Standard Disclaimers apply!
Enjoy!
/And I Hope that You'll Remember Me/
The world had become so dark, so dark now with Thorin, Fili, and Kili dead, and it would never come to light again.
/And if the Night is Burning I Will Cover My Eyes/
Sam jolted awake, having lived through the same nightmare again, her heart breaking again, only to find herself in the arms of one of those she had just lost, just watched die again.
She was in Kili's arms, held tight to his chest, rocking slightly, one hand stroking her hair, murmuring to her, trying to comfort and calm her, because she could feel all the tears on her face, realizing she had been sobbing in her sleep again.
Kili sounded almost as distressed as Sam felt, his words urgent and hushed, obviously worried by her having another nightmare, especially if it was as dramatic as it was the other morning, but she didn't think it had been, as Sam still heard the snoring of the other dwarves, the only other dwarf she saw awake was Bofur, who was hovering nearby, looking just as worried as Kili sounded, wringing his hands together, a frown on his face, though it turned to a gentle, relieved smile as his eyes met hers.
"Goo' mornin', lass, are ya' alrigh'?" Bofur was whispering, as everyone else was, indeed, still asleep.
At hearing Bofur's question, Kili pulled back from Sam slightly, his chin having been resting on the top of her head, looking down at her through his messy hair, a smile spreading across his face as they made eye contact," Hello sleepyhead." His eyes showed how relieved he was that she was awake, despite his lighthearted version of good morning.
Sam couldn't help the small smile that spread across her face at Kili calling her that, she was always so glad for his light hearted soul when she woke up from her nightmares, even if his morning silliness was usually done primarily to ease her mind, and sometimes his.
Sam sat up slightly in Kili's arms, not pulling away just yet, because the comfort of his arms after that nightmare was all too welcome, especially since it meant he was safe and alive, not dead on a battlefield, but she did stop leaning the majority of her weight on him as she finally answered Bofur, after taking a moment to take stock of herself, deciding that her obvious reaction this morning to the same nightmare had not been nearly as bad or dramatic as yesterday, because it looked like the duo, who should really still be asleep, had managed to wake her up without any kind of draught, Kili imitating Bifur's tactic having done the trick, "Good morning to you too, Bof'. And I'm fine." Both dwarves gave her a look that told her they didn't believe her," Really, I am...or as fine as I ever am after a nightmare, which, I should hope, is quite a bit better than yesterday."
Kili and Bofur both grimaced, nodding in agreement, immeasurably glad that she hadn't had the same reaction as the previous morning, neither wanting to go through that harrowing experience again, the scare and worry of Sam's state having put everyone on edge for the entire morning yesterday.
Sam gently pulled away from Kili and sat up completely, feeling better for having talked to Bofur and Kili, the prince sat back on his haunches, both hands coming to rest on his thighs after he gave her elbow a light squeeze as one last bit of physical comfort before he drew away completely, as Sam began wiping the tears from her face, stretching her arms and yawning, causing both of the dwarves to chuckle, the normality of the actions easing their remaining tension.
"So, what are you two doing up so early? We aren't gonna leave for a few hours yet," she was changing the subject, and they all knew it, Kili and Bofur letting her because they knew Sam did not remember anything and did not want to talk about it, and, honestly, after yesterday, they aren't sure they want to know, as their lass glanced out the window, finding she was right, as the sky was still dark, with only traces of the slowly rising sun on the horizon, ," and we all need to get some decent sleep." She paused for a second, a disgruntled look coming over her face as she looked at them," I woke you up, didn't I?"
Kili and Bofur nodded their heads in tandem, drawing a groan from Sam, both of the merry dwarves needing to stifle their laughter as Sam face palmed, annoyed that she had woken them, again.
"I'm sorry." She then looked around the room, noting how Bilbo was cuddled into a little ball in the hay, while everyone else lay sprawled on their bedrolls in various positions, Ori had his head on Nori and feet on Dori, Fili had curled into Thorin in Kili's absence, Dwalin was spread eagle next to Balin, snoring as loudly as Oin and Gloin, who were back to back, Bombur lying with his hands on his belly next to a messy haired lump that had to be Bifur, Sam left wondering how in the world they were all still asleep," So, how did I wake you two up anyway? I must not have been very loud, or else everyone else would already be up."
"You kicked me in tha' hea', bu' no 'arm done, lass, I've go' a thick skull. T'was my own faul' anyway, sleepin' so close ta' tha' fee' o' someone I know is prone ta' thrashin' in 'er sleep." Bofur rapped himself on the forehead with his knuckles a few times to make his point, Sam smiling apologetically as she reached out her hand and patted his head in apology, which only made him smile more, Bofur's teeth showing in a wide, bright smile as both of his dimples made an appearance.
Kili laughed into his hand at the sight of Sam patting Bofur on the head, finding it a little funnier than he would have otherwise, because it was entirely too early for this nonsense, although they were an odd and funny lot at any time of the day, mornings, however, were the most entertaining because of stuff like this, shenanigans born of sleepy and barely awake brains.
Stifling his laughter enough to speak, Kili told Sam," You kicked me in the gut, but I don't know how you did it, I made sure, unlike some people," he gave a cheeky grin to Bofur, who only stuck out his tongue, making Sam giggle, a sound that told the two dwarves she was already over her nightmare, or at least sufficiently distracted, for now, though they had no intention of bringing up the nightmare again, as they wanted Sam to be as relaxed and at ease as possible, after all, they would be traveling a couple hundred miles by horse and pony today and being too tense when riding was hell on your muscles, and your mood," that I was sleeping far enough away from you not to get hit, but close enough to hear you. But, I'm fine, it wasn't hard enough to bruise, just to surprise."
"Oh, I'm sorry, Kili. I bet that happened when I was shuffling around in my sleep." Sam had face palmed again, making the dwarves laugh some more as they gently pulled her up and they all began to pick their way through their comrades over to the large table," Yeesh, I should come with a warning label."
