Chapter Forty Three: What Can Be Done

Notes: He's alive! I hope you're all as excited as I am 😊 The story isn't over yet though!

I pushed the door open and ushered them inside. Gandalf needed to bend down to fit through the round doorway. I scrambled to put the food down, feeling the adrenaline pump through my veins. I shouted, "Hey Lydia, wake up! We have some very important guests!" When there was a lack of response I told them to take a seat so I could go wake her up.

I hurried into the girls' bedroom where I found Lydia on her usual hay mattress. I eagerly shook her shoulder. "Lydia, wake up! You need to wake up right now!" I could feel her breathing under my hands but she didn't move or flinch away. "Lydia?"

My gut fell into the soles of my feet. I hurried over to a window and pushed back the curtain to let the sunlight in, hoping the light would help bring her back into consciousness. I rushed back to her side and noticed a trickle of blood at the corner of her mouth.

My insides were tensing to a painful, crushing feeling as my mind slowly reacted to my sister asleep in her bed. The more I looked, the more I saw spots of blood on her blanket. A wave of sickness rolled over my entire body.

The floor creaked behind me and I jumped, not realizing tears were already filling my eyes. I looked over my shoulder and saw Thorin standing there, obviously unable to wait to see her. He saw the horror on my face and seemed to fly to her side.

"S-She's alive," I stammered, tears starting to run down my cheeks. "But she won't wake up…she has to have caught what Eerin had." It killed him and it killed our parents…

His shoulders sank as his eyes scanned her pale face. He placed the back of his hand against her cheek ever so gently. "Lydia…Amralime, you're alive…" He lowered his head, laying it on her shoulder. "I will not lose you again, you're going to get better and nothing will come between us. This I promise you."

"Can you do anything?" I asked, trying to control my crying.

"I can't but-"

Gandalf interrupted, entering the small room, "I may be able to do something, but not here. I need more materials to pull someone out of something like this. If she's in some sort of deep sleep, we will need to be quick since she can't eat or drink in this state…"

I said, "Whatever needs to be done, do it. I will not lose another member of this family to this horrible sickness."

They both looked at each other as Gandalf said, "Her best chance would be to take her back to Erebor, where she can be under constant care of supervision until she recovers." He then turned to me. "Will you allow us to take her with us?"

The words fell out of my mouth before I could even think about it. "Take her back to Erebor if that gives her the best chance, and take me with you."

They looked at me surprised. Gandalf asked, "Are you sure, Mrs. Genevive? We may be able to get you to Erebor but we may not be able to help you back."

I pressed my lips together actually thinking about this decision. The last time I didn't follow Lydia, I ended up in a horrible marriage with Oliver. If I go with them to Erebor I would be able to totally start over in a new life and would never have to see him ever again. But what if the worst happens with Lydia? Then I'll be stuck in Erebor or I'll have to travel back by myself…

I looked down at my sister and my stomach was in knots. What was I going to do? Just let them take her and never see her or hear from her again? I wouldn't even know if she lived or died in Erebor. I knew our other siblings were going to be fine here in Hobbiton and Bree, besides Beren I suppose. He had a way to make it out of any situation, and this is probably the first time I ever felt worried about Lydia like that.

I never had much of a life amongst hobbits anyway…

"I have to go with, I need to make sure she gets better," I responded, wiping the tears off my face. "Please take me with you, I swear I will do everything I am able to to help her."

"You are more than welcome in my kingdom," Thorin said, not leaving her side. "Gandalf, the eagles would be able to carry all of us, right?"

"I'm sure we can convince them, though we should offer them a reward if they double the people back to Erebor."

"In half the time as well, we need to get Lydia to Erebor as fast as possible." He moved some of her curls out of her face. "Mrs. Genevive, if you intend to come with us you should pack immediately. I'd like to leave before it gets dark."

I nodded and hurried out of the room, feeling my decision pumping through my veins like adrenaline. I grabbed Lydia's travel backpack and started throwing food into it, not knowing how long the journey would be to Erebor. I made sure to grab Lydia's sword and bow she had gotten on her journey to Erebor. I didn't worry about my own personal belongings, anything I cared about was buried in the ground.

While I was packing Gandalf put his hand on my shoulder. He said, "Mrs. Genevive, are you sure you're ready to leave Hobbiton? The world is vastly different outside these borders."

