"No, it cannot be..." the bowman whispered to himself. "Your kind was wiped out long ago..." He gazed at Thessa, a real mermaid, right before his eyes.
"I know you believe my kind to have disappeared, but we merely went into hiding, and for good reason," Thessa replied in an almost rehearsed fashion. "Now that your bow is useless," she eyed the snapped string, "you need to have it fixed or replaced."
"And how might I do that?" the bowman asked, clearly restraining his anger. Balin caught on quick and jumped in to salvage their situation.
"You are from Laketown, are you not?" Balin inquired with a small smile. The bowman nodded to him. "And that barge over there, that wouldn't happen to be for hire would it?" Balin gave him a hopeful look. The company all glanced over to the barge that floated in the lake water just a little bit away.
"No one enters Laketown without permission from the master," the bowman stated. They were running out of time, and Thessa was becoming impatient.
"What is your name, sir?" she inquired sweetly, her bow long since set aside. The man looked to the mermaid, still transfixed by her tail each time he saw it.
"Bard," he replied curtly.
"Well, Bard, my friends and I are in quite a hurry. If you help us across this lake and acquire some weapons and provisions, we will make it well worth your while," Thessa offered with a confident smile. Bard thought about her offer, his family could definitely use the help. But he didn't want to run the risk of being discovered and jailed, either.
"I can ferry you across the lake and help you find supplies, but it will cost you," Bard eyed the dwarves. Thessa knew that the company didn't have much coin left between them, so she had to pull some extra weight to make the deal go through.
"They can give you the coin they can spare, and for the rest... I will owe you one favor," she offered. The company was about to shout their protests when Bard strode over to her, extending his hand.
"You have yourself a deal, my lady." They shook hands, cementing their bargain, and Bard waved the dwarves over to the barge. They all stepped onto the barge, Thorin counting heads to make sure they had everyone. He counted thirteen dwarves and one hobbit. He turned around to see Thessa still sitting on the rock at the river's mouth.
"Thessa," he called over to her. "We are leaving, are you coming?" Thessa looked over to the company, shaking her head.
"No, but I will need my arm band back now," she replied. Ori whipped his head around after he heard her answer.
"You're leaving us again?" he gave her a horrified look. Thessa realized he thought that she meant she was leaving them once more.
"No, Ori!" she placated. "I don't have any clothes to change into, so I will swim alongside the boat." Sighs of relief met her ears, making her smile. She was happy to know that they would miss her that much, should she leave. She shifted her gaze back to Thorin, motioning for him to toss her arm band over. He did not like the idea of her owing a favor to a stranger. He couldn't help but feel like that would come back to bite them in the ass at some point.
Thorin huffed and took the gold band from his inside pocket, lightly tossing it the twenty feet over to the mermaid. She caught it easily, slipping it back on her arm. He watched as she dove into the water with her bow and arrows. The company searched the waters for where she had gone, only for her to resurface beside the barge.
"Hi, boys," she giggled at their startled faces. Bard smiled slightly at the mermaid, shoving the barge forward. They were now headed to Lake town and the farther they went, the colder the water became.
Thessa was swimming lightly beside the water craft. It was easy to keep up, but the water was becoming very cold. She shivered slightly, rubbing her hands over her arms. She saw Thorin give her a worried look, but she waved him off, diving deeper into the water. The visibility had dropped dramatically. There were rumors that some of her kind had moved to freshwater, but she never truly believed that. Besides, it was much too cold for a mermaid to live here permanently. She couldn't see very far through the water, but she could sense the fish nearby.
"Will you get the mermaid's attention?" Bard asked Balin as he steered around some rocks. Thessa heard splashing behind her and looked back to see a hand in the water. She poked her head out of the water to see Balin motioning for to come over.
"What is it, Balin?" The white-haired dwarf pointed his thumb over to Bard who was looking their way.
"My lady, I think it would be best if you would meet us in the town while we go through the inspection gate," he explained. Thessa nodded. That was a good idea.
"Where should I meet you?" she asked.
"I will have my eldest daughter, Sigrid, bring you some clothes by the far East pier," he explained. "Go behind the old fishing shack and you will see a rundown pier. No one goes there anymore, so you should be safe to change there." Thessa nodded her head. In the distance she could she the inspection gate Bard spoke of. She waved goodbye to the company and dove under the water.
She went far enough down that she could not be seen, but that also meant that she couldn't see very well either. She travelled father east, toward the old pier, dodging large rock formations. She faintly heard a shrill sound in the distance. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought there were dolphins in this lake. She stopped to look around when she heard another shriek. She should get to that pier quickly! She turned back around to continue when she saw a rusty harpoon pointed at her chest.
"Not so fast, kelp-eater," a shrill voice rasped. Through the gloom Thessa could see what looked like a mermaid, but nothing like her or her people. This one had a dull, grey tail and very pale skin. She had sharp teeth, as if they had been purposely filed to a point, and sparse, black hair. Thessa tried to back away, but there was another rusty, metal weapon against her back.
