In Unexpected Places Chapter 14: Stone Giants, a hobbit fanfic

A/N: Sorry for the delay in updating I don't even have an excuse apart from life got in the way. Thanks to DreamingGalaxies for helping me with my grammer, puctuation and answering my million and one questions as per usual :) Thanks for the reviews and follows.

Stone Giants

Dwalin's POV

After tossing and turning for what seemed like hours, Dwalin rose and relieved Nori early from his watch. All was quiet apart from Bombur's snores, so he pulled out his axes and began sharpening them. If he knew these mountains half as well as he used to then it wouldn't be long before he'd find a use for them. Dwalin had made this journey many times over the years going back and forth between Ered Luin and the Iron Hills. He had never done it with so few warriors though and never with something so precious to protect. He glanced over to where Esme was sleeping, she too had tossed and turned for much of the night but now she slept soundly. He hated that he was the cause for her unhappiness but there was little that he could do about it. She hadn't grown up here; if she had she would understand about the loyalty one must show their king, she would understand why he had no choice but to continue on this quest. She hadn't grown up here though and she would never understand it. To her, he was choosing Thorin over her and it made her doubt his love for her. He would have to find a way to prove to her how much he really did love her.

It seemed he was not the only one unable to sleep as Thorin sat up on the other side of camp and slowly made his way over to him. His friend was clearly bothered by something as he sat down beside him and filled his pipe. Dwalin wondered if it was Esme's friend that was causing him so much distress. Or perhaps it was just the stress of the journey ahead that had his friend unable to sleep.

"Something troubles you."

Thorin's frown deepened. "Aye, a mistake I made a long time ago."

Dwalin was surprised. The Thorin he knew rarely made mistakes and when he did he wasn't one to ruminate over them. He nodded and waited for him to continue.

"I shouldn't have let Cadence leave with Esmeralda all those years ago. I did it out of love for her but looking back now, I'm not sure I ever really knew the real Cadence. I'm not sure the woman I loved ever really existed."

Dwalin didn't say anything; there wasn't much he could say. He never knew Esme's mother. He had never even known about the relationship she had with Thorin. What he did know was that he resented her immensely. She had hurt Thorin and taken Esme from this world back to hers. It was her fault that Esme didn't understand his loyalty to Thorin and why she knew nothing of this world or of their ways. It was the reason why Esme was now arguing with him and that he didn't know how to fix it.

"I think I may have offended Miss Jenna last night. I asked her about the nature of her relationship with Nori. Perhaps it's impolite to ask such things in their world."

Thorin's words snapped Dwalin out of his thoughts of Esme's mother. He looked over at Jenna's sleeping form and then back to Thorin again. He'd never seen anyone get under Thorin's skin like this before and he couldn't help but wonder why. What was it about her that got his friend's hackles up?

"I'm pretty sure everything you do and say offends herThorin. It bothers you."

Thorin sighed. "Yes. It bothers me. Are you and Esmeralda going to be ok?"

Dwalin looked down at the axe in his hand. Would they be ok? Was this just an argument that would blow over? Or had Esme realised so soon that he couldn't give her everything that she wished for?

"I don't know."

Dwalin rolled his eyes as Esme landed on the ground again. He offered her his hand to help her up but she refused it, pushing herself off the ground and standing again. Again he demonstrated how she should move to get away from him but he could see she was too angry with him to listen properly. He moved towards her again,easily swiping her legs from under her and landing her back on the ground.

"Damn it Esme, you're distracted! Your anger with me is going to get you killed out here. You need to pay attention."

Dwalin could see the hurt in her face when he snapped at her and instantly regretted it. Shaking his head he offered her his hand again.

"I'm sorry..."

She slapped his hand away and stumbled back onto her feet with tears welling up in her eyes.

"So what if I do end up getting killed!? At least then we'll all be dead. After all, I'd hate to be the odd one out!"

With that she spun around and stormed off to the other side of the camp. Dwalin rolled his eyes; he had had enough of being snapped at when all he was trying to do was make sure she would be safe if they ran into trouble.

