Chapter Text
When Ori had flown into the room, looking as pale as a ghost, Dwalin started to rise his hand instinctively heading for Grasper when Dis yanked him back into his seat. He frowned at her and she scowled at him while making a shushing motion, however he was distracted when Ori blurted, "We need to talk."
Wondering what in the world had gone wrong now, they'd been up all night dealing with the fall out from the tavern brawl, Dwalin could see his weariness echoed on the king's face as he told Ori to close the door and motioned for him to take a seat. The head scribe was visibly pale, twisting his tunic him anxiously as he perched on the edge of the seat. When he didn't speak, Thorin asked tiredly, "What is it, Ori?"
Ori took a deep breath, carefully squaring his shoulders and gathering his thoughts before replying, "Nori informed me this morning that my and Bombur's apprentices got caught up in the brawl, so I bailed them out this morning. Oddly enough, it took forever. The lads had clearly not been involved in the brawl, there wasn't a mark on them. But they kept asking all sorts of odd questions, like if they had ever been prone to flights of fancy or things like that."
Dis sat straighter at that and bristled slightly. The dam had a soft spot for young scamps and those two particular lads had reminded her of her two when they were younger, not only that, but they were good lads even with their mischievous streak. It was Dwalin's turn to give her a warning look, knowing if they distracted Ori now if would take the scribe a bit to regain his trail of thought. Dis scowled but sat back, crossing her arms across her chest, her eyes narrowed.
Thorin sighed, "Surely they released the lads to you, you don't need a writ from me to get two apprentices out of trouble?"
Ori rolled his eyes, "Of course I didn't need your help, Balin trained me, as you well know. It took some time to get them out of there, but they didn't get any solid answers from me and then we were let go without further incident. However, I don't know if that would've been the case if I hadn't been part of the company. After we got out of there, I sent Kor off to Bombur and pulled Bin aside to hear his explanation. What he said, troubled me."
He twisted abruptly in his seat so that he was facing the other two, "Dwalin, are there any dams currently being held?"
Dwalin didn't even have to think about it, shaking his head before Ori even finished speaking, "None. There have been a couple of dwarves in and out on petty offenses and that one murderer several months back before he was executed, but the cells have otherwise been fairly empty before last night. Why?"
Ori's expression turned troubled and he shifted enough so that he could see all three of them. "I was afraid that you were going to say that." He took a deep breath, "You see, because they weren't fighting, they were shuffled of to an unused section of the dungeon because the cells were full. Bin swears up and down that there was another prisoner down there. He said that there were no torches or anything to indicate that there were any other prisoners there, but there was."
Thorin said impatiently, "Of course there was a prisoner, it's a dungeon."
Ori gave him a small grin but it quickly fell away, "That's what I said too. However, he insisted that it was different, that the prisoner was a dam. I didn't believe him at first, but he said that she refused to give them her name and didn't say why she was imprisoned. That her Khuzdul was odd, some parts antiquated or put together oddly. That she sang a song that didn't sound dwarven, although she sang dwarven songs as well. But that wasn't what convinced him."
A sick feeling gnawing at the pit of his stomach, Dwalin forced out, "Convinced him of what?"
Ori's face lost what little color it had regained, "I know that I've told him the stories of the quest hundreds of times, that we've all shared stories, repeatedly. Well, she told them a story that he recognized. One about stone giants and a thunder battle."
Dwalin shot to his feet, his chair thudding to the ground behind him. He had just reached the door when Dis barked, "Dwalin!"
He froze, his hand on the knob and turned to her with a growl, "What?"
She stood and said firmly, "I'm going with you. If it isn't Bella, having another dam there might put her at ease. And if it is Bella, I can guard your back." She turned and barked at Thorin, "I don't care what pompous prats we might offend, gather all of the company together. We'll be back with news one way or the other shortly."
Nodding to both Ori and Thorin, she turned and swept out of the room after Dwalin. Thorin's face was a mix of horror and hope and Ori knew that his probably wasn't much better. Climbing to his feet, Ori muttered, "I'll go bring the others. Our usual room. I'll have Bombur bring a full meal too. Bin said that she was much too thin."
Thorin nodded, seeming to finally unfreeze, "I'll fetch Balin, Kili, Fili, and Oin, you get the rest."
Ori nodded respectfully to him and they both hurried off to their tasks.
