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, Arwen/Aragorn, eventual Bilbo/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
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I want to thank "Can't Get Enough Of" and "Hobbit Favorites" and "Man faves of d00m" for adding me to their communities. :D
And I am giving a special thanks to the reviewers, FanaticomaticSuperTolkienLover, Whiteling, Guest, Balzer, Guest 2, chiarigirl, CandyHearts! You all are fabulous and you know it! If I missed anyone in the follows, favs, or reviews just shout out at me in a review, or PM. :D
Guest reviews:
Guest: Thank you so much.
Guest (2): I'm really glad you like the story. :D
Pairings: Thorin/Elizabeth, Bilbo/Eleanor(Ivy on A03), Arwen/Aragorn (other pairings will be listed as they appear)
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT! GLAD YOU ALL LIKE THE FIC! :D
Inspired by the poem and song:
"I'm in Here" by Sia
"Eleanor's Lullaby" from Bioshock 2
Wolves asleep amidst the trees
Bats all a swaying in the breeze
But one soul lies anxious wide awake
Fearing all manner of ghouls, hags and wraiths
For your dolly Polly sleep has flown
Don't dare let her tremble alone
-Lullaby of Woe, from the Witcher 3
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
"So Cold"
THEN
Mirkwood
2865, TA
The Greenwood trees soaked up the rays of the sun almost greedily as they fell down through the branched and into the grand bastion. In the middle of the room, Lady Galadriel, Lord Celeborn and King Thanduil stood around a white oval table that seemed to have been shaped by the very woods themselves. No chisel or tool had made those patterns or line, it had been the magic of the forest itself. "You know as well as I do that the girl has a blood bond on her soul," Thanduil stated, his voice pitched low as his long fingers delicately traced the map on the center of the table. His
"I am well aware of the threads cast upon the child, and whom they belong to," Lady Galadriel stated, with her ever patient smile. "And where they shall lead given time."
"And you believe it wise to allow her to grow amongst the Eldar unchecked?" Thrandiul inquired, taking time to say the words as if he taking a sip of wine. It was not often that the Greenwoods that accepted envoys, Thranduil often made an effort to keep his kingdom to itself and keeping its border strong against outside influences. Dale was their last great trading partner, which goods had been many. Since the Sack of Erebor however, all that was left was poorly diminished Lake Town and as sheltered as the Greenwoods were, they needed outside trade as much as any other kingdom. He had accepted the envoy in the hopes of extending trade with Golden Woods, and the king would be a fool not to pass up the curiosity that was Elizabeth Morgan.
"Are expressing concern?" Lord Celeborn asked, his face was expressionless. His eyes however, held a hint of warning in them. While Lord Celebron was not as well known as his lady love, one would be a fool to mistake him for anything less the most formidable of the Eldar. He matched Galadriel in everyway, and the two were the best of the elven race. Though he had a good friendship with King Thranduil that the centuries did little to diminish, he would not have anyone speak of Elizabeth Morgan ill.
"Should I not?" Thranduil asked, with a measure glance at Celeborn.
"There is no need for such concerns," Celeborn told him, a gentle scold in his voice. "Elizabeth Morgan brings no harm to these woods. Surely, you've seen it yourself? The child's light."
"Indeed," Thranduil inclined his head gracefully. "It has been a great deal of time since a Child of Man held such grace in their blood and soul. One wonders how it came to be."
Galadriel smiled, slightly. "Why not speak to the child and find out for yourself, Thranduil? Or are you afraid of the answers that you seek?" Galadriel and Celeborn hid their mutual amusement carefully as Thranduil rose to stand with spine straight and his gaze fell upon them.
If there was one thing in the world that Thranduil couldn't resist…it was a challenge.
THEN
It happened so fast.
A herd of deer came out of nowhere just as they reached the other side of the creek, and jumped across the broken bridge as if the leap was nothing at all. However, it startled Bombur who had started to get up and get out of the boat. There was a flash of panic that crossed his face before he went falling back towards the water. "BOMBUR!" She shouted, reaching forward. Her fingers grasped his cloak tightly, and she tried to keep him steady. She really did, but it was too little, too late.
"Lassie, don't!" Someone warned.
Bombur fell backwards, and with her hand snagged on his cloak, she went tumbling with him. A cry of panic left her a split second before her entire world was consumed by the cold, dark water. All thought fled her mind, and she was so cold. Her eyes fell closed, and her limbs felt so heavy and lethargic. She found herself sinking deeper, deeper into the black until everything ceased to matter.
Bilbo let out a scream, one of panic and horror. He had turned back towards the boat just in time to see Bombur pitch of the edge and would have taken Elizabeth completely with him, if it had not been for Dwalin grasping her cloak. But it had not been enough, Elizabeth had fallen just far enough for her head down to her torso to been pulled under the water. With a grunt, Dwalin hauled her back up from the dark water and caught her before she hit the muddy bank.
