Hey all! It's time for the first every Violet Saturday! Hope you're all looking forward to today! I know I am!
Review responses;
Dinosaur Imperial Soldier - Yes, Beorn will be making an appearance in this chapter. And yes, she was very brave. But, I think with anyone, vengeance and anger will override any emotion and after seeing the killer of her family. . .well, the animal instincts come out.
Outofthisworldgal - Oh I know, I'm the same. I mean, I think facing Azog would be a walk through the park compared to a fire breathing dragon! Luckily for everyone, especially the dwarves, Beorn always has a soft spot for his little flower, so he'll be nice.
CrystalVixen93 - Here's the next chapter!
thewolf74 - Believe me, so am I. Here's the next chapter for you!
Home Sweet Home
For the next few days, Thorin allows us to rest by beside a river we find in a clearing at the base of Carrock. It's a welcome sight for us to bathe and clean off all the dirt, grime and blood.
We all get ours wounds tended to as best as we can with the little provisions we have left. My right hand is diagnosed to be a bad sprain, which Oin wraps tight in a bandage so I don't move it too much.
We all take advantage of the respite, either catching up on lost sleep or relaxing. No matter what we do, Kili tends to not be too far away from me after what happened. Even though it can be an annoyance, especially when trying to bathe, I do find it kind of cute in a way.
The next morning, as we are getting what we have left packed and ready to move, we hear the howls of wargs in the distance. Thorin sends Bilbo up some rocks so he can see how far away Azog and the pack are. After a while, he returns.
"How close is the pack?" Thorin asks.
"Too close. A couple of leagues, no more, but that is not the worst of it." Bilbo replies.
"Have the Wargs picked up our scent?" Dwalin pipes up.
"Not yet, but they will; we have another problem."
Gandalf steps forward. "Did they see you? They saw you!"
"No, that's not it."
Gandalf smiles and turns to us.
"What did I tell you? Quiet as a mouse. Excellent burglar material."
The dwarves chuckle loudly in appreciation of Bilbo. Bilbo looks exasperated that no one is hearing him out. I open my mouth to speak up for him, but he already
"Will you just listen?! I'm trying to tell you there is something else out there."
The others all look worried, while I'm trying hard not to smile. It's got to be papa doing his rounds.
"What form did it take? Like a bear?" Gandalf asks, also knowing what I know.
"Ye. . ." Bilbo pauses and looks curiously at Gandalf. "Y- yes. But bigger, much bigger."
"You knew about this beast?" Bofur asks Gandalf.
Gandalf turns and walks a few steps away. I follow him as the other argue about what to do next.
"Will he allow us to rest at the house?" he asks me in elvish.
"Well, you know as well as I how he feels about dwarves. . .but, I think as long as I am with you. . .he should be more welcoming to them. . .unless one of them decides to do something stupid."
He nods in agreement before he turns back to the others. "There is a house, it's not far from here, where we might take refuge."
"Whose house? Are they friend or foe?" Thorin asks.
"Neither. He will help us, or he will kill us."
The dwarves looks at each other in dismay.
"What choice do we have?"
A roar splits the night behind them; it is the bear.
"None." I reply before we start running.
By the time the sun rises, we run through plains and across streams, Gandalf and I leading the way.
"Come on!" Gandalf yells out.
As we run through a forest, trying to outrun Azog and his orcs, we suddenly stop when we hear an ear-splitting roar nearby. It does bring me some comfort as I know it's papa's voice and not the wargs. But then, the panic begins to run through me. While papa is in his bear form, unlike myself, he cannot tell who is friend, foe or even kin, so he would even attack me, never mind the dwarves.
"This way, quickly!"
We panic and run along, soon exiting the forest and my heart soars as I see my home coming into view. A house surrounded by a hedge in the middle of a plain.
"To the house! Run!"
We run across the plain; Bombur, the fattest dwarf, outruns all of us in his fear, which causes me to look to him in surprise. Gandalf and I stop at the gate as the others run through.
"Come on, get inside!" Gandalf calls out.
