Aaaand here I am again!
This one took a little longer and I'm not sure why. I just got kinda stuck. But it eventually all came to me and now, here I am with another new chapter for you lovelies!
Enjoy...while you can :P
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After the dawn of the following day came, Aelin was simply sitting at a table conversing with Nori, Balin and Fili when she heard someone call her name and saw Dwalin approaching her.
"What is it, Dwalin?" she asked in reply.
"It's Thorin. He has requested your presence in the treasure room," he informed her.
She raised her eyebrows in reaction. "Seriously?" she questioned flatly. "He's 'requesting my presence'? He couldn't come ask me himself?"
Dwalin gave her an apologetic glance, heaved a heavy sigh and simply said, "I know, lass."
With a groan of annoyance, Aelin rolled her eyes and got up from the table. "Very well. I suppose I'll go see what his Majesty wants of me," she replied, emphasizing irritated mockery on the phrase "his Majesty".
"Good luck," said Nori.
After giving her brother a nod, she trudged off to the treasure chamber, unsure of what to even expect from her upcoming meeting with Thorin. Was he going to get angry at her again for something? Was he going to temporarily revert back to normal like he had the day before? He was becoming really unpredictable that it made her uneasy.
As she walked, she lifted her hand up and clutched her mother's pendant, which now hung from her neck. Even though she had spent years being angry at her estranged mother, there was something inside her that seemed to overpower that anger. She wanted to wear her mother's necklace to honor her, but why? Why did she want to honor a woman who left her and one that she never knew? Was it simply because her mother was a Dwarf of Erebor and had coincidentally helped her discover her true heritage after years of feeling like she was no one important? Perhaps that was it. Something in that discovery had changed her opinion a little of her mother. Nothing would change the fact, however, that Aela still abandoned her and was never a mother to her, but yet, Aela had still managed to actually do something for her, even in death. That one piece of truth Aelin had gained from finding her remains in Erebor was one that she would cherish for the rest of her life and that, she realized, was really the reason why she wanted to wear her mother's pendant.
Eventually, Aelin got to one of the platforms above the bright, glowing treasure room. She looked around for Thorin, but couldn't see him.
"You asked for me, Thorin?" she called out loudly, her voice producing an echo.
There was a tiny moment of silence before Thorin's voice responded back, "Aye, I did."
Still, there was no sign of him anywhere. Aelin rolled her eyes and called back in annoyance, "How in the blazes do you expect me to find you in this giant room filled with gold? Show yourself!"
A couple seconds passed until she spotted Thorin just down ahead of her step out from behind a towering pile of treasure. He simply walked out, looked up at her for a moment and then moved back behind the gold. Aelin proceeded down into the treasure room, trudged her way through the gold that moved and slid beneath her feet, and got to the pile she knew Thorin was behind. As she came around it, Thorin was standing in front of a small table covered in small diamonds and an assortment of gems. In his fingers was a silver chain and, as he withdrew it from within the diamonds, he revealed a large, beautiful necklace of white, glittering gems. He held it up with both hands in front of him.
"The White Gems of Lasgalen," he spoke with a pleased grin. Aelin wasn't sure if he was just saying that out loud or if he was actually speaking to her. Then his gaze shifted over to her as he went on to say, now clutching the crumpled jewels in one hand, "I know an Elf Lord who will pay a pretty price for these."
Even though she was confused as to why he was telling her this in the first place, Aelin decided to just humor him and go along with what he was saying. "Thranduil, I assume?" she asked.
"Aye," he answered.
Her next question was, "Do they belong to him?"
Thorin simply bowed his head in affirmation.
"The real question is: will you actually give the gems to him if he does offer a pretty price for them?" she then inquired.
He opened up his palm and looked down at the gems contemplatively. Then he gave his reply, "No. I have something better in mind for these."
Aelin's teeth clenched. The animosity between Thorin and Thranduil was bad enough. If the Elf Lord found out that Thorin had something of his in the mountain, there was no telling what Thranduil would do.
