Author's Note: I'm going to update twice next week! My Christmas present to my readers ;) I know that sounds totally corny, but forgive me? I picked a particularly creepy song choice for a creepy chapter. Hope you enjoy. Thanks chibichibi98, Tulipa Negra, DwarvenWarrior, THE WALKING sexy AMC, oninhagb, Ashton Redde, jorja85, creepyLotRfangirl55, MNRD, TimeLady945, Just4Me, SwanInProgress, cauldron-of-ceridwen, UKReader, znk99fg7, house of the falling sun, SiaSaySomeday, and obsessed reader for reviewing. Also thanks for the follows and favorites! Answer to obsessed reader will be below :)
Disclaimer: I don't own "In the Room Where You Sleep" by Dead Man's Bones.
Chapter Seventeen: In the Room Where You Sleep
It had to be a seizure. No. No. Dwarves didn't get seizures. Or that was most sensible. What was sensible anymore? Rue was living in Middle-earth. That was completely unfeasible, but it was true. She could feel, see, hear, and touch everything. This was real. Kili having a seizure was sickeningly real.
Dwarves hardly ever got sick. Bofur had once told Rue something about how Dwarven bodies could endure things Men could not―like illnesses. Rue had seen a kid in high school―in her biology class―have a seizure once. And it looked exactly like this. Like―
Kili was thrashing around on the grass, eyes rolling to the back of his head. He was gone. The Kili they knew was gone.
"WHAT IS HAPPENING TO HIM!" Rue heard Thorin bellow from what seemed like far away, even though he was inches from her.
"KILI!" Fili was by his brother's side, trying to restrain him. All the Dwarves looked on, scared shitless, shoulders slumped in confusion―in fear. One thing was clear: they had no idea what to do.
Rue raced for Kili's side. Okay, she could do this. First thing was to make sure the person going through a seizure didn't damage their head. Rue yanked her dripping cloak off within seconds.
Fili was rocking back and forth by Kili's side, hands flying everywhere, from Kili's kangaroo legs, to his floundering arms, and then to his thrashing torso. Thorin joined Fili, dropping to his knees, trying to subdue Kili.
"Make sure there's nothing that he can hurt himself with!" Rue cried.
She knelt down, impatiently shoving any protruding rocks away or anything else that looked dangerous. With trembling hands, Rue inched the cloak to the back of Kili's head, stuffing the cloak beneath it like a makeshift pillow so he wouldn't hurt himself.
Suddenly, the feel of a strong hand stopped her.
Thorin growled defensively, "What are you doing?"
Rue sputtered in panic, "He can hurt his head―just let me, Thorin!"
He blinked in dismay, blue orbs becoming thunderous, but then―
"Listen to the lass!"
Rue jumped back as Gimli joined her. He met her eyes, nodding curtly. "What do you need?"
"Help me―" Rue awkwardly reached for Kili, trying not to hurt him― "Help me turn him on his side so he can breathe."
She sank to her bottom. Inhaling. Exhaling. Kili was twitching nonstop, flailing around like a beached fish, his body unnervingly inching closer to the river in his spasmodic movements.
Rue climbed to her feet fast, swallowing hard. "Help m―me move him away from the river first."
Without question, Gimli and Fili lifted Kili's jumpy legs as Rue slid her arms underneath Kili's squirming arms. What if she had fucked something up? She was no Dr. House or Dr. Oz. Rue could have seriously hurt Kili. Her head felt ready to explode, everything inside her going tenfold. If she had done one thing wrong, he could suffer internal damage or some other kind of damage for the rest of his life. Kili's shoulder jerked erratically. Rue gasped, nearly dropping him just as familiar, calloused hands caught his right shoulder. Thorin met her eyes for a split-second.
Grunting, they stumbled at least two-feet or so from the river, trying to softly place Kili down, but―
"I cannot―he's going to fall!" Gimli cried, Kili's left leg falling out his hands. When his left leg hit the ground, his jolting magnified. It was like some electric current had surged through his bones, like they had all straightaway felt some kind of shock. In a mix of ease and sporadic, Kili tumbled out their arms.
