Hello, all! Many thanks to all the kind people who read, followed and favourited the story!
BurningMoons: Hopefully you've gone to sleep and given your eyes a break! I'm happy to announce that when you wake up, a new chapter awaits you! So glad you liked the story and the characters and that it made you laugh! Kili is broodier than usual, because I believe he's not all butterflies and rainbows, but quite responsible and imposing even if he can be reckless sometimes. Besides, who doesn't like a dark and brooding Kili?
ClemmieCole: Patience, my young padawan. All will be revealed in time. There is another quote from Friends in this one, waiting for you to discover it!
wickedgrl123: Glad you liked it! Arya is not exactly going to have a warm spot for Tauriel, but you'll see what I'm talking about in exactly two weeks.
Protagonist Of Life: The forest is making her hear voices, in the same way it causes the others to hallucinate.
imrid-amrad-ursul: Thank you very, very much! I'm still undecided about the end, it depends on how the third film will go.
JackieJr: I'm trying to make Thorin as realistic as possible because, considering his reaction in Thranduil's halls, I think it's safe to say he'll never come close to trusting anyone outside those he already trusts (family and friends).
miller330: So happy you love it! Small correction, Chapter 25 was up five days ago and this one is 26.
draegon-fire, Guest 1, Guest 2, Guest 3, Guest 4, Guest 5, Baby doll, dorina16able, Furionknight, Hiding in the Shadow, Chachi544, Marine76, SilverPenguin87, superhyperjan, BBMonkey, SleepySandman: Thank you very, very much as well , you guys, you really make my day! Trust me, I could go on replying to each of you separately for hours, but the word count will get extremely out of hand, I'm afraid.
Ignorance is bliss
Morning, or rather the less stifling darkness that was considered morning in Mirkwood dawned and found almost everyone in the same spot they had dozed off. Only Bilbo was replaced by Fili, who was now seated upon the large boulder, while the other members were fast asleep.
Fili, being the observant dwarf he was groomed all his life to become, had the tendency to always seeing the bigger picture. He was struggling to find a solution that would satisfy everyone. He was aware of his uncle's obvious displeasure by Arya's presence, although it had diminished considerably those past days as she had barely exchanged a word with anyone. He could sense his brother's increasing irritation with Arya avoiding him and almost everyone else whenever it was humanly possible, as well as Kili's inner battle of how to deal with it, openly confront her about ignoring him, or keep all his feelings and thoughts to himself. And in the midst of all that, he was trying to keep himself focused and sane.
Yes, life was a bloody rainbow.
Until Fili decided that time for thinking it over and over was up, and time for actions had come. No doubt, if Thorin woke right now, the desolation of Smaug would be nothing compared to his uncle's wrath. With heavy heart the blond decided to rouse his brother, who had Arya swaddled in his coat, and get him to move. Yet they were both practically cuddled up inside Kili's coat, so waking one without waking the other would be impossible.
A soft nudge disrupted the false reality of his dreamworld and brought him back to the real one. Kili inhaled deeply and slowly, opened his eyes, and the first thing he faced was the top of a head whose owner was sound asleep, curled up in a ball against him. He would have smiled had it not been for the light stirring of that person, who woke along with him apparently, and a sudden jolt of hers to push herself away with an expression of utter terror.
"What the–?" she whispered with trepidation. "What are you doing? Have you lost your mind?"
Raising his hands in a plea of innocence, Kili fixed her with a look hinting that, at the present moment, it wasn't him acting like someone who had lost his mind. "You were crying in your sleep and I came to calm you, that's all."
Her eyes went wide as they scanned the camp in frenzy, thankfully finding no one else awake yet. "Why?!"
The princes shared a look of perplexity.
"Why– What do you mean 'why'? What was I supposed to do?" Kili snapped. "Let you cry for the rest of the night and, note, one of the few nights you finally decided to get some sleep?"
Again, her eyes suffered the usual transformation; a sparkle of emotion at one moment, and hooded with coldness in the next. "And how exactly is my crying your problem?" she demanded. "Certain people wouldn't appreciate your concern."
"It is you that I want to appreciate my concern," he growled. "About other people, I do not care."
Surprise flickered on Fili's face. Colour him impressed, if anything. He kept himself busy observing the prints his boots left on the dirt a few feet away, but still remained close enough to hear.