"What would that be?" she asked in reference to Thorin's last statement.
He then turned and looked at her directly. There were dark shadows under his eyes and the color in his face was beginning to fade. He looked almost sickly and it made Aelin's stomach twist. It was apparent that he wasn't sleeping or taking care of himself and she hated that.
His gaze found hers as he answered, "Letting these gems adorn your beautiful neck."
Her eyes popped wide, startled. What was he thinking? "What? You want me to wear that? Are you joking?" she replied in disbelief. "You should know by now that I have never been all about wearing fancy material things. That is much too gaudy for me."
"So you refuse me yet again?" Thorin questioned her.
"It is nothing against you personally, Thorin. That necklace is just not something I would wear. Besides, it is not mine to wear, anyway. They are Elven jewels and I will not wear Elven jewelry," she told him back.
Thorin's arm suddenly thrust out behind him and he tossed down the necklace back into the pile of gems on the table, sending numerous diamonds clattering to the floor and making Aelin flinch.
"Why do you even have those gems in the first place if they belong to Thranduil?" she asked him.
For a moment, he just glared at her. Then his eyes darted away as he replied, "Before Smaug attacked Erebor, he brought those jewels to my grandfather to be fashioned into the necklace that it is now. However, he would not give the rightful payment he owed us, so as collateral, we kept the jewels until he agreed to fulfill his end of the bargain. As you can see, he has yet to do so, so we lay claim to them."
"I am not even surprised," she stated. "Is this why you wanted me here, Thorin: to give me that necklace?"
"Aye," he answered in a low voice, looking disappointed. The look in his face made her feel guilty, even though she had no desire to wear such a piece of jewelry. Then he proceeded to just turn and walk away, saying to her as he did so, "As you were, woman."
He was definitely angry that she wouldn't accept his gift and had refused something of him a second time. Once again, he held the belief that she was a traitor. There was just no pleasing him and he wasn't making this easy for Aelin at all. Aelin rolled her eyes, sighed in defeat and frustration and left the treasure chamber.
Later that day, Aelin was helping Dwalin, Fili and Kili inspect the wall that they had spent hours the previous night building.
"Not a bad night's work," said Dwalin.
"It was still a pointless endeavor," commented Aelin, folding her arms. "The people of Laketown are harmless. They wouldn't just storm this mountain for anything."
"Aye, but Thorin's paranoid they will," said Fili.
"You're telling me…," Aelin agreed.
Just then, Thorin came marching by and ordered them all to follow. Curious as to what was going on, they all went after him, climbing up the steps to the upper rampart above the barricade. To their surprise, there were glimmers of gold spread out all through Dale as the sun reflected off of the armor of numerous Elven soldiers lining the walls. They were the Elves of Mirkwood, which more than likely meant only one thing:
Thranduil was in Dale.
"Well, that's not good," said Aelin.
In that moment, they saw someone approaching up the path towards the gate on a white horse. As the figure drew nearer, they realized it was Bard. He had survived the destruction of Laketown!
"Bard, you're alive!" Aelin cried out to him as he approached.
"Indeed, as I see you, too, survived," Bard called up back. "You have my deepest and sincerest gratitude for saving my children."
"You helped save my friends, so I gladly wanted to return the favor," she replied. To which, she then added, "You will also be pleased to know that Norin is dead and will no longer be a threat to you or your family."
She could see a faint grin on his face at hearing this. "That is certainly good news to my ears," he called. Then he turned his attention to Thorin and cried out, "Hail Thorin, son of Thrain. We are glad to find you alive beyond hope."
"Why do you come to the gates of the King Under the Mountain armed for war?" Thorin demanded.
Bard came back with, "Why does the King Under the Mountain fence himself in like a robber in his hold?"
"Perhaps it is because I am expecting to be robbed," Thorin shot back.
"Oh, please…," Aelin thought, irritated, with a roll of her eyes where Thorin couldn't see.
