Disclaimer: I don't own anything - Tolkien gets all the credit.
A/N: I hope you all enjoy this next chapter - Thoughts? Please review – I'd love to hear what you've got to say!
Chapter 5
The rain had quickly returned and the journey of the company slowed to a crawl through the thick mud and forest paths of the Great East Road. Hilde and Thorin had returned to their prior avoidance and silence toward each other, Hilde still unsure of what has passed between the dwarf king and her father.
"Mr. Gandalf, can't you do something about this deluge?" Dori said from the center of the group. A few murmured agreements could be heard from some of the other dwarves.
"It is raining, master dwarf, and it will continue to rain until the rain is done! If you wish to change the weather of the world you should find yourself another wizard." Bilbo said something after, but Hilde's attention was drawn away by Fili and Kili coming alongside her.
"Can you change the weather, Lady Hilde?" Kili asked with a smile, "Surely if you can conjure arrows of ice and daggers of stone, this little storm would hardly trouble you!"
Hilde laughed loudly, causing several others in the company to glance their way. "I honestly don't know, Kili, for I've never tried to move a storm. I can conjure wind, but I doubt I have strength enough to push these clouds." Kili looked a little disappointed, so she added, "Your confidence in me is flattering, though."
"It's probably better not to increase Master Kili's ego, lassie." Dwalin barked from behind them, "He's hard enough to deal with as it is."
"Fili, Kili!" Another deep and resonating voice called out, the sound of it causing Hilde to shiver slightly. Fili noticed, raising an eyebrow before turning toward his uncle. "Scout ahead to make sure the road is clear!"
Fili and Kili urged their horses ahead without a word as Thorin neared Hilde and Dwalin. His face was drawn into a frown as he gazed at the only female in the company. "You should not encourage their childish behavior. They need to stay focused on the quest."
"Talking to me is hardly a childish behavior." Hilde's voice lacked the surety that she had hoped for. This inability to stand her ground around Thorin plagued her, and she tired of it.
"Fili can't stop talking about the dagger you made for him, and that was only shortly after Kili stopped boasting about his arrows. Is there a reason you seem determined to spoil my nephews?" The company was still moving forward at a slow pace, and Hilde was determined to concentrate on the road, not on the way that Thorin's presence disturbed her.
"If I gift anything to your nephews it is only because they merit it." The rain was coming down harder than it had even just a moment before, almost drowning out Thorin's reply.
"So long as your gifts come with the same protection that you gave to me, I do not mind them." Glancing over to Thorin, Hilde saw him smiling slightly – the first time he'd ever looked at her that way. He increased his speed and headed toward Gandalf, leaving Dwalin and Hilde to stare after him.
"He's a difficult man to understand, lassie. You're probably better off keeping at a distance."
The following days saw an end to the rain. The mountains loomed to the east, but the road still kept the group on the flatter plains, dotted with trees and hills. The country was beautiful, though Hilde could not shake the feeling of danger that she'd held with her the past few nights. Each time she reached out with her power into the earth, warnings came shooting back – warnings that danger was certain in their path ahead.
The group reached a small incline with the tattered ruins of what looked to be a farm house. Gandalf walked up to the building and began muttering under his breath. Hilde could sense death here - an ominous warning that something wasn't right. "A farmer and his family used to live here," Gandalf said as Hilde joined him. "I think it would be wiser to move on."
Thorin neared, looking to Gandalf with questioning eyes, "We could make for the hidden valley."
Hilde realized then what her father had been planning. From what she could recall, Imladris was only a short distance away, and Lord Elrond would be able to give the company some of the answers they sought. Thorin's dislike of the elves, however, would likely keep them away from the comforts of the beautiful elven realm.
"I've told you already," came the gruff reply from the dwarven king, "I will not go near that place."
"Why not?" Hilde said in slight frustration. "They could help us!" Thorin's gaze tore through her as he stepped closer.
"You of all people should know why I would not seek the aid of those that betrayed my grandfather - My father! You of all people should be just as distrusting towards the creatures that would stand by and watch as sacred halls of Khazad-dum were desecrated by orcs! The very halls that YOU called home!" The tone of his voice, the frustration in the fact that Hilde would not side with him on this fact, was clear. He didn't understand her motivations – why she was even here. What he didn't realize was the hurt that his comments brought to her. The fall of Khazad-dum was still an open wound in Hilde's heart – one she did not often talk about.
Sensing his daughter's turmoil at Thorin's words, Gandalf stepped in between them. "The elves of the hidden valley could offer us shelter, food, and advice."
The reply came like stone. "I do not need their advice."
"I did not give you that map and key so that you could hold onto the past, Thorin Oakenshield!" Anger had finally begun to leech into Gandalf's voice as well.
"I did not know they were yours to keep!" The two wizards stood silent for a moment, both looking to Thorin with abject frustration clearly written on their faces.
"Come, Hilde, I think it's time that we went for a walk." Gandalf tapped his daughter lightly on the shoulder with his staff as he turned to leave the ruined farm house. Hilde stood still, looking at Thorin.
"What, woman?" Thorin placed his hands on his hips as he glared towards her.
