Chapter Forty: Frerin
T.A. 2822 Rivendell
"Slow down," the dark-haired elf laughs.
"Yes," the other agrees, "she will still be in Rivendell if we get back in two hours or two days."
Frerin glares at the elf twins from atop his pony. The unreasonably tall creatures seem even taller mounted on their matching chestnut mares. Everything about them matches almost exactly, their armour, their weapons, their hair and even the way that they will finish the other's thoughts or sentences should they wish to (although they reserve that particular habit for winding up their father and several of the more stuffy occupants of their home). The fact that they are so in tune with one another makes them a formidable force on the battlefield, it also makes them capable of getting under the skin of everyone they meet, and whether they do so positively or negatively depends entirely on their mood. Their penchant for pranks doesn't endear them to many, but Frerin has found their mischief and irreverence a welcome break. They are quite unlike any elf that he has ever had the dubious pleasure of meeting (except Glorfindel but Frerin very much doubts there could ever be another being like Glorfindel) and without them the weeks in Rivendell while Belladonna devours Elrond's extensive library would have driven Frerin insane.
He still doesn't like elves, but there are four in Rivendell he can spend time with and not feel the urge to break things (or people).
He graces his twin companions with a rude hand gesture in response to their teasing and continues at his own pace. They keep up easily on their larger mounts and so he decides to ignore them in the hope they will grow bored. Elves, however, tend to be infinitely more patient than the other races. They have an eternity after all.
"Unless she grows bored," Elladan continues, blithely ignoring Frerin. "Adar can be quite the task master and not everyone has the attentiveness to keep pace."
"True," Elrohir agrees, "but Belladonna is motivated, and we have never seen her go anywhere without our silent companion. She wouldn't leave him behind now."
"Perhaps he fears she has grown tired of waiting." The other shakes his head in mock sorrow.
"Waiting for what, brother dear?" Frerin shifts.
"Well, obviously she has feelings for him. There's no other reason someone as delightful as our hobbit maid would tolerate one so sour and unfortunate looking as our dwarf friend. It could only be the grip of some powerful emotion that causes her to keep him around."
"You've been reading Arwen's books again," Elrohir sniggers.
"Our sister does enjoy a good romantic tale," Elladan says nonchalantly. "And she's very invested in the one that's playing out in front of us." Frerin can almost hear the smirk on the elf's face.
"Bella and I are friends," he snaps. "And it's all we'll ever be."
He won't deny that, occasionally, he's entertained the thought of more. Once he got past her lack of beard and her overall slightness (and the soft roundness of her after a winter apart) he has come to find her increasingly pleasing to the eyes. He's young, not yet of age, and were he living in Ered Luin for more than three or four months of the year he would be expected to have taken several bed partners by now, arranged marriage or not. He's had a few short-term partners, winters get incredibly cold in the mountains and the nights are very long, but never much more than a night or two here and there.
Now that he thinks about it, he hasn't taken a new lover in years and even the old flings don't interest him any longer.
"I think he's worked it out," Elladan says.
"About time too," Elrohir laughs, "and look, she's waiting for our return."
Frerin startles from his thoughts to see that Belladonna is in the courtyard, her dark hair pulled neatly back and her face pink from exertion. She must have been in the library and she looks breath taking.
"Why don't you just kiss her," Elladan suggests quietly.
Frerin slides from his pony and does just that. Had he been among his own people, or even the hobbits, he suspects there would have been a great deal of cheering and cat-calling. Instead there is only respectful silence and the jangling of the twins dismounting as one of them mutters "finally".
T.A. 2941 Erebor
Frerin isn't entirely sure how it is that Legolas made it past Lake Town with them after setting them free from his father's dungeons. Recent evidence to the contrary Thorin isn't the type to take a political hostage and use them to force his point or get his way. The only reason Frerin can think of is that, before the sickness took hold of Thorin's mind, his brother had feared Legolas had heard too much and would lead Thranduil ahead of them, so he had agreed to allow the elf prince to stay. As it stands, the elf is definitely hiding something, and he almost wishes that the twins were here to help him get to the bottom of Legolas' obviously increasing agitation.
Having the twins along would likely have made a great many things easier. It would also very likely have made Thorin's head explode, a highly entertaining prospect in the short term.
As amusing as the thought is, Frerin has more urgent questions he needs answering. He finds Balin nibbling on a piece of cram and taking sips of water from an old tin cup on a bench just outside of the treasure hall. His old friend looks weary and burdened with a great many more cares than Frerin can recall seeing him bear in the past.
"What happens if we don't find the Arkenstone before Dain's army arrives?" He asks as he settles on the bench next to his friend. Balin sighs.
"With Smaug gone? Not much. It is here somewhere, laddie," he assures Frerin, "and without a dragon to worry about we have the time to search for it. Thorin's claim would be stronger if Dain were to arrive and find the Arkenstone in his grasp, but it won't make a difference now."
"And with Thranduil at our gates?" Balin laughs.
"The Lord of the Iron Hills has been looking for an excuse to have a tussle with that elf for decades. He'll happily go toe to toe with Thranduil and his army for his own amusement."
