Hi, guys! It was cool that y'all reviewed; I appreciated reading that some of you are Tumblr users as well.
*cough* Y'know... If ya... Wanna follow me... *Ahem*
Sorry. Jus' kiddin'.
Hope ya enjoy this chapter! I think you'll find one of ya was right about the ship name...
Cheyanne awoke when she felt a sunbeam on her face. She blinked open her eyes and let out a happy purr when she realized she was still wrapped in Thorin's arms. The sleepy smile on her face disappeared, however, when she felt eyes on her. She allowed herself a look around the room. All of the other dwarves were sitting up and looking at her and Thorin with smirks on their faces.
"Thoranne," Kili said to his brother. "I told you."
"I never disagreed," Fili responded with a shrug. "I just didn't know it would happen this quickly."
"Nothing happened," Cheyanne said quickly, struggling free of Thorin's grasp. The dwarf stirred at her movement, and he sat up in confusion. His face cleared, however, when he realized what the others had seen them doing, and Cheyanne could have sworn she saw his cheeks turn slightly red.
He stood up. "Cheyanne is right," he told them all. "We were just… Keeping one another warm, that's all."
"Alright, Thorin," Balin chuckled. "If that's all it was."
"Did anyone draw that?" Bofur asked, looking around. Ori grinned and held up the book he was holding.
"I woke up two hours ago."
"Ori!" Cheyanne exclaimed. She covered her face with her hands in embarrassment.
"Can't say I'm surprised," Nori said with a grunt as he sat up. "I've known that this was going to happen since Rivendell."
"Rivendell?" Kili exclaimed. "No, that's much too early. I'd say it was Goblin Town, when Thorin stepped forward and saved her."
"You're both wrong," said Balin. "I saw Cheyanne looking at Thorin when she first met him in Bilbo's house. She's been fond of the leader of our company since the beginning of the journey."
"I have not!" Cheyanne exclaimed in indignation with a stomp of her foot. She could feel her cheeks getting very red, however. Balin wasn't far from the truth; Cheyanne had been a fan-girl of Thorin when the movies began, but who in their right minds wasn't? She'd seen plenty of stuff with people shipping themselves with Thorin all over the place, including pictures and… And FanFictions…
She shuddered. Was that what her writing in Texas was? A FanFiction? She'd vowed she'd never write one…
Thorin's voice brought her back to the present. "It never happened, do you understand? We will not be speaking of it again."
"Fine, it never happened," Dwalin snorted. "Agreed."
"I want that picture burned," Cheyanne muttered through her hands. If there was going to be a FanFiction, she didn't want a piece of fan-art to go along with it.
"What picture?" She flinched when she heard Gandalf's voice, and she lowered her hands to see the wizard was standing in the doorway. He gave them all a look, but no one responded. The wizard sniffed and said, "Beorn is preparing you breakfast."
At the mention of food, the dwarves immediately started to freshen themselves up. Gandalf waved his hand at Cheyanne, gesturing her over. She stood and hurried by the dwarves to the wizard, ignoring the chuckles and smirks as she passed them. She joined Gandalf, and he led her towards the dining area. Beorn was standing next to the table, and she had to look up rather far to see his face.
The skin-changer tilted his head curiously when he saw her. "A female hobbit?" he queried, looking at Gandalf.
"That is what she says," replied the wizard.
Beorn squatted down, and yet he still wasn't at Cheyanne's level. She had to look up to meet his gaze, and Beorn lifted an eyebrow. "You're no hobbit," he mused, "so what are you?"
Cheyanne didn't give anything away. At least, she hoped she didn't. "If I'm not a hobbit, what else could I be?" she questioned evenly.
The tall man merely continued to stare at her until there was noise nearby. She turned away and saw all of the dwarves standing before them, eyes wide. Beorn rose to his full height, and heads lifted in synchronization. "Welcome," said Beorn, addressing the company. He gestured to the table. "Would you like something to eat?"
Cheyanne silently counted the dwarves as they walked by her to sit at the table. Bilbo wasn't amongst them. She sighed in relief, knowing that if he had been awake to see what the dwarves had, she would never hear the end of it. She went back to the room to fetch him.
Bilbo was just beginning to sit up when she walked into the room where the company had slept. He looked up when she entered. "I guess I'm a little late," he said to her.