* * *
Dis hurried after Dwalin, barely noticing the two guards that fell in behind her. Was it possible? Had the hobbit lass been here in Erebor the whole time right under their noses? It was an unbearable thought, but one she had to shove aside for the moment. Instead, she caught up with Dwalin and fell in step with him. He wasn't running because he knew that it might incite panic in the mountain, but he was moving at a rapid clip. Dis marveled at his self restraint, because if there had even been a tiny chance that Vili was alive, she would've torn heaven and earth apart to get to him.
She didn't bother trying to speak with him, knowing that he was so focused that he wouldn't hear a word that she spoke any way. That was all right. She was here to simply guard his back. If Bella had been hidden away even after it was made widely known that she wasn't exiled and that they were searching for her desperately, then there was something rotten in Erebor and she was going to get to the bottom of it. Personally.
They had nearly reached the prison level when Erebor gave an single insistent chime, demanding their attention. They froze and listened intently, wondering what Erebor was going to tell them. However, moments later, the sound of a woman singing reached their ears. Dwalin froze for mere seconds before giving an agonized roar and tearing off like a balrog was on his tail.
Her anger increased tenfold, she told her guards, "Find Lern and bring him to the company chamber immediately." They hesitated and she roared, "Now!"
They bowed to her and hurried off. Satisfied that they would indeed find the guard captain, she hastily followed the sound of singing. Even though she couldn't make out the words clearly, she had to admit that the voice was very pretty.
* * *
Bella allowed the last note to die and slumped tiredly against the wall. However, adrenaline abruptly crashed through her veins when the sound of pounding footsteps reached her ears as well as a loud roar of what sounded like her name. Certain that her mind was playing tricks on her, she pushed cautiously to her knees, peeking out into the hallway to see if she could see where the commotion was coming from.
To her shock, a dwarf came tearing down the corridor, peering frantically in every cell as he passed. And not just any dwarf, oh no, but the one that she had wanted to see for so long now. Her mind had definitely given out on her. When he reached her cell and looked inside, he froze, his hands coming out and grasping the bars of the door tightly. But even though his body was perfectly still, his eyes were burning with emotions, fear, longing, hope, disbelief, and so many more that she couldn't possibly decipher all of them.
Sucking in a breath, she couldn't make her suddenly nerveless body work as his name slipped unbidden from her lips, "Dwalin...."
As soft as the word had been, he seemed to hear it clearly and it goaded him into action. His muscles bulging and a vein in his forehead pulsing, he roared as he literally ripped the cell door off and threw it down the hall, anger burning on his face. Before she could do more than blink from shock, he was there kneeling in front of her, looking like he had seen a ghost. He started to reach for her, only to abort the movement when she flinched slightly. His eyes swept over her as he said hoarsely, "Bella...."
Desperately praying that this was real and not just some sort of fever dream, she scraped together all of her courage and reached out with a shaking hand to nudge his face up so that their eyes could meet. When his dark eyes met hers, they were free of the hatred and haze that she'd seen the last time that they'd spoken. The gold madness was gone. With a heartbroken cry, she launched herself into his arms, burying her face in the crook of his neck, weeping helplessly even as she quietly, brokenly sobbed his name.
He froze for only a second before gently crushing her to him, burying his face in her hair and allowing his own tears to fall. The hot drops hitting her scalp only reinforced that it was real and Bella sobbed even harder. He just cradled her gently, murmuring soft, soothing words that she couldn't understand through her sobs. His scent surrounded her and comforted her, his scent and presence has always meant safety to her and all of their time apart hadn't changed that.
Gradually, her sobs started tapering off and she cuddled closer to him, savoring his body heat. She's forgotten how warm dwarves were and it was wonderful after months of being in a cold cell. He seemed to understand what she was doing and tucked her even closer, murmuring, "Mahal, Bella, your skin is like ice!"
That surprised a small chuckle out of her and it made the tension in his body ease ever so slightly. Although she had stopped crying, she kept her face buried in the crook of his neck, trying to work up the courage to actually face him. That was when someone cleared their throat delicately. Bella's head shot up at that and her head almost hit Dwalin's, only his long years of training managing to save both of them some pain.
A dam was standing there, guarding the doorway, an apologetic expression on her face, "I'm sorry to interrupt this, but we really need to get her somewhere warmer and safer. She's gotta be freezing in those thin clothes."
Bella studied her carefully before saying hoarsely, "You must be Lady Dis, you look like your boys." Bella offered her a small smile, "Or rather, I guess, they look like you."
