Sorry that this has taken so long. I've been having trouble writing in the past year, and my third year of college on top of that is running me a little thin! I'll always continue working on my stories though (:
Thanks to all my gorgeous reviewers (:
Read and Review (:
By the time the weary company reached Bree, it was well into the night. The stars had made their appearance hours ago, and the entire company was feeling rather dreary. Many were sore from riding their ponies all day and all were hungry for a good meal.
"Welcome to Bree, company. Only a little while longer, and we shall take rest." Gandalf said as the ponies rode the adventurers into the busy settlement. Rough looking males of different races marched through the streets, many drunk due to the lateness of the night.
Cupcake was startled by a lone drunk who had gotten brave enough to walk alongside Kyrie's pony and tried to grab her arm. She spat, jerking her arm up and away from the drunk's paws, swinging the back of her small hand out to swat at his face. The drunk backed off quickly, rubbing at his sore cheek, but there were still more drunks about. No one seemed to notice or comment that Bofur and Bifur quickly took guard at both of Kyrie's sides. She was not sure if that irritated her, or if she feet flattered. After another drunk tried to grab at the hybrid's long braid from behind, Bilbo took up charge behind them. Kyrie felt her cheeks burn in embarrassment. She knew she could handle these drunken bastards; she didn't want the rest of the company to feel like she needed special treatment.
But she knew that now wasn't the best time to bring up the subject. Instead of whining and demanding respect by complaining, Kyrie would instead show her worth and gain respect through her actions.
Kyrie felt herself sag into Cupcake as the light of a large house came into view. The sign outside said: 'The Prancing Pony Pub and Inn', and the half-Fae let out a sigh of relief. She felt herself becoming spoiled, if she was completely honest. Last night in Bilbo's hobbit hole was the first time since Kyrie was small that she had slept on an actual piece of furniture-even if it was an old couch. The prospect of sleeping in a REAL bed was so alluring; Kyrie could feel herself growing tired.
"Bifur, Bombur, Kyrie, Dwalin, Ori, and Nori-bring the ponies to the stables out back. The rest of us will go inside and acquire the rooms." Thorin said, pointing behind the Pub and Inn. Those who were instructed to head inside dismounted their ponies, handing the reins to the stable group.
Kyrie rode Cupcake into the stables, holding Peony's and Syrup's reins in each hand. The blonde had to hold onto Cupcake with her legs, but thankfully the ponies were tired and eager to be lead into the stable. The stable-boy was happy to help the company settle their ponies into the stables and beamed brightly as the ponies began to pour into the stables.
"Where are you lot headed?" The stable boy, a tall, tanned Man asked, herding Pansy and Tea into their stables. His clothes were covered in muck and a knitted hat was tugged down low to cover his ears.
"South." Bombur lied politely, helping him heft some fresh hay into the stables for the exhausted ponies. Just as the stable-boy was about to ask another question, Gandalf appeared.
"Time to rest, Hallothwen." Gandalf said to Kyrie, eyeing the stable-boy strangely. Kyrie gave the Wizard a strange look, but kept her mouth shut and nodded her head.
"Good night. Thank you for helping with the ponies." Ori said, giving Kyrie a cover to leave the stables. She nodded her head one more time before rushing out of the stables with her head down. She heard Gandalf spit a few words at the stable-boy in Elvish before he came following behind.
The sound of the Elvish tongue set Kyrie on edge. Elves often visited Fangorn Forest to speak with the older Ents and whenever they came, Kyrie was hidden away for her own safety. Elves were the race that was best at making potions, beauty products, and medicines; second to the Wizards of course. Many of these products contained Fae parts.
A secret part of her wished she could have met with the Elves, but it was too dangerous. The Fae has been almost completely wiped out because of the Elves, using their body parts to make profit. Wizards often tried to make substitutes for Fae parts, but when they were needed, Wizards were more likely to ask instead of killing one of the Fae for their bodies, like the Elves do.
Only being half-Fae was a blessing and a curse. It was harder for an Elf to detect exactly what Kyrie was, but her body was just as valuable as a full blooded Fae. The fact that Gandalf could speak Elvish did worry her a bit, also that he called her by an Elvish name.
Gandalf knows who-what Kyrie is, so he would know the hatred she has for the Elves. Why would he speak their tongue in front of her and then give her an Elvish name! The Human-Fae took it as an insult, her chest puffing out in anger.
"What was that?" Kyrie asked as the aged Wizard grasped her hand, dragging her into the pub of the Prancing Pony. The company was all inside the pub, drinking to their brim. Some of the younger Dwarves were on table tops, dancing and singing like they had at Bilbo's home.
"There are some who do not wish our company well on this quest. Spies hide in unexpected places as well as in plain sight, trying to figure out the details of our adventure." Gandalf said seriously, pulling a chair out for his Tinkerer. The wise Wizard knew an Elf when he saw one, even when one was quiet stalky and had their distinctive ears hidden under a hat. He sat heavily across from Kyrie after he waved one of the waiters over.
