Authoress Note: Welcome to Chapter 3 of The Second Daughter. I hope that I do alright with this chapter. I've tried to add more to it and go through it to make sure that the grammar and spelling are correct. I hope that I do alright with it. I have a thing with getting a beta reader since I've had a few of them and they always end up taking forever or never editing the stories that I send to them. So I try to edit my stories on my own. I do miss spelling and grammar errors. Thank you to those who have left reviews for this story. I hope that you like this chapter. Enjoy.
Chapter 3
Meet Up Mess Up
The door swung open revealing Thorin Oakenshield. He looked at Gandalf with a weary look. "Gandalf." He huffed a little bit looking at the tall wizard. He saw the tall woman standing next to him. Thorin came inside, removing his cloak and handing it to his nephew, Kili. "I lost my way twice. I wouldn't have been able to find it at all if it wasn't for that mark on the door." He hated the fact that he had gotten lost twice trying to find this hobbit hole. Maybe if it wasn't so confusing to him if it wasn't so dark and the hobbit holes weren't all the same.
Bilbo's eyes went wide. He just had the door painted, there was no way that there was something etched on his door. "Mark?" He asked in confusion. "There's no mark on that door. It was painted a week ago."
Gandalf leaned against his staff. "There is a mark I put it on the door myself." He told the hobbit with a small sly smile.
Aranduriel closed her eyes. Of course, Gandalf would do this to the poor unexpectant hobbit. Of course, this would be his plan. The unknowing plan for the hobbit to come along for this journey. He either was going to go into a panic attack or order them all out of his home. She highly doubted that would be the case. She knew that he wouldn't be rude to them. It wasn't like a hobbit to be rude.
"Bilbo Baggins, may I introduce you to the lead of our company, Thorin Oakenshield," Gandalf said, introducing the dwarf that had gotten lost in the shire twice in the shire hunting for Bilbo's home.
Thorin began to circle the poor hobbit looking him over. "So this is the hobbit," Thorin asked, looking over at Gandalf out of the corner of his eyes. He didn't see what Gandalf saw in this hobbit. "Tell me, Mr. Baggins, have you done much fighting?"
"Pardon me?" Bilbo asked in confusion. Why was this dwarf asking him if he had done fighting?
"Ax or sword?" Thorin tried again. "What is your weapon of choice?" Thorin crossed his arms stopping in front of Bilbo. His eyes locked with Bilbo's eyes. So far he was doubting Gandalf's choice of a burglar. This was a poor choice for one so far.
"Well, I have some skill at Conkers if you must know. I fail to see how that is relevant." Bilbo was still confused as to why Thorin was asking this. He was scared of what this might mean for him.
"Thought as much. He looks more like a grocer than a burglar." Thorin said, shaking his head.
Aranduriel looked down and tried not to sigh at what he had said. Of course, he had to be fairly blunt about the poor hobbit's skills. But even the smallest of creatures held great skills even though they were hidden deep within the person.
Some of the dwarves had laughed.
Thorin turned and looked at the woman that stood there. He took in how she looked. Her long black loosely curled hair, gray-blue eyes that had a deficiency in them, her height was taller than any other being he had met, and she was pale-skinned, very pale-skinned. He knew the eyes well. Those eyes that had the spark of defiance in them that he had seen years ago were in an elven princess who had visited with King Thranduil when she had visited him in the Green Wood.
Flashback
Her eyes locked with his lighting up with a spark that showed defiance and curiosity.
Thorin could see the spark in them. He could see that she wasn't like other elves. She wanted to go on adventures.
"You have trained with weapons, yes?" Arandureil asked curiously, smiling a soft smile.
Thorin blinked a few times. Had this woman, no Princess, trained in weapons? Usually, women were never trained to be warriors unless they were now making exceptions to how they were allowed to use weapons. "Yes." He replied, unsure of why she was asking him this. He was still baffled as to why she had learned with weapons to begin with. "I take it you have trained as well my lady?" His brows raised in curiosity.
Aranduriel smiled and nodded her head. "Yes, in archery and swordplay." She didn't state who had trained her, just because it was normal for someone as young as her in elf years to train with such weapons. It was more of a male thing than a female thing.
"Who trained you?" He truly wanted to know who had trained her.