Dis smiled at that and offered her a hand to help her to her feet. Bella reluctantly took it and allowed Dis to pull her to her feet. As soon as she was standing, Dwalin shot to his feet, shedding weapons right and left. Bella stared at him wide eyed, wondering what in the world had come over him. However, when he started pulling of his tunic, she hissed, "Dwalin!"
Dis laughed at that, "Don't worry, he hasn't lost his mind."
Dwalin pulled off his heavy over tunic and offered it shyly to her, "Just until we can find you some proper clothes, lass."
Suddenly aware of how worn her clothes truly were, she squeaked and snatched the tunic, hastily tugging it over her head. By the time she had gotten it properly sorted out, with a little bit of assistance from Dis, Dwalin was strapping on his axe harness again, all of his other weapons already neatly replaced. His tunic was obviously too large, but it covered all the important bits and it was much more modest than her other garments.
His hand twitched like he wanted to pull her back into his arms, but he restrained himself. Instead he asked quietly, "Are you strong enough to walk? I can carry you if you're not. But Dis is right, we need to get you somewhere safe."
Bella whispered, "You mean, I'm actually getting out of this cell."
His hands curled into fists but his voice was level, "Yes, never again, I swear by Mahal!"
Inhaling shakily, Bella lifted her chin, "I'm strong enough but I would crawl if I had to."
He carefully held out his hand to her, making sure not to move too fast. Bella studied his hand before looking up and carefully studying his eyes and expression. She wondered if they really held what she thought they were promising her, but found that she didn't have the courage to actually voice the thought. Instead, she silently slide her hand into his.
His hand tightened gently but firmly on hers, almost as if he was having as much trouble believe that this wasn't a dream as she was. He led her slowly, his eyes missing nothing as he carefully assessed her physical state. She froze at the open door, this had been the edge of her world for so long now. Erebor chose that moment to chime encouragingly, like a mother duck urging her duckling to swim for the first time.
Rolling her eyes, cheeky mountain, Bella nonetheless managed to step through the door, letting out a relived sigh when nothing bad happened. Instead, she simply settled her hand more fully into Dwalin's and offered him a small smile. He nodded grimly but his hand was gentle on hers and he led her slowly enough that she wasn't running to keep up but briskly enough that it indicated that he trusted her to know her own limits.
Bella hissed when they reached a more brightly lit portion of the mountain. Dwalin immediately pulled her closer, looking around for any threats. She muttered, "It's just a little bright here. My eyes will adjust, just give me a second."
She forced her eyes open, ignoring the way that they watered and stung. Finally, after several long moments, she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and said firmly, "All right, I'm good. Let's go."
Doubt crossed Dwalin's face for a second before he pushed it away and kept moving. As they made their way through Erebor, it was all Bella could do not to gape at her surroundings. When she had last seen Erebor, it had been dusty and cold, filled with the stale scent of dragon. Now it was so vividly alive that it almost hurt to see, people bustling about on their various errands. She ignored the people gaping at her and all the hushed whispers about the princess and the guard captain escorting a stranger through Erebor. They weren't important and Erebor was sending a soft thrumming through her feet to reassure her as she walked.
In less time than she thought it would, they reached an area where there were very few people and she knew that it must be the royal wing of Erebor or whatever it might be called. Uncertainty churned in her gut and she found her steps slowing. Just because Dwalin had rescued her didn't mean that the others were suddenly all right. And what about Thorin? She wasn't ready for this, any of this.
Dis noticed her lagging and said encouragingly, "Just a bit further and you can sit and rest, I promise."
Bella just looked at her, her eyes filled with fear and uncertainty. Seeming to realize what was troubling her, Dis moved next of her and said softly enough that Dwalin couldn't hear even though he was standing right next to her, "It's going to be all right. They've been searching for you for a long time now. They want you home, where you belong."
Reassurance filled her at Dis's words, easing the vice grip that fear had on her, although she couldn't decide if Dis meant the Shire or Erebor when she said home. Putting it aside as unimportant for the moment, Bella focused on her surroundings and studied them closely so that her mind was occupied instead of running around in circles. As they made their way down a long corridor, Bella could hear the low murmur of agitated voices and suddenly had to swallow hard to try and force down the lump that had risen in her throat. She knew those voice, had grown accustomed to the over months of traveling together. Would they still hate her for her actions?
While she was temporarily lost in her thoughts, she missed Dis moving ahead of them and opening the door. Before Bella was ready, they were there at the door and stepping inside. She froze just inside the door, staring in shock at twelve faces who were staring back at her in just as much of shock as she was. Drawing reassurance from Dwalin's warm grip, she carefully studied their faces, looking for any sign that they still hated her.
