Bejeweled

Chapter 10 – Into the Shadows

A/N: Thank you to my reviewers, and to the one who asked…no Belinda is not pregnant. The part where Beorn tells Bilbo he's getting fat is in the book…I can't remember if they put that in the movie or not. Now…onto Mirkwood. I will be mostly following the movie version for the events within Mirkwood…which is a bit different from the book. I may add a few things from the book along with Belinda's fiery attitude.

As they neared the edge of the forest known as Mirkwood, though it had once been called the Greenwood, Belinda found herself more and more uneasy. She kept fidgeting and casting odd glances at the trees ahead. It was making Fili and Kili worry that she might fall as her nerves were making her pony skittish, thus the two young dwarves held onto the reigns just to be sure the pony would not bolt. Thorin had been casting glances between Belinda and Gandalf, neither of whom seemed to be anywhere near 'at ease'. When they arrived at the entrance to the forest they all dismounted their ponies and Gandalf had them release the poor creatures, despite much dwarven protesting.

"It doesn't feel right in there…this forest is sick, diseased. Is there no way around it?"

Everyone looked at her then, concern and a bit of curiosity visible on each face. Gandalf seemed unsurprised at what she felt.

"Not unless we go 200 miles north, or twice that distance to the south."

They began to remove their belongings and set the ponies loose while Gandalf inspected the forest entrance. When he came out he told them something very upsetting, especially to Belinda.

"Not my horse, I'll need it."

Belinda looked as though she were going to be sick and Thorin pulled her close in concern.

"You're not leaving us?"

"I would not do this unless I had to. You, my dear Belinda, are not the same hobbit you were when you left the Shire."

"I was going to tell you…I found something in the Goblin tunnels."

"Found what? What did you find?"

Belinda hesitated, hearing soft whispers in her head saying it wasn't the right time. The ring she had found felt heavy in her pocket.

"My courage."

"Well, that's good. You'll need it."

She did not like the way he said that, not one bit.

"I'll be waiting for you on the slopes of Erebor. Do not enter that mountain without me. So long as you all stick to the path, and do not eat or drink anything in there, you will be fine. There is a single river in the center that you will need to cross, do not touch the water of that river and never drink it. That river is deeply enchanted and simply touching the water will put you into a deep sleep for many hours. Remember, no matter what may happen, you must stay on the path. The forest will seek to lead you astray."

"Go then, be rid of you."

"Thorin, don't be rude. Gandalf, I wish you safety on whatever mission you are setting out on."

"Thank you my dear. Remember my warnings and I will see you again as soon as I am able."

With those parting words Gandalf mounted his borrowed horse and rode off away from the company. Belinda took a deep breath and set her shoulders back before lifting her pack and marching towards the entrance.

"Come on then…the sooner we get going the sooner we can get to the other side."

Thorin and the others glanced at each other for only a moment before following their little spitfire into the darkness of the trees. The deeper they went the less sunlight filtered through the thick foliage overhead, and the forest became darker and more oppressive. Eventually they realized night must have come as they could not see their hands in front of their own faces, let alone the path, and Thorin called for a halt. They lit a small fire and set up camp in the center of the path, their bedrolls all close together for both warmth and safety. They ate a small meal, but soon had to douse the fire as it drew enormous dark grey moths to it that flapped about their heads. Belinda lay next to Thorin, sheltered in the safety of his strong arms and shielded by his body, and eventually managed to let sleep claim her.

Too soon they were walking again, and everyone was feeling oppressed and fuzzy-headed. When Nori pointed ahead at what appeared to be a drop-off.

"The path…it's gone."

They began frantically searching for the path. Belinda felt dizzy, confused, and her head was swimming. She heard strange whispers in the trees. One of the dwarves, Ori she thought, found a tobacco pouch and another dwarf, his brother Dori perhaps, started saying there were other dwarves from the Blue Mountains in the woods with them. Bofur mentioned that it looked just like his and Belinda wanted to smack him upside his head.

"Because it is yours. Do you understand? We're going around in circles. We are lost."

The dwarves all started arguing about whether they were lost, which way was East, and the most amusing one was over who had lost the sun. She looked up and saw a pinpoint of light high above her head. The dwarves all started to fight until Thorin silenced them all, feeling they were being watched. Belinda began to climb up into the treetop and finally reached the fresh air and sunshine, pretty periwinkle blue butterflies taking off around her. She felt her heart and spirit lighten considerably. As she looked around all she could see was more forest, more trees, everywhere she turned, but in the distance she could see a river, and a lake. She tried calling down to her friends but received no answer. She stepped onto a branch and felt sticky webbing under her foot before she slipped and began to fall. Her hand blindly grabbed what she thought was a branch only to have an enormous spider turn and look at her, making her realize it was the creature's leg she was hanging onto, and all too soon it had her wrapped up in webbing. Later she woke as it was crawling over her and out of sheer preservation instinct she stabbed it, killing it and making it fall far below into a chasm. She hurried to pull the webbing off of her as much as possible and slipped the ring onto her finger so that the other spiders she could see and hear would not be able to see her. She noticed thirteen other cocooned bundles and realized where her friends were. With the ring on she could understand what the spiders were saying to each other, and their words made her blood run cold with fear for her dear friends, and her beloved Thorin.

