, there were many obvious weak points in his majestic escape plan but this particular one finally occurred to him._ I have no idea where they're going. I don't have a clue. Oh. No._

Relly cocked a black brow at him, puzzled as to why Bilbo was internally freaking out over the situation. She wanted to let go of his hand but Bilbo just tightened his grip as she let out an inaudible yawn. Things were about change rather rapidly.

Bilbo realized that he could either move now or forever lose his peace and sense of mind. He was usually not the impulsive type but his friends' lives were on the line as well as Relly's. The Hobbit had no time to relay his sudden plan to Relly as he yanked her alongside him and motioned to her to grab onto a barrel being pushed through the doors.

"Ack!" she yelled and even though she was invisible, the elf butler and the others heard the disembodied voice and shifted their attention to where the two had been previously standing. Luckily, Bilbo and Relly had disappeared below although on second thought luck wasn't in their favor at the moment.

The two were bobbing along in the cold crashes of the river and Relly had let go of Bilbo's hand in the chaos, becoming fully visible as she clawed onto the barrel.

"Relly, hold on! Hold on!" Bilbo cried out but it was useless. Their cork of a barrel was too empty and held no weight in the thrashing waters. Relly screamed as the dark waters overwhelmed her, much to his alarm. "No!"

He was like a rat in the sewers, sputtering and being tossed about like an insignificant pebble in the ocean. He was clinging onto his barrel but chanced whether or not he should jump ship and try his luck at swimming. He splashed his hand around trying to feel even the touch of Relly's skin. Sadly, he didn't find her. Bilbo was alone in the icy waters without his dear Relly or his friends. He was being beaten and battered like cake mix in a bowl but instead of a wooden spoon it were the craggy river rocks that tormented him. He knew he was slight in stature but never had he felt so..._small._

"Bilbo!" screamed Relly as Bilbo desperately tried to paddle towards the source of the panicking thief. He was both grateful and terrified that Relly was still alive; he was still going to lecture her that she was better off in a barrel than free-swimming in these hellish waters. At first he was happy to see the grey doors of the water-gate before him but the feeling faded as he held in his breath, squeezing his eyes shut from the rush of icy droplets hitting his eyelids.

_I hope I fastened the lids tight enough on those barrels_, he thought as the freezing water washed over his head. _I may have just doomed Thorin and everyone with my actions._

* * *

The tide literally turned in Bilbo's favor as the fast current eventually ebbed into a more steady but still upbeat rhythm. He decided to try and climb on the tippy top of his barrel and keep a lookout for his black haired lass. One barrel had bumped into his and was topside up so Bilbo gently laid across the lids of the barrels to keep balance as well to stay above the water.

"Relly? Relly!" he yelled over and over. He was met with no response and he cursed himself for allowing her stubbornness to risk her health and safety.

The breeze nipped at Bilbo's exposed skin but it was preferred over the hypothermia-inducing river he currently sailed on. He felt the gap grow wider between the two barrels as he gripped his fingers on the exposed rim of the second barrel to try and keep them together. Just when the barrels below him began to give out, the landscape around him morphed into thinner trees that revealed the large canvas of the night sky.

_I can see the stars. It's been so long since I've seen stars and clouds_, he moodily thought as he kept his grip on the winding barrels. The broken reflections of the glowing stars and the moon danced about the surface of the river, soothing Bilbo a little bit. The murky blankets of water that Bilbo had become accustomed to viewing became clearer and less dangerous. Maybe he was finally in the clear.

Or not. Bilbo lowered his head as he viewed some people on the stony piers and docks pulling in the load of barrels. At first he breathed a sigh of relief but the sight he held did not mean his friends were actually safe. Also, there was the case of Relly weighing on his mind. Figuring now was the time to jump from his makeshift boat, Bilbo plunged into the waters and waded to the shore away from where the humans dragged in the barrels. He slipped on his magic ring once more as he inconspicuously tiptoed through the thin trees.

The scent of a much welcome fire grazed his nostrils as his stomach bellowed from hunger so loud that even Bilbo hoped no one heard him. Although he still believed himself to be a respectful Hobbit, his Shire dainties and politeness had been largely put on the backburner since his escapades of stealing bread off the wood-elves's tables. He could forgive himself for snatching some food from unsuspecting people.

