A/N: Cameron finally gets to meet some Elves!
Man, how I missed my pony! We had been walking for days on end and I'm positive that I can't feel my legs anymore, apart from the pain that shoots up my calves with every single step I take.
"You alright, princess? You're running behind." Fili speaks up, appearing by my side.
"I'm fine." I mutter back, grinding my teeth against each other to prevent a frown from appearing on my face. I hadn't failed to notice how even Bilbo was walking ahead of me, but I simply didn't seem to be able to keep up with them, the dwarves even further ahead of me.
"Are you sure? We can stop and rest for a moment if you need to." He insists, a worried look upon his face.
"I'm fine, we don't need to stop." I lie while my legs are screaming at me to stop and lie down.
"If you say so. Just shout when you need to rest." Fili says concerned. He takes off in a jog to catch up with the rest, making me silently curse him and his energetic dwarf legs.
By the time I catch up with the others, them having stopped for some reason, there's a new person in their middle, talking to Gandalf.
"Uhm, I'm pretty sure I haven't seen you before." I bring out, making him turn around to look at me.
"I'm Radagast The Brown, milady." He introduces, extending a hand towards me.
"Call me Cameron. It's nice to meet another wizard, apart from Gandalf." I say, shaking his hand with a friendly smile. Apparently, he came to see Gandalf about a Necromancer. I had no idea what that was, but I didn't think it meant good news. Radagast seemed a bit strange, but he really cared about animals and I kind of liked him for that.
"What's that?" I look up, having heard the howl as well. Bilbo is the one who asked it, turning to look at me.
"Cam, are there wolves here?" He asks, walking over until he's right beside me, worried and a bit scared. Something felt off… like something dark was near, like… Lightning flashes behind my eyes, but I quickly blink it away.
"Those are not wolves. Bilbo, get behind me!" I order, pulling out my sword, Thorin doing exactly the same. The next second, two Wargs jump out of the bushes, one of them going straight for Bilbo. Before I can react, however, Dwalin appears, cutting it's head off clean. When I look around, still in shock, I see that Thorin finished off the other one. He turns his head as well, seeming relieved when he sees the dead Warg at my feet.
"Those are Wargs." I state, turning around to check if Bilbo was alright. He's covered in blood, just like I am, and seems a bit shaken, but apart from that he's fine, which I'm glad for. When I look back at the Company, everyone seems startled.
"Which means there's an Orc-pack nearby. We have to run." Thorin says, a stern look appearing in his eyes.
"We can't outrun them without our ponies." I say, frowning in worry.
"I can distract them." Radagast says, a determined look appearing in his eyes.
"These are Gundabad Wargs. They will outrun you!" Gandalf argues, clearly worried about his friend.
"These are Rhosgobel rabbits. I'd like to see them try." Radagast fires back, ending the conversation.
Soon enough, Radagast disappears onto the wide plains, orcs riding wargs immediately chasing him.
"Run!" Gandalf orders, so we take off in a sprint. For some reason, Radagast was running around in circles, which meant we had to keep turning and running back constantly so the orcs wouldn't see us. At one of those turns, I stumble, but Thorin grabs my elbow, dragging me along and forcing me to keep running. Once he sees I've regained my balance, he lets go, those blue eyes full of a concerned look. Suddenly, we're all hiding near a rock formation. I hear a roar, and Thorin motions for everyone to stay quiet. We all realize there's an orc on a warg above us, and I hold my breath.
"Kili." Thorin whispers, eyeing the young dwarf's bow. Kili nods at it, slowly grabbing an arrow. The warg jumps, and Kili quickly spins around, shooting it. It howls, then stills, Balin and the others killing the orc before he can blow his horn, but I know they've already heard the warg.
"Run!" I yell right when Thorin opens his mouth to do the same, making the dwarves take off. In no time, orcs riding wargs chase us, closing in quickly. Our group gathers, getting ready to fight. I end up standing next to Thorin.
"Stay behind me!" He orders, shoving me behind him to protect me.
"I don't need your protection, my King." I say cheekily, spinning around him to throw a knife at a warg he hadn't seen coming, effectively making it fall. Thorin doesn't hesitate to kill the orc with his sword, and I throw another knife at the warg, making it stop breathing forever. Our eyes meet, and there's fire blazing in his blue ones.
"You just called me King." He states, shocked.
"Aren't you one? Watch out." I order, making him duck just in time for me to grab my sword and run towards the warg that's approaching quickly. By this time, I was moving on adrenaline, making me a much better fighter than I had been in trainings with him and Dwalin. What did frighten me, were the flashes of lightning that didn't seem to go away, remaining in my peripheral vision. I was certain that if they really had been there, others had reacted to them.
