Chapter 4
She fought against the guards as they half carried, half dragged her through corridors. She growled and cursed under her breath; teeth clenched in self-loathing. She had failed miserably, and just landed herself in even hotter water than before. She should've been shocked at the complexity of Erebor. Its caverns were enormous. Her mind was foggy at best, probably due to her injuries and exhaustion she had battling the past few months.
Dwarves looked on with wide eyes as they parted, allowing the feral looking woman to be dragged along as she kicked, shook and growled menacingly. Her white-blonde hair was free flowing and wild in untamed curls, her pale skin despite the bruising was pink with the exertion of her recent acrobatics. Her stunning eyes were bright and flashing as she looked around her, trying in vain to find another venue to escape. She knew in her gut escape was not going to be possible this time, and that she most likely blew it. She was going to have to improvise.
The king and his company were further ahead of her and her increasingly frustrated escorts. She couldn't help but scowl at his back. She knew of these dwarf kings that ruled in Arda; and was warned repeatedly on the knees of her father and grandfather before him to not trust and avoid at all costs. They only cared for their own, giving no mind to what lay outside of their kingdoms. They feared the unknown, and resented change and other races. If they knew how her people, let alone her ancestors survived the strife and war, they would be hunted down and eradicated, like a blight to be erased from both dwarf and elf kind. From what she had heard briefly in the infirmary, they had already correctly guessed where her home was, which prompted her rash escape plan. These dwarves were not dumb, unlike some of the others she had stumbled across in her travels.
She was broken out of her inner musings as huge carved doors opened before them and she was led into a vast room. She couldn't help her eyes going wide, mouth agape with awe at the raw beauty and majesty of the throne room.
"Did you send word for Balin, Gloin and Nori to meet us?" Thorin's deep voice thundered around in the vastness of the throne room, making her situation all the more daunting. But she was determined to not let her fear show.
"Bifur and Oin are fetching them now." Dwalin answered curtly, as he kept a suspicious eye on their prisoner. Bofur stood with his arms crossed over his chest as he studied her with his keen eyes while Fili and Kili stood on either side of their uncle, their gazes mixed with fascination and respect. Thorin was aware how they looked at her, he couldn't blame them. She was truly an amazing sight to behold, her fiery spirit undeniable and exotic features were nearly impossible to ignore. He dismissed the guards with a nod of his head. "Leave us."
They nodded in reverence then turned and quickly walked out of the throne room, just in time for rest of Thorin's companions to join them. The sound of brisk, heavy footsteps could be heard over the sound of doors closing heavily.
"Durin's beard! All of Erebor is humming about this young lady's stunts." Nori chuckled in amusement as they approached.
"This little lass?" Gloin couldn't contain his surprise.
Balin's white bushy eyebrows were raised as he looked down at her as he stood in-between Dwalin and Fili. Despite being on her knees, her back was ramrod straight, her head held up proud and her expression one of fearless defiance, despite her hands being bound behind her back. "What is your name lass?" He asked, his tone kind as if they were meeting under more agreeable circumstances.
Her nose flared as she breathed in, trying hard to disguise the pain she felt from her screaming ribs. "Come now lass." Balin pleaded as he took a step towards her. "Your name please."
Her defiant gaze was aimed past Thorin's shoulder, towards the imposing throne that sat just beyond them all. But the kindness of the old dwarf's voice made her heart ache unexpectedly, he reminded her of her grandfather. 'Aule I miss him.' She pushed down the sudden emotion by swallowing and talking another pained breath through her nose. Her hopeless situation was starting to weigh in around her. "Mistlynn." Despite her voice cracking emotion, it was melodic yet strong.
Balin nodded encouragingly and smiled. "Mistlynn. Such a beautiful name. Now, why did you run?"
Mistlynn looked at him, her defiant expression returning quickly. "I didn't ask to be brought back here."
The dwarves surrounding her raised their eyebrows in surprise as Thorin laughed humorlessly. "You were in no state to ask for anything when we came to your aid."
"I had it under control I didn't need your rescuing." She spat back, her eyes flashing in anger.
Kili shot his uncle a look of surprised irritation. "You would've died if we hadn't stepped in." Kili protested, trying to not let his hurt feelings show.
"And you shouldn't have interfered with my fate!" Her shout echoed around them, taking them all aback with her complete disregard for her life.
