Chapter Thirty-Six: Meetings and Recollection

The light tapping on his door summoned Fili to walk over and open it. As the hallway was revealed, so was Torvi, standing before him and looking so much like her younger self that he had remembered from many years ago. As he looked her over, he noticed the leather strap around her neck that disappeared beneath her neckline. He did not need to see it to know what pendant lay beneath. Her green eyes moved up shyly, almost bashfully. He parted his lips to utter her name but was cut off when he was hit full force in the chest as she crashed into him and wrapped her arms tightly around his torso.

"I'm sorry," he heard her mumble into his chest. "I am so sorry that I pushed you away."

Fili had his arms wrapped around her before she had even finished with her apology. He did not care to hear her apologize. However, he knew that it was something she needed to do so he let her mumble her apology as he relished their closeness. One arm moved up as he tangled his hand into her hair and pulled her body closer to him. His head bowed down and he took in her scent as he nestled the top of her head. He did not realize just how much he had missed her physical contact until now. Yes he had missed her, but now he realized his body had been craving her. His arms tightened more securely around her at the thought and he smiled into her hair. He had her back, he had his Torvi back.

"You better be," he said in a teasing reprimand. Torvi felt him smile against her hair. "I had to ask for Ferin for help because of you."

He heard her release a small laugh into his chest before loosening her grip. He let her pull back slightly, just enough to look up at him without leaving his arms. Her eyes were free of tears, to which he was grateful. He had seen her shed enough tears for the time being.

"So you finally accepted that he has changed?."

Fili rolled his eyes. "Please, he may be on our side but he is just as arrogant and self centered as always," he enjoyed the moment of them both smiling before he turned things more serious. "You have made a decision?"

Torvi set her lips firmly and nodded.

"I want Lord Ferer wiped from existence," she said sternly. A twinge of dred began to course through his body at her words but was halted by her next words. "But I do not want him dead. I want him ruined. I want to take him down in our own way. I want him to live so that he sees the way a Kingdom is meant to be ruled. I want him to fall."

Fili smiled and nodded. "Then fall he shall."

Torvi walked across the massive open hall to were Fili was standing and exchanging words with Ferin. It was a sight that had increased in frequency as of late. While it was still an odd scene to witness, Torvi could not help but appreciate the sight. It always gave her hope that change was possible. It was her proof that the world she and Fili envisioned for the future could happen.

Both males looked up at her approach, with a quick nod from Fili and an incline of Ferin's head that could almost be interpreted as a bow, Frerin departed and Fili began to walk towards her to meet her half way.

Torvi sent him a warm smile as she nodded in the direction of where Ferin had disappeared. "Never thought I would see the day that you two would be friends."

A snort of mockery sounded and she drew her eyes back towards Fili. "As if," he scoffed, "I will never consider that man my friend. He is an ally, nothing more."

Torvi smiled softly to herself. Despite his words, Torvi could tell that the tone of his voice was not the most sincere. Yes, perhaps friends was not the correct word, but Torvi knew better than to believe Fili only spoke with the man because there were merely on the same side. Something had changed between them and while they both refused to admit it, Torvi could tell that there was an odd companionship between the two. Nothing like the ones shared he between her own brother or her between his, but there was something. She just did not have the right word for it. They were now friendly with each other but there was still the presence of dislike. The heavy cloud of rivalry always seemed to overcast the two when near each other.

Fili cleared his throat and looked around quickly to check that there were no prying ears. His movement caused her thoughts were moved on to more important matters that did not include the contemplation of Fili's and Ferin's relationship when he began to speak.

"I need to go to Dale tonight and I want you to come with me," he invited.

Torvi's eyebrows raised in surprise. It would be the first time since being attacked that she would leave the mountain. While she knew Fili was trying to not smother her, she could tell that he was still trying to be over protective. After what she had put him through while he waited it out, she let it slide.

They were little things that for most people would go unnoticed, and for a while she did too. That is until she realized that someone always seemed to be near her. Usually her brother, Kili, or Fili. Following those three, it would sometimes be Ferin or even Thorin. It was not until a week ago that she realized that her constant companionship was not just coincidence when others, mainly those from Thorin's company seemed to always have an excuse to accompany her.

From one destination to another they seemed to have an excuse to follow until passed on to another or she was safely within the confines of her home. It was only occasionally that she found herself walking the halls alone and even then it was never longer than for an hour or so. Even then she had a suspicion that someone was at least watching her from afar.

If she were completely honest she was grateful. She was still having nightmares at least once a week and she still felt skittish when in public. Too often an innocent hand gesture in her peripherals would cause her to flinch when she was not expecting the movement.

