Chapter 12: Orange Trees

Edyth leans back, her hands on the back of her waist as she cracks the bones. Thorin has finally called for them to dismount, though that doesn't yet mean they are going to stop for the day. It has been just over a month of travelling and now the days begin to blur together, especially when they eat almost the same thing every day.

Thorin and Dwalin investigate the surroundings but Edyth watches Gandalf, bemused. The Grey Wizard is looking intently at the ruins of what looks like an old farmhouse. It has rotten away, though in recent years as wildlife has not yet enclosed it completely.

"We'll camp here for the night," Thorin declares. "Fili, Kili, look after the ponies. Make sure you stay with them."

Passing Ginger off to Bilbo, Edyth saunters forward to find out what is on his mind. She arrives just in time to hear him muttering to himself.

"A farmer and his family used to live here."

"Maybe they passed on," Edyth suggests, announcing her presence. "You already misjudged my age."

Gandalf shakes his head, eyes lingering on the broken wood foundations. "No, no."

"Oin, Gloin."

"Aye?"

"Get a fire going."

"Right you are."

Edyth frowns, unsettled by Gandalf's own discomfort but she cannot figure out the reason why. Gandalf grumbles, moving towards Thorin. "I think it would be wiser to move on," he advises. "We could make for the Hidden Valley."

"What's the Hidden Valley?" Edyth questions, joining the pair. It is seldom that she gets involved in the leader and Wizard's conversations, but tonight her curiosity has grown to far.

"Elves," Thorin spits to her, crossing his arms over his chest. "And I've already told you. I will not go near that place."

"Why not?" Gandalf pushes, agitated by Thorin's stubborn nature. "The Elves could help us, we could get food, rest, advice."

Thorin is near glowering. "I do not need their advice."

"We have a map that we cannot read. Lord Elrond could help us."

"Help?" Thorin breathes. "A Dragon attacks Erebor. What help came from the Elves? Orcs plunder Moria, desecrate our sacred halls, the Elves looked on and did nothing! You ask me to seek out the very people who betrayed my grandfather, who betrayed my father."

Edyth stays silent, wondering if the pair have forgotten her presence.

"You are neither of them. I did not give you that map and key for you to hold on to the past."

"I did not know they were yours to keep."

Thorin's low growl ends Gandalf's attempts to persuade the Dwarf king. Spinning around, the Grey Wizard marches through camp, leaving Edyth with a scowling Dwarf. Pinching her brow, she glances at Thorin out of the corner of her eye. "The Elves," she begins. "Did they truly offer you no help?"

Thorin's gaze lingers on the camp for a minute before slowly turning to her. "Not a finger."

This information irritates her to no end. How could the Elves not help? As far as she is aware, they are not suffering from anything that would give them good reason to withhold any economical or even military support. They may keep to themselves, but they are not hidden away from the world.

"Then I'm sorry." She turns her head, meeting his eyes. "That your people suffered even more because of that. I know I am but a Hobbit, and that I wasn't even alive at the time. But I would like to think that if I could have helped, I would."

"I do not care for your sorrows or sympathetic offers."

Edyth's eyes drop slightly but Thorin does not give her the chance to respond as he stalks off as Gandalf did, though the Wizard seems to have left the camp. She knows her words are nothing but that, but some part of her wanted Thorin to know her thoughts. To prove that she truly wants to help. But it seems that as long as she does her job and causes no issues along the way; he does not care for her little head of thoughts. His dismissal of her show of care does not sit well in her mind.

"Which way are the ponies?" she asks Balin half-heartedly.

"Over that way, lass," he directs, pointing off to the left through some foliage. Edyth follows his directions, following a naturally made path until she finds the ponies spread out slightly through some trees, Fili and Kili sitting in front of a log, watching them.

Edyth's shoulders drop slightly, content to see them as she steps over the log between them. "Pony watching duty; sounds boring," she says in greeting, smirking slightly at their misfortune of having such a dull job. Though they are with each other and the pair very much enjoy the other's company.

"And are you here to entertain us?" Kili teases, knocking his knee against hers as she sits on the ground, leaning back against the log.

"More like have you entertain me," she snorts back, rolling her neck around to crack it. "And complain apparently. I'm absolutely starving but supper isn't for another hour at least."

"Well lass," Fili exhales, leaning further back against the log. He points upwards. "That's an orange tree if you want a snack." Edyth and Kili follow the trail of his finger. Indeed, just nearby is an orange tree. The fruits would not be the easiest to get, but the bright orange is irresistibly inviting.

"I haven't climbed a tree since I was twenty-five," she chuckles. "This is going to be fun." Pushing up from the ground, she skips towards the tree, head falling back as she stares up at its height. Hearing footsteps, she tosses her head over her shoulder to find the brothers on her tail. "Shouldn't you be keeping an eye on the ponies?"

Fili looks back at them fleetingly before shrugging, hands on hips. "They're fine. Besides, I want some too."

Kili nods in agreement so Edyth brushes her worries off. The ponies are not her duty. Her eyes fall back onto the hanging fruits then down to the trunk. The lowest branches are too high for any of them to reach, not to mention the trunk itself is smooth with nothing to hold onto. But the branches sag down towards the end, just out of reach. "I can get them, but I'm going to need a boost up," she decides aloud, eyeing off the trunk.

"Well hop on then."

Edyth blinks, staring at the dark-haired prince. "What?"

Kili stands in front of a rock, gesturing over his shoulder with his head. "Come on."

