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The company had been riding for hours, and she wondered if Thorin would have the make camp soon. The sun was setting over the horizon, and rays of orange and red sunlight filtered through the trees. Her butt was sore, and with horror and frustration she realized that it had fallen asleep. Oh, it was painful to ride.
''Oh, will I ever taste a good solid meal again?'' Wailed poor Bombur, on his even poorer pony. Bryn snorted and turned in her seat to look at the large dwarf.
''You only left my house two days ago. What is a good solid meal to you?'' She asked sarcastically, wondering for the third time that day if food was all Bombur cared about.
''Dwarvish feasts!'' Kili answered for the older dwarf, spurring his pony into a gallop. ''Oy! Fili, Bilbo! I bet I can beat you both to that stand of pines. Ready? Go!'' The energetic dwarfling didn't wait for an answer, and was flying past her and his brother faster than a hare hunted by wolves.
Fili cursed his brother, and rushed to compete with the younger Durin. Brynna had no intention of following them, but before she could settle in to her seat to watch them race, the sound of a hand smacking a pony jolted her out of her thoughts. Mirdle flew after the brother's, her sides heaving shortly after going halfway to the pines.
The animal slowed, but lurched back into action once Bryn stopped clutching the poor animals neck. She felt herself sliding of the pony, several saddlebags tumbling of Mirdle and onto her as she fell. ''Oh no!'' She yelped, struggling to get back on the animal. She must have grabbed the saddle horn, for she was able to pull herself and the bags back onto the pony, Mirdle stopping when she reached the pine trees. She silently thanked God that she had worn trousers. Not like she had a choice though, wearing a dress wouldn't have helped her at all if she was hoping to convince them of being a boy.
Brynna trembled, and when she saw the two brother's laughing her face flamed. ''You... Gah!'' She threw her hands up in the air, and began tightening the ties on her bags, still sitting in the saddle. She heard the sound of ponies approaching, and didn't bother to look up as the rest of the company came up.
''Never do that again without my permission.'' Thorin glared at his nephews, and then looked to her. ''We'll have enough trouble keeping our hobbit alive without you two getting him injured. Are you hurt?''
''No...'' Bryn stated, eyes tearing up before she looked away. Was he always this hurtful? Didn't he realize that she could have died? And he was the one who put her on the pony.
''Dori, Bofur, get a fire going. We camp here for the night.'' Thorin called, dismounting his pony. He walked over to a relatively large pine, leading the animal over to a low hanging branch. He whispered something in the pony's ear, and smiled down at it.
The gesture was quick, and Bryn could barely believe her eyes when she saw the act of care. Was this hard-hearted man capable of love and care? He seemed kind enough to his nephews when they weren't getting into trouble. But no sooner had he done the act of kindness than he began unloading the pony, the same stubborn grim expression on his face. Bryn dismounted Mirdle, and approached Thorin from behind, leading Mirdle over to stand beside his animal.
''What's her name?'' Bryn asked tentatively. She hadn't spoken more than monosyllables to Thorin since Bagg End, and was not used to the serious attitude he held. Most of the dwarves were cheery or light-hearted. Bofur speaking of memories with his cousin's, Bombur speaking little if the topic wasn't about food, and the Fili and Kili never seemed to stop joking or laughing. And after the pony incident, she had no desire to make him more displeased with her.
''Minty.'' He replied gruffly, removing Mirdle's saddle for her. He set down the leather seat, opened his mouth as if to say more, and then walked away. His behavior was jerky and uncomfortable around her, and the only time he seemed to know what to say to her was when he was ordering her around or saying she was worthless.
''Bilbo! Come over here and tell Bombur how to make stew. He seems to think you should make it all at the same time.'' Bofur called her over, throwing his hands up in the air when Bombur shoved him away from his cooking pot. Smiling, Bryn walked over to Bombur. At least she excelled at cooking.
''May I please see the pot and the spoon, master Bombur?'' She said politely, once again taking on her brother's accent.
The dwarf eyed her suspiciously, and then, sighing, handed her the large ladle. She thanked him and then started cooking. All of the dwarves watched her, enthralled, well... All of them except for Thorin, who sat smoking his pipe by Minty.