Thorin lurched forward, but Rue reluctantly stopped him by grabbing his forearm. The look of shock on Thorin's face scared the crap out of her. Raging Thorin was like a Kraken from hellfire. The thought of doing something wrong―of Kili's life being at stake―was a million times worse than Thorin's wrath. She remembered with seizures that you were supposed leave them once they couldn't hurt themselves―or that's what her biology class had done. Mr. Eckles had told them to stand against the wall and to wait…
"We―we have to leave him alone and just make sure he doesn't hurt himself," she squeaked.
Thorin's eyes flew from Kili's juddering form to Rue, as if he was having trouble trusting her. After all this time, after everything they had gone through, Thorin still didn't fully trust her. It hurt. Man, it made Rue feel like Thorin had punched her in the heart. The worst part: Kili's life was at risk, Thorin's nephew and Rue's friend.
Thorin had to trust her.
Swallowing hard, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, Thorin nodded once. With great reluctance, he stepped away from Kili's writhing body, shooting out an arm to stop Fili from running to his brother's aide. Before Rue could forget, she bent down, putting her cloak underneath his head, Gimli helping her roll him to his side. Fili gasped a whimpery noise, looking at Rue and Gimli suspiciously. Crap. She remembered at school the teacher had checked the tightness of the kid's shirt first before-before-
"I forgot to check how tight his shirt is," Rue said, freaking out as she checked the tightness of his shirt, trembling as Fili darted around Thorin, helping her loosen the strings around his tunic.
Dwalin was suddenly behind Thorin, his massive chest rising and falling. He shot Rue some kind of accusatory look before asking harshly, "What is happening to him?"
She spoke shakily, dejectedly, "It's a seizure…something humans get. I can't explain what it is exactly, but they―they shake like this―lose complete control of their bodies. People who have epilepsy get seizures, but um―um―" Rue peered at the woods, this gut-wrenching feeling that something wasn't right twisting in her stomach nonstop. These woods reminded her of―uh, for lack of better comparison―The Blair Witch Project. It was like at any moment she expected for them to get lost, go in circles, and then find some creepy stick-shapes hanging from the gaunt trees.
Kili had seen whatever the hell Gollum had seen. It sounded stupid in Rue's head, but she knew his seizure wasn't some natural cause―he was a Dwarf for crying out loud―no, this was unnatural, and the culprit was―the grass beneath Rue's boots was suddenly topsy-turvy―this place.
The last hour had been hell on Middle-earth.
Watching Kili go through a seizure…Rue's chest felt tight, her lungs breathing fire. It had probably been one of the most horrifying experiences in her life, and that was saying something. After meeting the likes of Azog and Wargs in Middle-earth and even after dealing with the crazy schemes Mom had thrown at her through drug-induced rages, Kili going through a seizure had somehow topped it all. Seeing someone you cared about going through something you were powerless to stop…it made Rue feel like a Spartan had kicked her in the heart.
Kili was resting on a bedroll, huddled in Fili's coat. Fili sat by his brother, one hand on his shoulder in comfort. Even Gimli stayed by Kili, proclaiming whatever the heck Kili had seen in the woods, he was going to decapitate it. Kili hadn't spoken much. Only nodding and shaking his head in hesitation, muttering a few words here and there, skin ghost white, and lips blue.
Rue was breathing hard, eyes flickering to Thorin, Balin, and Dwalin as they had some kind of pow-wow by the river. They were close together, voices rising as Dwalin pointed a jerky finger at the river.
"Restless spirits?" Thorin spat. He turned, his back on Balin and Dwalin now. From afar, Rue could make out how he folded his arms, how his anger was being misdirected.
Restless spirits? Oh, crap. She'd been right. It had been the Gladden―er, was it woods or fields?―that had done this to Kili.
Rue liked ghosts and ghost hunting, but after being chased by Goblins, going through a rushing river, and getting chewed on by Gollum, that was the last thing she wanted to deal with. She shivered, pathetically hugging herself. Jumping in the river had seemed like a great idea at the time, but now she was shaking like some helpless puppy. Tick, tick, tick. A mental clock pecked at her head nonstop. Rue stole a glimpse at the gloomy sky. Tick-tock, tick-tock. Maybe they were―
"Rue."