She saved Thorin for last, not knowing if she could stand it if she looked into his eyes and saw the gold sickness still there. However, clear blue eyes met hers instead, filled with both relief and agony. The tension fled from her and she collapsed against Dwalin's side, her voice filled with relief and disbelief as she blurted out, "You didn't know, none of you knew... Thank Yavanna!"
Dwalin scooped her up and carried her over to a chair even as Thorin answered grimly, "That you were locked up in the dungeon? No, none of us knew. We've been searching for you since we came to our senses and realized what had happened when we were under the gold's thrall."
Once she was settled in the chair, she looked around, hungrily drinking in the familiar faces that had become as dear as family to her. When she saw that Kili was trying to valiantly hold back both his tears and the million and one questions that he was undoubtedly dying to ask, she laughed wetly and opened her arms. Suddenly she found herself in the middle of a loud huddle of dwarves, all of them babble and gently touching her, trying to reassure themselves that she was really there and alive. She couldn't answer any of their questions, her throat too clogged with unshed tears, but she touched and patted each one of them as well, offering them watery smiles that made them laugh, their own smiles rather wobbly with relief.
It was Dis that finally rescued her when she noted that Bella was getting overwhelmed in the middle of the chaos. Sternly shooing the other dwarves away so that Bella could breathe, she knelt in front of the frazzled hobbit lass. Taking Bella's hand gently in hers, she said softly, "I know that this is loud and chaotic and overwhelming. But we're so glad to have you back where you belong. Our family hasn't been complete without you. We need to know what happened to you, how you ended up in that cell." Dis paused and took a deep breath as she shoved her fury down. "However, your well being is more important than answers at this moment. You're safe and we're going to make sure that nothing else bad happens to you. Whatever happens next is up to you. We have food if your hungry that Bombur prepared. Or you can go get cleaned up and change into new clothes. I know that Dori made some clothes just for you. Or you can go and get some rest until you feel strong enough to face all of this. No pressure, it's whatever you want to happen. You're in control."
Bella sniffled and then chuckled when Nori of all people offered her a handkerchief. Blowing her nose as daintily as she could, her nose twitched as she caught the scent of the food that Dis had mentioned and her belly rumbled. However, the longing to be clean, truly clean, was overpowering. She said as softly as Dis had, "I want to get cleaned up. Please. And then I can come back here and eat and answer all the questions that I know that you're dying to ask."
Dis smiled at that and stood, "That can certainly be arranged. Come along."
Bella obediently rose and took a step towards the door, only to freeze and look towards Dwalin, panic thrumming through her veins at the thought of being away from him. He made her feel safe.
Dis sighed, but there was no true exasperation in it, "Change of plans. Dwalin, take her to your suite and stand guard while she gets cleaned up. Fili, Kili, you're with me while we go and see what's taking my guards so long. We'll meet back here in a little while, but don't feel like you need to rush, Mistress Baggins."
Feeling relief rush through her, she said firmly, "Bella. Call me Bella. Thank you."
Dis just nodded and swept out the door, Fili and Kili trailing after her although they kept looking over their shoulders at Bella as if she would disappear if they took their eyes off of her for even one second
She murmured to Dwalin, "Let's get this over with."
He nodded and was leading her out of the room when Dori came over and slipped a bread roll filled with meat and cheese into one hand and an apple into her other hand before silently squeezing her shoulder very carefully and heading back to join the others.
Forcibly holding back tears (she'd cried enough tears, for one day at least), she took a bite of the apple as they made their way silently down the hall, savoring the crunch and the tart sweetness on her tongue. She also slowly nibbled on the roll, knowing that her stomach would rebel if she gobbled it down like she wanted to. Instead, she focused on eating slowly and Dwalin's even breathing, neither one filling the need to talk.
They didn't actually travel that far, just done one corridor and halfway down another one. Dwalin hesitated before the door, seemingly nervous, before taking a deep breath and opening the door for her. To her surprise, his suite was not at all what she expected. Instead of spartan and excessively dwarven, it seemed to be a gorgeous blend of hobbit comfort and dwarven sturdiness. The thought that she wouldn't mind making such a place her home flashed through her head, but she pushed it roughly aside. Instead, she said just a smidge unsteadily, "You have a very beautiful home, Dwalin."
