Onwards! Thanks to BrySt1, amrawo, purple-pygmy-puff16, Lady-Finwe and paulavara140 for your reviews. I'm always very happy to read them and to know what you think! I hope you enjoy this chapter.
The day dragged on as they marched along the river. They had put a good distance between themselves and the Woodland Realm by now and the forest lay behind them as they followed the current East. The far outlines of Esgaroth were now visible on the horizon. Though their legs were tired and their minds weary, they kept going, neither of them wanting particularly to spend another day out in the wilderness when their goal was so close. Fili and Arinna were both still hoping to find the rest of the company in Lake Town and be able to join back with them, before they made for the Lonely Mountain.
They had barely spoken a word to each other for a day and a half now and while Arinna interpreted Fili's continuing silence as a sure sign that he did not feel remotely the same for her as she for him, the dwarf was thinking entirely different things.
He couldn't help his thoughts circling back to the moment he had been so close to giving in to the deep need that was pulling at his stomach even now. It had taken all of his willpower not to kiss her that night. He had wanted to so badly, Mahal, he stillwanted to, every minute of the day that she was around him. It was hard to concentrate on anything else. But he couldn't bring himself to do it, had stopped himself at the last possible moment, reminding himself that his advances would not be wanted. The touch of her fingers, tugging softly at his moustache, had been enough to send him into a frenzy but Arinna was no dwarf. She did not know what intimacy such gestures held for him, he had never told her. And it was not fair of him to assume that she meant them the way that he wanted her to mean them.
And so he hadn't kissed her, and though he stood by his choice, he was still regretting it ever since. He had tried to keep some distance between himself and the druid since that night, mostly to protect himself and her from getting into a similar situation again and not being able to stop himself and effectively ruining their friendship. He had even left her by the camp to go hunting on his own the night before. He had expected her to protest, as she had in the forest, but Arinna had let him go without a word. They hadn't eaten properly in days and Fili had been relieved to be able to return to her with two rabbits, which they had prepared and roasted in silence.
Night had already fallen when they finally reached the long bridge that led into the town of Esgaroth. It ran in a straight line from the edge of the Long Lake to the city gate, which was flanked by two armed guards. Fili straightened slightly as they approached the men slowly, trying to brush the worst of the dirt off his clothes and face, though it barely made a difference. He could feel the guards look at them suspiciously as they approached, tired, dirty and scruffy as they were.
"Halt!" The taller of the guards called to them, one hand wrapped around a long spear and the other held out toward them to emphasise his order. "You may not enter through here. State your business."
"We are only travellers," Fili answered in the politest voice he could muster as they came to a halt in front of the two men. "And seek to enter the town for shelter and food. We can pay."
The guard eyed the dwarf suspiciously, his gaze roaming over him and Arinna, shortly lingering on the weapons they were carrying. "Why would a dwarf be travelling these lands alone with a woman? And on foot, at this hour?"
Fili wasn't about to give away the whole purpose of their journey or where they had come from to a stranger and so he quickly came up with a lie to tell the guard. "We are travelling to the Iron Hills to see my kin. This is…" he hesitated as he looked over at Arinna, who shot him a short look. He looked back at the guard, so he didn't have to see her expression as he uttered the next words. "My wife, a healer. We lost our ponies and were robbed on our way here. Please, kind Sir, we are only looking for the safety and warmth of an inn. We won't be any trouble."
"Where did you say you were travelling from?" The other guard suddenly asked, and Fili looked up at him in slight surprise, mustering a polite smile.
"West of here," was all he said, and the guard narrowed his eyes at him.
"You would have come through Mirkwood, then."
The guard didn't wait for Fili to answer his words, which were more a statement than a question anyway. And it was then that he leaned toward his colleague and whispered something in his ear that Fili couldn't make out. The taller guard gave a short nod, then looked from the dwarf to Arinna, who was standing silently beside him. He seemed to study her for a moment, before his gaze fell back on Fili. "How do you expect to pay for your stay, when you claim that you were robbed?"
"We have some coin left," Arinna spoke quietly when Fili hesitated, caught in the small hiccup of his lie for a moment. The guards both looked at her with narrow, doubtful eyes. "It's not much but enough to pay for a small room. Please, you wouldn't be so heartless as to turn away two people in need?"
Fili saw the taller guard slightly draw his mouth askew, his face softening slightly at the woman's pleading words. He seemed to be much more inclined to help her than him, thought Fili. The second guard, however, was still eyeing them both suspiciously.
"You may enter," the short one then finally said and Fili let out a small breath of relief as he gave him a grateful nod, though the man continued swiftly. "I shall take you to the Master of Town. He is currently entertaining some guests that will no doubt want to speak with you."
Arinna and Fili exchanged a small look as they hesitantly followed the guard through the tall city gates. Could it be that he was talking about the rest of their company? Had they already reached Lake Town? They followed silently as the guard led them through the town, whose streets were relatively empty at this hour, though Arinna met the curious and suspicious gaze of the occasional person that crossed their path. Lake Town was built on a giant platform in the middle of the Long Lake, its streets consisting of many wooden bridges that led along and between shabby looking houses. There was no doubt that this town had seen better days, the druid thought as she let her gaze wander, shivering slightly in the cold night as she beheld the small patches of ice that were visible on the surface of the water beneath the bridges.
They reached a large square after a while and Arinna looked up to see the guard leading them toward a big house, no doubt the largest in the whole town and in better shape than any of the others she had seen. Its windows were glowing with warm light and the sound of several voices was coming from within as they approached. She hesitantly followed the man up the set of stairs and felt Fili step up next to her as the guard gave three loud knocks at the door. A voice called for them to enter from the other side and he pushed open the doors, holding them open and motioning for the two of them to go inside with a grim expression on his face.
