It was the next day. Gandalf had been dealing with some very important matters with the council. The Wizard informed them, that they all had best leave by tomorrow morning before dawn or the Elves would never let them leave. Thorin had ordered his nephews to get whatever food provisions they could find in the Elves kitchen to pack for their long journey still ahead of them.
Honoria had wandered off down the path that led to the bottom of the waterfall. She climbed onto a big rock that laid against a rock wall. She then pulled out her book and began to read. The sound of the water crashing like thunder against the rocks was soothing to her. Her head suddenly perked up when she heard the sound of snapping of branches in the bushes in front of her. Slowly put her book down beside her and with her right hand she reached over, taking hold of her sword by the hilt, ready to pull it out to face whatever it was on the other side of the bush. Honor relaxed when she saw it was Thorin and her hand released it's tense grip on the hilt. "Grumpy." She chirped and he cocked his head at her and raised an eyebrow getting annoyed with the nickname, but then he remembered something that annoyed her more than anything.
"Honoria." She glared at the dwarf, he never called her by her full name and she didn't like it.
" Don't call me, Honoria. It's Honor." She grumbled.
"Then stop calling me grumpy, " he demanded. The elf rolled her eyes, she rather liked that name she gave him.
"Fine. What are you doing here Thorin?" She asked as she opened her book up and started reading again.
" I came to see how you were doing." Thorin admitted. Honor lifted her eyes from her book to the dwarf, she found his concern strikingly odd, but then again his whole demeanor had been strange since they arrived in Rivendell.
"I'm alright...I guess." She replied awkwardly.
"How's your arm?"
"It doesn't hurt. Oin put some kind of ointment on the wound to take the burning sensation away." She explained. still wondering why he even cared.
"Good...that's good." He muttered to himself. Thorin approached closer to the rock she was sitting on. "I think we should work on your sword skills."
"Why? So you can leave you're mark on my other cheek?" She growled. He narrowed his eyes at her, he was waiting for her to go back to her normal sassy self. He let out a sigh, before speaking.
"Look, I know I shouldn't have done what I did to you, weeks back. Part of me had done it because I blame your race for what happened to my people long ago, but I was wrong about you. Your different from other elves." Honoria, was mildly shocked hearing this, he didn't seem like one to admit when he was wrong about someone. "You risked your life to save one of my own, I want to repay the favor by teaching you how to properly handle a sword, so you can protect yourself."
Honor wasn't sure where this was coming from, but she could tell by the sound of his voice that he was being sincere. At first she was going to argue with him about it but stopped herself and decided to take him up on his offer. "Okay then, grumpy. Your on." She smirked, jumping off the rock and pulling out her sword. The dwarf rolled his eyes, it was clear to him now that she wasn't going to stop calling him that.
"You need to place your hand higher." He instructed as he unsheathed his weapon. He stuck the blade end of his sword into the earth and walked over behind the elf. " Like this." he spoke softly, as he placed his hand on hers and slid her hand up a bit further. The woman felt her cheeks heat up, like they did before when he touched her. He made sure she had a firm grip before moving back to his spot in front of her, holding his sword at the ready. " I promise, i'll go easy. Just block my blows I throw at you." She nodded that she understood.
The dwarf made his first move at her, and she held the sword out in front her just as his blade crashed against hers. Honor pushed it off and they circled. Thorin came at her from another angle, with a little more force then the first round. The pressure he placed against her blade caused her to stumble back a bit, but she still managed to keep his blade from coming near her. The dwarf decided he was going to come at her from an even more difficult angle with his full strength.
The elf snapped out of her thoughts when the dwarf suddenly swing his blade, making her duck just in time. He swung his sword to the side and she blocked it. She could feel the pressure he was placing as it moved closer. She couldn't hold it back anymore and Thorin's sword slips, slicing the palm of Honoria's hand. She dropped her sword, letting out a shriek of pain at the sudden burning sensation she felt, as the blood started to ooze out of her wound. " Honor I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" Thorin began to apologize, coming towards her when she suddenly kicked him in the shin. The dwarf stumbled backwards, letting out a grunt. She came at him and pushed him to the ground. "Have you completely lost your mind." Thorin yelled at her, as he was now on his back, with her on top of him and he fought to block her hands that he assumed were trying to strangle him. " I said I was sorry, I didn't mean it!" He yelled at her again.
"Hey check this out!" Kili called out to Fili, Dwalin and Balin with a smirk. The four of them watched from the path they were on, seeing Honor and Thorin fighting.
"You think uncle needs our help?" Fili asked, wondering if their uncle even stood a chance against this elf.
Shaking his head, still watching, Kili answered. "Nah, I think he has it under control." They looked back to see the elf still had the dwarf pinned on the ground and they all chuckled before continuing down the trail.
"I think these two are getting along well." Balin added as he followed behind the three of them. Thorin finally got a hold of the woman's arm and flipped her on her back, so she was on the ground, and he was on top of her.
"Are you finished?" Thorin growled at her, not putting his full weight on her, as he still had a firm grip around her wrist. She let out a huff, and he felt her tense form, relax and he let her go and he got off of her. " Let me look at it." Thorin demanded. She held out her hand, looking away from him as he examined the cut he had inflicted. His touch was oddly gentle compared to what she thought it would feel like with his rough looking hands. He suddenly burst out laughing as he bandaged her hand.
"What?" she asked.
"It's nothing. You're just not what I expected being an elf." He stated. as he tied a knot in the cloth he used to bind her hand. She removed her hand out of his grasps, the two of them not even noticing the dark clouds that had covered the sky and it began to rain. The two of them ran for cover under the trees. The woman was completely drenched. Thorin hadn't stopped looking at the elf. She noticed his intense stare and the two of them locked eyes. Thorin reached out and brushed a few strands of her hair behind her ear, and suddenly mumbled something in dwarvish that she caught.
"What did you say?" She asked, not understanding a word he just said. Thorin didn't even realize he had spoken his thoughts out loud.
"Its not important." He whispered to her as he place his hand on her cheek, still looking into her eyes. The two of them felt a strange presence around them, neither moving away from each other and the dwarf's lips claimed hers as she made a startled noise of surprise.
The elf had been utterly confused by Thorin in those moments. Since the beginning of this journey the dwarf had done nothing but treat her unkindly. It made her think if he had even meant to do this? She felt Thorin pull her closer to him, and she found herself enjoying the warmth of his lips on hers, they were gentle but firm and she felt her back being pressed against the trunk of a tree. Honoria came back to her senses and she pulled away from the dwarf. Thorin saw the questionable look on her face, and he suddenly thought he had done something wrong. "Did you mean to do that?" The elf asked.
Thorin looked at the ground for a brief second. Had he meant to kiss her? Since he first met her at the Hobbit's home, he wanted nothing to do with her and her kind and yet something about her drew him in, but did she feel anything for him? Without speaking he gently pulled her back to him claiming her lips once again. The elf had yet to stop him, which gave him the impression that she must feel something for him as well. Their next kiss lasted even longer until they were forced to catch there breath.
