Title: A tale about friendship, Part 32?

Author: Dís Thráinsdotter

E-mail: Overall rating: M, for violence and orctorment. This chapter: M

Summary: A group of children are told the tale of their friendship with the dwarves in general and the Folk of Durin in particular.

Warnings: The overall rating of this fic is M, as parts of it deals with violent battle and torment. There are also Original Characters in the fic, but no Mary Sues. Unbetaed, all mistakes belong to me.

Disclaimer: I don't own any one of Tolkien's characters, never have, and never will. The only ones I own are the people you have never met before.

Chapter 32, Gathering at Erebor

Melian sighed when she thought of that dreadful night. "We had a lot to do then," she said. "The dead that floated onto the shore had to be buried, the injured had to be treated and everyone had to be sheltered and fed. The only good thing was that I was too tired to dream when I went to bed; I went out like a light and slept until awoken. I still worried though and when I treated those who had been scorched I wondered if that had become your fate also.

A few days after the messengers returned in the company of some Elves bringing rafts. There was food and tents on the rafts, and they also told us that their King was coming. I remembered what Thórin had told me about him, it was as if I could hear his voice in my heart and the news didn't please me at all. But I knew that the people needed the aid the people of Mirkwood brought so I promised myself that I wouldn't cause anything to happen that would cause that aid to be withdrawn. For that reason I kept away from Thranduil as much as I could without seeming rude and it seemed as if that drew him to me. He did get along well with the Master though and they had a lot to speak about, the people of the town had to be sheltered before winter set in and that wasn't so far off."

Thranduil nodded. "You greeted me politely when we met but you said as little as possible to me and I wondered why. Then I heard that Thórin and Co. had been under your care during their stay in Laketown, I didn't know what they had said to you but I thought that it hadn't been nice at all. I wanted to prove that I had been a good host but you didn't seem to believe what I said. You did work well with my people though and when Bard said that he wanted to bring you to Erebor I didn't object to that, I thought that I would be able to prove my point there."

"How did it feel when you went to Erebor?" Dis asked and Melian answered

"I wanted to go there and at the same time I feared what I might find. Bard told me that I needed to go, I needed to see with my own eyes how it was and in hindsight I agree with him. It is always better to know the truth, even if it hurts."

Balin smiled when he remembered the day when they had seen Melian again. "You looked so relieved when you saw us, it was clear that you had feared the worst had happened to us. When you came later you brought medicines and treated our scorch marks, while you also told us what had happened in Laketown. Thórin looked angry when he heard the way we had been described in Laketown and your comment that the Master had wanted someone to shift the blame onto didn't help matters. When the messenger came Thórin wondered if he had been one of those who had accused us for the attack Smaug made, I am sure that is one of the reasons Thórin put an arrow in his shield."

Bard nodded as he remembered the day. "The messenger looked pale when he returned to us and showed the arrow, now that I think about it I wonder if I shouldn't have asked Melian to speak with him about the matter. If I had there is a chance that things had gone differently. But I didn't and for that reason things almost became violent." All of them nodded when they thought about the peril they had almost come into.

Thrór looked at Gandalf and asked, "What were you doing in the meanwhile?" Gandalf smiled and said, "The White Council had decided that we had to force the Necromancer to leave Dol Guldur, the council members went there together with a host from Mirkwood and forced the Orcs to leave together with their Master." Looking at Melian he added, "if you had come you would have been caught in the fray and that would have been bad, your help was more needed where it was given. We were hard put to it but we succeeded in the end. It was at about that time I heard rumours of the goings-on near Erebor and decided to go there. I hoped I would be able to stop a disaster from happening."

Dáin nodded when he remembered the events. "I was in council when I heard that a Raven had come to Iron Hills from Erebor with important tidings. When we heard his message everyone cheered, we had finally retaken our home. Those who had come from Erebor were eager to go back there, they were sure that there would be a lot of work repairing the mess Smaug had left but the thought of going home was very appealing to all of them. Then we heard about the threat to our Father and his companions, we decided immediately to assemble a host and leave for Erebor in two days time. It took us two weeks to go from Iron Hills to Erebor, we had lots of supplies with us and still we kept a great pace. But we felt that time was of the essence." He couldn't help smiling when he saw the astonished looks the children gave him and told them that Dwarves are able to carry heavy loads and march at great speed while doing that.

"In the meanwhile" Melian continued, "I was very worried. I didn't like the way things were going and I feared that it might go badly. I also realised what my grandmother had meant, I had to decide where my allegiance lay and whom I should aid. It was hard for me; at the same time I felt bonds to the Folk of Durin and the people of Laketown. All I could hope for was that something would happen to make the battle I feared unneeded. When Gandalf came he said that things were brewing and I wondered what he meant. To see Bilbo almost thrown off the wall was frightening and I didn't understand the reason for it, but I think Thórin felt hemmed in and surrounded. Then Dáin and his people arrived and things came to a head, there was almost a battle but suddenly Gandalf stopped the fighting and told everyone that Orcs and Wargs were coming. Bolg son of Azog led them, Gandalf said and the names meant little to the Men and Elves who were there but I felt scared. I was certain that Dáin would be in danger so I ran to the Gate and told Thórin & Co. what was happening before I returned to the camp. I felt happy when Dáin entered the camp because then I knew that the battle I had feared wasn't going to happen even if there would be a battle. Then I would be able to serve both Erebor and Laketown."

Dáin nodded. "You greeted me warmly when we met. ´Hail Dáin Azogslayer son of Náin the Valiant´ you said to be and continued ´now my heart is whole again´. I was amazed to be so warmly greeted and I could see that the others looked as amazed as I felt. When we took council together it was clear that we needed to put aside our quarrels in order to fight the foe that was approaching. To my amazement two young men came to me, introduced themselves as Boromir and Hathaldir, and told me that their sister had asked them to become my bodyguards. My own bodyguards felt slighted but I told them that the presence of the young Men was a sign of friendship. We took up our positions and waited for the foes to come. We didn't have to wait long for that to happen.

TBC