Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nope, Hobbit is not mine. If it were than Thorin, Kili, and Fili would not die. They would live! THEY WOULD LIVE! But sadly, I don't own Hobbit. But I write this fanfic for amusement, and I hope all you will enjoy it.
Summary: A mistake as a child leaves Elizabeth cursed, and if she falls…so shall the Durin line.
Pairings: Eventual Thorin/OC, eventual Biblo/Eleanor
(I am open to hear suggestions for more pairings, but honestly romance won't come until I feel the story is solid enough to delve into it more)
Verse: It will be a mixture of the book and movie, but probably will lean more towards the movie since it's the one I know most about. I've only read half of the book so far.
Warning: Eventual nightmares, torture, sexual themes and more
I want to thank 0netflixme0, AnnieVogel90, Beckah Godric-Northman, BelievingInMiracles, BloodBlackAlchemist, Cassandra-Jayne, Copper360, CrazyDarkness15, Creative Lunatic, Curiouser-and-Curiouser101, DaRk-SnOw-FlOwEr24, Denpa-chu, ERidg17, Eevee22, , Ellerosse, Emily-Who-Killed-A-Man, EquusGold, Farahilde, FlyingHampsterOfDoom, Gingah18, Goalphabeticalorder, GypsyWitchBaby, HisLordFluffiness, ImaBiteChu, InezSophia, Jordan Lynn 7, Just4Me, Karana92, Katya Romanov, LadyLucy1990, LavenderFlowerFairy, Littlenori, LoverShadowGirl, MYSTERYGEEK, MarauderProperty, Mephistominion, MissVanora, MonMonMuffin2714, MustachedCrusader, Neewa, OFBLOODANDROSES, Ogregal, Oreleth, PR2, Peaceful Watcher Soul, Pippy231, PouringRain-BlazingStorm, PrincessMacaroni, Prost, Ravenshope, SaChan22, Scrubletta, Shasaria, ShirleyVillette, SnowWhiteWolf14, Solaryss, SpiffyPixie1, SprinklingStardust0596, StarlessGalaxies, StarrGazed, THE WALKING sexy AMC, TerribleSuccubus, ThaliaHuntressGrace, Tiryn, Trance20666, Twilight-WolfxXx, ValueMyHeart, Voletta97, WackyJ, Wake, Weisse-Lilie, Whiteling, WindyCorners, Wolves of Midnight, Yuilhan, aeriestar, blushingpixie, cheechee123, cullen cult, dianaemrys15, grace4735x, izatelles, jamber17, jasmine1810, jorja85, kassiopeia089, loser94, lostfeather1, machine hearts, naomimango, nbowles, rockrose, shinoyami, trulyaddicted4, valeries26, vanugh, viendla, xoulblade, jamber17, SpartanEra, Irishmadhatter3, bellehissam, drwastonn, meanlilbean, RememberingYesterday, SoManyRhosgobelRabbits, cherrybut quiet, Bara7, TempestStar, EverydayMagic17, EpicShadowNinja, KarstofProx, Vivig1212, Vyxen Hexgrim, lem00066, Ouijas, BabyKitty91, BrieKayee and yukisawer7 for the follows! Thank you! WOOHOO, a hundred follows! :D
I also want to thank Cassandra-Jayne, jamber17, SnowWhiteWolf14, ShirleyVillette, Lady Cries-A-Lot, MarauderProperty, ValueMyHeart, Eevee22, MustachedCrusader, Littlenori, MonMonMuffin2714, grace4735x, xoulblade, HisLordFluffiness, rockrose, cullen cult, Cosetta P, ElenyaSilverstar, GypsyWitchBaby, LoverShadowGirl, Scrubletta, Twilight-WolfxXx, Denpa-chu, yukisawer7, viendla, Beckah Godric-Northman, GemDragon22, misscoco, sleeplessnite, Peaceful Watcher Soul, gosserika99, lovetobeme14, Curiouser-and-Curiouser101, Emily-Who-Killed-A-Man, kitsune-miko-witch, lostfeather1, DaRk-SnOw-FlOwEr24, Solaryss, Kaitana08, Trance20666, Creative Lunatic, ERidg17, Karana92, Jaxx Ren, Shasaria, Prost, SpiffyPixie1, Ogregal, blushingpixie, WindyCorners, camsam17, DrAnime203, Voletta97, jorja85, TerribleSuccubus, Goalphabeticalorder, ThaliaHuntressGrace, Tiryn, jamber17, SpartanEra, OFBLOODANDROSES, drwastonn, meanlilbean, RememberingYesterday, SoManyRhosgobelRabbits, bellehissam, Zabuzasgirl, Crazygirl8243, Bara7, TempestStar, Titeseve, EverydayMagic17, EpicShadowNinja, KarstofProx, SarcasticIrony, Vivig1212, lazeraider, lem00066, BabyKitty91, BrieKayee and dianaemrys15 for the favs.
And I am giving a special thanks to the reviewers, Guest 1, drwastonn, Sharasia! You all are fabulous! If I missed anyone in the follows, favs, or reviews just shout out at me in a review, or PM. :D
Guest Reviews:
Guest 1: So happy you are liking it!
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT! GLAD YOU ALL LIKE THE FIC! :D
This chapter was inspired by the song '
. Please go check out Adrian Von Ziegler, Lindsey Sterling, and Peter Hollens on youtube. Their music is worth and I have even subscribed to their page because they are so worth listening to. Each of them are so fantastically talented and I guarantee that everyone will enjoy their original songs as well as the covers they do of popular songs.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
"Flee Into the Valley"
The breaking day came with relief.
The dwarves went about putting on their armor and gathering their weapons while Elizabeth rested against a nearby tree with her eyes shut. Her body throbbed and ache with a fierceness that she had not felt in a long time, though there were only a few times that she had been so wounded that it could be compared to be slung into a tree by a Troll. A shadow fell over her, even with her eyes closed she could tell the difference in light. "Falling asleep would not be wise," Estel stated, his voice held a firm warning. "You took quite the blow to the head. You are lucky to be alive at all."
Elizabeth did not comment on her luck, though she could not deny that she was indeed lucky. There had been many times luck had been on her side. "I am not asleep, nor am I falling that way. I ache too much to slip into such a peaceful state now," Elizabeth commented, her voice slightly hoarse. "Besides, we will be on our feet soon enough and back on the road. You do not have to worry about my slipping into a slumber and never to awake again."
"Hmmm." Estel made a noise. Not one of agreement, nor a noise that exactly sounded like he put faith into Elizabeth's words, but one that indicated he would let that matter lie for now. "Why have you chosen to champion them?" Estel's voice came from beside her and she could hear the shifting of grass as he knelt down on his haunches to wait for a reply.
"Champion who?" Elizabeth frowned, eyes still shut.
"The dwarves."
For a long moment, she considered pretending to be asleep. However, Strider would see right through it and probably would tap the side of her head right where her wound was as retaliation. He was always good at being annoying when he wanted to be, and though the years had come and gone, Elizabeth had feeling that he hadn't grown out of that. "Does there have to be a reason?" Elizabeth countered, evasively. "Perhaps I was in a fit of boredom and merely wanted an adventure."
"Do not take me for a fool nor try to make light of everything. You do not chose to do things idly, Aldanniel," Strider commented, his eyes raked over each individual of the Company. They were a strange bunch as far as dwarves go, and he was trying to see what inspired Elizabeth to follow them so. It was rare that she would chose a single companion to journey with, and now she had chose thirteen not counting the wizard and the hobbit. "You always have a reason for the things that you do. I merely wish to know what reason you have for following this King in Exile."
Elizabeth opened her eyes, just slightly so she could peer up at the Ranger who was staring down at her, inquisitively. It appeared not even being wounded would see her way out of this conversation, so she gingerly sat up and heaved a sigh. "Because I understand them," Elizabeth stated, quietly. "I understand them in ways even they know not. That is why I chose this path. That is why I need to go on this journey. That is my reason."
Estel said nothing for a long moment before he inclined his head ever so slightly. "It is a good one," he murmured, genially. "I just hope that your faith in them is not misplaced."
"I don't believe it is," Elizabeth commented, with a half smile. "And I daresay there is no way you can convince me otherwise."
