Days that passed settled into a fixed routine: the same ordeal of gold stocking and unconventional cram. The bland taste of their food supply had left a thick, paste-like residue on the back of their throats. After the sixth day since the first parley, Éla would have none of it. The weather grew colder, the wind a peculiar howl against the stone walls. Winter was slowly setting in just like the elves and men had moved between Dale and the Mountain several nights earlier. They were but a mere two minute walk to the Gate now.
Ravens had come and gone - the last message notifying the company of Dain's progress. His army of approximately five hundred were a two-day march away. The news brought joy to Thorin, and troubled a select few.
All light had devoured from Bilbo's eyes. His perspective of their troubling situation was not part of the original bargain, nor was it in his contract. He wanted to be done with the quest yet couldn't figure out how to go about leaving the sullen confinements of their prison. So he stayed behind with the female and Balin as the dwarves spent all day, just as the days before, piling and sorting gold. Éla could say her thoughts were mutually parallel to the Hobbit's repetitive expression.
Late that evening, everyone returned to a growing tune filled with happiness and warmth as instruments were strung and soft, melodic voices carried over the valley. Bilbo kept glancing towards the door, his face twitching with the desire to join the merry-making outside. He inevitably thought otherwise, not wanting to abandon his friends. His loyalty still laid with the dwarves even though it brought malcontent. Bilbo turned his body closer to the fire huddling his knees under his chin as he tried to stay warm.
Bombur took the opportunity to rummage through their supplies, filling his wide arms with tasteless biscuits. There was still plenty to go around for several weeks so long as it was rationed. The fat dwarf unwrapped one and shoved it in his mouth without hesitation. Éla looked away in disgust. Any further thought of cram, and she would be sick to her stomach. She was tired of it and never wanted to taste something so awful again.
Unfortunately for her, that's what was available for supper. Bombur went in a circle around the room, handing the small packages to the others. When he arrive at Bilbo and Éla by the fire, she saw his outstretched hand out the corner of her eye.
"No thank you."
The dwarf shrugged and wobbled away out of sight, leaving the two to be next to his brother and cousin. Bilbo looked at her concerned and confused.
"What?"
"Nothing, it's just," he began unwrapping the thin fabric in his hands nervously, darting from the food, the flames and back to her, "you haven't eaten all day."
The chatter that filled the room masked the low grumble in her stomach. She pointed a trivial finger to the contents in his hand. "I refuse to have any more of that. Real food would be a godsend at this point."
"Agreed, but it's better than nothing." Even Bilbo looked at the meal with distaste, but still he nibbled at it.
She glanced across the room to where Thorin stood with his back facing her in quiet discussion with Dwalin, before returning the glare into red flames. At the base of the fire it lit its hottest component white. Everything always burned at the core. Hers had grown cold; her body numb from insufficient insulation, her mind lost and detached with remorse.
The things running through her head had mixed her up emotionally. It was not enough to close her eyes, to go where no one else is so she could be free. She could never block him out. Not entirely.
Éla did not know when she fell asleep curled in a ball that night. All she remembered was a light weight draping over her form. No dreams came to her either, only a basked silence accompanied in the dark.
It was a blast from a distant horn that startled her awake. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes from sleep. Morning had already come and gone. The sun broke through a scattered sky, rays occasionally shining through the entrance of the outpost. Éla quickly noticed the empty chamber and burnt ashes sizzling in the fire pits. No one was around, not even the Hobbit.
With stiff joints, she stretched aching muscles as she stood. Her body felt like it finally caught up with age. It was dragging her down for unknown reasons. Wearily, she stepped passed empty bed rolls that lined both sides of the chamber, and made way for the entrance without so much as a second thought to what was taking place outside.
Thirteen bodies peered over the ledge like children anticipating something marvelous. That's how the company appeared to Éla as she joined them beside Bilbo at the end of the lineup. Everyone focused on the large party of unarmed men and elves, who were accompanied by the Elvenking and Bard.
"Hail Thorin!" Bard hollered up to the dwarf king. "Have you any change of mind over our request?"
Éla faced Thorin in knowing he would not shift his views over their state of affairs. Bilbo on the other hand, seemed shaken by the exchange of words. Part of her wanted to reach out to comfort whatever troubled him, but part of her froze because Thorin was standing on the opposite side.
"My mind is unchanged with the Elvenking still present. You waste time asking idle questions." The dwarf king glared down at the elf-host.
"Is there nothing for which you would yield some gold then?" Bard asked in question as an old man wrapped in a dark cloak came to stand beside the bowman.
"Nothing you or your friends would have to offer." His sight narrowed at the tall figure that held a small wooden chest in his hands.