"Who are you?" Thessa asked with wide eyes. Instead of an answer, she only received a hiss from multiple figures around her. She felt a rope wind around her hands and the mermaid behind her pushed her took her bow and arrows and led her deeper into the lake where she could no longer see. She heard the shrieks from earlier and realized why they sounded like dolphins. They were using the same clicking and shrieking sounds to navigate the dark waters.
They swam for what felt like forever, but she was eventually brought to a halt. Everything was black and she could only sense the water that moved around her from the other mermaids.
"Your highness," a voice rasped. "A kelp-eater, from the Rhûn sea." Thessa felt the water shift quickly, and she knew a figure was very close to her now.
"One of Meveria's people, is it?" the other voice responded. This voice wasn't as shrill or raspy as the others. "What has brought you here?" Very direct, Thessa rolled her eyes.
"I was traveling on land, but I had to swim for a short distance to reach my destination," she explained. "I had no idea that there were merfolk in this lake." Thessa shivered aggressively. They were so deep in the lake now and she had lost feeling in her fins and hands. Shrill laughs echoed around her.
"We have been here for over a thousand years," the voice on front of her said. "I left my cousin in the Rhûn sea when she took the throne." Thessa gasped. Her mother had a cousin? Why was it that her mother seemed to have so many secrets? "She wanted to uphold the ancient ways. Protect all the little sea creatures rather than eat them. But I grew tired of eating those water weeds. So she banished me," the voice hissed. Thessa assumed since this voice had been her mother's cousin that she must also be the ruler of these merfolk.
"I am s-sorry, you grace," Thessa bowed her head stiffly, not knowing if any of them could even sense it. "I would n-not have trespa-passed, had I known the lake was oc-occupied." She was racked with shivers now and her teeth were chattering. "I just want to return to the s-surface, to my companions."
"There are others here with you?" the queen asked.
"Not merfolk, just dwarves and a hobbit," she explained. She heard some voices behind her whispering about what they thought hobbits might be.
"You may leave on one condition," the queen rasped. Thessa felt the water circling her and knew the queen was moving around her. "Bring me the head of the master of the town above."
"You want me to kill the master?!" she cried. "I can't do that! I won't!"
"Very well then," the voice hissed from behinds her. "Guards! Take her to the pits!" Thessa panicked, there was no way she would survive any longer down here.
"No, wait!" she pleaded.
"Yes?" the queen cackled.
"I-I'll do it." she gulped. She would agree to whatever she needed to in order to get out of there. She would never be coming back tot his lake, so she thought a little white lie wouldn't hurt. She felt the rope around her hands loosen.
"Girls, take her to the surface," the queen ordered. She was yanked by the arm back to the surface, but she was so cold now that her whole body felt numb. She needed to find the pier still.
"C-can you take me to th-the East p-pier?" she begged.
"Yesss," one of the guards hissed. She could feel the water getting slightly warmer and she could start to see a little better now as well. However, she felt sluggish and tired now, and just finding the strength to swim was an arduous task. Eventually they reached the East pier, but the lake mermaids had to drag her the rest of the way. She could still hear their hissing and shrill screeching, but it seemed so far away. Soon she didn't feel they're presence at all, and she floated in the water below the pier. The cold was all she could feel, her mind was slow, and she could no longer find the strength to move her arms or tail.
Thorin sat at Bard's table, discussing plans with Balin and Dwalin. They craned their neck around when they heard the front door burst open.
"Da, I can't find her," Bard's eldest daughter said frantically. "You told her to go to the East pier didn't you?" Thorin was the first out of his seat, and he rushed to stand in front of the young girl.
"What do you mean you can't find her?" Thorin growled. The water was ice cold and it had been over an hour since they had seen Thessa. "I'm going to look for her." He moved toward the door, but a hand on his shoulder quickly stopped him.
"No," Bard said, looking down at the dwarf king. "The master's spies will see you, I will go." Bard took Sigrid with him back to the East pier, dodging the spying glances of the other townspeople. They made it to the pier and behind the fishing shack, but there was no sign of the mermaid. Bard and his daughter scanned the waters for a fair few minutes, straining their eyes. Bard was giving up hope after a while and looked down to his boots with a heavy sigh. That was when he caught a flash of blue between the slats of wood that made up the pier.
"Sigrid!" he called his daughter over. "I found her, but she's under the pier. I don't think she can hear us." Sigrid had a panicked expression on her face, wringing the dress she held in her arms.
"What do we do, Da?" she asked worriedly.
"I'll have to jump in and get her, stay here," he told her. He strode to the end of the pier, looking around to make sure no one had seen them. He kicked off his boots and shed his coat, diving into the dark water. He swam through the icy water to where they had just been standing, and found Thessa's body, frozen and unmoving.
"My lady!" he called to her, shaking her. But Thessa wasn't responding. They had to find a way to warm her so that she could regain consciousness. They couldn't carry her back to their house while she still sported a shining blue tail and fins. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back to the edge of the pier. He hoisted himself back onto the rickety dock then reached down to pull Thessa out of the water.
