DETRIMENTAL
Through rivers and rock cities. In snowy peeks and whispering forests, they carried on without Gandalf and trotted on through the endless planes of land that have been untouched for decades and so on. Space drew out between them with Thorin leading the way and Jeanne and Bilbo right behind him, the rest of the company following suit.
Bilbo huffed and puffed through his struggle and dug his walking stick into the ground, passing Jeanne. He stopped and looked back at her, noticing her far off gaze up to the dark and rain hazed mountains that they were almost upon.
"Is everything alright? Jeanne?" Bilbo called out to her and Jeanne snapped out of her trance-like stare and smiled warmly.
"Oh. Yes. Don't worry about anything, my dear Bilbo." She retook her lead in front of him and spoke once more. "Just when we get to these mountains up here...be sure to stick close to me."
Bilbo furrowed his eyebrows together and tried to decipher her riddle like words. Not coming up with an answer, he shrugged it off and carried on with his hike.
The path had become treacherous now. They were faced with a heavy rainstorm of Gods making, and winds a monster's howl could only execute. It was dark with the thick clouds in the sky, flashes of lightning behind it that threatened to blow the Dwarves off the narrow mountain trail that was slick with rain.
Thorin's loud and commanding voice managed to shout back to his company who were all clinging to the rocks for dear life as he led the way down the path.
"Hold on!" Thorin's voice could honestly rival the thunderstorm.
Jeanne felt her heart shaking just as much as her legs were. She sucked in a deep breath and carried on through the narrow path that was only a few inches wide. Her ears honed in on Thorin's voice and felt a bit comforted by it, knowing that he was still pushing through and haven't been shoved off the mountainside.
If Thorin could do this, then surely so could Jeanne (Despite how scared she was right now).
Jeanne's eyes looked up to the gloomy blue skies and saw something dark in the air, slowly getting bigger and bigger.
No. It wasn't getting bigger, it was getting closer. It was falling, a massive boulder!
"Look out!" Dwalin howled over the wrenched winds.
The boulder slammed against the rock wall right above their heads and tumbled in pieces down the mountain, just barely missing the company.
Jeanne's eyes only wished they were failing when she looked upon the dark canyon and saw something quite ineffable. "We have walked in at the wrong time..." Her face twisted with fear and controlled her voice. "It's a thunder-battle!" Her cry cut through the rainstorm as a Battle of Old showered in front of her.
Giant; Stone Giants!
These massive creatures, at least hundreds and hundreds of years old towered over the mountains and ripped chunks of rock off, throwing it high in the air towards another that appeared behind the company, striking it in its chest.
The Dwarves stuck to the rock walls and braced themselves as the whole mountain began to shake and crumble, and before they knew it... the giant stood up off its throne, separating the company in two. The battle continued with the Dwarf party, now in a pair, held on for dear life as these legends fought.
One giant came up and head butting another, crumbling the rivels head to pieces.
Thorin's side of the company slammed against the path and halted for a moment.
"Go, go, go!" Thorin roared and they all ran off the giant's legs and onto the steady path once more, but leaving Jeanne's part of the group behind on the giant.
Thorin watched with hopelessness as the separated part of his company was swung side to side in the bitter battle and rainfall. He was able to keep track of them because Jeanne's fiery hair was like a beacon of light.
Jeanne held her hand out in front of Bilbo as his eyes widen in horror and fright but at the corner of his eyes...he saw a small flicker of light began to spark at the crown of her staff that resembled an unblosom flower...that opened up.
The giant's legs began to bow as it's ginormous body started to crumble to the ground. His legs starting to take a straight dive for the rock wall when...CRUSH! They met the wall with a dread-filled sound that stained Thorin's ears.
"No!" His shrieking voice howled in pain when the impact rattled the whole mountain. "No!"
A sudden eruption of light, bright and red, shattered against the stone like magic and the giant's body was blown to the abyss below.
Thorin was left with disbelief at what the light was but wasted no time and ran over to where the rest of his company was...seeing them all lay on the ground but alive, if not a bit disoriented. He sighed with a great deal of relief that washed over him like the rain.
Jeanne was the only one who was standing though. She stood with her back to the company and at the edge of the cliff.
For a reason, Thorin thought that she had something to do with their survival.
He began to walk towards her. "Jeanne-" He stopped himself when he saw the rock beneath her feet began to crack. "Look out!"
The rock gave away and Jeanne slipped from the cliff and started to fall, her red hair disappearing before his eyes. Thorin was quick to react and leaped for her outstretched hand and grabbed it with all the strength he had in his body. He immediately felt his hand burn like fire once he touched her skin. It started to smoke too but no way was he going to release her small and thin wrist, but what caused him to stiffen was her current appearance that knocked all the air out of him
Her skin, naturally very pale was married with gray veins the coursed all around her body and up to her face. Her eyes though burned this bright amber color like a raging flame that radiated this evilness that made his skin shiver with fright.
