PLEASE READ BELOW! VERY IMPORTANT! DON'T SKIP BOLDED AUTHOR'S NOTE!
A/n: Yep, it's that time. My favorite way of writing every third chapter. Emperor's New Groove style! Like always italicized is Aurora cutting in the story to add her commentary to the situation.
END OF IMPORTANT INFORMATION. YOU MAY READ THE NEW CHAPTER NOW.
Why in the world are we boarding up the exit?
I swear…
Thorin began to argue with Kili when Bilbo and I walked up to the front gate after having our conversation. Kili was arguing that we needed to help the people of Laketown, which I agreed, but Thorin argued otherwise. He believed that they should be thankful for surviving.
Bilbo and I exchanged looks. We had no idea what was going to happen. Thorin yelled to get more stone, before disappearing down a corridor. As soon as he was out of ear shot, Kili began to complain to his brother.
"This isn't right, Fili. We shouldn't be bordering up. We should be welcoming them inside." He argued. He brother dropped the stone that he had to place his hands on his brother's shoulder. "I know. But we cannot go against what our uncle says. Trust me, he knows what he is doing." Kili shook his head before grabbing stone to carry up to the blockade.
I sat down on one of the stones and started messing with dust on the floors with my boot. Kili was right, we did need to help the people of Laketown.
Afterall it was our fault, they lost everything. The most we could do is help them.
"Penny for your thoughts?" a voice asked. I gazed up and saw Kili staring down at me. I let out a tiny laugh before scooting to let him sit down on the stone with me.
"You're right. We do need to help them. Bordering up isn't smart."
Kili raised a brow. "You agree with me?"
I nodded before picking up a tiny stone on the floor and rubbing it between my hands. "You saw them after they made it to shore. They need help." I whispered, loud enough for only him to hear. Kili nodded before standing and heading over to grab more stone and called out, "maybe my uncle will change his mind."
I smiled at Kili as he pranced over to grab some stone. I knew deep down that wouldn't be the case.
Kili was wrong about Thorin.
…
The dwarves spent the rest of the night blocking the entrance. They even added a walkway atop the barricade. I'll give them this: they know how to build. But Thorin was acting like Laketown was readying for an attack against us.
As soon as everyone was awake, Thorin had the company continue the search for the Arkenstone. It seemed every day that he was without the jewel, the more he changed.
Bilbo believed though, that if I was in the room, Thorin was somewhat back to his old self. I said Bilbo was crazy, but maybe he was right. Thorin seemed more grounded in his emotions whenever I was by him. It was like I was his lifeline.
I found him in one of the rooms by the treasure hall. Thorin was messing with a large necklace that was atop a pile of white gems. "The white gems of Lasgalen. I know an Elf-Lord who would pay a pretty price for these." He said before tossing the necklace into the gem pile. I walked over to the table a picked up the necklace ever so delicately. They were so beautiful. Antique looking. I held the necklace up to the light before placing it gently back atop the gems.
"You like them?" Thorin asked awaking me from my thoughts. I turned to the side, noticing that he was standing by the door. He had been watching me the entire time. I nodded. "I've heard stories of this necklace. I never imagined I'd be seeing it in person, more less touching it." I turned back to the necklace. Unfortunately, it had such a sad story. King Thranduil of the Woodland Realm had fashioned the necklace for his wife. She died before it was completed and the dwarves of Erebor had never been able to return it to Thranduil.
Thorin stepped over to where I was and picked up the necklace, unclasped it, and motioned for me to grab my hair. I pulled my hair over my shoulders and felt Thorin place the cool metal from the necklace onto my neck before clasping it. I turned around to face him. "I don't know what to say…" I began, feeling slightly underdressed with the necklace.
I felt like I need a white ballgown, glass slippers, and a tiara.
Except I was wearing ripped up jeans, sneakers, a navy t-shirt (I found in Erebor), and a tan jacket. Total princess vibes.
"Say you love it. It's yours."
My jaw dropped. Now I really didn't know what to say. "Thorin… these belong to someone else. They belong to Thranduil. They belong to his wife!" I said while unclasping the necklace. I placed the necklace back on top of the gems. "If you want to gift me something, don't give me something that belongs to someone." I said, taking Thorin's hand to hold it.
Suddenly, Bombur burst into the room. His hands were full of bread loaves. "Yes?" Thorin asked turning to face the giant dwarf. "You might want to come and see what's happening in Dale." He said before stuffing his face full of bread and leaving.
Thorin led the way to the barricade, yelling to for everyone he passed to follow him. When we reached the top of the barricade we focused on Dale. The walls of Dale were filled with Elves ready for war. Bard came riding up to the gates, atop a horse, stopping to speak with Thorin. "Hail Thorin, son of Thrain! We are glad to find you alive beyond hope." Bard yelled up. I flashed Bard a quick smile, as he did to me.