She was startled, whirling around quick. Please not some scary ghost?
Long, majestic dark hair. Lots of fur. Wet fur. Blazing blue eyes. Thorin. He was behind her, his gruff voice causing shivers to run up her spine. Hadn't he just been having an important meeting with Balin and Dwalin?
"Hey," she squeaked shyly, mustering a smile despite the millions of fears creeping in her head.
Thorin met her eyes, gaze unflinching. "Come." He turned, beckoning for Rue to follow with his hand. His hands went straight to his coat, Thorin's posture seeming…awkward. That was weird. Thorin was never―rarely―awkward.
"Where are we going?" Rue bounced on the tips of her toes.
Rue's stare traveled to the Dwarves. Most were now on the ground, sitting or sprawled out, panting hard like they'd spent an hour in the gym. Well, Rue counted running for your life from crazy Goblins and just crazies the Middle-earth equivalent of hitting the gym. Something was different about the company, the way they sat closer, the way they cast endless gazes at the woods…they were afraid. Rue shuddered. The Dwarves were actually afraid.
Thorin answered huskily, "To see to your hand."
Rue blinked. She peered down at her hand. Oh. No duh. There were tiny bite marks near her knuckles like a Chihuahua had chomped down on her. Rue hoped she didn't catch whatever the heck Gollum had. Thorin would have to lock her up in some dungeon and she'd never see daylight again. She'd be like Frankenstein―or, yeah…
Suddenly, she was terrified. Freaking scared. It was the first time Rue had allowed herself to really ponder over the possibilities of what one stupid bite wound could do to her. There were countless diseases, viruses, and things with names she'd never be able to pronounce. Parts of overdramatic House episodes flashed in her head. Cello. Cello. No. Don't think it.
But Thorin's strong, intense footsteps kept her going. Watching him lead her to the woods―lead her―forced Rue's fears away. Thorin always made her feel safe, braver than she could ever be on her own.
Within minutes, they were cocooned between thickets of trees. Thorin gently placed a hand on Rue's shoulder, the feel of his fingers making her dizzy. She swallowed hard, blushing like crazy. Thorin led her to sit on a fallen tree trunk. Vaguely, she remembered their conversation weeks ago in the woods during their adventure to the Shire. That seemed like a lifetime ago.
The silence pulsed loud, beating against her ears like a hummingbird's wings. She gulped, nervous. Thorin stood in front of her, reaching for her hand with strong, adept fingers. Rue thought of all the forges he'd worked in, how many hours he had probably spent using his beautiful hands to create weapons of destruction. And she thought her job at Wal-Mart had been hard.
His eyes were heated as he scrutinized her wound, fingers gently probing the punctures. Butterflies fluttered in her tummy. Thorin was touching her. He was actually touching her.
"I should have―" He shook his head, eyebrows furrowed. Thorin seemed…ashamed of himself. Without warning, Thorin intertwined their fingers, intensely passionate, hand clutching tight around hers in some desperate grip, his thick fingers avoiding her puncture wounds by centimeters. Their hands stayed entwined, Thorin's gaze steady and potent, blue orbs seemingly never-ending. Rue was getting lost in his eyes. Wait a minute. That was too cliché for words. She gave a little squeak, half-gasp.
He inhaled sharply. "Ruby, for―" His eyes fell on the dead grass― "I should have kept you safe. That disgusting creature." Thorin stopped talking at once, snarling, "I will kill him."
Instinctually, Rue wanted to reach out with her free hand and cup Thorin's face, to feel his beard underneath her fingertips as she stroked his handsome face. Of course, because she was Rue, she just stood still, looking like a herp derp.
"How bad is it?" she piped up, swallowing hard. This time she couldn't overcome her fear. She was beyond horrorstruck. Her hands trembled. Even her voice trembled. Rue covered her eyes with her free hand, feeling how bad her palm quivered. She thought it had just been a tremble, but damn had she been wrong.
"It shall heal," Thorin said guardedly, his eyes only leaving her hand for brief seconds to meet her gaze, "but I will clean and put salve on it."
