Hey guys! Sorry this was a bit late, I have family over for the next week and college has already been putting my ass in gear even though I just started yesterday (which was when this chapter was supposed to be out). Chapter updates might be a bit spotty the next couple of weeks until I get into a comfortable schedule so please bear with me~
Thank you to Mr. Review, DecrepitSoul, Victor, Guest, Sarah, Basia Orci, Ny'Kle, Liliesshadow, JustKeepSmilingRainbows, and Poekie117 for their reviews, comments and critisims! I am always overjoyed to read them and some of them really give me an ego boost.
Question Time:
To DecrepitSoul: I answered you in a PM so you already know my thoughts on your comment ;)
To Victor: Glad you liked that last chapter! And yes, there are a lot of little details put in this that may seem insignificant at first but will come in to be major players later in the story. Also, I am totally not offended by your LOTR comment earlier, I was actually thinking about it very minorly before I started writing the story but now I know that there might be interest for a possible sequel. We will just have to wait see how the story pans out. Thank you so much for your kind comment and I am glad that you consider my story to be good enough for you to think that it is a masterpiece. Also for your other review, let's just say that there are some MAJOR differences between Skyrim's creatures and Middle-Earth's creatures that will take Refridís off-guard and flip everything she knows upside down.
Guest: Thank you for opinion on a more draconic Dragonborn! I am glad that the idea seems to be pretty well accepted and that no one has said that it is too "far-fetched" to fit into the lore.
Ny'Kle: It might take a while before that point in the story but I do have some special plans that take Odahviing into account! He's not just there to look pretty~ ;)
Liliesshadow: Thanks to you too for your imput! Yes, I have seen some Miraak fanart (and might have contributed a bit too).
In addition to all that, I made a quick drawing of Refridís! I have to warn you now, I am not the best artist but I am slowly learning. Just enter "Refridís Silduaan" in Deviantart's search box and it should be the only result that pops up or follow the link on my profile page.
So after all that, I hope you enjoy this new chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Characters and Worlds belong to their respective owners (J.R.R. Tolkien and Bethesda). Skyrim OC Refridís belongs to me.
This chapter has been EDITED & UPDATED :)
Refridís had been outside preparing Vokun for their journey when she heard the door to Bag-End open and footfalls joined the quiet murmuring of the dwarves as they approached. She chalked up their quietness to not wanting to wake up the entirety of Hobbiton and continued packing things onto her black horse. It was when she turned around to ask Gandalf a question that she realized that she was being given venomous and distrustful stares by the majority of the Company as they readied their ponies.
"I'm sorry but I have to ask, what have I done this morning that is making you all to look at me in that manner?" Refridís asked after a few moments, shifting uncomfortably under the looks.
"You are an elf." Thorin said in a low voice that was filled with anger.
"Yes and you all are dwarves. Is there a problem with my heritage?" the Bosmer questioned, crossing her arms and standing up straighter, already knowing what the issue was.
"Indeed there is. We have much cause not to trust elves as they have wronged us deeply in our greatest time of need and we have never had an elf offer help to us since Smaug took Erebor." Thorin explained, his voice rising slightly.
"I do not know what troubles you have with the elves of this country but rest assured that I have nothing to do with them," Refridís said while looking down at the dwarven leader with narrowed eyes, "Do not allow your past experiences with those of my race influence your judgment of my skills and loyalty. I have signed a contract and am also bound by my word that I will help your company to get rid the Dovah that resides in your home. Save your ire for those who deserve it as the Mer are scrutinized enough as it is in Skyrim."
"Mer?" Thorin asked.
"There are more than one species of elf where I come from. I belong to the Bosmer, also known as the wood elves. There are the Dunmer, Altmer, Orismer, and Falmer. Each is distinctly different from the other and to call them all the same is to offend them."
"I do not care from which race of elf you belong to. I will warn you now, should I suspect treachery of any sort I will not hesitate to take action," Thorin said coldly, getting onto his own ride and starting to walk away, the rest of the company following after him.
"It is acknowledged, you will have no worries of that kind with me." Refridís responded calmly.
By Nocturnal's Shadow, no wonder the Dwemer went extinct! Their pig-headedness and paranoia must have made them many enemies back in Skyrim. This is going to be a VERY long journey." Refridís thought as she mounted her horse and kicked gently to move him forward.
