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Of Mountains and Woodlands Chapter 8

Maya fell asleep with Thorin's lips pressed lightly to hers, as it happened, she woke the same way. She opened her eyes upon feeling pressure where once there was just the breeze and found Thorin leaning over her; his long, black hair hanging around his face like a curtain. His blue eyes crinkling at the corners when he smiled at her, he grabbed her arms and heaved her up. She swayed a little, the unexpected movement making her head spin and he held her as she did so. She regained her sense of balance, then eyed him and revealed to him a quirky smile.

"Day,"

He didn't respond. He just gazed at her through his clear eyes like she was the most perfect person he ever did see. She narrowed her own eyes and thinned her lips in puzzlement,

"Hello?"

He remained silent, but his smile was still plastered on his hard features. She was at a loss…and now?

"Thorin?"

"Oh don't mind him. He's just a little obsessed with you at the moment," Balin wandered past carrying the pots. She frowned and turned to him, glancing quickly back at Thorin who was still staring lovingly at her. She proceeded to follow Balin back to his pack instead, where he grabbed a cloth and began to scrub.

"So, how do I make him say something?"

"Oh, he'll say something," Balin grinned at himself. Balin was grinning. Maya hadn't seen him smile in such a way before, he never smiled in joy. It was always in favour of someone else – not to say that it wasn't a lovely smile whichever way you looked at it, it just always seemed so melancholy. This was new, this one she liked. It suited his face; needless to say the old conversation was lost to her,

"You should smile like that more often."

He stopped smiling rather suddenly and met her gaze. The corners of her own mouth curled up and she bowed and left him to his surprise. Thorin was sitting where he was sitting the night before when he had kissed her. He was still grinning to himself; it looked rather odd just plastered there on his fine, hard features. Maya just felt more and more out of the loop as she got all sorts of smiles throughout the morning – from everyone, some winks, some chuckles and even some pats on the back.

When breakfast was ready she sat down next to Thorin with a solid feeling of discomfort, fiddling with her fingers; awkward. When everyone else was sitting down her shoulders dropped as did her jaw,

"What?"

The company all shook or scratched their heads and stumbled over some excuses and Bilbo even began to whistle to himself. From the corner of her eye she caught Thorin staring at her yet again, his grin still there, his eyes as soft as wool,

"What? What are you smiling at?"

"I'm smiling at you,"

"I can see that,"

"Then why are you asking?

"Because I want to know why you're smiling at me,"

He shrugged and carried on with his breakfast,

"I don't know. I can't stop,"

Maya's frustrated little frown waned and was replaced with a blush, her cheeks becoming an opulent rose red. A shy smile dancing upon her lips which she tried to hide but wasn't sure if she succeeded.

And the day went on. They packed up and left without a trace, venturing into the forest single file. Thorin was in his normal state once more, marching on with true grit, never tiring. She turned to say a word to Bilbo behind her but he was already (and still) beaming at her when she found his face. She abandoned that idea and carried on. For hours no one seemed to say anything, the odd comment was thrown around but never a full conversation. The canopy thickened and the sunlight began to become scarce under the hood of the trees,

"Balin," Maya had passed a few of the dwarves to get to her desired target, enduring little chuckles along the way, "Balin,"

She put a hand on his shoulder to get his attention and he glanced behind him,

"Oh hello, Miss Maya, what can I do you for?"

"I was wondering if you would care to tell me why everyone is smiling at me like they are."

Balin chortled before replying,

"Why don't you ask him yerself, lass?" he gestured to Thorin.

"Because he's lost the ability to say anything of sense,"

"Ah well, it is to be expected of a young man in love, happens to the best of us. It's just that he's been meaning to tell you that for a while and when he finally told you an' got a kiss too…well, you can imagine,"

"How do you know he's been meaning to tell me that for a while?"

"Because a) he's been staring at you just about every day since our first night in the wild and b) he told me," Balin stated the latter with no shame.

"I didn't think he was one to talk to anyone about matters of the heart,"

"Oh, we've known each other a long time," he smiled in a fond, dream state at the back of Thorin's head.