''If you cook it all at once, the meat has more of a chance of not being cooked properly. It tastes better when you cook the meat first, and then add water spices and everything else.'' Bryn stated clearly, casting a half-hearted smile at Bifur who had begun to speak in the grunts and hand signals that was his language. The dwarf had a rusted orc axe in his head, and it had apparently damaged his mind.
After she finished telling Bombur how to cook the meal, she wandered off into a copse of trees, not to far from the fire. The gurgling of a small stream greeted her, and she came upon the water shortly after. ''So different than the streams of the Shire.'' She whispered to herself, losing the accent.
Kneeling next to the water, she took up a handful of the liquid, splashing it over her face. She felt dust from her near fall wash away. Relieved from the dirtiness of it all, she laid back, resting her head on her arms. The stars had begun to gleam, and night had taken hold. The Shire was behind her, and new things lay ahead.
''What am I doing here? Thorin hates my very presence, and in truth I am a weight. Why do I stay?'' She said aloud. The words made her feel weak, and that made her angry. Why did her gender make her worthless? Why did her race matter? She was a Took as much as a Baggins, and the dwarves thought she was male. She wasn't worthless.
Taking advantage of the time she had, Bryn hastily untied her chest bindings. A sigh escaped her, and she relished the feeling of nothing compressing her chest for a few minutes longer before binding herself once more. There was no mistaking her womanly figure, but the vest and bindings working together completely hid her chest.
''Bilbo! Supper is ready!'' Nori called.
Bryn made her way back to camp, careful of not startling the sleeping ponies. ''Thankyou Nori.''
Brynna turned over onto her side, the sound of Bombur snoring waking her from her sleep. As she groggily looked at the fat dwarf she saw moths fluttering over his mouth, whenever he inhaled, the moths and otger insects were sucked into his mouth, coming out alive with his exhale.
She shook her head, ''disgusting.'' She mumbled, getting to her feet and stretching before stiffly walking over to Myrtle. She wanted so badly to become closer to Myrtle. Brynna needed another feminine being to talk to.
She smiled, ''Hello girl. Who's a good girl?'' She spoke quietly, as not to wake the others. She petted her pony, looking over her shoulder before pulling an apple out of her pocket. ''This is our little secret Myrtle, you must tell no one! Shh Shh.''
The smile quickly fell from her face when she heard unearthly shrieks emanating out of the night.
She looked over to the fire, where Kili and Fili were keeping watch. ''What was that?'' She asked, hopping over some sleeping dwarves to get to the them.
''Ors.'' Kili said quietly, looking into the distance where the sound had come from.
"Orcs?'' She hurried over, seeing Thorin straighten up in alarm at the sound of more of the gutteral howls. He looked over at her, then out where the orcs must be.
''Throatcutters.'' Fili continued, ''There'll be dozens of them out there.'' She was partially interested in what Fili was saying, and partially unsure of their safety. ''The lowlands are crawling with them.''
''They strike in the whee small hours, when everyone's asleep,'' Kili picked up where his older brother left off, ''Quick and quiet no screams, Just lots of blood.''
By then Brynna was looking around, still on her feet, not even near being calm enough to sit down. She turned her back to Fili and Kili, looking down at the lowlands below them.
She heard the two brothers begin to laugh, and instantly felt the heat rising to her cheeks, they had just wanted to see her afraid. There were orcs out there, she knew they weren't lying about that, but they had decided to pull a prank on her anyways.
''Do you think that's funny?'' Thorin asked gruffly, his nephews laughter quieting instantly. She turned around to look at Thorin, surprised that he may even be slightly defending her. ''Do you think a night raid by orcs is a joke?'' His dissapointment and a hint of bitterness rang clear in his deep voice.
Kili hesitantly met his uncle's gaze, looking like a whipped puppy as he spoke, ''We didn't mean anything by it.'' His voice trembled slightly, and only then did Brynna truly realize how young he was. He was probably no older than she was, if not younger.
''No you didn't.'' he said bitterly, walking away from them, ''You know nothing of the world.''
Kili bowed his head, not looking up from the piece of wood her was now shaving into splinters with his knife.
