Chapter 6: Coming To Grips With The Past
The next morning Lily awoke in the arms of her beloved. His breathing was steady and calm. She watched his chest rise and fall, and admired the smattering of dark hair. His face was turned away from her, but she could still see the look of peace on his face. Finally her king was resting.
A gentle knocking on the great doors made Lily lift her head. She looked back down at her sleeping king, and did not have the heart to stir him. She quietly slipped out of bed and opened the door. There stood lord Elrond. He smiled gently down at her before saying in a low voice,
"I think it is time for you to see something, my lady."
The tone of his voice stirred a curiosity in Lily, and she turned to look back at the sleeping king. She would let him rest, they had a long journey ahead still. She nodded and followed lord Elrond out of the room, gently closing the great door. In that moment, the draft from the door rustled the hair on Thorin's chest. His eyes snapped open, and he looked around in alarm. She was gone again. He sat up abruptly in bed and called out her name, "Lily?"
She did not answer. The king then flipped himself out of the bed, roughly dressed and ran for the door. He pulled it open with a mighty heave and ran into the hallway. He could see lord Elrond leading Lily away, and began to jog after them. His suspicion of the elves had not yet dissipated, and he did not trust his lover's life in their hands.
Lord Elrond stopped before a very ornate door at the end of the hallway, extending a hand and speaking a chant in elvish. The door swung effortlessly open, and lord Elrond indicated that Lily should enter first. She looked at him for a moment with hesitation before taking a step inside. As she did so, light flooded the room, candles lit up everywhere. Lily stopped and admired the beauty of the room as lord Elrond stepped in, and the door swung shut.
Thorin picked up the pace, growling as he quickly approached the door. What was happening, why did they not bring him with? As he reached the door, he took his two mighty fists and began to pound and yell at the door. Lord Elrond turned with a look of surprise at the door.
"It seems our young king did not wish to continue his slumber alone. With your permission, my lady, I shall allow him in." Lord Elrond said with a small bow.
"I don't understand, why would you need my permission?" Lily asked, slightly taken aback.
"Look carefully at the items in this room, my lady." Lord Elrond said, casting his eyes about the ornate decorations.
Lily could still hear Thorin yelling and pounding on the door, but she slowly turned her gaze about the room. It all looked so...familiar... Suddenly memories flooded Lily of her childhood home, hiding beneath the mahogany table she saw to her left, putting on the beautiful robes strewn on the bed.
"But these are...my family's things?" Lily said, spinning around and staring at Elrond.
"Yes, my lady, and I will explain all, but first, you must decide if you want your king present." Elrond said calmly, showing a hand at the door.
"Yes, of course, let him in." Lily said, turning to look at everything in the room again.
With a wave of his hand, the door opened, and Thorin came tumbling in,
"What is the meaning of this?!" The dwarf king bellowed at Elrond. The elf did not flinch, and merely settled his gaze on Lily, who was delicately walking about the room and touching everything.
Thorin calmed himself, looking around, and asked, "What is all this?"
"It belongs to the lady of the house of Winters." Lord Elrond said.
"But how...?" Lily asked, her eyes filling with tears.
"After the death of your parents, we came as quickly as we could, we searched for you everywhere, but could not find you, and we feared the worst. None-the-less, we took as much as we could from the house for safe-keeping, in case you had survived." Lord Elrond explained.
"Yes, I remember, I was hiding in the crawl space, no one knew that it existed. I heard people thieving my house, I thought it was robbers, or orcs, I didn't dare come out." Lily said with a sad desperation.
"My lady, can you explain how it was you survived the attack?" Lord Elrond asked in a gentle tone.
The door swung open once more, and Gandalf stepped inside,
"I came as quickly as I could, I do beg your pardon, lord Elrond and lady Lily." Gandalf said in his cheery voice.
"Ah, Gandalf, my old friend, you came just in time. Lady Lily was just about to explain her means of escape the night of the tragedy." Lord Elrond said in a more somber tone.
