Happy Friday with a new chapter. Thanks very much to Guest, BrySt1, Mckenna079 and purple-pygmy-puff16 (the Talk is coming soon, not to worry :D) for your reviews, I love reading from you guys! Hope you enjoy this one.
"So, you need a room for you and your wife?"
Fili was standing in front of the innkeeper's desk, trying to secure their shelter for the night, though the old man was proving to be rather inquisitive, asking a lot of questions that Fili didn't really want to answer. So far, he had been asked his name, Arinna's name, what their relations were with each other, where they were travelling from and to, why they were arriving and asking for a room this late, if he was certain he had enough money on him, having been robbed earlier that day.
"No, I need two rooms," Fili answered the man before him politely, his patience slowly running thin. He had been standing here for almost twenty minutes already, while he had sent Arinna off to wait in the tavern that was situated in the other part of the ground-floor with the words 'I'll take care of this, my dear.', a thing that he had been extremely embarrassed to address her by but had felt obliged to under the watchful gaze of the old innkeeper.
"Why do you need two?"
"One for her, and one for me," Fili stated tiredly, thinking that this at least must have been fairly obvious. But the innkeeper just stared at him for a long moment, frowning slightly.
"Surely, you'd only need one," he said. "Being husband and wife."
Fili cleared his throat, an uncomfortable knot building in his stomach at the thought of sharing a room with Arinna. He shook his head. "No, we are going to need two rooms," he replied, returning the man's gaze as he kept frowning in confusion and slight suspicion. Fili let out a frustrated breath, before he thought of what to tell the man. "We've been having a bit of a quarrel. I'm afraid she's rather angry with me and certainly wouldn't want to share a bed with me tonight."
The frown on the innkeeper's face gave way to an understanding expression as he gave Fili a compassionate nod. "Oh," he said, his tone suddenly amicable, and for a moment Fili thought the man was going to give him a friendly pat on the shoulder by the way he was looking at him. "Well, why didn't you say so? My wife throws me out the bedroom on the regular on the most trivial things. So, you forget to tell her that you sold a bit of her jewellery, big huff. I emphasise with you, my friend. Women, eh?"
Fili could only stare at the man in disbelief for a long moment. Whoever this man's wife was, the dwarf felt rather sorry that she had ended up with someone who would hawk her jewellery without even asking her and without the slightest bit of regret. And that would then go and make her out to be the unreasonable one to a complete stranger. But Fili kept his face in check, clearing his throat slightly as he gave the man an unwilling nod.
"Aye. Women," he agreed, inwardly shaking his head, as the man finally handed him two keys to the guest rooms upstairs.
Meanwhile, Arinna let out a deep breath as she was sitting alone at a table on the ground floor of the town inn a while later, the guard having led them here after their finished meeting with the Master and the Elves. She was waiting for Fili to return; the dwarf having sent her off to talk and settle their stay with the innkeeper by himself when they had arrived. Though that had been quite a while ago now, she thought, wondering what was keeping him so long. She looked around the room, feeling rather exhausted but too wound up by the evening's events to even think of sleep. The ground floor of the inn was home to a small tavern, which, despite the late hour, was filled with several people who were still enjoying big pints of ale, talking and laughing among themselves.
Her gaze suddenly found Fili then, as he was slowly making his way through the crowd toward her.
"There he is," Arinna uttered dryly as he reached her, setting two tankards onto the table before her. "My husband. The apple of my eye."
He gave her a withering look. "Very funny," he said as he sat down, pushing one of the pints in front of her. She shot him a strange look, which he shrugged off. His voice was strangely formal as he addressed her directly with more than a few words for the first time in days. "Thought you might like one. I, for one, can do with a drink after today."
Arinna watched him take a large gulp of the ale and brought her own tankard to her lips, taking a small sip before she set it back down on the table. She wasn't really in the mood to be drinking. "They were talking about the others," the druid then said, looking over at Fili who only nodded. "The dwarves that escaped the Mirkwood dungeons."
"Aye, I thought so, too. It must have been Thorin and the company," Fili agreed, taking another long draw from his drink. His voice was slowly becoming less formal now as the alcohol helped him relax slightly, the tension between them melting away a little bit as they continued talking. He had missed exchanging his thoughts with hers during the past two days. "Question is, where are they now?"
