A.N. I'm so incredibly pleased with the amount of people who read the first chapter. Thank you guys! It really helps to spur the inspiration when you know you have readers. Disclaimer; I own nothing except Danica. Please enjoy!
Danica leaned back against the cave wall, allowing the heaviness behind her eyes to close them. It had been one hell of a day, and she still wasn't quite sure how to handle it. On the one hand, she'd like to have the meltdown to end all meltdowns, but at the same time, she also felt strangely calm. She'd always been one who believed in destiny, and had faith that everything happened for a reason; even if that reason was just a lesson to be learned. This faith was the only thing that had kept her going after her husband died; and everything else that had happened the past year.
"What sort of war is your country in?"
"I'm sorry?" her mind transitioned slowly from her thought process to his words. "Oh. Another country attacked ours, killing many thousands of our people. Things get a bit more complicated after that, but the war has spread and continued on for many years. It was supposed to be over by now, but war does not often follow the whims of the men who create it,"
A strange look crossed Thorin's face at her words. "Nor those who fight,"
"No, they become the pawns of chaos," a bitterness tainted Danica's tone.
"Is that what happened to your husband?"
Despite her coming words, she smiled. "No. No, he threw himself into the line of fire to save his best friend, Will,"
"He sounds like an honorable man," Thorin's tone and face were both warm and soft.
"He was. The best man I ever knew," her throat suddenly closed off, and she had to work to swallow the emotion.
"Forgive me if this is prying; did you resent the man your husband died for?" there was a deep curiosity in Thorin's eyes, slightly different from what she had seen earlier.
It was a tough question, and she really had to consider it carefully. "Not really. I thought I did at first, but it was misplaced anger. When he came to my door to tell me what had happened, there was too much grief and rage to sort through, and it all ended up on his shoulders. Later, I realized I was more angry at my husband for leaving me; for choosing Will over me. Irrational, I know,"
Thorin shook his head. "Pain of that kind is never rational, but always understandable,"
"I suppose you're right," she said. "I actually became fairly close to him and his family. They came to visit me…when I moved in with my parents," her heart had skipped a beat when she almost revealed more than she wanted. Thankfully, a couple of minutes passed before Thorin spoke again. When he did, his words could have bowled her over.
"I lost someone as well," he was staring into the flames, his eyes lost in years long gone. "She was my betrothed, my One, and she was taken by a dragon,"
Danica's heart ached for him, but she couldn't help wondering why he was being so candid.
"Have you heard of the attack on Erebor?" she nodded. "We were to be married within the month. She got caught on one of the bridges. According to the friend she pushed out of the way, Smaug had grazed her with his tail on his way to the treasury. It was enough to send her tumbling to her death,"
"I'm so sorry," she wanted to reach out to him, but knew it would be a bad idea. Instead, she gave in to her unanswered question. "Why are you telling me this?"
"Because, it seems as though we have something in common," his eyes came back to the present and looked fully into hers.
Well, crap. Here she was, stranded in Middle Earth, sharing stories with a dwarf who was doomed to die. As it was, she couldn't stop from sniffing when her nose began to drip.
"Are you alright?"
"Oh yes. Just got a bit of a draft. My nose will run at any given opportunity," she tried to give a nonchalant chuckle, but it was nowhere near convincing. However, at that moment, she did realize just how uncomfortable she was in her still-wet coat. The fire had grown and was doing a fine job heating up the small cave, but her wet clothes trapped in the cold. Judging from the way Thorin looked at her coat, he was thinking the same thing.
To keep from feeling too awkward while taking her outer layers off, Danica began telling Thorin a bit more about her home. After mentioning the snow storm right before Christmas, she was shocked to learn that it was only early September here.
"But what about the snow storm?" she asked as she shook her long hair out from the hat. When Thorin didn't respond right away, she looked over and just caught him frowning at her strangely before he composed himself.
"It was very unusual for this time of year," he leaned forward on his knees. "Perhaps it had something to do with your arrival,"
"How could that be possible?"
