Chp 2
Elves
Ruby awoke to the sound of a door opening to the house. She had rolled over in her sleep and was now staring at a rather large man, tall, strong. He saw dwarfs littered his floor and Ruby's eyes followed him as he surveyed everyone.
"I know you're awake little dwarf" Beorn said as Ruby starred at the man in the dark. "Yet you smell of the forest"
Ruby gently untangled Thorin's arm from her body and walked closer to Beorn. "My mother was a nymph"
"That explain it" Beorn said as Ruby followed him and he gestured her to sit. "Strange sight to see none the less"
"I would imagine so" Ruby said as Beorn pour some milk honey into a mug for her "Thank you"
"You are unlike the others" Beorn said as he watched Ruby take a sip "More danger is ahead of you"
"I know" Ruby said and then looked at the dwarfs, "I have a home, back in the Shire with my cousin Bilbo. They don't have a home, it was taken from them. I want to try and help them get it back, their home."
"Stay brave" Beorn said as Ruby nodded quietly to him "Go back to sleep, I will stand watch"
"Goodnight Beorn" Ruby said "And thank you"
Morning came soon enough and they were all sitting around the table. Ruby was seated next to Fili and Thorin as Beorn poured them some milk and honey.
"So you are the one they call Oakenshield" he said as Thorin looked at him "Tell me why is Azog the Defiler hunting you?"
"You know of Azog" Thorin said as Beorn walked around the table. "How?"
"My people were the frist to live in the mountains, before the Orcs came down from the north, the defiler killed most of my family" Beorn said "But some he enslaved, not for work you understand but for sport, cagin skin-changers and torturing them seemed to amuse him"
"There are others like you?" Bilbo asked.
"Once there were many" Beorn said.
"And now?" he asked.
"Now there is only one" Beorn said. "You need to reach the mountain before the lasts days of autumn."
"Before Durin's Day fall yes" Gandalf said between puffs in his pipe.
"You are running out of time" Beorn said.
"Which is why we must go through Mirkwood" Gandalf said.
"There is darkness that lies upon that forest" Beorn said "Fell things creep beneath those trees, there is an alliance between the Orcs of Moria and the Necromancer in Dol Guldur, I would not venture there except in great need"
"We will take the elven road" Gandalf nodded "There path is still safe"
"Safe" Beorn said "The wood elves of Mirkwood are not like their kin, less wise more dangerous, but it matters not"
"What do you mean" Thorin said
"These lands are crawling with Orcs" Beorn said "There numbers are growing and you are on foot you will never reach the forest alive" Beorn then stood "I don't like dwarfs, there greedy and blind, blind to the lives of those they deem lesser than their own" he then picked up a mouse Ori flicked off his hand "But Orcs I hate more, what do you need?"
"To get to the forest" Thorin said.
"Take the ponies outside" Beorn said "They will get you there"
Soon all the ponies were ready to go and Thorin got on his pony before pulling Ruby up behind him. She looked behind at Beorn as she wrapped her arms around Thorin and they took off on the horses. They rode nonstop to the forest and Ruby was a little sore as she dismounted after Gandalf did.
"The Elven Gate, here lies our path through Mirkwood" Gandalf said
"No sign of the Orcs we have luck on our side" Dwalin said
"You don't say that" Ruby said into Thorin's back and he chuckled alittle and Ruby turned her head and saw a big black bear in the distance.
"Set the ponies loose" Gandalf said "Let them return to their master"
"This forest feels sick, as if it were a disease lies upon it" Bilbo said "Is there no way around"
"Not unless we 100miles north or twice that distance south" Gandalf said as he entered the forest a little.
Ruby looked at the forest and had a sinking feeling enter her body; it was as if she could hear the forest crying. A shiver ran up her body and then she turned to watch the ponies go and Nori was just about to let Gandalf's horse go when he cam running out.
"Not my horse I need it" he said.
"Your not leaving us are you" Bilbo said.
"I would not do this unless I had to" Gandalf said and then turned to Bilbo "You've changed Bilbo Baggins, your not the same hobbit as the one that left the shire."
"I was going to tell you, I found something in the goblins tunnels" Bilbo said.
"Found what" Gandalf said and stared at Bilbo "What did you find"
"My courage" Bilbo said.
