Arabelle was not entirely sure how to feel, from the moment Elrond had told her of her mother's heritage her whole world had been flipped upside down, while at the same time it made more sense than ever before. For the longest time she had travelled Middle Earth, never being able to settle no matter the comfort or the friends she would find, a part of her always knowing something was missing; that part of her was her mother. Arabelle had often wondered of her mother, unable to picture her, now the picture was so clear. Her mother was a dwarf, survivor of Erebor and travelling Eriador, a dwarf who fell in love with a Ranger and had his child against all the harsh judgements of family and friends. Still she wanted more, she wondered what her mother looked like, how she did her braids, what she did in her spare time; did she still have family alive? Arabelle thought all of this in private, though she was not given much time for privacy as the company was taking her dwarf lessons very seriously. Khzadul with Bifur, Bombur and Bofur, customs with Balin, laws and how to break them with Dori and Nori, history with Ori, fire starting with Gloin and Oin but by far her favourite lessons were with the axe and Dwalin.
"Keep your hands up!" Dwalin yelled for the fifth time, Arabelle's natural sword fighting stance had her constantly swinging the makeshift axe low.
"Quit yelling at me!" Arabelle growled gripping the wooden stick tight, training had been going on for nearly an hour and she had yet to be close to landing a blow on the smug dwarf.
"Perhaps that's enough for today." Balin went to walk into the middle of the two but Kili and Fili both put a hand on his chest, Fili having a finger to his lips telling the older dwarf to be quiet.
"I've got my money Belle's going to knock his beard straight off." Fili smirked, his eyes followed Arabelle's form with a firm devotion as she and Dwalin carefully circled each other.
"Not a chance. Dwalin is going to have her on her back in no time." Kili also watched the pair, not even he could beat Dwalin.
"Well if its bets we are placing…" Balin stroked his beard in contemplation "Put mine on my brother."
The rest of the company appearing out of nowhere "We putting bets on?" "Ey. Dwalin's favourite." "Put me on the lass then." "Dwalin is more stubborn than stone. Put me down for him" "Yeah, I'm on Dwalin." "I think Miss Belle is faster." "Speed ain't about to help when Dwalin attacks."
Dwalin did attack. Lunging, he swung his wooden log, a stone at the head of it to mimic the weight of an axe, Arabelle ducked and twirled out of the way as she took a swing from behind; Dwalin anticipating it blocked her, using his strength he pushed her to the ground. Dwalin drew up to take the final blow, Arabelle rolling out of the way he hit the ground beside her, dust going in her face "Bastard." She swung at his feet making him stumble back and giving her time to stand. Both of them were huffing, sweat trickling down their faces but they attacked again, not allowing each other a reprieve Dwalin aimed low, Arabelle able to jump out of the way she near had him as she swung high but he ducked out of the way. Dwalin must have known how close she was to having him, his weapon flew across the field, hitting her square on the back she fell to her knees. A few in the company cheering as money began exchanging hands, Kili and Balin particularly happy.
"Cheat." Arabelle huffed as Dwalin came to offer her a hand up.
"Many an axe is made to be thrown lass, we will practice that tomorrow." Dwalin patted her dust covered jacket down "In time I'll even have you catching an axe mid-air!"
"Don't worry about it Ghivashel, few dwarves have ever landed a proper blow on Dwalin." Fili smiled at her, Dwalin raising a brow.
"You speak as though you are one of them laddie."
"You speak as though I couldn't." Fili looked to Dwalin with a challenge in his eyes.
"Dinner is ready." Bilbo called from the main fire, Dwalin putting Fili in a headlock as all the dwarves happily gathered around, Bilbo handing out bowls of potato stew, Beorn had gifted them a sack full of food and Bilbo had been utterly giddy since finding the potatoes.
"Mmm. Just like Belladonna's." Arabelle sipped straight from the bowl, the warm soup a kindness as the nights had begun to grow cooler.
"A fresh cut of bread, layered with some of Brandybuck's herbed butter would make it." Bilbo mused to himself "A spoon would also be of good use, if father saw me slurping from a bowl!"
