Disclaimer: The usual. I don't own anything, except for Gwyn.
Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait between chapters. Real life got in the way. I was crazy busy finishing up an internship, plus my end of the quarter insanity. I'm on spring break right now though, which is good. I've been struggling with this chapter for weeks, but I downloaded the early release of Desolation of Smaug yesterday, and that REALLY helped with the little details that I was getting hung up on. Since I haven't articulated it before, reviews are much appreciated!
Without further ado, let us continue with the story.
That night, there was much celebrating in honor of Fili, Kili, and Gwyn's courtship. The rowdiness of the dwarves surpassed even their behavior at Rivendell, which surprised Gwyn. Much of the commotion was courtesy of Beorn's mead, which flowed abundantly. Several times one of the dwarves would call out for a kiss from the trio, which they obliged for the most part. When the requests got too out of hand, so frequent that Gwyn or her princes could barely eat without a cry of "Kiss! Kiss!" from one of their compatriots, Gwyn leveled one of her Looks at the offending dwarves. Even Beorn and Gandalf joined in the frivolity, laughing at the dwarves' antics. Gandalf even contributed some small impromptu whiz-poppers that exploded in the shape of love-hearts and flowers which seemed to trail behind Fili and Kili, making everyone laugh.
When the Company began to calm down a bit though, Gwyn saw several members of the Company pass small purses to Bofur and, to Gwyn's surprise, Ori. When she raised her eyebrow at that, Bofur gave her a cheeky grin and Ori flushed deeply red. Nudging Kili, Gwyn gestured at Bofur and Ori's new purses and whispered her theory to him. Taking the hint, Kili snuck over to investigate their companions' newfound wealth.
"So, what kind of wager did you two win such handsome purses in?" Kili asked. Ori jumped at the other dwarf's sudden appearance behind them. Bofur just chuckled.
"How do you know we won a wager?" Bofur replied.
"Easily. Ori wouldn't be so embarrassed if your coin came from other ventures." Ori flushed even darker at that admission, and Bofur laughed even more loudly. "And if Gwyn's right, then your wager had something to do with our courtship, because Ori can't look at any of us without turning the same color as our dear burglar's jacket, and the fact that the coin has been awarded at our courtship celebration. Correct?"
Bofur nodded, before clarifying the terms of the wager. Satisfied that he'd gotten all the information from the miner and the scribe that they would give, Kili returned to Gwyn and his brother.
"You were right, of course. The wager was about us and our courtship. Apparently the pool was started by Nori at Rivendell, regarding when we would 'stop dancing around each other,' as Bofur put it. He said it would take something dangerous to get us moving, while Ori said that Fili and I would break the rules somehow. They won the wager, obviously, because it took Goblin Town for us to realize how much you mean to us, Gwyn, and we broke the rules because we forgot to ask your family for permission before braiding your hair," Kili explained.
"I knew it! And of course Nori was the instigator, he's such a gambler," Gwyn said, before giving Kili a kiss. Not one to be left out, Fili promptly turned Gwyn's attentions to himself and bestowed a kiss of his own upon Gwyn. She smiled brightly at her princes, and when several members of the Company began catcalling for the umpteenth time that night, she graced them all with a rude gesture, causing many of the dwarves to laugh.
After the party had ended, and the various dwarves had retired to their bedrolls, Gwyn was snuggled up between her two princes. She thought of the days ahead, and how their courtship might play out, trying to think of things she could give them. That night in Rivendell, when Fili and Kili had explained dwarven customs to her, they had mentioned that once a courtship suit was presented and accepted, and the involved parties wore the other's courtship braid, there was an exchange of gifts. The brothers had explained that the first official courtship gift was typically meant to represent what the receiver meant to the giver. Thinking of possibilities for her gifts, Gwyn fell asleep with a smile on her face.
The Company stayed with Beorn for a week, giving both Gwyn and Thorin ample time to heal from their injuries, and giving the others in the Company a chance to rest. Although by the end of their stay, everyone could tell that Thorin was anxious to set off towards Erebor again. Thanking Beorn once again for his hospitality, the Company set off towards the next hurdle they would have to overcome, Mirkwood.
