Well, it's been a damn while! I'm so sorry to those of you following this story for my horrendous updates. I ended up moving interstate (again) last year and everything got thrown out of whack when I started working full time. I've finally sorted my shit out and I am extremely determined to finish this story! So, let's get back into it!
It took what seemed like an eternity for Shayla to digest the new information she had been given, and come to an uneasy peace with what she had been feeling. She had held tightly onto the strange feeling that rooted itself inside her chest, using it to ground her and give her at least a faux sense of security.
She had worried that if she didn't latch onto that feeling, despite not understanding what it meant, that she would lose the already unsteady grip that she had on reality.
Amelia had shown Shayla down to the bathing springs the following morning, for which she was quite thankful. She was still completely filthy, and her clothes were essentially ruined after the mess at the river, so she was given some clean and warmer clothing that fit her instead of her shorts and singlet. Shayla had only spent minutes in the water cleaning herself, asking Amelia to stay with her as she was scared that whatever happened to her and Riley at the river would happen again. Changing into the long slacks, long sleeved shirt,woollen socks, fur boots and coat, she felt a sense of relief in being curled up in layers of clothing around so many strangers.
Four days had passed in the meantime, where she tried to keep to herself, watching over Riley as she slept. However, the people that were attempting to help Shayla and Riley seemed to disagree with her ideas. Amelia constantly came into the room and checked on Riley, changing her bandages and applying lotions where necessary. Whenever Amelia was tending to Riley, she would send Shayla out to the living or dining areas to eat or relax, hoping to distract her from the condition of Riley.
Sometimes this did work, usually when there were others in the home. Kili seemed to spend quite a lot of time in the household, as well as Gimli and Ori. Shayla found their easygoing demeanours and the banter a nice distraction; however, she mostly sat and observed from a distance, even when they tried to include her in the conversations or ask her about where she came from.
On the fifth morning she awoke and checked Riley instantly. What she found made her stomach lurch, though not in fear or despair, but rather hope; Riley's skin had regained some colour and the sheen of sweat had disappeared. Shayla quickly moved from the room and down the hall, finding Amelia already walking towards her.
"Shayla, are you okay?" Amelia questioned with some concern laced within her voice.
"Yeah, um... I think.. Well, I don't know, but I think maybe Riley's fever is gone.." Amelia's gaze moved to the room as she gently rubbed Shayla's arm, moving past her and into the bedroom. Shayla followed as a shadow, looking over Amelia's shoulder hoping that she hadn't been imagining what she saw.
Amelia's hand went to Riley's forehead, before she uncovered the afflicted leg of blankets, clothes and bandages to check the wound. Peering around Amelia, Shayla saw that the wound looked less swollen and red as the first day they had arrived there. Replacing the bandages and sheets to Riley's body, Amelia stood and turned to Shayla, a triumphant smile on her face.
"Shayla, I don't think it will be long before she wakes up. I think she is going to be fine." Shayla stared at Amelia for several moments, just making sure that what she heard was correct, before she burst into tears of happiness. Without hesitation, Shayla moved to Amelia and wrapped her arms around, sobbing and snotting over the clothing of the healer.
"Thank you. Thank you." Shayla repeated, letting the happiness brim over and allowing herself to relieve much of the tension she had felt for several days.
"Come on, you need some breakfast. We cannot forget about your health either."
"Yeah, but I'm not injured like Riley is." Shayla mumbled, following Amelia out the door and through the corridor. Amelia stopped then and turned back to her, a knowing look in her eyes.
"Not all injuries are physical, I can attest to that. You're going through an extremely hard situation, and we can't forget how that can affect someone." Amelia smiled and patted her on the arm, continuing through the corridor and into the dining area.
It was quieter than usual, with only Bilbo sitting at the table and eating some cheese and breads, reading a book and writing in a notebook. Amelia disappeared into the living area while Shayla sat down opposite Bilbo and begun to pick at the fruits that were nestled in a bowl on the table.
Bilbo looked up and smiled at her, his green eyes radiating the same warmth that his mothers did. Shayla smiled back with something that she felt was genuine, something that didn't seem to be forced as it had in the days prior. She was happy that Riley was going to be okay. So, so happy. The elation at the news made her push most feelings of fear and doubt to the back of her mind, as she ate a large apple looking piece of fruit.