"The Elves seem to think they're headed toward here," Arinna said, her fingers tapping the sides of her tankard thoughtfully. "Just like you said they would. Though I'm not sure they'll receive a warm welcome."
Fili huffed, shaking his head. "Indeed, the hospitality in this place leaves a lot to be desired," he said. "Though I have to say I rather enjoyed the earful you gave that Elf. His face was priceless."
Arinna smiled with a slight shake of her head as the dwarf chuckled momentarily to himself. They both fell silent when a young waitress approached their table, carrying two plates of food in her hands. Fili gave her a grateful smile as she placed the plates in front of them, while Arinna just shot first her and then the dwarf beside her a surprised look.
"I'm surprised the kitchen's still open at this hour," she commented once the waitress had left them. Fili gave her a small smile, the first one since the incident in the woods. Arinna felt her heart give a little flutter, though she tried to ignore it.
"It's all just a question of payment," he answered quietly, nodding toward her plate while he began to dig into his own food. His voice was almost soft when he spoke next. "Eat. You've not had a proper meal in weeks."
Arinna followed his words without protest, feeling a satisfied sigh fall from her lips as she began to eat. They ate silently for a while, neither of them speaking again before both their plates lay empty before them. Fili had finished his drink by now and was contemplating if he should go get another, when the druid pushed her own tankard toward him, still half-full. He raised his eyebrows at her questioningly, but she just gave him a short nod, indicating that she didn't intend to finish it herself.
"I think we should wait for the company here," she spoke as she watched him take a sip of ale, small traces of foam catching in his moustache before he wiped them away. "Right now, it seems that they are somewhere on the way between Mirkwood and here. And I do believe that Thorin will lead the company here, as you suggested. Let's wait until they turn up and we can join them once more."
Fili nodded his agreement; he had been thinking the same thing. By the way they had been welcomed, he was rather sure that the company had not come through the town yet. The Elves would not have sent guards ahead if they hadn't hoped to catch their escaped prisoners here. And so, Arinna and Fili agreed that they would stay for a few days and keep their eyes and ears peeled for any sign of the company. And if they hadn't turned up after three days, they would make for the mountain themselves, hoping to find them there.
They had fallen back into a more comfortable silence when someone suddenly cleared their throat beside them, and they both looked up to see a middle-aged man standing by their table. He was looking at Arinna with clouded brown eyes, no doubt having had his fill for the night already, as he swayed slightly on his feet.
"S'cuse me," he said, giving the druid a wide smile. "I've just come over 'ere to say that you are the loveliest thing in this tavern – nay, town - tonight. And I would like… I would like to buy you another drink if you… would let me."
Arinna looked at the man in surprise for a moment, unsure how to react. It took her a moment before she gave him a polite but curt smile. "Thank you," she answered. "But I'll have to pass up your offer."
The man swayed again and blinked stupidly at her, her words taking a few moments to sink in to his muddled brain. "Oh," he muttered, disappointment evident in his voice, before he leaned toward her slightly, tilting his head in question. "Are ye quite certain?"
"Yes," the druid said, still polite. "Thank you."
The drunk man hovered for another few seconds, staring at the woman before him with a dull expression on his face. "Perhaps, if -"
Arinna and the man both jumped at the sudden sound of a knife embedding itself in the table top with a sharp thunk.
"She said no."
Fili glared darkly at the drunkard whose eyes flicked toward him at his harsh tone. He'd had enough of this scene and this idiot, the dwarf thought angrily, sending the man a dangerous look as he kept his hand wrapped around the hilt of his dagger. The wood had splintered from the impact of his blade. "You would do well to take your leave now," he said with a dangerous calm. "Or else I will have to make you."
"Alright, alright. Dinna know she was spoken for," babbled the man quickly, raising his hands at the dwarf placatingly, as he looked from the knife to his face, stumbling with his own movement. There was no doubt that there was true intent behind the dwarf's words. He gave a slow nod, turning away from their table and making his way back to the counter, muttering to himself.
