𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐃𝐇𝐄𝐋 || legolas greenleaf¹

THREE ; MAGAUNA LITERCASH

¤¤¤

The dwarves had managed to wake Bilbo up, and he now sat in a chair in his living room. Gandalf sat inna different chair in front of him. The cloaked figure stood at the front of the room, behind Bilbo, listening to them talk.

"I'll be alright." Bilbo said, still seeming a bit shaken. "Just let me sit quietly for a moment."

Across from him, Gandalf spoke. "You've been sitting quietly for far too long. Tell me, when did doilies and your mother's dishes become so important to you? I remember a young hobbit who was always running off in search of Elves, in the woods. He'd stay out late, come home, after dark, trailing mud and twigs and fireflies. A young hobbit who would've liked nothing better than to find out what was beyond the borders of the Shire." The person under the cloak listened closely to what Bilbo used to be like. "The world is not in your books and maps. It's out there."

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

"You are also a Took!" Gandalf countered, and Bilbo scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Did you know your great, great, great, great Uncle Bullroarer Took, was so large he could ride an real horse?" Bilbo nodded. "Yes, well he could! In the battle of Greenfields, he charged the goblin ranks he swung his club so hard, it knocked the goblin king's head clean off, and it sailed a hundred yards through the air, and went down a rabbit hole. And thus the battle as won, and the game of golf invented at the same time."

Bilbo scoffed again. "I do believe you made that all up."

"Well, all good stories deserve embellishment." Gandalf told him. "You'll have a tale or two to tell if your own when you come back."

Bilbo was silent for a moment, before looking up at Gandalf. "Can you promise that I will come back?"

"No." The wizard responded.

"But I can." Said the cloaked person behind them. Bilbo turned to look at her. "Or at least try my best."

Bilbo narrowed his eyes. "I'm sorry, who did you...who are you?"

The person finally took their hood off, revealing that they were a woman, which explained the feminine voice. She was taller than the average human, and had dirty blonde hair that reached to just above the end of her ribcage. Her eyes were a deep brown that contrasted with her pale skin. She could've easily captivated many men that laid eyes on her, but she still had a dangerous appearance to her due to the several bruises and scratch marks that littered her face. It was evident she had seen hardship.

"This is Magauna Litercash." Gandalf said, introducing her to Bilbo. "She was a...last minute addition to the company."

Bilbo looked at her. "So...you're some sort of bodyguard...?"

She smirked ever so slightly. "Something of the sorts."

"And you're supposed to protect me?"

"If you allow me to. But I don't suppose you'll be the same if you come back alive."

"That's what I thought." Bilbo turned back to Gandalf. "Sorry, Gandalf, I can't sign this. You've got the wrong hobbit." He stood up from his chair, and walked away, looking at Magauna as he passed her, and disappeared down the hall.

The other dwarves watched him leave from the door way of the room. "It appears we have lost our burglar." Balin said with a sigh. "Probably for the best. The odds were always against us. After all, what are we? Merchants, miners, tinkers, toy makers. Hardly the stuff of legend."

"There are a few warriors amongst us." Thorin argued.

"Old warriors." Magauna mumbled, putting her pipe back to her mouth, and taking a drag.

Thorin turned to her, visibly aggravated at her. "I would take each and every one of these dwarves over an army from the Iron Hills, for when I called upon them, they answered. Loyalty, honor, a willing heart. I can ask no more than that. And you have no say. You're but a half breed whom's not got got a drop dwarf blood. A ranger. Not merely the stuff of your legends."

"But you don't have to do this. You have a choice, do you not?" She said as she scowled, ignoring his insult.

Balin nodded in agreement. "You've done honorably by our people. You have built a new life for us in the Blue Mountains. A life of peace and plenty. A life that is worth more than all the gold in Erebor."

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

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

Thorin looked away from Balin and turned to Magauna. She narrowed her eyes at him, and then walked out of the room, leaving Gandalf to deal with the dwarven singing that was to come.

¤¤¤

From where she sat outside of the hobbit hole, Magauna could faintly hear the dwarves singing. She couldn't help but think that Thorin was right about her. She was just a ranger, the only reason she was even there was to pay Gandalf back for she was in debt to him. She didn't belong in that group of dwarves. And she might as well leave since the hobbit decided he wasn't accompanying them.

But Magauna was a woman of her word. She would go with them, even if Thorin despised her.

It wasn't long before the dwarves stopped singing, and Magauna was left to sit in silence outside. Silence was one of the few things that unnerved her. It was something she was too used to.

After inhaling slowly, she began to hum a melody under her breath, to which it quickly elevated to her singing the lyrics to herself. It was in a language no one around her would understand, except perhaps Gandalf.

As Magauna sat there, singing, she didn't notice that a certain hobbit was watching her out of his bedroom window.

¤¤¤