Kili looked devastatingly exposed, looking at her like that, bleary-eyed and angry and hurt. She was overwhelmed with a baffling need to protect him, to shield him from the world and all its evils —a man fifty years her senior, tough and strong and worldly— and from herself. "Oh, I'm sure Thorin would be so pleased to hear this–"
He covered the distance between them in two strides, his gaze looming and threatening to break her icy one. "Whether Thorin would be pleased to hear this is my problem, not yours. You could be a little grateful that I was trying to help, you know."
Her jaw clenched. "I did not ask for your help." She waved her hand impatiently then, muttering, "Could you just kindly bugger off and leave me in peace? It's already a bad morning as it is."
Kili shook his head in defeat. Surely the woman was mental; any other explanation eluded him. How could one of sound mind have these abnormal mood swings? Without a word he turned around and moved on to wake the others. His brother had stayed, coming to stand beside her with a look that was reproachful, at best. Yet he spoke nothing.
She didn't like the silence. Silence was worse than words, on occasion. "What?" she snapped.
"Smell the silent judgement?"
Arya clenched her teeth punishingly hard.
"How hard are you trying to be so odious?" said Fili.
"Not at all. It comes naturally."
"Why are you doing this?"
Her hands ceased moving and she briefly glanced towards an empty spot between two trees a few yards away. "Ignorance is bliss," she muttered, "trust me."
Fili scoffed. He always liked things to make sense and, right now, Arya's words made no sense at all. "You know," he said crossly, "for someone who is gifted with better eyesight, of all things, you are so blind."
Her brow furrowed in confusion.
"Can't you see that he acts like this because he fancies you and you ignore him and he doesn't know how to deal with his feelings?"
"No, he doesn't. That is absurd–"
"Is it?"
"Can we end th–"
"When we were little," Fili began with authority, not caring that he interrupted her, "there was a stray dog that lived out in the woods near our house at the settlement; it would scratch at the doors at all hours of the night. Kili, all of ten winters old, would venture outside, still in his nightshirt, and feed it." He pursed his lips, pausing to weigh her silence. He had her attention. "Thorin disapproved—he thought it a sign of weakness. Given that kindness is a condition rare in our family, I suppose it's unsurprising that it went misdiagnosed."
Arya's gaze fell down to her half-packed things, not bearing to look him in the eye any longer. She could literally feel the drop spilling and poisoning her insides with self-loathing.
"My brother is a good man. He's honest, and kind to a fault. If every man out there were even half as decent as he is, the world would be a better place," Fili gritted through his teeth. "Being that good a man makes him undeserving of that kind of behaviour from you, or anyone else."
Tell me something I don't know, Arya thought with a sigh. "Does he know you're telling me all this?"
"Of course not," Fili said as though it was stupid to ask. "Though, believe it or not, he's quite smart. I'd wager he suspects that we're talking about him."
"You are talking about him," Arya corrected. "I am just sitting here, feeling uncomfortable."
The prince shook his head in frustration. He was thinking her to be at fault about her behaviour, which had drastically changed for a reason that was clear only to her. Basically, he was trying to convince himself that she was at fault. But when she briefly raised her head and stole a glance at Kili, who was packing his stuff a few feet away, he couldn't. The look on her face, this mixture of feelings such as sadness, guilt, and suppressed longing, each of them battling to dominate, made Fili curious and worried. She looked as though the weight of the world was crushing her shoulders and dragging her in the void along with it.
"Are you alright?" he asked, causing her eyes to stray from Kili and rush to lock with his in alert.
Once again they transformed into pure coldness without allowing any emotions to show. "We should move on," she said, with hollow voice and a gloomy look.
Fili withdrew his hand from her arm and watched as she completed gathering her stuff and the others slowly rose from their sleep.
Soon they were all up and about and ready to continue, with not so merry looks. The breakfast was anything but satisfying—if the remaining crumbs of cakes counted for breakfast. Afterwards they formed the usual line with the Ranger on the top and Bilbo at her side, Thorin and Dwalin right behind them, and everyone else following in tow.
"Everything alright?"
Kili glared at his brother from the corner of his eye. "Couldn't be better," he muttered sarcastically. "Best time of my life."
