Chapter 6: Beasts
As Edyth wakes, she takes a moment to orientate herself, finding an unusual sight before her. Instead of the large window she usually woke up in front of, there is the burnt-out fireplace with legs moving about in front of it. The previous night she had been sitting on the lounge, resting against the armrest when the Dwarves began to sing. It was almost a lullaby – though she knows it wasn't even close to one – but the words lulled her to sleep on the couch and, apparently, nobody thought to wake her.
Edyth sits up, stretching out the kink in her neck, the blanket dropping off her shoulders. She looks down at the material, noting that it isn't even one of hers. Well at least somebody here thought to be kind.
Sitting on the lounge, she watches the Dwarves move around her, filling their packs, moving items around her house back to where they (surprisingly) belong. It almost looks completely normal again. Edyth realises that she has no idea what to pack. The furthest she's ever been away from the Shire was a trip to Bree which only took ten days there and back. Thorin had said they would figure out her supplies this morning, but her mind refuses the idea of asking him personally. Perhaps there is someone else she could ask.
Her eyes wandering around, observing her choices. Firstly she finds Bofur who she had a brief, but quite positive interaction with but he is quite visibly busy with who she discovered as his brother, Bombur, fitting all the cooking utensils into a series of packs.
Edyth almost resigns to the idea of asking Thorin but a blessing saunters in front of her with the same confident stride in his step as last night. "Fili?" she calls out, jumping up from her seat. The blond turns around, smiling.
"Edyth. We were wondering you were just going to sleep through all this noise."
"Well now that I'm awake, I have a favour to ask you," she says.
"Ask away."
"Thorin said that we would figure out my supplies this morning. I was wondering if you had the time to help me or know who else could?"
"Of course I can help you," he grins, changing his feet's direction to face her. "What do you need?"
Edyth opens her mouth to respond but decides it would be easier to just show him what she does have, and he can figure out what is missing. She guides him up to her room, opening the closet where her travelling pack is stuffed away, collecting dust. She has the few essentials; two water flasks, spare scarf, a coat, eating utensils, spare pouches to carry things on her waist. She allows him to dig through her pack himself then fumble through the rest of her closet for anything else.
"Well you're pretty much set, but there a few things I think I'd rather you have handy than not," he decides. "We can get them in Bree though. I doubt the Shire would have a hunting knife stall this early in the morn."
Edyth opens her mouth to retort but a snort comes out first. "Probably not," she agrees. A weapon. She needs a weapon. "What else do I need?"
"Some flint as well, you're going to want more leather for tying your hair back. A needle and thread. Maybe some rope as well. You'll want some dried fruit rations for through the day, but you can take some of Kili's and mine until we get to Bree."
"Are you sure? I don't mind not eating through the day."
Fili scoffs humorously, standing back up with her pack in hand. "Please, I know how many meals you Hobbits have a day." He walks out of her room with her stuff, still speaking to her over his shoulder. "Let's go steal some of my brother's food."
"As long as you take the blame when we're caught," she chuckles, following him out. Her smile drops slightly as she catches a glimpse of her brother's shut door. It was still an hour or so before full sunrise, and no doubt he did not light his timer candle to wake him up for anything since it is Sunday. And it isn't like he has a job.
Pushing herself onwards, she follows Fili around who is keeping his eyes and ears perked for Kili, but she can swear she saw him at the other end of the house. Satisfied, Fili begins digging into a pack hurriedly, pulling out two small pouches. He transfers them to her own pack before latching Kili's back up.
He then moves onto his own, pulling out another two and tucking them into her pack near the top so they don't become mush. "That should be fine," he declares, standing back up. His smile drops though as he looks her over. "Uh, you might want to get something more suitable to wear."
Edyth looks down at her own attire, immediately agreeing with his observation. "I'll be back," she mutters, darting back to the stairs. Inside her room – which she is sure to be quiet in since Bilbo's room is adjacent to hers – she opens her closet. Currently, her upper body is donned in a short-sleeved white blouse, cinching mid-way between her elbow and shoulder with a slightly puffy part. Over that is a red vest with five silver buttons. It is sturdy and made to be both flexible but supportive. However, her skirt will need to change.
Shimming the material off and tossing it on her bed, Edyth instead pulls out a pair of dark brown pants that would look black in low light. They are a little tighter than what men would typically wear, purely because they only make them in men's style, and she had to get a few sizes down unless she wanted to wear suspenders as well. Instead, she has cut a strip up the side from her ankle so the legs would fit over her feet and then fashioned a button to keep them back in place. It suits her well enough.
Before she leaves her room, her eyes catch a loose piece of paper sitting on her desk. She has to write something to Bilbo. No doubt he would realise when he woke that she left, but at least this way he won't believe she has been taken hostage. Dipping the quill in ink, she takes the time to write Bilbo's name, allowing her to think carefully over the next few words. They come naturally, a rude shock to herself that she had thought about these words before. Words of goodbye, a promise to return one day but not a promise of when. Once she reaches the bottom of the paper, she takes the rest of the space to sign her name as neatly as she can.
Placing the quill back in its spot, she blows lightly on the letter so the ink will dry but wasting no time, pushes from the desk chair and heads back towards the stairs. Bilbo still hasn't arisen. The Dwarves are nearly finishing and Edyth overhears that a few are outside getting the ponies ready.
Satisfied that the ink is dry enough, Edyth folds the paper perfectly and searches around for the perfect place the leave it. She eventually places it on his desk, his favourite spot. Making her way back to the centre, she notices the pile of weapons Fili had placed on her the previous night, still lying in their clothed bundle near the door.
