6. “You’re Stuck With Me.”

            We flew into the woods as I pushed Remy onwards. My pony didn’t seem to mind, he felt eager. He probably sensed something exciting was happening, or about to happen. Well, if he sensed it, he would be right.

            I really wished Bilbo had rolled up the contract, because on occasion, it kept smacking me, sometimes near my face, almost blinding me. I made sure not to complain about it and focus on the task at hand.

            “Do you see them?” Bilbo called over Remy’s footfalls.

            “No,” I reported, listening to Remy’s breathing. He needed to slow down soon, his breathing was extremely labored.

 I pulled back on the reins slightly, to let Remy know that he could slow some. He rested into a fast trot.

“What are you doing?” Bilbo asked me.

“If I don’t slow him down, he’ll keel over,” I retorted. “Besides, we’re still making good time. Don’t worry, we’ll catch them.”

With Bilbo and me bouncing in the saddle, Remy continued to take us through the forest. Just barely past Remy’s hoof beats, I heard voices…and they all sounded manly. The Dwarves and Gandalf!

“I think I hear them!” I crowed. “You have to get their attention, Bilbo.”

“That won’t be a problem.”

As the voices grew louder, Bilbo and I saw a herd of ponies and one horse. All of them had riders save one pony, who was lugging supplies on its back.

“Wait!” Bilbo shouted. “Wait!”

The company heard Bilbo’s plea, because all at once, the ponies and horse stopped. I slowed Remy down to a walk. I heard the Dwarves mutter under their breaths. They were probably surprised to see Bilbo, but more than likely they were shocked to see me again.

“I signed it,” Bilbo declared. I pulled Remy close to Balin, stopping him. I patted my boy on the neck. “Here.” Bilbo handed Balin the parchment. The Dwarf then looked over the contract.

“Everything appears to be in order,” Balin said happily. “Welcome, Master Baggins, to the company of Thorin Oakenshield. Thank you for delivering him to us, lass. He probably would have never made it running here.”

“I would like to think I could have,” Bilbo muttered under his breath. I only heard him, smiling slightly.

“Well, if you’re surprised by Bilbo deciding to tag along, I have another surprise for you, gentlemen. You’re taking two Hobbits with you, not one,” I declared proudly.

“That was not in the contract,” Thorin reminded me gruffly.

 My brows furrowed above my eyes. “True, I know it wasn’t,” I said calmly, “but wherever Bilbo goes, I go. We made a pact way back when that if either of us joined a voyage such as this, the other had to tag along.”

“And what makes you think you would be welcome to the company?”

“Easy, Thorin,” Gandalf called to the Dwarf, “I think Miss—”

“Mrs.,” I corrected him. “But whatever you prefer.”

“I think Mrs. Petrova would be a lovely addition to our group. Besides, one more couldn’t hurt, could it?”

“If it was anyone but her, it wouldn’t.”

“Are you saying that because I’m a woman? Do you think bringing me along will bring you all bad luck?” I snapped at the lead Dwarf.

“I can see you as a delay for our group.”

I hissed, accidentally jerking Remy’s reins. How dare Thorin speak like that in front of me!

“Listen.” My voice became cold. “Whether you like it or not, I’m tagging along. I’m not going back home. You’re stuck with me. Besides, I am sure you are the only one who opposes me joining. Am I right?” I looked to the rest of the Dwarves. Nobody seemed to side with Thorin on the issue. I snorted in triumph. “I rest my case.”

I nudged Remy into a slow walk, passing the stand-still group. I looked over at them. “Well? Are we getting a move on or what?”

Gandalf chuckled at my get-going attitude. “I think she will fit in just fine.”

“Fine,” Thorin growled. “Give Mr. Baggins a pony.”

“He’s more than capable of riding with me,” I snapped.

“It’s fine, really,” Bilbo protested, siding with me. The company finally moved at a normal walking pace. “It won’t be necessary. Besides, Lily doesn’t mind if I—”

My mouth dropped open as one of the Dwarves snatched Bilbo right off of Remy’s back and placed him on another pony. His was a tad bit smaller than Remy and had a brown coloring, with a stripe down her nose. I noticed that the pony Bilbo was put on was the one who had been hauling some supplies on her back. I hope the girl can handle all that luggage.

