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Disclaimer: I do not own the hobbit or it's characters, I do however own my own and the art work I do for this series.
Chapter Fourteen: Sealed Fate
"What in the world do you think you're doing?!"
Lian blinked, a bit baffled, she'd expected the one who'd be yelling at her would be Thorin or even one of the dwarves but not Bilbo; quaint, shy, sweet Bilbo. And the hobbit looked anything but, with flushed cheeks, scrunched nose and furrowed brow.
"You had us worried sick that you had drowned down there or something of the kind! Then we find you wandering outside the house!" He hissed.
"I'm…sorry?" She didn't know what to really say, in a way she can understand the start it must have given them but she didn't think it would cause such a rile from Bilbo.
"Well as long as you're safe, I suppose it doesn't matter." Bilbo grumbled, running a small hand over his face, he could never stay too mad for long.
"What were you doing?" Throin asked, never one to just let things be.
"I was…" Lian started but she trailed off, should she tell them about her father? About how he had desperately tracked her down? Surely they'd urge her to go back with them and finish the quest on their own.
"I was mistaken for someone, had to tell them they had the wrong person." She lied, her tongue feeling like lead as her gut dropped with guilt. She was never one for lying and often felt sick if she ever did and fess up just to relieve the great weight on her shoulders.
"That's a bit odd considering how far you are away from home, does it not?" Thorin asked, she could tell her didn't believe a word she said and this scared her.
"Not that hard to believe, I'm very ordinary looking among Men." She insisted.
"Indeed." Thorin mumbled, his steely eyes boring right into her back as she hastily took a seat at the table, now noticing the two young girls and boy among them.
"Well hello, didn't notice ya there." Her usual lopsided grin spread across her face, causing the children to give one another weary glances.
They don't have time to answer though when she suddenly sniffed; the heavy copper smell of blood hitting her nose and she whipped her head around. Slowly she rose, stepping among the dwarves while taking whiffs of the company; making many of them complain or back away.
She halted in front of Kili, her eye narrowing as she took one final sniff and then clenched her jaw. Harshly she grabbed his left arm, shoving his sleeve up to reveal what she knew was there.
"Yer injured!" She spat, glaring at the ugly hole in the dwarfs arm; flimsy wrappings already soaked through already.
"I…didn't want to cause any trouble." He defended, grunting loudly when she prodded the inflamed tissue around it. Puss and blood ooze from the hole; you can tell that the dwarf had crudely removed the arrow head, allowing for more possibilities of infection.
"You fool! Those arrows were poisoned!" Oin exclaimed, rushing forward to care for the dwarfs arm.
"You should have told me you were injured." Thorin growled, infuriated that he hadn't spotted the injury beforehand. A tension had set over the group at the discovery of Kili's injury, his brother looking like he was about to faint from sheer stress.
"Infection has already set in along with the poison, he needs proper treatment." Lian told Oin who simply shook his head.
"We can't do anything, even if we did leave now to get him treatment; he'd never last the journey." Oin gritted out.
Lian's nostrils flared, lips curling as she looked up at the dwarf; who looked a bit sick considering the amount of pain he must be going through.
"Treat him as best as you can, I'll go tell Thorin." She murmured and Oin nodded; quickly pulling his bag over to slather ointment on the wound. She stood, striding over to Thorin and quickly pulling him to a more secluded area of the small house.
Lian ran a hand over her face, not really knowing how to go about telling Thorin that his nephew had no chance of making it. She forced back her own sorrows, knowing that it won't be helpful if she started tearing up.
"How is he?" Thorin asked, worry creeping into his voice at her sullen attitude.
"Thorin…He won't be able to make it. The poison on those arrows has already set in and infection has spread. Soon enough he'll have fever and delusions." She explained.
"You speak as if you've seen this before." He replied bitterly, though she knew it wasn't towards her.
