[General POV]
-General-
Pulling out the contract, Balin took a quill from his backpack and wrote "Adventurer:" beneath the word "Thief." The word "Thief" was already there from the beginning, as this was originally the contract intended for Bilbo.
Due to Aldril's addition, some changes were made to the commissions. Originally, the commission promised to Bilbo in the contract was one-fourteenth of the treasure, but now, with Aldril, it was changed to one-fifteenth. As for Aldril's commission, Thorin stated that he would also be given one-fifteenth. The reason it was only one-fifteenth and not one-sixteenth was that Thorin would not participate in the sharing of the treasure, which was logical, since it was rightfully Thorin's treasure. Aldril understood this, so he didn't ask any questions when he saw the amount specified.
Taking the amended contract, Thorin passed it to Aldril. Quickly reading the contract, Aldril didn't see anything suspicious, except perhaps the part where it stated that if he died, his share would be divided among all the dwarves. But, shrugging, he simply signed.
"Very well, Mr. Aldril, with this, you are now officially part of the expedition. I hope you don't disappoint me," Thorin said, giving him an expectant look.
"Don't worry; I won't let you down," Aldril replied, signing his name in cursive.
After signing, he passed the contract to Bilbo, who was still stunned by what was happening. Like Aldril, Bilbo quickly read the contract, muttering to himself.
"The company is not responsible for injuries sustained, including lacerations and..." Pausing for a moment, Bilbo looked at the dwarves and said in disbelief, "Incineration?"
"Oh yes, they can melt you in the blink of an eye," Bofur said calmly, downplaying the danger.
At that comment, Bilbo began to hyperventilate. He felt extremely dizzy and rested his arms on his knees.
Concerned, Balin approached him. "Are you all right, lad?"
Hearing Balin's question, Bilbo straightened up and, despite feeling extremely dizzy, looked at Balin and muttered in a halting voice, "Yes, I'm fine, just a little dizzy."
Seeing Bilbo in that state, Bofur took the opportunity to continue teasing him, amused by the hobbit's suffering. "It's like a furnace with wings, a glow, a lot of pain, and puff—you turn to ashes."
At that moment, Bilbo began to stagger. "Oh, really?" he said and then fainted.
Seeing poor Bilbo faint, Gandalf shot an annoyed look at the dwarf. "You didn't help at all, Bofur."
Shaking his head in exasperation, Aldril went over to the fainting Bilbo, picked him up, and placed him in an armchair that the dwarves kindly brought from Bilbo's room.
...
After a while, Bilbo awoke, taking a few minutes to relax as he drank some tea that Aldril had prepared for him. As he relaxed, Gandalf came over and tried to convince him to join the expedition. "It's all right, Gandalf, just let me relax a bit."
Smoking a little from his pipe, Gandalf gave him a deep look and said, "You've had plenty of time to relax already. Tell me, since when did your mother's tablecloths and dishes become so important to you?"
"I remember a young hobbit who was always running into the forest, looking for the Elves, the young man who came back in the night full of mud and twigs and flies, a young hobbit who would have died to find out what lay beyond the Shire," Gandalf pointed to the horizon as he gave Bilbo a quiet look. "The world is not in your books and maps, Bilbo; it lies out there."
At Gandalf's words, Bilbo was silent, searching for words to refute Gandalf, but finding none, he came up with the simplest, "I can't just go out like this and disappear, I'm a Baggins and..."
"And you're a Took too," Gandalf interrupted him, grabbing the portrait of a hobbit from Bilbo's wall.
"Yes, I knew that."
"Very well, then let me tell you that, at the battle of the Green Fields, your great-great-grandfather fought the goblins, struck so hard with his club that he blew the goblin king's head off. The head shot ninety yards through the air and fell down a rabbit hole. Thus he won that battle and also invented golf at the same time."