"Women!"

Dwalin had no sooner spat out the remark than he found himself unexpectedly lying on his back, his legs having been swept from under him. Looking up he saw Jenna towering over him frowning.

"Watch it!" She snapped at him before following Esme to the other side of the camp.

Fili, Kili and Nori erupted in laughter as Jenna stormed off. Thorin couldn't exactly hide his grin either as he held out a hand to help him up off of the ground.

"You certainly have a way with women, Dwalin. On that note, everyone pack up. It's time we move on."

Thorin's POV

Thorin woke well before dawn. He had a restless sleep, plagued by dreams of the past every time he closed his eyes. Dreams of Cadence. It had been years since he had dreamed of her, years since their last meeting and yet here he was unable to close his eyes without her image flooding into view. He had loved her dearly once. She was everything that he had been looking for, or at least he had thought she was. Looking back now he wondered if in fact he had simply been too young and naive to see her for what she really was.

Thorin let his thoughts wander back to the day Cadence had come to him with Esmeralda in her arms looking for help. She had been terrified for her own safety and that of her child, begging for his assistance to get back to her own world. Thorin had told her he knew of no way for her to return nor of any wizard that could help her, she cried bitterly as she clung to the baby in her arms. He had beseeched her to stay with him; promising he would protect her and Esmeralda from any who came looking for them. It was the one and only time in all the years he'd known her that he had seen her facade slip.

"Stay? With you?" She had laughed at him then. "I don't know why I even came here. You're as useless to me as you always were. You're weak and pathetic. You will never be King."

Her words had stung more than he could ever have imagined they would. She stood, wiping the tears from her eyes and left in search of a wizard without so much as a backward glance. He had brushed it off back then, thinking that she hadn't meant it, that her words were the product of fear for her child's safety and nothing more. Now though, he was beginning to think otherwise. He thought about the way Jenna had spoken of Cadence back in Rivendell. Cold, calculating and manipulative, those had been her words. Had she perhaps seen the side of Cadence that he had seen so briefly on that day so long ago?

When Borak came looking for Cadence and Esmeralda, Thorin had said nothing of their meeting. He thought at the time that he was protecting them. At his father's behest he joined the search for them but had hoped at the time that she would get away. He hoped she would find a way back to the world she wished to return to.

Borak had been terrifyingly angry when he had arrived in Ered Luin and Thorin had wondered then if his temper had been the reason Cadence had fled from him. Now however, he found himself thinking about it in a different light. Why wouldn't Borak have been angry? Cadence had taken his child from her crib at night and vanished with her. His whole world had been taken from him in an instant. Thorin thought back now to the look in the dwarf's eyes that day. He had mistaken it for anger then, but not now, he now saw it for what it really was. He had seen the same look in his grandfather's eyes the day Erebor fell, grief.

Sighing, Thorin rose from his bedroll and made his way silently across the camp to where Dwalin was sitting on watch. He sat down beside his oldest friend and took out his pipe.

"Something troubles you."

It was a statement rather than a question, Dwalin knew him well enough to know when something was bothering him.

"Aye, a mistake I made a long time ago."

Dwalin nodded but remained silent, he knew better than anyone that if Thorin wanted to discuss something he would. If he didn't, then no amount of asking about it was going to change his mind. Thorin sighed before continuing.

Thorin looked over at Esmeralda, she was sleeping soundly. He wondered if he really could have stopped Cadence from leaving back then. Maybe he should have tried harder to convince her to return to her husband. Perhaps he should have told the truth about their meeting when the envoy from the Iron Hills had arrived. Would Borak have found her in time if he told him what he knew back then? The thought bothered him greatly but he couldn't change the past. Hopefully returning Borak's daughter to him now would do something to ease the guilt he felt.

Thorin scanned the rest of the camp, everyone was sleeping soundly. His eyes fell on Jenna where she slept next to Nori and he frowned remembering her reaction from the night before.

