Hello lovies,

Saw the hobbit recently and now i am in love with dwarfs. :) thought i would write a story let me knows what you thinks.

love,

dark

Chp 1

Home?

The sun had begun to rise over The Shire, some hobbits were already out and about going through their daily routine. Most or perhaps a great deal of hobbits was content in their lives, the peace and quiet. Peace was the currency of The Shire, it was always what kept the hobbits going. Everything was made to endure in the Shire, change rarely came. Many of the hobbits didn't know outsiders and many didn't approve of them. There was one resident that was not a hobbit but looked like a hobbit in height. She had been adopted by the Took family when she was little and found on their door step. Ruby Took, was a fair haired green eye girl. Her long silky blonde hair was a sight to see; it had a wave to it but lay past her shoulders. It was almost always back and neatly braided. She didn't have the large feet of a hobbit, nor the look of one. She wore shoes and you could swear she was a hobbit by height. Ruby always felt as if she didn't belong in the shire she had a place to live but it wasn't home for her. She was older than Bilbo, around 80 years old but looked no more than her adopted cousin Bilbo. Ruby didn't know who she was no more than anyone else, just she always looked young.

Ruby had just gone for a walk around and carried a small basket with her. Like hobbits, Ruby loved gardening; she was rather good at it, even better than some hobbits were. She was special, she had a gift for healing, her parents didn't know where it came from they suspected it came from her birth parents. Ruby was as gifted as she was kind. She was well liked among the hobbits, and wasn't seen as an outsider by most, just an unusual hobbit.

"Hello Bilbo" Ruby said as she saw Bilbo sitting on his bench outside smoking a bit of pipe weed.

"Good morning Ruby" Bilbo said "taking a walk I see"

"Yes it's good to get out and smell the fresh air every now and then" Ruby replied "How has my dear cousin been?"

"Oh you know, just well" Bilbo said with puff from his pipe.

"Well I will see you later Bilbo I have some herbs to collect" Ruby said with a smile and walked off down the road and waved while Bilbo nodded to her.

Ruby spent a few hours collecting herbs and while she was on her way back she saw a rather tall figure coming towards her and she immediately recognized him.

"Gandalf!" Ruby said with a huge smile and ran over to him with her basket and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Ahh Ruby, how nice to see that someone remembers me" Gandalf said with a smile as he hugged Ruby back with one arm that wasn't holding his staff "You have grown up from last we meet"

"Only in age Gandalf" Ruby said "I am still as short as ever"

"You are still an inch taller than Bilbo" Gandalf said than had a thoughtful look to him "How would you feel in joining in an adventure?"

"Sounds exciting" Ruby said "thought I don't know if I would be much help with fighting Gandalf"

"There is more strength in you than you know" Gandalf said "Also would be good to have a healer with us"

"If you will take me I will go" Ruby said with a smile as she held her basket "I will try my hardest to not be a burden"

"Very well then" Gandalf said with a glint in his eyes "Come to Bilbo later with some soup, he will be having guests"

"Alright" Ruby said with a smile "I will see you later Gandalf!" she then ran off with the basket in her hands and a smile on her face.

It had been a few hours since Ruby had seen Gandalf, and her soup was almost done. Ruby took a taste and smiled to herself. It had just the right amount of seasonings and meat. Ruby found her biggest pot and hope it would be enough. She put her shoes on and grabbed the pot before heading out into the darkness with a small lantern to light her way as she carried the pot. The Shire was always quiet and peaceful at night. Ruby loved to sit on top of her hobbit hole and look at the stars. Her parents had died years earlier leaving all they had to her, some of her relatives weren't happy because she wasn't blood but her parents loved her as such. Ruby arrived at Bilbo's house and knocked on the door and hear an angry Bilbo.

"I am not home!" he yelled and opened the door to see Ruby "Oh Ruby it's just you, what are you doing here?"

"I thought I would bring you some soup" Ruby said as Bilbo let her in and saw two dwarfs in the in front of the living room "Hello"

"Hello young lady, I am Balin and this is my brother Dwalin" Balin said and they both bowed "at your service"

"Ruby, at yours" Ruby said with a smile and did a curtsey. "It's nice to meet you both" just as there was another knock on the door and Ruby headed to the kitchen where she put the stew over the fire. She turned and there were two more dwarfs, both younger "Hello"

"Kili" the dark hair one said

"Fili" the blonde one said and smiled as they both took a hand and kissed it.

"At your service" they both said and Ruby smiled.

"Ruby, at yours" she said again and saw Dwalin come over and put an arm around Kili to help him move chairs "Here let me help"

"Thank you Miss. Ruby" Balin said as she helped them move the table

"Just Ruby" she said with a smile as the doorbell rang again and she heard Bilbo cry out in frustration "Oh he needs to lighten up, how many of you will there be?"