"I am no soft lass, Gandalf. Every Barclay woman has a rough edge about her, so I'm not scared of the world. I'm scared of not being there for my sister." I grabbed my jacket and a blanket and threw them on me. "Selfishly as well, there is nothing that's keeping me here. I will miss my other siblings dearly but…someone needs to be there for Lydia now."

He lowered his voice and asked, "What will Mr. Grubb think about Mrs. Grubb running off with a dwarf and a wizard?"

"I don't think he will notice. Please just call me Gen or Genevive too." I gave him a small smile. "I think it will be Gen Barclay from now on."

He nodded to me, sensing the sureness in my tone. "I will do some magic on Lydia before we leave, see if I can keep her hydrated."

"Thank you Gandalf, I can't imagine what would have happened if you and Thorin didn't show up today." I could imagine what would have happened, that was the problem. "I will be ready to go once you're done."

"Great, we're glad to have you with Genevive." He patted the top of my head then went back into the bedroom.

I grabbed a few more items to help keep me warm during the flight like gloves and a scarf. I bundled myself up and threw the bag of food over my shoulder. I looked around the house and realized that I should leave a note for whoever may come across the house empty.

I grabbed a piece of paper and a pen, quickly scribbling down an ill-worded note explaining that Eerin had passed and how Lydia and I were on our way to Erebor since she was sick. I put in the note that any Barclay can claim the house and the land if they wanted, especially Beren since he did not have a home that any of us were aware of.

As I finished up on the note I noticed out of the corner of my eye Thorin coming out of the room. I turned to him as he rubbed his eyes and sighed.

"I know you must be terrified right now for your sister," he said, "but I am just so relieved she's alive…I can't believe it."

"Being sick is certainly better than being dead, can't argue with you there," I joked lightly. "It's very nice to meet you though, considering we all thought you were dead."

He looked at me as if he looked at me for the first time. His focus was entirely on Lydia; it was like he didn't notice I truly existed. "I apologize, this day has been so much more than I thought it was going to be. Your Genevive, Lydia's youngest sister?"

"Yes I am, I am sure she told you some horrible stories about me." His expression didn't hide that it was true. "It's alright, I said some unsavory things about her for years as well. And I'm sure the stories she told you were all true."

"And…you want to come with us?"

"Our family dynamic was sort of complicated, but it's less so now. I just want to help, truly that's all." It felt so strange to explain myself to the man Lydia loves so deeply when I didn't know him at all. He was undoubtedly an intimidating dwarf.

"Then we are glad to have you," he nodded. "When she wakes up I'm sure she will be happy to see her sister by her side."

"Not as happy as she will be to see you, Thorin. From the few stories she's told me, I wouldn't be surprised if she slips into another coma after she sees you."

The tiniest of amused smiles touched his mouth. "Let's all hope that doesn't happen." His expression turned more serious. "So…she doesn't have anyone else in her life right now? She never married?"

I shook my head. "No, she was entirely focused on taking care of our brother Eerin since she got back last Spring. She…really did everything she could to take care of him and make sure he wasn't lonely at the end of his life. She traveled across this continent to check in on him while the rest of us were only a few miles away while he was sick…" My eyes started filling again and I quickly wiped them away. "Ugh, I need to stop crying. I'm just really grateful that she took care of him while the rest of us were too focused on our own lives."

"I'm sure she needed to be with your brother as much as he needed her. If I know her at all, I'm sure after the Battle of Five Armies she just wanted to be with her family." His gaze looked distant as he looked to the door. "It's a relief to hear that when she wakes up she will be happy to see me, that day of the battle was…horrible."

I wanted to pry and know more, but Gandalf came out of the room carrying Lydia in his arms. She was a strange mix of alive and dead, it made me sick to my stomach. "Are we ready to leave?" Thorin and I nodded and went to get the door for him while he carried her.

We went out into the late fall day, leaves falling from the trees as the sun gave us some warmth. I knew it was going to be different once we were up in the air. I had never flown before, I couldn't tell if I was excited or scared about it.

Thorin whistled for the eagles and it only took a few moments for the largest birds I had ever seen to appear in the sky above us. My jaw dropped as they lowered themselves to the ground in front of us, sending the leaves whirling around us.

It was decided, I was excited to get onto these creatures and fly through the sky!

I grinned from ear to ear, watching Thorin climb onto one of them. He held his arms open to Gandalf as they passed Lydia into them. I handed them one of my blankets so they could wrap her up and keep her warm.