She was riding alongside Gandalf, not wanting to be next to the dwarves who were complaining that their overnight stay at Bag-End was a waste of time and how hobbits were useless, much to her annoyance, when they started calling out bets about whether or not Bilbo would show up. Gandalf had joined in and called out that Bilbo would appear without a doubt before turning towards Refridís.
"And what do you think will happen?" He asked her, the attention of the dwarves focused on the two of them.
Refridís gave a sigh, "While I hope that Master Baggins remains at home safe, sound, and away from the threat of the Dovah, something tells me that we will be seeing him very soon. I bet five coins against anyone who denies that he will show up."
Some of the dwarves gave a slight chuckle as most of them had bet against Bilbo showing up and the prospect that an elf would owe them each five coins filled them with glee. That hope however was crushed when they heard a small "Wait!" coming from behind them. They stopped their rides and soon enough Bilbo passed them, gasping for air as he handed the contract to Balin.
"I signed it!" the hobbit said as he attempted to catch his breath.
Balin took out a pocket-glass and scrutinized the contract to be sure that nothing was changed or scribbled out before giving Bilbo a smile and stamping it, "Everything appears to be in order. Welcome, Master Baggins, to the company of Thorin Oakenshield."
While some of the dwarves gave a loud cheer, Thorin simply looked on, unimpressed, before ordering, "Give him a pony."
Bilbo immediately started, "No, no, no, no, that-that won't be necessary, thank you, but I-I'm sure I can keep on foot. I-I-I've done my fair share of walking holidays, you know. I even got as far as Frogmorton once- WHA!"
The hobbit's speech was cut off as Fíli and Kíli rode alongside him and picked him up from behind to put him on a pony.
"Glad to see you here Mister Boggins!" Fíli said, purposefully calling the hobbit by the wrong name.
"Many of us didn't think you would come!" Kíli added on in the same joking tone.
"Its Baggins!" Bilbo responded as he was plopped down on his ride and grabbed the reins out of fear of falling off.
The two brothers just laughed and went back into their spots and Refridís took this opportunity to make Vokun ride alongside the tawny colored pony that Bilbo was placed on, "Hello Master Baggins. You know, I wasn't quite expecting to see you here so soon."
Bilbo gave the pony he was riding on a terrified look before he turned towards her with a slight smile, "I wasn't quite sure myself. I woke up this morning to silence and a cleaned house, almost thought that it was all a very bad dream. It was only when I saw the contract lying on the table that I really started to think about the quest. I used your little coin trick but I already knew my decision the moment it left my hands."
Refridís returned the smile, "I am glad that my coin was able to help you decide. You should keep it; you never know when you might need to use it again."
Bilbo was about to protest when his horse tossed its head and gave a small neigh that caused the poor Halfling to grip his reins even tighter out of terror. It was at that moment when Oín spoke up.
"Come on, Nori pay up. Go on." The dwarf with the hearing trumpet said.
Nori made a small sound of frustration before he tossed a sack of money to Oín who gave a small exclamation much to the amusement of the others. Right after the first pouch was passed, the air was suddenly filled with money passing between the dwarves.
"Keep your coins, I have no need of them," Refridís said, quickly realizing that she was about to be bombarded with coin purses and trying to get onto their good sides.
The dwarves gave her a variety of responses varying from relieved looks to scoffs, as if they were ever thinking of actually giving her their coins. Refridís simply gave a quiet sigh and looked towards the tree line, wondering where Odahviing might be hiding and listening in to the conversations of the group.
After the whole exchange, Bilbo piped up and asked with a confused look, "What's that about?"
Gandalf snapped out of his thinking and responded, "Oh, they took wagers on whether or not you'd turn up. Most of them bet that you wouldn't."
Bilbo gave him a questioning look, "What did you think?"
The Grey Wizard simply gave a small hum before catching a sack of money that was tossed his way and placed it into his bag with a smile before turning to the hobbit, "My dear fellow, I never doubted you for a second."
Bilbo was about to comment when he let out a mighty sneeze, "Ohh, all this horse hair, I'm having a reaction."
He patted and checked his pockets, looking for his handkerchief but when he was unable to find it he looked around panicked before exclaiming, "No, no, wait, wait, stop! Stop! We have to turn around!"