They sat in contented silence for a little while, before Shayla's curiosity piqued as it had done several nights prior. Observing Bilbo as he wrote in his notebook, she wanted to know what he was writing about.
"Uh, Bilbo.. Sorry to interrupt you, but can I ask a question?" Bilbo smiled again, nodding his head in encouragement.
"What are you writing about?" Bilbo glanced down and then back up to Shayla rather nervously, his fingers starting to fidget with the pencil he had within his hand.
"Well, uh.. You mustn't be mad with me, but I.. I've been researching about Old Magick.. I knew about it already, because of my mother.. But since you arrived, I wanted to know more about how it works.. It's very hard to find information about it though.." Shayla took a closer look at the book he had been reading from, and it looked quite old and dusty, reinforcing Bilbo's statement.
"Have you found anything so far?" Shayla said quietly, her wide eyes imploring Bilbo's. He shook his head with disappointment in his eyes before responding.
"No, but I will keep searching. My mother, uncle and the Elves know many practical things about Old Magick, but maybe the theory will be helpful too." Shayla nodded thoughtfully, wondering about Bilbo. He seemed very mature for his age, but then she remembered about the weird way that age worked here.
"How old are you?" Shayla blurted out. Bilbo smiled a little curiously at her, clearing his throat.
"I am almost twenty-five years old, though apparently I don't look it. I hear some Dwarves comment that I look much too old." Bilbo sounded almost dejected as he spoke the last sentence, his eyes downcast to his notebook. Shayla just sat with her jaw hanging agape, staring at Bilbo.
"They think you look too old? Seriously?" Bilbo looked up and gave her a curious expression, and Shayla took it as an invitation to explain.
"It's just.. Where, where I'm from, you probably look only 15 or 16 years old, so you look younger than what you are." Bilbo considered that and his frown was replaced with a wide smile.
"Well, I much prefer that!" Shayla smiled a little at his response, before she shot off several more questions.
"But, how? How are you ageing like that? Have you been into our world before?"
"No, I haven't. Only my mother and uncle have.. I suppose, until Riley and yourself showed up. My siblings and myself just age differently to others, both Humans and Dwarves, because we are a combination of both. The Elves do not think that the Old Magick has passed onto us."
Shayla stared at Bilbo and then her palms for a few moments, figuring out what to respond with.
"Um... Elves? Dwarves?" She seemed quite stumped, and couldn't understand what these words really meant.
"Oh, of course. Our mother always told us that there are only humans on your Earth. Elves and Dwarves are different.. Ah, races, or species of people. They have different characteristics and usually live together. Erebor is different though. We have humans living here, as our people are very close with the humans of Dale.
"What's Dale?" Shayla enquired. Bilbo smiled again at her curiosity, and the two spent the next hour discussing Middle Earth and Earth, the differences between, and the people that Shayla had already met.
Shayla had become slightly more comfortable than she had the entire time she had been here. She was actually smiling with Bilbo and found his company soothing. Shayla found more and more that he was much like her; they were both quite shy and reserved to begin with, but coupled with their curiosity, the two were beginning to be quite comfortable with each other and she was feeling more like herself than she had in days. She was even laughing and making playful jabs at Bilbo, which he reciprocated.
It felt as though a great weight had lifted from her chest and it helped her enormously.
That was, until she heard a familiar yelling coming from the corridor. Bilbo and Shayla stared at each other for a brief moment before Shayla jumped to her feet and ran back through the corridor towards the room in which her and Riley had been staying.
It was Riley's voice that had resonated through the household, and both Amelia and Shayla had run from where they had been to find Riley awake and limping through the corridor, yelling profanities and abuse to whoever would listen.
Shayla and Amelia stopped in front of her, as Riley's gaunt glare landed on Amelia.
"Where the fuck am I, and who the fuck are you?" Shayla scratched the inside of her palms in nervousness, as Amelia spoke back with her gentle and warm voice.
"Riley, my name is Amelia. You are safe here, I promise, but we have to get you back to bed. You don't have the energy at the moment to be walking around."
"The hell I don't. Shayla, let's go. We're going home with or without their help." Shayla stood, unmoving, while she stared at Riley. Riley, expecting Shayla to move out of her way so they could leave, turned her glare back on the former.
"Shayla, move, now. We are going."
