So here is the next chapter to the story. As a reminder, this story will have a slow update schedule. As of right now it has an update schedule of one chapter per month. It should pick up here in late spring. We won't be seeing a lot of little Fili or Kili in this chapter, but in the next one they will be in it.
Khuzdul. Sindarin.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Hobbit.
Shara blinks rapidly so that her eyes can adjust to the brightness of the light. As her eyes begin to focus more, Shara begins to take in the sight of the small lad that is in the door way. She notes that the lad can't be any older than perhaps twenty years, and that he has a braid in his blonde hair that denotes him as being royalty. Then her gray eyes lock onto blue ones, and she can't help but wonder just who this child is.
"Fili!" A feminine voice calls out from behind the boy.
The boy, Fili, turns away from Shara and moves out of the way for someone else to come into the room. A dam, with dark wavy hair and startling blue eyes, steps into the door way. The dress she is wearing is simple in design with a square neck, but the cloth is definitely of a better quality of brown cotton and wool. She does a quick once over of Shara and then she looks down to speak to Fili.
"Fili. Go back to your nadadith and bed."
Fili doesn't argue and does as the dam bids, leaving the two dams to continue on staring at each other.
"May I inquire as to know your name?" the dark haired dam asks without moving from her place in the door way.
Shara is hesitant to give the dam her name, and her hesitation isn't lost on the dam. Not knowing where, or when, she has been sent has Shara unsure of what to do. Elrond, Galadriel, and Radagast never really explained the plan to her fully. All they told her was that she needed to find the One Ring and make sure that it is destroyed before Sauron can get a hold of it. So with this dam asking after her name, Shara wants to flee to somewhere safe.
The dam is nervous over how this newcomer is going to behave. Her nadad and his trustworthy advisor brought this unknown dam into her home. Her home where she and her sons live. Never before has Thorin opened up her home to care for an unknown dwarf; yet he had Balin talk her into letting this stranger stay here.
"Where am I?" Shara finally asks after choosing to discover her location before making any other plans.
The dam gives Shara a quizzical look before answering the question. She can't fault the stranger on wanting to know exactly where in the world she is. Not wanting to have too much of a confrontation, the dam decides to go ahead and answer.
"You're in one of the old dwarven settlements in the Blue Mountains."
"Ered Luin." Shara whispers to herself, not realizing that the dam has heard her words. She also has begun to fiddle with the ring that lays between the valley of her small, just beginning to develop, breasts.
The dam watches as Shara fiddles with the necklace, and as she sees a flash of a ring, a low growl erupts from her throat. The necklace the dam recognizes as being of Erebor design, but the ring is one that she has only seen once in her life.
"Where did you get that ring?" The dam snarls out at Shara, her eyes ablaze with anger.
Shara stops her fiddling of the ring between her fingers, and her gray eyes harden at the sudden change in the dam. Knowing that she needs to get away from this place, Shara makes a decision that she hopes won't get her killed.
As quick as a flash of lightening, Shara charges and slams her smaller body into the dam. This causes the two of them to fall to the floor and a wrestling match to begin between them. Even though the dam is larger than her, Shara uses her youth and the training that she received from Kilias and his mother. She uses her legs to project her upper body into the other dam to keep the upper hand.
Once the dam releases her hold on her, Shara quickly get back onto her feet and searches for anything she can use as a weapon. Seeing a hot poker leaning against the bricks of the brick oven fireplace, Shara rushes towards it and takes hold of it with her left hand. Twirling around Shara has a mere second or two to raise the poker to deflect a falchion blade. Shara is surprised that the dam was so quick to get her own weapon, but what shocks Shara even more is that the blade looks very familiar to her. However, the swing of its twin blade causes Shara to duck and roll to her right. This maneuver sends Shara rolling underneath a table and come out on the other side only to have to deflect the dam's attacks with just the poker between her and the twin blades.
With her focus solely on keeping this dam from killing her, Shara doesn't hear the door to this small cottage open up. Nor does she hear the fast moving boots on the wooden floor coming up behind her as she blocks another attack and then kicks one of her bare feet hard into the dams' stomach. With the dam falling backwards into a bench, Shara is about to continue her attack but finds a strong hand has stopped her hand in mid-swing. A pair of strong hands take hold of her other arm, and Shara finds herself struggling to break free from the two who are holding her.
"Dis!" A strong voice shouts before rushing past Shara and her two captors.
Shara stops struggling as she feels a blade from a small throwing axe presses against the skin between her jaw and neck. She watches as the dam is helped up and fussed over by a dark haired dwarrow.