"So, how does everyone else know?"

Balin sighed coming back from his memories,

"Maya, me girl, we may not be elves, but we're not blind. That - and Bilbo probably let slip a couple o' tales or eight,"

"Bilbo?"

"Aye, apparently he was awake when your little moment happened,"

Maya glanced behind her and found Bilbo's short form in no time at all. He was staring up into the wake of the trees and Maya took the unseen opportunity to glower at him. Balin obviously suspected her of doing such a thing and carried on in his defence,

"But don't blame him. It was always going to come out whether you wanted it too or not. The truth is, we haven't seen Thorin so happy for many, many years and it almost seems like Erebor doesn't matter nearly as much now as it once did. I now come to realise it might have been because he had nothing else to really care for besides his nephews but family's not the same. But that's changed now, lass, he has you. You're not to feel down, you're not the laughing stock of the group; far from it. We're just happy that we all found you,"

He glanced at her again, his voice dropping but a little and his expression growing a little more sombre,

"But then again, we know that you're inward with most of your emotions. You don't seem to say much about most things, but…" he hesitated, weary of the answer he hoped not to get, "do you feel the same?"

"So strongly?" she was unsure herself, she hadn't really and truly thought about it. The whole night had been unexpected and the kiss even more so. She thought it was a dream until she woke up that morning with his lips on hers again.

"Anything," Balin replied. Maya didn't respond on the spot, she thought about it. All sorts of things went through her mind: she was thrilled when he put his hand on her knee; she had grown fond of his smile and enjoyed trying to make him do so (with ease so it seemed). Her heart pounded every time he touched her and that night in the cave, when he had embraced her so wholly, she wasn't sure if she was happy with the idea of him letting go, also when he had laid his mat beside hers, so close she could feel his body heat, she had hoped that he might 'accidentally' have his arm find her waist in which case she would enjoy it but pretend she hadn't noticed. Last but not least; the kiss…she had almost passed out.

"Yes,"

"'Yes' what?"

"Well, yes; yes. Yes, I do. Very much,"

"'Very much' what?" he stopped dead and looked her in the eye, searching her.

She lowered her head at him, gazing out from below one slightly raised eyebrow, unwilling to say anything she might regret though willing him to understand.

"Love, Maya," his face softened as did his eyes and his familiar melancholy smile came back to where it belonged. Maya looked at him and blinked. She couldn't do it,

"I'm going back," she left him and stalked all the way back to Bilbo who she didn't say a word too.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Thorin, on the other hand, was ecstatic. His heart was ablaze and he held more pride in his courage in telling Maya how he felt than in anything else he had done. It was a strange feeling having to go after someone as opposed to having arranged marriage proposals which his Grandfather had him put through multiple times; rejecting each one with the slightest bit of guilt at the disappointment that rippled over his Grandfather's face whenever he turned someone away. But Thorin was brought up to be proud of the things he did and of the person he was and therefore being strong willed and adamant in not marrying someone he had no interest in for the sake of a bloodline, that at the time he thought was inexhaustible, was something he was very proud of. He was as stubborn as they came and no one let him forget it…not even Maya. He smiled again, feeling his cheeks beginning to stiffen, growing tired under so much intense work of keeping his smile and the corners of his eyes crinkled. Butterflies in his stomach…he had to turn around. He stopped and only just managing to turn, he was pretty much stepped on by Dwalin who tried to stop too but his huge invasive body was hard to halt in its forward momentum and Thorin had to brace himself with all his might in trying not stagger back against Dwalin's weight.

"Why're you stopping," Dwalin asked, regaining his stature. Thorin glanced at him without answering, searching. But instead of her, he found a soft glow shimmering from within the depths of the trees.

"What's that?"

Everyone turned to look, silence falling upon them in wonder.

"Looks like a light," someone said,

"Aye…in the forest…? Tha's a little strange," someone else said.