"My lord, we have not come to rob you, but to seek fair settlement. Will you not speak with me?" pleaded Bard.
Thorin's reply was silent, but simply an approving nod and then motioning to Bard with his head to approach the gate. As he descended down the stairs back down to the main level. As Fili, Kili, Dwalin and Aelin followed him down, they saw Balin approach him with a raven on his arm. Thorin quietly said something to him, Balin gave him a nod and then thrust his arm upward, the raven taking flight up above the rampart and flying to the outside.
"What was the raven for?" Aelin asked Balin as they got back down to the ground.
His expression was grim as he replied, "Something I hope we won't have to resort to."
That didn't make Aelin feel anymore at ease. "Do you really think this is going to go badly?" she inquired.
"Honestly, lass...I can't predict anything anymore," he answered with heavy sigh. "Thorin's behavior is a thunderstorm: there's no telling how long it will last and when the winds will calm or rage."
"You can say that again," then said Bofur, coming up behind them with the rest of Dwarves following him.
"What's going on?" asked Dori.
Aelin answered him, "Bard survived the dragonfire and came to the gate, requesting a fair settlement between himself and Thorin. I suspect it is to obtain the share of the treasure that Thorin promised them back when we were in Laketown."
"I get the sinking feeling that he's not going to uphold that promise now," said Nori.
The rest of them were all in silent agreement. They all had that same sinking feeling, too. Without a word, they continued towards the barricade, where they could see Thorin standing before a hole in the wall and could hear Bard's voice coming through it from the other side. Judging from the tone that both of them had at the moment, the negotiations were not going well.
"My people offered you help…," said Bard's voice, "and in return, you brought upon them only ruin and death."
"When did the men of Laketown come to our aid but for the promise of rich reward?" Thorin demanded, growing angry.
"A bargain was struck!" Bard countered.
"A bargain? What choice did we have but to barter our birthright for blankets and food?" Thorin exclaimed. "To ransom our future in exchange for our freedom? You call that a fair trade?"
Aelin had to turn away. "I can't listen to this," she said to Nori beside her, who was still facing the barricade. "I know that is not what Thorin was thinking when he made that promise to the people of Laketown."
"I certainly hope you're right about that," he commented.
"I know I'm right," she shot back.
Right then, they heard Thorin yell behind them, "Begone! Ere our arrows fly!" followed by an angry grunt from Bard on the other side.
Aelin groaned. "And that was basically tantamount to a declaration of war," she said, putting a hand to her forehead in disbelief.
Thorin then stormed right past her as he started making way back to the rampart to ensure that Bard was leaving, with everyone else behind him. Sure enough, they could all see Bard riding back up the path from the gate towards Dale.
"What are you doing? You cannot go to war," Aelin then spoke up to Thorin.
Without looking at her, he responded in a low voice, "This does not concern you."
Bilbo then suddenly jumped to her defense by exclaiming, "Excuse me, but in case you haven't noticed, there is an army of Elves out there! Not to mention several hundred angry fisherman. We are, in fact, outnumbered."
Thorin turned his head and, surprisingly, there was a small, confident grin on his face. "Not for much longer," he said back.
"What does that mean?" Bilbo asked, confused by Thorin's sudden confidence in the situation.
"It means, Master Baggins…," Thorin said to him, walking right up to Bilbo, "...you should never underestimate Dwarves."
Bilbo and Aelin both exchanged bemused looks, wondering what in the world was going on.
Thorin went on to say, "We have reclaimed Erebor. Now, we defend it."
Thorin, for the fourth time, then took to the stairs and left the rampart. The rest of the Dwarves slowly and sporadically filed down behind him. Aelin caught a glimpse of Balin before going down. He had a look of extreme worry on his face and she knew that he was afraid of what was going to happen now. In truth, that same fear was arising in her own heart.