"What is it that needs to be done?" she asked curiously.

Fili scratched his head. "Ferin said that there was a man that might possibly have some information regarding his father's next move."

"And you want me to come with you?" She asked.

Fili frowned. "To be honest no. But the source said he only wants to talk to only the two of us so I have no other choice," he candidly admitted.

Torvi's brows furrowed. "Why us? And why both?"

Fili shrugged. "I don't know. Ferin does not even know who the man is. He was contacted through written letter. I have to admit, I have my worries that it may be a trap set up by his father. But we don't exactly have any other leads. With Ferin pretty much disowned in every way but publicly, we have been struggling and I fear our time is running out. It is only a month until the wedding and I have a feeling Ferer does not want that to happen."

Torvi bit at her lip as she thought. Fili was correct. It was risky but they were running out of options. She looked back up at him. "When do we meet him?"

"Late," he said. "In a small pub on the southern side."

Torvi nodded. "I am guessing you will pick me up?"

Fili smiled and nodded.

"Then I suppose I will see you later then," she responded. "That is unless you are planning on accompanying me home since no one else is around to pass me off to?"

Fili grinned guiltily. He knew Torvi had been on to him for awhile and he appreciated that she was tolerating it.

"Unfortunately no, I have to head in the opposite direction." After a moment of contemplation, he added, "However...I believe Dori is wanting to borrow some of your mothers knitting needles."

Torvi rolled her eyes but moved forward to give him a quick peck on the cheek before backpedaling away. "And I don't suppose he will just happen to be around?"

Fili shrugged but as she turned to head home, she heard him give out a quiet 'thankyou' before she was out of hearing. Without turning around she gave him a wave and continued on. The moment she reached the threshold to exit the large hall room, Dori came from around the corner.

"Ah Torvi," he said quickly. "I was just wondering if I could borrow…"

"Mothers knitting needles," Torvi finished for him while ignoring his look of surprise and continuing on as she called back to him, "Come on."

There was hardly any light coming from the pub and Torvi was having difficulty deciding if it was because the windows were covered in so much grim that it eclipsed the light within from escaping into the street or if it was just because the lights themselves where dimly lit. She shivered and pulled her cloak tighter around herself. They had been standing across the street in a darkened alleyway for nearly a half hour, watching carefully before entering. At this point Torvi was ready to leave caution to the wind as long as it meant she could get out of this cold air. But Fili had insisted that they watch before entering, despite the fact they had no idea who they were even looking for.

"Aside from the pub itself looking disreputable, I see nothing that would seem suspicious," Fili finally said as he turned to her. "I think we can go in."

Torvi let out a sigh of relief and moved to walk towards the entrance where she new warmth resided but was stopped by an outstretched arm. She looked at Fili with a questioning brow and he gently rearranged her cloak so the hood covered her face more effectively.

"Make sure you keep this on," he instructed. Torvi nodded in reply. "And stay close." Torvi nodded again. "If anything goes wrong or…"

"Fili," Torvi interrupted and patted the sword hanging from her hip where it was concealed by her cloak. "I will be fine."

Fili watched her carefully as he bit his lip. Torvi knew he was already considering having her stay behind but it seemed he determined it was not worth risking losing their source. He had asked for the both of them. With a tight lipped sigh he finally nodded.

"Let's go." He said, moving forward to lead them into the building.

It turned out that both guesses about the lack of light had been correct. The windows were dirty and the lights were dim within the crowded tavern. It was a rowdy establishment. Full of men, a few dwarves, and even some roguish looking elves. There was a heavy layer of smoke that hung in the air and the smell of pungent sweat and ale made it difficult to breath a complete lung full of air without cringing. The sound of drunken laughs and heavy horse play nearly drowned out the music of a single fiddle being played by a toothless man sitting near the entrance. She felt Fili's hand grab at her cloak instinctively before he began to pull her towards an empty booth near the back of room.

Fili took care to weave safely through the maze of larger bodied humans and elves as he kept Torvi close. He had no intention of losing her within the mass of drunken men. He had already known what kind of patrons the pub drew before coming and he had prepared fully to make sure that no harm or harassment would come to Torvi. As he neared the empty booth that he had spotted from the front, he pulled her forward and pushed her onto the bench before sliding in next to her. He looked around once to see if anyone stood out as their source but found those people around them seemed oblivious or unconcerned with their arrival. Situated within the booth there was nothing left but to wait. And wait they did.