"I'm fine Thorin." The dam says as she smacks the dwarrow's hands away from their search for an injury. "You can stop your fussing now."
"I just want to make sure that you are unharmed." Thorin retorts as he comes to the conclusion that his namadith is not injured. Then he turns around and faces Shara with a deadly look upon his face.
"You dare to harm one who has let you into their home!" Thorin roars out at Shara in anger.
Shara doesn't respond verbally, but she does give Thorin the same look that he is giving her. Her uncle and grandfather told her long ago to never show fear before your opponent. So it is with that advice in mind that causes her to keep her gray eyes locked with Thorin's icy blues.
"Do you have no honor?" Thorin rails at the dam, who is being held by both Balin and Dwalin. He stomps up to her and comes to a stop when he is looking down at her, nose to nose.
"I have honor." Shara growls out as she doesn't flinch away from having Thorin's face directly in hers. Even if she has to be looking up to maintain the eye contact.
"Then why have you attacked a descendant of Durin?" Thorin questions.
"Why was she keeping me here against my will?" Shara asks with a snarl. "Last I remember dwarves don't hold our own against their will unless it is proven that they have committed a crime."
This statement takes Thorin and Balin by surprise. For one so young to answer back with not only a question but a well-reasoned statement is something that they weren't expecting.
"No one is holding you here against your will, lass." Balin says from his place at Shara's right side. "We found you, unconscious, out in the forest not far from our settlement. We were unsure on if you were injured."
"Also found a dead elf near ya." The dwarrow with tattoos and a mohawk on his head, growls out.
"Dead?" Shara gasps out as water begins to build in her eyes. She had seen Kilias take a sword to the stomach, but she didn't know what else had happened to him. "No. He can't be… He can't be dead."
Thorin takes a step away from the dam as he watches her fight to keep her façade of being in control of herself fall. He nods his head to both Dwalin and Balin letting them know that they can release their hold on the dam.
Once their hands fall away from her, she drops the poker and sinks to the ground. Shara can't stop the tears as they begin to flow down her cheeks. Nor can she stop the shuddering breaths that accompany her tears. Knowing that her adoptive Gwanûr is truly gone, Shara begins to feel the full weight of being truly alone.
"I want to bury him. Please." Shara pleads as she looks up at Thorin.
"And why should we allow you to bury the elf?" Thorin asks with an air of indifference in his voice.
"He was my friend, my brother." Shara replies, not caring if her tears make her appear weak to these dwarves.
"How is that tree-shagger your brother?" the mohawk haired dwarf growls out his question.
"Don't you dare use that insult when speaking about him!" Shara shrieks out at the dwarf with her eyes ablaze in anger. "He sacrificed his life so that I may live!"
She doesn't want to give out too much information about Kilias, but she watches as shock appears on their faces. They must not have ever heard of an elf giving up their life for a dwarf, but then again they have not seen what Shara has. She keeps her eyes on Thorin as he gestures for the other two dwarves to come to his side. Having witnessed both her grandfather and uncle do this before, Shara knows that the three of them are most likely conversing about what to do with her.
With Balin and Dwalin at his side, Thorin speaks with them while trying to keep an eye on the dam.
"Do you believe her?" Thorin quietly asks Balin while still trying to figure out what to do with the lass.
"You should Thorin." Dis says as she joins the three. "Those are real tears of sorrow that she is shedding."
"She still hasn't told us her name. So till she does that, I am inclined not to believe a word that comes out of her mouth." Dwalin gruffly says.
"Shara. My name is Shara."
The four of them turn to look at the dam, Shara, in surprise. Her eyes are red rimmed and cheeks damp from the tears. She is still kneeling on the floor, fiddling with something in her right hand. While her left arm is wrapped around her torso.
"How old are you, Shara." Balin asks as he breaks away from the others. He makes his way till he is standing in front of Shara, and then kneels down so that he doesn't frighten her.
Shara looks at the others before looking back at Balin. "I'm fifty-four years."
"You fight well for one so young." Dis says with a serious face. "Not many can nearly best me like you tried to do."
"Is there anyone we should send word to about your whereabouts, Shara?" Balin asks cautiously. He has a funny feeling that her answer would be one that they would not like. Especially given her emotional response to the elf's, who she called brother, death.
Shara shakes her head and lets out a sniffle. Inside, Shara is laughing at herself for her emotional state. There was a time where Kilias and his mother would tease Shara over her stubbornness and refusal of showing emotion. But with all that has happened to her recently, one can't expect her to keep going without having some kind of breakdown.
Balin, who is watching Shara closely, notices the thing that she is fiddling with in her hand.
