My friend wanted me to write something for her and this popped up in my head. She liked it (she should! I'm doing this for her!) So I decided to see if anyone else would enjoy this little monstrosity I'm starting. I'm iffy about giving this a shot. I'm new - like super new - to the world of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings so be patient and kind if I make mistakes. If I need to correct something let me know - I enjoy learning new things about Tolkien stuff. Also I have no self-esteem so flames make me cry.
Fair warning: this is a mixture of both book and movie, I know nothing of ponies, rivers, or dwarves. Also brace yourself for some religion bashing and vague background information. It's been a while since I've written anything and I really suck. Plus I can't ever decide how to write in POVs.
I own nothing. If you can, I'd appreciate feedback - reviews, PMs, rocks being tossed at my window with letters strapped to them at random hours of the night.
Oh yeah, typical cliché "transportation to another world" story. Those rock my socks.
Wishing Well
*One*
"Something bad is going to happen today," my roommate stated, her green eyes shifting back and forth as she stared up at the ceiling like the answer was written up there somewhere. I made a face at her as she turned her attention back to me. I kept my seat on the sofa, trying to appear all well behaved and innocent. "Whatever you're planning today Elli, don't do it." She pouted. Wendy, my roommate, was really good at pouting. I guess it came with being the youngest of four older siblings and the fact that she was blessed with some really good genes. She had long, silky black hair and big, expressive, green eyes and fair skin that made her look 'oh too cute' when she pouted. I was a little jealous my one-fourth Japanese friend who got the best mixture of Asian and Caucasian looks. I shot her my most innocent look I could muster and raised my hands in mock peace. I was the baby of my family too so I knew how to feign innocence when necessary. Also, I was rocking the epitome of an angel. Er, well, my genes of long, blonde locks and big, bright, blue eyes. If she was a boy I could've showed a little more cleavage since I was blessed with a nice rack (score for me!). That was the generic portrayal of angels, right? Except for the boob thing.
"I'm not planning anything. Promise." I replied sweetly. She shot back an "I-don't-believe-you-in-the-slightest-and-no-matter-what-you-say-I-know-you're-going-to-do-it" kind of look. Damn – maybe my 'oh so childish innocence' appearance faded away this year when I turned 20. "Look, I'm just gonna practice some tid-bit spells here and there. Maybe attempt a spiritual cleansing of the house. You know, all your negative emotions draws in negative energy and luck." I teased, flipping stray strands of my hair back away from my face. Wendy rolled her eyes at me and moved across the living room to grab her black backpack. I kept my seat on the sofa, watching her cautiously as she passed on by and headed towards the front door.
"Whatever. Just please, don't do anything crazy." Wendy pleaded. "Something bad is going to happen. I know it. I don't know what it is but, it's going to happen."
I furrowed my brows at her. What?
"If it's gonna happen, then why are you telling me to not do it? Obviously it's gonna happen whether you like or not." Where was the logic in not doing what your fate intended? Wendy stood in the doorway momentarily, eyes shifting back around the room like she was trying to pinpoint an answer. Apparently they floated across the room in front of her face sometimes – too bad they were never answers to important exam questions.
"I don't know. Just, please, whatever crazy exciting thing you are thinking about today, don't do it." Cue dramatic eye roll from me.
"Pfft, whatever. Just go, you're gonna be late to class if you don't leave now." I said, getting up from my spot and 'shooing' my friend out of our little house. She casted one more warning shot at me as she headed down the street and towards campus. I shifted back and forth on my feet momentarily, waiting for her to be out of view before I dashed back into the house and grabbed my brown, canvas satchel from the closet. I began stuffing it with utensils I had scattered throughout the room.
Before I get too far out there let me kinda explain myself.
Ourselves.
This situation or whatever.