"Can we take a moment to discuss the reason you look ready to annihilate a village?"
"The reason concerns an environment which is full of poison, bugs with huge eyes that spy on us all night long, the serious lack of food and water– Shall I add more to the list?"
The blond frowned. If Kili was being sarcastic —and not in the good way— even with him, things were very bad. "And why do I have the inkling that, while it may concern these, it mainly has to do with a certain woman?"
A generous wave of heat rose up to Kili's face. "Ha!" he sneered mockingly, but said nothing else.
That was the winning shot. Fili knew that laugh. And it needed something serious to trouble Kili's heart to reach the point of dodging a question with that. "Stop it," he said sternly. "You are not fooling me."
The younger was starting to feel cornered and all his defensiveness was pouring out like a torrent. "I won't have my head blown for the sake of that loony. If she's had enough of me, then that makes two of us," he said with conviction and continued to walk with heavy steps and a grim face.
"Then why were you sleeping like that?"
"I was trying to help her sleep properly for once," Kili drawled menacingly, his mouth pursed in a firm, thin line. "Is there any harm in that?"
"Of course not," Fili appeased. "It simply is a surprise to me to see you so caring of someone outside of our family. Do not take this the wrong way, it is quite endearing," he smiled and cocked his head at his brother's befuddled expression. "You know, Kili, I never thought I'd have to repeat this to you after you came of age, but you're the greatest fool I ever laid my eyes upon if you still haven't figured it out."
"Care to lend a helping hand in me understanding then?"
"You have feelings for her."
From one moment to another Kili's cheeks were as though someone had painted them scarlet. "No, I don't!" he protested.
"Oi, I've kept my mouth shut all this time, but do you know how many nights I've caught you murmuring a certain name multiple times in your sleep?"
"What?" the younger sputtered, face pulled into a mask of horror. "I... I– So what? It could have been anyone's name! I could have been speaking of our dog–"
"Remind me," Fili cocked an eyebrow at him, "did we ever have a dog named Arya?"
Kili rubbed his throbbing temples punishingly. "Arya is just my friend, nothing more," he sighed. "Or at least she was for the past few weeks."
"Look at yourself—you cannot even utter her name without blushing, for heaven's sake!"
"I am not blushing," he fumed. He was Kili, nephew of Thorin Oakenshield and second in line to the throne. He did not blush.
"Tell this to your cheeks. They look like tomatoes," Fili said seriously. "Why don't you admit that you have feelings for her? Of the serious kind, if I may say so–"
"You couldn't be more wrong," Kili cut him, though he felt troubled in his heart. "I have as many feelings for her as I have for Dwalin."
Fili was at his wit's end. How could it be that two adults were so cowardly to admit or even acknowledge their own feelings? He whimpered and pinched the bridge of his nose, itching to tell his brother to court the woman already, even though there was a slight chance that wouldn't bode well for his tongue.
"Yes, you do have feelings for her," the blond insisted. "And I truly hope they're not the same as those you have for Dwalin."
"I do not have feelings for her!"
"Then why the tender kiss on her forehead?"
Kili's step faltered. "How do you know about that?"
Fili's face froze into an uncanny expression of genuine shock. "That was a shot in the dark!" he exclaimed. "You sly little bugger, have you actually kis–?"
"Shut up!" Kili rushed to clam his brother's mouth shut. "I might have, yes. She was having a bloody nightmare, alright?" he snapped for no reason at all. "How else was I supposed to calm her when she's tossing around?"
"Excuse me, but caring for her like this does not prove my point? Do you want me to recount every single time you thought she was hurt and fussed over her? Or how about when she was telling us about the man her father wanted to betroth her to? There was loathing and jealousy behind your eyes."
"Simply because I've yelled at her for being reckless and irresponsible does not prove any point," he objected. In truth, his angry tone belied his thoughts and feelings, for he felt a vague relief, as though a heavy burden had been lifted from him now that his brother was talking about his supposed sentiments. However, he was firmly resolved to remain in denial of what a dark corner in his heart knew to be the truth. "As for the incident at Beorn's, it might have been the mead that made me look–"
"Not to mention the unforgettable sight of you," the blond continued, "when we saw her with that man in Rivendell. Had we been anywhere in the Wild and you carried your bow with you right then, I bet my swords you would have shot at him. Look, all I care about is to see you happy." The young one looked up and Fili squeezed his shoulder comfortingly. "If you indeed have fallen in love with her, you honestly have my full support on your choice. And I shall also try to save you from uncle's wrath should you ever decide to announce it to him and mum, although I cannot guarantee for the best outcome." He didn't even dare to imagine Thorin's reaction to this. With some effort and the right handling, mother could be more easy to persuade, so they had a shot there.
