Hey guys! I'm so, so, so, so sorry I have to do this, but I'm going to be taking a break from fanfiction for a while. My mind's just not been with it for a few weeks and I want to mention that I'm in the right state of mind to be giving you the best quality writing that you deserve, especially since we're almost done with the movies and I'm going to need to brainstorm ideas for Sophia and Aiden's later lives.
I'm so sorry you've had to wait this long just for me to turn around and say this. I hope you understand and that you'll forgive me. I'm also hoping these next two chapters are going to make up for it. I don't know how long I'm going to be away, hopefully not too long. But until I return, stay safe out there, all of you. Love you all and thank you xx
Review responses;
Guest Palacegirl – Groans Not again, thank you for pointing that out for me xx
Casutara – I'm glad you think so! Xx
WindSongEnchantment – Oh wow, thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it so much! xx
juliebigjewlzbrowning – I'm glad you are! xx
Chapter 23
Further down the river, we finally get to the point where the waters have calmed down, allowing us all to paddle along with our hands.
"Anything behind us?" Thorin asks as he looks back while I move us along.
"Not that I can see." Balin replies.
I look back in time to see Bofur popping up from his barrel, spitting out water. "I think we've outrun the orcs."
Thorin shakes his head. "Not for long; we've lost the current."
"Bombur is half drowned." Dwalin points out.
"Make for the shore! Come on, let's go!"
We soon reach the riverbank, me yelping in surprise as our barrel topples over, causing me to fall on Thorin. Looking up, I find our faces are close together, our noses almost touching. I instantly blush as I move back as much as I can.
"S-Sorry."
Thorin, also blushing slightly, clears his throat, uttering a 'don't worry about it' before getting out and helping me up. I smile my thanks to him before going to help the others, soon lifting Aiden into my arms as he and Fili scramble from their barrel.
"Are you alright, sweetheart?" I ask Aiden, while checking him over.
He nods. "I'm fine, mummy. Apart from being attacked, it was fun!"
Fili and I laugh at this as I kiss his head before setting him on his feet. Hearing a groan of pain nearby, we look to find Kili on his knees, his hand on his left thigh, Bofur looking at him in concern.
"I'm fine, it's nothing." Kili informs him stubbornly.
"You're not fine." I say as the three of us join him.
I bat his hands away so I can see. The wound is really deep and with the blood, I can't tell whether the arrowhead is still inside his leg.
"On your feet." Thorin orders as he walks by.
Fili looks to his uncle. "Kili's wounded. His leg needs binding."
"There's an orc pack on our tail; we keep moving."
"To where?" Balin asks.
"To the mountain; we're so close." Bilbo points out.
"A lake lies between us and that mountain. We have no way to cross it."
"So then we go around."
Dwalin turns to the hobbit. "The orcs will run us down, as sure as daylight. We have no weapons to defend ourselves."
Thorin looks over in our direction, catching my eye. "Bind his leg, quickly. You have two minutes."
Once calling Oin over, I instantly begin ripping off strips of my sleeve to wrap around his leg. As the both of us work together on this, we suddenly look up as we a tall man standing on a pile of rocks, an arrow aimed at Ori. Dwalin instantly leaps to his defence, holding a branch as he leaps in front of Ori. He raises the branch and begins to charge the man, but the man shoots his arrow and it embeds itself right in the middle of the branch, between Dwalin's hands. Kili raises a rock to throw, but the man shoots the rock out of his hand too. I pull Aiden behind me to protect him.
"Do it again, and you're dead." The man spoke.
After a few tense moments, Balin speaks up, as he approaches the man slowly with his hands held in the air.
"Excuse me, but, uh, you're from Laketown, if I'm not mistaken? That barge over there, it wouldn't be available for hire, by any chance?"
The bowman lowers his bow as he looks to the dwarf before he makes his way to his barge with us approaching him. I stand next to Thorin, my hands on Aiden's shoulders as he stands in front of me.
