I kept my face buried in the crook of Thorin's neck, torn between disgust at the horrific smell of the fish and absolute giddiness at the feeling of being held so tightly in Thorin's arms. He kept his face buried in the crook of my neck, his warm breath sending shivers that I hoped he did not notice, down my spine, while one of his arms was wrapped tightly around my waist and his other hand carefully cradled the back of my head.
"This was not what I had in mind when I had thought about us getting closer, but I am not going to argue with the result," I thought with a snort, which turned into a groan after I inhaled a large breath filled with the stink of fish.
Bard kicked the outside of our barrel, obviously hearing my groan.
"Quiet!" He commanded, "We are approaching the toll gate."
Thorin just growled slightly in reply. We sat in silence, listening to the muffled voices, and prayed that we would make it through. Finally, the barge seemed to start moving again when another voice, a man with an annoyingly pompous tone, suddenly stopped it. I strained to hear what was being said as the voices rose in argument. Suddenly, I heard words that froze my blood.
"Dump them in the canal," the voice said and suddenly our barrel tilted to one side and the fish started sliding out.
I clung tighter to Thorin as he took his arm from around my waist and braced us against the side of the barrel. I splayed my knees tightly against the sides to try and stop our slide. However, it seemed to be no help as we continued to slide forward with the fish. I could still hear Bard continue to argue with the other man, but I paid him no mind as I struggled to help Thorin keep us in the barrel. Suddenly, the other man ordered, "Stop," and our barrel was placed upright again. I had to stifle a sigh of relief and I listened to the rest of the conversation between Bard and the other man.
"Ever the people's champion, aren't you Bard?" the other man asked sarcastically, "You may have their favor now, bargemen, but it won't last."
Bard did not seem to think that this statement required a reply, as I heard him say nothing.
"Open the gate," I heard the gatemen yell and I felt Thorin breathe a sigh of relief that echoed my own.
"The Master has his eye on you! You would do to remember, we know where you live!" The other man threatened in a parting shot.
"It's a small town Alfred, everyone knows where everyone lives!" Bard snapped back in reply.
I finally felt the barge move forward as I buried my face once again in Thorin's neck as I tried to stifle my laughter at this comeback.
"I might just like this man," I thought with a slight smile, settling back down.
A few minutes later, Bard signaled that we could come out, to my relief as my left foot had fallen asleep and was now uncomfortably numb . Thorin tighten his hold on me and pushed us upward and out into the fresh air. I was both grateful and disappointed. Grateful to be able to breathe air that was not saturated with fish stink, and disappointed that Thorin and I were separated as Dwalin lifted me out one side of the barrel while Thorin climbed out the other side.
"Follow me," Bard said after saying something to another man on the dock.
As we followed him down the winding paths, I took in how dilapidated Lake-Town looked. It was far different than I had remembered hearing, as I had heard it described at a trading hub by a few of the traders in our village.
"How could such a rundown place like this be the Esgaroth of old?" I wondered as we rounded a corner.
"Da," a young boy, probably around thirteen, called out, "Our house is being watched."
The boy looked like a younger version of his father, with brown hair and eyes.
Bard looked back at us in concern, obviously thinking, then said, "There is another way…"
He then explained how we were to reach his house. As I listened, I became more and more frightened. We would have to swim in the canal, under walkways and bridges, between houses. All I could think about was my recent experience in the forest river. Seeing the water close over my head again and not being able to breathe or find the surface. As the rest of the company made for the side of the pier and the canal, Thorin looked back at me. I could tell from the look on his face that my fear was evident.
"Farren?" he asked.
"I can't do this! Not again!" I exclaimed fearfully.
"Yes you can," he said softly, taking my hands in his, "You will be fine."
I looked at him and then shook my head, pulling my hands free to grab my necklace and turning from him. To my utter terror, I saw that it still was not ready to be used.
"No! No…" I whispered to myself, feeling close to tears, before Thorin turned me back toward him and placed both of his hands on either side of my face, making me look at him.
"Farren, you will be fine. I will be right here with you the whole time. I am not going to let anything happen to you," he said fiercely.
I looked into his intense blue eyes and, unbelievably, found myself nodding. Thorin then led me to the edge of the pier and we slipped into the water. I gripped the wood for dear life, terrified that if I let go I would sink and never surface again.
I heard Thorin sigh behind me, "After this is over. I swear I am going to teach you how to swim," he said, then instructed me to hold on to his shoulders from the back.
Even in my fear, I still found it in me to snort derisively at this statement.
"Good luck with that!" I said, "Several have tried and failed at it."
He just looked back at me and replied, "They were not a, how did you put it…Stubborn Dwarf."