The entire company came to a halt and the dwarves started objection to their temporary stop and asked what the problem was. Refridís was cut from her musings and she turned towards Bilbo with an eyebrow raised, wondering if the hobbit had come to his senses and realized that he was about to make a journey to fight a fire-breathing monstrosity.
"What on earth is the matter?" Gandalf said, very concerned about the hobbit's sudden order.
Refridís had to fight back the urge to let out a frustrated growl when he said, "I forgot my handkerchief…"
Bofur, good-naturedly, ripped a strip of cloth from his clothing and tossed it to Bilbo with a smile, "Here! Use this."
Bilbo caught the rag and immediately gave it a look of disgust while holding it as far away from him as possible. The dwarves began to laugh at his antics.
Thorin gave the Halfling a look of annoyance before ordering, "Move on."
Gandalf gently scolded the hobbit saying, "You'll have to manage without pocket-handkerchiefs and a good many other things, Bilbo Baggins, before we reach our journey's end. You were born to the rolling hills and little rivers of the Shire, but home is now behind you; the world is ahead."
With that Gandalf moved forwards toward the front of the train of ponies and Refridís slowed her horse down so that it matched the pace of Bilbo's pony. She took out a small square of clean, light blue cloth from her bag and handed it to him with a small wink.
Bilbo gave her an appreciative smile and rubbed his runny nose with it, "Thank you very much Ms. Silduuan, that was very kind of you."
"Think nothing of it," the Bosmer said, "and please, call me Refridís. Almost nobody calls me by my last name unless they are very unsavory characters who recognize me, mostly the Dov."
Bilbo gave her a blink of shock, "Dragons can speak?"
Refridís gave a small chuckle, "Oh yes they can, they are unfortunately not just firestorms and thunderous attitudes. They prefer to use the tongues of humans to communicate but they do have a language of their own which they use while they fight. There is no distinction between a debate and combat to a dragon as being correct is the same as being powerful and fights between Dovah are often just arguments that got out of hand. The words of a Dovah in their own language can have very deadly effects as that is where their power stems from."
Bilbo did a small nod, trying to understand her words, "So for this dragon I am facing, should it be awake, I should try to stop him from speaking?"
"No, no, quite the opposite actually. If he is speaking to you in common tongue then he cannot attack you. It is when it starts to try to get as close to you as possible and starts saying things that you do not understand that you should be worried. I would say that in order to try to delay an attack, I would try to work its ego as Dovah are very vain and proud creatures by nature. While I highly doubt that it will stop an attack, it will spare you some time to think of a way to escape or for help to arrive," Refridís informed him, "I will teach you some more tricks that you can use when facing a Dovah. Let us just hope that you never have to use them."
Bilbo swallowed hard out of nervousness before looking ahead and commenting, "We should probably catch up. I don't think they would appreciate it if we fell behind."
The Bosmer gave a hum of approval and kicked her horse into a slow trot so that Bilbo's pony could keep up and the two quickly closed the gap that was forming between their party.
As they travelled further and further away from Bilbo's home, Refridís began to worry about the distance between her and Odahviing. He said that he was capable of hearing her from leagues away even if she just whispered his name but she couldn't help her nervousness. She glanced up into the sky but knew that there would be no red Dovah circling above them as the air contained nothing but sunshine. Normally the sun would have made her smile but it was cloudy weather that she currently wished for.
She gave the dwarves a quick glance, "Now there is another issue I have to deal with. I need to speak to Odahviing about what we are to face and tactics. Maybe Smaug is a Dovah that survived the Dragon War and flew across the ocean to Middle-Earth. Odahviing might know of him. I might try sneaking away tonight to talk to him as I have a feeling that these dwarves are rather heavy sleepers.
The day passed quickly and they rode for many miles through forests, hills, and plains. Refridís had admired their beauty and was reminded of Skyrim on a nice, sunny day without the cold rain or snow that often fell down on the mountainous country. The smell of the fresh grass as the ponies stomped it down filled the clean air and Refridís closed her eyes, feeling the sun shining on her skin and warming her.
