Author's Note: I own nothing.
14 Finding the Sun
The company was quick to discover that Gandalf had not been lying about this forest. It was dark and close, overgrown even on the path. A feeling of sickness closed over them as they walked into the woods. It only got worse as they went further into the trees. The path might once have been nicely paved but now it was missing stones here and there, overgrown with moss and weeds. The trees grew so tall and dense that it cut out most of the light of the sun. They camped on the path, Gandalf's warning ringing in every head. They didn't risk a fire. Fili and Kili had somehow managed to get Thorin and Bella next to each other every time they set up camp since their last night at Beorn's house. It confused Bella, but she hadn't had a chance to ask Kili if he knew what she'd figured out or if Thorin had put him up to it. It seemed to annoy Thorin so she wasn't sure it was the second option.
By the second day, well the second time they set camp no one could really tell if a full day had passed in here, tensions were running high. A few arguments had broken out, though they took place mostly in Khuzdul so Bella wasn't sure exactly what was being said. Things only got worse as the days went on, or at least they assumed it did, and then they lost the path. Everything grew darker, the trees were closer and it didn't take Bella long to realize that they were going around in circles.
"We can not be going around in circles, we're heading East!" Thorin insisted. Dori snorted.
"We don't know which way East is in here! We can't see the sun and your sense of direction is not something I would ever trust." Bella frowned.
"The sun…" She muttered, glancing up at the canopy of leaves above them. She grabbed Kili by the elbow. "I need a boost." Kili frowned at her.
"What are you talking about?" He asked.
"Get me into that tree." She snapped. He complied quickly, knitting his fingers together to give Bella a place to step and reach for the lowest branch of the nearest tree. She stepped up into the tree, Kili looking away as he was very aware of his uncle watching this exchange.
"Enough." Thorin called out in Khuzdul, silencing the others as they spotted Bella scrambling up the tree. She frowned as she went, there were a lot of fine spiderwebs up here, she did her best to avoid them. "What do you see up there?" Thorin called up to Bella, not looking up. She poked her head through the trees and breathed fresh unspoiled air for the first time. She gulped it in like fresh water for a moment before looking around.
"I think we're further North than we should be, but I can see a river! And a lake beyond!" She gasped as she spotted the mountain on the horizon. It stood alone in what looked to be the setting sun. It really was beautiful. "I'm coming back down!" She called out climbing back down the tree. "I saw the mountain, it really is beautiful." She said and a few of the dwarves smiled, something they hadn't done since leaving Beorn's house.
"Where are we headed Miss Baggins?" Thorin asked. Bella grinned and pointed.
"If we head this way we should hit the river within the next three maybe four days. We should be able to follow that out of the woods." Cheers sounded at that and the company set back out with more of a spring in their step. Bella fell into step next to Thorin. "You know you can call me Bella." She said lightly. Everyone else in the group called her Bella she didn't really understand why Thorin still insisted on calling her Miss Baggins. He sighed and for a moment she feared she'd annoyed him.
"I am sorry. I do not have much experience speaking to many women outside of family." He said and Bella raised an eyebrow. "Dwarrowdams, female dwarves, are rare. Only one in every three dwarves born are female. I am lucky to have a sister." Thorin said moving a branch aside so Bella could pass more easily.
"I didn't know you had a sister." Bella commented lightly. She knew he was Fili and Kili's uncle but knew nothing of which parent was related to Thorin. For some reason she'd just assumed it was their father. She'd always wondered what it was like to have siblings, she had many cousins but was the only child her parents had ever had. Thorin smiled, a full smile, something Bella had never seen. For a moment she was struck with just how clear his bright blue eyes became when they were happy.
"I have a younger sister. Dis, Fili and Kili's mother." His eyes darkened again and his smile fell. "I had a younger brother once too. Frerin." One of Thorin's hands rose to the place over his heart where Bella had seen the tattoos on his skin back at Beorn's house. "He was killed in the fight to reclaim Moria." Bella reached out, not really thinking and took Thorin's hand squeezing it lightly.
"I'm sorry. I cannot imagine what it was like to go through that." Bella said and Thorin blinked at her. He'd heard some sympathy for his grandfather's death, his father's death and the fall of Erebor but many forgot about the others who'd passed as a result of the battles that had followed the fall of Erebor. He squeezed her hand back slightly. They continued to walk, though now in silence. It wasn't until they called a stop for the night that Thorin realized he was still holding Bella's hand. He dropped it quickly and assisted in setting up camp. They agreed that when they rose to continue they would send someone up into the trees to check their progress, and again when they paused to eat.
Thorin took the first watch. Once he was sure the others were asleep he began to think. It had been far too long since he'd last heard his One sing, since this quest first set out. But oddly it had not bothered him since they had reached the eagles roost. He glanced over the group and spotted Bella laying on her sleeping roll. She was deeply asleep, and her face looked peaceful, it was an odd contrast to the dark forest around her. He shook his head. She couldn't be his One. Could she? Hadn't she joined in the singing at Rivendell? But no, no she hadn't, even the Elven singing she'd only sat there and listened. Had he ever heard her sing? He shook his head. He needed to get them out of this forest. He had to focus on his goals. He needed to unite his people with the Arkenstone. That was why Bella, no Miss Baggins, was here. He sighed, he couldn't afford to be distracted by this confusing, confounding Hobbit. But he couldn't help glancing back over at her as his watch continued, wondering what she was dreaming of.