Author's Note: Double Chapter update tonight!
A Glimpse of the Past...
The eldest of the Bahndobin brothers had a long, blond beard which he kept cinched in a belt at his waist. It was impressive in its girth and bejeweled with many fine silver rings. He drank mightily from his cup of ale and burped in delight.
"You've got to have faith, brother," he said to the youngest Bahndobin, a smaller Dwarve by the name of Do. "If I do not have your allegiance, then we are lost."
Do nodded grimly but looked away from Bin. His clear brown eyes roamed around the tavern, searching for those who might be listening in on their conversation. The middle brother, Bahn, watched them cooly.
"Are you with me?" Bin asked in a rough voice and Do nodded again. "Good. Then it is set. We leave tonight. Curse this blasted mountain."
He was still thinking of the grievous injury that his pride had suffered when he had approached the House of Durin earlier that evening. They had heard his pleas and then, without so much as a council, had dismissed him as easily as they would a pestering child. He had been particularly disappointed by the reaction of Thorin, the young prince who he assumed would have shared his sentiment. But Thorin had called him foolish, a madman, and had demanded that he rid himself of such meddling thoughts.
Meddling, Bin thought as he took another long pull from his mug. As if the purifying of their race was to be considered meddling.
He could have killed Thorin then and there, but there had been too many people present in the court. He'd just have to take matters into his own hands, he and his brothers. They would exile themselves for a while and, one day, build a greater, and purer Erebor.
"For years the race of Men have looked down upon us - they with their high-class act and proud demeanor." BIn cast his gaze in disgust upon a group of Men that had entered the tavern. They were rowdy and stupid, Bin decided, and did not deserve to dwell side by side with the Dwarves in Dale. He hated them, the Elves, and any other race who saw themselves fit to stand with the Dwarves. For it was the Dwarves who were the true warriors of old: a truly spectacular and peerless race. They deserved to live in solitude, to strengthen their bloodlines until the day came that they could purge the earth of its filth.
"Let's go," he said gruffly and the three brothers stood up in silence. They moved through the tavern one by one, their eyes cast low beneath their hoods. Once outside, they mounted their ponies and rode off into the night. It would be a long time before they were seen in Erebor again.
They rode all through the night, stopping only once to tend to their ponies. They rode through the next day and the next. Bin refused to let them rest, for he wanted to put as much distance between themselves and what he deemed the traitors of Durin. By the third day, young Do was so tired that he slipped off the back of his pony.
"Get up," Bin demanded, his eyes wild with fatigue. "Get up or I will leave you behind."
"Brother, please, the boy is tired," Bahn interjected, "Can't you see? We must stop soon."
Grudgingly, Bin agreed. They would ride on for a few more miles and seek out shelter. He had become a wild and tousled Dwarve since the start of their journey. He spoke to himself in broken Khuzdul during all hours of the day. When he was particularly passionate, he would lash out and kick at his pony's side. His two brothers watched him in fright, but they daren't go against the orders of their eldest. After all, they had nowhere to go. Their allegiance to him had ostracized them from the rest of their community. Though Nain had promised that it would not be held against them if they separated themselves from Bin and vowed never to harm any other race, they stayed by their brother's side. He was an intelligent and cunning Dwarve after all, whose obsession with Dwarven purity had lit a flame within them.
Soon they stumbled upon a cozy home built of stone. A broad and luscious garden stretched out before it, and their mouths watered at the sight of the fresh fruit hanging from the trees. Bin held his hand up and they stopped, peering curiously at the house. They could see a tall, blonde woman moving gracefully beyond the windows. The sound of a young girl's laughter could be heard riding the midday wind.
"Filth," Bin muttered beneath his breath. He waved the others forward. "Let's go."
X
It was Ailee's birthday. Iree had done her very best to decorate the home with tiny paper birds and bundles of flowers for her young daughter. She had even baked a cake with spices gathered from her modest garden. Ailee bustled about their single table, arranging and rearranging their best porcelain plates.
"My lovely child," Ailee said as she bounced the baby Ana against her hips. "Oh, I'm sorry. I should have sent the invitations out sooner. Maybe then they would have come."
"Ma," Ailee said with a roll of her eyes, "I'm not a child anymore. You don't have to throw me extravagant parties. Besides, I'm happy about spending the day with you and Ana."
"Oh…" Iree said and kissed her daughter upon the head. She remembered what Ailee had said about not being a child and quickly tousled the invisible kiss from her daughter's head. Ailee was right: she no longer was a child, much to Iree's dismay. She was old enough now to go into town and buy their food on her own. She had even taken up the task of fetching water from the river, a task made dangerous due to the woodland creatures. But Iree had a few tricks of her own, for she had mastered the art of modest magick. Every night before bed, she anointed Ana and Ailee with oils and whispered words of protection. No animal with ill intent would ever approach them due to the strong oils and spells cast upon the girls' heads. But the thought never occurred to her to anoint her children against anything else.
