THANK YOU for the faves, follows and reviews. I would really love to hear what you think about how Freya's character is developing, particularly after this chapter! This chapter is dedicated to ArkhamGirl and Willial for their lovely reviews!
As always, the disclaimer. I own nothing except Freya. rights belong to Tolkien and Jackson.
If you are wondering why this is an M rated fic, you are about to find out. There are some very adult themes in this chapter. Violence and lots of implied nastiness. In fact, this chapter may change your opinion of Freya (just be warned!) I hope you are still with me at the end of this chapter!
I have extended the journey times to suit my needs compared to the film. In the books, getting through the Shire and to Rivendell takes a little longer than in the films, I believe it takes some weeks so I have tried to reflect this a little more in my fic.
Also I want to make an apology in advance, work is starting to get a little hectic and I may need to reduce my updating to weekly on weekends :-( please do stick with me though and let me know what you think of my little twist!
~ G
Chapter 6: Red dawn.
They rode on and the gently winding roads, rolling hills, slowly meandering rivers and small woods seemed to stretch on and on. The Shire was glorious in this the summer light, and Freya enjoyed the scenery on this return journey. She had primarily travelled at night on her way to Hobbiton, and therefore she had not had the chance to take a good look at the lush greens and gently swaying crops.
The company stopped in the early evening in a small shire village about half way between Hobbiton and Bree, deciding to stay in a cheap yet comfortable looking inn for something to eat and a good night's rest. Freya approached the bar to speak with the landlady; a charming hobbit woman with a head full of sandy curls, similar to Bilbo's. She offered them a generous group discount and Freya was unsurprised to see that the other patrons were all hobbits, eyeing them with suspicion. The landlord returned from stabling their ponies to announce that they could use a private sitting room for the evening and the company decided to graciously accept, much to the relief of the landlord whose regular customers did not like seeing strangers in their tavern.
This evening was very much like their first in Bag End. The dwarves allowed themselves to eat, drink and be jolly. Freya even caught Thorin chuckling at a joke Dwalin had told, as Fili and Kili clutched their sides laughing merrily. Freya turned back to her conversation with Bilbo, who was sat next to the fire with her on a wooden bench. Gandalf occupied an armchair opposite them, smoking his pipe and listening as Freya enquired about Bilbo's home, his family, the Shire and all manner of hobbit customs. She carefully avoided his questions about her family and home by changing the subject and asking him another question, effectively distracting him. She was developing a great liking for Bilbo, and she guessed by his smiles that the budding friendship was mutual.
Freya had a very small, comfortable room to herself that night. The bed was comfortable to sit on, but only big enough for a hobbit and therefore was only big enough for her to sleep in if she bent her knees. Suddenly she appreciated how well-to-do Bilbo must have been, as this had not been an issue at Bag End. She took the solitude as an opportunity and meditated alone in her room before turning in for the night.
She slept soundly that night, but arose early the following morning to find again that none of the other dwarves were awake yet. She quietly sat opposite Gandalf who had entered his state of watchful rest, similar to the elves. He was still in the armchair he had occupied the previous evening having offered his room to Bilbo instead knowing he would find no rest in the small room her had been offered and knowing that Bilbo was not keen to share a room with dwarves he did not know well yet.
As Freya waited for Gandalf to wake, she started to loose the peace that her meditation and good night's sleep had afforded her. Freya hated waiting, always viewing it as a waste of time and energy. This impatience was a trait that Gandalf and lady Galadriel had been slowly attempting to coach her out of, but with limited success. Admitting defeat and deciding to get some fresh air and check on the ponies, Freya rose and made her way outside. Satisfied that the ponies had been well cared for, she made her way into the deserted streets of the quiet shire village.
Freya had been walking for only a few minutes when she found herself on the outskirts of the settlement. The hills of the previous days trek stretched out before her and she stood contemplating the view as the sun crested the hill. She was appreciating the peace and quiet and admiring how the colours on the crops looked completely different in the early morning sun.