"You mean on your shoulders?" Edyth blanches. She quickly shakes her head, laughing nervously. "I don't want to break your neck." Kili drops his shoulders, marching forward with a taunting smile. He grabs Edyth's hand, pulling her over to the rock. Reluctantly, but humoured, Edyth climbs onto the rock which Kili now slightly crouches in front of. She points a finger at Fili, narrowing her eyes. "If I fall, I'm counting on you to catch me." Fili chuckles, tipping his head in agreement.

Kili also laughs, guiding her calf over his shoulder. "I'm not going to let you fall, sweetheart."

Well doesn't that just make her heart flutter. And her stomach also performs rolls as she steps off and places her second leg over. His hands grip firmly just above her knees, standing tall once again. It is disorientating to be so high and have no control over where she is going but the Dwarf seems confident enough and his steps are stable. Not liking the idea of her hands not holding onto something, she rests them on the top of his head until she is underneath the branches with ripe orange fruits.

She reaches up, plucking it off easily and tosses it down to Fili. Her nerves fade away and soon she is laughing, guiding Kili so he doesn't have to strain his head to look up. Their pile of fruits grows so big that she knows they are not going to be able to polish them off by themselves. True to his word, Kili hadn't let her fall except for one near-miss where she was still trying to get an orange down and he walked forward but her fingers gripped the branch tightly enough to hold her entire weight.

"Forward…forward…" Edyth has one hand tightly gripping his head, the other outstretched towards the final orange. "Aha!" She grips onto it, tugging it from the thin branch and tosses it down to Fili. "Alright, now how am I supposed to get down you oaf?"

"Down? Nobody ever said anything about you getting back down."

"Kili, I swear"-

Kili cuts her off with a loud chuckle, lifting his hands off her knees and takes her hands instead. "Just slide off." Edyth's eyes pierce his skull but it could not be as bad as getting on him. It turns out to be easy enough as she lands on the ground with a slight 'oomph' but not an injury in sight. Brushing off her hands on her pants, she glances over to Fili who is already on his third orange.

"Don't eat too many, dinner will be ready soon," she warns mirthfully. Fili gives her an unintelligible response through a full mouth. "We better make sure the ponies are alright as well."

Leaving their pile of goodies for the moment, the trio venture back over to the herd who are still eating away at the grass between the trees. Edyth smiles warmly at Ginger and Kili's mare standing together.

"Uh."

Edyth's smile drops at Fili's sound of hesitation and concern. "What?" Neither answers her but both seem to be doing the same thing, eyeing off each pony. Kili's lips are moving slightly, murmuring something to himself which causes her to finally realise what they're doing. Edyth begins counting herself, dreading each time she comes up short. "Fourteen," she mumbles. "Why are there only fourteen."

Fili side-eyes her. "That, is a good question."

The trio stand and ponder two of their ponies' disappearances, trying to figure out where exactly they could have gone. Edyth pushes down the guilt of knowing that her distraction with the fruits may have been part of the reason, but she can focus on that feeling once they figure out what is going on.

A fourth, and much lighter than a Dwarve's footsteps, approaches but nobody turns their heads to greet Bilbo who is balancing three bowls in his arms. Bilbo looks between the three, taking in their expressions.

"What's the matter?"

"We're supposed to be looking after the ponies," Kili answers.

"Only we've encountered a slight problem," Fili finishes.

"We had sixteen."

"And now there's fourteen," Edyth breathes. The trio moves forward, Bilbo tagging along just behind as they investigate the scene of the disappearance. "Who's missing."

"Daisy and Bungle," Kili answers.

"What?" Bilbo gulps. "Well, that's not good. And that is not good at all. Shouldn't we tell Thorin?"

"Uh…no. Let's not worry him," Fili decides. Edyth pinches the skin below her lip between her teeth, trailing next to Kili. The sun is already set, making it harder to see, especially without the light of any torches or campfire. "As our official burglar, we thought you might like to look into it."

"Technically that's me," Edyth huffs out, trying to give a mirthful smile. "And a burglar is supposed to steal, not find what already has been stolen. If stolen is the right word for this."

They walk through the light forest, finding a sizable tree uprooted. Edyth runs her fingers over the bark; it isn't rotten or decayed. And it is far too big for the wind to have pushed over. "I doubt even Fiddle has enough strength to do this," she mutters to Kili who is leaning over her shoulder, inspecting it for himself.

"That raises the question of what is?"

"Something quite dangerous," Bilbo points out, eyes scanning over the tree with apprehension, still balancing the three bowls.

"Hey!" Fili calls. "There's a light. Over here!"

The remaining Dwarf and two Hobbits scurry over to the oldest of them all, taking his warning to stay low and crouch down behind another fallen tree, eyes searching for the light. It doesn't take them much looking, the light of a campfire directly ahead. Tall and stout, the creatures are definitely the cause of the missing ponies and fallen trees.

"What is it?" Bilbo worries.

"Trolls."

Edyth's eyes widen, her lips mouthing Kili's response silently, but the brothers have already jumped over the log to run closer, leaving the Hobbit siblings to trail behind. She double-takes as Bilbo starts to run back. "Leave the stew!" she hisses. Bilbo raises his hands, scurrying back to her side without them. The pair make it to the Dwarves' side just in time as a third Troll comes stomping along, a pony under each arm.

"He's got Myrtle and Minty!" Bilbo cries. "I think they're gonna eat them. We have to do something."

Kili nods, brushing around Edyth. "Yes, you should. Mountain Trolls are slow and stupid, and you're so small. They'll never see you."

Edyth's eyes widen and she scampers back into the middle of the group. "No, no, no," she hushes. "I'll go. This is my fault. Besides, I'm smaller and lighter."

Bilbo sucks his lips, shaking his head. "Absolutely not."

"Don't get authoritative on me," she barks, still in her hushed volume. Placing firm hands on her hips, she spins on her heels, staring up at Kili. "Can I go?"