Hiding Myself. A fem!Bilbo Bagginshield fanfic

Chapter 17

Bella hid behind Thorin Oakenshield as the Lonely Mountain shook with Smaug's fury. The dwarf stood in front of her with the Company in front of him. Thorin turned to her and grabbed her arm, tight.
"Bella, go inside. Quickly! " he ordered. "Fili and Kili, you two as well. Balin, keep them safe. The rest of you, we need to get the other two from down below, and our stores. Move! "
Kili ran forward with his brother following him. Bella stumbled behind until Kili grasped her shoulder. The group, a rather small one, managed to make it into the Mountain safely.
The last Bella saw of Thorin was a quick glance in her direction and a nod as he helped to hurriedly pull on the ropes.

-------------------

The four crouching in the tunnel breathed a sigh of relief when the rest of their Company darted inside. Luckily, none were hurt and most of the stores had been saved. Thorin stared at the door, an angry look on his face. Bella sat next to him and fit herself into his side.
"Are you alright, Thorin? " she asked in a quiet voice. He nodded, his arm tight around her waist.
"Yes. "
She laid her head on his chest. "If you say so. "
They stayed like that until Bella began to feel uneasy. A feeling grew in the pit of her stomach as she stared at the door, left slightly open. The roar of the dragon had faded and the Mountain had stopped shaking.
"Close the door. " she said. Thorin turned his head to her with a quizzical look. "Close it! I don't like the feeling I'm getting from it. Close the door! "
Kili stood up and closed the door. It shut with a pounding sound. Before Thorin could open his mouth and say something, the Mountain shook. He instinctively pulled Bella close to his chest. She stared at the shut door as the Company waited for Smaug to fly away from the opening. They heard the faint neighing of the ponies, and then silence.
"Well, that'll be the end of our ponies. " Balin muttered. "Nothing escapes Smaug once he sees it. "
The dwarves settled back into their places relatively quietly. Bella snuggled into Thorin, smiling when she felt his hand running through her hair. She fell asleep to the murmuring of the Company and Thorin humming the song they'd sung back in her cozy home all those months ago.

----------------------

Bella looked up when Fili walked past. She was sitting where Thorin had been a few hours previously.
Now, the Dwarven king was sitting some ways away along with Balin and Dwalin. She spotted Kili strolling past semi-casually trying to catch a look of the papers in front of them.
"Oi! Kili, c'mere! " Fili said as loudly as he could. Kili rolled his eyes and moved over to the pair.
The younger dwarf sat on the other side of Bella and faced his brother. The two began a conversation that she really wasn't paying attention to. The hobbit leaned back onto the side of the tunnel and stared down the end where she knew Smaug to be. She had the feeling that her adventure wasn't anywhere near over yet.

