A Sword and A Shield [The Hobbit X OC]

2 - An Unexpected Party

The next morning, I stirred to the crowing of a rooster. It snapped me out of my trance.

Admiring the quiet room, I sighed and unwillingly slipped out of bed. The floorboards felt cold underneath the soles of my feet. I stumbled over to the window and pulled back the curtains to reveal the morning light. Unlike the night before, the streets were filled with smiling merchants and all-too-happy simple folk.

"It's just another job," I told myself, dreading my ride up north into hobbit lands.

I turned away from the calming view to get dressed.

But even before I could pick up my clothes from the floor, I spotted the paper package over on the table. It taunted me, begged me to open it. My wandering eyes moved over the string and brown paper, studying the creases in the wrapping.

"I wonder what colors he picked," I inquired to myself.

My interest now piqued, I tore the packaging to shreds.

A dark blue tunic sat on top of the neatly folded pile. Next, a black coat with gold sleeves. They were accompanied by leather trousers, boots, gloves, and a breastplate with a harness for my weapon collection.

"You and your first impressions, Gandalf," I laughed, grinning from ear to ear like a child.

I hurriedly brought the tunic before a mirror and held it up to my chest. While admiring the fabric, it took me a moment before I noticed my reflection's frizzled brown hair. I decided to fix that before anything else.

Within minutes, my neatly-brushed hair fell all around my back and shoulders. I braided my bangs, circling around the sides of my head and coming together in the back.

Satisfied with my fancy head of hair, I turned back to my main objective for the morning: getting dressed.

After sliding into my smock, the brand new tunic replaced the old, tattered one. The breastplate slipped over my body next, followed by my coat. Everything settled around my curves. The leather trousers fit my long legs comfortably, providing enough room to run, jump, stretch, and whatever other acrobatic feats I would perform; my feet settled into the boots just as well.

Next: my weapons.

I set them all on the bed before arranging them on my new person.

My main weapon will always be a sword, a longsword crafted by blacksmiths in Rohan; the job certainly wasn't cheap. It possessed a grey hilt with patterns etched into the metal handle and pommel modeled after the head of a horse. Old and nearing the end of its prime, but still very useful. I secured it to my new belt.

Then I had my longbow made of wood from a Mallorn tree, alongside a quiver of arrows. I fastened both to the back of the breastplate.

Besides the bow and quiver, there was my golden hammer. Sure, it wasn't the style of a slim, young lady to use such a weapon, but this particular weapon was specially crafted by dwarves, received as a gift a millennia ago. It comes in handy when I need to smash something to bits.

Lastly, a set of twin daggers I stuffed in my boots for whenever I might need them.

A feminine yet fierce warrior stood before me in the mirror. She looked ready for another adventure that hopefully involved cutting down an orc or five. She spun around once, watching the bottom of the tunic flutter before settling at her knees. A test swing of the sword, a pose with the bow, the new clothes moved in perfect sync with her movements.

"Thank you, Gandalf," I muttered.

While collecting the paper shreds, I discovered one last piece of cloth in the package: a hooded fur cloak. I held it in the air, letting the ends fall to the floor. It was beautifully made, tracing the silver patterns with my fingers. I threw the cloak over my shoulders and fastened it around my neck, falling in love with its warmth.