"We should go look. If it's someone, we can ask for more food. We barely have enough to last us a day,"

"No." Thorin's tone was stoic and sharp, "We are not leaving the path. You heard what Gandalf said. We best keep moving,"

He turned to move but Balin's wise voice stopped him from taking another step.

"Hold up there, lad. Ori's right, we need to know how much further we need to go before we're out of here or otherwise we will run out of food and water,"

"Then what do you propose we do, Balin?" Thorin looked at him piercingly. Balin turned to Maya,

"Do you think you could climb the tree and have a look?"

Maya was about to answer him but Thorin would not have it,

"She's just fine with her feet on the ground. Send Mister Baggins," he exchanged a quick look with Bilbo, "If he wouldn't mind?"

Bilbo was hesitant but he took a step towards a tree and dropped his pack,

"No, Mister Baggins wouldn't mind at all," he looked up the length of the tree, assessing his ability to reach the first branch, decided he could not do it alone and turned to Bombur, "Would you mind?"

Bombur allowed Bilbo to clamber up onto his shoulders and reach for the first branch. He managed to pull himself up but with a great amount of exertion, his round face going as red as a tomato. Thorin glimpsed the last thread of a smile as Maya tried unsuccessfully to hide that which could not be hidden. Watching Bilbo try was indeed highly amusing, but she had more decency to hide her amusement than anybody else. They just laughed straight out, but Bilbo kept on keeping on, rolling his eyes at them, perfectly aware of how silly he looked. Oh, how he relished in her smiles. Bilbo was gone for a while, climbing all the way, past the first layer of trees and probably the third, fourth, fifth, hundredth. It was a long wait before his hairy foot made its appearance again,

"It just goes on!" he rasped breathlessly, "Just green, everywhere! I can't even see a hint of where it ends,"

Thorin sighed, his shoulders dropping, unsure of what to do.

"Thorin, lad," Balin looked cautiously, "We know what Gandalf said, but 'what Gandalf said' won't help anyone if we end up famished and parched in the middle of the forest on a path we were adamant not to leave,"

"He said if we leave the path, it would be near impossible to find it again, and then we'll die in here anyway. Weigh the risks, Balin, we could take the chance and follow the path and take the risk of falling apart on it or we could leave the path and never find it again and face certain death. I'd take my chances of sticking to it; at least that way we stand a chance of someone finding us should we not have the strength to make it."

"Yes but Thorin, you heard what Bilbo said, it doesn't end. The risks seem the same to me, at any rate,"

Thorin fell silent for a moment, trying to make sense of the situation,

"And-" Balin added softly, "The glow must mean someone, if fate is in our favour, they'll help us find a way,"

Thorin wasn't convinced and he frowned, looking at Maya, her eyes darting cautiously between him and Balin,

"What do you think we should do?"

Her eyes came to rest on him, her jaw dropping in a sort of stunned acknowledgement,

"I think…if what Bilbo says is true, then its best that we do find the source of the glow. Maybe it can help. But one of us can go if anyone has a rope; we can use that as a safe guard to find our way back. That being said, I'm pretty sure I'll be less threatening so let me go,"

"No." Thorin, sharp and unchallenged, struck again. But Maya paid him no mind and gathered rope from Bofur's pack, "I said 'no', Maya,"

"You have my permission to run roaring into the woods then," she offered him the rope and he glared at her. She was wonderful, magical, innocent, exciting, witty and far too defiant for Thorin's limits and he could see it in their future…she wouldn't rage…but he would.

When he didn't say anything, she tied the rope around her waist and gave it to him,

"When I'm dying, I expect to be dragged back to your feet,"

And she left the path with him holding the rope tightly, too tightly sometimes that she had to yank it a bit in order to move any further. She disappeared in to the midst of the trees, her footsteps growing fainter and fainter until they could not be heard at all. Thorin was running out of rope and he became painfully aware of the silence as the company looked on, anxious as to the outcome. Moments passed, minutes passed…and then their came a crunch, a snap – everyone glancing around them to see where the noises were coming from. From the dark, just ahead of them, their came another snap and out from nowhere, Maya's rope came sailing through the air at them. Thorin's eyes widened in disbelief moments before it whiplashed him across the face. He cried out and snapped his head back away from the pain, his hand cradling his split skin,