"My brothers did." She said with a coy smile. "Why? Are you challenging me, Prince Thorin?" She asked defiantly in a challenge of her own.
Thorin's eyes went wide. There was no way that he was going to challenge her in a duel. He wouldn't risk hurting her. The last thing that his family needed was bad blood with the elves.
Present Day
"What are you doing here?" He demanded her his heart racing in his chest. There was no way that she was truly there.
The other dwarves except for Balin didn't know what Thorin was talking about. They were curious about how Thorin knew this woman stood next to Gandalf.
Aranduriel swallowed the lump in her throat. She knew that Thorin knew who she was. She squared her shoulders knowing that he would be ridiculing her for being her. For her being an elf and in the company of dwarves.
"Ara is her name," Gandalf said before Aranduriel could say anything to the company that stood before them with the question looks. He knew that they would want to know who she was, why she was here and why did Thorin know who she was even though Gandalf knew that Balin knew who she was.
"I know who she is Gandalf." He growled out. "And so does Balin." He nodded towards his oldest friend.
Balin nodded his head in agreement. He was a bit surprised to see her there and wondered why Gandalf wanted her there.
Aranduriel lowered her eyes a little bit.
"My question was directed at her." His blue eyes locked with her gray-blue ones. "Why are you here? How are you even here?" He demanded again. He wanted to know.
Aranduriel never thought that she would see the day that Thorin Oakenshield would be asking her such a thing. "I was called upon by Gandalf." She said softly as she looked at him knowing that he was having a hard time understanding why she was there. She rubbed the back of her neck softly as she looked down, biting her lower lip softly.
He looked towards Gandalf. "She's dead. I was told that she had died long ago. Died in Mirkwood on her travels back home." He said his voice rising as he got more and more angry at the idea of Gandalf thinking that this was Aranduriel. There was no way that this was her, this had to be a trick of the mind.
Aranduriel shook her head. "No… What exactly did they say…" She asked softly looking over at the two dwarves wondering what was said or what was found.
"All they found…" Balin began to say, "was…"
"My circlet?"
"Yes…" Balin said softly, nodding his head.
"It fell from my head. It was returned to me sometime after." Aranduriel said softly as she looked over at Balin. "I am still alive. I do not know why someone told you I was dead…" She shook her head. "Perhaps a selfish King wanted you to think that." She sighed, wondering if it was Thranduil who had told them that she had died in an orc attack which was far from the truth.
Thorin narrowed his eyes on Gandalf. "She has no right to be here."
"Thorin." She gasped in shock. Why wouldn't he want her there?
"Aranduriel is an elf and she has no right to be here and know of our quest." Thorin roared his anger growing even more towards Gandalf for thinking that Aranduriel should be there. Having an elf on the quest was suicide.
Gandalf looked down at the 5'2 dwarf. He wasn't going to allow Thorin to just send her away, not when he had talked her into this quest and when she had defied her father's word of leaving Imladris and risked her own life to come all this way only to turn around and risk herself even more. He wasn't about to allow her to end up like her mother. "I asked her to come to this quest."
Aranduriel shifted under the gazes of the dwarves. She saw the hate in their eyes except for Balin; he didn't have hate in his eyes. He could never hate her. She didn't want to be judged for what Thranduil had done and she knew that right now they would not trust her, which meant she would have to prove herself to them. Hopefully, she wouldn't have to kill herself trying to prove herself to them.
"No, it doesn't concern her," Thorin said, narrowing his eyes at the wizard. He didn't want her there when he reclaimed his homeland. Maybe if it was a different time the elves would have helped them in the past, but this was a different time and the elves hadn't helped his people back then and his hate ran deep for her people.
Arandureil locked her gray-blue eyes with his. She was hurt that he didn't trust her. "I only came because Gandalf asked me to. He couldn't have come to me months ago to tell me about this quest if he did not think it was wise, Thorin." She said her voice remained calm and steady, not betraying how hurt she truly felt. She wouldn't show it in front of the entire company that was there in Bilbo's home. She didn't want pity from the Hobbit.
"She is going to help us get through Mirkwood," Gandalf told them once again getting irritated that Thorin was being so stubborn with him wanting her to join in on the quest.