They run to the front door of the house; it is closed. Bombur, who reaches the door first, throws himself against it but falls flat on his back when the door doesn't budge. The rest of the dwarves catch up and begin throwing themselves against the door, trying to open it. Gandalf and I look back as a massive bear breaks out from the edge of the forest and he runs toward the dwarves, pushing me ahead.
"Open the door!"
"The bolt! Slide the bolt!" I yell out, pointing to the lock on the door.
"Quickly!" Thorin yells out as he pushes through and slides the bolt along, opening the doors.
We all pile on inside and the dwarves shut the door, but papas bear head gets in the way. As the bear roars and tries to push the door open, the dwarves yell and strain to close it. Bilbo pulls out his sword and points it unsteadily at the bear. I notice Gandalf looking on in apparent amusement. The dwarves yell as they press against the door.
"Come on, lads!" Dwalin exclaims.
With a final heave, the dwarves manage to close the door and drop the bolt across it. They sigh in shock, fear, and tiredness.
"What is that?" Ori asks.
"That. . .is our host." Gandalf replies.
The dwarves and Bilbo turn to Gandalf in bewilderment.
"His name is Beorn, and he is a skin-changer."
Oin checks his hearing trumpet to make sure he has heard Gandalf correctly. Bilbo looks to me.
"Like you?"
I nod as I lean on a wooden beam. "Beorn is my papa."
The others stare at me, eyes wide with shock.
"Sometimes he's a huge black bear; sometimes he's a great strong man." Gandalf explains. "The bear is unpredictable, but the man can be reasoned with. However, he is not overfond of dwarves."
The dwarves look at each other in dismay. Ori peaks out a crack in the door.
"He's leaving!"
Dori rushes over and pull his youngest brother away from the door.
"Come away from there! It's not natural, none of it. It's obvious: he's under some dark spell."
I growl slightly as Gandalf turns on the superstitious dwarf. "Don't be a fool! I have said before, he and Violet are under no enchantment but their own. Alright now, get some sleep, all of you. You'll be safe here tonight."
The dwarves start spreading out through the house. Gandalf whispers quietly to himself.
"I hope."
I glance at him as I hear the last two words before going upstairs to get some blankets out of the storage room. Walking back down, I begin handing them out.
"Here, there's not many so you'll have to share."
This doesn't seem to bother then as they take what I give and bundle up together. I smile as I curl up in papas large chair by the fire and fall asleep there, not knowing Kili's watching my every move before he too falls asleep.
The next morning, I am woken up by the thudding of wood and smile at the comfort it brings. I almost think that what happened was nothing more than a dream, before I open my eyes and hear the dwarves arguing as they stand by the back door.
I look to see them gathered around the door, Bofur stood on a ledge looking out of the window. I also notice Gandalf and Bilbo are missing. I jump down from the chair and walk over, standing in between Thorin and Kili.
"What's happening?"
"Gandalf's taken Bilbo to meet with your father." Thorin starts to explain.
"And then we all go out once he's given the signal." Kili finishes.
"There it is! Go! Go!" Bofur suddenly calls out.
I look up to see Dwalin and Balin walking out. I cross my arms and lean against a pillar, an amused smile on my face.
"Gandalf does know that this could turn wrong very quickly doesn't he?"
"He. . .may have mentioned something like that." Kili says quietly, a hint of fear in his eyes.
"Vi, is it true that your father once ripped someone to shreds?"
I nod. "It is." The others look to me fearfully. "I can't remember much about it as I was younger at the time, but the person startled him and. . .well, you could imagine."
Everyone went deathly quiet, even Bofur who was keeping watch.
"Alright. Who's hungry?"
I walk off, still feeling the eyes of the others on my back. I just smile as I walk into the kitchen and start preparing a breakfast of some eggs, some honey cakes and a plate of freshly baked bread with jars of cream, jam and honey-there's no honey. I look through the all the shelves in the pantry but find no honey. I leave the kitchen to go to the backdoor to find everyone else now outside. I walk out and passed Thorin to stand in front of the dwarves, calling out as I go;
"Papa, we're out of honey!"