"I think I may have offended Miss Jenna last night. I asked her about the nature of her relationship with Nori. Perhaps it's impolite to ask such things in their world."

Dwalin glanced at Jenna's sleeping form and then grinned back at Thorin.

"I'm pretty sure everything you do and say offends her, Thorin. It bothers you."

Again it was a statement rather than a question. Dwalin could see that the girl got under his skin in a way most people couldn't. He sighed, there was no use denying it, not to Dwalin.

"Yes. It bothers me. Are you and Esmeralda going to be ok?"

Dwalin sighed heavily and looked down at the axe he held in his hand.

"I don't know."

Thorin nodded but didn't say anything more. If Dwalin wanted advice he would ask for it. Instead the two dwarves fell into companionable silence while they waited for the sun to rise and another day of travelling to begin.

While Thorin had resolved to speak with Esme regarding angering Jenna, by morning there didn't seem to be a need to. The lass seemed to have put their conversation behind them. She had greeted him happily with a smile and a plate of breakfast before joining Fili for some practice before they set out. He decided it was probably best to leave things as they were and simply resolved never to mention Nori to the lass again.

Taking his breakfast with him, he walked across the camp to where Esmeralda was clearly still sulking from the night before.

"May I join you?"

She looked up at him with a forced smile. "If you wish."

He could tell she would prefer if he didn't join her but he sat down beside her anyway. He thought about reassuring her that Dwalin would be fine and that he would return to her when they had reclaimed Erebor but there was no use making empty promises. Esmeralda was young but she was far from foolish, she would know he was just trying to placate her.

"Are you alright?"

She sighed and looked towards Dwalin who was busy sulking on the other side of the camp. She didn't reply.

"Talk to him Esmeralda. He loves you."

Esmeralda looked shocked by his statement, as if she had never entertained the idea that his cousin was in love with her. There wasn't time for her to reply to him as Dwalin made his way towards them at that very moment and suggested she join him for some training before they set out. While she was clearly still angered over their argument from the night before she rose from her seat beside Thorin and followed Dwalin over to where Jenna and Fili were still fighting.

Thorin tucked into his breakfast as he watched the girls be put through their paces. While Jenna's speed and strength were improving greatly as the days passed, the same could certainly not be said for Esmeralda. He was honestly beginning to think training her is absolutely pointless at this stage. She was slow and clumsy with all the coordination of a newborn foal. As she fell over yet again Dwalin finally had enough and shouted at her.

"Damn it Esme, you're distracted! Your anger with me is going to get you killed out here. You need to pay attention."

Thorin sighed, expecting tears from Esmeralda again but it seemed a restless night after their argument had left her feeling more angry than upset. As Dwalin reached out a hand to help her up she slapped it away from her. Stumbling to her feet, she yelled back at him.

"So what if I do end up getting killed!? At least then we'll all be dead. After all, I'd hate to be the odd one out!"

With that she stomped angrily back to her bedroll and began packing up. Dwalin rolled his eyes and muttered "Women!" under his breath though not as quietly as he believed. Soon he found himself lying on the grass on his back having had his legs swept from under him by a very unimpressed Jenna.

"Watch it!" she yelled at him before following her friend.

As the camp erupted in laughter, Thorin couldn't help but grin. Dwalin was not easily caught off guard and the startled look on his face as he found himself on the ground was priceless.

Thorin rose from his seat offering his cousin a hand.

"You certainly have a way with women, Dwalin. On that note, everyone pack up. It's time we move on."

Jenna's POV

Jenna had woken up in as foul a humor as she had gone to sleep in but she quickly snapped out of it when Bombur announced that breakfast was ready. The promise of a belly full of crispy bacon and bread was enough to restore her normally happy demeanor. She quickly decided to let go of the argument she had with Thorin the previous evening, taking him his breakfast in a would-be peace offering. It's not like he knew about her past or why his question had offended her in the first place anyway.

