Chapter 9

"Trolls and Forgiveness… Maybe"

The next day carried out in a routine, ride, stop for a while, ride some more, stop, etc. When the sun was beginning its slow decent, Torshar scouted up ahead for a place to take shelter. Upon her return she informed Thorin that a house was still standing but in shambles as if it had burned down. The prince decided to pull the convoy over and settle down for some dinner and rest.

"Fili, Kili, look after the ponies. Make sure you stay with them." He directed as Torshar and Gandalf stepped into what remained of the house.

"A farmer and his family used to live here…" the wizard mumbled.

"Oin, Gloin, get a fire going." Thorin ordered as he approached the pair.

"I think it would be wiser to move on. We could make for the hidden Valley."

The warrior's face turned deadly, "I have told you already… I will not go near that place!"

"Why not? The Elves could help us! We could get food, rest, advice." The staff holder pleaded as Torshar jumped up to sit on a piece of wall that still stood.

"Help?! A dragon attacks Erebor, what help came from the Elves?! Orcs plunder Moria… Desecrate our sacred halls… The Elves looked on and did nothing! You ask me to seek help from the very people who betrayed my grandfather… Betrayed my father…"

"You are neither of them, Thorin…" the versifier pointed out sweetly.

Gandalf was becoming increasingly agitated, "I did not give you that map and key to hold onto the past!"

"I did not know they were yours to keep!" the king-to-be rebutted, making the wizard storm off.

"Thorin, he was only trying to help…" Torshar started as she jumped down from her seat, "If you weren't so quick to pass judgment on an entire race for one man's mistake then this journey could go a little smoother." She finished quietly but loud enough for her friend to hear.

As soon as the words left her mouth, Thorin had Torshar's neck in his hand with a disturbingly angry expression, "Keep your opinions to yourself if you know what is good for you, Torshar. You may have signed a contract but I will not hesitate to rip it to pieces and send you back to Valtek strapped to your pony. Do not test my patience…" the dwarf threatened.

Horror and fear registered on her face as she reached up to try and pry his hand off her airway as tears began to pool in her eyes, "Thorin… You are hurting me… Please let go…"

He squeezed a little tighter, "I mean it, Torshar! Cross me again and I will show no mercy." The prince then released her and went back to the company, "Come on Bombur, we're hungry!"

The young maiden was terrified of what had come over Thorin as she sat in the house alone with a fire and recounted the events earlier in the day. Pure anger and hatred had been evident in his eyes when his fist clamped down around her throat and Torshar actually feared that he would have killed her right then and there. She knew that was not the Thorin she knew, dare she say loved… He was not a malicious man, just angry over the events he found himself going through and undertaking. It was a heavy burden for one man to carry alone.

The child of the moon was so lost in her thoughts that she did not notice Balin approaching until he spoke, "Are you alright, lass?"

Jumping in fright, she gasped and drew her bow but quickly lowered it when she saw it was the older dwarf, "Forgive me, Balin! I must have been very deep in thought…" she apologized and offered him a seat beside her.

"It's quite alright, I understand." The old man chuckled as he sat, "Tell me, Torshar, what appears to be bothering you?"

For a moment she stayed quiet, contemplating whether to tell the truth or to try and lie to protect herself as well as Thorin. She decided truth, "It's Thorin… Earlier today we had a bit of a… Disagreement. He scared me, Balin…"

"What did he say?!" he asked worried.

Torshar turned to look at Thorin who was sitting by a fire sharpening his sword. He looked up when he felt someone watching him and locked gazes with the versifier. As she had turned her head, Balin was able to see a bruise of violet, blue, and black forming around her throat in the shape of a hand, "By Mahal, Torshar! Did he really do this?!"

"I wouldn't do it to myself, Balin! Believe me, if I wanted to injure myself and make it look like he did it, I would have never embarked on this quest!" she cried , "I don't know what came over him but when he had me in his hand and looked into my eyes… It was not Thorin staring back at me… There was so much hatred in his eyes… It could not have been him…."

Balin laid a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Thorin has been through much in the last few decades, Torshar. He lost everything he valued in the mountain and the ones he loved at Moria… Torshar, you and I know Thorin better than anyone and he would never hurt you intentionally. Give him time to cool while I go get Oin to bring you some ointment to help that bruise along." He said kindly as he got up and walked back over to join the others.

"I don't think I know as well as I thought…" she whispered as Oin began to ascend the small hill, with the salve in hand. As she was applying it to the bruise, the rustling of leaves and crunching of branches caught her attention. She stood to investigate but was greeted by Fili and Kili bursting through the trees, breathing heavily.

"Why aren't you two looking after the ponies?!" Thorin demanded.

