A/N Heres to chapter 10! I actually thought that I wouldn't even get this far! I didn't even think anyone would like Derry, but then you have let me get to Chapter 10. And we have not even skimmed the top off of my plan. (Blame plot bunnies). We are now 25,000 words in, 50 pages on Word... And I'm happy about this!
Anyway, Chapter 10 (I blame Once Upon a Time for this plot bunny)
When I had left the room with Thorin I walked back into the courtyard. It was still empty, except for Ori and Nori who were sat in the corner. I almost ignored them as I stepped into the centre of the courtyard, slipping my sword from my holder on my hip.
Practising throwing my sword around on my own is a pretty pointless thing to do, but I had nothing better to do. I swung my sword around for a short while, keeping silent and calm as I attempted to keep my balance. After a few long minuets of swinging my sword around, I felt the tip of a blade against the small of my back.
I gasped, turning slowly towards the wielder, only to find Thorin holding a blade to my back. I held my hands up, my sword in my hand as he stepped back slightly. "You leave your back open to strike most of the time." He noted, motioning for me to go back into stance. I did as he motioned, looking confused as he clashed his blade on mine. I lunged forward, smirking as he jumped back to the side with my back; I thought I could spin to attack him when he placed his blade there once again. "It's quite a problem." I stepped away from him, turning back to him and letting my blade falling to my side.
"I guess it is." I lunged back at him, spinning slightly so that he had to step back as I threw myself to the other side of him. I smirked, as he counter attacked gaining the upper hand slightly as I slide back into my normal stance. We then went back and forth a few times before I changed the tempo, and I managed to get the upper-hand before I tripped over, once again a sword in my lower back.
I flipped over, staring up at him in confusion as he offered down his hand to help me up. I groaned slightly but took his hand, not noticing that I was saying exactly what I was thinking. "What, on this good earth, happened last night?" I only noticed once the words had left my mouth that I had said it.
"You don't remember?" Well no Thorin, I obviously remember, that's why I just asked you what happened last night. Logic, never ceases to amaze me.
"No, I don't," I said, picking my sword up from the floor as I spoke. I slid it back into my holder, folding my arms over my chest as we continued to speak. "I was very drunk after all,"
Thorin laughed slightly. "Oh I'm sure we will not be forgetting that any time soon." Oh great, this is going to be that story you are a part of but you can't remember.
"Care to remind me, sir?" I ask, keeping my stance the same as he laughed slightly at me. I raised an eyebrow and he stopped laughing.
"We asked you about your brothers. You told us." There had to be more. But I took that as the answer for now; ignoring the fact I knew that. I did that when I was still mentally stable.
I was on my second pint of ale. I had considered daring the dwarves to a drinking competition but I knew that they would drink me under the table. Still I drank the ale, ignoring the others as I waited for one of them to notice me. "Your brothers?"
"What about them?" I took another drink, waiting for them to reply, smiling over at the dwarves politely.
"What do they do?" So this was a lets learn about your brothers session, since I had drunk a few ales by that point I hadn't really minded. I stood up walking over the barrel of bear to pour another goblet-full.
"Ilim is a ranger, like me, except he mostly stays near Bree." I noted, pouring another goblet-full of ale, my back to the dwarves. "Marim is a… I don't actually know. I think he's a mercenary, based in Dale. I haven't seen him before today since about 10 years ago." I said, sipping the liquid in the goblet and walking back to sit down.
"What did Marim do to you?" I frowned slightly, sipping my drink and placing it down on the table. I bit my lip, resting my hand against the goblet as I thought it through. "Derry?"
"He hurt me." I rubbed my thumb on the side of the goblet, keeping my eyes cast down as I spoke. "He let me go. Only two years into the future to put slavers on my trail, Goblin Slavers." I sighed, looking up at the dwarves faces. "I was captured, whipped until I was near death and then saved, saved by Lord Elrond." I smiled slightly remembering how Elrond saved me from the goblins near Trollshaws.
"Your back?" I shook my head; it had being 8 years since I went through that ordeal. My back had not being involved in the Slavers attack; my back is how it is because of my many exploits over that last 8 years. I remember the pain of the night; I was carried by an elf to the Rivendell, who I later learnt to be Elladan – one of Elrond's twin sons.
"That happened afterwards." I said, sipping down the rest of ale in my goblet.
I don't know what changed that night that changed my attitude, but it must have being something happy. I smiled slightly at the dwarven king, resting my hand on my hip and palm against the hilt of my sword. "Was there anything else? I remember that mostly." I noted, smiling lightly at the dwarf in front of me.
"You dance." Thorin laughed slightly, I frowned and looked confused at the dwarf. "When you're drunk, you dance." I laughed, knowing this fact very well.
"Did I say anything, other then about my brothers?" Thorin looked up at me as I stared worriedly at him, his eyes studying me for a moment as he placed his sword back against his hip.
"Yes. Elladan and Elrohir. You mentioned how they once saved your life" Well that could be worse. I could have told them about how my back is how it is, or what happened when I was visiting Arathorn for allowance to visit Mirkwood with the Elves. "And you told the company about your back." I spoke to soon.
Another memory began to flood back to me, with annoyance. Really two flashbacks to when I was drunk, these were things I didn't want to remember, right?