"I've seen men die from Gundabad arrows, it'd be a different story if the arrow struck his leg; he'd have been able to last for a few more days." She pursed her lips now.
"But since it's on his arm closest to his heart…I fear that by tomorrow night he'll be dead, if he's lucky enough to not go into shock before then."
Thorin turned away slowly, grief written on his face as his jaw flexed visibly. He didn't say anything, processing the news slowly and painfully until he looked almost on the verge of emotional collapse.
"Thorin…I'm sorry." Lian breathed, placing a sympathetic hand upon his shoulder only for the proud dwarf to shrug it off sharply.
"Join the rest of the group; I will be with you shortly." He ordered coldly, a stern mask once more in place but she could see the sorrow in his eyes as easy as if he was screaming it out to the world.
She was hurt by his cold behavior; she knew that he simply wanted time to himself but regardless the action stung. Wordlessly she turned, joining the group as they surrounded Kili and Oin.
"Kili." Fili's voice cracked, not being able to hide his despair as well as his uncle as he kneeled over Kili's laying form. He bowed his head, squeezing his eyes shut when Kili let out sharp grunts of pain; Oin wrapping his tender arm more firm then he'd like.
Lian wracked her brain, trying to remember ways to slow the poison but her mind came up empty, only one man that she knew have had survived an Gundabad arrow and the elves had been the one to heal him before his leg rot off. But he was in Forochel-.
Suddenly she stood, startling the dwarves and she glanced over at the still mourning Thorin; who was in his own world at the moment.
"What's wrong lass?" Balin asked but she quickly shushed him, holding up a finger to the dwarves so they'd know to be quiet.
"I have an idea that may keep the poison from spreading any further but I need to leave in order to do it and I can't guarantee that I'll succeed." She whispered quickly, eyes darting to Thorin.
"What?! Tell us then!" Dwalin growled and she shushed him, his voice far loudly than she'd like as she whispered even quieter.
"I will tell ya once I return, I should be back somewhere in the night. I need ya to keep this a secret from Thorin. He's already grieving enough and he doesn't need to be worrying about anything else."
"Bifur and I will go with you." Bofur offered but she quickly declined.
"He'll be more likely to suspect if one of ya leave. Tell him that I'm looking for new supplies in the market, if he asks why I went alone tell him it's easier to blend in being the only human." She instructed, receiving hesitant nods.
Slowly she leaned in, whispering something quietly to Kili who gave her a bewildered look, making her smile before quickly and quietly heading towards the door. She softly opened and closed it, taking one last look at Throin in the corner before leaving.
She quickly looked for a stable, finding a tiny one on the outskirts of the town and paying for a horse. She mounted the creature; harshly smacking it's behind and sending it off into a gallop with a whine.
People yelled as she bellowed warning to get out of the way; reaching the bridge leading from the town to the land quickly. She knew that they wouldn't stay in one of the dinky taverns in the town and would most likely make camp in the forest surrounding the lake.
The sun lowered quickly as she rode her horse into the forest, the days growing shorter the closer winter became. She swerved through trees and jumped over stumps in search of the acquired location, they can't be too far off.
The smell of burning wood sharply touched her nose, making her charge towards the direction of the scent until she bursted into a small clearing; horse mid jump when she felt an arrow whiz by her cheek.
"Halt! You blasted fools!" Came an order, clearly identified as Stevvin's.
Lian slowed the horse into a slow trot, circling in the middle of the group of men who quickly lowered their weapons upon sight of her.
"It's the Princess."
"She's really alive!"
These were the murmurs she heard but they were all silenced quickly as her father stepped forth, her heart almost breaking at the sight of his haggard and stressed appearance. Never had she seen him in such a state and she felt guilty that she had caused him such grief.
"Father." She whispered, quickly dismounting the horse to stand in front of the tall, dark headed man. She was often told she resembled her father the most, sporting the same rich hair and green eyes, honestly the only thing she had in common with her mother was her sex and attitude.
