Hello again! Wow, it has been a long time since I've submitted a chapter. I hope you'll forgive me for the wait. School's finally out so I've got some time to type away. I was also working on some large commissioned art pieces for a movie theater. They were Hobbit themed which was awesome. I painted an 8 foot tall Smaug, a 6 foot Azog and troll, and a warg and goblin. It's taken pretty much all my time but I'm back to writing and typing this story! What did you all think of The Desolation of Smaug! (Don't leave spoilers though!) I couldn't believe how well they did with the dragon! Smaug was definitely stupendous!
I didn't know if anything I owned would really impress Thorin but I figured I would give it a shot. I pulled out one of the most impressive things I'd had with me. My iPod touch was newer and much more impressive than my phone was. I figured that among all the apps and songs on it Thorin might find interest in something. As Thorin stood nearby I pulled it from the side pocket of my bag.
"Okay, this," I clicked the button to light up the screen, "is an iPod". I slid my finger across the touch screen while the company starred in wonder. Thorin only leaned slightly for a closer look. "There are a lot of things on here that might be useful." I scrolled my fingers across the pages of apps, "Here's a star chart, though I don't know if that will be of any use here, uh, here's a flashlight." I did a quick demonstration and the dwarves oohd and aahd, Thorin remained stoic and patiently waited for me to continue. "There's also a built in calculator, alarm, notepad, and camera. Oh! And I almost forgot the most important thing!" I quickly flipped open an orange app, "Music!" I announced gleefully as I cranked the volume up and blasted "Dancing with Myself" for all to hear.
The dwarves all shot up, surprised by the excessive noise coming from the small device in my hand. I pressed a few more buttons before handing the device over to Thorin and jumping up to dance along with the beat. I began feeling more like my normal self since my arrival here and I let my goofiness show in full force and I danced a funky boogie while everyone watched in confused amusement.
"Dancing with my se-elf uh uh oh oh!" I sang along, pulling Bofur into the uncoordinated dance. Luckily the dwarf was a jolly soul and didn't mind this sort of thing. I pulled Ori up next and, while he was hesitant at first, he struck up an even crazier dance than I had. I laughed and clapped and danced while Fili and Kili joined in, awkwardly trying to copy the odd dance moves going around. The rest of the dwarves watched and laughed as the crazy group bounced, spun, and occasionally fell, about the camp.
The song finally ended and we abruptly stopped flailing about, dropping to the ground in exhaustion, laughing the whole time.
Thorin watched the whole event with sincere shock. Music had been blasting from the 'Eye- pod' that the girl had abruptly thrown at him. He hadn't known how to turn the audacious music off so he had stood there with it playing in his hand while he watched the small party form in the middle of the camp. He was greatly relieved when the music ended and the crazy dancers fell to the ground in clear exhaustion.
Little did Thorin know that I had quickly turned the video recorder on before leaving the iPod with him. I couldn't wait to see the face he'd made while watching our shenanigans. My head was throbbing again but I ignored it. Everyone had caught their breath and was getting up. Fili reached down, offering to help me up. I smiled gratefully and grabbed his hand. While he was helping me Kili exclaimed loudly, "That was amazing!" while double fist pumping the sky. Thorin was standing exactly where I had left him, ipod still in hand. I smiled widely and made my way towards him.
"Hey guys, follow me, you're going to want to see this!" I exclaimed excitedly. "Here, let me show you something cool," I offered Thorin, reaching for the iPod. He pulled it from my reach abruptly.
"If it is anything like what I've just witnessed I'd prefer you didn't," He replied looking quite worried. I laughed at his expression but put on my reassuring face.
"Don't worry, it's nothing too crazy. I promise. It'll be one of the most amazing things you'll ever see from my world," I tried to convince him while holding out my hand expectantly. He paused before sighing and offering it back hesitantly. I found it so cute how he was so quietly interested in the things from my world. I opened up the app I wanted and pulled up the video Thorin had unexpectedly filmed. I made sure to turn the volume down before clicking play.
The first thing everyone saw was a confusing blur (which had been me throwing the iPod to Thorin) but once the iPod had been secured in his hand we could see a group of figures dancing in the distance, swaying to familiar music. The group surrounding us stirred with recognition.
"That's me!" exclaimed Ori, beside himself with astonishment.
"Ai! And there I am!" added Bofur pointing.
Fili and Kili exclaimed each others names and they appeared, pointing each other out on the screen.
"… and that's you!" they stuttered.
