Everything belongs to JRRTolkien, except OCs and the plot.
As soon as Fili's words left his mouth Nori tensed.
The three of us crouched immediately and Fili pointed in the direction he thought he had seen a flickering light. I held my breath and squinted my eyes. After maybe a few minutes I saw it too. A faint blinking light appeared and disappeared almost immediately.
"They're on our tracks." Nori breathed out.
I realized then only that I was holding on his hand. Unconsciously I squeezed it. I really didn't think that it would be good for any of us, if we were caught. Still, I personally had no idea what we could do. If we went on a mad dash through the forest we would make quite enough noise for them to trail us easily. And that was if I didn't break my neck after falling.
"Quick. Follow me." Nori whispered then.
He stood up and tugged at my arm. I didn't even hesitate as I jumped to my feet, grabbed my staff and followed him. My little injuries were already forgotten. I was trying my best not to stumble and not to make too much noise. Fili was just behind me and Nori didn't let go of my hand. I had no idea where the thief was leading us, but I could only hope he would find a place where we could hide. I wouldn't be able to avoid the men for long. I knew I would at some point trip and fall or something equally stupid.
I chanced a glance above my shoulder and almost cursed loudly.
The light was slowly but steadily getting closer to us.
We were jogging at a slow pace, and I knew it was only because I couldn't go faster than that without risking a noisy fall. I was slowing our escape. I hated myself at that moment. If anything happened to the dwarves, it would be my fault.
I didn't want that. I really didn't.
I held onto Nori. As I squeezed his hand tightly he quickly looked at me but I had nothing to say. I just didn't want to ever let go. I was just really scared that he would be hurt because of me. I would never forgive myself.
As we were making our way through the trees I suddenly realized that we were coming closer to something quite noisy. Something that actually could cover the sound we were making. At that moment, I felt Nori tug my arm slightly and we sped up. Concentrating on the noise instead of the burn in my lungs and legs, I could recognize such a sound easily. Running water. We were close to a river. And a big one, as much I could tell.
That probably was a good thing.
If the men had dogs, hopefully we would lose them as they couldn't follow our scent if we crossed water. Well, that was assuming that we could cross the river. It might be stupidly dangerous to try at night. Rivers were usually dangerous and tricky enough to cross during daylight. Diving in the stream at night might just be suicidal.
I was lost in my thought when we arrived at the riverbank.
Thankfully I could at least see a bit more here. There were fewer trees and the starlight was strong enough to bathe the river in a hollow light. The river was quite large. Its waters were dark and I wasn't sure I could actually distinguish the other side. Trees and bushes covered the bank giving it an inhospitable aspect.
Nori stopped for a second and seemed to ponder on our next course of action.
The logical thing was to cross the river. But even I could see it would be dangerous. The river bank was abrupt and there were bushes that fell on the river, there was even a fallen tree that hanged over the water a bit further downriver. Its dead branches created a net that had stopped other branches and dead leaves. I could already see that the water was flowing quickly and I could guess that the river was running deeply. It would be dangerous to attempt to cross. It would be dangerous not to do it.
I glanced over my shoulder and could see that the light of what could only be torches, was coming closer to our location.
"Quick. Follow me." Nori whispered as he stepped closer to the river.
I hesitated only for a second but it was enough for Nori to turn towards me and squeeze my hand.
"We won't cross. We're going to hide there." He explained in a whisper as he pointed toward the mess of dead branches and bushes that were stopped by the dead tree.
Nori quickly took my staff from my hand and handed it to Fili who nodded simply and took it. The thief was the first one to jump in the water. He didn't utter a sound but I just knew it would be cold. I looked at him. He turned to extend his arms toward me and I swallowed before quickly following him in the dark waters.
I had to bit my lip when I felt the cold bite of the river. It actually took my breath away for a few seconds as the freezing water splashed over my face. The water was coming up to shoulders once I stood. I couldn't even shiver at first. The cold was freezing my body and my blood. I was having trouble to move and stay upright as the strong current was threatening to take me away and my feet struggled to stand in the stones and mud that covered the riverbed. It was even harder to resist the current with my bag on my back. I heard a small splashing sound nearby and knew that Fili had jumped in. It didn't help me to react in any way though.
Nori was facing me and he seemed completely oblivious to the cold or the strength of the river. He placed his ice cold hands on my cheeks and forced me to look at him. His tone reflected his worries as he whispered urgently.
"Amelia. Breathe."
I wanted to. Obviously I wanted to, but the coldness of the water had shocked me and was making it difficult. My body was struggling to recover from this initial, brutal contact and breathing suddenly seemed like an impressive challenge. I managed to take a few shallow breathes but that wasn't good. As I felt that I was about to breathe a bit better again, I started to shiver violently in Nori's arms. My whole body felt growingly numb and I cursed myself once more. Now wasn't the time to suffer from hypothermia. I should have thought about it before I jumped. Running in the forest had made me sweat and my body was warm. Well, it had been warm. The river was obviously going to be cold. It should have been evident that I was going to brutally lower my body temperature by jumping in.
I felt Nori's arms around me as he gathered me closer to his chest, his cold, wet beard feeling like ice on my cheek.
I knew Fili was close too but was unsure of where he was exactly.
Why didn't they feel as cold as me?
Was it because they were dwarves? Damn, that wasn't fair.
"What's going on?" Fili whispered somewhere nearby.
"Go hide quickly. Under the bushes." Nori ordered instead of explaining anything.