"Lian." He breathed, almost stumbling towards her in disbelief, mixed emotions crossing over his worn face.
Quickly he took her into a bone crushing hug, burying his face into her hair with a loud sound of relief. "I feared the worst when Berdan came back without you. I can't handle losing you too." His voice cracked and she buried her own face into his fur collar, suddenly feeling at home again in his warm arms.
"I'm sorry I worried ya. But ya should know that ya can't get rid of me." She smiled up at him, his eyes warming as he hugged her even tighter before finally releasing her after a moment or two.
"Why did you come? Stevvin told me you refused to come back until you finished your quest." Her father asked, reminding her of her purpose here in the first place and she quickly turned towards a rather lanky soldier by the name of Burv.
The man was barely a year older than she with blonde hair the color of wheat and a thin face, he was willowy; built with lean muscles and some would think of him as an elf despite the splatter of freckles upon his cheeks and nose. He was very different than the rest of the bulking men around but he could hold his own just as well though despite just being the healer.
"Princess." He bowed, his voice surprisingly deep to anyone upon first meeting but she grew up with the boy and was one of the many people who witnessed him become a man.
"Burv, ya survived a Gundabad arrow for a whole week without proper care in the wild, correct?" She asked, already knowing the answer but wanting to make sure she had her facts straight.
"Aye, I had to crawl in order to get anywhere, made my own remedy to stop the poison from spreading to my heart." He answered, grey eyes curiously scanning her for answers to her sudden question.
"Do ya think ya could make me some?"
"Where is she?!"
Thorin was livid, growing tired of the mind games his kin and the hobbit decided to play with him when he asked where Lian had gone. They insisted to the market but it had been over six hours since she left and the shops closed at sundown; which had long since gone down due to the longer nights.
The company had met the Master of this town and was given their welcome, though Bard had tried to convince the townsfolk otherwise. Talking of the ensured doom of their town and the death to follow; Thorin had of course quickly made peace though, giving his word that he would give them enough gold to build Laketown and Dale twice over.
They had been thrown a feast afterwards, Kili insisting to partake in it despite Thorin's protests and insistence for him to rest.
It was finally after the feast and when they were escorted to their private housing that Thorin finally asked where the human woman was. Knowing now that she was either wandering around or up to no good.
The latter was confirmed when all the dwarves clambered to cover up her absence, insisting once more that she was out shopping.
"If one of you does not tell me where that cursed woman is then I'll see that you'll regret it!" Thorin snarled out, face twisted into a nasty scowl as he looked over the company once more.
"Where is she!?" He bellowed, slamming his fist against one of the tables when he received nothing but silence and averted gazes, even Kili's lips were pursed shut.
Thorin was about to throw the table at the wall when suddenly the door slammed open, the cold winter air harshly blowing inside of the house.
"Finally! Ya guys could have warned me that we were moving houses! I was looking everywhere for ya'll!" Lian exclaimed, rushing in and slamming the door shut, snow lightly sprinkling her hood and shoulders as she does an odd sort of shuffle to try and warm herself up.
"Lian!" Bilbo breathed out in relief and quickly rushed towards the woman, followed by the rest of the company.
"You're lucky you came in when you did, lass. Thorin was throwing a fit asking where you were." Balin told her in a hushed whisper; said dwarf snarling at the woman and company before them.
"That doesn't matter now; I've got what we need." She pushed past the company and headed towards Kili; who had been lying on a stuffed couch by the window.
"Open wide, Sweetheart." She quickly plugged the unprepared Kili's nose; pressing a flask against his lips and forcing him to drink the strong liquid.
Kili choked, attempting to spit it out but she forced a hand over his mouth. "Drink it." She ordered, leaving the dwarf no other choice but to swallow the disgusting liquid.
"What in the hell is that? Tastes like troll piss." Kili choked; holding back several gags and burps of the vile substance.
