As Oin and Gloin set to making a fire and the others began to relax for the first time in days, Rose noticed little Ori sitting quietly to one side cradling his hands- they had been injured once more.
"It was from throwing the burning pine cones," he said bashfully when she inquired about it. Looking around, Rose could see that most of the others had similar injuries on their palms and other parts or their arms and legs. She sighed softly to herself and turned to reach for something concealed in her many layers of skirts. Ori immediately turned a bright shade of pink.
"I have medicine in a small pouch," she explained with a smile, "It's a good thing I hid it well, to, otherwise it would have been taken by the goblins! Here it is- now, let me see your hands..."
She tended his wounds before set about to healing all the others, who were quick to thank her with many compliments and deep bows that were returned with a curtsy and a "it was nothing." Thorin was the trickiest to sway into keeping still long enough (as Rose knew very well he would be). At first he merely brushed the throbbing wound as if it were a tiny scratch, but luckily his wife knew better. She marched him over to the nearest rock and began cleaning it as gently as she could.
"Does it hurt?" she asked as she poked a bit of skin raised slightly higher than normal.
"Not at all," came his quick reply, "I still don't see why this is necessary." The wince in his eyes told her differently.
"You don't always have to be so tough, you know."
"I am merely being a leader for my kin."
"You're working yourself to death is what you're doing. The company needs a leader that still lives and breathes- you being dead won't do them any good."
Thorin gave her a tired smile. "If, at the end of each day, I am allowed to come back to see your face and feel your touch, it will all be worth it." Rose rolled her eyes playfully.
"Killing yourself isn't necessary to win my affections."
"And what is, if I may ask?"
She took a breath and considered her words carefully. "Being a decent dwarf. Admitting your faults and wrong-doings as well as your victories, and simply being the Thorin I know's in there somewhere." With the last line, she pressed the tip of her pointer finger against Thorin's chest.
The sound of his deep laughter caught Rose off guard.
"Then again," she added with a flicker of amusement in her eyes, "If you did that, people may just die of shock."
"Imagine what grandfather would think," Thorin agreed. They laughed again.
"I miss him dearly," Rose said as her smile faded. The passing of Thror still stung in her heart like a wound that wouldn't heal. She felt her husband's hand close around hers. Thorin squeezed her hand gently and stood to his full height at just over four feet.
"As do I."
"Aunt Prim! Thorin!"
Fili and Kili came rushing up to the corner where they stood. Their nephews's faces suggested something exciting was happening, or about to happen.
"What is it?" Thorin said at the same time Rose asked "Is everything alright?"
"Everything's perfect!" Kili exclaimed happily, "Dinner is ready- we better hurry before all the food is gone."
"Bombur doesn't seem to want to wait any longer," Fili agreed. With that the conversation came to a close.
The food mostly consisted of small animals the eagles had managed to pick off in the night, but it was far better than the threat of starvation. The company had been in the middle of seconds- there was much more food to go around with the eagles offering to hunt for them- when one of the great birds flew straight to Gandalf with its claws pushed forward as if wanting to give him something.
"Ah!" the wizard exclaimed. In his hands were a beautiful violin with elaborate markings and a bow to match. Rose's eyes lit up the moment she saw it.
"Is that-?"
"They found it laying about in one of their nests," Gandalf said as he held it out, "It is of no use to me, for I haven't played a fiddle since before the First Age. Would you care to try it out, My Lady?"
Many of the dwarves cheered and gave encouragements before she could even answer.
"Go on, lass!" said Balin happily as Dwalin pounded his fist to his leg in approval. Dwarves loved music and song almost as much as their love of gold, but not nearly as much as hobbits. Bilbo himself looked more interested in the food at the moment, but if he weren't half starved to death he would have gladly given the same amount of enthusiasm as the others. Meanwhile the dwarves were quick to respond.
"Yes, Aunt Prim, we'd love to see you play!" said Kili as he hugged his knees beside Fili who nodded vigorously.
When their eyes met, Thorin merely smiled and nodded once to her. Rose laughed and bowed before meeting Gandalf at the other and of the fire and taking the instrument carefully in her hands. As the others cheered happily she paused for a moment, deliberating on what to play.