He then began swimming strongly to the next bridge where the rest of the company was waiting. It was slow going, what with Thorin carrying me and Dwalin carrying Bilbo, but we finally made it. We entered the house through what was probably the toilet, though I shuddered and tried not to think of where I was as we crawled up through it. We were led up stairs, where Bard's other two children were waiting. One was an older girl, whose name I learned was Sigrid, around seventeen, pretty with light brown hair and dark brown eyes. The other was a young girl, her name was Tilda and she was about seven, cute as little kids usually are, also with light brown hair and dark brown eyes. The company all sat around the fireplace, trying to get warm and dry, as Sigrid handed out cups of hot tea and what appeared to be supper, as it was well on to evening.
I let others of the company huddle closer to the fire than I was, as all I had to do was channel a little of my talent inward to raise my body temperature to warm and dry myself. However, I had to be careful that I did not cause steam to rise off of me as that would require a lot of explaining that I was not ready to do, as it did not seem the appropriate time. I was concentrating on channeling just a little of my talent, not paying any mind to the boy, Bain I learned was his name, going around passing out cloths, when young Tilda caught my attention.
"Sigrid says that you can use our bedroom to change clothes more comfortably," she said giving me a curious look, "You're not a dwarf woman, are you?"
"No, I'm not," I replied.
"What are you then," she asked and I smiled at her innocent curiosity feeling the stares of the company on my back, knowing they were waiting to see if I answered her question.
"I am me and that's all I need to be," I answered vaguely, hearing a snort behind me as the little girl giggled at my answer.
I then rose and, after collecting my belongings from the quilt that Bard had put them in, followed her into a small but tidy bedroom. There Sigrid had laid out a worn, but serviceable, gray dress. There was also a thin towel, some soap, and a basin with some hot water in it. I sighed in delight at the offer to get a little cleaned up, getting rid of the stink of fish that seemed to cling to my clothes and skin. After Tilda left, I went through my belongings to make sure everything was still there. My swords were fine, but the daggers I had been fighting with on the bridge were missing, obviously lost during my fall into the river. My quiver also was empty; all the arrows also lost to the river along with my bow. That left me with just my swords and the one dagger still strapped to my thigh. After going through my pack it was clear that all my herbs were ruined, but, thankfully, I still had my Athelas seeds that I placed in a small pocket of the dress after I finished cleaning up.
Upon returning to the company, I took a seat next to Fili, who did not notice me as he seemed rather preoccupied with Sigrid. Watching, I found it rather amusing to see him turn bright red and stammer every time she directed a question or comment his way.
"Hello, Fili, you alright?" I asked,when he did not answer I leaned in, a mischievous smile blossoming across my face.
"You're going to put holes in the back of her head if you keep staring like that," I whispered in his ear.
Fili jumped, turning to me, his face almost maroon with a fierce blush.
"What! I don't know what you are talking about!" he exclaimed. He then stopped talking and simply stared at me.
"What?!" I asked, wondering if I had something stuck to my face.
"Farren, you look like a girl!" he said, his own face breaking into a mischievous smile.
"Really, well you may not have noticed, what with your new infatuation, but I am a girl," I replied glibly.
Fili snorted, obviously choosing to ignore part of what I said, choosing instead to reply, "Yes, but now you look it!"
I felt my jaw drop slightly and looked down at myself, taking in the dress and my unbound hair cascading around my shoulder and down my back. Turning back to him, I saw a triumphant look on his face and I gave him a mock glare back.
"Careful dwarfling. Remember girl or not I can still whip you," I replied.
"If I remember right, our last bout ended in a draw," Fili said, scratching his head as if he were thinking.
"Yes, but now all I have to do to beat you is put an apple at the end of my sword," I say with a grin, watching his face turn slightly green at the reminder.
"Ug, you had to bring that up didn't you," he groaned, clutching his stomach. I started to laugh as Sigrid, noticing Fili's position, came over to check on him.
"Are you alright?" she asked, concern showing in her eyes.
"Yes, I'm fine!" Fili exclaimed, sitting straight quickly, his face once again going a lovely shade of rose red, "Thank you my lady, for your concern and hospitality," he continued and now it was Sigrid's turn to blush and lower her eyes.
"Hmmm…What have we here?" I thought watching the exchange, looking over at Thorin to see if he too caught the exchange. But he was preoccupied with talking with Balin and Dwalin, not paying anyone else any mind.
"Looks like these two like each other." I thought, sitting back, leaving the two of them to their innocent flirtation.
Yes folks I have joined those that pair Fili and Sigrid. He got so little love in the movies, so I had to give him someone special. Plus it will play into my ending. Also the exchange between Fili and Farren comes from one of my favorite movies, Ever After. Please let me know what you think.