"Yer not far off but I won't go into detail. This should stop the poison from spreading to yer heart but I'm afraid it won't stop the pain. If we don't get ya proper treatment within the next few days then yer arm will rot off." Lian explained.
"Well isn't that comforting." Kili grumbled.
"Ya aren't in the clear, Kili. Ya could die from anything, infection, shock, blood poisoning-."
"I don't need a dialogue of all the things that could happen, if you'd please." Kili complained loudly.
"What did you give him?" Thorin hissed, harshly grabbing her wrist and snatching the flask from her hand to examine it.
"Calm down, I only gave him something to stop the poison from spreading to his heart. He'll still be in pain though." She huffed, jerking her arm out of Thorin's tight grip; rubbing the now sore wrist.
"Where did you get this? You smell of forest and horse." Thorin accused and she cursed the dwarf for being so observant. Why couldn't he just be like a normal person and thank her? Was that too much to ask?
"I simply dropped by the stables and asked for a ride." She quickly defended but it was a weak comeback even to her.
"You lie. You went somewhere and made everyone keep it a secret. Where did you go?!" He snarled and Lian pursed her lip; not liking the way he was accusing her even though it was true.
"I met up with the Orc pack and had a tea party." She hissed sarcastically; big mistake on her end. Thorin's face turned an unhealthy shade of purple, his face twisting into a snarl as he harshly grabbed her already sore wrist, dragging her over to the balcony door and shoving her outside.
She quickly caught herself on the railing, turning to see Thorin slam the door shut and the sound of a latch setting in place.
"If you refuse to answer then you can sleep outside in the cold!" He called from inside before snapping at everyone to go to bed.
Lian kicked the door, the sound of protesting wood meeting her ears in her fit of rage. "Ya think this is some sort of punishment?! I grew up in the cold, ya jackass! Ya might as well have thrown coal in the fire!" She bellowed, breathing heavily as silence met her ears.
She slumped against the outside of the house, snowing falling gently over the town and she's at least thankful that the balcony had a roof over it. Pulling her knees close she sighed, frustrated by the outcome of things. Of course she had been a bit foolish enough to think that Thorin would thank her and praise her for finding a way to buy Kili time. She scoffed now at the thought and scolded herself for being so naive.
Eventually her rage simmers down and she stared out onto the town, watching the first snow of the year build on the rooftops. It had been nearly eight months since she had met the company in the Shire back in the late spring, so much time had passed yet it felt like it had all happened so quick. Suddenly she felt warm tears roll down her frozen cheeks, startling her a bit but instead of wiping them away she felt her lip tremble as more tears fell.
It hurt that Thorin had been so harsh to her, if felt as if the few tender moments between them never happened in his eyes, like he thought of her as nothing more than a tag along instead of a member of the company.
She knew that if she told Thorin where she went then she'd have to explain why her father was here and her meeting with Stevvin. The thought frustrated her and she knew that with the way he was suddenly treating her he'd probable send her off in a heartbeat.
She buried her face into her knees, bringing her arms up to protect her wet cheeks from the harsh winter air. She had grown less used to the cold in her travels, more accustomed to the heat now instead so the night would probably be more miserable then it would have been before. At least she was dressed for the cold so she wouldn't be as cold.
Suddenly the sound of the latch unhitching reached her ears, causing her to look up as the door opened, half expecting Bilbo or one of the dwarves coming out to sneak her a blanket but instead Thorin stepped out.
Quickly she lowered her head back down, not wanting him to see that she had been crying out here, maybe he'd think she was asleep and leave her alone.
"I know you're awake." He grunted and she shrugged her shoulders as an answer; receiving a loud sigh from the dwarf.
"I hate being lied to, so just tell me the truth and you can come inside." He stated simply and she shook her head, still not lifting her face.
She jumped when she felt his hand reach under her chin gently, lifting her face up to look up at him and she pursed her lips in embarrassment. There was no way of hiding the fact that she'd been crying now and she felt humiliated that she had even been crying over something this futile.
