Another chapter with not much happening. Sorry guys. Thanks for the reviews though! You have no idea how helpful they are! Please enjoy!
The next day, Emi was groggily roused by Bofur, who helped her onto Myrtle after a quick, unfulfilling breakfast. The hobbit was too tired to attempt and learn how to mount a pony by herself today. She had gotten almost no sleep last night as she rolled around on the hard ground, trying to find a place to lie that didn't have a huge root sticking into her back.
The second day of travel was not nearly as exciting as the first, though the terrain slowly began to grow larger and more drastic. Cliffs and pine trees were the main sight to see, and they followed along a river for a bit, which led over to a steep incline. Most of the ponies went down without a problem, but Emi had to get Nori to lead Myrtle down behind his own creature.
By the third day, Emi was no longer interested in the land around her. She looked around every once in awhile to appreciate it for a moment before looking ahead again at the backside of another pony. The others were quiet too. The excitement of the journey that had first carried them had begun to wear down. This left Emi to her thoughts, which often drifted back towards home. As the monotonous sound of hooves drumming over hard ground sounded in her mind, she pictured her little home back in the shire. The flowerpots sat merrily on her porch and the stump squatted on slightly raised ground, inviting her to rest awhile and blow some smoke rings up into the open sky. The round maroon door of the home itself was slightly ajar. A welcome sight. But as Emi started towards it, she saw the faces of dwarves appear in the crack, laughing at her before the door was slammed suddenly in her face.
The hobbit's eyes shot open and she looked around frantically, before realizing that she must have dozed off. Nothing had changed much since her mind had begun to wander. The only difference was that Fili and Kili had stopped conversing with one another quietly and the scenery had begun to rise as the company made their way to higher ground. Emi relaxed again, though she took care not to drift off a second time. There was something unsettling in the way the dwarves in her dream had laughed at her. Something malicious in their glares. The tired hobbit tried her best to push the grinning faces of the dream dwarves out of her mind, but whenever she seemed to manage it, there it came again, sneaking into the corners of her vision.
The hours passed by in dreadful slowness until Thorin called back, telling the others to break for camp. They had set up that night between two cliffs, on rising above them, the other dropping away into a forest below. The ponies were kept close by, seeing as there was no good place to graze. Emi swung down from her pony without assistance or injury; Bofur commented lightly that she was a fast learner. Emi thanked him back, but could not help but notice how the comment could have been perceived as slightly sarcastic.
The meal that night was rather quiet in comparison to other meals, and most of the dwarves quickly retired to their bedrolls. Emi included. Only Kili and Fili stayed awake, since they were on watch. Or at least, Fili was, Kili was just restless.
Emi tossed and turned for what felt like ages, until at last, she put her self on the ground and decided that she would not move until she fell asleep. It did not work. What made it even worse was Bombur's snoring. In and out and in and out, one would think he was fighting a war instead of simply breathing. The hobbit tried her best to ignore it, but the more she ignored it, the better she heard it. Then she heard the flittering of tiny wings that would stop whenever the large dwarf would inhale and then start again on the exhalation. She sat up abruptly, glaring at the large dwarf. The moths were sucked in again. This wasn't going to work. Emi was now confident there would be no rest for her that night. And the fluttered out again. Definitely no sleep.
Stiffly, Emi, wriggled out of her thin bedroll and padded away from the other dwarves, the younger two brothers only spared her a glance before going back to their own thoughts. The barefooted woman moved slowly over to the ponies before sitting down tiredly next to Myrtle's large, grazing head.
Her eyes were heavy, and she wished desperately to fall asleep. She almost did as she sat there, one hand propping up her head and the other rhythmically petting the fuzz between her pony's eyes. But just before she nodded off, the mocking laughter echoed in her head again and she sat up.
She knew it wasn't any good. She knew that she should just get over it and realize that it was just a passing daydream… or nightmare, rather. But the hobbit could not shake the feeling, that somewhere, in the back of their minds the dwarves did feel that way. Dislike, annoyance, loathing… and she didn't know which was worse, that or the complete dismissal that she had received so far from the companies leader. It wasn't that he ignored her, but he just didn't care. Emi was the wizard's charge. It was the wizard that wanted her along, and if Thorin had his way, the Halfling would still be back in her home, baking bread or perhaps visiting friends. And a nasty feeling grew in Emi's stomach as she realized that if she had her way, she'd still be home too.
