Thank you for the great amount of support I've been given, sadly there wasn't a spoiler scene to this chapter but I will be posting more art work of the series. check it out at my profile and please enjoy the show.
Disclaimer: I don't own The Hobbit nor it's characters, I do however own my own and my artwork in this series.
Chapter Seven: What Was There But Never Seen
"Lian!" Bilbo screamed.
The hobbit watched her fall helplessly, a great burden suddenly settling on his shoulders, for he knew that she had given up her life for his own. He wasn't strong enough to hold them both up and she died because of it.
Rough hands grabbed the hobbit, swinging him up onto the cliff while Thorin now dangled over the edge, letting out a cry when his hands slipped on the slick rock. Dwalin reached down quickly, grabbing the dwarf tightly before hauling him up onto the cliff with the rest of the company.
"Where is Lian?" Thorin demanded, only knowing that she and the hobbit had been the only one unaccounted for in the group when they arrived.
The hobbit shook his head, grief etched deeply into his face, "She let go. She let go to save me. I wasn't strong enough to hold us both up." He gasped out, fighting back tears.
Cold dread settled upon the company at the news of their fallen ally, Thorin felt his chest constrict with grief and guilt. He had known only death would befall the woman, he had tried to make her want to leave but she had stubbornly stayed.
"You lie!" Gloin roared in disbelief, not allowing himself to believe that the young woman had died when he'd been with her just mere moments before. It felt unreal.
"Gloin." Thorin snapped, silencing the dwarf in his fit of rage.
"Let us be glad that we didn't lose our hobbit too." Dwalin tried to think positive.
"He's been lost ever since he left home. The woman was no better and now she's dead." Thorin quipped, though the lilt in his voice suggested anything but cold indifference.
"We will grieve later, first we must find shelter." Balin told the hobbit, placing a comforting hand upon Bilbo's shoulder. The old dwarfs face was grief stricken, his deep wrinkles deepening with his sorrow.
They are quick to find a cave, Dwalin and Thorin doing a quick sweep of the surroundings before they settled in, only speaking when necessary. Thorin stopped Oin and Dwalin from making a fire, dismissing them both.
"We will have no fire while on this mountain. Many things dwell within and we don't want to attract their attention."
The company did not chatter much, many going to bed early until only Balin was awake on his watch. Thorin was also awake, laying silently on his bedroll as he allowed himself time with his thoughts.
He couldn't wrap his head around Lian's death, one moment he saw her on the giants knee with everyone and then the next he heard that she had fallen to her death, willingly too.
Grief twisted its blade deeply into his chest, the bitter taste of guilt upon his tongue as almost an after taste. He had tried to drive her away, tried to make her leave willingly but she had refused and now his worst fears had come to life.
It had been hard enough to allow a woman to join but since he saw her robed in that gown he had felt a vice grip upon his heart. She looked so small, fragile and soft compared to when he had first met her. He could ignore it before but not anymore, all he saw when he thought of her death was her sweet looking face back in Rivendell, rich locks surrounding her head like a halo.
Thorin squeezed his eyes shut at the thought, jaw locked as he flared his nostrils. A fool was what she was, she had brought it upon herself.
"Where are you going, laddy?" Balin whispered, drawing Thorin's attention.
"I'm leaving. I can't do this. I can't handle watching someone else…die." Bilbo hissed.
"Can't you reconsider? I know Thorin is a bit hard on you but he'll warm up, just give him a chance." Balin tried to reassure.
"I don't belong here; I have a home to go back to unlike you!" Bilbo snapped.
"…You're right, we don't have a home. But we're trying to get ours back."
"I'm sorry…I didn't mean for it to come out like that." Bilbo looked down, shame etched on his face.
"I know you're grieving. We all are, Lian held a place in everyone's heart, even Thorin's. Do what you must, Mr. Baggins. I will not hold you in bad regard for returning to the place you love." Balin placed a hand upon the hobbit's shoulder, a sad smile on his worn face.
Suddenly a blue glow emitted from the hobbit's belt, Bilbo curiously unsheathed his sword to show the glowing blue blade, shock appearing upon his face as he whispered.
"Goblins."
Thorin's eyes widened, sitting up to see a large seam suddenly appear in the middle of the cave floor. "Wake up, wake up!" He yelled, kicking Bofur to awaken him but it was too late as the floor gave under them all, sending them down a weaving stone tunnel.
The company piled onto a wooden bridge, several groans sounding from them before goblins swarmed them in massive hordes.
