Chapter Twelve: Arwen and Alunim
Oin had been quiet and reserved when he fixed Emelia's nose, unlike Fili, who hadn't been able to keep all of the little jesting side remarks to himself. Emelia imagined he was just trying to make her feel better, like he had when they first met, but for some reason she couldn't help but shoot him less than amused glares. Oin, thankfully, kept his mouth shut. He had not said a single word about the spat she had had with Kili, choosing instead to snap her nose back into a normal position without uttering a word to her. He finished and stomped away, muttering something under his breath that amused Fili to no end, leaving Emelia standing in her spot with a look of confusion on her face. She stood in her spot for a moment, before she felt Fili place a hand on her shoulder, pulling her along after the rest of the retreating dwarves.
It was in that moment that Emelia finally took notice of the place that they were in. She had been too preoccupied with hurling insults at Kili to notice that they were, in fact, in a cave that twisted and turned back and forth into the mountain. It was rather astounding to look at, with its veins of lican and roots covering all of the walls. The moisture that she expected to be in caves seeped down the sides of the walls, making the temperature drop ever so slightly and settle on a nice even cool that covered her entire body. She liked the cave for the simple fact that it was pretty and it wasn't making her sweat like everything else thus far into her stay had.
Fili had not given her much time to take in her surroundings, including the monstrosity of a dead body lying at the edge of the cave, before he was pushing her along with a good natured smile.
All of the dwarves had left, leaving the two of them standing in the little entrance alone. She shook her head, cringing when she felt her greasy hair bumping into the sides of her face, before she allowed Fili to lead the two of them back to the rest of the silent company.
She didn't bother trying to talk to him once he had pushed her along to catch up with the other dwarves. Thorin was far too close and far too angry at her to risk it. He had made it abundantly clear that she was nothing but a nuisance; a nuisance that he had about as much patience for as she had for Kili. She had picked up on the fact, from her past experiences and misfortunes with him, that it was better to just keep her mouth shut when it came to Thorin. She was less likely to end up bursting into tears that way.
The dwarves were quieter than they had been in the short time she had been with them. Bofur hummed softly to himself, earning slight smiles from his companions, but other than that, the dwarves were virtually silent. It was odd to her, to say the least. Their deep voices had filled up her hearing for the entire time since she had been with the trolls. The only time they weren't talking was when she had been sleeping, and that hadn't exactly been her best nights rest.
She didn't like the silence for one singular reason and one singular reason only. It allowed her far too much time with her own depressing thoughts.
Emelia missed Alaska. It was plain and rather simple. She didn't like the way the warmth of this world coated her body, leaving her feeling sweaty and tight. She didn't like the way the air tasted different on her tongue and floated through her nostrils differently. She didn't like that she felt like she was at a permanent renaissance festival when she was around the dwarves. And she didn't like that apparently dwarves were real. It went against every sense of reality she thought she had. It messed with her mind, and she didn't like that one single bit.
When she was younger she used to always wish for the sort of adventure she was having currently, to happen to her. She used to pretend she was a pirate for hours, just to escape the fact that she was stuck in the coldest and most miserable place for a child with a wild imagination to live. She used to wish for it so bad it hurt. However, now that she was away from home, adventuring like she had always wanted to, she found she didn't want it at all.
She didn't want it.
She didn't want any of it. Not the trolls. Not the cave or the cook pot. She didn't want to dwarves, as delightful as some of them were, and she didn't want Bilbo or Gandalf. She didn't want the warm river or the humid air.
She wanted her Mother, Father, and Eddy. She wanted to go fishing on her family's boat. She wanted to sit in their little red ice tent hating life, because she would take hating that over trekking through a cave a thousand times over.
If the amount of terror she had experienced in the short time she had been away from her family was any indication, she was sure she would die of fright if she was forced to continue on with the company of dwarves. She hadn't been not scared in her time with the dwarves, and it had thoroughly exhausted her.
She wished the dwarves would speak to each other, just so she would have something to focus on besides her family. She missed them so much it made her slightly nauseous.