"What is that you have there on that mithril cord? May I see it?" Balin asks, holding a hand out with the palm facing up.
Shara gently pulls the cord up over her neck using the hand that is wrapped around the ring. Being careful with her last remaining reminder of her family, she places the cord then the ring into Balin's waiting hand. Watching the older dwarf inspect her treasure, Shara hears the other three come closer to see the item as well.
"Is that mithril?" Dwalin asks Balin as his eyes lock on to the shimmering cord.
"It is, and the way that it is braided indicates that it was made in Erebor long ago. It is an invaluable piece of work." Balin says to Shara, his eyes glittering with delight at seeing something so old had survived and made it out of the dragon fire.
"Where did you get this?" Dis asks, hoping that the lass will now tell of where and how she had gotten the items.
"I've always had it." Shara says half-lying, half-being truthful. She really doesn't want to explain that she too is from Erebor and from its dark future.
"What about the ring? Where did you get that?" Thorin growls out as he finally remembers the last time he had seen the ring. "Did you steal it?"
Thorin's harshness towards her doesn't really surprise her, but Shara refuses to allow him to bully her around. She is a princess to a fallen kingdom; even if that kingdom is from the future.
"I have always had it." Shara replies in a sharp, regal voice.
"I find that hard to believe." Thorin says as he steps forwards and grabs hold of Shara's upper right arm. He practically pulls her arm out of its socket when he yanks her up to her feet.
"Thorin!" Both Dis and Balin shout out as they watch Thorin practically smash Shara into one of the wooden and stone walls of the home.
"You lie. I suggest you try again, thief!" Thorin snarls out in anger, pressing his body against Shara's so that she can't escape. His hands tighten their hold on Shara's upper arms, and his upper body is pressing against hers. He stands nearly ten inches taller than she does and is trying hard not to suffocate the underage lass.
"I am not lying!" Shara snarls back at Thorin with her head tilted upwards. Her body's reaction at being pressed against the wall by Thorin has taken Shara by surprise. She can feel heat radiating, from Thorin's body, through her nightdress which is causing her body to flush.
"You are. That ring belongs to the Queen of Erebor and was last seen in my grandfather's rooms before the dragon came." Thorin sneers, thinking that he has finally caught Shara in her lies.
Shara never really knew anything about the ring her uncle gave her so long ago. But now being told that it once belonged to a former Queen of Erebor that lived before the retaking from the dragon Smaug, Shara comes to the conclusion of just how far back she was sent.
"It was given to me when I was a child by my uncle. How was I to know where he got it from?" Shara says, picking her words carefully. She doesn't want to let slip anything about her past.
"An uncle. So you do have a family that we can contact." Thorin growls out with a smirk on his face, thinking that he has caught yet another lie. "What else are you hiding?"
Shara, knowing that she can't tell them the truth of how or why she is in the past, decides to only give information that is vague but might keep them from asking more questions. So taking a deep breath, Shara goes ahead and tells them a short, story version.
"My uncle died fighting orcs. He gave me that ring before he left. Where he got it, I do not know." Shara tells Thorin, hoping that this is enough information to satisfy him.
"Thorin, perhaps her uncle retrieved the ring, and when the call was made for Moria, he gave her the ring." Balin tries to reason with his friend. "What was your uncle's name, lass?"
Knowing that she can't say her uncle's name, out of the possibility of giving future information, Shara decides to give them her uncle's nickname instead.
"I only know my uncle by his nickname. He never had me call him anything else."
"Give me the name." Thorin growls out in frustration at her stalling.
"Stonehelm. That is the only name I knew him by."
"I don't know of any dwarf that goes by that mantra." Thorin snarls out at Shara. He is still of the opinion that Shara is hiding something, and that makes him suspicious towards her.
"Laddie, I wouldn't be surprised if dwarves in other regions only know you by Oakenshield." Balin says, trying to placate his kin.
"Oakenshield?" Shara says with wide eyes.
With this information now revealed about the dwarf who has her pressed against the wall, Shara can't stop her face from showing her awe and surprise. She remembers her grandfather telling her the story of how Erebor was won back from Smaug, and her favorite bedtime story as a royal child in Erebor was that of the company of Thorin Oakenshield. Her grandfather teased her relentlessly over how she would pretend that she was Thorin leading the children of court on a grand adventure.
"You have heard of me?" Thorin asks Shara, now intrigued by her expression of learning his nickname.
"Only in stories." Shara says, leaving out that is was stories told by her grandfather.
"Thorin, I think the lass has given us enough information. She is of no threat to you or any dwarf here." Balin reasons.
