Adult-FanFiction.org : Lord of the Rings

A Hobbit's Rescue	By : LadyLaran Category: Lord of the Rings Movies > Hobbit, The Views: 5698 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own "The Hobbit" nor do I make money from this story.

Chapter List
- 3
- 4
- 5
Author’s Note – It seems everyone is still enjoying the story, and I’m so very happy to see that. We’ll get to see a little of what Belladonna and Bungo were able to teach Adamanta before her mother died and her father’s health became too poor to continue any lessons regarding life skills.
Thank you to all for those who have been reading this and leaving reviews. And to those who simply read and come back for more, I really value all of you!
Disclaimer – I do not own “the Hobbit” nor do I make any money from this tale.
Chapter Four – Lessons and Discussions
The day’s journey had gone rather well, Adamanta mused to herself as she clumsily dismounted. She’d watched the others do so before attempting it herself and while it wasn’t the most graceful exit from horseback, at least she’d landed on her feet and not on her backside. The lass was fairly proud of herself for that and patted the pony on her nose to celebrate.
Gloin was the one who taught her how to care for her pony, teaching her what she needed to know to remove the saddle and ensure the pony was ready to rest for the night. She listened and watched, helping him with her mount as she wanted to make sure that no one else had to take care of any chore that should be hers.
Once that was done, the lass found her pack near Gandalf’s, answering her unspoken question of where she should rest for the night. She set up her bedding, then noticed something that made her smile.
Adamanta approached Thorin, who looked up from his own work. If he was surprised by her willingness to approach him, he didn’t show any sign of it.
“Yes, Miss Baggins?”
“I spotted a game trail,” she told him, hoping he wouldn’t berate her for what she was about to offer. “Papa taught me to look for those when we went out for walks. I think I might be able to find us fresh meat for tonight’s meal, and it’ll help stretch our supplies more.”
“You know how to hunt,” he asked, watching her.
“I can hunt birds and small game,” Adamanta admitted, blushing a bit. “Mama showed me how, and I used to do it every so often when Papa wanted something in particular. It was easier to do that instead of going to the markets on my own and hoping they had what he wanted.”
“Dwalin will go with you,” Thorin said, gesturing for the dwarf to do so. He had a feeling this was a skill that most hobbit women did not possess, and he wanted Dwalin to get a feel for how she moved and her skills while hunting.
“I’ll be back soon,” she promised, going to tell Bombur what she was doing before leaving the camp with the captain at her side.
The camp was set up for the night, and the horses were tended to before everyone began to try to relax. Thorin kept an eye out for the hobbit and his friend, blinking in surprise when they emerged from the forest with game in hand.
“Look at that, lads! Looks like we’re having rabbit tonight,” Bofur crowed as Bombur moved to the pair.
“Very nice and plump,” the cook praised, taking the catch from them. “I think I can make something delicious with these.”
Thorin looked to his friend as the hobbit went to clean her hands. Dwalin was smirking a bit, arms crossed over his chest. That expression alone told the displaced king that something had gone very right, pleasing the captain a great deal.
“I didn’t have to do a thing,” he told the king. “She tracked them down, killed and gutted them herself. She wasn’t squeamish about it at all.”
“Think she’ll be able to handle herself if things get rough?”
“I believe so,” Dwalin answered. “The lass makes no sound when she moves; I never thought I’d see anyone quieter than Nori, but I was wrong. She’s not afraid of hard work or getting her hands dirty. I’ll know more when I see what else she managed to learn from her mother.”
“Why don’t you go ahead with her first lesson,” he suggested, knowing there was plenty of time before Bombur had their meal ready. “Sooner she can handle that blade of hers the better.”
The captain of the guard nodded, moving forward and calling out.
“Miss Baggins, why don’t we have our first lesson,” he suggested, finding two sticks that would work for the time being. “We’ll have a quick spar so I can see what you know and figure out what you need to learn.”
Adamanta wiped her hands and headed towards the dwarf. She was eager for this lesson and hoped she hadn’t forgotten much of what her mother had taught her. At least with the small tracking and hunting lessons, she’d gotten to practice that whenever her papa had a craving for something the markets didn’t have.
The girl took the stick, swinging it a few times to get a feel for its length and weight before settling into one of the positions her mother had taught her so long ago.
Thorin arched an eyebrow as he watched, noting the way she stood. There was no way Dwalin would unbalance her from that stance, which was good. Most amateurs had issues with keeping their balance while in position.
