Just a little one shot that had to be written to take my mind of the other two. I am still chewing on where to turn with "Full Circle". A couple of more chapters are ready but I am not convinced. Maybe I do have to wait for part 3.
I am also working on a naughty piece that does give quite a large number of dwarfs a bit of fun time. If anybody with an open mind wants to volunteer as beta, pls PM me :)
And let me know what you think of the following!
Fifteen male individuals and one woman. Not a combination that worked well under the best of circumstances. In my case circumstances could only be called crazy.
Transmitted to a reality that was not mine, by means I had never understood and for reason that remained to be seen, I had been through something like Dante's Inferno while trying to adjust to a life on the road under constant threat of being attacked, abducted or killed by things I never expected to see outside of a horror movie and all that in the company of a very random looking congregation of people. Most of them were short and hairy and were referred to as dwarfs but did more resemble a Viking band than the kind little creatures one knew from Snow White and other fairy tales.
They were accompanied by a tall wizard who, like my favourite Harry Potter character did not believe in foolish wand waving. Unfortunately the similarities ended there. He looked more like a less flamboyant Dumbledore with his long grey beard, hair and cloak.
And last there was Bilbo, a hobbit. He stood even shorter than the dwarfs, some of whom almost had my height, but his nose would have been buried between my boobs if I ever felt inclined to hug him.
Some of the dwarfs were old, very old, with big noses, long beards and big bellies. Some of them seemed young but even they were old, compared to me, a couple or two were quite handsome actually. Some were weirder than others, for example the dude with an axe's head stuck over his left eyebrow. Some had terrible manners while others seemed rather educated. Some were still suspicious of me, even after all the weeks we had been travelling to god knows where and faced dangers of such shapes and sorts like I could never have imagined existed anywhere in the world. At least not in a world I was living in. Trolls, wargs, orcs, stone giants, goblins, giant spiders and not to forget the ever present flies, mosquitoes, leeches, ants, tics and what else crawled and buzzed around us day in day out. Add to that the incommodity of being the only woman amongst more than a dozen men, or something similar, and I am sure everybody can understand why I got grumpy and upset from time to time. I don't think it was fair to call me difficult because I insisted on doing some business in private.
Some of them had to be taught that being a girl does not equal being an idiot. Some thought they were due a bit of entertainment since they put up with me but in the end even the most persistent had to accept that if I wanted that sort of entertainment it would be me who chose with whom and where and when. And I had, indeed, made that choice. In fact, it had been made quite a while ago but entertainment had not been had so far and the situation was becoming intolerable.
Not that there were many indicators that he would be susceptible to my advances, let alone welcome them. I would have deemed the whole affair completely hopeless if not for the fact that every time in the past weeks, when there was trouble or danger, he had been right next to me until he could be sure the worst was over and I'd be safe. I probably owed him my life five times over. But that was not what had made me fall for him.
In the beginning I always kept a distance from the company, watching and observing them closely, trying to gauge their intent, their characters, to understand who they were. I did come to like them, all of them but my eyes kept roaming back to one and the more I saw the more I liked what I saw.
He caught me watching a few times but did not seem bothered, if anything he was totally indifferent. I became more subtle in my observations that soon turned into infatuation.
I watched him wake up in the morning, I watched him wash and half fainted the one time he stood at a well, naked to the waist. I must have stared open mouthed the first time I saw him fight. It would have been a major turn on if not for the small inconvenience of having to fend for my life at the same time.
Like a perfect little stalker I watched him ride, walk, run, eat sing, sleep and talk but I learned to read him well during those weeks and that's why I was getting ready to make my move. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, as the saying goes.
After all we could be trapped in this bloody forest forever, finally falling prey to the lurking eight legged creatures in the trees. Or we could actually make it out of here but then, being so close to our - their – goal, priorities would shift again. They might even succeed in getting rid of me this time, most likely in the town of men that was situated at the foot of the mountain they wanted to free from the dragon that had taken it from them decades ago. One way or another the time to wait for the opportune moment was over.
They had tried to dump me on the elves in Rivendell and I am still not one hundred percent sure why I did not stay there. It was a lovely place, beautiful and with lots of good food and drink and song and dance. So when ripped from one's life and being downloaded into another universe one could find much worse places to spend the time in. Blame it on my blooming fascination with a certain dwarf. Dwarf. I did not like that word in connection with him. Khazad is what they call themselves and it fits him so much better.
I never thought of him as short. Only when he stood right next to me the difference in height became apparent but that did not happen very often anyway. He had been one of those who campaigned for me being left behind in Rivendell. Not loudly but firm. The day of their departure from the Hidden Valley I took a long walk and got lost. Luckily I came across the company's path before the night fell. What could they do, they dragged me along.
Next they convinced the eagles to let me look after the young ones that I had so come to love during our stay at the eyrie. A sudden outbreak of acrophobia did not allow me to accept the kind eagle lord's offer.
Their last attempt had been at Beorn's house. I might have been tempted if not for my bee allergy. He kept bees the size of my fist inside his house. I did not have a history of bee allergy but I was pretty sure that I got allergic just by the sight of those beasts. Better be safe than sorry, right? They did make delicious honey, though. When I regretfully declined the skin changer's invitation to stay at his place I thought I saw the shadow of a smile pass over the face that I secretly watched out of the corner of my eyes whenever I could. By the time I had shifted my gaze to get a better look there was of course nothing but the usual poker face.
Many people would have thought him foul tempered at the worst and too serious at the best of times but I had seen him smile, laugh and make jokes often enough to know he had a good, if dry, sense of humour that I loved to see triggered, even if it was at my expense, as was frequently the case.
