I'm sorry I've been neglecting this story, but I'll try and get the chapters flowing thick and fast now. If they're not thick and fast, they'll hopefully be quite long!
The dwarves were most likely use to tall, stone walls which seemed to lean towards them. They may even find it comforting. For Rose and Bilbo this was not the case. The corridors of their hobbit holes were wider than the passage they were walking down, and the small crack of sky above them did nothing to ease their worries. If anything, it made Rose feel even more claustrophobic.
"This passage stretched on forever." One of the dwarves grumbled. Rose couldn't help but role her eyes. The dwarves were unhappy with the majority of situations they found themselves in. Surely a passage was better than the beasts which had been chasing them? Then again, Rose would rather take her chances with the four legged monstrosities if the passage continued for much longer. The air around her seemed heavy and it tingled against her skin as though there was something wrong with it. It was most disconcerting and her usual comfort of wrapping her arms around her middle seemed to prove useless.
Dwalin was walking in front of her, the axes strapped to his back swaying slightly as he walked. Actually, he didn't walk; he strutted. In front of him there was nothing but the passageway. Should something come towards them the only thing that would protect her was Dwalin, and she wasn't convinced that he wouldn't throw her at any attacker or attempt to use her as a shield. He could quite possibly grab her rather than one of his axes.
Thankfully nothing did attack them and they reached the end of the passage some hour and a half later. Rose found herself suddenly very cosy with the dwarves on a ledge above a beautiful, sweeping valley of green trees, blue water and white-brick buildings. Waterfalls tumbled from tall white cliffs strewn with trees and grass, disappearing behind the houses. "The Valley of Imladris." Gandalf announced. "In the common tongue it's known by another name."
"Rivendell." Bilbo breathed, words echoing of the rock. He stumbled forwards a few steps, stopped only by the dwarvish bodies pressing back.
"Here lies the last homely house east of the sea."
"It's beautiful." Rose smiled, desperately drinking in the sight.
Dwalin spat at his feet. "It's elvish."
Thorin rounded on the wizard, fury ablaze in his eyes. "This was your plan all along." He accused, the metal handle of his axe thumping against the ground. "To seek refuge with our enemies!"
"You have no enemies here, Thorin Oakenshield." It took very little effort for Gandalf to stride past Thorin, seeming to brush him aside as though he were nothing more than a feather in the autumn breeze. "The only ill will to be found in this valley is that which you bring yourself!"
"You think the elves will give this quest our blessing?" Thorin demanded.
"We have question that must be answered." Gandalf replied as he passed along the edge of the rock. He paused, let out an 'ah ha!' and stepped onto a ledge just out of sigh. "You will all leave the talking to me." Gandalf stated as he pushed forwards towards a ledge. "The last thing we need is for you insulting the elves after they've just saved you. Follow me."
The dwarves grudgingly followed in the wizard's footsteps, though only after a moment's pause, Bilbo and Rose a little more eager to enter the valley. "I've never seen such a beautiful place." Rose said quietly to Bilbo as they followed Gandalf down a narrow sloping path. Grass lined the edge of the uneven rocks, the sides dropping away to grassy fields on the left and a river on the right.
"I've only read about it." Bilbo nodded. "It doesn't look the same as the illustrations."
"Are illustrations ever so true?"
The dwarves around them muttered in annoyance but had the sense to keep their tones low. If the elves were as the books stated then the inhabitants of Rivendell would surely know of their presence. The mutterings of the dwarves ceased altogether when they drew to a stone bridge which stretched out across a river that flowed far below. Two tall stone elves flanked the entrance to the courtyard, peering down at them with grey faces.
"I don't like this place." One of the dwarves muttered. They had spread out a little to assess the danger but, upon spying an elf in plum robes descending the stairs towards them, they quickly shuffled closer together.
"Mithrandir." The elf's voice rang clear through the air, soft and commanding at the same time.
"Lindir." Gandalf greeting, seemingly pleased to see the elf.
Rose saw Thorin draw close to Dwalin, muttering quietly to him as Gandalf and the elf spoke to each other. "I've never seen an elf before!" Bilbo said in awe.
Rose was almost a little disappointed at the appearance of the elf; his face was no different to that of a hobbits; hairless and smooth. The hair on his head was rich in colour and, although long and straight, plain and flat. From the books she had read Rose had almost expected him to have a shining aurora about him.
The sound of a horn split the air and the dwarves turned as one towards it. Racing towards them, hooved thundering on the stone bridge, were two dozen horses. Each horse supported an elf clad in armour and rich coloured robes.
Thorin yelled a command in dwarvish and the dwarves pressed together. Oin and Bofur pulled Rose and Bilbo into the middle of the group, effectively crushing them in a mass of dwarvish metal and fur. Rose had dealt with men before so the feeling of being so small was not a shock, but never had she been in the presence of so many elves. She was suddenly very aware of the fact that she was dirty and hadn't bathed properly in some time. Whilst Lindir had not lived up to her expectations, the dwarves on horseback certainly were!
"Gandalf." An elf in purple armour astride a black horse spoke. Rose didn't need to be a genius to know it was Lord Elrond who commanded the wizard's attention. Again they conversed in Elvish before briefly embracing each other. "Strange for an orc pack to come so close to our borders." Lord Elrond stated as he dismounted his horse.
"We may be to blame for that." Gandalf said sheepishly, glancing towards the dwarves.