''Don't mind him laddy.'' speaking softly Balin came over to where Kili was sitting, ''Thorin has more cause than most, to hate orcs.''
Brynna sat down, now feeling a bit sorry for Kili. She watched as Fili turned his gaze away from Balin to look at his uncle, who had walked to the edge of the camp, staring out into the night.
''After the dragon took the lonely mountain, King Thror tried to reclaim the ancient dwarf kingdom of Moria. But our enemy... had gotten there first. Moria had been taken by Legions of Orcs, Led by the most vile, of all their race. Azzoc, the Defiler. The giant orc had sworn to wipe out the line of Durin.''
At this Brynna looked over to where Thorin was still standing, knowing what Balin's words meant.
''He began... By beheading the king.'' Balin paused, the pain still in his wise old eyes. ''Thrain, Thorin's father, was driven mad by grief. He went missing, taken prisoner of killed, we did not know.''
''We were leaderless.'' Balin said simply, staring into the heart of the fire. ''Defeat, and death were upon us.'' a smile spread across his face, his eyes glistening from unshed tears. ''That is when I saw him,'' Balin looked over at Thorin, ''the young dwarf prince, facing down the pale orc. He stood alone, against a most terrible foe! His armour rent, weilding nothing but an oaken branch as a shield! Azzoc the Defiler, learned that day, that the line of Durin, would not be so easily broken.''
Kili looked up at Balin, everyone in the camp was wide awake by then, all of them listening to the tale of their leader.
''Our forces rallied, and drove the orcs back! Our enemy had been defeated. But there was no feast, no song that night, for our dead 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 would call king.''
Thorin had turned to face the company at Balin's words, sorrow was replaced by gladness in his steely blue eyes.
The ending to Balin's tale was very nice an majestically put, but Brynna was not satisfied. ''And the pale orc? What happened to him?'' She directed her question at Balin, but Thorin's deep voice answered her.
''He slunk back into the hole whence he came. That filth, died of his wounds, long ago.'' Thorin spat out the words, his hatred for Azzoc still strong.
Brynna wanted to ask more questions, but she wasn't sure it was wise to ask anything of Balin with Thorin still around.
''Some other time..." She promised herself, returning to her bedroll in a fruitless attempt to get more sleep.
Eight days after Balin's tale, it began to rain.
Water poured from the heavens, soaking every inch of Brynna's body. She wiped water from her eyes, and patted Mirdle's neck. The pony had been walking for hours, and hadn't been fed for longer.
Bofur rode next to her, occasionally cursing the rain or making small talk with her. Bryn eyed him, and pulled her clinging vest away from her chest. The bindings had obviously failed to hide her womanly figure, and the all she could do was hope and pray her coat and the wet vest would hide it for now. The dwarves weren't dumb. They would see the difference between her and other males.
''I do hope this rain lets up. I don't fancy sleeping in wet clothes.'' Bofur stated glumly, looking at the dark rain clouds that were over the company. He grumbled something more, and tried in vain to light his pipe.
''Mr Gandalf. Can't you do something about this rain?'' Dori asked, looking at the wizard hopefully. The whole attitude of the company changed, and she could feel the anticipation of dry weather.
''Master Dori, it is raining. And it will continue to rain until the rain is done.'' The dwarves all groaned, but Thorin stayed in tense silence, Kili mimicking his uncle move for move, until he burst out laughing at himself. ''If you wish to change the weather of the world you will have to find a different wizard in this world.''
''Are there any?'' Bryn asked, eager to hear the old man's reply.
''Any what?''
''Any other wizards?''
Gandalf paused, and focused ahead, beginning to speak. ''There are five of us. Myself, Soromon the White; a very great wizard mind you... And there are the two blues... I do believe I have forgotten their names. And then there is Radagast the Brown.''
''Is he a great wizard? Or is he like you?'' Brynna immediately wished she could take the words back. Insulting the company's wizard was not on her to do list.
''Well I think he is a very great wizard. He is odd granted, he prefers the company of animals to other people. He keeps a watchful eye over the greenwood in the East. And a good thing too, for there is always something dark brewing in this world.''