He would have let go there and then, release this creature he was trying to save, this unknown monster that was before him...if not for the pleading gaze 'Jeanne' was giving him as her body swayed in his grasp. The only thing he could recognize now in this woman was that innocent look he's known for months now...the first thing he witnesses when back in the Shire when Jeanne first came into his life like a small fire.
"Thorin?" She spoke in a shivering whisper, frost coming off her breath as her lips quivered in the cold.
The other Dwarves rushed in to help their lady and pulled her back onto the narrow path and up against the rock wall.
"I thought my heart was gonna stop, you know?" Bofur laughed. "I swore we lost our lady."
"You think your heart was gonna stop? Mine actually did." Gloin shot right back.
Thorin stood up and looked down at his hand that was red and blistering from the heat he sustained from touching her skin. Puzzled, he looked up and unexpected met Jeanne's gaze, her innocent blue-eyed gaze. No ranging flame of amber.
He could do nothing more at this point but question it...what it was that he had just seen.
Thorin knew that they couldn't stay out in the elements anymore and was lucky, or unlucky enough to find a big enough cave that was dry by the looks of it.
"It looks safe enough," Dwalin says.
"Search to the back; caves in mountains are seldom unoccupied," Thorin said ominously, taking a glance to Jeanne who was drying her scarlet hair out with a towel.
Dwalin takes a lantern and goes to the back of the cave, shining the glowing light in every corner. "There's nothing here." He called back.
Gloin dropped a load of wood on the ground and rubbed his hands together. "Right then! Let's a get a fire started."
"No, no fires." Thorin cut in. "Not in this place. Get some sleep. We start at first light."
Balin squinted his old eyes. "We were to wait in the mountains until Gandalf joined us. That was the plan." He reminded him.
"Plans change," Thorin said and looked to Jeanne who met his eyes. "Jeanne, take first watch."
Jeanne was taken back by the request but shrugged. "I Understand."
SNAP
Jeanne could still hear the sound of the roaring winds outside the cave despite the even worse sounds of the sleeping Dwarves around her, all nuzzled up in blankets and beards.
It was a long watch with nothing to do, so Jeanne manifested a small fire in the center of her palm that dance around in the figure of human children, laughing joyously with all the innocents not yet spoiled by the cruel world. It brought a smile to her face as her imagination took form in her palm.
"I thought I said no fires." Thorin's voice frightened Jeanne and she quickly closed her hand into a fist to put out the fire, though it didn't burn her.
"You're still awake?" She spoke in but a whisper so she wouldn't wake up the rest of the company.
Thorin, who sat across the cave, sat up.
"You don't have to be awake. I know it is my first time watching, but I am sure I can handle it." She tried to reassure him with a smile but something seemed off with his eyes on her. "Thorin?"
"You were the one to save them, were you not." He spoke lowly.
Jeanne blinked. "Oh, well...yes." She felt her chest get tight when he got up off the ground and shuffled over to her.
"I will thank you for what you've done so far, but.." His eyes grew in this unsettling way like he didn't want to speak what was about to come from his lips. "I cannot trust you."
Jeanne felt the air get sucked out of her lungs and her body began to tremble. Her blood started to cringe and she felt like her eyes were going to water.
"I...I don't understand." Her voice quivered just as much as her body was. "Did I do something wrong?"
For some reason that made Thorin's heart burn a bit when she said that.
Her glassy eyes twinkled with fear when he kneeled down in front of her, suddenly gripping her shoulders, not so much that it hurt, but roughly to keep her eyes on his.
He spoke with a voice the came from his toes all the way up to his hands. He felt her body tremble. "I must ask this of you...while I still think you part of my company..." His eyes saw what they saw and he could not ignore this anymore.
She was no Wizard.
She was no human either.
She was...something entirely different, but this one question is the only thing that matters to him right now.
"How dangerous are you?"
He saw her pupils go wide as something began to shuffle behind her blue gem-like eyes, and when she spoke, her voice was as calm as water, the type of water that was being pulled back into the ocean...moments before a tsunami.
She stared at him directly in his deep-set eyes as her tears began to roll down her cheeks.
"Detrimental." She said.
This unholy silence washed upon them like a veil of dread. They did nothing more but stare into each other's eyes, motionless and speechless...until the sound of sand escaping caught their ears.
Thorin and Jeanne turned their heads away and saw a line formed in the sand at their feet.
"Wake up." Thorin's voice began to grow. "Wake up!"
The Dwarves began to slowly wake up from their slumber but not fast enough as the floors opened up and they all fell through into the black unknown.