Now that had the two snorting, the idea of Sam needing a warning label too much for them, both trying to quiet their laughter with their hands pressed to their mouths as they hopped onto the bench of the table. Sam sat on the corner of the bench next to Kili with a mischievous grin plastered on her face, still glad, after months of knowing them, that they still appreciated her sense of humor enough to laugh, Bofur sitting on the corner of the adjacent bench, Sam between the two.
"So, my lads, what are we gonna do until everyone else wakes up?"
Bofur and Kili looked at each other, then back at Sam, and shrugged.
Sam just rolled her eyes, earning an elbow nudge from Kili, Sam grinned at him when he stuck his tongue out at her, Bofur just shaking his head at the two.
"Wha' woul' you suggest, Sam?"
Sam, looked up and tapped her chin for a moment, pursing her lips, and then snapped her fingers," Why don't we make a good breakfast for the Company? We can see if we can find Beorn and ask him if he has any sausages and stuff so we can make something hearty, after all, this will be the last chance we'll have to eat a decent breakfast for a while."
Bofur was nodding at the smiling Sam, who was very happy with her dea, liking the idea of a good, hearty breakfast before a long journey very much, knowing his brother and Bilbo would both appreciate the break from cooking, and having a meal cooked for them, for once, while Kili looked a little disgruntled, giving Sam a slight pout, which she personally thought was an adorable expression on Kili, but she was willing to bet he would not really care for being called adorable, for any reason, even if she was the one calling him that," But I don't really know how to cook anything."
Bofur smiled indulgently at the prince, whose pout became a slightly annoyed expression at the patronizing look, Sam just rolling her eyes, knowing that Bofur was doing it on purpose to bug the prince," Don' worry abou' i', Kili, Sam an' I both know 'ow ta' cook well enough fo' tha' three o' us, you'll jus' hav' ta' 'elp by choppin' stuff an' such."
Kili rolled his eyes at Bofur, making to snatch his hat, and missing as the older dwarf just leaned out of his reach, chuckling and sticking his tongue out at Kili again, before sighing and nodding his head," Alright, what do we do first?"
So the trio of early birds found Beorn in a different part of the house, pleased to find he did, indeed, have sausages and ham and eggs, giving them free reign of his kitchen and meat locker on the condition they make enough for him to have a hearty breakfast too, the skinchanger unable to remember the last time someone had cooked for him, Sam promising him a delicious breakfast for his hospitality as she patted his arm, which was just about three times the length of her own.
Beorn thought he was beginning to understand why the dwarves were so fond of the wee woman, she was kind to and unintimidated by those who were different from her, and her friendly manner was relaxing, making one feel at home, the normally rather unsympathetic and stern bear man allowing himself to be softer for her sake, partially because he had a foreboding feeling that she was going to be in dire need of his help before long.
So Sam, Bofur, and Kili set about making a hearty breakfast, Sam making a peppery sausage gravy, Bofur making biscuits from scratch as he directed Kili in how to properly chop and dice potatoes, onions, and peppers for a kind of hash, requiring him to abandon his dough a few times to reposition Kili's hands so he wouldn't cut himself and so he didn't cut the veggies into too different sizes for them all to cook at the same rate.
As Sam tended to the large pot of gravy and equally large pan of scrambled eggs, with a few set aside to make fried eggs, should anybody want them, Bofur popped the quadruple batch of biscuits into the Beorn's huge oven with the five large loaves of bread the skinchanger had put in to bake as well, as Kili dumped his potato, onion and pepper mix into the pan they had been cooking bacon in, the veggies sizzling as they hit the bacon fat, the ham, bacon, and cooked sausage links sitting in another pan to keep warm as everything else finished cooking, Kili sitting by to watch his potatoes, his hand and Bofur's getting whacked by Sam when they both attempted to eat some of the meat before everything was done.
Sam might be scary when she was fighting with her curved swords, but she was even scarier when she brandished a wooden spoon like a weapon, her resemblance to an annoyed Dis all too apparent for either of them to try to steal some meat again.
Sam had just taken a kettle for tea off the fire when the first of the Company began to wake up, Bifur, Bombur, Bilbo, and Fili with there noses in the air, sniffing at the delectable smells of fresh bread and cooking meat, their eyes lighting up when they saw the feast that Sam, Bofur, Kili, and Beorn were putting on the table.
Fili, almost literally, jumped up and quickly came over to the table, taking a seat next to his brother and Sam, clapping them both on the back, hungrily eyeing all of the food as he accepted a mug of tea from Sam. Bifur, Bombur, and Bilbo were much slower in their approach, but were obviously just as pleased with the spread as Fili was, the hobbit rubbing his hands together as he sat next to the grinning Bofur, Bombur licking his lips as he did the same, Bifur giving his cousin a pat on the back as he nodded to the other chefs, including Beorn.
The rest of the Company followed soon after, woken by the sounds of wooden plates clacking on the table, Gloin, Dwalin, and Nori cheering at the sight of the meal that had been prepared, while Thorin, Balin, Ori, Oin, and Dori simply walked quickly to the table and took their seats, everyone either accepting mugs of tea or milk from Sam and Beorn.
When everyone was at the table, they dug in.
The dwarves, Sam, Bilbo, Gandalf, and Beorn greatly enjoyed their breakfast, Beorn especially.
After Thorin had showed Beorn how to make a gravy covered tower of food, the dwarves as loud as usual in their eating habits, throwing food around the table, seeing who could make the tallest and most complicated stack of deliciousness and then scarf it all down, stuffing themselves with the last good meal they would have for a while, with many conversations were under way around the table, when the skinchanger was abruptly reminded of how it had felt to have friends and family together in his home once more, realizing exactly how lonely his existence had become that he would enjoy the company of an odd, rag tag group of travelers made up of dwarves, a human, a hobbit, and a wizard.
Beorn realized he would miss them when they left, though they had only been there one full day, and that realization saddened and surprised him at the same time, though he brightened when he realized that, when they reclaimed the mountain, he could go and visit them, knowing that they would show him hospitality in return for that he had shown them, as that was the dwarven way.