Thorin first ordered a few of the Dwarves to send a giant piece of debris down upon the bridge to the gate, destroying it so no one could reach them. Then he ordered the company to make haste to the armory and prepare for whatever was to come and the Dwarves all obeyed. Aelin went down to the armory, but she was a bit perturbed at the rest of the company for blindly following Thorin at this point, They all knew that this was absurd, so why were they going along with it?
As the Dwarves were going through the assorted pieces of armor and weapons, Aelin approached Nori and said quietly so no one else would hear, "Why are we doing this, brother? Why are all of you blindly following Thorin and taking part in this madness? You all know this is crazy and that Thorin isn't in his right mind!"
"Aye, we do know that, but right now, we just need to go along with Thorin and not anger him. We don't know what he'll do if he gets angry in any way," Nori answered.
"But it's ridiculous! Do you honestly want to go to war?" she questioned.
"No, but right now, we don't have a choice," he replied.
"Yes, we do!" she countered, her frustration increasing while trying to keep quiet. "There was no initial threat from Bard or from Laketown. The only reason they're going to retaliate is because Thorin went back on his promise and antagonized them. They wanted a peaceful resolution. This is not the right thing to do."
"I know, but unless you have a better idea, then this is what we have to do," he told her. Before she could say anything else, however, he was called away by Dori and he walked away.
Fili then approached her, holding something in his hands. "Aelin, I found these in a bin over on the other side of the room. I thought you would be comfortable using these," he said to her politely.
She looked down and saw that he had two identical knives in his hands. The handles were made of gold and with silver linings along the edges and the blades were made of dark metal; very simple-looking fighting knives. She picked them up and gave them both a twirl in her hands. They were a little heavier than the mithril knives she used to wield and she wasn't sure if she liked the feeling or not.
"Well, they're not the mithril knives I used before," she commented, "but they should be suitable for the time being." She gave Fili a sweet smile. "Thank you, Fili. I appreciate you thinking of me."
In return, he gave her a bow of the head, handed her the sheaths that went with the knives and resumed going through the weapons nearby.
As she put the knives on her belt, Thorin's voice then bellowed out from down the corridor, "Woman! Come here"
She looked up and saw him just standing in place, completely adorned in gold armor except for his head. He looked like a walking gold statue and just the sight of him like this made her stomach twist. There was no possible way he would actually be able to fight in that armor. His gold-obsession was now so great that he felt he needed to cover himself almost entirely in it.
"I will not move from where I stand until you call me by my name!" she cried back.
"Now, Aelin!" he shouted, his voice clear with irritation.
Aelin closed her eyes and sighed as she then proceeded down the hallway towards Thorin, whom she noticed was holding something in his hands. "What do you want?" she asked flatly.
"You're going to need this. Put it on," he told her, unfolding and holding out what was in his hands. It was a vest of white armor; a material that she recognized.
"Mithril armor?" she asked in surprise.
A tiny grin creeped up on Thorin's lips. "Indeed. I cannot have my future Queen come to harm in battle."
She scoffed. "When you speak like that, it's a wonder you're not locking me in a room somewhere just to keep me safe," she retorted.
"Do not tempt me," he said back, raising his eyebrows.
"What is he doing…?" Aelin thought to herself. "All right, make up your mind, Thorin," she said firmly. "Are you going to be angry with me and think I'm a traitor or are you going to be full of lust and devotion for me? I am getting extremely mixed signals here."
He simply stared at her with cold, sunken eyes.
When he gave no response, she quietly sighed and looked at the armor again. "Why must he keep making me offers that I have to refuse?" she inwardly groaned. Then she spoke aloud, "I appreciate that you want to keep me safe-" She had second thoughts after looking into Thorin's cold, sunken eyes. She didn't need the armor; she was more than capable of handling herself without it, but should she dare refuse Thorin a third time? She was already pushing her luck enough.
"I'll pretend that I am accepting the armor and then after he's gone, I'll put it back. Or no...I'll give it to Bilbo. He has minimal knowledge of fighting and needs it more than I will," she thought to herself.
