Disclaimer - this world, characters and other stuff doesn’t belong to me. All credit goes to J. R. R. Tolkien, Peter Jackson and whoever else owns the franchise. This is a fem!Bilbo, pre-quest au where hobbits basically take in and care for the dwarves of stevie before they find Ered Luin. Just a side note. I am ignoring Canon, timelines and other things that clog up my creativity flow. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1:

Bella was the most peculiar hobbit anyone, so her neighbours said, had ever had the fortune of knowing. She was quite… odd. Unlike the proper, respectable dame that was expected of someone of her Baggins lineage, she was rather more of a, well, Took.

She reminded most who met her of her late mother Belladonna Took, with her wild nature and fiery temper.

She had scared no small number of gentle-hobbits near to death with her habit of simply appearing next to them, seemingly out of thin air. Not that anyone ever said that aloud of course.

Because, no matter how fiery, wild and un-respectable the young lass acted, no-one could ever bring themselves to dislike her. Some, a fleeting minority, made their displeasure known, the Sackville-Bagginses being the most prominent. But for all their talk and fuss, they could never bring themselves to actually do anything about it.

Now, our little adventure starts, well, the way one might expect, with a hobbit, and some dwarves.

Bella was on a trip to Bree, just flitting round the market, sweet smile on her face, when she saw it.

Them.

Slavers.

Her face twisted with horror as she took it in, five dwarrow chained together with iron shackles, looking quite worse for wear, dirty and muddy and, dear Yavanna was that blood?!

Quite understandably, she was furious. So furious, in fact, that she didn’t even hesitate before marching over there, distain and disgust shown clear on her face, and buying them. She felt disgusted, and dirty, bartering for these poor people’s lives but it had to be done.

It took some haggling and negotiation, if one could even call it that, thieving conmen, but she had finally got the slaves. It had almost torn her pride in two when she had had to compliment the disgusting man in front of her, then again when she had to actually speak as if she was going to hurt them, the poor things.

But, that was all in the past now, they had to get to the blacksmiths forge right now to get their ruddy chains removed.

And that’s how Bella Baggins-Took found herself tromping through the markets, five dwarrow chained to her like dogs.

She looked back, and they all looked like kicked puppies. Why are they looking like that? They should be happy they’re fr- oh. They don’t know that. Oh Bella Baggins you fool of a Took.

She stopped, abruptly, and whirled around facing them, scrutinising their expressions. Then she sighed, shook her head and said, “Come on you lot, we’ve got to get to the blacksmiths before nightfall if we’re going to get those chains off you.

She immediately found herself being stared at by five pairs of bewildered eyes. She shrugged. “Come on.” She said again and turned around.

/D… did she just say that she’s going to take the chains off?/ Kiki sounded so hopeful, not yet broken by the months in a cage. There was hope for him yet.

For all of them if the tiny lass was telling the truth.

/She did. She did! She’s going to take the chains off!/

All the dwarrow expressed their shock and gratitude, some felt doubt but that was soon overshadowed by the hope they felt at the mere idea of being free again.

They raced after the tiny lass, all the way to the forge and soon were amazedly rubbing their sore, chain-free necks in bliss.

An hour later and they were out of their stained, soiled rags and into newer, softer, warmer clothes. The refreshing baths they had been treated to had done more than wash away the grime and dirt. They felt like true dwarrow again.

It was more than they had ever hoped for.

But there was only one question that remained, one thing that shrill worried them. What about Dis?