"You aren't going anywhere, Riley. It's not safe and you are not well enough." Amelia's voice became harsher then, and in that harshness, Shayla could hear slight notes of her former Australian accent.
Riley turned again on Amelia and screeched at her, not holding her anger back at all.
"Move out of my fucking way!" Shayla's own anger flared then as she saw Amelia flinch infinitesimally. Amelia had been helping them the whole time and Shayla was not going to stand by while she received the brunt of Riley's rage.
"Riley, stop it! We can't go home, we can't go anywhere. You have to trust me!" Shayla was angry but pleading to Riley's better sense; unfortunately, the better sense was not in charge. Riley, with words dripped in venom, lashed out at Shayla.
"The last time I trusted you I ended up drowning in a river with a gash down the side of my leg. You can take your trust and fuck off." Shayla felt as though someone had just kicked her in the stomach. She felt sick, so sick that her friend had just said that to her. Shayla couldn't even do anything but stand there with her jaw agape.
"Fine, Riley. If you want to go, then go. We won't stop you, or help you." Amelia stared down Riley, being the strength that Shayla needed when she didn't have any to give.
Riley considered Amelia's words for several moments before she pushed past both of them, limping the entire way. Shayla stared after her, shell shocked and unmoving. It was Amelia that stirred her from her thoughts, by taking Shayla's hand within her own and giving it a squeeze.
As Riley limped out of the corridor and into the living space, Amelia spoke in hushed tones so that only Shayla could hear.
"We will follow her, but we must let her do this on her own. She is in shock and she doesn't mean what she is saying, I promise you."
Shayla nodded her head dejectedly as tears stung at her eyes. They followed after Riley as she marched as well as she could out the front door. Shayla noticed Bilbo was standing in the kitchen with his books in his arms, watching on with an expression of curiosity and fear.
Amelia spoke some words to Bilbo in a foreign language and he responded with what sounded like another question in the same language. His mother nodded her head quickly and continued to follow after Riley.
Shayla was silent the entire time, even when Riley glanced back and glared at them both, and especially when Riley swore and yelled and knocked her fists into the walls around her.
Amelia whispered to Shayla, her voice only a murmur that she could barely hear.
"Riley is heading towards an outpost. It may be the best way to help her understand." Shayla nodded, continuing alongside Amelia.
As they had expected, Riley turned left down another corridor, then right and then left again, where Shayla could hear the sound of birds and feel the breeze against her cheeks. Another turn exposed daylight and a door at the end of the tunnel, to which Riley burst through into the open air.
A terrified gasp escaped her lips as she limped further out onto the mountainside. Shayla and Amelia followed and Shayla's breath caught in her chest. It was the most spectacular view that she had ever seen; they stood out on a balcony of sorts, made from stone and built up to approximately Shayla's hips.
Breathing in the wonderful, clean air, Shayla forgot about Riley for a moment and moved to the edge of the balcony to encompass herself fully in the scenery. She could see possibly hundreds of kilometres across the land; the afternoon sun illuminated a serene lake that seeped into the forests that surrounded it. Blurs of green, blue and orange filled her vision and she was content, content and at one with her environment. It was absolutely incredible.
She seemed to be the only one who thought so.
Riley was looking out over the balcony, hands running through her knotted hair anxiously as she stared wide-eyed and open mouthed. It took quite some time, but finally, Riley turned to Amelia and Shayla with eyes full of tears.
She was a storm full of rage and fire, despair and confusion. Riley had no idea where she was or what was happening, but she needed answers.
"Please.. What is going on.." Shayla's heart broke all over again; she had never seen Riley so unsure of herself and so lacking her usual confidence or snark.
Amelia walked slowly towards Riley and stood beside her, leaning over the balcony with her elbows propped up on the cold stone.
"This will be harder than anything you have ever experienced, Riley, but you must promise to listen to what I am speaking."
Riley nodded reluctantly, and with the remnants of her world collapsed all around her, she listened to the truth of a new reality being shaped before her eyes.
So, the plot is being reworked currently but I've at least planned the next four chapters. I feel like this one may go longer than the 30 chapters I had initially planned because the chapters are significantly shorter than that of the prequel, but it will be 50 chapters absolute maximum.
Thank you to everyone again for your patience and again I am sorry about being one of those people that doesn't update in years!