I felt Nori was holding onto me as he moved towards the dead tree and I could see Fili's shape disappearing in the water from the corner of my eye. For a second I thought that he had just drowned and was about to say something, but then I heard his voice.
"Come, there's enough space under there."
My heart was starting to pound loudly against my ribcage. Fear made its appearance too. I was too cold.
From a corner of my mind I realized that Nori was slowly guiding me toward the dead tree. Hadn't he been here, I had the growing suspicion that I would have been swept away by the current. Once we arrived near the tree I felt him squeeze my waist. I hadn't even realized he was holding my waist until then. I hadn't stopped shivering and I was getting number as minutes ticked by.
"Mizimul, I'm sorry but we have to go underwater." He whispered in my ear.
He had to be joking.
I felt his lips against my temple, as he pressed a soft kiss on my cold skin. That didn't help my rapid heart rate.
"Take a deep breath and hold it."
Oh dear lord, he wasn't joking.
I sluggishly turned my head to look at him and met his eyes. He was serious about it. Slowly I nodded. I knew Nori wouldn't hide without me. I had to do this. I had to do it for him, for his safety.
I shakily took a deep breath and held it. Quickly, I felt Nori push me underwater. When my head was immersed I struggled not to let the air out of my lungs immediately. I felt two pairs of hands that yanked and pushed me but I was too cold to really process what was going on.
"Mizimul, breathe." I suddenly heard in my ear.
Breathe? How could I breathe underwater? As the words were being repeated I slowly recognized Nori's voice. I could trust him. I let out the air I had been holding. The shivers were getting stronger.
"Mahal, she's freezing." Another voice whispered.
I felt myself being held tightly against a strong body. I had water up to my chin now and I couldn't see anything around, though I knew my eyes were open. Was I in a dark place?
I felt someone's lips…no, Nori's lips, it had to be Nori's lips, on my temple once more. The person who held me, it had to be Nori, strengthened his grip on me.
"Mizimul, please…"
He sounded so worried.
I felt my head loll forward and my forehead suddenly rested against what I could only guess to be Nori's shoulder. I could feel the water splashing my mouth and nose, sending small shards of cold through my face.
"Nori..." I whispered in a shaky voice.
"Hold on for a bit Mizimul." He answered, holding me closer still.
I was freezing. I was so cold. I felt as if my body was trembling so strongly that it would be heard miles around.
After what seemed like an eternity, but was probably only several minutes, I saw some light pierce through the dead foliage. I tried to hold the shivers but it was a lost fight. My numb fingers tried to grab Nori's tunic but my limb were heavy as lead. I gave up while Nori held me tighter still. I was completely flush against him. I could feel his damp hair against my face.
The light grew a bit more until we could hear the noise of steps and voices.
I was struggling to focus and concentrate on something else than the cold.
My whole body was trembling against Nori and I could only hope that the noise of the river would cover any sound I could involuntarily make.
"Their track stops here!" One man said.
"They jumped in the river." Another one added. "They can't be far, those are looking really fresh. The ground is still wet from the splashed water."
I could distinguish the light of their torches. They were so close to us. Still I was too numb to feel fear. I heard their voices but didn't really understand the meaning. I was so cold.
So cold…
A violent shiver coursed through my spine. Almost immediately Nori's arms tightened impossibly around me and I felt his lips press against my temple. The soft kiss didn't make my heart beat any faster. I didn't even feel the usual spark against my skin.
"Damn dwarves." I heard someone spat really near to where we were hiding.
"It's the second time he escapes us. Someone cares to explain why?" A deep, gruff voice said.
Hadn't I been so cold, this man's tone would have made me shiver too. I knew this voice. I couldn't place how or when I heard it, my memories were becoming foggier as time slowly passed.
"We almost had him this time."
"Almost?" The same gruff voice said.
"We couldn't know that three of them would manage to fight of five of our men, Rod. Bert said there was a tiny woman with them." A calm voice explained.
"Damn that stupid innkeeper. Why couldn't he drug them?! Why did he wait to give me that information? I'll have to teach him …" The dangerous man, Rod, spat angrily.
Even through my muddied brain I could still guess that this Rod was their leader. A memory of the man with the scar crossed my mind and I wanted to whimper. I managed to stifle the noise against Nori's neck. He must have felt or heard it because one of his hands came to my cheek and he turned his head once more to press another kiss on my forehead.
His hands were cold but still warmer than the river. Though, I was starting not to feel it so much anymore. My body was barely shivering now. I was slowly starting to forget about the coldness of the water. I wasn't sure this was a good sign.
"What do we do?" Another voice said.
"You two, cross that river and try to find back their tracks." Rod ordered.
There was a second of utter silence. My eyelids were starting to feel a bit heavier and I was actually wondering whether I could just close them while I waited for them to leave. Surely it wouldn't be a big deal if I just closed them for a second?
"But…in this night?" One man started to protest.
"I don't know how to swim…" A second voice said shakily.
"Then you better learn quickly. Cross. Now." Rod spat.
"Rod, it might be better to…"
"Cross!" He snarled.
There was another short silence before I heard two splashes and immediately after I heard two voices shouting about the coldness and the strength of the current. Another angry order and the two other voices stopped. I heard some more splashes before one man whined in a trembling voice about the cold once more. Soon after, the whines were followed by the noise of struggles and someone's cry. Near our hiding spot I could hear men mumble and mutter. After a few more minutes I heard another cry for help that remained unanswered.
I felt my lip start to tremble against Nori's neck and his hand tangled itself in my hair.