She hit one of the alarm webs and sent the majority running off to inspect what might be at the other end of that line, but one spider remained and was about to eat poor Bombur. She slashed at it repeatedly with her little 'letter opener'. As she stabbed it in the face it screamed at her that it stings, she smirked for a second and decided that was the perfect name for her little sword…Sting. She quickly cut the dwarves from their webbing wraps and they fell to the forest floor, they immediately began looking for her. Then the spiders came back and she dropped the ring in one of the attacks. As she frantically searched for it she heard its whispering calls. A strange whitish creature with no eyes came out of a hole and touched the ring, she had no idea why but she lost it and began slashing at the thing until it stopped moving. The dwarves were busy trying to fight the rest of the spiders while Belinda was fighting the urge to be sick over what she'd just done. She heard other voices among her dwarves and used the ring to creep closer. What she found made her angry, and worried in equal measure. Her dwarves being searched and tied up like criminals when they were merely lost travelers. As much as she loved Elves, this group was not impressing her one bit. One of the elves took Gloin's photo locket from his pocket and began insulting the man's wife and child, making her blood boil in anger. Then the being had the nerve to call Thorin a liar and a thief when he said that his sword was a gift. She followed them through the forest and into the elven gates.

Inside she followed as they were all sent into the dungeons, except Thorin who was taken before the king of Mirkwood, Thranduil. She chose to follow him, knowing that this would not be easy for her beloved, facing the one who betrayed his people so many years ago. She watched the elf as he baited Thorin, and then offered to let him go if he promised to give him a bunch of white gems that were in the mountain they sought to reclaim. She could see from the look on Thorin's face that he was about ready to explode, and she was right. He yelled at Thranduil, and rightly so, of how he turned his back when they had needed his help most. She snuck around and placed a round pebble on the stairs in front of the elf king, and she knew Thorin saw the pebble moving on its own by the slight smirk on his face. The elf king did not see it and tripped on his way up the steps to his throne, making Thorin laugh as he was dragged off into the dungeons. He and Balin began speaking almost immediately.

"Did he offer you a deal?"

"He did. I told him he could go…"

A string of khuzdul followed and Belinda did not know what it meant but she was positive it was nothing kind.

"Him and all his kin."

"Well, that's that then. A deal was our only hope."

"Not our only hope."

Belinda smiled in happiness at Thorin's faith in her. She had to find some way of getting them all out of that place. She watched a red-haired elf maiden start talking to Kili, finding herself more than a little amused at his attempts to flirt with her. She noticed the insulting elf from the forest watching them, looking unhappy before she slipped away. She found herself in the wine cellar and watched the elves there begin drinking themselves into oblivion, one of them hanging the keys to the dungeon cells on the wall. Suddenly the perfect plan came together in her mind, but she knew she'd have to act fast. She stole the keys and swiftly made her way back to the dwarves. She heard them speaking, first Bofur, and then Ori.

"I'll wager the sun is on the rise, must be nearly dawn."

"We're never going to reach the mountain are we?"

Sweet little Ori sounded so dejected that she couldn't help herself. She slipped off the ring and popped her head around a corner of wall, jingling the keys in her hand.

"Not stuck in here you're not."

They all started shouting her name and she quickly shushed them so the guards would not hear them. Unlocking all of the doors took a few moments but soon they were all free and embracing their kin. When she let Thorin loose he wrapped her in a tight hug and kissed the crown of her hair, giving her a warm fluttery feeling in her belly.

"Later Thorin. Everyone follow me, down here."

The elves in the cellar were all passed out and she snuck the dwarves past them to the empty barrels they were soon to send down the river to Lake Town. When she told them to get into the barrels they grumbled and argued so she looked to Thorin for help.

"Do as she says. Now."

As soon as they were all in she pulled the lever, telling them to hold their breath. She realized a bit late that she hadn't thought of herself as she jumped in after them. They began paddling their way out into the current as Belinda clung to whichever barrel she could reach. They heard a horn sound and the gates in the river closed, right before the orcs attacked. An orc almost got Kili until Belinda stabbed it in the throat. She tried to grab Kili and stop him as he tried to reach the lever to open the river gate, getting shot in the leg before he managed it. The female elf saved his life and began killing every orc in her path, followed by the insulting blonde one who Belinda had found out was Thranduil's son. Kili managed to use the distraction to open the gate and then dropped down to his brother waiting below for him. Belinda nearly lost her hold on the barrels several times before Thorin grabbed her and pulled her into his barrel with him, holding her close to keep her safe. The dwarves stole the orc's weapons as they fought their way down the river, the red and blonde haired elves following along the shores. Thorin threw an axe that saved the blonde one who returned the favor. Belinda watched as the elves then grabbed an orc and returned to their king.