"Not very," responded Cheyanne. "Everyone else just woke up. We're all in the dining room; Beorn made us breakfast."
At the mention of food, Bilbo hurried to his feet, pulling on his jacket. Cheyanne smirked as he went past her, following the smell of honey and rolls. Beorn was pouring milk into goblets, walking around the table as he did so. Bilbo slid into a seat next to Balin, and Cheyanne studied the table. The only empty chair was one next to where Thorin was leaning against a wooden post.
He caught her staring and nodded to it. She dropped her shoulders and sat down slowly, a bit uneasy. Beorn glanced up from the milk he was pouring into Bilbo's goblet. "So, you're the one they call Oakenshield," he said to Thorin. "Tell me, why is Azog the Defiler hunting you?"
Cheyanne glanced over her shoulder at Thorin. He was studying the skin-changer in muted surprise. "You know of Azog? How?"
Beorn moved onto the next goblet. "My people were the first to live in the mountains, before the Orcs came down from the north. The Defiler killed most of my family, but some he enslaved." Cheyanne saw Bilbo glance at Beorn and his eyes widen when he saw the remnants of shackles on the skin-changer's wrists. "Not for work, you understand, but for sport," Beorn continued. "Caging skin-changers and torturing them seemed to amuse him."
"There are others like you?" queried the hobbit, pulling his eyes away from the shackles.
"Once, there were many," Beorn answered.
"And… Now?" Bilbo asked, not seeing Cheyanne's warning gesture.
Beorn paused momentarily before setting down the milk jug. "Now, there is only one." No one spoke after that. Beorn gazed down at the party. "You need to reach the mountain before the last days of autumn?"
"Before Durin's Day falls, yes," Gandalf confirmed.
"You are running out of time," warned the skin-changer.
"Which is why we must go through Mirkwood." Just hearing the name of the dark forest sent a chill through Cheyanne. She shuddered, and Thorin put a hand on her shoulder. She shrugged him off.
"A darkness lies upon that forest," Beorn said carefully, voicing her concerns. "Foul 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."
Cheyanne had completely forgotten about the Necromancer. That was what Gandalf and Radagast had spoken about privately after the company had discovered the troll hoard. She frowned, wondering how in the world she could have forgotten it.
"We will take the Elven Road," Gandalf said, and Cheyanne heard Thorin sigh under his breath behind her. "That path is still safe."
"Safe?" asked Beorn. "The Wood-Elves of Mirkwood are not like their kin. They're less wise and more dangerous, but it matters not."
This caught Thorin's attention. He moved closer to the table, standing on Cheyanne's left. "What do you mean?" he asked the skin-changer.
Beorn turned to look at him. "These lands are crawling with Orcs. Their numbers are growing, and you are on foot. You will never reach the forest alive."
Thorin's eyes widened slightly in shock. Cheyanne studied him, and he looked down at her. "Did you know about this?" he asked her quietly.
"I was going to tell you-" she began, but the dwarf looked away before she could finish. Cheyanne let out a pained breath and gazed down at the table. I should have told him last night.
"I don't like dwarves," Beorn started, causing her to lift her eyes. He was looking down at the table himself, eyes watching something. "They're greedy and blind, blind to the lives of those they deem lesser than their own." As he spoke, he reached down and picked up a small white mouse that had been scurrying along the table, searching for scraps. The skin-changer approached Thorin, towering over him. "But Orcs I hate more," he said at last, lifting his eyes from the mouse. "What do you need?"
"Mounts and provisions, if you have them," responded the dwarf.
"Of course. Send a few of your dwarves with me, and we will go ready them. My animals will take care of the provisions," Beorn said, turning away again. Thorin nodded to Fili and Kili, who both rise and go after the skin-changer. Cheyanne diverted her gaze as Thorin looked towards her.
"Tell me what you know of the Orcs," he said softly.
"They won't bother us for a while yet," she replied, not looking at him. "At least not until we leave Mirkwood. But they are not the issue we're going to be dealing with in the forest." Thorin didn't say anything, and she shook her head. "The Wood-Elves don't like us being there. They catch us and take us to the Woodland Realm."
"Is there no avoiding it?" Thorin questioned.