"What makes you think I will help you?" Bard asks.
"Those boots have seen better days."
The man begins loading the dwarves' empty barrels into his barge.
"As has that coat. No doubt you have some hungry mouths to feed. How many bairns?"
"A boy and two girls."
"And your wife, I'd imagine she's a beauty."
The man falters for a moment. "Aye. She was."
I look down at this. I cannot help but think of the heartache his children must have gone through at losing their mother.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"
Balin is interrupted by Dwalin whispering loudly to Thorin behind us.
"Oh, come on, come on, enough with the niceties."
The bowman turns to him. "What's your hurry?"
"What's it to you?"
"I would like to know who you are and what you are doing in these lands."
Balin answers him. "We are simple merchants from the Blue Mountains journeying to see our kin in the Iron Hills."
"Simple merchants, you say? With a woman and a child?"
The others turn to look in our direction at this, not having expected him to question us. That's when I feel Thorin's arm go around my waist, startling me slightly as I look to him.
"My wife and son."
This comment gets everyone to look at him in surprise, even Aiden looks up at him with wide eyes while I just blush, even more so as the bowman eyes us, an eyebrow raised as if in disbelief. Thorin, sensing my discomfort, decides to take the attention of us and back on the task at hand.
"We'll need food, supplies, weapons. Can you help us?"
The man looks at the barrels and examines the various dents and nicks they received during the fight with the orcs.
"I know where these barrels came from."
"What of it?"
"I don't know what business you had with the elves, but I don't think it ended well. No one enters Laketown but by leave of the Master. All his wealth comes from trade with the Woodland Realm. He will see you in irons before risking the wrath of King Thranduil."
He then boards his barge and tosses a rope to Balin. Thorin mouths to Balin; "Offer him more."
"I'll wager there are ways to enter that town unseen." he's starting to sound panicked at this point.
"Aye. But for that, you will need a smuggler."
"For which we will pay double."
Bard looks at him suspiciously for a few moments, before he sighs and nods, allowing us to board. Thorin surprises me by helping me onto the barge like a gentleman. Even Aiden's father had never been like that. He then carries Aiden on after. Looking over to Kili, I watch as his brother helps him on and can't help but be worried for him. He still looks pale and not well at all. I'll have to keep a close eye on him.
As I pass him to sit with the dwarves, the bowman hands me a blanket. "For you and your son, milady. It's going to get quite cold."
I smile as I take it from him. "Thank you. . ."
"Bard. My name is Bard."
I bow my head slightly with a smile. "Well, thank you Bard. My name is Sophia."
He smiles as we shake hands. "It's nice to meet you, Sophia."
"Likewise. Thank you for taking us to Laketown. My husband and companions might not show it, but we are very grateful."
I faltered for a moment at saying the word husband, a small blush forming at thinking of Thorin as my husband. Bard gives a humming sound at what I said.
"I will take your word for it."
I just grin as I walk back to the others, sitting next to Thorin with Aiden on my lap, while Bard sets sail once everyone is onboard..
"What did he want?" Thorin asks as he leans down to speak with me quietly.
I smile up at him, holding up the blanket. "Just to give me this for myself and Aiden. It's going to get cold apparently."
He doesn't say anything for a moment but nods as he places a hand on my shoulder.
We sail down the river for the next few hours, sometimes in silence or other times in muttered talk. The blanket coming in handy as I wrap it around Aiden and I when the weather begins to turn cold. Aiden spends most of his time looking around him in awe, even though there's nothing much for him to see because of the fog. I just smile, having always loved the curiosity of children. Suddenly, large stone formations appear out of the fog.
"Watch out!" Bofur exclaims.
Bard expertly and calmly, poles the barge between the rock formations, which turn out to be ancient ruins.
"What are you trying to do, drown us?" Thorin asks Bard accusingly.
"I was born and bred on these waters, Master Dwarf. If I wanted to drown you, I would not do it here."