Slowly, Thorin reached for his water skin, pouring some of their precious water supply on a handkerchief he located from―that was a good question. Rue hadn't seen where Thorin had pulled the magic handkerchief from.
Gently, as gentle as Big Bad King Under the Mountain could be, Thorin began to clean Rue's boo-boo. Softly, he rubbed the soaked cloth against the punctures, eyes downcast one second, then blazing the next. It felt like wild horse hooves beat against her heart. Damn. She was so nervous.
The feeling of his hands on any inch of Rue's body made her want to run like hell. Sitting there on a fallen tree trunk, turning fifty shades redder, legs jerking up and down, Rue realized just how pathetic her feelings for Thorin were. He was a king. She was a nobody. Definitely a nobody in Middle-earth. But even in her world, Rue didn't have some exuberant status. She was a college student working at Wal-Mart, trying to transfer to UOP. A cello major. Again, Thorin was a king. He was brave, loyal, and strong, so much more than she could ever be.
His intent words interjected her reeling thoughts.
"You saved my nephew's life. How did―" He shook his head― "I have never seen such a thing occur in a Dwarf. How did you know what to do?"
Rue shrugged humbly. "Well, it's uh…something that happens in the race of Men. Like I said, but I've seen it happen in school to this boy in my class. So…you can blame my teacher for teaching me what to do." She snorted at the stupid pun.
"It is not your teacher."
Rue blinked, heat pooling in her stomach. "What?"
"It is your doing," Thorin uttered, refusing to meet her eyes. "You saved my nephew's life. I am indebted to you, beyond indebted to you―"
"No, no. There's no debt." She grinned, shrugging. "We're all friends here. I mean, I like to think of us as friends… I couldn't let little Kili get hurt." Rue swallowed hard, willing herself to ask something that could potentially anger Thorin. Everything could potentially anger Thorin, so maybe this wasn't so different. Sheepishly, she started, "So…are they…I didn't mean to eavesdrop earlier. But I heard something about restless spirits?" There. She had put it out there.
Thorin tensed, his probing gaze finding hers. Suddenly, a blush crept up her cheeks. Sometimes, his intensity was too much.
"Balin has spoken of restless spirits roaming these lands for many years. I do not believe such nonsense."
"Nonsense?" Rue said playfully. "You believed in the Prancing Pony ghost."
Softness dimmed the vivid blue of his eyes. Thorin…smirked. "Balin says these spirits may hold great power." The smirk fell from his face. He was serious again, eyes lowering to her hand. Rue didn't need to ask what was wrong. Thorin was thinking of what had happened to Kili, was realizing how freakishly unexplainable the seizure was.
Silence passed.
Rue sat straighter, and then―
"You are too compassionate," Thorin spoke gruffly, stealing a glance at her before focusing on her wound again.
What? Rue did a double take. She sputtered, "Uhh…what do you mean? I'm confused, I'm―"
Thorin's hand was on her shoulder now, strong and tense, caring and feeling. He leaned down, his face inches from hers. His eyes were on Rue's, unflinching, blue orbs so powerful Rue swore she could see his soul or he could see hers.
"Because you were sympathetic to that creature, because I was not qu―" Thorin stopped talking at once, shaking his head― "Do not ever let your sympathy endanger you again, Rue."
She merely nodded, feeling overwhelmed by how close his nose was, by how she could see the exact shade of gray streaking his hair. It was more silvery than anything. Beautiful. Then a thought hit Rue like a freight train. Thorin had gray in his hair. He was older, um…a lot older.
"Swear to me," he demanded roughly, voice dropping low, his fingertips gripping her shoulder even tighter. Maybe if someone didn't know Thorin, they would have mistaken his touches for aggression. Quickly, Rue had learned Thorin felt too much. She'd seen private moments, times when Thorin thought he was completely alone with Fili and Kili, where he would hold onto them even tighter, demanding they never do this or that again. He cared too much. Felt too much. She was brilliant red now, so red that her ears were turning red.
Rue nodded, tongue-tied, Thorin's intensity strangling her vocal chords. Instead of saying anything, she reached her uninjured hand out, cupping his cheek. So many times, Rue had imagined what it would feel like to touch Thorin's face, to stroke his cheek and feel the scratch of his beard. Oh, gosh. She gulped. It was better than any stupid daydream she ever had.