After all the food had been eaten, everyone stuffed, and the dishes were washed, they packed up all of their gear and headed out to the pasture to get the ponies and horses, loading up easily, though their packs were heavier with the large quantities of non-perishable food stuffs that Beorn had provided them with.
Kili ended up riding behind Sam on the back of a horse, his head resting on her non-injured shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her middle, which, he decided, was still too thin and he didn't like that she was still too thin, to keep from falling off, as they only had so many ponies and those ponies could only hold so much weight, some of the dwarves were able to double up, like Ori and Nori, their packs included, with no harm done to their mount, where as Dwalin and Bombur needed their own ponies, Fili ending up with his own pony as they had to add Bombur's pack and some of Dwalin's supplies to his pony to keep the other two's steads from being over burdened, ending up with Dori and Bifur sharing a pony, Balin sharing with Thorin, and Bofur riding with Gloin, while Oin got his own pony with some of the other's things attached.
So, just after the sun had come above the horizon, the Company set off for Mirkwood, Beorn watching them as they went, wishing them the best of luck, and safety.
/For if the Dark Returns, then My Brothers Will Die!/
It took the Company two days to get to Mirkwood, their steads going at a steady gallop the entire way, all of them feeling it at night, their legs and bums sore, Kili, though, had fallen asleep on Sam a few times, her humming and the movement of the horse lulling him to sleep, ending with him having a very stiff neck, the rest of the Company laughing at him for his mistake as Sam could only smile at his sheepish expression, having no problem with the younger prince using her as a pillow.
Gandalf left them at the Elven Gate to the Elven Road, Sam carefully covering up the mark the wizard had found on the statue near the entrance, not wanting her dwarves to notice it, for no good could come of the Company worrying about the orcs at Dol Guldur now.
Bilbo did not seem to feel the need to tell Gandalf about his find in the goblin tunnels, but he also didn't seem to be being influenced by the Ring either, Sam watching him to see if he repeatedly put his hand in his waist coat pocket, finding he didn't, only patting down all of his pockets to make sure he had everything he needed and had not forgot something.
The pendant that Lord Elrond had provided for Bilbo was working, thank God.
So, as Gandalf rode away, the Company entered Mirkwood.
/And as the Sky is Falling Down/
Mirkwood was a dark and depressing place, the atmosphere seeming to absorb all light, and happiness, leaving the Company morose and irritable.
They wandered through the forest for three weeks, sticking to the Elven Road, wary of Gandalf's warning to not stray from it, but, as the days went by, and their supplies dwindled, their minds began to grow fuzzy, Sam and Bilbo less affected for some reason, possibly the magic of their pendants protecting them, but they all grew disoriented, and more tired by the day, as they spent their nights watching the eyes that glowed in the dark, far from the edge of the road, but always watching.
Sam was more affected by the forest than Bilbo, as the fact that she was having the same awful nightmare, watching Fili, Kili, and Thorin die every night, was taking it's toll, the lack of sleep and constant grief and fear dampening her mood more as the darkness of the forest augmented the negative emotions, but that did not keep her from trying to protect the Company, mostly from themselves.
Then came the day that the ever more irritable, grumpy, and unsure Thorin ordered Bilbo to climb into the trees and look above the canopy to try and determine where they were, for they had lost the road, despite their best efforts to stay on it. Dori heaved Bilbo up high enough that he could get to the lowest branch and their hobbit began to climb, Sam looking up as her friend disappeared, looking around at the dwarves, listening to their grumbling.
None of the dwarves had been their usual selves the last few weeks. Fili and Kili were very irritable, Sam couldn't quite believe they were arguing with and avoiding each other, the normally sweet duo she knew and held so dear nowhere in sight, though they were both still relatively kind to Sam and Bilbo, just not each other, and were grumpier to the rest of the Company as well.
Nori and Dwalin were going at it like they hadn't since the very beginning of the quest, yelling at each other and almost coming to blows a few times, resulting in Sam's healing shoulder getting wrenched when she intervened, she had hissed in pain, dropping her pack (because Oin had said it would be alright for her to carry it after the first two weeks, although, his judgment of her shoulder being well enough to handle it was probably more dubious than it should have been, the atmosphere of the forest having made Oin less coherent and able to judge the wellness of Sam's injuries), that moment they both stopped their fighting was the first since the first week in the forest that Sam had seen any trace of the two dwarves she had grown to know so well, Dwalin insisting he take her pack for the rest of the day and Nori, with a very guilty expression, suddenly remembering how she had gotten injured in the first place, walking near her for the rest of the day, catching her when she stumbled, although both became more irritable as that day had gone on, they both kept insisting on helping her, which made Sam feel better, as it meant her friends were still in there, somewhere.
Thorin was being a downright asshole like he hadn't been since before the trolls, his nephews' change in attitude not helping the matter, as their silliness had alway helped him relax, but with them both acting so angry, his own natural hot headedness and irritability only got worse, yelling at the Company at least once a day since the fist week, Balin attempting to calm him, but the old dwarf had become more sarcastic and scathing with his words, only resulting in the two old friends having yelling matches with each other, though Sam and Bilbo whacking them both upside the head and talking the two down seemed to do the trick the majority of the time, sometimes, however, Dwalin and the princes had to step in and separate the two.
Ori and Dori were fighting, Nori, for once doing damage control, his brother's arguing with each other drawing him out of his stupor, the ferocity behind their arguing something he had never wanted to see between his older and younger brothers, and that spectacle had thrown almost everyone for a loop, but less so than Bofur and Bombur arguing with each other, Bifur trying to play referee only resulting in him getting frustrated and almost getting into a fight with Bofur, at that point all of the younger members of the Company got involved, those put in a haze by the darkness waking temporarily, because the sight of the two toymakers fighting was just...wrong, on so many levels, that it had awoken them all from their haze, the utterly distressed looks on the youngsters' faces bringing all three Broadbeams back to them, if only temporarily, the three apologizing to each other and to Fili, Kili, Ori, and Sam, realizing that watching them fight had unsettled the quartet, and themselves, none of the Broadbeams able to remember that last time they had actually argued, let alone gotten into a fight, if they ever had.