"Now, now lass…" Balin dared to step closer to her and bent down slightly to meet her eyes. "There is no need for this hostility. My king, in good conscience, could not let those orcs kill you. You are in his kingdom, and you fall under his protection and all orcs are to be killed on sight."
"He didn't tell me he was a king." She growled, shooting Thorin an accusing glare.
"At that moment I didn't think it necessary for such introductions." Thorin shot back, "Despite all of that you have no right to repay our hospitality with such blatant disregard. I forgave you holding a knife to my throat, but you also did it to my heir for no reason! You were not being held hostage, but you were a guest being seen to by our best healer!"
Mistlynn's jaw clenched as she trembled at the fierceness of his voice. "All your actions have done is further provoke my suspicions of your presence here in my lands."
"I was simply passing through. The orcs ambushed me." She sniffed, her gaze turning to the floor in front of her, not looking forward to the interrogation she knew was inevitable.
"I know you are not native to any of our neighboring dwarven kingdoms." Thorin growled as he stepped forward to stand alongside Balin, who was looking at the girl in concern. "So, tell me, what is a solitary dwarrowdam from the Northern Wastes doing this far West?"
"What makes you think I'm from the Northern Wastes, MY Lord?" She drawled mockingly, not happy her suspicions of them guessing her homeland were spot on.
Thorin smirked as he pulled her shoulder guard from his inner coat pocket and tossed it to the ground in front of her. "I know what dragon scales look like. And judging by the color and feel of the scales on your armor, it's from a Frost Drake; known only to exist in the Northern Wastes."
"I am no longer a part of any kingdom, so the reasonings behind my wanderings are of no concern of yours."
"I find that very odd indeed." Thorin growled as he started to circle her. "What do you think Master Nori? Doesn't that sound like what a spy would say?"
Nori stroked his cinnamon beard with feigned contemplation. "Certainly does, my King. Her kingdom could very well be trying to get some intel on our strengths and weaknesses."
"I told you! I have no ties to any kingdom!" Mistlynn snapped impatiently.
"And why is that?" Thorin pressed. "Should I attempt to send a raven? Reach out to this unknown kingdom of yours and ask about your wanderings and supposed innocent intentions?"
"No! Don't! You can't!" Her tone became desperate.
Thorin smirked again, catching Balin's intrigued gaze. He stopped again in front of her and bent down, so that he was eye level with her. "You better give me one good reason why I shouldn't."
Mistlynn held her breath at Thorin's closeness. The pull she felt towards him was aggravating to say the least. She should feel nothing but disdain but found it hard to keep up her callous disposition towards him. She was literally at his mercy, but despite that she didn't have the feeling she was in any real danger. She looked up into his eyes, sea green crashing into the depths of cerulean blue. She let out the breath she was holding, in turn allowing some of her defense to slip. "I left of my own accord. I failed my prince. I failed my family. I couldn't stay. My only option was exile."
Thorin held her gaze, seeing for himself the deep seeded pain that churned within. He was shocked to find he knew her sadness all too well.
"Pretty serious to be exiled from your kingdom. Especially a dwarrowdam." Nori mused aloud, Gloin nodding in agreement as they studied her.
"I am a warrior." Mistlynn growled defensively. "Doesn't matter my gender, I failed to uphold my oath." She broke eye contact with the king, her eyes cast down once again to the floor in front of her.
Thorin continued to study her for a moment, his brow furrowed in skepticism. "Leave us." He bellowed firmly.
His companions looked at one another in concern before they started to file out. Mistlynn attempted to swallow her nerves as Thorin stood up, his eyes not once leaving her form.
"Ive never seen a mere warrior with such weaponry or armor. The manner in which your family crest is displayed speaks of nobility." He mused aloud, as if he was talking to himself. "Tell me, are you the heir or the spare?"
She could feel his icy eyes boring into her. She felt numb. There was no way she was this obvious. She didn't act like a princess! Did she? She forced a mocking laugh. "Neither." She scoffed, still refusing to meet his gaze.
Thorin smirked. He had her right where he wanted her, and he was starting to enjoy it immensely. "Your weapons are of superior quality, and your house crest is that of the highest nobility. Being raised as an heir to the throne of Erebor I was taught to recognize the intricacies of a noble house crest."
He kneeled before her, still smirking as he took her chin in his grasp to force her to look up, once again capturing her eyes with his. "Now I am going to ask you again, and I highly recommend that you don't lie to me this time about your lineage. Otherwise, I'll take your lies as confirmation of you being a spy with nefarious intent."
