Sorry I'm twelve hours late. This chapter was rather tough to write. All rights belong to Tolkien, except for the characters I own.
~Chapter 24~
"Safe and sound" I sigh, collapsing on my bed, rolling onto my back. What a morning. The sun hasn't even risen and I'm already tired. Then again, isn't everybody?
The memory of Kíli forcing me to train every morning before the tournament causes me to rethink that. It seems like ages ago I was down there exercising my neglected leg muscles and alternating between wanting to strangle Kíli and laughing with him. I can't believe it's only been four days. Four days since that day I was checking out his butt.
I cover my face, trying to erase the embarrassment I feel. I try to reason that I feel nothing for him and that it's all the fault of…I search for something to blame.
"Hormones." I conclude "Stupid teenage hormones" I say, convincing myself. Almost.
"Caelinn" Eideth, no, Mother, I remind myself, knocks. "Can I come in?"
"Sure" I say more cheerfully than I mean to.
"How did it go?" she asks me, sitting next to me.
"It was alright. Explored some tunnels, had a few exciting things happen to us" I say, leaving out all the bad bits.
"Glóiron and Nori told me everything" Mother says. I internally groan. I should know better than to hide things from her, she always finds out sooner or later.
"It's crazy!" I sit up. "There was a dead informant, two dead bad guys and stuff I'm not really sure I understand. Why would someone want to assassinate Thorin? Why is there an underground highway? Why didn't they use that to get to Smaug? And why was I dragged into this?" I say in one breath.
"Should I answer those chronologically or in order of importance?" Mother teases me. I give her the 'just give me a straight answer' look. "Alright" she begins, "A king has many enemies and Thorin is no exception. And those enemies will do anything within their power to bring Thorin down so they can take his place."
"But why? Why would anybody want so much responsibility? I can't imagine being a ruler is easy or fun. You have to maintain good relations with other nations, deal with annoying people, be a role model, a pillar of strength for your people, a-" I stop, Mother's giving me that look. I interrupted her and she doesn't like it. I lower my hands and allow her to continue.
"A member of the royal family is all those things and more." Mother says. "As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted; there are bad people in this world. They're greedy, selfish and cruel. I can't answer why they are this way, just be aware that they are there and watch out for them. Don't let those people bring poison into your life" she advises me.
I nod, waiting for her to continue.
"The underground highway is a mystery. It's been there since the beginnings of Erebor and has been forgotten and supposedly unused for several centuries. I imagine Visha is responsible for it's rediscovery." Eideth, no, Mother, rolls her eyes. "No one knows where is begins or where it ends. As for why you've been 'dragged into this,' our royal family needs as many trustworthy allies as they can get. You can be a great asset to Thorin."
"How?" I ask. What can I really do? Nori said he needed my sword in the caves but all I used it for was a light source. Maybe he just wanted to see how well it worked.
"Give yourself a little credit my dear. You are capable of being many great things" she smiles.
"Like what?" I ask.
"You are capable of becoming Glóiron's successor in the near future. Becoming a better cook" she gives me an evil grin. She knows I hate cooking. "A good mother, and perhaps a good wife and princess of Erebor" she says hopefully.
"No" I raise my finger "no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Did I mention: No" I say. "Those last three are not for me. I might make a good mother, might. But a wife and a princess. That is a stretch of the imagination" I scoff.
"Life is full of many unexpected turns, there are no guarantees on how it will unfold." Mother says, getting of my bed. "I think you should wear your red dress today" she opens up my wardrobe.
Memories of blood smeared walls and puddles of blood trigger a gag.
"I don't think I ever want to see the color red again" I say, trying to control my stomach. Mother understands and darts over to a green and ivory gown. A dress I've never worn in the last six months I've had it.
"How about this one" she tells me, not asks or suggests, tells. She holds it up for me to inspect before she forces it over my head.
The skirt is a bit too flowing for my liking. The dress itself is green with a high scoop neckline and slightly puffed shoulders connected to long, flowing, ivory colored sleeves. It looks like a cross between one of Arwen's dresses and Medieval fashion, but is undeniably beautiful.
"I think it will look marvelous" Mother declares.
Perhaps on a perfectly constructed mannequin or an elf, not some plain little girl with dirty blonde hair, small boobs and absolutely no height.
"Alright" I submit. "It's not like I have a choice" I mumble.
"What was that?" Mother asks.
"Nothing" I smile. "Just can't wait for the tournament to begin."
