Hi everyone! I'm sorry this chapter has taken so long to get up. Between Zoom university, family drama, preparing for finals, and editing a friend's fic, I've not had a whole lot of time to devote to this story.
And hoo boy, this chapter needed a ton of work. Seriously, I hadn't touched it in half a year. It's a bit shorter than my last chapter, but I'm happy with it now, and it's much better than it was. I hope you enjoy, and happy reading!
In the morning, most of the dwarves make it a point to seek me out and bid me a "Good morning Miss Aspen." Though I am wryly amused that it took my tears to get them to this point, I'm grateful all the same. The rain doesn't stop or let up as we slog onward, only getting worse. By the time we reach a river crossing I'm sure that the Valar are purposefully toying with us, though why they would do so I cannot imagine.
One by one the company crosses with no issues despite the downpour and the swift current, the water only coming up to just above their waists. At the end when I'm leading one of the supply ponies across, its footing slips and it flails, hooves flying. I try my best to grab the reins, but it gets swept away downriver along with most of our food. Fili and Kili immediately jump in to try to save the poor pony, but almost drown themselves in the process. After they are rescued and Oin clears the two soaked dwarves for travel, we continue on.
"Aspen? Are you alright?" I look up and see Bombur peering at me, worry in his eyes. "I'm fine," I reply, but this isn't entirely true. I was knocked slightly by the pony's hooves earlier, and I would tell Oin, but I don't think my injuries are too serious. Not serious enough to anger Thorin more, who snaps at Bombur to stop dawdling. Flustered, Bombur hurries on, and Thorin calls me over to his side. My stomach knots.
"I thought you said my nephews would possibly die at the mountain, not drowning in a river. And you did not tell me that we were going to lose a pony. We have lost the majority of our food supplies and a half days traveling. Foolish girl."
His glare blisters my face as he spits the words at me. I want to cower, but to do so would not help my position in the company, nor would it ensure that I continue to have employment during my stay in Middle Earth.
So I do what I don't want to. I look Thorin straight in the eye, take a deep breath, and respond as calmly and quietly as I can. "Thorin, I'm sorry that we lost a pony, and I'm sorry that I didn't remember the river. If I had, I would have told you. But I also said when you first hired me that I can't remember everything that was ever written in the book. And it's entirely possible that some things are going to happen that weren't written in the book at all. You cannot blame me for this."
Thorin's eyes tell me he's going to blame me anyway.
But he doesn't respond and turns away from me to confer with Balin. I ride by his side for the rest of the afternoon, though we don't say anything to each other. The next day however, when Balin spots a light through the trees, Thorin shoots me a wary glance. I shake my head and Thorin immediately commands the company, "Do not go near it. We will go around." We do exactly that, skirting wide around the site and leaving it far behind.
The day is long and humid, and by the time we settle at an abandoned farm for the night, everyone is sweaty and tired. Thorin orders Fili, Kili, and I to look after the ponies. After everyone's dismounted, we gather them up and head into the trees. I'm in the process of brushing one of them down when I hear a voice say, "Miss Aspen?"
I turn to see Kili and Fili standing side by side with sheepish looks on their faces. "Yes?" "We wanted to apologize—""For ignoring you—" "Well we weren't doing it on purpose—" "I guess it wasn't technically ignoring you—" "Perhaps avoiding instead of ignoring—" "But we definitely were avoiding you. And for that we apologize."
I take the time to study them, waiting to see what they will do. Kili fidgets with his hands, while something behind me has captured Fili's interest.
I smile. "No worries," I assure them. "I'm just glad that you weren't going to avoid me forever." Kili and Fili look relieved, and start peppering me with questions about my family, where I'm from, how old I am. This is how they gleefully discover I'm 20, a child in a dwarf's eyes, compared to their respective ages of 77 and 82.
I have to weave an intricate and completely fake backstory to avoid talking about my real world, and I bless the day my brother recommended Tolkien's books to me. Only when Bilbo arrives with soup does the questioning stop.
By this time it is quite dark, and I realize that we are short two ponies. How did that happen? Fili and Kili and I were all on watch looking after them. "Fili, Kili, we've encountered a slight problem. We're supposed to have sixteen ponies. Only now there's fourteen." Kili's eyes widen, and he does a quick scan. "Daisy and Bungle are missing."