"We do not need her help to get through Thranduil's land." Thorin bit out in anger. "I will avoid Thranduil's land at all costs." He was beginning to lose his trust in the wizard. The wizard had blatantly gone behind his back and went to an elf to get help.
"She will help us through Mirkwood. Thorin you know how much she is risking to be here. She had to sneak out in the dead of night to come all this way. She traveled on foot and had to face orcs to get here." Gandalf told Thorin with a shake of his head. He knew that Aranduriel was going to have to prove herself to Thorin and prove to the others that she was not going to be like other elves. That she was not going to betray them as Thranduil did.
"And how do we know that she isn't going to betray us?" Gloin stated glaring at her, making her flinch a little bit at the look that he was giving her.
Aranduriel let out a sigh and shook her head, dealing with dwarves for this long was giving her a headache, and she thought that her older twin brothers were bad. She was so wrong on that one, dwarves when bothered were worse, so much worse.
"You don't, but you have my word that she is nothing like the woodland elves. She is nothing like Thranduil. She is more like her Grandmother than any of you will ever know." Gandalf stated the truth to Gloin. "She is risking a lot just to help you on this quest."
"A quest that she should know nothing about," Thorin stated as he narrowed his eyes at Gandalf.
"Tell me Thorin. Did what Thranduil do to your people cause your heart to harden over and become like ice?" Aranduriel asked as she looked dead into his blue eyes moving forward slowly. Her arms were crossed in almost an innocent manner like she didn't mean any harm to him which was true, she didn't mean no harm to him, nor would she ever mean harm to him. "You should know from meeting me all those years ago when King Thranduil had come to Erebor with a much younger me that you knew that I was nothing like Thranduil. I was defiant and I wanted an adventure. Thranduil only looks out for himself and no one else. Surely you remembered that from your first meeting with him. I would never turn upon you nor would I ever stop you from this quest Thorin Oakenshield. This is a quest to help you go home and this is something that I am going to see through whether you want me to or not. You will not ban me from wanting to help you in an area that you are going to need me in."
Thorin didn't say a word to her and followed his company into the dining room so he could eat something. He had traveled such a long way to get here on time.
Gandalf leaned against his hand which was on the wall. This could have gone a lot better if Thorin wasn't so stubborn.
Aranduriel walked up to Gandalf and patted his arm lightly. "We already knew that this was not going to be easy with him." She said in elvish to him before going into the dining room. She felt eyes on her once again. The elder dwarves glared at her, but the younger ones looked at her with curious gazes which reminded her so much of Estel. It warmed her heart that they hopefully wouldn't be judgemental like the older dwarves who were giving her untrusting gazes of hate and dislike.
"What news from the meeting in Ered Luin? Did they come?" Balin asked Thorin who was busy eating the soup that was provided for him.
"Aye. Envoys from all seven kingdoms." Thorin said as he looked over at Balin. He knew his friend wanted the news first before going into the business. It was going to affect them all on how this quest was going to go anyway.
"What of the dwarves of the Iron Hills say? Is Dain with us?" Dwalin asked Thorin, hoping for some good news from the Iron Hills, hoping that Dain was indeed with them on this quest.
Aranduriel saw the look on Thorin's face and knew that Dain was not going to be with Thorin on this quest. She knew right then and there they were going to be on their own. And that was going to be a dangerous task at that. Dangerous and quite lonely meaning that death could be very much on their doorstep as soon as they left the shire which scared her a little bit.
Thorin put the spoon down into the bowl. "They will not come."
Dwalin looked down in disappointment. He was hoping that Dain would agree to have the army come and make sure they made it to Erebor, but now that was beginning to slip away further and further away from them.
"They say that this quest is ours, and ours alone."
Aranduriel shook her head, it was usually the same with all dwarves. They wouldn't help unless it was the fate of their lives in their hands.
The dwarves murmured their disappointment. They were hoping that they would at least have some kind of help. This was going to be a lot harder. The tide was against them going on this quest to reclaim Erebor.
Bilbo came up behind Gandalf, a surprised look written across his face. "You're going on a quest?" He asked curiously. This was the first time that he had heard something like this and it was taking place in his own home. His curiosity was beginning to get the best of him. He wanted to know what was going on in his home.
