I'm posting two chapters back to back cause I know the first one is short and it doesn't add much for the imagination. It's not going to be a habit though, I'll be posting new chapters to this story every Wednesday. That is all so YOLO SWEG
Disclaimer: I don't own the Hobbit. I do however own my characters and any art I do of this story.
Chapter Two: Upon the Shadow of A Memory
A loud yelp resounded from within the Hobbit home, following the sound of her axe hitting wood. Lian pushed the door completely open to reveal a small hobbit; now a stuttering mess in the entry way. Instantly guilt fell upon her along with pity for the wee thing, he had to be no taller than her breast plate. Frantic stomping was heard but she continued to stare at the hobbit in unabashed wonder, never before had she met one.
"Bilbo?!" A booming voice called out and looking up she saw several dwarves attempting to trample their way into the hall with no luck; the door was too narrow for six or seven dwarves all at once. Lian chuckled, slowly stepping into the house as she ducked; the curved door a bit too low for her height but she didn't mind as she stopped directly over the faint hobbit.
Reaching down without a word, she firmly grasped the hobbit and hauled him to his feet none too gently before swiftly patting dust off his shoulder and bum; the latter causing Bilbo great discomfort but he dare not voice his objections.
Once satisfied, Lian's gaze began searching for her axe, spotting it imbedded in the floorboards among the group of tense dwarves. She moved to approach them but she was stopped; a low growl erupted from within the crowd of dwarves, not able to pinpoint one, three more cut through the tense silence. Lian sighed and then shrugged, her shoulders slumping in a nonchalant manner. It wouldn't kill her to amuse them. Hopefully. The growling didn't cease though and her short attention span diminished. Playing nice wouldn't get her anywhere.
With thoughts of peace dispersing almost as soon as they appeared Lian pushed through the crowd of dwarves and pulled her axe from the wood, which left a fair sized gouge.
"That's better." She swiveled back to the hobbit; seemingly more collected but still shaken.
"What business do you have here, woman?" A pudgy dwarf demanded with fiery locks, the dim light catching the color magnificently. Lian cleared her throat; glad she at least had an answer.
"I came on behalf of Gandalf. Sorry I nearly killed ya, lad. I was worried that something may have been lurking in here when it went quiet." A hearty laugh escaped her lips, directed towards Bilbo.
"I-I-I…w-well…"
"Hey there, no need to get flustered now, lad." She almost cooed, patting his shoulder lightly, well at least lightly to her standards. Her pat seemed to be like an iron ton on his sagging shoulder.
"I see you made it." A deep chuckle mused.
"Though you're late; you missed quite a party." Gandalf ducked into the hall, a toothy grin peaking out from behind his lips.
"I care not for any parties as of now. Just warm food in my belly, I'm famished and not to mention it's so damn hot around here." Lian growled, hastily pulling back her hood with a huff and felt slightly cooler as Gandalf chuckled. Even her thinnest clothes were too hot for The Shire.
"What business does a woman have here, Gandalf?" A deep voice murmured, though low in volume it thundered inside the modest hobbit home. It was a voice of authority.
"This, my dear Thorin, is Lian. She has journeyed from the Icebay of Forochel, I spoke of her upon our meeting in Bree." Gandalf hummed fondly.
"You spoke of a skilled warrior. I did not agree to this-" Waved towards her. "-we do not need burdens upon this journey." He growled, steel enforcing his sharp words and blue eyes icy, reminding her strongly of the twinkling ice caves from her land.
"Gandalf, you have such interesting friends." She hummed, casually tossing her axe on an already hefty pile of weapons, sliding her too thick vest from her shoulders.
"The nerve! What an arrogant woman!" The red haired dwarf growled out loudly.
Shrugging her shoulders, she made quick work of her chest, shoulders, shin and arm plates, only to then remove another coat and belt.