"Maya?!" he could feel the warm liquid oozing out from between his fingers. Fili picked up the rope, Thorin's blood patched all over the frayed end. Fili's face turned white as snow and Thorin's insides turned into a knot at the sight of it for there could only be one answer, someone had cut it. Just then, a loud shriek echoed from inside the wood and before he knew it Thorin was running blind into the dark, everyone else following him step for step, he could hear it, hear them as they all shouted for Maya. Calling her name, trying to get some indication of where she might be. He was about to cry out too but then the sound of light footsteps making their way towards him made him rethink his idea. He came to a slow stop and waited. With the others still calling, he turned to them,

"Quiet, you fools!" he hissed, "Something's coming,"

Everyone stopped, holding their breath, waiting as the padded steps grew louder. A shadow from the dark drew closer, growing in form to be lithe and slender.

"Maya!" Thorin made to run to her but her face was not as it should have been, her scar had been opened and a nasty gash on her right shoulder told them of unseen dangers.

"RUN!"

She shot past Thorin so quickly; he felt wisps of his hair take flight with her. He didn't wait to find out what was on her tail; he turned along with the rest of the company and made fast back the way they came, aware of the other footsteps that had started up behind them. He caught a glimpse of Bifur, who had taken the liberty of taking a quick turn to find out what chased them,

"Bifur, what is it?"

"Nymphs!" He cried, "Hundreds of them…On wolves!"

They had been found.

OoOoOo

Bilbo ran as fast as he could, he over took Maya and Bofur and everyone else. He had never run so fast in his life, where was Gandalf when you really needed him? Shadows were passing him so fast he wasn't sure if he'd seen them or not but he kept going until Maya suddenly appeared and put a hand on his chest, the motion made him panic and he fell but Maya pulled him up quickly, whispering frantically,

"We can't go any further,"

"Yes we can!" he whispered back, panic rising, "We can just keep running,"

"I wish that were true…THERE!" an arrow sailed passed his head and Maya yanked Bilbo in the opposite direction, "Run back!"

They started running in the opposite direction and Bilbo should have known to say something stupid,

"I thought you said we couldn't run anymore!"

"You're right," she slowed aggressively, slowing Bilbo with her. At the moment they were about to run past Bofur. She grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and pulled them both to their knees with her hands up, as low to the ground as possible,

"OK, STOP! WE'RE ON THE GROUND! Please…just – WE'RE ON THE GROUND!" she forced the three of them down further.

"I wish we knew how to disappear like them. Why can' you do tha'?" Bofur asked Maya, his bushy eyebrows furrowing. Maya ignored him, her eyes shut tight. That was when Bilbo remembered what he had found in the cave, that night back in Goblin Town. He dug around in his pocket until he found what he was looking for and then he was gone.

"Where'd the hobbit go?"

He watched as Bofur raised his head, bewildered. He saw Maya open her eyes and glance at 'him' in the same manner, searching for him and yet…he was right in front of them. He watched as they were enveloped by wolves, closing off any gaps as the Nymphs who rode them looked as fierce as any warrior might have, if not fiercer and more ruthless. It saddened him somewhat. Thorin and the rest of the company were chucked into the middle, Thorin coincidentally falling at Maya's knees with a grunt, Fili and Kili by his side. She gathered him to her, draping her uninjured sided arm across his chest and Bilbo could see how tightly she was holding him to her, her other hand was clutching Kili while Thorin was holding both his nephews tightly by their arms, his face as hard as a rock.

One Nymph dismounted and made his way to them, his features soft but his eyes were fire. They burned within his sockets,

"Maya, Daughter of Maein and company, you are here by sentenced to death,"

Bilbo's breath hitched in his throat and he felt his legs begin to shake, if this was what was to happen now, he would have to make a plan quickly, the trouble was, he was not as sharp of mind as he would have liked to have been at that moment.