I look to him to see a big smile pass over his face as he sees me.
"Violet! There you are, my little flower! You know how to worry me don't you?"
I just grin widely as I go to him. "I'm your daughter, it's my job is it not?"
He chuckles as he sweeps me off my feet, embracing me with one arm. I smile as I wrap my arms around his neck, kissing his furry face as I do so.
"It definitely is with you. Now, why don't you go get breakfast set out and I'll go get some more honey?"
I smile and nod before he puts me down and I lead the others inside.
"Would you like some help, lass?" Bombur asks when he sees all the plates in the kitchen.
"No, I'm fine Bombur. Sit, you're out guests."
I then whistle and sheep and dogs come in. The dogs stand on two legs and each take a tray to the dining table while I lay a tray of tea and mugs on one of the sheep to take in. I giggle at the look of shock and surprise on the others faces.
"You have animals serving you?" Bilbo asks in awe.
"Only when we have a lot of visitors. No point when it is just papa and I."
They nod as the animals set the trays on the tables and I bring in a large bowl of fruit as papa and Gandalf come in, papa with a few jars of honey which he places on the table. He gets me to sit down while he brings out some oats, nuts, cheeses and a large jug of milk. I sit in between Kili and Dwalin and start eating with the others as papa pours milk out for us all as we tell him what happened to us in the mountain.
"So you are the one they call Oakenshield." Beorn says once the story is over. "Tell me, why is Azog the Defiler hunting you?"
"You know of Azog? How?" Thorin asks.
I pause as I was about to pop a strawberry into my mouth as papa and I glance at each other. Neither of us like to think about the past much, we've never even talked to each other about it, wanting to put it behind us. But, no matter what, the past always has a way of finding you whether you like it or not.
"Our people were the first to live in the mountains, before the Orcs came down from the north. The Defiler killed most of my family, but some he enslaved."
I notice Bilbo seeing the remnants of manacles on papa's wrist.
"Not for work, you understand, but for sport. Caging skin-changers and torturing them seemed to amuse him."
"There are others like you?"
Papa pauses for a moment. "Once, there were many."
"And now?"
"Now, there are only two." I say quietly as I look at the table.
I feel the eyes of the others look between papa and I. I stand and excuse myself before I leave the house.
Kili watches Violet as she quietly leaves, her head lowered and her shoulders slumped. We all knew that her family were killed twenty four years ago, but none of us knew that it was Azog that killed her family. She and the dwarves have more in common with each other than he first realised.
"You need to reach the mountain before the last days of autumn?" Beorn changes the subject as he sits in his large chair.
"Before Durin's Day falls, yes." Gandalf answers.
"You are running out of time."
"Which is why we must go through Mirkwood."
"A darkness lies upon that forest. Fell things creep beneath those trees. There is an alliance between the Orcs of Moria and the Necromancer in Dol Guldur. I would not venture there except in great need."
"We will take the Elven Road. That path is still safe."
"Safe? The Wood-Elves of Mirkwood are not like their kin. They're less wise and more dangerous. But it matters not."
Thorin looks to the skin-changer. "What do you mean?"
"These lands are crawling with Orcs. Their numbers are growing, and you are on foot. You will never reach the forest alive."
Thorin looks shocked. Beorn stands up from the table and faces Thorin.
"I don't like dwarves. They're greedy and blind, blind to the lives of those they deem lesser than their own."
Beorn picks up a mouse that had been scampering on the table and holds it, all the while approaching Thorin. who is standing with his arms crossed.
"But Orcs I hate more, and I trust my daughters judgement of you. What do you need?"
Everyone seemed to give a collective sigh of relief at this and Beorn agrees to us staying for a few weeks to rest up and to give us the supplies we'll need. As everyone is talking, Kili stands and leaves to find Violet.
Well, there we go! The next chapter done! Hope you all enjoyed it! Don't forget to leave me your lovely reviews and we'll be back next week!
