Chapter 11: A rock and a hard place.
I had fucked up.
Badly.
We were approaching the Mountain from the wrong side and way too early, plus, we didn't have Bilbo, which was the least of our worries in some ways.
The top of the list would be the very alive, fire breathing dragon right now.
"Lads, I might stay here actually. Feeling a bit faint... Altitude sickness you know?" I panted, sitting on a boulder with my hands braced on my knees. Fili looked worried as he knelt by my side.
"Are you going to be okay? I should stay with you." He said, I nodded and allowed him to grip my hand. Thorin cast the pair of us a disgruntled look and then nodded.
"We will rest here and make the last of the journey tomorrow, Oin will make sure Miss Reynolds is fit to travel, if not she stays here." He ordered, the others setting up a perimeter and taking watches. Oin approached me, giving Fili a very pointed look as if to say, get lost boy.
"Now, Miss Reynolds. How bad is the pain?" He asked, I frowned and shook my head.
"There's no pain Master Oin, I simply felt light headed." He ignored this and began to go about his normal checks.
Beginning with heart rate.
"Heart rate is a bit fast for a human. When was your last cycle?" He asked, ignoring my red cheeks in favour of rummaging in his medical bag.
"What?" I asked dumbly, he rolled his eyes.
"Last cycle Lass, your woman's blood." He said clearly, I turned a deeper pink as I shrugged, it hadn't been since just before Beorn a two weeks ago.
"Well, four or five weeks then."
"Are you due a bleed?" He probed, pulling a scary looking contraption out of the bag, I eyed it cautiously.
"Uh, last week I guess."
"Is it ever late?" I shook my head as he fiddled with the contraption. "Early?" Another head shaking. "Interesting. Always on time." I nodded.
"Yep, always right on time. Never a day late in my life." I answered sheepishly, the elderly Dwarf finished his fiddling and looked at me very carefully.
"And have you engaged in any state of passion?" He questioned, seemingly unaware of how uncomfortable I felt with the others looking in on us both.
"Uh, I'm not sure I should-"
"Answer me Lassie." He ordered, I caught Bofur's twinkling eye, which turned my face beetroot red.
"Uh... Y-yeah." I stuttered, seeing as Kili handed Nori a few coins with a scowl in his brothers direction.
"Just have to think with your wedding tackle don't you Fee?" The Dwarf complained, Fili nodded.
"Better with that than your coin purse brother." He snapped back, rubbing his hands together. Oin had fallen silent for once, twisting a key in the contraption now.
"Are the women in your family particularly fertile?" I gaped and struggled to answer.
"W-well. I think so... My mother only had me, it might be the women on that excuse for a dad's side though, grandma Georgie had at least seven children before she stopped." I replied, rubbing the back of my neck as Oin's hand pressed against my forehead.
"A slight temperature. Any sickness?" I shook my head, lying as I felt a wave of nausea hitting me.
"Anything we should be worrying about Brother?" Gloin said, brows furrowed, Oin shrugged and stood up, putting away his toy.
"Nothing I'm worried about, just keep an eye on the Lass tomorrow." He replied, getting up and brushing off his trousers, a pointed look hitting me, as in a 'we'll discuss this later' kind of look.
I didn't want to discuss this later. Not when I knew the truth about my condition.
"Are you sure you're alright? Nothing else to tell me Lass?" Oin asked once more with a range eyebrow, I nodded and slipped off the rock and onto the floor carefully, unrolling my bedroll next to the Prince's lying down, staring at the sky.
"Lassie, wake up." Oin whispered, poking me awake and managing to not disturb Fili or Kili.
"What?" I croaked, getting up and rubbing my sore, tired eyes.
"Earlier, I have reason to believe that you are with child, in this case I cannot allow you to enter that Mountain until the Dragon is dead." He replied, I swallowed thickly and nodded, following the Dwarf to the edge of camp and yawning. "There are something's you must know, firstly a union between a Dwarf and a Human has only happened rarely in the past, and the mother did not always survive the birth." I nodded.
"Well then I'll hold on as long as I can." I said firmly, he smiled.
"It might not be that simple Lassie, you've married a Prince and are now with his child. In the eyes of the Humans, that is acceptable, but to Dwarves, there are many ceremonies and vows that must be taken before a marriage is valid."
"So you're saying that maybe some of the older members of the Company might not agree with a pregnancy if these traditions haven't been followed?" He nodded, I chewed my lips and thought before nodding. "Is there anyone here that could perform these rituals?"
"Aye, there are a few. Myself, Thorin, Dori and Balin are all able to validate the marriage." He said, nodding his head.
"I just have to get Fee on board now." I sighed, rubbing my face and then licking my lips. "That's a matter for the morning I suppose."
"Get some rest Lass, if you feel unwell or anything just come and talk to old Oin." He said.
"Thank you."