"No. No, there isn't," Estel smiled, patting her knee gently. "I know that once you've set your mind to something there is little that can stop you. If you will excuse me for a moment," he rose to his feet. "I need to go check on Arwen. Make sure that she is well."
Elizabeth nodded. She knew that Arwen was probably pacing the forest floor, gnawing at the bit with worry. Elizabeth gave a slightly laugh before she turned her head and found herself staring past the Company to Thorin who stood in front of his nephews with a cross expression on his face. She studied him for a long, hard moment and sighed. "I really do hope you are worth it," she huffed out, then got comfortable against the tree once more and closed her eyes. The sunlight was making her migraine worse.
Thorin was as proud as he was cantankerous with such anger within him and a mighty burden upon his soul. Life had hardened in him in ways only few could understand, sometimes even his own people could not understand though they came closer than any outsider ever could. He had dreamed of his home often, a dream he for years upon years thought only a false hope never to be reconciled. Then Gandalf came to him, a wizard that promised aid and handed him the key to his Kingdom reignited the flames of hope that had dimmed down to simmering cinder in his chest. Though even now, there were walls built up so high and so impenetrable that the thought of accepting help from outside his kind still was a bitter pill to swallow. Thorin stared at Elizabeth and her brother, Strider (a strange fellow if Thorin ever saw one and a Ranger, if he was not mistaken) for a brief second before he pinned a glare upon his nephews.
"Your mother did not give her blessing for me to take you on this journey even when I promised her that if you came along that I would bring you back. I told her that you were two of the best and capable warriors that I have ever had the pleasure of teaching. That you were old enough and wise enough to come on this journey and that bringing you along was not a folly," Thorin spoke, his voice deep and his angry gaze bore into his two nephews who found the ground more interesting than staring up at their uncle. "Perhaps I have made a grave error in my judgment of the both of you," he stated, thoughtfully.
"No," Fili said, his head jerking up. His blue eyes wide and earnest. Kili shook his head in agreement with his brother, and his jaw was set tight with a mixture of fear and determination.
"Then I expect better out of the two of you," Thorin stated, callously. Perhaps he had been too lenient with both of them so far. He had been a father figure to them since they were little more than babes, for their father had been slain in battle. A battle where he had fought alongside of Thorin. He knew they looked up to him, that they tried to at times emulate him and though as much as he tried…he could not play the hand of the father. Especially not now, not on this journey. He could be their leader. He could be their king. But he could not be an uncle or surrogate father. "I cannot be there always when you make a foolish choice, and I cannot guide you through this as an uncle. I am your leader, and your king. I have to be able trust in you and your decisions. Last night, you made a poor one and while the blame is not solely upon your shoulders, I expect better from now on or I will send you back to the Blue Mountains. Is that clear?"
"Yes, sir," Fili and Kili stated.
He held their steady gazes for a long moment before he nodded satisfied with what he saw in their expressions. "Good. Now, go," Thorin ordered, gruffly. "Get your things together. We head out soon."
He watched them trudge off, a heavy weight of dishearten lingered upon their shoulders and if it had been a different time, he could play a different role and do something to soothe his nephews hurt prides. As it were, he simply could not. He spotted the hobbit at the wizard's side, and was vaguely surprised. The hobbit had fussed and been his usual bothersome self over Elizabeth's wounds until she had sworn to the hobbit she was fine and that she would rest. It had taken the wizard to pry him away from the woman's side.
Thorin expression shuttered as he took the first steps towards her intent on answers, and ascertaining whether she was well enough for travel or if they would lose more time. However, when he came to stand before her, he was silent. It was not speechlessness that held his tongue, but he stared down at her with consideration. He shifted through the memories of the journey, ever since they had left Bag End's. It had been nearly a month's travel and Thorin could feel the time slipping through his fingers like sand out of a broken hourglass.
But that did not leave him blind, he thought as he watched Elizabeth's brows furrowed and her eyes slip open. "Must you hover?" She asked, archly. Normally, Thorin would have taken offence, but he held his temper at bay for her words lacked any harshness. Instead, she looked tired and incredibly wary.
"What you did was incredible foolish," Thorin told her, his face a blank slate save for the slight furrow in his brow. He was not the only one who had built up walls. Though where he had no compulsion to conceal his, for those who distrusted his kind did not and he treated them in kind, Elizabeth hid hers behind smiles and a carefully built façade. His wariness of her did not just stem from his general distrust of everyone who wasn't a dwarf, it stemmed from the fact that she was hiding. And there were only a handful of reason for someone to hide who or what they truly were.
"Most people just call me stubborn," Elizabeth said, with a slight snort of amusement as her lips quirked upward in a half smile.
"Aye." A ghost of smile around his mouth. "You are that, too." His smile was gone as swiftly as it came when his eyes flickered towards the dying blood on her forehead. "You need someone to tend to your wounds."
His callous fingers brushed the side of her face, and Elizabeth felt a startled breath slip right out of her. It had not been Thorin's intention to reach out and touch her so. He let his hand linger though for a second he wished to draw it back. However, he felt to draw his hand away now would come from a place of indecision, and he could not afford to appear as such. No, he let his hand linger and his eyes scanned over the discolorations of her skin. An angry purple, and black that swelled up along her cheek and temple. "Does it hurt?" Thorin inquired, his voice was indifferent. His expression seemed flat, and deceptively void of any feelings. His eyes were a different story brimming with untold emotions.
And again, Elizabeth for the life of her seemed not able to tell what his thoughts and emotions were. Perhaps they were not hers to know, she mused silently. His large hands didn't seem like they could be so gentle, but they ghosted across her bruising skin as if she was delicate like glass. Almost as if he was afraid if one wrong movement would break her. The way his hand skimmed across her skin left her strangely flustered and without words for a moment. A hiss escaped through clenched teeth as he brushed along the side of her head where it had hit the thick bark of the tree. It was a wonder that her head had not been cracked wide open and she shuddered at the thought.
"It's just a scratch," she murmured, quietly. Her fingers reaching up brushing them along his knuckles. Unconsciously she leaned into his touched, and her eyes drifted half closed.
"It is more than just a scratch," the King stated, his voice very grave and very serious. He had heard how hard the Troll has slammed her body into that tree. The thud had been deafening, and he had not been the only one certain that it was her end. He remember the stricken expression that seemed to pass across everyone's face and despite himself he had not been immune to it at the sight of her still body hanging in the Troll's grasp.
The corners of her mouth tipped in a smile. "Be careful, your majesty," she warned, a teasing note in her voice. "It almost sounds as if you care. And I am not your responsibility remember?" She saw something pass through his eyes, too quickly for her to distinguish what it was, and she said nothing as he drew his hand away in one careful movement.
"See that your wounds are taken care of," he said, gruffly and made to turn away from her when she stopped him.
"I would take back my words," she suddenly said, when it seemed like he was going to turn away. She couldn't help, but feel like this moment was fleeting. That as soon as everyone was confirmed well and they once again got upon the road, that it would all go back to the way it was with them; cold and barely tolerating each other. She did not realize how much it bothered her until now. "Back at Bree…" She elaborated, knowing that was a wrong that she need to make right. "I spoke out of anger for having my honor and intentions questioned so. I lashed out in a childish way, and I would take those words back. I can tell you are many things, Mister Oakenshield, but an orc is not one of them and I would apologize for the slight in calling you one."
Thorin stood there motionless for a moment before he inclined his head in acceptance. A relieved breath slipped out of Elizabeth, while Thorin then spoke. "A wise man once told me that even a leader must acknowledge when they are wrong, for no leader is without fault or flaws because a leader blind to himself, is blind to all else." His blue eyes caught Elizabeth's and he drew in a great breath. "I do not know what manner of person you are, Elizabeth Morgan, for we've only be acquainted for a brief period of time…but I did you a disservice that day in Bree to call your character in question when you have done nothing to earn it. I would have my words stricken from memory as well."
"Consider them stricken," Elizabeth agreed because it was probably the closest to an apology that Thorin Oakenshield would ever give. Once again she felt like she was on even footing with him, though why this was so important to her she did not know.
"Ah! There you are," Gandalf walked over towards them. A look of determination on his face as he halted before the Company leader.
