Hidden Beneath
Chapter 6
Kili walked through the halls of Rivendell. He had grown bored of the late night antics of his companions and instead decided to venture through the halls of Rivendell.
He had never before seen elves, or the lands of elves, so Rivendell was intriguing as were the elf kind that lived there. He still found one the most intriguing. He wondered why it was she had said she was no elf, yet the Lord Elrond had welcomed her home.
As he wondered this, he turned a corner and found Valisilwen standing on a balcony overlooking the valley of Imladris.
Kili watched her for a moment. She appeared to him as if she was quite suited for that dress, which made him believe even more so that she must be of the elvenkind. She was so fair, and Lord Elrond's address to her made him believe it more and more. He decided to find out once and for all.
He quietly approached her, looking around to make sure no other dwarves might see him. Most of them still did not think much of her, Thorin and Dwalin most of all, especially now.
He was barely a few steps into his approach of her when she spoke. "What is it you want, Kili?" she asked not even turning to look at him. He raised his eyebrows in surprise and stopped in his place. He hadn't actually thought about what he might say to her. "Well?"
She turned to look at him, her blue eye seeming to pierce straight through him, as if she could read his thoughts. But that was surely impossible. "Uh, are you well, my lady?" he scolded himself mentally straight away.
She smirked at him. "Kili, come right out and ask what you will."
"Er, well..." he gulped and moved a little closer. She was more beautiful the closer he got to her and that made him more nervous than facing down a pack of Orcs. "I was just wondering..." he could not form the question satisfactorily and instead bit his lip.
"You wonder why it was Lord Elrond welcomed me home?" she asked for him. He nodded, not looking at her, for fear he would stare into her blue eye again. "Because this is indeed where I spent many of my years, growing up."
Kili furrowed his brow and looked at her in confusion. "But, you said you were no elf."
"And that, I am not." She looked sideways at him and grinned. "Lord Elrond does not discriminate between races. He has quite an open heart for those in need. Did you not notice, I have no points on my ears." She pulled back her long sleek hair to expose her ear tips. Indeed, there were no points to be seen.
"Oh."
"Lord Elrond was kind enough to take me in, when I had no-where else to go, a long time ago. He raised me almost as if I was one of his own. So for him, this is my home, even though really, my heart is not really here."
Kili furrowed his brow. "Where is your heart then?"
"My heart lies everywhere, roaming free is where I feel most at home." Kili still looked at her in confusion. He did not understand, how could she feel most at home while roaming free? "Tell me, where do you feel the most happy? Is it in a cave, below the ground like most dwarves?"
Kili thought a moment. "Of course."
"Well, for me, when I am roaming the lands, travelling through the plains, over mountains and through the forests, that is when I feel the most comfortable and happiest. Imladris makes for a nice place to come back to every now and then, but it is not where my heart lies."
Kili looked out over the valley as he took in what Valisilwen had explained to him. He turned and was about to ask her why it was she had no-where else to go, why it was she had left her original home and family, only to find she had vanished.
oOOo
Valisilwen trailed silently after Gandalf and Lord Elrond towards the meeting pavilion. She had changed from her dress, back into her own clothes, her weapons back where they belonged, she no longer felt out of sorts. She thought back to what she had said to Kili about home being where the heart was. Maybe she was wrong about that, maybe her home was actually wherever her weapons were. She silently laughed to herself as she glanced up to see Lord Elrond and Gandalf ascending the stairs up to the pavilion.
"With or without our help, these dwarves will march on the mountain," Gandalf explained to Elrond. "They are determined to reclaim their homeland. I do not believe Thorin Oakenshield feels that he's answerable to anyone. Nor, for that matter, am I."
Elrond stopped at the top of the stairs and looked at Gandalf. "It is not me you must answer to."
Gandalf and Valisilwen looked before them and saw a tall, beautiful elf standing framed against the moon. Her skin was pale and glowed against the moonlight, her golden blonde hair trailed down her back beneath her silver circlet.
"Lady Galadriel," Gandalf said with a gulp. Elrond glanced at Valisilwen meaningfully. She pressed her lips together and bowed down gracefully to the Lady Galadriel.
