Hello All! Someone was kind enough to inform me that I had a mix up in my time line so I'm re uploading this chapter. It isn't a major change, just that Morgoth was imprisoned during Vienna's time as a baby so instead of him visiting her, he sent a Dark Lord in his stead. Thank you again to who pointed it out!
-Dragonfly-stories
"My dear girl, that can't possibly be true! You lived it!"
Vienna rolled her eyes, "Just tell the damn story, old man."
He laughed in reply. "Now, this is quite the tale, so listen closely." Thorin watched Vienna as the Wizard started. She rolled her eyes again before placing them on the fire, the emotion in them turning stoic and distant.
"Our friend Vienna here has lived a long life and most of her tales are more entertaining in her own words." She scoffed at his words before he continued, "For now, I will simply answer your question. Amarelle Datoris was born many years ago, in a land that you will not find in the world today. She is pure blood Dúnedain, and is known to dwarven culture as the Lost Ranger." This caught the attention of many of the Dwarves as they had grown up on tales and myths of the Lost Ranger. Thorin swallowed heavily. He had heard how the Wizard and even the goblins referred to her as a Ranger, but he couldn't believe it. He had spent a decent amount of time in the world of Men and had encountered a few Rangers in his time, but he refused to believe she was one of them. Not only was the Lost Ranger a myth, but this girl neither moved or fought like the Rangers did. Her training had definitely been Elven, no matter what the Wizard said.
"The Lady Galadriel, of Lothlorien, found an infant, small and sick at the far edge of the wood. It was not known at the time who put her there, how she came to be, or what became of her parents. An infant so fragile that she barely grasped at life. The Lady quickly sent word to Arnor of the child so they could search for its parents. It crushed Lady Galadriel, seeing someone so innocent so close to death. She began to pray to the Valar over the child, hoping that they would come and help her."
"It lasted fifteen days and fifteen nights, during which, Lady Galadriel stayed by the child's side, hoping for her prayers to be answered. And soon, they were. One by one The High Ones, along with a few of their spouses, visited the child in her dreamless slumber to give her strength. The first of which was Manwë, who gifted her the breeze to fill her lungs and carry her throughout her life. Next, his wife, Varda who gifted the child the stars to light her way. On the fifth night, Ulmo gave her water to replenish herself, and Vána who gave her everlasting youth, for someone so young should never have to know a cruel death. Following them on the eighth and ninth night was Aulë, more commonly known to Durin's folk as Mahal, and his wife, Yavanna. He blessed the child with the ability to manipulate natural elements. Yavanna gave the child the knowledge of nature. Then there was Nienna, who gave the child an unforgivable sense of compassion on the eleventh night. A pure and willing heart. And the final two, or so it was thought, were on the thirteenth and fourteenth night, Mandos and Oromë. Oromë gave her keen ears and eyes, so that she would never go hungry. The condition for her to wield these gifts was that she could only use them in times driven by pure emotions."
There was a silent moment before Dwalin spoke, "But what did Mandos give the child?"
"I..." Gandalf paused, looking to Vienna with curious eyes, "am not entirely sure what gift he gave her." He furrowed his brow and looked to Vienna in suspicion, but Ori spoke before he could inquire anything.
"What happened next?" Gandalf looked to see all of the Dwarves and the Hobbit listening intently to his story. He was surprised that even Thorin seemed to be enthralled with Vienna's history.
"Please tell us the child lived," came next from Bofur, who looked genuinely concerned for the child of the story.
"On the final night, Morgoth visited, unbeknownst to the other Valar." Gandalf's voice grew dark and he glanced to Vienna. "As many of your know, Morgoth is no longer considered a part of the Valar and they had banished him long ago. However in his imprisonment, he somehow caught wind of the child. When he heard of the other members of the Valar blessing the child with gifts and he too, wanted to present one. Before the others, primarily Aluë and Oromë, could stop his servant, he sent someone to her: a Dark Lord," He paused, looking to Vienna as she got up from her spot in the circle and wandered over to the waters edge again. He was positive that she did not want to be reminded of her curse and the distance was to keep control of herself, even though she could most likely still hear her.
Of all the stories Thorin had heard in his many years, this was one of the most preposterous. The Wizard couldn't expect him to believe this hogwash, could he? So this is it, the Dwarf King thought to himself, The Wizard has lost his mind after all. Thorin groaned internally when the next question was prompted. From Balin nonetheless, one of the Dwarves Thorin thought he could depend on to always keep his head. They're all mad if they believe this tale, Thorin thought bitterly.