The company walked for a relatively short time, not pausing once, before they finally came to a bit of sunshine. Emelia had only shaken her miserable thoughts away in increments, finding that she was only able to keep her mind off of her home when she was given something else to focus on. Like Fili making faces at her to cheer her up, or Ori allowing her to flip through his sketches. He never really made eye contact with her, and he offered little explanation as to what she was looking at, but he let her all the same. She imagined he was still upset about the incident in the woods. When they two of them weren't keeping her mind occupied she slipped back into thinking about what she would have been doing if she had been home.
After what felt like an eternity to the mopping Emelia, Fili finally leaned over to speak to her in a hushed voice.
"I am sorry if Kili has upset you this much. He is not normally so cruel with his words."
Emelia looked up at him, blinking slightly at the sudden sound of his deep voice. "It's not him. I don't care what he said, actually. What he said was actually fairly mild to what I am sure he was thinking." She said, subconsciously moving her hand up to the fabric burn on her neck that Kili had caused. "I am just thinking."
Fili regarded her for a moment, taking in her face as she spoke. He may not have been the most observant dwarf when it came to women, as most around him would attest to, but he knew well enough to know when a woman wasn't going to tell him something. Emelia had been shuffling along next to him, her face varying between undeniable sadness and occasional anger and frustration. He knew better than to try and hazard a guess as to what she was thinking, considering he might just offend her and make her more upset, but it did not stop his curiosity as to the source of her poor mood.
"Do you wish to speak to me about it?" Fili half hoped she would say no. He wouldn't know what to do if she suddenly burst into tears and began to relay her most emotional and confusing problems to him.
There was a reason he wasn't married.
Emelia looked up at him, a slight smirk quirking her features before she turned back to look at the narrow path they were following. "I'll save you the trouble and waterworks, Fee." She scooted closer to him, lowering her voice even more. "Besides, you wouldn't really believe me or understand anyway. I am just exhausted, and I want nothing more than to pass out and never wake up again."
"I wouldn't want that Emmy." Fili said simply, hoping to cheer her up. "Who else would bother my little brother if you did?"
"I am sure he would find a way to piss of some other unsuspecting female. He seems to have that talent" Emelia said dryly. "But seriously, it is nothing to worry about."
Fili didn't push her to speak to him about it more. He could tell that something was bothering her, besides the expected hunger and fatigue. He was rather impressed she had held up as long as she had, physically speaking, considering how little rest and recovery time she had been given after her ordeal with the trolls. When they had found her she had looked abysmally fatigued and out of sorts and she had not been given any time to recover. She had looked rather exhausted before they had had to run for their lives, and she looked positively dead on her feet afterwards. He knew it wasn't just physical exhaustion however. She looked sad and upset as she shuffled on her feet, looking at the ground and the walls of the cave intermittently. He knew she was upset, but he left her to her silence, allowing her to mull over her private thoughts without him trying to pry it out of her before she was ready to share it.
She only stopped shuffling and pursing her lips when they came to look out over Imaldris, or Rivendell as Fili had always heard of it. Of course, he had always heard the name with no small amount of disdain and malice. The place he was looking at was nothing like what the stories had indicated. It was almost too pleasant to look at. Too clean. Too pristine. Fili took an instant disliking to the place, just like every other companion in his company, and felt his face slide into a scowl as he looked at the buildings and streams.
It seemed Emelia did not share their feelings. In fact, her face was quite the opposite of theirs. She was smiling, genuinely smiling, as she looked out over the valley. Her hands, which had been clenched up at her sides, relaxed and her shoulders lowered to a normal position. Fili was rather confused for the briefest of moments as to why a city, and an elf city at that, would have such an effect on her. He quickly realized that to someone else, someone not dwarven and a female, would find the elf city to be a truly wonderful sight to behold, even if he himself found it to be a little whimsical and soft for his taste.
Emelia felt her breath leave her body when she got her first glimpse of Rivendell. It was like nothing she had ever seen before, with its beautiful waterfalls and majestic looking arches. It had a glow about it that calmed Emelia to the fullest extent, making her almost forget all that had happened to her. Everything that she had seen had been ugly and tainted. But this city was something she could not find a bad thing about. Something so pretty couldn't be bad.