If Thorin still held any displeasure towards the wizard for their previous argument, it did not show. Instead, blue eyes searched the wizard intently. "Where did you go to, if I may ask?" He asked, his tone was surprisingly impeccably polite as a politician. Genially, but not overly so.
"To look ahead," Gandalf stated, as if that explained it all.
Thorin concealed his exasperation with a sigh. "What brought you back?" He asked, curiously.
"Looking behind." Gandalf said, with a smile. His eyes spared the Trolls who were now, and forever more, stone statues a quick glance.
"How you speak in riddles yet so plainly is something I will never grasp," Thorin stated, his voice gruff as he just shook his head lightly at the wizard.
Gandalf ignored the dwarf's statement. "Nasty business. Still, they are all in one piece," the wizard stated, his thoughts still on the Trolls.
"No thanks to your burglar," Thorin stated, harshly.
A prickle of dissonant quivered down Elizabeth's spine, but she held her tongue fast choosing to instead to glower upon Thorin's back. Her head throbbed too painfully to get into a battle of sharp tongues and shouting voices at the moment.
"He had the nous to play for time so that Elizabeth and Strider and myself could find a way to save you. None of the rest of you thought of that," Gandalf reprimanded, with an eyebrow arched. He did not mention Arwen, Elizabeth noted, though he no doubt knew of her as well.
Thorin looked down, a bit of repentant on his face for he could not deny that truth. He gazed up at the troll statues with a heavy frown upon his face. For the second time, his company had found themselves in mortal danger and he prayed to Mahal that this would not continue to be the way of things to come. "Since when do mountain trolls venture this far south?" Thorin commented, his eyes narrowed.
"Ettenmoors. That's where they had to come from," Elizabeth threw her two cents in, though she would rather not dwell on such unpleasant things as Trolls. She wasn't overly fond of them before the fight, and she found her exceedingly less so afterward.
"Indeed." Gandalf concurred, with a thoughtfully nod and ran his hand through his beard. "Though it is troubling. Trolls have not ventured down from the Ettenmoor for an age, not since a darker power ruled these lands."
"They could not have moved in daylight." Gandalf stilled while Thorin tensed, and Elizabeth just leaned back against the tree again as Strider approached with a blank expression upon his face. "There must be a cave nearby," the Ranger offered his thoughts, his voice smooth and collected.
Thorin just looked at him through narrowed eyes, while Gandalf relaxed his stance. "Ah, Strider. What a pleasant surprise," the wizard said, with a touch of warmth in his voice. "May I present Thorin Oakenshield, the leader of our Company."
Strider looked upon the dwarf and gave a slight bow. "Strider, at your service," the Ranger said, respectfully. However there was a lilt in his voice that bespoken of something else. A hint of curiosity. Whether this curiosity stemmed from his own curious nature or the fact that Elizabeth clearly saw something in these dwarves, Strider was not certain.
"Thorin Oakenshield, at yours." Thorin spoke, his tone careful. He did not know Strider, and his expression held a touch of wariness that he could not conceal. It was natural for him to be distrustful of men, for they were only marginally better at holding to their words than elves. "You are a Ranger of the North?" He inquired, an inquisitive eyebrow arched.
"I am," Strider did not deny it. "And you are Thorin Oakenshield, son of Thrain, son of Thror."
Thorin did not miss the meaning behind the statement, for it was no question. It was to imply that the Ranger knew exactly who he was dealing with. It also gave Thorin an insight into the man that stood before him. He was a learned man. He had been taught history and about nobility for while the tale of the Lonely Mountain was wide spread, the names of the Kings and Royalty were more common knowledge to dwarves, and the nobility of the other races. He doubted a man that had come from destitute means would know his name. "I am," Thorin stated, for he would not deny his heritage or his name. "Elizabeth claims that you are her brother."
"Yes," Strider inclined his head. "Her younger brother."
"Younger?" Thorin said, with frank surprise.
"That is surprising?" Strider countered, brows lifted.
"Forgive my surprise," Thorin stated, frowning. His blue eyes narrowed upon Strider before they twisted towards Elizabeth. "I was under the impression that Elizabeth was the youngest for she appears younger than you."
Elizabeth sat up, alarmed. Her eyes stared at Thorin for a long second before she looked at Strider and really looked at him. He was well into adulthood, and would be thirty annuals in only two years time. Perhaps it was her time away that left her slack jawed when she realized that indeed Strider looked older than her. It was not an overwhelming stated, but the closer she looked, the more she noticed. His face had lost all traces of youth and had hardened into that of a man. His eyes were older with crinkles on the edges of them, and held a care that he did not have before. All her air left her in a gush, a feeling akin to heartbreak, but not exactly so lanced through her chest like quicksilver. She stared upon Strider with a stricken expression for she remembered a time when he had been nothing more than a babe that she used to hold in her arms.
"Well, Elizabeth is remarkably well preserved," Gandalf commented, putting an end to that start away and the wizard ignored the shrieking offended noise that ripped up Elizabeth's throat. "Now back onto the matter of the Troll cave," the wizard stated. "I believe it would prudent to search and see if the cave is nearby."
"Why would we need to go through a Troll's cave?" Elizabeth asked, brows pinched.
"Because of their hoard," Thorin replied. "Trolls plundered anything and everything and hoard into in their caves. We may find something of great value in there such as supplies or coin or weapons."
"Hmm. So what you are saying is that a Troll is a smaller, more ignorant and wingless version of a dragon?" Elizabeth ran a hand down her face, grimacing as her fingertips ran across the dry flecks of blood. Thorin gave her a deadpanned glower, as if he did not appreciate a dragon being made so lightly of while Strider just looked at her amused.
"Exactly, but not at all," Gandalf's helpful reply was.
It was Elizabeth's turn to shoot a deadpan look at the wizard, and just gave a light snort which caused her to groan for her head still ached dreadfully so. It was quickly decided to search for the cavern, and the dwarves after gathering up camp the best they could for most of the ponies bolted (including Aracala, to Elizabeth's dismay) and headed of in search of the Troll cave. "Remarkably well preserved. For someone who values the use of words and cleverly speaks in riddles, he could have said something better than 'remarkably well preserved'," Elizabeth muttered underneath her breath as she shoved past a bush. It was not a surprise when Bilbo appeared at her side.
"Are you sure you should be up and about?" The hobbit asked, a worried frown marring his features.
"Laying down would be worse. The longer I stay put, the longer I would not want move," Elizabeth replied, with a hearty sigh. "I will take rest when next make camp. For now I will endure."
"As you ever do," Bilbo stated.
"As I ever do," Elizabeth agreed, the corner of her mouth quirked upward in a smile. Her expression softened, and she glanced sideways at Bilbo. "Do you want to talk about her?" There had been a dark cloud over the hobbit's head since Bree, doubly so now after events with the Trolls. She did not think she could dispel his trouble over the Trolls, but she might be able to do it over Eleanor. Elizabeth was not blind, she had seen the looks between the hobbits.
"Her who?" Bilbo said, evasively.
"Eleanor," Elizabeth elaborated, though she knew Bilbo knew exactly whom she meant. "It was obvious that she cares for you."
Bilbo blinked, surprised. "How can you tell?"
"The way she looked at you," Elizabeth replied, simply. "There is a way that someone looks upon those that they love. There is a look that a mother gives a child, that a daughter gives her father, and then there is a way lovers look upon one another. A look that it feels that even time would stand still for. She gave you such a look when she first saw you though she tried to hide it."
"You got all that from a look?" Bilbo said, skeptically. Though inside his heart was hammering like a mad man's as he went over Eleanor's parting words and his hand gently went around his right wrist where her bracelet now resided.
"Eyes rarely lie," Elizabeth said.
"Hmph." Bilbo went quiet for a moment then sighed. He had never told anyone about how Eleanor parted from the Shire, and from him. Not even his mother. It felt easier to not speak of it, for then he didn't have to think about it. "Eleanor…Eleanor means…" He pinched the bridge of his nose before he corrected. "She meant more to me than I can explain with words. As fauntlings we tormented each other, I used to pull her hair, she used to shove me into mud puddles. My parents and her parents thought it was adorable…" A wistful smile crossed his face and he seemed lighter when he recalled the past. "As tweens we were sweethearts and at one point the entire Shire was convinced we would be wed. And…they were right. Eleanor and I had plans on doing so."
