Pallysd'Artagnan, they may or may not be slowly perceiving they mean more than just friends to each other;
Salwyn77, cruel is what is yet to happen to them…
Jiba25, maybe having naughty thoughts might enlighten him on what is happening in his heart!
Celebrisilweth, they are slow, but spending so much time together is bound to make them understand what is happening to them;
TheOtherWriterGirl, dreams can be a path to the Undying Lands, don't forget!
Thank you all for the continued support, you mean the world to me!
=^.^=
It was not much. A hoof print here, the remnants of a fire there. It seemed the earth itself was helping to hide any track, to disguise any clue as something out of nature itself. What could be a trail of horse footmarks soon had to be dismissed because a random wild boar herd decided that was the best path to wander around and poke the ground after worms and roots. What could be the remnants of a roasted hare was mixed up with splinters of a tree that was struck by lightning, making it impossible to figure out if the hare had been roasted by a camp fire or by a force of nature. If the little they found was really trace of runaway Kíli or kidnapped Tilda, it seemed some fuzzy power was playing hide and seek with the searching party. And winning.
They had crossed the Forest River some miles before, and were following a possible track up its right margin. Bard scowled at the choice, claiming all it would lead them to would be the old barge berth where the Laketowners collect the barrels that came down from the elven halls. He was right, of course, and cursed a little more.
Bilbo watched the surroundings, curious. There was something familiar and yet not, and he questioned the nearest dwarf.
"I don't remember passing this way when we came from the Shire, Dwalin."
"No." Dwalin agreed. "We crossed River Running right after we left the forest road, and headed to New Lake Town by its left margin. We are coming from Erebor by its right banks, this place was not in our coming route."
The dwarf king let himself down to the large stones that covered the terrain. Bilbo hurried to his side, worried.
"Thorin, are you all right?"
"I know this place."
Thorin's deep voice rumbled in an ominous tone, startling the hobbit.
"What? What's wrong?"
"Don't you remember?
To the hobbit's surprise, Thorin reached for the stone with his bare hands, feeling the grain of the sand, seeming to merge with the nature of the rock. His chin trembled, and something, a fleeting shine, bordered the strong Longbeard's eyes.
"I could have lost Kíli here. I allowed Óin to tend to his wound for five minutes… five minutes… it was poisoned, and I allowed five minutes…"
Bilbo watched as Thorin rubbed the stone with his hand, now as if he were able to crush it to dust, then as if in a soft caress. Something splashed on the stone, and the hobbit realized it was a tear drop.
"Thorin… You did your best. We just escaped the elven halls, you were worried on the whole Company, besides, no one could have known it was poisoned. Don't blame yourself!"
Thorin turned his sapphire eyes to the hobbit, and he could see the turmoil in there.
"Bilbo, my naïve friend… none mends an arrow wound in five minutes…"
"And none escaped those dungeons since the world was made round, so, can you just stop? Your self-pity won't fix what was done, nor will it help us to find the lad. Nor to find the lass, which you said is to be our priority, if I remember correctly. And Kíli survived the poisoning, so, just shut up, will you?"
Fast as a snake, Thorin's hands were on Bilbo's cheeks, forcing him to look into his eyes. The hobbit had seen the shine of madness in those eyes before, and was relieved to see it wasn't there now. Just worry, sadness, and regret. If those callused hands left the feel of the stone on his face, he would mind it later. Or not at all.
"He did. But not thanks to me. It was Tauriel who saved his life."
"Yes, that's it. And he lived to see Erebor retaken, and you as its rightful king. And now we'll find him, and it will be all right again."
Thorin could almost laugh at Bilbo's optimism, but only a bitter chuckle left his mouth as he lowered his hands from the hobbit's face.
"He lived to see me mad with gold sickness. He lived to see me shame our name by denying Bard and his people what was their right."
"Yes, but you overcame it, didn't you? Because it is not in your blood. It was just what you said, a sickness. It is over now."
"Over… If my madness is truly over, how did I fall for the Council's pressure? I'm not strong enough, Bilbo. I failed Kíli. He'll never forgive me."
The hobbit suppressed a knot in his throat at the sight of Thorin so unusually frail and exposed. He was not used to see the strong dwarf so dismayed, not outside the heat of battle. It was unsettling.
"Thorin… The lad has a good heart. He won't deny forgiveness once you talk to him, once you… show him your true self. It might even be good for his rulership, to know sometimes even a king stumbles. We're not perfect, none of us. Don't carry this weight on your shoulders."
"You're too kind, my dear Bilbo. You forgave me and assume Kíli will, too. But our family is too stubborn, too proud…"
"If you are not too proud to acknowledge your own fault, he will not be too proud to forgive you."
"I can only hope you are right."
"I usually am, in what regards to Durin's line, if I am so bold to state it."
"Proud hobbit."
"Stubborn dwarf."
This line granted a small smile to form on Thorin's face, even if it didn't reach his eyes. Bilbo felt better for him.
"I should keep you closer to me. It would prevent several disasters."
"I would love to." Bilbo sighed. "But my place is in the Shire, you know."
"Is it? What will you do if your courting my sister works?"
Now Bilbo was stuck, and he knew it. Having Dís visiting him in the Shire or visiting her in the Blue Mountains was one thing, but how would they work things out if they were to be more than good neighbours? They didn't talk about it yet, and Thorin's question was due.
"I… I don't know. I hope she'll find Bag End worthy of her presence, but now that you asked, I wonder if it is really fit for a princess. I… I must ask her. If she doesn't deem it fit... I don't know what I'll do." An idea occurred to him. "What would you advise? You know her far better than me."
Thorin considered the hobbit from head to toe and back. What ran behind his blue eyes was yet to be known, but Bilbo felt a shudder.
"I don't know about Dís… but I would deem Bag End fit, if it were to become a place for me."
"Oh."
Bilbo didn't know what to do with that answer, and the next comment confused him even more.
"Me and my sister have… the same tastes for a lot of things, if you take my meaning."
He didn't, or didn't want to, take the meaning, and tried his best to ignore what went unsaid.
"So… you think she would like to live in Bag End? Of course we could travel to Blue Mountains frequently, or even live part time in each place."
Thorin answered with another question.
"Would you like to live part time in Erebor?"
"What?"
"Thorin King!" A man from Dale rushed to the stone outcrop they were resting on, interrupting the awkward dialogue. "We found tracks!"
Thorin stood up at once, ready to follow said tracks. Bilbo was at his side, expectant.
"Horse or pony?" The dwarf asked, eager to know to whom the tracks could lead.
The answer was short and alarming.
"Orcs!"