She made her way over to Fili to practice sparring and was glad to see that Esme didn't refuse Dwalin's request that she join him doing the same. Esme wasn't the fighting type she never had been and she could certainly use all the extra training the dwarves could fit in. Jenna on the other hand was thoroughly enjoying it and was concentrating hard on trying to best Fili. The young prince seemed to be enjoying it just as much as she was until they were unexpectedly interrupted by an argument between Esme and Dwalin.

As her friend stormed off, the burly dwarf muttered "Women!" under his breath and without even a moment's thought Jenna had swept his legs out from under him and landed him on the ground. She had to admit she took more than a little enjoyment from the shocked look on his face when he found himself lying on his back in the grass.

"Watch it!" she all but roared at him before spinning on her heels and following her friend.

"Are you ok Ez?"

Esme looked up at her with tears in her eyes.

"No I'm not Jen; I'm not even remotely ok."

Esme's POV

Esme angrily stuffed her things into her backpack, trying her hardest not to start crying again.She was beginning to wish she had listened to Jenna and remained in Rivendell. This was all too much for her.

"Are you ok Ez?"

She looked up at Jenna, there was no point in pretending that she was fine, her friend would see right through it as she always did.

"No I'm not Jen; I'm not even remotely ok."

As they all started to move out of the camp Esme and Jenna fell into step next to each other near the front of the group. Esme found herself filling her friend in on her conversation with Dwalin from the night before.

"He's choosing him over me."

She hated how childish she sounded when she said that but the fact that Dwalin was choosing to throw his life away for Thorin instead of remaining with her hurt her more than she cared to admit. Again she found herself wondering how the warrior had become so important to her in such a short space of time. Jenna's response snapped her out of her thoughts.

"I kind of understand it."

Jenna smiled at Esme's instant frown.

"I know that's not what you want to hear Ez but it's the truth. Thorin is their king, they have a loyalty to him that you just don't see in our world. Being a king here really means something, they aren't just a figureheads like they are in our world. It's just different. Maybe it's a good thing, shows Dwalin is loyal at least. An idiot, but a loyal idiot."

Esme looked down at the ground and kicked a loose stone at her feet. She knew what Jenna was saying was the truth but it didn't make it any easier. Yes Dwalin had to be loyal to Thorin but couldn't he at least hate that he had to be? Shouldn't he at least want to stay with her? It had seemed such an easy decision for him to make. Did he really care about her at all? Thorin seemed to think so; he had told her Dwalin loved her. Was it true? Dwalin had certainly not told her he loved her. Is that what this was? Was this why she was so attached to him? Was it why she was so angry that he was leaving? She had never been in love before. Is this what love was meant to feel like?

Once again Esme found herself wishing she had remained in Rivendell or better still had never been sucked into this world at all. She just wanted to be at home, eating pizza and playing video games with Jenna like they used to. Esme looked at her friend who had fallen silent and was busy concentrating on not losing her footing on the wet path as the rain had started once again. They had been friends since childhood. Jenna hadn't had a good start in life and didn't trust easily but the two young girls had bonded quickly when they met, becoming closer still after Esme's mother drowned. With no parents and nobody to look out for them they learned to look out for each other, soon enough becoming inseparable. Sure Esme had her uncle but they had never been close and after her mother drowned he barely even spoke to her.So it really always has just been Jenna and her. Now here she was traipsing across this new world putting her closest friend in danger for a dwarf she had just met, a mother who had been gone since she was a child and a father she had never known existed in the first place. She had never felt more guilty.

"I'm a shitty friend. Sorry I got you mixed up in all this Jen."

Jenna looked back at her but her response was drowned out by the loudest roll of thunder that Esme had ever heard. Great flashes of lightning lit up the sky and the rain which had been light and misty up until now suddenly turned heavy and ice cold.They were all soaked right through within minutes. Esme had never liked thunder and lightning, it always terrified her as a child but it was even more terrifying up here with nowhere to shelter from it.Suddenly Dwalin shouted at them to watch out and before she knew what was happening a large boulder seemed to come out of nowhere and shattered just above their heads sending small fragments falling down around them. Gloin who was the closest to Esme grabbed her and pulled her in towards the cliff face just in time to shelter her from it but she watched in horror as Jenna lost her footing on the slippery path as she tried to avoid the falling rocks. She would have fallen over the edge if it hadn't been for Thorin's quick reflexes. He caught her just in time and pulled her back towards him,sheltering her from the falling debris.

