In honor of the long weekend here's two chapters! Im so happy with the great reception this story has been getting!
Benna followed the elf as they walked back from the healers, tugging lightly on the tightly wound bandage on her arm. Even before they entered the terrace she could hear the dwarves carrying on.
"Benna!" Ori called spotting her as she entered. She sank into a chair in between Bifur and Gloin the latter of whom passed her a plate of food.
"Thanks." She said as she tore apart a chunk of bread "So what'd I miss?"
"Not a thing." Bofur chuckled "These elvish dinners are a drab affair."
She looked across the table at Kili who seemed to be watching something with great interest. She followed his eyes to an elf woman who was playing the flute nearby.
"You a big fan of the flute there Kili?" She asked grinning. His eyes snapped to her, a bit of color creeping into his cheeks.
"I can't say I fancy elf maids myself they're all high cheekbones and flawless skin, Not enough facial hair." He declared.
Benna raised an eyebrow "So you want to marry someone like Gloin then?". Across from her, Nori let out a hoot of laughter.
"What about you Benna?" Kili said, trying to draw the conversation away from himself "What draws your eye to a lad?"
"I dunno," She said taking a sip of wine "Someone whos kind hearted, loving, loyal… a good body doesn't hurt either." She said giving Kili a wink.
...
Benna settled down next to the fire as she watched Bofur break apart a chair, throwing the legs into the fire. She looked over at Dori as he pulled out a ball of yarn from his bag and methodically began to work it through the knitting needles. "What cha' making?" She asked leaning over for a closer look.
"A scarf." He said, turning it to show her "We'll be getting into the mountains soon, and Ori left his back home."
Benna hummed as she shifted away from the fire, feeling a bead of sweat run down her back. "I could go for some colder weather. I never liked too much heat" She said, fanning herself with her hands.
"What is it like where you are from Benna?" Dori asked.
She shrugged "I lived in a few places when I was young, but I never stayed at any of them too long. When I turned 20 I decided to move east out to the coast and lived near the sea. I have always loved the ocean, it's peaceful."
"You'll be hard pressed to find that here," Nori chimed in "we are hundreds of miles from the sea!"
"Way to kill the hope Nori." She grumbled.
"You moved in your twenties?" Gloin looked at her in surprise "By yourself?"
"Mmmhmm." She nodded.
"And how old are you now exactly?" Bofur asked, taking a swig of his ale.
"I'm 23. I'll be 24 in autumn."
Bofur choked on his drink "Hammer and stone! The Valar sent us a wee babe!"
Benna frowned "Oh come on, I have to be at least 3 years older than Ori!"
"Ori's 76 lass." Dwalin said pointing at the dwarf.
She stared at the scribe. "Is this a joke?"
He shook his head "I turned 76 just before this quest."
Benna looked at Dwalin "How old are you?"
"169 soon to be 170." He said crossing his arms.
Her eyes shot over to Kili and Fili. "I'm 77!"
"82."
"We had a hard time convincing Thorin to even let us come since we are so young." Kili informed her.
"But wait," The wheels in Benna's mind began to move. "You said I'm a dwarf in this world" She jabbed a finger at Dwalin "So does that mean I'm older now? Is this like a dog years situation? Am I going to have to do a bunch of math to figure out how old I am?"
Dwalin shrugged "If I had to guess by eyeballing ya I'd say you are about Kili's age."
"Fine," She huffed "But I want to be older than him so let's go with 78!"
"Wait that's not fair!" Kili cried.
Benna stuck her tongue out at him "Tell you what; when you die and get brought back to life you can pick whatever age you want to be. You'll understand when you get to be my age little boy."
In a flash Kili jumped up from his seat and grabbed her pack, stepping up on a chair, placing it on the ledge of the side wall. "You may be a year older, but I think you'll need to grow a few inches before you call me little!" He grinned.
Benna shoved him off the chair, climbing up on it reaching out for her bag, scowling as her fingertips barely grazed the ledge.
