Chapter Eighteen: Beorn's
The dwarves were waiting on the edge of Mirkwood while Tauriel spoke briefly with the elves before they returned to the palace. While they waited, Fili pulled off his jacket and carefully inspected the sleeve. Kili bounded over to him, obviously bored with whatever it was that Tauriel was telling the others. "What are you doing?"
He replied absently, "After Carrock, Bella fixed the sleeve on my jacket, it had a rip. I'm trying to see if I can find it."
Kili rolled his eyes, "You're not crazy and you're not making her up, if that's what you're still worried about."
Fili found the spot, tiny stitches rendering the mend practically invisible, and let out a sigh of relief. "I know that I'm not, but sometimes it still seems so unreal. It's like she disappeared into thin air, without any trace that she ever really existed. It's rather unnerving sometimes and I'd give just about anything to have something of hers, something to prove to myself that she's real."
Kili shrugged sympathetically, "We'll be at the Shire soon enough. I mean, look at how much time we cut off the trek through Mirkwood with the help from the elves. And after the battle, the orcs, wargs, and goblins are totally decimated so hopefully we won't have to spend much time fighting or running from them. Also, we won't have to wait to read the moon runes at Rivendell. Plus, no one's injured so we can move at a good pace."
Fili cheered up at this. "That's right. Thank you, nadad."
Tauriel finished up and the elves bowed to her before disappearing back into the shadows of the forest. She made her way quickly over to where they were waiting. "Sorry, just some last minute things that needed to be attended. Ready to go?"
Fili shook his head no, slipping his jacket back on. Tauriel looked at them curiously and Kili answered, "This is Beorn's land. When we were planning the quest, we sent a raven asking for permission to cross his land. He responded with permission and also invited us to visit him at his home, which is quite the honor. He told us to send word when we reached his land and he would send ponies to fetch us. So we're waiting for the return of the raven so we can send it back to Erebor."
Right at that moment, several ponies and a horse came into view. They swarmed around the group, whinnying and nickering their welcomes. A raven landed on Fili's shoulder and he spoke quietly with it before giving it his thanks and sending it back to Erebor. By then, the dwarves and ponies had sorted themselves out, a pony each selecting a dwarf to carry and the dwarf bowing to it before mounting.
When they reached Beorn's, he greeted them jovially, a distinct contrast from his suspicions that first time. Fili vaguely got the impression that Bella had somehow smoothed things between the two parties, but it was only an impression, nothing that he could put his finger on. Even Tauriel, whom he'd never met before, was warmly accepted and they were treated to an enormous lunch. Tauriel was tense at first, especially when the serving animals came in, but when none of the others batted an eye at this she relaxed and began to enjoy herself.
Later, he could never be sure of who started the drinking contest, but Fili resigned himself to not leaving until the next day. Normally he'd be one of the first ones to join in, but he just watched the contest while nursing a single mug of ale, laughing as the antics got more and more outrageous. Thankfully, it was nothing that would offend their host, so he let it go. He absently wondered how many times Thorin had had to make similar choices on the quest, whether to let it go or reign his companions in. Leaving Kili in Tauriel's care and knowing that no harm would come to them at Beorn's, he turned in, hoping for another dream from his One.
Feeling nostalgic, Bella made up her famous honey walnut scones. She nibbled on one warm from the oven and savored the test, although they were nowhere near as good as the ones made from Beorn's honey. This brought a smile to her face as she opened the book to write about that restful time in the house of a man that could change into a bear.
When she'd woken the next morning, she'd been pleased to find that her hair was still intact. Climbing to her feet, she stretched luxuriously, having slept untroubled throughout the night by nightmares as she had half expected to be. Most of the dwarves were still sleeping, so she tiptoed out of the cave. Nori nodded her as she quickly scampered off to see to her needs before washing her hands in the stream and returning to the cave. She settled down next to Nori, pleased to see that he looked much more himself. They chatted quietly as they stood watch, listening to the forest around them slowly come to life.
