A.N. Good golly, I have not been good about writing or updating recently. Finally sat down the past couple of days, and got this done. Just need to kick my little rear in gear, and stop getting so distracted. Sorry for the long wait (again…as always), but I hope you like this chapter!
Disclaimer: I own nothing except my original characters and plot points.
Everyone was woken the next morning by Beorn, who had just come back. Thorin resented the sudden interruption from his sleep, especially when he opened his eyes, and saw Danica still laying in his arms. He must have fallen asleep after humming to her, and never made it to his own cot. Beorn's voice hadn't stirred her, so Thorin gently rubbed her shoulder until her eyes opened. Ignoring the smiles and looks from everyone, the both of them turned their attention to their host.
"So, here you all are still," Beorn said. "I am glad to see you well-fed, and well-rested," his eyes fell on Thorin and Danica on the last bit, but there was no judgment in his eyes. "Come, have breakfast, and I will tell you where I have been,"
Just as Gandalf had suspected, Beorn had retraced their steps to check the truth of their story. He was greatly pleased at the death of the Great Goblin, and congratulated them for it. His other purpose, after validating their story, was to track down and kill as much of the orc pack as possible. Sadly, most of them had escaped with some of fleeing south. One had been too slow, and Beorn had managed to capture him. The only information the orc had given before his demise was that a trap had been set, and those from the future would be sent where they belonged. Chest tight, Thorin looked at Danica, whose eyes were wide.
"Do you think she managed to find the Palantir I threw?" she questioned of Gandalf.
The calculating look on the wizard's face had everyone on edge. "It is highly unlikely, but I would try and keep from any close contact if I were you,"
Quickly moving to another topic, bilbo asked about the orc Beorn had captured. With a grim smile, he led them outside, where the heads of the orc and warg were staked on either side of the front path; a warning. Bilbo went white, but Beorn wasn't one to gloat, so they went back inside, where Beorn began putting supplies together for them. They would have enough food to get through the forest, but would have to send the ponies back at the elven gate.
"Be wary, as you travel in that wood," Beorn warned. "It is a dark and dangerous place. Food and water are scarce, and difficult to find. There is one stream, black and strong, that holds an enchantment. You may neither drink, nor touch it. For your sakes, do what you can to make your journey as silent and swift as possible,"
On that foreboding note, they finished eating and packing, and went back outside. It was midday, and the sun shone warmly upon them. They bid farewell to Beorn at the high hedge that bordered his land. Though he would never admit it out loud, Thorin had felt better with the shifter's presence, for he was good at killing orcs and goblins. Now, they were back out in the open, on their own. Everyone else felt on edge as well, and remained silent until they were many miles away. Only then did they begin talking and singing again. For the first time, Thorin enjoyed singing with Danica, finding pleasure and satisfaction with the way their voices melded together. More than that, he enjoyed the bright smile she kept giving him.
"Well, I believe congratulations are in order," Balin stated, once they had settled for the night. "We have all seen the braid in your hair,"
Danica blushed while the others gave their congratulations and well-wishes. Thorin smiled, and accepted them. Though he remained silent, Gandalf's countenance was warm and approving. While Danica chatted with some of them over dinner, Gloin came over to Thorin, keeping his voice low.
"I am happy for you, cousin," he said. "Your road together will not be an easy one, but I am glad that the two of you will face it as one,"
"Thank you," Thorin responded.
"Sure took ye long enough," Dwalin teased. "We have all been waiting for weeks,"
Both Thorin and Danica were too far away to hit him, so Danica threw a twig, which Dwalin easily swatted away. Everyone laughed, and many of the fears they had carried on the road lifted into the air with the smoke from their fire. The rest of the evening was relaxed and pleasant, with everyone speaking about what they would do once the mountain was reclaimed, and the battle won. Everyone was excited about the comfortable life the riches would bring. While it was true that their life in the Blue Mountains had been stable, they had struggled to reach that point, and known too many hardships. Too many men had mocked them, and used them for the butt of a joke. Before long, no one would dare to mock them. Many who had laughed would now beg for a share of the wealth.
The feel of Danica's head on his shoulder pulled Thorin from his thoughts of petty revenge. She would not approve of such thoughts, for her heart was too kind. If they survived, he knew she would want to spread Erebor's wealth far and wide. There was plenty to spare, but Thorin didn't believe a lot of the people out there deserved it. Then again, neither had his father or grandfather.
"Are you alright?" Danica asked him softly.
He looked down at her, saw her sweet, concerned face, and felt the vengeance seep out of him. Yes, his father and grandfather had felt the same way, but they were wrong, and it had led to their deaths. Here, in his arms, was his, and his family's redemption.