"Fine two can play at this." She darted over to where Kili's bow rested on the floor snatching it up before running over to the edge of the terrace "Bag now or the bow drops!"
Kili's eyes narrowed "You wouldn't!". Benna let the bow slide through her hand catching it just at the very end.
"Better do as she asks brother." Fili said with a laugh.
"Alright alright." Kili relented, stepping up to retrieve her bag.
He held it out to her. Just as she reached for the bag he tossed it aside, grabbing her around the waist ,hauling her off her feet.
"Kili!" She yelped as he drug her towards the edge.
"Over you go!" he said playfully.
"If I'm going you're going too!" She laughed hooking her foot around his leg, sending them both sprawling to the ground.
From behind them they heard someone clear their throat. The two looked up to see Thorin, Balin, and Bilbo had rejoined the group. "Hey guys, What'd the map say?" Benna asked casually, Propping her self up on the floor.
"It looks like we will be here for a few more days," Thorin said unhappily "The runes can only be read under the light of a full moon, so we must wait." There was a collective groan from the company at this news "Lord Elrond said he will find some lodgings for us tomorrow to use during our stay, but tonight we will have to rest here."
Benna laid down, curling up with her back to the fire and dreamed about the soft elvish bed that awaited her tomorrow.
...
"Come on lass get up". Benna swatted at the hand shaking her. "Benna," The voice growled, "It is time to train. Everyone else has been up for over an hour". She simply curled further into her blanket giving the voice a rude hand gesture. "Fine have it your way". She yelped as the blanket was ripped off of her as Dwalin grabbed her by the collar.
"Not cool." She growled as he drug her down to the training grounds.
"Well now look who is finally up!" Fili said with a laugh. Benna grumbled a curse under her breath and she dusted herself off, grabbing her sword off the ground.
Sparing was not the best way to begin the morning she thought as she was pushed to the ground for what felt like the hundredth time that day. "Alright I think we're done for the day." Dwalin said giving her a nudge with his boot.
"I think I'll stay down here for a moment." She mumbled.
"Suit yourself." Dwalin said with a shrug before leaving with the others. After a few more minutes she worked up the energy to pull herself off the ground shuffling down the hallway, scabbard dragging behind her.
As she rounded a corner she nearly ran straight into Lord Elrond. He looked at her with a bemused smile "You look lost."
Benna looked up at him awkwardly "Umm I was hoping to find a place to bathe, maybe was my cloths." She added looking down at her dusty pants.
He nodded "Of course I can have someone draw you a bath in one of the private bath houses, as for you clothes they can be sent to be cleaned if needed."
"That would be wonderful thank you!" Benna said giving him a small bow.
"I hope that while you are here we might find a moment to talk," Elrond said as he waved another elf over to them "Your presence in this world is indeed an interesting one."
...
Benna relaxed into the tub letting the water rise up to her chin. The water was starting to turn cold, yet she could not bring herself to get out. Briefly she considered asking for the water to be reheated, but thought better of it as she saw the sun hanging low in the sky. Slowly she pulled herself out of the tub, grabbing the towel that hung nearby. She frowned as she entered the changing room. Her pack was no longer sitting on the table. She groaned realizing that the elves must have taken all her clothes to be cleaned. As she was debating the merits of running around the elvish city in a towel, she spotted a folded blue dress laying on the far side of the room. She blew out a sigh of relief as she pulled it on. She cast a glance at her hiking boots then back at the dress and decided to without.
Benna wandered along the open hallways, feeling the cool marble beneath her feet as she walked. She turned into one of the large overlooks to see Bilbo staring wistfully out at the valley. "It's nice isn't it?" She smiled coming to stand alongside him. Bilbo looked at her, before turning back to the captivating view before them.
"I have always dreamed of coming here," He said "Though I never thought it would be under such strange circumstances. I wish we could stay just a bit longer."
Benna put a hand on his shoulder "I'll tell you what; When this quest is over and we are both unbelievably rich we'll come back. No orcs no dragons, Just a nice relaxing trip."
Bilbo beamed at her "I think that sounds like a famous idea."
