So here we are, darlings, to the next installment in our journey. Hope you're all enjoying it so far and that the following chapters will continue to keep you just as entertained :D
So without any other rant, don't forget to toss me a little review and let me know what you think ;)
Now enjoy, darlings~
P.S. Every The Hobbit character belongs to Sir J.R.R. Tolkien; I only own Faelwen :)
11. To the Mountain
"Only death could take me from your side tonight..."
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
"There it is! Erebor..."
Looking up to where Kili was pointing, the three Dwarves took a moment to simply bask in the beauty of the entrance – as battered as it was from Smaug's attack in the days of old – and soon smiles stretched upon their faces. Dawn was barely cracking at their arrival but still the group had to stop and watch the ruins of Dale, profiled sinisterly like jagged fangs against the lighting sky.
"This really is a terrible place..." Bofur muttered.
"Thorin must be inside with the others. Come on." Fili urged them onwards.
It was when they approached the massive entrance that they sighted the others heaving to set chunks of the broken doors and close the entrance.
"It's Fili and Kili!" Dwalin called out upon seeing them.
Within moments Thorin rushed out onto the ramparts placed just above the entrance, a relieved smile stretching on his lips. Rushing back inside he descended and came out to greet his nephews and their two companions.
"I knew you would make it out alive." he laughed, embracing the two young Dwarves. "Come... come and see the halls of your fathers!"
With Oin and Bofur following closely behind, Thorin led them into the tall halls carved in the heart of the mountain. For a few moments none of them spoke, only staring in awe at the tall columns and large pathways covered in marble.
"Bilbo!" Kili grinned upon sighting the Hobbit approaching them along with Balin and the others. "You're alive!"
"How's Lake-town?" he asked in reply to the young Dwarf's joy.
"The dragon's dead..." Fili replied.
Looking around at their astounded expressions, he exchanged a glance with his brother.
"Did you not see Smaug falling into the lake?" Kili asked. "Bard shot him down..."
"Aye and the beast took half the town with it to the bottom." Bofur nodded.
"He burned all of Lake-town... less than half the people living there managed to escape." Fili replied. "How could you not have seen it? What were you doing?"
"Trying to finish our quest..." Thorin retorted. "To find the Arkenstone."
"Any luck with that?" Bofur asked.
Shaking his head, the blue eyed prince motioned them to follow.
"And what of Faelwen?" Bilbo asked again. "Is she alright?"
"We don't know..." Fili replied. "She got Bard's children across the bridge and went back to look for him. We left right after Smaug fell... we don't know what happened after that."
"Thorin... we have to help them." Balin said.
"Not before we find the Arkenstone." he retorted with an unrelenting tone.
oOoOo
The sun had barely risen over the still smoking ruins of Lake-town, when Bard was startled from his sleep and shot up into a seated position. It took a moment for him to regain his bearings and relax his body, his breath still ragged from the fright of his nightly vision which depicted none other but the fiery horror he had slain.
"What's wrong?"
The sound of Faelwen's concerned tone had him turn his gaze to see the she-Elf at his side, her expression taking on a worried shade when she sighted the beads of sweat slithering along his temples and the still subsiding terror in his eyes. Moving to her knees she wrapped the bowman in her arms, letting him rest his head onto her chest.
"It was only a dream..." she whispered, stroking his hair and pressing a loving kiss to his sweaty forehead.
No reply came from Bard, other than a nod, before he simply closed his eyes and allowed his breath to settle down while his arms encompassed her slender waist. Mere moments later, a dark haired Elf startled him when the male poked his head inside the tent and spoke.
"My Lord... my Lady... king Thranduil wishes to take council with you."
With the young Elf withdrawing, Bard sighed lightly to settle himself down and leaned back only to have Faelwen clasp his face in her hands and turn him to look at her, before she softly pressed her lips to his. Offering him a soothing smile, she then retrieved a clean cloth to wipe his face and trailed her fingers through his hair to comb it.
"There..." she smiled. "Now you look more like a Lord..."
Unable to hold back a short chuckle at her jesting tone, he leaned up to once more claim the sweetness of her lips for his own.
"It would be impossible for me to look otherwise, with my Lady to look after me." he replied.
Standing afterwards he helped the she-Elf to her feet as well before leaving the tent, their hands still embracing each other, their fingers laced together. It was like that that they arrived before Thranduil's tent, to sight the Elvenking seated on a chair outside; and on the chair next to his Faelwen saw the figure of an old man clad in grey, his beard reaching almost to his waist. It was only that, which convinced her to release Bard's hand as the wizard stood and she rushed to embrace him.
"Mithrandir!" she laughed. "Oh, I believed you dead..."
