Disclaimer: I don't own anything - Tolkien gets all the credit.
A/N: So I've recently been thinking about a Dwalin/OC concept… probably wouldn't consider starting that until this story is complete, but I'd be interested to see who'd read a Dwalin-centered fic. I'd never really considered one before, but the idea popped into my head and I'm pretty excited about it! Let me know in reviews! :)
Hopefully you all enjoy this chapter! I'm throwing in a little complication for Hilde that might be a little unexpected, but given that this is a bit of a "slowmance," I wanted to give you guys a little something fun to read!
… and without further ado, here's the next chapter!
Chapter 7
The tight quarters of the rocky passage forced a slow pace as the company weaved along the path. Light filtered down from above through the narrow lip at the top of the fissure, but even that didn't help much. Hilde found herself shoved forward several times by Gloin who walked behind her, ramming her forward into Thorin's back. To his credit, the dwarven king didn't voice frustration, or appear to notice this at all.
Hilde could feel the essence of the Valar as they near the end of the passage way, and with mounting dread, Hilde spoke ahead to the king, "I know this place."
Thorin glanced back, but continued to walk along the twisted path. "Do you? Where does it lead, then?"
"You're not going to like it, I'm afraid. But at this point I fear we have no other option but to continue." Thorin frowned at this and looked to Dwalin, who had reached the end of the narrow path and stood silently, looking ahead of him into a lush valley. The group slowly made their way down several steps carved into the rock until their apparent destination was revealed to them – From behind her, Hilde heard her father approach.
"The valley of Imladris. In the common tongue, it is known by another name."
"Rivendell." Bilbo seemed in awe of the beautiful sight before them. The home of Lord Elrond looked as though it grew from the earth. The fine shape of the buildings, the trees growing amongst the rooftops, and soft voices raised up in song could be heard from below – the effect was calming for Hilde, her father, and even their hobbit companion. Their dwarven comrades, however, seemed very ill at ease. Hilde kept silent as the muttering of her companions washed away any serenity she might hope to find in the home of Lord Elrond.
"This was your plan all along! To seek refuge with our enemy!" Thorin said in a shouted whisper to Gandalf, choosing to blame him, it seemed, rather than Hilde.
"You will find no enemies here, Thorin Oakenshield. The only ill will to be found in this valley is that which you bring yourself!" Bilbo seemed to agree with her father's opinion on the matter, but Hilde worried at possible implications of Lord Elrond's knowledge of their quest.
"Surely, Mithandir," Hilde said as she walked toward her father and Thorin, "you do not believe that the elves will give this quest their blessing?"
Thorin nodded to her, satisfied with her show of support to his stance on the matter. "I agree. They will try to stop us."
"Of course they will. But we have questions that need to be answered. You, Hilde, know better than most the wealth of knowledge that can be found in this place." Thorin seemed resolute to the fact that Gandalf might just be right, and he sighed heavily. Gandalf took this as a sign that he'd won this small battle. "If we are to be successful, this will have to be handled with tact, and respect, and no small degree of charm." Hilde snorted in a rather unladylike way at this and turned from her father to rejoin the group.
"I suppose then," she added while walking away, "that we stall leave the talking to you, Mithandir?"
"Precisely, my dear." The narrow pathway leading down into the valley left the group exposed and uncomfortable. Several times Hilde was sure that she saw movement in the trees and along the rocky walls of the valley. It had been several hundred years since Hilde last ventured to Imladris, but she hoped that those whom she'd befriended here would offer accommodations to their company… despite her friendships with elves, she knew she was an exception to the sneering contempt that most of the first-born felt toward her mother's kin.
With weapons drawn, the dwarven company followed Gandalf into the small receiving area just below the main hall. Hilde followed at the back of the group, praying to Mahal that this didn't end poorly. Even from several feet behind him, Hilde could tell that Thorin was tense. Fili and Kili were closer to her and Hilde could sense their awe at the sights around them. She stayed close to the young heirs of Durin, all the while glancing up into the house, hoping that a friendly face would receive them.
Lindir, one of Lord Elrond's trusted servants, walked slowly down towards them, a pleasant smile on his face for Gandalf. "Mithrandir!" He had seen Hilde as well, for he also called out her, using the name she went by in the elven realms, "Angreniel!" Hilde nodded to him, returning the smile as Gandalf walked up to the elf and bowed.
"Ah! Lindir!" The two old acquaintances then spoke in softer tones that Hilde could not hear. Fili stood off to the side of the group, looking out into the valley. Hilde walked to stand beside him, smiling at the childlike look of wonder on his face.