Kili felt like his stomach was about to turn itself inside out. "Perhaps you know me better than most, but not this time. This time you're wrong," he said seriously. "I haven't fallen in lo–" he reflexively stopped midsentence and exhaled audibly. "I do not feel as you say I do."
The other sighed dramatically. "Kili, listen to–"
"No, you listen to me. Even if it was true, it would never work. It couldn't even enter the realm of possibilities; Thorin Oakenshield's second heir to care for a female of Men? And one with Elven ancestors? Why don't I simply jump from the top of a mountain to spare myself the gallows?" The words came out bitterly, and he knew that it was the sad truth. "Now, if you want to keep both our heads attached to our bodies, please don't mention this nonsense again."
"As you wish," Fili said resignedly. "Remember, though, should you change your mind, see that it happens soon, for this quest won't last forever."
Kili hadn't looked so far ahead to the future and only now it occured to him that, once the quest was over, she'd return to Eriador and her life. And in that moment he realised that he didn't want her to leave. Even now that they'd regressed to the good old ignoring stage of their acquaintance, he did not want her to leave.
All these bothersome, painful thoughts were buried deep in his head and the conversation completely died down as the sound of running water reached his ears.
"We found a bridge!" a voice announced in the distance.
The company had come to a halt at the bank of a river with water dark as the color of the sky at dusk. Numerous and apparently poisoned plants circled it, in weird colours that shone surprisingly bright under the dim light that pierced through the trees; purple, red and pink even. Sinister, all of them.
A bridge was the sole means to connect the one bank with the other and, oh surprise, it had collapsed under the water.
"We could try and swim?" Bofur suggested, although he wasn't all too eager for it; living proof of his inner conflict, the frown on his face.
"No. Be careful, all of you," Thorin warned. "Do not forget what Gandalf said, a dark magic lies upon this forest. This must be the enchanted stream Beorn warned us of."
Bilbo looked down at the black water, his gaze transfixed from something in there, even if seemingly nothing more than moss and lichen lived on the surface.
"Doesn't look very enchanting to me," a clearly unimpressed Bofur muttered.
The hobbit stifled a chuckle at the wry comment. He had long ago averted his gaze from the waters, albeit with some difficulty, and struggled to discern something through the fog. "There's..." He squinted to see better. "I think there is a boat on the opposite bank!"
This new information raised their spirits, and everyone turned to the direction he was looking at.
"Is it far?" asked Thorin.
Bilbo rose to the tip of his toes and narrowed his eyes, trying to estimate the distance through the fog. "Perhaps, ten..." He wavered for a second, then decided, "I don't think it's more than twelve or thirteen yards."
The Ranger was standing quietly next to the hobbit, gauging the distance herself. "I'd say thirteen and a half," she said after him.
"And how do you happen to know the precise distance?"
Not bothering to even look at the king, she gestured toward her eyes and tried to hide the brief look of confusion his question brought to her face. "I can see and measure it, perhaps?"
"You may as well be wrong," Thorin pointed out.
Arya resisted the overwhelming urge to sigh. "I may as well be right," she countered.
"Beorn warned us not to drink from this water, let alone swim in it," Balin said worriedly before an argument broke. "What are we going to do?"
"We could throw a rope and pull the boat to us," offered Bilbo with a light shrug. "Although it's still quite far away–"
"And surely must be tied up," Gloin's grumbling voice piped up, "so what's the point of it?"
The sound of a sword being untied along with its sheath from someone's belt rang in everyone's ears and fourteen pairs of eyes turned to see the woman handing her weapons over to the hobbit.
Bilbo was wincing from the weight. "What are you–?"
"I am employing another means of transportation," she gestured toward the trees, and a few pairs of eyes went wide. Their reaction begged the question of how exactly she intended to pass to the other bank.