"Yes," he replied warmly. "My thoughts just slipped away from me. Thank you,"
When he kissed her forehead, she gave a contented sigh, and snuggled back into his side. The open intimacy and affection were new to him, but no one else seemed to bat an eye. There were some subtle glances, which were clearly done with good intentions. Even though it was all new to him, he found himself relaxing into it. Not just easily, but happily. Instead of forcing himself to sleep, his eyes closed without him realizing it. Sometime later, he awoke to the sound of Danica's voice as she coaxed him to lie down. He only did so if she remained next to him. Once she was in his arms again, he let sleep take over.
Danica's dreams began with typical nonsense, and images of home, but quickly took a strange turn. She'd had dreams and nightmares of Erebor before, yet none had felt quite this real. It was cold, and had a dank, musty smell. Confused, she looked around, but there was no one to be seen. Normally, the company would be in the dreams as well.
"It's just the two of us here,"
Rachel's voice echoed off the stone, cutting the silence in a jarring fashion. Turning, Danica saw her sitting on the king's throne, a smug smile on her face.
"How are you doing this?" Danica kept her distance, but barely had to raise her voice for it to be heard.
"Let's just say this is a last-ditch attempt to get us all home," Rachel crossed her legs, looking far too comfortable. "When you reach Laketown, come find me in the Master's mansion. You, and that cowboy only,"
"The dwarves would never allow that," Danica replied with a shake of her head. She could just imagine the look on Thorin's face.
Rachel scoffed, but her bravado remained. "I've already taken care of that. Just be there. Which means, of course, that you can't tell anyone about this dream,"
A boulder the size of the secret she would have to keep dropped in her stomach. "I can't," she breathed.
"Then, I will release my pack of orcs on Laketown, where they will kill every child in the dead of night. When their parents wake, screaming in grief and despair, Smaug will come and relieve them of their misery,"
Darkness seemed to descend with the threat, plunging the mountains in shadow, and bitter cold.
"You wouldn't," Danica backed up a step. "You couldn't do something so evil,"
Finally, Rachel stood, and made her way in front of Danica. "Wouldn't I?" her smile faded, replaced by a grim, and determined frown. "I have done what I had to do. In order to leave this wretched place, I will continue to do what I have to, no matter who else gets hurt. After all, what will it mean to us in the future?"
"Everything, for it will haunt you into eternity,"
"Perhaps," Rachel's eyes drifted down, and landed on Thorin's bead in Danica's hair. Her eyes went sharp with cold fury. "I see the denial faded. Very well. Go ahead and tell the cowboy that this is a warning,"
There was no time to panic, or blink. Before Danica could even try to process what had been said, Rachel's knife sliced across her throat, then Rachel kicked her off the bridge, into the endless dark.
A blood curdling scream ripped through the night, waking the entire Company. Thorin automatically reached for his sword, then Danica, but she was already sitting up. She had been the one who screamed, but there appeared to be nothing there. While everyone else was still scrambling for weapons, and looking for the foe, Thorin took Danica's arms, and tried to get her to look at him. Her eyes were wide, and glazed with terror.
"Danica! Look at me!"
Behind him, Gandalf began calming everyone down, helping them to realize that there was no battle to be had. Concern then turned fully to Danica, who was finally waking up, though tears were still flowing down her cheeks.
"What happened?" Thorin asked gently.
"Was it like the other nightmare you had?" Fili knelt next to them, looking at Thorin for permission first.
Danica shook her head, one hand going to her throat. Thorin followed the movement, then moved her hand, and pulled her collar down.
"Mahal help us…" his first instinct was to apply pressure to the wound that had caused so much blood to be spilled, but there was no wound. Frowning, he wiped some of the blood, but her skin was unmarred. "This is impossible," he looked back up at Danica, hoping she could give an explanation.
"It was Rachel," she began, relaxing a little. "I don't know how, but she came into my dreams, or…maybe pulled me into hers,"
"She has magic?" Kili's voice spoke of how terrible a turn that would be.
Danica quickly shook her head. "No. She was using someone else, though I'm not entirely sure who,"
Yet another complication in the tangled web that was their quest. "What did she want?" Thorin asked.
"What else?" she glanced at him, but only briefly, which immediately set off warning bells in Thorin's mind. "She wanted to mock me, and convince me that I should leave. When she was done, she sliced my throat open, and pushed me off a bridge. She told me to tell you that it was a warning,"
Soft curses and exclamations could be heard around the group, but Thorin only heard the silence of his heart skipping a beat. The mere imagery felt enough to drive him insane.