Thorin led our company of sixteen through the woods. I breathed in the air. I felt free, even though I never really felt trapped since getting married. The trapped feeling had only been when I had been under my parents’ roof.

I laughed at the thought of my parents. They would never believe me if I told them I was accompanying thirteen Dwarves and a Wizard to take back the Dwarves’ home of Erebor. They’d immediately call it rubbish and disown me even more—if that was even possible. They’d already disowned me when I was of age to leave the house.

“What’s so funny?” Gandalf asked me.

“Oh, I was just thinking about something, that’s all,” I replied simply. A goofy grin was still plastered on my face, I was sure.

“It must be very amusing for you to still be laughing about it.”

“Oh, it is to me.”

My small talk with Gandalf was interrupted by the faintest sound of small sacks of coins being tossed around. I looked to see some of the Dwarves tossing little sacks of money to each other. Bilbo and I exchanged a confused glance.

“What’s that about?” Bilbo decided to ask Gandalf.

“Oh, they took wagers on whether or not you’d turn up,” Gandalf explained. “Most of them bet that you wouldn’t.”

I found that to be very interesting but cruel at the same time. Whoever bet against Bilbo clearly did not know him well like I did. Of course, I had to admit, I didn’t expect him to actually change his mind about joining the Dwarves and Gandalf.

“And what did you think?” I asked the Wizard.

Gandalf didn’t really have to say it, because the answer flew into his hand. I smiled smugly. I was sure Gandalf was one of the smart ones in the group when it came to betting.

“I never doubted him for a second,” Gandalf told me. “Of course, he wasn’t the only one they were betting on. The Dwarves made things interesting by putting bets on you as well.”

“What’s this?” I asked.

“Why are you surprised?”

“I just am. Why put wagers on me, though?”

“Well, you can thank Kili for starting that betting pool. He kept talking about you, how you seemed more eager to join us than Bilbo. Then the wagers on you were placed.”

“Well, surely Kili won, because I’m sure he bet on me to join you all.”

“I sure did!” Kili called to me. I laughed.

Bilbo sneezed, nearly dowsing his pony’s mane with his snot. I grimaced. There were his allergies kicking in. I was amazed how he was fine the entire time he rode Remy. I was expecting a few snot rockets in my hair. I shuddered at the thought.

“It’s horse hair,” he groaned. “Having a reaction.” I watched my friend carefully as he searched for something to wipe his nose with. “No, wait, wait, stop. Stop!” The company halted. “We have to turn around.”

“What on earth is the matter?” Gandalf asked, a little irritable.

“I forgot my handkerchief.”

“Really? You remember the contract, you remember to ask me if I want to come along, but you can’t remember a bloody handkerchief?” I moaned, smacking my forehead. I breathed through my nostrils deeply.

“Sorry if I was in a rush this morning, Lily,” Bilbo snapped at me.

“Here,” Bofur piped, ripping off a piece of dirty-looking cloth. “Use this.” He tossed it to Bilbo.

I made a face as Bilbo held the cloth in his hand. Who knew where that had been? I swallowed back bile, hoping to never learn the answer to my question.

“Keep moving,” Thorin called from up ahead.

The company continued to make its way onward.

*     *     *

I knew the Shire was a beautiful place, but outside of it, there was beauty in the Wild. After exiting the forest, the company walked alongside a river, whose water glistened in the sun. Birds chirped over us, entertaining us with their sweet songs. Once we parted ways with the river, our ponies—and Gandalf’s horse—encountered sloped hills, which had some paths that required our steeds to go single file down.

Once we broke away from that scenery, we travelled across grassy, open plains. Everything around us was green. The plains went on for ages. It would be an ideal pasture to release all the livestock into should someone live here.

While crossing the plains, nobody really talked. There was an occasional word or two exchanged between the Dwarves. Gandalf was silent as was Bilbo. I chewed on my lower lip, trying to think of some way to liven this group up a bit.

“Is anyone up for a little race?” I called. “We need some excitement right now.”

“A race, you say?” Fili asked, pulling his pony next to Remy. “Huh, that sounds interesting.”