"Why do you come to the gates of the king under the mountain armed for war?" Thorin questioned.
Skipping the pleasantries I see.
"Why does the king under the mountain fence himself in? Like a robber in his hole?" Bard countered, a slight smirk on his face.
Burn.
The boys are showing off.
"Perhaps it is because I am expecting to be robbed." Thorin answered.
"My lord- we have not come to rob you, but to seek fair settlement. Will you not speak with me?" Bard asked. Thorin nodded and then motioned with his head to come closer. Thorin descended the steps and headed to the bottom of the barricade. Bard dismounted his horse and began to cross the bridge in front of the gate. I mouthed to him 'good luck' before he met Thorin, through a hole built into the blockade.
The dwarves began, one by one, to descend the steps, no doubt the hear in the conversation. I decided to stay up top. Bilbo waited a few seconds to see if I would join them down below before he also went down with everyone else.
Suddenly I heard Thorin yell out, "be gone, ere our arrow fly!"
Well that went over well.
I watched as Bard went back to his horse, he turned back, stared up at me. I glanced behind me and saw the company had made it back up the steps. Thorin stepped over next to me and placed his arm around me.
Well that doesn't look like a 'I won the prize aka Aurora' move AT ALL.
"What are you doing? You cannot go to war." Bilbo exclaimed.
Thorin continued to watch Bard leave. "This does not concern you."
"Excuse me?! But just in case you haven't noticed, there is an army of elves out there. And not to mention several hundred angry fishermen. We-we are in fact outnumbered." Bilbo argued. Everyone turned to look at Bilbo. Thorin smiled at his friend, "not for much longer."
Bilbo opened his mouth to speak then wrinkled his nose. "What does that mean?" Thorin stepped towards the hobbit. "It means Master Baggins, you should never underestimate dwarves," Thorin answered before turning back to the group, "we have reclaimed Erebor. Now we defend it!"
Bilbo, Balin, and I glanced between each other, each with look of distress painted on our faces. This would not end well.
I shook my head as I watched everyone make their way to the armory. "This is insane!" I yelled out, shaking my head, before collapsing onto the floor. Bilbo stood and watched the city of Dale. "There's no stopping this Aurora. We're going to war over nothing."
"We can stop this. I can go speak to them, tell them to hold off." I said jumping up from the floor and pacing around, a plan forming in my head.
"Aurora, you cannot do that! If Thorin finds out, you left to go to Dale, he will kill you. He'll also kill me for knowing."
I smirked at Bilbo. "No, he'll kill you first for hiding the Arkenstone from him." I whisper yelled to him. Bilbo groaned before sitting down on a stone. He glanced up at me. "Don't do anything stupid. I mean it. I'm going to go find Thorin and talk to him. You should come with me." I shook my head and watched as Bilbo stood and walked off to the armory.
I peered down the hallway and watched as Bilbo turned the corner before I ran down the steps of the barricade and grabbed a large spool of rope before running back up the steps and over to the rampart. I tied one end of the rope securely to the stone before tossing the rest of the rope over. I climbed my way down, jumping onto the stone statue that had demolished the bridge before darting off towards Dale.
…
In Dale, the people were preparing for war. I ran through the crowd of men and boys who were busy gathering weapons, asking every other man where Bard was. They all pointed me to the town square. I stopped and watched as elven soldiers marched past. Thorin was severely outnumbered.
I stepped up to what would have been the courthouse of Dale, when I was stopped by Alfrid. "Oh no, no, no, no, NO, NO! Oi! We don't want you. You bringing up more bad luck. We got enough trouble from you. Off you go. Back to your treasure filled mountain." Alfrid yelled at me in a sing-song voice. He came right up to me and waved his finger at me, leaving his nasty finger in my face.
"Move your mutated finger out of my face or you will proceed to not have a hand." I threatened before sarcastically smiling at him and stepping past him and heading over to a large tent.
Before this is over, I WILL punch him in the face.
I stepped inside the tent and noticed immediately whose tent it was. It was King Thranduil's. He sat atop an ornate chair, no doubt his throne on the go. He stared at me as soon as I entered. "Why are you in here girl? This no place for a girl." He said before turning back to a map that was next to him on the large table in the middle.
"Your majesty I hate to protest, but unfortunately this is my place." I said, crossing my hands behind my back.
Thranduil stood and stepped over to me. He gave me a once over before stopping in front of me and staring at my eyes. "I know those eyes. They belonged to a certain man who doomed Middle Earth. Isildur. Which unfortunately makes you: Isildur's heir." Thranduil theorized before sauntering back to his chair. I merely nodded, unsure what to say.
He was right after all.
Also might I say, Thranduil is kind of hot.