Bilbo gives a hysterical little laugh. "Well that's not good. And that's not good at all," he says upon seeing an uprooted tree. I blink. How did something large enough to uproot a tree slip past two dwarves and a human, making off with two ponies? "Shouldn't we tell Thorin?" Bilbo questions.
Fili immediately shoots that idea down. "Uh no, let's not worry him. As our official burglar we thought you might like to look into it." Bilbo stammers, looking around and guessing the obvious, while I spy firelight in the distance. Nudging Fili, I nod towards it, and he immediately calls for Bilbo and Kili to follow him. I follow at a slower pace, noting the smell of muted earth. The trolls were here a couple of days ago, and now they've returned.
We didn't go far enough. We did our best, and yet we're still in the troll's area. There's no other explanation why two ponies would go missing, or how a tree could be uprooted. Dread curls in my stomach.
As I catch up with the others we are even treated to a close up of a troll making off with Myrtle and Minty, much to Bilbo's indignation. And just beyond our shield of a fallen log, I spy the ponies, a bubbling cauldron, and—
Oh.
They're so much bigger than I imagined.
Before I know it Fili and Kili have taken the soup bowls out of Bilbo's hands, given him instructions on how to hoot like a barn owl or a brown owl or a something, and pushed him towards the trolls. "Hey!" I hiss softly, catching their attention. "Are you sure pushing a hobbit towards trolls is a good idea?"
Kili rushes to assure me while Fili gulps his soup. "Mountain trolls are slow and stupid, and he's so small they'll never see him! It's perfect!" I frown. "You do know that Bilbo has no fighting experience whatsoever right? If he's caught, he's dead." This statement has them sobering up a little bit, and Fili says, "We'll stay here to watch over Bilbo. You run back and warn the others." I nod, then rush back the way we came, heart pounding in fear.
"Thorin!" I call when I reach the edge of the camp. His head snaps up immediately from sharpening his sword, and I hurry over to him, catching the attention of the rest of the company.
"The trolls! They've taken four of the ponies and Bilbo's trying to rescue them but I think he's in danger and Fili and Kili are trying to make sure he doesn't die but there's more trolls than I think they can handle!" The words rush and spill, tripping over each other, and Thorin's eyes widen. He bites out an angry sounding curse, pulling a knife from his belt and shoving it into my hands.
"Stay here and watch the camp. Do not follow us and do not get caught by those trolls." He rushes off towards the woods followed by the rest of the company, leaving me alone with a burning fire and scattered packs.
I sit, helping myself to a few bites of soup, then wipe my mouth on my sleeve. I start pacing, unable to sit still. I fancy that I can hear the sounds of shouting and clashing metal from a distance, but I tell myself I'm imagining things.
The more I think about the whole situation, the more I suspect foul play. Thorin and I both did our best to avoid the trolls, and yet here they are. I made sure all of the ponies were securely tied, and Kili double-checked my work. And yet here we are.
Grabbing a long stick from the fire and walking back to the rest of the ponies, I check to make sure the pickets are secured, then the pickets for the four missing ponies. The ropes are cut. Holding my makeshift torch close to the forest floor, I see signs of a scuffle, the earth shoved into little heaps that I imagine came from skidding hooves or feet.
Hours pass as I sit with the ponies, the camp in my line of sight. I can no longer ignore the warning from my instincts, and I mentally prepare myself for a thorough scolding from Thorin later as I sneak back towards the trolls.
Peering out from the bushes when I reach the clearing, I immediately clap a hand to my mouth to keep from crying out. The company has all been bagged and lumped together like sacks of flour, and a few unfortunate dwarves have been tied to a spit and are now roasting over a huge fire.
The trolls have every intention of eating the company. Of course.
I swallow, seeking out Thorin and finding him lying at the edge of the dwarves in the pile, half hidden in shadow. I pick out my route and then steal my way over to him as quietly as I can, freezing when a twig snaps beneath my boot. The trolls are too busy growling at each other to notice, and I continue to creep over to the dwarves.
How are they still alive? Have the trolls just been swapping recipes with each other instead of snacking on dwarf? I'm not going to complain.
To his credit, Thorin doesn't jump when I appear beside him. I share a look with him as Bilbo starts to distract the trolls, and I pray that he keeps their attention as I pull out the knife Thorin gave me earlier. I make a small cut through the burlap fabric to reveal his bound hands. I'm sawing through those when Thorin hisses through clenched teeth, "Get down."
Immediately I drop down flat on my stomach, making sure the knife is concealed between my body and his.