He just didn't expect to see _who_ built the fire.

"Hungry?"

Bilbo's eyes grew large at the sight of Relly Crillynook roasting frogs on a spit over a small fire. A smug grin graced her face as she appeared nice and warm in that Warg skin of hers. Now Bilbo was very aware of how hungry, cold and tired he felt. He was soaked inside and out and something like animal fur appealed to him greatly.

"R-Relly! I thought you had...when you went under...how did you...?" he stammered multiple times but was unable to finish any of the questions as he plopped his sore bottom down on the ground before giving her a grave stare. "You could have died and I would have never forgiven myself for that."

The clever thief shook her head and the fire illuminated her facial features. "I would have died being in a barrel. Now we lost Thorin and everyone and it's all your fault," she stuck her tongue out. "Who knows which set of barrels they're in."

Bilbo was too sleepy to argue. "We'll keep looking," and left it at that. The two of them were exhausted and starving and no words were exchanged for the remainder of the evening despite the many things that could have been discussed involving the two of them. Bilbo did not like the taste of frog but Relly had cooked it and he did not want to go "hunting" for food.

It was many hours past midnight when Bilbo stirred awake from the sound of crunching leaves near his rock pillow. His body launched into fight-or-flight mode as he sprung up from his bed of leaves only to vaguely find the outline of Relly right near him. He relaxed his shoulders as he breathed, "You scared me."

There was an aching pause before she quietly said, "Bilbo, I missed you. That's what I tried to tell you before. I'm sorry I couldn't..." and she chewed her bottom lip before she added, "say it."

Relly sounded vulnerable and she crept closer him, the moonlight catching in the light strands of Warg fur around her arms. In all his time knowing her, Bilbo knew she struggled with genuine emotions and feelings. He was glad she had nearly regained her memories of the adventure beforehand but he was uncertain whether or not Relly was in her true state of mind when they kissed.

Bilbo couldn't see her red face nor could she see his but he was quite happy to hear the very words from her mouth. Sure, he was annoyed that Relly refused to get in a barrel and probably tens of other problems that he needed to address with her but at this very moment in the waking hours of morning Bilbo's heart was rather touched.

"I missed you too Relly."

* * *

AWWWWW. AWWWW. I hope you all like the twist I put in here. Originally Relly was going to bob along in the barrels with the dwarves but I figure you all deserve some cutesy moments.

Next chapter: The ~super awesome magical journey~ to Lake-town. Feelings develop and a kiss may happen again. Also, Fili dislikes apples.

I hope this keeps you all satisfied until my next update. Expect another chapter near the end of this month since I don't get back from my trip until June 19th.


	22. Terror of Future Dangers

J.R.R. Tolkien wrote the series. I didn't. Peter Jackson directed the movies. I didn't.

I'm so sorry about my long absence again. I went to Italy, had a summer research paper to write and recently finished an internship.

To those wondering when the story will end, I'm guessing there's about roughly 7 chapters left. After all there's Smaug, BoFA and of course a cute little epilogue to tie things up! Thanks for being awesome and for messaging me about the status of Naive Melody; I love this story to death and though I may disappear from time to time, I have no plans of abandoning Relly and Bilbo :)

This chapter is mostly in Relly's POV but there is Bilbo's POV near the end.

* * *

**Terror of Future Dangers**

_Never was anything great achieved without danger._  
- Niccolo Machiavelli

Relly woke up the next morning with a full belly and an even fuller mind— a mind filled with fiery determination to find Thorin and the rest of her fellow dwarves. Her stubbornness to get inside a barrel had led up to her and Bilbo being the only ones capable of rescuing the company from a watery end. Although she was happy not to be bobbing about in the river, she hoped that the two of them could find the dwarves before the elves or other enemies found them.

