Chapter 10:
Most of the dwarves were not very pleased with me, but happy that I was alive nonetheless. Hannah, being who she was, still refused to acknowledge my presence. Thorin was grumpy, yet grateful, but still chewed me out for making such decisions on my own. The others (mainly Bofur) just slapped me on the back and hugged me (ouch, wounded here!), threatening all sorts of things if I do something like this again. Bilbo was extremely relieved that I was alive. I was one of his best friends, at least here, on the expedition.
The feast that Lord Elrond has called for was very... peaceful. And made up of mostly salads. There was no meat, much the displeasure of the dwarves. When everyone was finally seated, and eating of salad was underway (I have to admit I kind of missed them), Thorin and Gandalf decided to show Elrond their swords.
"This is Orcrist, the Goblin Cleaver. A famous blade, forged by the High Elves of the West, my kin." He explained with slight awe, turning the sword over in his hands and finally giving it back. "May it serve you well." NEXT!
"And this is Glamdring, the Foe-hammer, sword of King of Gondolin. These swords were made for the goblin wars of The First Age..."
Bilbo and I glanced at each other, before looking down on our blades in our laps. Maybe...?
"I wouldn't bother, laddie." Balin had noticed us. "Swords are named for the great deeds they do in war."
"What are you saying, our swords haven't seen battle?"
"Not really sure it is a sword. More of a letter opener, really. Alice might want to ask about hers though."
I looked down onto my sword in my lap, glancing back up at Bilbo and his slightly beaten down expression.
"No. I'll name this sword myself one day. Maybe you will too, Bilbo." I smiled at him, and he smiled shyly back at me.
"How did you come by these?" I turned my attention back to Elrond.
"We fund them in a troll hoard on the Great East Road!" Gandalf explained, his surprise over such a find leaking into his voice. "Shortly before we were ambushed by orcs." And there's the annoyance.
"And what were you doing on the Great East Road?" Elrond's face right now, haha. Totally Busted!
Despite his obvious concerns about the destination of our journey, Elrond said nothing more on the matter, and the small feast was soon over, with only a few mishaps from the dwarves. Most of us left the table together, while Bilbo and I went exploring. When you arrive in such a beautiful place, not much else is on your mind. I however was still tired, and was not going to wonder off far.
Rivendell was a truly amazing place. The sun shone over the statues and wonderful architecture in an awe aspiring way. Bilbo and I silently walked around, comforted by each others presence I guess we both felt like we didn't belong much in the company.
We were walking up a stairway to a sunlit hallway when one of us finally disturbed the peace.
"Alice?"
"Yes, Bilbo?" I turned to him, still slowly walking. The hobbit looked slightly nervous, glancing at my bound wound, as if he wanted to berate me for my decision just like the others but did not want to make me feel bad.
"Why did you... why did you decide to stay on the field? Would it not have been better if one of the others stayed behind?" His words made a sad smile appear on my face.
"If I haven't stayed, then orcs would have definitely overrun us in the cave. Also, if one of the others had stayed, they would have undoubtedly also gotten hurt or killed, and as I've said before, I am the most expendable out of everyone." Bilbo was taken aback. He shook his head twice, before expressing his befuddlement.
"Expendable? How could you ever think you are expendable? You-you..! I am the one who..!" He cut of the sentence, taking a moment to calm himself. By now we've reached the top of the stairs, but we did not move further down the hall.
"You are one of my best friends. Certainly my best friend on this trip. Not only that, but you are one of the most kind, brave and definitely smart people I have ever met. I will not have you calling yourself expendable!" He almost spat the last word; I don't think I've ever seen him this angry. The surprise I was feeling at such a passionate reply from him must have been reflected on my face. Besides surprise, warmth spread through my heart. Bilbo glanced at me again and sighed, looking away. Soon he looked up into my eyes, his gaze full of concern.
"Promise me you will not try to sacrifice yourself as easily as that again." He did not need to say it, but it was obvious he felt as useless in this company as I did, and, I guess... He would miss me if I was gone. I was sure that he would be the only one in this world to feel that way, but, perhaps exactly because of that, I have never felt more thankful to have Bilbo Baggins beside me.
"I promise." I smiled at him, one of my hands gently landing on his shoulder and squeezing tightly- my silent 'thank you'. Bilbo smiled back at me, content with my answer.
After a moment, I straightened up and looked ahead.
"Shall we explore further?" I asked my companion. He nodded and walked before me.
The hall we walked through was less of a hall and more of a balcony, since on our left side there was only a handrail. On our right, though, the falls were covered in frescoes depicting old battles of the past. As we turned the corner, a statue emerged. Bilbo and I glanced at each other and moved toward the statue. In the statues arms lay a broken sword. I wonder what it meant.
In front of the statue was another fresco. I stepped closer to Bilbo as he stared into the paint. A man in fancy armor was on the ground, raising up his sword against the sword of a black scary armored knights. It must have been an epic battle to deserve such a memorial... Wait. I glanced at the sword in the mans arms and then behind me, at the broken sword. Could this be the same sword? They do look alike...
I was startled out of my thoughts by Bilbo's voice.
"Come; let's walk a bit more and then you'll go and rest." He lightly tugged my hand to continue down the hall (balcony?). I did not protest, I felt damn tired.
Soon Bilbo returned me to my room, deciding to wander around a bit more and I fell onto the bed, falling into a much needed slumber.
A.N.:
So... I'm not dead, Let's have dinner?
Updates are going to be verrrrry rare. God, it's gonna take me ages to finish this fic.
Just fyi my plans are to go on to LOTR eventually. Oh, and I'm gonna stick to canon on most stuff. And we'll see if Hannah's character makes it to LOTR, but most likely not, it's obvious it's hard for me to write her, and its even harder to write her as a decent human being. Sorry, Hannah! (not really lol)
Most Romance stuff with Leggy is gonna happen at the end of this fic and later on when we move on to LOTR. Looong way to go, people.
I'll try to update when I can.
Ttfn!
