As Halien approached, she stepped lightly over a large branch as she came to the edge of the camp. She was met with an arrow striking her right shoulder, though, and a dagger striking her in her left thigh- causing her to stumble back. Cursing, the young elf maiden came out of the bushes and pulled the arrow from her shoulder, wincing only a little, and then pulled the dagger out, falling to one knee.
"By the ancestors! You trust me that little?" she asked, looking at Kili and Fili as they each bore a look of incredible guilt upon their faces. She closed her eyes tightly and grasped her wounds, trying to hide her pain.
"Halien will not bring us harm. Lower your weapons," Gandalf said.
Thorin watched Halien as she tried to hide her pain as she stood, unsheathing her bow and quiver, but groaned in pain as she fell to her knee again. Kili had put his bow and arrows aside and grabbed some bandages. Fili came to help, his guilt growing, but was stopped when Halien threw the dagger at his feet, embedding it in the ground and narrowly missing his big toe. Kili looked to make sure his brother was OK.
"Careful, lad, she's a good shot," Bofur told him.
"Best to keep your weapons close," she said, pain clear in her voice. Kili started to wrap her leg and arm, but Halien shook her head. "No need."
"You are wounded, elf. If you do not treat these wounds quickly, they will only get worse," he said, insisting.
"She has a name, Kili," Bofur said, defensive over an old friend.
Halien smirked. "I said there was no need." Then she placed both of her hands on each of the wounds as they began to glow. Kili sat back, the bandages in his hands, and watched as the wounds closed and the bleeding stopped.
Standing, Halien stretched her leg and her shoulder, making sure everything was working. The dwarves stared at her in wonder- Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur simply smiled, having seen her use that power before in their village- as Kili stood and asked, "How'd you do that?"
Halien smirked. "It's one of my many talents." Leaving it like that, Halien went to her dappled gray mare.
Unsure what else to do, the dwarves went about their business, speaking with each other to pass some time while Gandalf and Bilbo smoked their Old Toby.
Halien made sure that her horse was fed and rested, then pulled an empty sack from her saddle and went over to the large rock wall by the dwarves. Climbing up the rock face to reach the top branches of a nearby fruit tree, she swung onto a branch and grabbed a few of the fruits. As she collected as many of the fruits as she could reach and placed them into the sack, the dwarves nearest her watched with interest. When she finished, she hung upside down and flipped out of the tree, sliding down the rock face and landing softly on the ground below. The dwarves watched her grace, which had Thorin impressed especially. It reminded him of the time she had climbed a pillar in the halls of Erebor to get a better look at its grandeur.
Halien walked over to her horse and offered her one of the fruits. "Here, Torwen, you have earned this."
The mare took the fruit and nudged her gently in thanks.
"You are a good girl, Torwen. Thank you for coming with me." Halien said, cooing to her mare.
Thorin watched as Halien stood watching the moon at the edge of their camp, her weapons at her side. A chill wind blew through the air and she pulled her cloak tight around herself. It was a night much like the last she had spent in the village with the dwarves she had saved years ago. They had settled north of Erebor in the Weathered Heath, in the Grey Mountains. As she began to remember, she shuddered.
Halien shuddered, something dragging her from her memories.
"I wonder what that was all about," Bofur asked, seeing her shudder.
"She was there when Smaug came and destroyed Dale before taking Erebor," Gandalf said. "Perhaps the memories of it came back to her for a moment."
"No," Dwalin said. "We would have seen her."
"She was there, Dwalin. She returned, aiding those who needed it and getting them to safety. She found and helped the Grotsnev clan, saving their lives when she freed them from their burning home. They asked her to train their sons and in return, they took her in, giving her food and shelter." Gandalf explained to them as he looked back at Halien. "After her last encounter with Thorin, she began to wander the lands again. It was in Weather Hills that I found her, working for the head family there as a trainer for their children, much like she did for the Grotsnev clan and in your village."