The camera suddenly went fuzzy again and Thorin's face became visible.
"How in the…" The camera shuddered for a second before coming into focus again, "How does this thing turn off?" The Thorin on screen mumbled, aggravated. Thorin righted himself in shock. He was dumbfounded at hearing himself speak when he hadn't actually been saying anything. Was that really how he sounded? He could hear the tension and anger in his own voice, something he'd never been able to notice until now. When had he become so angry all the time? He realized that this was how his company was seeing him on a daily basis. He wondered at their obvious tolerance of his manner.
The video ended and everyone sat in silence. I had no idea what was going through their heads. Since this was an everyday occurrence where I was from I didn't think twice about it but I had no idea what the reaction would be from someone who'd never seen or heard the past repeated with such absolute perfection. A hand came to rest on my shoulder and a deep voice whispered 'play it again' while everyone's eyes remained fixated on the screen. I grinned to myself and complied.
Once all the excitement had died down and everyone had begun to settle down for the night I grabbed my bag (which was considerably lighter now) and headed over to my car. I cold hear the engine still idling and I cursed myself for not remembering to shut it off. I reached for the door handle but before I could open it a voice startled me.
"Where do you think you're going?" Thorin questioned. I raised my eyebrow at his suspicion.
"I'm going to bed, is something the matter?" I asked slightly irked at his pushiness. He came closer and I was surprised by how much authority he projected when his height only reached my chest.
"I would prefer if you could make camp with the rest of my company," he stated staring me straight in the eyes, "I need you to be near us in case we have any other unwelcome visitors," He explained turning his gaze from me to the darkness surrounding us.
I had been ready to resist but his words reminded me once more that I was not in my world and that the dangers here were real. I knew I couldn't protect myself and the fact that Thorin was looking out for me at all made me feel much less hostile toward him. I sighed.
"Alright, just let me turn the car off and grab my blanket," I sated opening the car door and pulling the keys out of the ignition. I headed to the trunk and found my large quilted picnic blanket. It was black, blue, and white and had sharp zigzag patterns across it. I always kept a blanket in my car for emergencies; I lived in Utah and if I broke down somewhere in the winter season having a blanket around was important.
After grabbing what I needed I closed the trunk, hitting the lock button on my keys when I was finished. Thorin had waited and was now leading me back to camp. He led me close to the fire and motioned to an open spot near Bofur. Bilbo was close by as well, which made me relax.
"Thanks Thorin," I yawned while wrapping the quilt around me and plunking myself onto the ground. I didn't even try and make myself comfortable; my eyes were closed in a second. The day had taken its toll on me and my injuries had sapped my energy. I didn't stir for the rest of the night.
The sounds of pans clanking and voices chattering woke me. It was early morning and the air was chilly. I sat up, making sure to keep the blanket wrapped around my whole body. Bilbo walked up beside me.
"Good morning," He said, smiling down at me.
"Good morning to you too," I mumbled through clenched teeth, "It's freezing. How can you walk around without shoes on? There's frost all over the ground!" I gestured to the half frozen grass surrounding us. He laughed quietly.
"My feet are made for this kind of stuff, I can't even feel the cold," He declared rocking on his heels.
"Well that's lucky for you!" I said getting up, "I'm covered in winter clothes and I'm still frozen through."
"Take this lass," said Bofur as he passed by handing me a steaming cup. I grabbed it quickly in surprise as he headed of to help the rest of the company pick up camp.
I starred into the mug, not sure of its contents. Whatever it was was warm though and I decided to give it a try. My first sip had me sputtering. It was some kind of tea. I'd never liked tea but I drank it anyway, not wanting to offend anyone and I needed the warmth. I finished it with a face and the cup was briskly whisked away by the busy dwarves.
Everyone was packing and I was wondering where they were planning on heading now that I'd disturbed history.
The thought stopped me and I stood in frozen astonishment at my revelation. I'd disturbed the story of the Hobbit. Things that were going to or supposed to happen were not going to happen anymore. The surprise trip to Rivendell was definitely not going to happen now. Another wave of shock came over me. What if this meant a different rout was taken thorough the Misty Mountains? Bilbo might never get the ring.
If Bilbo never took the ring from Gollum then Sauron would find it. If Sauron got the ring then Middle Earth would fall into darkness.
I had to fix this. Now.
I'm so happy I've finished another chapter! I hope you're all enjoying the story! Thanks for the reviews as well! They really make me want to keep writing and posting. You are all so nice!