Even through my numb mind I could guess that the two men had suffered from the same fate that would have befallen me hadn't Nori been there. There was no way I would have been able to cross that river through that cold. Knowing how to swim wasn't what mattered. The water was the threat, of course, but worse even that the strength of its current, was the icy temperature.
That man, that Rod had just lost two men stupidly.
"Useless." I heard him groan before his voice bellowed, piercing the night. "Oy dwarf! Don't you want another tip? This one will be free! That fucking necklace you want so much, it's around my neck! It's been around it for a good decade now! Come and get it coward!"
I felt Nori tense against me. His grip turned strong. He was frozen against me.
"Come and get it! You afraid? Stupid dwarf! Bloody midget!" He shouted for some long minutes, mostly insults and I stopped to listen.
I knew that those words were important, but I was so cold. So, so cold… I couldn't really understand what they were talking about.
I had no idea how long the men stayed on the river bank. I heard their leader, Rod, yell for quite some time before they finally went back in the town's direction. Quickly the source of light disappeared and I was left in darkness. Nori's presence was the only thing that managed to keep my mind anchored to the present. Somehow I knew I had to fight and that I shouldn't sleep. I had to stay awake, no matter how much I wanted to sleep right now, and Nori was somehow helping me. I focused on him. On him only. But oh Mahal, how I wanted to just sleep…
"Mizimul? Mizimul?" He whispered against my ear.
I tried to answer him, to reassure him while my shivers had almost entirely stopped. I could only manage to utter a disarticulated whimper.
"Mahal, we have to get her out of here."
"Here" This was Fili's voice.
I felt their hands grip my tunic as they pushed and pulled me, fighting against the river's strong current once more. I wish I could have helped them, but my limbs were numb. I was as good as a dead weight.
I heard some splashes and grunts and then Fili's voice came from a place above my head.
"Here, I'll pull her up."
"Be quick." Nori's anxious voice said.
I felt something grip me around my waist and guessed that Nori was trying to push me up. In the meantime, I felt hands grab my arms. I was torn away from the frigid water but the dry air didn't help me warm up. My wet clothes were clinging on my body, encasing me in an icy wet cocoon. My bag was heavier than ever. My hair clung to my cheeks. I was still weakly shivering from time to time while my eyelids were now slowly closing against my will.
I heard another grunt and splashes before two hands pressed against my cheeks.
"Mizimul. Mizimul! Look at me. Mahal, please look at me."
I heard the urgency in Nori's voice. I struggled and it was sheer willpower that made me open my eyes to meet his grey ones.
"No…ri…i" I muttered. "m co…old…"
"She's not shivering so much." Fili commented. "That's good, right?" He sounded worried.
A part of my brain wanted to tell him that it wasn't good. It wasn't good at all. But I couldn't. No matter how much this tiny, slowly disappearing voice in my head wanted to yell at him that no, it was good, quite the contrary actually, I couldn't.
Thankfully, Nori did.
"No. It's not. We have to remove her clothes. Do you have some drier clothes in your bag?"
I heard someone rummage in something while I felt hands struggle to untie the wet leather cords that hold my tunic together. Apparently it wasn't an easy task. I probably should have been embarrassed or ashamed. Maybe Nori was feeling like this at the moment. After all, he was currently stripping me and he was doing it in front of another dwarf too. Maybe it was lucky, but at the moment I could barely feel anything at all.
"I have only that shirt, but it's a bit damp … Erm… Should we really do that?" Fili seemed to hesitate.
"I'd rather have her furious at me, than have her dying on me." Nori snapped.
My mind was somehow registering what was happening around, though I really couldn't have reacted to anything even if my life depended on it. I did know that Nori had removed my hood, coat, leather tunic and was currently working on removing my cotton long shirt. I knew I was wearing nothing under it except for bindings around my chest. Danà had finally won and I had discarded my bra for those damned bindings.
When he finally removed my shirt there was a small lull. No one said anything or moved.
"We have to make her warm." Nori finally muttered.
"How?" Fili said in what I could describe as a strangled voice.
There was a short pause before Nori swore in Khuzdul and answered hurriedly.
"We can't light a fire. Those idiots might see it."
He swore once more before Fili cleared his throat and spoke.
"What about bo…body warmth?" He stammered a bit and there was another pause during which none of them spoke.
I was starting to fall asleep. I could barely stay awake. If they kept silent I wouldn't have anything else to anchor me to consciousness. I couldn't really understand their words, but the simple fact I could hear the tones of their voices was already enough to keep me awake. Especially Nori's. Right now I needed them to talk, to keep on talking, moving, doing anything really as long as it could help me focus on something. If my brain fell asleep, I wasn't sure it would do any good.
There was some shuffling near me and then I felt something warm against my skin. I didn't know whether it felt warm because it really was, or because I was just that cold.
"Try to light a fire, but hide it well. We don't want these men to see it." Nori's voice was really close to my ear right now.
Hadn't I been that cold I might have shivered from the sensation. As if it registered that thought, my body slowly started to shiver again sporadically.
"I'll take care of it." Fili answered Nori.
In the meantime I realized that there really was a source of warmth near me and I instinctively tried to come closer to it. I felt something encircle my waist while my chest was brought flush against the warmth's source. My head was resting on it too and I nuzzled my nose closer to it.
The warm thing seemed to tremble a bit as my cold nose pressed against it.
"Mahal…" I heard Nori mumble.
After a bit of time had passed, I started to shiver more and more. That was a good sign, my brain whispered to my foggy mind. It meant my body was starting to fight the cold, it meant it was starting to work again. I then felt something warm press against my back and rub circles on it. I had no idea how long it took for my brain to finally start to work normally again, but little by little I felt the fog that clouded my mind lift. It could have been minutes, it could have been hours, I had no idea of the passing time.