His skin was rough, uneven, jaw scarred in some places. Rue caressed his cheek with the back of her fingers, loving the feel of Thorin against her flesh. Stop being a weirdo.
He was wide-eyed, eyebrows traveling up his forehead. And then―
Thorin flinched away.
It felt like he had used a knife to stab her in the gut, deepening the wound with the press of his weight, the flinch of his wrist. Shakily, her hand parted from his hand. Rue hugged herself, forcing herself to stare at the ground, to look at anything else but Thorin.
Rue's vision turned blurry, the world below her feet―the dead grass―sickly colored. It looked unnatural. Derisively, Rue mocked herself. The thought of Thorin ever returning what she felt was unnatural. More tears welled in her eyes. Don't cry. Not in front of Thorin. Not like this.
Moments passed. Rue wished she could get in the Millennium Falcon and go home. This was beyond mortifying. Thorin had flatly rejected her, and―
The feel of his all-too familiar hand ended her onrush of emo thoughts. Thorin held her hand, slowly leading her palm to his―
Rue's hand was back on his cheek. She peered at him, trying to decide if this was a sick joke or not. But Thorin stood taller, chest rising and falling as though he was suffering some serious anxiety. Attentively, his hand covered hers; allowing Rue to touch his cheek, to explore the beautiful contours of his face. He shut his eyes for a nanosecond, sucking in a sharp breath. When he opened his eyes, the storm that usually surged inside them was calm, was…tender.
Tentatively, Thorin's free hand reached for Rue's face. She withheld the urge to do a happy dance or faint. Both were pretty lame. His strong fingers brushed away the tears from her cheeks, grazing her flesh as if he was watchful of Rue's reaction.
"I did not mean to make you cry," Thorin spoke in an entirely different voice Rue had never heard him use before. It was deliberately softer. Gruff, yes, but gentler and huskier than usual.
"It's not your fault," she murmured sheepishly, feeling like she was on some roller-coaster ride. Her stomach dropped out from underneath her, tremors shooting through her body. Thorin was touching her face, brushing her tears away.
Thorin's Adam apple bobbed up and down.
"I do not mean to make you feel uncomfortable," Thorin said quietly, his hand beginning to pull away.
Rue had no clue where her balls of steel came from, but she was suddenly leaning her cheek against the palm of his hand, realizing that his palm buried the left side of her face. She didn't care. What mattered was that Thorin was right here; her brave, loyal, beautiful Thorin had touched her willingly.
"It's al―all right, Thorin," Rue stammered. "I like it―I mean―" She shrugged― "It's okay to touch me." What in the heck was she even saying?
Thorin's fingers curiously traced her jawline, inching up the curve of her cheek. Rue inhaled. Breathing was hard. Seriously, Rue thought she might pass out. Very softly, Thorin pushed strands of her crazy hair aside, playing with the ends of her hair. His eyes were moved, like he had just watched one of those emotional commercials about saving animals from abandonment. A faint grin tugged at his lips. Thorin had smirked. And now was grinning. Were pigs going to be flying next?
It was meant to sound like a joke, but Rue's next words were more pathetic than anything.
"I know my hair is Medusa hideous," she whimpered, lips quivering. Her eyes were downcast, puppy dog sad.
Thorin shook his head. "Do not ever listen to what that Man has told you." He continued to play with her hair, watching it in amazement. Eh? "Your hair is exotic. It is strong."
Exotic? Like she was some zebra?
Rue grinned. "Your hair is great looking. Majestic kinda. Actually, really majestic. And beautiful." She looked away, face entirely scarlet. That was embarrassing.
Then she felt Thorin respond. He gently pushed a piece of Rue's hair behind her ear. Thorin's fingers lingered in her hair, softly caressing parts of her scalp and hair. Her breath caught in her throat. He was staring at her with all the intent in the world, watching her with unguarded bewilderment. Hot damn.
"Your kindness is remarkable," he spoke heatedly.