Listening to Gandalf's story, Aldril raised an eyebrow, and a question popped into his thoughts, "Does golf exist in Middle Earth?" He shrugged and looked at Bilbo's excited face. He seemed to be fascinated by Gandalf's story, so much so that he puffed out his chest with pride and began to consider whether he should go with the expedition, but it did not last long, for in the next moment he reasoned a little and found what Gandalf told ridiculous. "I think you made up the story."
"Well, Bilbo, good stories deserve a good ending. You'll have a story or two when you get back," Aldril said, putting a hand on his shoulder.
At Aldril's words, Bilbo was a little moved and in a trembling voice said, "Can you promise me that I will come back?"
At their silence, Bilbo rose to his feet. "What I thought. I am sorry, Gandalf, but I will not sign the contract; I am not the hobbit you are looking for." With hurried steps, he made his way to his room to sleep.
It takes a lot of courage to rush headlong into a dangerous adventure, and Bilbo wasn't counting on having that courage just yet.
...
Late at night, the dwarves, who had been noisy all day, began to yawn. Tomorrow they had to get up early and set out on a very long journey. Seeing that Bag End was very small and there were no extra beds, they had no choice but to make makeshift beds and sleep on the floor. Fortunately, it was still summer and hot, so it didn't matter if they slept on the floor, as it provided coolness and allowed them to sleep comfortably. Noticing that there was no more room, Aldril took a blanket from Bilbo, sat down on a bench in the dining room, and leaned against the small table. After a few minutes, he fell asleep.
Early in the morning, when Aldril awoke, he saw some dwarves just waking up and others beginning to pack their things to leave Bilbo's house. Getting up and stretching, Aldril went through his morning routine of washing his face and part of his body in Bilbo's bath.
After a few minutes, Aldril emerged from Bag End and saw the group of dwarves loading their belongings onto their ponies. Aldril saw something that caused him to chuckle a little: all the ponies were gathered around Shadow Star, as if they were praising him. The funniest thing was that his pony looked up proudly, as if demonstrating his social status.
"All right, big guy, stop behaving like a young Chinese master; it's time to have our first adventure," Aldril said, patting Shadow Star, who whinnied in disgust at the spanking but still bent down for Aldril to climb on him.
The interaction between horse and man caught the attention of one of the dwarves standing nearby as he loaded things onto his pony.
"Your horse is very curious; he won't let anyone near him. Even when we spoke to the ponies, they looked at him as if asking permission to leave his side," said Balin, giving Shadow Star a contemplative look.
At Balin's comment, Aldril looked at him and smiled. "He is very special, this big fellow. According to Gandalf, he is a descendant of Felaróf, so he is one of the best horses in Middle-earth." Aldril boasted with pride in his voice. He was rarely boastful, but seeing how several dwarves looked at his horse with admiration, he couldn't resist the temptation to brag.
Hearing what Aldril said, Balin raised one of his eyebrows. "Felaróf? So what's he doing around these parts? Shouldn't he be in Rohan?"
"I have no idea how he ended up in these parts, but what I can tell you is that apparently, this big guy and I were meant to be together," Aldril said.
At Aldril's words, Shadow Star whinnied and raised his head, looking at Balin as if he were a simple peasant talking to royalty. Looking at his horse's attitude, Aldril muttered under his breath. "Seriously, big guy, you're so arrogant sometimes."
Whinnying, Shadow Star looked at Aldril like he was an idiot. Of course, he had to be arrogant; he's one of the best horses in Middle Earth. Not just anyone they accept as mates.
"Don't look at me like I'm an idiot!"
Balin, who was lost in thought, chuckled a little at the relationship this young adventurer had with his horse.
...
After a few minutes, Gandalf came out of Bag End and approached his horse, who had his head down, falling in behind Aldril's horse. Raising an eyebrow at how meek his horse was behaving, Gandalf figured it was because Aldril's horse was nearby. Shrugging, Gandalf began to pack his things and place them on his horse's sides.