When I realized that the warm stuff I was now clinging to was actually Nori, I jolted. A strong blush started to burn my cheeks, and maybe that was good because it was helping me a bit. I felt my heart start to pound rapidly in my chest and my trembles lessened as I was feeling more embarrassed than ever. I didn't know what was more embarrassing, being in such a position with Nori, or actually admitting I rather liked it.
"Nori?" I whispered with an annoyingly squeaky voice.
"Mizimul? Oh thank Mahal…" He breathed out and I felt his arms tighten a bit around me. "How are you feeling?" He asked.
I hesitated a minute, I was trying to sort out my feelings between those I could voice aloud and those I should keep to myself.
"Cold. Tired too…"
My body reacted on its own and decided to snuggle closer to Nori.
"How long…" I started to ask but didn't finish my sentence, unsure of what exactly I wanted to know.
Nori cleared his throat once, then twice, before he finally replied.
"We stayed for a bit in the water, maybe twenty minutes or even more. We got you out at least half an hour ago, maybe even a bit more than an hour now."
So I had spent approximately one hour freezing, maybe more. I still had cold and wet breeches on, and my hair dripped water on Nori's back. The poor dwarf had to be freezing because of me. Strangely though, his body still appeared very warm to me.
"Why you…aren't you cold?" I forced myself to construct real sentences and it was alarming that such a simple one was actually hard to form in my head.
"You know that dwarves are more resistant than men." He replied softly.
I could still feel one of his warm hands rubbing my back. My eyes were closed as I let the feeling of being held by Nori warm my whole body. I was feeling better already.
"I managed to get some water boiling." Fili's voice suddenly popped out of nowhere.
"Maybe drinking warm water would help you?" Nori said, obviously speaking to me.
I struggled to focus for a minute and tried to think about which plant I had in my satchel. I wondered at that moment whether they were still dry or not. I probably mumbled that aloud because Nori answered my queries.
"The inside of the bags was partially protected. We should check."
I opened my eyes but the night was still too dark for me to see anything except some dark shapes around. I wondered then where Fili had lighted a fire, because I really couldn't see it.
"Here" The blond dwarf said. "Your satchel is damp, but the inside of the different pouches should be fine."
"Amelia, can you tell us which plant to give you?" Nori softly asked while one of his hands came to the top of my head.
I still had some trouble to keep my eyes open. I wasn't freezing anymore, but I was still shivering quite strongly. Drinking something warm would help. I concentrated for a while and finally breathed out a few words.
"Thyme, mint…Echi…Echinacea" My voice was still annoyingly weak.
"Mint I know." Fili said before adding. "But the other two…"
"Here, let me."
I couldn't feel Nori's hand on me anymore. After a few minutes though I heard he talk some more.
"That's thyme. And I think this one is Echinacea."
I felt him push me a little and I frowned at being torn away from his warmth. Then he placed something under my nose and talked to me.
"Amelia, is this Echinacea? Amelia, wake up. Focus."
I groaned slightly as he insisted. His voice was forcing me out of my doze. I was about to fall asleep when he gently shook my shoulders and repeated his question. I tried to glare at him, but then I realized that with my half opened eyes, it probably wasn't very efficient. I did notice that his hairdo was completely dishevelled, but that wasn't important.
He repeated his question once more, a small leather pouch under my nose. I breathed in and frowned. Why was he putting this here? Oh right… now it made sense why he was asking me that question. My frown deepened as I finally realized how muddled my brain was. I nodded at him and muttered while trying to enunciate properly.
"Yes…Echin…a…cea…" My teeth were chattering, rendering my speech rather difficult.
Immediately the pouch disappeared from under my nose and I was once more crushed against his chest. I smiled softly as I felt his warm skin under my cold fingers. I snuggled closer to him, not caring for anything else other than the fact that I was cold and he provided warmth.
"Are the clothes dry?" I heard Nori ask.
"No, but the damp shirt probably soon will." Fili answered but his voice seemed odd, as if he was annoyed or embarrassed.
"Bring it quickly. And the drinks too."
"Aye"
I sighed as Nori held me close. Slowly my mind drifted off and I was lulled in a half asleep state. I was only awoken from my peaceful slumber when Fili came back and both dwarves forced me to drink warm water were plants had infused. I felt the hot liquid warm me from the inside and I instantly felt a bit better. Soon after Nori helped me to put on a large cotton shirt before he took me in his arms again.
I could remember snuggling close to him as he placed me across his lap and I fell asleep.
It was still dark when I woke up, but I could tell that soon, the sun would come up at the horizon. I first opened my eyes tiredly. I felt a bit odd. I was fine but really tired. Slowly the events of the previous night came back to me. I probably had slept only a few hours on Nori's lap. I looked at him and realized he was still asleep.
His eyes were closed and his face only displayed a calm expression. His mouth was slightly open and I couldn't help but smile at the sight. He was … dared I say cute? His hair fell on his shoulders in a weird dishevelled mess and I realized for the first time how long it actually was. I had completely forgotten the situation we were in.
Slowly, gingerly, I raised my finger and lightly touched the tip of his nose.
He frowned in his sleep and I smiled some more.
It was so childish of me to do that, but I just couldn't help myself. I was tired and slowly processing the events of the night. I knew I had suffered from a light to mild case of hypothermia but right now I felt fine. I looked at my finger tips, they seemed normal. I would check my feet later on, but even now I could feel and move all my toes, or so I thought at least.