"Will you jump?" Fili scoffed, alternate flashes of exhaustion and ever so slight amusement sparkling behind his eyes as both he and his brother stared at her. "Or fly?"
"Can you do that?" Thorin asked before she could respond.
The hint of disdain and doubt in his voice made her legs itchy to give him a kick to a place where he would remember it for the rest of his life. "No," she said with a dry look, stating the obvious, really. "I cannot jump so far and definitely cannot fly. Hopefully, I will be able to climb. Though, please," she pressed a hand on her chest dramatically, "resist the urge to shed a tear if death should find me."
For a second it seemed like Thorin's fangs would pop out and bite her, but he limited himself to savagely pinching the bridge of his nose and grumbling something under his breath.
"Take care of these until you meet me at the other bank," Arya instructed Bilbo. The bow she could carry in her hand, although perhaps she shouldn't in this instance, for her hands had better be empty in case she needed to hook herself on a branch. But it would definitely not be of utility to have the sword dangling about her legs. She turned to the dwarves, "I'll see whether the boat is tied up. Then you'll throw the rope and pull it towards you."
Fili could hardly match his brother's levels of worry at the thought of her basically jumping over a potentially poisonous river without anyone nearby in case she needed help. Showcasing no discomfort or hesitation whatsoever, Kili stepped forth and made to climb on a trunk, even if it would be a little more difficult for him, being not as lithe or slender as her. "These vines look strong enough," he noted aloud, gesturing her to follow his lead.
Arya wasn't moved by his eagerness. Quite the opposite, it frightened her. Before she had time to even open her mouth, protest and, if the situation demanded it, tie him up to a tree to make her point known, Thorin intervened.
"No, Kili," the king said pointedly. "That is a task for the lighters."
The prince's jaw hardened and his eyes sought hers, only to be met with an equally heated gaze forbidding him to follow her.
Everyone then watched as she deftly climbed on the trees that almost connected with each other the higher their boughs got, and hopped from branch to branch. Two or three slips over mossy surfaces, which she dearly hoped to keep under her hat, might have transpired and could actually prove fatal; they had ended up with her landing painfully on her bum with a tendency to slide downwards, yet she clung on the tree trunk for dear life and managed to crawl over it again. After a few tormenting minutes she finally —and mercifuly— reached the very edge of a fallen trunk that hovered just above the water relatively intact, if someone of course excluded the newly formed bruises on her rear. Her feet took a few steps back, then ran and leaped in the air, and eventually landed with a light thud upon the dirt at the other side.
Arya let a small sigh of relief that her plan didn't go terribly wrong, although her face was crinkled from a mild tingle of pain as her hand soothingly rubbed her injured posterior and dusted the musty leaves off her trousers. She then moved over to the boat, mindful to keep a hand close to one of her daggers now that she was deprived of other weapons, and followed the rope to which the boat was tied up to a tree in the shore.
"Throw the rope," she yelled.
The call barely reached their ears and a few were surprised that she had actually made it. In swift movements they took the largest of the ropes they carried, tied a hook in the end of it and were now searching for the most qualified applicant to throw it. Thorin beckoned his older nephew to approach. Fili might not be the strongest, but was strong enough and with very good sight.
Even Arya couldn't clearly see the blond dwarf swinging the rope above his head and launching it towards the boat through the mist that was spread over the shiny surface of the water. The first attempt failed, as did the next one. It was in the third that the hood managed to scrape the inside of the boat and she ran to catch it before it fell in the water. Hooking carefully the edge of the boat in it until the rope was taut, she then untied the other that held it on the shore, yelling at them to pull.
Fili motioned for some to help him. Kili, Bofur, Oin and Bilbo were the first to answer the call, and all of them grabbed the rope.
"Alright, now remember, something this big and long is going to be difficult to manoeuvre. Fortunately, we have a lot of experience in that area," Fili smirked, elbowing his sibling to play along, "right, brother?"
Bilbo shook his head frustratedly, Bofur cackled under his breath, Oin doubtfully caught the whole sentence, but Kili, who the joke was aimed at, barely cracked a smile.
The first group that arrived consisted of Balin, Bilbo, Fili and Thorin. The moment they descended from the boat, the three dwarves gave a push to it and wiggled the rope as a sign for the others to pull it back, while Bilbo moved to hand the woman her weapons.