"What did this dark lord do?" It was Balin who posed this question. The Dwarves' faces ranged from awe to concern and it pained Gandalf that he had to explain what would happen to the poor child.
"He… interfered with her ability to use the gifts. They could only be trigger by pure emotion, so Morgoth and his minion did the one thing to make it impossible for her to use them. He corrupted her emotions so that in times of peril and great need, she would be vulnerable and unstable. Only under incredible amounts of focus could she ever wield the gifts when she absolutely needed them," Gandalf said softly. The Dwarves watched the fire with shocked and saddened faces. He noted the grim expressions with the company of tears on a few bearded cheeks.
"But what happened to the child?" It was Thorin who spoke this time, his eyes still on the Ranger as she stood by the water.
"The Valar, after hearing of what Morgoth had done, feared that his tampering would backtrack on what they had done to save the child. The child began to grow cold and blue from his evil. That was until the Valar stepped up and pleaded Eru to save the child. And he did. The morning of the sixteenth day, Lady Galadriel found the child to be in perfect health. It was a miracle. It still is." Thorin kept his eyes on the Ranger as the story's end came. He couldn't wrap his head around her story. He had grown up with tale of the Lost Ranger and to see that the woman standing by the water could be considered one of his childhood heros, shocked him. And he had judged her. He had let his prejudice for anything Elven blind him and he was wrong. It seemed that was happening more and more frequently as of late.
"A few days later, Lady Galadriel heard from the Dúnedain that they had found the bodies of her parents. An orc attack. Lady Galadriel decided to name the child after her deceased mother, Amarelle Datoris." Gandalf finished the tale with a smile in Vienna's direction. He could see her shake her head at the final lines as she stared out over the river, but he couldn't bring himself to argue with her over it.
"What happened next?" Kili quipped, eager to learn more. Gandalf smiled at the Dwarfs willingness to learn about the newest prospective member of the company.
"Well, Master Kili, the Valar had inscripted the gifts they gave her into her hands, for they hold the power. Though the powers are minimal in a general sense, she still possesses them. The child grew into an incredible woman and an even better Ranger. You have heard the tales of her and if you haven't, you could always ask her."
Thorin sat in thought about the story and the sight of her hand flashed into his head. The prang of guilt shuddered through him and he stood from the fire, not meeting the eyes of the curious company. He made his way over to her by the water and looked up to the stars like she was now.
"I owe you an apology." He said after a moment. Thorin wasn't entirely sure of how to approach her after learning her story.
"You sure do," she said.
"I shouldn't have judged you before I knew your story. It was wrong and unkingly of me. No matter how much I despise elves, I can not assume things and I apologize for making an assumption of you." He said softly.
There was a long pause before Vienna responded to his apology.
"You thought I was an elf." The words came out more as a statement than a question. She laughed, turning to him with wide eyes.
"I have spent the majority of my life avoiding people who looked at me as you had before. But…. never before had someone looked at me with such hatred because they thought me an elf." She laughed a little. The sound was so sweet it hurt Thorin's ears to hear.
She laughed again and turned to Thorin. "You are forgiven." She pulled on the cuffs of her gloves absentmindedly and turned her eyes back to the stars. Thorin continued to look at her, tracing the angles of her face with his eyes. His actions sank in and he averted his eyes. It was not appropriate to ogle at her. No matter how much otherworldly beauty she had. He coughed, clearing his throat before beginning his return to the company.
"I am weary of kings. They make me antsy and uncomfortable and I haven't had the best history with them. I was trained to respect royalty, no matter their status. I apologize if I was rude earlier." She continued to look at the sky while she spoke.
"You are more than forgiven." Thorin was curious on what she meant by bad history with kings, but he kept his questions to himself. "I won't claim to know your reasons for being weary of us; like the Wizard said, those are your tales to tell. But I won't hold you to your word to him to help us."
She scoffed slightly. "I have been trailing your company for many weeks now. I have saved you from trolls and goblins and orcs. If I felt bound to your company I would've made myself known ages ago." She paused, looking him dead in the eyes, "But thank you. I enjoy having choices." Thorin could see a smile in her eyes as she looked to him.
He didn't know what to make of the feeling of warmth in the pit of his stomach as her green eyes bore into him. She looked back to the stars after a moment and it was in the movement when a new curiosity dawned on him.