Rue wanted to say she wasn't being kind by complimenting his majestic locks, but―
Grrr.
Thorin yanked Rue to her feet in less than a second. One of his arms was tightly wrapped around her waist, while he held out Orcrist with the other. A growl. They had heard a freaking growl. With owlish eyes, Rue scanned the woods, the gaunt trees. She gulped. If there had been something near, then they would have definitely been able to see it thanks to the skinny trees. All that was visible were the woods and river water snaking by.
Rue affectionately patted Thorin's shoulder. "There's nothing." His eyes caught hers, Thorin's mouth falling open before stubbornly shutting.
He didn't relent for a few moments, throwing murderous glares at the woods.
Rue followed Thorin's glares, chest tightening each passing second.
"You are freezing."
All of a sudden, Thorin was awkwardly rubbing his hands up and down her arms, gaze intent and determined. Rue inched closer to him, thriving in the warmness from his hands, from his body.
"I'm okay," she lied through chattering teeth.
"I will get a fire started."
"We should keep going."
He nodded, seriously appearing to consider her word. Who was this Thorin?
This place―these weird feelings―made Rue's skin crawl. Something had caused Kili's seizure. Something had drove Gollum back into the Misty Mountains. One thing was clear: they were not alone. And it was best to GTFO as soon as possible.
Hours later, they were setting-up camp. The company had been exhausted thanks to the Goblins and Gollum fiasco. Rue blamed Gollum since he'd been the "dear" who had hollered for the Goblins.
Between Dwalin and Thorin scouting the area for an hour and the majority of the Dwarves refusing to get back up after they'd dozed off, they hadn't made much progress today. If Rue could guess―which her math skills were lacking so her word shouldn't be taken too seriously―they had probably traveled only two miles up the Gladden River. Sure, Rue could admit to being a lazy ass, thus―she was learning to use Middle-earth speak―appreciating the slow pace today, but on the other hand, she wanted to travel at the speed of light, like Quicksilver or something. This place was really creepy. And according to Balin, they had probably a week or so until they got out of dodge.
It was nighttime now, the fire thankfully burning brilliant red. If Rue had to sit out here in the dark all by herself, she would have been peeing her trousers. She remained by the fire, hugging her knees, shivering from the cold. It was unusually cold here. She stole glances at the Dwarves sitting by the fire, noticing as they chattered quietly amongst themselves, little clouds followed each of their breaths. Really strange for summer.
Coyly, her gaze steadied on Bilbo as he leaned against a tree a little ways from camp. Forcing herself to stand, Rue neared Bilbo, trying to be as discreet as possible. She had to ask about―she-swallowed hard―why was this so hard?
On her way to see Bilbo, Kili caught her eye from his seat on the forest floor. He grinned at her. At first, she thought Kili was suspicious, but as she instinctively made a beeline for him, she realized he wasn't. He had been proclaiming to be okay, in all his stubborn Dwarf glory, refusing to state what he had seen. Kili had been saying things like, "I am just tired. Nothing more." But the way he peered into the darkness of the woods, his eyes going bulbous, blinking everywhere like firelights, it was clear he was anything but tired.
"Are you feeling better?" she asked, bending down to give Kili a love pat on the back.
He puffed out his chest. "I am fine. Thank you for asking."
They were blinking at each other, awkwardly silent. Rue took a step back, but―
"Thank you, Rue."
His words were nearly inaudible, Kili puffing out his cheeks like some blowfish. That was Kili's "I don't know what to do" face. He rubbed his hands together, seemingly searching for warmth. Stealing a quick glance at her, he gave her a small smile.
"You don't ever need to―" Her voice dropped to a whisper― "Thank me."
Kili nodded once.
Rue gave him a lopsided grin, contemplating bowing since Kili was a prince and all, but she thought better of it. She walked away. Casually, she shifted her weight from one foot to the next, coming to a stop inches from Bilbo. He didn't seem surprised in the slightest, his eyes drifting to the camp.
"Where is Thorin?" he whispered.