Arya was quite curious as to why Kili hadn't come along with his brother, although she could not muster the courage to ask anyone about it.
"Thorin decided who would be in each group," Bilbo said under his breath, seeing her in her own world of thoughts. "Dori, Gloin, Oin, and Kili are coming next." His eyes twinkled when her hands faltered at the sound of the last name and she almost dropped her quiver with the few arrows left in it.
"Why would I care who's coming next?" she mused quietly, sounding more affronted than dismissive if anything.
"No reason at all," the hobbit sighed.
One might reckon that, being unmarried, love was a complete mystery to him. He was by no means blind. His query of the previous night received an answer and, as it turned out, both Arya and Kili had it bad. Even now that she avoided and did not speak to him, the concern for each other could not be concealed. Bilbo chose not to elaborate further on the matter, however, first out of tact and also because he sensed a heavy discomfort framing the woman's face.
She felt her stomach tied into a knot as the boat carried the second group of dwarves towards the bank, and she tried her best not to spare a glance at them as they neared. Her attempt failed spectacularly when the boat rocked slightly as they got out, and she found herself midway between launching forward and dragging everyone as far from the water as possible. Thankfully they all stepped a steady foot on the ground and sent the boat back for the next ones.
The third group arrived a few minutes later, and only Dwalin and Bombur remained to join. The dwarves were silent as the boat approached the bank and the outline of Bombur's chubby figure could be easily passed for a giant ball.
The woman's flowing movements as she tied the sword back to her belt and took the bow in hand were viciously disrupted by a weird noise that ripped through the air. Her head jerked upwards when a low shuffle came from some rotten bushes in a distance.
Bilbo was startled upon seeing her bow ready to fire an arrow somewhere between the trees, although he stilled when he caught the sound too. "Were those twigs being broken?" he asked suspiciously.
Arya reckoned to owe him a praising comment for his good ear. "That they were," she confirmed. "Trampled, I would say." Her figure then retreated a few steps toward the others who stood closely to the water, motioning Bilbo to stay behind her. "Be on guard," she warned. "There's something there."
Instantly swords and axes were drawn and another two bows were raised, all pointing at the direction hers did. Kili had reflexively taken a step closer to her, worry engulfing his heart and mind about the mysterious noise she heard. No further sound disturbed them, though, and they relaxed a bit, turning their attention to Dwalin, who was scrambling out of the boat with the rope foiled under his arm. A grumbling Bombur stood up after him to step off, causing the boat to rock and send ripples across the black surface, when the sound echoed again, this time far closer to them.
"Watch out!" Gloin screamed, ducking to avoid the —absurdly radiant white for the darkness of Mirkwood— stag that flew over their heads and prepared to take a leap.
Thorin regarded the extremely bizarre animal in a hateful manner, something less than fond of its surreal, sparkling white fur, and his hand reflexively stretched the string of his bow. The Ranger, upon sensing the benign and, oddly, noble air the stag secreted, hesitated to let the arrow fly and kill it, therefore the hand wielding her bow lowered.
The arrow in Thorin's bow flew at full throttle to kill the beast, but missed it. Before the dwarf king had the chance to shoot another one, the stag leapt forward and managed to jump onto the opposite bank.
"You shouldn't have done that," Bilbo noted quietly, an odd sensation making his skin crawl. He voiced the sentiments of the woman as well, who still stood there and gawked at the spot the animal had once been as if she were in a trance. "It's bad luck."
"I don't believe in luck," Thorin spat out with abnormal —even for his own standards— disdain. "We make our own luck."
The dwarves winced when the sound of hooves reached their ears, meaning that the animal had successfully escaped, thus dissolving any dreams of having venison for supper.
"Bombur fell in the water!" Dwalin's cry snapped everyone out of their daze as he was the only one watching what had taken place upon the boat.
The deer had caused Bombur to flail about and the boat to rock from side and to side, and the dwarf's size did not count positively to the event, so he eventually landed with a loud splash into the river. Not delaying much, the others threw the rope with the hook towards him, he caught it and they dragged him out.