The thief stood up from the damp autumn ground and brushed off the dirt on her breeches as her hazel eyes wandered over closely to where Bilbo had fallen asleep. Relly had waken him up hours ago to tell him that she missed him and the poor bachelor had fallen asleep immediately after saying he missed her as well. It was a weird complicated motion they were going through. She heard his snoring hitch low and soft as if he were back home in his cozy bed. She couldn't help but smirk at how oblivious and yet handsome he looked in sleep. Relly's smile turned into a grumble as she used the heel of her foot to push Bilbo's arm. He hardly stirred. Cute or not, he needed to wake up and help her find some dwarf-filled barrels.

"Bilbo? Bilbo, _wake up._ I stole a whole blueberry pie for breakfast," she said in a sing-song voice, hoping it was the magic phrase to wake up her hero.

That worked. Bilbo licked his lips as he sprung up, not even caring there was a giant yellow leaf on the shoulder of his buttonless vest. Relly reached out and gently swept the leaf off his clothing, an unplanned moment of affection on Relly's part. Bilbo's face turned a light pink at her gesture as his round brown eyes looked for pie. His eager reaction caused Relly to feel a quick pang of guilt for lying but it was for the greater good, or so she figured.

"You did?" Bilbo asked, his stomach grumbling.

Relly laughed with a crooked smile. "Hah, _no_. But I thought it'd get you up quicker."

Bilbo frowned. "Is there anything at all for breakfast?"

"Mmm," she tapped her lip. "I found some eggs. Maybe you can scramble them."

"You found them?" he asked with a brow raised. "Where?"

She grinned again. "I found them...in my pockets."

Bilbo had a different sense of humor when it came to food. Relly heard a faint but uneasy chuckle in his throat as he went over to the dampened fire pit and started it up again, holding out his hand so that she could give him the eggs.

In the not-so-far distance, Relly and Bilbo could see the dusty silhouette of the Lonely Mountain. An anxious tingle ran down her spine as she observed just how sad the mountain looked against the backdrop of the red-orange sunrise. There was no question that Erebor had become desolate in the years since it was abandoned. All the treasure and gold of dwarven kings from ages past was all hoarded away by a great and terrible dragon. As some runaway egg freckled the bottom of her chin, she was lost in her thoughts concerning the beastly terror in the heart of the mountain. Only now did she remember the words Bofur had said that first night at Bilbo's home; how Smaug's talons could pierce a man's flesh like it were a spike. How the dragon's fiery breath pained worse than a thousand searing rays of the sun...

"Relly?" Bilbo's voice snapped Relly away from Smaug and back to the land, the quarterling quickly running her finger across her chin to eat the last specks of her breakfast. "You looked not all there, Relly. If you need some rest...you can rest, just for a little while."

She snorted. "I'm fine," she asserted herself to Bilbo as she stood up from the stump. "_I'm fine._ But we need to hurry up. Oh!," a random thought interrupted her usual ones as she excitedly shook Bilbo's shoulder. "We should follow the river! Maybe it could lead us to where the others drifted off to!"

"I was thinking the same," he raised his head up and looked at her with a concerned but hopeful smile. "I'm almost done eating. Can't begin the day with egg on my face like you can."

She stuck her tongue out at Bilbo in response to his statement. Relly sat back down on her stump as she rested her chin on the top of her hand, watching Bilbo finish his eggs. For ten minutes, the urgency of their mission faded away as she watched her closest companion enjoy his breakfast. Relly had nearly forgotten the earlier days of their journey, where the atmosphere was friendlier and the terror of future dangers hadn't quite soaked into the bones of the adventurers. In a time not so long ago, Relly had been laughing with Bofur and looking at Ori's sketches while a shy Bilbo looked on from the stew pot. Relly used to never dwell on the past, not until she almost lost it.

"We'll find Thorin and everyone," Bilbo promised her, wanting to lighten the mood around them. "I've saved you all before and well, I intend to do it again!"

Relly smiled at his optimism. Certainly no dumb river could take away Thorin, Balin and all her other dwarven companions, not when she had almost lost her dwarven friends from amnesia, elves and goblins.

* * *

The two set off to follow the dwindling path of the river and lost themselves between the thinning trees and the not so distant fires in a town not too far from them. Relly was naturally light on her feet but Bilbo had also become accustomed to nature during his time on the journey and improved his stamina. Every now and then she would eye his pocket where he kept his magic ring.