She couldn't help the shudder that ran down her spine as she was forced to look into his icy eyes. The sensation she felt trickling down her spine was not of fear but of a sensation she had yet to experience. She felt her cheeks flush as her lungs seized in her chest. The unnerving pull she felt as she looked at him made her want to run her dagger thru him and flee but also spill all her darkest fears and become one with him all at once. The cascade of emotions and feelings she had never experienced made her voice silent as she tried to speak, she found no words could be uttered from her mouth.
As the moments passed, she felt as though she had no choice but to admit to her true linage but before she could speak Thorin's grasp upon her chin became tighter as he drew their faces closer together.
"M'eudail" he said, not to inspire fear from her but more of a commanding yet pleasing tone "I'm not used to being made to wait on others, for I am the King and I have commanded an explanation, what say you?"
She drew a long breath before succumbing to her fate and uttered the simple word through her gritted teeth. "Spare."
Thorin's brow arched as a grin slowly crept across his face. "That was easier than anticipated."
The realization of his deceit fell upon her "That was a bluff? You lied!"
Thorin chuckled silently "Why of course, I barely know your name and your heritage let alone who you would actually be." He looked upon her with a look that pierced into the deepest parts of her body, a feeling that caused great unease and desire all at once "Although I was not lying when I said that the quality of your armor and the details of your crest led one to believe you are more than that of a simple nobleman or farmers daughter."
His lie should have made the anger inside consume her but quite the opposite happened; she felt the feeling of admiration and longing. She quickly brushed the feelings aside straightening her spine trying to pull from his grasp causing Thorin's grip to tighten, leading her to believe that the mark of his touch would linger for days after.
She found herself longing for his lips to touch hers causing the unease inside her to dwindle but all too soon Thorin released his grip from her face and turned his back to her walking away leaving her longing for the absence of his touch. She had remembered the stories of an ancient bond between dwarves known as finding you're 'One'. She, of course, had never seen nor experienced this sensation as the draw to one's soul mate had long died out with the combining of Elves and Dwarves over the centuries. Could this be that? No, it cannot be, such things are only that of night tales for children, a way to send them off to a peaceful slumber filled with happy dreams. She shook the thought from her head realizing the precariousness of her situation and the need to escape the confines of this kingdom as soon as she was able.
*Thorin*
He felt the trembling of his bones as he turned his back on her. The calloused and scarred hide of his flesh had never felt skin so soft and enticing. He clenched his hand into a fist, willing for it to stop shaking. He had never felt desire such as this, his pull to her was stronger than that of a rushing currant. He had never had to exercise such restraint as he had when his lips almost touched hers and now, he longed for her more than he imagined one could for another. All at once though the realization of the duties of a king fell upon him knowing that he could not fully trust her even with the pull of her being his one he could not allow his newfound desires to cloud his judgment for the safety of his people. He all too soon decided this may be another sacrifice for the safety and prosperity of his kingdom he would have to make.
"Why would they exile their princess?" his voice filled the silence of the room harsher than intended, causing her to flinch at the abruptness of his demand, the strain of not taking her into his embrace, caused more frustration than he wished to even admit to himself.
"That, My Lord, is not a story to be told lightly." she whispered into the ground.
"We find ourselves in a precarious situation then if you are to not tell me. For a kingdom to exile their princess I can only assume she cannot be trusted." Thorin examined her reaction with care, surprised that instead of defensiveness and anger she showed sadness and guilt causing him to pause in his suspicions against her innocence.
"I failed my prince, my young brother." She let out a chocking sob in her throat "I oversaw his safety, and I failed him. There are only two options for my negligence death or exile, I chose the latter a choice of which I struggle with more than ever now as find myself at your mercy."
This response unnerved Thorin to his core yet softened the suspicions that had been growing in his mind. "Did he die by your hand or your negligence?" He questioned.
"What difference does it make? Either way he has left this world for that of Mahal's halls."
The evasiveness she showed would have led any other being to be cast to the dungeons but something inside told him there was more to this than she was ready to say, and he felt the overwhelming need not to pressure her any farther for an answer. "The difference is unquestionable but at times feels the same in one's mind. I will choose to believe that you are not a danger to my kingdom at this time as long as you swear to no longer cause destruction and chaos through my halls, to no longer hold my people at knifepoint and to keep all weapons with the captain of my guard until such time as you have proven to no longer be a threat in any way to myself or my kin."