Elizabeth had never heard this story before and was frankly more than a little surprised. "Then what happened?" She asked, softly.
"You know what happened," Bilbo said, with a rueful smile. "The Fell Winter happened. Eleanor's family, the Woodbines, lived on the edge of the Shire, the closest to the Brandywine and were the first ones to be struck when the river froze. No one knew until it was too late. My mother had traveled out to bring them to Brandybuck Hall where they would be safe, but…the only Woodbine that was left was Eleanor. My mother found her curled up in a ball in the cellar where her father had locked her in so the wolves could not get to her."
"Bilbo…" Elizabeth look aghast.
"Don't apologize," Bilbo shook his head at her. "It was before you came to the Shire to help. It was before any of us really understood what that Winter would come to mean." He ran a hand down his face and felt so weary. "After the winter, Eleanor was not the same. She hated being in the Shire where everywhere there were reminders and one day she packed her things and left."
"Without a word?" Elizabeth didn't know the hobbit lass that well, but she did not see Eleanor being so cruel to leave without goodbye.
"No," Bilbo shook his head. "There were words. She…she asked me to come with her," he admitted, outloud to someone for the first time ever. "She begged me to leave the Shire so we could start over. So we could be something more than the scars that we were left with. I told her no."
Sadness fell over him, and he saw Elizabeth staring down at him with wide eyes full of compassion and sympathy. Her mouth opened and closed when she could not find words that could soothe the pain that must have been on his face. But that was alright because his pains were not her burden, they were his. "My mother needed me, and I feared leaving the Shire. It was one of the few things that I had left," Bilbo divulged, softly. "So I told her no, and she left without me."
Elizabeth came to a halt, and twisted towards the hobbit to face him completely. She reached out, and cupped his shoulders in a gesture of comfort. "But she still cares for you," she stated, softly. "Surely that must mean something."
"Does it?" Bilbo questioned. His thoughts and fears out in the open laid bare for anyone to see. "Gandalf said…he said that when I return on this journey, if I was to return, then I would not be the same hobbit. How can it mean something if I come back not as the hobbit she cared for?"
"Oh, Bilbo," Elizabeth gave a light laugh. "It has been over twenty years since the Fell Winter, and if her feelings have endured for you for so long and yours for her even though years have past and she is undoubtedly not the same hobbit that left the Shire…how can you doubt that she wouldn't do the same for you? Faith, Bilbo Baggins. You must learn to have some in others, and most importantly in yourself. You might surprise yourself."
"You make is sound so easy," Bilbo huffed.
"Sometimes it is," Elizabeth retorted, a smidgen of smugness upon her face then her face smoothed out into seriousness. "Never give up on the hope for happiness, Bilbo. Happiness is a simple thing, but something everyone desires. It is hard won and hard to keep, but ever worth the fight."
Bilbo touched the wooden bracelet with a light smile. "And what of you? What of your happiness?" He asked, his hazel brown eyes peered up at her.
"Haven't found it yet," Elizabeth paused for only a moment. Her nose then wrinkled as the wind brought a rancid odor along with it. "Some thing tells me that the cave is that way," she said, pressing her knuckles to her nose delicately in an effort to keep the smell at bay as they ventured forward. She idly wondered where Arwen was, and her eyes flickered over towards Strider who was only a few feet ahead of them. She would bet that the elf woman was somewhere close to the Ranger.
"So that…is a Troll cave," Bilbo watched the dwarves go in from a safe distance for the smell was truly awful. He would most definitely not be venturing in. "I expected something more…" The hobbit frowned. "I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it was more than just than a normal looking cave. Maybe a door, or a key."
"A door on a Troll cave?" Elizabeth snorted. "What a strange notion." She shook her head with a laugh then walked forward when the hobbit put a hand on her wrist. "What?" She blinked down at him.
"You are not going in there, are you?" Bilbo's eyebrows were up in his hairline. "Into that stench?"
"Yes, I am," Elizabeth said. "I've never been in a troll hoard before. I want to see what it is like," she said, tugging at her collar a little bit flustered.
"You are…" Bilbo narrowed his eyes, and shook her head. "Worse than any fauntling I have ever know, and I am including the Tooks in that assessment mind you."
Elizabeth gave a guilty grin. "There is a bit of truth in that, yes," she said, sheepishly scratching at her jaw. "If I see anything hobbity I will grab it for you, yes?"
"Hobbity? Hobbity is not a proper word," Bilbo shook his head, with a fond exasperated smile on his face.
"It is to me," Elizabeth said, with a lofty brow raised then her features smoothed out into a smile. "Sit and rest. I will be out momentarily," and she turned towards the cave. She squared her shoulders, and held her breath before she marched into the cavern. The first thing that hit her was the smell. A odor so rancid, so putrid that it made her sick down the depths of her soul and sent a shudder down her spine. She pressed the back of her hand up against her nose in an effort to fend it off, but it was in vain. The odor was so pungent that it made all her muscles tense fighting off the urge to be sick and only intensified the throbbing ache that rippled through her body.
"Oi, what is that stench?" Nori complained, nose wrinkled.
"It's a troll cave," Elizabeth swallowed thickly, tossing him a look over her shoulder as she passed by. "Did you honestly expect it to smell good?" She asked, dryly.
"No," Nori countered, eyeing his surrounding with an air of disgust. "But I did not think the odor would be so lethal."
Elizabeth would have gave a breathy laugh if it were not for the fact she was trying not to breath so much. The odor was truly something lethal and she was half surprised that it had burned the hair right off the dwarves' faces. Though she did not say that outloud since she had a feeling no one, save for Gandalf, would appreciate the joke. Small bones and large bones were scattered across the floor and Elizabeth stepped over them carefully, feeling pity for the poor souls that rested here. She wished she had some way of giving the proper rest, but she doubted the Company would want to linger for that long.
She murmured a quiet prayer underneath her breath for them as she ventured further into the cavern. There was a strange assortment of things carelessly on shelves and on the ground. It was a testament to how long these Trolls had gone unnoticed and while they had been exceedingly stupid, they had been no less dangerous. Her eyes traced over everything from brass buttons to pots full of gold coins standing in a corner. A number of caskets as well filled the brim with jewels. There were lots of clothes, too, hanging on the walls.
Too small for any trolls, Elizabeth thought and her stomach twisted for a whole different reason than the stench.
"Seems like such a shame," Bofur commented, airily as his large brown eyes took everything in, "just to leave it lying around. I mean, anyone could just waltz right in and take it…" he raised an eyebrow in the others direction.
Gloin stroked his beard, the looking in his eyes was calculating. "Agreed. Nori, a shovel, if you would," Gloin stated as he grabbed a small chest of treasure. "I propose we take some for the road, and some for a long term deposit?"
"Sensible," Bofur nodded. "Sensible."
Elizabeth saw several swords of various makes, shapes, and sizes. She could make out Thorin looking through them when his eyes fell upon a pair of swords covered in cobwebs. "These swords were not by the hands of a troll," he commented, a bit of curiosity in his voice as he pulled one out and then handed the other to Gandalf. Thorin used the sleeve of his cloak to remove the webs off the sword to reveal the beautiful scabbard and jeweled hilt.
"Nor were they made by the hands of man," said the wizard, looking at the blade curiously while Thorin half drew the blade to inspect it. It was a fine blade with one curved and sharpened side meant for slashing and beheading opponents. The dwarf drew back intent on taking the blade with him, when the wizard continued. "There were forged in Gondolin by the High Elves of the First Age."
Disgust and revulsion ripped through Thorin, and he went to toss the blade away when Gandalf cautioned, sharply, "You could not ask for a finer blade."
Thorin stared at the wizard for a long moment, before he looked down at the blade with a sense of reluctance falling upon his shoulders. He kept the blade tightly in hand when he noticed Elizabeth loitering there in the middle of the cave with a peculiar look on her face. "You should be taking the time to rest," Thorin instantly reprimanded. "It will be the last chance you have until nightfall."
Elizabeth didn't reply, her attention captured by something in the far corner. Something glowing, and the glow got brighter and brighter the closer she got towards it. Gandalf narrowed his eyes when he watched Elizabeth edge forward, her head lightly cocked to the side. "Elizabeth," the wizard began carefully. "What is it?"