During her twenty years on the run, Relly had seen cheapshot magicians perform illusions in town squares and at first Relly believed what she saw. Eventually she would see past the distractions and stopped believing, rolling her eyes at the stupid crowds that watched in awe of the so-called magicians. When she met Gandalf all those months ago, she thought he was a kook and rightly so. She was quickly proven wrong and like all other things on this adventure, she began to believe in things beyond her realm of understanding.

Never had she seen someone truly become invisible. Never had she imagined _she_ would turn invisible and if the barrel incident proved _anything_, being invisible felt unearthly and strange. How Bilbo Baggins, a Hobbit from the Shire, would be the proprietor of such a wondrous object fascinated and concerned the quarterling. Relly had stolen jewelry here and there having been enchanted by their prettiness, but something about that gold band unnerved her to no end. Just looking at its smooth texture struck a chord deep in her body; an urge to obtain it. It was a primal and disturbing force, a familiar feeling Relly had once given into when she was in her unsavory occupations.

"Relly?" Bilbo's voice burst her mental bubble as he directly looked at Relly. "I think I hear some racket down by the bend. I'll sneak down there and see what the raft-men are doing. Do you..." and he hesitated, "want to come along with me?"

She side-eyed him and gulped. "N-no, I'll stay behind the trees and follow you."

Bilbo nodded, unaware of her previous thoughts as he slipped on the gold band and went on ahead, his footsteps crunching the autumn leaves below him and leaving an easy trail for her to follow. She blended within the whitening bark of the slim trees, keeping her focus on every footprint Bilbo made as she slipped through the forests by the river. It didn't take long to discover the source of the noise: raft-elves poking their poles in a large bunch of barrels.

Relly fought the urge to bolt from the trees. Could it be that Thorin and the rest were in those very barrels? Her hazel eyes flickered with a gleam of hope, her nails digging into the chipped bark of the tree she was hiding behind. She peeked around the corner to try and find Bilbo's footprints but she lost track and mentally cursed herself for getting so distracted.

"Relly?" a harsh whisper floated to her ears as she perked back up. "I'm right here."

"Okay," she quietly whispered back to Bilbo as the duo continued to observe the grumbling raft-elves try and bunch up the barrels. Relly didn't particularly care for elves at the moment after thorny king Thranduil imprisoned her but she also forgot how nice Elrond had been to them. Elves were weird.

"They're too heavy," complained one as he weakly attempted to hook his pole onto the lid of a barrel. "What's in these anyway?"

The other raft-elf shrugged. "Who knows. Shove 'em off. Some are never empty."

And so the barrels out of bond continued to float down the river, past the poking and prodding of the raft-elves and were close to drifting out of sight from the small party of heroes. Relly's stomach grew into a dark pit, her face turning pale. Her dwarven friends had escaped the dungeons of the king and through the wood but whether alive or dead remained to be seen. She wasn't on the verge of crying but she was upset.

Bilbo became visible as he gently approached the clearly upset Relly. He swallowed down a gulp as he placed his hand on her shoulder. He hated seeing her so distressed. Sure, it would have helped if the raft-elves had managed to bring up the possible dwarf-filled barrel up on land. On the other hand, a fight could have ensued and Relly and Bilbo weren't in the best condition to fight.

"We'll just continue down the river. They're heavy barrels, they can't go too far," he tried to cheer her up.

She sighed as she bit her bottom lip, her eyes lighting up a little. "Yeah, especially if Bombur's in one of them."

The two giggled together for a minute and everything seemed to be alright. For a minute, anyway. When his eyes were still closed from laughing, Relly raised her chin up to look at Bilbo, a pink blush on her cheeks.

* * *

The next day poor Bilbo was sneezing left and right, much to the worry and annoyance of Relly. There was no use in the Hobbit staying invisible due to his irritating cold and it hadn't helped that it rained last night and put out their fire. Thanks to her handy Warg skin, Relly had stayed warm and possibly was the reason why she didn't have a cold. Bilbo refused her Warg skin last night and now he was paying for it.