As soon as her mind was made, Rose took the fiddle and began to play a merry tune that sent all the dwarves to stamping their feet and clapping their hands, leaving all the sorrow and remorse of Thror and the past behind her. After all, you don't simply cease to live once you lose someone dear. Instead, she swayed in time with her music and added a spin or two as the song progressed. It would be hours later before the last dwarf would sleep that night, and still hours more that they would continue on their journey, but for the moment all were happy with eating their fill and listening to Rose's beautiful music as she danced.
Bilbo woke with the early sun in his eyes to the sound of eagles cawing and a woman's laughter. At first he didn't register either; he thought he lay in his soft cushioned bed with the kettle singing in the other room. In an instant he sprang up, wondering how he could sleep in when the paper hasn't been fetched and first breakfast hasn't been made, when he took in the Eyre and the birds and dwarves, and suddenly reality came crashing down on him.
"Oh," Bilbo said with a sigh as he fell back into his sheets from the disappointment. He was very well rested, at least. With a yawn he stretched and slowly gathered his belongings, looking up to see Rose laughing and telling stories with Fili and Kili, Bombur and his brothers cooking food, Gandalf conversing with the eagles over where they should be taken (he cringed at the thought of having to ride another one of those creatures again), and Thorin brooding over the map his father had saved for him. Bilbo was sure to give him a wide berth, lest he do something unintentional and somehow offend the dwarf prince like he always seemed to do. He had hoped that his presence would go unnoticed for the time being, but the dream was dashed once Rose spotted him moving about.
"Oh, good you're awake!" she called across the way. Fili and Kili smiled over at him cheerfully. "Would you like something to eat?"
Bilbo gave a thankful nod and scuttled over to the food before Thorin could take notice (the hobbit was silently thankful that he could be so quiet in situations like this). There was some mutton leftover from the night before, and a little to spare for when they landed- wherever that would be. Bilbo ate his share gratefully while the others began to pack their things as he had.
"Where do we go from here?" Thorin asked turning to the wizard.
"The eagles have agreed to take us just beyond the Carrock, to a little river nearby. We will have to make another stop for provisions and ponies, but we will deal more with that when the time comes. Now then, up you go!"
Thorin and the others were allowed to ride on the eagles' backs this time, and Rose had insisted on riding with him. She still hadn't gotten over the fear of their last journey with the great birds, and when she mounted their designated eagle, she clung so tightly to Thorin's back he didn't bother to hide the amused smile on his face. Bilbo was in a similar state, gripping his eagle so tightly that the bird turned its head slightly to one side in annoyance. Fili and Kili, on the other hand looked as if they were getting ready for a roller coaster they had dreamed of riding since they were children (if roller coasters had been invented at the time, and I'm sure if they had both dwarves would have liked them very much and Bilbo would probably refuse to go within ten feet of one).
The dwarves said farewell to the Lord of the Eagles, and with a caw his subjects launched themselves in the air and high to the sky. Neither Rose nor Bilbo dared look down from their great height in fear of becoming dizzy or sick. Around them they could hear the others cheering or shouting to one another of what a story this would make someday and how tiny the trees looked far below and how they could see the Lonely Mountain from where they sat. After a good long while the eagles must have seen their destination, for they began to spiral downward in large circles. Rose chanced a risk at looking up and saw Fili and Kili whiz by on their eagles with their hands outstretched, their laughs carried over the wind in her ears. She then saw Balin soar past her looking as calm as he did when riding a horse rather than a great bird plummeting to the earth. Dwalin seemed to have a similar expression.
From below she could see a good amount of the landscape- a river surrounded by oaks and elms that looped around a giant rock that looked like it was a hill of stone, which Rose figured must be the Carrock Gandalf had described. Just beyond was what looked to be a waterfall, but the size couldn't be accurately measured from where they flew. The eagles landed gracefully in the grass yards away from the stone, bending low to allow their passengers to slide off. Thorin went first, and turned to catch Rose as she followed. When all had descended the birds, they rose in the air and took off in the direction that they had came from. It wouldn't be till much later that they would see them again.
A/N: I just started on Fili and Kili's big scene in the Battle of Five Armies, which made me want to cry. Also, I saw some previews and photos of Peter Jackson's version of Beorn, and he looks somewhat different than what I imagined- but that's okay. I don't want to follow the movie too much, but I am curious to see if it has anything I'd want to work with, so I'm not sure if I should wait or just keep writing and edit anything I want to change. Well anyway, that's my spiel for now. I'll get another chapter out this week and another next week. Until then, fellow Hobbit fanatics!