"As in Master Baldrick Grotsnev? The carpenter?" Ori asked.
"Yes, Ori," Gandalf replied.
"She never mentioned anything about it," Bofur said, mostly to himself. He looked to Bombur, who shrugged, and to Bifur, though Bifur stared off like he usually did.
Behind them, the dwarves could hear Halien begin to sing softly to herself. "O môr henion i dhû: Ely siriar, êl síla. Ai! Aníron Undómiel. Tiro! Él eria e môr. I 'lîr en êl luitha 'úren. Ai! Aníron..."
As she sang, Gandalf translated the elvish hymn into the common tongue, "From the darkness I understand the night: Dreams flow, a star shines. Ah! I desire Evenstar. Look! A star rises out of the darkness. The song of the star enchants my heart. Ah! I desire..."
The dwarves looked at Gandalf, then back at Halien.
"It is a beautiful hymn of her people. It helps her keep close to her people from afar." Gandalf said, understanding how hard it was for Halien to leave her father and people behind to do what she thought was right.
Thorin watched as Halien unsaddled Torwen and placed the saddle on the log next to them. Torwen stretched her legs and neck before she lay down on the ground. Halien curled up against her mare, her head resting on Torwen's shoulder, and stared up at the stars. The sound of Orcs, however, ruined the peaceful night.
Bilbo, a little spooked, asked what the noise was. Kili began to tell him it was Orcs, that they would come and slit their throats in their sleep. When Bilbo shuddered, clearly spooked, Kili and Fili smirked and chuckled beneath their breath. Thorin was not pleased and asked if they thought a night raid by an Orc pack was a joke. Kili said that they meant nothing by it, but Thorin just scolded him and stalked off again.
Balin began to explain to Kili what had happened to make Thorin hate the Orcs so much more than anyone could ever think. He told the tale of the Battle of Azanulbizar to reclaim Moria, to all who hadn't been there, and how Azog the Defiler cut the king's head off, throwing it to Thorin's feet. He spoke of how Thorin met the pale Orc in battle, only to be beaten done and when he had lost his shield, the only thing that saved his life was an oaken branch that he wielded as a replacement. He cut the pale Orc's arm off and forced him back into the depths of darkness he crawled from. He spoke of how Thorin led the final charge that ended the lives of many Orcs, defeating their enemy, though they did not retake Moria. He spoke of how when everything was over, only those in their current company were left standing with the rest of their kin- and their king- all of whom were dead. Then Balin spoke of how he knew when he looked upon Thorin, that he had found a king that he would follow to the death.
"And the pale Orc?" Bilbo asked. "What happened to him?"
"That filth slunk back into the hole from whence he came. He died from his wounds long ago." Thorin said as he rejoined the others.
Bilbo thought he understood now, though he felt that there was still much to learn. Nori took the first watch and the others got as comfortable as they could, soon falling asleep. Halien had listened to the whole tale and knew that Thorin had faced more hardship and loss than just the fall of Erebor and the death of so many of his kin and people. She hoped that she could lift some of that burden from him and prove to him that he has one ally yet who will not betray him. Feeling the heaviness of sleep pulling her eyelids down, Halien closed her eyes and went to sleep. Gandalf laid back and lit his pipe, smoking his Old Toby. He watched as Halien slept, seeing how much she had grown since he last saw her.
Gandalf had met the young Halien when she was still very, very young, having passed through Greenwood on his travels. She, like so many other children, was fascinated by his magik. She would follow Gandalf everywhere any time he came to visit the elves and he grew fond of her, a large part of that being because she was the most adventurous and fearless of all the elf children. Thranduil often tried to keep her home safe, where she would learn how to be a proper princess worthy of her people, but Halien would not hear any of it. She always went off on hunts with Torwen any chance she could, even before she was old enough by her people's standards.
Smiling to himself, Gandalf finished his Old Toby and went off to sleep himself.
