I missed hearing from you! Some of you have been quite observant of the previous chapter…
Jo, I would have Éla no other way. ;)
Shiningheart of ThunderClan, I'm sure you'll receive some fun antics in due time.
Unseen Watcher, you're right, the other characters haven't really shown much support for Éla. Fear not, she hasn't been abandoned. Even though it looks that way. Balin, as we've seen, has been rather preoccupied with Fíli and the council as of late. With Thorin out of commission, it leaves him little room to do much else.
Hel Opacare, I strive to bring quality versus quantity with each update. Hopefully you approve of this one.
Maybe I should start this, responding to review feedback? What do you think? I'm not sure how frequent updates will be as I've been busy with life. It's been proven difficult to maintain interest in something that's so long, despite having the story's timeline written up till the end. I can't thank you all enough for your patience and support as the last chapter was updated over a year ago.
Edit (2016): I don't know if this will be finished. Hence why this chapter was already written, and very short.
"Evening, brother."
Balin looked up from the mounds of paper before him, when he received no response from the new entry into the chamber. "Something wrong?"
"What's with all the secrecy from your meetings with Dain?"
Balin heaved a sigh as if he'd wished the question were never asked. The inquiry was both a comfort and an irritant coming from his straight-forwarding brother. Plain and simple, that's how Dwalin worked in conversations. Speak to the point, and there would be no problems from the warrior. Deviate into lengthy details, and boredom would set in fairly quickly.
"Not good, I'm afraid."
"Nothing's good with that lot in one room." Dwalin grunted in reply. Both silently agreed in unison.
"Falo already convinced Dain's council to support what he wants."
Dwalin cursed under his breath. They needed backing from the Iron Hills now more than ever. Without it, the king's council could have complete control over Erebor, if but temporarily. The latter's motives would be revealed in due course through the fate of one being in particular.
"What of Dain, himself?"
"He appears to be taking a neutral stance on all matters." Balin reverted his attention back to the many pages on the desk he resided behind. "They value his views and opinions, but I worry…"
"They're just talk. If they say anymore," the warrior formed a fist and met it with his opposing hand, "I'll silence their words myself."
Balin shook his head in disagreement. Little bemused by his brother, physical threats would only make the situation direr.
"Éla is not safe. Falo's attention is fixated on her. He doesn't approve that she was part of the company."
"He knows little of her-" Dwalin interjected.
"-and wants her gone."
The warrior fell silent.
"Many rules have been broken or diverted by Gandalf's persuasion over Thorin. We know enough about her, but not everything." Balin grew weary of rummaging through dust-coated parchment, his eyes beginning to blur from exhaustion. "If I can find anything that will help her name before the first caravan's arrival, there may be hope to change their minds."
Now that peaked Dwalin's confusion. "Of what?"
"What do you got there, in your hand?" Balin nodded in the direction of his brother, eyes simultaneously returning to prior sifting of documentation.
Dwalin needn't look down at the bottle he snagged upon raiding the pantry cellars. There were a few bottles left untouched by age and so he began a provisional habit. He waited for scolding words yet nothing was immediate.
"Drinking yourself into a stupor every night won't help our stance."
There it was.
"Then perhaps I'll turn a select few expendables into a training corpse for use in the barracks." Dwalin chuckled at the idea of seeing one so mighty strapped helplessly like a straw beating bag. His notion was ill-perceived nor did it muse the other, as Balin voice his disapproval through a non-exuberant sigh.
Sieving hands paused as the elder idly surveyed the desk's paperwork.
"Do that, and you'll become one yourself. Or Worse."
Dwalin frowned but a moment, disregarding his older brother's irritated tone. Anyone who dared challenge the warrior would only come face to face with defeat or death. So he opened the bottle he had carried and took a long swig before offering it over in peace.
Balin examined the offer with caution, as if it were a sin to have smuggled something so provocative at such an hour. Dwalin extended his reach across the table, encouraging the elder dwarf to take it. In times like these, resistance was futile. Balin caved and accepted with a genuine nod, receiving a small grin from the warrior in return.
"We may need more before this is over." Balin mused, and then brought the opening of the bottle to his lips.
Dwalin acted amused by his brother, or perhaps it was the beverage, he wasn't quite certain. "I'll send Nori to scout for more."
"That won't be necessary." Dwalin turned to attention, jumbled. "Word came this morning from one of the ravens: the first group to travel from the Blue Mountains are expected to arrive by the end of the week."
The halls were translucent from sound.
Éla found what remained of her courage to press onwards down the empty corridors. It was calming and unnerving to seek passage back to the one place she'd refused to approach. After the event in the kitchens, Dwalin sought to make certain that the female dwarf made way for the west wing. However, his mood turned sour when he was called away to tend to another matter, leaving Éla to finish the jaunt alone.
Still, the closer she was to her destination, the more anxiety played on her emotional well-being. Even if Thorin requested her presence, Éla still worried over the council and the verbal warning which forced her hand with caution. Her interaction with Falo was unpleasant, to say the least. That was one dwarf she refused to cross paths with until Thorin was fully healed for there was no telling of his perceived actions.
Footsteps alarmed her of an unexpected presence.
Éla slid into a nook in the wall between two rooms near its corner. Around the bend lied the king's chambers. Her back hugged the stone as she slowed her breathing to hear of anyone coming her way. If so, there would be no place for her to hide. She was already forbidden to be down this way except for her own chambers, which was at the opposite end of the hall with the rest of the company, two floors down.
A door creaked opened.
The fabric of her sleeve tugged downward, sending her heart racing as she whipped her head to the side to see what took hold of her. Fili brought a finger to his lips, signalling Éla to quietly heed toward his direction.
The two stepped inside a darkened room, the door closing behind them.