"What a beautiful day. I would have taken Frost out for an easy day of hunting in Whiterun's plains before finding a good spot to lay down to catch some of the sun's rays," Refridís thought wistfully, "The Dovah would be too busy warming their scales to even bother flying or attacking people. "
The Company approached what seemed to be a slow moving river from the surface but Refridís knew from personal experience with the way the water moved that there was a strong undercurrent. Thorin, however, had decided that the area was shallow enough to ford and soon pushed ahead.
Refridís was about to call out that it was a bad idea when one of the ponies that was carrying most of their provisions lost its footing on the slippery river rocks and was quickly being swept away downriver. Before the Bosmer had time to react to the panicked whinnies of the dappled pony, both Fíli and Kíli jumped in after it and the river took them as well.
"Oh for the sake of the Divines," Refridís cursed and kicked her horse to chase after them along the riverbank as the other dwarves yelled in surprise and concern.
Fíli and Kíli had managed to reach the wide-eyed pony that was thrashing in the cold river water, fighting to stay afloat with the heavy cargo on its back. They gave each other a quick look of understanding and took out short daggers to cut the ropes that were keeping the provisions attached to the creature.
The pack was quickly removed from the pony and began to sink under the combined weight of the food and water. Fíli grabbed the reins and was doing powerful strokes towards the edge of the river and Kíli went to follow him only to find that he couldn't move and that something was dragging him towards the deeper part of the river.
He looked down and saw that several pieces of the ropes that they had cut from the pack had managed to wrap around and snare his leg and that it was bringing him along. As he attempted to call for help, the pack suddenly sank as it tipped over into a deeper area and he went under without a chance to get a good breath of air.
Kíli was filled with a sense of dread as the water completely covered his head and he tried to cut the ropes that trapped him with the dagger in his hand. It was near impossible as the cold water had numbed his hands to the point that it was actually painful to bend or move them. His lungs burned and felt as if they were going to burst in their desperation for air and black spots were quickly taking over his vision.
Kíli mentally cursed as the dagger slipped from his cold hands and sank. He couldn't hold his breath anymore and let out a scream of frustration with what little air he had. He clawed towards what he thought was the surface of the river as he was completely disoriented by the weightless environment but the ropes refused to give him up and dragged him further into the water.
"NO! NOT LIKE THIS! NOT EVEN A DAY HAS PASSED SINCE THE OFFICIAL START OF OUR JOURNEY!" Kíli thought desperately as he felt his body begin to give up little by little, "I can't leave Fíli behind! I can't die without seeing the halls of our forefathers. I beg of you Mahal, please… Not like this."
As his last thoughts escaped him, Kíli saw black and the last bubbles of air escaped him as water filled his lungs and something seemed to pull viciously at the ropes around his ankles.
Refridís kicked her horse into a gallop, trying to catch up to the swift-moving currents as they swept away Fíli, Kíli, and the pony. They were in her view for a moment before some rocks covered them and the wood elf cursed in Dovahzul. She went around the rocky outcropping and saw Fíli pulling the pony onto shore.
"Where is Kíli?!" Refridís shouted as she all but jumped off her horse to help the soaked golden-haired dwarf lead the poor, exhausted creature onto dry land.
"What do you mean? He was… right behind me," Fíli said coughing to clear his airway of water as he turned towards the river.
A silent understanding of the current situation his brother was in cause Fíli to gain a horrified look and he shouted, "KEE!"
The dwarf started to run towards the river before Refridís managed to grab him by the shoulders and with a surprising amount of strength, threw him behind her so that he fell onto his back on the riverbank. The rest of the company was beginning to reach them when the Bosmer threw off her leather vest, boots, and pack with weapons, leaving just her thick white tunic, black pants, and hidden dagger, before diving into the cold river.
It took a couple seconds for her body to get over the shock as she went under the icy waters and she quickly looked around for any signs of life. She was about to rise for air when she saw a figure faintly struggling a little bit ahead of her. She kicked up and broke the surface to get a deep breath of air, hearing the panicked voices of the Company behind her before diving back down.
She saw Kíli's struggles begin to grow weaker as she swam closer when a poisonous thought crossed her mind,"If you let him drown, then he will never be able to prove your connection to the Dovah. It will be easy… just say that you couldn't find him… and when they pull out his body downstream he will already be long dead."