Thorin rolls as I press tightly against him, praying that I'm shielded from sight. Whatever is happening is out of my vision, but I hear plenty. "Not- not that one! He's infected!" Bilbo yells hastily. The trolls gasp. "You wot?" one of them questions. "He's got worms…in his…tubes," Bilbo finishes, casting about for a valid reason. Seconds later a dwarf lands on top of the pile of dwarves, causing a loud chorus of cries.
Bilbo continues, "In fact they're all infected, they're infested with parasites! It's a terrible business! I wouldn't risk it. I really wouldn't." At this the dwarves start protesting loudly, with Kili being the loudest and proclaiming to the entirety of Middle Earth that he doesn't have parasites.
"Stupid idiots!" I mutter. "Thorin shut them up!" Thorin kicks them as best he can manage and for a split second there's silence.
Then I hear one of them pipe up, "I've got parasites as big as my arm," and Kili say, "Mine are the biggest parasites—I've got huge parasites!" "We're riddled—yes, yes we're riddled with parasites!"
Well. If that's what they want to say. I'm pleased that the dwarves seem to have finally caught on to Bilbo's plan, but shouldn't Gandalf be here by now?
"Wot would you have us do then? Let them all go?" one of the trolls sneers. "You think I don't know what you're up to? This little ferret is taking us for fools!" "Ferret?" Bilbo squawks indignantly. The troll starts poking at Bilbo, and I know that our time is up. I have to do something.
Knowing I risk being seen, I reach over to quickly cut through the rest of Thorin's ropes and pray dawn isn't far off. When I finish, I press the knife into his hands and whisper, "I have to leave now and try to distract the trolls. If I don't do something you'll all be eaten. Try to free as many as you can."
Thorin's eyes widen, and he reaches for me as he whispers, "Aspen, no!" But I'm already slipping away, gripping my smoldering stick. I find a sturdy tree and haul myself up to about fifteen feet, the stick wedged between my teeth.
Thorin owes me. Big time.
Out of the corner of my eye I can see the dwarf in question looking murderous as he discreetly saws through Balin's ropes. Suddenly, Bilbo and the troll grab my attention, as the troll has picked him up and is shaking him like a rag doll.
Without hesitation, I grip the trunk and throw my stick as best I can, yelling in the most foreboding voice I can muster, "Put him down now!" My stick whacks the troll in the arm, and he's so surprised that his hand opens on reflex and Bilbo drops out. Bilbo shuffles back as best he can towards the dwarves and I breathe a quick sigh of relief on his behalf.
Of course now I have to worry about the troll roaring, "Come out! Show yerself ya witch!" I laugh at this, remembering how Thorin also called me a witch when I first met him. Instead I jeer, "Let the dwarves go, and I will let you crawl back to your hoard in peace!"
One of the other trolls protests at this, saying, "Let 'em all go? Tha's our supper and I'm hungry! I'm no' eating mutton again!" "Quiet!" another barks, stalking towards my voice. "Where are you witch?" one yells. "Come and find me—if you can!" I taunt them. The trolls growl, sweeping the area.
The great thing about being in a tree is that no one expects to find you there. The not-so-great thing about being in a tree is that once you are found, you can't run and you can't hide. Snarling, a troll swipes at me. Somehow I manage to swing about and dodge, using the trunk to shield myself. The tree shudders, and after another blow I hear a crack.
Then I'm falling, clinging to the trunk for dear life. I hit the ground and scramble up, running about the clearing, trying to dodge the fallen tree and grabbing hands. This is harder than it looks, and I have several narrow escapes as I skid about. I'm pretty sure I swallow a couple of mouthfuls of dirt. The dwarves are all calling encouragement, even the ones roasting on the spit. I spy a boulder on the other side of the clearing, and I know what I have to do.
Careening around the fire, I trip for a split second. My hand falls on some ashes and I scream, pushing up immediately to keep running. My hand throbs as I run for the rock, and I'm sweating and struggling to breathe and trying not to cry. I hear a loud smack and dwarves yelling, but dare not look around to see what's happening.
I dart around, and on this side of the rock the sun is rising, and all I need the trolls to do is either break the stone or leave the clearing. The troll roars in frustration, and slams the rock that I'm standing against, causing it to crack a little and me to flinch. Just a little more and it will split completely. Backing away from it, I call out again, "Damn fools! My dead grandma has more life in her, bless her heart!" The trolls slam into my rock again, and it fractures, little bits and pieces falling to the ground. "Come get me fools!"