Returning her gesture with a light chuckle, the old male then smiled down at her.
"I would not dream of sending you on this quest, if I planned to die." he retorted humorously.
Looking to Bard as he approached, the wizard now smiled again.
"Ah, there you are... Lord Thranduil has made mention of you, Bard of Dale."
"I am humbled that the Elvenking would mention a mere Man such as I." the bowman replied modestly.
"I see now, my Lord Thranduil, why you would believe him to be a good king. Bard the Dragon Slayer... that name will be remembered in songs and tales for many generations to come."
Seating himself whilst Faelwen returned to stand with Bard, Gandalf now looked to the she-Elf.
"What of the Company I set in your care?"
"They left for the Mountain yesterday... and then the dragon came down upon the city. Four of them left last night, after Bard shot Smaug down... but I don't know what happened to the others."
"And the Hobbit?"
"He left with the first group, Gandalf... before the dragon came..."
Briefly she sighted the sorrow and fear in the wizard's eyes, and her heart cringed as she thought of poor Bilbo and what fate he had likely met in Erebor.
"Gather your men..." Thranduil now spoke, setting his gaze upon Bard. "We set out at midday."
With a light nod, the male left Faelwen there with him and the wizard; upon approaching his people, however, he sighted the Master speaking to the crowd.
"Who offered us empty promises? Who took advantage of our hospitality and aid? They promised to send gold flowing down the river, and all they sent was fire and ruin. They are the ones who should repay us for all the damage we have suffered... for all our widows and our orphans!"
With the people speaking up in anger against Thorin and the others, Bard clenched his teeth and stepped forward.
"You fools!" he called out. "Have you not had your fill of death? Why do you waste your curses and anger on those unfortunate souls? They were likely the firsts to perish in the flames, before Smaug attacked us!"
At the same time, however, Thranduil's words had not faded from his mind; and he could not deny that now – with the dragon's threat gone – he felt a desire budding in his soul... a desire to rebuild the once great city of Dale and bring prosperity to the Lowlands once again. But for that, he needed a share of Thorin's treasure...
"But the Master is right in one thing... we need a share of that treasure to rebuild Lake-town."
When the people erupted into cheers and once again began calling for Bard to be their king, the Master frowned deeply and clenched his teeth.
"Girion was Lord of Dale, not King of Esgaroth!" he called out. "In Lake-town we have only ever chosen Masters from among the old and wise. And never have we suffered the rule of mere warriors. Let King Bard go back to his own kingdom... Dale is now free by his valor and nothing hinders his return. And any that wish can go with him, if they prefer the cold shores beneath the shadow of the Mountain, than the grassy plains around the Lake. The wise will stay here and hope to rebuild our town, and enjoy again in time its peace and riches."
"We will have King Bard!" more than half of the crowd shouted. "We've had enough of old men and money-counters! Bard should be our King!"
"The time is not now for such harsh words or for making weighty plans of change." the bowman replied once the people had settled down. "There is work to do. I serve the Master still, though after a while I may think again on his words and go North with any who will follow me."
Waiting for the people's cheers to settle down, he now spoke again.
"For now the Elvenking – who offered us his aid when we were in dire need – asks of me to march with him to Erebor, to see if the Dwarves still live and claim a part of the treasure as payment for Smaug's damage. The women and children, the old and unfit will stay here with the Master. The men who are able and can wield weapons will follow me to the Mountain. I will leave behind some men of crafts as well, and King Thranduil has called for many skilled Elves from Mirkwood to help you start on rebuilding the city."
Cheers again erupted from the crowd and as Bard left them to return to Thranduil's council, he sighted the men parting from their wives and children and going to the Elves, who received them kindly and offered them new armor and weapons.
And at noon the host of Men and the array of Elves marched together, led by Thranduil atop his elk and Bard on a white horse... and Gandalf rode at the Elvenking's side on a dark brown stallion, while a step behind them Faelwen followed on a horse as black as the starless night; and she was alone, for Legolas and Tauriel had left that night – in spite of her pleas and Thranduil's orders – heading North to Gundabad where the young prince suspected something foul was afoot.
oOoOo
"My Lord, the Dwarves live. They have blocked the entrance to the Mountain with a tall wall of freshly laid stone."
Three days had passed before they had reached Dale, in the valley beneath Erebor; there had not been enough boats to let the army cross the lake and so they had been forced to go round. But finally, on that very evening, they had settled in the ruins of the great city and – taking council with the wizard – had sent a group of scouts, both Elves and Men, ahead to the Mountain to see if any were still alive in there.