An hour passed by and they had still yet to be approached. Fili was getting restless. He was to the point of giving up by the second hour when a figure slid into the bench across from them. They each took in the sight of him as he settled in and stared evenly back at them. His light brown eyes slowly moving back and forth between them.

"Prince Fili," the man nodded then looked to Torvi. "Lady Torvi."

His voice was raspy as if not fully recovered from a sore throat. Fili tried to place the man but could not decipher any memory or name that paired with the man. He was at least four decades his senior, with the beginnings of grey whisps along his temples and his forehead showed the markings of a receding hairline. His state of clothing were made of fine cloth but had seen better days. He could see the crude stiching of patched holes and tears where the repairing thread did not fully match the original clothings dye.

He was no commoner or soldier from what he could tell of the man's build. He lacked the brawny build that came with the hard work of manual labor and the unmarred skin of his exposed forearms told him this man had never seen a battle in his life. His fine clothing told him he was, at least at one point in his life, wealthy. However a Lord fallen on hard times did not fit this man's appearance either. He did not hold himself in the manor of one born into nobility. That left Fili with one other option. Merchant.

"Do we know you?"

The man shook his head. "No," he answered. His brown eyes moved back and forth again, his eyes lingering on Torvi for far longer than Fili liked.

"Then who are you?" Fili demanded, taking the man's attention away from Torvi.

Before they had left for Dale, it was agreed between himself and Torvi that he would do the talking unless a question was directly aimed to Torvi. This left Torvi open to freely keep an eye on their surroundings while Fili focused on looking for any deception from the man they were meeting with.

"My name is Fledgerk," he answered. "I originally came from the Iron Hills before I set about as a merchant and traveled the Northern and Eastern territories."

At the mention of the Iron Hills, Fili looked to Torvi. Her eyes where making a swift sweep around the room but moved to look at him when she caught sight of his head movement. There was no need for him to voice his question and Torvi immediately shook her head, indicating that she was not familiar with the man. With his answer, Fili looked back to the man, his blue eyes watching Fledgerk's features for any tells of ill intention.

"I was told that you have information regarding a possible threat to the throne," Fili said, not wasting any time getting to the point.

The man shifted nervously. "Not quite."

A rush of annoyance moved within Fili. "Then why," he said darkly, "are we here?"

"I have information that could help build a case within a court that could contest against Lord Ferer," Fledgrik said quickly in an attempt to amend the misinformation. "I apologize for my deceit to get you here but I could not risk being seen within the mountain and I knew you would not come unless it was something of real importance."

Fili sucked his teeth in annoyance as he thought. Finally after a long deliberation, Fili gave the man a nod. They had come all this way, they may as well hear him out and hope that what he gave them was something that could be used.

Torvi only half listened to the man's raspy voice as he pointed to the map laid out on the table and explained the history of Ferer's past sins. In her opinion it did not seem like helpful information, but Fili had agreed to listen and that gave her enough reason to patiently wait as the two men spoke quietly. She was now positioned in the middle of the bench as Fili, having relaxed slightly when no problems had arisen thus far, had moved to the other side to sit beside Fledgrik.

Casting her eyes about, Torvi watched the movements of the tavern patrons. The crowd had thinned slightly over time, though it was still well stocked with intoxicated stumblers. Two men were attempting to start up a jig in the middle of the room but in their drunken states they ended up tumbling over several chairs and upsetting a table. Their ruckus had caused several to give out protests and separate to the outer rims of the room in hopes to keep their drinks from being spilled when the next table was overturned.

As they shifted, a mass of area was revealed and Torvi took the opportunity to let her eyes graze along the opposite side of the establishment that had been previously blocked by a wall of bodies. At first there was nothing that caught her eye. All seemed the same as the side she currently preoccupied. But then she caught sight of a lone figure that caused her to pause.

It was a male dwarf sitting in the corner closest to her. He was a grizzly of a man. His hair dark and matted from both lack of hygiene and preening of a comb. Matching his hair, his dark eyes where shadowed and heavily hooded by a prominent brow. The dwarf paid no heed to his surroundings, only the large pint of ale before him seemed to catch his attention as he stared down into the pewter tankard. He looked wild. As if birthed in the wilderness and left to be raised by the beasts that failed to eat him. The aura the man expelled was one that would give no indication of welcome.

Torvi knew she would not recall an occasion that had occured in which she would meet the man. The idea of knowing such a man with the life she lived was preposterous. Yet, despite what she told herself, Torvi could not ignore the nagging feeling that somehow, somewhere she had seen this man before.