"Ha! Forget your father imagine the gossip about town, you'd be marked as deranged." Arabelle laughed a little, the hobbits having a particular skill at turning any slight misstep into the talk of the town.
"Lobelia would be calling for a check on my sanity for sure, I tell you now if she the courage to a game of conkers I would take great delight in conking her straight in the nose." Bilbo grumbled, a particular sting in his words.
"Bilbo!" Kili exclaimed with a gasp.
"Don't think we've ever heard you speak such harsh words." Fili said, a shared look of shock amongst all the dwarves.
"I've said many a harsh thing, though many of you are incapable of realising such words for being harsh." Bilbo looked to Arabelle, much more familiar with the polite insults of hobbits, was smirking into her soup.
"Did you just insult us?" Kili asked, his head still wrapping around the fast spoken words.
"Kili, my dear boy, I merely stated that my ability to insult and your ability to understand such a thing may be on different levels and that I would never be so rude as to insult you in such a blunt manner that to which you would understand; lest my mother would have me by the ears!" Bilbo's ears did in fact ache as he recalled a time or two his tongue had become too sharp in his youth.
"Remember the time we made snowmen outside Lobelia's house." Arabelle laughed, for they were less snowmen and more snow-monsters and were situated directly outside the house to make for a good fright, Belladonna had the pair of them twisted by the ear and dragged back to Bag End.
"Wicked turnip-head had it coming, spreading such poor rumours about mother." Bilbo grumbled and Arabelle nodded in agreeance.
"So how did you two meet?" Fili asked, Bilbo near chocking on his soup as Arabelle slowly put her bowl to her lap her eyes drifting off a little.
"Belle stayed with us for a while, I was just young back then had only just grown into my feet! She was a great help during the Fell Winter." Bilbo went back to his soup, clearly wanting to say nothing more on the topic but Arabelle sighed a little "There is a bit more too it."
"It was before the Fell winter, though days were getting cool and the nights frosty it had yet to snow." Arabelle began her story, the whole company seeming to tune in as the scene was set "I was also young, I was restless in Rivendell and wished to join the Rangers. Travel as I had with my father. My uncle agreed to it, well he did not say no directly so I took it as a yes. We were tracking a pack of wargs, there had been rumours of increased numbers and attacks on farmlands near the Shire. One night while I slept we were attacked, I barely remember the fight but I do remember when it stopped. Everything was quiet, my back torn to shreds I couldn't move, hurt even to breathe; they must've thought me dead. I thought for sure I would die. But my horse at the time, Beryn, bless her heart somehow got me to saddle. Don't know why she took us to the Shire, perhaps she sensed the lack of danger or more likely smelt the food." Arabelle smiled a little, Beryn loved a good treat "Belladonna says she was on her way back from market when she saw us. No other hobbit the nerve to approach a fully grown horse or what they assumed was a corpse on its back; but she did. Next thing I knew I woke up in Bag End, wounds bandaged and a hobbit lady trying to shove potato stew down my throat."
"Father use to say mother was always bringing home lost or injured animals, but he'd never expected a fully grown woman!" Bilbo laughed recalling his father's face, and more accurately how fast he had hit the ground at all the blood.
"Took a while to heal, by then winter had truly began and I owed a debt and so I stayed." Arabelle smiled "Some of the best years running around the Shire, keeping Bilbo out of trouble." She winked at him as he quickly rectified that he was a quiet and well-mannered hobbit before meeting her.
The company was suspiciously quiet, Arabelle looking up to them to see a mixture of shock, anger and even a sadness about them "They just left you?" Fili was the one to speak, an anger in his voice.
"Huh?" Arabelle blinked, "The hobbits? Gosh I must have given them all a fright, all the blood, plus Beryn must've been an imposing sight on them all. I don't blame them for being wary."
"Not the hobbits lass. Your uncle." Balin clarified.
"Oh. Well yes, like I said I must've looked like I was dead." Arabelle shrugged "Think I will take first watch, should be a nice moon tonight." She excused herself as she found a nice high spot above the main camp, easy to see half the valley.