"Now, please tell me ya have food?" Turning, she's startled by Thorin's narrowed glare face-to-face with her as her words died down in her throat. Though she was a good two inches taller than the dwarf, his intimidating demeanor easily led one to believe his size did not matter in terms of war or negotiation.
"You're not welcome here, return to your homeland."
"I travel with Gandalf, Dwarf. If you wish to argue with him about the matter of my company then do." Lian brushed past the brooding dwarf to enter what she assumed to be the dining room.
Without a word she plopped into a small chair, tired muscles struggling to unclench themselves as she pulled pecans from her pocket, having seen a tree of them outside of Hobbiton. Slowly she looked around, noticing knick-knacks of all sorts upon shelves along rich colored trim and floors.
Indeed this was everything a home should be but still she couldn't seem to misplace it with her own home, where the floors were made of stone, fur pelts decorating the walls, floors and beds. Nice was this place but it was not by any means her ideal 'home'.
Cautiously, dwarves wonder back into the room, awkwardly standing to the side as they whispered amongst themselves. It was indeed uncomfortable.
"Is Forochel a barren wasteland of ice and snow like I've heard?" Lian turned to see a relatively young dwarf had taken the chair to her left, dark hair hanging over his shoulder. He was not quite as stout as most dwarves and he held a certain cheeky charm to his angular features.
"Aye it is, nothing but snow and ice where ever you turn, quite a tiresome lifestyle for some." She popped a handful of pecans in her mouth, not stopping to chew as she went on.
"But once you've travelled the land enough ya find all sorts of things, mostly caves though."
"Can you imagine that, Kili? No mountains to climb, forests to explore or even metal to mine." A blonde dwarf chimed in, now taking the chair to her right.
"Sounds boring if you ask me, Fili." Kili winked.
"Not when ya stumble across a den of wolves. Mean little buggers they are. Took my middle finger off!" She exclaimed, pulling her worn leather glove from her right hand, causing Fili and Kili to lean forward expectantly.
"Just joking." She laughed, revealing all five digits upon her hand, wiggling them for extra measure and the two dwarves don't try and hold back their laughter, a twinkle of mirth in their eyes.
"Seems we have a jokester on our hands, Fili. I can't wait to see what else she's got up her sleeves." Kili grinned, dimples and all.
Lian was about to say something but her attention was quickly caught by the sight of Thorin's brooding glare from the hall. Quirking her brows slightly, she was instantly is reminded of a sulking child though a bit more menacing. Without thinking she made one of the most ridiculous faces she can think of and laughed obnoxiously at the instant look of disgust on his face.
"It'd be best not to harass Thorin, else he may change his mind upon your presence in the company." Gandalf grumbled, thumping Lian gently on the head with his staff.
"Ya mean he actually agreed in the first place?" She murmured, quirking her brow in wonder for it was a peculiar idea to think of the dwarf as an ally.
"Yes, though not without much resistance." The wizard sighed, leaning against the table between her and Fili.
"Forever I will marvel at yer power of persuasion." Lian mused almost sarcastically, finishing the last of her pecans with a loud crunch.
"Does this mean she'll be coming along with us, Gandalf?" Fili questioned.
"Indeed, all she has to do is sign her contract."
"Contract?" Lian shifted in her chair upon this new detail.
"Aye lass, we've all had to sign it." An aged dwarf chimed in, stepping forward to lay a long piece of parchment before her.
"Thorin Oakenshield and Co." She read, taking care to read the seemingly never ending contract, letting out a rather obnoxious snort at the word 'incineration'.
"Incineration?!" A squeak sounded from behind her, causing her to turn abruptly to the hobbit behind her, apparently reading the contract over her shoulder.
"Gandalf, please tell me that there isn't a chance I'll be burned to ash!" Bilbo paled as he spoke, looking desperately around as if for help.
"Oh aye, he'll melt the flesh right off your bones in the blink of an eye." A dwarf bearing a rather limp eared hat said, causing Bilbo to pale considerably and try to calm his erratic breathing.