"We have encountered a slight problem, uncle… Trolls have picked up four of our ponies and Bilbo has gone to try and free them…" Kili explained and Torshar felt her heart ache for the hobbit as she picked up her bow and shouldered her quiver.

Before she could begin to track them, the prince grabbed her arm, "Where do you think you're going?" he asked.

She turned her gaze to look him dead in the eye, "I am going to get our hobbit and ponies back. And if you have a problem with this, Thorin Oakenshield, you can go ish kakfe ai-'d dur-rugnu!" she stated and ripped her arm from his grasp then ventured into the woods.

"Are there anymore of you little fellas hiding where you shouldn't?" a gruff voice asked as Torshar neared an area lit by a big fire. She stayed in the shadows and quietly scaled a tree so she could get a better angle in case there was an immediate need for attack and discovered their hobbit burglar was dangling upside down in the grasp of one of three trolls.

"Nope." The red jacket wearer stated as he dangled.

"He's lying!" one countered.

"No, I'm not!"

"Hold his toes over the fire!" the troll demanded. Just then, Kili jumped from the bushes and sliced the troll's ankle, causing him to fall and yowl in pain.

"Drop him!" the brunette shouted.

"You what?"

"I said, drop him!" and the troll did! By throwing poor Bilbo onto the bowman, making them both hit the ground but then came the rest of the company with weapons at the ready!

Three trolls versus fourteen dwarves hardly seems fair when one thinks about it long enough even though the dwarves were outmatched said trolls in skills and stamina. Though trolls were slow and not so bright, they are resourceful because while the fighting continued, Bilbo was snatched up after freeing the ponies.

"Lay down your arms! Or we'll rip his off!" they threatened by holding him by his arms and legs.

"Harm him in any further and I'll put an arrow right between your eyes!" Torshar threatened from her tree and quietly drew her bow.

Smirking, the troll shouted, "Oh yeah?! Prove it!" and on that command, the arrow flew and embedded itself between his eyes. Howling in pain, he dropped Bilbo causing the other one to do so as well thus allowing Bilbo to get to the safety of the company as the fighting began again.

Torshar shot off a few more arrows that all hit their marks but what she did not expect was the smallest of the trolls discovered her hiding spot and barreled into the trunk of the tree; knocking it over and sending the versifier plummeting to the forest floor below. With a sickening thud and crunch, she screamed in pain because the crunch meant he ribs were either broken or fractured. So when the troll advanced on her, she put up no fight and was snatched up like Bilbo had been.

"Now, let's try this again. Lay down your weapons, or Tom will squeeze this one into jelly!" the biggest one blackmailed as Tom held up a weak and in pain Torshar.

Thorin's anger towards her suddenly disappeared and was replaced with worry at her pained expression and her earlier scream. The company around him was ready to continue fighting at his command but instead he was the first to surrender his weapon. Slowly, they all did then the trolls had them strip to their undergarments; some were stuffed in sacks and the others were tied to a spit over the fire.

"Bert, we're one bag short for this one and there's no room on the spit!" Tom said as he looked around for another bag to put Torshar in while he held her tightly in his fist.

"Then have her strip and tie her up!" Bert responded and Tom set her down.

"Do as he says, or die!" the troll threatened as the dwarf woman slowly sat up and removed her clothes to where she was only in her light corset and underwear. Tom then tied her up and tossed her onto the pile of dwarves that consisted of Thorin, Kili, Oin, Gloin, Bombur, and Bilbo.

Groaning in pain, the versifier slowly sat herself up, crawled over the dwarves and ended up beside Thorin where she stopped and leaned back to rest her head against the rock behind them. Her side was on fire and tears bullied their way through her lashes as she began to work on the knot at her wrists.

"I'm sorry for earlier today, my friend." Thorin apologized, making Torshar turn her gaze to him, "I was angry with the wizard and took it out on you. I swore to myself that I would never harm a woman, especially my best friend… And I did… Please find it in your heart to forgive me." He whispered then leaned in close and gently laid a kiss on the minstrel's bruise, making her blush and suppress a shiver.

Suddenly, Bilbo jumped up, "Wait! You are making a terrible mistake! I meant with the seasoning!"

"What about the seasoning?"

"Well have you smelt them? You're going to need something stronger that sage before you plate this lot up!" the hobbit stated, making the dwarves cry out in anguish.

William spoke up as he turned spit, "What do you know about cooking Dwarf?!"

Bert shouted, "Shut up and the flurgurburburhobbit talk!"

"The secret to cooking Dwarf is… To skin them first!" the hobbit explained as he thought about it. All of the dwarves then screamed in terror; Torshar being extra vocal.

'How could he betray us like this?!' she asked herself in sorrow.