She would have enjoyed looking at that city for hours if it hadn't been for Fili pulling her along down the thin rocky path that led down to the city.
She could tell he wasn't in a good mood as he pulled her along. None of the dwarves were in fact. They all shot dark looks at the city they were getting closer and closer to, muttering things in an odd language towards each other. She did not miss their dark looks and stiff body language. Although, she didn't really understand why. The city, Rivendell, did anything but stress her out. She wasn't even in it, and it made her entire body feel lighter and better than it had in days.
None of the dwarves spoke to Emelia once they finally walked through the massive archway that led to the entrance of the city. Fili moved away from her, placing himself next to his scowling brother and tense uncle, leaving her to gaze at all of the architecture with a horribly disguised smile.
Just because the dwarves were being sour didn't mean she had to be.
Gandalf was the first to step forward when a tall man, impeccably dressed, stepped forward to greet the group. He was impossibly handsome, with his long brown hair and bright blue eyes. He looked nothing like the dwarves. He was smooth and refined, in a stark contrast to their rugged hairiness and stocky frame. Emelia found herself blushing as she looked at him. She was quite certain she had never seen someone so beautiful, male or female, in her entire life.
None of the dwarves were as impressed with his handsomeness, not that she expected them to be. They regarded him with the same amount of disdain they held for the city, folding their stocky arms over their chests as he spoke in hushed, velvety tones with Gandalf.
Emelia found herself zoning out as she watched the tall man speak. He was just so perfect. She lost track of the conversation for the vast majority of it, until she heard the sounds of what she assumed were horses. She tore her gaze away from the handsome brunette, only to be grabbed roughly by the arm by Gloin and be shoved next to Bilbo. The little hobbit did not seem as impressed by the dwarves as antics. He looked over at Emelia, offering her a small smile, before he turned back to look at the approaching group of riders.
Emelia watched as the horses circled the dwarves, forcing them closer together. Emelia felt herself being smashed between the dwarves and the little hobbit on her side, making her body tense up slightly at the pressure.
"Gandalf." The man who spoke was just as handsome as the other one. He was taller, if that was possible, and more defined looking with his calculating eyes and calm demeanor. He was regal and poised, and Emelia immediately liked him more than she liked a majority of the dwarves.
"Lord Elrond." Gandalf said in response, moving closer to him.
"Strange thing for Orcs to come so close to our borders. They are not normally so reckless and careless. Something, or someone, must have drawn them near to us."
"That was more than likely us." Gandalf had the decency to sound slightly sheepish as he spoke to Lord Elrond. Emelia tried to peek out from behind Gloin, only to be pushed back even farther.
Lord Elrond moved away from Gandalf, taking in the hostile faces of the dwarves. He gazed at her for a moment, making her face heat up once more. His eyes were intimidatingly blue. He moved his gaze onto Thorin, addressing him in a regal manner. Emelia reached her hand up to her cheek, thoroughly embarrassed by the fact that she had blushed so much in such a little time. The dwarves were mumbling amongst themselves, ignoring the looks the tall man and Lord Elrond were giving them. It seemed in the time that Emelia had been busy fretting over her embarrassing physiological response to handsome faces she had missed an important part of the conversation.
"Led on then." It was Gloin who spoke, finally stepping out from in front of Emelia and allowing her to be seen by the other men who had come riding in with Lord Elrond. They all looked at her with slight confusion on their faces.
She imagined it was because she was so dreadfully disgusting looking. She would be alarmed if she saw herself too.
The dwarves shuffled along behind the tall men, shooting shifty glances around at the building they were being led into. Emelia had thought the outside was beautiful, but she found she liked the inside so much more. It was ornately decorated and appeared to glow. It had paintings and willowy looking decorations lining all of the walls, making Emelia immediately feel better. She was at least back amongst something civilized. There was furniture, and rooms, and walls. She had not realized how much she missed walls. She assumed there were beds, and beds meant sleep.