"good, well that's good, you'll need it" Gandalf said "I will be waiting for you at the overlook at the swept of Erebor, keep the map and key safe, do not enter that mountain without me" Gandalf looked at Thorin who nodded "This is not the greenwood of old, the very air ion the forest is heavy with illusion, it will seek to enter your mind and lead you astray"
"Led you astray, what does that mean" Bilbo asked as he looked around.
"You must stay on the path, do not leave it" Gandalf said "If you do you'll never find it again," and then he took off "Whatever may come stay on the path!"
"Come on we must reach the mountain before the sunsets on Durin's Day" Thorin said as he took the lead "It's our one chance to find the hidden door."
Ruby stayed behind a moment and watched Gandalf ride off before bringing up the back of where everyone was. Entering the forest was making Ruby's stomach ache and burn in pain. Ruby stopped for a moment before looking up and taking a deep breath, and when she opened her eyes she was alone.
"Hello?" Ruby called out "Thorin? Dori? Nori? Ori? Dwalin? Balin? Bifur? Bofur? Bombur? Oin? Gloin? Kili? Fili?...Bilbo?" Ruby looked down and noticed she was still on the path and kept moving forward. "Either I lost them or they lost me…either option is unsavory"
Sounds crept towards Ruby and she was nervous about being alone in the forest, and every sound was made worse by the silence of her footsteps, so she decided singing would help to calm her nerves if not at least ease the feeling of impending doom that slowing crept beneath.
"Singing will do me some good" Ruby quietly said to herself "Spring unfolds the beechen leaf, and sap is in the bough, when light is on the wild-wood stream and wind is on the brow, when stride is long and breath is deep, and keen the mountain-air, come back to me, come back to me and say my land is fair" and a sudden noise caused Ruby to stop and turn around only to see something sharp pointed in her face.
"Don't move" a male voice said and she froze "A dwarf?"
"No I do not believe so" a female voice said as Ruby looked around and saw more elves around her pointing sharp objects at her as her hands were up in surrender since Ruby knew if they wanted to they could kill her.
"Bring her to my father, I doubt she was traveling alone" another voice said and Ruby looked at an elf with long blonde hair and blue eyes. "The rest of you with me"
Ruby was gripped by the arms as she was led through the forest by two male elves with midnight hair and earth eyes. She had no idea what would happen to her or everyone else if they found them, and she did hope since she suspected that they were lost beyond belief.
"Come" one said as they entered through the gate and over a bridge and Ruby was in awe to see different elven agriculture and she was lead upstairs where she saw an elf sitting in a horned chair with a crown of antlers and leaves with the same piercing blue eyes, the elf she met in the woods had.
"Who is this" the elf said as his blue eyes matched Ruby's green.
"She was found in the woods King Thranduil" the elf next to her said as Ruby tried to remain composed and guarded since she knew if he wanted to he could kill her and there was next to nothing that she could do about it. Thranduil then walked down from his throne and walked around Ruby.
"Leave us" Thranduil said and soon Ruby was left alone with him "You are not a dwarf, yet you carry trinkets that seem to be passed down from the generations" he then noticed the faint claw marks on the side of Ruby's face and saw a peak of the scar that dipped below her tunic. "You are too short to be a human or elf, and do not have the qualities of a hobbit, tell me what are you?"
"I was told I am half dwarf and half nymph my lord" Ruby respectfully said without looking him in the eye and concentrating on the floor to avoid his eyes.
"I was unaware such unions could happen, since nymphs were rare being unwilling to become tied to another" Thranduil said as he then once again walked in front of Ruby and reached out his hand and moved her head upwards to face him "I would suppose you get your stature from your dwarven blood, a a rare sigh indeed." He then walked up back to his throne "I suspect your companions will arrive shortly, as a maiden such as yourself wouldn't travel alone" guards then came up and gently took her arms as Thranduil waved and she was taken away down to the dungeons and thrown into a cell.
However she was stripped down and was left in her underclothes before8 she was put into the cell and had a deep frown on her face as she closed her arms around herself. She couldn't believe they took her clothes and such when she had no weapons on her person.
"Here" a voice said as she turned her head towards the door and saw a young elf standing there with something in his hands "It is not right to do that to a lady, prisoner or not" he then passed it to Ruby between the bars.
