"What?" I asked, immediately going for the dumb card even though he already knew. It was no use.

Gandalf merely chuckled and shook his head. "I may be an old man, Freya, but I can tell when someone is lying to me. Don't worry, your secret is safe with me."

I clenched my jaw and when he began to walk ahead of me, I grabbed his forearm and said, "Wait."

He glanced back at me. "Yes?"

"Please. Don't say anything of it to anyone. No one. Dwalin knows only because he witnessed it. But if the rest of the Dwarves find out...if Thorin finds out...listen. I did something in the mountain that day that Smaug came. I...I made a deal with him. That if I let him have the gold, he'd stop killing, stop burning, and stop eating. He called me a Dracari and then before I knew it, the deal was made and he was in that pile of gold. Gandalf, it's my fault that the Mountain was taken."

He looked down at me and suddenly had a soft expression on his face. "Freya, your secret is safe with me and I promise to keep it to myself as the sun promises to return to the sky every morning."

A flood of relief washed over and me and I let out a shaky breath. "Th-Thank you." I merely replied.

I followed him farther along the road until we reached a more settled area of the Shire. More and more hobbits waked back and forth. Tiny hobbit children ran in front of us, laughing and chasing one another.

A few of the children stared at us as we passed, and a few of the adults were glaring at us suspiciously.

I followed behind the wizard a small distance and fiddled with the leather cuff strapped to my left forearm. Kili had made it for me three years ago, insisting I learn how to shoot a bow because it could come in handy and that I'd need it to protect my arm. He was funny like that.

We came to a hill and I trudged up the path to find the hobbit sitting on a bench outside of his home. He wore brown pants and had a green vest over a yellow shirt. He seemed perfectly content until Gandalf stood directly in front of him. I paused a few yards away from them.

The hobbit wrinkled his nose and squinted up at the wizard and said, "Good morning."

"What do you mean?" Gandalf asked as he leaned on his staff.

I raised an eyebrow and the hobbit seemed just as confused because he asked, "I beg your pardon?"

"What do you mean? Do you mean to wish me a good morning or that it is a morning to be good on? Or that it is a good morning whether I want it to be or not. Or do you mean to say that you feel good on this particular morning, or are you simply stating that this is a morning to be good on?"

What in Durin's name did he just say?

The hobbit looked a bit startled and replied, "Well, um, all of them at once, I suppose." The hobbit replied frankly, staring up at the wizard with a raised eyebrow. He looked as if he was going to get up and walk away when he stopped and looked at him again and asked, "Can I help you?"

"Hmmm. That remains to be seen." Gandalf said ominously. "I am looking for someone to share in an adventure."

The hobbit looked up at him and said, "Well, I can't imagine anyone west of Bree having any interest in adventures." He replied scathingly as he stood up, pipe hanging from the corner of his mouth as he took another long pull. "Nasty things. Make you late for dinner." He said a bit tersely and waddled over to his mailbox, puffing away on his pipe as he flipped through the few letters that were inside.

He closed the box, smiled a bit awkwardly at Gandalf, then said, "Alright. Well. Good morning."

He then turned to make it to the door when Gandalf stopped him. "To think that I have lived this long to be 'good morninged' by Belladonna Took's son as if I was selling buttons at the door."

He took a few steps to stop in front of the hobbit who had started to make his way up the stone path to his front door.

I smirked and crossed my arms, finding the exchange rather comical.

"I beg your pardon?" The hobbit demanded.

"You've changed, Bilbo Baggins, and not entirely for the better." Gandalf day's matter-of-factly.

The hobbit- Bilbo- seemed a bit shocked at the accusation and asked, "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

"You know my name, but may not remember that I belong to it. My name is Gandalf, and Gandalf means, well, me."

"Ohhhhh." Bilbo said, eyebrows raising. "You're Gandalf that wandering wizard that puts on such marvelous fireworks shows! Old Man Took always had you perform on New Year's Eve. I had no idea you were still in business." Bilbo said as he pulled on his pipe.

I snorted and looked away when Gandalf gave me a disapproving look. "Well, where else should I be?"

Bilbo seemed to notice me for the first time and asked, "And who are you, might I ask?"

Before I could reply, Gandalf butt in, "That is my dear friend Freya. And she shall inform the other's at once that you will do it. It might just do you some good. It might not be very enjoyable for you, but it will be most amusing for me."

Gandalf began to make his way towards me, all the while Bilbo was shaking his head. "Ah, no. I will not be having anyone else here. It was good to see and meet you, but I will not have anyone else here! Good morning."

He then closed the door to his hobbit hole with a decisive slam.

Gandalf chuckled, muttering something about silly hobbits, then looked to me.

"You go on ahead, Freya. You are much faster than I am and I must do a few things myself." Gandalf said and rested a hand on my shoulder. "Tell then to come tomorrow for afternoon tea. Four o'clock, I think is a safe time estimate. Tell them to bring all they will need, for we leave for Erebor the day after tomorrow. I will have marked the door with a glowing rune."