Grateful for the horses that Beorn had loaned them, the Company made good time to the borders of the forest. Even standing outside of the Elven gate though, the dwarves, Bilbo, Gwyn and Gandalf could feel the oppressive darkness that loomed in front of them. Gwyn nervously began toying with a carved pendant on a leather cord around her neck – her courting gift from Fili and Kili. Kili's sharp archer eyes had found the stone, and Fili's dexterous warrior's hands had carved it in the shape of a rose, so it was a gift from both dwarves. The brothers noticed Gwyn's anxiety, and moved to stand on either side of her. Feeling their presence beside her, Gwyn's nerves calmed a bit, but she was still on edge.
"Set the ponies loose, let them return to their master," Gandalf said. Several members of the Company then moved to unpack their supplies from the ponies.
"This forest feels…sick, as if a disease lies upon it. Is there no way around?" Bilbo said, voicing the feelings of the entire Company.
"Not unless we travel 200 miles north, or twice that distance, south," Gandalf replied. Gwyn inwardly groaned, dreading the trek through the forest.
When Nori moved to unburden Gandalf's mount the Wizard called out, "Not my horse! I have need of it!"
"You're not leaving us, are you?" Bilbo questioned.
"I would not do this unless I had to. Stay on the path, otherwise you will never find it again! I will meet you on the Overlook on the slopes of the Lonely Mountain, before the sun sets on Durin's Day," with that Gandalf mounted his horse and took off, leaving the Company to enter the Mirkwood. Shouldering their packs, the Company grimly marched into the forest, the weight of the darkness pressing on them from all sides. Gwyn was infinitely grateful that Fili and Kili were reluctant to leave her side, like shields. She smiled a bit, even in the gloom, remembering the night before the Company left Beorn's house, when she and her dwarves had exchanged their first gifts.
"Here is our first gift for you, a rose carved from a cat's eye beryl stone that Kili found in Beorn's garden. The rose symbolizes your beauty, for you are beautiful, and your fragility – a reminder to us to protect you. However, roses are not without their thorns, a reminder that you can also protect yourself." Fili said, holding out his hand.
"It is said that beryl grants protection from harm while traveling, as well as providing assistance in battles, both of which will ease our minds," Kili added. Gwyn smiled as she pulled the leather cord over her head and adjusted its length, leaving the carved rose to rest just below her collar bone.
"And I have gifts for you both as well," Gwyn said, pulling two small items from her pocket. They were two bracelets made of colored threads, woven tightly together. The bracelet that she gave to Fili was colored in shades of brown and blue. The one she gave to Kili was yellow and blue. Woven into the center of each band was a white bead that had been carved in the shape of a shield. "These bracelets represent our lives being woven together. Fili, yours is brown and blue, symbolizing protection and loyalty, while the yellow in Kili's represents his optimism and the blue is his loyalty. The shield beads that are woven in signify how safe and protected I feel around each of you. I hope you don't mind, but I had Bofur help me carve the beads, otherwise they would have just looked like blobs instead of shields," Gwyn said, helping each brother tie the bracelets around their wrists. The brothers each smiled at Gwyn and the three came together in a warm hug before Gwyn reached up to place a kiss on the cheek of each brother.
Gwyn was jostled from her musings when Fili nudged her shoulder.
"What were you thinking about, that had you so far away?" he asked.
"I was remembering last night, when we exchanged gifts," Gwyn answered with a smile. Without the comfort of her thoughts though, she quickly grew nervous again, visibly jumping at each unexpected sound. Several members of the Company noticed the girl's twitchiness, but they weren't sure how to calm her.
"Are you alright lass? You're jumpier than Ori when we were in Goblin Town," Bofur said. She gave him a tight smile before responding.
"The air in here is stifling. It's making me nervous. I'll be fine once we're clear of this place."
"Aye, we all will. We will make camp here for the night, though, because we will not have enough light, such as it is, to continue much longer," Thorin said from his position near the front of the line.