He seemed to brighten at that, "You really think so? It's not too dwarven?"
Puzzled, she nonetheless shook her head, "No, I think that it's lovely. Both sturdy and comfortable." She cleared her throat and looked away abruptly. "Where is the bathing room? I need to get cleaned up before the others send out search parties for me."
Seeming to come back from wherever his thoughts had wandered off to, Dwalin shook his head hastily, the tips of his ears turning red from embarrassment. "Of course, right this way."
He showed her where everything was and how to run it before leaving her in peace. However, as she was waiting for the tub to fill, he knocked on the door and bashfully held out a pile of what appeared to be cloth. Taking it, she was surprised to find that it was a pair of leggings and a simple tunic dress. He said gruffly, "These ones looked to be the warmest. I won't keep you."
She thanked him and quietly closed the door, feeling a matching blush to his heating her own cheeks, especially when she found clean undergarments tucked into the leggings. Carefully setting them where they wouldn't get wet, Bella hurried to bathe. As much as she wanted to linger in the hot water, the desire to be clean overrode that and it took three tub fulls of fresh water before the water finally stayed clear.
Around midway of the second round of scrubbing, her stomach started rumbling insistently, the apple and roll apparently having just woken her appetite up. As much as she wished to linger, after a particularly loud rumble, she reluctantly pulled herself from the tub and toweled herself dry. She scowled as she noticed that she could count each of her ribs with ease. Now, while she had never been properly round like most hobbits, she could at least get by respectably. Right now, she looked like one of the scarecrows in Farmer Maggot's fields.
Sighing, she slipped on the clothes, smiling as their warmth and softness enfolded her only to frown as another issue came up. She was practically swimming in them, Dori have obviously used her measurements from the quest to go by. Casting a regretful glance at Dwalin's tunic, she opened the door and slipped out, asking Dwalin wryly, "I don't suppose you also have any scarves or belts laying around."
He nodded and motioned for her to follow him.
* * *
As soon as the door shut behind Bella, Dwalin started panicking. Forcing it down with a will power honed over long decades, he forced himself to be reasonable. She was just getting cleaned up and out of those threadbare rags that she was wearing. Which reminded him, she still needed clean clothes to wear. He quickly headed over to the wardrobe where Dori had stored the clothes and rummaged through it, looking for the warmest clothes that he could find as he remembered how icy her skin had been when he had found her.
He was halfway to the bathing chamber when he realized that she would also need other supplies and sheepishly retraced his steps, fishing out the first set of undergarments he found and shoving them out of sight in the clothing set before slamming the drawer back shut, his cheeks burning. Praying that she was still dressed, he quietly knocked on the door and handed her the clothes, a soft blush covering her face to match his before she took the clothes and shut the door firmly.
He managed to sit for all of thirty seconds before jumping up and starting pacing. He couldn't believe that they had actually found her, after all this time. Especially after all the confusion of dead and not dead that had ensued. As it was, his mind seemed convinced that if she wasn't standing right in front of him, that it was all just some sort of fever dream, brought on by his intense longing for her.
He forcibly changed his thoughts before he found himself breaking down the door to check on her and make sure that she was all right. He had been so nervous that she wouldn't like the home that he'd built for her, even though she didn't know that yet. However, her eyes had been warm and a small smile had tilted her lips as she looked it over and he found that he had been holding his breath while waiting for her judgement. When she told him that he had a beautiful home, he felt like he could wipe out an orc army singlehandedly. She actually like the suite, her voice warm and genuine. It had made some part of his mind that he hadn't even realized was tense relax in relief.
However, as the minutes passed and she didn't emerge, he grew more and more concerned. She had been so thin, her eyes too large in her starved face. What if she had passed out in there and hit her head or drowned. He was just about to give in and check when the door opened and she emerged. She asked him about a belt, but he couldn't find the words to reply, drinking in the fact that she was really there, safe and sound. Well, that and her skin that fairly glowed with cleanliness and the gorgeous curls that he had missed so badly rioting beautifully around her head and face, returning his Bella to him. Although she was right, she was rather swimming in those clothes, something that he intended on fixing as soon as possible.
All this passed through his mind in a split second and he merely nodded and led her over to where all her clothes were stored. Watching her rummage happily through the clothes, a small frown of concentration sitting adorably on her face, Dwalin felt his icy heart finally start to thaw again. She was here, safe, in their home. Everything else could be fixed. So he just leaned against the door frame and watched her, contentment filling him. This was home.