Peeking over each of her shoulders, Edyth is sure that nobody is watching and tiptoes forward to the pile. She needs something to protect herself with. No doubt Thorin would object to her having anything pointed with a fear that she would hurt herself or the company more than anything else.
Unfurling the blanket, she is greeted with a plethora of choices that it is actually quite overwhelming. She can eliminate about a third that would be too difficult to conceal. Each one is a different length and size.
Her fingers very cautiously dig through the pile, pulling at small handles which have been carefully wrapped in fine leather. Weapons of a prince of course.
"Is our burglar practising?"
Edyth jolts, retracting her hand with a small yelp of both surprise and pain. Her eyes snap over her shoulder, meeting Kili's amused pair. He stands behind her with his arms crossed over his chest. It looks like he is almost smirking, but not quite sure if he should be entertained or concerned about her behaviour yet.
"Ow," Edyth mumbles, breathing out her shock. Her finger stings, a long line of blood dripping down into her palm. "I'm just borrowing one," she defends.
"Or stealing," Kili quips. Edyth doesn't reply as he falls to a kneel by her side. She squints at him, deciding how to play the game.
"You brother stole some of your dried fruit."
Kili raises an eyebrow, throwing his head over his shoulder in the direction Fili must be. He turns back to her. "Which one are you taking?"
"I don't know," she admits in a whisper. "I don't want to take anything he'll need or likes but I don't want to be absolutely defenceless."
Kili doesn't respond, instead, digging his own hand into the pile while she holds hers to the side so blood doesn't stain either of their clothes. Eventually, the young Dwarf prince pulls out a small dagger with a handle covered in black leather. The metal cross guards a polished silver. "It's light," Kili explains. "Easy to conceal and can be lethal." He holds it out towards her and Edyth slowly takes it with her left hand. "Just remember to aim for where you will kill them. You won't do much damage with that otherwise."
"And where's that?" she questions slowly. Kili points to his chest where his heart is, then to his eyes, temple and finally neck. "I think I got the idea. And I will give it back once I get my own. Fili said we'd get something in Bree."
"Hopefully something slightly bigger and more suited to fighting," Kili notes. "But I think you'll need some guidance before I let you use a sword. I see you've already hurt yourself."
Edyth glares at him, bringing her hand back closer. "Only because you took enjoyment in scaring me while my hand was in a sea of blades." It stings more than she wants to admit. Small wounds are always like that.
"Come on," Kili sighs, "we should get it cleaned at least before we go. Get an infection and you could lose your entire hand."
Edyth hums in agreement. "I would be quite the useless burglar if that happened."
She stands back as Kili requests a clean cloth and small phial of alcohol from Oin, their healer, before returning to her. They go outside where she can now see the ponies (and one horse) Kili had told her about last night. She distracts herself by watching Bofur, Dwalin and two other Dwarves she is yet to know the name of tying on the saddles and packs. She feels the sting of the alcohol, but she refuses to turn her head and make it worse by watching.
"All done," Kili says, patting her shoulder. "Bring your pack out. We'll load it up on Ginger."
"Ginger?"
"Yeah, the pony." Kili turns to the herd, pointing to a palomino one near the outskirts. "He's a cute thing but gruff. Just don't kick him in the sides and you'll be fine."
"Good to know," Edyth mumbles and Kili passes her to go back inside. Before he reaches the door, she spins around. "Thank you!"
Kili waves with a small smile over his shoulder just before he passes through the door. He is definitely a possible friend; maybe he is one already. And his brother. Bofur seems nice enough and there a few Dwarves that have given her kind remarks over the past few hours. They don't seem to dislike her as such, and more the idea that she will be joining them.
Doing as he advised, Edyth hauls her pack outside, going over to the palomino. "Hello Ginger," she greets with the utmost caution. The pony turns his head lazily, its beady eyes only staring at her. Slowly, she places the pack along the back of the saddle as she has seen on the others, tightening the straps. "You're not so bad."
"Prepare to move!"
Thorin marches out of Bag End, along with Gandalf who must have taken refuge somewhere else for the night. The Dwarves follow his order without question, making move to their designated rides. Edyth smiles tightly at Ginger, eyeing off the stirrups.
"You'll probably want to shorten those."
Balin arrives at her side, gesturing to the stirrups she was just staring at. "Oh, yes. Of course." She moves towards them, picking up the metal plate where her foot would go and runs her fingers up the leather strip. There is a buckle, making how to do so easy enough to figure out. It takes a minute of adjusting but she thinks they look short enough for her legs.
By the time she finishes, Balin has moved onto his own pony so Edyth glances over Ginger's back, watching the others mount. "Seems easy enough," she murmurs. One foot in the stirrup then pull herself up. Mimicking them, she places her bare foot into the metal ring and pushes her weight down. The saddle stays firmly in place, even though her entire weight is resting on the one strip. Ginger doesn't move under her as she mounts, even as Edyth moves her legs about once she is sitting in the saddle seat.
It feels odd and quite unnatural. Hobbit's are built for walking, using their feet. To ride a beast is to go against their very nature of design. But there is no way she is going to walk all the way to Erebor.
"Ready to go?"
Kili rides up next to her on his brown mare, looking far more comfortable than her. Edyth nods with a strained smile. Kili grins, gesturing with his head to where the larger portion of the group has begun to gather.
Edyth nudges Ginger – as softly as she can, recalling the warning about kicking him – and the beast slowly strides forward, naturally falling in behind Kili's. This is the moment when the panic begins to actually make its way to her face and her head stays firmly pointed in the direction of her home.
She has dreamed of doing something like this. Something insane and un-Hobbitish but never in a million years did Edyth believe she would ever be able to.