"Ginger beer for me, a hard coffee for the lady." Gandalf said, smiling at the waiter, who nodded and turned back to his bar.
"Hard coffee?" Kyrie asked. She knew coffee was a drink, but how could coffee be hard?
"Trust me, you'll enjoy it." Gandalf smiled, a twinkle in his eyes fading as a frown crossed his face. "You did not see the pointed ears beneath the cap of the stable-boy."
"You mean...he was an elf?" Kyrie questioned, feeling sick to her stomach. She had to remind herself that she was on her own now. No more Papi and her other uncle Ents to protect her from the Elves.
"Yes. We must remain wary." Gandalf said, watching Fili, Kili, and Bofur who were singing and dancing on top of a tall table, completely drunk. "Well…some of us must."
"Let us have our fun." Kyrie snorted, smiling at the waiter as he came back with their drinks. She was frightened by the sudden shock of that spy-stable boy, but she did not want to be the wet blanket while the rest of the company had a nice time.
Taking a deep sniff and drink of her 'hard coffee', Kyrie couldn't help but smile. Whatever Gandalf had ordered was absolutely divine: it was bitter, while being sweet at the same time. The aroma that came up from the mug was simply enchanting, somehow being relaxing and energizing at the same time.
"That is true. I just hope no one calls too much attention upon themselves." Gandalf said, poking at the condensation of his already half empty glass. Whoa, old man drinks up quick!
"The quest only just started! We'll be fine." Kyrie pushed herself to laugh, spying Dwalin, Balin, Dori, Nori, and Bifur having a little drinking competition between them. They were surrounded by cheering Human men, who were betting on which Dwarf would drink the most.
"We better get to sleep. We have a rather long trip ahead." Gandalf said, knocking back his ginger beer and standing to his feet. While watching the Wizard out, Kyrie spied Thorin. The majestic Dwarf was following Gandalf up the stairs, but the rest of the company was still missing among the crowd.
Finishing her hard coffee, Kyrie decided that while being a nice place, The Prancing Pony was not for her. Too many men, Human, Dwarf, and Elf alike, were asking her to dance. It wasn't unappreciated; she just was too tired to be in the dancing mood.
Standing and shaking off her cramping legs, Kyrie walked up the creaky stairs to one of the three rooms that Thorin and Gandalf had rented. Opening the door revealed six beds, three along two of the walls. The only bed in this specific room that was already occupied was taken by a snoring Hobbit.
Creeping in silently as she could with her ankle bells on, she crept into the bed across from him. Slowly taking off her half-cape and weapons, Kyrie rested them at the foot of the bed. She cautiously pushed back the thick and scratchy blanket and tucked herself into the bed, falling into a doze easily.
Thought the night, Kyrie heard the door opening and closing as the drunken Dwarves made their way to bed. Bunking with Bilbo and she were Bifur, Bofur, Balin, and Dwalin, and the rest of the company was split between two other rooms.
At one point during the night, when she was in that strange dimension between sleeping and consciousness, Kyrie felt somebody tuck the blanket around her tightly.
"Onward!" Gandalf said, bursting into the room, banging his staff against the ground. All six of the resting company jolted awake, the Dwarves striking some fierce looking fighting stances and Kyrie lunging for her daggers. Bilbo yelped, becoming tangled in his bed sheets and ended up crashing to the floor.
"Gandalf, what's with the urgent wake up?" Bofur asked, pulling his hat on over his dark hair. The toy maker was achy and still tired, but he felt leagues better than he had yesterday.
"We must leave just before the sun." Gandalf said cheerily, but there was a worrisome glimmer in his eyes. Gandalf's dreams had been strange last night, and it had set him a little on edge. He would rather be a little cautious than sorry. The Dwarves grumbled, redressing what little clothes and armor that they had taken off the night before. Kyrie noticed that Bilbo wasn't getting up from his blanket cocoon, so she dragged herself over to the ensnared Hobbit.
"Are you alright?" The half-breed asked, kneeling next to the slightly smaller Hobbit. Bilbo had his hand wrapped around his nose, his eyes squinted with irritation and exhaustion. Kyrie sighed when she saw the trickle of red dripping from his palm and pulled his hand away from his face to reveal a slightly bloody nose. She guessed that he had hit his face during his fall from the tall bed. Clicking her tongue, she licked the rough bed sheet and lightly dabbed at Bilbo's nose. He flinched, pulling away from the rough touch.
"Don't get blood on the comforter! That is so…nasty!" Bilbo whined, pulling away and grabbing her wrist so she couldn't dab at his slightly trickling nose. He couldn't believe that she could think of destroying perfectly good sheets to stop a bloody nose! Couldn't she run and grab the handkerchief that she had given him from his coat pocket.