The entire company watched as Dwalin attacked and Adamanta defended herself. Her feet were quiet as she moved, blocking his strikes and attempting to hit her opponent as well. Thorin noticed a few gaps in her defenses, but it was nowhere near as bad as he feared.
The girl met Dwalin’s attacks, keeping the branch in her hand at all times. She did get hit a few times but didn’t react, simply trying to fix the problems when they appeared.
“Not too bad, lassie,” the tattooed dwarf commented once the spar ended.
“Really,” she asked, watching him carefully as he walked around her for several moments. Adamanta was a bit skeptical, knowing she’d not had anyone to practice with but she had tried to fix the mistakes when she noticed she’d made them.
“Really,” Kili called out with a smile. “The first few lessons I had with him, I kept dropping my sword every time I blocked him. I spent more time picking it up than anything else.”
Adamanta turned, giving him a wide eyed gaze. She was rather surprised by what he’d shared, thinking that the dark haired prince would have been able to learn everything faster because of how dwarrows were raised.
“Really?”
“Oh yes,” the younger prince replied. “I think everyone has done that when they have their first lessons with him.”
“Oh,” she murmured, looking back at Dwalin. The dwarf shook his head, watching his student.
“Your mother did well teaching you,” he began. “You’re fast but need to be a bit faster with your movements and learn to keep your defenses solid. I did notice you seem to keep yourself in a small area for combat, why is that?”
“It’s frowned upon for most hobbits to learn how to fight,” she said, chewing on her lower lip. “It’s completely forbidden for a woman to fight so Mama had to draw the curtains closed in our front sitting room when she gave me my lessons. I still do it when I practice so there wouldn’t be any complaints getting back to Papa.”
“Which means you’re used to a smaller location when you practice,” he commented. “We’ll have to get you used to being in a more open area so you instinctively know that you can move more to evade or misdirect your opponent. Your basics need fine tuning before we can move forward but considering the situation, you did fairly well and your mother did a fine job teaching you in such bad circumstances. Tomorrow evening, we’ll start on that.”
“Thank you so much, Master Dwalin,” Adamanta said to him, sounding very pleased. “Mama would be so very happy to hear you say that. She worked really hard to learn what she did.”
“Off you go, lass,” he said, waving away the appreciation. “Go relax for now. Make sure to stretch some before you sleep or you’ll be too stiff to move in the morning.”
The hobbit lass gave him a bright smile, then went to her bedroll to sit down beside Gandalf. The wizard was smoking his pipe and patted her shoulder, feeling rather proud of her accomplishments for the day.
“You did very well, my child,” he told her, making her blush in happiness. “Belladonna would be so very pleased and proud of you.”
“I hope so,” she commented, watching the dwarves as they laughed and interacted with each other. “They seem to be very friendly with each other.”
“Most have grown up together,” he answered her, watching her face as well as keeping an eye on their companions.
“Are they married,” Adamanta asked, curious about her companions and their behaviors. “Some of them act as if they are.”
“I think two are,” he replied, blinking a bit in surprise at the question and realizing he shouldn’t have been.
“Gloin and Bombur are married,” Balin commented as he handed the two of them a bowl of soup. “Their wives and children are back in the Blue Mountains.”
“Ori and Fili aren’t married,” she asked innocently, accepting her bowl from him.
“No, lass, they’re courting,” he replied, then nearly dropped Gandalf’s soup at her next question. They didn’t realize the entire camp had gone quiet when they heard the girl’s question and were stunned.
“What’s courting?”
“Hobbits don’t court,” the advisor asked, voice tight. “How do you know if a person is suitable to marry?”
“The fathers determine it all,” Adamanta replied, stirring her soup. “Once the dowry is acceptable to both families, the bride is sent to her marriage bed to become a wife.”
She noticed the silence and looked up, eyes getting rather large when she realized that she was being stared at. The hobbit felt anxiety twist her stomach into knots and hoped that she hadn’t done something to upset the group.
“Did I do something wrong,” the girl asked, suddenly feeling scared.
“No, Miss Baggins,” Kili said, surprising them with his serious behavior. “You did not do anything wrong. You see, in our culture, the woman has a right to choose her suitor. Courtship is when two people, who have feelings for each other, begin a period of time where they spend time together with a chaperone, learning more about each other. At the end of the courtship, if things go well, then the marriage ritual is performed.”
“So you go through this because one person has feelings for the other,” she asked.
“Most cultures do, Miss Baggins,” the archer told her. “A political marriage is rare these days, and Uncle Thorin has insisted that we find our Ones before we think about settling down. Ones are the person created just for us by the Valar, someone we can love and who will love us throughout all of our days.”
