Hello again! I posted this chapter a few days after I already reached my review goal cause I reached it really quick and I didn't want to just start pumping out chapters. But thank you for your reviews and support and again special thanks to likarian, killthepain62 and Elsa Everdeen for your loyal reviews and reading!
Disclaimer: I do not own the hobbit or it's characters, I do however own my own and the artwork I put into the series.
Chapter Seventeen: Temporary Partings
They reached Dale in the early morn, snow dusting over the cold stone ruins of what used to be a kingdom ruled by Men. The smell of ash clung heavy to the air despite the distance between them and the lake; Lian can only imagine the state of Lake-Town.
Sometime in their travel she had taken the infant from Sigrid, feeling more at peace when the child was in her arms. She hated to admit it but she felt a pang of jealousy when anyone else held the child but her.
The young woman considered naming the child but thought better of it considering there was still a possibility of a father or even other relatives being alive. She had found out that the child was a female when they changed her wrappings, laughing when she told Bofur to dispose of the ruined cloth. Lian didn't really know how you should wrap a child's bottom so she just twirled an old cloth around her so many times that it couldn't possibly come loose or fall off.
The joy from the dragon's death had been brief for her, letting other worries leak through and pester her. Luke was more of an inconvenience than a problem; she knew her father was considering an arranged marriage between her and him under the constant pestering of Luke's father. She also knew that he'd never agree unless she gave the okay though, lest he face her scorn and more for years to come.
She hadn't always felt this way about Luke, he used to be a quiet, quaint fellow; a gentle giant you could say. Sadly after his mother died his father took the reins of sculpting him into the fiercest warrior and charmer he could be. Gone was the sweet smile and in its place was that unnerving smirk that crazed her so. She had grown up with the lad, spending more time around him than others considering his father was the brother of Stevvin. She had found him to be one of the few people she could even get along within her rebellious years.
Yes, he was indeed an annoyance and she used to pity how he was forced to be something he didn't want to be. But then he started to try and anger her constantly, poking and prodding her until she burst in a fit of rage. It was like he enjoyed her anger, he would always aim for the sore subjects but she never gave him the satisfaction of crying.
They settled into the outskirts of the ruins, awaiting the people of Lake-Town to seek refuge there. The dwarves were restless though, anxious to go to their home in the Lonely Mountain and once more be reunited with their kin. Lian also wished to join them, the strong tug she felt towards the mountain almost breaking her resolve but she resisted; she had to stay and help the people of Lake-Town first.
It didn't take long for the people to begin to appear in the distance, some coming in boats across the lake while others had taken to walking along the shore. The dwarves made to leave before the people grew too close, fearing they may cause a riot once they saw the dwarves but Kili held them up.
The dwarf stood with the she-elf, conversing softly to one another and Lian could tell that the elf was torn between staying and going with them. Alas though Kili finally had to leave, the dwarves quickly mounting the horses they'd been given by her father.
"Are you sure you don't want to come along?" Fili asked, a bit crestfallen that the human woman wasn't going to be joining them back to the mountain.
"I'm sure, lad. I'm going to stay behind and help the people of Lake-Town along with my kin." She assured the dwarf.
He frowned at this, obviously sympathizing with the people and Lian patted the young prince's hand fondly. "Don't worry, I'll join ya once everything settles down here, I promise." She flashed a lopsided grin to ease the tension in the lad and it seemed to do just that.
"Until then." He nodded and she returned the gesture.
"Until then." With that they were off, riding over the slopes and towards the looming mountain before them. She felt her heart reach out for them, wishing to join them but it was too late and certainly not the time for second thoughts as she turned to address more important matters.
"What should we do now?" She asked her father, waiting for his orders but he simply placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I think it'd be best if you were in charge of things here. I have to go to discuss a few things with Stevvin ." He explained and she gave the man a puzzled look.
"Why?" She questioned.
"I've noticed the change in you, Lian. You've grown to be wiser and less reckless upon your journey with the dwarves. I think it's time you began to take on more responsibilities." He explained and she bit her lip at this. If only he knew the amount of crazy things she did on her journey but she was just gonna keep her mouth shut and take advantage of this opportunity. What he doesn't know won't kill him.
"I hope ya know what yer getting yerself into." She grinned, a spark of mirth dancing in her green orbs as she got ready to take things into her own hands. Oh how she'd missed yelling and ordering around her underlings plus it was a good way to keep her mind off…other things.