Three loud knocks resounded on their wooden door and the two women paused. The baby Ana began to wail and Iree gently shushed her.
"That must be the party guest. Oh, they must have gotten the invitations just in time! Ailee, clean up, darling, you look almost as haggard as your dear old mother."
Ailee quickly tied her mousy hair up in a knot and smoothed down her apron. She hoped that it was the handsome fisher who she sometimes saw in the marketplace. He was right about her age and kind as they came. She opened the door with a homely smile and was shocked to see the guest that stood at her door.
"Mother…?" She called back. Iree rushed to the door, with Ana still wailing on her hip and raised her eyebrows in surprise at the unexpected guests.
"Oh! Dwarves! Well, come on in, I assume you're here for the party?"
She wasn't sure if this was true but many Dwarves traveled through the market. Word must have gotten out about her daughter's birthday. She had heard, after all, that Dwarves loved a good party.
The three Dwarves shuffled in. They didn't look particularly kind: indeed, the youngest one looked positively terrified of something.
"Would you like some drinks? Water, Ale…? I have a cake baking, it's almost finished." She held out three empty mugs. The Dwarve with the longest beard - she would forever remember that ungodly sight - looked at her with utter disgust and knocked the mugs out of her hand. The women screamed and the long-bearded Dwarve cried, "shut that babe up!"
One of the Dwarves snatched Ana from her arms and held her at an arm's length. She tried to rush forward and grab her child but the youngest Dwarve stepped forward and barred her way with a thick arm. Ailee rushed forward with a battered pan but the eldest Dwarve smacked her in the chest and sent her flying over the table.
"Please, you'll suffocate her!" Iree pleaded as the Dwarve wrapped a kerchief around her baby's mouth.
"It'll be the best thing for her!" The eldest Dwarve roared. The baby's cries were thus muffled and the three Dwarves stood uncomfortably in her kitchen. Iree wept and buried her face in her apron. Ailee shushed her and reached out to caress her bruised knee.
"Please, we don't want any trouble."
"Your very existence spells trouble, you foul creature," The Dwarve said. He lifted a giant ax from his side and used it to split her table in two. "Is there anyone else here with you?"
Iree stuttered and choked, still cradling her eldest's knee. "I have coins. It's not much but you can take it...just leave us be."
"COINS?" The eldest Dwarve roared. He raised his ax again and split her chair in two. The kerchief fell away from Ana's mouth and she screamed. "You think we come for your coins? You're just like the rest."
"Brother-" the youngest Dwarve said and the eldest roared, "silence!"
"What do you want to do with them?" Asked the Dwarve holding Ana. Iree tried to catch his eyes but he refused to look at her. "Shall we take their things and go?"
The eldest Dwarve shook his head. He moved closer to Iree and she flinched backward. She could see herself reflected in his dark eyes. It was a frightening sight, her fear, and she wished more than anything that she had something to protect her and her children with. But she hadn't had reason to acquire a weapon in the past. Her home, and the village beyond, had always been quite peaceful.
"No," he said slowly. "We kill them."
Iree screamed along with Ana as she was dragged bodily from the floor. "Starting with the babe!" The eldest Dwarve roared. His brother laid Ana upon the ground and, one hand grasping Iree, advanced upon the infant. Iree clawed and bit at his skin but, despite his height, he was incredibly strong. With one hand he raised the glinting ax -
"Wait!" A small voice called.
They all paused and looked at Ailee, who had her pale hands raised before her in supplication. "Take me."
"Ailee, baby, no!" Iree cried, collapsing upon the floor in a flood of tears. "No, baby!"
"Yes," Ailee gulped, "Take me instead, just please don't hurt my mother and my sister. I'll do anything you want. I'll be your servant girl! You can torture me or kill me or anything you want! Just please, don't hurt them."
The two Dwarves looked to their brother. He was eyeing Ailee with distrust. He lowered his ax and let go of Iree's arm. Iree crawled to Ana and grasped her in her weak arms, sobbing greatly against the tiny face. Bin bent down at his waist and looked at Ailee in an appraising way.
"Well…" he said curiously.
"I say we do it," said Do. He seemed relieved by the prospect of less bloodshed. "We could use a servant on our journeys."
"Aye," Bahn said, "I don't fancy staining my sword so early on. Not with this lot."
Iree was muttering a soft prayer to herself, her nose buried in Ana's downy hair. Bin ordered her to shut up and gave her a swift kick with his boot.
"Do you know what you are asking, little girl? We will show you no mercy."
"Aye," Ailee said, wringing her hands, "Just don't hurt them."
"Very well," Bin said. He lifted the girl by her arm and dragged her towards the door. Iree screamed and reached out for her daughter. The last thing she saw was Ailee's fearful eyes staring back at her before another swift kick from Bahn turned her world black.