A Sword and A Shield [The Hobbit X OC]

3 - A Map, a Key, and a Contract

There was a long silence. Then the dwarves all scrambled into motion, moving into the hallway and practically assembling in the archways before the front door. I awkwardly took a place beside the wizard.

Gandalf approached the door, pulling it wide with a faint creak.

There stood the final member of the company, the thirteenth dwarf, the leader. One of the most well-known dwarves in Middle-Earth. Son of Thrain, son of Thror. The true King Under the Mountain, not that fire-breathing reptilian currently holding the title.

He was majestic, his face was what you might've called the border between handsome and rugged. He had long black hair with stripes of white at his temples, and a short beard. Though he was at least two feet shorter than myself, he was taller than the other dwarves by a decent margin.

I had no doubt in my mind about who I was seeing because it wasn't the first time.

"Gandalf, I thought you said this place would be easy to find," the dwarf greeted, favouring the wizard with a slight smile as he stepped over the threshold. His deep voice reverberated in my ears. "I lost my way—twice." He plucked at the fastenings on his cloak. "I wouldn't have found it at all had it not been for that mark on the door." He saw me, but only caught a slight glimpse before greeting the others.

"Mark? There's no mark on that door. It was painted a week ago!" Bilbo yelled, coming to the door to check for himself.

"There is a mark. I put it there myself," Gandalf replied as he closed the door before the hobbit could see. "Bilbo Baggins, allow me to introduce the leader of our company, Thorin Oakenshield."

Thorin pushed his cloak to Kili before approaching Bilbo. "So, this is the hobbit." Thorin folded his arms and looked down at the hobbit Gandalf so strongly suggested would be essential to the success of the company. He circled Bilbo to get a good look at him, finding an extreme lack of potential. "Tell me, Master Baggins. Have you done much fighting?"

"Pardon me?" Bilbo asked, sounding perturbed.

"Axe or sword? What's your weapon of choice?"

"Well, I do have some skill at conkers, if you must know. I fail to see why that's...relevant."

"I thought as much." He turned back to the other dwarves with a smirk. "He looks more like a grocer than a burglar."

They all laughed.

"And what about the—"

"Right here," Gandalf interrupted, stepping to the side to put me in Thorin's line of sight.

Thorin was clearly surprised to see me, but the lack of extreme annoyance meant he didn't deduce me to be an elf right away; simply, at that moment, I was only a human. "Who are you?" he asked.

"Thorin, allow me to introduce the fifteenth member of the company. This is Lady Rosalia."

It's Rose! I shot Gandalf a glare, and greeted Thorin with a not-so-confident nod. "At your service."

Thorin did not look impressed, not in the slightest. "Gandalf, if this is a joke, I find nothing funny about it. I can move past the halfling, but you failed to mention that your proposed adviser was a woman."

I stared at him with an unmistakable challenge in my eyes, the hint of a smile on my face. "Is that a problem, dwarf?"

"We shall have to see." He stepped forward to look me up and down. I could've handled Dwalin's angry countenance anytime, anywhere; his intimidating face didn't hold a candle to Thorin's scowl. He never broke his gaze from my green-eyed stare. "Have you traveled?"