"What happened to your back?" By this time I had drank one barrel of ale on my own, and I was dancing around the room, dancing around the table so that the dwarves still sat there – Dwalin, Balin, Thorin, Fili, Kili, Nori and Gloin – had no choice but to pay attention to me as I danced.
Fili and Kili were finding it hard to keep a straight face, as I did not stop dancing as I replied. "A lot. Mostly wounds from battle." I said, skipping beside Thorin and Balin as I spoke.
"Battle?" Nori asked me as I passed by Kili and Fili again.
"I'm Dúnedain." I spun behind Dwalin, hearing him growl something about me being a 'stupid drunk human' as I did so; I smirked slightly "We are not exactly liked by others."
"And the other scars?" I wasn't sure who asked me – intoxicated and spinning at the time.
"I don't like to talk about it. It was a bad time." I stopped spinning, my head hurting slightly as I placed my hands on the table to grab my goblet and steady myself. I may not like talking about it, but I continued regardless. "My uncle had fallen from grace and he was ill. I was disliked heavily at the time by a lot of the people in the town." I groaned slightly, taking a drink before I continued. "This was two years before I became a ranger, three years after Marim left. The men, I can't remember their names, took me when I was walking home from the tavern. They branded me to make a point to my uncle." I finished up the goblet as the dwarves looked at me, most of them seemed to be quiet angry with the idea.
That was when Thorin spoke. "This wasn't a one-off thing, was it?" He was right. I don't know how he figured it out, but he was right.
"It happened three times. Ilim saved me the last time and took me to Bree." I said, drinking up the last of the ale in my goblet before filling it up again. They sat in silence, watching as I moved back into the dance steps I had being doing.
That couldn't have being the only things I had told him that changed his view of me, right? I sighed slightly, nodding at Thorin as I noticed a few of the other dwarves walking out of the room to speak with their King. I stepped back so that he would notice them, he glanced at them and they suddenly turned back around and left. So I was stuck with the king for a bit longer. Great!
"Anything else, sir?" I asked, glancing at Thorin as I slid my sword back into my hand and prepared to practise more. I untied my waistcoat, laying it down on a bench beside the courtyard as I readied myself to practise more. It had being getting warm. It was nearing mid day.
"Don't get drunk again." He remarked, pulling his sword off his belt and throwing his cloak across the banister. "And do you have a salve for your back?" He stood in the normal combat stance, directing me to stand opposite him.
"I do," I nodded, before pausing in confusion "why?"
"You'll probably need it after today." He remarked, rocking on his feet towards me and lunging towards me as I stepped back. I – for once – had the upper hand for moments. However, ever so quickly, the dwarven king got back on the top.
"I wager-" I panted as we kept sparring. "- that the loser-" Breath. "- has to train with the others -" Swipe. Breath. "- until supper."
"Sounds fair." He breathed, lunging towards me as I slid behind him. I spun, hitting his back with the hilt of my sword as I stepped to the other side of him. Only to find that I had tripped onto the floor, my sword fallen from my grip beside me. "Better get prepared for a long day, Ranger."
I laughed slightly, grasping the sword in my left and holding it up in parallel with his. "Maybe not." I pushed back slightly, before jumping to my feet, the blade of his sword grazing the material of my over-shirt.
We then went back to the pattern of attack, block, attack and block. This went on for a long while before Balin walked over with Mr Baggins. The duel continued as the dwarves and hobbit talked. "Gandalf has gone out, sir." Balin stated, I didn't know how he was looking because I was busy on keeping up with my opponents moves.
"Yes. He said he would be back for supper." Thorin stated before parrying my moves till our swords crashed together and the middle of the blades remained in contact as we attempted to throw each other's blade off.
"Beorn is also missing." Mr Baggins stated as Thorin managed to push me back slightly, causing me to break the contact of the blades. This threw him off guard for a few moments, giving me enough time to get the upper hand as he replied to the hobbit.
"We will find them." I lunged at Thorin, causing him to slide to the side with my back and hitting the middle of my back with the flat edge of his blade as a reminder. Even if it was a reminder, he had hit my back rather hard, causing me to jump and turn to face him again.
This went on for around ten more minuets - Balin, Dwalin and the others stood nearby, starting to get both annoyed and entertained at the duel. We were both sweaty, dirty and pretty disgusting when Throin managed to get the upper hand when I fell against the flat edge of my sword, landing awkwardly on my back and staying down. "Looks like you lost, Ranger."
"Looks like I have. Great, hours of training before me." Thorin rolled his eyes slightly and set his sword had on his belt, helping me up again.
"You proposed the wager, Ranger." He stated, cheers coming over from the dwarves by the veranda. I could see Bofur throwing small sacks of money at Kili, Fili and a few others; I couldn't help but smile as I walked over to my waistcoat. "You better keep the wager, Ranger." I nodded, looking around for my water vessel. Noticing I had left it inside I ran up the veranda stairs to grab it off the side, drinking it down quickly before refilling it. The cool water travelled down my throat, the sensation moving through me as I cooled down quickly.
I then stepped back outside, carrying the vessel before picking my sword off of the floor. I turned back to the dwarves, sighing as I presumed we weren't moving on that day. "Since I just lost my own bet, anyone want to train?"
Yes, this was going to be a very long day.