"You've been here before?" He asked, keeping his voice low.
"Yes, many centuries ago, though time has not dulled its beauty." The sound of an elven horn broke out then as a small hunting party of elves entered the valley on horseback. Hilde could see Lord Elrond at the head, wearing armor and wielding his sword. It alarmed Hilde slightly that the elves did not slow their pace. It seemed, though Hilde knew better than to believe it, that the elves were charging at the company.
Thorin yelled out then and the company closed ranks. Hilde was shoved into the center of the group by Fili and found herself next to a startled Bilbo as the elves circled them on horseback. Hilde was surprised by this rather rude welcome, thinking that Lord Elrond must be playing them for his own amusement, for he could clearly see that Gandalf was with them. Regardless, however, the dwarves were on edge and Hilde knew this would only spur on Thorin's distrust of Lord Elrond and the elves of Imladris.
Lord Elrond stopped his horse and greeted Gandalf warmly, as one would expect of an old friend. Hilde was more concerned, however, with how the greeting would be extended to her dwarven companions. The Lord dismounted his horse, carrying an orcish blade in his hands. "Strange for orcs to come so close to our borders. Someone, or something, must have drawn them near."
"That may have been us." was all Gandalf managed in reply before Elrond turned to the group of dwarves gathered before him. Hilde saw his gaze go almost immediately to Thorin, who had stepped forward slightly from the rest of them. "Welcome Thorin, son of Thrain."
"I do not believe we have met." If Elrond was put off by the gruff reply, he did not show it. He stepped closer to the dwarven king, a pleasant look still on his face.
"You have your grandfather's bearing. I knew Thror when he ruled under the mountain."
"Indeed? He made no mention of you." Hilde grimaced from her place beside Bilbo. Thorin's demeanor was surely not going to gain him any friendships here. Elrond's eyes narrowed as he took in the rest of the dwarves – those eyes, however, widen in recognition as he looked upon Hilde.
"My Lady Angreniel, it has been too long since you last visited my home! I am certain that there will be many here who will be happy to see you after so long an absence." Hilde bowed her head and smiled again, not wanting to speak for fear of saying something that would further set off Thorin's already strained attitude.
"Angreniel?" Kili said from just behind her, "Why does he called you that?" Hilde glanced back toward Kili with an exasperated look on her face. Before she had a chance to reply, though, Hilde was shoved back again as Gloin raised his axe and called out loudly, "What is he saying? Does he offer us insult?!"
Hilde had not been paying attention to what had been said, though she highly doubted that Lord Elrond would insult anyone while they stood on the steps of his home. Gandalf settled the matter quickly, "No, Master Gloin, he is offering you food."
Hilde worked her away outside of the mass of dwarven bodies and moved to stand by her father as the rest of the company consented to the Lord's offer of food. Movement and a flash of gold to the far end of the clearing drew her attention then. Hilde smiled brightly as she took in the sight of Glorfindel, the elven warrior of Gondolin whom she had grown close to during her past stays in Imladris. The warrior had not been with Lord Elrond's hunting party, it seemed, as he stood before her in find robes of silver. His golden hair was pulled back from his face in the traditional elven way and he held his hands up in silent greeting to her.
The dwarven company had begun to make their way up the stairs leading to the mall hall and Hilde decided to stay back in order to greet her old friend properly. This intention, however, garnered the attention of Fili, who had waited for her at the base of the stairs, "Hilde, are you coming with us?"
Glancing in Fili's direction, Hilde could see several members of the company stop to see what had happened – Thorin included. "I shall be along shortly, Fili." The frown on the Prince's face matched the one the dwarven King now wore.
"I think it best if the company remains together." Thorin's words weren't said kindly. He was looking now to Glorfindel, who had walked silently across the clearing to Hilde's side. If Hilde had been a younger woman, she may found this posturing rather flattering – men fighting over a lady. However, at over 2,000 years old, she was frustrated by it.
"I do not question your judgment, Thorin. I do, however, have friends here whom I wish to speak with. I shall be along shortly." Balin had stepped in and forced Thorin to continue his trek up the stairs, though Fili remained unmoved at the bottom.
"Friends? Shall you introduce them to me? I've never met an elf." The way the Fili said this wasn't in the normal joking way that Hilde had become accustomed to hearing from the Prince. His ever present smirk was also missing. Glorfindel laughed lightly, the sounded must softer and gentler than the dwarf's.
"I have met many dwarves during the ages, young one. I am Glorfindel, friend of the Lady Angreniel." The elven lord bowed and extended his hand in a formal greeting. Fili marched over, lifting his shoulders and glancing up at Glorfindel with mild distaste on this features.