Her peace was broken however when a set of several footsteps, too loud to be a hobbit or elf could be heard behind her. She turned to see a band of three men emerging from a set of woods to her right and heading in her direction; odd in itself as these were men and not hobbits or dwarves and men rarely visited this area. They appeared to be in haste and Freya felt a feeling of unease descend on her. She pretended to ignore the men, keeping her focus on the view in front of her while assessing them with her peripheral vision.
The foremost man, a large built man with dirty blonde hair and a nose that looked like it had been broken many times stopped mid stride and eyed her warily. His companions, almost identical looking tall and skinny men with short black hair, bumped into his broad back before they noticed her. One of the dark men attempted to hide a sack that was in his hands. They were all dirty, their clothes worn but each had a sword at their side.
Poachers, or bandits. Either way, I am not staying here to find out. Freya thought. She turned her back on them and took a slow and indirect route back into the village, not saying a word to the men who had interrupted her morning stroll. She heard an urgent whisper as she turned a corner and heard the three sets of heavy footsteps following her.
"Hey, you" she heard a gruff voice call from behind. "Stop there".
She ignored them and lengthened her strides, purposefully pacing away from the men.
"I said stop there!" called the voice. She ignored it and continued walking. She heard a set of footsteps break into a run and started to run herself, but too late. They had been closer to her than she thought and caught her before she could reach the first building in the town.
A vice like grip seized her arm, spinning her around to face one of the dark men, her hair coming slightly loose from its bun from the force of the movement.
She glared at the man, showing anger and no trace of fear.
"Unhand me this instant" She demanded only to have the other men sneer and laugh at her and close in. This was bad. She had left her daggers and staff at the inn so she was unarmed except for her magic. Mentally cursing herself for her own lapse of judgement she set her jaw in a determined line, quickly reviewing what Haldir had taught her decades ago about unarmed combat but she had rarely had cause to use. She had forgotten most of it, so she would have to act on instinct. She was reluctant to announce herself to the world as spectacularly as to use her magic in the midst of the Shire, but it seemed that she may have little choice.
The dark man stepped closer, pressing his body against her, his foul breath washing over her and making her want to gag.
"I don't think so, you see, we have been looking for a woman matching your description, likely in the Shire and probably accompanied by Gandalf the Grey. She is not to leave it's boarders with him." The blonde man stepped closer and Freya froze, they were looking for her.
"How lucky we have been to find you so quickly." He sneered as the other dark haired man chuckled.
"We were not told you were so… comely. This is going to be fun lads!"
"err, Gandalf? I am in a spot of trouble here." Freya sent the thought desperately to her mentor, attempting not to let her flicker of fear or bewilderment show on her face put lacing her communication with her mentor with urgency.
The blonde man also grabbed Freya with strong arms and the two of them started pushing her towards the woods from which they had emerged, she had not managed to get as close to the town as she would have liked. Freya dug her booted feet into the ground and started to struggle, not wanting to think about what these men intended or who had sent them, just desperate to get away.
"Let me go" she repeated angrily, and she hated herself for it, but desperately as she struggled. In response one of the men punched her in the stomach attempting to wind her and another sent a vicious backhanded slap across her face. She coughed, but was thankful that she had at least thought to put on her armour, but the slap had hurt more than just her pride. Freya felt what must have been the point of a sword on the back of her neck and she cursed again.
Even if she had to use every ounce of magic she had, Freya was going to fight and win, for she had no intention of entering that wood with them. Seeing no other option, Freya closed her eyes and allowed her magic to come forth. She used a spell of pure energy and force that pushed hard and shoved the men away from her, sending them stumbling backwards their grips on her broken.