The company drew their weapons, attempting to charge their way through the goblins but they were too thick and only lead them deeper and deeper into the caves.
Eventually they entered a cavern, goblins lining the walls in rows of hundreds as they're shoved forward, finally stopping before the most repulsive goblin, their weapons quickly discarded into a pile. This goblin was larger than any of the others with large red rimmed eyes and stringy hair atop his head along with a crown.
"Who dares enter my kingdom armed? Spies? Thieves? Assassins?" He bellowed, his repulsive gullet wiggling as he moved.
"Dwarves, my lord. Found them on the front porch." A goblin answered.
"Dwarves? Well don't just stand there! Search them! Every crack!" The Goblin King growled as the dwarves are harshly searched, personal processions thrown under the many feet of goblins.
"What brings dwarves here?" The Goblin King asked, passing a scrutinizing look over them as silence was all he received.
"Fine, if you will not speak then you will scream! Bring out the Mangler! The Bonecrusher!" He roared, sending a cheer through the cavern of goblins.
"Wait."
All eyes lay upon Thorin as he stepped forward, striding towards the Goblin King with his head held high.
"Well if it isn't Thorin, Son of Thràin, Son of Thrór, King Under the Mountain." He mocked, bowing before rising with a disgusting grin.
"Oh wait, you don't have a mountain; which makes you no king. So that makes you no one." He sneered.
"I know someone who would pay a pretty price for your head. Just your head that is, I think you know of whom I speak. A pale orc astride a white warg."
"Azog the Defiler died years ago from his wounds, he was slain in battle." Thorin snarled, only making the Goblin King laugh. "So you think his defiling days are over do you? How cute."
"Send word to the pale orc, I have found his price." The Goblin King instructed a scrawny looking thing that scrambled away with a gleeful cackle.
"My lord, I have found you something you will enjoy even more with this marvelous occasion." A goblin grinned, motioning for several goblins to carry forth a limp form.
"Is that Bilbo?" Kili asked Dwalin.
"No, it's too tall." He replied.
"A human woman." The goblin cackled, throwing down the woman who was seemingly unconscious, several gashes along her forehead as rich locks splayed carelessly across the filthy floor.
"Lian?!" Kili exclaimed, several others following.
"Found the wretch on a cliff above the slums, imagine the luck. Don't worry, she doesn't look it but she lives, I know you like them alive and kicking when you enjoy yourself." A roar of anger left the company at this, disgusted at the mere thought of the Goblin King using the young woman in such a way.
"What a lovely woman we have here." The Goblin King cooed mockingly, lifting the woman up into his large hands, her head lolling to the side limply.
"Let's see how well she reacts." He snickered, violently shoving the woman's upper body into a pool of water. Instantly her legs started flailing, gargled cries leaving her lungs as the goblin laughed.
He pulled the sputtering and coughing woman out of the pool, water soaking her as she gasped for breath. "Hello there darling, did ya have a nice slumber?" He grinned.
The woman gasped for a few moments before sending a nasty look towards the Goblin King, "Get yer disgusting hands off me! Ya vile piece of trash!" She spat venomously.
"What a spit fire. I like that; it makes it so much more fun to break you." He laughed, his disgusting breath reaching her nose as she gagged. She didn't know how she came to be in this situation but she knew that she was five seconds away from puking all over this pile of filth they called a king.
Suddenly a shriek left a goblin followed by the clang of metal, drawing everyone's attention.
"I know that sword! It's the Goblin Cleaver!" The Goblin King yelled, throwing Lian to the ground as he cowered back into his throne. Lian cried out when she connected with the ground, her ribs giving a painful stab along with the pain that was already zig-zagging up her back.
"Kill them all! Don't leave anyone alive! Bring me his head!" The Goblin King screeched as goblins swarmed them all. Lian grunted as goblins surrounded her defenseless form but before they could do anything a blinding light suddenly exploded before force causing her to skid across the floor and slam into Thorin's own fallen form.
Silence fell around them all as a looming figure appeared from the shadows, staff and sword in hand. "Take up your arms and fight." He called.
"Fight!"
That was all the dwarves needed as they scrambled for the pile of weapons, throwing them to each other as Lian struggled to lift her fallen form. Thorin had stood and taken his own sword, slicing through goblins as he noticed her struggle.
Without much effort he threw the woman over his shoulder, causing her to lose her breath in surprise. The dwarf easily sliced through goblins despite the extra baggage, swarms of them surrounding the company.