Thorin moved like lightning, and was instantly at her side with the hobbit only a second behind. "Fish Bombur out!" He roared at Dori and Gloin, then knelt down where Dwalin laid Elizabeth out against the ground.
"Lassie, lassie," Dwalin smacked her face gently.
A slight moan slipped out of Elizabeth's moan, but her eyes stared sightless up at the canopy of trees. Her hands were lifted upwards as if reaching for something, and they shook like leaves in the fall. Her chest rose and fell with sharp breath, and all the blood had drained out of her face.
"Elizabeth?" Bilbo stared down at her with wide eyes. He had never seen her look so fragile. It was not just the fact that she was shivering and gave a slight whimper. The expression on her face was fragile, like cracked glass about to shatter completely. He didn't like it. He didn't like it one bit.
Thorin eyes flickered over her face, and his fingers hovered over her cheek. When he finally touched her, she cried out and flinched back. Thorin grimaced for her skin was like ice and something in his chest tightened when she fought to get away from him. The fear in her expression shook him to his core, and he struggled not to let it show. With a low growl in his throat, his eyes snapped up towards his company. "Dori, Dwalin, you two will carry Bombur if he can't be roused. Oin…"
"I'll try rouse the great lump," Oin stated, grumpily. He was already sifting through his pack to find the smelling salts. He passed one to Thorin's hand before he rushed over to Bombur who Dori and Gloin finally managed to pull from the water with great care.
Thorin hastily uncorked the tiny vial, and was about to place it underneath Elizabeth's nose, when Bilbo cleared his throat. "Are we sure that is a good idea? What if it makes it worse?" The hobbit's throat bobbed nervously.
"What would you have me do, Bilbo?" Thorin's blue eyes were hard, leaving no room for argument. "Would you have us leave them in some twisted state of sleep without trying to wake them?"
"No. Of course not," Bilbo said, softly. "I…I just hope that it works."
"As we all do, lad," Dwalin gave him a quick look of sympathy. "As we all do."
Thorin stared down intently at Elizabeth's face, and he cupped her jaw gently. Come back to us, Elizabeth, he urged her silently and he held his breath while putting the vile underneath her nose. A cold stone settled into his stomach when she didn't even so much as twitch, as if she could not even smell the salt at all. Her eyes just continued to stare up at something that they could not see. Disappointment clawed viciously at his chest, Thorin sighed heavily. "What of Bombur?" He barked, his hand still on Elizabeth's face. "Does he wake?"
"He stirred not at all. If it were not for a heartbeat, I would believe him to be dead," Oin said, his voice raspy. His expression was heavy as he looked up at Thorin across the group of worried dwarves. "The lass?"
There was a pause, then Thorin said, thickly, "Nothing. She is unresponsive." His blue eyes watched her breathing smooth out as her eyes fluttered closed, and he looked away with palm clenched into a fist.
Bilbo stood at his side, wringing his hands nervously. The sense of doom that had lingered over them had finally struck, and the hobbit thought as he stared at Elizabeth's pale face, that it wasn't quite done with them just yet.
The water was cold. The water was ice.
She drifted underneath it, the current pulling her gently to and fro. Her hair whipped around slowly in front of her face, blocking her view of the murky water. She was utterly still from head to toe, and she heard a voice whispered, "You're cold. You're cold, Elizabeth. How did you become so cold?" Her brows furrowed, and images of shadows that flickered around her in the water and haunting whispers filled her ears. A harsh breath, one blink then two and the water faded into a green lush garden. The birds twittered above while Elizabeth sat on the wooden bench pulling flowers from the rose. They fell down into the water, one by one causing ripples against the water. "He loves me, he loves me not, he loves me, he loves me," she whispered, picking the never ending petals from the rose.
A shadow fell over her, and she looked up. A smile crossed her face as she saw her parents standing there over her. "Hello," she greeted, happily.
"Elizabeth, what are you doing here?" Her father questioned, his voice sharp and brusque.
"Sitting," Elizabeth replied, cheekily.
"With your head up in the clouds dreaming up fairytales no doubt," her mother said it, and instead of the fondness that Elizabeth was accustomed to, it was said with a tone of derision.
Elizabeth frowned, looking up at her parents with her head tilted to the side. "I grew out of fairy tales, mother," she said, slowly. Her stomached turned and knotted.
"Did you, Elizabeth?" Her mother's smile sharpened. "Did you really?"
Elizabeth frowned, and looked at them. Really looked at them, and something felt off. Shadows flickered across their faces, distorting their expression and she twisted the rose nervously in her hands. "Why are you acting like this?" She asked, her voice very small. "You are acting strange."
"Let us tell you a fairy tale, Lizzie," her father said.
Elizabeth immediately bristled. Lizzie was a nickname her brother had given her, and he knew how much she didn't like it. Her parents had never called her that, and the sense of wrongness only increased tenfold. "I don't think I want to hear what you have to say," she said, but her voice was so quiet. It was like she was losing her voices, and her chest felt heavy.