Seeing that Gandalf went out alone and was in a gloomy mood, Aldril could understand why he was like this. "Why do you think Bilbo doesn't want to come with us?" said Aldril as he approached Gandalf.
Gandalf continued to put his things away without turning to look at Aldril. "I think it takes a lot of courage for an ordinary person to leave everything behind and go on an adventure with us."
Nodding, Aldril said something that made Gandalf's mood improve. "I trust Bilbo will come—who knows? Maybe he'll get up and pluck up the courage to go with us."
Seeing Gandalf nod with a smile, Aldril said no more and looked expectantly at the horizon. "So begins my journey," he said to himself.
Seeing that Bilbo did not leave his house, Thorin did not wait for him any longer and ordered everyone to start moving forward. The contract had been left on the dining table, as if to imply that as long as Bilbo didn't take too long, he could accompany them on this adventure.
...
Riding quietly, the group of dwarves began to talk about Bilbo. Bofur, the dwarf who loves to wear a fur hat, was the first to speak.
"I bet Mr. Baggins won't come because he's afraid. Who dares to bet with me?"
"Hey, we all know Mr. Baggins isn't coming; it's unfair of you to gamble!" said Fíli.
At Fíli's comment, some of the dwarves nodded. "That's right, that's right."
At that point, Aldril smiled and said, "I bet Baggins will catch up. Who wants to bet with me?"
If he didn't know the plot, judging by Bilbo's performance yesterday and not having gotten up early this morning, Aldril wouldn't have brought up this subject because the chance of Bilbo following them was almost nil. But now, he could earn some extra silver coins that would do his economy some good.
At Aldril's proposed wager, the dwarves were silent for a few seconds, only to be broken by Gandalf. "I'm in favor of Bilbo coming, so I'm betting in his favor."
After hearing Gandalf join the wager, several dwarves began to speak.
"I'll take Aldril's bet; I bet the hobbit won't come."
"Well, this time I'll be against Aldril and bet that Bilbo won't come."
Kili and Bofur spoke quickly, which caused several other dwarves who were interested in betting to start entering the wager.
"Count me in. I suppose Mr. Baggins could catch up with us, so I'll bet on him too," Balin said.
Glóin, seeing Balin bet in favor, also joined in. "Same thing Balin said!"
Kili also followed him, "This time I agree with Aldril; I bet Bilbo will come."
"Don't be an idiot, Kili; the hobbit won't come."
"The idiot is you, Dwalin."
"What did you say!"
...
While the group of dwarves were gambling and having fun, at Bag End, little Bilbo had just woken up. When he woke up, he saw that the house was empty and everything was tidy and clean, as if the group of dwarves from last night did not exist. If the food in the food store had not run out, Bilbo would have thought that everything that happened last night was a dream. Looking around the empty room and remembering yesterday's bustle, Bilbo suddenly felt a pang of regret.
As he approached the dining room, he saw on his table the contract he had refused to sign. At that moment, Bilbo could hear Gandalf's voice in his head. "Bilbo, your mother, your grandfather, your great-grandfather, your great-great-grandfather, they were all extraordinary; don't break that tradition."
"You are also a member of the Took family; do you plan to stay in this little house for the rest of your life?"
Suddenly, an indescribable impulse grew in Bilbo's heart. "Yes, I don't want to! I don't want to live like this all my life! I don't want to be normal; I want an adventure that I can tell about!"
Bilbo immediately found a pen and signed his name on the contract. Then he packed some clothes and ran out of Bag End, running off into the distance.
Half an hour later, carrying a rucksack that he didn't even have time to fasten at the top, Bilbo finally spotted the expedition team from a distance in the forest, about to leave Hobbiton. Bilbo waved the contract in his hand and ran forward happily.
"I've signed it!"
Hearing Bilbo's voice, Aldril turned around and smiled. "And this is how the story of the Hobbit begins, what a thrill!"
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According to the voting, Tauriel will be the romantic interest and she will also have a special origin.
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