Gradually the company woke up, grumbling a bit about bruises and stiffness, but overall in a better mood then they had been for days. Before anyone could stop her, she snagged Bofur and Ori and dragged them off, yelling over her shoulder that they'd be back shortly. There was a chorus of protest behind them, but Bella firmly ignored them. Foraging, she loaded them down with all that they could carrying and then some. She was delighted when she discovered how strong Ori was and chatted animatedly about all the differences between him and other dwarves and the benefits and drawbacks of his strength.
Bofur was also cheerful, cracking jokes as they rummaged through nature's bounty, although he was dubious a few times and teased her about trying to poison them in retaliation for having to wash their clothes. She had laughed but fired back that if they fumes from their clothes hadn't killed them, they were probably invulnerable to poison. Both he and Ori roared at that, their laughter startling birds into flight and causing them to hush remembering that they were still in unknown territory.
Even with the extra hands, they soon hand more than they could carry and made their way to where the company was waiting impatiently for them. Handing off her share to Bombur, Bella made her way over to where Fili was leaning against the cave wall frowning. When she asked him what was wrong, he quietly scolded her for running off without letting anyone know where she was going. She thought about protesting that she'd taken Bofur and Ori, but knew that it wouldn't do any good and simply promised not to let it happen again.
Seeming to sense that she wasn't happy with his overbearing manner, he said, "You did well finding food. Gandalf said that there is someone nearby that might help us. We're heading out shortly, we were just waiting for you to get back." He offered her a small grin.
She couldn't help smiling back at him. He was under heavy responsibilities as Thorin's heir and with Thorin injured, no doubt Fili was stressing about taking care of the company. She wouldn't hold the scolding against him, knowing that it was mostly worry on his part. Feeling her cheeks heating up a bit, she pulled out her handkerchief from where it was tucked carefully into her pocket with something in it and handed it too him.
He took it, looking at her quizzically. She said happily, "Open it."
He did so carefully, his eyes lighting up when he saw the handful of blackberries in the handkerchief. "Where did you find these?"
She smiled, "Most of them weren't quite ready yet. I remember how you said that blackberries were your favorite, so I kept an eye out. There wasn't much, so don't let anyone else know."
She steadfastly refused to think about the other aspect of sharing food with someone, a gesture of hobbit courting. This was just a thank you for his watching out for her and for his help with the clothes and her hair. Nothing more than that. He was picking through them before he held up the largest. "If that's the case, then I insist that you have some as well. They're always better when they're shared."
Not wanting to get drawn into a lengthy explanation that would just cause things to be awkward over what was just a nice gesture, she took it and popped it into her mouth. She knew that her cheeks were flaming, but she enjoyed the tart sweetness that burst over her tongue as she chewed. He ate one as well, watching her. When she finished, he offered her another but she shook her head. "Thank you, no. Those are delicious, but I ate while we gathered. You enjoy the rest, I'm going to go make sure that my pack is ready."
She turned and hurried away before she could get any redder than she already was. What on earth was she thinking? The fall must've jarred her more than she realized. Fili was her friend and nothing more, there was no way he could be attracted to a spinster hobbit that had been nothing but a nuisance on the trip. He was just being kind and watching out for her, nothing more. Making sure that her pack was in order, she ruthlessly got her unruly thoughts into order.
Thankfully, before she could work herself into a dither, Thorin ordered them to move out. She fell in beside Nori. Before she could speak, Nori said teasingly, "What was that I saw you give the prince?"
Reining in the words that she wanted to snap, she said nonchalantly, "Just some berries that I'd found. Where are we going?"
He smirked knowingly at her, but she refused to rise to the bait, instead waiting him out. He caved surprisingly quick, "Gandalf knows a man this way. Skin changer named Beorn. He might be willing to help us out or he might slaughter us all. It's a wait and see situation."
She sighed, "Of course it is. Still, there's a chance that he might be willing to help, which is better than certain death at the hands of orcs and goblins. I'll take it."