Dwalin grumbles as he leans on a barrel. "Oh I have enough of this lippy lakeman. I say we throw him over the side and be done with him."
Bilbo answer him slightly angrily. "Ohh, Bard, his name's Bard."
Bofur looks to the hobbit. "How do you know?"
"Uh, I asked him."
"I don't care what he calls himself, I don't like him." Dwalin points out.
Balin, while counting out some money, is the next to answer. "We do not have to like him, we simply have to pay him. Come on now, lads, turn out your pockets."
The dwarves begin pulling out their money and valuables. I immediately feel guilty for not being able to contribute for Aiden and I. Balin just gives me a reassuring smile as he notices.
"How do we know he won't betray us?" Dwalin whispers to Thorin next to me.
"We don't."
"There's, um, just a problem: we're ten coins short." Balin informs us.
Aiden moves out from my arms, putting his hands into his pocket. "Will these help?" he holds out the coins that he picked up from the troll cave a few months ago.
Balin smiles fondly at him. "You keep them, laddie. We will work something else out."
Just as Aiden goes to speak again, wanting to help, Thorin speaks up next to me after crossing his arms.
"Gloin. Come on. Give us what you have."
Gloin scowls at this. "Don't look to me. I have been bled dry by this venture! And what have I seen for my investment? Naught but misery and grief and-"
While he has been speaking, the other dwarves seem to not pay attention half way through as they all stand and look in the distance. Also standing, I stare with my mouth open slightly and eyes wide as I see the silhouette of the Lonely Mountain through the fog. Thorin's home. . .even through the fog it looks magnificent. I lift Aiden up onto my hip, after he tugs on my sleeve, feeling as though he's missing out on something.
Looking to Thorin, I can see the longing in his face of wanting to go home. Reaching out with my free hand, I take hold of his, causing him to tear his eyes from the mountain to look to me. I smile and give his hand a comforting squeeze. He gives me a small smile as he removes his hand from mine and instead wraps it around my waist and pulls me closer to him, making me blush slightly, even more so when I feel him place a kiss on my head, before turning his attention back to the mountain.
What in the world is happening between the both of us? There's always been a sort of friendship there ever since we first met, which steadily grew the more we travelled together. But now, since Mirkwood, Thorin has hardly wanted me to stay away; first hinting about me staying in Erebor, getting me to share a barrel with him, introducing me as his wife to Bard and now this! I don't know how to deal with this. . .all I do know is that I need to speak to Thorin at the first opportunity we get.
"Bless my beard. Take it. Take all of it." Gloin says as he notices the mountain, passing his full pouch to Balin.
Bilbo coughs and gestures his head toward Bard, who approaches us, his hand out.
"The money, quick, give it to me."
"We'll pay you when we get our provisions, but not before." Thorin informs him, his hand tightening slightly on my hip.
"If you value your freedom, you'll do as I say. There are guards ahead."
We turn and look ahead to see the rooftops of Laketown in the distance. Bard immediately tells us to get into the barrels and we do so, Thorin helping Aiden and I into a barrel. I hold Aiden close as Bard's barge stops at a dock just outside the city and then hearing him hop off.
"What's he doing?" I hear Dwalin ask.
Bilbo is the one to answer. "He's talking to someone. . .And he's. . .pointing right at us!"
Aiden tries burying himself more into me, I keep my arms around him as I hear him whimper slightly.
"Now they're shaking hands."
"What?" Thorin hisses..
"That villain! He's selling us out." Dwalin growls.
After hearing something that sounds like a crane, I look up in time to see thousands of dead fish fall right on top of us. Aiden grips onto me tightly and I cover him as much as I can as we are pelted by more and more fish. I groan slightly to myself, trying not to gag at the smell and taste of raw dead fish.
"Great, can things get any worse?" are the thoughts running through my head as I hear Bard climbing aboard the barge once more.
Well. . .that's something Sophia wasn't expecting I'm sure. Mind you, who would expect to have dead fish dumped on them. I hope you enjoyed this and will keep reading xx