The Princess of Erebor (A Hobbit Story)

The Revelation

    Bilbo had given in and helped prepare the food for the guests. The two of them ate before the knock on the door drew their attention. Lauranna stood up and moved to the door before Bilbo could protest. She opened the door to reveal a grumpy-looking Dwarf. He turned when the door opened and seemed a little confused as to why she was there.

    "Dwalin, at your service," he said, bowing.

    "Lauranna at yours," the young woman said with a bow of her own.

    "Gandalf never said anything about a girl," he muttered more to himself than anyone else. 

    "The dining room is down there," she said, ignoring him and pointing in the direction of the food.

    He nodded and moved off. Lauranna remained by the door, knowing there was more to come. A few minutes later, a doorbell was rung. She opened it to see an older Dwarf. He also seemed more kind than Dwalin.

    "Balin, at your service," he said, bowing.

    "Lauranna at yours," she replied like last time.

    "Nice to meet you Miss Lauranna. Am I late?" Balin asked.

    "No. The only other one here is Dwalin. He should be in the dining room," she answered.

    He nodded and moved off to the dining room. Soon, the bell rang again. This time, two younger-looking Dwarves stood there. They seemed to freeze when they saw her.

    "Fili," the blonde said, nudging his companion.

    "And Kili," the dark-haired one added.

    "At your service," they said in unison with a deep bow.

    "Come on in," Lauranna said. "My name is Lauranna. If you want, you can call me Anna."

    "Ok, Anna. Careful with these. We just had them sharpened," Kili said with a smile, handing her a pile of weapons.

    She took the weapons with ease just as Fili hit his brother over the head.

    "You idiot! She's a girl! Do you honestly think that - " Fili started.

    He was interrupted, however, by a dagger flying past his ear, missing by a centimeter. They looked over at Lauranna, who was acting as though nothing had happened. She looked up and frowned.

    "Is everything okay?" she asked.

    "Did you throw that?" Kili replied.

    "Throw what?"

    "The dagger."

    "What dagger?"

    "This one," Fili said, pulling the blade out of the wall.

    Lauranna merely stared at him, confused. She was an excellent liar, and she knew it. Fili sighed and put the dagger away, moving to help Dwalin and Balin with making room for everyone. Kili watched the woman in front of him with a sense of curiosity. The ring followed shortly after Kili left. She opened the door and watched with amusement as a big pile of Dwarves toppled in. Gandalf was standing behind them and smiled at the girl. They all moved off to the dining room, but Lauranna quickly figured out that one was missing as she did a head count. She heard Gandalf rattle off their names as he too counted.

    "Dwalin, Balin, Fili, Kili, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Ori, Nori, Dori, Oin, Gloin," he muttered. "We appear to be one Dwarf short."

    "He journeyed north to a meeting with our kin. He will come," Dwalin assured.