Bard gazed upon the piece of wooded craft before readdressing the dwarves. "What about the Arkenstone of Thrain?"
Éla went rigid as the dwarves froze in place. She felt Bilbo tense next to her. They were shocked, but Thorin bore confusion and amazement all at once. Éla had never seen the Arkenstone before, and it lived up to the tales. Its beauty shown as bright as the sun, light capturing every facet and making it livelier. The gem was truly exquisite.
"Why would I purchase something that already belongs to my family?" Thorin was still baffled yet spoke with a menacing tone. "How did you come by this?"
Bard stepped forward, completely disregarding the question. "We will give back your own in return for our own."
"Thorin," Éla was ready to bargain with all parties. She assumed it a fair trade since the Arkenstone was the heirloom of his family. Despite her effort, she was ignored.
"How came you by it?!" Thorin shouted in a thick voice with increasing anger and rage.
Éla grabbed Bilbo by the crook of his arm and started pulling away from the wall.
"Come with me." She whispered in his ear. There was no reason for them to watch such a brutal exchange of words. As the two passed Thorin from behind, Bilbo stopped dead in his tracks the moment Éla let go, assuming he would follow.
"I gave it to them!" His voice cracked in fear.
The dwarves spun around, mortified by the sudden turn of events. Éla stared at him wide-eyed, unsure what to think. Before any of them could utter a single word, their dumbfounded silence was shattered.
"You!" Thorin grabbed him with fists by the front of his shirt. "You! You miserable hobbit! You undersized – burglar!"
He was at a loss, shaking Bilbo instead. "Curse you! I wish Gandalf were here to justify his choice in you!"
The dwarves watched in substantial horror as Thorin lifted poor Bilbo off his feet and turned towards the wall. Éla's body rushed towards them without thinking, her legs carrying her to Thorin's side. Bilbo was helpless against his hold and someone had to do something.
"Don't do this!" She tried to pry one of his hands off of the hobbit.
"Do not interfere!" Thorin seethed, shoving her aside - her footing stumbling a few paces back until Fili steadied her gait. The young prince tensed as the female's body convulsed with small tremors of fear.
"Here is Gandalf!" The old man below shed his cloak. "None too soon it seems! Put my Burglar down if you don't like him. Listen first to what he has to say instead of strangling him like a rabbit!"
Fili held onto Éla's arm in a protective manner as Thorin dropped Bilbo to his feet. He didn't want to see her get hurt should his uncle change targets. Had Thorin truly fallen to the gold-sickness like the tales said?
"You all seem in league!" Thorin hissed, still fixed on the hobbit. "Never again will I have dealings with people like you!"
Bilbo was nervous and frightened, but relieved to have been freed from the dwarf's hold. He spoke in one shaky breath. "You recall saying I may choose my fourteenth share? Well I may have taken it too literally. I have disposed of my share as I wished and leave it at that!"
"And I will let you go at that!" Thorin turned to speak over the wall. "I am betrayed. The promised share of this traitor shall go with him! You can divide it amongst yourselves. Take him now if you wish him to live; no friendship of mine shall go with him."
All the dwarves could do was stand still. None of them knew what to do, not even Éla after having been pushed. Thorin returned his hard stare on Bilbo. "Get down or I will throw you down!"
"But what about the gold?" Bilbo asked sheepishly, his small form still shaking lightly.
"That will come later. Now go!" He ordered in a dangerously low tenor, to which the hobbit complied almost instantly.
Dwalin rushed to fetch a length of rope as Bofur side-stepped Thorin to stand next to the hobbit. Éla never took her eyes off the small creature, still shaken herself. Dwalin returned and Bofur began tying a section of the rope around Bilbo's waist.
"Since that is the case," Bard cried over the ruckus above, "we will keep the stone and give you until tomorrow. By noon, we shall return to see about the portion as contracted. If all goes well without deceit, we'll take our leave and the elf-host will return to his forest."
A raven perched above, flew down to the dwarves once the party of men and elves were out of sight. The company remained unmoved, except for Dwalin who was recoiling the rope around his arm quietly. Thorin addressed the bird, anger still evident.
"Notify Dain what went on here. Bid him haste."
Éla came to her senses when the tight grip on her arm was removed. The scenario had left her somewhat in a daze. She couldn't grasp what had happened. How had everything they'd worked and fought so hard for, come to this? Prior anger fueled her own rage that began to boil in her veins. This was inexcusable and she'd had enough.
"You despicable, selfish, arrogant dwarf!"
Thorin spun in his step to leave, facing her as she yelled at him with an accused finger.
"No amount of gold or precious stone could ever be worth the deeds Master Baggins has done for you, for your people!" She sucked in deep breaths, fists clenching at her side to prevent herself from acting out physically. "If it weren't for him, you wouldn't have your mountain. You certainly don't deserve the title of king after that poorly indigenous portrayal!"