"Once upon a time, there was a lovely, little girl who lived on the edge of the forest. Her mommy and daddy told her never to go into the forest beyond the train tracks, but do you know what she did?" Her mother said, with an overly sweet tone.
"No," Elizabeth said, defensively. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end and every instinct told her to run away. "Stop it. I don't know this story. I don't want to."
"Yes, you do. She went into the forest and she met a monster. And then she died," her father's grin was absolutely wicked.
The thorns from the rose stabbed deep into Elizabeth's palm, and she stared with unblinking eyes up at her parents. She could feel her heart crack inside of her chest, and she slowly shook her head back and forth.
"And everyone forgot about her, and we all lived happily ever after," her mother finished, with a high pitched laugh. A truly chilling sound. "The end."
The rose fell to the ground, and Elizabeth pressed her hands against her ears to drown out the sound of their laughter that seemed too loud and too cruel. "Stop it! Stop it! Stop it," she chanted over and over and over again, her eyes squeezed shut and then suddenly all fell silent.
She knelt there upon the ground, breathing heavily and after several moments, she slowly opened her eyes. She was back in Mirkwood, in the middle of the path and completely alone. Her head snapped back and forth, her eyes wide as she shoved herself to her feet. "Bilbo? Thorin? Dwalin? Anyone?" She called out, but her voice echoed back to her chased by the sounds of animals and wild life.
She saw neither hide nor hair (pun well intended) of the dwarves, nor the hobbit. Her heartbeat thudded against her ribcage wildly, and reached for Dawnbreaker only to find it gone. Her bow was gone, too. A terrified breath escaped her and her hands went to her daggers, but they weren't there. She had been stripped of all her weapons and left for dead.
But by what?
The Company wouldn't do that. Bilbo wouldn't do that. Thorin wouldn't do that…would he? A dark doubt tried to fester inside of her and that sense of wrongness was back again. Rubbing the center of her chest with her fingertips, Elizabeth pulled herself to her feet and slowly started down the path. She blinked her eyes, her vision felt off like there were black dots dancing in front of it constantly. Everything was hazy and unsteady, like she was looking in the wrong end of an unclean telescope.
She stumbled along the path, blindly. Her heart thudded against her chest, and her ears strained to hear anything around her. Any footsteps, any shuffling, and any noise at all. It was as if all the noise had been sucked from the forest and then suddenly…she heard a slight moan. A tiny little groan and Elizabeth frowned, her eyes narrowed against the back.
The closer she got, A morbid hum that grew louder with each passing second. With a moment hesitation, Elizabeth moved towards the noise and she dearly wished she had a weapon on her. She shoved slim branches out of her way, they grasped onto her cloak like greedy little fingers and tried to hold her back. With a grunt of effort, she pulled free and pushed forward.
"Stretch it, twist it, make it grow."
Her head jerked upward. "What the hell?"
"Like a river, make it flow."
Elizabeth's eyebrows shot into her hairline, and her finger tips twitched nervously at her sides. Who was that? It was a hoarse and rough whisper that made her skin crawl. Her eyes darted around and she swallowed, taking a few more steps into the clearing.
"Make it pull and pinch and tweak. Make it grow 'til she grows weak."
Something tightened in her chest, like pure panic and it clawed deep. It stole her breath, and she felt so cold again. Like all the warmth had been stolen right out from her skin, and she shivered, wrapping her arms tightly around herself. What was this twisted and horrible place? The forest seemed…more deadly, more fierce if such a thing were possible and it felt directed all at her.
"Make her moan and scream and cry. Make her wish that she would die," the whisper came with a chilling breath against the shell of her ear and Elizabeth yelped. She twisted around, and found nothing but mist swirling around behind her, ominously.
The air in the forest became heavy and stagnant. It weighed upon them, almost as unbearable as the sensation of being watched and followed. "Air. I need air," Bofur bemoaned, using his hat to fan his face as he hobbled along the path. His mustache was limp, and damp with sweat.
"My head," Oin cradled his skull between his hands. His spare horn laid on the ground, forgotten and abandoned. "It's spinning. Everything is spinning."
Nori who was at the front of the group, came to a sudden halt. A look of panic flashed across his face before Bofur ran into him, and the dwarves reacted slowly, bumping into each other vaguely like dominos.
"What's happening?" Ori asked, frazzled.
"Keep moving." Thorin shoved his way through them all and towards the Master Thief with a dark look on his face. "Nori, why have we stopped?"
"The path...it's disappeared!" Nori replied.
Bilbo's heart leapt into his throat. "What? We've lost the path?" He asked, aghast. His eyes darted to the ground as if he could find it again, but there was no trace of it. Gandalf's warning rang clear in his ears, and the sense of doom that had lingered over them seemed to increase two fold.