Sitting on the soft grass Arabelle could hear the small conversations between dwarves, Fili and Kili having a laugh while Dori and Nori fussed over poor Ori's hair, Dwalin and Balin were in some more heated conversation with Gloin and Oin (something about metal types), meanwhile Bilbo and Gandalf were having a pipe while Bifur, Bofur and Bombur cleaned up. They were all happy, idly talking amongst themselves she smiled, her eyes moving to scan the edges of the valley, Mirkwood loomed just out of sight, they would be at its edge by late morning tomorrow. She tried to focus on the surrounds, tried to listen to the companies conversations, distracting herself with watching the horizon; yet her mind kept circling back to that night. The wargs attacking with no word of warning, she hadn't been able to defend herself; her uncle was on watch though. Had she not heard his warning? Or a far more sinister thought now circled her mind as she wondered if he had given one at all. Arabelle had not known her uncle as a child, her father and her travelling alone or resting in Rivendell she had never met him in person, her father barely even spoke of his brother just that he existed. Once she had joined the Rangers her uncle had never fully accepted her and at the time she merely thought it was because she was a woman. Now she wondered if it was because of her dwarven mother.
Down in the main camp half the dwarves were already in bed, the others fussing about trying to make the ground softer as Fili, Kili and Thorin sat around stoking the fire. Kili had been reminiscing about their trip to Dunland last year, it had just been the three of them and it was the first time Kili had been allowed on a mission; he had loved that trip. Thorin chuckled a little as he recalled a night on Kili's watch that almost ended up with a forest fire, Fili joined in laughing as his brother pouted. Fili's eyes drifted up to where Arabelle sat, alone she was staring off at the stars again, her hands playing with her braid she was in a deep thought.
"Thorin, can I ask a favour?" Fili looked to his Uncle who was already nodding, of course he would do whatever he asked. "Join Belle for night duty."
Thorin gave an appropriate raise to his brow "I have no objection to your match with her Fili, you have my approval."
"Yet neither of you really talk, tell me Uncle have you even had a conversation with her?" Fili watched as Thorin clearly began recalling their previous interactions "And fights don't count."
"Fili-"
"Please, I don't just want your approval I want you to get along; I am certain you will find things in common." Fili looked to Thorin, who put a hand on the younger dwarfs shoulder his eyes reassuring "I will make an effort, I promise."
"Well not tonight, Balin has already beat you to it." Kili pointed as Balin went to sit beside Arabelle, the two smiling at each other.
"You were right about the moon." Balin said as he joined Arabelle for the watch, Balin sat beside her, both of them staring at the night sky above them.
Arabelle was quiet for a moment before sucking in a deep breath "Could you read these for me?" She indicated to the beads in her hair, the runes on it far beyond her lessons, Balin blinked a few times before nodding.
"May I?" He asked, not allowing his hand to touch her hair until she nodded an ok, he twisted the silver bead at the bottom to inspect the runes, before moving to the second, smaller bead which was halfway up the braid (too small to hold one on its own).
"This one." He held the smaller one "I suspect your father would have made it. Not very traditional, the metal is elven, the design none a typical dwarf would make; it was likely his version of a courting bead." Balin at first had been appalled by the poor workmanship but as Arabelle's lips turned to a gentle smile he softened. "The other is more traditional. Old work, it is a protection charm. Specifically for a daughter. It is a common gift from mother to daughter, I suspect this one has been handed down at least three generations, maybe four by the age of it."
"But it does not say a name?" Arabelle asked.
"No, dwarrowdams often move to be under the protection and namesake of their husband's family. Hence charms like this one exist without a family name."
"I was hoping to learn more about her, I left Rivendell in such a rush I didn't even give Lord Elrond a chance to tell me her name." Arabelle sighed "Perhaps there are more he didn't give me…"
"I doubt it." Balin spoke solemnly "It is likely your mother was stripped of all family ties on her exile."
"To make someone loose so much over love, it doesn't seem right."
"It isn't."