Rue searched the camp for any sign of him, too. Fearfully, she imagined Thorin stalking the woods, going about his business, stumbling across her and Bilbo right when they started discussing the topic at hand: what the heck had been in Gollum's loincloth. If Kili hadn't been so disturbed by the woods, Rue wouldn't have went through with meeting Bilbo after talking to him. Surely, Kili would have been suspicious. It looked like the paranormal shit going down had done one good thing: take all eyes off her and Bilbo.
"Him and Dwalin went down the river to watch the current or something like that," Rue muttered nervously. "Something about fish."
Bilbo nodded, gulping. His eyes were big as he gave the camp a final once over.
Then he was reaching into his jacket pocket, pulling out the torn cloth. His fingers were trembling. Rue peered down, realizing just how hairy Bilbo's feet were. It was something only someone of her low mental capacity would notice during an important conversation.
Bilbo beckoned her closer with the jerk of his head.
She leaned closer, suddenly feeling like they were in the middle of some Stockton drug deal.
Bilbo inhaled sharply, holding one hand―palm shut. Slowly, his hand opened up like some clamshell, unveiling the piece of cloth. Rue sucked in a breath. Between the folds of crinkled, ruined cloth was a gold―
"The ring," Rue said in awe. Maybe she hadn't seen all the Lord of the Rings movies, but anyone could recognize that ring. It had come from the hellfire of Mordor, under Saruman or Sauron's control―the Darth Vader of Middle-earth. Umm…well…one of those guys was the big baddie. She just wasn't sure which one. The details were foggy. Anyway, she knew Frodo was the one who was supposed to destroy it, so then why did Bilbo have it? But then again―
She giggled gawkily, clamping a hand over her mouth a second later after receiving a look of disapproval from Mr. Hobbitkins.
"What is it?" he whisper-yelled.
"I get it now," she muttered to herself.
"Get what?"
She nodded, speaking quietly, "You found the ring and give it to Frodo, who'll destroy it. It makes perfect sense. Bilbo―" Rue frantically placed a hand on his shoulder, heart beating faster and faster. Oh, shit. This was the one ring. This was under their responsibility or Bilbo's responsibility. Destroying the ring was supposed to save all of Middle-earth. Rue was nauseated. Talk about insane amounts of pressure. She squeezed his shoulder in reassurance. "Just keep it safe." If she had learned one important lesson, it was not to go blabbering on and on about what happened in the Lord of the Rings films here―in the past. Rue grinned humorlessly. "In fact, if you want, we can share it. I mean―" Her gaze shot down. Firelight cast a brilliant glow on the ring, making it seem hypnotic, so impeccable. It shone like some fiery jewel, pulsating, making Rue feel…weird. Shaking her head, she finished, "It's my fault we found it, so I should help you keep it on the hush-hush? You know?"
Bilbo cocked his head to the side curiously, his fingers closing around the ring. "Thank you, Miss Rue." Silence followed.
Rue shrugged like it was no big deal. Play it cool. Don't make it seem like the ring will save the future and all. Just a piece of pretty jewelry. Nothing more―
"May I say something?" Bilbo pursed his lips.
"Shoot."
"What is hush-hush…and―" Bilbo awkwardly rubbed his chin― "I just―well―just the other day, I happened to overhear a conversation between Thorin and Balin. Please don't tell Thorin I spoke of this? Well―Balin was wondering if you have any suitors and Thorin said; these were his exact words Miss Rue. It may come as a shock since it's Thorin, but he said, 'Of course she has many suitors, she is kind.'" He grinned cheekily.
Rue felt like she had swallowed her tongue. What?
"You may be speechless. So was I when I heard Thorin speak so nicely of you. But I am a Hobbit and I know these things. Thank you very much."
Then Bilbo was walking away―more like strutting in that Hobbit-y way of his.
A blush crept up Rue's cheeks. Um. Damn. Her heart was singing.
Two days of hell.