"I'm not completely sure, but no matter what you say or believe Miss MacKay, I do not think you are as much a no one as you think you are,"
"Dani," she said instantly. "Most people call me Dani,"
Another pause. "Miss MacKay will do fine,"
Uncomfortable in his gaze, Danica pulled her knees up to her chest and looked into the darkness outside of the cave.
Who was this woman? So many of the things she did gave him that strange sense like he'd seen or heard it before. The only thing that had surprised him was her hair. Both the light, golden brown color and waist length seemed wrong somehow. For some reason, he had assumed it would be red and short, which made no sense whatsoever. What woman had her hair cut short? Then the name. Dani. It was almost like he could hear someone saying that name in his mind, but he didn't know who. It was maddening. Part of him wanted to piece this puzzle together, the other part of him would rather drop her off in Bree and move on with his life.
Why, then, had he told her about his betrothed? He never talked about that painful memory, not even to his closest friends or Dis. Logically, one could assume it was because of the obvious depth of her own pain at losing her husband. While that had been part of it, there was something else; something that tied into the puzzle. This was all a bit more than he anticipated for his journey home. He flicked his eyes back to her face to find her still turned toward the mouth of the cave, but now she was nodding off.
"You should get some rest,"
Her head snapped up and she blinked her eyes blearily. "Sorry about that,"
"Are you apologizing for falling asleep?" he asked, amused.
"I guess," still very drowsy, Danica situated more in front of the fire. "Apparently this day finally caught up with me,"
"Go ahead and get some sleep," as he looked around, he realized there was only one real way for them to sleep comfortably, which would be awkward at best.
"Are we going to take turns?" her words were slightly slurred as she tried to stay awake. She reminded Thorin of Kili when he was tired but didn't want to go to sleep.
"I'll wake you in a few hours," he said, though he had no intention of actually doing so. He was a light sleeper on the road, and had traveled alone many times.
Even in her sleepy state, Danica noticed the same thing he did. She tried, in vain, to lay or crouch in a good position without invading his space. Eventually, Thorin sighed.
"Come here. You'll keep both of us up if you keep fidgeting like that,"
"Are you sure?" she asked skeptically. He nodded.
Still very hesitant, she scooted toward him, leaning her upper body against his side and stretching her legs out to the side. Having always been more content in a sitting position while traveling, Thorin remained where he was, assuring her that he was fine. For a few minutes, he thought they had finally reached some peace. However, she soon began to shiver; lightly at first, then more quaking When he looked down at her, about to speak, she instantly tried to still her body. By Durin, this woman was stubborn.
"Do you ever ask for what you need?" the irritation he had thought was well buried came out in his voice.
"Not usually," she admitted, apologetic rather than perturbed. "Those close to me use to complain about it all the time,"
"Sit up for a moment," when she did as he told, he unwrapped his arm and resituated his cloak so it could cover both of them. Once he was done, he gestured for her to lean back in. "I promise I won't sully your virtue," he said at her dubious look.
"Does a married woman have any virtue to sully?" smiling, she leaned in so he could wrap his arm and cloak around her. Gods, she was tiny.
"So long as her husband was her only,"
"Do you mean before she got married, or during the marriage?"
The question caught him off guard, and was rather disturbing. "How would you come up with such a question?"
"I suppose our worlds are more different than I thought. Is there no adultery or pre-marital uh…relations?"
"Not in dwarven society," he had accidentally started this topic, but now he wanted to take it back. "I suppose humans do, but it is never condoned,"
"Very different then,"
Morbid curiosity got the better of him. "Those things are common where you come from?"
"Unfortunately," she sighed, and he could hear exhaustion pulling at her again. "Sexual relations of almost any kind are encouraged. Adultery is not encouraged, but neither is it widely looked down on,"
"And you?"
"Mm. I was one of the weird ones. Prudish and old-fashioned according to my friends,"
Thorin let out a small sigh of relief. He opened his mouth to say something when he felt her sag against him. Sure enough, when he looked down, her eyes were closed and her lips were slightly parted. Peace at last, but his mind was buzzing. As he did any other time his mind wouldn't quiet, he stared into the flames, allowing the dance of the fire to lull him into sleep.