"Sugar, worse things than blood have been on this comforter." Kyrie said, using his grip on her wrist to pull him forward. She began to re-dab at his nose gently, ignoring Bilbo's sputtering.
"What?! Worse!? Don't touch my face with it!" Bilbo yelped, causing Dwalin and Balin to laugh at the Hobbit's unmanly noise. Bilbo blushed three different shades of red, but continued to try and evade Kyrie's hand.
"Bilbo, let me just stop the bleeding." Kyrie said, rolling her eyes. Bilbo sighed, hunching his shoulders and letting the slightly taller woman squeeze his nose with the bloodied comforter.
Bilbo:
Waking up by landing on one's face was never a good way to start the day. Bilbo internally cursed when he felt the warm trickle of blood slip down his lip, but those curses grew louder when he saw Kyrie coming his way.
She looked bedraggled. Her green corset was wrinkled, as was her brown buckled pants. Her teal and brown orbs were still slightly cloudy, and her skin was tinged a fresh pink. As Kyrie made her way towards Bilbo, her ankle bells jangled like tiny dinner bells, which warmed his heart as he thought of his mother's favorite dinner bell she would ring every night.
When Kyrie knelt down next to Bilbo, he was reminded of their height difference. He was not going to lie, having a beautiful woman who was about two or three inches taller than he was pampering him, was a little blow to his ego. Bilbo unconsciously took a deep breath as Kyrie closed in and pulled his clammy hand away from his face, which only made the poor Hobbit wince.
When she started to dab at his nose, Bilbo could feel himself blush from hairy toe to pointed ear. Another blow to his male ego. Kyrie was treating him like a small Hobbitling that couldn't take care of his own bloody nose. With a flinch of his nose, Bilbo caught the scent of green apples, hay, and maple wood. As she was lightly patting the bachelor's nose to make sure no more blood was coming out, Bilbo caught sight of something on her skin.
"There! Was it really worth the fight?" Kyrie asked him, tilting her head and smiling softly.
"Is that a…a tattoo?" Bilbo asked, looking at the bright colors that danced across her skin. The bursts of color started at her sternum, stretched across the whole left side of her collar and ended at the top of her shoulder. It was a bloom of flowers, each painted beautifully against her skin. Pink begonias, white and yellow carnations, bronze chrysanthemums, orange cosmos, purple geraniums, red gladioluses, blue hydrangeas, dark pink stargazers, white orange blossoms, and white stephanotis.
It sounds like a horrid mash of flowers, but it was utterly stunning on the skin.
"Yes! A traveling artist came through the forest with his son. Papi and I helped them make camp, so they owed us a favor. I noticed that the artist had all these beautiful illustrations over his skin, and I asked for him to do one for me. He asked me what I liked and I told him flowers. He and my Papi talked about certain flowers, and then the man got to work." Kyrie seemed so content with her daydream of home.
Bilbo faintly thought about how much he missed Bag End and he knew how she felt about her Forest.
"It's beautiful…they're beautiful." Bilbo stuttered, watching as she tilted her head to the side to show off more of her inked skin.
"Thank you! C'mon, Gandalf wants us up and out before dawn." Kyrie said, grabbing his hand and hauling him up. Despite their sizes, the Hobbit's hand was slightly larger than hers and hers felt good in his palm. Kyrie's hands weren't like other women's. Hers were calloused, with scars decorating her left hand.
Bilbo couldn't find anything to say as the two hurriedly got ready, Kyrie pinning on her cloak, hiding her tattoos. They left the room and headed to the stables, where the rest of the company was reading to mount their ponies.
"Good morning, Bilbo, Kyrie." Gandalf said, keeping one eye on the stable boy. Bilbo noticed that Kyrie was watching the stable boy as well, going as far as baring her teeth at the poor lad.
"A wild dog you are not, Miss Hallothwen. Unbare your teeth." Gandalf smiled, holding out his hand and helping Kyrie up onto her pony. Bilbo was able to helf himself onto his own pony today with only half of the company snickering as it took him ten minutes to get comfortable in the saddle.
"Onward!" Gandalf said, getting on his horse and leading the company out of the stable. Bilbo kept an eye on Kyrie as she was one of the last to leave the stable. She had turned her body around, and then she started speaking something other than Common to the stable boy.
Whatever she was speaking sounded beautiful, but the way she was spitting her words clearly made it known that it was insults she was saying. The stable boy looked appalled, his eyes wide and mouth open. Kyrie then made some strange kind of hand signal, which made the stable boy take a step back.
Kyrie then turned back around, clicking Cupcake's reins to make her go faster. Just as she was about to follow the rest onto the road, she turned her head to shout back to the stable boy.
"Be known that there is one Levistone that still draws breath!"