That was what Rue had called the last two days of traveling by the Gladden River. Weird shit was going on. And not the normal weird shit Rue was used to, like Kili and Gimli arguing one second and then having a civil conversation the next, or Thorin smiling. The winds were unnaturally strong for minutes at a time, so strong Rue thought she had landed in some hurricane. Then not even a minute later, the winds would be as dead as the grass here. These woods were like their own entity, like a living, breathing organism. Sure, from being on the open road for months, Rue had learned it was normal for creaks and cracks to sound in the forest like some grandfather clock's bong at the start of every hour. It was natural. But the sounds these woods made were not natural. They were creepy. There were far away screams, pulsating in volume, from faint to something akin to shattering glass. Not to mention the hisses and throaty growls in Rue's ears or the disturbing, never-ending feeling you were never alone. When you went to the bathroom, you thought that was your alone time. But not here. Here it always felt like something was watching you, plotting for the perfect moment to strike.
Rue was shivering in her bedroll, clenching fur blankets to her chest. Her teeth chattered, body trembling. The cold was another thing about this place. It was always subzero cold or what Rue imagined subzero cold would feel like.
The dead of night was the freakiest―or what Rue would have predicted to be three in the morning―time. That was why she couldn't fall asleep. She kept hearing growls in the woods, the cackling of dying embers from the fire, and the soft snores of the company. Rue turned on her side, breath hitching in her throat at the sight of Thorin sitting guard against a tree. He was looking pretty grumpy like usual, leaning back against the tree, small clouds following each breath he took.
Rue cast a glimpse to her left, to the eerily calm river. She did a double take. Bilbo was sitting on the dead grass inches from the river, face screwed in contemplation. He hugged his knees. The ring. Bilbo was probably thinking about the ring. Maybe Rue should offer to take it for the night? Bad idea. Thorin was keeping guard. He'd know something was wrong if Rue and Bilbo ran into the woods for a quick ring-switcheroo.
She inhaled. Rue turned to look at Thorin again, shamelessly admiring how his waves of dark hair cascaded down his strong back. His brilliant blue eyes blinked through the darkness, reminding Rue of how moths were drawn to flames. Her being the moth and Thorin's eyes the flames if that made any sense.
With creaky, achy muscles, she sat up. Rue stretched her arms, yawning.
"Why are you not asleep?"
Rue blinked stupidly, looking to Thorin. He leaned inches forward, appearing concerned, giving Rue a long once over.
She shrugged, blushing. "I'm just kinda scared."
Then as if on cue, a gust of cold wind flogged the campsite. Rue shivered. The dying embers dissipated, turning into smoldering coals. Without the fire, Rue could only make out Thorin thanks to the gleaming moonlight. His expression was solemn, body language defensive as he sat taller and puffed out his chest.
"I will not let anything happen to you," Thorin growled, leering at the darkest corners in the woods. His growl felt like a threat for whatever was scaring Rue.
"This looks like a breeding ground for dementors," Rue spoke quietly in case she disturbed the pissed off spirits.
Thorin nodded once, leaning against the tree again. "Dementors are the foul creatures from Harry Potter?"
Rue grinned. "Yeah―" Suddenly, she stood up, wrapping a fur blanket around herself, preparing to head closer to Thorin. She was determined this time to tell Thorin about Harry Potter. Nothing would stop―
SPLASH.
Rue turned. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight, fingers trembling.
A fleshless hand had burst from the river. Bone. It snatched Bilbo by his ankle.
And then he was screaming bloody murder as the thing tried to drag him underwater.
Author's Note: As Tolkien nerds probably have already guessed the Isildur and Gollum incident have heavily inspired this chapter, which both took place in the Gladden Fields. Since there were two deaths, both involving the ring, I thought it'd be cool to have this paranormally affect things ;) So I'm taking some creative liberties. Sorry for the cliffie. I wanted to recommend a Thorin/OC fic that's really, really good! And I'm damn picky with every Thorin fic. Usually, I dislike his portrayal. "Standing Still" by L.V. Owl does an awesome job of making girl-falls-into-Middle-earth unique and of staying true to Thorin's character. Hope you guys review and let me know what you think! Two chapters next week. Be prepared for a lot of action :)
Obsessed reader: Thanks for reviewing :)
Awe, you called it an adrenaline rush. Happy my writing seems like a rush. I wanted Bilbo to have his awesome Mr. Toughass-Baggins moments :) I like making my story unpredictable, so cheers that you don't know what's going to happen!
Thanks again for reviewing and being a consistent reviewer :)