He must have seen my wary expression because he gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze and said, "There is no need to be afraid. You saved your people. Imagine how many more deaths could have been caused had you not stood up? We now go to reclaim it, and you can tell that beast to get out, right?"

"I...I guess so." I mumbled, rubbing at my arms.

"There now, Freya. Go to them. And tell them of our plan. I shall meet you for tea tomorrow."

I nodded and turned away from him and made my way back down that path, knowing Gandalf was probably right- that I did do the right thing in saving so many lives.

But would Thorin and the others think I did the right thing? Giving away their home so easily?

*****

I didn't reach the camp we had set up until just after nightfall. As I approached, I saw that Bombur was on watch. He sat- well, slouched- on a tree stump and held an axe tightly.

"Hello, Bombur." I say and he looks a bit surprised to see me because he nearly fell off the stump. I smiled at him and he got to his feet and said,

"Oh, hello, Freya! It is so very good to see you back. When you didn't come back with Thorin, Dwalin was pretty worried even if he would never admit it."

I felt my cheeks heat a little and I asked, "Where is he?"

He beamed at home and replied, "With Kili and Fili gathering firewood. I trust you have important information for Thorin?" He asked, sticking his thumbs through his suspenders, resting the axe on the stump.

"Actually, I have news for all of us."

"News, lass?" A voice called out suddenly and a dwarf appeared . Bofur grinned widely. "Don't tell me- I want to be surprised. But is it gonna be some sort of food that isn't this dried pork and hard cheese?"

Bombur seemed to start drooling at the mention of food, and I laughed a little and clapped him on the shoulder. "Are you sure you don't want me to tell you?"

"I...well....I suppose you can choose if you want to or not, lass." Bofur replied with a little shrug.

I pulled his flapped hat down over his eyes and said, "Yes, there will be lots of fresh food."

They seemed very pleased about this, then Bofur called, "Hey, lads! Freya's back!"

Bofur grabbed my arm and pulled me into the ring of tents as their flaps parted and Dwarves came out of them, Thorin at their head. They were all grinning and looking at me expectantly.

"Freya. I am glad you are back. Tell me, what is it that Gandalf wants to tell us?" Thorin asked.

Unsure if he had told the Dwarves about the mountain, I merely said, "We have found our burglar and his name is Bilbo Baggins. He lives on the top of a hill in a section of the Shire known as Bagend. Gandalf has marked the door with a glowing rune."

Whispers of excitement came from the assembled thirteen Dwarves and Thorin nodded.

"Very well. And what time are we meeting?"

"We all must get there for afternoon tea at four o'clock. Come in groups of two or three only. We don't want to bring too much attention to ourselves."
I say with a nod.

Thorin nods and rests his hands on my shoulders and squeezes them. "Good." He merely says.

I couldn't help but smile. Thorin Oakenshield was a dwarf of few words, but the words he did speak carried much weight. And his feelings of pride for me were enough for me.

Thorin turned from me and pumped his fist into the air. "We will take back Erebor! We will take back our home!"

The Dwarves cheered and I cheered with them.

The others all began talking amongst themselves and a few returned to their tents, Thorin being one of them.

I turned around and almost walked right into Dwalin. I looked up at him and he smiled softly.

"You look as if you need to talk about something, lass." He said gently and rested a hand on my shoulder.

I nodded slowly, always at a loss for words about how he knew. He always knew. "Not here, though."

He seemed to understand and merely moved his hand down my arm to take my hand as he lead me off to the woods. He didn't speak for quite some time, and when he did, we were in the woods.

"Are you ok?"

I stopped walking and just let him hold my hand as I told him everything. I told him about the assassins and what they said, and what Gandalf told me about Dracari and dragons. I just told him everything.

"I know these powers are a good thing. I can use them to drive Smaug out. Control him and bend his will to me and to work for us, but...they also scare me. I was able to save the people of Erebor, but at what cost? I have that dragon the wealth of thousands of years in the making. Wealth that had been praised for centuries. Just gave it away without a second thought. And now we are sending a hobbit to fix my mess and-"

"Freya." Dwalin said and squeezed my hand tightly. his voice stopped me and I looked up at him and he took my face in his hands and asked,

"Did you call that dragon to us?"

"No, but-"

"Did you make him kill and eat those people?"

"I...no." I relented.

"Did you make him attack Dale?"

"No."

"No. That's right. This is not your fault. We caught him nearly at the door to Erebor. If he had gotten any further, the war with Azog would have been nothing compared to the death toll that would have been counted. You saved us, Freya. You saved us. And if Thorin finds out and can't see that you did, he's a damned fool."

His thumbs rubbed against my cheekbones and I just stepped forward and hugged him tightly around his waist, my face buried in his chest.

He merely rested a hand on the back of my head and I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I would need him on this journey.