"We need to find shelter, Thorin!" Balin shouted. "The lasses will be killed out here."

Gandalf, who stood at the edge of the cliff faced away from them suddenly turned back to face them. "We'll all be killed out here if we don't. This is no thunder storm; the giants of the mountains are out. It's a thunder battle!"

Jenna's POV

"We'll all be killed out here if we don't. This is no thunder storm; the giants of the mountains are out. It's a thunder battle!"

Jenna turned just in time to see what looked like a large mass of human shaped rock pick up a large boulder and throw it past them at another creature coming in the opposite direction. What the hell was happening!?

"Giants! Stone giants!" someone shouted from further down the line.

Before Jenna had the chance to really let that statement sink in, never mind have the time to have a nervous breakdown, the ground beneath them started to rumble and suddenly the ground was splitting right beneath her feet. Jenna stumbled as she tried to get back onto the path before the gap got any bigger. She was vaguely aware of others shouting but she couldn't even look to see what was happening as she lost her footing and suddenly found herself beginning to fall backwards. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears as she tried to grasp something, anything, to save herself. Just as she was really starting to panic she heard someone shout her name and suddenly strong arms came out of nowhere and she found herself lifted back up and crushed against someone's chest as she tried to catch her breath and calm down. She was shaking and the arms around her tightened as a voice reassured her that everything was ok.

"I've got you. I've got you."

She nodded as her breathing started to slow down but she couldn't seem to let her grasp on her saviour go just yet. The ground under them was swaying and moving and Jenna had not felt this kind of fear in a very long time, decades she reminded herself. Her rescuer was calling her name and slowly she managed to look up into worried blue eyes.

"I don't want to die." She whimpered, hating how weak she sounded in the moment.

"You won't but I need you to jump Jenna, right now, JUMP!"

There was a crash as the path they were standing on collided with another and Jenna wasn't sure how her legs were working but she found herself jumping from the ledge they were on onto the one that wasn't moving. As soon as she landed on it safely her legs gave way under her and she could do nothing more but sit there shaking, barely registering what was going on around her. There were shouts but she didn't know who was shouting or what they were saying. There was crying, Esme she thinks but she couldn't even bring herself to move to comfort her friend. Suddenly she was being dragged to her feet and they were all running again but not far this time and there were shouts of joy as her legs gave way beneath her again.

Esme's POV

Esme had frozen in horror as she looked out into the valley. Stone giants! Of course there would be stone giants in this world! As if orcs, wargs and trolls hadn't been enough! Turning back to look towards where Dwalin had been walking behind Bofur and Bilbo, Esme gasped in horror. The path they were on had split in two, Bofur and Dwalin catching Bilbo just in time as he almost fell off the side of it. Jenna was on her side of the split but she was stumbling and then suddenly she was falling. Esme couldn't move, her legs were like stone as she watched on in horror. Thorin pushed past her shouting Jenna's name and thankfully he was just in time to grab her and pull her back to safety. Only they weren't safe, she soon realised. Suddenly the path they were on lurched upwards and outwards and to her dismay, Esme realised that they were all in fact standing on one of these otherworldly creatures. As their giant moved to join the battle, the leg that Esme, Jenna and the others were standing on hit the cliff beside it and Esme found herself being pulled from it onto the safe cliff edge. Esme didn't know which of the company had saved her. She was vaguely aware that Jenna had collapsed onto the ground but she couldn't help her, she was too horror struck as she watched Dwalin still on the other leg of the giant as it rose to join in the battle. Just then one of the other giants threw a large boulder towards the giant they had been on and knocked its head right off.

