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“What’s that?” Bilbo asks. He is indicating to the little pouch that is hanging beside Kili’s waist. Sometimes he catches the young Dwarf glancing at it, as if to check if the object is still there. It must be important. “If you don’t mind me asking, that is.”
“What’s what?” Kili asks back, “Oh, do you mean my Guide Stone? Let me show you!” He slips the pouch out of his toolbelt, and hands it over to Bilbo. “Please be careful, Master Boggins, it is the most important thing in a Dwarf’s life!”
Bilbo thanks him and studies the small pouch. It is a leather pouch with a strap and some delicate Dwarven patterns surrounding the huge opening in the middle. Well, huge enough to show the stone inside, but can still hold it firmly. With Bilbo’s little knowledge on the subject, he guesses it is a black opal, with little flickers of red visible. It is quite lovely.
“This is gorgeous,” he says when he hands the stone back to Kili.
“Thanks!” Kili beams, “I bet it will be even more beautiful when it glows.”
“Glows?” Bilbo asks curiously.
“Yeah,” Fili joins in, “it is a Guide Stone, every Dwarf has one.” He then shows Bilbo a similar pouch attached to his belt, though it houses a clear blue mineral. “It will emit a light glow when we are in a close distance with our soulmates. It guides our heart, hence the name. ”
“That’s why those who haven’t found their soulmate wear them visibly,” Bofur adds, apparently he is listening in on their conversation. “You won’t wanna miss your soulmate, will ya?”
It is until then that Bilbo notices, truthfully, some Dwarfs in the Company are also wearing some kind of a pouch on their belt, all in different shapes and sizes. Gloin doesn’t have it, although Bilbo can guess the reason from all his tales about his lovely wife and son.
And Thorin. Bilbo’s brain can’t help but points this out to him. Thorin does not wear his Guide Stone.
“Do Hobbits have a similar thing? Like a Guide Food or something?” Kili asks eagerly.
“Well…” Bilbo’s thoughts drift to the oak tree on top of Bag End.
Blessed by Yavanna, each and every Hobbit had a calling at a young age. They would have an urge to plant something in the ground, and that particular plant would grow exceptionally fast. Flowers that usually took weeks or months to bloom would show their full beauty in a short span of a few days, no matter the season. Fruits would always be ripe for taking.
And there would be another Hobbit, the soulmate, having the calling from the same plant. So Hobbits called it their Soul Plant. After many years, Hobbit parents started to name their girl after their Plant, so the boys might find their soulmates with fewer efforts. Gradually, Soul Plant became Naming Plant for a Hobbit lass.
Then of course, as Hobbits being Hobbits, they would put extra meanings into their Plants, over-analyzing the choice by Yavanna. It was quite a scandal when Bungo Baggins, a young lad from a respectable family, grew a patch of poisonous belladonna within hours in his front yard.
However, the Soul Plant of his son, Bilbo Baggins, caused an even bigger stir in the Hobbit community.
Once in a couple of decades, two Hobbit lasses might find themselves having the same name. Or two Hobbit lads might find none having the name of their Plants, and be surprised to discover that their best friend could grow hydrangeas as effortlessly as they could. These situations were not common, but also not frowned upon.
Bilbo was none of those cases. He went and grew a magnificent oak tree on top of Bag End within a month. His dad had to reconstruct part of the smial for it.
No one had ever had a tree as their Plant. Well, maybe a fruit tree, but never a tree tree.
“Each of us Hobbits has a unique plant that we excel at planting,” after some pondering, Bilbo finally replies, “it is called a Soul Plant for Hobbit lads.”
“Master Bilbo, is tomato your Soul Plant?” Ori asks shyly. “I remember that you had some prized tomato in your pantry.”
“Oh, Yavanna, no.” Bilbo laughs at the idea, “It would be quite a peculiar Soul Plant if that is the case. It is usually a flower of some kind.”
“What is your soulmate flower then, Master Bilbo?” Fili says.
“Yeah, tell us!” Kili pesters on.
Bilbo hesitates. Although he did not disclose the naming nature of Soul Plants, he is still scared that the Dwarves will connect the dots by themselves. That will not end well.
“It is rather private,” Bilbo lies, followed by a grimace. Generally, it is difficult to hide beautiful flowers from the neighbors, and everyone in the Shire knows of his big oak tree. Already he can think of thousands of loopholes in his own words. He looks away from the young Dwarves guiltily, only to find himself catching the gaze of their leader, and the subject of the center of his chaotic thoughts in the past few days.
“Allow me to introduce the leader of our company, Thorin Oakenshield.”
The name had Bilbo perked up. He never thought - he knew finding his soulmate was impossible. His Plant was an enormous oak tree, for Eru’s sake! To think that anyone would have such a daft name, even if it could be any variation of the plant: Acorn, Quercus, or even Woody. Just - highly impractical.
But. As if Yavanna is laughing at Her own little joke, someone named Oakenshield has turned up on his doorstep. And a Dwarf nonetheless! Bilbo just couldn’t believe his own eyes (or ears).
Also, Gandalf did mention Bilbo’s name, right? The Dwarf - Oakenshield, Bilbo reminded himself giddily - must recognize his name if they were a Match.