"Thorin's going to same way as Thror, isn't he?" Frerin asks, the weight of his promise to this brother weighing on him heavily. After a beat Balin sighs and bows his head. "I don't remember much about Erebor at the time, but I remember that. I remember Thorin trying to hide it from Dis and I. Do you think- If we found the Arkenstone would it make things any better?"
"No," Balin shakes his head, "I rather suspect it would make things significantly worse. It would probably be better if the damned thing remained lost."
Frerin has his suspicions about its location. Clearly Balin does too, if the twinkle in his eye is anything to go by. Fili and Bluebell have both been a little bit too twitchy the last few days and it's certainly more than the general anxiousness of betrothed couples to get some time alone.
Frerin would actually feel better about it if the pair of them got married sooner rather than later. He's overheard some of Thorin's mutterings in the last day or so and they don't bode well for the future happiness of the young couple. As nice as a large feast following the wedding would be (Frerin knows Bluebell is already working on the hair for the ring mounts he found them in Smaug's hoard) some things might have to be sacrificed for the sake of thwarting the cruel plans of a mad king. And thinking of the cruel plans of a mad king, Thorin is no where to be seen or heard. He is never far from the treasure chamber unless he's in the throne room and Frerin hasn't seen him there either.
Given Frerin's suspicions finding Thorin has become just that little bit more urgent. If he has reached this conclusion it won't take long for it to occur to his brother either, the only reason it hasn't is very likely the madness that Frerin has been trying so hard to ignore (he doesn't want to have to keep his promise, difficult as it would be with an army at the gates). Fili's Stone Sense is too strong, too sharp, for him to have been unable to locate something as unique as the Arkenstone. He's among only a few who haven't been searching and he's rarely away from Bluebell's side. One of them has it and Frerin would put money on it being his daughter, Fili wouldn't hover around her otherwise.
"I know you have it," he hears Thorin before he sees his brother, turning to find him in a less used corridor.
Fili and Bluebell see him arrive, Thorin's back being towards Frerin. Fili is protecting his betrothed and it is a sight that has become so common on this journey that it makes Frerin's heart hurt. Bluebell has been in so much danger throughout this quest and so often it has been Fili who has stepped forward for her, even before they had come to any sort of understanding, when it should have been Frerin.
"Thorin?" He calls his brother and sees the young couple take a step backwards. "What's going on?"
"This is your doing," Thorin points at him. "You've told them to take the Arkenstone, to use it to usurp my rightful place as King Under the Mountain, to take the throne for yourself."
"You know very well I don't want the throne, Thorin," he scoffs, watching the younger occupants of the corridor shuffle further away. "I stepped aside, remember?"
"I remember," Thorin hisses, "and I remember watching you always whispering in his ear and influencing him. Then you vanish, only to reappear with a hobbit wife and an adopted daughter that you don't hesitate to push at him over and over."
"Listen to yourself, brother," Frerin says, putting his hand on his sword though he won't draw it unless he has to. Their raised voices must carry because he can hear running feet from several directions. "You sound like Thror!"
Thorin snarls at him and whirls to grab Bluebell before either Fili or Frerin can react. She cries out, his grip obviously far harsher than he would usually use. Several of the others come around various corners and they freeze at the sight. Belladonna lets out a shout of her daughter's name and Legolas reaches to hold her back. Frerin may not like the elf (and he firmly believes Legolas means to betray them) but he can be grateful to him.
"Give me the Arkenstone," Thorin hisses, knocking Fili aside.
"Uncle!" Kili steps in. "You're hurting her, stop!"
It is enough of a distraction for Frerin to grab his brother, tackling him and forcing him to release Bluebell. For a moment it looks as though the others are finally going to step in, but then his daughter falls, hard, and the Arkenstone falls from its hiding place to fill the dimly lit corridor with its treacherous glow. Everyone freezes and Frerin catches the triumphant expression on Thorin's face.
"Legolas, no," he hears his wife gasp as Thorin breaks free. Bluebell and Fili scramble for the stone, reaching it before his brother can and closing their hands over it in the same moment.
The light of the stone dims momentarily, causing sinister shadows to fall over every face, then it pulses and the brilliance of it blasts towards them, knocking their feet from under them and forcing them backwards. When the light clears it leaves spots flashing before them and the feel of the mountain has changed. It feels hollow, now, empty.
"Bluebell!" Belladonna screams as Kili roars his brother's name.
Both are missing, gone without a sign they ever existed. They wouldn't have run, he knows, because the corridor was blocked in both directions by the gathered Company, most of whom are still sprawled where they fell. More than that, however, Frerin knows it with the same absolute certainty that he can see dawning on the faces of the others. Bluebell and Fili are no longer in the mountain at all. He would bet his share of the treasure on that. Wherever they are it's a place that none of them can follow and it has something to do with the Arkenstone.
"Gandalf's here," Bombur puffs around the corner to announce.
"About time," Thorin snaps. "I have a few things to say to him with regards to his choice of burglar."
A.N: I originally intended to write this scene from Fili's pov. In my original draft, before I'd written most of the rest, it was done from Fili's perspective and I still have the scene. In the end it needed to be Frerin.