Bilbo's stomach rumbled loudly, breaking the peaceful scene. "Come on let's go find some dinner."
...
Bilbo and Benna wandered down the hall following the sound of raucous laughter back to the terrace. "Ah there you two are!" Bofur yelled a bit too loudly from the table, spilling the wine from his glass as he waved.
"Looks like we're a bit late to the party." She whispered to Bilbo as her eyes raked over the table, which was now filled with empty jugs and cups.
"Here you are Benna." Nori said, handing her a cup of wine as she sat down. She took a long sip from the nearly overflowing cup before reaching across the table to fill her plate with food.
"You are going to have to drink faster than that to catch up to us dear Beanie!" Kili grinned.
She frowned at the nickname "I have no intention of catching up dearest Kiki, you lot drink like fish."
Kili eyed her over the rim of his glass "Why are you wearing a dress?"
Benna shrugged, downing the last of her wine "The elves took my clothes to be cleaned."
He simply hummed, still eying her. "What?" She looked at him as she refilled her glass "Does it look bad or something?"
"No no." Kili said, shaking his head. "I was just thinking," He started, grinning at her "When we reclaim Erebor you are going to have to stick to trousers or you'll be beating lads off with a stick!"
Benna scoffed "Ah yes because if there's one thing men love it's a formally dead woman from another world."
"I can think of at least one..." Kili muttered under his breath, yelping in pain as Fili kicked him under the table.
...
The sky had grown dark as Benna looked down at the bottom full of wine in her glass. She could feel its effects starting to creep up on her. "Alright lads I'm calling it night," She said pushing back in her chair "For the first time in a long time there is a proper bed awaiting me."
"Aye I think we'll all sleep well tonight." Balin agreed as she got up from the table.
"Can you show me to my room please?" She asked the elf standing by the entryway. He nodded ushering her down the hall to a row of rooms opening the furthest door for her. Benna flopped down on the large bed, letting out a groan of satisfaction as she sunk into the soft mattress. Finally she pushed herself off the bed, pulling the curtains over the windows. Grabbing a blanket from the bed she took the candle from the side table and walked out onto the small balcony attached to the room. She wrapped the blanket around her as she sat on the smooth floor looking out at the city around her.
She woke with a shiver, looking around for a moment before remembering where she was. "I must have fallen asleep out here." She thought, looking at the now unlit candle beside her. Pulling the blanket back around her shoulders she picked up the candle holder and walked back to the entryway. Just as she entered the dark room she stopped. In the darkness she could have sworn she saw something move. Benna pressed herself back into the shadows of the room, holding her breath. She could hear the sound of boots sliding across the floor in the darkness. Straining her eyes, she could just make out a dark shape moving towards her.
She gripped the candlestick tighter as she heard the boots shuffle again. As the shape drew near she lashed out, striking something solid. The figure gave a grunt of pain as she ran past them towards the door. A hand reached out, grabbing her by the arm pulling her back. She spun to face them preparing to strike out again, just as her legs caught in the blanket that had fallen from her shoulders.
Her feet slid from under her as she fell backwards onto the floor. Benna scrambled to untangle herself, but her attacker was on her in a second. A large hand gripped her wrists tightly pinning them over her head. She tried to kick out at them, stilling as she felt something sharp press hard against her neck. Benna's mind raced as she tried again to break free from her attacker's grip to no avail.
"DWALIN! SOMEBODY HELP!"
...
Balin propped his feet on the mantle, relaxing further into his chair as the warmth of the fire licked at the sole of his boots. He took a long draw from his pipe, slowly exhaling as he cast a glance to Thorin. "You should sit down. take this respite while we have it."
Thorin snorted "You expect me to rest when we are deep into the land of our enemies?"
"We are in little danger I suspect." Balin sighed "Gandalf has said as much. Rivendell has long been a refuge for those who seek it."
"Thats what they want us to believe." Dwalin chimed in from his perch by the door. With effort he rose tapping out his own pipe in to the fire grate.
Thorin hummed his agreement "I will not find rest, not while precious time slips through our grasp."