"Find it. All of you look. Look for the path!" Thorin ordered, raking his eyes across all of this accursed place. The tension drawn in his shoulders lined tight, and it appeared at any second it would snap. His hands holding Elizabeth tightened, pressing her face into his furry mantle and an unintelligent whisper fell from her lips. Her eyes half away open, but truly not seeing the world around.
While Bombur slept like the dead, Elizabeth would awake. It was not true consciousness. It was feverish one where she fought and clawed at unseen enemies. The times she would scream in agony as she had been lit on fire were the worst, and the times she was silent staring up at the trees above them completely unnerved him. He cradled her closer to his chest, pressing his nose into her hair while resting his chin on top of her head. The intimacy of the gesture was not lost on him, and if any of the other noticed, they wisely did not comment. Not now.
"We're not going to find it, are we?" Ori asked, his voice bleak.
Bilbo turned towards him, his expression startled. Out of all the dwarves, Ori was the youngest and the brightest, if not a little naïve. But no matter what had happened, he had kept his innocent optimism about him. To hear such defeat from him made the hobbit's heart clench tightly in his chest. He placed a hand on the young dwarf's shoulder, and tried to give him reassurance. "We'll find the path, Ori. If not…I will try to get us through this."
"How?" Ori asked.
"Others have obviously navigated these woods before. We could possibly find our way through," Bilbo said, though even as he said the words he had little to no confidence in them. His eyes flickered up to meet Thorin's heavy stare, and he knew he worried as well. The hobbit's eyes flickered down to Elizabeth's body cradled in the dwarf's arms, so tightly as if he had no intention of letting go.
Thorin allowed no others to carry her. He carried her for hours without complaint, his face drawn tight with his lips pressed in a thin line as Elizabeth muttered faintly under her breath. Thorin's eyes darted down, searching her face. For any sign that she was free from this dark spell, but found none. Her fingertip twitched from where they clutched at the front of his armor with a knuckle white grip as she was lost deep in a living nightmare. Much like they were, Thorin eyed his surroundings grimly. His head was throbbing, and his mind felt like it was riddled with cobwebs. The forest had gone from just affecting them physically, it had renewed its attack on them mentally.
"I don't remember this place before. None of it's familiar," Balin said, wearily. He looked so downtrodden, and exhausted.
"It's got to be here," Dori said, with a sigh.
"What hour is it?" Oin blinked his bleary eyes. "Surely its time to rest?"
"I do not know. I don't even know what day it is," Dwalin grumbled, from where he was knelt down beside Bombur. They had fashioned a makeshift stretcher out of limbs and a spare cloak that they had. Even with his and Dori's strength, they had to take a much needed break from carrying the red headed dwarf.
A growl erupted up Thorin's throat. "Is there no end to this accursed place?" He demanded, his voice echoing out into the depths of the forest.
Elizabeth jolted in his arms, and her breaths grew shallow. Her brows crinkled, her eyes searched around desperately and her body shivered. "Th-thorin?" Her voice sounded so small, and so faint.
A harsh gush of air fell from his lips. He half did not believe his ears and he pressed a hand against her face. His callous thumb stroking her cheek. "Elizabeth? Can you hear me?" He asked, staring intensely.
"Thorin?" But her eyes were still glazed over. Her expression was so lost, and so afraid. Another whimper escaped her, and she shivered as if she were cold. As swift as it came, the awareness fled from her face and she slumped back into his arms. The hope tasted bitter as he swallowed it, and he looked at his Company. Their strength was dwindling fast, and Thorin cursed this forest that seemed like it would be the death of them.
"Is…is she waking up?" Bilbo asked, hopefully.
Thorin watched her for a long moment, and the hope withered like the grass in winter inside of his chest. "No. She is still delirious," said the Company's leader, roughly.
The hobbit wilted. With a heavy sigh, he threw himself down upon a rock. The dwarves mutter and ramble as they wander around aimlessly. Bilbo ran a hand down his face, while his other hand idly played with the string on the side of the rock. If his mind hadn't been so muddled and scattered, Bilbo would have realized that it was no string that he pulled on and would have been appalled. Frightened even, for it was the spider webs that he tugged on, and the vibrations continued through the various linked spider webs far off into the forest. In the distance, almost indiscernible to the ear whispers stirred.
She was trapped in the never ending dark. The roots twisted and curled around her ankles, tripping her every other step. Whispers wormed their way into her ears, taunting her from place unseen and Elizabeth felt the tethered that held her mind together falling apart.
"Is there no end to this accursed place?" The voice boomed and echoed through the forest with a flash of light. Just a quick glimpse of light, like a flash of lightning that rippled through the forest illuminating it for a brief second.
Elizabeth startled, her heart leaped in her chest. She twisted around in a circle as if to catch a glimpse of him, just a tiny glimpse. "T-Thorin?" She called out, her throat burned and ached. "Thorin?" She called again after a moment, and she swore she could feel him. He was close. So close!