"Sigrid, get some blankets from the house and bring them here. Quickly!" he called. Scooping Thessa up in his arms, he carried her into the fishing shack. There wasn't much there besides nets and hooks, but there was a chair in the corner. He took a seat in the chair and pulled Thessa up to sit on his lap, her head lolling onto his shoulder. He rubbed her upper arms and tried to use his own body heat to warm her.
"Da! I've got the blankets!" Sigrid announced, coming over to them as she entered the small shack. She laid them over Thessa's upper body and wrapped a few around her long tail. Sigrid left the shack again to fetch her father's boots and coat from the edge of the pier. Bard continued rubbing Thessa's arms, waiting to see if she would come to. After about ten minutes, Thessa began to stir and Sigrid had returned, only to leave again to fetch the dress she had left in the house when she went for the blankets.
"My lady, can you hear me?" Bard asked. She started shivering violently, but couldn't get any words out. She looked up from his shoulder with heavy eyes to see him looking down at her. Bard was mesmerized by her sea blue eyes. Her lips were blue from the cold and he felt the shivers wrack her body. It had been years since he had held a woman like this, and he had to admit, it was beginning to bring old sensations back to the surface. He slowly leaned down to her, wanting to press his lips against hers.
Thessa was still having trouble forming coherent thoughts, but she could tell that Bard was trying to kiss her. Surprised, she jerked her face away, trying to scramble out of his arms. Bard was unable to hold onto her and Thessa flopped onto the floor with a thud. She was still shivering and tried to use what energy she had left to trade her tail a pair of legs. Bard watched in amazement at her fins turned to feet. Thankfully Thessa was wrapped in blankets to cover her modesty.
"I am so sorry, my lady," Bard said to her, hanging his head slightly. "I don't know what came over me. Please forgive my poor behavior." Thessa looked up to him from the floor.
"I-Its ok-kay B-bard, we m-m-mermaids can h-have that effect s-sometimes." She gave him a weak smile, shuffling further into the mass of blankets.
Bard shook the indecent thoughts from his mind when Sigrid returned with the old, brown dress that once belonged to his late wife. He got up from the chair, replaced his boots and coat, and moved to the door of the shack, instructing Sigrid to bring Thessa back to the house when she was dressed. He walked slowly back to his house, letting the cold air clear his bind and calm his racing heart.
The dwarves were sitting by the fire, worrying about Thessa. They were arguing with Bain to tell them how to find the East pier when they heard the door open. They saw Bard come in, but no one else was with him. Thorin angrily strode to the bowman, grabbing the front of his shirt roughly and bringing him down to his level.
"Where is she?" he growled. Bard was concerned by the dwarf's behavior. This one seemed to react the worst when it came to the mermaid, he noted.
"Sigrid is helping her change into a dress, and then she will bring her here," he explained. "She was ice cold when we found her and had to use blankets to warm her up." Bard himself was rather cold and wanted to change out of his wet clothes. He yanked his shirt out of Thorin's hand and stomped back to his room. A few minutes later, the door opened again, this time with Sigrid and Thessa. Thorin bolted to Thessa's side, wrapping her in his arms.
"What happened, zaglamrâl?" he asked, leading her to sit in front of the fire. The rest of the company made room for her as she sat down. She was still shivering and had little energy as it was, and talking seemed to drain her. She reached her hands out of the many blankets wrapped around her to hover close to the flames. Thorin saw how blue her hands were and how badly they shook. He sat down directly behind his mermaid, wrapping his arms around her and leaning his cheek atop her head.
"M-m-mer-mermaids..." Thessa mumbled. The company gave her confused looks. "In-in the lake," she clarified. Now the confused looks turned to shock.
"But you barely lasted two hours in the water!" Nori cried. "How could there be mermaids in that dark lake?"
"They w-were different-t from my k-kind. Sh-sharp teeth, they used s-sounds to s-see in the dark," she stammered. They had made it obvious that they didn't care for the warm, saltwater mermaids by the way they had treated Thessa. "I had to m-make a deal, to g-get away." She felt Thorin's chest rumble with a growl against her back.
"What did you agree to?" he asked, pulling her closer to his chest.
"They wanted the head of the m-master of Laketown," she said. The company all took in sharp breaths while Bard's daughters gasped.
"You can't!" Sigrid cried.
"I know," Thessa replied, feeling tired again. She leaned heavily against Thorin, her eyes becoming heavy. "I'll never see them again after this, so it will be okay..." She yawned heavily and her eyes slipped closed. Thorin noticed his mermaid fall asleep and laid her down gently by the fire. He wrapped the blankets more securely around her and got up from the floor to rejoin Balin and Dwalin at the table.
He saw Fili reassessing Kili's injured leg. Kili was getting paler by the hour, but insisted he was fine. Thorin heard the door to Bard's room open and close. He watched the bowman prepare to leave the house again, this time to get the weapons he had promised them. Sigrid later showed Thorin to her room where he could lay Thessa once she was warm enough. Thorin thanked her and scooped up his mermaid, taking her to the bed and tucking her in between the sheets.