"13" Kili said and Ruby had wide eyes and Kili just smiled at her.

"I think we need more chairs" Ruby said and hurried off and then saw Gandalf standing "Gandalf"

"Ahh Ruby good to see you have made it" he said with a smile as he walked into the kitchen.

All the dwarfs were raiding his pantry and were bringing food into the kitchen

"Could I interest you in some chamomile tea" Dori said from behind Gandalf and Ruby smiled.

"Oh yes please" Ruby said as he poured her a cup and she took a sip then placed it on the table where she was going to sit and saw Kili and Fili carrying ale so she directed them to where they could place it on the side.

Ruby was sitting between Ori and Kili as she sipped her tea and food was flying around the table. She was laughing as she took a bite of meat and almost chocked as she laughed. Kili tapped her on the back a few times and she coughed and then swallowed the food.

"Bombur catch" Bofur said as he threw a sweet roll at him. Bombur opened his mouth and caught it causing everyone to cheer.

Food continued to fly around the table as Fili began walking on the table passing and ale and gave one to Ruby who smiled and took it after said thank you and Fili winked at Ruby. She looked around the table and got a small laugh at everyone and their table manners which were comical to Ruby. Bilbo on the other hand was freaking out as he was looking into the kitchen and looking like he was going to give himself an aneurism with the look on his face.

"Here Oin have a drink" Dwalin said as he pour some ale into Oin's horn where he stopped holding it to his ear and blew out the liquid causing another round of loud laughs.

Gandalf was holding in a smile as he had a cookie in his mouth. Ruby looked around the table and saw everyone raising mugs and Kili motion for her to follow. They all then chugged their mugs of the ale. Nori then let out a burp only to have Ori follow him with a large burp. A roar of laughter went around the table until Ruby let out an even louder burp which causes everyone to be silent for a moment.

"Oh excuse me" Ruby said with a blush on her cheek as Kili and Fili laughed followed by everyone else.

"Impressive lassie" Balin said with a smile and everyone else cheered.

Soon enough everyone was done and they ushered Ruby out so they could clean up. Ruby was in the hall picking some stuff off the floor on a plate was holding when she heard Bilbo coming with Gandalf following with him complaining all the way through.

"They've pillaged the pantry, I am not even going to tell what they have done to the bathroom, they all but destroyed the pluming" Bilbo said as Ruby walked next to him "I don't understand what they are doing in my house" and his voice rose a moment with his last words.

Ruby was about to say something when Ori walked over to Bilbo.

"Excuse me I'm sorry to interrupt, but what should I do with my plate?" Ori asked as he was holding it in front of Bilbo.

"Here you go Ori give it to me" Fili said and grabbed the plate and then threw it to Kili and then took Ruby's plate and threw it to Kili as well.

Bifur then caught the plates with his back turned and Ruby looked into the kitchen with aw and smile. They had then all started to throw plates to Fili then Fili to Kili while Bilbo was yelling about his mother's dishes. Fili then threw a plate to Ruby who caught it with a smile then threw it to Kili. Then at the table Bofur, Nori, Dori and Gloin where clanking the knives and forks.

"Don't do that you will blunt the knives" Bilbo said walking over.

"Oh you here that he says, we will blunt the knives" Bofur said as they kept clanking the knives.

"Blunt the knives bend the forks" Kili started singing

"Smash the bottles and burn the corks" Fili sung after

"Chip the glasses and crack the plates, that's what Bilbo Baggins hates" they all sang as plates kept flying around the house.

"Cut the cloth, and tread the fat, leave the bones on the bedroom mat, Pour the milk on the pantry floor! Splash the wine on every door" they kept singing and Bilbo was looking as if he was going to faint. Gandalf was smiling to the beat. Ruby was besides herself with laugher and smiled and clapped her hands to the beat that they were going. "Dump the crock in a boiling bowl, pound them up with a thumping pole, and when you've finished if any are whole, send them down the hall to roll!"

They all stopped singing for a moment but the beat kept up and Balin kept flicking plates behind him with a smile on his older face. Bofur was playing his flute with a smile on his face while one was on the table kicking the dishes around.

"That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!" they all sang loudly as he walked towards the table and saw all of the plates staked and unharmed.

All of the dwarves let out a smile and a laugh until there was a loud knock at the door which silenced all of them and caused them to look towards the door.