She closed her eyes and sighed, relieved that he had not pushed her for a more direct answer, she chose to ignore the voice in her head that they were far from done with each other. When she opened her eyes again, she found he was now facing her, the piercing gaze of his eyes upon her, once again unyielding in their intensity yet calming the horror that Argos death brought upon her daily.
"I know you're keeping the details of this tragedy to yourself. I will not pry beyond this last question so long as your answer rains truth. Was it by your hand or your negligence?"
"The intention was not to cause my brother's death" she said with a hushed finality to her tone.
"That was not the answer to my question. It is simple, did you murder him or not?" His frustrations rising again.
"Nothing is that simple." she snapped back.
"How is it not that bloody simple? You either released his soul from his body or you did not" his tone matching that of hers.
"Whether I allowed the vile reptile to freeze his soul on purpose or not does not matter." she screamed. His eyes flashed with the slip of her tongue as it confirmed his suspicion of her being from the North. All at once Mistlynn sucked in her breath with the realization of what she had done. Seeing the error of her words she knew she could no longer hide where she was from.
"A frost drake?" He demanded matching her scream with his own loud bellow echoing thru the room.
"You believe I have never seen a dragon? Have you looked upon the hall in which you stand? Do you believe I decorate with scorch and claw marks of this size?" he gestured for her to look at where she was. She then realized above the thrown and upon the pillars were the deeply marked etchings of the hideous claws from the beasts she loathed most.
Feeling as though she had no option but to cover her mistakes, she tried to dismiss the past horrors surrounding her. She cursed silently to herself realizing her lack of knowledge of the world outside the White Kingdom. "What would a spoiled Dwarf -Lord like yourself know of suffering? Those markings I would bet are ancient in nature you never seeing the creator of them! You reek of one who has inherited his kingdom and its wealth never working for what lays before him!"
Thorin's face looked as though she had struck him across the cheek; then as her heartless words sunk in, he darkened with a color of crimson she had never seen. Mistlynn quickly realized the mistake she had made but was unwilling to back down from this fight. The pull between them grew in intensity but whether they would survive the impending explosion of their heated exchange was yet to be seen.
"I may have not come across a Frost Drake in all my years of war, but I have suffered and fought against the vile Smaug. I fight daily against the Orcs that continuously threaten the safety of my kingdom and that of my allies. There is a great difference in whether you sacrificed or lost your kin! I know of both losses more than a sheltered, spoiled, naïve, rash princess who has barely left her mother's teat could ever possibly fathom!" Thorin was brought aback with his anger. He'd never show such ferocity in his speaking to anyone in all of his days. The raw emotions that this woman brought out in him was of a depth he had never experienced.
Mistlynn stood from where she knelt; looking up at Thorin's seething gaze, her body tensed and ready for a fight even though she remained bound.
"I am of one and twenty-five years, you insufferable decrepit old man! The fact you stand before me without the aid of a walking stick is truly commendable. Your healer should be given a knighthood." Even though she believed nothing of what she said Mistlynn could not back down.
Thorin moved quickly to her with barely a breath's distance between them, breathing heavily with raging emotions he could not place. They stood, eyes locked on one another flushed with anger and desire while challenging each other to break the silence, their chests rising and falling rapidly.
For fear of giving in to his newfound desires Thorin bellowed back "I would expect nothing less than this disrespect from a Half-breed such as yourself!"
Mistlynn lurched back as though he had struck her from the sheer distain that dripped from his lips. Thorin immediately regretted the words he spoke wishing they could be taken back. Unknowing of what do and unwilling to hear her response knowing nothing good will come of this continued debate, he stomped from the room slamming the large wooden doors behind him without so much as a look in her direction so as not to change his mind.
He was met with the faces of shock and joy of his inner circle. Oin's ear trumpet fell from his grasp breaking the newfound silence with a loud clatter. Dwalin's thick beard twitched with shock. Kili and Fili's mother smacked the back of their heads together in a failed attempt to silence and control their muffled laughter to the momentous exchange they had all just witnessed. Balin stepped forward hoping to calm the situation as he had never seen his dear friend in a state such as this.
"In all my years I've never known you to include all of Erebor into your discussions" he chuckled. "I advise Your Majesty to allow me to take your place for a time so you can rest and eat. Allow me to acquaint myself with our new guest if it pleases you."
With a loud huff Thorin shoved through his group of companions out the common doors into the main corridor. All at once Thorin missed the heat of her body and the sweetness of her smell that had invaded his senses with her proximity, but he could not focus on that feeling of loss.