Anyways, when he thought about it, the naming rule does not even apply on Hobbit lads, not to mention ill-mannered Dwarfs. Having said that, Bilbo knew there was something special about this Dwarf. He felt a little flutter in his chest when their eyes met, the feeling just as magical as the day when he found the acorn off the road.
But then - “He looks more like a grocer than a burglar.”
Oh well.
After all these years, maybe Bilbo’s soulmate was simply just not his.
Or Dwarves just had other ways to identify their soulmates, he comforted himself later that night, with songs about faraway home accompanying him to sleep.
Some time during their rocky long walk alongside the Misty Mountains, Bilbo considers what should he do about the oak-sized issue of his heart.
He can confront Thorin directly, tell him about the oak tree, his Plant, and in turn ask him about his Stone.
No, not a good idea, Bilbo. Just no. Thorin does not wear his Guide Stone, remember? He must have found his Match already. Even if that is not the case, which is not likely, who says anything about Bilbo being that Match?
Maybe he should start with asking about Thorin’s Stone instead, then go with the flow. And then Thorin would ask, why is Bilbo so interested in this soulmate business, when the other Dwarves has just told him all about it literally a few nights ago.
Neither of those scenarios would have gone well. Maybe he should leave and go back to Rivendell with the first chance he has, Bilbo thinks with a shake of his head.
When they are relatively safe and sound in a mountain cave later that night, Thorin's ruthless words in the storm replay again and again in Bilbo's mind. How “he has no place among us” sounded over the thunder. How Thorin said that with disdain. How Bilbo’s heart dropped to his stomach, like a damned stone.
How his soulmate will not want him even if they are a Match.
Bilbo stands up with grim determination. Just as he is trying to spin some excuses to Bofur, the floor cracks, then they fall and fall and fall -
Thorin feels insulted, humiliated. Being separated with his brothers in arms, being kept in the deepest darkest Elven dungeon of his greatest enemy. Being so close to home, and yet so far, with time ticking away.
He has failed his people.
Not only his people. He has also failed the Hobbit’s faith in him. Master Baggins, who left his own warm home and soft armchair, who selflessly and willingly followed them into dangers. All that just to help them get back their rightly home.
But Thorin has led them all to this Mahal forsaken place. Master Baggins may even be still in the cursed forest, wandering by himself. Thorin wants to apologize to the Hobbit, wants to tell him how sorry he is.
Yet he is locked away in this prison cell, powerless. Stuck here forever. The cell is so dark, he can not even see his fingers with his Dwarven eyes. It almost feels like he does not even exist anymore.
He feels hopeless.
Suddenly, Thorin sees something from the corner of his eyes. It is a weak yellow glow, coming from under his tunic.
That is... No way. Mahal must be laughing at him.
Mind occupied by his duties, he almost forgets about the simple piece of amber that has been in his inside pocket. He has not thought about his Guide Stone for a hundred years. If it were a normal situation, he would not even notice the soft light it is emitting now.
But here and now in pitch black, he can see the glow clearly. The glow which tells him his soulmate is nearby, in this Elven realm. The only possibility, is that his soulmate is one of the tree-shaggers. The thought makes him shudder in disgust, but it kind of makes sense, with amber being a piece of fossilized tree resin.
Then, he hears the most peculiar footsteps from down the dark corridor, coming closer as the light gets stronger.
“Thorin, is that you in there?”
Despair turns into hope; relief rushes through his vein. Later, he would persuade himself the relief is for not having the Elves as his soulmate, but deep down in his heart, he knows it is for the safety of the daring Hobbit.
“What is that in your hand?” There comes Thorin's harsh demand.
Hesitantly, Bilbo holds out the acorn he found in Beorn’s garden. Back then, he has thought it was a sign for him to do something about his Soul Plant, to say something, anything. He has been so sure it was a positive omen. But with all the Arkenstone nonsense around lately, he is starting to reconsider the whole soulmate business.
“I’m going to plant it in my garden.” Bilbo is going to say, “In Bag End.” Another oak to accompany the lonely tree, unlike him who will be alone after all this.
Then his eyes find the softly glowing piece of amber hanging on Thorin’s belt.
Thorin's glowing Guide Stone. An Amber, which came from tree resin, as Thorin has explained to him with a hushing voice in the dungeon. A connection to Bilbo's nature. And that Thorin wearing it out proudly means a lot of trust in him.
It reminds Bilbo of the times when Thorin would pretend not to care about him, but worried about him the most. The helping hand on the Misty Mountains. The hug on the Carrock. The frantic search when they just got out of the barrels.
It reminds Bilbo of the times when he would be willing to jump in front of fires, Wargs, and Orcs to protect Thorin in return.
It reminds Bilbo of the time when they first met, when Thorin's words felt like daggers to his heart, but his gaze felt like butterflies in his belly at the same time.
It reminds Bilbo that no matter what may happen, Bilbo is Thorin's Amber and Thorin is his Oak Tree. This fact will never change.
Then all of his insecurities and doubts - they just simply vanish.
“We can plant it here, in Erebor,” Bilbo says instead, “together.”
Thorin gives him a beautiful, truly breathtaking smile. Traces of the dragon sickness nowhere to be seen. He takes Bilbo's hand in his, with the acorn between both of their palms.
“Together.”