"I am disappointed in you." Hilde didn't see the shock on Thorin's face as she turned away and slowly followed Gandalf.
It took several hours of walking – at a rather brisk pace – for Gandalf to calm down enough to talk. "That dwarf is a stubborn buffoon. He would rather his quest fail than ask for help when it is clearly needed."
"He holds on to old hurts, father. Perhaps it would have been easier to go to Lord Elrond before you gave Thorin the map?" Gandalf stopped abruptly and glanced at his daughter standing several paces behind him. His eye twitched oddly, showing Hilde that her comment wasn't appreciated. "Are we going anywhere in particular?"
"Just looking ahead. Do keep up; I fear this road isn't safe." The pair swiftly moved on, climbing low hills until they reached the edge of the small forest. A wide expanse of plains and rolling grass spread out beneath the moonlight. Large rock formations could be seen – rock formations that were familiar to Hilde from the last time she wandered this part of Middle Earth.
"I didn't realize how close we were to the hidden pass." Imladris was only a few hours walk from where the dwarves were currently camped – close enough for Hilde to long for a soft bed after weeks of sleeping on the ground. "Do you think he'll change his mind?"
"I'm afraid it will take a little ingenuity on my part, but it must be done. Lord Elrond is the only one in Middle Earth that can, without doubt, read that map." Gandalf turned to look at his daughter and was alarmed to see fear and pain on her face. Her eyes were tightly shut and her hands were at her throat. "What's wrong, child?"
"It's Thorin… and Fili and Kili." Hilde whispered, "They're in trouble."
Running back over the hills and through the trees they'd just past on their walk was harder than Hilde had anticipated. Neither of the wizards had slept and dawn was approaching quickly – weary from weeks on the road, Hilde feared they wouldn't make it back to the camp in time to make a difference.
Arriving where they'd parted from their dwarven comrades, Hilde and Gandalf found the place deserted. All of their packs and belongings were still set out, ready for night to claim the group in sleep… everything except their weapons. Looking to the ground, Gandalf found a trail of heavy footprints leading into the trees. "They came this way."
"I can sense them. They are not far." Hilde said quietly as she ran forward, seeking out the presence of the dwarven king and his nephews. The three of them were still alive, but her senses did not extend to the rest of the company. Hilde prayed to Mahal that they weren't too late.
The light of a large fire could be seen over the trees, leading the wizards directly to the camp of trolls. Half of the company was hung on a spit that was being turned slowly over the fire by two of the trolls. After a quick count, Gandalf let out a sigh of relief – everyone was accounted for. "We wait for dawn, Hilde. The sun will defeat this enemy." Seeing several dwarves and Bilbo on the opposite side of the clearing, Hilde began a quick trek through the trees to reach them, while Gandalf stood patient, waiting for dawn.
Lying flat on her stomach, Hilde slid from the shadows of a large boulder, nearing Thorin from behind. He was tied up in a brown sack, and from what Hilde could tell, he'd been stripped down to his under clothes (along with the rest of the company). Trying not to laugh at the absurdity of trolls, Hilde reached out, pulling slightly on one of the braids in Thorin's hair. The king's head snapped back, drawing the attention of Balin and Bilbo, who could also see Hilde from where they lay. "Gandalf has a plan. One of you needs to play for time!" She whispered.
What followed was one of the more entertaining moments that Hilde could recall in all of her memory. Bilbo's comments about the most ideal methods of cooking a dwarf would likely stay with her until the world was unmade. The foolish trolls kept no track of time and allowed for dawn to creep up on them, completely unawares.
Trolls, however, do not have the patience of the Valar, and after a time, they began to argue in favor of eating their dwarven captives raw. Picking up Bombur, the smallest of the trolls looked ready to bite the poor dwarf's head off. "No, no! Not that one! He's infected!"
Everyone in the clearing, including the two wizards hidden in the shadows, looked to Bilbo then. "Yeah, he's got worms… in his… tubes!" The troll threw Bombur down with a shriek. "In fact, they all have!"
Voices rang out, the dwarves and Bilbo arguing about parasites and worms. Hilde, worried that this wasn't going well, abandoned her hiding place and sought out her father. "We have no more time! We must do it now!"
"Yes, now is the time," Gandalf said as he and Hilde quickly climbed atop the boulder, "The dawn will take you all!" The trolls turned to them then, just in time to see him strike the boulder with his staff, cracking it in two. The bright light of the sun quickly filled the clearing, turning their opponents into stone in mere moments.
The dwarves cheered as Hilde quickly put out the fire beneath the spit, absorbing it into the palm of her hand. Gandalf reached to begin pulling the dwarves down from their awkward captivity, while Hilde hurried over the other group and began helping them out of the sacks they'd been placed in. Bilbo was first since he had already been standing. The hobbit, it appeared, had been able to retain his clothing. The others weren't so fortunate. Even Thorin blushed as he gripped the sack quickly before it fell past his hips. "I believe your clothes are over there." Hilde said with a smile as she turned away from the group. "I promise that I won't compromise your virtue. I'll look away."
Overhearing her comment, Dwalin let out a bark of laughter so loud that Hilde couldn't help but be startled by it. She laughed a little too, hoping that this was a sign that the worst was behind them.