Chapter Forty Four: Bonded

Notes: I hope you all aren't too disappointed the reunion didn't happen in the last chapter, I know I was so tempted to have it happen then but it didn't feel right with how the rest of the story will go. And now we're on another journey to Erebor!

I stumbled off the eagle, exhausted from the constant traveling and being stuck in the same position for hours on end. I stretched out my arms and legs for a quick moment before helping Thorin get Lydia off the eagle.

Once we were all dismounted the eagles settled where they stood to take a nap for a couple hours. Gandalf took over Lydia so he could do whatever magic he was planning to do to keep her with us until we got to Erebor. I didn't ask too many questions since I figured I wasn't going to understand anyway. Thorin watched Gandalf as he took her to the edge of the clearing and set her down on a soft pile of leaves.

I cleared my throat to get his attention then asked, "Want something to eat?"

He looked over to me and looked at my unnecessarily large bag. "Did you pack an entire Christmas dinner in there?"

"Basically." I sat down on a rock and opened it up. "You've got your choice of smoked meat, fruit, and vegetables."

He sat down on another rock near me. "Lydia told me your family was good at smoking meat, I'll take some of that if you don't mind."

"Oh she told you right. I think even if we got our hands on troll meat we would have been able to make it taste good." I dug some out and handed him some pieces of dried meat. "Luckily for you though, deer is sort of our specialty."

He ripped off a piece and chewed on it. He hummed in appreciation while I dug out some carrots from my garden. "I have to admit I'm pretty impressed. Thank you Genevive."

"You're welcome." I closed up my sack and leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. "So, tell me about yourself, Thorin."

He cocked an eyebrow. "What do you want to know?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I honestly don't know a whole lot about you other than your title and the fact that my sister was pretty into you."

"Hmm…I have a sister as well, her name is Dis and you will certainly meet her in Erebor. She's the mother to my two nephews named Fili and Kili."

"Are they handsome?" I asked without thinking. "Jeez, I'm sorry, that's a bad habit I need to break."

He couldn't suppress a snicker. "There was a point in time when Lydia described her sisters as 'boy crazy'. Did you ever fall into that category?"

"I-I refuse to acknowledge!" My face became flushed, nervous about what other details she told him during their travels together. "Please, keep telling me about your family before I die of embarrassment."

He nodded, smirking a little. "I had a brother as well but he died in battle like my father and grandfather."

"I'm sorry."

"It's how any dwarf would want to do, no reason to feel bad."

"What about your mother?"

"Her name was Dimila." He pointed up at a bright star in the sky off to the east. "Your sister actually gave me the idea to name that star after her. I did not know my mother well since she died in childbirth to my brother, but it was a great way to honor her memory."

"Wow, that's beautiful. I think I only ever gave my mother gray hairs."

He chuckled again and took another bite of the dried meat. "What else do you want to know, Genevive?"

I didn't hesitate to ask, "Can you tell me about your journey to Erebor? I've really only heard tiny parts here and there and I feel like I've missed such an incredible story and obviously it was so influential on Lydia's life."

"It is an incredibly long story."

"We have time, I'm planning on being in Erebor for a while after we get there too."

"Alright, if you insist. I am not much of a story teller though."

"Give me the best you can do, King of Erebor. If you are truly terrible, I'll ask Gandalf instead," I joked. "Though he seems to speak in riddles sometimes and I don't think I would understand what he's saying."

"That he does. Well, I can try my hand at it." He cleared his voice and looked pretty uncomfortable with being given this task. "I guess to give a bit of context, Erebor was sacked by a dragon named Smaug decades ago, and those who survived the attack were pushed to the wilderness to try and survive. So, when I was approached by members of my closest regards to meet with a strange wizard to potentially take back Erebor I was interested."

I crossed my arms and listened closely, trying to understand how Lydia was going to be involved in this whole story.

"I was told to meet Gandalf at the Prancing Pony."

"Oh, and that's where you met Lydia."

He nodded, a fond smile easing into his expression. "I guess a couple of men were following me, don't know who they were or why they were sent after me but they had ill intent. Without even knowing me, Lydia stole their weapons and got them kicked out of the tavern. She was rightfully very unsure about me since I had that sort going after me, but I must admit she was still very charming. I'm sure you can tell that I'm not a very…forthright person but she was insistent on knowing me. If it was anyone else but her I would have been annoyed and avoided her."

Thorin told me about the plan for them to rent out the tavern to the dwarves so they could discuss this plan to take back Erebor. He mentioned how horrible her boss was and I remembered hearing how gross Ferdinand was before he was chased out of Bree. It was obvious how protective he wanted to be of Lydia but made sure not to overstep because he knew she could take care of herself. It made me warm to him more.

Hearing him talk about my sister made me feel like I was getting to know her, but also made me realize how little I knew about her. If I knew she was being harassed by Ferdinand all those years I would have rushed to her side and kicked his ass, wouldn't I have?

Gandalf came up to us, carrying Lydia with him. He sat down with us and listened as Thorin continued the story. When they got to the part where they had given her the contract and explained how angry she was, Gandalf took over since he was the one who talked to her that night.

"I can't blame her for thinking you manipulated her," I said bluntly. "She didn't know that you had talked to Ferdinand after all."

"I would have told her that but Gandalf wanted to handle it, to make sure she knew what she was getting into if she agreed to come with us. But I agree, that entire thing could have gone so much better. Either way, she decided to sign the contract and travel with a bunch of dwarves for whatever reason." He looked over my shoulder. "Looks like the eagles are ready to take off again."