I blushed a bit at the thought that Nori had actually held me while I was only wearing my breeches and bindings. At that moment only did I realize that Nori wasn't wearing any shirt. I froze for a second before my eyes went to the place where my hand was touching his skin. I couldn't even try to stop the blush that crept to my cheeks.
I remembered how I had thought about his chest during that second night we had…spent together. Well, I had been right then. Nori was definitely what one could call a strong dwarf. I didn't even notice that my hand was slowly following the trail my eyes were doing. I grazed his skin, lingering slightly on the various scars I could see here and there, including the terrible one he had received the previous year.
I suddenly saw him shiver and I immediately removed my hand from his chest. I held my breath, a bit ashamed at my actions, while Nori's eyes slowly fluttered open. As soon as he was awake, his eyes found me and I smiled softly at the relief that was so evident on his face.
"Amelia…" He breathed out and squeezed my waist. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine, don't worry." A sharp sting in my cheek reminded me that I had been cut there, but I didn't pay any attention to it.
Without thinking I had placed my hand on his chest. I felt his muscles tense under my fingers and I stupidly blushed as I averted my gaze for a second. When I looked back at him, Nori was the one avoiding looking at me. Slowly I moved my hand away from him.
"Amelia, I…"
"Nori…"
We both talked at the same time and both stopped when we heard the other. There was an awkward silence until I cleared my throat and decided to ask him whose shirt I was wearing. I didn't actually care much about the answer, but it was the only question I could think of right now that seemed fairly neutral.
"Erm, Nori? This shirt is…"
He didn't let me finish and rather suddenly helped me to move away from his lap. I bit back a rude comment as he all but shoved me away. Just before he was about to stand he glanced at me. I was completely befuddled by this reaction.
"Amelia. I'm really sorry. I didn't know what else to do. I hope you can forgive me."
I blinked and tried to process his words when I saw him stand. Realizing he was about to leave I frowned. Alright, this felt a bit déjà-vu. I scrambled to my feet and staggered. Standing too quickly was probably not a good idea, I thought as I felt light headed. Immediately Nori's hands prevented me from falling and I grabbed his arms for support.
"Be careful." He breathed out.
I knew he was about to add something but I really didn't want to listen.
"Nori. Do you realize what you did last night?" I asked in a whisper, not looking at him at first.
I felt him tense under my fingers. Then only did I glance at him. He seemed embarrassed, ashamed. I resisted the sudden urge to whack his head only because I needed to be quite calm if I wanted him to listen to me.
"Amelia. I'm truly sorry. I didn't mean to embarrass you or shame you. Your honour is …"
"Forget my honour and all those silly notions for a minute Nori." I couldn't help but snap.
When he heard the tone I was using he finally looked at me. He was clearly surprised. Honestly, I understood that honour was important here. I liked this too. In my previous world, honour had been an old notion and not many people seemed to truly care about it anymore. Before I arrived there, honour had been something related to chivalry in my mind. It had been something I hadn't expected anyone to respect.
Here things were clearly different and usually I loved some of those differences, but right now, it was just plain stupid to react the way Nori did.
"Amelia, I…"
"Nori" I interrupted him. "Do you realize that you saved my life? I would have died from the cold if you hadn't done all this."
My voice wasn't snappish anymore. If anything it was sounding quite weak. I wanted him to understand so much. If anything was embarrassing, it wasn't the fact that Nori had stripped me, though it wasn't helping right now. Now, what embarrassed me was that I didn't mind that much… how complicated was I?
"You saved me once again, can't you see?"
I looked directly in his grey eyes. I was quite sure that many emotions were battling for dominance in my gaze as it was the case in his. I held my breath for a second when I saw the intensity contained in his eyes while his face didn't show much. Nori always seemed to have expressive eyes. I unconsciously tightened my grip on his arms while he squeezed my waist.
"Amelia, listen, such a situation…if people were to know about it…"
"I don't care about the people." I softly murmured tearing my eyes away from him as I felt tears threaten to pool in them. "They can think whatever they want, though I'm not sure how you expect them to learn about this." I added with a frown.
There was once more an awkward silence between the two of us. My heart was beating quite wildly in my chest. I inhaled slowly and looked down.
"Nori, I don't care what people think." I repeated. "I only care about what you think."
My voice had been so low that I wasn't sure he would hear my words, but when I felt him tense once more I knew he had. I closed my eyes and decided that, after saying this, I better kept going. The words had come out of my mouth on their own; I hadn't really wanted to say that aloud. Now it had been said though, I had to explain myself a bit. I had no choice.
"I know you don't care for me…" I started to say, attempting to let him know I knew he saw me as a family member, when he interrupted me.
"Amelia" His voice was hoarse and I looked once more in his eyes. "It's really not that. I…"
I didn't have the opportunity to know what he wanted to say as a loud sneeze startled me and I jolted away from Nori who reacted in much the same way.
Looking around I then heard another sneeze and finally saw Fili through the coming trees in our direction.
He was looking at the ground and probably hadn't realized that both Nori and I were already awake. I took the chance to glance at Nori just as he looked at me. He was frowning, and I wasn't certain what was annoying him right now. For my part, I knew I would have to talk with him at some point. I frowned too. I had spent quite some time trying to avoid talking about certain topics with Nori, but maybe that hadn't been the right path to follow. I probably should speak to him, a bit at least, and I had started already anyway.
The problem was, I didn't know what I should say.
I wasn't even sure about what I was feeling right now.
I knew I loved him.
A part of me thought it could be more than that.