"So in the end it's all Gandalf's fault." Emi muttered quietly to herself as she felt the pony next her move under her hand. "Isn't that right girl?" she turned to look at the pony who glanced one eye at her, but did not stop each grass diligently. Emi snorted quietly. "Eh, what do you care? As long as your fed, right?" the hobbit chuckled to herself as she watched the beast munching contentedly.
Under her hand, Emi felt the gently pony tense. A bloodcurdling, morbid scream rang through the air. Emi's eyes flew open and she shot up from her seat, all fatigue gone. She hurried back towards the fire; hands feeling unnaturally clammy and she could feel Goosebumps prickling down her spine.
"What was that?" she asked the two dwarves still awake by the fire. Both of them had also looked around at the sound.
"Orcs." Kili replied, glancing warily into the darkness beyond the light of the fire. Another faint scream sounded farther off.
"Orcs?" Emi's voice repeated, coming closer. Thorin's restful eyes jolted awake as the woman's higher pitched voice cut through the air.
"Throat-cutters." Fili elaborated, looking around nonchalantly. "There'll be dozens of them out there. The lowlands are crawling with them."
"They strike in the wee small hours when everyone's asleep." Kili added ominously. "Quick and quiet, no screams." His eyes widened. "Just lots of blood." Emi turned around quickly to stare into the darkness beyond the ring of firelight, her hand wrung worriedly. Kili and Fili watched her intently for a moment before their faces cracked into smiles and they shared a glance chuckling quietly before turning back to what they had been doing.
"You think that's funny?" both looked up in surprise to see the disapproving glare of their uncle on them. Emi turned around in surprise looking in confusion at the down faces of the young dwarves. "You think a night raid by orcs is a joke?" Thorin continued.
"We… we didn't mean anything by it." Kili looked down, jaw clenching slightly in shame.
"No, you didn't." Thorin spat, standing up. "You know nothing of the world." He hissed before stalking away from camp in an attempt to clear his head. Emi looked back at him, frowning. Thorin was usually quiet, but the hobbit wasn't used to seeing him so angry.
"Don't mind him, laddie." Balin comforted the youngest Durin, appearing by the cliff wall. "Thorin has more cause than most, to hate orcs." The old dwarf's eyes lingered on the back of his old friend before turning to three pairs of wide eyes. "After the dragon took the Lonely Mountain, King Thror tried to reclaim the ancient dwarf kingdom of Moria… But our enemy had gotten there first." Fili and Kili tensed. They had heard this story many times before, and they knew what Balin meant. Emi just stared wide-eyed at the white bearded dwarf, slowly taking a seat by the fire. Once she was seated, Balin continued. "Moria had been taken by legions of orcs, lead by the most vile of all their race. Azog, the Defiler. The giant Gundabad Orc had sworn to wipe out the line of Durin. He began… by beheading the king." Emi stifled a gasp quickly, not wanting to interrupt the story. "Thrain, Thorin's father, was driven mad by grief. He went missing, taken prisoner or killed, we do not know." Balin shook his head sadly. "We were leaderless. Defeat and death were upon us. That… is when I saw him. A young dwarf prince, facing down the Pale orc." Emi turned her head to gaze at Thorin, who stood overlooking the cliff. "He stood alone against this terrible foe, his armor rent… wielding nothing but an oaken branch as a shield." The old dwarf smirked slightly at the memory. "Azog the Defiler learned that day that the line of Durin would not be so easily broken. Our forces rallied and drove the orcs back. Our enemy had been defeated." The smile disappeared again. "But there was no feast, no song, that night. For our dead were beyond the count of grief." He straightened slightly, pushing back the memories that surfaced. "We few had survived. And I thought to myself then… there is one I could follow." Balin looked up again at the dwarf standing only a few yards away. "There is one… I could call King." Slowly, Thorin turned around, the stench of the battle, fought long ago, still lingering on his senses. He raised his eyes to see all the company staring at him, a mix of awe and pity on their faces.
"But the pale orc." Emi's voice broke the silence as she turned back to look at Balin. "What happened to him?" Thorin's jaw clenched again as he strode back to his resting place.
"He slunk back into the hole from which he came." The dwarf growled. "That filth died of his wounds long ago." No one said anything to this, though a brief look was shared between Balin and Gandalf, who had positioned himself at the bottom of a tree. Guilt and worry filled this look. But it went unnoticed. "Get some rest, all of you." Thorin's voice commanded as he sat himself down again. "We start at first light." It as a long time before anyone found rest that night.
Well, please review! I'm trying to write more chapters, but my inspiration is slipping away fast! Please, review or PM me with any ideas!
And of course, encouragement is nice too! ;)