"Mithrandir. It has been a long time," Galadriel said, her voice light and Valisilwen could detect a hint of amusement in it.
"Age may have changed me, but not so the Lady of Lorien," Gandalf said, bowing as well. Galadriel smiled in response before looking to Valisilwen. She did not meet her gaze, instead looking to the ground.
She felt the tell tale sign that Galadriel had entered her mind. 'I see you are well, Valisilwen. It has been a long time.'
'Yes, my lady. It has.' Valisilwen guarded her thoughts carefully. She did not want Galadriel delving through her mind too much. She knew the Lady of the Light already knew many of her secrets, she did not want to allow her too much information of their journey.
Lady Galadriel looked at Valisilwen with another look of amusement.
"I had no idea Lord Elrond had sent for you," Gandalf commented, taking Galadriel's attention from the Lady Ranger.
"He didn't," a deep voice spoke from the shadows of the pavilion. Valisilwen's head jerked up in surprise and she was instantly on guard. A man with long white hair and a long white beard appeared, dressed in robes of white. It was Saruman, the white wizard. "I did."
Gandalf bowed to the white wizard, but Valisilwen held her position, folding her arms across her chest. "Saruman."
She did not trust the white wizard. Something about him always put her on edge. And she knew he did not think much of her either.
He ignored her and looked to Gandalf. "You've been busy of late, my friend."
The white council sat around a table within the pavilion. Valisilwen stood against a column of the pavilion just behind Gandalf, listening intently to what was being said. It wasn't often she was privy to a meeting of the White Council.
"Tell me, Gandalf, did you think these plans and schemes of yours would go unnoticed?" Saruman queried of the grey wizard.
"Unnoticed? No, I'm simply doing what I feel to be right."
"The dragon has been on your mind," Galadriel said, obviously she had been prying through his mind.
"This is true, my lady. Smaug owes allegiance to no one," Gandalf replied, beginning to explain himself. "But if he should side with the enemy, a dragon could be used to terrible effect."
Saruman appeared amused. "What enemy? Gandalf, the enemy is defeated. Sauron has vanished. He can never regain his full strength."
"Gandalf," Elrond spoke up. "For four hundred years, we have lived in peace. A hard-won, watchful peace."
Gandalf looked around the table, his expression concerned Valisilwen. Did he know something the rest of the White Council did not? "Are we? Are we at peace? Trolls have come down from the mountains. They are raiding villages, destroying farms. Orcs have attacked us on the road." He looked back to Valisilwen, catching her by surprise. "Valis, what news from the rangers do you have in this regard?"
She thought quickly. "There have been more Orc parties being intercepted throughout the North," she replied, thinking back to her last visit to the post of the Rangers.
"Hardly a prelude to war," Lord Elrond commented.
"Always you must meddle, looking for trouble where none exists," Saruman scolded the grey wizard.
"Let him speak," Galadriel insisted, holding a hand up to Saruman. He sighed in annoyance, but said nothing more.
"There is something at work beyond the evil of Smaug. Something far more powerful." This caught Valisilwen's attention and stood up straight, listening intently. "We can remain blind, but it will not be ignoring us, that I can promise you. A sickness lies over the Greenwood. The woodsmen who live there now call it 'Mirkwood' and they say..." he trailed off, looking around the table.
"Well, don't stop now. Tell us what the woodsmen say," Saruman said indignantly.
"They speak of a Necromancer living in Dol Guldur, a sorcerer who can summon the dead." Valisilwen raised her eyebrows. Such a thing she had never heard of before.
"That's absurd. No such power exists in the world. This...Necromancer is nothing more than a mortal man," Saruman argued. "A conjurer dabbling in black magic."
"And so I thought," Gandalf agreed. "But, Radagast has seen –"
"Radagast?" Saruman exclaimed incredulously. "Do not speak to me about Radagast the Brown. He is a foolish fellow." Valisilwen scowled at the White Wizard. She would rather odd over rude and egotistical any day.
"Well, he's odd, I grant you," Gandalf replied in an offhand manner. "He lives a solitary life."
"It's not that," Saruman argued. "It's his excessive consumption of mushrooms. They've addled his brain and yellowed his teeth. I warned him, it is unbefitting of the Istari to be wandering in the woods."