"I am Fili, Prince of Ered Luin, Heir of Durin, Nephew to Thorin Oakenshield, Friend of the Lade Hilde." The way the Fili said Hilde spoke of his unhappiness at the current situation. Hilde rolled her eyes and stood in front of Fili, mostly blocking him from the sight of Glorfindel.
"Fili, I am not certain what you are trying to prove, but Glorfindel is a lord amongst elves, a dear friend to me, and he has done nothing to warrant your distrust. Please, go with the others – I will rejoin before dinner, I swear it." The young dwarf didn't even have the grace to look ashamed, merely nodded to Hilde as he turned and walked quickly away. The others had already entered the main hall, leaving her and Glorfindel alone in the clearing. "I am sorry, my friend. They do not look fondly on my friendships with elves."
"There is no need to apologize for them, melonnin. They worry for you, which is a good thing." Hilde smiled and grasped the elf's hand in hers. His skin was much softer and lighter than hers, not bearing the callouses and roughness that marred Hilde's hands since her first lifetime in Khazad-dum. "How long have you traveled with them?"
"To be truthful, not long at all. They have a way about them, though, that has completely captured me." Hilde watched as Glorfindel rubbed her hands with his, his fingers softly tracing the lines of her own. Her mind flew back to the times she'd shared with him before, when she'd been younger, softer of heart. She'd loved him then. Perhaps he'd loved her too, in his own way. "How have the centuries treated you, my friend?"
It was times with Glorfindel, the quiet ones, when Hilde felt distinctly dwarven. He stood a full two heads higher than she, his frame lean and long. She was narrower than the average dwarf, but still had muscle which gave her a boarder appearance than any elven woman. Compounded with the fact that she barely stood as tall as a petite human, gave Hilde a rounded appearance she did not often like. Her face did not carry many features one would expect from a dwarf – she bore a narrow nose, thin brow, and no beard – but compared to the fairness of her elven friend's features, Hilde couldn't help but feel plain.
Glorfindel's soft voice broken into her thoughts, "The centuries have been long. I find the sea calling to me much more frequently of late. I know I still have some part to play in the future here, but my time is short." Hilde looked into his face then, seeing the sorrow she knew he bore almost all of the time. This warrior had seen so much more than almost any other living being in Middle Earth.
"You would find me, before you left? To say goodbye?" Hilde regretted saying the words almost before they left her mouth, but it was too late to take them back.
"I would hope that you would sail with me to the undying lands, melonnin." His hands were on her face now, forcing her to lock eyes with him, "You are very dear to me, little one. I would not wish for you to dwell in this realm forever, surrounded by those doomed with mortality."
"I can choose mortality, should the time come. You know this." Hilde watched as the pain in Glorfindel's eyes intensified.
"But why would you choose death? Why, when you could live beside your friends until the day when the world is unmade?"
"Nothing is decided yet." Hilde's words came out too quickly, she thought, hinting that a decision might be near.
"What has happened? Why do speak now as if you would allow death to take you? You've never spoken like this before."
Hilde couldn't stop herself from telling him, though she knew it wouldn't be welcome news - "I have sworn my loyalty to the line of Durin. I shall share their fate."
Glorfindel moved away from Hilde with a swiftness she'd forgotten he possessed, appearing as though she'd struck him. "What?" His voice was low, shock evident in his face, "Do you love him? That dwarf? That Prince of Ered Luin?"
"It is not to him that I have sworn my loyalty, though Fili and his brother are dear to me."
Glorfindel came close to her again, his eyes locked with hers, his hands coming to her shoulders. "Tell me, Angreniel, to whom is it that your heart is given? Who stole it from me?"
It was Hilde that stepped back then, a frown immediately on her features. "Do not claim to own my heart, Glorfindel! I tried to give it to you and you refused to take it! That was over a thousand years ago and time has changed us – we are mere friends now."
They stood, several feet apart, looking at each other with fear, anger, and hurt mirrored on their faces. "Please, mellonnin, tell me who." Glorfindel's whisper barely reached Hilde's ears.
She turned then to walk away, nearing the steps that her friends had climbed mere minutes before. When reached the base, she turned around and saw Glorfindel facing away from her, his hands clasped behind his back. The sun was setting and the golden glow of his hair was magnified by the last rays of light falling into the valley. "It wasn't even until now that I knew I'd given my heart away again, my friend. His name is Thorin, and it is likely that he will throw my heart away just as you did. Only this time, I'm not sure I can survive the heartbreak."
A/N: Well? Thoughts? I hope you enjoyed it! :)