I apologize for the delay in updating, exam revision sucks!
Also for those who already read this chapter and the 23rd chapter, I have indeed adjusted the characters so that the Master of Lake Town is present and Bard is not the Master!
Chapter 25: Creature Comforts
She took a deep breath. "I'm not so sure I can really condone what you did Father. I understand that you are sorry, but I've lived a lot of time alone, fending for myself, and I'm not so sure I'm ready to let you back into my life so quickly,"
Roranth nodded slowly and stared ahead, blinking away tears as best as he could. "I… I understand," He then turned to her, looking slightly hopeful. "But if you ever need me, I'll be waiting for you,"
Evelyn nodded once slowly, sighed quietly, and then stood up.
"Where are you going?" He asked her. "I thought we might… er, catch up, you know make up for lost time?"
Evelyn stared down at her father. "You made your decision when you lost your leg. I can see now that you made your choice long ago when it came to associating yourself with your only child,"
Roranth struggled to his feet as quickly as he could and leant against his crutch. "Now wait just a min-" He began to say.
She shook her head. "Don't you dare try and make this my fault," Before he could open his mouth, she cut him off again. "I'm sorry for being so harsh but I can't find it in my heart right now to believe that we could make up for all the time that I spent on the front porch waiting for your letters every morning,"
Roranth stood there, speechless, as she turned and walked away, determined to not look back so he would see how pained her eyes looked. And because she didn't turn back, she never saw the mixture of expressions on his face; despair for his own stupidity, and that look that someone had every time they were on the edge of revealing something life-changing.
When she returned, Thorin was there instantly, pushing and shoving his way to the front of the small crowd of people. He looked surprised to see her alone, and not with her father.
"How did-" He began to ask, torn between concern for her feelings and curiosity of the man who he had been believed to be dead. But if anything, there was more concern for her.
"I don't want to talk about it right now," Evelyn said firmly, setting her mouth in a determined line, determined to not let herself break down in tears.
He nodded slowly, knowing her mind was made up. He couldn't imagine this being very easy for her right now. "When you are ready to talk, I'll be there to listen," He squeezed her hand gently for reassurance, and she hugged him.
The Master, looking slightly uncomfortable, stepped forward. "Well, um, now we are all here, I must insist that you all accompany my fellow servants to your rooms. They have been prepared, and there will be a feast later on. Please go and relax and bathe! You have earned it!"
The dwarves, now excited at the prospect of a warm bed and a hot bath, almost stampeded for the doors without even saying 'thank you'. Thorin took it upon himself to thank the Master before leaving to catch up with the others. Sometimes he wondered if his company ever actually knew the true meaning of manners, and he made a mental note to ask them that later. And as for his nephews… he wouldn't get very far, they were too busy being up to no good most of the time to actually listen to his lectures. One day, he said to himself, one day they would behave, though he doubted this.
As they came to the gigantic inn, where the finest rooms had been prepared for the company, Evelyn wished that she would not have to part ways with the others. She didn't really feel like being alone, but then again she did want to be alone. Everything was too muddled.
But her small suspicions had been confirmed, as they had been allocated separate rooms. The differences in genders had obviously posed doubts about letting everyone sleep together, not that the whole company would fit in one room. She gave Thorin a slight pleading look, silently begging him to not leave her, but he took her other hand – he had been holding the other while they had been walking – and looked her dead in the eye, comforting her.
"I will come find you after you have cleaned yourself up," He said. She nodded and kissed Thorin's cheek gently.
A servant girl with her bushy dirty blonde tied back in a messy ponytail awaited her at the top of the stairs. Evelyn frowned as she looked at her. Was her mind playing tricks on her, or…
"Good evening. I am called Amaleen," She greeted with a steady smile. She was only slightly taller than Evelyn, and her hands were clasped together in front of her.
"Good evening. Please call me Evelyn," She replied cautiously as the girl led the way to her room.
The girl Amaleen gave her another smile after a moment – one that had gone unnoticed by Evelyn –that she stared at her with interest. "As you wish. There is a bath with hot water in the adjoining room waiting for you. While you clean I will also clean your clothes and leave fresh ones for you,"
"Oh you don't have to go to so much trouble!" Evelyn exclaimed.
"No trouble at all," Amaleen said dismissively. "I would be more than happy to assist you with anything. Call if you need me of course," Evelyn smiled in gratitude as Amaleen stepped aside to allow her entrance to her room.
It wasn't an overly large room, but it was comfortable and a perfect size for someone like her. It even had that sort of appearance that reminded her of home. On the left side of the room there was a large double bed with small tables on either side of it. A bookshelf and a desk sat on the opposite wall. A door on the right side led to the bathing chambers. Evelyn closed the door and shrugged off her jacket, undressing and immediately going straight to the bathing room.