Valisilwen lost interest in the argument at hand and looked out of the valley. As always, it's beauty was stunning. The waterfalls cascaded down the cliff faces and the moonlight bounced off the torrents of water like diamonds twinkling.
Her attention was brought back to the table when she noticed Gandalf lifting something onto the table from his lap. It let out a dull thud as he dropped it onto the table.
"What is that?" Lord Elrond asked curiously, reaching out to unwrap the package.
"A relic of Mordor," Galadriel answered, looking to the package, causing Elrond to quickly withdraw his hand. He looked to Gandalf who nodded, before reaching for it again and opening it, revealing a dark sword. The White Council looked upon it with shock written on their faces.
Valisilwen felt her heart beat begin to quicken. She recognised the style of blade. She had seen one before. She had felt one against her throat once upon a time. Immediately, she felt a stinging pain across her throat, moving her hand to her neck. It caught the Lady Galadriel's attention and she glanced up at the Ranger, a sympathetic look on her face.
"A Morgul blade," Elrond breathed.
"Made for the Witch-King of Angmar, and buried with him," Galadriel said, looking at the blade. "When Angmar fell, men of the North took his body and all that he possessed and sealed it within the High-Fells of Rhudaur. Deep within the rock they buried them, in a tomb so dark it would never come to light."
"This is not possible," Elrond murmured, his voice showing his disbelief as he leaned back in his seat. "A powerful spell lies upon those tombs, they cannot be opened."
"What proof do we have this weapon came from Angmar's grave?" Saruman demanded of Gandalf.
"I have none."
"Because there is none. Let us examine what we know..." Saruman began rattling off about all that Gandalf had spoken, but Valisilwen heard none of it.
She was deep in thought. She was doing her best to contain her memories, trying to prevent a painful memory from resurfacing, lest Galadriel discover it.
'You do not need to fear me, you know this,' came Galadriel's voice in her mind.
'I do not,' Valisilwen replied silently, her gaze meeting Galadriel's. Which was true, she did not fear the Lady of the Light. What she feared was what could happen if what she was would ever be discovered, not many of her kind were left roaming Middle-Earth. Not since the time of Sauron.
'Not many of your kind are left, Valisilwen, I could count them on my one hand.' Valisilwen could not hide her alarm. 'Yes, I already know what it is you are, my dear. You need not fear me, as my kind do not fear you. We do not care what you are, we care for your well-being. I have known since you entered the Last Homely House. I encouraged Lord Elrond to care for you, strengthen you, so you would be ready when your time came.'
Valisilwen looked from the Morgul blade and back to Galadriel. 'What do you mean, when my time came?'
Galadriel looked away to Gandalf, Valisilwen could no longer feel her within her mind. What she did see was Lindir come rushing up to the pavilion.
Lindir stepped towards the table, bowing low as he did so and cutting Saruman off. "My Lord Elrond, the dwarves, they've gone."
Valisilwen stood by Gandalf in the pavilion, before the Lady Galadriel.
"You will follow them?" Galadriel asked of Gandalf.
"Yes."
"You are right to help Thorin Oakenshield," she continued. "But I fear this quest has set in motion forces we do not yet understand. The riddle of the Morgul blade must be answered. Something moves in the shadows, unseen, hidden from our sight. It will not show itself, not yet. But everyday it grows in strength. You must be careful."
"Yes," Gandalf said again, nodding in understanding.
"And Valisilwen, I sense that you will have a bigger part to play in this than you have signed on for," Galadriel said, looking to the Lady Ranger. She felt her face beginning to heat up slightly. She was still trying to process that Galadriel knew her secret.
"I must go and prepare," Valisilwen said hastily, bowing to the lady and looking to Gandalf meaningfully before descending the stairs and hurrying from the pavilion to her quarters.
When she arrived there she found Lord Elrond waiting for her. She bowed gracefully. "Valis, you are preparing to depart?"
"Yes, my lord."
"You wish to follow the dwarves?"
"I have a contract with them," she answered simply. "I gave my word. And the hobbit, he is not built for such a journey for this."