As though a silent command had been given Thorin stepped forwards, the dwarves shadowing him. It seemed that Thorin had far more than one shadow.
"Welcome, Thorin, son of Thrain." Elrond nodded. He did not seem surprised to see the dwarf, but he was courteous which was more than could be said for Thorin.
"I do not believe we have met."
"You have your grandfather's bearing. I knew Thror when he ruled under the mountain."
Rose frowned, glancing across at Bilbo. Later. The second hobbit mouthed.
"Indeed? He made no mention of you."
A shadow flickered over Lord Elrond's face for a half a second but it was gone as soon as it had come. It was not it his nature to be rude. Instead he spoke in Elvish to Thorin, succeeding in his attempt to rile the dwarves.
"What is he saying?" Gloin growled, pushing forwards and brandishing his axe." Does he offer us insults?"
"He offers you food." Rose said quickly, before the dwarves could work themselves up. "Unless I am mistaken?" sixteen pairs of eyes swivelled towards her and she blushed.
Gandalf shook his head. "He does indeed offer you food."
As though someone had blown out a candle the attitude of the dwarves changed from hatred to cautious as they accepted the offer.
A small smile graced Lord Elrond's face as he turned and led the way up the stairs. "You may leave your packs here. They will be taken to your rooms whilst you eat."
It took a few minutes for the dwarves to untangle themselves from their straps and a few minutes more for them to be convinced to leave them (and their weapons) behind. Though the majority of their swords, axes, hammers and maces were left behind each dwarf still had one weapon tucked into their belt. Bilbo and Thorin kept their swords on them as they led the way to the dining room.
"I had heard tale of a small party of dwarves heading east." Elrond said as he led them into a room decorated in gold and yellow. Two long, wooden tables stretched up the middle of the room and onto a balcony. Bowls of salads, fruits and vegetables were aligned with silver plates and goblets of wine and water. "I had no idea there were two hobbits among them."
"Ah." Gandalf chuckled. "We thought there was only one to be joining us."
"There will still only be one." Thorin said in a low tone, glowering at Rose over his shoulder. Rose, who had never come across someone who outright despised her and let her know it, shrank back so that Bofur was between herself and the dwarf.
Lord Elrond smoothly changed the subject. "Help yourselves to food." He motioned for Gandalf and Thorin to follow him to a side room whilst the dwarves seated themselves. Balin and Bilbo moved towards the head of the table whilst Rose stuck with Bofur, unsure where she was meant to go.
"I've never been to an elvish settlement before." She said quietly, taking a seat at the table and female elves in beautiful silk robes began to assemble with a variety of harps and flutes.
"Probably for the best." Bofur looked and sounded disgruntled.
Rose rolled her eyes. "I think it's rather beautiful. There's elegance to it that the Shire doesn't have."
"Then you won't object when we leave you here." Dwalin snapped, grabbing a bowl of salad and sifting through it. "Where's the meat?"
"Elves don't eat meat." Rose forced herself to remain calm and not raise her voice. It wouldn't solve anything. "At least, not very often. They're too in tune with the earth for that."
"Really?" Dwalin sounded sarcastic and bored. "How would you know that?"
"Because I can read." Dwalin glowered at her over the bowl he slowly placed back on the table.
Rose swallowed hard, eyes growing wide. "Excuse me." She hurried up the length of the table to Bilbo's side, slipping onto the bench next to him as Balin made room for her.
"Is everything alright?" the hobbit asked her.
"I've insulted Dwalin." She said weakly. "I may have implied he was illiterate."
Though she spoke quietly enough for Thorin not to hear, Balin certainly did. The white-haired dwarf chuckled, laying a hand on her arm. "Don't worry, lassie. My brother isn't one for reading."
Rose huffed, hunching in on herself and picking at the orange slices on the table in front of her. She was hit by a wave of homesickness as Balin and Bilbo conversed over her head. When she had been little, before her siblings had been born, her mother had always given her an orange in the evening. The tradition had continued until Saradas had been nine, at which point it had become a rather stressful affair. She couldn't help but wonder what her mother and her siblings were doing now. Were they having lunch too? Or were they out looking for her with her cousin? Guilt washed over her, chased away by Thorin's shadow as he stalked by.
A commotion at the other end of the table drew Rose's attention and she turned to find Bofur scrambling onto a small stone table.
"There's an inn, there's an inn, there's a merry old inn, beneath an old grey hill,"
"Oh Aulë, do they have no table manners?" Rose groaned as Bofur began to sing and dance. The dwarves still seated began to thump their fists on the table tops, stamp their feet on the floor and sing along.
"And there they brew a beer so brown the man in the moon himself came down one night to drink his fill!" Even Balin raised a glass of wine and began to sing as a bread roll flew between Gandalf and Elrond. "Oh, the ostler has a tipsy cat, that played a five-stringed fiddle, and up and down he saws his bow; now squeaking high, and purring low!" Kili loaded spoonful of egg and threw it down the table towards his brother. As Bofur continued his song bread rolls and other various food items flew around the room. A lump of cheese colliding with the statue of a raven marked the end of the song, the dwarves erupting into cheers.
"This is what happened at my house." Bilbo stated from his slouched position on the bench beside Rose.
"If you get any lower you'll be sitting on the floor!" she observed with a slightly laugh.
"Better than the wrath of an elf."
Rose was inclined to agree with him.