Thorin backs away from Shara's smaller body, and his body protests at the sudden loss of her form pressed against his. Thorin's mind rebels at his body's betrayal of common sense. Shara is under age and has nearly twenty years before she reaches age of maturity.
"Balin." Thorin turns away from Shara and looks over at his friend. "Shara will be needing a family to care for her till she reaches the age of maturity."
"I can take care of myself, thank you very much." Shara grumbles out in protest.
"That you may lass, but you need a family's protection." Dwalin says, finally deciding speak up again.
"This settlement sees plenty of vagrant dwarrows coming and going. And since it was my nephews who found you in the wilderness, your safety and honor falls would be called into question if I didn't assign a family to see to your protection." Thorin says without even looking at Shara.
Holding out his hand, Thorin waits for Balin to drop the ring and chain into his palm. Even though the lass may say that the ring was given to her, it still belongs to his family and Thorin is reclaiming it.
"Thorin, she could stay here with us." Dis offers out, hoping that if the lass is any trouble that it would be easier for to keep watch of the lass under her own roof.
"No." Thorin states while walking towards the door to the house with the ring and chain in hand.
"We'll take her in then." Balin suddenly says, surprising everyone in the room including his nadadith.
"Balin, are you mad?" Dwalin practically yells at his nadad.
"Not mad, but thinking towards the future. Shara has already shown that she has great intelligence, and that she can hold her own in an argument. She also has shown to be able to defend herself, though there can be room for improvement. Thorin, I believe that Dwalin and I could help Shara reach a potential that would benefit her in the long run. With your permission of course." Balin argues out with a cool, calculated way that is similar to how he presents proposals before Thorin's other advisors.
"Very well, then." Thorin states before exiting the house and slamming the door closed behind him.
"Don't I get a say in this?" Shara asks as she finally steps away from the wall that she was pressed into earlier. She crosses her arms over her chest.
"I am afraid once my nadad agreed to Balin's proposal that ended the matter." Dis says, eyeing Shara with suspicion still.
"You will learn, Shara, that Thorin is our king, and when he makes up his mind that is it. Come. Dwalin and I will see you to our residence. In the morning, I will have drafted the necessary documents needed that will state that you are part of our family." Balin says to Shara with a happy glint in his eyes.
"What about my ring and my clothes?"
"Thorin will be keeping your ring since it once belonged to his grandmother. As for your clothes, I will send a dressmaker to see about getting you some decent looking clothes." Balin says as watches Shara move closer towards him. "Till then, might I offer you my traveling cloak to protect you from prying eyes."
Balin swiftly takes off his brown traveling cloak and wraps it around Shara protectively. Come tomorrow this young dam with be his responsibility and Dwalin's too if he is up to the challenge.
"As for your elf-kin, Dwalin will see that his body is buried in the morning as well. Once all the necessary documents are signed, we will set about getting you into a routine. Figure out what areas of study you are lacking, enforcing those which you struggle with, and perhaps Dwalin can oversee your weapons training." Balin cheerfully says as he places an arm around Shara's shoulders.
Being as careful as possible, Balin escorts Shara out of the house and out into the barely lit road. His house isn't that far from his kings, which makes it easier for Balin to speak with Thorin away from the council.
With Balin and Shara's departure, it leaves Dwalin and Dis still inside. While Dis is more than okay with Balin taking Shara in, she can see by Dwalin's body language that he isn't too thrilled with his nadad's decision. Yet Dis can't help wanting to tease the dwarf over it.
"Looks like you and Balin have become parents at long last." Dis teasingly says to Dwalin.
"Aye. If she hasn't run off by the end of the day tomorrow, then maybe there is hope for her." Dwalin scoffs at the idea of having to raise a lass.
"Yes well, she will still need a female's advice on certain things."
"I guess you have just signed up for that task then."
Dwalin gives Dis a cheeky grin before exiting the dam's house in a hurry. He knows that if he didn't leave quickly, he would most likely end up with a pot being thrown at his head. There have been numerous occasions where Dwalin has witnessed Dis do that very thing to Thorin when he tries her patience.
"Well if Balin sees to the lass's education and Dis to her female duties, then it is up to me to work with the lass on her fighting. At least she isn't as inept as some of the fresh recruits." Dwalin mumbles out to himself as he makes his way through settlement to an old house that he and Balin chose for their own only two years earlier after that fateful battle before Moria's gates.
So there is the latest chapter. I know I haven't given much description of the settlement, but it is coming in the next chapter. The house that Dis and Thorin share didn't have much description either. That is because they are still trying to establish it as home. Kind of like those who have lost everything and slowly have to rebuild their lives and homes.
Reviews are welcomed, loved, and cherished.
Selene