The thought of a good night's sleep immediately filled her mind, consuming all of her thoughts.
The group had barely made it into the magnificent building when they were stopped by two women, smiling serenely down at them.
The women, from what little Emelia could see of them, made the men she had seen earlier look like trolls. They were absolutely gorgeous, with their flowing dresses and long well-kept hair. They were intimidatingly tall and thin, with pristine features and serene faces that looked as if they were never angry, or sad, or remotely upset. Emelia immediately wished she had been able to do more than just dip herself into the warm water of the stream. She felt grimy and repulsive as the two women approached them.
The dwarves tensed up when the women approached, closing into each other tighter and shooting them sour looks.
"We have heard there was a lady amongst you who is in need of assistance." The brunette one spoke. "We mean her no harm, Master dwarves."
Even their voices were perfect.
Emelia suddenly, when she compared herself to those women, felt inadequate and homely looking. She felt like her hair was appallingly frizzy and that her nails were chewed to the bone from her nervousness in the last couple of days. Her clothes suddenly felt horribly inappropriate compared to their long dresses and her eyes felt very dull and stupid looking when placed next to their bright and intelligent looking blue eyes.
The blonde woman was not as pretty as her companion, making Emelia immediately feel slightly more comfortable as her gaze drifted over her. She was slightly shorter and curvier, with tanner skin and dirty blonde hair that curled more than the brunette. She looked much more amused by the dwarves than the brunette as she looked at all them with horribly disguised fascination. Emelia even thought she saw her eyes lingering on Fili and Kili longer than was necessary. Of course, she probably just imagined that due to fatigue. The blonde gazed for a moment loner until her eyes found Emelia, causing her to nudge the brunette and point to her, offering the red head a small soft smile.
Fili moved in front of her, shooting the two women a very dark look, pushing her back slightly with one of his arms. All of the dwarves tensed up when the blonde woman stepped towards Emelia, her graceful arm extended towards her in welcoming. Emelia couldn't help but roll her eyes at the group of dwarves. These were the first women Emelia had been round in days, and she wasn't going to let the dwarves and their odd behavior keep the women from helping her.
"I am Arwen, daughter of Lord Elrond." The brunette inclined her head in greeting towards her Emelia and the rest of the dwarves and Bilbo. "It is my pleasure to welcome you to Rivendell."
"And I am Nim. Well, actually, I am Alunim, but my friends know me as Nim," The blonde one said, shooting Emelia a large smile. Her eyes traced over Emelia's face, finally settling on her raggedy, stringy red hair. "I absolutely adore your hair."
Emelia, who had been attempting to smile, immediately felt her entire face heat up in a blush as all of the dwarves looked over at her with their lips pursed. She wasn't sure if Nim was just saying it to be nice or if she was being truly honest. Either way it made her feel more feminine and less like she was coated in every type of nasty thing under the sun.
"Thank you." She managed to squeak out.
"We have some clean clothes for you, as well as a bath, if you would come with us, lady..." Nim said, gesturing for Emelia to come with her and Arwen. She trailed off in questioning of her name.
"Emelia Kinsington Montgomery." She wouldn't ever be able to explain why she had felt the sudden need to launch into her full name. All of the dwarves looked over to her, odd looks on their faces. Kili had the nerve to laugh. Fili smirked at her, mouth twisted up in amusement. "Don't say a word, Fee." Emelia hissed at him, turning her attention back on the two women.
"Do not fret, we will return her to you in a better condition and well taken care of." Arwen said, ignoring the eye rolling coming from Emelia. She highly doubted if any of the dwarves, besides Fili, Ori, and Balin, would notice she was gone at all.
Emelia was more than eager for some clean clothes and a bath. More so the bath than the clothes, but she wouldn't ever dream of saying no to either. She stepped out from behind the tense Fili, patting him slightly on the back before she approached the two women. The thought of a bath was far too tempting to pass up. She smiled up at the two tall women, ignoring the glares she was getting from the dwarves at her retreating back and followed after them.