"I don't know why, it' not all that exciting." she tells me.
"Why?"
"Because it's just a bunch of half-naked men wrestling in the dirt." she sniffs. Half-naked? Half-naked as in just in their underwear or just without their shirts?
Let's just hope it's shirt-less. It's already scary enough seeing human men in nothing but their underwear, I can't imagine how scary it would be to see dwarves in nothing but their underwear. I shudder at the thought.
Mother lays the dress on top of the bed before leaving. I have hours to get ready, so I decide to get a bath and study my magic book. Things are beginning to get interesting.
Sliding into the steaming water, every muscle in my body relaxes. Nothing beats a nice hot bath. I sigh and lean against the back of the tub, closing my eyes.
"Caeyin?" startles me out of my relaxation.
"Heidi" I smile at the sleepy dwarf girl. Her red hair is tangled and her nightgown is rumpled. "What are you doing awake?" I hold my arms out to her, careful to stay hidden behind the side of the bathtub, not like there's much to hide. She stumbles into my arms and rests her head against my shoulder.
"I had a bad dream" she mumbles into my neck.
"What was it about?" I pat her back.
"Don't remember." Heidi sniffs. I rub her back and rock her side to side. Maybe Eideth, Mother, is right, maybe I will be a good mother, someday.
"Can you go sit on my bed while I finish getting a bath. I'll be real quick" I promise her. Heidi nods and totters out of the bathroom.
I wash up as quick as I can and wrap a towel around myself. Coming out of the bathroom I smile. Heidi is sprawled across my bed, sound asleep.
I tiptoe over to her and plant a quick kiss on her forehead. Grabbing my underthings and the dress as quietly as I can, I scurry back to the bathroom to get dressed.
Towel drying my hair is one of the things I can never get fond of. I miss having a hairdryer and non-ouch hairbrushes.
A wave of homesickness washes over me. I go back to my bed and drag out the hollowed out book. Making sure Heidi's asleep, I open it up and pull out my iPhone.
Swallowing hard, I click the button. The screen lights up, making me wince. I type in the passcode, 4663, home.
I picked the passcode when we moved to London and I was trying to convince myself that it was home. I had lived in the same house my whole life and that move was not only scary, but heartbreaking. My family broke apart and I was in a new place, new school, new country. Nothing was the same after that move.
I stare at the picture of me and my family. I see Ethan, Evan, and Natalie. The twin boys, so identical that our mom could never tell them apart. The same squinty-eye smile plasters their faces, and thick locks of black hair cover their foreheads in the exact same way. Natalie with her pale blonde hair and sweet little baby face all bundled up in her pink crotchet blanket.
Looking at them makes my heart ache. Natalie doesn't know who I am, she must be nearly four now. And the twins. Not even eight then, are almost thirteen.
Tears creep into my eyes. No one can ever replace what I've lost. Four years is not very long at all, but it feels like all the time in world.
I miss them, so much. I stifle a sob that escapes my throat, closing my eyes to keep the tears from falling.
Fabric shifting on the bed stirs me from my self-pity. Heidi's tossing about. I pull myself onto the bed and gently rub her back.
She stills instantly. I look from the phone in my hand to her. I can't get back what I've lost, but I can move forward. I don't have my brothers and sister anymore. But I have Heidi. I don't have my human family anymore, but I have people who care about me and want me in their lives.
Maybe, maybe it's time to move on and stop clinging to the past. I look at the phone and make a decision.
I grab one of my boots and bring it to the bathroom. Removing the phone from it's case I set it on the floor. I slide the boot onto my foot and bring it down hard on the phone.
Feeling a sense of freedom, I raise my foot, expecting to see the phone cracked and ruined. It's not even dented. Maybe I didn't hit it hard enough.
I stomp on it again. It's still in one piece. How have so many people broken these on accident when I can't even break it on purpose?
I angle my foot so the heel will hit the screen. I hear a crack as my boot makes contact.
A blue sparks pushes my foot of the phone, sending my falling to the ground. More sparks fly from the cracked phone, hissing and popping out of the ruined screen.
All the sudden the sparking stops and all becomes quiet. Inching towards the phone, I see that the screen's been fixed. I pick it up and inspect it. It's as good as new.
"How the hell?" I press the button. The screen lights up as it always does.
What just happened?
What do you think happened?
Outofthisworldgal: There's a lot of fishy things going on.
Phacia (Guest): I hope you liked this chapter