Hey all! We're back with Caladwen and Thorin once again. I have to say that this is the last chapter I have pre done, so I don't know when the next update will be. Hopefully it shouldn't be too long.
Review responses;
Memo (Guest) – Don't worry, Moria will be the last time that they separate. Caladwen will be with them for good now.
Child of Dreams - :D!
Blast From the Past
After making sure Gandalf, the dwarves and I'm sure I saw a hobbit there, were safe, I turn back to the orcs and wargs which slowly start circling me. I pause slightly when I recognise one of them as Yazneg, one of Azog's henchmen. I grit my teeth together and keep a tight hold on my blades as they all get closer, snarling and growling away, before a horn sounds and arrows start raining upon them.
Thanking the Valar, I start swinging my blades while the wargs and orcs are distracted and take out a few as horses gallop by, the elven riders keep shooting their arrows until the riders retreat, the wargs close behind. As I watch the orcs run like the cowards they are, a black horse stops next to me. Looking up, I smile as I see Lord Elrond mounted on the steed, Vehiron, who happens to be Vanya's sire.
"Lord Elrond, impeccable timing, I must say." I say, pulling my mask down to talk to him.
He grins down at me. "Indeed. We found Vanya without her rider while we were scouting the borders and she led us here."
My smile widens as Vanya trots up and nudges me with her head. I chuckle as I rub her snout.
"I am relieved to see you unharmed too, my friend."
She snorts as she nibbles on my hair, I giggle while giving her a once over before hopping into the saddle as another elf walks over, handing Elrond one of the orcs blades.
"What could orcs be doing wandering so close to our borders?" he wonders aloud.
"I'm not too sure. But I know they were chasing after Gandalf and some dwarves."
He looks to me in surprise. "Gandalf?"
I nod and tilt my head back towards the hidden passage. "He led them through the passage."
"So they will be in Rivendell shortly. Let us go and meet them, shall we?"
I grin, pulling my mask back up as the other elves mount up and we ride to Rivendell.
Gandalf leads the company down and over the cliff as they enter Rivendell. They gather on a circular platform at the bottom of some stairs which lead into the housing. A few elves can be seen strolling around, glancing over at the visitors before they get on with their day. Bilbo stops and gazes around in awe at the beauty and tranquility of the elven city. The dwarves, however, look uneasy. A dark haired elf makes his way down the stairs towards them.
"Mithrandir."
Gandalf turns and smiles at the elf as they greet each other.
"Ah, Lindir!"
The dwarves murmur amongst themselves in distrust.
"Stay sharp." Thorin whispers to Dwalin.
"Lastannem i athrannedh i Vruinen."
"I must speak with Lord Elrond." Gandalf tells him.
"My lord Elrond is not here." Lindir informs.
"Not here? Where is he?"
Suddenly, the Elvish horns from earlier sound again. As they turn, they see a group of armed horsemen riding along the bridge at a rapid rate.
"Ifridî bekâr! Hold ranks!" Thorin yells as the dwarves gather in a circle, Bilbo and Ori in the middle.
The mounted Elves arrive and ride in circles around the dwarves. Eventually, they stop, and an elf with dark hair on a black horse separates himself from the group. Thorin's heart stops as he sees the rider from before, Caladwen, her hood and mask still on, but he can see her eyes. . .oh Mahal. . .he forgot just how beautiful her eyes really are.
"Gandalf." the lead elf greets, pulling Thorin from his day dream.
Gandalf bows gracefully. "Lord Elrond. Mellonnen! Mo evínedh?"
"Farannem 'lamhoth i udul o charad. Dagannem rim na Iant Vedui."
Elrond dismounts from his horse, then he and Gandalf embrace. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Caladwen also dismounting and patting her horse.
Elrond pulls away from the wizard. "Strange for Orcs to come so close to our borders. Something, or someone, has drawn them near."
He holds up an Orc sword and shows it to everyone, then hands it to Lindir.
"Ah, that may have been us." Gandalf says, nodding to the dwarves.
Thorin steps forward, and Elrond looks upon him with recognition.
"Welcome Thorin, son of Thrain."
The rider's head snaps up at his name, her eyes wide with shock. Now he has got his confirmation. He has found her at last. He turns his attention back to Elrond.
"I do not believe we have met." Thorin says.
"You have your grandfather's bearing. I knew Thror when he ruled under the Mountain."
"Indeed; he made no mention of you."
If he thought Elrond would take offense to his words he's wrong. He seems to brush this aside as he speaks in Elvish. The dwarves of course do not understand what he is saying.
"Nartho i noer, toltho i viruvor. Boe i annam vann a nethail vin."
"What is he saying? Does he offer us insult?" Gloin asks.
The dwarves grow hostile and grip their weapons uneasily. Gandalf speaks exasperatedly.
"No, master Gloin, he's offering you food."
The dwarves quickly discuss this amongst themselves.
"Ah well, in that case, lead on."
Before following the others, Thorin looks up to find Caladwen, but she's gone. His spirits drop. Does she not want to see him? After all these years has she stopped loving him? He hoped these were not true. He feels Dwalin pat his shoulder before they walk up the stairs.
I stride into my room and lean on the railing of my balcony, dropping my pack as I go. I have to take a few deep breathes to steady my mind and my racing heart. It's him. . .Thorin. . .after all these years, he's here. . .in Rivendell of all places. I never thought he would set foot in an elven city. . .Gandalf must have something to do with that.
I turn as there is a knock on the door.
"Yes? Who is it?" I ask nervously.
"It is just me, my dear." Elrond's voice speaks through the wood.
I breath a sigh of relief, placing a hand to my racing heart as I walk inside.
"Yes. Come in, My Lord."
He walks in and shuts the door behind him before smiling gently at me, obviously sensing my distress.