You see, Wendy and I are roommates. Not in a gay kinda way, more like a series of unfortunate events involving my ex-boyfriend, the police, and a lot of people getting very pissed off at me kind of way and my beloved best friend taking me into her residence. Wendy is a college student attending Nursing School at Indiana University in Indianapolis while I am currently still 'soul searching' myself. I gave that nursing bull crap a shot and it just wasn't for me. I wanted to do something adventurous – travel the world, climb a mountain, find the Loch Ness Monster - something cool.
Anyway, Wendy offered to let me stay with her in a little house she (and her parents) were paying rent for while she was in school. Of course I helped out when I could but practicing magick – not magic – but magick was my main thing. I'm not a magician pulling rabbits out of hats and cutting up my assistant's body but a practicing Wiccan. The whole attuning myself with nature and utilizing the subtle energies of the world to protect and better the lives around me kind of thing. I began practicing as a Wiccan in my teens, but according to my parents I've been "odd" since I was a child; always trying to wish Wendy to another place like in our fairy tale stories, pleading to random fairies for an adventure or trying to cast spells on our siblings. Nothing too crazy ever did happen, but hey, I personally blame my overly Jehovah Witness parents – tons of negative energy from them. Just in case you don't know what Witnesses are, they are the people who knock on your door at eight in the morning asking if you'd like to speak about our lord and savior Jehovah. Yeah. Anyway – back to today.
I dashed around the house, grabbing some items I had scattered about and stuffed them into my bag: an amethyst crystal, chalk, tea lights, incense and tons of other junk I thought I might need. I darted back to the front room and slipped on a pair of black Van shoes, dusted off my blue jeans, and pulled on green hoodie over my black tank top. I pulled my hair into a ponytail and headed out, causing the door to slam behind me as I headed down the street and towards the bridge that lead over the White River to campus. Our apartment was on the west side of the river, so we called it The Ghetto. It wasn't. Not really. It was just a little more run down and on the far end of campus where it was a little more unsafe. It wasn't a long walk from here to school, about 20 minutes or so. Wendy really liked being able to walk to campus while I was paranoid something would happen. I really couldn't persuade her to walk with other students or ride the bus so I just creepily watched her walk across the street and over the bridge to campus most times.
Often when Wendy was gone, I'd walk towards the river and hang out at the bank's edge. There was a spot under the bridge that I would just hang out at whenever I needed a quiet place to relax or wanted to practice casting some spells. Most people would walk the canal and anyone on the riverbank were out fishing in spots that they knew were good so I was content in my shady little spot under the bridge. Until it got dark: that's when the homeless started coming out to chill under the bridge. Once it's dark, I'm out of there pretty fast.
Anyway, there was a new spell I wanted to try today and if Wendy said bad things were gonna happen, they usually happened. I wasn't really planning on doing anything to our house. My talents were a little iffy and this was going to be first spell that was going to be casted on such a large object and was going to be used for other people and not just me – don't worry - it's a good spell, nothing dangerous. I'm just really paranoid about people's (actually just Wendy's) safety.
(Wishing Well)
*Meanwhile, in a better world with better things - maybe*
Dwarves weren't built to function in water. They weren't designed to go trudging along the riverbank trying to retrieve a spooked pony, the pony being Myrtle, in the pouring, cold rain. Kíli and Fíli happened to be the two poor souls who first found the runaway animal drenched and struggling in the water. The packs it had been carrying had gotten tangled along a few branches on a large, fallen tree that was half submerged in the wide river. Being entangled in the branches caused the poor creature to thrash around wildly in an attempt to free itself. Kíli and Fíli signed, casting each other exasperated looks. Whatever food and supplies that were in those packs were now ruined, making their already bad day get worse.
"Looks like we'll have to cut her loose and lead her back to land." Kíli stated, adjusting his hood and trying to suppress a shiver. The adjustment didn't help any and the dark haired dwarf continued to shiver.
"Great plan, now whose going to dive in and get 'er?" Bofur asked, looking between the two princes. The other part of the company were trailing behind, trying to find a dry spot to rest till they retrieved Myrtle. Fíli shot Kíli a look and the younger dwarf groaned, knowing he was going to be the one to untangle her.