Oin and Gloin were fighting with each other as well, though their arguing was very similar to what they did anyway, except the fact that they were smacking each other harder and more often than usual, but Sam bringing up Gimli and Midala (Gloin's wife) always seemed to calm the two instantly, though they were still very cross with each other, for unknown reasons.
The Company was not acting like themselves most of the time, but the distress of their family members and friends seemed to draw them back to the light when they were needed.
It was while disrupting an argument between Nori and Dori, the most normal one so far, that the spiders attacked, Bilbo still up in the canopy.
They had been surrounded and hadn't even realized it, the first spider dropping on Thorin before the other arachnids descended on the rest of the Company, either pinning them on their backs or stomachs, all of them still to disoriented to fight back much, unable to reach their weapons before they were injected with venom, Sam tried to yell at Bilbo, to warn him, but she was pounced on by one of the larger spiders, pinned on her stomach, her still bound wrists trapped beneath her, unable to reach her daggers or knives before she felt the stinger of the spider pierce her right thigh, the sting of the venom coursing through her veins, then, her world went dark.
/It Crashed into this Lonely Town!/
Bilbo awakened in the web sac, unsure of where he was or what had happened, until he heard the clicking and hissing, memories of being ambushed by a spider once he had tried to come down from the canopy coming back to him, making him panic, making him worry for the Company, because he now realized the reason they hadn't replied to his calls was because they had been attacked by spiders, and he hoped, he prayed that he hadn't awoken too late to do something about it, hoping they were nearby and still safely in their own sacs rather than already eaten, he shivered at that thought, but he didn't have time to contemplate it further.
There was a spider above him and he had his sword in his hand, so he stabbed it in the thorax, through his web sack, completely surprising the giant spider, and the creature screeched, screeched and struggled and then went still, pulling Bilbo off the branch he had been laying on onto a lower one, causing the hobbit to groan in pain as his back made contact with the branch, but he immediately started ripping through the webs, hearing more spiders approaching.
As soon as Bilbo was free of the sac, he drew his sword again and crept toward the trunk of the tree, took a deep breath, and put his ring on.
The world became pale and wispy around the edges, and Bilbo felt his protective elven pendent became instantly warm. He had noticed in the goblin tunnels that when the ring had landed on his finger when he fell while being chased by the creature, Gollum, it had also instantly become warm, and the pendant had only gotten warmer until it was hot against his skin, which had been about the time he took it off on the cliffs, at which point it had become instantly cool. He had figured the magic of the pendant was protecting him from any bad magic from the ring, but he was not sure how bad the magic had to be for the pendant to react that way.
At the moment, however, it didn't matter, as the ring would now allow him to sneak around the spiders and find his friends, and he could understand what they were saying now too, a little disturbing, but helpful, as it allowed him to figure out that they were about to feast on the other sacs, which he could see were all moving, realizing those sacs were the Company, so he threw a branch he found at his feet into the woods to his left, the spiders running towards the noise.
But one of the spiders stayed behind, knowing that it's fellows would deal with whatever threat there was, and was about to suck the blood from one of his friends, Gloin, he thought, based on the shape. So, gathering all of his courage, Bilbo attacked the spider, killing it quickly, even as it asked what was attacking it, though he did decide to call his blade Sting after the spider complained of it's slices stinging.
Bilbo then proceeded to cut down all of the hanging sacs that contained his friends, mumbling apologies as he went, grimacing in sympathy as they all hit the forest floor below them. Bilbo hoped he had not caused any of them to gain more injuries, or made existing injuries worse, thinking of Sam and Thorin, the impact probably doing nothing for their lass's shoulder or wrists and Thorin's still badly bruised ribs.
Bilbo was attacked from behind by another spider, after answering the call of his friends, who had touched him and decided to attack the still unseeable presence, forcing him to jump on top of it before they fell to the forest floor, where Bilbo promptly killed the creature, and he narrowly avoided being attacked again by an old spider that came out of it's burrow to eat from the corpse of the dead spider.
Bilbo's pendant was warming up more now, but he had a feeling he would need to wear the ring for a considerable amount of time, and was not sure if it would end up burning him, but it was a risk he was willing to take if it meant saving the Company, the dwarves and human he had become so attached too, the family he had missed having ever since his parents had died, more important than that.
He would help the Company in any way he could, even if it meant coming to harm himself.
/And with that Shadow upon the Ground/
Sam jolted awake, the air rushing from her lungs as she landed on something soft that squirmed, she got her breath back only for it to be forced from her lungs again as something landed on her, the pain in her shoulder and wrists worsening from the pressure.
Then she heard voices, voices she knew well, and then she remembered the Company and the spiders, the white in front of her eyes and her inability to move suddenly making sense, she was in a web sac, she needed to get out, before the spiders ate her.
Sam started to struggle then, a bit of panic setting in as a result of how disoriented, sick feeling, and pained she was, beginning to frantically rip through the sac, kicking her legs as whoever was on top of and below her moved, managing to get her arms and legs loose before other hands began to aide hers, ripping the webs away from her face only to reveal Dori, who smiled down at her in relief as she calmed at the sight of a familiar face, briefly, before he pulled her up off the floor and onto her feet, where she swayed unsteadily, not moving as Dori, still covered in a large amount of webbing himself, moved on to helping others of the Company out of their own respective sacs, her head beginning to spin, her stomach rolling.
Sam's vision went in and out of focus as she looked around at her dwarves, able to notice that, though they were moving more slowly and clumsily than usual, they were not nearly as bad off as she was, the spider venom obviously affecting her more than any of them, likely because of how skinny she had become, the fact that she was human, and she was injured, her body less able to fight off the the affects of the venom and filter it from her system than the hardier and heavier dwarves, some of whom were watching her with concern, her swaying becoming more pronounced, even as they scanned the area for more spiders.