"Bilbo, my dear fellow, let us have a bit more light," Gandalf said, looking at Bilbo with a smile.
Bilbo went into the hall to get another candle to light up the room a bit for whatever Gandalf wanted to use them for.
Gandalf pulled a piece of paper out of his gray robes and began to unfold it.
Aranduriel slowly walked over to Gandalf and stood behind him. Her gray-blue eyes saw the map of Erebor, a map that she hadn't laid her eyes on in many many years.
Gandalf spread it onto the table as Bilbo placed the candle onto the table giving it more light. "Far to the East, over ranges and rivers, beyond woodlands and wastelands, lies a single solitary peak."
Bilbo looked at the map curiously. "The Lonely Mountain." He had heard stories about the Lonely Mountain, but nothing more about it after a certain point. He wasn't even sure why his mother had stopped telling him stories about it.
"Aye," Gloin said, causing Dori who was sitting next to his brother Nori who happened to be next to Gloin to roll his eyes. "Oin has read the portents, and the portents say it is time."
"Ravens have been seen flying back to the mountain as it was foretold. When the birds of yore return to Erebor, the reign of the beast shall end." Oin said proudly remembering what the portents had said.
Aranduriel simply shook her head. She already knew going up against a dragon would not be an easy thing.
Bilbo turned and faced them. His face was filled with concern. "Uh, what beast?" He asked softly hoping that this was not a wrong question to ask the group that stood in his dining room. Hopefully, it wouldn't end up scaring the hell out of him.
The dwarf with the silly hat looked up at Bilbo. He removed the pipe from his mouth and a goofy smile came to his lips. "Well, that would be the reference to Smaug the Terrible, the chiefest and greatest calamity of our time. Airborne fire-breather, teeth like razors, claws like meat hooks, extremely fond of precious metals…"
"Yes, I know what a dragon is," Bilbo said looking at Bofur. He couldn't help but wonder why this company of dwarves would want to go against a dragon, a dangerous dragon, something that could very much kill them all.
The third youngest dwarf shot up from his seat. "I am not afraid. I'm up for it. I'll give him a taste of dwarvish iron right up his jacksie."
"Well done Ori." Nori the middle brother piped up knowing that his brother had it in him.
"Sit down," Dori stated, grabbing his brother's arm and pulling him down to sit down in his seat once again.
Ori looked like he had been caught doing something wrong. All he wanted to do was prove himself to his brothers that he could be brave.
Aranduriel looked at Ori. She had to admit that she was quite aware of what it was like to feel like that since she was the youngest daughter and the youngest child altogether. No one thought that she would have been able to protect herself from what would happen in the wild and now here she was about to prove herself to a group of dwarves.
"The task would be difficult enough with an army behind us. But we number just thirteen, and not thirteen of the best nor brightest." Balin said, shaking his head in despair.
Aranduriel shook her head when she heard the dwarves argue about the way that Balin had all of them, not the best nor the brightest.
"We may be few in number, but we're fighters, all of us, to the last dwarf," Fili said, slapping the table with a smile on his lips.
"And you forget." His brother, Kili piped up with a huge grin on his handsome face. "We have a wizard in our company. Gandalf will have killed hundreds of dragons in his time."
Aranduriel looked at Gandalf and saw the nervous look, in all her years of knowing Gandalf she knew that he never had done such a thing.
"Uh, now, well, I wouldn't say that." Gandalf began.
"Well, how many then?" Dori asked, looking at him.
"What?" Gandalf asked in confusion to Dori's question.
Aranduriel moved away from Gandalf, her hands at her sides. She was going to leave the gray wizard to handle this all on his own. It was bad enough that she was in a room that she wasn't wanted in.
"Well, how many dragons have you killed? Go on, give us a number." Dori said excitedly, he wanted to know how many dragons Gandalf had killed.
Aranduriel pursed her pale lips together, keeping silent.
Gandalf began to cough on the smoke from his pipe.
Thorin looked over at Gandalf and had a feeling that Gandalf had done nothing of the sort.
The dwarves began to fight among themselves trying to figure out how many dragons Gandalf had killed in his life.
"Excuse me," Bilbo said softly, not being heard by the loud dwarves who were still fighting over how many dragons Gandalf had killed.