Thorin's hard mask softened as he kneeled before her, blue eyes piercing into her as she tried to look anywhere but him.
"Lian…" He murmured and her heart clenched involuntarily at the rich sound of his voice, so masculine and tender. She could feel tears trying to bubble over but she stubbornly clenched her jaw, probably looking ridiculous as she tried not to break before the dwarf.
"Lian…" He repeated, this time using his thumb to caress the red circles under her eyes and she felt herself break. She knew now that she could never hide her feelings from this man, everything he did coaxed her to lay out everything for him willingly.
"I was scared…that ya'd send me away once ya knew." She sobbed, completely given up holding back her tears as it all rushed out in a wave of emotion.
"Knew what?" Thorin asked, now a bit panicked by her sudden outburst of emotion; completely caught as a disadvantage when it came to emotions.
"My father…he came looking for me when my horse wandered back to Forochel without me. He assumed I was dead and tracked our trail down to Rivendell where the Elves told him where we'd gone." She nearly wailed, relaying her earlier discussion with her father; who had explained how they'd come to be where they were.
"My father's advisor recognized me outside of Bard's house and told me to come back with them but I refused. I only went to visit them because one of my father's guardsmen survived a Gundabad arrow and knew how to buy Kili time. That's where I went." She finished, tears still streaking down her face as she examined Thorin's expression.
The dwarf looked bewildered, amused and angry all at the same time, lips firmly pressed into a bleak line as he tried to find the right words to say.
"Why don't you want to go back home with your father?" He finally asked, watching her expressions just as carefully as she was watching his.
"I want to finish this with ya'll, I refuse to back down when we're already so close to the end. I don't want to leave." She answered with tears finally slowing as she tried and failed at sniffing delicately; coming out more like she was trying to hog a loogie.
"You could die though." He tried to reason with her, seemingly not caring about her unladylike manners as she set her jaw stubbornly.
"Everyone could." She retorted back. "I want to finish this quest, in victory or death."
Thorin let out a breath, bowing his head and she could tell he was conflicted about this new piece of information, he had enough on his plate and withholding her from her kin didn't seem like the best option. The people of Forochel were prideful and were very close knit, mostly keeping to themselves and only trading with the outside when necessary. Thorin had only heard fleeting things about them such as their hulking size and undying loyalty to their own, such people would be great allies and even greater enemies. Thorin was drawn out of his own thoughts though when Lian brought her hand up to cup his face, bare fingers touching his own flesh for the first time. She'd always touched him with her gloves on and had wanted to feel her flesh against his for quite some time. Her pale fingers against his cheek sent a pleasant feeling through her, his skin worn but soft.
"I want to stay with ya." She whispered, causing Thorin's heart to swell when she gently lifted his gaze to melt into her own emerald pools. This woman drove him mad but he couldn't bring himself to want to part with her or put her in harms way, she had grown to be more than just a child, more than just an ally or friend. The strong urge to lean in powerful and Lian could tell Thorin was feeling the same as his usually pale eyes darken; looking almost hazy.
"Thorin." She breathed out, almost like a sigh and this was all that it took to set things into motion.
"I shall protect you, no matter what." Thorin promised tenderly, warm breath tickling her lips as he gently placed his hand on the back of her neck; guiding her lips to his own in a frenzy of passion. And with that their fate was sealed.
How Lian feels right now:
*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･'(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)'･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*
The ship has finally sailed! All is right with the woooorld! Also, my goal for this chapter is once again 10 reviews so please review if you want me to update!
PREVIEW FOR CHAPTER FIFTEEN:
With trembling hands she lifted the piece of parchment gingerly, somehow already knowing what was going to be written upon it. Unfolding the piece of paper she's greeted with Thorin's heavy yet neat scrawl, at least a whole paragraph written down and she can't help but read.
'Lian...'