Without giving him a chance to respond, she made her way over to where Bifur was walking. He had been slowly teaching her new words in iglishmek and they could carry on a pretty good conversation now. The morning passed pleasantly enough while they talked about the various plants in the area, what was edible and what would kill you. The dwarves sang as they walked, Gandalf having reassured them that they were safe enough for the moment. She even allowed Bifur to persuade her to join in a few times and even went so far as to teach them a popular hobbit drinking song, the tune catchy and good to walk to.
It was afternoon when they reached the edge of a meadow, giant bees buzzing lazily in the warm sun. Bella's eyes widened when one flew past her, she'd never seen one so large in all of her life. She saw a herd of horses grazing nearby, but they took off, apparently spooked by their presence. Gandalf called for them to halt under the edge of the trees and outlined his plans about having them approach slowly, in pairs set five minutes apart. She muttered under her breath about wizards and their tricks, recognizing it as the method that the dwarves had used when they'd come to Bag End.
No one paid attention to her, all too busy arguing over the order that they would be arriving in. It descended into total anarchy when it was declared that Gandalf and Bella would be going first. Something about what Gandalf had said was niggling at an old memory of hers, something about Beorn, about a skin changer. She paced off to the side, trying to remember what it was. When she heard Gloin shouting about protecting her, it came back to her. Back before the wandering days, hobbits had lived in this area and the skin changers had been their protectors. Although the reason for the wandering days had been lost, it was held as truth that something catastrophic had happened to both them and their protectors to cause them to flee. She thought that she had heard Gandalf say that Beorn was alone.
If that were the case. She bit her lip as she thought it over. This could go either way, either he could remember his ties to her people, or his people had turned on hers and forced them to flee. She looked over the company, taking in their worn, bedraggled appearance, she decided that it was worth the risk. She moved away from the arguing group and searched for flowers. She quickly found the ones that she was looking for and wove them together to make a flower crown. With a sigh, she started reluctantly undoing the braid that Fili had done for her. She then fluffed the curls out and placed the daisy crown on top of her head. Dusting off her clothes best she could, and weren't they in sad, sad shape missing buttons and all raggedy, she tried to make herself look more presentable. Finally, she reached down and straightened the curls on her feet, frowning as she tried to remember the last time she'd properly tended her feet.
Finally, when she was as neat and nonthreatening as she could make herself, she rejoined the company. She said softly but firmly, "Enough, Gandalf and I will go first and then the rest of you will follow at five minute intervals. As much as it irks me," here she raised an eyebrow at Gandalf and he had the grace to look vaguely sheepish. "His methods usually do work. I promise that I will be perfectly fine until I can see you all again."
Gandalf muttered under his breath about her vote of confidence in him, but she ignored him, staring down the dwarves. Eventually Thorin nodded in agreement and the others gave in with ill grace. Fili came over and pressed a small dagger into her hands. He said quietly, his expression fierce, "We'll be right behind you, if you need us just yell and we'll be there."
She slipped the dagger into her pocket without protest and smiled at him. "It'll be ok, trust me."
His hands clenched into fists, but he nodded sharply once before moving off and joining Kili, both of them shooting dark looks at Gandalf.
Bella muttered to Gandalf, "Let's go before they decide to stop us and argue some more."
He nodded and they quickly left. As they walked, Gandalf examined her closely, "What are you up to?"
She smiled tightly at him, "Something that might work out well or might not. I am not sure. I am hoping that it works in our favor."
He looked at her in confusion, but allowed silence to fall as they walked. Soon, a house came into view with an enormous man out front chopping wood. Bella had never seen a man as large as this one, he seemed to be a veritable giant to her. He nodded to the horses gathered nearby and said something to them that she couldn't quite make out before sending them on their way.
The man hailed them, "Who are you and what brings you to my doorstep?"
Gandalf said calmly, "I am called Gandalf and we are in need of your aid."
The man said calmly, "I don't know who you are, what are you doing on my land? And who is your companion?"
He turned his full attention to her and his eyes widened. The man knelt on one knee in front of her. "I haven't seen one of your kind since I was a small lad." He studied her carefully, taking her in from her flower crown to her furry feet. "What brings you this way, little bunny?"
She smiled at him and offered him a bouquet of daisies. "We have not come this way by choice. We are being hunted by orcs and goblins. But Gandalf can tell it much better than I. Will you listen to our tale?"