"No!" Arya cried and almost propelled herself there in two wide strides, grabbing the two princes from their hoods who were ready to step into the swallow waters of the ford and pull the dwarf out. She pulled them with all her might, causing both of them to stumble back and then all three of them to bump heavily on the ground.
Three groans left their mouths simultaneously from the force and the subsequent pain of the collision. Fili felt her knee against his lower back, poking his bones vehemently as she tried to pull her leg away. The lucky bastard that happened to be his brother had landed on a rather soft spot for which, as Fili imagined, he would be very satisfied had he and Arya been in speaking terms.
Kili had an entirely different opinion. Perhaps he was lucky to land where he had and not on the ground, but there was something there, something metallic, that crashed against the back of his head. It was that blasted pendant of hers, he realised and then rubbed the spot, already feeling a small bump sprouting up. "What's the bloody matter with you?" he barked as soon as he managed to drag himself away from her and get on his feet.
"You mustn't step into the water," Arya panted urgently and gestured towards the bank, ignoring the stinging pain in her arse that had crashed against the ground anew, "Look!"
Bombur had been washed up to the bank, his hood floating in the water and his huge stomach protruding out of it. His eyes were closed and he had taken a tremendous grip of the rope and the hook, despite all the dwarves' efforts to pull it away.
"Is he taking a bloody nap?" Dwalin snapped with an exasperated look, arm ready to slap Bombur to wake him.
Arya jogged over and grabbed his arm with her hand, observing the sleeping dwarf's relaxed face and smile. He seemed to have fallen into a nice, peaceful dream, having no care in the world about the reality. "The water is causing it," she suspected. "Enchanted, poisoned- Call it what you will, but something tells me he'll be out for awhile."
"Are you serious?!"
Thorin resisted the urge to savagely rub his temples when she nodded, instead opting to calm himself down with the force of his mind. "We need to carry him," he ordered. "Four of us each time, and the rest will share the carriers' packs."
Needless to say, carrying Bombur on shoulders, even if the weight was distributed to four people, was not for the faint of heart. The next day there was practically nothing left to eat or drink, and hunting was out of the question. Only herbs with pale leaves and unpleasant smell, and wild mushrooms that surely were poisonous were growing around. Yet now, most of the trees they met were beeches and the shadow was not as deep as it was a week ago. The air was also a tad less heavy and a light breeze escorted them during the day, marking the beginning of the forest's eastern outskirts.
The velvety darkness had fell upon them once again and the company set camp for the second night after the river incident. Watches were assigned among the company, while the Ranger went for her usual patrol.
Bilbo had offered to take first watch, since he blissfully found out that the moon was casting a few rays of light through a relatively thin net of branches, and wanted to exploit every single moment of it. The last time he remembered to have seen the moon was at Beorn's house. Never so far he had an itch for these things, but now discovered that he dearly missed the light and comfort it offered in these weeks' infinite darkness.
He was sitting at the roots of a giant beech, his back against the trunk, and ruffled his feet among the dead leaves that formed a mossy, red carpet on the forest ground. A few tree leaves rustled down and brought him notice that the autumn was coming on.
"A silver for your thoughts."
The low whisper in his ear almost made him jump a foot. Turning, he saw the Ranger with a smile on her face after a long time. He chuckled lowly.
"Not so wise to keep watch if you're not paying attention, master Baggins."
His heart fluttered at her lighthearted tone—a rare sight if ever there was one. "I was merely thinking how time goes by. Autumn has arrived, I think," he muttered thoughtfully and gestured towards the fallen leaves, "and I don't even know what the date is. Could be my birthday for all I know."
She crouched down beside him and crossed her hands on her lap. "When is your birthday?"
"Twenty-second day of September."
"Ah, worry not," she allayed. "We still have nearly a month for it."
He shook his head thoughtfully, making a mental note to keep track of the days from now on and wondering how she hadn't missed the count of time being in this godforsaken forest for so long. "When is yours?" he inquired politely.
The Ranger was too busy carving patterns on the dirt with a small knife and then erasing them with the sole of her boot. The question made her pause, bringing a half-smile to her face. Very few people knew her date of birth. "Two months and six days after yours," she whispered.
For a moment he was befuddled, expecting to hear a month and a number. As the words sank in, his shoulders shook with quiet laughter. Heaven forbid she'd ever give a straight answer. "I'd like to ask you something, if it's not too forward."