"A light…" Elizabeth asked, her eyes fixated on a cloth in the corner of the room though no one else could see that light that she spoke of. "Do you not see?"
"What light? There is no light," Thorin looked at her, a flare of alarm in his gaze.
"Yes, there is," Elizabeth said, her lips tilted upward against her will. She did not know why she wanted to smile, or why there was such a strange giddiness that rose within her chest. She could not describe the feeling as drew closer to the cloth. Warmth, was the only apt description that came to mind as she reached a steady hand towards it to pick it up.
"Elizabeth," the wizard began to warn her to use caution but she had already hefted the cloth into her arms. She cradled it there with a look a fascination on her face as she stared down into the crystal clear light. She had never seen such a light in her life. So bright and white and it made her feel warm. She gently pulled back the cloth and the light dimmed and as the light dimmed a sword came into focus. The blade was long and sharp and the color of burnt of gold. The hilt was made from ebony and made to grasp with one hand, Elizabeth found as she did just that. The cloth fell away and Elizabeth looked at where the blade and hilt met. It was a circular design so intricate and so carefully made that it was breathtaking and in the center of it rested a jewel that looked as if it were made from starlight.
Her hand tightened around the hilt and the blade felt that it belonged in her hands. Like it was an extension of herself in a way that no other weapon had ever become. Her daggers and bows she treasured because they were gifts and they suited her well. This, however…this was something else. Elizabeth stared down at the blade with a hefty frown upon her lips.
"Do my eyes deceive me?" Gandalf stared at the blade in complete shock. "To have found this blade here…" the wizard looked from the blade to Elizabeth with a scrutinizing intensity that drew Elizabeth out of the spell the sword seemed to have over her.
"What?" Elizabeth looked at the wizard.
"Hmm." Gandalf seemed to be pondering something before he spared her a half smile. "We will discuss it another time," the wizard decided as he grabbed a smaller blade, also of elvish make, from the cobwebs. "And in a much better suited place than this," he eyed the cave with distaste and then marched away without another word with Elizabeth staring at his back with an incredulous expression.
"Can you ever give a straight forward answer about anything?" Elizabeth called out, a little less enthusiastic about the sword now. She wasn't entirely sure she should carry the blade with her, after, all it was clearly enchanted. Enchanted items were rarely, if ever, all that they appeared.
"Yes," Gandalf called back, and then disappeared around the corner of the cave. Elizabeth shook her head back and forth, then proceeded to curse wizards underneath her tongue while she marched towards the front of the cave. She vaguely heard Dwalin ask Gloin, Nori and Bofur what exactly did they think they were doing to which Gloin replied, "We're making a long term deposit!"
"Let's get out of this horrible smell!" Fili said, an almost comical look of disgust upon his face as he hurried towards the exit with his hand steadying Kili who looked more than a little green. Bifur and Dori were carrying out bouts of food to inspect and see if anything was edible. So far they had little luck; just a few loafs of breed and a couple of small wheels of cheese. Oin most enthusiastically found a barrel of ale that was untouched, but his excitement quickly diminished when Ori asked how they were supposed to pack it around.
"You know I have thought of a very good reason for drinking…" Oin mused, and proceed to set about opening the barrel to get himself some ale. "If a man can't drink when he is living, then how the heck can he drink when he's dead?"
"I…uh, I don't know?" Ori's reply was less than helpful.
The entire company gathered outside of the cave, minus Bofur, Gloin and Nori who were still burying their deposit and the even managed to get Gandalf to cast a few spells on it for safe keeping. Elizabeth found Bilbo sitting outside off to the side, a crease ran along his forehead as his gaze flickered around the forest with a bit of apprehension. "So I see you survived the cave," Bilbo stated as she came to sit on the rock beside him after securing the strange sword to her back with some spare rope in her satchel.
"The only thing to survive in their was the stench," Elizabeth drew in a deep breath of the fresh air feeling as if she would never be able to get enough of it. "Oh," she pressed her fingers to her tempers and massaged ever so gently. "What I wouldn't give for some elvish healing right now."
"Well, if you were not so committed to playing the fool," Strider appeared beside them as if he always been standing there and made Bilbo jolt a foot into the air, "then you would not be in need of any healing."
"Ah, Strider," Elizabeth smiled, thinly. "Don't you know the threat is over? You can stop being such a convincing Troll now."
Strider snorted, loudly. His sharpened gaze then flickered down the hobbit and a small smile crossed his face. "You must be Bilbo Baggins," Strider greeted, with his hand pressed to his chest while he inclined forward ever so slightly in a bow. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you. Elizabeth spoke of you and the Shire often from what I recall."
"She did?" Bilbo said, blinking.
"I did," Elizabeth admitted, with the slightest of nod. She rolled her shoulders that were knotted with tension, and let out a slight sigh. "Bilbo," she addressed the hobbit while she gestured to the Ranger, "allow me to introduce Strider, Ranger of the North and general pain in the arse. More commonly referred to as my brother."
Bilbo frowned, he vaguely recalled Elizabeth mentioning a brother some time before, but Elizabeth rarely went into specifics of her own life. For all she appeared open and easy to read as a book, she was hardly like that at all. "Bilbo Baggins, a pleasure to meet you," Bilbo smiled, kindly. "Though I wish it had been on better circumstances."
"Indeed," a trace of amusement flickered across Strider's face. "Though I suppose I should have expected to run into some kind of trouble for trouble always manages to find Elizabeth," Strider shot her a smirk when her eyebrow ticked upward as her eyes narrowed. "And she does nothing by halves."
"A truer truth has never been spoken," the hobbit laughed, and Elizabeth looked between the pair with eyebrows up into her hair line. The two were bonding. They were bonding over mocking her. She didn't know whether to be glad or completely terrified to be perfectly honest. Her brows furrowed when Gandalf approached and asked for a moment alone with Bilbo.
"Again?" Bilbo asked, before he could help himself.
"You find something wrong with my company?" The wizard arched a haughty brow.
"No, not at all," Bilbo said, but there was a second of hesitation before he said that. The wizard decided to ignore it and usher him off the side while Elizabeth watched with her arms crossed. She watched the wizard hand Bilbo over what appeared to be an elvish dagger, though for a hobbit it made the perfect sword. She did not doubt the wizard was giving him some kind of words of wisdom when she noticed Strider's unwavering gaze upon her face. Her eyebrow ticked upward in annoyance, "What?"
"Mankoi?" Why? Strider questioned, his voice suspiciously light. Elizabeth's face giving nothing, but her eyes were not as stoic. Her eyes gave away everything. She had known this conversation was one that she couldn't avoid though she had hoped that she could. "Why did you run away and never come back? Why did you never send word that you were alive? Why did you let us wonder for so long?"
"Mankoi lle irma sint?" Why do you want to know? Elizabeth's voice soft and monotone earning a sharp look from the ranger.
"Tampa tanya," Stop that! He ordered, his voice raising slight and the dwarves to stop in their walk, causing the ranger's eyes to flicker over. They stood there for a moment, the crickets chirping before the dwarves slowly turned away worried frowns on their faces. Strider's eyes turned back to her, his jaw ticked ever so slightly. He started again, his voice a rough whisper, "Stop avoiding the question."
Elizabeth heaved a deep sigh. She cast her eyes downward for a brief second, sadness seeping into her expression before she shook her head lightly. "It wasn't mine to keep," she muttered, quietly.
Strider's eyes widened, his lips parted in shock before he opened his mouth to speak when his head snapped towards the woods. His face ripples through so many emotions so fast that Elizabeth could barely make them out, but the one that she does make out makes her spine snap straight. Alarm. Strider looked alarmed. "What is it?" She asked.
"Something is in the woods," Strider announced loudly so his voice carried over to the dwarves.
Thorin had already drawn his sword for he too noticed the sudden shift in the air and his lips curled back as his blue eyes narrowed into two vicious slits as he sought out whatever it was. "Stay together!" Thorin ordered, as the company gathered together in a tight circle. "Arm yourselves!"
