The next morning Bella woke up in her bed, bits of the Dwarven song floating through her head. She hopped up and dressed in yet another male outfit she'd bought, simple trousers and a shirt along with a red vest, suitable for long walks. 
She looked throughout her home, unable to find a single sign of the dwarves. It wasn't a dream, she was sure of that. And finally under the clock on her mantel she found a note telling her, or 'Bilbo' rather, to meet the dwarves at Bywater Inn at eleven o'clock sharp... It was nearly that now.
"Didn't even wake me. " she muttered.
And that is how Bella Baggins, a perfectly respectable hobbit, found herself chasing after a group of dwarves with only a change of clothes and fresh wrappings for her chest but no handkerchief.
"There you are, Bilbo! " Balin greeted when she ran up to the Inn just as the dwarves, led by Thorin, appeared. The group walked to a bunch of ponies. Bella handed the contract to Balin, who smiled warmly.
"Well then, it all seems in order. Welcome, Bilbo Baggins, to the Company of Thorin Oakenshield. "
Bella smiled nervously, the others returning the smile. All except Thorin, who nodded and began forward. Her smile turned sour as they rode on. The day was sunny and songs began to erupt. Bella's sunny mood returned and she even volunteered a song or two of her own. The Dwarven king at the front of their procession remained serious, never turning around. Dwalin rode beside him and occasionally speaking.
However, Bella soon realized that not all adventures were pony rides in May sunshine. On top of all that, Gandalf disappeared sometime. The rain dampened even Bofur's spirits. Bella's first worry, of course, was her chest. The rain threatened to reveal her secret. Dwalin in fact shot her suspicious glances.
One night, Bella was sitting around the fire helping Bombur cook their dinner. The dwarf seemed happy to have someone else in the Company who was as excited about food as he was.
Bombur gave her two steaming bowls of stew that obviously weren't for her.
"Take this to the boys, will you? They're watching the ponies. " the dwarf asked. She nodded and began walking over to where Fili and Kili were.
"Here-... " she said before stopping. "Something wrong? "
Fili shrugged, his eyes trained dead ahead. "Not much, Bilbo. "
"Only one small problem. We had fourteen ponies-"
"And now there's only ten. " Fili finished. Bella gulped nervously, the brother's obvious expectation scaring her.
"And... You want me to find them? Out there? " she murmured.
Kili nodded before a crashing sound filled his ears. He fell purposely onto the ground, pulling Bella down with him. A similar noise told her that Fili had done the same as his brother. Bella's stomach twisted when a huge troll crashed through the undergrowth. She recognized Myrtle and Thorin's pony under the troll's arms.
"No. " she breathed. Kili nodded, his face a couple inches from hers.
"Yes. We hoped that you could maybe do some burglaring and save our ponies. "
She sighed. "I don't have a choice, do I? "
The boys' shaking of their heads gave her their answer. She stood up and dusted herself off.
After Fili told her something useless about hooting like an owl she was shoved forward.
Around a huge fire sat three trolls. Bella shivered. Ugly, nasty things they were. And rude as well. Bella heard things in five minutes that she'd never have heard in the Shire.
However, she knew what she had to do. The hobbit crept over to the hastily constructed pen where the ponies were locked up. The pen was tied together with an absolutely horrible knot. Her small fingers worked at it until her feet were pulled out from under her!
The first thing she saw was a troll's face up close. All three peered curiously at her before speaking.
"Ay! What're you, t'en? "
"I'm a burg- I mean hobbit. " she stuttered.
The second troll looked confused. "What's a burrahobbit? And can we eat it? "
The third smiled, or what it thought was a smile. "We can try! "
" 'E wouldn't make more 'an a mouthful. If there's more, we could make a pie! "
"Ey, you! Is t'ere any more of you ittle burrahobbits around? "
"Yes lots. " she said, before remembering. "No, none at all. "
The trolls began arguing, but stopped when Thorin and the Company burst through the bushes. The dwarves began hacking away at the troll's legs and ducking to avoid capture. They'd begun to free the ponies when Bella was once again grabbed by her arms and legs. Thorin spun around, the look of annoyance clear on his face.