Another part that it probably shouldn't.
I was human. He was a dwarf. We were family. I shouldn't even be thinking about feelings for him.
I didn't have the opportunity to think about this anymore though, because Fili finally saw us and spoke. At that moment I felt an odd mixture of relief for the interruption and annoyance. His expression when he saw me helped me forget about both feelings and I couldn't help but smile tiredly after seeing his own tired grin. I had completely forgotten about the cut on my cheek until then. I would have to check it, and the bruise on my shoulder too. Gingerly moving it, I was reassured that nothing at least had been broken. All my muscles were sore though, especially those in my arms.
"Amelia! Thank Mahal you're awake!" Fili said before sneezing once more.
"Are you alright?" I enquired worriedly.
"The night was a bit cold, that's all." He answered dismissively.
I rolled my eyes. Men. Was he trying to appear strong? I sighed tiredly.
"Can we build a fire?" I asked before frowning. "Didn't…didn't you light a fire last night?"
I wasn't sure of my memories. Most of it was blurry. I could remember mostly impressions, some events too…but even then, I wasn't sure whether I had dreamt anything, or maybe even hallucinated. Clearly I hadn't dreamt the sudden warmth that had cocooned me, nor had I hallucinated when the two dwarves had more or less forced me to drink something warm.
I had no memories of a fire, but how could have I drank something warm otherwise?
I looked at Nori when he was the one to answer.
"Fili did. But it was a small one."
"We didn't want it to be spotted by the men. So I went further upstream and dug a hole to place the wood. Like this the light would be less easy to see." Fili explained between two sneezes. "It didn't really provide any warmth."
I nodded.
In the end I had been lucky once more. The two of them had completely forgotten about themselves and had tried their best to help me. Now was the perfect time to repay the favour. I was really tired, but not incapacitated.
"Is it safe to have a bigger fire now?" I asked Nori.
"We should try to find a better spot to stay, but yes, it should be fine. The men won't come back here."
"I found a small clearing maybe half a mile away, upstream." Fili informed us before showing what he had hunted. "And we'll have rabbit for breakfast."
That did cheer me up a bit. As quickly as possible we gathered our damp belongings; Nori and Fili had put them out of the bags to try and dry them. Then we left. The clearing wasn't far, and it truly was a charming place. The forest overall was far less grim looking when the sun shone bright in the sky. I could see many varieties of flowers, some I knew, and many I didn't. But now wasn't the time to be curious.
Nori didn't take long to gather wood and light a bright and warm fire. Even though the day was quite warm, the three of us were quite happy to sit as close to the flames as possible. I cooked the rabbit in a stew and quickly prepared an infusion for all of us to drink. I knew Nori seemed to be fine, but I didn't want to take any chances. I wouldn't take bets about Nori's health.
Fili seemed really grateful for the hot beverage and Nori didn't complain either. All in all we were rather silent while we waited for the rabbit stew to be ready.
I was still really sleepy and I didn't fight it when my eyes slowly closed for a bit. I was awoken this time by Nori who gently shook my shoulder.
"Amelia, you need to eat."
I looked at him, he seemed just as tired as I felt. Fili wasn't much better. I took the bowl of stew he handed me and started to eat a bit.
"What are we going to do now?" I wondered aloud, looking at them.
"We can't stay here long." Nori answered. "We'll leave for Thorin's Halls as soon as possible."
"What about the thieves?" I asked with a frown.
"What about them?" Nori's voice was completely different than his usual tone.
My brows furrowed some more. I had this hunch that I was forgetting something quite important. The issue with the thieves was the same as what it had been during that night. I was persuaded that if we left, the thieves would disappear and would remain a danger to the dwarves. But I couldn't shake away the feeling that something else had happened. Something that I shouldn't forget.
There was a tense silence until Fili cleared his throat and decided to speak.
"Didn't you find it odd yesterday?"
My eyes focused on the blond dwarf. He was pensively scratching his beard and I saw from the corner of my eye that Nori had tensed.
"What was odd?" I asked Fili.
"Nothing." Nori snapped at the same time as Fili answered.
"This man, he was talking as if he possessed something that belonged to us, or at least something we were looking for."
I froze.
From my hazy memories I remembered an angry voice that was shouting. The words were unclear, but now that I concentrated on it…hadn't he said something about a necklace?
I glanced at Nori. I could see it now. He seemed torn. There was no other word to describe him. He was staring at the ground between his feet. His brows were furrowed and his fists clenched together in front of him. When he finally looked up and our eyes met I held my breath.
"He has the necklace?" I breathed out without really realizing it.
"Yes! He talked about a necklace." Fili exclaimed joyously. "Wait. You know about this necklace? Amelia is it yours? How did he get it?"
I ignored Fili's questions completely and stared at Nori with disbelief. Sadness and rage were clearly battling in his eyes and that made my heart hurt.
"Did you know?" I couldn't help but ask him.
He took a while to answer. Fili had gone completely silent. He probably had felt that something rather important was going on. I observed Nori while he looked at his hand and seemed to ponder for a second. Events suddenly seemed to click in place and things I hadn't really understood were now clearer. I remembered my anger when I had found how Nori had been thrown in prison on purpose.
"You were arrested in order to talk with a prisoner." It wasn't a question. Not really. I knew the answer already but still couldn't quite fathom all the consequences and facts.
Nori glanced at Fili then sighed before he relented and finally decided to talk.