She took the mithril in her hands and then finished her thought to Thorin, "This is very thoughtful of you, Thorin. I will make sure it is put to good use." Which wasn't too far from the truth. She would be sure it would be put to good use; it just wouldn't be her using it. It would better serve Bilbo in the long run.
Thorin looked pleased, for once. "I had the thought that you would rather wear something of Dwarvish-make than Elvish, as I had tried to persuade you to do so before," he simply stated.
Aelin gulped nervously. Strangely, there was no malice in his voice; it actually almost sounded...sincere. Now she felt a small sense of guilt at thinking she would give the mithril to Bilbo instead of keeping it.
"Will you put it on?" he requested.
She nodded and proceeded to slip it on over her shirt. True to its nature, the material was light as a feather. She remembered her mithril knives being surprisingly weightless, which made their movements much more fluid when she used them. It fit her well enough; it was a bit snug, but it was armor, so it didn't matter.
Thorin was eyeing her up and down as he said to her, "You look like a vision...a true warrior Queen."
"Thorin, I am not a Queen," she replied, her guilt building even more.
He took a step towards her and laid a hand on her cheek. When she looked up at him, there wasn't really any sort of emotion in his face. It was just blank; almost lifeless.
"One day, you will be. I am sure of it," he said, his voice flat and monotone.
Aelin didn't know what to take from that, if she should be glad or concerned, considering there didn't seem to be a hint of sincerity in his statement.
Thorin's eyes then looked over her and he said, his face turning serious again, "If you will pardon me...I have things to discuss with Master Baggins." Without waiting for a response, he walked off towards the other side of the room where Bilbo was simply looking around,
Aelin watched as Thorin pulled Bilbo aside behind one of the pillars. She wondered what they were talking about, but decided it wasn't really her business. She would wait until later to give Bilbo the mithril shirt. For right now, she just had the urge to be alone. She didn't favor the sight of her friends dressing for battle, considering the cause for it was so trivial and could have been easily avoided, and Thorin wasn't making her feel any better about the situation. It seemed like he was trying to be genuine towards her, but it felt like it was forced, which only made her even more ill at ease.
She decided she was going to go to her room and rest for a while. At the moment, her head was spinning and she just needed to be away from everyone for the time being. With one last look at everyone still rummaging through armor and weapons, she turned on her heel and left.
Knock, knock, knock!
Aelin was awoken by the sound of someone knocking on the door to her room. For a second, she was a little groggy and rubbed at her eyes. Then she heard the knocking again and decided she had better see who was on the other side. She grasped at the handle, pulled on it and found a wide-eyed, worried-looking Bilbo on the other side.
"Aelin, we've got a problem," he told her, quickly ducking into her room.
Now concerned, Aelin asked him as she closed the door, "What is it? What's happened?"
"Thorin believes that one of the Dwarves stole the Arkenstone and has betrayed him," he informed her.
"Oh, no…," she groaned. She ran her hands over her face. "This is getting out of hand."
"What are we going to do?" Bilbo asked worriedly. "He's going to start accusing them if nothing comes up soon and we'll have even bigger problems on our hands."
"I know, I know," Aelin replied, her own worry growing inside her. "We're already about to engage in a war with Laketown and the Elves; the last thing we need is for a civil war to break out amongst ourselves."
"If we don't do something now, it's going to happen anyway.
"Hold on, let me think."
Aelin knew she had to think of something, but what? Thorin was going to be angry no matter what they did: if either she or Bilbo came forward with the stone or if they didn't. There was too much going on for her to process everything. Thorin was going even more mad by the minute and they were about to go into a pointless war with Men and Elves.
"None of this would have happened if Thorin had just kept his word and given the people of Laketown what he promised them!" she thought frustratedly, "They helped us and in return, we should help them! It was a fair trade and Thorin ruined everything!"
And then it hit her.
A fair trade...that was it!
"Bilbo...I think I have an idea," she said.
He immediately perked up and asked, "What is it?"