"I'm sure it won't be anything I haven't already seen." Her father rolled his eyes and she simply clicked her tongue as if to tell him 'whatever'. Turning she rolled her shoulders back, as if she was getting ready to brawl with a polar bear and she let out a sigh.
"Prepare all spare blankets, gather water and ration out all of our food for the people of Lake-Town." She bellowed, sending the soldiers running about in a flurry of movement as the people began to wander into the ruins.
"People of Lake-Town, we offer ya our assistance. Please bring yer injured to us so we may heal them." Lian called out to the people and over half of the crowd split off to the other side of the ruins. Most of them were women, children and injured and she can't help but wonder where the men are.
"Sigrid, Tilda, help Burv with the injured." She pointed the two lasses over to the said man who had already started pulling charred splinters out of an elder man's leg.
"What about the baby?" Sigrid asked and Lian blinked, having forgotten that she had been carrying the child around this whole time, the babe was so quiet that she could hardly tell.
"Luke!" She snapped, catching the attention of the said man who came lumbering over with his usual brute like demeanor. She was smug in seeing that his nose was bruised and swollen from her little attack, though not breaking the nose it did still hurt like a son of a bitch.
"Take care of her, if I find out that ya hurt her or did something ya weren't supposed to then it'll be yer head." She growled, gingerly handing the child over to the awkward hands of Luke's, his large hands nearly covering the small child.
"What am I supposed to do with her? Yer the one that decided to snatch her up." He growled back, holding the child an arm's length away from him as if she smelt bad.
"I have to deal with other things or would ya like it better if I was ordering ya around all day like everyone else?" She challenged the fellow, silently hoping he would say yes so she could make him do all the grunt work.
"Fine." He hissed and with that she went off to do her business, praying that he wasn't stupid enough to leave her under one of the horse's feet or something akin to such.
"May I be of any help?" The she-elf asked her, stopping her right in front of the medical portion of the ruins they occupied. Lian normally would have hesitated but she had no time for dilly-dallying and quickly took advantage of the elf's help.
"Actually ya can-." She started but is cut off by another voice.
"Tauriel."
Turning she saw the pale headed elf from Mirkwood stride towards them, the she-elf now known as Tauriel bowed her head at his presence, addressing him by the name of Legolas; obviously the elf was of high command or of royalty.
"What is it ya need?" Lian intruded, sending a scrutinizing look over the male elf; Tauriel obviously felt respect towards him but there was also a hint of tension.
"Your business belongs elsewhere, woman. Leave us." He bit out and she set her jaw stubbornly, narrowing her eyes at the elf as she prepared to bite out a nasty retort of her own but Tauriel stopped her with a gentle hand.
"It's alright," She assured the agitated woman, successfully calming her before she went off like a firecracker on Legolas.
"I'm watching ya." She warned the elf, jabbing two fingers towards him to show that she had eyes on him. The elf only scowled; obviously not intimidated by her considering her head barely reached his chest.
She left the two to converse, entering the medical quarters of the ruins to check on everything and see if anyone was in need of her assistance.
"Where have all yer men gone?" She asked one of the few men who had only suffered a minor burn to the arm. Unlike others who had horrendous burns marring their bodies or face in angry contortions of flesh.
"They went to scavenge what they could from the rubble." He hissed out, cringing as a helping woman rubbed ointment over his burns.
She thanked him before leaving to help the rest of the women with the injured, one of the men had burns covering his whole body, raw flesh bare to them as blood and puss oozed from the wounds.
"He won't make it." One of the women said sadly but Lian dismissed the woman's negative response with instructions.
"Clean his wounds every hour and make sure he drinks enough water, keep applying the medicine. After that we wait for time to heal him."
The men of Lake-Town had begun to arrive with extra supplies just as the sun cleared the top to the trees, providing some sort of warmth from the frigid cold of winter. She heard Bard's voice through the crowd, ordering the men to provide the women blankets for the injured and children.
"Bard." She called out, catching the older man's attention as she approached. "Ya made it out alive." She smiled, patting the man's shoulder in a rather brutish manner, sending him stumbling a bit.
"Aye, did Sigrid and Tilda get out alright?" He asked and Lian nodded.
"They're helping heal the injured now but…Bain…"
"He's helping carry supplies." Bard answered and she let out a breath or relief, glad the lad was safe.
"Are the dwarves still around?" He murmured, obviously weary of the reactions the townspeople may give when it came to the dwarves. No doubt they were mad and would demand their gold soon enough.
"They left before anyone got here." She reassured the man and he nodded.