A thin wafting of steam slithered from the bath, curling into the air like transparent snakes, and it could not have been more inviting as she sank into the hot, foamy water. She sighed and relaxed immediately, eyes closed and her braids pinned back so they wouldn't get wet. It felt amazing to finally be able to clean herself.
Evelyn could have stayed in that bath for the rest of her life, but the hot water started to turn lukewarm, and her hands were wrinkling slowly so they slowly gained the appearance of an elderly lady. So she rose out of the bath and quickly wrapped a towel around her wet body. After drying off, she wandered out of the bathing room into the bedroom which had been established as hers temporarily. Fresh clothes had been laid out, her usual attire was nowhere to be seen. What had been left was slightly alarming in her eyes.
A plain white simple dress with short puffy sleeves and a lace up collar and a dark brown pinafore to go over the top had been laid out carefully upon her bed. Biting her lip, she held up the clothes for inspection. She had, in her eyes, made an exception for the dress she had worn in Rivendell, but she hadn't really worn such attire as this. As she had established firmly with her mother numerous times, she was not the kind of girl to dress up. Doubting how she would look after clothing herself, she delayed as much as possible, instead venturing over to the far side of the room to inspect herself in the mirror. She hadn't actually come across a mirror since perhaps back in Rivendell, and she may have found it a bit harder to recognize her own reflection nowadays.
Her body was a tad thinner than what it usually would have been back home, her ribs perhaps a bit more prominent. Her skin was a little browner, tanned slightly. The scar that served as a reminder of her close encounter with death still stood out clear as day in a deep red colour, as if the scar had become transparent, allowing the eyes to see blood flow past. Her hair, still braided and pinned up, seemed to be, if anything, a deeper auburn than before.
But she noticed a significant difference in her appearance. She didn't know how it had happened, but she took note of the way she now held herself. There was a lot less of the slightly chubby faced young lady from a time ago who often withdrew from the world, retreating into her sketchbook for comfort. Now there was more of the kind of person who had experienced more of the world than many others. She was starting to see her father in her, the warrior side of him, and she wasn't so sure how to react to that part. Did this mean that she was doomed to lose something precious in the future? Did this mean that she would one day become weak and useless?
Evelyn sighed and shook the latter out of her head desperately. This was all a part of life, growing up. Long gone were the days when she sat around as a younger person without many cares in the world. Now she was growing into a responsible young woman, a skilled warrior even.
There was a gentle knock at the door, and she jumped out of her skin. "Who is it?" Perhaps it was Amaleen come to return her usual attire? She hoped so.
"Just me," Thorin's voice floated from the other side of the door. She gasped, and realised that she still wasn't dressed.
"Hang on a sec!" She called, trying to keep the tone of panic out of her voice. Of all times?!
She had no time to dress in the clothes that had been laid out for her, so she hurriedly wrapped the white towel around her body, shielding the more intimate parts of her body from sight. Despite their time in the forest before arriving in Lake Town, she was still slightly shy about the whole idea of someone else seeing her naked. After quickly unpinning her hair, letting the braids fall down and setting the pins down on the bookshelf next to the mirror, she strode over to the door, took a deep breath and opened the door.
Thorin leant against the doorway in an elegant, casual sort of way. He was dressed in a simple black shirt and dark brown pants. He wore his usual boots. His eyes widened at the sight of his partner in a state of undress, and he jerked to the side a bit, as if torn between turning around to give her some privacy until she was decent and staring at her some more. She could tell that he was more inclined to the latter, as his eyes started wandering in a very suggestive manner.
"I'm, er…" He stammered as his eyes snapped to hers, coming to his senses… sort of. She snickered. She had never seen him being so nervous and awkward.
"It's alright," She reassured him, sounding much more relaxed than she actually felt. "I'll be out in a couple of minutes, just let me get dressed first,"
He recovered from his bout of awkwardness. "Oh yes, of course. I'll wait out here then,"
She nodded, gave him a smile, and closed the door. She turned around and leaned against it, sliding down it to the floor.
"For the love of Mahal," She whispered to herself as she landed on her behind softly. She giggled nervously. For the second time in the space of perhaps a few hours, someone had seen her with practically no clothes on. She wasn't sure how to react. She felt really, really weird… again.
After regaining her composure and getting out of her daze, she stood up and managed to get her skinny figure into the fresh clothes. She did a quick inspection in the mirror, deemed herself fine to leave her room in safety, and opened the door.
Thorin had his back to the door, presumably for safety precautions, and when she cleared her throat, he judged it safe to turn around. His eyes widened again.
She looked embarrassed all of a sudden. "Does this look alright…?" Her face felt like it was on fire.
"You look beautiful as always," Thorin said reassuringly.
She blushed even more. Yep, her face was most certainly on fire now. "Thanks," She looked down at her feet, the tips of her boots only just protruding out from under the hem of the dress.