"It's risky, but frankly, I can't see any other way." She took a deep breath and then told him, "We need to give Bard the Arkenstone."
As Bilbo looked both shocked and confused, she went on to explain, "Bard wants Thorin to keep his promise and give the people of Laketown a share of the treasure so they can rebuild and all Thorin wants is the Arkenstone. If we give Bard the stone, he can use it to barter with Thorin and make a more fair trade. Thorin is desperate for that stone and would do anything to get it. I believe he will finally relent and part with some of the treasure to obtain what is rightfully his."
"Are you sure about this? Thorin is just as overbearing of the gold as he is about the Arkenstone," Bilbo said with unsurety.
"I know, but right now, we are running out of both time and options," Aelin responded.
Bilbo gave it some thought for a moment, his nose twitching in anxiousness. Then finally, he said, "All right...I will go down to Dale at nightfall and deliver the stone to Bard. But what about Thranduil? What are we going to do about him?"
Right away, Aelin knew the answer to Bilbo's question. "Leave him to me," she said.
"Are you sure? After what he did to you?" he inquired.
A cold chill shot through her spine as the memory of being locked in Thranduil's darkest cell came to her mind. However, she shook it off, knowing there was no time to dwell on that, and replied, "Trust me, Bilbo, I have a way to deal with him. There's something in this mountain that Thranduil wants and I know where it is."
"What is it?"
"A set of jewels. Thorin already tried offering them to me before, probably more to spite Thranduil than to please me in any way, but I refused them. They're in the treasure room. I'll go get them and then I will go with you to Dale."
Bilbo then got nervous. "You know he will be in there, more than likely. He'll think you're stealing them."
She scrunched her face in contemplation before asking, "Is it really stealing if he already offered them to me? Besides, I'm a former master thief. I can get in and out of there with the jewels with ease. If he does happen to catch me, then I'll simply tell him that I changed my mind and I want to wear them after all. That will certainly please him for the time being."
"I don't know…," Bilbo said, scratching the back of his head.
Aelin turned to face him and replied fervently, "Bilbo...I am desperate. It is so hard for me to even look at Thorin anymore. I can't stand looking into his cold, lifeless eyes or his stern and sometimes expressionless face. It is not him; he is not the Dwarf that I love. He is nothing but the shell of the Thorin we all know. We need him back; I need him back. Right now, I can see no other options. I need you to trust me, Bilbo. I need you on my side."
"I am on your side, Aelin," he said to her immediately, "and you know that I trust you."
"Good. i know the others want to see Thorin back, but none of them will do anything. They are all blindly following him just to appease him. I'm glad that you're willing to take action."
"Of course. Thorin is my friend as much as anyone else's here. I've hated sitting idly by and I can't anymore. We'll make for Dale together tonight at nightfall."
With a confirming nod, Aelin stated, "I'll go to the treasure room now. You find a way to make sure we can sneak out of here tonight. And by the way…." She then proceeded to remove the mithril shirt she was wearing over her clothes and she handed it over to Bilbo. "This is mithril armor; the finest and toughest chainmail you could ever receive. You will need it more than I will."
"Thank you," Bilbo said kindly.
With that, Aelin turned and walked out of the room.
However, Bilbo remained briefly in place, wringing his hands together nervously. He hadn't quite told Aelin the whole truth and he felt incredibly guilty for it. He knew he couldn't tell her because it would break her heart; it would destroy her. He had to keep it to himself for now for her sake and he sincerely hoped that it wouldn't end badly.
Yes, Thorin did suspect that one of the Dwarves had taken the Arkenstone...but he had been very specific with Bilbo about whom he suspected.
Thorin believed Aelin was the thief.
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...uh-oh...! :/
Yeah...things are not going to go well here soon...and frankly, I'm dreading writing it...but the next chapter is currently underway!
It's about to be a pretty bumpy, wild ride here soon. So strap yourselves in, folks!
Leave a review or send a PM my way if you liked this chapter! See you all soon!