"We will go there in the morning... and see if Thorin Oakenshield would speak with us peacefully, or no." Thranduil replied, averting his gaze to Bard who nodded silently.
"If you will have my council, my good Lord Thranduil, I will advise you thusly..." Gandalf now said. "Take care in how you speak with Thorin. Of what you told me from his stay in your halls, you know well his stubborn streak. Do not lose your patience – for which you are renowned throughout Middle Earth – and anger him, or you will start a war."
"Am I to understand you will not ride with us in the morning?"
"I did not say that. But I felt it fair to warn you; he will likely throw heavy words in your face again... do not let your anger cloud your judgment."
For a moment Thranduil's gaze betrayed such intensity in its sapphire beauty, that Faelwen – who had been standing nearby whilst the three males took council together – feared he would unleash his wrath upon the wizard. And yet he leaned back in his armchair, his expression just as calm and unreadable as ever.
"I will hold your words in mind, Mithrandir."
Sooo today's replies for my darlings :D
1. SuperNaturalxxFreak- Haha aww I'm so happy you still get all feels for them, I'd be really worried if you didn't. And yes, I agree he was very disappointing in the movie, which is very sad because Lee is a great actor and he could have done so much with Thranduil, if he'd had a good script to work with. But at least in my story, he'll be as he was supposed to be in the movies... hopefully xD
2. harrylee94 - No worries, fortunately my dad was close by and threw a bucket of water on the poor thing and it was okay, thank heaven. I did feel super bad about it for a long while, though.
As for Bard... well for now you could say he's still a bit shocked by everything that happened (since way more happened than in the movie), so maybe it hasn't yet sunk it entirely. But I assure you that deep down he still feels like he's unworthy of an Elf maiden.
And yes, since I'm going for a parallel with the Aragorn/Arwen pairing (because yes, that is my goal to make a perfect parallel between these two pairings), and seeing how the people of Minas Tirith were so accepting of having an Elven queen rule over them, I thought the people of Lake-town should be just as accepting... more so, knowing that she was out there with Bard to help save them from Smaug. And Thranduil... well he probably just isn't that attached to Bard, as to have too much to say about him... but they'll get to know one another better over time, due to Faelwen.
And yes, the tent is just Bard's. I imagine his children would have a tent of their own nearby, but really they're old enough to not sleep in daddy's bed anymore xD I'm also planning some bonding time between them and Faelwen at some point... most likely after the whole BotFA thing, because her bonding with them is very important, if she's going to marry their father at some point.
Phew, hope I covered everything. I utterly love your reviews darling, because I always enjoy seeing my readers pay attention to details like that, it gets me all bubbly inside :D
3. The Shadow Next To You - Haha I think you mixed up my OC, Faelwen, with LadyDeadmau5's OC, Sylwen (from her own Bard/OC story, Shiver). I know, because I follow her story; and no worries, I don't mind if you did get them mixed up, her story's quite good; although I haven't had the time to read it thoroughly, sadly.
But anyway, I'm so happy to hear you enjoy my story love, it's all I could ask for. And no worries, you don't have to be a romantic, to enjoy romance. But thank you for your lovely review, darling, I hope to hear from you again soon :D
4. Dalonega Noquisi - Aww thank you so much for your kind words, darling. It's such a great feeling to know you're planning to stick with my story, I hope the rest of this journey will be just as enjoyable for you :D
5. bnoell14 - I feel so loved and warm and fluffy with all these wonderful reviews x3 I'm so happy that you're enjoying this story as much as Timeless and it's never a bad thing to be obsessed with a story ;)
Hope the rest of the story and what I have planned for Bard and Faelwen will keep you just as hooked as Loki and Kara do. It's lovely to see you on this story too, darling, and I can't wait to hear from you again :D
6. inperfection - And here you have it, in all its glory, love ;)
I hope you enjoyed it, and that you're looking forward to the next one, and that I'll get to hear from you again soon :D
7. twibe - Haha well actually Elves don't sleep at all... at least not in the sense that we understand sleep. According to the Lord of the Rings books, Elves don't even lie down when they rest; they either sit or - more often than not - walk around at night, while in a state that we might call "daydreaming". Basically they dream awake, that's how they get their rest.
But for the sake of the story, I decided to take some artistic license with that trait, and make them actually sleep like humans. Imagine how awkward it would be for Bard to know that he sleeps every night while Faelwen NEVER sleeps xD
I'm sure it wasn't too easy for Aragorn either, knowing that Arwen never needed actual sleep like he did. But I'm really glad you pointed that out, because I love it when my readers pay attention to details. So props to you, darling, you're awesome :D
So these are my replies for today. Cheers, lovelies~ ( ˘ ³˘)❤