Hey, so what are you thinking so far? I'm not sure about leaving a space between some of the lines but let me know what you prefer. Everything 'The Hobbit' and 'The Lord of the Rings' related belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien and Tauriel belongs to Peter Jackson. Hope you enjoy chapter 4. Love Mayday x
The following morning Solaris woke to the sound of plates and talking in the kitchen. She rose, smoothed out her hair, had a wash in the basin and made her way to the kitchen. There she found a much calmer scene to that of last night, everyone was walking around instead of jumping and prancing everywhere and their talking was hushed.
"My Lady" Kili said pulling a chair back for her to sit on.
"Thank you" she nodded. He pulled up a chair next to her and poured her some juice and handed a plate. "Take what you like" he said "We are in haste to leave"
Solaris sipped at her juice and picked up two apples from the table, one she placed in her pocket for Gandri and the other she polished on her jacket till it shone before she bit into it. She then observed as Thorin came and sat at the head of the table opposite her.
"I would like to apologise for last night" he said slowly "I was perhaps to quick to pass judgement"
"That you were" she said and Fili sat down on her other side.
"Take the apology, he never says sorry to anyone" he said.
"I accept your apology master dwarf" she said and he nodded.
While the dwarves tidied the kitchen Solaris went and prepared Gandri for the day ahead. She observed that the dwarves did not have ponies so she knew she'd be going on foot with Gandri walking by her side. Soon the dwarves came out of the hobbit hole one by one; she waited for them on the path with reins in hand.
"Magnificent beast" Thorin said looking up at Gandri. He then headed of down the path leading the way. Solaris fell to the back of the group but Kili decided to keep her company. He was in the middle of a story of how he was surrounded by a thousand orcs and was just about to tell her how he made his daring escape when Ori came over.
"Excuse me Miss" he said.
"Solaris" she corrected him.
"Solaris" he repeated "What is your horse's name?"
"Gandri" she told him.
"Would I be able to lead him for a bit?" he asked. Without quibble Solaris handed him down the reins and he gripped them tightly in his hands. Gandri changed his stride so that Ori could walk at his normal pace, Gandri had always been good with children and that's all what these dwarves were to him.
"I can ride a full sized horse" Kili said.
"Don't believe him Solaris" Fili said "He's lying to try an impress you"
"I'm not lying!" Kili exclaimed. "I can ride a horse"
"Not one as big as Gandri here, I bet even Solaris looks like a dwarf when she's riding him"
"Gandri is a particularly large horse" Solaris nodded.
"Aye, let me have a go" Kili said.
"No, I'm holding his reins" Ori said holding the reins to his chest.
"Please don't start an argument" Solaris said. She turned her head back towards the forest. Standing on the edge of the tree-line was Gandalf and beside him in a long row were ponies, some where brown and some where white.
"Gandalf" Thorin greeted as they made their way towards him.
"I thought we'd go by pony" he said "Far better than walking all the away, Solaris, I didn't fetch you a pony"
"That's fine Gandalf" she said taking back Gandri's reins from Ori.
Once they were all seated they continued through the forest.
"What about Bilbo?" Solaris asked turning Gandri back towards the Shire.
"He will be along" Gandalf said.
The sound of hoof beats and the nattering of dwarves was quite soothing Solaris found and being back in the saddle made her feel at home. She wished nothing more than to race on in full gallop but she resisted and stayed in her place. She was riding behind Thorin and with Fili, Kili and Balin beside her. At the very front was Gandalf on his chestnut.
"WAIT, WAIT!" a voice called from behind them and everyone pulled to a stop.
"I signed it" Bilbo said waving some parchment above his head. "Here"
He passed it to Balin who read it over "Everything appears to be in order, welcome Master Baggins to the company of Thorin Oakenshield" he said. The others cheered.
"I'm pleased you decided to come Bilbo" Solaris smiled and he nodded back.
"Give him a pony" Thorin said.
"No, no, no that won't be necessary. Thank you, I'm sure I can keep up on foot. I've done my fair share of walking holidays you know" Bilbo said. "Even got at far as Frogmorton once, aah!" his babbling was interrupted by Kili and Fili grabbing a shoulder each and plopping him into a saddle. Truth be told he did not look born for a saddle but he sat there none the less.
"Come on Nori, pay up!" Fili said and Nori chucked a small sack of coins back.
"What's that?" Solaris asked.
"We had bets as to whether the hobbit would show up" Kili smiled catching another pouch of coins.
"Wait, stop we have to turn around!" Bilbo called out. Thorin reined in his pony with a look of impatience on his face.
"What on earth is the matter?" Gandalf asked.
"I forgot my handkerchief" Bilbo said frisking his pockets.
"Here, use this" Bofur said ripping some of his tunic and handing it to Bilbo.
"Move on" Thorin said started forward again.
Solaris giggled and off course the brothers wanted to know at what. "Look how fuzzy Thorin's pony's bum is" she said. "I've never seen one that fuzzy before"
They both smiled at each other "The things you find amusing" Fili said shaking his head.
"Here, does my pony have a hairy bum?" Kili asked trying to look behind him.
"Let me see" Solaris said dropping her reins and taking her feet out the stirrups. She spun around and leant flat on Gandri's back so her cheek rested on the top of his rump.
"Nope no where near as fuzzy as Thorin" she said.
"Hah, Thorin the fuzzy. Has a certain ring to it" Kili said.
"Get back in the saddle!" Thorin called and Solaris sat up and perched just behind Gandri's saddle. The horse just continued to plod forward.
"Get back in the saddle" Solaris muttered under her breath.