Refridís shook that thought out of her head with an internal growl before continuing her swim to Kíli's body. She grabbed the ropes that trapped him and pulled out a knife from her belt, quickly sawing through the thick ropes. His struggles had grown weaker by the second until he was utterly still bringing a new sense of urgency into the Bosmer's actions.
Once the final rope released it's death grip on the dwarf's leg, Refridís tried to swim to the surface, the extra weight of her unconscious companion and her relatively small frame making it incredibly difficult. She looked at him and saw that the fur cloak on his back was weighing him down heavily and she made the decision to cut it loose. The water-soaked furs now off him, she shot towards the surface with strong kicks.
She gasped for air as they both broke the river's surface and swam towards the shore, hair and water partially obscuring her vision. She let out a sigh of relief when she could finally touch the river's rocky bottom and lifted Kíli over her shoulder as she stepped out of the freezing water.
She laid the raven-haired dwarf onto the bank as gently as possible, taking a moment to look at his incredibly pale face before leaning over so that her pointed ear was above his mouth as she felt for his breath and watched for his chest to rise. When neither of those things happened, she placed two fingers against his throat and checked for a pulse. It was weak but it was there.
Refridís began chest compressions, hoping desperately that it would be enough for the dwarf to begin breathing on his own as restoration magic was useless in the case of drowning. She saw that she was getting no reaction at all and gently raised his chin so that his airway was clearer before taking a deep breath, pinching his nose, giving a quick prayer to the Divines that this would work, and meeting the dwarf's lips as she delivered a rescue breath.
It was only seconds later that Refridís was roughly grabbed and thrown off him. She snarled and turned to meet the venomous glares of Thorin and Dwalin.
"And what exactly do you think you are doing?!" Thorin yelled, outraged that an elf had all but kissed his nephew.
"Trying to save the damned life of one of your company!" The Wood Elf yelled back crawling to Kíli's side and beginning chest compressions again.
It seemed as Nocturnal was smiling upon her as fortune would have it that Kíli began coughing and attempting to vomit up water. The Bosmer turned him onto his side so that he wouldn't choke as river water rushed up from his lungs and onto the smooth stones next to him, making small circular motions on his shoulder blades in order to calm him down and whispering for him to breath normally.
Once Refridís was sure that the young dwarf wouldn't die and would recover on his own, she got up and walked towards her abandoned equipment upstream, making sure she roughly pushed Thorin's shoulder as she walked passed him and angrily muttered a, "You're welcome."
Thorin roughly grabbed her forearm and pulled her so that she was facing him, "Don't ever do something like that again."
Out of anger, Refridís answered sharply, "And allow one of your company to die? Then don't make such a stupid decision ever again as it is by your instructions that this has happened. Even new adventurers know that just because a river looks calm doesn't mean it is. Be glad that he is even breathing right now as he was well on his way to wherever you believe a soul goes after death when I reached him."
The cold, wet wood elf yanked her arm out of Thorin's grip and walked pass the rest of the company who was giving her mixed looks of shock, relief, gratefulness, and disgust. As she turn the bend that obscured the sightline between the two parties and approached her horse who was patiently waiting for her upstream, she let out a frustrated sigh while kicking a rather large rock into the river.
Though she had a heavy dislike for Kíli she would not allow him to die, or any of the company for that matter. As Refridís took off the wet shirt, leaving her underclothes still on, and replaced it with her new white tunic, her mind couldn't help but wander over to the rescue breath she gave the dwarf. It had not been since Faendal died that she had meet another person's lips, and she couldn't help but admit that while the dwarf was as hardheaded as a bull, he was rather easy on the eyes.
Refridís shook her head, growling to herself a reminder that said dwarf would probably be as ungrateful as their leader for saving his life, simply because she was an elf. She was simply giving him a breath that had saved his life, nothing more and she wanted nothing more to come of it.
So I know that last little scene was unexpected but want to incorporate some more parts of the book into the story so the part where Fili and Kili go after a horse and nearly drown struck out to me. Just as a reminder that this is a slow-building relationship story! "Love at first sight" stories sort of turn me off from reading a fic so I'm here for the long run. ;)
Hope you all enjoyed the chapter and please remember to review, critique, or ask questions! I thrive off of them and get super excited every time I get a message that someone commented!