"Give me a hand!" I shout, and when he locks his hands into a bowl, I place my foot in them. Without hesitation, he pushes me upwards and I use his strength to launch myself into the air. Spinning, I cut the orcs head off before landing on my feet, knees bent to take in the impact of falling.
"That was impressive, I'll admit." He mutters when our eyes meet once more, making me grin.
"And you said I couldn't fight." I run off at that, seeing Bilbo looking at an approaching warg with fear on his face.
"Over here, you fools!" Gandalf shouts, and I turn to see him disappear into a cave in the rock formation we were close to.
"Bilbo, run!" I shout, grabbing his hand and dragging him along with me. Kili shoots the warg that's chasing us with an arrow, and I flash him a thankful smile before pushing Bilbo down the hole, jumping after him the next second. When I land, it's rather rough, but Gandalf quickly helps me up. After a moment, it seems like the lightning has disappeared, which I'm glad about.
"Thanks, Gandalf." I say, throwing him a smile.
"Bilbo, are you alright?" I ask, turning around to find him dusting himself off.
"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks to you." He says, looking up at me with a smile. The next second, I wrap him into a tight hug, which he responds by putting his arms around my waist, hugging back.
"I'm glad you're okay." I whisper before letting go, making him smile.
Suddenly, I hear the sound of hooves hitting the ground, followed by orcs growling and screaming. One of them tumbles over the edge, rolling down to us. I stare at it in disgust, relieved when it doesn't move when Dwalin kicks it with his boot. Finally, silence surrounds us.
"Let us continue onwards!" Dwalin exclaims, walking through the cave. We all follow, Bilbo and I last, and when I look up I realize we're in some kind of narrow passage. Multiple dwarves have to turn and walk sideways due to their broad shoulders and weapons, Bilbo and I not having any issues with that, swiftly making our way through the passage. At one point, it gets wider, and everyone turns silent. When Bilbo and I reach the end, my jaw drops.
Rivendell. I can only stare in awe at the sight in front of us. Hidden here amongst waterfalls and nature were beautiful buildings that were connected by narrow bridges.
"Whoah." I bring out, Bilbo nodding slowly in agreement, standing beside me.
"The valley of Imladris!" Gandalf speaks up. "In the common tongue, it's known by another name."
"Rivendell." Bilbo brings out, making me nod along.
"It's the Last Homely House East of the Sea." Gandalf adds.
"This was your plan all along. To seek refuge with our enemy." Thorin spats out, not pleased at all.
"You have no enemies here, Thorin Oakenshield. The only ill will to be found in this valley is that which you bring yourself." Gandalf argues.
"You think the Elves will give our quest their blessing? They will try to stop us."
"Of course they will! But we have questions that need to be answered." Gandalf says. Thorin sighs at it, clearly not liking the idea.
"If we are to be successful, this will need to be handled with tact. And respect. And no small degree of charm. Which is why you will leave the talking to me." Gandalf decides, making me chuckle.
"Ooh, charm! Haven't seen that before on this journey. Let's go, Bilbo!" I exclaim, making Thorin glare at me. Happily, I make my way down the stairs that were at the end of the rock formation we were currently standing on, passing the other dwarves who didn't look to happy either about us visiting the Elves.
"Why are you so happy?" Kili grumbles.
"3 words, Kili. Smoking. Hot. Elves." I answer, grinning brightly. It earns me a lot of grossed out exclamations and gagging sounds. I smirk when I see Thorin choking on his own tongue.
"The elves are known to be rather good looking." Ori speaks up carefully, a shy look in his eyes when he gives me a smile.
"See? Ori agrees with me. You're still my favourite dwarf though, so don't worry, Ori!" I exclaim with a grin, making the adorable dwarf blush. I take his hand in mine, dragging him along with me, a smile appearing on his face. I liked Ori, he was just too cute and sweet.
Apparently, these elves have a thing for really small bridges with no rails, so I make sure I'm extra careful with my feet. I really wouldn't want to fall to death after all we'd been through so far. Plus, I was not leaving until I saw some Elves! Truth be told, I'd never seen an Elf before so maybe I was exaggerating things a little, but hey, I loved teasing Thorin and the others.
At the end of the bridge are two tall statues of Elven soldiers, leading onto a round square. We're all looking around, when someone else speaks up.
"Mithrandir!" When I turn around, I see an Elf descend the stairs towards us.
"Ah, Lindir!" Gandalf greets, a smile on his face. The Elf places a hand on his heart, then moves it towards Gandalf in a way of greeting him. He's very handsome, with brown hair and brown eyes, but what really intrigues me is when he starts speaking Elvish. I don't understand a single thing he says, but it sounds really mysterious.
