Fool for u

Quests, bargains and contracts

The dwarves gathered in the hall as Gandalf went to answer the door. Bilbo trailed behind him like a lost puppy, having no clue of who it could be this time. Honestly, he thought the twelve in his house were all there was.

Periwinkle was sandwiched between Kili and Bofur, also waiting to see who the latecomer was. Both of them could not be more thrilled. Kili had yet to stop grinning up at her every two seconds with eyes full of mischief, while Bofur could not stop smiling in general.

At last, the wizard opened the door.
Another dwarf stood on the front porch. He turned his head towards the wizard and greeted him with a soft smile, “Gandalf. I thought you said this place would be easy to find. I lost my way, twice. Wouldn’t have found it at all had it not been for that mark on the door.”

Ah, yes. The mark on the door. Periwinkle completely forgot to ask Bilbo about it. Although, by the looks on the hobbit's face, he, too, had no idea what the new dwarf was talking about, “Mark? There’s no mark on that door. It was painted a week ago!”

Perhaps it was a good thing she did not ask him, though.

The new dwarf entered the house gracefully with an air of authority following him. He undid his cloak and greeted each dwarf with a warm smile.

“There is a mark; I put it there myself.” Gandalf swore and made Bilbo face the latecomer, “Bilbo Baggins, allow me to introduce the leader of our company, Thorin Oakenshield.”

That would explain the air of authority, then.

Periwinkle noticed the way this dwarf, Thorin Oakenshield, approached her friend, circling him as if he was inspecting him like some show-animal, “So, this is the Hobbit. Tell me, Mister Baggins, have you done much fighting?”

Bilbo blinked, “Pardon me?”

“Axe or sword? What’s your weapon of choice?”

This was going to get awkward really soon, Periwinkle realized once she heard the question. If Bilbo Baggins had a weapon of choice, it’d be a quill, maybe a book so he could chuck it at the heads of his enemies - if he could even hit the target.

Bilbo could not hurt a fly, and that was one of the many reasons why she liked him. He could curse as much as he wants at the things that made him angry, but at the end of the day, he’d feel bad about it. Truly a gentle soul.

“Well, I have some skill at Conkers, if you must know.” Bilbo bragged but then wondered about the strange question, “But I fail to see why that’s relevant.”

Thorin smirked and glanced at his kin, “Thought as much. He looks more like a grocer than a burglar.”

The dwarves chuckled at his little joke. One look at her friend, Periwinkle noticed him a bit taken back. Her smile faltered a bit. Sure, Bilbo was not the most adventurous and spontaneous Hobbit out there, but he had other good qualities other than fighting - he could make a terrific pumpkin pie, he was smart, respectable and always true to his word. Was that not enough?

While lost in thought, she failed to notice the leader’s eyes on her. Thorin had finally detected her presence among his kin and grew suspicious of her, “And who might you be?”

Once she realized he was talking to her, Periwinkle straightened up and stepped out from behind Kili, “Periwinkle. I’m a friend of Bilbo’s.” His eyes passed her as if she was a piece of furniture, deeming her unimportant. She huffed at his rudeness and said a bit louder for the whole Bag End to hear, “Sword. That’s my weapon of choice, just in case you were planning on asking me as well.”

Some of the dwarves lowered their heads to hide the grins on their faces. Some stared at her in bafflement. Two thoughts ran through their heads; she stood up to Thorin, and ‘this lass knows how to handle a sword?’