The man accepted the bouquet and climbed back to his feet. "I suppose that you had better come inside and let me hear this story of yours."They followed him in and Gandalf wasted no time spinning his tale. She only half listened, focused more on the garden and the various flowers that she could see. She could name maybe half of them, the rest being unknown to her.
She did smile as each group of dwarves approached, letting them know that she was fine. Thorin and Dori came first and she could have sworn that relief flashed briefly through the exiled king's eyes, but it was there and gone so quickly that she couldn't be sure. Nori and Ori appeared next, Nori offering her a sly wink when their host wasn't looking. She rolled her eyes at him but smiled nonetheless.
Balin and Dwalin came next and Beorn quickly waved them aside, eager to continue with the story. Dwalin drifted casually over to her side, crossing his arms firmly over his chest while leaning against the table. She started pointing out the different flowers and their uses and meanings. He didn't respond to her verbally, but she knew that he was paying careful attention to her words. Ori was perched on the bench behind her and she knew that he was absorbing every word as well.
Fili and Kili arrived next and even when Fili bowed, Bella could tell that he was subtly looking for her and Thorin. Seeing that they were both safe, a little of the tension in his frame eased. She offered him a smile and he gave her the barest of nods of acknowledgement. Seeing that she was adequately surrounded by Dwalin and Ori, he and Kili made their way over and subtly flanked Thorin, appearing deceptively at ease. Bella knew from having traveled with them that the ease was a lie and that they could shift to battle ready in mere seconds.
Next came Oin and Gloin and Beorn merely waved them aside, riveted by Gandalf's story. They quietly found places to sit, carefully not to draw attention away from the tale that Gandalf was skillfully weaving. Then finally Bifur and Bofur appeared with Bombur right on their heels. Bella felt herself relaxing, now that the entire company was together again.
She had to admit, although she was only slightly paying attention, Gandalf was quite the accomplished storyteller. It was Beorn's booming laughter that pulled her attention fully back onto them. Beorn exclaimed, "If more guests were able to spin such wonderful tales, they might find me a more hospitable host. You may stay here until I've verified your story. Stay in the house and if you need anything, let the animals know and they will do their best to provide you with whatever it is you need."
Bella hopped down off the bench and grinned up at him. "Thank you very much for your hospitality. Do you have cloth that I can use for clothes? We've lost most of our supplies to the goblins."
Beorn grinned and knelt in front of her. "Of course, little bunny. Whatever you need. Rest and regain your strength, eat and heal, I'll be back in a few days at most." With that, he got to his feet and strode out.
She let out a sigh of relief and turned to Gandalf, "Looks like your little gamble paid off. Please don't try something like that again."
He chuckled at that, "Like your idea was any less risky, Bella Baggins. You have quite a bit of your mother in you after all."
She laughed a little at that. "It looks like I do at that." Right then, the hall filled up with animals. She blinked in surprise as one of them came up and gently nudged her. "I think that's my cue to follow them. I'll see you all at supper."
She glanced over at Fili whom she thought would protest, but he was dragging Ori with him out the door and into the garden. Wondering what in the world could've gotten into him now, she obediently followed the sheep, motioning for Dori to come with her. The mithril haired dwarf did so, looking suddenly weary and confused. She could tell that the past several days had taken a toll on him and maybe getting his mind off it for a little while would do him a world of good.
He looked around the room filled with cloth curiously while Bella quietly thanked the sheep for it's help. He asked politely, "What can I do for you, Miss Bella?"
She smiled at him. "Your brothers tell me that you are a tailor of some renown. Master Beorn has given us leave to use what we need to replenish our outfits. Since you probably know the company's measurements much better than I do, I was hoping that you'd help me with at least a couple of them."
Dori's eyes lit up and the tension in his shoulders eased. "Yes indeed, I can do that. It's been much too long since I've held a needle and thread. Where should we start?"
She shrugged, "Whose clothes are in the worst repair?"
He actually grinned at her, "We're all in a rather sorry state, lass."
