Traveling that day was slow and quiet.
The others talked in hushed voices, but I was ignored, shunned even. So I hid under my hood and rode behind M. She and Miley were the only ones who would ride and I didn't really feel like walking again today. But as we rode, I found M to grow increasingly annoying. Just the way she breathed was annoying. And the way she talked with Miley. Was I really like that? I couldn't be.
As the day wore on, my body grew stiffer and stiffer. And my nerves got more one edge. I was going to freak out if I didn't find some way to calm down. What did other people do to calm down? I wracked my brain through stories I had been in and finally came to 'The Hunger Games'. That was it. Slowly, I opened my mouth and began to sing.
'Are you, Are you,
Coming to the tree?
They strung up a man,
They say who murdered three.
Strange things have happened here
No stranger would it be,
If we met
At mid-
Night in the hanging tree.'
It was after the first verse that I noticed the others had begun to quiet a bit. But no one complained, so I continued.
'Are you, Are you,
Coming to the tree?
Where dead men called out
For his love to flee.
Strange things have happened here
No stranger would it be,
If we met
At mid-
Night in the hanging tree.'
Everyone had stopped talking by now, and Miley had begun to hum in the background quietly.
'Are you, Are you,
Coming to the tree?
I told you to run,
So we'd both be free.
Strange things have happened here
No stranger would it be,
If we met
At mid-
Night in the hanging tree.'
Both Miley and I grew louder as the song continued, swaying softly with the tune.
'Are you, Are you,
Coming to the tree?
Wear necklace of hope,
Side by side with me.
Strange things have happened here
No stranger would it be,
If we met
At mid-
Night in the hanging tree.
Are you, Are you,
Coming to the tree?
I told you to run,
So we'd both be free.
Strange things have happened here
No stranger would it be,
If we met
At mid-
Night in the hanging tree.'
And then Miley and M started singing with me, both of them knew the song just as well as I did, after all.
'Are you, Are you,
Coming to the tree?
They strung up a man,
They say who murdered three.
Strange things have happened here
No stranger would it be,
If we met
At mid-
Night in the hanging tree.
Are you, Are you,
Coming to the tree?
Where dead man called
Out for his love the flee.
Strange things have happened here
No stranger would it be,
If we met
At mid-
Night in the hanging tree.'
And as the last words drifted away on the gentle breeze, it occurred to me how similar it was to the dwarves' song in Bag End.
There are few things more powerful than a group of people singing a song straight from memory… straight from the heart. A hidden smile slipped over my face as I sat on the back of the pony.
No one said anything about it, but when the quiet chatting resumed, it seemed a tad bit lighter… happier.
I watched as we passed through the rocky, narrow incline where I had awoken before. That had been such a nasty fall. And it felt like ages ago. How could it have felt so long? It was only a few months after all.
The sun had begun to slip beneath the mountains when we stopped to make camp. It was the ledge between cliff face and cliff ledge where Balin had once told the story of Thorin's battle with the pale orc. Azog. And Rina said he was still alive. Camp was set up quickly, dinner was made and served with the rabbits caught that morning and everyone settled down for sleep, except for Fili who was on watch. And Kili seemed restless as well.
Swallowing anxiously, I walked over to stand next to him. "You want to talk about this yet? Or do you need some more time still?"
Kili didn't answer for a bit, absorbed in whatever he was doing. "I need some more time." Right… okay then. "But I suppose it's time to get over this. Alright." He stood reluctantly and we walked over to the edge of the cliff and sat down.
"I lied to you." I said immediately. Kili nodded in agreement. "And still I am keeping secrets from you."
"Why?"
"Kili, I died." I glared into dark brown eyes. "If you died and didn't have any secrets, I'd honestly be amazed."
"Why can't you just tell me the truth?" Kili asked, hurt engraved into his voice. "I don't even know who you are."
"You don't know my name." I nodded in agreement. "Or where I'm from, or anything about me. But you know who I am."
"Aye, a lying, manipulative, untrusting freak." Kili spat, looking out over the trees again.
My gaze dropped to the ground. "Yeah… see? You know exactly who I am." The air was split with an unearthly cry. It echoed across surroundings sending shivers down my spine.
"Orcs." Kili whispered to the wind beside me. My silence was my only reply. I only looked up when I felt my hood disappear off my head. I found a hand open in front of me. I looked up at Kili questioningly. "The name's Kili, son of Dis, it's a pleasure to meet you."
I laughed despite myself, a smile creeping into my eyes. "Nice to meet you Kili, I'm Mary Sue, but you can just call me Nimm." I accepted his hand to shake it, but instead he carefully raised it to his lips and planted a small kiss on the back of it.
"Beautiful name." he smiled at me.
I laughed and retrieved my hand again. "Well looks like someone's used to being smooth with the ladies." Normally, I would get annoyed, but I decided it was probably not the best time for that, so I let it roll.
"Only the beautiful ones." Kili winked, unable to hold back a genuine smile. "So, where are you from Nimm?"
"Oh you know," I shrugged, "Just the next world over. You?"
"Well, I've lived my life in Ered Luin… that's a dwarven kingdom in the Blue Mountains. But now I'm on a quest to reclaim my homeland from an evil dragon, so… if that goes well I'll be moving there."
"That's exciting."
"Aye. A bit."
"I'm currently homeless at the moment." I nodded. "I guess my world has strict policies about their being more than one of somebody, so… That's a thing." God, I was so bad at small talk. Not even two minutes and I managed to plunge the conversation into serious depressingness. Ughhhhh.
"That's unfortunate." Kili replied, all humor gone from his voice.
"Yeah…" I mumbled. "Yeah, just a bit." And a sad silence filled the air, broken only by the chirp of bugs and Bombur's snoring.
"You know this doesn't mean I forgiven you for lying." Kili spoke.
"It doesn't?" I frowned.
Kili shook his head. "But I am willing to give it another chance. A chance to earn my trust back."
"Thanks." I smiled sadly. "It's more than I deserve."
"Well," Kili shrugged. "No one's perfect."
"That's an understatement." Kili's eyes lingered on me as I watched the breeze move the treetops like emerald waves of grain.
His voice was hesitant when he spoke again. "Can I… kiss you?"
I panicked at first, the mere suggestion bringing back shadows of past memories and horrors. But I stayed calm. For the most part anyway. It would be okay, right? He wasn't going to hurt me. I would be safe. I could trust him… I could. I hope I could.
"Okay…" I whispered. "You can."
Kili saw my hesitation clear as day. "If you don't want to-"
"No." I shook my head. "No, I…" A lump in my throat caught my words and I had to force it down. "I can't keep burying my past and letting it drag me down." Kili's hands found my mask in the night and lowered it. "Just… please be gentle"
It was soft, and warm, timid. Then our emotions fed off each other, building… growing. But as soon as the hint of lust was felt, I immediately backed away. It was scary though. I didn't know who's feeling it was.
"I'm sorry." Kili apologized immediately. "Did I-"
"We should probably get some sleep." I said quickly, yanking up my hood and turning away. And as I curled up to sleep, I tried to convince myself that the heat flooding my face wasn't because I was blushing, but because I was getting sick or something. I tried desperately.
Wow! They finally kissed! in chapter... 28... hmmmmmm
Anyway! Please review! (Things are at work in the shadows)