Thorin looked squarely at Lily, who was shaking slightly. He too was curious as to how she escaped when so many were sure she was dead. Even though he wished to know badly, he also could not stand seeing her looking so distressed,
"Is it so very important? She is alive is she not?" Thorin demanded, turning on lord Elrond and Gandalf.
"She may tell us if she wishes, but she is not forced to." Lord Elrond reassured Thorin.
"Mother was in the garden." Lily began, causing everyone to fall silent. She turned and gently stroked the garments on the bed, "She was wearing her favorite silk dress. She was tending to her moon flowers, it was a full moon, so they would be at their most beautiful. She did not see them coming, they were so silent." Lily trailed off.
"I was playing hide and seek with my brother in the great dining hall, we could see her through the glass doors. I was under the mahogany table. My father was in his study, he had been locked in there all day, he knew they were coming, and was trying to arrange an escape.
"It happened so quickly...We heard mother scream, and then we saw them. Orcs had come, they cut her throat...She lay there amongst her moon flowers, now covered in red..." Lily shook her head, trying to escape the image. She swallowed and continued,
"My brother, he ran to get my father, but the orcs had already climbed the side of the house, we heard glass breaking, they were in his study... When my brother reached him, he was already on the floor. He ran away as quickly as he could, he pulled me out from under the table, and rushed me to the crawl space. There wasn't enough room for him, and they had already seen him, but not me. He shut me in there, telling me to be quiet.
"I hated that crawl space, there were spiders, so many awful, large, hideous spiders! I wanted to scream, but knew I could not. It felt like hours before the thundering of the orcs stopped, but finally it did. I opened the door, and looked out, it was morning. As I tried to open the door more, something was in my way, it was my brother. Before I could even see if he was alive, I heard noises again coming from outside. I went back to the crawl space, and listened as the house was being raided. I could hear things being carried out... All along it was you." Lily said finally, looking up at Elrond.
"You were in the house the whole time." The elf lord said in a tone of wonder, "If we had known, my lady, we would have taken you with us to Rivendell."
"Their bodies, you took them?" Lily asked in a sad tone.
"Yes, we buried them with your ancestors." Lord Elrond responded.
"All these years I thought the thieves had taken them, defiled them..." Lily broke into tears, she sank to the floor.
Thorin could take no more, he rushed to her side, taking her sobbing form into his arms,
"Enough of this!" Thorin growled, "She has had enough."
"Only one more question, my lady, how did you survive on your own? Why did you not come for help?" Lord Elrond asked.
"I was 12. I had no idea where to turn, how to reach anyone. I went to Bree, I worked as a maid, I had to learn to cook, I slept in stables. It was miserable, but I feared if anyone knew who I truly was the orcs would return for me, so I lied. I made a new life, I did not reveal who I was until I was of age. Then I did not fear the orcs, then I welcomed their return, so I could have my revenge..." Lily said bitterly.
"My lady, we shall keep your family's belongings for as long as necessary for you to find a home to place them in, however, you may, if you wish, take something with you now already." Lord Elrond stated.
Lily rose from the floor, wiping away her tears. She looked around the room and saw her mother's jewelry box. She went straight towards it and opened it. She pulled out a delicate shining ring.
"I was so sure this had been stolen..." She said, holding it gingerly in her hand, tears brimming once more.
"The ring of your house, carried by all the females in the line. A fine choice, it was made by the elves specifically for your family." Lord Elrond said, coming behind her to examine her choice.
Lily slipped it on, and it fit as though it had been tailored to her finger.
"Thank you, lord Elrond, for keeping everything safe." Lily said as lord Elrond and Gandalf began to leave. The elf simply bowed gently and made his exit.
Thorin then came behind Lily and wrapped his arms around her. His firm body pressed against her made her feel as safe as she could ever remember. Her mind could now rest at ease; her family's belongings rested safely in Rivendell, and her family was buried with her ancestors, not defiled. She too was now safe, in the arms of her king, she felt as though a new wave of strength overcame her.
Thorin felt guilty for his reaction to her dream of spiders. Had he known before he might have been more sympathetic. Now that he knew, nothing would keep him from her. He drew her in a little more tightly, and heard a sigh of relief from Lily. She was his, and he would lay down life and sword to protect her.