"Follow me!" Gandalf yelled, leading the company towards one of the many bridges throughout the caves. Goblins followed, coming in from every direction with no lack of mass.
"Flip me around." Lian grunted.
"What?"
"Just do it!" With this Thorin flipped the woman so that her legs were facing the opposite direction they were going. With a growl she kicked her legs out, her boot connecting with a goblins face and sending it and a few others backwards on the narrow bridge.
They continued this way for a while, plowing through the mass of goblins until they reached another bridge. Forcefully halted by the sudden appearance of the Goblin King smashing through the floor.
Gandalf is quick, poking the creature dead in the eye, making him lose his composer enough to where Gandalf could easily slice his stomach and throat. The goblin King fell to his knees violently, causing the bridge below them to give out and send the company toppling down into the deep cavern.
Lian let out an ear piercing scream, clinging desperately to Thorin like a cat in water, grunting when they slam into the sloped walls, the bridge now mere rubble underneath them. They finally hit the bottom, dwarves and debris all piled atop of each other.
She groaned, rubbing her ribs as she rolled off Thorin, her torso screaming at her and every breath felt torturous. "Gandalf!" Kili yelled, looking up to see a hoard of goblins running down the cavern walls towards them.
"There are too many of them, we can't beat them, Gandalf." Dwalin grunted in defeat as he hauled Balin up.
"Only daylight can save us now, follow me!" Gandalf yelled, helping members out of the pile quickly as Lian hobbled behind them, barely keeping pace with Bombur; the slowest of the group.
Finally they made it out of the caves, not stopping until they were a safe distance away, the evening sun shining down upon them.
Lian leaned against a tree, her stomach churning while her whole torso seems to wither in agony. The fall from the cliff had not cost her life but it had made sure to leave its mark, it was easy to tell that she had broken at least a few of her bottom ribs and she didn't want to even think of the amount of bruising on her back.
She got rid of one small injury only to receive a massive one in its place, great.
"Where is Bilbo? Where is our hobbit?" Gandalf suddenly yelled, causing silence to fall upon the company. "Where is our hobbit?!"
"Great, he's gone and gotten himself lost now. I thought I saw him with Dori." Dwalin growled.
"Don't start blaming me!"
"I thought I saw him slip away when we were getting cornered." Nori chimed in, catching Gandalf's attention. "Tell me what happened!"
"I'll tell you what happened, our hobbit saw his chance and took it. He's thought of nothing else but his warm heath and bed back home, he's long gone." Thorin sneered. Thorin could only think of what the hobbit had said and been about to do in before they were captured. Him running off was the only explanation.
Lian turned, looking towards the scowling leader with a deep sort of betrayal at this news. She found it hard to believe that Bilbo would flee when others needed help. She too knew how he missed his home but enough to leave them completely?
"No he isn't."
All heads turned to see Bilbo standing amongst the group, a rather awkward look on his face. "Bilbo Baggins, I don't believe I've ever been so happy to see someone as I am now." Gandalf laughed heartily.
"How did you get past the goblins?" Fili asked.
"It doesn't matter, only that he's here with us now." Gandalf quickly covered the fidgeting hobbit.
"No, it does matter." All heads turned.
"Why did you come back?" Thorin asked, staring down the hobbit who pursed his lips for a second.
"Look, I know you've doubted me, you always have. And you're right; I often think of The Shire, I miss my books, my armchair and my garden. That's my home and that's why I came back. Because you don't have a home, it was stolen from you and I want to help you get it back." Bilbo answered, letting out a rather shaky breath at his own speech.
Thorin looked at the young hobbit, wonder alight in his eyes as if he was seeing the hobbit in a new light.
Before anything could be said a piercing howl cut through the air, sending a chill through the company. "Out of the frying pan." Thorin growled.
"And into the fire. Run!" Gandalf hollered.
Off they go again, running for their lives as the sun retreated behind the horizon to be replaced by the moon. They didn't travel far before they were halted upon a cliff, trees lining the edges in an orderly fashion.
"Into the trees." Gandalf commanded.
Lian grunted, grabbing Dori's helping hand as she struggled to climb the tree, her muscles felt like they were about to rip apart completely. Finally she made it up the tree with Dori's help and thanked him breathlessly; he only nodded, staring down at the wargs now snarling below. The company was sitting ducks, wargs surrounded the base of the trees like a swarm of locus and soon enough something would have to give.
It was then when a fair colored orc came forward atop of a white warg, scars marring his face crudely. No one could mistake the being for anyone other than the person they had only heard stories about.
