I kept the intensity at a subtle degree in this chapter!
Breakfast had been very delicious! Oat bread, orange juice, fruit, oatmeal and caramel rolls! Raven felt somewhat better from her hearty breakfast but her heart still hurt and she felt tired from so much emotion and chaos that happened between she and Thorin earlier that morning!
Mid morning rolled around when she now found herself taking a morning stroll with Balin while taking in the scenery below the Blue Mountains. A vast lush green meadow lay before her outside of Thorin's Halls; Ossiriand to the West of Ered Luin; overlooking the river that fed the sea just below the lush green hill overlooked by Thorin's Halls; east of Blue Mountains overlooking the many hut-like houses outlining the lush green meadow. Dwarves bustled around while carrying out chores and other forms of work to do.
Many heads turned while she and Balin passed, heading further away from the many Dwarves and farther away from Thorin's Halls. Just like the lush green hill back in Hobbiton, the outskirts of the lush green meadow was alive with a beautiful scenery before Raven's eyes: Butterflies fluttered over the green blades' tips, Rabbits hopped to and fro, small deer grazed around, insects hopped and scurried about the ground, birds flew overhead. But while Raven enjoyed the sight beholding her eyes, she ended up locking her eyes on a Dwarf standing before her at a distance with a woman at his side.
Tall and burly with a bald head covered by tattoos, big hands helping the woman practice hand-to-hand-combat, Raven could only guess the Dwarf to be Dwalin: bald head with tattoos, a short beard she knew all to well almost hid his mouth. His bare, but very muscular arms flexing when he moved them in different ways while teaching the woman hand-to-hand-combat - tried too, at least. Dwarves were more skilled with weapons than they were in the sort of combat Dwalin tried to teach the woman standing before him. Raven however, was an expert when it came to hand-to-hand-combat!
Dwalin and the woman turned upon their approach. Raven watched the warrior's brown eyes light up when they fell on her. "No way!" Dwalin cried out with joy when he saw his brother approach with Raven. Half-walking, half-running, the warrior closed the distance between them and Raven let out a squeal when Dwalin swooped her up and spun her around!
"I can't believe it's really you, Lassie!" Dwalin cried as he spun Raven around. "I can't believe you're here!"
Raven felt a bit dizzy when she was set down on her feet. "I'm glad to see you too, Dwalin." She reached out a hand to rest it on Balin's shoulder while she regained her balance. "I have missed you as well, old friend."
Dwalin gently framed Raven's face between his hands just as Balin had done earlier that morning so he could get a better look at her. She watched the warrior take in every detail of her. "You have grown so beautifully, Lassie. Your parents would be proud of the woman you have grown up to be."
"That's exactly what I said." Balin informed his younger brother while placing a loving hand on Raven's shoulder.
Dwalin pulled Raven into a hug once more, then gently knocked his head against hers.
Looking over Dwalin's shoulder, Raven found the woman gaping at her with a questioning look on her face that said: who are you?
Gently pushing past Dwalin when the Dwarf set her back down on the ground, Raven walked up to the woman. Dwalin and Balin followed behind her.
"Hi." Raven said, extending a hand.
"Hi?" The woman curiously asked while taking her hand in hers.
"I'm Raven. What's your name?"
"Selena." The woman glanced to Dwalin over Raven's shoulder while she said that.
Dwalin walked up to stand beside Selena, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Raven, this is Selena." He shifted his blue eyes so they were lovingly looking at the woman beside him. "My One."
"What?!' Raven's hands shot up to cover her mouth in excitement. "That's amazing, Dwalin! When did this happen?"
Dwalin smiled, still keeping his eyes lovingly locked onto Selena. "About a month ago."
"What?!" Raven's excitement grew! "How did you meet her?"
"About a month ago, I dragged Thorin to a circus that happened to be near Ered Luin. I told him he and I both needed a break so I decided to take him to the circus, though he didn't go quietly. NO! Thorin was all but making a huge fuss over going to a circus; pointing out that we should be spending our break either swimming in the sea or taking a hike along The Blue Mountains - or just going to Bree." Dwalin smirked. No, I told him he and I were going to spend our time doing something different: going to a circus.
"During the circus performance the many performers put on, the performer that caught my attention the most was Selena; standing near the edge of the circus ring while waiting for the other performers to finish putting on their act." Dwalin's smile grew as he continued.
"When I saw Selena standing near the edge of the circus ring - at first I couldn't figure out what a beautiful woman like her was doing in a circus; looking out of place. While I studied her, I caught sight of the Circus Master walking up to her, and I instantly grew angry when he laid his hand on her, causing her to cry while saying something to her that caused her face to pale. Once the Circus Master was done talking to Selena, he walked out into the center of the ring after an obstacle course was set up and introduced Selena. But the worst part is….." Dwalin's sentence trailed off and he gently pressed his forehead against Selena's head when tears threatened to fall down her face.