“I’m in,” Kili piped, occupying Remy’s other side.

“It’ll probably be just us three, the others don’t seem very energetic,” I noticed, looking at the Dwarves, Bilbo, and Gandalf.

“Are we making things interesting?”

“Like your wagers on me?” I giggled. “Not this time, no.”

“Where are we racing to?” Fili asked me.

“Hmm…” There weren’t really any markers to go by, as there were seldom trees on the plains. “How about the first one to pass Thorin wins?”

“That won’t be much of a race, one of us will win easily,” Kili boasted.

“You really think so?” I snickered. “If you boys say so. Get someone to referee the race, and then we’ll start.”

“You got it. Hey, Bofur, mind being the judge for our little race?” Fili yelled to the Dwarf.

“Why not?” The Dwarf shrugged. “Get your ponies ready. And…go!”

The three ponies shot off into full sprints. I thought I’d secure an easy victory with Remy; we’d beaten Cecelia and Cherry so many times. However, we weren’t facing them; instead we were facing Fili, Kili, and their steeds.

It was an entirely different race from the ones Remy and I were accustomed to.

“Come on, boy,” I whispered into my pony’s ears, “let’s leave them in the dust.”

It seemed that we wouldn’t shake off the Dwarves so easily; their steeds were fast like Remy. Blood pounded in my ears, our marker was coming up fast. I stole glances at my opponents. We all seemed fairly even.

But we all knew only one would win.

The moment we lost Thorin, immediately we all thought we won. We slowed our ponies and circled them around to rejoin the group.

“That seemed pretty close,” Fili mused, “but I say I won.”

“You would say that, but you’re fooling yourself, brother,” Kili taunted. “I’m sure I won.”

“I think you boys are both wrong,” I sang. “Remy and I have never lost a race, and it’s staying that way.”

“Well, only one person knows who the winner is,” Fili reminded me. “Bofur! Who’s race was it?”

“Sorry, boys, but the lass beat you out by a nose,” Bofur said. I let out a whoop, seeing the priceless reactions of Fili and Kili. They both looked astonished, as though a huge secret had just been dropped on their heads.

“What did I tell you both?” I boasted. “Remy and I have never lost a race.”

“I say it was fixed!” Fili protested.

“How could it be? I didn’t get a head start.”

“Sure you didn’t,” Kili retorted.

I snorted, rolling my eyes. “You both are sore losers. If you’re that sour about it, maybe sometime soon we’ll have a rematch.”

“We’ll hold you to that.”

I steered Remy away from the brothers to join Bilbo.

“You never miss a chance for a little action,” he told me, chuckling.

“Things were becoming a little too dull for my liking. Besides, Remy enjoyed it.” I patted my boy’s black neck. “It’s nice for him to beat someone other than Cherry and Cecelia.”

The realization hit me in that moment: I had never had the chance to say goodbye to my sister. I had just left without saying a word to her about the adventure, or that I was leaving the Shire. The only person I had said goodbye to was Jack. I swallowed, wondering what Cece would think when she saw only Jack at our hobbit-hole and not me.

Surely Jack wouldn’t lie to my sister about my whereabouts, and surely she wouldn’t be upset. What would she think if she realized Bilbo was gone as well from Hobbiton? Would she jump to the wrong conclusions before Jack could clear things up for her?

I really hoped I didn’t cause any friction with my sister upon leaving the Shire.

“Lily, what’s wrong?” Bilbo’s question pulled me back to the present. I looked at him dazedly.

“Nothing.” I shifted the reins in my hands. “I’m just thinking about home.”

“Don’t tell me you’re homesick already.”

“No, it’s not that.” I chuckled lamely. “It’s just…this came about so suddenly. Cecelia doesn’t know I’m gone. I’m wondering what my absence will do to her, what it will make her think once she realizes you are gone as well.”

Bilbo looked uneasy. “I’m sure she wouldn’t jump to rash conclusions.”

I hoped that she didn’t. 

**So, as I'm sure you figured out, the pic on the side is Remy, Lily's lovely little pony. And how about her interacting with the Dwarves? I think it may still be early to ask for ships, but I'll ask anyway. Who's shipping what?**