"Don't worry, I'll jump in for you if you start drowning." Fíli teased, patting his brother on the back affectionately. Kíli shrugged his brother's hand off of him.
"Just get me some rope," He grumbled, surveying the scene and trying to predict the best way to free the pony. Fíli stood next to his brother while Bofur had gone back to the others to get some supplies. The two stood quietly for a moment, planning on what to do next.
"Think the tree is stable enough to stand on while you cut her loose?"
"Hope so, I really don't want to get in the water to get her out."
Both brothers winced a bit as the wind picked up, causing the rain to sting as it pelted down on them. The two dwarves did their best to ignore the cold and made their way over to the fallen tree. It was a large, somewhat thick tree looking as if it recently fell and would hold their weight. The brown bark was still intact and had a rough, grooved surface that would provide some traction in the rain. Hopefully.
Kíli climbed onto the trunk of the tree, gingerly testing his weight to make sure it was sturdy enough to hold him. Dwarves weren't built to be in trees either and this combination of tree submerged in water was the perfect setup for disaster. Kíli placed some more weight onto his feet, making sure the trunk wouldn't bend as he moved across it.
"Careful lad, don't want you to slip off the trunk and get washed down the river." Bofur commented, causing both princes to jump in surprise. The older dwarf laughed, tossing over one end of the rope to Kíli who had momentarily lost balance and was holding his arms out in an attempt to regain it. The other end of the rope was tossed over to Fíli.
The younger dwarf carefully made his way down the tree's trunk, trying to keep his balance against the wind and rain that repeatedly threatened to push him into the river. Myrtle thrashed about tiredly, neighing in protest of being trapped and splashing water unintentionally at Kíli as he got closer.
"Easy, girl. I'm here to get you out." He stated, trying to calm the pony. Myrtle stopped her flailing momentarily as Kíli tied a rope to her bridle. "Give me a moment to cut her lose and I'll tell you when to pull!" Kíli shouted back to the other two dwarves on land. He looked over to make sure his brother heard him and he could see the outline of the others coming towards them.
"Some of 'em are coming to help lead her back in," Bofur commented, looking back to see what Kíli was staring at, "Just in case she decides she wants to keep on swimmin' down river." Kíli rolled his eyes and crouched down to begin untangling the bags from the branches. His fingers were slightly numb from the cold and were making the dwarfs movements a little clumsy and slow. When all the baggage seemed to be removed and was safely sitting on the tree trunk, Kíli waved towards the others holding the rope. A few members of the group had joined Bofur and Fíli on the bank, lining up behind them ready to help.
"Try to pull her back in." Kíli stated. There was a nod from the others as they began to tug on the rope. Myrtle neighed and thrashed about, violently protesting the pulls and moving awkwardly about. Kíli groaned, trying to keep his balance as the wind roughly blew by. With the wonderful luck they've been having today, he should have known there would be something in the water that she was also stuck on. He really didn't want to get in water.
"Hold on. She's stuck on something under the water. I have to jump in and cut her loose." He shouted back. There was a chorus of groans from the other end.
"Make it quick! We're freezing out here!" Someone shouted.
"Don't pull until I tell you to." Kíli called back, ignoring the comment. Whoever said it was going to get an unpleasant surprise when he got back onto land – they weren't the one who had to get into the water to cut the pony free. Grabbing his knife from its sheath, Kíli reluctantly slipped into the icy water. He hissed at from the sudden impact of being incredibly wet and cold from the neck down. He wadded about, trying to keep his head above the waves that kept slamming into him. Myrtle thrashed about again, almost hitting Kíli in the process.
"Easy, girl." He pleaded, trying to calm the pony. He waited for Myrtle to stop struggling before continuing on. Kíli took a quick breath and dove underwater to see what was holding the pony back. His vision was blurry and he strained his eyes, trying to see the underwater problem. Myrtle's back left leg was caught in the straps of a pack that had fallen off when she first had gotten into the water. Her thrashing had tangled it up even more in the weeds floating under her and in the submerged branches of the tree. Kíli resurfaced, taking in a deep breath of air, restoring is oxygen reserve for another dive.