"What, Dwalin?" Raven gently urged. "What happened?"
"Selena his half Dwarf and half Human." Dwalin let out a sigh as he said that. "When the vile Circus Master introduced Selena, he decided to put her skills on display when he told the audience that Dwarves are said to have incredible speed and agility, saying that Selena was going to prove just how much speed and agility Dwarves actually have; putting her on display like she was nothing more than an animal. After the crude Circus Master got through introducing her to the audience, he laid his hand on her again and threatened to starve her and hurt her if she failed at giving a successful show.
After the Circus Master had left the ring, Selena moved into position to begin her performance, but stopped when she got a nudge to pause and take a look at the crowd. She didn't know why she was getting the nudge, but she looked out at the audience anyways. That's when her beautiful brown eyes found me, and while we held each others eyes, I felt the pull when I looked deep into her brown eyes that all but begged for help. Selena had figured out I was a warrior just by the way I carried myself and the clothes I wore - my stern look also giving a hint. While we stared at each other, our surroundings just seemed to fall away to leave only us. But while we held each others eyes, the cruel Circus Master took a whip and landed two lashes to her back, snapping her out of her…..trance."
Raven covered her mouth with her hand! "That's horrible!" she cried. "What happened after?" Her eyes locked with Selena's brown ones. "What happened?"
Selena's face turned grim. "The Circus Master had imprisoned me like an animal and deprived me of any food - going as far as laying multiple lashes to my back weeks before the circus came to Ered Luin. When I saw Dwalin in the crowd, I begged Mahal to set me free from my endless nightmare and to use Dwalin to do it. Then I felt two more lashes against my back before I began. I felt dizzy from being malnourished and my back hurt so bad from the lashes that were still healing; hurting even worse when I was given two more. Towards the end of my performance….." Selena's voice trailed off as the horrible memories resurfaced; Dwalin pulling her tight against him. "It's alright, Lass." Dwalin gently soothed. "It's alright."
Selena took in a deep breath and exhaled. Raven gingerly took her hands while Dwalin soothed her. "It's okay." Raven soothed the other woman. "It's okay. You're safe."
Selena gave a grateful smile. She felt Dwalin press a kiss to her head. That must've been what she needed because her story continued. "Towards the end of my performance, I was so very close to finishing. But due to feeling dizzy and hurting so much; blood soaking my loose cotton shirt, I wasn't able to complete my performance! Instead - while Dwalin ran up to me after jumping down into the ring, I fell off of a tall block used for gymnastics and fell into Dwalin's arms before passing out." Selena sighed. "When I finally woke, I was straddled to Dwalin's lap - back facing my mother because she was going to sew my lashes up. I was immediately snapped out of my daze when I felt the needle pierce my flesh, and Dwalin held me while my mother sewed me up; screaming into his shoulder. Apparently I was screaming bloody murder, because while Dwalin and I were in one of the smaller tents my mother and I shared, Thorin had stayed behind in the bigger tent to deal with the cruel Circus Master.
"Dwalin brought me to Ered Luin not long after the whole situation and the circus moved on, but with a new Circus Master." Selena smiled. "My mother. The cruel Circus Master fought against my mother taking his place, but Thorin and Dwalin made clear that his life was being spared. He had two options: pass the mantle of Circus Master over to my mother and leave to wander Middle-Earth for the rest of his life, or pass the mantle of Circus Master to my mother by losing his life. He wisely chose the latter, though Thorin still had half the mind just to rid the scum from the face of Middle-Earth and call it an evening.
"After Dwalin brought me to Ered Luin, he helped me get back on my feet again! The first thing I did was remove my shoes and socks so I could feel the lush green grass between my toes and against my feet before going swimming in the sea. Day by day Dwalin helps me rebuild my life amongst our people, and if it weren't for him and Thorin coming to my rescue, I would probably be dead."
After hugging Selena and Dwalin one more time, Raven continued her morning stroll. At the edge of the village near the foot of the Blue Mountians, Balin finally turned a sharp left to climb a lush green hill overlooking the entire village. Raven took in the sight of the hut-like-house sitting underneath a lush green pine tree at the foot of the mountain when she and Balin finally ascended the hill!
Balin and Raven were about to take a step forward, but came to a halt when their eyes landed on a female Dwarf waiting outside the hut-like-house. Her features were very feminine but very identical to Thorin's: long dark tangled hair, cobalt blue eyes framed by dark eyebrows on the thinner side, but no less thick. Her muscular toned body was adorned by a striking blue frock over a gray bust tucked into a skirt matching her frock. Iron clad boots covered her feet but had more of a feminine look to them.
There was only one other Dwarf who shared the same similarities in looks as Thorin! Raven realized who she was looking at!
"Dis."
Next chapter or the chapters after this one, things will get more intense.