"How are you doing, my dear?" he asks.
"I'm fine. Why would I not be?" I reply as I take my pack, preparing unpack what I have.
"And the cause of your distress would not be because of a certain dwarf Lord?"
I freeze in what I am doing, my hand gripping onto a spare tunic I had just taken from my pack. I do nothing as I hear Elrond walk over, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder.
"You cannot hide from your past anymore, Caladwen."
I sigh as I drop my tunic. "I am afraid. . .I am not the same elf I was almost two hundred years ago. . .I am afraid he will not like what he sees."
He gently takes my arms and turns me so I am facing him, lowering my mask and hood in the process.
"Caladwen, if Thorin still loves you, like you say he did, then you know as well as I that nothing will stop him from coming to you, staying by your side."
"If he still loves me." I say sadly as I drop my face.
He tilts my chin up with his slender finger. "Then it is up to you to find this out. Do not let this moment slip from your grasp, or you will live to regret it for the rest of your long life."
Looking into his eyes, I know he is right. I can't let this opportunity go. I have been longing for Thorin for almost two hundred years, ever since my father made me a prisoner in my own home, keeping me from my beloved. Over the years, I have watched him from a distance, too afraid to see him. But now. . .this is my chance. . .and I can't let it go.
I nod as I straighten up. "You are right. I'm not going to run away, not again."
He smiles. "Good. You will come to dinner?"
I think about this for a moment, knowing Thorin and the dwarves will be there. I shake my head. "No. I need time to figure out how best to approach this."
He nods in understanding. "Very well, but do not leave it too long, thithen pen."
He places a fatherly kiss on my brow before leaving my room.
I sigh as I lean on my bed post, a hand on my chest to try to quell my rapidly beating heart.
"Oh, naneth, please give me strength for this."
After begrudgingly accepting the invitation to dinner, Thorin now finds himself sitting with Gandalf and Elrond, his company gathered around another table. As he looks to his kin being happy, he can no longer begrudge Gandalf for bringing them to Rivendell. Though he would never admit it aloud.
After he hands over his new sword to Elrond to appraise, he glances around at the elves, looking for any sign of Caladwen being there. He inwardly sighs as he doesn't see her. He surely hopes she isnt avoiding him.
He turns back to Elrond as he speaks.
"This is Orcrist, the Goblin Cleaver. A famous blade, forged by the High Elves of the West, my kin. May it serve you well."
He hands Orcrist back to Thorin, who accepts it with a nod. Elrond then examines Gandalf's sword.
"And this is Glamdring, the Foe-hammer, sword of the King of Gondolin. These swords were made for the goblin wars of the First Age.."
"How did you come by these?" Elrond asks after returning the sword to the wizard.
"We found them in a troll hoard on the Great East Road, shortly before we were ambushed by orcs." Gandalf replies.
"And what were you doing on the Great East Road?"
No one answers; Thorin looks perturbed.
"Excuse me." Thorin speaks as he stands and moves away from the two, standing near his kin.
Following the sound of laughter, which I assume is from the dwarves as it is too loud for the elves, I come to stop by a balcony, which over looks where they are eating dinner. I peek out and watch them all from my hiding place. As my eyes roam over them all, my throat catches as I find Balin and Dwalin sitting at the long table. My old friends. . .both looking so different. Balin's hair and beard being whiter, and Dwalin, to my surprise, opted to shave his mohawk, tattoos covering his bald head, his hair now running along the side of his head. Which I have to admit, looks better on him than the mohawk did. Sitting next to Balin, I see a Halfling. So I wasn't imagining it then, I did see a Hobbit by the secret entrance. As my eyes drift to the main table, I stop breathing. Thorin. . .oh by the Valar. . .he's really hear. . .his beard shorter than the last we met and his hair supporting a few strands of silver hairs, but he looks no less handsome than before.
Seeing Thorin stand and make his way towards the dwarves, getting closer to me, I duck behind the wall for a few moments, peeking back out to see his back to me. Leaning on the railing, I watch with a smile on my face as some of the dwarves complain about the music, one even stuffing a cloth into this ear trumpet, (which greatly amuses me).
"Alright lads, there's only one thing for it!" The hatted dwarf exclaims as he climbs onto a plinth next to the table, and starts to sing;
"There is an inn, a merry old inn
beneath an old grey hill,
And there they brew a beer so brown
That the Man in the Moon himself came down
one night to drink his fill."
I'm smiling away as I watch the other dwarves joining in, merrily. Looking at the elves, I see them watching, absolutely horrified, as the dwarves begin tossing food around as they sing.
Turning to Thorin, I see him tapping his foot away, swaying slightly to the beat. Without even seeing his face, I can tell he is grinning.
I sigh as I lean my head against the wall as they finish the song. I have missed being among the dwarves. I love my own kin, of course, but. . .there's just something about the way dwarves celebrate and have fun that calls out to me. Smiling, I turn and walk away. I cannot face Thorin, not right now. For now, I will let them rest and be merry.
Well, there it is. After over a hundred years, Caladwen have finally seen her dwarves once again. If you want to see what happens next, please stay tuned for the next chapter. Keep your lovely reviews coming xx
Translations;
Lastannem i athrannedh i Vruinen. - We heard you had crossed into the Valley.
Ifridî bekâr! - Ready weapons!
Mellonnen! Mo evínedh? - My friend! Where have you been?
Farannem 'lamhoth i udul o charad. Dagannem rim na Iant Vedui. - We've been hunting a pack of Orcs that came up from the South. We slew a number near the Hidden Pass.
Nartho i noer, toltho i viruvor. Boe i annam vann a nethail vin - Light the fires, bring forth the wine. We must feed our guests.
Tithen pen – Little one
Naneth - Mother