"How could the wound she inflicted upon you in a dream bleed here?" Bilbo asked.
"A fine question," Gandalf responded. "However, I think that will be more for me to worry about than you. It was likely nothing more than a trick. There is no way Rachel could have access to magic strong enough to kill someone in their sleep like that. I think there was more to this dream than mocking. Where were you in the dream?"
Now Danica looked back at Thorin, her gaze wary and apologetic. "Erebor. I was standing before the throne,"
Anger surged through his veins as Thorin figured out where Rachel must have been. "And she was sitting upon it,"
More curses flew, but Gandalf cut them off. "What else did you see?"
"Nothing. At one point, shadows and cold seemed to fill the mountain, but other than that, there was nothing. Just us,"
"Then it was, indeed, an illusion and a trick. If you had truly been in the Lonely Mountain, Smaug would have sensed the magic, and searched it out. I believe Rachel is afraid of Smaug, and has no intention of waking him. After all, not even the orcs can control that dragon,"
With these words, much of the fear and tension had dissipated. Many were sitting on their bedrolls again, and Gandalf pulled his pipe out, and lit it. Thorin looked at Danica's face, and was disheartened to see her still troubled. Rachel had succeeded in one thing; she had put the seed of fear and doubt in Danica, and that seed was quickly growing. What else had been said to take all the light from Danica's eyes?
"I guess I'll take up guard again," Bofur said, groaning as he lifted himself off the ground.
"Wait, I'll do it," Danica stood instead. "I doubt I could sleep anytime soon,"
Not waiting for anyone to argue, she went to the edge of the campsite, facing away into the night. Concern for her grew within Thorin, but he was wholly unsure of what to do. Moving quietly, he went and sat beside Gandalf.
"I do not believe what she told us is all that happened in the dream," he confessed softly.
"Nor do I," Gandalf agreed. "Rachel would not have gone to such lengths just to get under Danica's skin, and hide her own lack of power. I fear she threatened Danica in some way,"
Thorin frowned. "For what purpose? What could she hold over Danica that would unsettle her so terribly?"
"The lives of a town full of children," Dillinger had come to sit on Gandalf's other side, speaking just as softly. It was clear that Fili and Dwalin were listening, but they remained where they were to keep from rousing attention.
"What do you know?" Thorin asked the man, whom Gandalf was also carefully watching.
"Rachel came to me as well. She said that she was going to give us one more chance to leave this time. She also told me of the threat she was going to give Danica; meet her in Laketown, just the two of us, or else she would send the orc pack to kill every child in the dead of night,"
Was there no trace of that woman's humanity left? Thorin shook his head, then asked, "What did you say?"
Dillinger gave a wry, and dark scoff. "Well, before I could say anything, she gave an ultimatum to me as well. You see, she didn't believe that killing children would be enough for me to put Danica in danger. So, she told me that if I didn't make sure we were there, she would have Danica killed. Her doing so in Danica's dream was a warning that she can somehow follow through with it. Y'all missed the look Danica gave me when she said so earlier,"
Thorin cursed viciously, struggling to keep his voice down. "Whatever magician Rachel is working with needs to be stopped,"
"Let me take care of that," Gandalf said, his eyes dark. "That will not eliminate the threat against Danica. Rachel may not be able to control Smaug, but she is working with the orc pack, and can turn the whole of Laketown against you through the fear of you waking the dragon,"
"Then we do not go to Laketown," Thorin suggested. "Do you truly believe Rachel could make good on her threat to kill the children?"
"Even one child dead could break Danica," Dillinger said sadly. "After losing her own baby, she couldn't bear to lose another child all because of her decisions,"
"And orcs love to kill children," Gandalf added. "It is one of their favorite sports,"
"Which means they would happily fulfill the threat," Thorin sighed. "So, what do we do? We cannot give in, and yet we cannot deny Rachel's demand,"
Now Dillinger smiled. "I have a plan,'
It would be tricky, and there was more room for failure than Thorin was comfortable with, but it was the only chance they had. Even worse than that was the fact that Danica couldn't know what they knew until they were within Thranduil's halls. Thorin wasn't sure which he hated more; having to ask the elf king for help, or keeping the truth from Danica. When she came over to him after her watch was up, his heart ached. There were tear tracks on her cheeks, and her eyes were dull. Forgetting about everyone else around them, he kissed her forehead, and held her against him after she laid down.
"I love you," he murmured against her skin.
"I love you too," her voice was thick with emotion, but she quickly relaxed as Gandalf put a hand over her head, and spoke some words to help her sleep.
After thanking the wizard, Thorin closed his own eyes. The road ahead of them was long, and complicated, and they would all need all the rest they could get.