It became clear after several days though that the Company had lost the path. They became disoriented, walking in circles, tempers fraying. They were running low on food stores, which did not help matters in the least, empty bellies leading to hot heads. When Thorin said that they needed to continue heading east, Bilbo climbed a tree to figure out which way east was. Gwyn could not help but envy his chance to escape the suffocating atmosphere of the forest, even for a few moments.
When Bilbo reappeared, he told the dwarves where the sun was, helping them to reorient themselves. Gloin reminded the Company that the forest would disorient them again, throwing them off track. When the dwarves began to complain and bicker about how to stay on track, Gwyn sat down and began rooting through her pack. Only Fili and Kili paid her any attention, but they said nothing. Eventually Gwyn found what she was looking for, drawing out a travel sewing kit that she had discovered. Taking a needle from the kit, she rubbed it against the wool of her tunic, before stabbing it through the cork from her water skin, which was almost empty. Regretfully, she poured the last of her water into a bowl, and set the cork in the water and watched it spin slowly. When the needle stopped spinning, Gwyn whistled to get the others' attentions.
"Here's how we're going to stay on track! This needle points north, so if we keep heading to the right of the needle's orientation, we'll be out of here soon!" Fili and Kili smiled, proud that their girl's intelligence and ingenuity had saved their lives, again. That night though, when the Company slept, they were caught unawares.
Gwyn was suddenly aware of the sounds of bodies being dragged away, but she could not move to stop it. She was helpless, as were the others, in the clutches of whatever had gotten to them, although Gwyn was dimly aware that somewhere in her mind she knew what their assailants were. Soon, she dizzily felt herself being dragged away from their campsite, before being wrapped in something sticky. Gwyn was vaguely aware of the sensation of hanging upside down, all the blood rushing to her head, and then she lost consciousness.
Gwyn was jolted from her stupor by the shouts of the dwarves. She felt like she was falling from a great height and then her back hit the ground, surprisingly gently. She began struggling against the substance holding her, eventually maneuvering one of her knives out of its sheath and tearing through her bonds. Breaking free after several moments of struggle, Gwyn looked around and realized they had been caught by the spiders Radagast had mentioned. She began frantically pulling at her hair and clothes, trying to rid them of the sticky webbing she had been wrapped in. Gwyn realized she must have looked quite comical when she heard several of the dwarves laugh at her antics. She glared at them, which made them laugh louder. Suddenly though, they were set upon by the spiders themselves, who had been far enough away to allow for the escape. Drawing her twin swords automatically, Gwyn began hacking away at the vile creatures, gutting them, cutting through eyes, anything to metaphorically squash them.
When arrows began slicing through the air, the Company realized they had other problems, in addition to the loss of their supplies (although Gwyn had miraculously managed to hang on to the satchel of healing supplies Lord Elrond had given her) and the spiders still attacking. Seeing the elves though, Gwyn came to the conclusion that they were better off complying with whatever the elves said. She slowly made her way over to Fili and Kili, each taking one of her hands. The elves then proceeded to strip the dwarves of all of their weapons, which took quite a while in Fili's case. When the blond leader of the elves examined Orcrist, Gwyn remembered which elves they were dealing with. The elf accused Thorin of stealing the blade, and when Thorin proclaimed that it had been a gift, the elf accused him of lying as well.
"He's telling the truth. The sword was gifted to him by Lord Elrond of Imladris, Prince Legolas Thranduilion," Gwyn said firmly, surprising the elf with her knowledge of his identity. When a red-haired elleth made a threatening gesture at Gwyn, the girl allowed a small smirk to grace her features. "And you must be Tauriel, the Captain of the Guard of Mirkwood," Gwyn said. Tauriel glared at her, before turning to discuss the spider attacks with Legolas. Their conversation finished, Legolas motioned to the rest of the elves to begin herding the Company. Fili and Kili fought against their captors to stay by Gwyn's side, and she was grateful. She gave them a small smile, before casting her eyes around the clearing and counting the Company. Including herself, she came up with 14, meaning they were missing someone. Gwyn smiled, and inwardly cheered, when she heard Bofur ask, "Where's Bilbo?"