"I must speak with Lord Elrond." Gandalf answers him in the Common Tongue.
"Lord Elrond is not here."
"Not here… Where is he?" Gandalf asks. Right then, the sound of horns being blown fills the air, making all of us turn back around. A long line of Elves riding horses arrive, quickly approaching us.
"Close ranks!" Thorin shouts, worrying me. I don't listen to him, but quickly hurry to stand beside Gandalf, who gives me a look that tells me Thorin is being silly and stupid. The dwarves quickly form a circle, holding up their weapons, a confused Bilbo being shoved in the middle of them. I did find it sweet that they were obviously trying to protect him. The elves circle around them on their horses, and I can only stare at their beauty, as the dwarves huddle around, ready to fight. The horses slow down to a halt.
"Gandalf!" one of the elves exclaims with a smile. He has long, silky black hair, dark eyes and a kind look on his face. He's also a lot taller than I am, matching Gandalf's height.
"Lord Elrond!" Gandalf greets, seeming genuinely happy to see him.
'My friend. Where have you been?'
'We've been hunting a pack of orcs that came up from the South.' Lord Elrond descends from his horse elegantly.
'We slew a number near the Hidden Pass.' Then, he gives Gandalf a short embrace, holding something in his hand.
"It's strange for orcs to come so close to our borders. Something, or someone, has drawn them near." Lord Elrond continues in English, pulling away from Gandalf.
"Ah, that would've been us." Gandalf says, motioning towards the rest of us. It's as if only now the Elf really notices all of us. Thorin walks out of the circle, Elrond taking a few steps to meet him halfway.
"Welcome, Thorin, son of Thrain." He says with a polite tone.
"I don't believe we have met." Thorin answers, seeming a bit uneasy to be around Elves.
"You have your grandfather's bearing. I knew Thror when he ruled under the Mountain."
"Indeed. He made no mention of you." I roll my eyes at Thorin's behaviour. Then, Elrond speaks in a language I can't understand once more.
"What is he saying?! Does he offer us insult?!" Gloin exclaims, an angry look on his face.
"No, Master Gloin! He's offering you food." Gandalf interrupts. The dwarves turn around to discuss amongst each other, and I roll my eyes at them.
"I'm no part of this." I mutter, making Gandalf chuckle.
"Very well then. Lead on!" Gloin exclaims, turning back around to face Elrond again.
Elrond smiles, then turns around, only to stop when he sees me.
"I see you have not only brought dwarves and a hobbit, Mithrandir. Who is this young human?" He asks, curiously.
"This is the girl I told you about many years ago, Elrond. The girl from the prophecy." Gandalf says, surprising me.
"Prophecy?" I ask, confused. Elrond's eyes get wider at that in surprise, and I can feel my cheeks turn bright red when he crosses the distance between us, studying me closely like I'm some kind of puzzle he wants to solve.
"I have waited a long time to meet you. What is your name?" He asks.
"I-I'm Cameron. Thanks for the hospitality, Mr… um, Lord Elrond." I stutter, feeling my cheeks turn even redder. A smile appears on Lord Elrond's face at it, and I freeze up when he kisses both of my cheeks. A shock of electricity runs from me to him, and I gasp in surprise.
"I've never seen anything quite like this before in my life. Mithrandir, I think I can help you with her." Elrond says, not looking away from me, an intrigued look in his eyes. I can't look away from him, eyes wide.
"Now how 'bout that food?" Oin exclaims, startling the both of us.
"Lindir, lead the way." Elrond orders kindly. Thorin grabs me before I can do or say anything, dragging me along with the dwarves. Elrond joins Gandalf, as we walk through the beautiful valley.
"Ow! You're hurting me." I hiss, making him let go of my arm.
"You shouldn't be conspiring with his kin." Thorin hisses, an angry look in his eyes.
"He's not the enemy, Thorin! Besides, you don't have anything to say about me." I argue, just as angry as him in a matter of seconds.
"My, my, Cam, these Elves seem to be just as smitten with you as you are with them!" Fili exclaims teasingly, not really helping Thorin's mood. I turn bright red at it, making him laugh loudly.
"Shut up, Fili." Thorin snaps, making his nephew run off quickly.
"Don't tell me you're being jealous, Thorin Oakenshield?" I ask, raising an eyebrow at him.
"I'm not jealous." He grumbles out, making me chuckle before walking away, catching up with Bilbo.
"I think Lord Elrond might know more about the reason why you don't remember anything from your past. He was acting really weird." Bilbo speaks up softly, glancing over at me briefly.
"You think so? It would be nice to learn more about it all." I answer, making Bilbo nod in agreement.
"We will find out sooner or later." Bilbo says with a smile.