She almost fell backwards, her balance completely shot in the state she was in, before two sets of hands took hold of her, she looked up to see the worried gazes of Fili and Kili as they kept Sam on her feet, noting how her eyes were unfocused and she looked paler than she should, even as she smiled, relived to see them both alright, though they both looked rather sickly themselves and were covered in all sorts of gunk, making them look rather more like vagabonds than princes, then Sam felt one of each of their arms go around her back as they put her arms over their shoulders, intending to help her walk, the fact that she couldn't stand on her own making it obvious she would need help, despite the fact that they were shorter than her making it awkward.
"Where's Bilbo?!"
Bofur's exclamation had the brothers and Sam looking around frantically, seeing a very pale Ori being held up by a more coherent Nori, Dori and Gloin hauling up Bombur as Dwalin and Thorin looked around, standing in front of the pile of now open webs acs, which Bofur was searching through, looking for their burglar, Balin and Oin leaning on each other for support, the two older dwarves more affected by the venom than the younger ones, though not nearly as bad as Sam, if the aide she obviously needed from Fili and Kili was any indication, causing both of the elder dwarves to look at each other in worry, knowing Sam may be in quite a bit of danger from the venom, her body not as able to cope with it as effectively as their bodies could.
"I'm up here!"
Bilbo had yelled from somewhere up in the trees, none of them able to see him, their momentary relief at his safety turning to horror as they heard him yell, a crashing sound reaching their ears that they all hoped was not their hobbit, and then they were set upon by spiders, now needing to focus on their own safety and that of those in close proximity.
Dwalin took out his axes as the rest of those who were able began to draw their own weapons, Nori drawing his daggers as Gloin readied his axe and Thorin took out Orcrist, Fili and Kili tightening their hold on Sam as they all began to run away from the spider's nest, her feet slipping more often than not, but the young dwarves more than able to carry her weight, their running in perfect sync, as always. The Company managed to kill some spiders as they went, but mostly they just ran, trying to find a better place to fight, or hide.
They ran until they were stopped in their tracks by some spiders dropping from the trees, only for an elf, sliding along on the limbs of the tall trees of Mirkwood, to slay them, coming to a stop in front of the defensive Thorin, his sword raised.
"Do not think I won't kill you dwarf."
Legolas was a very stern looking elf, his hair pulled back in a tight braid and the frown on his face giving him a severe appearance, only looking more serious with his dark clothes and drawn bow, glaring down his nose at Thorin.
He was decidedly displeased by the presence of the Company in his father's kingdom, not being at all fond of dwarves, though not holding the level of contempt his father did, just untrusting of them in general, not almost outright hatred, making him very suspicious of a what a group of dwarves was doing in Mirkwood, but the glint in his eye told Sam, at least, even as disoriented as she still was, for all of the others were glaring just as angrily at the elven princeling as said princeling was glaring at them, unable to see anything but the distrust in his eyes, matching it with their own, their mutual distaste for each other also making itself known to the elf and dwarves, the dwarves' good will towards the elves of Rivendell not extending to their forest dwelling kin, that Legolas was also curious as to the reason for their presence, the curiosity not seeming to be tainted by an overwhelming sense of ill will, just wondering why in the world they would venture into a forest of elves when they knew they would not be welcome.
Legolas' gaze softened as he took in two of the younger dwarves, looking better than their elders as their youth prevented them from being as direly affected by the venom, easing the companion they had been helping to run from the spiders off their shoulders and into a standing position, whom, he realized with a jolt, both of worry and honest surprise, was a human woman, who looked far worse off than any of the dwarves, pale and trembling slightly, holding herself gingerly, as if injured.
His curiosity about the odd group only piqued as he saw all of the dwarves giving the human worried glances, seemingly tempted to huddle around her to protect her from the elves, but knowing that might only get one of them shot with an arrow, as she looked around at the elves now surrounding the group, her eyes decidedly unfocused and definitely disoriented, making Legolas very tempted to go check on her, but not allowing himself to do so, as it would not do for him to appear too worried about the companion of intruders, dwarves no less, despite her obvious distress and the fact that she had not done anything to deserve their ire, in fact, were she not with the dwarves, she would have already been taken to the healers of their kingdom, but he knew that would not be allowed by his father, her apparent association with the dwarves enough to damn her in Thranduil's eyes.
The duo who had aided her both put a hand to her back to keep her from falling over, even as she tried to stand up straight, only managing to stand hunched and swaying slightly. Why would dwarves, notorious as they were for their contempt of other races, have a human woman with them? And why did they seem to care for her? Everything he had ever been told about dwarves, tainted though it was by his father's distaste for them, telling him that this was not possible, or, at the very least, incredibly unlikely, but their expressions indicated otherwise, that these dwarves did, indeed, care for this human. Now he really wanted to know more about this odd lot and why they had entered the forest.
The human seemed to be trying to remember something as Tauriel landed near Legolas, a pensive, but still utterly disoriented expression on her face, the confusion echoed on the fire-maned she elf's face when she saw who her prince was looking at as they conversed, talking of the spiders, but their mutual curiosity about the human did nothing to quell their distrust of the dwarves.
"Search them."
One elf came to stand in front and in back of every dwarf and the human, relieving them of their weapons, Fili's elf seemingly counting how many knives they found on his person, the elder prince seemingly insulted that they managed to find all of them so easily, even the ones hidden in the collar of his coat.
The dwarves could do nothing as two male elves stood with Sam between them, their obviously not well lass looking up at them, the expression on her face telling those who knew her she was trying to remember something, but they didn't know what, or why she was trying to remember it now.
The two elves just scowled down at her, as if they thought her daft for having that expression on her face, relieving her of her weapons, but seeming to do so more harshly than was necessary, ripping her sword sheathes from her hips, her daggers from her boots, and her knives from on her person, but they yanked her quiver and bow from her back, managing to smack her in the face with the wood and pull her hair with the strap, not seeming to care at all that they were causing her further harm and exacerbating her disorientation with their actions.
/I Hear My People Screaming Out!/
Authast was disgusted by the human, her expression, one of utter confusion and a lack of understanding, cementing his belief that she was a stupid creature, for what other kind would travel with dwarves, and that she was too dumb to understand what was going on, that she was being searched and would soon become a prisoner of their king, all because she was daft enough to become involved with the vile creatures that were dwarves, their awful, greedy, and selfish natures probably having rubbed off on her, making her unworthy of their sympathy or their help. Her appearance, dressed masculinely and looking unkempt in general, her hair a wild mess, regardless of the fact that she was covered in spider webs, only served to disgust him further, for who else but a companion of dwarves would see such an appearance, let alone that of a woman, as acceptable?