"Aurora Lorien? What are you doing here?" a voice called out from behind me. I turned around to see Gandalf standing next to Bard, both sharing the same look of happiness to see me but also solemness. "Gandalf? What's wrong?" I asked.
Gandalf strolled past Bard and me and turned to the table. "You must set aside your petty grievances with the dwarves. War is coming! The cesspits of Dol Guldur have been emptied. You're all in mortal danger!" Gandalf warned, receiving shocked looks from everyone.
"So it's true." I said, my heart sinking at the idea.
"What are you talking about?" Bard questioned glancing at everyone in the tent. Thranduil stood from his chair. "I can see you know nothing of this man and his family. They are like winter thunder on a wild wind rolling in from a distance, breaking hard in alarm. But sometimes a storm is just a storm." Thranduil explained, stepping over to the table to pour him and Bard up some wine. He handed Bard his glass before standing next to him.
"Not this time. Armies of orcs are on the move. And these are fighters. They have been bred for war. Our enemy has summoned his full strength." Gandalf argued.
"Why show his hand now?" Thranduil asked, clearly not buying what Gandalf said.
"Because we forced him! We forced him when the company of Thorin Oakinshield set out to reclaim their homeland. The dwarves were never meant to reach Erebor; Azog the Defiler was sent to kill them. His master seeks control of the mountain. Not just for the treasure within, but for it lies, its strategic position." He explained leading the four of us outside to a clearly where we could easily see the gates of Erebor. "This is the gateway to reclaiming the lands of Angmar in the north. If that fell kingdom should rise again, Rivendell, Lothlorien, the Shire, even Gondor itself will fall."
Bard glanced to me at the mention of Gondor. I felt like I was going to be sick or faint or both. We had done the easy work for Azog and the orcs.
"These Orc armies you speak of Mithrandir- where are they?" Thranduil mused. I turned to Gandalf for an answer except he had none. Thranduil was unconvinced and made his way back into the tent.
Night had fallen as the rest of us entered the tent. As soon as Thranduil sat back down, Gandalf confronted him.
Man, I missed Gandalf.
"Since when has my council counted for so little? What do you think I'm trying to do?!" Gandalf argued.
"I think you're trying to save your dwarvish friends. And I admire your loyalty to them, but it does not dissuade me from my course. You started this, Mithrandir. You will forgive me if I finish it." Thranduil said before rising and yelling to one of his guards. He told the guard to shoot anything that moved on the mountain.
"The dwarves are out of time." the Elf King said, turning back to glance at Gandalf. Gandalf puffed his pipe before stepping over to Bard who was talking to some of the men of Laketown. "You, Bowman! Do you agree with this? Is gold so important to you? Would you buy it from the blood of dwarves?" Gandalf questioned Bard. I watched Bard glance at me before answering Gandalf. I turned to Thranduil.
"Your majesty, I understand you want to finish this petty argument, but do you honestly believe the orcs won't pillage that mountain till there is no gold left? No White Gems of Pure Starlight?" I asked. My question must have struck a nerve in Thranduil. He practically jumped out of his chair and towered over me. "How do you know of them?"
"I heard stories of those gems in Rivendell and had the opportunity to see them in Erebor. Your wife would have loved them." I said, gazing up at the Elf King. Thranduil bowed his head before turning away. "It's no matter, with your dwarf friends dead, I can easily claim my share." He said gazing at the table.
"Bilbo Baggins!" I heard Gandalf exclaim. I exited the tent to see Bard and Gandalf staring at Bilbo. His eyes widened at seeing me before he chuckled as we led him inside.
"If I'm not mistaken, this is the halfling who stole the keys to my dungeons from under the nose of my guards." Thranduil said, sitting on his chair, as he stared at Bilbo. Bilbo looked extremely uncomfortable. Gandalf watched him as Bard sat down in a chair and I rested my arm on the back of Bard's chair.
"Yes. Sorry about that."
My mouth dropped as I stifled out a small laugh. Awkward silence filled the room. "I came… to give you this." Bilbo said, breaking the silence. He stepped over to the table and pulled out a wrapped object. He unwrapped the package to reveal the Arkenstone. Bard and Thranduil rose in surprise. Thranduil was the first one to the table. "The heart of the mountain! The King's Jewel."
Gandalf, Bard, and I approached the table. The men stayed fixated on the jewel while I gazed at Bilbo.
This wasn't what I meant when I said get rid of it!
"And worth a king's ransom. How is this yours to give?" Bard asked
"I took it as my fourteenth share of the treasure." Bilbo answered, staring at the Arkenstone.
Gandalf smiled down at Bilbo.
"Why would you do this? You owe us no loyalty." Bard questioned, glancing over to me for some answer. Except I couldn't give him one. I had no idea why Bilbo would risk his life to give away the Arkenstone to the people who were willing to kill everyone inside Erebor.
