Disclaimer: Anything you recognise is owned by the incredible J.R.R Tolkien, the crazy new stuff is mine! ;) Oh, and the speech is by Shakespeare. Yes, I fitted Shakespeare in. :3 *so proud*
"Go back to the camp." He ordered, knowing they would refuse. Kili and Fili stood side by side, their eyes aflame as they looked at their uncle. Kili glanced at Eve, who had slid down the tree trunk and had her head resting on her knees. Her shoulders were shaking, and Kili knew she was crying. He made to go to her, but found himself blocked by Thorin.
"No." he said coldly, his voice as sharp as a knife. "She is not worthy of an heir of Durin, or to be a member of our company. That is final."
Chapter 13. Not Just Coincidence
An unearthly silence hung over the camp that night. Thorin had informed the others of his decision, and forbidden them to go near Eve. Traitor, Elf friend and deceiver were just a few of the names he called her. Balin had tried to reason with him, but Thorin was resolute. Bofur had tried to lighten the mood by playing his flute, but the tune had sounded so dismal and desolate that Ori had burst into tears, causing Dori to scold the toymaker for being inconsiderate.
Tiriel watched the happenings with disapproval, by what she could guess, the girl had done nothing wrong. Her only fault, and apparently that was fault enough, was to fall for the young prince. He wasn't bad, for a dwarf. His lack of beard and height made him much more attractive in her opinion. She looked over at him; he was sitting next to his brother, sharpening his sword, a pained expression marring his handsome features. Fili kept glancing at him, his eyes sad, as though he didn't know how to comfort his younger sibling. Tiriel let out a quiet sigh, how irrational dwarves where. She leant back against the tree, wishing she could see Dûrion. She hadn't seen him for a few days, and she missed his company.
The elf couldn't fathom why she was needed, yes Gandalf had told her to stay with them, but he hadn't given a reason. Apart from being company for the girl, and even that seemed to make things worse, there appeared to be no point in her staying with them. She was supposed to be watching; from a distance, not joining the group! She looked over to where the wizard sat near Thorin, smoking his pipe with his hat pulled low. She didn't have time to waste; Lady Galadriel wanted to know what was happening, and how the progress of their Gwîn Estil was doing. No, she couldn't hang around, she thought. She had been planning to visit some friends in the Greenwood, including her cousin Tauriel who was captain of the guard. With a groan at the unreliability of wizards she stretched, and got to her feet. Thorin's eyes were on her within seconds, and she hid a smile, putting on an innocent face, and walking over to Gandalf, who gave her a small smile.
"Mithrandir, Amman le hi?" She asked, kneeling down next to him. Gandalf sighed softly, his weathered forehead pulled into a frown.
"Mellon nin, Le-" a flash of light caused him to break off, and all eyes turned towards the source of the glow.
Eve sat on the edge of the glade, a small distance away from the group. Her arms were wrapped around her legs and her head rested upon her knees, in some way of comforting herself. Her gaze was distant, tear-rimmed eyes unblinking. She wished she was home, that she could wake up in bed and this had all been but dream. A Midsummer Night's Dream. That was appropriate, Eve thought. She could be Puck, unaffected by love, not entangled in the emotions of the heart. She thought of a speech she had studied in school, her favourite part by the mischievous sprite.
If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumbered here,
While these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend!
If you pardon, we will mend!
And, as I am an honest Puck,
If we have uneanéd luck,
Now to 'scape the serpents tongue,
We shall make amends ere long.
Else the Puck a liar call,
And so goodnight unto you all!
Give me your hands if we be friends,
And Robin shall restore amends!
Oh, how fitting a speech it was! A tear rolled down her cheek as her gaze wandered to the bracelet on her wrist. Why had she opened the box? Why was she so darn inquisitive?! Curiosity killed the cat, she thought humourlessly. How correct that saying was, for, due to that, she had lost everything from her life. Or was it her previous life? Had she died and was this some twisted afterlife, to punish her for some wrong doings? Was this her equivalent of hell? She pulled at her hair in frustration. She wanted to be back on that hillside with Katie- oh Katie, she thought. I'm so sorry, I'm so so sorry!