"Why aren't you with them then?" She let out a sigh at this, jabbing a finger over her shoulder as she spoke.
"I'd feel horrible if I didn't help these people out, plus my kin are here to help so why not offer assistance where it's needed."
"Your kin?" He raised an eyebrow and she let out a laugh.
"Aye, I'm sure ya'll get to know them throughout the next few days quite well." She mused, leading the fellow towards the medical quarters but she's suddenly shoved away from him.
"Get your grubby pawns off him, you street urchant." A rather annoying lad sneered, greasy hair framing his rather smug mug and Lian recognized him vaguely from the attack, he'd been on the boat of gold they had slammed into.
"Women; they just go after the most rich and powerful." He grinned towards Bard as if they were the best of pals, Bard's expression said anything but though.
"Hey!" She snapped, completely irked and catching the attention of the weasily fellow just in time for his face to catch her fist. He tumbled to the ground, howling as he held his busted nose tightly; the flesh red against his rather greyish skin.
"You ungrateful wrench! You'll be punished for hitting me!" He yelled, releasing his red nose and though bruised, it wasn't bleeding.
"Well I'd better get in my shots while I can. I've been dying to hit something." Lian wasn't going to deny herself a way to let out her frustration, especially when he deserved. With that she lunged on the lad; who let out a rather girlish scream as they went tumbling to the ground in a mess of kicks and punches.
"The princess is getting into a street brawl!" Gordon, a rather rambunctious fellow, called out with a laugh as Lian landed another punch on the lad. He tried pulling her hair and scratching but this did little to her, she'd fought cats with more fight than this lad.
A crowd of soldiers and men had gathered around them, soldiers cheering and some even placing bets though the townspeople were more enticed to just watch. The brawl had suddenly lightened the mood tenfold and Lian felt like she was back home again. The feeling of exhilaration coursed through her as she head-butted the weasily lad into unconsciousness, successfully putting him out of the fight.
She let out a laugh at her victory, cheers and groans of lost bets sounding from around her but they were all cut off by the sudden bellowing of Stevvin's voice.
"Enough!"
All heads turned, watching the bulky man part his way through the crowd towards Lian and she cringed. Sadly enough she doubt she could throw the lad at Stevvin and make a break for it, oh the burden of responsibility.
The man looked like he was gonna blow a gasket, face red with anger and thin lips pursed into a bleak white line. She forgot how nervous that look made her and was unconsciously thinking of ways to bolt but it was too late now.
"Get back to work!" He bellowed to the soldiers before facing her. "And I'll take care of you later." He hissed and she scowled at the promise of a long scolding.
"Go!" He snapped at the soldiers still hanging around to see what would happen, turning around with a swish of his fur cape to storm off.
"Princess?" Bard questioned, joining her as they once more make their way to the medical quarters to see his daughters.
"Oh right, I forgot ya weren't there when Sigrid bombarded me with a thousand questions about myself." She said rather grimly, still a bit miffed over Stevvin's appearance in the midst of her victory.
"Once upon a time there lived a princess of a small kingdom to the north, always the trouble maker and hard to handle. Then she went on a journey with dwarves, a hobbit and a wizard." She mused, over her short irritation.
"Sounds like an interesting story, I'd like to know how it ends." Bard chuckled.
"I would too." She murmured.
Night lay over the ruins of Dale, only the torches lighting the way through the frigid place as all slept. The day had been spent in the medical quarters, tending to and making sure all were of the lakemen were treated properly. It had been stressful and altogether draining and everyone was taking their well-deserved rest, all except Lian.
She stood upon the walls of Dale, looking out towards the Lonely Mountain with longing in her heart. It almost seemed as if peace had almost settled upon them but she knew better than to believe such a folly thing. Her own belly grumbled with the need for food, her last meal being the day the dragon attacked and her kin had already rationed out all their food to the townspeople; it was only a matter of time before they starved.
Stevvin had of course yelled at her utter lack of control, telling her that her actions had completely disregarded the current situation. She just let him vent out his frustrations, he always calmed down after a while. She didn't feel bad though, the sly fellow deserved it and the brawl had provided a spark of energy among the depressing situation.
Lian only wished she could see the kingdom under the mountain, to be with the dwarves and Bilbo as they celebrated their victory. They were probably having a blast, sliding down mounds of gold and telling jokes to one another; the thought made her heart ebb in yearning.
True she was once more with her kin but she couldn't seem to find the same joy in their company as she once did, the dwarves had become a part of her family along with Bilbo. They had been through so much together and she hated not being by their side but more than anything she hated not being with Thorin.