"AH-_CHOO_!" Bilbo's loud sneeze could have set the forest aflame with how much force he expelled from his nostrils. "I-I hate this cold."

That was _it_. Relly spun around on her heels and grabbed Bilbo by his forearms, a large pout on her face as she glared at him. She let go and ignored the red spreading on her face as she untied her Warg skin from her neck and shoved it in Bilbo's arms. "Take it."

"I-Relly, Beorn gave it to you. I couldn't po-possib- _CHOO_!" and Bilbo sneezed once more. Relly tapped her foot repeatedly until Bilbo reluctantly accepted her gift and wore it as a cape like Relly had previously been using the skin for.

"Much warmer, isn't it?" she asked with a brow raised and a blush on her face betraying her. "You can be really stupid sometimes."

If he didn't care for her so deeply he would have been offended. But she was right in a way and he sighed into the warmth of the Warg fur as he walked behind Relly, chuckling to himself that he was essentially doomed to love such a strange quarterling.

Which reminded him about their kiss. He really needed some answers about that. At night he would gather the pride and courage to confront her only to back out when she fell asleep or changed the subject. He had to know for certain. The little things she did gave him hope that she loved him too and with their adventure getting more twisted and dangerous by the hour, Bilbo wanted to express everything to her before it was too late.

_But not now_, he told himself._ Not when we still have so much left to do._

And so his romantic thoughts relating to his thief ebbed away as the two followed the curves of the river. The Lonely Mountain loomed ahead of him and sent a shiver through his skin. How close they were to the end, and yet too far to see the outcome of their journey!

_If only Gandalf were here_, Bilbo conjured up an image of the friendly grey wizard in his mind. It felt like centuries since he last saw the powerful wizard. _But I suppose this truly is our own adventure and we must complete it without his aid._

True, he had been pretty successful in rescuing his companions with only his luck and sheer determination but it would have been nice to have access to some of Gandalf's magic. He remembered the ring in his vest pocket and felt a little comfort knowing he had an ace up his sleeve.

"Bilbo look!" Relly pointed her finger at a strange sight. "It's a town on the water!"

He blinked. She was correct, no matter how silly she sounded. Located on the mouth of the Forest River was the very town Relly excitedly spoke of, an amazing collection of houses and establishments on the surface of the lake. There were a few buildings on actual land but Relly was right; a majority of the town was built on the water, luckily protecting by large jutting rocks that kept the bay so quiet and calm. Upon observation Bilbo saw no elves but Men who had settled onto this territory despite the danger of the dragon within the mountain.

The closest human Bilbo had met on this journey was Beorn but he was hardly considered as such. A whole town of Men...this could go well or terribly wrong. He had seldom seen humans in the Shire outside of merchant business and Relly of all Hobbits had seen the spectrum of the race of Men.

Bilbo's eyes traveled to the figure of Relly, watching the town go about their daily routine like they were normal. As if they were safe. Bilbo could see Relly's eyes narrow, the thief probably thinking about how such people could live under the shadow of the dragon. Maybe they treated it as a fun legend or a danger on the back-burner. Either way, the two had a duty to follow through and that was rescuing Thorin and company. Lake-town would have to wait.

"Relly, the barrels!" Bilbo jerked her sleeve, grabbing her attention. "_Ah-chuh_, I see the rafts they are on!"

The black haired quarterling looked in the direction of the docks where the raft-elves and boatmen had been hoarding the barrels onto rafts of sorts. It was broad daylight now but if they could just be patient a while longer, then they could finally free the dwarves and decide on whether they wanted to approach Lake-town.

"Wait until night," Relly said. "Those morons will go back into town to eat and we can finally free them!"

Seeing her happy now made Bilbo happier, even with his cold and the worries he held for the future. He agreed with her plan and so the two of them stayed put in the forest, watching the village together until the blue skies darkened into black.

When the time came for their daring action, Bilbo made a sudden decision as he took his magic ring out of his vest pocket and grabbed Relly's hand. Without a word, he slipped the band in her palm with a small smile.