"Are you alright, laddy?" The aged dwarf genuinely looked concerned.
"Oh, I'm fine, just feel a bit faint." His voice trembled and shook as he spoke.
"Think furnace with wings!" Exclaimed another dwarf.
"Flash of light, searing pain and then poof! You're nothing more than a pile of dust."
All eyes watched as Bilbo's hunching form suddenly straightened, quirking his head to the side a bit.
"Hmm…No." Instantly the fellow went down, like a sack of potatoes against the floor.
"Very helpful, Bofur!" Gandalf snapped, coming over along with Bofur to help the poor lad into a chair.
"So where do I sign?" Lian questioned, breaking the silence and earning a few scoffs and raised brows as Bilbo is carried to the next room, the dwarves trailing behind him and leaving only the aged dwarf and Lian.
"Here." Chuckled the older dwarf, pointing a thick finger as he directed her towards the bottom of the parchment and introduced himself as Balin.
"If you don't mind me asking, do ya have any idea why Gandalf has asked me upon this journey?" She asked while scrawling 'Lian Dullian' lazily, receiving a puzzled expression from Balin.
"Did you not care to ask what you were getting yourself into, lass?" He frowned, fair eyebrows furrowing deeply.
"Gandalf came to my kingdom to strike a deal. He banished the plague consuming our lands and in exchange; my assistance in this quest." She murmured thoughtfully, looking at the worn piece of paper yet not seeing as the ink dries; memories of Gandalf's arrival replaying in her mind.
"My assistance is hardly enough to repay him for what he has done for my people. I can't help but wonder though what he's got up his sleeve. Though then again, his thoughts are his own, he'll share them when he thinks of it necessary." She sighed.
"Aye, I can understand. It is how we all feel about Thorin." Balin hummed while neatly folding the contract and Lian quirked her brow.
"He may seem uncaring but he is very kind, sometimes too nice. He takes care of his people though, takes care of us. He helped us rebuild our lives in the Blue Mountains after the dreadful attack of Smaug." Balin explained upon her expression, eyes soft when thinking of the hostile dwarf with pride, respect and even love shining through his expression.
"Smaug?" News beyond the Hills of Evendium or Ered Luin never traveled to their isolated kingdom, once every other half decade a stranger may lose their way from Ered Luin and share news of the outside world but that had been few and far.
"Aye, before your time, nearly sixty years ago did Smaug attack our kingdom in the Lonely Mountain…" His eyes grew glassy, distant as he whispered.
"Erebor."
"Balin."
Thorin loomed over the table, jaw clenched from behind the pair. "No more." He rasped; his voice was low with warning and the aged dwarf simply nodded as he rose from his chair. "Welcome to the company of Thorin Oakenshield, lass." He smiled, taking his leave with a short pat to Thorin's shoulder.
"Ya hold doubt within yer eyes." Lian watched seemingly unperturbed at his words, the candle light flickering across the steel ring upon her thumb.
"I will not be responsible for what becomes of you." He stated dryly, as if to smother any preconceived notions of such things.
"If I should fall upon our journey then it will be of my own choice." She retorted softly, starting to feel the weight of sleep upon her shoulders as a short silence fell between the two.
"Thorin…?"
"What?" He grumbled.
Slowly she turned, now able to see the dark dwarf as candle light flickered across his sharp features and shining upon his iron scaled vest.
"Don't forget me if I pass." Softly do the words trail from her lips, almost like a plea as blue and green meet, shining brightly with a sort of understanding.
Neither uttered a word, for none were needed as they both part for the night. Lian attempted to make herself comfortable in a far too small chair while he went to join his kin by the fire. Soon the weight of the journey took her as deep humming echoed throughout the hobbit hole, tugging softly at her heart, for the melody was a sad one. Never had she heard such a song and she knew that it would echo throughout her mind for days; in the late of night when all was quite would it echo like a ghost.