"I agree, the Halfling is indeed not one designed by nature for such adventures, but he is clever. My concern lies with you," he said beginning to walk away and motioning that she should follow him. She grit her teeth and flared her nostrils, giving an agitated sigh but followed. "I am aware that you likely feel anxious about what has happened tonight. "
She looked at him warily, not sure what part it might be that he referred to. The argument with Saruman about the relevance of taking back the Mountain, the Morgul blade, or what it was that Galadriel had revealed to her.
"All of it," he said, reading the look on her face. She froze, her face ashen and staring at Lord Elrond. "You need not fear, we hold no ill will against you, or your kind. We knew you would tell us in your own time. Unfortunately, I feel I must tell you, I think the time is now. I think you will need to accept your past and move on from it, reveal yourself to the world because this may be the only way you can protect the dwarves and Hobbit."
She looked down at the ground. This was a predicament to be certain. "It's been a long time since I really put those skills to use..."
"I've seen you training, And I may have been privy to you HUNT once upon a time too." Valisilwen went wide eyed at the mention of hunting and she suddenly felt very self conscious. "I think you should do just fine."
"Thank you, my lord." She was speechless. A rare thing for her.
"I will be listening for word of your achievements," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder and turning to face her. "I have been privileged to watch you grow from a child to a fine young woman. We have instilled our own knowledge and beliefs of Middle-Earth to you, and although your sharp tongue has seen you in many a trouble, we still believe you very much to be one of our own in Imladris."
"I thank you, from the bottom of my heart, my lord." She felt herself getting somewhat emotional. Emotion, that was something she had not felt for quite some time. She had shunned all emotion and numbed herself from anything that could cause her weakness. She quickly ushered it back to the pit of her mind. Weakness was not something she could afford right now.
oOOo
The Company moved through the wilderness of Middle-Earth, putting much distance between them and Rivendell. And Valisilwen and Gandalf. Bilbo's mind kept drifting back to the beautiful Rivendell, and also to his two companions that they had left behind in an effort to get away before the elves could stop them, under Gandalf's instructions.
They began to cross the Misty Mountains, following a path that was narrow and looked dangerous to Bilbo. How he missed home as they traversed the ledge that wound its way around the mountains. It soon began to rain, followed by a fierce storm with lightning that crackled and thunder that rumbled.
"Hold on!" Thorin shouted as they made slow time around the path. As Bilbo took a step, the stone beneath his feet gave way and he began to fall into the chasm below. Be his luck, Dwalin managed to catch him and pull him back atop the ledge. "We must find shelter!"
"Watch out!" Dwalin warned. They all looked up and saw a massive boulder flying through the air. It hit the mountain above them, causing more rocks to fall all around them. They pressed themselves against the rock face in a bid to avoid being crushed.
Balin looked around and gasped. "This is no thunderstorm, it's a thunder battle! Look!" he shouted pointing to another mountain a few miles away. They watched in shock as a stone giant reared before their very eyes, ripping a massive boulder from the top of a mountain beside it. It terrified the Halfling, who tried to push himself further into the mountain he leant against.
"Well bless me, the legends are true," Bofur breathed. "Giants, Stone Giants!"
"Take cover, you'll fall!" Thorin cried out in alarm.
"What's happening?" Kili said trying to see past his brother. The giant threw the boulder towards them. At that moment another giant appeared from behind the company and the boulder connected with it's head.
"Brace yourselves!"
"Hold on!"
Everyone began shouting as the rocks beneath their feet began to give way from all the vibrations and impacts from the falling rocks. The ledge split, causing some of the company to be split from the rest of their companions. The stone giants began fighting with their fists, the dwarves held on tight as they were flung around.
"Kili! Grab my hand! Ki-" Fili cried trying to reach his brother who was on the other side of the split.
A third stone giant appeared and throws a boulder at the head of one of the first two, causing it to fall. It fell right atop the dwarves that had been separated from the lead group.
"No! No!" shouted Thorin, scrambling closer to Fili. "Kili!" They all rushed forward to look as they watched the injured stone giant fall into the chasm below.
"We're alright!" came Balin's voice. They peered over and saw that their fellow dwarves clung to the edge. "We're alive!"