Bilbo looked down at his sword, and slowly drew it out as the words Gandalf told him repeated through his mind. "True courage is not knowing when to take a life," the wizard said, sagely, "but knowing when to spare one." He did not feel entirely comfortable in using the blade. It felt so wrong within his grasp, and he tries to remember what Elizabeth told him. That a weapon must be an extension of a warrior, but he wasn't a warrior. He was a hobbit and he was not meant for weapons.
Elizabeth's hand went to the sword on her back first before a jolt of shock rushed through her. She was not using that sword, at least not until she knew why Gandalf had given her such a look nor why he seemed rather pleased by her finding it. Her hand went to her bow, but before she could even pull it from her shoulder a rabbit drawn sled burst from the bushes carrying none other than Radagast the Brown. Elizabeth blinked, then a half of a second almost laughed at the absurdity of it until Radagast shouted, his voice trembling with panic, "Thieves! Fire! Murder!"
"What on earth?" Dori gasped.
"Who is that?" Bofur asked, confused.
"And just when I think that this couldn't get stranger," Dwalin shook his head, his eyes on the strange man.
The Company held out their weapons, though they glanced at each other not sure what to make of this apparent foe. "Put your weapons away," Gandalf told them, with a wave of his hand. "He is no enemy of yours."
"Then he is a friend of yours?" Thorin asked, a glower fixated upon the grey wizard.
"Indeed he is," Gandalf sniffed, before he walked towards the distraught Radagast. Radagast was a great deal shorter than Gandalf, but closer to the size of a dwarf than a hobbit. His brown hair was long and wiry and it appeared there was a patch of dried bird feces matted on the right side of his head. His large brown eyes were filled with terror and he shifted about nervously. "My dear Radagast, what on earth are you doing here? And why ever are you so distressed?"
"I was looking for you, Gandalf," Radagast fiddled with reigns of his sled nervously before he set them down and walked toward the grey wizard. His knees wobbled so that Elizabeth was half surprised that he hadn't fallen over. "Something's wrong. Something's terribly wrong."
"Yes?" Gandalf asked, with a light frown.
Radagast opened his mouth then it clicked shut. He had a baffled look upon his face as if very and terribly confused. He opened and shut his mouth in a way that resembled a fish while fustration mounted in his eyes. "Oh, confound it," he said, placed a hand over his mouth and looked around at the ground as if the thought he had just lost would be lying about on the ground. "Oh, just give me a minute. Um, oh, I had a thought, and now I've lost it. It was, it was right there, on the tip of my tongue. Oh…" He curled up his tongue, and a faint looked of surprise crossed his face. "Oh, it's not a thought at all; it's a silly old…"
Gandalf let out a huff of amusement as he pulled a stick insect off of Radagast who let out a laugh. "It's a stick insect."
"Did he just pull that out of his mouth?" Kili gaped, while Fili made a face. The rest of the dwarves gave varying looks of disgust while Bifur searched his own tongue for a stick insect much to Bofur's amusement.
Bilbo made a gagging noise, then looked purposefully away in order to keep down the scant breakfast that they had this morning. Elizabeth made a face, one twisted into a half smile and half grimace while Strider tilted his head to the side, brows furrowed.
"The Greenwood is sick, Gandalf. A darkness has fallen over it. Nothing grows any more, at least nothing good. The air is foul with decay. But worst are the webs," Radagast said, in a hushed whisper. His eyes darted from the grey wizard to the dwarves to Bilbo then lastly on Strider and Elizabeth. His expression considerably brightened when he saw Elizabeth. "Oh, hello, Elizabeth! Lovely to see you again!"
Elizabeth gave him a half smile. "It is lovely to see you again as well Radagast," she said, sincerely. Radagast may come off as clumsy or scattered minded, but he was one of the best people she had ever encountered in Middle Earth.
Gandalf gently placed a hand on Radagast's shoulder and eased him further away from the group so they may speak in hushed tones without being overheard. Dwalin watched with a gruff expression, and he looked over at Thorin who watched with a stony look in his eyes. "What do you reckon that's all about?" Dwalin asked, he couldn't help the twinge of curiosity.
"It matters not," Thorin decided, dismissively. "All that it has done has made it clear that the wizard has other priorities and responsibilities that he cannot escape. If he cannot escape them then we cannot count on his presences for this journey and we will proceed with our plans as if he will not be there. Understood?" He twisted to look at Balin who nodded, grimly. Dwalin did not look particularly pleased with notion, and if Thorin was honest neither was he. He had not put much stock into the wizard's word, and he was glad that he had not let his faith rest solely on Gandalf's shoulders. Thorin had known wizard would do as wizard did and come and go as they pleased like the old tales stated. He could not be trusted to stay with them for the entire journey, and Thorin doubted the wizard would be there when they reclaimed the mountain.
There was another ruffling noise from the woods, and before anyone could say anything Arwen came bursting out of the bushes as if the hounds of hell were nipping at her heels. She slid to a graceful stop in front of Strider and Elizabeth while taking a split second to gather her bearings. Instantly everything erupted into a flurry of chaotic shouts from the dwarves.
"An elf?" Several dwarves looked outraged.
"What is a tree shagger doing here?"
"Arwen!" Elizabeth said, paying them little heed as she watched the elf maiden staggered to her feet. She could not remember a time seeing Arwen appear so rattled and completely unlike her composed self. Strider was by Arwen's side in an instant, one hand on her cheek and the other on her shoulder acting as anchor to steady her. Her hands landed on his chest, and she drew in a deep breath for feeling the strength of his heart beat beneath her palm soothed her.
"I had thought I'd be too late," Arwen said, her blue eyes looked up at Strider.
"Arwen, what happened? Too late for what?" Strider asked, concerned.
Arwen did not get a chance to reply for Thorin stepped forward, his voice booming as he demanded, "What is the meaning of this?" His eyes landed on Elizabeth who had stepped unconsciously between Arwen and the dwarves. "Woman, explain now."
Elizabeth's brows lifted then slanted with irritation for she was back to being called woman in that harsh, sharp tone of his that seemed grated along every one of her nerves. "You were about to be given one, Mister Oakenshield," Elizabeth stated, stiffly. "That was until you felt the need to inter…"
Her sarcastic comment was cut off by a bone chilling howl that echoed through the trees. Her heart seemed to cease beating her chest as she twisted and turned towards Arwen, a horrifying understanding rushing through her as she took in the disheveled elf's appearance. "Was that a wolf? Are there—are there wolves out there?" Elizabeth heard Bilbo faintly ask.
"That is no wolf," Arwen found her voice. "Wargs-scouts. They cornered me in the forest. I managed to get away mostly unscathed, but I do not believe it was me they hunted for."
Elizabeth twisted her gaze back to Thorin's and saw the swift realization flare up inside his gaze but before another word could be uttered out from a nearby crag, a warg leapt forth. It leapt into the midst of the Company, knocking Bifur and Dori down onto the ground. Thorin twisted into an arch, striking out with Orcist and killed the warg before it could lunge upon any victim. Another warg came bursting through the treeline and Elizabeth spun around, shooting it with an arrow. The arrow struck it right in the eye, but it was not the only arrow fired. Kili had also drawn his bow swiftly and fired. The warg stumbled in shock by the arrows lodged in him, and Dwalin brought his axe down upon it to finish it off.
As the warg's body fell to the ground dead, Dwalin turned towards Thorin. "The elf speaks the truth," the tattoo dwarf stated, sourly. "These are no wild wargs. These are warg-scouts."
"Which means an Orc pack is not far behind," Thorin looked as if he had bit into something particularly foul tasting as his hand clenched tightly around Orcist.
"Orc pack?" Bilbo blanched, all the color draining from his face. Elizabeth's hand rested on his shoulder, though she could not stop the faint tremble of her fingers belying her own nerves as she twisted her bow in her other hand. Her breathing was slightly elevated and her eyes darted around waiting for the next attack.
Gandalf's expression tightened and he whirled around on Thorin. "Who did you tell about your quest, beyond your kin?" The wizard demanded, darkly.
"No one," Thorin stated, just as darkly.
"Who did you tell?" The wizard pressed.
"No one," Thorin repeated, this time with a snarl on his face. He had to bite the inside of his cheek harshly in order not to snap at the wizard nor to accuse him of having something to do with this mess. "What in Durin's name is going on?"