"He is here" Gandalf said and Ruby looked at him with a question on her face. "Ruby be so kind as to get him a bowl of your stew ready my dear"

"Okay Gandalf" Ruby said as everyone else headed to the door. She heard some voices but hummed a small tune to herself as she got some stew ready. She heard footsteps and turned to see another dwarf, she gave him a smile. "Hello"

"Uncle this is Ruby" Kili and Fili said together and Ruby just laughed at them and smiled.

"I can introduce myself you know" Ruby said to the brothers and just sighed.

"Ahh Ruby this is Thorin Oakenshield" Gandalf said with a smile "I see you have brought him something to eat"

"Well seeing as how everyone else has eaten" Ruby said with a smile and brought the bowl to Thorin who had sat down at the head of the table "here you go sir"

"Thank you" Thorin said and began to eat and Ruby noticed they were going to talk about something important quietly crept away to leave them to their business.

"You're going on a quest" Bilbo said and Ruby's attention got perk and she walked over.

"it isn't nice to ease drop Bilbo" Ruby said with a frown

"Bilbo my dear fellow let us get a little more light help would you Ruby" Gandalf said as Ruby nodded and headed off to follow Bilbo "…lies a single solitary peak"

"The lonely mountain" Bilbo and Ruby said together as they looked at the map, Ruby was very close to Thorin as she and Bilbo leaned over.

"Aye and the portents say it is time" Gloin said

"Ravens have been being seen flying back to the mountains" Oin said "as it was foretold…"

Ruby then noticed Gandalf's finger was on fire and quickly alerted him and he quickly tried to put it out. Ruby let out a slight giggled that she covered with a cough as Balin gave her a glance.

"Uh what beast" Bilbo said as Ruby took a step back

"Well that would be a reference to Smaug the terrible" Bofur said as he took his pipe out of his mouth "Chief of the greats calamity of our age. Air borne fire breather, teeth like razors, claws like meat hooks, extremely prone to precious metals"

"Yes I know what a dragon is" Bilbo said

"I'm not afraid I'm up for it" Ori said "I will give him a taste of dwarfish iron right up his jacks"

"Sit down" Dori said and pulled Ori down to his seat.

"The task would be difficult enough with an army behind us, but we number just 13, and not 13 of the best nor brightest" Balin said and it started an a little grumbles around the table from the others dwarfs.

"We may be few in number" Fili started "but were fighters all of us" Fili then slammed his hand on the table "to the last dwarf"

"And you forget we have a wizard in our company" Kili said "Gandalf would have killed hundreds of dragons in his time" Kili then glanced at Gandalf as Gandalf took out his pipe.

"Oh well now" Gandalf started as all the dwarfs looked at him "I wouldn't say…"

"How many then" Dori asked Gandalf.

"What" Gandalf said.

"How many dragons have you killed" Dori said.

Ruby looked on and saw all eyes focused on Gandalf, Thorin was the last to lay eyes on Gandalf who was choking a little on his smoke from his pipe.

"Go on give us a number" Dori said as all the dwarfs started to argue around the table.

Bilbo gave a poor attempt to stop it and it was only when Thorin stood up and shouted stop that it grew quiet again.

"If we have read these signs do you not think others would have as read them too." Thorin started "Rumors have begun to spread, the dragon Smaug has not been seen for 60 years. Eyes look east, assessing, wondering, weight the risk. Perhaps the vast wealth of our people now lies unprotected. Do we sit back, while others claim what is rightfully ours? Or do we seize this chance to take back Erebor. Are you with me" All the dwarfs cheered and Ruby felt a sense of longing from all the dwarfs and knew she had to help.

"You forget the front gate is sealed" Dori said as Thorin sat back down

"There is no way into the mountain" Balin said

"That my dear Balin, is not entirely true" Gandalf said as he flipped a key in his hands.

Thorin looked at the key and then at Gandalf "how came you by this?" Thorin asked Gandalf.

"It was given to me by your farther" Gandalf said "For safe keeping, it is yours now" and then Gandalf handed the key to Thorin as everyone looked on with amazed looks on their faces.

"If there is a key there must be a door" Fili said and Gandalf nodded to him

"These runes speak of a hidden passage to the lower halls" Gandalf said as he pointed to the map.

"There is another way in" Kili said with a smile evident on his face.

"But if we can find it, dwarfish doors are invisible when closed" Gandalf said

Balin then took two pieces of parchment and Thorin shoved one at Bilbo and then handed one to Ruby who smiled in thank you as she saw Bilbo step away for a moment and she went and stood next to him.

"Arrangements" Bilbo questioned as he opened it and it almost fell to the floor.

Ruby let out a small snort as Bilbo glared at her. She heard movement and notice Thorin had gotten up to whisper something to Gandalf. Ruby pushed it from her mind as she began reading as she heard Bilbo mumbling to himself.