"No. We lose the path and get cornered by Mirkwood spiders. The Elves save us, but take us prisoner. King Thranduil will attempt to make a deal with you, but you get angry and flat out refuse." She cautiously glanced up at him. "The greedy part of you Beorn was just talking about."
Thorin let out a breath through his nose and looked over the table at Balin. The older dwarf returned the look, and Thorin looked back down at Cheyanne. "Thank you."
"It's what I'm here for," she answered with a weak grin.
Thorin walked away from her to speak with Gandalf, and Cheyanne looked across the table towards Bilbo. The hobbit met her gaze and shrugged. She gestured with her head and stood. Bilbo joined her a few paces away from the table, and she gripped his upper arms in her hands.
"Listen, I know that you have a Ring," she told him quietly. Bilbo looked at her, feigning confusion, and she rolled her eyes. "I don't care how you got it, but I need you to know that you're going to be using that Ring to save us in Mirkwood soon."
"Alright…" Bilbo said carefully, beginning to turn away.
Cheyanne moved her hands to his cheeks and made him look at her. "Do not let it change you, Bilbo," she ordered. "It will try to, I can promise you that, but you must not let it."
"Chey, you're beginning to scare me a little," said the hobbit, words shaky.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm just trying to warn you before you do something you regret." Bilbo stared at her for a long moment, eyes wondering. She met his gaze. "Promise me."
The hobbit nodded a second later. "I promise."
Cheyanne smiled and leaned forward, kissing him on the forehead through his hair before pulling him into a hug. Bilbo returned it after a brief hesitation with a long sigh. "I want to go home, Chey," he said quietly.
"I know, Bilbo," she replied, hugging him tightly. "I know."
The two of them hugged for a very long moment, until Thorin approached. "It's time to go," he told them.
Cheyanne released Bilbo before he let go of her, and she saw Thorin frowning. She returned the look, confused. "Are you alright?"
"No," the dwarf answered coolly. "I am not alright, but it doesn't matter. Come on, Beorn is waiting for us with the ponies."
The other dwarves met them at the door, each carrying their packs over their shoulders. Dwalin was holding Bilbo's, and he handed it to the hobbit. Cheyanne continued to stare at Thorin, who was gazing straight ahead grimly. "What's going on?" she asked him as the company went outside.
"I do not want to talk about it," muttered Thorin in response. "Let's just say that wizards are not someone who you should try to have a serious talk with."
Thorin walked away from her, and Cheyanne let out a sigh. Bilbo watched the dwarf walk away before looking up at Cheyanne. "You like him, don't you?" he questioned.
Cheyanne didn't give him an answer. She instead went over to one of the ponies Beorn had brought them and climbed up into the saddle. She silently reached down to help Bilbo up behind her.
"Go now, while you still have the light," Beorn was saying as she wheeled the pony around. "The hunters are not far behind."
On a silent command, Gandalf urged his full-sized horse forward, and the company rode away from Beorn's house across the green plain. They travelled without speaking, flying over the grass on the backs of their ponies. Cheyanne's hair whipped around her face uncomfortably, a strand going into her mouth every few moments after she spat one out.
After only fifteen minutes or so of riding, the company pulled up short as they neared Mirkwood. Cheyanne gaped at the gloomy forest, eyes widening. Even from where she stopped her pony, she could feel the evil seeping from the dark woods.
Gandalf dismounted, and the others followed suit as the wizard approached an ancient archway at the tree line. "The Elven Gate," he said slowly. He turned around and called to them; "Here lies our path through Mirkwood."
"No sign of the Orcs," said Dwalin. "We have luck on our side."
Cheyanne looked over her shoulder back across the plain. She saw the outline of a big black bear in the distance on a ridge, watching them.
Gandalf had seen him, too. "Set the ponies loose. Let them return to their master."
A few of the dwarves set to taking the saddles off of the ponies as Gandalf turned back to the forest. Cheyanne and Bilbo went after him, and the hobbit slowed as he got closer. "This forest feels… sick," he said, frowning, "as if a disease lies upon it." He looked over at Gandalf. "Is there no way around?"
"Not unless we go two hundred miles north, or twice that distance south," answered the wizard. He stepped into Mirkwood, and Bilbo looked at Cheyanne.