Balin shook his head "It is only a few days Thorin. We have made well enough timing so far, I am sure we can accommodate for this rest."
"We have been on hospitable ground thus far, but we will reach the Misty Mountains soon and the weather could turn on us quickly." Thorin scoffed " Even if the weather holds I am sure The hobbit and the girl will cause us delay once our path becomes treacherous."
Balin frowned ready to counter his friend's remarks when Dwalin spoke up.
"Benna will not cause us delay in the mountain pass. Shes a wee thing, but I believe she is up to the task at hand."
Thorin frowned "And when she proves unable to? What then?"
Dwalin gave him a steady look "Then I will make sure she can."
Thorin held his gaze for a moment before relenting "See that you do."
Balin glanced over to Dwalin
"What?" Dwalin frowned
Balin gave him a knowing look "You grow fond of her."
Dwalin scoffed "I do no such thing."
"DWALIN! SOMEBODY HELP!"
Dwalin felt his blood run cold as Benna's distant scream echoed down the hall. The three dwarves were on their feet in an instant. Dwalin grabbed his ax from its resting place on the the hearth and ripped open the door, boots pounding on the marble floor, Balin and Thorin on his heels. He slowed only for a moment as a door ahead of them opened to reveal the hobbit, one hand holding the collar of his robe, the other clutching his small sword. Wordlessly he joined them
"That one up ahead...its hers." Bilbo said breathlessly, pointing to one of the doors ahead of them
As they halted in front of the door, Dwalin slammed his boot against the handle, causing the door to crash open with a snap.
"Benna!"
...
Benna struggled against the hand pinning her down, trying desperately to pull away from the knife that was digging into her skin.
"Benna?" A familiar voice asked as the pressure on the knife lifted slightly.
Before she could even register what had happened, the sound of boots pounding on the floor filled the hall, and the door to the room slammed open to reveal Dwalin, Thorin, Balin, and Bilbo weapons in hand.
As the light from the open door flooded in, Benna could properly see her attacker. "F...Fili?"
"Benna!" Dwalin shouted as he jumped into the room. His eyes narrowed as he looked at the young prince then down at Benna, still pinned beneath him, knife at her throat. "What in Durin's name is going on?" He growled
Fili opened his mouth as he looked up at them then back down at Benna, his eyes wide. The knife clattered to the floor as he sprung off of her.
"Benna are you aright?" Balin asked, slowly helping her to her feet. "What happened?"
"I...I came back to my room after dinner and fell asleep on the balcony. When I came back in the room I heard someone moving around, so I hit them with the candlestick. But I tripped and got pinned. When I couldn't get out I screamed hoping one of you would hear it" She finished looking over at Fili who stood still staring at her wide eyed.
"Fili?" Thorin frowned looking over at his nephew "Care to tell us why you were in Benna's room?".
"What no! This is my room!" Fili exclaimed, his attention snapping to Thorin "I came back here after I finished drinking, but when I went to open the curtains someone struck me from the shadows so I wrestled them to the ground, I didn't know it was Benna!" Fili looked at his uncle then at Benna "I would never…...I Swear!" He said pleadingly.
More footsteps echoed in the hallway as Elrond appeared in the doorway followed by another elf. "I was told that someone heard a woman scream." He said looking at Benna then around at the dwarves.
"It would appear that there has been a little room mix up that is all" Balin said looking up at the elf lord "It seems the lad and lass here both thought they had this room". A strange expression flashed across Elrond's face as he turned to speak to the elf behind him, switching quickly to elvish.
After a brief exchange he turned back to them and coughed uncomfortably "Ah I think I may be able to clear up this matter. It would seem both of them were given this room, apparently Lindir was under the impression that the two of you were married."
"Married?" Benna choked out.
"It seems the young dwarves possessiveness of you during your arrival gave the wrong impression" Elrond said apologetically "I am terribly sorry. I'll have another room prepared for you." He said before disappearing from the doorway.
"Here come on Benna," Bilbo said offering his arm "You can rest in my room until yours is ready."