Fili watched him go with narrowed eyes, before he swiftly re-sheathed his dagger and took another large sip from the tankard before him, turning his gaze away. He could feel the anger still bubbling in his stomach, though he was trying not to let it show on his face. He could feel the druid's gaze rest heavily on him.
"There was no need for you to threaten him," she spoke quietly, and Fili slightly rolled his eyes at her words, which she registered with a quiet huff. "I'm sure he meant no harm, he's just drunk."
"I'll threaten whom I please," the dwarf answered in a deep rumble, causing the druid beside him to shake her head at him. It wasn't as though he was proud for letting his temper run away with him like that, but he certainly wasn't going to apologise for taking care of a man that had been bothering her. "For all he knows, he's trying it on with a woman who is sitting beside her husband. But that is not the point. He should simply learn to accept a no as a no. As others also have."
Arinna's brows drew together at the strange statement and she looked at Fili questioningly, waiting for him to elaborate, but the dwarf's gaze was set on the inside of his tankard. He was refusing to look at her. What could he possibly mean by that, she thought. She wanted to ask him, though Fili quickly spoke again before she could even utter a word.
"It's late. I think we should get some sleep," he said, setting his empty tankard on the table and standing abruptly. His tone had changed suddenly, his voice now cool and distant once more. Arinna had no choice but to follow him, not wanting to stay down in the tavern by herself, as he led the way through the slowly emptying hall, up the stairs to where the inn's guest rooms were. He didn't look at her as he spoke. "I got us two rooms. This one's yours. I'll see you in the morning."
Arinna couldn't help another deep frown at the dwarf's sudden changed behaviour, as he pressed the key to her room into her hand and made to walk off. She had thought that they were slowly working past the awkwardness between them when they had been talking again this evening, but evidently, she had been wrong. "Where will you be?" She asked him and Fili pointed to a door further down the hall.
"Number 7," he replied curtly and nodded at her, not bothering to say goodnight before he walked away. Arinna watched him retreat for a few seconds, before she entered her room with a deep sigh, unable to shake the frustration she felt at Fili's behaviour.
She let her pack drop into a corner of the room, feeling how incredibly light it had become during their journey through Mirkwood. They had been lucky to escape the forest when they did, Arinna dreaded to think how much further they would have made it with no food or drink. The druid took a moment to look around the room then, finding it to be furnished with little effort but practically. It had everything she needed. There was a comfortable looking bed, a small wardrobe, though Arinna had nothing to hang in it, leaving her torn and dirty cloak to hang over one of the chairs.
Seeing a large bucket of water and some soap standing in a slightly separated corner of the room, she walked toward it swiftly, taking off her layers as she began to clean herself. The water was cold, but Arinna didn't mind, scrubbing at her skin and hair and relishing at feeling clean again after weeks' worth of dirt slowly came off her.
She was shivering when she had finished and quickly put her breeches and tunic back on to get a little warmer. The water in the bucket had turned brown by now and the druid scrunched up her nose in slight disgust as she ran her hand through her now wet but clean hair, drying it slightly by wringing it out several times and brushing her fingers through it. She got up and laid down on the bed then, sighing at the feeling of a soft mattress beneath her. It was certainly more comfort than she had had in weeks, sleeping on the ground, Arinna thought as she pulled the blanket over her, yet she couldn't say that she enjoyed it entirely. She remembered the nights she had spent snuggled up against the blond dwarf in the darkness, feeling warm and safe in his embrace.
What had he meant? The thought came back to her unwillingly as she lay on her back, staring at the ceiling above her. She frowned, unable to shake the sound of his voice repeating in her head, "As others also have.".
The druid huffed, turning onto her side as she tried to empty her mind. She closed her eyes, trying to banish the blond dwarf from her thoughts, but her efforts to fall asleep proved unsuccessful. Her thoughts kept coming back to the same thing without her permission, the four words that Fili had said to her that evening and his infuriating behaviour the past few days.
The druid didn't know how much time had passed when she reluctantly opened her eyes again, feeling more awake than before and knowing that she wouldn't find any sleep like this tonight. She pulled the sheets back and sat up slowly, letting out a deep, frustrated sigh as she swung her legs out of the bed.
"Curse that dwarf," she muttered angrily to herself as she made her way to the door.