She was sure of it. Her fingers grasped at the air around her, as if seeking something tangible to hold onto. "Thorin? Are you there? Is anyone there?" She asked, her voice trembling ever so slightly.
"Be calm, child. You are safe."
Elizabeth turned, only to gape. There standing by the edge of the balcony stood Lady Galadriel with a small and sad smile upon her lips. "Oh, Elizabeth, you strayed from the path," Lady Galadriel's echoed from somewhere in the distance, and suddenly she was no longer standing the dark forest, but in the Golden Woods. Everything was painted in orange from the light of the fiery sunset and Elizabeth felt the tension in her chest, the shadows that had surrounded her mind lifted. She was able to think clearly, and she heaved a deep breath.
Elizabeth blinked, shocked at the sudden change in scenery. "H-how?" Her voice trembled, half afraid that this was another illusion conjured up by her desperate thoughts.
"But fear not, Aldanniel," the Lady of the Golden Woods gracefully descended the steps and made her way towards her. "Even if one stumbles and loses they way, does not mean they are lost forever."
"I don't understand," Elizabeth said, looking around. She was still in very much disbelief, and was having trouble processing what was going on. "Where…? How…? Where is Thorin in the others?"
"Close. You will return to them in time, but first there is something that you must see," Lady Galadriel told her, and placed a hand on her shoulder. She steered Elizabeth down a long winding path, deeper into the woods and at the path was a garden. The flowers glowed with some kind of magical light, the petals tilted up towards the setting sun desperate for its last bit of light before the night swallowed the sky. In the center of this magnificent and mystical garden was a large tree the likes which Elizabeth had never seen.
It had a ten foot diameter, and its limbs were stretched upward in a never ending reach towards the sky. On the golden bark of the tree was a symbol that was familiar to her. A natural growth in the form of a triangle with a swirling pattern in the center that looked vaguely like an eye. A memory stirred of a green piece of paper with the number one on it came to mind, before she let it slip away. It wasn't that important.
"It was a gift from two of my dearest friends," Galadriel told her, her lips not moving as Elizabeth stared up at the large tree in awe. It towered all others, and . "The Far-Seer and the Forest Spreader gifted my husband and I this when it was naught by a tiny seed. A powerful protection was cast on the seed, and when it would grow it would spread to the rest of the forest enhancing the magic what Celeborn and I had already weaved."
"It's beautiful," Elizabeth whispered, awed.
"It is said that the Far-Seer accidentally put too much of his magic into the tree, and that if fate be kind that a traveler may touch the tree to see their fate," Lady Galadriel stated, with a slight smirk. There was great amusement in her voice when she pronounced 'accidentally'.
"Or a convenient lie in case Saruman disapproved," Elizabeth chuckled, not seeing the White Wizard liking that one bit.
"Perhaps," was all Lady Galadriel said in reply.
"Is the legends true?" She cast a glance back over her shoulder only to find the elven queen who now stood several paces behind her.
"That is for you alone to find out to find out," Galadriel's was a faint whisper in her ear, and it echoed all around her.
Elizabeth stared at her for a long moment before she turned to look back at the tree. There was something about it, something that subconsciously called out to her. She lifted a shaky hand, hesitantly at first then she swallowed down her trepidation and placed her palm upon the symbol. It felt like lightning struck her, and her back bow as her head snapped back up towards the sky.
Black riders, nine of them with their swords raised high upon the nightmarish steeds. Bilbo with a look of horror on his face as he laid upon the rumble. A dragon and its fire, the devastating fire. Orcs. So many orcs. An army of orcs. Then Thorin…lying prone upon the ground, his broken and bleeding face with the light fading fast from his eyes. It was her, standing there with tears rolling down her face. The look of heartbreak in her eyes. "Lat hizi lakja! Avhe urudu hizi lakja!" A gold ring with glowing elvish writing upon a dark metal gauntlet. A vision of fire, and a man standing at the center that looked like a fiery eye.
Elizabeth gasped, burning pain ripped through her and she pulled her hand back away from the tree. Her palm was covered in blood, and the tree was now dead and lifeless. It's disease spread until it engulfed everything. She whirled around to look at Lady Galadriel who just looked at her with a sad kind of knowing in her ancient eyes. "You are still lost in the forest. But though you stumbled, and you are lost, does not mean you will never be found. You are standing on the edge of a knife, and the choices you make will come to shape the world before you. The road is long, and once wrought with peril."
"Galadriel, the things I saw…" Elizabeth looked fearful.
"Are things that will come to pass," Lady Galadriel told her, coming to a stop right in front her. "If you do not find a way…neither will they. Now you must wake up."
Bilbo was starting to see things. He thought he saw himself walking backward in front of him, and then he glanced over his shoulder to see another him walking behind Dori. This place was making his mind all befuddled and his thoughts were all fuzzy.
Ori leaned down and picked up a tobacco pouch with a funny frown on his face. His words are slurred, as if he had a stout drink or two. "What's this?"