While Gandalf spoke to the eagles about the change of plans for the return to Erebor, I not so patiently waited to get onto the eagle.

"How long will we be flying for?" I asked Thorin.

"It took us a week to get here, but that was with us taking breaks and not flying at night. If Gandalf can convince them to get there faster, we're hoping it will take half the time." He was a hard one to read but I could tell he was nervous.

It took a few minutes before Gandalf bowed to the two eagles and then faced us. "They're open to flying overnight and taking less breaks, but they will need to stop and rest and eat. They won't be able to make it to Erebor with no stops."

"How long did they say it would take?"

"Four days as long as the winds are on our side and the weather is favorable. Maybe five days but they're confident it won't take longer than that. It would probably be for the best if we have a few breaks so I can do what I can with my magic to make sure Lydia makes it there."

"Let's get in the skies then, we don't have time to waste."

Gandalf climbed onto the other eagle and helped me on top of it as well. I felt the feathers under my hands as I climbed behind Gandalf, holding onto his robes securely to make sure I wasn't going to go flying off the back of this animal.

Once we were all situated the eagles shot into the sky like an arrow. I gasped and grabbed onto Gandalf even harder. The wind whipped past me as we went higher and higher. It took moments for us to be above the trees and gliding below the clouds.

I looked around me in awe, staring down at the ground without fear. I was in pure amazement of the view so either my bravery or stupidity pushed me to the edge to see the most possible. The trees looked like a sea of red, orange, and yellow leaves on the rolling hills. The sun made the whole landscape glow. Gandalf urged me to stay put, since if I fell I would probably take him with me, but I honestly couldn't help myself but push my luck.

I shouted over the wind, "This is the most incredible thing I've ever seen in my life! It's so beautiful!"

"Good, you'll be seeing a lot of it the next few days, Genevive!"

My gaze traveled away from the view and to Thorin and Lydia over on the other eagle. He was looking down at her in his arms, keeping her close to him as he held onto the eagle's feathers. I wondered if any man had ever looked at me like that before. Perhaps when I wasn't looking but…no I don't think any man had eyes for me like that.

I wanted to know everything about their journey together since I only got the summary she gave the rest of our family as well as other little bits and pieces from our time together. I needed to know every detail.

I tapped on Gandalf's shoulder and asked, "Did you know that Thorin and Lydia felt that way about each other while you all were traveling together."

"I had my suspicions, but nothing was confirmed until after I brought Thorin back to the land of the living and all he wanted to know was if she was safe. He sent me out on missions to try and find her and when we didn't get any word on where she went, he wanted to go back to Hobbiton to tell your family in person what must have happened to her. But when I think back on our time traveling to Erebor, I wonder how I could have ever been so blind not to see how they were with each other. I know I was not the only one of the group who was unaware."

I had never seen Lydia in love, so it was impossible for me to wrap my head around. When we were young she didn't even have crushes on anyone, or at least was smart enough to not disclose anything to the siblings. I had no clue what relationships she had in her adult life but I would have been willing to bet that nothing was more than casual.

"Is he a good man, Gandalf? And did he treat her well?" I already knew some unsavory details where Thorin certainly did not act as he should have, but I wanted to know what someone who was there thought.

"You'll have to come to your own conclusion on Thorin, Genevive. I will say, both him and Lydia did a lot of growing and changing during that journey. So whatever stories you hear, remember that they are both different people than they were."

I nodded, furrowing my eyebrows together. "I am excited to get to know him. If I don't approve of him I will haul her back to Hobbiton," I said, somewhat joking.

He burst out laughing, looking at me from over his shoulder. "It would be entertaining to see you try, but let's hope it does not come to that."

I looked back over to Thorin, his eyes now closed and he laid his chin on top of her head of wild curls. I knew deep in my heart it was going to be impossible for me to hate him, but as her sister I wanted to make sure she was going to be safe and healthy. I didn't want to be disillusioned by his love for her, because love was not enough to have a future with someone. There was a time I would have liked to think I was in love with Oliver…but perhaps that was not truly love…I had to wonder if love looked as peaceful as Thorin made it look.

I turned my gaze back to the landscape and sighed in relief.

Perhaps I know even less about this world and this life than I thought I did. But hopefully this journey to Erebor would help me grow as well.