So Authast roughly relieved the dumb woman of her weapons as Asgaranwar helped from his position behind her, pulling her bow from her back, both of them smiling cruelly as it smacked her in the face, served her right for associating with dwarves, also keeping the human from falling over, as funny as that would have been, their Captain and Prince would not have been happy about it if they had allowed the obviously injured human to injure herself further, regardless of the fact that she did not deserve either of their sympathy, but their leaders were known for being soft hearted, so they had to abide by their ridiculous beliefs, at least when they were within earshot or sight, both of the haughty elves hoping they would be assigned as her guards so they could show (punish) the worthless human for the error of her ways.
While Authast was searching the still confused woman, he discovered a pendant, but not just any pendant, an elf friend pendant. It was strands of mithril folded in the shape of a star with a sapphire in the middle, runes on the strands declaring the wearer an elf friend named Lethril.
Asgaranwar did not understand why his friend was suddenly staring at something the human was wearing, holding it in his hand, only for his face to become one of murderous rage as he ripped it from around the woman's neck, covering her mouth with his hand so no one would hear the pained sound she made. Asgaranwar pressed a dagger, surreptitiously, to the woman's side as she started to reach for whatever it was that had so angered Authast; she got the message, instantly freezing, her eyes going wide. He smirked, eyes glinting cruelly, maybe she wasn't as dumb as she seemed.
Asgaranwar then looked up at Authast, whose gaze was flicking between their prisoner and whatever he had in his hand, looking more murderous by the second, obviously tempted to assault the woman, but Asgaranwar got his attention before he could do that, as the prince and the captain would not condone the abuse of prisoners, and they both knew it, so he whispered in Sindarin,' What is the matter, Authast? What was this woman wearing that has angered you so?'
Authast shoved the pendant in his face, Asgaranwar's eyes going wide at the sight of the pendant as Authast hissed at him, quietly, in Sindarin,' This human, these dwarves, have done harm to an elf friend and stolen their pendant!' The cruel hatred in Authast's eyes was mirrored in Asgaranwar's,' They should be punished!' His eyes narrowed with heartless glee,' And we will see that they are.'
Asgaranwar started to nod his head, but stopped, a worried expression coming over his face,' But, Authast, shouldn't we show this to Prince Legolas and Captain Tauriel? Surely they would be able to tell whether it has been stolen or not?'
Authast, a slightly exasperated expression on his face, irritated with Asgaranwar's respect for the authority of the prince and captain, something he felt they didn't deserve, looked from side to side, making sure that all of the other elves in the vicinity were preoccupied with their dwarven prisoners, as he leaned in towards Asgaranwar conspiratorially,' The dwarves and the human, for all their stupidity, may very well come up with a plausible enough story that our soft hearted prince and captain,' he rolled his eyes, as Asgaranwar chuckled darkly, knowing that Authast was eternally frustrated and angered by the weaknesses of their two leaders,' might actually believe them, and the prince will likely be able to convince our king of the same with the captain's help.' Here Authast shook his head, exasperated, mumbling,' I understand he loves his son, but I do not understand why he lets that fool influence his decisions, at times. Anyway, I do not believe we should inform them of the situation, to keep them from being deceived of course,' here the two elves, so corrupted by the darkness that had afflicted their home that they did not realize just how cruel, disrespectful, and just plain evil they were acting, smiling at the blatant lie of Authast's statement, the truth being that neither of them trusted Legolas or Tauriel to deal with the situation 'correctly,' regardless of Asgaranwar's regard for their authority, as dubiously as that was given to begin with, thus they were taking it into their own hands,' so we shall deal with the situation, but I think', Authast's smile was a cold and cruel thing,' we should focus on the human, here,' he tightened his grip on Sam's mouth, making sure that none of the dwarves or other elves noticed, taking pleasure from the fear and apprehension in her eyes,' because I think the dwarves might provide too much resistance, and will be better able to fight back than this poor, weakened human,' they both looked down at the now alarmed looking woman, her eyes widening further at their malicious smiles,' besides, it will hurt the dwarves more to know their weakest link is being harmed for their folly than another dwarf, for they would probably take it as a challenge, but this little thing, she will likely only cower in fear, which will make our revenge so much sweeter.'
The two corrupted elves only chuckled darkly as their victim became more visibly frightened of them as they continued to search her.
Authast and Asgaranwar, however, became even more cruel in their actions and attitudes as Legolas confronted Thorin over Orcrist, suddenly identifying the dwarf as Thorin Oakenshield, remembering what the king had looked like when he was younger, and still a prince, the two elves whole heartedly agreeing with their prince, for once, that the dwarf was a liar and a thief, the accusation only making them feel more justified in their harshness towards the human, and the revenge they planned to take for the harm they believed the Company had done to an elf friend, and for stealing from elves, or worse, the grave of a great elf.
/And I See Fire! Inside the Mountain!/
The Company, other than Sam and Thorin, were taken directly to the dungeons of the city of the elves of Mirkwood, their hands unbound from behind their backs as they were shoved into their cells, all of them trying to get to Sam and Thorin, but unable.
Bilbo, still invisible, took note of the locations of his friends cells before he continued to follow Sam and Thorin.
Bilbo had watched the two elves searching Sam take her pendant, horrified at how roughly they had treated her, how they had laughed maliciously at her fear and smiled in a way that Bilbo had thought only foul beings like orcs and goblins could, but he was unable to do anything about it, for he knew revealing his presence to the elves might cause more harm than good, so he kept his ring on, his own pendant growing warmer by the moment, knowing he would need to keep it on for the foreseeable future if he was to free his friends from the clutches of these unkind elves, so unlike those they had befriended in Rivendell.
So he followed the elves and his friends, watching and listening.
