A Single Dream is More Powerful Than a Thousand Realities

The Stubbornness of a Dwarf

It was as if Lyla's stomach had shrunk, coiling into knots making her regret that third slice of buttery bread. Bile rose into her throat as thirteen pairs of dwarven eyes bore into her. Heat rose to her cheeks, making the bruise across her nose tingle.

She swallowed painfully and waited with baited breath for the tirade to start.

"Well it's about ruddy time!" Bofur remarked grabbing his tankard and taking a slurping gulp. His hat was askew and he bore a marvelous grin on his face. "I was wonderin' when we'd get this out in the open. A relief to finally have us the know the truth, aye lass?"

It was Bofur's turn to wink at Lyla.

Wait, what?

How did he...?

"Durin's beard, you're a girl?!" Kili questioned incredulously, eyes going wide.

"Well of course she is, you dolt!" Fili countered, "I mean look at her face! That's a girl's face if ever I've seen one."

Lyla's ears went pink at the assessment.

"But you haven't ever seen one! And you certainly didn't realize that Master Baggins was a lass!" Chortled Nori with a cheeky grin as he puffed on his pipe.

Fili sat glaring at Nori, muttering in the dwarves' private tongue (and Lyla suspected that they weren't kind words).

Voices rose and chaos erupted around the wide-eyed hobbit who sat perched in her oversized chair, watching the dwarves gesturing, shouting, banging their glasses down, and shooting Lyla inquisitive looks.

"I said she was a girl this whole time didn't I?" There was Bofur again. "Aye the little lass couldn't fool me." He grinned triumphantly at the company.

"Frightful bad luck to bring a woman on a journey like this," Gloin muttered darkly, "Nothin' but trouble it'll be." He shot her a grumpy look.

"Time to pay up Dori!" Nori crowed, and a small cheer went up within the company.

Dori grumbled in a low voice and produced a few pouches from a hidden pocket in his coat and tossed them to Bofur, Nori, Bifur, and Balin.

What?

How did so many guess her secret?

And then they'd bet on whether she was female?!

How utterly ridiculous!

"Now just a minute here-" She began.

The voices of the company rose louder, drowning out Lyla's voice.

"Is your name really Bilbo then?" Ori questioned quietly, curiosity shining in his large brown eyes.

"Well uh-"

"Has your hair always been that short?" Dori remarked, "Don't tell me you cut it just to fool us! You could have braided it you know. We dwarves would have never known the difference."

"You see-"

"Do hobbit lasses always wear trousers then? Like the men do?" Kili.

"Not particularly-"

"Can you cook then? I'd like to have someone else in the company cook once in awhile,"

"Well Bombur actually-"

"This certainly explains why she'd disappear when we'd bathe or..."

"Or why she slept further away from the rest of us."

"That's why you wouldn't let me check her injuries then, yes?" Oin muttered grumpily, turning towards Dwalin, who had yet to speak.

Dwalin sat arms folded, an unreadable expression on his face, "Aye, that'd be the truth of it," he muttered lowly, "I handled her injuries just fine both times, so lay off questionin' me." He sent a glare to the grizzled face of the medic.