Dori took it from him. "It's a tobacco pouch. Dwarven make. There are dwarves in these woods!" He announced, looking around expectantly as if they might appear at any given second.
"Dwarves from the Blue Mountains, no less!" Bofur gaped, as he took the pouch from Dori to inspect it for himself. "It's strange…looks exactly like mine. Even gots the little tears at the top."
Bilbo sighed, heavily before he flopped down on a rock. He pressed his face into his hands in despair and said, frustrated, "That is because it is yours, Bofur."
"Mine? But mine's…" Bofur groped at the empty spot on his belt with his tobacco pouch was normally, and his eyes got comically wide. "Mine is missing! My tobacco pouch is gone!"
"Did you drop it?" Gloin snorted.
"Where did you last see it?" Fili asked.
"We'll help you look for it," Kili offered, even though his voice was laced with exhaustion.
"That pouch is his pouch! He dropped it on the path where Ori just found it! Do any of you understand what this means?" Bilbo demanded, turning a glower upon all of them. "We're going round in circles. We are lost."
"We're not lost," Dwalin said, ever the voice of stubbornness. "We keep heading east."
"But which way is east?" Oin huffed. "We've lost the sun."
Bickering broke out amongst the dwarves and Bilbo was a gentle hobbit—at least, he liked to still think he was despite all that happened on this journey. So as a gentle hobbit, he reminded himself that it was impolite to strangle dwarves and refrained from the impulse. He leaned his head back trying to work out the kinks in his neck, and then paused when his eyes focused up at the tree canopy far above him. His brows scrunched together thoughtfully, and he whispered to himself, "The sun…we have to find the sun. Up there. The sun is up there…we need to…"
Bilbo rose to his feet, and with nimble fingers began to climb up the tree. The dwarves were too busy with their arguments and shoving to notice what the hobbit was up to.
Thorin stood apart from the others, knelt down by Elizabeth's side. Her palms were cold like death to the touch, and as he examined her paling face, he heard it. A strange whisper that wormed its way into his ear. "What?" His expression a mixture of suspicion and confusion. "What's that?"
The whispers continued, but he could not make the out over the other dwarves' raised voices. Thorin growled, rising to his feet and yelled at them, "Enough! Quiet! All of you!" When they fall silent and look at him, he added, darkly, "We're being watched."
Then that's when he sees them. Slinking down from the shadows above, their eight legs reaching out and he could hear their fangs click together anticipating the meal. "Look out!" Thorin drew his sword from his sheath and lashed out at the nearest one.
The dwarves fought valiantly, but they were vastly outnumbered (except poor Bombur who was still out cold much like Elizabeth). The spider came out from every shadow, from the ground and from the trees above. They were surrounded, and in their weary state, they were doomed before the fight started.
"Kili!" Fili shouted, as his brother fell to the ground. He tried to rush to his side, only to be pulled back by two spiders.
"No!" Thorin stabbed the spider, and kicked it off the end of his blade. He raced to his nephews side, but he was too late. Like the other they laid on the ground motionless like death, and he felt horror grip his heart when he felt a piercing pain in the back of his leg. A horrible, icy sensation worked up his leg and through his entire body within seconds. He craned his head to see the vicious eyes of the spider staring up at him triumphantly. The spiders were crafty in their attack. One would distract the dwarf into attacking, while the other flanked said dwarf, sticking their fangs into their back.
He crumbled to the ground, feeling the bitter anger at this forest only increases and his face twisted to the side. He saw Elizabeth laying motionless about ten feet away. Thorin felt a shout burn in the back of his throat, but the venom left him paralyze. The spider began to wrap him up in its web, and he could make out a few approaching her body. He watched helpless to stop it as the spider picked up Elizabeth up, and started to weave his web over her when suddenly Dawnbreaker fell from her back.
It feel with a loud clatter, and the bright jewel shined, cutting through the darkness. "It burns! It burns!" The spider shrieked, dropping Elizabeth to the ground and backing away from the sword as fast as its eight legs could take him.
"Leave it!" Another spider clicked its fangs together. "We've plenty enough to eat."
And with a mixture of relief and despair, everything for Thorin went black.
Bilbo doesn't know how long it took him, but when he finally broke through the tree tops and into the air, he draws in a deep breath of fresh air. Suddenly, the fog lifted and he could think clearly for the first time in days. He blinked hard, and gaps at the sight of blue butterflies flying all around him, jostled from their little homes by his climb. He raised his head to look out at the skyline to see the setting sun, and he marvels for a moment forgetting how great a comfort its light was.
A smile stretched across his lips, and laughter tumbles out before he could help himself. He could see several things in the distance, including the Lonely Mountain itself. "I can see a lake! And a river. And the Lonely Mountain. We're almost there!" He shouted down to the dwarves.
But he received no reply.