Azog sneered something in his own tongue, a grin twisting his lips viciously as his booming voice echoed throughout the Cliffside. It struck fear deep within her belly, not the kind she had for heights or so on. No, this was a different kind of fear, the kind that could haunt you, made you look over your shoulder everywhere you went.
This was blood curdling, heart stopping fear. True fear.
Azog ordered something to the other orc and instantly wargs began to pounce up on the trees, snapping lower branches with their powerful jaws as the trees groaned in protest. Lian could practically feel their teeth nipping the bottom of her boots.
"The trees won't be able to take this. They'll fall over." Ori squeaked, his sweet face colored in fear.
As if on cue the tree beside them gave a loud groan, Dwalin, Bombur and Bilbo now jumping to their tree to avoid plummeting into the ground. This caused a chain reaction, trees falling one after one as they jump from tree to tree until all of the company rested on the last tree at the end of the cliff.
Gandalf thought quickly, lighting a pinecone on fire to throw down at the advancing wargs and yelps came from below when fire greedily licked the grass. Not stopping, Gandalf lit more, handing them to everyone to throw upon the wargs.
Lian accidentally fumbled a pinecone, yelping when a small flicker of flame singed her gloves, causing her to drop the flaming pinecone on the top of Bombur's head. He yelped, instinctively patting his head in case it had caught his hair on fire; luckily it had not, instead dropping to roll down a wargs back.
Fire blazed up the wargs fur, causing it to yelp and roll upon the ground frantically as more fire greedily ate up the grassy Cliffside; the air almost suffocating with the heat.
Wargs yelped and cried as they fled the flames, now rising to great heights with blistering heats below. Azog snarled at this, letting out an enraged roar towards the situation.
Suddenly the tree gave out, the weight of them all taking its toll and jerking them over the cliff, halting when a stubborn root stayed planted in the earth. Lian shrieked, grabbing Dori's foot as Ori grabbed her own, the three hanging off Gandalf's staff that Dori managed to cling to.
"Don't ya dare let go, Dori! I already plummeted to my death once! Screw sacrifice! I want to live and have babies and grandbabies! Maybe I'll even open my own farm of children!" Lian rambled up at the dwarf, pain tearing through her back and shoulders as Dori tried to cling to Gandalf's staff as tightly as possible.
"Why would I want to let go?! I'll die too!" Dori snapped, trying to cover up his fear with anger.
A scream of pain diverted her attention to the cliff side where Thorin had charged forward to face Azog only to be captured in his Wargs jaws like a ragdoll. Thorin quickly pulled his knife, stabbing the warg in his face, causing it to throw him harshly to the ground.
Azog spit an order to a orc; who moved to stand over Thorin's fallen form, sword drawn and aimed for the dwarfs neck. Raising the blade high he brought it down.
Bilbo let out a cry, knocking the orc over before his sword could decapitate Thorin. He flipped the orc over, stabbing his chest with a grunt before rolling to his feet. The brave hobbit swung his sword around rather obnoxiously as he tried to fend of Azogs's advances.
Lian had to give the hobbit credit, the pale orc made her want to curl under a rock and hide; seeing Bilbo stand against Azog gave her the sudden urge to charge forward and fight if she could.
Cries sounded as more members of the company joined Bilbo, at least the ones that weren't dangling off tree branches. "Gandalf." Dori suddenly cried out; voice shaking with fear as his grip slipped gradually.
"Ori, look at me." Lian demanded the hyperventilating dwarf below her. He looked up, his round eyes reflected fear vividly and she felt her heart squeeze for him.
"I'm right here; it's going to be alright." She hushed him, trying to soothe him as best as possible despite the tremble in her own voice. "It's going to be al-."
Suddenly Dori's grip slipped, sending the three plummeting through the air without warning and a scream tried to bubble its way out of her lungs but she bit it back. She could not however hold back a grunt as she suddenly landed on something solid and warm, clearly alive.
"A bird?" She breathed, puzzled to feel smooth feathers tickling her nose before she sat up to find her, Dori and Ori riding atop a huge Eagle.
Large masses of Eagles swarmed the cliff, toppling wargs over the sides and taking up members of the company to fly off into the distance and before long they were gone like dust in the wind. Another enraged roar left Azog, echoing throughout as the company safely flew away.
It was almost unreal how sudden they had gone from a near death situation to casually flying away on birds. Lian would have laughed if not for the tension settling onto the group, Thorin wasn't moving in the talons of an eagle.