"I'm not doing it for you. I know that dwarves can be obstinate and pigheaded and difficult, suspicious, and secretive… with worst manners you can possibly imagine, but they are also brave and kind… and loyal to a fault. I've grown very fond of them, and I would save them if I can. Thorin values this stone above all else. In exchange for its return, I believe he will give you what you are owed. There will be no need for war." Bilbo explained.
I couldn't help but smile as I listened to Bilbo. He was right on all accounts concerning the dwarves. He was also right about how much Thorin cared for the Arkenstone. He was willing to do whatever to save his friends.
After his declaration, Gandalf escorted Bilbo out, saying he needed to talk to him alone. Thranduil wanted to mull over the idea of an exchange with Bard but Bard wanted to talk to me…. alone.
Nothing to worry about… just an attractive man talking to me…what could go wrong?
Don't go back and read what happened when Thorin and I talked. That doesn't count. Or when Bard and I first talked in Laketown. Or when Lindir and I talked in Rivendell. I'm just making this worse for myself, aren't I? Just skip to the next chapter. Better yet just stop reading the book! Why are you even reading? Reading is BAD. It rots your brain, makes you think, and who wants to think anymore?
You're still reading, aren't you?
Great.
Bard took me over to the same overhang we had been at before to stare at Erebor. I was quite nervous around him. Anytime the two of us had been alone, almost some 'sexual form of tension' occurred. I was so confused with Bard and Thorin, I just wanted to run into the deepest part of Erebor and hide there.
I messed with an ornate ring that was on my pointer finger. Some forgotten relic of Gondor's past, I think. It was a diamond and circle cut ring with millwork designs. I had had the ring for as long as I could remember. I could never part with it, something inside made me think it was either my mother's or my father's.
"Did you know your friend would do this?" Bard asked, standing next to me. I shook my head and gazed up to view Erebor, the fires inside the mountain lighting it up. "Do you think Thorin will agree?"
I shook my head no. "He's changed too much being inside that mountain. If he does, it will be a ruse."
Bard shook his head. "You don't believe that? Thorin Oakinshield will honor his word once he sees we have the Arkenstone."
I smirked at the idea, before facing Bard. "Or he will have all out war." I curtly said, stepping away from Bard and walking next to the balcony stone, tracing my fingers over the top. I felt Bard's fingers intertwine with mine, the move startling me. He took his other arms and wrapped it around my waist, pulling me into his chest. "You care about him, don't you? The same as you do me?" He questioned, his breath hot against my ear. I pulled away from Bard and gazed at the mountain.
"I don't know. I don't know how I feel." I said, dropping my head. I breathed out, long and deep. Why was the world wanting to do this me?
"What should I do?" I whispered to him, glimpsing over at Bard. He curtly smiled, stepping over to me. "Do what your heart wants. If that means going to him, go to him. If it means staying here with me, stay here with me."
I scoffed at him, making it seem like it was an easy decision. I cared about both in equally different ways. Bard made me feel a way Thorin didn't. Thorin made me feel away Bard didn't.
"You won't send an army after me tomorrow, will you?" I teased, earning a hearty chuckle from Bard.
"I could never hurt you, Aurora. Whatever you decide to do, I will support that decision." Bard said. He placed a kiss on my head before walking back to the tent to meet with Thranduil.
"That's what I'm afraid of," I said under my breath as he walked away.
…
Once everyone (who was important) was away meeting or asleep, Bilbo and I made our move to head back to the mountain. I had no idea what would happen once the sun rose and frankly, I didn't want to know. I wanted to act like this was all a bad dream I was having and that I would wake up in Bree or Rivendell. Except I knew I wouldn't, no matter how many times I pinched myself awake.
We said nothing to each other as we walked out of Dale. Neither one of knew what to say. We both lied to each other that we wouldn't come to Dale and Bilbo turned over the one thing Thorin desired in that mountain.
"You know," I said finally as we walked along the barren path "we're screwed once he finds out what we've done."
Bilbo nodded to my claim. "What do you think he'll do?"
I thought for a moment. I really had no idea what Thorin would do, there was a million different scenarios that could happen. So I thought of the most outlandish one to tell Bilbo.
Because whether he will admit it or not, I knew he was scared. But his heart is in the right place and maybe Thorin will give him a nice, quick death. Just kidding. Maybe.
"I think he'll find Smaug back and the dragon will have a craving for human with a side of hobbit." I joked, laughing immediately after the words came out of my mouth. Bilbo's eyes went huge before joining in the laughter. He knelt to the snowy ground and made a snowball before throwing it at my head. It hit me right on the back of my head. I made a face at him, before grabbing some off the ground and tossing it at the hobbit.
That's how we wasted an hour of our journey back to the mountain.
Stay tuned ladies, gentlemen, trolls, elves, hobbits, and dwarves….
Because it's about to get messy…