I looked over and they were shaking the leaves from their feathers. I got up onto my feet and did one more big stretch. "The story shall continue later then. Thank you for sharing what you have so far, it's undoubtedly wild."

Thorin and Gandalf exchanged a knowing look. I had a feeling the story of their journey was only going to get more wild from there.

We got back onto the eagles but this time Gandalf rode with Lydia so Thorin could keep talking me through the journey to take back Erebor. I would interject with comments every once and a while and share some stories of my own here and there but for the most part I would listen intently. Over the next day I heard about trolls and orcs and elves and indeed the stories did get so much more crazy. It was hard to imagine my sister fighting those creatures when I had only seen her hunting while growing up. I didn't know she had it in her.

When it came to him telling me about Riverdale, I could tell he left out some details when he said, "I obviously did not enjoy spending time with the elves but…Lydia helped."

I shuddered and said, "Ugh Thorin, you do not need to phrase it that way."

"What do you mean?"

"Look, I'm not conservative compared to other hobbits, I don't care if you slept with my sister but you-"

"No, no! We just spoke to each other that night!" he quickly interjected, turning and shaking his hand at me. "We just talked, it was just a personal conversation so I didn't think it was necessary to go into more detail."

"Oh…really?"

"Really."

"Huh." I had to remind myself and Lydia did not think the same way I did about those sorts of matters. "Well, please continue."

"I think you should actually get some sleep, Genevive. We should be getting to Erebor tomorrow as long as the winds and weather keep being favorable. I'm hoping we won't need to make any more stops."

I pouted like a child. "I'm not tired."

"Well I am, so you might as well get some sleep as well. Our wizard friend has been out for hours if you haven't noticed."

I looked over and saw Gandalf laying back, snoring away with Lydia wrapped up like a cocoon in his lap. Every time I looked over at her I hoped her eyes were open but they never were.

"Alright alright," I sighed, looking up to the moon as it glowed over the hills. "I will be content for tonight."

Thorin stretched for a moment before settling into a slumped over position. I wouldn't have believed anyone could sleep like that but it literally only took moments before he started snoring. It was a jarring sound, like wood being ripped apart. I had no idea how Lydia planned on sleeping next to him for the rest of her life.

I wrapped my scarf around my ears and laid back on the eagle, closing my eyes and trying to quiet my mind. It was so loud, wondering what things were going to be like in Erebor. I obviously got along with Thorin just fine, but I knew that he was not the picture of a typical dwarf. He was reserved and had reason to try to like me because of my sister. I wasn't scared of being around dwarves I was just…I don't know, less sure about my future there as I have been in the past.

I took a deep breath of the clear, cold air and tried to fill my head with the thought of a warm bed. Certainly the beds in Erebor would be warm.

"She did not kick him in the face!" I shouted, shaking Thorin as he told me about their first run in with Azog the Defiler.

"That is what I was told," he said, amused by my reaction. "We were flown to a nearby overlook where Gandalf had to revive me for the first time on that journey. When I was brought back I was of course relieved to see that Lydia was alright, but I was also angry with her that she ran in to protect me. I may have shouted at her but trust me when I say that she did not let me get away with that. She…corrected me, let's say, and I then thanked her for saving me. I know I would have died there if she didn't intervene so I did the right thing and thanked her for it."

"Did you thank her with a big ol' kiss?" I teased.

"No, no. I hugged her."

"Ugh, goodness gracious you two were so damn slow. Flirting here and there, talking, and hugging."

He rolled his eyes at me and shook his head. "We didn't know if we liked each other yet and we were in front of a bunch of people. Does Lydia seem like the type of person who would have appreciated that?"

"Did you want to kiss her?"

Despite his ears turning red he said, "Of course."

"Then I can guarantee she would not have cared if it was in front of a bunch of people or not. If she has an ounce of Barclay blood in her body that was the case."

"Perhaps, but I would not have changed how things occurred between us. I think she would agree."

I huffed and gestured for him to continue. I felt like the annoying younger sister bothering the living hell out of the man who wanted to court my sibling, which I guess to an extent that was what was happening.

Thorin continued telling about their run-in with Beorn, a shape shifter that chased them into his own house. When he started to be careful on what words he was choosing, I knew it was going to start getting good again. The company was all inside Beorn's home trying to get some rest but Thorin and Lydia were the only ones left awake.

"Let me guess, you talked," I sneered.

"We did talk. A lot about food and our families actually."

"Uh oh, what did she say about me?"

"Just that you and your sisters are boy-crazy women who ruin any man you touch."

"Oh is that all!" Well, I can't say she's wrong. I reached into my bag and pulled out an apple. "Is that all that happened?" He was quiet for a beat too long. "Oo, did you hold hands this time? Did you hug again?"

"She asked me if I wanted to kiss her."

"And?"

"And then she immediately was very embarrassed she asked me that question."

"And?! What did you say?!"

"I didn't say anything, I just…kissed her."

I burst out laughing and raised my hands into the air excitedly, nearly throwing my apple into the air. "And then you ravished my sister the entire night!"

"You are way too invested in Lydia's physical activities. We kissed for a while and then went to bed to sleep."

I dropped my arms and groaned in frustration at him. "Thorin Oakenshield! She was the only woman on the entire journey, you guys were traveling together for months, and you want me to believe that you guys just made out and didn't roll around in the hay afterwards? Now I know you have to be messing with me."

"Lydia is going to wipe me off the face of middle earth when she finds out I told you all this," he sighed.

"She probably will, she's actually a very private person," I snickered before taking a bite of my bright red apple. "So what happened after that wild night you had together?"

"We don't have time to tell another section of the journey." He pointed out at the horizon. A large mountain cut through the sky. "We're home."