The blonde man was the first to regain his footing and he grabbed her from behind before she could fully turn to face him. She managed to twist her leg and stamp her foot down on his large foot, her boot and a little more magic adding to the weight. As he howled and hopped in pain she turned to face the thug. Freya brought her knee up in a firm kick which missed the blonde man's groin, but reacting quickly she was able to use her hands to grab a fist full of his hair and use it to make her knee connect with the man's face.
He fell to the floor, his nose clearly broken for what may have been the umpteenth time in the man's life as the other two men advanced on her. Freya spun around just in time to miss the thrust of the sword that the man had attempted to hold on to after his fall, yet fortunately the attempt was clumsy and half hearted. Her reflexes were not as good as the elves would be, but her Gift and the sudden adrenalin rush sharpened them somewhat so she was able to dodge the clumsy blow.
Now facing the two dark men, she aimed another backwards kick at the blonde man on the floor for good measure to ensure he stayed down. She was rewarded when he howled again, clutching his wrist where her boot had connected.
One of the dark men, the one on her right who had not yet drawn his sword leapt forward to grab her. Freya ducked quickly aiming a formidable punch at the man's stomach and sending the man stumbling backwards gasping.
She turned to the other man in time to block a punch aimed at her face with her left arm. "Good, they aren't trying to kill me just yet then. They just want to hurt me." she thought to herself. She kicked out with her left leg, tripping the man and sending him sprawling in the dirt, his sword falling and skittering away from his lacklustre grasp. That was all Freya needed to distract him so she aimed a kick at the man's face, breaking his nose too and causing him to momentarily loose interest in her as he howled in pain.
By now the other dark man was coming at her again and Freya planted her feet firmly. She twisted to avoid his punch and as the man carried on with the momentum of his clumsily missed swipe she brought a firm elbow down upon his exposed back knocking him to the floor.
The man was not done yet though, he grabbed at her ankle and Freya struggled to stay balanced kicking out and wriggling in a most ungraceful attempt to try to make the man let go. From the corner of her eye, she could see the other men getting up, clutching their faces but looking angry.
Willing her magic and feeling a spell crackle on her fingertips she prepared to chant the words of a spell that she would need to finish off the men. As she said the first word however, her concentration was broken by the sound of running feet and a reassuringly familiar voice calling her name.
Gandalf entered the fray from behind her assailants and hit the closest man to her over the back of the head with his staff, sending him sprawling on the ground, the blow enough to knock him unconscious this time.
Thorin was close behind, drawing his blade. The dark haired man's eyes flashed to the naked blade in Thorin's hand and the stance of the advancing dwarf who was clearly skilled in using it as he struggled to stand fully up, letting go of his hold on Freya's leg.
But his distraction cost him dearly as Freya, with improved aim kicked him between the legs and followed up with an elbow to the back of his neck as the man keeled over in agony again sending him sprawling and finally knocking him unconscious.
Freya spun around and advanced on the blonde man, now the last one conscious as he was distracted by Gandalf. Her eyes were hard and dangerous as she bared her teeth in an angry and feral gesture, making a fist with her right hand as the man noticed her and held his hands up in supplication. It did little good however as Freya followed through on the nonverbal threat, landing a right hook into the man's jaw and sending him again to the ground.
Finally satisfied that her would be attackers had been subdued, Freya stood over him and placed a boot on his neck. Leaning down she mustered all the venom she had before questioning the man. Her fury was terrible to behold as the man watched her with almost as much fear in his eyes as he did Thorin, blade in hand and Gandalf.
"Who are you?" She demanded.
"I - I - I am Wilmond, son of Sandor." he stammered. Freya could just make out Thorin and Gandalf searching the men behind her in her peripheral vision.
"What is your purpose here?" she demanded again, the man stared at her, wide eyed and coughing but not answering.
"I suggest you answer the question" came Thorin's deep voice from over her shoulder but out of eyesight of the man currently going red in the face under the weight of Freya's boot on his neck and the lack of oxygen.
"If he cannot breathe, he cannot answer." Came Gandalf's slightly exasperated voice. Freya did not need to look at him to know he was rolling his eyes but slightly chuckling to himself. She eased up enough for the man to gasp but still applied a firm pressure.