"Is everything alright?" A timid voice called out. Kíli assumed it was Bilbo who asked it.
"Yes but don't pull just yet. I still have to cut her free." He stated, gagging a bit as a wave decided to smack him in the face while he was talking. Kíli took another deep breath dove back into the water while everyone one land patiently waited for the archer to give them his command.
"Is he going to be alright?" Bilbo questioned, holding onto a piece of the rope between Bofur and Gloin.
"He'll be fine, lad. Contrary to popular beliefs, dwarves can swim." Gloin stated, watching the water intently.
"It's just we don't really like to." Bofur finished. Suddenly Myrtle began flailing and pulling away from the tree, causing everyone to grab the rope tightly and start directing her towards land with their tugs. Fíli shifted uncomfortably on his feet as he kept his eyes on the water for his brother who hadn't surfaced yet to tell them to pull.
"Kíli?" He shouted, watching the water for him. Panic began to form within him as he let go of the rope. Myrtle had made it close to the shore and everyone continued leading her to land that she was happily swimming to. Fíli took a few steps away from the others, eyes frantically scanning the water. "Kíli?"
Still nothing.
'If this is a joke, brother, it isn't a good one.' Fíli thought to himself, hoping his brother was just pulling a bad prank. Moments passed and still nothing happened.
"What's that?" Bilbo awkwardly asked, pointing a little out from where Myrtle once was. There was a faint red pool that was slowly trailing and dissipating as it moved down the river. Fíli took off in a mad dash down the riverbank, following the little red trail.
"Kíli!" Fíli shouted again, spotting his brother's body floating face up down the river, leaving the trail of blood that seemed to be coming from an injury somewhere on his head. Fíli quickly stripped himself of his weapons, knowing they'd just weigh him down if he jumped into the water with them. He could faintly hear the others yelling behind him as he made his way towards the water. The river current was speeding up and Kíli's body was bobbing up and down between the waves, going in and out of Fíli's sight.
Fíli jumped into the water, tensing momentarily as his body temperature suddenly dropped in the cold environment. He began swimming, reaching out for his brother as everyone on land kept shouting out their names. He blocked out the sound of the others, keeping his gaze focused on his brother. Kíli's body bobbed one last time above the water before a violent wave came running by and submerged the young dwarf's body under water. Fíli took in a panicked, deep breath and dove under the water to find out where the river was dragging his brother to. A blurry image floated around in front of him, his brother's form sinking lower and lower towards the green weeds that were swaying with the current. The weeds were reaching out like thin hands, ready to snatch Kíli and hold him in this aquatic world. Fíli dove deeper, moving quickly to reach his brother. He made it to Kíli's body, grabbing his brother's hand and trying to pull him to the surface. His lungs seared, aching for him to take in a breath of air. There was a tug against Fíli and the dwarf glanced back, mentally cursing his luck. Kíli's foot was tangled in one of the weeds that seemed to be yanking the passed out dwarf back towards the river's depths. Of course, Fíli just had to discard all his weapons on land. He gave a few violent tugs, trying to free his brother as his lungs continued to burn and black spots began forming in his hazy vision. He gave one more violent tug and felt Kíli come loose of the weeds.
Fíli pulled his brother close, holding him securely to his chest as his body automatically forced him to take a breath. He gagged, feeling the rush of cold water enter his lungs and saw bubbles float in front of his face in a mad race to the surface. Fíli writhed, violently kicking his legs, hoping to reach the surface as black spots began forming in and out of his vision.
He and his brother weren't going to die here.
They still needed to reach Erebor.
So yep, that's it. Questions? Comments? Indifference? Please let me know what you think. Also, I stated I knew nothing of dwarves so if you got some info, please share. :)