"Why do you hide yourself?" The words left his lips before he could think and he mentally wanted to slap himself for his redundancy.
"I thought you Dwarves had better memories than that. It's for anonymities sake." And she turned to return to the company by the fire. He followed suit, feeling his shame lessen as they had come to some sort of common ground.
"But we already know who you are," he countered as he sat in his spot from before. The company didn't seem to mind that they carried their conversation with them when they returned.
She sighed, but didn't reply. He watched her closely as her eyes trained on the ground and he could tell she was battling with herself. Choosing between keeping herself hidden or dropping her mask. They had already seen her face, though it was only briefly, they had. So, why couldn't they now?
Vienna stared at the flames in front of her while her heart and mind warred within her. Her head's argument was that there was no point in showing herself to them since she would go back to trailing them by sun up. But her heart argued another matter. She wanted so badly to open up to them. She felt she needed to bind herself to this group of misfits so that she could finally have a hold on this world, a place where she belonged. If she could let herself, she could've sobbed over the fight inside her. She plead with herself to just let the past go and live, to be free of her anxiety around others. But she just couldn't. She frowned at the notion. Couldn't? Or wouldn't? What was stopping her? Her crippling fear of rejection? The possible danger she posed to those she got close to? She could feel Thorin's eyes on her as she fought with herself. He was waiting for her to decide what she wanted, so what did she want? Freedom? No, she had plenty of that out of the road. Stability? Possibly, the only thing that could hold her for any given place for long was the potential to kill orcs. If not those, then what? She would never find out until she tried. She sighed heavily and lifted her hands to remove her mask. The open air chilled her freshly revealed skin as she pulled the mask away and the company became deadly quiet. She glanced upwards to see the shocked expressions of the company.
"You're injured."
"That is what happens when you enter goblin town with the intention of slicing necks. It's nothing major," she commented. Thorin shook his head. If she was going to be a part of the company, then she had to let them treat her wounds.
"Oin, look over her wounds." Vienna began to protest, but the Dwarf king stopped her. "If you are going to be a part of this company, then you will be made an official member of it. Especially after helping us the way that you have." He said with sincere eyes and he began asking a few other Dwarves to retrieve things for her. Food, a bed pad, and a warm place by the fire.
She sighed, not wanting to be a burden. She could heal her own wounds. Vienna knew she needed to leave soon before she got anymore attached. She looked back to the Dwarves, all of them already looking at her with bright eyes. Were they willing to accept her after hearing of her abilities? Would they abandon her when they saw what she could do? Would they run in fear like most others did? "Master Dwarf, there is no need for that. I can heal them myself."
"Do not take me for a fool, " Thorin started, "Or a stranger. Please let Oin care for you." And with his words, she lost the argument. Oin came over to her after retrieving a small pack. He motioned for her to stand.
She knew the majority of her wounds were partially covered by her clothes and a proper cleaning of them would require her to strip, at least a little. She chuckled lightly to herself. This should be fun. If Thorin was going to insist, then she wasn't going to hold back. They either accept her as she is, gifts and all, or they got nothing. I mean, don't kid yourself, they get nothing anyway. I have to seize the first chance I get to escape. The notion of leaving made her blood run cold and she pushed the notion from her head. There was no use getting emotional now. She grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head, reminding herself of the wrap she wore to cover her chest. There were many gasps of shock and blushing cheeks as the Dwarves got their first glimpse of her transcription and wounds that laced her torso. Maybe they are worse than I thought, she commented mentally as she took note that almost all of the Dwarves looked away from her to give her privacy. Even Thorin turned his back as Oin began to work on her.
After many moments in pain and clenched fists, Oin finished his work and handed her the shirt from the ground. She nodded gratefully and put the shirt back on. She longed to clean it in the river, but she didn't think a bath was possible after the work Oin had done. She appreciated the work he had done despite the fact that she could heal herself if she were given the chance too. Oin motioned for her to sit and he came to sit in front of her to tend to her neck wounds. She kept her eyes to the ground for a long, quiet moment before Oin spoke up.
"That was an incredibly brave thing ya did, lass. I can't speak for the others, but I am glad ya did it." His voice was quiet, but soft, as he dabbed a cold paste on the cut on her throat.
"It is nothing any of you wouldn't have done if given the chance." She whispered.