Pleased to see the serious dwarf relaxing, she said, "Since I'm rather new at this, I make my own clothes of course, but they are quite different from dwarven clothes, why don't we start with Ori and you can show me the basics and then we can go from there."
He rubbed his hands together. "That's an excellent idea. Let's get started."
He immediately started perusing the shelves and Bella hung back, content to follow his lead.
They had spent all afternoon amongst the cloth and Bella was astonished at how quickly Dori could put an outfit together. He had even surprised her by joking about how he'd been do it for so many years, of course he would be good at it. She'd had to laughingly admit that that was true and had been content with the simpler pieces that he had given her to work on. It was an amicable afternoon and it had passed pleasantly with Dori telling her tales that he had told Ori when he was just a dwarfling. It was a fascinating look into both dwarven culture and the reserved dwarf.
They had outfitted nearly half the company when the animals came and fetched them for dinner. She had gladly set her sewing aside, her fingers no longer familiar with long hours of sewing. As they walked to the main hall where the company, she worked on massaging the cramps from her fingers and tried to ignoring the stinging from the multiple finger pricks.
Nori saw her doing this and grimaced sympathetically at her. From the little she could glean about the Ri's life from Dori, they had barely managed to scrape out a living, part of what had more than likely turned Nori to his thieving ways to support them. He had probably pitched in where he could to help Dori finish orders, so he was probably familiar with pricked and cramping fingers. She offered him a slight smile and made her way to the table.
She found an empty place on the bench between Kili and Dwalin and hummed happily when she saw the food spread out on the table. There were loads of milk, honey, and bread, which wasn't surprising given that he was a giant bear shapeshifter. But there was a multitude of dishes and endless honey mead as well. She tucked in with gusto, not bothering to join in with the dwarves conversation.
Kili teased her about it but she just took another bite of honey smeared bread and grinned at him. He toasted her with his mug of ale and turned his attention back to his own meal. Bella glanced around the table, noting that all of the dwarves were eating heartily despite the lack of meat on the table. All of them except for Fili. He was staring at her, but when she met his gaze, he jerked his eyes away and focused back on his plate. She frowned as he just picked at his food, not looking up again although she waited several minutes. Now what could be bothering the golden haired prince?
A curl fell into her eyes and she blew it off impatiently before pausing mid-bite. Was it her hair? If that was the case, she'd ask him to redo it after dinner. Was there some sort of taboo about unbraiding braided hair that she was unaware of? Or had she caused offense by doing so? She didn't think so, but who ever knew with dwarves. She would talk to him after dinner and get it straightened out.
She ate until she couldn't hold another bite and then leaned back with a sigh of contentment. Most of the other dwarves had finished some time before and were gathered around the fireplace smoking contentedly. She was just turning to leave the table when she found Fili standing behind her uneasily. She smiled at him. "Fili, just the dwarf I was looking for."
He gave her an odd smile, it was a mixture of his usual charming one, but it also contained uncertainty and even a touch of fear. She asked quietly, "Fili?"
He held his hand out to her, "Would you care for a stroll?"
She slid her hand into his and allowed him to help her to her feet. She smiled reassuringly at him, "I've been dying to examine the garden and the evening looks beautiful." She had hoped that her acceptance would help him relax, but he remained as tense as ever.
Once she was on her feet, he dropped her hand but placed his hand on the small of her back and guided her outside and away from the others. "It is lovely and Beorn has lovely gardens. Ori and I spent some time out here earlier scouting them out."
She giggled a little, "I was dying to get out here earlier, but I cannot really see you being all that excited about a bunch of flowers."
He offered her a lopsided grin, watching indulgently as she stopped her and there to examine a flower. "There starting to grow on me."
She asked curiously, "Why were you scouting the gardens? I'm sure that there can't possible be anything this dangerous close to Beorn's house."
Fili shrugged, "It never hurts to know your surroundings, peaceful or not."