Dread rolled about in her belly, weighing her down like lead as her own wounds catch up to her, often would she have to straighten herself from a sideways slump.
The sun began to rise, sending warm rays of light upon them as the Eagles finally set them upon another cliff, Thorin being set down first and then the rest following, flocking the dwarf in panic.
Gandalf murmured a few words before running his palm over Thorin's face, the dwarfs eyes fluttering open to stare into the wizards almost instantly. Lian could only bring herself to sigh in relief, focusing more on breathing properly as she swayed slightly on her feet.
She focused though when she heard Thorin raise his voice at Bilbo.
"What were you thinking? You could have died. You would never survive in the wild, you would never belong with us…and I've never been more wrong in my whole life."
Thorin shocked the young hobbit, taking him into a hug that held many emotions the dwarf did not show usually. Lian smiled a bit, glad to see the dwarf less moody for once.
Finally some peace, Lian hated unnecessary tension.
Thorin suddenly paused, stepping past Bilbo to look into the distance. "Is that what I think it is?" Bilbo asked, a bit puzzled.
"Erebor, the Lonely Mountain and one of the last of the great dwarf Kingdoms." Gandalf hummed.
"Our home." Thorin breathed, an air of awe passing over the group as they stare out at the shadowed peak.
"We must keep going. Azog won't stop his hunt for us just like that. We must take advantage of our situation and move forward." Lian finally chimed in, struggling to steady her voice but succeeding none the less.
Thorin gave her a glance, lingering a bit longer than usual before he nodded. "We'll find a place to eat and rest before we move on." He called, taking the lead as they made their way down from the cliff.
Soon enough they reached a rock clearing, making camp a few yards away from a pond of water as Oin and Gloin started a fire. Lian made to move towards the pond but is stopped upon the sudden call of her name.
She turned, surprised to see Thorin striding towards her and she wasn't sure what she was to expect from the dwarf leader. Last he had spoken to her was when they were leaving Rivendell and that was when he was still treating her as if her very being was a nuisance.
"Come." He ordered more than asked, leading her towards the pond so the rest of the company could not see them past the boulders. This worried her a bit and it seemed to worry everyone else too from the holes she could feel being stared into her back.
They halt a few yards away and Lian knelt to cup a palm full of water, quenching her parched throat if only a bit. "Take off your armor." Lian choked on her second handful of water, spitting it out with loud coughed following.
"Excuse me?" She choked out, causing Thorin to scowl. "It would be best to get your head out of the gutter, woman. I want to see your injuries." He growled out, understanding dawning quickly upon her as she let out a small laugh.
"Right, sorry." She sat upon a rock, moving to unbuckle the chest plate, her vest long gone, and winced at the sharp stab in her shoulders and back as she twisted her torso. It fell to the ground, now showing how bent her chest and back plates were from the fall.
She moved to raise her coat and shirt but Thorin stopped her, coming up from behind to raise the fabric over her bare skin. A sharp inhale of breath told her that it was as bad as she feared and Lian let out a sigh.
She jerked slightly when she felt his callused fingers run across the tender flesh, a bit shocked by the bare contact and she couldn't help but feel her cheeks heat up. Never had a man touched her in such a gentle manner; she didn't know how to react so she just sat still as he examines her back, hissing sharply when he probed one of the most likely broken ribs.
"You've broken a few of your bottom ribs in the back and you've mostly suffered blunt force trauma to your back. It'll likely be bruised for a while and you won't be able to move your torso much or else your ribs won't heal properly." Thorin murmured, once more running his rough fingers down her back gently and an involuntary shiver runs up her spine at the contact.
"I'm sorry." He suddenly said, causing the woman's eyebrows to raise sky high, hardly ever had she heard the man say thank you, much less apologize.
"For my injuries or being a jerk?" She joked lightly, trying to cover up how awkward this made her feel.
"Both"
A tinge of guilt had been in his reply and Lian turned to look at the dwarf, to really look at him and she saw something more in the man than she had before. Before she had seen a stern, bitter looking dwarf who she somewhat idealized when it came to his leadership.
But now she saw a man; not the race but the gender, she suddenly noticed his strong jaw and high cheekbones, making him look strikingly handsome with his curved nose and thin lips. It held masculinity different then the men back home.
His eyes were a striking blue, almost looking silver as he gazed up at her, emotions shining in the usually cold stare. For the first time Lian felt her chest squeeze and her features soften as if she could hold no other emotion towards the man but fondness.