"But that's exactly it. We weren't given the chance to save young Ori. And in all honesty lass, I'm not sure any of us would've had the balls to take on that piece of filth like ya did. It was truly heroic and, like I said, I can't speak for the others, but I know it is greatly appreciated." Oin met her eyes and gave her a smile. It shocked her that he mentioned her saving Ori, but then again it didn't surprise her that Nori had mentioned it to the others. She tried to smile back, but was distracted by a feeling welling inside her. A foreign, but not completely unwelcome feeling. She swallowed and again pushed away her thoughts. She couldn't get attached, but it was so hard. The chemist turned to tend to her head wounds next. She knew what he must be thinking. Even without the fresh water to help her healing process, she had unnatural blood running through her veins. Healing came more quickly to her than it would anyone in her company and he had to have noticed that by now and still he said nothing of it.
"Thank you, Master Oin. I greatly appreciate your work," she said in a soft voice. His eyes met her for a brief moment and she knew the questions that were floating behind them.
"You may ask, if you wish." The look of shock that crossed his features made her smile briefly. Having lived long enough to understand body language and response, seeing people's reaction to her over-awareness always seemed to entertain her.
He opened his mouth to speak and shook his head slightly, "It isn't kind to question a lady. No matter my curiosity, lass. Which is purely academic, of course." She laughed out loud at this. A lady? Well shit, I must be one unimpressive lady, she thought.
"Then it will please you to know that I am no lady, but you honor….. and humor me, Master Dwarf. Please, satisfy your curiosity." The conversation was light. The lightest she had had in a long time and she truly enjoyed it. Persuading Oin to question her was an incredibly selfish and surprisingly easy thing for her to do. She knew it wasn't going to help her leave later, but she pushed the thoughts from her head. She was going to enjoy this while she could.
There was a moment of silence as Oin tried to decipher what he wanted to ask or how to ask it. But it eventually came to him. "These wounds… They look much older than they are. How is that? And this one here, it should have caused permanent damage, but from what I can see, yer fine. There is no evidence that ya've been affected by it at all. I don't understand, it goes against nature."
"That it does. I naturally heal faster than mortals. Even faster provided there is fresh water nearby. You could say it is a perk of being immortal. Along with the second. Nothing is ever permanent. Not scratches or broken bones, not serious blows to the head. None of it. Only me." She kept her answer honest and simple. All the chemist could do was nod his head.
"If fresh water heals you, why did ya not heal yourself earlier, lass? Surely you could've."
"I…didn't want to frighten any of you. I know how superstitious Dwarves can be."
"Right you are. But…"
Vienna could sense his growing curiosity from a mile away and she knew exactly how to answer him.
"Yes, you can." Oin looked to her eyes again, less shocked this time that she predicted his question. He gave her a bashful smile and finished applying ointment to her head.
"Should I need to in the future, you may see how I heal myself. But for now, I will stick to your treatment, Master Dwarf. I surely enjoy the conversation it has provided. Thank you."
He gave a mumbled reply and smile before returning to his spot, partly embarrassed from his conversation with her. She thought over the conversation as a whole. Heroic? She was perplexed. Her actions were brave, she guessed. But heroic? It had been centuries since that term had been used to describe her. It sat like a ton of rocks at the bottom of her stomach. There were a lot of things Vienna could do in life, a lot of expectations she could uphold, but being a hero? That wasn't one of them. That responsibility was to great. Well, that and now she had set a standard for herself. Fuckin' great, she thought, now I'm gonna have to keep up the facade that I'm just naturally this fabulous. She looked to the ground and continued to replay the conversation, smiling to herself.
She looked up to see that all the Dwarves were now talking amongst themselves and she sighed in relief. All accounted for and all busy distracting themselves from my presence. Maybe things can go back to normal once the sun is up.
Soon, many of the Dwarves were on their bed rolls and drifting to sleep. Vienna, however, lay awake gazing at the stars. She thought over the day and all its events. From the goblins, which was a normal night for her, to the encounter with Azog. She could feel the anger and bile rise in her throat. She would end him, even if it was the last thing she ever did. And then there were her strange encounters with the King. She couldn't place it, but there was feeling she got when she was around him. It was like feeling the warmth from the sun and it both excited and terrified her. She had no idea what to do with it, but she did know that it was best to leave it buried for now. She rolled onto her side, facing the fire and basked in its warmth as she fell asleep. No use in getting attached, she thought, not when he could easy cast you aside... like the freak that you are.