Tears rolled down her cheeks and she looked at the bracelet again, a strange anger she couldn't understand rising up in her. Her fingers clawed at it, pulling it as hard as she could, trying to separate it from her skin. Pain shot through her like fire, and the jewel on the bracelet turned red, but she didn't care, she just wanted to go home. Surely removing the bracelet would send her back? She bit her lip to stop herself from crying out at the pain, and blood trickled from her mouth.
Just when she thought she couldn't take it anymore, there was a flash of bright white light, coming from the jewel on top of the bracelet, and it glowed as brightly as the sun, catching the attention of the entire group. Tiriel jumped to her feet, running towards Eve, whose eyes were wide with shock. The elf fell to her knees beside the girl, holding her hand over the jewel, and muttering in Elvish. The words were so fast; Eve could barely make any of them out. Gandalf appeared next to them, a deep frown on his brow. Eve lowered her head in shame, licking the droplets of blood on her lips. After a moment the glow faded, and Tiriel took a step away, sighing with relief.
"You need to be more careful. If you take the bracelet off, which you very nearly did, you will die. Surely Gandalf has informed you of this?" She questioned, turning to the wizard in confusion. Gandalf nodded, watching Eve closely.
"Yes I did." He replied, his sharp eyes searching her like an x-ray. He turned back to the elf, who was observing closely. "Goheno nin, Anno el-ped min said?" Tiriel nodded; a slight frown on her face.
"Be iest lín." Gandalf reached down, and grabbed Eve's shoulder, pulling her to her feet and pushing her further into the forest, away from the company who were watching in confusion. Tiriel followed the wizard closely, gliding through the undergrowth with ease. Eve kept her eyes to the ground, not daring to look at Gandalf, who was pushing her along none to gently.
When they were a reasonable distance from the others, Gandalf stopped, turning to Eve with a strange look in his eyes. She wasn't sure if it was anger, or… something worse. Tiriel watched on from the side, her eyebrows furrowed, waiting for the wizard to begin. Eve lowered her gaze, shame beginning to flow through her. Gandalf gave a huge sigh, before finally speaking.
"Is there something you wish to tell me?" he inquired, watching her carefully. Eve sniffed quietly, before shaking her head.
"No sir." She replied miserably, not looking up to meet his eyes. Gandalf paused, scrutinising her momentarily, before nodding with an almost inaudible moan.
"Very well then, please take a seat Eve." The girl looked up at him in confusion, but did as he asked, and sat down on the grass. Tiriel raised an eyebrow at the wizard, who gestured for her to also take a seat.
"Now, I believe I told you not to remove the bracelet. Am I correct?" Eve nodded, tilting her head slightly, earning a chuckle from the wizard. "You remind me a lot of Bilbo when he was younger; he used to go off searching for elves. He has changed a lot though, but I believe a little bit of that tookishness is still in him, hidden deep down maybe, but we have already seen some of it emerge. Anyway, I am getting off topic. Let me explain why you are here." He sat down on a nearby log, resting his hands on his lap. "It started with the vision."
Lady Galadriel stood staring out into the night sky, watching the numerous stars glistening in the inky blackness. A soft sigh escaped her lips as one star shot down towards the earth, breaking away from its brethren. As it got closer to the ground, the lady realised it was headed towards where she stood. Instead on rushing away for safety, she remained there, after all, these things only happen for a reason, and she did not believe it was time for her to leave Middle Earth quite yet. The star got nearer and nearer, yet she noticed it seemed to be shrinking in size the closer it got. After a few minutes, the star landed in front of her, no bigger than three feet wide. She knelt down beside it, her fingers gracing over the strangely smooth surface. At her touch, the star broke in two, revealing a bracelet in the centre, with a jewel the colour of the sea. Realising this was definitely no coincidence, and that this was definitely no normal star, she reached out and picked up the bracelet. As she touched the stone, a haze passed before her, and when it cleared, she was no longer looking down at the fallen star. She stood on a battlefield, watching a great multitude of orcs swarming down upon a united army of the peoples of middle earth, elves, dwarves and men.
