Chapter 8

After realizing he couldn't give Ornella the cold shoulder any longer, Beorn took it upon himself to overcome his discomfort. He approached Ornella the following day near sunset, nearly changing his mind when she stopped her current task to acknowledge him. Her usual smile was nowhere to be seen. Instead, her features were laced with uncertainty. He hated for being the cause of her insecurity.

Hello, Mr. Beorn, Aldo greeted him from out of nowhere, tail wagging as he followed his master's shadow.

"Good evening, Beorn," She offered, shyly tucking her hair behind her ear, "Do you need help with something?"

Did her tone sound hopeful or was it wishful thinking? He chose the latter.

"Ready your horse," He ordered.

Ornella merely nodded, walking briskly to the stable and readying Lucky. It didn't take long before she eagerly meet Beorn outside, Aldo following behind. Beorn was already atop Mara, waiting for Ornella. She wanted to ask where they were going but chose to wait and see, both horses now trotting side-by-side. For once, Aldo didn't bombard Beorn with questions as he chased fireflies along the way, allowing them all to ride quietly.

It suddenly dawned on Ornella that he might want to talk about the bathtub incident. She could feel her neck heating up instantly. If he brought it up, she would be utterly mortified. She sincerely hoped he wouldn't.

I smell honey! Aldo barked excitedly, running ahead of them.

Watching Aldo run ahead, Ornella saw where Beorn was leading her. Laid out before them was a mass field of clovers grown for his bee pastures that produced the honey used to make his amazing cakes. She had never actually seen it before as Beorn insisted on handling his bees on his own. With the sun setting behind the mountains, it was truly a sight to behold.

Aldo ran through the fields playfully, barking at them now and then as if asking them to join. Ornella inhaled the fresh air deeply, closing her eyes as she basked in the beauty of their surroundings and the peace it brought her.

"Do you like it?"

She opened her eyes to look at Beorn but he was looking at the clover field.

"I love it," She replied immediately, hopping off Lucky to move closer.

Beorn dismounted Mara. When he hesitated to follow after Ornella, the horse nudged him roughly in her direction. Hesitantly, he walked and stood beside the shorter woman. He glanced down at her from the corner of his eye to see that radiant smile he had come to crave seeing.

"This is the most magnificent place in all of Middle Earth," She looked up at him genuinely.

"You have not seen much of the world if that is the case," He said as he bent over and plucked a single clover, handing it to her.

She laughed gently, taking it.

"I have not," She admitted, admiring the little clover, "I am afraid my memory fails me before my capture. Had I traveled before, I do not remember now."

It was then that Beorn realized that he had never truly learned about how she had managed to stumble across his home. His heart nearly stopped when he felt her hand gently reach for the chain that hung off his shackled wrist.

"If it is not too bold to say, you and I lived a life not so different."

He tensed at both her nearing touch and the memories his shackle brought with him. She noticed the way his fist slowly rolled up and pulled her hand away from him. Worried she may have overstepped, she decided to change the subject, choosing this moment to share a small portion of her past.

"Bandits raided our village when I was but a child. Women and children were only spared to enslave – all the men were killed, including my father."

Beorn knew that feeling all too well. He had not been a labor slave as she but caged and tortured by sadistic Orcs left scars that would take a very long time to heal.

"Are there any other skin-changers?" She suddenly cocked her head curiously.

"My people were the first to live in the mountains before the Orcs came down from the North," He began, "Most of my family were killed."

She listened, hanging onto every word.

"And the others?" She asked.

"Some were enslaved. Not for work, you understand, but for sport. Caging skin-changers and torturing them seemed to amuse them."

Ornella's eyes saddened, her heart breaking for him. The very idea that anyone could somehow shackle and cage a skin-changer as strong as Beorn gave her an idea of just how dangerous these Orcs truly were.

"There is no chance there may be more?" She wondered out loud.

"Once there were many," He spoke with a sudden solemnness, "Now... there is one."

"That is tragic," She offered kindly, "It is good for us both that we managed to escape."

"Is that what brought you here?" He asked.

"Yes," She confirmed, "The state you found me in was my master's doing – not an Orc's. Escaping was not as easy a task as I deemed it would be."

Beorn's body suddenly shifted towards her. She peered up at him curiously as a dark, frightening frown furrowed his brow.

"You need only tell me his name."

She blinked in confusion. When she realized why he asked, she couldn't help the sad smile that graced her face.

"It matters not."

"A man who lays a hand on a woman should be fed to Wargs alive," He insisted darkly.

"Perhaps," She shrugged, dropping her gaze as she fidgeted gently with the clover he gave her.

Beorn, seething from the truth he just heard, brought his hand to her chin without a second thought. Ornella's lips parted in a soft gasp as he tilted her chin to look into his eyes once more. He merely held her chin firmly, looking down at her with an intensity that took her breath away.

"No man shall ever harm you again; not whilst I live."

She held back a shudder at his words. Hearing them was as erotic as when he gazed upon her naked form. She wanted to respond but felt a block in her throat. She remained still as his touch suddenly softened, his thumb ever so slightly stroking her chin. This was the moment, if any, for either of them to confess their reverence for each other. Beorn was about to speak when she uttered his name.

"Beorn..." She began timidly but both were startled out of their trance at the sound of Aldo barking furiously.

They both turned to see the dog sprinting towards them, no longer playful.

Orcs in the lands, Mr. Beorn! I can smell their no-good Wargs!

"Hey, hey," Ornella spoke gently as she knelt down beside her anxious dog, "What is it, Aldo?"

"Orcs," Beorn answered for him, "You must head home... now."

His emphasis on the "now" instantly brought Ornella to her feet, rushing to her horse. Beorn watched her until she, the horses and Aldo were out of sight before running into the fields towards the Orcs – he was eager to rip them in half for interrupting.