They travelled up and down hills, on the edge of cliffs, on flat ground and then woodland again until darkness fell and they made camp for the night. While some made a fire and others scouted the area by foot, Solaris set to un-tacking the ponies and putting feeding bags on their noses. Gandri preferred to eat his oats straight from the floor. Once fed, watered and tethered Solaris perched on a rock next to Gandalf.
"He does not respect me, he thinks me a child" she said and Gandalf did not need to ask who she was talking about.
"Thorin holds this mission dear to his heart; he has no hatred towards you Solaris. He just isn't a laid back dwarf, he never as been. Now stop fretting and find a patch near the fire to sleep"
As she headed for the fire Bilbo passed her doing his best not to look suspicious.
"What are you doing Master Hobbit?" she asked.
"I'm giving Myrtle an apple" he whispered "But don't tell the others"
"Your secret is safe with me" she smiled.
Hardly any of the dwarves were awake; Kili was though and was picking bits of bark and throwing them into the fire.
"Come sit here my Lady" he said shuffling a little so that she could sit down.
The sound of Fili sharpening some of his blades bounced of the stone walls and rang in her ears.
"How many blades do you have?" Solaris asked as she sat.
"I have…" he counted on his fingers "Eight" he said.
"You're like a little hedgehog" Solaris smiled and Fili laughed.
"So how old are you?" Kili asked drawing her attention.
"Slightly younger than you but older than Bilbo" she replied. "But I will look this way for many, many years to come"
"Aye" Kili said studying her "Elves do age physically slower than any other"
"Why is that I wonder?" Solaris pondered watching into the fire.
"So, do you have any male elf friends?" Kili asked cautiously but Solaris didn't have time to answer as her ears picked up a screech in the distance.
"What was that?" Bilbo asked jumping back into the little overhang they were sitting under.
"Orcs" Solaris replied getting up to go investigate the air.
"Nice try brother but you'll have to try harder than that" Fili said from where he was rested at the very back of the cave.
Kili scoffed at him and threw some bark at him.
"Thorin" Solaris said patting the dwarfs' knee as she walked passed him. He had been dozing in a sitting position leant on some rocks. "Orcs" she whispered and he looked about him.
"Throat cutters, there'll be dozens of them out there. The low-lands will be crawling with them" Fili said.
"How far away?" Thorin asked coming to stand by Solaris.
"Not far" she said listening and smelling the air. Elves have fantastic senses. Thorin watched her face as she studied the air. "It is a small company, but we should avoid conflict all the same" she said and he nodded.
"They strike in the wee small hours when everyone's asleep, quick and quiet, no screams just lots of blood" Kili was telling Bilbo.
"Stop scaring him" Solaris scolded turning to look at them.
"I'm just telling him the truth is all" Kili said looking from her into the fire.
"Sometimes the truth is better kept hushed my friend" she said trying to lighten the mood. Kili turned to Fili and they both chuckled.
"You think that's funny?" Thorin asked from Solaris's side. "You think a night raid by orcs is a joke?"
"We didn't mean anything by it" Kili said, his face slowly dropping.
"No you didn't" Thorin said with a very low voice as he walked passed them all. "You know nothing of the world" Solaris heard him mutter as he walked passed Gandalf and around the side of the rocks.
"You got scorched" Solaris said smiling.
"Shut up" Kili said throwing some bark at her.
"Don't mind him laddie" Balin told Kili. "Thorin has more cause than most to hate orcs. After the dragon took the Lonely Mountain King Thror tried to reclaim the ancient Dwarf Kingdom of Moria but our enemy had got there first. Moria had been taken by legions of Orcs led by the most vile of all their race Azog the Defiler. The giant Gundabad Orc had sworn the wipe out the line of Durin. He began by beheading the King. Thrain, Thorin's father, was driven mad by grief. He went missing, taken prisoner or killed we did not know. We were leaderless; defeat and death were upon us. That is when I saw him" Balin glanced at Thorin's turned back "A young Dwarf Prince facing down the pale orc, he stood alone against this terrible foe. His armour rent, wielding nothing but an oaken branch as a shield, he picked up a sword and cut of the pale orcs arm at the elbow. Azog the Defiler learned that day that the line of Durin would not be so easily broken. Our forces rallied and drove the orcs back and our enemy had been defeated. But there was no feast or song that night for our deaths were beyond the count of grief. We few had survived and I thought to myself then there is one who I could follow. There is one I could call king"
At that moment Thorin turned and looked at everyone staring at him.
"And the pale orc?" Bilbo asked. "What happened to him?"
"He slunk back into the hole whence he came. That filth died of his wounds long ago" Thorin said walking back over to where he was rested previously.
Solaris caught the looks Balin and Gandalf gave each other. Everyone settled back down and Solaris gingerly walked over to Thorin.
"Thorin, may I sit?" she asked and he nodded.
She sat on the ground with her legs crossed and filtered dust through her fingers.
"I wanted to apologise to you for my behaviour" she said "I was disrespectful to you"
"And I you" he said.
"I shan't challenge you again" she said.
"Solaris, sometimes I forget and need telling but they are all too scared to do so. You however are not. Now go get some sleep, I sense rain in the air" he said and Solaris nodded and stood. "May we start again, maybe this time we'll get of on a better foot" she said and held her hand out. "I'm Solaris"
Thorin rolled his eyes and took her hand "Thorin" he said as they shook.
"Please to meet you Thorin" Solaris said and they dropped their handshake.
"I won't tell you again, go to sleep" he said.
"Yes my Lord" she said.
"Don't call me that, its just Thorin" he said.
"Okay, just Thorin" she said with a wink and headed back over to the fire. Thorin watched her go and a smile crept to his lips. He soon was drifting back to sleep.