"You are being hunted," Elizabeth's quiet voice drew Thorin's gaze upon her. Her face was blanched of all color and her eyes were narrowed upon the dead warg with an intense look of anger and dread. "These are Gundabad Wargs. The best hunters of their kind. This is no mere coincidence they are here now nipping at our heels, is there?"
Her question was meant for Thorin, but it was Gandalf who answered. "Indeed not. We need move, and swiftly," Gandalf advised, his sharp tone turning into something more resigned and wary.
"We can't! We have no ponies; they bolted," Ori stated, panicked.
"We could fight," Dwalin suggested.
"You know not the enemies numbers," Elizabeth countered, sharply.
"Their numbers were great," Arwen informed them all, not in the least bit intimidated or daunted by the looks thrown in her direction. "This is like no hunt I have ever seen or heard of before. They are determined to see you all dead."
Thorin reluctantly considered the elf's words though it left a bitter taste in his mouth. "We need to move and now," Thorin ordered, a grim look upon his face.
Radagast pursed his lips in thought for a second. "I'll draw them off," the Brown Wizard offered, much to the surprise of the dwarves. "While chasing me it may just give you the time you need to get to safety."
"You heard what Elizabeth said, Radagast," Gandalf looked at his friend with a frown. "These are Gundabad Wargs. They will outrun you and slaughter you before you have a chance to escape."
"Hmph." Radagast made a noise as if offended while he raised his chin in a show of defiance. "These are Rhosgobel Rabbits," the Brown Wizard informed the Grey Wizard, with a wicked gleam of mischief and smugness in his eyes. "I'd like to see them try."
A sense of urgency hung into the air as Radagast rushed across the plains, the Rhosgobel rabbits running as fast as their paws would allow. "Come and get me!" Radagast yelled, giving them a jaunty wave with his hat and the wargs and their riders immediately gave chase. Trees and a large boulder kept the Company hidden from plain sight with Gandalf at the front, peering around the corner until the coast was clear. "Come on!" The wizard urged them, and the Company rushed forward across the rocky plain.
There seemed to be no trees and no valleys and no hills to break the ground in front of them, no good place to hide if the orcs gave up on chasing Radagast and turned around. Elizabeth could not deny the panic that flooded into her heart while she tried to simultaneously keep an eye on everyone and make sure that no one would fall behind. Her feet crossed the heather colored land and they passed by crumbling rocks scattered across land. Though only few would hide thirteen dwarves, a hobbit, a wizard, an elf and two humans. And they could not afford to split up.
The noon sun beat down upon them with an unwavering intensity and Elizabeth could feel sweat running down the back of her neck. Thorin brought the company to a halt behind a hill as the wargs got too close for comfort and they all waited. Each of them were braced to run, and Elizabeth wondered if they knew where they were running to. She was not an imbecile. She knew that Gandalf was leading them to Rivendell, and with danger on their heels, Thorin could not argue or even take the time to argue if he knew the wizard's plan.
"Stay together," Gandalf's whispered, to the group behind him. "And that means everyone," he added, in for good measure.
"Move!" Thorin ordered.
Once again they were running. Elizabeth heart pounded in her chest, and she saw Radagast in the distance drive his sled beneath an overhanging projection of rock and ducked. The Orc on the warg behind him get knocked off. Thorin stepped the group behind a rock so that they would not be seen, and poor Ori kept running.
"Ori, no!" Thorin reacted swiftly, and grasped the young dwarf by the scruff of his neck pulling him back. "Get back," he growled, and shoved the dwarf behind him.
Tension coiled through her entire body as she stood there waiting, her eyes darting from Bilbo's back to Strider's then Arwen's. She had been in danger before. That was nothing new to her, and yet there was a sharp sense of dread that pierce through her like nothing she had ever experienced before. Before it had been just her in danger, and she dealt with it. Now, the people that she loved were in danger. Her hand tightened around her bow as her mind raced a mile a minute, that she barely registered Gandalf shouted, "Come on! Quick!"
Thorin spared him a quick, narrowed eyed look. "Where are you leading us, wizard?" He demanded, darkly.
Gandalf does not answer, only letting out an inaudible sigh. However, no one gets a chance to move as a shadow from above fell over them and everyone pressed against the outcropping to hide. Elizabeth pressed a hand against Bilbo's chest pushing him back, and the hobbit looked at her. She pressed her index finger to her lips, and gestured upward. Bilbo let out a tiny noise of distress before he pressed his lips together in a valiant effort to keep quiet.
Thorin looked at Kili who stood to his right, and gave a slow nod. Kili let out a breath, and readied an arrow. Drawing his breath back in, Kili quickly stepped out and shot the warg. The warg and orc fall down almost on top of the dwarves, and Strider the closest to the orc buries his sword to the hilt through the orc's skull to silence it's squalling. Balin and Dwalin finish off the warg, but the damage had already been done.
The roars and screams have drawn the action Radagast straight to company, and Elizabeth looked up to see the incoming danger. "Move! Move!" She shouted, her fingers twisting into the fabric of Bilbo's jacket to get him moving. "Run!"
The Company lost all pretense of attempting to hide, and sprinted across the grassy plains as the Wargs begin to surround them from all sides. They get scarcely farther when they are halted in a clearing with Wargs on all sides. "Behind me, Bilbo," Elizabeth urged, notching an arrow and letting it fly. She knocked an orc right off it's warg and the warg let out a howl.
"Kili! Shoot them!" Thorin ordered, Orcist drawn out at his side. His body was taunt and braced for a fight while Kili drew an arrow back. He was not the only one, Arwen was not one to stand idly about and while Strider stubbornly stood in front of her, she fired an arrow around him. Kili and Arwen's arrows brought down the riderless warg that rushed towards the group. The warg collapsed to the ground giving pitiful howls and biting at the arrows in it's chest and leg.
"There's too many!" Elizabeth shouted. "We will not be able to take them all out with arrows."
Thorin growled, knowing the words she spoke were true. The battle was unavoidable now, they would have to fight their way through or die trying.
"We're surrounded!" Fili stated, after he looked for some means of escape.
"Where is Gandalf?" Bilbo asked.
"He has abandoned us!" Dwalin growled.
"He has not abandoned you," Arwen countered, with a hiss. "To the rock. Move towards the rock!" The dwarves didn't listen to the elf, and Arwen shook her head muttering unflattering things underneath her breath that had Strider grin despite the circumstances. Ori shots a rock at an orc with his slingshot, to no effect. His face dropped and he started to back away.
"Hold your ground!" Thorin snarled.
"We need to move!" Elizabeth shot him an incredulous look. "Did you not hear Arwen? Towards the rock! Move towards the rock!"
As if summoned by her words, Gandalf popped up from a crack in the rock and glowered at them as if demeaning them all insane. "This way, you fools!" The wizard shouted.
Thorin gave Elizabeth a glare as if all this were her fault before he ground his teeth together. "Come on, move! Quickly, all of you! Go, go, go!"
This time the dwarves did not hesitate to rush towards the rock. One by one, the dwarves slid down into the large crack in the rock which lead to a cleverly hidden cave. Bilbo slid down with Bofur at his side. Strider wrapped his arms around Arwen who was still firing arrows and pulled her down into safety.
"Lassie," Dwalin paused when he saw that Elizabeth had paused at the lip of the cave.
Elizabeth gave him a look. "Go," she gave the order in a tone that gave no chance at refusal. "I will be down shortly, but not until every last one of you is safe first! So go!"
Dwalin stared at her hard for a long moment, but he knew that no words or intimidation would make her stand down from her choice and he jumped down the whole.
Thorin growled as he swung Orcist around and sliced through the belly of a warg that got too close. His stark blue eyes shot upward and he saw his nephew standing between him the sea of wargs and orcs. Something painful lodged into his chest where his heart was and he shouted, his face twisted into something akin to agony, "Kili! Run!"
Kili fired one last arrow before he turned tail and ran. He jumped into the cave, and Thorin twisted around only to see Elizabeth still standing there. Her eyes met his and his hand reached out on it's own violation grasping her arm and the two of them jumped into the crack. Elizabeth hissed as they slid down the naturally sloped stone, and it was all too soon that they reached the bottom with jarring force that made her bones rattle. She almost fell to her knees if it were not for Thorin's grip on her arm, and she let out a shaky breath. The rest of the dwarves stood at the funnel of the cave, weapons still drawn prepared for the orcs to drop down any given moment when suddenly a horn echoed through the valley.