"Where's Bilbo?" Bofur asked in concern.
"There!" Ori shouted, pointing to Bilbo who was hanging onto the edge of the cliff with his fingertips. He looked above him, too terrified to look down. How he wished he had never left the comfort of The Shire and Bag End. How he wished he was at home in his comfortable chair, having a cup of tea or smoking his weed pipe.
Ori dove onto the ground in an effort to grab Bilbo's arm, but Bilbo's grasp finally gave way and he fell a few feet before he could find another handhold. The dwarves tried to pull him up but could not reach the tiny Halfling.
Thorin swung down and hung from the cliff face beside him, giving him a boost up for the other dwarves to grab him and pull him to safety. Dwalin reached down to assist Thorin back onto the ledge, but Thorin lost his grip, beginning to fall, but by luck Dwalin grabbed his hand firmly, pulling him back up to safety.
"I'd thought we'd lost our burglar," Dwalin said helping Thorin to his feet.
"He's been lost ever since he left home," Thorin sneered, looking over at the Halfling who was standing close to the rock face, fearful to go anywhere near the edge. "He should never have come. He has no place amongst us."
They continued on, eventually coming upon a cave.
"It looks safe enough," Dwalin said, looking about the entrance.
"Search to the back," Thorin instructed Dwalin. "Caves in mountains are seldom unoccupied."
Dwalin took a lantern from Ori, entering the cave and inspect every corner carefully. "There's nothing here!"
Bilbo sat in a far corner of the cave, miserable. He was cold, wet and certain he would catch a chill. He just wanted to go home, he was clearly not wanted here by Thorin.
Gloin dropped a bundle of wood on the floor of the cave. "Right then! Let's get a fire started," he said rubbing his hands together.
"No," Thorin objected sternly. "No fires, not in this place. Get some sleep. We start at first light." The dwarves looked disappointed but did not argue.
"We were to wait in the mountains for Valisilwen and Gandalf to join us. That was the plan," Balin reminded Thorin. That was what Bilbo had heard, when Valisilwen had come to them after they had been shown the moon runes. They were to find somewhere safe within the Misty Mountains and she and Gandalf would rejoin them there.
"Plans change. Bofur, take the first watch."
Bilbo's heart sank.
As the moon crossed through the sky, Bilbo rose from where he pretended to sleep, checking to see if anyone else stirred. When he was sure that no one woke, he began rolling up his blankets and packing his things. He grabbed his walking stick and started to leave the cave, tiptoeing over and through the snoring dwarves.
"Where do you think you're going?" came Bofur's hushed voice. He hurried to Bilbo, a look of concern on his face.
"Back to Rivendell," Bilbo whispered.
"No, no, you can't turn back now," Bofur argued. "You're part of the Company. You're one of us."
This made Bilbo feel slightly angry. "I'm not though, am I? Thorin said I should never have come, and he was right." He took a deep breath but continued. "I'm not a Took, I'm a Baggins, I don't know what I was thinking. I should never have run out of my door."
"You're homesick, I understand," Bofur said softly.
"No, you don't, you don't understand!" he said raising his voice slightly. "None of you do – you're dwarves. You used to – to this life, to living on the road, never settling in one place, not belonging anywhere." Bilbo quickly shut his mouth when he saw the look on Bofur's face. "I am sorry, I didn't..."
"No," Bofur said with a sigh and shaking his head. "You're right. We don't belong anywhere. I wish you all the luck in the world. I really do." Bofur smiled and placed his hand on Bilbo's shoulder, Bilbo gave an apologetic smile before turning and beginning to walk away.
"What's that?" Bofur asked suddenly, pointing to Bilbo's waist. Bilbo looked down and noticed his sword had begun to glow blue as he pulled it partway from it's sheathe. They heard the sound of machinery moving and a crack formed amongst the sand on the floor of the cave.
Thorin sat up, quickly scrambling to his feet. "Wake up! Wake up!"
Before anyone else could react the floor of the cave was gone and the company had fallen through. They slid down a chute and into a wooden cage. They struggled to untangle themselves from each other, but as they did a horde of goblins rushed into the cage, attacking them, taking their weapons and dragging them all away.
xo
Krayzee