A thousand apologies for the lengthy delay, but exam revision completely snowed me under. Thank Mahal that exams are done and dusted, so now I can get back to the joys of writing!
Once again I appreciate you all being so patient!
Chapter 29: Preparation
"Again, and this time for Mahal's sake don't hit me!" Dwalin said exasperatedly. He was only wearing a pair of dark breeches, his muscular and hairy chest gleaming with a thin layer of perspiration. Under different circumstances, Evelyn was sure that Thorin would definitely have something to say about Dwalin's current attire and she would have also been quite embarrassed, but seeing as they were not under these different circumstances, all was well.
"Sorry Dwalin, I've never really used anything beyond the size of a dagger for a long time," She said apologetically as she raised the long stick that served as a weapon and prepared for another round of sparring. She had accidently closed her eyes at one point, and managed to get under his guard and give him a spectacular red welt on his stomach, all by a stroke of luck.
Evelyn had gone straight to Dwalin and requested that they should try some sparring in the hopes that she could improve the few sloppy techniques that she employed when wielding daggers. He had then suggested that rather than using daggers, she should try something bigger.
"Which is exactly why we're training with long sticks. You can't depend on daggers to save your life in a scrape, if anything you need to keep daggers as a safety net, and rely on a sword more," Dwalin explained critically as he grasped his own stick and prepared himself.
"Well I still say that-" She began to say, but she yelped as Dwalin lunged forward, catching her off guard. It would have been more fair if he had waited for her to be ready, but the burly dwarf was very good at teaching people about this sort of stuff. In hardly any time at all, he had disarmed her and was pointing the stick at her throat.
"You're dead now. Always be ready, don't get distracted," Dwalin said as he stood back. He had repeated the same phrase at least six or seven times now and it was starting to get on Evelyn's nerves.
"Oh shut up," She mumbled as she picked up her stick from the ground and prepared herself again, wiping her brow and tucking a stray strand of hair behind her slightly pointed ear.
"Are you ready this time?" Dwalin asked her, a smug grin growing on his face.
Evelyn smirked. "I'm ready to beat your ass to the ground, if that's what you meant,"
This time, it was Evelyn's turn to lunge. Dwalin had been ready, and he sidestepped her advance, bringing his stick down in a crushing blow that would have surely cracked a couple of ribs had she not been able to parry it in time. Thankfully, she managed, and spun around lightly on her feet to meet the next attack, blocking it. For now, she stayed in defence, blocking each attack yet not going on the offensive just yet.
Her strategy was to wait until he tired then go on the offensive, but he wasn't going to tire that easily. Despite the growing layer of sweat, he kept on going with the same level of brutal force and cunning. She began to panic slightly as she realised that she was being forced back to the edge of the small arena that had been set up in the same building that they had feasted in the previous night. Soon enough she would reach the wall, and then she would be in trouble, for it would prove extremely difficult to defend herself while backed up against a wall.
Going against her previous strategy, she decided to start attacking. She parried a blow that would have hit her head, and managed to start driving Dwalin back away from her, now in full battle mode.
After another 10 minutes worth of exhausting and adrenaline-fuelled battle, Dwalin ended up disarming her again. Her weapon clattered to the floor, and she had no hope of disguising her fatigue as she let out a giant pant and leant against a wooden pillar, heart beating faster than the wings of a hummingbird and strands of hair plastered to her sweaty forehead.
"Always be wary of your surroundings lass. Know your limits and where it's gonna be the worst to be cornered in," Dwalin said in between small pants as he threw his stick on the ground and turned away. "If this had been a real fight, you would have been up against that wall, seconds from death,"
"I told you, I'd sooner take daggers than a sword," Evelyn gasped as she reached out for the mug of water sitting on a table nearby and drained it onto her face, the cold water extremely relieving as it ran down her face, soaking her hair and upper clothing.
"Sorry lass, but you won't be relying on daggers forever. Trust me," He said as he grabbed his tunic off the floor and pulled it over his head.
She sighed as she leant her stick against the wooden post and flicked hair out of her face. "Can we train again tomorrow?"
Dwalin nodded. "Sure. Might get the boys in to train as well, couldn't hurt,"
Evelyn grinned. "At least I might stand a chance against them,"
Dwalin chuckled. "I don't know, they're very good when teamed up. Little blighters they can be sometimes, but then again it's my fault they're getting better,"
"Did you train them?" She asked.
He nodded. "It was mostly Thorin who did the work, but he had me around a lot to help with proper techniques and things like that. I wanna make sure their fighting is still up to scratch,"
"Are you expecting a battle?" She asked teasingly.
He met her eyes instantly. "No harm in preparing for the worst," He said seriously.
She raised an eyebrow, trying to search his face for any signs that he was kidding, but there were no indications of joking amongst the serious frown and slight creases in his forehead.
"So how are you feeling Bilbo?" Evelyn asked the hobbit. She had bumped into him outside the tavern where they had been sleeping, and she had insisted that they go somewhere to talk. Despite knowing Bilbo for the majority of her life as not just a neighbour but a playmate, as a youngster anyway, and a friend, nowadays she felt like she hardly knew him because of the decreased amount of time they had once had to talk.
Bilbo smiled as he swallowed the bit of apple he had been chewing on. "Still a bit feverish and my nose is running something spectacular. I really wish I hadn't forgotten my handkerchief,"
Evelyn laughed. "Gandalf said that there were more important things to worry about than handkerchiefs! And besides, Bofur gave you one didn't he?"
He gave her a meaningful stare. "It wasn't really a handkerchief, it was a bit of material that he ripped from the hem of his tunic,"
"Oh, I never realised that!" She said before laughing. "No wonder you hardly used it… but anyway, I wasn't talking about the cold. How are you really feeling about the whole quest? I mean, we're nearly there and you're the one who's supposed to face-"
"Don't say its name!" Bilbo said quickly. "I'd rather not think about it,"
She lowered her voice, as if she was about to reveal a deep secret. "You know, I can try talking to Thorin about getting someone to go along with you when you go to face… him,"
Bilbo shook his head. "No, no, I signed the contract, I knew what I was in for… I just wished I had maybe been a bit more intelligent. I mean, I'm no burglar and I have to face a…" He gulped, then whispered, "dragon," He then shuddered unbelievably.
"You've surprised me on more than one occasion, Bilbo Baggins," Evelyn said kindly. "I'll face that dragon with you if I have to,"
He nodded his thanks, then took another bite of his apple in a thoughtful manner.
Thoughts?