"I trust you with this, Relly. You be on watch and I'll go dive after the barrels."

Relly stuttered, looking strangely at the ring in her hand. "I...I, okay."

"Good. Keep it safe. I'll be back with Thorin and everyone."

Bilbo felt comforted knowing the magic ring would be with her rather than in his pocket underwater. He looked over his shoulder to see his apprehensive quarterling and smiled to her as he set off to the docks to cut loose the barrels._ After this_, he thought to himself, _after this is over it'll be a better time to talk._

* * *

After all the groaning and complaining and drying off, the smelly straw-covered dwarves were all eventually released from their prisons. The most ornery of the group were Dwalin and Balin, who offered no help to free their brethren. The only chipper dwarves were Fili and Kili, who were tremendous help with unscrewing the tight lids on the barrels. Kili complained a little about the crick in his neck and Fili swore he would never eat apples again.

"Apples, apples, all lining my barrel and yet I could never taste them!" he spoke of the torture he endured. "I never want to smell another apple again! I would rather smell dragon dung than smell an apple!"

Kili laughed at his brother's melodramatic words. "You won't even eat Mother's delicious apple cobbler?"

Fili awkwardly paused as he finished wringing out the ends of his chin braids. "Well...maybe except for Mother's cooking..."

The crew was slowly coming to life again as Bilbo watched his fellow comrades dry off and adjust their legs on land. Bombur was still asleep in his barrel-induced coma and Dori, Nori and Ori were waterlogged and had to be carried onshore before they were any good. Bifur and Bofur were probably the most energetic besides Fili and Kili. and Bofur was the first to ask after Relly.

"She never got into a barrel, eh?" Bofur chuckled loudly, his chest still heaving from water residue. "That sounds like her!"

"I was worried all this time and she was never with us!" Ori balled up his chunky fists and then let out a relieved sigh. "Where is she, Bilbo?"

Bilbo looked behind the trees where he last saw Relly and anxiously smiled back at Ori and Nori. Before he was about to answer, the large presence of Thorin Oakenshield quite literally dwarfed him.

"Well! Bilbo Baggins, I guess we have you to thank as well as the stars above us. However, I wish you could have arranged a more comfortable journey down stream," Thorin lamented as Bilbo inaudibly snorted at his comment. "No doubt we will be even more grateful for your service once we have rested and eaten. Though, I do not see our companion Relly here...is she on watch?"

Bilbo lit up. Relly would be ecstatic to see her almost-fatherly figure again. "Y-yes, she is! In fact she should be right around...well...I saw her here!" and he stared in the general direction that he last saw Relly standing.

She wasn't there.

Kili frowned. "You lost her."

Fili, Balin and Bombur joined in on Kili's mutterings as Bilbo's face washed pale. This wasn't good. Oh sure he could cut loose twelve dwarves without too many complications but once again Bilbo lost one of the few things he held precious, and no he didn't mean the ring.

The able bodied dwarves that could walk joined Bilbo to look for Relly where she was last seen. Bofur played his flute to try and draw her out but it was still soaking wet and only bubbles were playing from the holes. Kili and Fili shouted her name until Thorin hushed them; not wanting to draw too much attention from potential enemies in the forest.

"Poor girl gets knocked out, develops amnesia and now she's lost! I can only hope Smaug hasn't flown down and gobbled her up!" Gloin raised his arms up, exasperated with all the unfortunate events that had befallen their only female companion.

"Don't say that," Nori bonked him on his red haired noggin, although his fears were forming on his bearded face as well.

Bilbo absentmindedly reached for his vest pocket but reminded himself that he had given the ring to Relly for safekeeping. _Now look at all the trouble I caused now_, he clenched his temple with his hand, sneezing loudly into the now oncoming rain.

What truly scared the Hobbit was the fact Relly carried an object with powers of invisibility and an old fear crossed his mind as he continued to look behind trees and rocks.

_She ran off with the ring, _his mind creaked out slowly. _She ran off and left you behind._

* * *

I'm evil, I know.

Next chapter starts with Relly's POV after Bilbo leaves to rescue the dwarves. Where did Relly go...?


End file.