Bilbo looked down with a frown. "Can you hear me? I know which way to go! Hello?" He called out, but instead of a reply from the dwarves, he heard a thumping sound noise in the distance. The trees move haphazardly under the weight of the approach of something he could not see, something that was heading straight towards him and the dwarves. A feeling of dread stabbed at his heart, and he started to climb down.
Finding steady footing on a limb, he looked around with a frown and slowly he took a step forward. Something caught his ankle, and he let out a shout as he went falling several feet. His body bounced painfully off the branches, and he could nothing to stifle the yelp of pain that left him. He caught himself by sheer luck on a branch, and then he realized that luck was bad luck when he watched in horror as a web parts to reveal a massive spider.
The spiders that Elizabeth warned us of! He thought as he scrambled back when the spider opened its fang and hissed at him. He fell again, landing on his back in an even bigger spider web. He grimaced and tried to pull himself off the web, but to no avail. He fought…oh, how he fought, but it did not stop the spider wrapped him up tightly.
Dead leaves fell down from the trees as the flowers withered away into nothing, but dust. In the desecrated and dead place were Lady Galadriel and Elizabeth, the silence pressed in on them. "Wake up?" Elizabeth finally found her voice, a light frown on her face as she looked up at Lady Galadriel. "I…I don't remember how," her voice sounded very faint to her ears, and her heart thumped wildly in her chest.
Lady Galadriel smiled, and tucked a loose strand of hair behind Elizabeth's ear. "Just close your eyes, and remember," the elven queen said, softly.
"I'm afraid," Elizabeth admitted, after a moment.
"Everyone is afraid, Aldanniel, but we mustn't live in fear and shadows. Courage is not the absent of that fear, it is to thrive and fight in spite of it," Lady Galadriel told her, solemnly. "Now close your eyes."
Elizabeth drew in a breath, and allowed her eyes to flutter closed. And came arching off the cold, forest ground with a harsh gasp. It felt like she had been punched back into her body, and for several seconds she laid there shaking from head to toe before she was able to catch her breath. Beads of sweat came rolling down her forehead, Elizabeth looked around dazed and her fingertips skimmed across Dawnbreaker that laid on the ground beside her. "What…?"
A cold stone settled in her stomach.
The dwarves were gone, and a sick sense of déjà vu swept over her. She felt her stomach twisted, and she felt like she was going to sick. Taking Dawnbreaker by its hilt, she pulled herself to her feet and looked to the ground for any tracks. "A struggle…" She breathed out, and knelt to pick up Bofur's tobacco pouch. He would not willingly part with it. The dwarves fought against something, but she couldn't make out what they fought against. She took a step forward, but stumbled when something stuck against the bottom of her foot. With a glare, she looked down at the offending object only to feel horror rise like bile in the back of her throat.
It was webs.
"Shit." She stared, her chest rose and fell sharply. "Shit," she cursed again, and began to follow the tracks using Dawnbreaker as her guide.
The dwarves strung up in the trees like meat on meat hooks, wrapped up tight in webs gifts on someone's name day, and a spider towed the web-encased Bilbo towards the door. Little did the spider know, Bilbo was waking up. His head throbbed, and his brow crinkled when he realized that he couldn't move normally. His eyes open only to see the jaws of the giant spider reaching for him to administer another bite, and he managed to get his sword free. Then with all the strength he had, he plunged into the spider's stomach viciously.
The spider barely made a squeak, its limbs curled inward as it died and Bilbo grunted, flinging it off the end of his sword. It plummeted over the edge, and down into the forest below. With a harsh breath, Bilbo pulled himself free from the webs and carefully stood up on the tree limb. He raised his eyes towards the dwarves who are still hanging up from the trees, and he hide behind a tree when he saw the movement of another spider coming around.
Licking his lips, he then without thought he pulled his ring from his pocket and slipped it on his finger. The world around him becomes grey, shadows shimmered all around him and the roar entered his ears. And something wholly unexpected happened. In this weird world that ring plunged him into, he can understand what the spiders are saying. It was rather disturbing to be perfectly honest.
"Kiilll theemm. Kiill theemm," one hissed, with demented glee.
"Eat them now," another whispered, fangs snapping together as it ran one of its legs down the side of the one of the cocoon. "I'm so hungry…it's been so long since last we fed."
"Their hide is tough. There is good juice inside," one spider, tittered.
"Stick it again! Stick it again! Finish it off!" A spider crowed. The spiders surround one wrapped dwarf, and the dwarf—who was awake now—tried to kick at the spider. But he can't do much when wrapped up so tightly.
"Ahh! The meat's alive and kicking!" This spider sounded angry.
"Kill them, kill them now. Let us feast!"
The rest of the spiders took up the chant, "Feast! Feast!"
Biblo gritted his teeth together, and held his sword in front of him as he silently approached the spiders. He ducked just in time as a spider crawled along a branch above him, heading towards the dwarves. He remembered how spiders reacted to movement from their webs from when he used to play with them as a tiny hobbit. Picking up a tiny piece of wood, he tossed it to the side and all the spiders rush after the noise.