It was cold; as cold as it had been during the snow storm at home. She was facing a sunset-soaked valley, standing on an icy river. Her first thought was that this had to be a dream, but it felt so real. Looking more closely at the valley, she thought she recognized this place. It looked like the portrayals she had seen of the area surrounding the Lonely Mountain. A look to the side; yep. The Lonely Mountain stood glistening in the sun due to a dusting of snow. If all this was true, she must be standing on Raven Hill. Turning away from the sun, she saw ruins on the hill, eagles in the background, and a figure standing in front of her. Thorin.
His back was to her, but she could see him breathing laboriously, Orcrist on the ground at his side. He slumped slightly, the exertion from his battle pulling at him. A battle Danica knew wasn't over. Her heart began to pound as he knelt down, grabbed the sword, then froze, fixated on the ice. Danica was just as entranced, unable to move or speak, even as Thorin took his first couple steps, following the pale body beneath the ice. A thrill of panic broke the trance, opening Danica's throat and moving her feet.
"Thorin," she called out softly at first, steps quickening. No response. "Thorin!" again, nothing. She was sprinting now, tears stinging her eyes. "THORIN!"
To her disbelief, he jolted, halting his steps and looking straight at her.
"Dani," he breathed, smiling warmly for the briefest moment before the ice next to him exploded.
"No!" she reached out to pull him away from Azog, but fisted nothing but air, the entire scene evaporating in front of her.
Breathless and disoriented, she blinked hard, trying to see in the sudden darkness. She was in a hall somewhere with sconces giving off a dim light.
"What the hell?" starting to feel more frustrated than scared, she walked down the hall, trying to place herself. Even if it hadn't started to look familiar, she would have guessed Erebor merely for the pattern her life seemed to be taking.
A few more steps, and she heard a giggle coming from around the corner. Intrigued, she followed the sound, then instantly wanted to turn around. Around that corner were two dwarves in the middle of a rather playful, if not passionate rendezvous. Danica's face burned with embarrassment, but something caught her eye and made her stay. The male dwarf was, in fact, a young Thorin. Jaw dropped, she turned now to try and get a better look at the dwarrodam.
In the dim light, her hair shone gold with a hint of red, and curled in the most beautiful spirals Danica had seen. The closest she had seen to spirals like that were her sister's. She had always admired hair like that, and this dwarrowdam had particularly beautiful locks. Even the finer hair that lined her jaw, braided at the end, shimmered with obvious softness. All dwarves were short and squat, and their females were no different. Despite that, she carried a grace that spoke of good breeding and teaching. It wasn't all of this that made Danica jealous. There was a way Thorin looked at her and touched her; a way Danica hadn't experienced since the last time she'd seen her husband.
Part of her was warmed to see Thorin so happy and content. She knew he would never be this way again after he lost Erebor, and his fiancée. Overwhelmed with emotions, she sniffed, trying to clear her nose. To her great shock, Thorin jolted the same way he had in the previous dream and looked around, eyes settling on her location. This time though, he didn't see her.
"What's wrong?" his fiancée asked, caressing his cheek.
"I thought I heard something," he looked harder, then shook his head. "I guess it was nothing," with a smile, he turned back to her and picked up where they had left off.
Still holding her breath, Danica began to back away, not wanting to see anymore. When this scene began to fade away, she slipped gratefully into her normal, fuzzy dreams.
P.S. Woohoo! Another chapter done. J I had hoped to get this out sooner, but once again I had a lot of rewriting to do. I can't say for sure what exactly the update schedule will be like, but one chapter a week doesn't seem too unreasonable. My personal goal is to get more out in a week, but we'll see. November could be interesting, because I am looking to possibly do NaNoWriMo. For those of you who haven't heard of that before, it's National Novel Writing Month. I did it a few years ago and would like to try again this year. I'll still try to get chapters out as usual while working on one of my novels for this project, but I apologize beforehand if I don't. Reviews would be lovely, and thank you for reading!