/I See Fire! Burning the Trees!/
Sam and Thorin were brought before King Thranduil, their hands bound behind their backs, wrenching Sam's already injured shoulder and adding more bruises to the healing ones already on her wrists. They were being pushed forward by their respective guards, Thorin noting how pale and sickly Sam looked, instantly concerned, trying to watch her as best he could from the corner of his eye, realizing that the venom from the spiders, combined with her existing injuries and how skinny she was as a result of their quest, would wreak havoc on their lass, accounting for how she was stumbling more than normal, her eyes unfocused, pupils blown, sweating beading on her brow, and her shallow breathing, but what really alarmed Thorin was how she already seemed to be afraid of her two guards.
The two tall elves, the auburn haired one taller than the red head, both acting more menacing toward Sam, it seemed to Thorin, than his own two guards (Legolas and Tauriel) were being to him, something that confused him greatly, as the elves, he had thought, would be more inclined to show her kindness than any of the dwarves because she was human, a woman, and was obviously injured, but that was apparently not the case.
Thorin was also concerned because, unless Sam was given medical aide, her condition might worsen, especially if she was left alone to rot in a cell the way Thorin thought they all would be, something worrying in and of itself, Thorin, nor any member of the Company, was willing to see her come to more harm than she already had and was worried about what it would mean for her health for the rest of the quest, for he was not willing to sacrifice it more than was necessary, thoughts that echoed those he had had at Beorn's, as he had hoped she would be able to help them all get out of here, banking on her ability to work the same magic on these elves, as unkind in comparison though they were, as she had on the Rivendell elves, but he was beginning to doubt that would happen, her disorientation rendering her all but unable to follow what was going on, let alone charm Thranduil into letting them go.
Thorin was comforted, slightly, however, when Sam gave him a slight smile, apparently not as disoriented as he had initially thought, as she seemed to have sensed his worry, Thorin not having realized that it was written plainly on his face and in his eyes for all to see, making Legolas and Tauriel more curious, neither understanding why the dwarf would be so worried about the woman, nor why he seemed to relax at her smile, as if comforted by it, even as it made Authast (the short red head) and Asgaranwar (the taller auburn haired one) more confident in their choice of focusing on the human, their idea that it would do the dwarves more harm to know she suffered confirmed.
Sam herself was terrified and completely aware of how disoriented she was, barely able to remember the details of most of their trek toward the elven city, her focus having been on her feet and Balin's head in front of her, trying not to focus too much on the two elves behind her, their malicious smiles and the cruelty in their eyes while they had been searching her having chilled Sam to the bone, something telling her that those two were going to do her harm, and enjoy it, which was the reason she was not going to try to convince any of the elves that the two had stolen her pendant, because she feared what they would do in retaliation, either to her or her dwarves, but she tried to stay strong for Thorin, and the others, despite her fear and how awful she felt, their faces worried when they had all gotten a clear look at her as they had been shoved in their cells, Oin had cursed and struggled against the elves, while everyone else had only been able to look on, not knowing what to do, all very worried by her sickly appearance on account of the spider venom, most ignoring the fact that they did not look so well themselves, but Sam didn't want them all worrying about her, they needed to worry about finding a way out of this place, about staying strong and not giving up, even when it seemed hopeless.
Sam knew Bilbo would eventually get them all out, but he needed help to do it, inspiration and support from his friends, who she knew he was very worried about and was willing to bet Bilbo was watching them now, and worrying about her was not going to get any of them out any quicker, and she needed to be strong for Thorin, right now, because she didn't want him to think he needed to give in to Thranduil for her sake, to protect her from the elven king, because both she and Thorin knew he would be more inclined to treat her harshly for her association with her precious dwarves, or to get her the anti-venom, because Sam knew they would give it to her anyway, as they would want to question her and they couldn't do that if she was incoherent.
They all, Sam, Thorin, Legolas, Authast, and Asgaranwar, came to stand in front of Thranduil, King of Mirkwood, the king looking at them all cooly, disdain clear on his features as he looked at Thorin, but he seemed as surprised as his son had been at Sam's presence, though he quickly schooled his features to conceal and attempted to quell his alarm at the appearance of the human, the healer in him demanding that she be taken care of swiftly, but the king in him wanting more information before he did anything to help or harm Thorin Oakenshield and his companions, injured though this human one may be, but he would ensure they were all given doses of the anti-venom for the spider's poison, as he was not a cruel elf, and the venom would make their days very painful indeed as it worked it's way out of their system, besides, he wanted information, and he needed them able to talk for that, not writhing in pain.
He surveyed his two prisoners, all of these things in mind, knowing why they in particular had been brought before him rather than other members of their group.
Sam had been brought before him because she was a human among dwarves and they assumed she would be the weakest link in their group, either because she was a woman and the dwarves wanted to keep her from harm or because she was less loyal to the dwarves and their quest, little did they know just how loyal they all were to each other, none willing to betray each other, though the Company in the dungeons was already beginning to worry for their lass, not just because of how ill she looked, but also because they had seen the cruelty in the eyes of the two elves who had searched her, and how they had treated her while in the elven city, none of them trusting the two elves not to do her harm, a feeling Thorin was beginning to share in as he looked at the two elves holding Sam more closely.
The two elves had kept her at the back of their group as they were marched through the forest, pulling her roughly back every time she had stumbled, none of the Company able to comfort her and provide support or keep an eye on Sam from in front of her, Balin's hair having gone on end when he had heard their evil sounding chuckles, the dark feeling he had gotten from the two elves showing in the unease on his face, something all but Thorin had picked up on, because he had been looking at his nephews, when they had all gotten decent looks at each other before being imprisoned, but Thorin was now getting the same feeling as Balin had, his scrutiny of the elves revealing their poorly concealed maliciousness, though the other elves seemed blind to it, those two elves were influenced by the same evil afflicting the forest, and that had made them more cruel.
Thranduil took note of how Thorin was watching him and the human both, intrigued by his apparent concern for her, but the king could only scowl at Thorin, knowing him and his line as he did.