She glanced to where Fili was still engrossed with Fledgrik then looked back to the man. It was an itching curiosity that could not be ignored, she had to know why he was so familiar. Her body moved before she could even process or contemplate what she was actually doing. Weaving carefully around the drunken males, she managed to travel over to the corner with only a few bumpings that went ignored and nearly unregistered.

From a young age Torvi had been told that there were more snakes in the world with a harmless bite than those that did. She had also heard the constant saying that snakes were more afraid of you than you of them. But despite these two facts, it did not mean you just walk up to them and expect them to be harmless, especially the ones who flash their fangs and coil in preparation to strike out.

The dwarf was certainly not flashing fangs or coiling in preparation to give a venomous bite. In fact, he had yet to even look up from his ale or acknowledge that someone was approaching him. But it was still apparent that the male did not have an open door policy that welcomed anyone into his company. Especially the company that came in the form of young maidens that had no intention of offering certain...services that would be usually offered in such an establishment.

So it was no surprise that when Torvi lightly sat herself in the chair opposite of him, that she was not greeted with the warmest of expressions. The moment her bottom had touched the scraped wood of the seat, she was pinned down with a cold hard stare. Instantly, Torvi felt the blood in her body chill, as if he really had struck out and given her a venomous bite. She swallowed thickly as her throat formed a tightness that made it difficult to breath. The dwarf remained silent and his eyes never removed themselves as they stared coldly at her.

"I...I anm sss..sorry to bother you...um...sir," she stuttered out.

She wanted to check and see if Fili had noticed that she had left, wanted to make sure he knew where she was but she could not. She could not risk looking away for she was sure that, if he truly was a snake, it would be then that he would take the opportunity to strike out with his venomous fangs. So instead of looking away she took in a deep breath and met the man's cold eyes.

"I do not wish to bother you," she said more strongly. "But I feel as though we have met before...perhaps a long time ago? Where is it that you are from?"

The man gave no reply nor indication that he even heard her. Not a single gnarled and thick muscle that made up the man's body moved. He did not even bat an eyelash as he continued to look straight into her own eyes. The only signs that proved that dwarf was even alive was the prominent beat of his heart being displayed at the pulse point of his neck. It was elevated from what Torvi could tell but the reason for its rapid pace was a mystery to her.

"What is you name?" Torvi tried again when she received no response. "My name is Torvi," she offered when again, the man made no move to speak. "I have just recently moved to Erebor in the past year. I have lived mostly in the Iron Hills." Again no answer. "Have you ever been?"

The man continued to remain mute and disturbingly still.

"Um...how long have you been in Dale? Have you by chance entered int—"

She was suddenly cut off when there was a tug on her arm as she was yanked from her seat. Her mind panicked at first as instinct had her naturally move to pull herself free. But then she caught sight of her capturer's golden hair and was greeted with a very unappeased and frowning Fili. He gave her a disapproving look.

"There you are," he said quickly as he began to pull her away from the small table. Just before he began directing her swiftly to the front door she heard him give a quick excuse of her intrudance and excuse of her drunkenness to the ominous dwarf.

The blast of chill that hit Torvi the moment they crossed out of the threshold of the tavern nearly caused Torvi to swiftly retreat back into the warmth of the building. However, Fili did not give her the opportunity as he pulled her farther into the darkened street and fully into the frigid air of winter weather. Torvi let herself be dragged down the street until Fili suddenly took a sharp turn into a darkened ally way.

"Are you insane!" Fili rebuked with a questioning tone. "What part of staying near me and not speaking with anyone did you not understand?! Do you even have any idea who you were speaking to?"

She was tempted to give her own aggressive rebuttal but she was trying to be better at talking things out instead of arguing lately. A feat that was difficult especially at times like this but she had to try.

"I know. I am sorry, but there was something familiar about him," Torvi was quick to explain. "I have met him somewhere before, I justー"

She stopped speaking when Fili let out a skeptical snort. "I am sorry, but I highly doubt you of all people have ever met him before. You must have mistaken him for someone else."

Torvi's brow creased in annoyance as she looked at him. "How do you know…" she began indignantly but the faltered, "wait, do you know him?"

Fili nodded. "That was Raud the Wraith, he is a berserker that mercenaries himself out to whomever has a deep enough purse. They call him the wraith because he is the bringer of death to anyone who is his target...or at least that is what the rumors say. So unless you have been trying to find yourself a person to do your dirty work, I doubt you have seen him before. Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? Someone already tried to take you life and failed. Who is to say they will not try again? This time using a more reliable killer such as...oh I don't know...Raud the Wraith!"