Fili walked ahead and Arinna followed after him, wincing slightly when she heard the heavy doors fall shut behind them and she looked up to see herself confronted with a large table that stood at the far end of the hall. She could see several people sat there. There was an older man - tall, burly, with an almost bald head - and another next to him, younger, with greasy black hair, dark eyes and a moustache. There were also two Elves, looking almost radiantly beautiful next to the two scruffy men. They were clad in green travelling clothes, one of them blond and the other brunet. All of these people were looking at the dwarf and druid with narrowed eyes.
"How dare you disturb me when I am in the middle of a feast?" The man with barely any hair said gruffly, sending his guard a questioning look. "I am entertaining guests, you blundering buffoon."
"My apologies, Master. But we were ordered to inform you should we find dwarves at our gates," the guard spoke evenly, though obviously annoyed by the Master's words, and the Elves nodded their agreement while the Master stuffed another piece of meat into his mouth and eyed the two people the guard had brought in. "This one claims to be travelling to the Iron Hills with his wife. But I have no doubt in my mind that they are the missing prisoners that our friends, the Elves, have come to tell us about."
"What?" Fili exclaimed in disbelief, his gaze jumping from the guard to the people before him. He vehemently shook his head. "That's a lie, we are not -"
"Silence!" The Master called loudly and Fili's mouth snapped shut, his jaw twitching slightly as he pressed his teeth together angrily. He exchanged another glance with the druid beside him, who was looking at him worriedly. The Master looked to the two Elves sat at his table, a sly grin plastered on his face. "I told you that we would deliver the fugitives, didn't I? Do you recognise these two as part of the group that escaped your dungeons?"
Both Fili and Arinna realised the meaning of the Master's words almost immediately. He could only be speaking of the company, of Thorin and the others. Certainly, there could only have been one group of dwarves travelling through Mirkwood, that he could be referring to. And while Fili was concerned to hear that his uncle and companions had apparently indeed been captured by the Elves, he was relieved at the thought that they had somehow managed to escape.
Meanwhile, the Elves' gazes rested heavily on them, studying them intently. "I cannot say for certain," the blond one admitted eventually, his voice smooth and cool. He could not remember their faces, couldn't remember them sitting behind the cell doors in the dungeons. But he was certain that they belonged with the rest of them. After all, it could hardly be a coincidence that there would be another dwarf travelling so close to the Woodland Realm. "But I'm sure that they are in league with the others."
"How dare you accuse us?" Arinna suddenly spoke and Fili's eyebrows rose slightly at her harsh tone. She took a step forward, now standing directly beside him as she glared up at the Elves angrily. "You don't know us. You have never seen us before in your life, yet you would accuse any and every dwarf that crosses through here of a crime they did not commit? I would kindly suggest that you firstly re-evaluate your prejudice and secondly, your eye-sight. For I am no dwarf. We did not escape your dungeons, because we were never in them. Believe me, I would have made a fuss you would never forget if you had tried to lock me behind bars."
She halted for a moment, and Fili tilted his head slightly as he looked over at her, seeing her think for a second as she sent the people before her a hard stare. "And, to be perfectly honest," she finished then, her voice cold. "If you let a whole group of dwarves escape your dungeons, perhaps you should take a long, hard look at the quality of your guards."
The room was silent as Arinna ended her words with an angry huff and both men and Elves stared at her incredulously as she levelled each of them with a glare, while the corner of Fili's mouth had twitched upwards with the hint of a smile.
"A feisty woman you've got there," muttered the Master, shooting Fili a pointed look. The dwarf merely cocked one eyebrow at him slightly, sensing the tone of his words, but he was not about to apologise for anything Arinna had said. He agreed with every word and had actually rather enjoyed her telling them off.
"Indeed, Master, one would think a husband should have a better handle on his wife's manners," the man beside the Master eventually uttered, ignoring the dark looks both Fili and Arinna sent him. "It's true, she's no dwarf though."
"Quite right, Alfrid," the Master said and slowly looked Arinna up and down. It was all she could do not to shudder beneath his gaze. The Master seemed to think hard for a moment. "Makes one wonder. I was always under the impression that dwarves only kept among themselves, how come you're married to a human woman?"
It was at that moment that Fili really began to regret the lie he had told the guard, for the immediate answer that came into his head and that sprang straight to the tip of his tongue, he did not dare utter in front of Arinna. Instead he only sent the Master a withering look, clearing his throat. "Prejudice and falsehoods are commonly spread about my people, Sire."
The Master looked at him for a long moment, unsure of what to make of his answer, before he gave a small shrug, finally turning his gaze to the Elves. "Well, do you recognise them or not? I can't say I'm entirely convinced that they are indeed fugitives."
"I do not," the blond Elf admitted begrudgingly after a few long moments of hesitation. The Master revealed a small, yellow-teethed grin as he looked at his guests.
"There we have it," he exclaimed. "I gather you'd do well to ride back tonight and report to your king then. No fugitive dwarves in this town. And as for you two," he added with a glance toward Fili and Arinna. "You are free to go about your business. Which, may I ask, is what exactly? You say you're travelling to the Iron Hills?"
It was Fili who answered the man's question, while Arinna merely sent the blond Elf a triumphant look as he still gazed at her suspiciously. "Yes, we are travelling to meet my kin. We are only looking to stay for a few days at most, replenish our supplies and take refuge in one of your inns."
"Can you pay?" The Master asked matter-of-factly and Fili suddenly felt a strong dislike toward him at the greedy look that flashed over his face. The dwarf just nodded in reply, making the yellow grin on the old man's face broaden. "Then I say you are welcome to stay, my friends."