"Don't blame yerself for my decisions. I chose to let go for the sake of Bilbo." She assured him.
"You aren't going to ask about my actions?" He asked, a bit hesitant.
"Ya had yer reasons I'm sure. It might have been best that I jumped off since I was considering throwing ya off the mountain side soon enough." She chuckled, mirth twinkling in her green eyes.
"I don't find that funny." He frowned, eyebrows furrowed deeply and she sighed.
"Thorin, do ya remember the time I asked ya what ya thought made a good leader?" She asked, looking directly into his eyes.
"Yes." He answered slowly, not quite sure what she was getting at.
"I asked ya cause I felt that ya were a good leader. I admire ya greatly and trust ya despite yer random mood swings. So don't doubt yerself." She said, not being able to help but tease him a tad.
Thorin locked eyes with hers, blue meeting green and a spark catching between them almost vividly. Thorin too felt the suddenly shock, his heart giving an unexpected tug in a peculiar manner. "Try not to kill yourself before we complete out journey." He suddenly stood straight, his tone holding a hint of an awkward tone.
"Clean yourself while you can, you're a mess." He grunted and with that he left her. She let out a sigh, too tired to think much as she goes ahead and washed up.
She scrubbed the dirt, blood and grim from her skin, flinching when she would inhale too deeply or twist farther than she should. It was obvious that it was not going to be fun the next few days or even month until her ribs heal.
Once done she dressed herself, feeling a bit better after bathing in the pond but she still had the uncomfortable tug of pain and only wished to sleep peacefully. It was now midday as Lian joins the group to see them passing around food and she took hers gratefully.
"What were you and Uncle talking about?" Kili suddenly asked, taking up her left flank while Fili took up her other. "Grown up matters." She mused, chugging down the warm soup without any sort of manners.
"That doesn't apply to us. We're easily older than you by human years." Fili stated matter-of-factly. "Yeah, I'm eighty years old and Fili is ninty-five while you're probably twenty." Kili grinned..
"Okay then let's go by if ya two were humans. Ya'd probably be around nineteen to twenty-two while I'm twenty-four years old. So by those standards I'm oldest." Lian calculated.
"And also if ya were to go by Elf standards ya'd be toddlers. So the matter of age isn't particularly the most reliable if ya go by race." She finished with a chortle.
"She's got a point there, laddies." Balin chuckled.
"You're still the one of the runts of the group no matter." Dwalin laughed, causing the pair to purse their lips.
"Well even if you are older than us, it isn't by much. Our Uncle is around thirty-five by your standards." Kili grimaced and she raised an eyebrow at the look.
"Aye, he is but what does that have to do with anything?" She furrowed her brow when the pair exchanged a look. "Well it's just a bit odd for someone closer to our age to look at our uncle in a roman-." Kili's cut off by a swift elbow to the gut from Fili.
"Shut up." He hissed and Kili scowled up at his brother.
Lian was beyond confused now, not quite piecing together what they were talking about nor their private looks between each other.
"Don't just stand there, spit it out, lad." She huffed, annoyed by the odd behavior.
"Umm, sorry we have to…go gather water! Maybe another time!' Kili hastily came up with an excuse, scurrying off with his brother.
"Damn brats." She muttered.
"Lian?" Turning she saw Bilbo take a seat beside her, the lad had not had the chance to talk to her ever since she had seemingly come back from the dead.
"Bilbo, what is it ya need?" She asked, a fond smile gracing her lips when she looks upon the fellow.
"I wanted to…apologize. If I had been just a bit stronger I could have held on long enough for us to get saved." He let out a deep sigh, his shoulders sagging as he places his face in his hands.
He looked to be so much older now and she lets out a sigh of her own. "It's over with. Do not fret over what could have been and focus on what is to come. Besides, guilt doesn't suit a hobbit such as yerself." She smiled, placing a comforting hand upon the hobbit's shoulder.
"You're far too forgiving." He breathed out almost like a sigh, his brow furrowed by evident relief across his features.
"Not true. I once was called a lumbering cow by a boy back home and I tortured him for two years until he finally said sorry." She grinned rather nastily at the memory. "It might have involved a bit of extra begging too."
"I don't know what to really say about that." Bilbo mumbled.
A comfortable silence fell upon them and soon enough Lian felt her eyelids droop, without much thought she slipped to the ground with a rather loud yawn.
The sun felt nice against her skin, warming her as she leaned back against the rock comfortably, her eyes slipping shut as a dreamless sleep took her.
Ah the first sign of my OTP.