Elizabeth jolted at the sound, recognizing it immediately.
"Look out!" Dwalin called out.
Elizabeth had just got out of the way when a orc's body came sliding down into the cave. To her relief it was dead, killed by a single arrow to the back. She ran her hand through her hair as Thorin torn the arrow out of the corpse's back and inspected the make of it. His lip curled upward in disdain, and he spat out, "Elves."
Arwen's eyebrows lifted, but she refrained from saying anything. Strider threaded his fingers through her, a silent show of support. "Shall we?" He murmured, quietly.
"We shall," Arwen gave an imperceptible nod. "Though you now what lies at the end of that tunnel will not be welcoming of us," she added, in a whisper.
"I know," Strider nodded, his eyes stared upon her face with a wistful smile upon his lips. "We could not hide and run forever, Arwen. We would have to come back and face him eventually."
Dwalin glared at the pair from the other side of the cave, his arms crossed over his chest and he looked over at Thorin. "Those two are conspiring together," Dwalin hissed, underneath his breath. "You mark my words."
Suspicion moved over Thorin like a thundercloud, and he opened his mouth to concur when a hand landed on his chest. He blinked down at Elizabeth who pushed between the two of them with a flare of annoyance in her eyes. "No one is conspiring against you," Elizabeth shook her head at both of them. "You dwarves and your paranoia."
Dwalin gave her a look as she moved past the group and headed down the tunnel. "Where do you think you are going, lassie?" He called out after her.
"Down the path, Master Dwalin," Elizabeth said, her hands trembling at her sides. She knew it was not only shock or the fading of adrenaline that afflicted her. Her heart fluttered in her chest and an anxious feeling unfurled in the pit of her stomach. This must be what a runaway coming home felt like, she mused lightly. "Unless you have another way to go?" She glanced over her shoulder at him.
"We follow it, of course!" Bofur waved a hand towards the tunnel with a look of exasperation upon his face.
"Thank you!" Bilbo had a similar expression on his face, and hurried to catch up with Elizabeth. He had no desire to stand around and wait for something else to happen. He had felt completely flummoxed by the past two days and all he longed for was a moment to breath.
Elizabeth made her way down the narrow way, her heart a heavy thing within her chest. It grew heavier and heavier until it was very hard to breath. She slid sideways when the passage grew narrower and she warned, "Be careful and watch your step. It's a little bit of a drop."
Pressing her hands against the rock walls to steady herself, she stepped down and she could hear the echoes of complaints from the dwarves. If it had been a different time, she would have laughed or posed a joke. However, with the sinking sensation of guilt and dread rolled into her stomach.
The pathway eventually opened out into an open area filled with lush green grass and the sound of distance waterfalls. It is as beautiful as Elizabeth remembered as the warm breeze kissed her skin and the smell of the grass and pines teased her nose. An overwhelming feeling built up inside of her that she had no idea how to express, so she stood there like a statue standing down at the city of Rivendell that laid in the distance. There were no words adequate to describe the serenity or beauty of the valley. No words to do it justice to majesty peace of the evening sun that settled across perfectly sculpted archways and columns that not even the best Greek architect could come close to even dreaming let alone building.
"The Valley of Imraldis." Gandalf stated, as the dwarves stopped and stared, awed despite themselves. The wizard had a mysterious twinkle in his eyes. "In the Common Tongue, it's known by a another name."
"Rivendell," Bilbo whispered out, reverently.
Elizabeth didn't know whether to laugh.
Or to cry.
END OF CHAPTER!
NEXT CHAPTER: More of Elizabeth's past is revealed. Elrond lays down the law with his children, but when asked will he wish to help dwarves? Or has he foreseen something that will hold him back?
LANGUAGES AND REFERENCES
1.) Spangaerea (elvish) Bearded ones
2.) Dôl gîn lost (elvish) Your head is empty
Chapter Challenge: What does Aracala, Elizabeth's horse, represent?
This is the "Made of Stone OST". This Soundtrack is constantly evolving, I add songs, I take songs away. Music helps me write, and certain songs tend to inspire scene or either speak to the characters. Anyways if you have suggestion for a song, please let me know. It might just end up on the list. I have to give props to Shasaria and Lalaithiel because she helped me discover a few of these gems! Thanks, y'all. :D
1.) "Shadow of Doubt" (Elizabeth's Theme) from Escaflowne Soundtrack
2.) "Lullaby for a Stormy Night" (Elrond's Lullaby for Elizabeth) by Vienna Teng
3.) "Florence" (The Shire Theme) from Assassin's Creed 2 Soundtrack
4.) "Babel" (Bilbo Baggins's Theme) by Mumford and Sons
5.) "Reign of the Dark" (Barrow Down Theme) by Adrian Von Ziegler
6.) "Druidic Dreams" (Bree Theme) by Adrian Von Ziegler
7.) "Night Mist" (Fell Winter Theme) by Adrian Von Ziegler
8.) "Morning Dew" (Rivendell Theme) by Adrian Von Ziegler
9.) "Elements (Orchestral)" by Lindsey Stirling
10.) "Sakurasou" (Thorin and Elizabeth's Theme 1) by Gackt
11.) "Don't You Worry Child" by Swedish House Mafia
12.) "How Can I Not Love You" (Thorin and Elizabeth's Theme 2) by Joy Enriquez
13.) "In the Light" by Full Blown Rose
14.) "Gone Too Soon" by Sarah Jarosz
15.) "Promises" (Bilbo and Eleanor's Theme) by Andain
16.) "Song of the Caged Bird" by Lindsey Stirling
17.) "Into the Darkness" by The Phantom
18.) "Everything I Do (I Do It For You)" by Bryan Adams
19.) "Dark Days" by Punch Brothers
20.) "Deranged" (Azog's Theme) by Coheed and Cambria
21.) "Afterdark" by Blaqk Audio
22.) "Tomorrow Will Be Kinder" by the Secret Sisters
23.) "Drown in You" by Chris Daughtry
24.) "Iridescent" by Linkin Park
25.) "Frozen" by Within Temptation
26.) "Enchanted Dominion" (Mirkwood's Theme) by Yoko Shimomura
27.) "Destati" by Yoko Shimomura
28.) "Forgiven" by Within Temptation
29.) "Christmas in Sarajevo" by the Trans Siberian Orchestra
30.) "Nothing to Remember" by Neko Case
31.) "Into the West" by Peter Hollens
32.) "The Prophecy of the Dwarven King" - Original Music, Lyrics by Tolkien (don't know artist name, look up on youtube)
33.) "The Parting Glass" by Peter Hollens (sung by Bilbo in chapter ten)
34.) "I See Fire" Cover by Peter Hollens
35.) "Let It End" by Karliene
36.) "Tears of Blood" by Karliene
37.) "Song of Exile" by Karliene
38.) "Open Your Eyes" by Aviators
39.) "Safe and Sound" (Dale's Theme) by Taylor Swift
40.) "Far From Home" by Five Finger Death Punch
First off, go check out Karliene. She is amazing. I have not found a song of hers that I didn't like and she just has the most amazing voice. Please go check her out on you tube or on her site. Please go check her out. Secondly, you probably notice that some songs have disappeared off the list, and that will probably happen every few chapters. If a song no longer speaks to me, then I will take it off the Soundtrack list and the list will continue to change until I am satisfied with it. If you have a song you think will work, leave me a review or PM. I'll go listen to the song, and it might end up on the soundtrack. :D I know some of you are like a Christmas song on the list, but the Trans Siberian Orchestra is freaking amazing. I love there music and if you haven't heard of them, then go check them out.
Cast List
Elizabeth Morgan (Child) - Mackenzie Foy
Elizabeth Morgan (Adult) - Rebecca Herbst
Thorin Oaken shield - Richard Armitage
Charlie Morgan (Elizabeth's Father) - Gary Oldman
Mrs. Morgan (Elizabeth's Mother) - Jaime Ray Newman
Charlie (Dwarf) - Sir Anthony Sher
Gandalf - Ian McKellan
Bilbo Baggins - Martin Freeman
Eleanor Woodbine - Julie Benz
RRs are appreciated and always answered. :D