"Look 'ere! We've got 'er, so give up t'en. Tie 'em up, Bert! " the first troll ordered. Kili quickly learned what trying to run meant after he was knocked down by a troll.
Once all the dwarves were tied up, Bella was dropped only to be picked up by another troll and tied to a dwarf. A lock of dark, silver-streaked hair over her shoulder told the hobbit exactly who she was tied up with.
Kili and Fili were tied together not far away from Balin and Dwalin. Bella couldn't see the others. She could barely see Fili and Kili from where she was. Thorin struggled, getting nowhere. Bella shrugged uselessly and leaned back.
"Got a plan, Bilbo? " Kili whispered. The hobbit shook her head as a reply. She heard a snort from behind her.
"He better, seeing as he's the one who got us into this mess. " Thorin growled. Bella rolled her eyes, choosing to ignore Thorin's back pressing against hers.
Fili nodded. "They're trolls... I can't remember what their weakness is. "
Bella quickly listened into the trolls conversation.
"If we're gonna cook 'em, we gitta hurry. The sun's gonna rise soon. "
"The sun! I remember, trolls turn to stone with the sunlight! " Bella whispered. Kili grinned and his brother smiled.
"You're right, Bilbo. We have to stall them. "
Kili grinned cheekily. "We'll tell them we're poisoned or something. " he suggested. "They wouldn't eat us then! "
One of the trolls reached for Bombur when Bella piped up. "Not him! He's.... "
"Sick, he's sick! "
"We all are, it's an infection! " Kili yelled.
The trolls were drowned in shouts from the dwarves.
"Bert, I don't think it's a good idear.... Let's just leave em. "
The troll named Bert shook his head. "Nonsense. We can try an' cook the sickness out of 'em. "
Fili's eyes widened at that. This was not how he expected it to go. Just when Bella and Thorin were picked up, a voice rang out in the early sunlight.
"Dawn take you all, and be stone to you! " Gandalf's voice shouted. Bella grinned while beside her, Thorin seemed merely unimpressed.
Bella saw the three trolls stiffen, then turn a grayish colour. Gandalf strode up to the troll holding the hobbit and dwarf and pulled them down. Bella quickly scurried away after landing on top of the Dwarven king.
The wizard smiled at them. "What happened here? "
"We were caught by trolls obviously. " Thorin remarked dryly. "Our burglar was taken captive and we had no choice. They're nearly impossible to fight. "
Bella turned away at Thorin's reproachful stare. Kili stepped forward towards his uncle.
"Uncle, it wasn't entirely his fault. We asked Bilbo to help get the ponies back. I guess we should've gone with or something. "
"Still... Either way, we need to continue on. "
Gandalf nodded when suddenly Bella spoke up. "They must have a cave nearby, right? To hide from the sun. "
The wizard nodded, smiling. "Let's go then! We may be able to get new weapons. "
"Or food! " Kili exclaimed. Gandalf laughed, starting to walk forwards.
"Of course Kili, that too. Let's go. "

---------------------------------

Bella sunk down a wall of the troll's cave. She'd already handed over the large key she found. The dwarves were rummaging through the piles of items in the troll hoard. She stood up and stumbled towards a wall.
Without any warning, a sheathed sword was shoved her way. She grabbed it and looked up at the dwarf giving it too her. Thorin.
"Here. You need to learn to protect yourself. Maybe then you won't be such a burden. " the dwarf said.
Bella nodded. "Of course. " she muttered. "Thank you. "
Thorin grumbled and turned away. Dwalin looked her way, nodding. "Next time we stop I'll teach ya how to use it. That's normally what I do around here. " he offered. Bella smiled hesitantly and replied with a nod.
Gandalf approached the hobbit and lay a hand on her shoulder. "That's an Elvish blade there. It will glow blue when orcs or goblins are nearby. " he informed her.
"A-Alright. "
Not that she knew how to use it.... This should be interesting.