Torvi did not appreciate the tone of sarcasm in his voice. It was making it difficult to stay calm on her part. She pursed her lips tightly, feeling a bit annoyed at his chastising her of dangers. Yes, instinctually she knew what she had done was perhaps foolish. But she was not about to admit that.

"I just wanted to know why he looked familiar," she defended. "Not that I would have found out to even if he did know me...the man would not even utter a sound," she mumbled under her breath.

She watched has Fili pinched the bridge of his nose as he let out a tired sigh, making her feel very much like a naughty child who was questioning why it was wrong to touch the hot stove.

"Torvi," he sighed. "The man is both deaf and mute. Even if he did know who you were he would have never been able to tell you."

"Oh," she said as she scratched her head. "I did not know...had I known I would have一" She slapped her forehead. "Oh Mahal, I probably offended hi一"

Fili's light laughter caused her to stop speaking as she looked up curiously at him. Slowly he pulled her close to him and kissed her brow.

"What is so humorous?" Torvi asked wryly against his chest.

"Only you would be worried about offending a man who only thinks of himself and kills people for a living."

She could feel the pressure of someone grabbing her but not the individual grip of his fingers as they wrapped around the column of her neck. The frozen snow in which she was thrashing around felt like tiny sharp needles as the ice crystals scrapped violently across her the exposed skin where her coat and tunic had been torn during her struggle to get free.

Everything was a blur as she lashed out. Her arms slapping widley against the man's strong arms that held her down by her neck. Her head thrashed from side to side as she sought out an angle in which to relieve the crushing pressure on her larynx if only to breath in the smallest amount of air. But her efforts were useless as she found a darkness begin to creep around the edges of her vision.

In one last effort to try and save herself, she looked up directly into the face of her attacker. Had it been any other season, or the snow fall had come late, she would be greeted with nothing but the sight of a dark shadow, silhouetted by the moonlight that he eclipsed. But because of the white snow that covered the ground she was met with dark eyes that bore into her as if to seek out her soul and burn it from her body. A wild mane of hair framed the mans face that was illuminated by the moonlight reflected by the snow.

Her eyes cried out what her voice was incapable of doing as it was being crushed. Silently, she begged for her life. He did not let go as she gazed pleadingly up at him but he did hesitate. It was not much, but just enough for her to manipulate her body enough to finally let her numb fingers grasp around the cold metal of her sword. With what little strength she had, she drove the sword up in the man's side. Instantly she felt the warmth of his blood spill onto her, tempting her to remain and relish the precious heat. But she could not hesitate.

The moment his hands released her neck to grab reflexively at the point that her sword entered his side, she moved. She was nearly free of him when he reached out and caught the leather cord that was tied around her neck. A painful tug was felt as the cord broke from her neck causing the man to fall backwards. And then, she ran.

Torvi bolted up in her bed, her skin goose pimpled and damp from the sheen of cold sweet that covered her body. Her erratic breathing left her feeling light headed as she struggled to bring clarity to her mind. It was the nightmare she had had numerous times, but never in her life had it left her feeling so shaky. Slowly she pushed the duvet off of her and let her feet fall to the cold floor. On shaking legs she walked over to the small wash stand in her room. She caught sight of the mirror that hung on the wall and nearly let out a shriek as she caught sight of a ghost looking back at her only to realize that she was looking at her reflection. Her skin was ghastly pale and heavy dark circles encircled her eyes making her look gholish.

Grabbing the pitcher sitting on the table she poured its contents the porcelain basin and splashed her face. The cold water was shocking but it woke her up and she managed to finally feel steady on her feet. She blindly felt for the towel hanging on the rack on the side of the table and dried her face. She tried to relish the comfort of the soft linen against her face as she breath slowly in and out but a lingering thought kept her from finding solace. As many times as she had that dream they had always been the same, until now. There was one difference between tonight and the one hundred other times her mind replayed that vision over that past months. She had never seen that man's face, no matter how hard she had tried, she had never been able to catch even a glimpse...until now.

She had finally seen that face of her attacker, and she recognized him. It seemed so obvious now as memory came flooding into her mind. Recollections that she could never remember before now seemed engraved into her mind's eye. She now knew why Raud had looked so familiar. She now remembered where she had known him from. Raud, was the man who had attacked her nearly two months ago.

So...it has been awhile. Hoping it will not so long next time. I have recently finished and started another book while trying to think of how I am going to conclude everything. I have the Epilogue done but I feel like it will be awhile before I will get to that since there are a lot of things that needed to be concluded. I needed a little break from the current story I have been working on so thought I would finally finish this half written chapter that has been sitting around for what feels like half a year. Not sure if anyone is even still reading but to those who are thanks for hanging in there.