"Thank you" she said and wrapped the brown dress around her body and sighed as she felt the warmth coming from the clothing "You are kind"
"I do not wish to see a maiden such as yourself treated in such a manner" he replied as they heard noise from up top "The others are here, your companions"
"Thank you again sir" Ruby said as he nodded and left Ruby alone in the dungeons once again.
She heard footsteps and the familiar grumblings that she had grown accustomed to over the months. A smile graced her lips as she saw Fili and Kili walk past her cell and Balin placed not far from her.
"It's good to see you all alive" Ruby said.
"Lassie your alive" Balin said relief evident in his voice "Thank Durin, we thought you lost within the forest"
"I was able to stay on the path before they found me" Ruby said as she heard more footsteps and saw her cell open and Thorin pushed inside.
"What did they say" Balin said and Thorin replied something in elvish that Ruby couldn't understand and hear Balin sigh in defeat "That deal was our only hope"
"Not our only hope" Thorin said as he looked outside the cell and then turned and realized Ruby was in the cell with him "Ruby" he then took two steps and took Ruby in his arms and she wrapped her arms around his.
"I was found before you all were" Ruby said as she took a deep breath and smiled into Thorin's chest. "I am happy you were not lost forever"
"As am I" Thorin replied and pulled back from the hug to see Ruby with a wide smile on her face and Thorin's face soon matched with a smile before he bent down and kissed Ruby on the lips.
Soon they sat in the corner with Ruby between Thorin's legs and his arms wrapped tightly around her. Ruby looked at the wall as she started to draw circles on Thorin's chest. She saw his chest chair peak underneath the shirt he wore. Ruby got a mischievous smile on her face as she walked her fingers up Thorin's chest and heard him give a slight deep chuckle and felt him move to look down at her.
"What are you doing" Thorin said as he watched Ruby move her hand back and forth and played with his shirt.
"Keep myself busy" Ruby replied as she looked up at Thorin with an innocent smile "Since we can't get out as of yet, I need to keep myself busy"
"And touching me is keeping your busy" Thorin replied and Ruby just smiled and nodded just as she heard Balin said Bilbo.
This caused both of them to shoot up and look at the cell door and saw Bilbo opening them and him telling them to be quiet. Soon they were following Bilbo down the stairs to a room with barrels and they all looked around.
"We are in the cellars" Kili said and Ruby rolled her eyes for stating the obvious.
"You're supposed to be leading us out" Bofur said quietly and Ruby pushed him forward.
"Trust Bilbo I bet he knows what he's doing" Ruby said as they all walked in front of the empty barrels.
"Into the barrels quickly" Bilbo said.
"Are you mad they will find us" Dwalin said as Ruby had already started to get into a barrel, the first one.
"No, no they won't I promise you" Bilbo said "Please, please just trust me" and everyone else was just looking around so he looked to Thorin.
"Do as he says" Thorin said as they all quickly got into the barrels.
Ruby was in her own and was waiting for something to happen.
"What do we do now?" Bofur said as everyone but Ruby stuck their head out.
"Hold your breath" Bilbo said and Ruby got very nervous because she was not a very good swimmer and she saw Bilbo pull a leaver and she let out a small scream as they hit the water.
Ruby's barrel, since her being lighter than the dwarfs was swept away quicker than everyone else and she soon had arrows being shot at her and she ducked down further and her barrel was spinning around.
"Thorin!" Ruby yelled at of fright and caught a glimpse of him before her barrel passed through a gate and it closed behind her separating her from everyone.
"Ruby!" Thorin called as he rammed the gate with his shoulder and watched Ruby's barrel disappear out of sight just as the Orcs came to attack them.
"I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die" Ruby said to herself as she felt more water come into her barrel and she still was swept away down the river.
She hit almost every rock and was bouncing off the sides as she tried to keep herself from getting too sick from the violent jerking she was receiving. As she stole a glance backwards she didn't notice her barrel was heading straight for a rock and she turned and tried to lean away but her barrel was hit violently causing her to smash her head against the side of the barrel. The world was spinning, and her focus was starting to go as the water seemed to become calm and gentle. The barrel eased towards a rocky store and gently hit the sides getting her stuck along the edge of the rocks. Ruby saw a large dark figure and her breath left her, she didn't know if it was an Orc or something else but the throbbing in her head over took the pulse of her heart that rang within her ears. Ruby's last thought was that if it was an Orc and it meant to kill her at least she wouldn't feel anything since she was losing the fight to stay awake.