“Fili and Ori are each other’s Ones? Is that allowed?”
Given how tactfully he was handling her questions, Thorin let Kili continue with the explanation. He silently cursed the stupidity of the hobbits for how their women were treated. With a sinking feeling, the older Durin realized that there would probably be more conversations like this as she learned more about the world outside of the Shire.
“They are,” Kili said, moving closer to her bedroll and sitting at the foot of it. Her face was still easily seen by the others. “Dwarves are slow to reproduce, and our men outnumber our women. We recognized that Mahal made our soulmates for us, male or female, and we had to be open to them so that we would not live our lives alone.”
“What about children?”
“We have a sister who has devoted herself to her craft,” he said. “That means she has no wish to marry but is willing to help continue our family line. When the time is right, Ori will give what she needs to conceive a child and after she gives birth, he and Fili will raise the child. This way the baby is a mix of both of their families.”
She was quiet for a moment, feeling very much at a loss. Adamanta had been told by her parents that things were different outside of their green home, but it was confusing now that she was out of the Shire and experiencing all these new ideas.
“For hobbits, it’s about property and children,” the girl admitted, playing with her spoon. “No one that I know of would do such a thing for another couple. My mother was rare because she had only one child, and she was scorned even more because she wasn’t as fertile as other women; most hobbit women will have child after child until her body changes so that it is not fertile any longer.”
“We adore children, consider them a blessing from the Valar,” Kili said softly. “However, we would never force our women to carry if they do not wish it. My sister’s gift to my brother is one that will be respected for years.”
“It sounds as if your people have it better, even if it is more complicated than what hobbits have,” Adamanta said, setting her bowl down and trying to control her emotions. “Marriage rites and courtships, it sounds so complicated but wonderful. I hope your people, especially your women, appreciate what they have. I’d give anything for my people to have the same ways and believe the same thing. Maybe then, Mama would’ve been happy when she’d been sent to her marriage bed and Papa wouldn’t have had to worry about me so much.”
She wiped at her cheeks, trying to bring the urge to cry under control. Her emotions were really unbalanced right then, and the girl mentally scolded herself for her lack of control.
“Maybe one day, your people will wake up and realize what they are doing isn’t right. That’s in the hands of the Valar, and only time will tell how those changes will come and be accepted. Right now, though, you’re safe and don’t have to worry about that anymore. You’ve got the right to live your life how you want to, and we’ll help you where we can.”
“What happens after we get your mountain back? What happens to me then? I’ve nowhere to go,” she said, feeling overwhelmed all of a sudden. “I can’t go back; Papa’s gone.”
Thorin’s voice was a gentle rumble across the small clearing. His nephew had been handling the situation remarkably well, but this was something he would be able to answer. He knew the lass would accept these words if they came from him.
“Your father tasked both Gandalf and myself with keeping you safe, and I mean to see that promise through. Once Erebor is reclaimed, you are welcome to make your home there as my ward. In the meantime, we will see to it that you find your strength and ensure that you will be able to stand on your own to fight for what makes you happy.”
Her lips trembled with the effort to keep the tears at bay. Adamanta had expected to be shown so much kindness, and she was so very grateful for it.
“Thank you,” she managed to say, somehow keeping her voice even.
“It’s all right, Miss Baggins,” he told her. “Now, enjoy your meal. Bombur did a good job with the rabbits you caught.”
That brought a lot of comments of appreciation for what she’d done, making her smile shyly.
“I’m glad to know I helped,” she said, picking her bowl up. Adamanta looked up to see Kili giving her a gentle smile, and she blushed a bit at that.
“I don’t mind answering questions,” he said. “One more thing, don’t feel that you have to hide how you’re feeling. You have the right to grieve.”
She nodded, gripping her bowl tightly. His insight into how she was feeling was rather keen, and the hobbit wasn’t quite sure how she felt about that.
“Thank you, Master Kili,” she whispered, watching as he smiled and gave her a small bow before heading back to his brother’s side. She hoped that their words were true, that she’d be able to have a safe home once they’d gotten to Erebor and reclaimed it for the dwarves to inhabit again.
Author’s End Note – The sister in this story is an OC and depending on how things go, she’ll probably have a small role in the tale. I wanted to handle the heir issue for Fili since his One is male. Please let me know what you think of the story, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. ~ Laran
- 3
- 4
- 5
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

A Hobbit's Rescue