Thorin, the man she had given her heart to yet he gave it back in such a gentle yet cruel way. He had said that she was the closest thing to love he'd ever had and yet he denied her and himself of that happiness.
She clutched the torn pieces of his letter gently, having taken the time to crudely sew the thick piece of parchment together so they were once more whole. Already had she had read it what felt like hundreds of times, silent sobs shaking her hunched over form. She yearned yet feared going inside the mountain, she didn't know how Thorin would treat her, if he'd shun her or something worse.
It hurt so much, not knowing if it had all been some sort of lapse in judgement or maybe even a dream even though the letter held in her hands proved it not to be. She couldn't stand how afraid she was, how lost she seemed and how broken she felt.
"It seems even our princess has a heart."
She snapped her head around, her new hunting knife drawn and posed above Luke's throat; ready to slice the flesh under the slightest of breaths. The man quickly held his hands up defensively, showing he meant no harm to her.
"What do ya want?" She hissed; cheeks still wet with her tears as she sheathed her knife; fighting to regain control of her emotions in front of the last person she ever wanted to see her cry. She'd probably scold herself later for even crying in the first place, it was hopeful think anyways in hoping her and Thorin would be together like some sappy story book.
"I just came up here to get a little fresh air when I saw a weeping maiden from afar." He mocked and she scowled at his jab at finding her crying, damn him to the deepest pits of hell!
"How…long were ya standing there?" She asked, her anger slowly ebbing away into shame and embarrassment as he replied.
"Long enough."
A tense silence fell upon them, setting Lian on edge, usually he was chatting up a storm with some sort of snarky reply or jab but instead he said nothing.
"Do ya really love him?"
She tensed at this, pursing her lips as she debated even answering his question. "The dwarf I mean." He clarified, as if she didn't know who he was talking about.
She never had convinced herself it was love she felt for the dwarf, always was it affection or great fondness but now the word felt more appropriate than ever to describe how she felt.
"I do." She breathed, the warmth of her breath taking a visible form for a split second before dispersing into the cold night. They didn't talk or anything of the kind, only stood there in silence and for once Lian felt like there was a mute understanding between them.
Lian did not sleep after she left Luke though her body ached for it, her mind was too chaotic for her to sleep and instead she took to walking around the ruins of Dale. She could envision vaguely how the kingdom had once stood tall, proud even in the shadow of the Lonely Mountain.
She had even dropped by to hold the infant and watch the child sleep in peaceful bliss. It warmed her heart enough for her to forget the pain Thorin had left behind.
Dawn soon tinted the skies, sending a red glow over the ruins and mountains; slicing through the cold air and bathing the ground in warmth. She stood near the entrance of Dale, basking in the sunlight; knowing that soon enough she'd return to the icy wastelands of her home, never to feel the warmth of sun again. She had settled her self-conflict momentarily, telling herself that she'd simply address the problem when she was face to face with it or more like him.
Sighing she closed her eyes, hating how much more complicated everything was than what it used to be. Suddenly something caught her eye, pulling her from her own self-pity to look out towards the shadows of the forest.
She could have sworn she saw something in the depths of the forest and she stared until she saw it again. It shined, reflecting the light of the sun and it looked to be more than one object moving amongst the dark. The color of gold suddenly broke through the tree line, reflecting the sun in a vibrant metallic hue and Lian felt her stomach drop.
Elves.
She could hear the sound of their clinking armor now, feet falling in perfect synchronization as rows and rows of elven soldiers marched towards the ruins of Dale. She couldn't fathom why an army of elves would be marching towards them for any purpose other than war and this sent her into a panic.
"Wake up! Everyone wake up!" She bellowed, rushing into Dale with only one thought running through her head. The elves were gonna kick them when they were down, take advantage of their situation and attack when they least expected it.
"Grab yer weapons! An army of elves is heading our way!" She boomed, shoving drowsy soldiers and men towards the front gates.
"Lian! What's going on?!" Her father breathed heavily, taking up her right flank with Stevvin and Bard close behind.
"An army of elves is about to knock on our doorstep, there is no other logical explanation other than they're looking to seize Dale and then head for the Lonely Mountain to take out the Dwarves." She breathed while quickly fastening a breast plate to her person, curtsey of Nellia; the only female warrior who had accompanied her father.
"How many?" Bard chimed in and she simply shook her head in frustration.
"Too many."
How the babies feeling: σ_σ