Esme couldn't move as she watched the now headless body of the giant sway, stumble, and begin to fall. Dwalin was on that thing. He was going to was going to die thinking she was mad at him. As the leg of the giant pitched towards the side of the cliff Esme's legs finally gave out under her, one of the dwarves catching her just before she hit the ground. The giant finally fell into the valley below and Thorin and the others were pushing them forward again. Tears were streaming down Esme's face and she wasn't sure when they had started. She felt as if she was just about to be sick when she heard Gloin's relieved shout.

"They're alright!"

Esme pulled herself together quicker than she ever thought was possible and before she knew what she was doing she was running towards where the others had landed. Rounding the corner she saw Dwalin just straightening up. She ran to him wrapping her arms around him as tightly as she could, she didn't want to ever let him go again.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Dwalin I lo..."

All of a sudden Bofur's voice cut through the air.

"Where's Bilbo!? Where's the hobbit?"

Jenna's POV

Jenna was sitting on the ground with her back against the side of the cliff, trying her hardest to regulate her breathing and calm herself down when she heard Bofur's shout.

"Where's Bilbo!? Where's the hobbit?"

Ori looked over the edge of the path and shouted to the others.

"He's over here."

There was poor Bilbo, barely managing to hang on to the side of the cliff and just out of reach of the dwarves that were trying to help him. Much to Jenna's surprise and horror she saw Thorin jump over the edge to help, catching the hobbit and throwing him to safety. Thorin was still hanging over the edge however and he wouldn't be able to get back up without help. Without even giving it a second thought Jenna found herself back up on her feet and running towards the cliff edge just in time to grab Thorin's hand as he lost his grip on the mountain's edge. The dwarf king was heavier than he looked though and she quickly realised that she wouldn't be able to pull him to safety without help. She was just about to shout at the others for help when she found Dwalin beside her. The warrior caught Thorin's other arm and between them both they pulled the king back up onto the path again. For a moment Jenna's eyes lock with Thorin's and he was just about to say something when they heard Gandalf exclaim from behind them that he thought for a moment they had lost their burglar.

The dwarf king turned towards the wizard and it was clear to see that he was fuming.

"He has been lost ever since he left his home. He should not have come. He has no place among us."

With that, Thorin turned his back on them and called for Fili and Kili to scout ahead and see if there was anywhere they could find shelter for the rest of the storm. Jenna frowned at the King's back and made her way over to Bilbo.

"Are you alright Bilbo? Just our luck really isn't it? Escape from stone giants just to be left spending the night in the company of a GIANT ASS!"

Jenna purposefully made the last part of her sentence loud enough that Thorin could hear it. He may have saved her life twice today but there really was no need to treat poor Bilbo the way he was treating him.

Fili and Kili returned swiftly enough with the news that there was a cave up ahead where they could shelter for the night. They said they had checked it thoroughly and it didn't go far back so it sounded like fantastic news. They all followed the brothers to the cave and once they were inside out of the wind and rain everyone split into different groups. Nori was with his brothers so Jenna found a spot in the corner, took her wet cloak off and sat on the cave floor alone. She looked across at Esme who was clinging to Dwalin as if she were afraid to ever let him go again. Her eyes met Thorin's from across the way but the dwarf simply scowled at her and looked away. Jenna wondered if he even realised what an ass he was being at times. Though she supposed she should have at least thanked him for saving her before she resorted to calling him names. She resolved to do so in the morning once he had had time to calm down.

Someone clearing their throat brought her out of her thoughts and looking up Jenna found Bilbo standing in front of her handing her a warm and more importantly dry blanket. She smiled up at the hobbit and gestured for him to sit with her. They were both outsiders here so they may as well stick together. Bilbo lit up his pipe and handed it to her. Smiling at him again she took it gratefully.

"Thanks Bilbo, a smoke is exactly what I need right now after a day like that."

The hobbit smiled back at her shyly.

"No problem. I'm sure tomorrow will be a better day."

TBC