The vision changed, and she saw a dark haired dwarf running towards a pale orc, who smote him with his club. As the orc neared for the death blow, two younger dwarves ran between it and its prey. They attacked the orc, cutting off the claw that replaced one arm, but an orc from close by shot the younger of the two, and he fell, the blond dwarf yelling out in rage before he too was shot. The duo landed next to each other, their fingers grasping each other, and together they died. The pale orc walked toward the other dwarf, laughing at the two fallen warriors, before raising his mace, he killed the dark haired dwarf, a shout of victory emitting his lips.
The vision changed again, now all she could see was a doe as silver as the moon, looking at her. A voice echoed in her head, whispering
"You must not let this happen. The bracelet will find someone who will stop this. Drop it into the water in the mirror. Do not fail me, or a time of great sorrow will come." The doe turned, prancing away as her gaze darkened, and suddenly she was kneeling beside the fallen star, the bracelet in her hands.
Lady Galadriel did as the doe asked, and the bracelet found you. She then asked one of her handmaidens to follow the progress of the wearer, making sure no harm came to her. When she lost you in the mountains, she flew round to where the back door was, in a hope of going in alone to bring you out, and as much of the company as she could, thereby revealing herself. However, this was unnecessary, and she instead caught you when you fell off the tree. And for this, I thank you Tiriel." The elf in question nodded, a small smile on her face at the grateful look Eve flashed her.
"So you see Eve, you are very special and extremely important to us. We cannot afford to let you get hurt, because we have only one chance to save Thorin and his company, and for that, we need you." Eve gulped, terrified at the responsibility resting on her shoulders.
"But, I'm just… Eve! Just Eve! What could I possibly do to save them?" she looked desperately at the wizard, her eyes wide with fear. Gandalf shook his head.
"I know not, except that you must not tell them what I have told you. To know one's fate or a possible outcome is more dangerous than you might believe. As for being just Eve, I find it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love." Eve nodded, not wholly convinced, but knowing she had no other choice.
"I will try Gandalf, so long as Thorin doesn't throw me out." Gandalf chuckled, getting to his feet and offering her a hand.
"Yes, I believe we need to sort a few things out." He replied, pulling her up, and helping Tiriel, before leading the way back to the company.
The moment Gandalf appeared back at the camp, Thorin was on his feet and striding over to inquire as to what had happened. However, his question was cut off by the wizard, who, looking around at the other members of the company, posed this question: What, in their opinion, had Eve done wrong? They spluttered, and some of them, mainly the younger ones, cried out with indignation that she had done nothing. Gandalf was pleased by this, and turned to Thorin with a smile, though whether out of kindness or victory, Thorin wasn't sure.
"Well, Thorin." Gandalf said smugly, watching the future king of Erebor with interest. "What do you say she has done?" Thorin glared back at him, his gaze flickering quickly to his youngest nephew and back. This did not go unmissed by the wizard, who raised his eyebrows with amusement.
"Since when has forming a friendship been betraying one's company?" he asked, his eyes twinkling with mirth at the dwarf, who did not want to acknowledge his nephew's romantic actions, and yet had no other reason. He growled, turning on his heel and walking over to where Dwalin and Balin where sitting. Gandalf smiled, before glancing over his shoulder and calling Eve. The girl walked back into the camp, her eyes sparkling, and was heading over to the younger dwarves, namely Kili and Fili, when Gandalf's gnarled hand grabbed her shoulder.
"Don't push it." He whispered, receiving a giggle from the girl, who headed over to where her friends sat, happy to be welcomed back (judging by the numerous hugs she received as she neared the fire) with open arms.
Translations (Done as best as I could!)
Gwîn Estil - New hope (Meant as saving hope, but I couldn't find a decent translation)
Mithrandir, Amman le hi - Gandalf, why am I here?
Mellon nin, Le - My friend, I
Goheno nin, Anno el-ped min said - Forgive me, may we speak in private?
Be iest lín - As you wish.
A/N YES! I'm back baby! COOKIES FOR EVERYONE!
I've really missed being able to write this, but now I should be able to post regularly! Thank you to everyone who waited ages and ages and ages for me to write this new chapter, I love you guys! :3
Personally, I'm not completely happy with this, but it's the eighth re-write, so I thought I'd better post it! Please let me know what you think! Thanks for reading! :D
Who noticed the quotes? :P