"What is it? What is it? Kill it! Feast! Feast!" Another one shouted, trailing after the group. Only one spider stayed behind, preparing to eat a wrapped and squirming Bombur.
"Fat and juicy. Just a little taste," the spider's mouth watered with anticipation and it dropped Bombur to the trunk and prepared to eat him.
Bilbo slashed it's back leg, and the spider hissed. It spun around swiftly, but it could not see what had attacked it. Bilbo didn't give a chance to recover, and he kept hacking and slicing at it. A leg fell off, then part of its head. "Curses! Where is it?" The spider danced to evade, but it could not fight what it could not see. "Where is it?"
With a cheeky grin that was all Took, Bilbo pulled off the ring revealing himself to the spider and he said, "Here!" Then thrust his sword directly into the spider's head.
"It stings! Stings!"
Bilbo pulled the sword out of the spider, and it crashed to the ground below. The hobbit glanced at his sword, staring at for a moment before a slight smirk graced his lips. "Sting. That's a good name," he said to himself, then he heard the panicked grunts from the dwarves and blinked. "Oh. Right. Sorry. Sorry."
Bilbo cut the dwarves down, and as soon as they land on the forest floor, they proceed to rip off their wrappings. There was quite a few curses and a great deal of yelling the entire time much to the hobbit's amusement.
"Where's Bilbo?" Bofur yelled.
"I'm up here!" Bilbo shouted down at them, then he frowned. "Where's Elizabeth? Why is she not with you?" He asked, but before he could be answer a spider jumped at him from underneath the branch he had been standing on. It pinned him underneath it, but Bilbo managed to get Sting in front of it just in time. He stabbed the spider through the belly, and as the spider died, its legs curled inward.
And trapped Bilbo.
He had no choice to fall with the spider, and they slam into several branched on their way down, and that's when it happens. Bilbo feels his ring slip right out of his hand. Panic and horror lash through him, and when they land on the forest floor, the air is knocked out of him.
"Bilbo, are you alright?" Ori squeaked, as the hobbit struggled to get to his feet.
"Elizabeth," Kili said, looking around. He did not see her, and he turned his wide brown eyes upon his uncle. "Uncle, where's Elizabeth? Did the spider—"
"Nay," Thorin shook his head. "They attempted to cocoon her in webs when her sword Dawnbreaker fell free from where she had it wrapped up on her back. It's light was harmful to them, and they left her be."
"Which means that she's out there alone, possibly still unconscious," Balin said, his face very grave and very solemn as his shoulders slumped.
"We could backtrack," Fili suggested, seriously. "Try to find her."
"And loss our way again?" Dwalin scoffed, his face twisted in a deep frown. "Even if we tried, we know not what way the spiders took us. We would not even know where to begin."
"The lass isn't some fragile maiden," Nori stated, with an eyebrow arched at everyone. "Or have your forgotten how she fell into the depths of the Misty Mountain, and we had thought her dead only for her to come to Thorin's aid against Azog?"
Bifur nodded, enthused and made several hands gestured that meant he agreed with Nori.
"This forest is filled magic, and none of it benign," Balin heaved a grievous sigh.
Bilbo couldn't hear the argument that started, his mind only focused on the ring and to get it back. He threw himself towards where it fell and his finger dug through the rotten leaves on the ground. He had to get his ring back. He had to get it back.
It was precious to him.
END OF CHAPTER!
NEXT CHAPTER: Elizabeth is reunited with the dwarves only to captured by the elves. Elizabeth and Thranduil have a confrontation, while Tauriel starts to feel kinship with the dwaves, and Bilbo feels conflicted over his desire for his ring.
I know! I know! Thrandy was supposed to be in her like two chapters, along with Legolas and Tauriel, but it kept getting long and long and when my computer decided to die and I almost lost this chapter, I was like…I need to post this. It was already 26 pages long and just move everything else to the next chapter. So next chapter we will get all the elfy goodness I promise.
LANGUAGES AND REFERENCES:
1.) The Tree: The farseer and forest-spreader that gave the tree to Lady Galadriel were the Blue Wizards, Alatar and Pallando. "Farseer" was a nickname given to Pallando and "Wide-forest" or "Forest-spreader" was one for Alatar. It made sense to me that they would inpact a seed with a magical to Lady Galadriel who saw as much as they did, if not more. The symbol on it is the ALL-SEEING EYE, universal symbol representing spiritual sight, inner vision, higher knowledge, insight into occult mysteries. It also is the symbol on the back of the dollar bill.
2.) "Lat hizi lakja! Avhe urudu hizi lakja!" (Black Speech) You will burn! The mountain will burn!
3.) If Elizabeth's dream seems oddly familiar, or her talk with Lady Galadriel, its because it is based heavily off lines from the Tenth Kingdom between Snow White and the hero.
RRs are appreciated.