Night crept over Mirkwood Forest, which meant nothing else but that the darkness became darker. Daylight seemed to be a concept unheard of in these parts. We were running dangerously low on provisions but for once there were none of the dreaded spider webs close by and everybody was hoping for a quiet night. Everybody but me, that was.
Three people were appointed first watch, the rest settled down on their blankets and coats, using depressingly empty pouches and bags as thin pillows. He had a routine of checking on the guards before getting some sleep himself, so when he left I sneaked away into the opposite direction, knowing our paths would cross sooner or later.
The plan worked. In a way. I should not have underestimated his vigilance of all things. One second I stood leaning against a tree, the next I was flat on my back with a sharp knife at my throat, pinned to the ground by a hard and heavy body. Not exactly how I had imagined it to go but there was room for progress. Not between the blade and my neck, though.
"It's me," I whispered. The knife disappeared and I was pulled into a sitting position in a markedly unfriendly manner by the lapels of my jacket. The 'flat on my back' set up had been much preferable, I thought until I grabbed his arms to steady myself, feeling the muscles of is biceps work and found I was not that worse off.
"You should know better than to run around in the night all alone," he hissed. Even in the dark I could see his eyes flash. That could have been scary but I'd be damned if I let go of him now that he was so close.
"I was not running," I whispered, moving even closer to make sure he heard me, "I was waiting."
"For what? A spider to invite you for breakfast?"
I could feel his breath on my face as he spoke. Did he realize he was still pulling at my clothes? They might rip!
Now was the moment of truth, now or never. I was beginning to think in song titles. A bad sign. That mainly happened when I was terribly nervous, or happy.
"For you, so I would not be alone in the dark."
He released his grip on me abruptly and I would have fallen back had I not been clinging to his arms still. There was a rather long silence during which we did nothing but try and stare at each other, which was not easy under the very poor lighting conditions. I began to feel a bit stupid because the longer a silence lasts the more difficult it becomes to break. Especially if it's not a comfortable silence and the one between us certainly wasn't. One could have called it the mother of uncomfortable silences.
Just when I was about to break and come up with any kind of dumb babble I heard him say: "And what did you want with me in the dark?"
Suddenly my heart raced and the blood roared in my ears. Had he really just said that? Was I hearing things? I was tempted to ask him to repeat the question but that would have been insanely daft. There was no time for doubt or second thoughts. Not trusting my voice I leaned forward ever so slowly, allowing for any misconception on my part to be brought to light. Well, dark. But my lips touched his unhindered and a shock wave ran through my body that let me moan only loud enough for him to hear.
He did not return the kiss but right there and then I did not mind. Just to feel his mouth on mine made my dizzy. Better to let it come in small doses and steadily increase the level.
I drew back, head swimming. He had not moved at all but something about him was different. He was not less cautious but a tiny bit more relaxed. I on the other hand was positively flying high and closed my eyes for a moment to marvel at the fact that I had actually just kissed him, that he had let me kiss him!
When I opened them again his face was mere millimetres from mine. "Is that all?"
It was not much more than a sigh, hardly audible even for me but it served to make all my insecurities and my nervousness hop on a plane and fly far far away, leaving me with a joy that spread from my heart to the top of my skull and the tips of my fingers and toes. I was sure I must be glowing in the dark but I did not have time to check. Not with what I had hungered for so long and hard right in front of me.
The second kiss was less chaste. His lips parted and my tongue met his halfway. They instantly took a liking to each other and began to dance like long time partners. My hands finally uncurled from his arms but only to travel up over his shoulders and snake underneath his long hair until the met behind his neck. Leaning back I made him follow me without breaking the kiss. We fell onto a bed of rotting leaves but I could not have cared less for what was underneath me, not with what was on top of me.
Every now and then I had to stop, take a deep breath and make sure that this was really, really happening. Every time he would ask me the same question: "Is that all?" And every time I pulled him back down for more and my heart did a non-stop happy dance to the melody of 'Could I have this kiss forever'.
Finally came the magic moment when he made a move on his own accord, lips trailing to the very sensitive spot under my left ear and further down my throat where he met the barrier of my jacket's collar. He looked up. "Is that all?" I wanted to know.
He did not laugh but softly caressed the little hollow between my collarbones, a spot I had a great weakness for ever since I had watched 'The English Patient'. "No, my flower, that is just the beginning, if you wish."
The world stopped spinning for a precious timeless moment. "I wish for nothing more."
It was all he needed to hear. Fingers began to unbutton my jacket and shirt, pushing both to the side. Naked flesh was revealed to the night and immediately covered with kisses and warmed with caresses.
What can I say about what followed. Everybody knows how it's done. The act stays the same, what two people make of it is what changes but when it's done to perfection words will always be insufficient to describe it. 'We made magic that night', to quote another song, even though we did not say much, saw even less, could not make any noise so as to not alert the guards and the forest floor was not exactly a bed of roses. And of course we had to part way too soon.
Watch needed to be changed and by that time we had to be back at camp.
Vows of everlasting love were not spoken, a next appointment was not made or mentioned but I knew we had formed a bond that would not be broken easily. I could wait. He was worth all the waiting in the world. Whatever the outcome of this mission, if we survived we would be lovers again when it was over and with a little luck even sooner.
The next morning came and with it the dim light that marked daytime in Mirkwood. It seemed less gloomy to me.
From the other side of the circle we usually slept in I heard somebody laugh. "Look! Dwalin must have dreamt of roast and ale. He woke up with a big smile!"