"We are deserters, we have been travelling west to flee Gondor for 8 months. We were poaching." He said in a rush. Her boot crushed tighter on his throat and he coughed.
"Lies. You said you were looking for me." Freya spat "Who is it that has you looking for me?" she asked.
"We were to bring you to Weathertop at all costs, dead or alive." He said gasping for air.
"What else? Who is your employer? Answer me!" she demanded.
"We never saw his face! He was always cloaked."
"She resisted, why didn't you kill her as you were ordered." asked Thorin
"Why do you think?" He choked "We did not want anyone to see us and he wants her brought to him… we were afraid, he is powerful, friends in high places... and strong… We have not seen a woman in months…. Nothing was said about the condition we were to bring her in." He gasped as Freya's foot applied more pressure, constricting his throat further a disgusted sneer on her face.
"Freya" Gandalf warned. She looked up at her mentor. Thorin said nothing, he merely looked down at the man, appalled and disgusted.
"Gandalf, they were going to-"
"I know Freya" Gandalf cut in. "I am disgusted too, but I have a way to deal with them, without burdening your conscience. Allow me to deal with this."
Freya hesitated and looked down at her attacker, dirt and his blood was all over his face from his broken nose and his face had gone a very satisfying blueish purple. He looked truly pathetic and she tried to resist the stirrings of pity for him. She lifted her boot a fraction and he gasped for air and his flailing hands finally clutched at his throat.
"You are lucky he is here." she spat at the man before spinning on her heel and marching from the scene, deliberately kicking his broken wrist on the way for good measure and smirking as she heard his whimper of pain.
Freya made her way back into town alone, heading straight to her small room at the inn. She barely noticed that the company was now awake and tucking in to an assortment of buns and sweet pastries that the landlady had brought for them. Freya slammed the door of her room shut and washed herself in the cold water on the small night stand, quickly retrieving her soap from her pack and heating the water with a spell before scrubbing her skin where the men had touched her.
All the while her anger simmered on the surface, seeking release, despite her attempts to tell herself that it could have been worse. She barely registered the information that someone knew of her and wished her ill. She had thought herself so well hidden, almost safe.
She retrieved her belongings and made her way back to the sitting room the company was now occupying, all still eating the morning pastries and buns. Bilbo handed her a pastry with a concerned look, almost retracting his hand at the rage on her features before she snatched it from his grip and tore a strip off the unfortunate morsel with her teeth.
Thorin's voice sounded from the other end of the room and every head turned to look at him as he spoke. He and Gandalf had rejoined the company while she washed and his voice was now laced with anger, but also a small amount of concern. His arms were crossed across his chest and his gaze never wavered from her.
"What was all that about? How could you have put yourself in danger like that?" He asked.
"You heard him. They thought they got lucky." She spat, playing down the fact that she personally was being hunted. You could hear a pin drop as every head now turned to her, even Bombur had frozen mid bite to stare.
"Bringing you along was a bad idea. Setting aside the fact that these men were hunting you specifically, you could have been hurt or killed by your stupidity this morning. I cannot risk this quest or your safety. Balin, we need to break the contract." Thorin ruled, the resolute look on his face matching his voice as he turned his attention from her to his advisor.
"What?" Freya and Balin both exclaimed at the same time.
"Thorin, the contract is iron clad!" Balin began, only to be overridden by Freya's anger.
"I dealt with them, surely this is proof that I can handle myself." She shouted.
"It is not, you should not have been out alone in the first place! It is dangerous enough for a man to wander alone, but a woman?" Thorin's voice rose in matched anger to Freya's
"I told you, I had dealt with them by the two of you showed up." She snarled. "My gender does not factor into it, if it had been you they bumped in to would have tried to kill you too." she snarled.
"You are right, it is nothing to do with the fact that you are a woman. They were hunting you." Thorin pointed out again.