Thorin had been brought before Thranduil because he was obviously the leader of the dwarves that had entered his kingdom, and because of who he was. Thranduil had no love for the line of Durin, having been slighted and disrespected by Thror, in their personal dealings, in treaties, and when Thranduil had warned him of what his treasure trove would bring, warning him that a dragon would surely come, but he did not listen, and the fate the befell Erebor was all Thror's doing, no one else's, Smaug had come and decimated Dale and Erebor, laying waste to the lands around the Lonely Mountain, but Thranduil had not been willing to risk the lives of his people to fight the dragon, and Thranduil did not regret that decision.
He felt himself grow angry at the hubris and greed of the line of Durin, at the way he had been treated, at the loss of life and destruction caused by the grandfather of the dwarf that stood before him, at the way they had scorned him for his decision to protect his people, the way Thror should have done for his own, but what angered him the most was the knowledge of what the fool of a dwarf that was Thorin Oakenshield was planning to do, to awaken the dragon for the sake of the gold, to reclaim Erebor, to bring hell fire and horrible deaths upon all in the vicinity of the mountain, including his people as well as the innocents of the town of Dale.
Thorin Oakenshield was going to make the same foolish decision that his grandfather had made, with the same disastrous results, and Thranduil could not abide by that.
Thranduil, however, wanted more information, wanted verbal confirmation from Thorin of his plan, and any details that might not be readily discernible, because, for all of their faults, the line of Durin was not known for being stupid, in fact they were known to be quite clever and excellent strategists, but they were also know to be very foolish and proud.
The cleverness of the line of Durin was what concerned Thranduil now, as it was entirely possible that this was some kind of a ruse to distract the elven king from another force of dwarves, or another small group, going to the mountain to achieve the same goal, or that Thorin had some kind of contingency plan that would still cause the dragon to be awakened, so he decided he would offer the dwarven king aide in return for the jewels that he did truly want that were buried in the dragon's hoard, the jewels that, if they did somehow get to the mountain and kill the dragon, he would demand as recompense for their trespassing and any damage caused, but the point of offering aide was to see if Thorin would reveal his plans and any details, such as how they planned to get in the mountain, and any other who would be foolish enough to help him towards his ridiculous goal, Thranduil wanted to know all of this because he did not plan on allowing Thorin to accomplish his goal, ever, but he needed all of the information he could get to circumvent the foolishness of the dwarves, and, should they not talk, they would be imprisoned in his dungeons until they did so or they died, after all, he did not care about the dwarves, their greed, hubris, and selfishness making them unworthy of his sympathy or kindness.
So Thranduil offered Thorin his aide in return for the jewels, Legolas, Tauriel, and the other two guards momentarily confused before they realized what their king was doing, none of them at all surprised when Thorin vehemently and angrily rejected his offer of aide, calling the king's bluff, his rage causing him to go into Khuzdul as he insulted the elven king.
Thranduil scowled, his fair face contorting into an ugly visage, ordering his son and the captain, in Sindarin,' Take the filthy dwarf to the dungeons, in one of the lower levels, away from the rest of his companions. Perhaps some solitude will teach him manners and to show respect to his betters.'
Legolas and Tauriel began to take Thorin away, but the dwarf fought against them, realizing what he had just done and how his actions and words might have just doomed Sam to ill treatment and rough interrogation, not knowing what Thranduil had said and where he was being taken or where Sam would be taken increasing his efforts to get to her, to do something to protect her from Thranduil's wrath, the wrath that he had invoked, his worry easy to see for all in the room, unwilling to leave Sam behind when he did not know what would happen to the odd human woman of his Company, his friend, and member of his family, the family that the Company had become to him, his worry for her equal to what it would be for his own nephews in the same situation, all of them too young and inexperienced in the cruelty of the world to be left at someone such as Thranduil's mercy, Sam even more so because she would be suffering because of him, because the Company was made up of dwarves, for wrongs not her own, she would be targeted by the cruel king as an easily coerced, Thranduil wrongly assumed, Thorin knew, source of information.
Thranduil only looked at the dwarf struggling to get to the side of his companion, the human woman looking like she was torn between wanting him to stop struggling and go peacefully and wanting him to stay, his presence apparently comforting to her, because she was obviously afraid, and somewhat confused, though that was the doing of the spider venom.
Thorin saw how scared she was and renewed his efforts to get to her, but, in the end, six elves were needed to remove him from the throne room, still struggling to get to the woman, who stood, unsteadily, in front of Thranduil, her eyes following Thorin until he was out of sight, then coming to rest, wide and feverish, terrified, on Thranduil.
The elven king's demeanor was much calmer now, considering the human before him, his eyes running over her.
Sam was not sure whether to be more afraid or calmed by his change in attitude, his eyes not seeming to hold the same amount of contempt and rage when they looked at her as when he had looked at Thorin.
Thranduil walked up to her, seeming to have come to a decision, his hand going to her chin, gently lifting it so her face was looking at his, his gaze seemed to soften more, but Sam was sure she was just imagining it, not believing that the elven king would be at all kind to her, both because she was part of Thorin's Company, and because she was an intruder the same as any of the others.
Thranduil finally spoke, in Sindarin, Sam having absolutely no clue what he was saying,' Take her into the dungeons as well, another cell far away from the other dwarves and Oakenshield. I will be down later to administer anti-venom to her personally, then, in a few days, after she has had a little time to recover, we will begin interrogating her. Hopefully she will not be as foolish as the dwarves and will be more forthcoming with information.'
Thranduil smirked as he turned away from the human, unsurprised when she did not struggle as Thorin had, sure that he would have all of the information he wanted in a few days time, for the human could not be very loyal to the dwarves, so she should be easily persuaded to tell him everything she knew.
Thranduil, with his back turned, completely missed the evil smirks on Authast and Asgaranwar's faces.
/I See Fire! Hollowing Souls!/
Alrighty, I hope you all enjoyed that, cause it took me a bit to figure out how I wanted all of that to go.
Authast means war dust in Sindarin, while Asgarangar means violent awe, so the two corrupted elves have sort of evil names.
Next time we will get to see what it's like in the elven dungeons.