"I'm going to guess that isn't an option?" She shook her head, and the hobbit huffed, walking away a few feet. Cheyanne turned away from him and saw Thorin standing alone by the edge of the trees a couple of yards away, arms crossed. She released a breath and slowly approached him.
"Thorin?" she began cautiously. He glanced sideways at her and turned away again. She tilted her head. "I'm sorry, but I don't want you over here looking annoyed." She grinned. "Of course, you always look annoyed, but…"
The dwarf showed no sign he'd appreciated her joke. He didn't looked up, and Cheyanne stepped closer. "If you don't want to talk about it, I understand, but I just wanted to tell you that I'm here for you if you need me."
"Thank you," he said under his breath. "I appreciate it. Right now, however, we need to focus on the task at hand." He looked at her, and she could tell the small smile he was giving her was genuine. "We'll talk once we get out of Mirkwood."
She gazed at him a moment longer before nodding submissively. Thorin walked over to her and placed one hand on the back of her neck. She tensed under his touch and looked up, meeting his eyes. "I really do appreciate it, Cheyanne," he told her sincerely.
"You've never called me by my first name before," she said weakly.
"There's a first time for everything," said Thorin in reply. They gazed up at one another for a long moment until Thorin broke the eye contact and moved past her. Cheyanne quaked, afraid her knees were going to buckle beneath her. As Thorin walked away, Bilbo approached, grinning widely.
"What was that about?" he teased.
"Nothing," she said quickly, clenching her fist so he wouldn't see her hand shaking.
"I don't believe that at all!" exclaimed Bilbo. "It looked like you two were having a moment."
"If we were, do you really think I'd tell you about it?" she demanded, her cheeks flaming.
The hobbit grinned. "Is that why you're not?" he questioned.
"Bilbo-"
"Not my horse!" Gandalf appeared from Mirkwood, hurrying over to where Ori was about to pull the saddle off of the animal. "I need it."
Bilbo and Cheyanne exchange a glance before scurrying over to the wizard and the dwarves. "You're not leaving us?" Bilbo asked, worried.
"I would not do this unless I had to." Gandalf glanced towards Thorin, who looked away with a frown. Gandalf then turned to look at Bilbo. "You've changed, Bilbo Baggins," he said slowly. "You're not the same hobbit as the one who left the Shire."
Bilbo glanced sideways at Cheyanne, who merely lifted her eyebrow, knowing just what he was silently asking. "I was going to tell you," the hobbit started, turning back to Gandalf. "I found something in the goblin tunnels."
"Found what?" questioned the wizard, looking down at Cheyanne, who turned her eyes away from his beseeching gaze. He leaned towards the hobbit, curious and suspicious.
Bilbo fumbled with his pockets for a very long moment. "My courage," he said at last.
Gandalf lifted a gray eyebrow. "Good. That's good." Bilbo smiled wanly, but the wizard didn't return it. "You're going to need it." He looked at Cheyanne again. "Take good care of my burglar."
"Gandalf, wait-" Cheyanne started, wanting to ask him what he knew about her being there, but the wizard mounts his horse and shakes his head.
Cheyanne frowned and bowed her head submissively. Gandalf turns to speak to the company as a whole. "I'll be waiting for you at the overlook, before the slopes of Erebor. Keep the map and key safe. Do not enter that mountain without me." As he said this, he turned and gave Thorin a hard stare, which the dwarf returned. Gandalf wheeled his horse around. "This is not the Greenwood of old. The very air of the forest is heavy with illusion. It will seek to enter your mind and lead you astray."
"Lead us astray? What does that mean?" Bilbo asked no one in particular. Cheyanne merely put her hand on his shoulder.
"You must stay on the path; do not leave it. If you do, you will never find it again." Gandalf started to ride away, calling over his shoulder: "No matter what may come, stay on the path!"
The company watches him ride away into the distance before they collectively turned to Mirkwood. "Come on," Thorin said, stepping forward. "We must reach the mountain before the sun sets on Durin's Day."
"Durin's Day," Dwalin said with a grin. He looked around at the others, determination in his eyes. "Let's go!"
"This is our one chance to find the hidden door," concluded Thorin. He nodded to the woods, and everyone filed after one another into the trees along the path. They didn't walk for long before the path turned a corner, and Thorin stopped, staring at the ground closely. "The path goes this way," he said to them at last, following it deeper into the trees.
