Of The Sun (The Hobbit/The Lord of the Rings/LOTR)

Pt. 1 - Chapter 4 - The Journey Begins

The Dwarves were softly snoring in the early morning when Anariel quietly crept outside and called Rilien over to the gate. He trotted up and snorted once he reached her. She was just finishing saddling him up when 13 Dwarves and a Wizard came piling out of the Hobbit Hole and made their way to their own horses and ponies.

Nothing much was said while they were leaving except for the occasional banter or argument between Bifur, Bofur, Bomber, Dori, Nori, and Ori. And then of course the jokes between Kili and Fili. The rest rode along silently.

And then the bets started. Each Dwarf, Thorin aside, began betting on whether or not Bilbo would show up. Even Gandalf joined in the action. Anariel was riding along silently at the back, keeping to herself when she was called to the front.

"Anariel!" Thorin yelled. Gnadalf was leading and Thorin was right behind him. She galloped up to the front to catch up and didn't have to say anything before Thorin spoke. "You should be at the front if you're to be our guide." His voice, if she were not mistaken, sounded sarcastic.

"We're in the Shire, I guarantee there isn't a single thing that could be of danger here." Thorin looked at her with that stone cold glance that no-one in their right mind would question. She sighed and did as he asked. "And I won't say it again, but please call me Ana."

"I thought we were in the Shire and that there isn't a single thing that could be of danger." He shot back.

'Oh, curse the stubbornness of Dwarves.' She thought. 

"We are, but you should get into the habit before we enter unsafe lands. If the wrong people here my name it could end badly. You also shouldn't go around shouting out your own heritage as I'm sure you have one or two enemies yourself." He looked up at her again from his pony with that glare. He was at a significantly lower height than Ana on Rillien who was a significantly tall stallion reaching 17 hands while Thorin and the others were on ponies. Thorin's was the tallest at 13 hands while the others were about 12 except Ori who sat on a tiny thing that was just 11 hands tall. Thorin's glare didn't waver, clearly he didn't like being told what to do. "Just a suggestion." Ana muttered to herself and looked away. "You do realise I am here to help you get to the Lonely Mountain with as few a disturbances as possible. I was travelling through Middle Earth centuries before you were even born so it might pay you to listen to me otherwise there is no point in even having a guide. And clearly you believe that you need one otherwise you wouldn't have asked Gandalf to find one." Anariel rambled out, not making eye contact with the Dwarf.

There was a very light chuckle coming from behind them from two different dwarves. Thorin's head snapped over his shoulder, no doubt sporting that glare, and the chuckles stopped before Thorin looked back over to the elf. "Very well." Was all he said before pushing his pony on a little further and moving away from her.

Two ponies trotted up to either side of the she-elf and Anariel knew that Fili and Kili were more than likely the culprits of the chuckles.

"That was very well done." Fili smiled.

"Not many people can do that." Kili said.

"What? Shut him up or put him in his place?" She questioned.

"Both." They responded in unison.

"Wait!" A small voice was heard from a distance. Rillien pulled around to a stop and she turned to see Bilbo running after them. The Dwarves, noticing her reaction stopped as well and turned to see what was going on, a few of them passing her before they did, however. "Wait!" This time his voice was loud enough for the others to hear and Thorin who was in the lead came to a stop. "I signed it!" He yelled as he passed her and approached Balin. "Here." He handed him the contract.

Balin looked over it. "Everything appears to be in order. Welcome, Master Baggins, to the company of Thorin Oakenshield."

"Give him a pony." Thorin said.

"No, no, that won't be necessary." Bilbo protested. "Thank you. I'm sure I can keep up on foot." Fili and Kili grinned at each other as they walked their ponies to either side of Bilbo. "I've done my fair share of walking holidays, you know? Even got as far as Frogmorton once. Aah!" he squealed as the brothers picked him up and chucked him on a riderless pony. Anariel chuckled as she looked at the terrified little Hobbit, clinging onto the reins for dear life, but holding them in the most useless position she had ever seen.

Anariel trotted Rillien up so she was riding just behind Thorin, knowing if she stayed at the back for too long he'd yell at her again. The Dwarves were chucking around bags of gold coin, settling their bets that she hadn't played a part in. Fili lost to Kili and had to reluctantly hand over his money to his grinning younger brother. Fili spent a fair while pouting after. Anariel had to admit out of all the Dwarves she liked them the most and although she'd never spoken to him she had already developed a need to watch over Ori. He was the third youngest in the company, only a little older than Fili and Kili, but he seemed so innocent and fragile. She also noticed herself frequently checking on Bilbo as they rode. He was getting better at holding himself in the saddle and keeping a firm grip on the reigns, but if he didn't improve well enough soon she'd make sure to give him few pointers should they need to pick up the pace.

It was another half an hour before Bilbo yelled out: "No, wait, wait, stop. Stop! We have to turn around."

"What on earth is the matter?" Gandalf asked.

"I forgot my handkerchief." He stated like it was the worst thing that could happen on their journey. The elf found herself smiling and shaking her head, kicking Rillien back into a walk and overtaking Thorin.

"Here. Use this." She heard one of the Dwarves, Bufor, yell. The names were catching on easy enough, thankfully.

"Move on." Thorin declared. It wasn't long before his pony was trotting back out in front and yet again taking the lead like it was some competition. Kili and Fili rode up alongside her again.

"I'm never going to stay in the front for long am I?"

"No." They replied together.