---------------------

"Are you alright? " Bella questioned.
Thorin turned towards her and nodded. "Of course. I'm just worried, Bella. "
She tightened her grip on the dwarf's hand and forced a smile.
"I'll be fine. I need to go back down there if we want to finish this quest. " she said. "I'll be as careful as I can be. "
And with that, the small burglar pressed her lips against Thorin's cheek for a moment and darted down the passageway. Once the dwarf was out of sight, she began fiddling with the ring in her pocket.
It had become a habit of hers lately to play with the ring she'd found in the goblin tunnels whenever there was nothing to distract her, or Thorin wasn't around.
Once again, the burglar's head peeked out of the enormous doorway. Smaug lay, wings folded like an overlarge bat, apparently asleep. Bella crept forward and up to a pillar just in front of him. Her eyes roved over the mounds of treasure piled in the cavernous room.
Her foot slipped, gold coins trickling down like a golden waterfall. She froze as Smaug opened an eye and blinked. He rose quickly to his full height, scales rippling.
"Well, thief. Come in, there is more than plenty here. " Smaug hissed. "I know you are there. I smell your air, and I hear your breath. "
Bella gulped. "I-I.. I did not come here to steal, O Smaug. I came here merely to see if you were as magnificent as the old tales say. I.... I must say I did not believe them. "
"You are not a dwarf, and yet you stink of them. Where are they? " the dragon observed, following his question with another. "Who are you? "
"Dwarves? No, no dwarves here. "
She jumped at a hiss from the dragon. "Do not try to fool me, Thief. I know the smell, and taste, of dwarf. No one knows better than me. "
Bella stuck her chin out stubbornly. "And as for who I am, that is for myself to tell. I am she that walks unseen, I am Ringwinner, and Luckwearer, and I am Sister to the youngest. I quarter my friends alive, and drown them, and draw them alive again from the water. I am the guest of eagles and the friend of bears. "
"Those are all very nice titles, but they do not do you much good. "
This of course, is the proper way to talk to a dragon. Outright refusing your name would anger them, and telling them would be quite stupid. Riddles, however, would keep the dragon from becoming angered and at bay.
"I came from the end of a bag, but no bag went over me. I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths have lead. " she said, finishing with a smile. "I am Barrelrider, and I am Beloved. "
Smaug sneered and swung his head back and forth to sniff for the hobbit. Bella, in fiddling with the Ring, found that it had slipped onto her finger. "Where are the dwarves, Thief in the Shadows? Where is he? " her breath hitched. Thorin. "I know Oakenshield is here, I know he is here to steal my treasure. "
"We did not come so far only for gold and riches, oh no. Surely you must realise that your great wealth and your... actions have made you many enemies. We came here for revenge, O Smaug. "
"It matters not. Even if you and your dwarves manage to defeat me, which is impossible with my coat of gems, they will still fall. " the dragon crooned, rolling sideways to display his underside. He was covered in gems and jewels of all sorts. The light sparkled off of his belly, but not in one place. Near the left side Bella spotted a dark spot.
The old fool! He'd left a vulnerable part of his body exposed, a spot that could lead to his downfall. There. She'd found out what she needed and now it was time to get out of there.
When she turned away to head back up the tunnel, Smaug spoke once again. And what he said chilled her to the bone.
"Your beloved dwarves will fall. This gold is, and always has been, cursed. It was before, when Thror fell prey to it. That it what brought me here. His greed was his undoing. Thorin Oakenshield will succumb to the same illness, and he will fall. "
She blanched deathly pale. "No. T-That's not true. "
"But it is true, Thief. He will love the gold in this Mountain more than anything else. He does not really love you, but you fulfill a purpose for now, so he pretends. Once you have reclaimed this Mountain, he will fall. The riches in Erebor are everything, and you.... will be nothing in his eyes. Watch the gold take over his life, watch it drive him mad. Watch him slowly
Bella stumbled backwards, recoiling. No. Smaug was wrong. Thorin was stronger than that.... Wasn't he?
"W-Well, I should get going now and let you rest. Ponies take some catching I believe. " she said, and then as an afterthought, "As do burglars. "
That last remark was rather unfortunate, Smaug blowing fire up the passageway behind her. The backs of her feet were singed, and her scalp received a nasty burn. When she collapsed into the alcove where the Company was hiding, Kili wrapped his arms around her and held her tight to his chest.
"It's alright, sister. " he murmured, running his hand through her hair. "You're alright. "
Oin rushed up with Ori just behind carrying the healer's materials. Fili took one look at the hobbit standing limp in his brother's arms before running up the passage.
"Ye alright lassie? " Oin asked. She nodded, leaning against Kili's chest. The burn on the back of her head was more serious than it appeared. She felt incredibly faint, and things seemed to swarm in her vision.
Thorin arrived just as Oin was finishing wrapping up Bella's head. He took her into his arms, Kili stepping back. The other dwarves seemed to back away and begin in their own conversations.
"Thrrin.... " she slurred.
She was just drifting off to sleep when Smaug's words filled her head. Looking up, she noticed Thorin watching her with a tired look on his face.
He smiled softly. "What is bothering you, my dear Ghivashel? "
"Nothing. I'm fine. "
The Dwarven king raised an eyebrow in suspicion, but said nothing. He kissed Bella lightly on her forehead, leaning back. The hobbit snuggled into his chest.
However, sleep did not come easy for the young hobbit lass that night. She'd decided that she wouldn't share Smaug's words with Thorin. They were just empty threats, and they'd never become true. They wouldn't, she just couldn't believe Thorin would ever fall. She just couldn't.
Bella Baggins just felt like telling Thorin everything so that he could comfort her and convince her it wasn't real. But she couldn't.
Sometimes, the hardest thing to do is to keep secrets from those that love you the most.