"Aye. He's one of Rod's men. I had been paying Rod for information for awhile now, but each time they turned out completely useless. I started to suspect he was deceiving me years ago, but I couldn't really find any proof. This whole mess started a bit after that. I stole jewels I knew they had stolen from a merchant's in Lunetown. It helped me earn back a good part of what I had paid them." Nori rubbed one of his hands against his forehead and sighed.
Fili and I were utterly silent. We didn't even dare to move. It was rare for Nori to talk so much, let alone when it was about his deeds and in front of someone he wasn't that close to, namely Fili.
I listened attentively to his words, understanding little by little all the consequences and effects Nori's association had generated.
"I hadn't expected this son of a troll to follow me back up North. He attacked me not too far from Lunetown but I managed to escape. Soon after, he killed the merchant, who had paid me. From what the prisoner told me, he went to Gorm only because he knew the small town had troubles with dwarves and then had made a deal with us."
Nori then craned his neck and seemed to stare unseeingly at the sky. He didn't say a word more.
After a while, Fili cleared his throat and decided to ask Nori some questions.
"So he just started to attack dwarves like this? Without any reasons?"
"I'm a dwarf. That's a reason enough for him. He's been trying to …well, to catch me for some time now."
"That's madness…" I whispered before looking up at Nori. "And he has the necklace?"
"That's what he claimed yesterday." Fili was the first one to reply.
"I can't be certain. He might have said that to spite me and force me back." Nori said without looking at me.
"Nori" I called him calmly. "What did the prisoner in Lunetown tell you? I'm quite sure you didn't go in there just to ask him about Gorm. If you did, I swear to god, I'm going to hurt you…"
There was another lull in the conversation as Nori clearly hesitated to tell me the truth. I guessed he knew me as well as I knew him. He sighed once again and looked at me sadly.
"Rod has a dwarvish looking necklace. He never separates from it. That's…that's probably how he knew details about it that made me trust him and buy information."
"Oh Mahal…" I couldn't help but whisper, placing a hand over my mouth.
Fili cleared his throat and when I looked at him, I saw that his face was completely serious. All traces of grins and joy were gone.
"What necklace?"
Nori didn't answer and I wasn't sure it was my place to talk. I opened my mouth only to close it almost immediately. What could I say? It wasn't my secret to tell. But was it still a secret? As I pondered on this, Fili grew impatient.
"What necklace?" Fili repeated before looking at me. "Clearly it's something important, so again, what necklace?"
I glanced at Nori and sighed. There truly was no point in hiding anything now. Fili wasn't stupid, for all his jokes and cheeky behaviour, he was actually a rather smart and attentive to details. He would find out, connect the dots, alone if he needed to.
"Nori…" I softly murmured.
"It's a necklace that belonged to my father. It's made of our family's birth beads."
Fili swore in Khuzdul while Nori looked down once more. It seemed that right now, nothing was more fascinating than his own hands to him. The silence this time wasn't awkward, just really tense. The situation was dire. I couldn't believe that those events were all linked, though it made more sense, somehow.
Those mercenaries had been looking for Nori all along. That was why they didn't linger when the fight proved to be too complicated. That was why they had fled from Gorm so quickly. That was why they had called us thieves. All along they had been after Nori.
It seemed weird.
I could understand the will to take one's revenge. But this appeared a bit too extreme. Maybe this was yet another oddity of this world, but I couldn't really fathom how anyone would go to such length only for revenge. I frowned a bit more and looked at Nori.
"These men created so many troubles only because you stole one item from them?"
I observed him closely and I knew him well. It was maybe instinct only, but I knew Nori was hiding something. When he glanced at me and our gazes met, I just knew for certain that there was more to the story. I frowned some more and quirked an eyebrow, patiently waiting for him to speak.
At that precise moment, we both knew he would.
He sighed and looked away yet again.
"I may have taken a bit more than that…" He said vaguely.
"Nori…" I groaned while taking my head in my hands.
This was a mess. If the King found out that all those troubles had been caused by Nori's activities, I didn't think he would let it pass. What would be the thief's punishment this time? Would he be banned? At that thought fear crept up in me and I felt my heart clench painfully.
"What did you take? How much?" I asked sternly, looking up at him.
We exchanged a glance and he had the decency to look rather sheepish. Fili was so silent that I had almost forgotten his presence. Nori cleared his throat and after a rapid movement I couldn't quite follow, he held a dagger in his hand.
"Among other things, I believe this is one of the items he's quite angry to have lost."
"Mahal!" Fili exclaimed, loudly reminding me of his presence.
I looked at the dagger. It was rather pretty, I could easily admit that. But still, this was only a dagger. Just a simple weapon could have caused so many consequences?
"You're telling me that this simple dagger is the reason why that man is so hell bent on killing you?" I was rather sceptical and Nori's smirk didn't really appease my annoyance.
As I looked at him at this moment, I could see once more the smug and cheeky thief. Even if his hairdo was completely undone, even if he only was wearing a thin cotton shirt, even if he wasn't half hidden in the shadows…At this precise moment he looked more like a master thief than ever.
I shifted a bit awkwardly as something seemed to stir in me at the sight of him like this.
"It's not just any kind of dagger Amelia." He replied with a small smirk and a happy twinkle in his grey eyes.
I frowned and glimpsed at the weapon. It did look pretty and finely chiselled, but still…
"So what? It's silver and it's pretty, but really, this man would risk his men's lives just for that?"
"It's not silver Amelia." Fili breathed out.
"Definitely not silver." Nori agreed.
I looked at the younger dwarf. He seemed enthralled and amazed by the simple sight of the weapon. His eyes were wide open and seemed to follow the dagger whenever Nori would move it. It was more than a little surprising and slightly disturbing too to see Fili like this.
