Returning Home: A Hobbit Fanfiction

Chapter 16 - Two Worlds, One Family

 ~~Elena~~

The rest of the day passed fairly quietly - too quietly, when it came to the suspicious absence of Fíli and Kíli with the elf twins, but Celia and Elena spent the day exploring, and Elena sketched several beautiful spots in the elf haven that she wanted to remember later on. Bilbo was also absent for most of the day, but as the girls assumed he was in the library with Ori, they made no comment upon it. 

That evening, however, was anything but quiet. They had joined the rest of the Company, who were using a chair to make a fire in the middle of the room to roast some sausages.

Nori swaggered up to Bilbo. "So, Mister Baggins, did you meet the terms of our wager, or do you owe me some coins?" 

Elena looked up at the thief curiously. "You had a bet with Uncle Bilbo? What about?" 

He smirked at her. "I'll tell you all about it in a minute, Lady Elena. I want to count my winnings first." 

Bilbo looked up at him innocently. "And what might those winnings be, Master Nori?" 

A few of the other dwarves were interested by now, including Dwalin, who was keeping an eye on the situation, while still enjoying some hot meat. The boys, still maintaining an innocent silent that no one fell for, also looked intrigued. 

"Oh, you know, the bet concerning how good you are at actually being the Company burglar.  Seeing if you were really as good at sneaking as you and Gandalf seem to think you are." 

Dwalin was by now looking very interested in the conversation. 

Bilbo, struggling to keep his face calm, but a definite look of mischief and triumph in his eyes, said calmly, "How about I show you what I got, and you tell me if I pass or not." 

"Deal." Nori said immediately, grinning. "Prepare to pay up."

Bilbo shrugged. "First, since everyone is watching, would you remind me of the terms? Just so everyone knows what's going on." 

Nori shrugged. "All right." He turned to the others, most of whom were now very intrigued. "Mister Baggins and I had a little bet. He had to prove he was able to follow Dwalin around all day without being caught, and get something from him to prove it." The guardsman jerked suddenly, looking very startled. "And if he got something, I owed him fifteen silver coins, and an admission that he was better than I thought he'd be." 

"You look very unconcerned," Celia remarked, watching him, a sly grin on her face. 

"Why should I be?" Nori asked. 

Bilbo shrugged, pulling a small bag out of his pocket. "I don't know. Does this mean anything to you?" Nori's eyes immediately widened, while Dwalin suddenly started laughing, getting up and clapping Bilbo on the back, almost sending him sprawling. 

"Ha ha, you did it, Burglar. I didn't know if you could, but you did, and I'll admit it!" 

Celia wrinkled her brow and leaned over to her sister. "What's he talking about?" Elena frowned and shrugged her shoulders. 

"I made a bet with Mister Baggins that he wouldn't be able to steal something from Nori, in exchange for some coins as well," the warrior explained. "But, he proved me wrong, and I'll admit it." 

"I proved Nori wrong too," Bilbo spoke up suddenly, holding up another bag. "I thought about taking something from his bag, but that would be a violation of his privacy, and besides. It's still fairly stuck together from whatever Fíli and Kíli covered it with earlier." Dwalin paused from his contemplation of his money bag in Bilbo's hand to glare at the two brothers, who smiled guiltily, edging slightly away out of his reach.