Collection of One-Shots

》unexpected

"Oh come on Fili! We're a day ahead of schedule, I doubt it will hurt if we stop by a tavern tonight." The youngest pointed in the direction of Bree, half pushing his brother towards the city even though it was raining and their boots were soaked.

"No, we should head to the Shire like Uncle said for us to do. Some of the others might be there early." Fili gave his brother a stern look but the thought of a good place to sit down and have a pint of ale was almost too good to resist. Also the prospect of being able to dry for a while as the rain had been unrelenting for most of the day.

"Well, what Uncle doesn't know will not hurt him. Besides we can say we got lost." Kili wiggled his eyebrows from underneath the hood of his cloak. Seeing no reason why they shouldn't Fili nodded and the two dwarven princes began taking the beaten path to the small town where even in the night smoke billowed from the chimney and the drunken shouts of men echoed into the tree and sky.

Marigold delivered round after round of the summer ale to the men and hobbits alike, the night was still young and she half expected that it would be midmorning before she could finally return to her small cottage just outside of town. Curses and slurred words were tossed about while the hobbits sang their merry songs from atop the tables and she could not help but tap her foot along to their lyrics as she refilled two wooden tankards and placed them on the scratched surface of the bar.

Two more customers filed into the tavern and as they took a seat at a far table, Marigold took to waiting on them, though half way there she paused when the removed their hoods, revealing that they were dwarves. She had never seen a dwarf before, they had always been described in the tales of others as being greedy with fierce beady eyes and full grown beards, only a smidgen taller than hobbits. Regaining her composure she approached the table each dwarf giving her a large smile despite the signs of weariness in their eyes. "What can I get for you boys tonight?"

"Anything that can fill my empty stomach." The blonde replied, his blue eyes twinkling in the low light of the tavern. "I'll have the same." Came the echo from the brunette, she knew him to be the younger of the two for his beard was nothing more than stubble on his jaw. With a nod Marigold stole away to the kitchen to put in an order with the cook and returned to her place at the bar, grabbing two of the last mugs that were not the size of tankards and filling them with the golden ale that had been made from Shire grown wheat and barley.

Placing the mugs on their table, she smiled, revealing her toothy grin and bright green eyes. "Nob will bring out your meal, if you need a refill I'll be over there." She pointed to the bar top and turned to walk away when one of them spoke. It had been the older dwarf.

"Is there perhaps a room we could stay in for the night? Our feet and eyes have grown weary from the day's travels."

"I'll ask the innkeeper." Marigold stood in front of the old man's desk, only she could not see over it and she doubted that he even noticed her appearance. When he said nothing she poked her head around, startling the man but after she asked about a room he checked the logs and books and shook his head. There were no rooms available though that was hardly a surprise as this was one of the only inns on the Greenway.

Two plates with meat, potatoes, and bread had already been dished out and placed in front of the young dwarves. She approached the table and clasped her small hands in front of her skirts. "I'm sorry, but the inn is full tonight. If you don't mind waiting for a bit I have a spare room at my cottage. I'll even ask Bob if I can end my shift early." The two dwarves looked at each other for a moment, apprehension clear in their glances but the youngest turned with a beaming smile and nodded.

"That sounds great, better than sleeping against a tree I'm sure." Kili and Fili had cleaned their plates and drank three mugs of the ale before Marigold returned and bid them to follow her. She had already pulled on her own cloak and while the dwarf's cloaks were still damp it was nothing a warm fire could not cure. They followed her outside the main part of the town in silence, even the rain had stopped and aided the silent walk until Kili stepped up to her side, glancing down at her bare feet that hardly appeared to be large or be covered in hair.