Her mouth clamped shut upon the small gasps of shock escaping the others and Thorin's own look of astonishment. Éla turned for the doorway and stormed inside suddenly feeling regret. She wasn't so sure if she meant to say that last part. The others didn't dare follow, nor did they dare look their leader in the eye.
Thorin recovered from the mental blow and marched inside after her. He made it to the inner chamber past their camp and found the female heading towards the Front Gate.
"Éla." He called out to her coolly, quickly shrinking the distance between them with wide strides down the vacant corridor. She refused to stop. "Éla!"
"Where are you going?" He demanded, making a grab for her but stopped when she spun around unexpectedly.
"I'm leaving." She huffed and turned on her heel.
"You can't." Thorin reached out and seized her by the arm, roughly backing her up against a wall. The action scared Éla momentarily, but she quickly hid any sign that would give him leverage. Deep down she knew this was not like him. Had he truly lost his mind?
When he looked at her, she wondered what he saw now that he sent Bilbo away. The close proximity was both a comfort and a betrayal. His gaze was set on her, so close that his warm breath brushed over her face. There was no more positive affection radiating from him, making her tense at the sight of this stranger standing before her.
Éla tilted her head and straightened her shoulders in hopes of appearing more assertive. She was slowly becoming furious by his inexcusable actions. "I can, and I will. I will most definitely not have Bilbo remain alone after what you've done."
"That little…" Thorin stumbled to find any proper word, "that burglar betrayed us!"
"For goodness sake Thorin, I will not watch you succumb to the very sickness that plagued your forefathers! The mountain is already yours. Why can't that be enough?"
She pounded his chest out of frustration as she spoke, pushing him back so she could leave. Her efforts were in vain as he wore strong armor, the strong metal hurting her flesh. Thorin remained a little stunned nonetheless, taking her question into short consideration. The others had followed a safe distance, pooling out to watch the events unfold.
"He's gone mad! We have to do something!" Fili hissed, ready to intervene. His body shook in anger and fear of what was to follow. Dwalin held out an arm to prevent the young heir from doing anything irrational.
"Don't." He said gruffly.
"He won't hurt her." Balin once again, did his best to be reassuring even though his own words were failing him. All they could do was watch and hope for the best.
"How can you believe what he did was right?" Thorin growled, grabbing her wrist and forcibly shoving her back against the wall. He slammed his fists once on either side of her head, making her jump and wince in fear. "He's a traitor!"
"If you will have nothing to do with Bilbo after all he's done, then I want nothing to do with you Thorin Oakenshield." Éla straightened herself against the wall again, beginning to feel a little sore from his repeated use of force. "Not until you come to your senses."
Thorin stepped back with a narrow, displeasing gaze, allowing her space and freedom. "Of all people, I would expect you to understand to a small degree, the value of the Arkenstone and what it means to my family, Élarinya."
"That I do, but now I realize that some things," she unsheathed her dagger and examined its ancient details for a brief moment, holding it in a way that showed she would not be a threat, and tossed it to the ground by Thorin's feet, "some things, we need to learn to let go along with the past."
Her eyes began to water but she refused to shed a single tear over him at this point. She caught sight of the others observing in the background. Their solemn expressions saddened her, yet bore an interesting thought. "You must decide what is more important to you: the Arkenstone, or…"
"Or what?" He asked venomously, deep eyes piercing through her like shards of steel.
Éla froze mid-step as she began to walk away, wanting to whip around with something clever for opposition, but decided against it. Enough damage had already been tolled on everyone's account. "Take a look around."
With that, she left him and headed towards a small opening near the Front Gate that hadn't been sealed when the dwarves fortified it a week earlier, disappearing for good.
Balin held Kili back with the help his older brother.
"Éla." He whispered, saddened to see her go.
"Let it be, laddie. Let it be." Balin did his best to comfort the young prince. It was an unfortunate circumstance in which they all dreaded to witness.
Thorin watched her disappear through the stone wall. Once she was gone, the air filled with dead silence. He looked to the ground where her weapon lay, light reflecting off its silver runes. The sight sickened him to his stomach, his fists clenching until they turned white before he yelled out in resentment and punched the wall with all his strength.
The Hobbit E.E. comes out Nov. 5th in the U.S. and Canada. (Nov 11th in the U.K.) for those asking.
This was such a controversial chapter for me to write. It was basically the stepping stone for what's to come here-on-out. Once again, I'll be continuously using my Tumblr for updates on writing progress. Hope you enjoyed this, and a little insight for future expectations: Ch5's emotional trauma will mimic what is to follow, only more suspense and possible angst.