Nothing. I hear them roaring, but no one comes after me. Maybe they don't want to leave their supper. I sigh, not liking the next part of my haphazard plan.
Hoping that this last bit works, I climb up on the rock, gasping as my pain shoots up my arm. Sure enough, the trolls have refocused on the dwarves, some brandishing whatever weapons they can find.
Shit.
"Here, you dimwits!" The trolls turn as one, growling, the dwarves forgotten. "That was pitiful! To think that not even the three of you can catch me! I bet even a blind bat—" This last part is cut off because the trolls don't wait for me to finish before charging.
One swings his fist wildly, aiming for me. I dodge out of his way and jump as he connects with the rock I'm standing on and smashes it to pieces. I bend as I slam into the ground and roll, skidding painfully on the forest debris. I raise my head from the ground, squinting in the sunlight that now streams through the clearing. As I watch the trolls turn to stone and the dwarves let out a loud cheer. I smile. My head falls back and I shut my eyes, trying to process the last few hours and finally feeling my heart rate slow to a somewhat steadier pace.
"Aspen!" I hear Thorin call as he comes to crouch down beside me. I open my eyes again and breathe out, "Hello Thorin." "Are you injured?" "Yeah, burned my hand. Couple scratches. And I'm sore and exhausted." Thorin nods, offering his hand to help me up. Together we walk over to the rest of the dwarves who are sorting out their clothes, having been freed by Balin and Thorin.
"Aspen!" Fili and Kili cry, rushing over to me, still not fully dressed. Before I know it, they've engulfed me in strong hugs. I let out a strangled sound, and they pull away immediately and start checking me over for injuries. I wasn't lying to Thorin when I said I was sore.
"Hey stop that!" I smack away Kili's hands as he pulls up my pants leg, but he's already seen the vivid splotches and scratches on my calf. "Where did you get these bruises?"
"Miss Aspen!" "Thank you for rescuing us!" "You were fantastic!" "Glad you didn't get eaten by trolls!" the rest of the company chimes in from various locations around the clearing. Kili clears his throat and gives me an expectant look. I sigh. "The pony, when we lost him in the river." He frowns at me. "You should have said something!" I raise an eyebrow. "Would you have said something about it to Thorin if he were already mad at you?" Kili sputters and I snort, looking around at the sunlit clearing. Gandalf is off talking with Thorin as Bilbo tries to rub off troll snot in vain. The rest of the company are gathering their clothes and scattered weapons.
Excusing myself from Kili and Fili, I walk over to Thorin and Gandalf, who are finishing their conversation. As Thorin passes me on his way to the company, he stops. "Aspen...I, I—." He stops and scrubs his face, clearly flustered. I grin and pat his arm. "It's ok. I understand. But you and I need to have a discussion about this 'no weapons' thing, and about, you know, the other thing." He nods, relieved, and continues towards his nephews as I continue to Gandalf.
"Gandalf, where were you just now? Why didn't you rescue us from the trolls? I was terrified. I thought we were all going to die."
I twist the hem of my dirty tunic in my hands as I speak, hoping that Gandalf will answer my questions. Because if the book is unreliable information, how will I be able to answer Thorin when he asks me what comes next? Suddenly my secure employment with Thorin seems vulnerable.
Gandalf leans on his staff and smiles at me, a twinkle in his eye. "I would have intervened, but you appeared to be handling matters quite well on your own, Miss Aspen. In fact, I imagine that I couldn't have done better myself. And this way, you have gained the trust of the dwarves, not to mention gaining some much needed confidence in yourself. You had begun to doubt your place in the company, but I hope that you will begin to see that you are quite necessary for the group to function well and survive." I nod. His answer makes sense, but it still doesn't answer my question fully. I'll just have to hope the book remains reliable.
"Now, I suppose that we should get some rest, and then continue on our journey." Gandalf and I walk back to the campsite in a comfortable silence, joining the rest of the company. I sip some water as Oin treats my burns and my bruises, scolding me for saying nothing about them. Dwalin is on watch, and he gives me a brief nod when he makes eye contact. I give him a nod in return, supposing that's the closest thing to an apology I'm ever going to get from the gruff warrior. I guess I'm alright with that.
After all, the trust of dwarves is hard won, but once gained, is there forever. I smile to myself, then bed down to a well-earned sleep.