She bent down and carefully examined a delicate flower before smelling it, a small smile crossing her face at it's pleasant scent. "I suppose that makes sense. I have a question and a favor to ask of you." His curiosity obviously sparked, he motioned for her to continue. "Did I do something offensive when I unbraided my hair? I did it because there was a chance that Beorn might recognize me better with my curls. There are tales of skin changers who were our protectors before the wandering days, but no one remembers now what caused them, so it was a bit of a gamble on my part."
He scowled at this news before pushing it aside to contemplate at a different time. "No, not at all, what makes you think that? And what's the favor that you need?"
She hesitated, trying to find the right words. "At dinner tonight, you seemed rather antsy. So I wondered if I had done something inadvertently very offensive and you were trying to figure out how to tell me. And would you mind braiding my hair again, it was really nice to get it out of my face."
He led her over to a low rock and had her sit. As he worked on sorting out her unruly locks, he said, "No, you didn't do anything wrong. I just have a lot on my mind is all. How did your afternoon with Dori go?"
They chatted for several minutes while he set her hair to rights, mainly her talking and him only inserting a word here and there. Finally he finished and moved so that he was standing in front of her. Running her hands over the braids, she could tell that it was the same one that he had done before. She smiled up at him and thanked him. This seemed to firm some resolution in his mind and he told her to stay put.
She watched curiously as he strode away from her determinedly, making his way through the garden, pausing here and there to grab a flower before continuing. It only took a minute, maybe two, before he was standing before her with a bouquet in his hands. Taking a deep breath, he held the flowers out to her. She reached out and took them, wondering what in the world had come over the normally calm and composed dwarf. He was staring at her intently, his eyes filled with a multitude of emotions as he waited for something.
Tearing her eyes away from his, she looked down and examined the flowers carefully. She blushed when she realized that these were all flowers that a hobbit would use when wanting to pursue courtship. The bouquet contained flowers that said true love, faithfulness, companionship, hope, and happiness. She looked up at him and stuttered, "D..d..do you k..know what t..these mean?" She hated the stutter but she couldn't help it.
His expression determined yet tender, he nodded, "Yes, Bella. I know and I mean every bit."
Swallowing hard, she stood and handed the bouquet back to him. "I'm sorry, Fili. No."
She turned and fled from him, back into the house and to the room that the dwarves had set aside for her.
Bella set aside the pen and sighed. If she had stuck to her resolve and stayed with no, would it have prevented her heartache? She tucked a stray curl behind her ear even as she sighed again. By the time he asked her, it was far too late to save her heart. Somehow, without her realizing it, he had managed to steal it entirely from her. And the fact that he had dragged Ori around to learn about hobbit courtship and the flower language warmed her heart.
She could feel a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Now that she was looking back, she could see that his antics during dinner had been nerves and not disapproval like she had thought. She had never thought that a prince would fall in love with her. But then again, she'd never expected to go on an adventure either. As she rose to take care of her daily chores, she mused that it was funny the paths that life took you on.
Fili had been quiet and withdrawn all morning. They had left Beorn's fairly early, their packs generously filled with extra rations. What had startled Fili was that Beorn told him to bring little bunny with him next time that they visited. When Fili had looked at him in surprise, there was a knowing light in Beorn's eyes before he turned and loped away. The dwarf had decided to stay quiet for reasons that he wasn't entirely sure of.
It was almost noon when Kili called him on his behavior. "What's got you in a sulk, nadad?"
Fili reached up absently and touched his jacket over where the sketch was, his eyes distant. "Why do you say that I'm sulking?"
Kili rolled his eyes, "You haven't said more than a handful of words all morning and you look like your favorite knife broke. So what gives?"
Fili sighed, his heart aching and he finally let his uncertainty show, "I had another dream last night."
Kili grinned widely at him, "That's good, right? What was it about?" "We had reached Beorn's house and he gave us leave to rest there while he ascertained whether or not our story was true. After the goblin tunnels and Azog, I didn't want to waste any more time, so I talked to Ori about hobbit courting. It was after dinner and I took her for a stroll. It was going so well and we were safe and well fed and out of danger for the moment. So I asked if I could court her."
Kili's eyes widened, knowing what a serious step this was for Fili. "What did she say?"
His hands tightening on the reins, his voice was small as he said, "She said no."