"They are not the first." Freya scoffed, instantly regretting her words. Silence followed her words as every eye now turned to her again and Thorin's scowl deepened and she felt the need to nullify that statement.
"Look, that they were looking for me was a surprise. I have been hunted before, some time ago. But that is over and I am still here Thorin, son of Thrain." She said, her temper now under control attempting to reassure everybody, not just him.
"Hunted? In the Shire? But why? Could it be related to this quest?" Asked Bilbo.
"It was a misunderstanding, we cleared it up years ago." Gandalf cut in saving Freya from answering her new friend with a lie.
Freya's eyes returned to Thorin who was looking pensive leaning on the table in front of him. She could practically feel the curiosity in the air from the remaining members of the company as Thorin spoke slowly and with purpose, letting the full impact of his words hang in the air before settling.
"They were not just trying to kill you Freya. You heard him, you would have suffered a fate worse than death." Thorin responded, a heavy silence followed his words.
"Lassie… I think-" started Balin
"Don't you dare!" Freya spat, cutting Balin off. "Gandalf?" she appealed to her mentor, a touch of desperation entering into her voice.
"I cannot deny that I am concerned Freya. But you are capable of taking care of yourself." Gandalf said with a pointed look at her, then Thorin.
"You cannot be serious!" Protested Thorin angrily. "She was unarmed."
"And she is right, she had all but finished off two of them without our help. You saw that for yourself Thorin. I have seen her best better fighters than those thugs. You must trust me, Freya is skilled and capable, her role in this quest will be vital."
Thorin broke eye contact with Gandalf to glare at Freya once again. He lifted his chin standing straight and crossing his arms across his chest as though pronouncing judgement.
"Very well. But you are on probation from here on in. You must not wander anywhere alone and must always be accompanied by another member of the company. We do not have sufficient time to look into this development and I cannot risk this quest for your sake. One more incident like this morning, one whiff that this quest is in danger because of you and we leave you behind, contract be damned."
"What? I am to be chaperoned? How long for?" Freya demanded testily.
"Until I see proof that you can use your head and not act so foolishly as to endanger yourself and this quest! Until I know you can actually be useful to the company rather than just an extraordinary risk! Until I know that you are not just a burden!" He pronounced angrily and with an air of finality.
Freya held her head high while he spoke, willing her wrath to stay under control for once, but her voice shook with anger as she spoke nonetheless. His words had struck home and they hurt however much she willed them not to.
"So be it. If I must prove myself and earn my place, then I will do so." She grabbed her bag and gave an elaborate mock bow to Thorin. "You have my word that should this quest be at risk because I am here, I will leave the company myself." She spun on her heels and took a couple of steps before halting at the door and throwing over her shoulder "I am going to tack the ponies."
"Fili, Kili" Snapped Thorin with a jerk of his head in the direction of the door, causing the two princes to follow her out and making it plane that he meant every word, that he would have her chaperoned at all times.
Outside, Freya resolutely ignored their questions about what had happened, preferring to tack the ponies in silence. This was how she stayed all morning, barely exchanging a word with anybody until Thorin, who had also remained silent, though this was the norm for him, ordered that they stop for a brief lunch.
Freya had sat slightly away from the rest of the company, unable to meet their curious stares or stomach Thorin's scowls. She felt her mood lighten as the sun peaked and Bilbo offered her his silent support by sitting next to her instead of with the rest of the company. Smiling down at the hobbit beside her she came to a decision. There is nothing for it, I will have to make good on my word. Freya thought to herself, swearing from that moment to act as though nothing had happened that morning and it had not shaken her as much as it had. She continued musing to herself that she would not show the fear she felt, that she would use that fear to stay vigilant. She also vowed to prove that she was capable and no feeble and vulnerable woman as Thorin seemed to suspect.
Time would reveal all and thanks to her Gift, it appeared that time was something she had plenty of.