"Go ahead."
"Why are you avoiding the others?" He saw her stiffening. "I mean no offence, but this sudden change of character makes no sense. And you seem to have irked a few people quite a lot," he noted pointedly.
Her shoulders sagged when her head slumped forward, and she let out a long-suffering sigh.
"You can tell me. I won't tell anyone, I promise."
Arya forcefully pinned the knife on the dirt and twisted it as the last embers of anger had yet to die down. "It's not that I want to do it," she hissed. "I simply have to. 'Tis the best way without giving long explanations that could lead to confrontations which I wouldn't like to be part of."
"I don't understand," he narrowed his eyes, cocking an eyebrow. "You mean you were forced to do it?"
"Well..." A grimace of uncertainty made her wince and then resignedly shake her head. "In a manner of speaking, yes."
"Still, I cannot understand."
Another deep sigh escaped her. She had nothing against revealing the reason to him, but thought it wiser not to drag more innocent victims in a conflict made for two. "Perhaps it is best that you don't."
Her manner was rather rueful than offensive. He could almost feel her sadness, despite her smile earlier. Perhaps it wasn't as real as he'd thought. "But this hurts you, does it not? I can see it."
"One gets used to it," she shrugged, not daring to look at him out of fear that he'd read the real answer in her eyes.
The cogs in Bilbo's brain were spinning. She was forced to avoid certain people, fact which hurt her, and yet was still doing it. The thought of Kili crossed his mind at that moment, and he wondered if it'd be wise to tell him and spare the lad the torture she was submitting him to, along with herself. In the end he reckoned it was far from wise; for Kili would go livid, she would, too, and Bilbo would desire to be in the middle of a fight between the two not in a million years.
"So you just consciously hurt yourself."
"'Tis easier that way."
"Perhaps you like it," he mused and rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Her head twisted towards him. "Pardon me?"
"Perhaps you like the pain."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm saying that you keep hurting yourself on purpose, because it feels good when you stop."
Arya's expression remained neutral despite the fact that her worldview had just received a powerful blow. Chaos erupted in her mind and she was left staring at him in utter bewilderment, while he continued to stare back at her with that everlasting kind look, seemingly privy to something she was too blind to see. She didn't like not knowing. Knowledge was important, even if it brought pain to its holder—as far as she was concerned, at least.
A low voice put an end to her inner frenzy and brought her back to reality.
"What?" she asked at a loss.
"I said why don't you go to sleep?"
"I can't sleep," she wiggled her head nervously, unable to break away from the disturbing thoughts. "I keep hearing the bloody whispers–"
The hobbit tensed. Did she–? Did she hear voices too? No one else had complained about hearing voices so far, but that meant nothing. Perhaps they did and simply chose to either ignore them or not make it known.
"What whispers?" he asked with caution.
"I do not always recognise the voices– Sometimes I think I hear my parents and my brothers. But the sounds are scratchy and creepy," she muttered with a grim look. "The mind is prone to mischief, I suppose. Either that, or the trees are speaking to each other."
His brain dug up a faint memory of some folk claiming there was something in the water that ran through the Old Forest on the borders of Buckland that made the trees come alive, sough, talk even. Bilbo couldn't help but bristle. "I can hear them, too," he admitted. "The creepy voices."
"This is a dark forest," Arya replied gingerly. "Enchanted to inspire fear and evoke evil notions to the travelers' minds. The whispers are the least of those evils, I tell you, although it still is fairly unnerving."
He rubbed his chin in a thoughtful manner before adding dryly, "Also the fact that half of the company carries giant axes doesn't bode well for the trees, I guess."
Arya barked a quiet laugh, appreciating his sense of humour.
Bilbo would gladly give up a good night's sleep to give her mind a moment of peace. Indeed, her smile before was not real, for she seemed utterly weathered and haggard now that she was sharing some of her troubles with him. No more words left her mouth after that, so they remained silent and he patiently waited for the time to pass and his watch to come to an end.
The night was bound to go by exactly as the previous ones; with one on watch, one sunk into a nightmare, and the others sleeping like logs. Only this time, the nightmare would visit another.
See ya next Tuesday with a new, extra juicy chapter. Cheers!