"What is it then? Platinum?" I asked, though I doubted it.
"Mithril." Nori answered. "This metal is the most precious one of all. Dwarves used to have access to lots of it, in Khazad-dûm. But since we lost the city, we couldn't find much of it, if any, anywhere else. Even Erebor riches were only gold and precious stones. Nowadays, a simple ring of mithril would be worth enough to buy a small town at least, if not even a city."
"You can't be serious."
"This dagger, Amelia, is worth more than you can imagine."
I realized I was gawping at him slightly and quickly shook my head.
"A dagger made of mithril. I can't believe it." Fili whispered clearly amazed, and now I understood a bit better why even though it still seemed rather preposterous. "Why didn't you tell uncle Thorin about it?"
"I don't think your uncle would have appreciated how it came to be in my possession. Besides, I fully intend to take back the rest of it before I tell Thorin about it."
"The rest of it?" I repeated, arching an eyebrow in question.
Nori's face turned suddenly very grim, almost deadly.
"Aye. It's another reason why I started to suspect Rod's treachery. It was already odd enough that all the information he gave would only lead to dead ends. But after awhile I discovered he had quite a collection of dwarvish items. Precious ones. It took me some time, but I found out most of those are family heirlooms."
There was a pause for a second and I tilted my head a bit on the side before voicing my question.
"How could he find those? I thought men were rarely accepted inside dwarves' Halls. Wouldn't such theft be reported?"
"I don't think he acquired them in any of our Halls." Nori said darkly. "He never bought any of those either, that's for sure. No, I believe all the original owners are now dead."
"He killed them." Fili spat before swearing in Khuzdul.
"Yes." Nori replied before adding. "Or found their graves."
I couldn't help but grimace in disgust. This man terrified me already, finding out that he was a murderer didn't surprise me in the least. The fact that he stole from the dead wasn't shocking either. It didn't make it less disturbing though. I could accept many things. I could understand that in this world ethics and moral were different. I understood the fact that killing someone might be perceived as a natural solution to a problem. But stealing from the dead? Robbing their graves? Nope. That I couldn't accept.
Of course those people were dead. They didn't need such items as the shiny dagger that was now in Nori's possession. And maybe, if it had been a matter of survival, I would think that stealing a weapon, food or even clothes from them could be necessary. Disgusting, but necessary. But here it wasn't a matter of surviving. It was only the greedy will of an individual that had him raid the caravans, kill the dwarves and rob their belongings.
Yes, this was properly shocking and disgusting.
"What were you planning?" I managed to ask Nori.
He seemed to ponder a bit. He was turning the dagger in his hand, observing the engraved runes. Fili was still muttering curses under his breath when Nori decided to answer.
"I didn't really have the possibility to plan anything. I found out all of this only after I talked with that prisoner in Lunetown. And after that…well I couldn't really do anything."
Thinking back on those months spent idly in Thorin's Halls, I could now understand Nori's mood much better. I was actually surprised that he hadn't left the Halls altogether. It was once more a proof of his feelings towards his family. Nori knew all along that his departure would mean that Dori, Ori and I would follow him and consequently be banished from the Halls too. He had been forced to choose. I was glad he had chosen his family, but I could now see how much it had probably hurt him to know his goal had been within his reach yet impossible to achieve.
"I don't get it. Why didn't you tell all of that to uncle?" Fili asked again.
"Because I honestly doubt that Thorin would believe any word I say, especially if my only proof is a stolen mithril dagger that happens to be in my possession." Nori snapped angrily.
We all kept silent after that.
Honestly I believed Nori didn't have much choice in the matter. From where I stood I could easily picture the King doubting his every word. It would be easier to think that Nori was just trying to find a way to go out after being grounded. Every dwarf would think that Nori was lying. I could guess that even Dori wouldn't have trusted his brother's words. Not after Nori had spent decades as a thief. No one trusted him anymore. The King would have thought that the dagger was stolen by Nori for his own profit.
Once again…what a mess.
Now, there was only one way to clear everything out. I could only see this one solution. It wasn't ideal, far from it. But at least the dwarves would have no reason not to trust Nori's words after that. It would clear it all.
Yes. There was only one way to clear this whole mess. There was only one thing we could do right now.
I slowly stood up and took the time to stretch before I placed my hands on my hips and looked at Nori. I smiled softly at him.
"So" I said. "How exactly are we going to get these beads back?"
AN:
First of all, I know it has been a while since I last updated. I apologize for the wait. As you know, I have spent the last month traveling and trying to settle in a new country where I don't know anyone. Everything is fine, but I'll be honest and bluntly admit that this fic wasn't my priority during that time.
That said, do not fret :) It doesn't mean AT ALL that I plan to abandon it. Actually, today I managed to write half a chapter and I'm quite happy with the results. I'm more or less back on track :)
I have to warn you though, Please, do not expect me to post as frequently as I did for the first 20 or so chapters. First of all, the chapters are almost twice longer now. Second, I don't have as much time now as I had back then to write. I will however try my best not to let you wait too long. If I manage one chapter a week, I'll be personally happy though.
Secondly, I really, really want to thank the reviewers. I am not the first writer to say that, but I mean it as much as all the others, those reviews are really helpful. It's really important to me to know how you found the chapters, what you thought, what you expect, what you think will or won't happen. ...
All that said, I hope you liked this chapter, you certainly all waited quite a long time to read it.
To all of you who didn't give up on me and are still reading this story after more than a month... THANK YOU :)