The path took them around twists and turns, over fallen logs and across high ledges. Dwalin eventually took the lead, thumping the ground with the end of his hammer to keep the paving stones of the trail beneath the company's feet. Cheyanne could feel her head getting woozy as they walked along, and she gazed around the forest at the blues and grays. It was very dark and very gloomy. And very evil.
"This way," Dwalin called to them as the path veered sharply around a particularly evil looking tree.
The company walked and walked, and soon the dwarves were starting to feel the effects of the forest as well. "Air," gasped Bofur from behind Cheyanne. "I need air."
"My head, it's spinning," Oin groaned, grabbing his skull.
Cheyanne swayed on her feet as she walked before she abruptly ran into Bilbo, who had run into Balin. Thorin, who was walking behind Nori at the front, leaned around the other dwarf. "Nori, why have we stopped?" he demanded.
"The path…" Nori started, pointing at the ground. "It's disappeared."
"What's happened?" Dwalin asked from behind Bofur.
"We've lost the path!" Oin exclaimed in dismay.
Cheyanne leaned around Bilbo. They were standing at the edge of the cliff with no path before them. She groaned and fell backwards onto the ground.
"Find it," she faintly heard Thorin command. "All of you. Look for the path!"
The dwarves spread out and began to search. Cheyanne sat up wearily, gazing around in wonder. The forest was spinning very quickly around in circles, the trees flashing in a rainbow of colors. Thorin approached her, bright purple, and there were eight of him coming at her from all sides, all a different color. She saw him speak, but it came out as Black Speech, and she stood up quickly in fear and walked away from him, spinning around in circles to keep up with the trees.
"I don't remember this place before," she heard Balin slur. "None of it's familiar."
Dori shuffled around in a continuous circle, gazing at the ground. "It's got to be here."
"What hour is it?" Thorin asked. There were no longer eight of him, and the single one was looking around, blinking.
"I don't know," responded Dwalin, somewhere close by. "I don't even know what day it is."
Cheyanne stumbled over her feet and fell down onto a stump where Bombur was sitting. "I couldn't see the light because of the trees!" she sang, attempting The Last Goodbye, but it came out all wrong for some reason. "There was no wind, not a breeze!" She hiccupped and the world spun around again as she slung an arm across Bombur's shoulders. "As gross webs cover my lovely Bombur, I will try and focus today!"
She swayed with the big dwarf back and forth as Ori stumbled over a rock and fell. "Look!" he said, as though falling had suddenly given him a burst of energy.
Dori walked over to him and gasped, bending down. "A tobacco pouch!" he exclaimed, holding it up. He glanced around suspiciously. "There are dwarves in these woods."
Bofur took the pouch from him. "Dwarves from the Blue Mountains, no less. This is exactly the same as mine!"
Cheyanne saw Bilbo shake his head through blurry eyes. "It is yours!" he told Bofur. "You understand? We're going around in circles. We are lost!"
Dwalin flopped down onto the ground. "We're not lost." He pointed to nowhere in particular. "We keep heading east."
Bilbo huffed. Cheyanne grinned at him woozily, and he walked over to her, taking her face in his hands to focus her attention on him. "Cheyanne, do you know how to get out of here?" he asked her slowly.
His face shifted, eyes moving to where his mouth should have been and his nose going up to his forehead. Cheyanne blinked. "You have to look up!" she shouted when his facial features jumped back to their normal places. "The sun, Bobo! Feel the breeze, and watch the butterflies flutter towards Erebor!"
Bilbo looked very concerned and confused. He released her face, and Cheyanne sighed loudly in exasperation. She stood up, taking his chin in her hand before tilting his head back and pointing towards the treetops. "The sun!"
"The sun," said Bilbo in realization. "We have to find the sun!" He took Cheyanne's face in his hands and kissed her on the forehead. "Chey, you're a genius!"
He ran off, and Cheyanne fell back onto the ground, grinning deliriously. She gazed at the ground when her vision blurred again, trying to focus. She faintly heard Thorin shout something, and she looked up in time to see fangs glistening above her.
See? Thoranne! It's beautiful! Good job Shinningheart of ThunderClan! I'm very proud of you. Kili would be, too.