"But," the Nymph warrior continued, "We have come to an arrangement…with the elves, if you'd all care to rise,"

Bilbo was confused, uncertain of what was happening, he watched as the others rose hesitantly; Thorin taking a sure stand in front of Maya, still clutching the arms of Fili and Kili. He was a fierce dwarf indeed when it came to the one's he loved the most. Bilbo waited for something to happen. It took a while but it last it did; very tall, extremely beautiful, high cheek-boned elf glided out to stand before them all; a small, silver leafed crown upon his head. He bowed with all the grace the world could offer and gave them a small smile, untrusted though it was by Bilbo Baggins of the Shire; he had to admit Elves were, in all honesty, lovely creatures.

"Thranduil, you will honour this agreement?" The Nymph warrior broke all ghostly charm about him when the name was given, Thorin of course already knew for his face had darkened when the Elf arrived, as for everyone else, it was a shock and a sudden deflation of any awe that was further held.

"I shall indeed, upon all my kin in my forest, I promise you," Thranduil spoke with an air of calm, collected poise. With that the warrior summoned Maya forward and she did so tentatively, eyeing Thranduil as he looked on, amused. Bilbo inched closer to hear,

"Maya," the warrior was old, Bilbo could see now, his skin turning blue and wrinkled, his face kind but grave, "I will not hunt you anymore. We will not hunt you anymore. But we cannot leave you be without your Uncle knowing that we have so you will be left in the care of King Thranduil-"

"He'll take us hostage and never let us go,"

"But he will not have you dead,"

"No, just locked in a dungeon somewhere,"

The old Nymph smiled sadly,

"I would rather that than the alternative, but here you have a chance of an undetected escape. Fair well, Maya," he took one step back, "Your father would be proud of what you have accomplished,"

Maya didn't let him take another step before she threw herself upon him, embracing him so tightly that the old Nymph seemed likely to break but he did not. He smiled one more time, winked knowingly in Bilbo's direction and left them.

Bilbo felt a knot form in his heart: Nymphs. Thranduil spoke softly, his voice menacingly clean,

"Thorin Oakenshield, how strange it is to have you in my forest, found on your knees as well, no less!"

"Thranduil," was all Thorin cared to say as greeting.

"Fine creatures, Nymphs," he leered down at Maya, "But far too trusting,"

She sneered back at him, narrowing her eyes,

"Think what you will but it's my benefit not yours that comes from this agreement,"

"Oh is it?"

She glanced around, once or twice at what would have been Bilbo but said nothing.

"Take them to their cells," he dismissed them curtly and before anyone could see anything, elves were upon them, bonding them, pushing them and then throwing them in dark and dingy cells. Stone and cold, Bilbo had followed them down and was about to speak to Thorin and Maya, who had been thrown in the same cell, but the last few lines of their conversation made Bilbo go back the way he came in search of a plan.

"Thorin, stop pacing, they're fine, we know they're fine,"

"They're my nephews! The last of my kin, my family, I cannot lose them,"

"We know that too. You won't…I promise," Bilbo saw the look in her eyes, she had faith in what she said and Thorin saw it too. His shoulders relaxed a little and he stopped,

"Come here," Maya held out her hand. Thorin took it and let her guide him down in between her knees, where he lay down, his back against her chest, her arms around him, comforting him as he laid his head against her shoulder but she jerked,

"Not that one," she winced again, her shoulder causing problems as Thorin adjusted.

"We'll have to ask them to fix that,"

"I'm sure," she smiled down at him and Bilbo felt his heart warm again. They were perfect, even in a cell.

"Hmm…I wonder if there's a way out of here," Thorin mused, holding her hand, kissing it gently, before resting it on his chest again. His face hardened quite suddenly and a flash of fear crossed his face that Bilbo had never seen before,

"Where's Bilbo?"

But Maya grinned at him as he looked at her, his eyes flashing,

"Relax; we'll get out of here in no time at all,"

"How do you know that?"

She drew him to her and held tighter,

"Because I have no idea where Bilbo is,"

That was when Bilbo embarked on his mission.