Aranduriel brought her hand up to her face and tried not to sigh. Of course, this would be a thing, dwarves fighting to find out who was more right than the other. This was going to be a long night because this fight was probably going to keep going unless someone broke it up soon.
Thorin got up to his feet. "Shazara!" He bellowed, causing all of them to go silent. "If we have read these signs, do you not think that others have read them too? Rumors have begun to spread. The dragon Smaug has not been seen in sixty years. Eyes look East to the mountain, assessing, wondering, weighing the risk. Perhaps the great wealth of our people now lies unprotected. Do we sit back while others claim what is rightfully ours? Or do we seize this chance and take back Erebor? Du Bekar! Du Bekar!"
All the dwarves cheer except for Balin.
"You forget the gate is sealed. There is no way into the mountain." Balin said bringing Thorin down from his talk with the rest of the company.
Aranduriel crossed her arms knowing that was very much true, but there had to be another way into the mountain.
"That, my dear Balin, is not entirely true," Gandalf said, producing a dwarvish key and showing it to them all.
Thorin's eyes went wide. "How did you get this?" He questioned Gandalf looking up at him in awe.
"It was given to me by your father, by Thrain, for safekeeping. It's yours now." Gandalf said, handing it to him.
The rest of the company looked bewildered as Thorin took it from Gandalf.
"If there is a key. There must be a door." Fili said with widening eyes, this was good news indeed.
Gandalf pointed at the map with the mouthpiece of his pipe. "These runes speak of a hidden passage to the lower halls."
"There's another way in," Kili said, patting his brother Fili on the shoulder with a smile.
"Well, if we can find it, but dwarf doors are invisible when closed. The answer lies somewhere hidden in this map and I do not have the skill to find it. But there are others in Middle-earth who can."
Aranduriel looked at Thorin. "How will you be able to find the hidden door when the only ones who are left to read this map are the elves?" She questioned moving towards Thorin, her gray-blue eyes locking with his blue ones.
"We will not talk to the elves," Thorin said coolly, narrowing his eyes at her.
She shook her head. "Tell me Thorin… Was Thranduil not helping you in Erebor the reason why you hate us so much? When it is Thranduil's people you should hate and not the elves of the Hidden Valley. We never wronged you in the past, only Thranduil has. The woodland elves only think for themselves surely you remember that. I have never wronged you when we met all those years ago. Surely you remember how you wanted to teach me to become a better archer than I already was…" She was trying to get the stubborn dwarf to allow her to help them out as much as she could. She wanted Thorin to try and trust her.
Fili stood up and locked his blue eyes with her gray-blue eyes. "And how can we trust you?" He curiously asked how an elf was going to help them with this quest without stabbing them in the back. He grew up on the stories that his uncle had told him and they were heartbreaking tales of their homeland.
"I have never wronged anyone in my life and nor would I start now." She told Fili with a bow of her head. "I would never betray someone. I believe that everyone deserves a home and it was wrongfully taken from you. It upsets me that Thranduil never helped the dwarves of Erebor."
Thorin glared at her.
"Thorin you will need her. She will be able to help. In more ways than one. I have brought her for more than one reason." Gandalf told Thorin. He knew more than he had let on. He knew that Aranduriel was special, but he wasn't going to tell Thorin what was so special about Aranduriel, not right now. It wasn't time for that.
Aranduriel looked around and noticed that the dwarves were accepting what she had said. She was thankful for that, that was for sure.
"Now where was I…"
Aranduriel looked at Gandalf. "About the quest my friend." She said with a small smile. She was glad that Gandalf had stood up for her.
Gandalf looked at her. "Thank you, my dear girl." He said, patting her lightly on her burgundy-clothed arm. "The task that I have in mind will require a great deal of stealth, and no small amount of courage. But, if we are careful and clever, I believe that it can be done."
"That's why we need a burglar." Ori piped up in realization. That was why they had traveled so far to get someone to go to Erebor to steal the Arkenstone back.
"Hm, and a good one too, I expect," Bilbo said, throwing his two senses in.
"And are you?" Gloin asked, looking at Bilbo.
"Am I what?" Bilbo asked, looking at Gloin in confusion. What was he talking about?
Aranduriel shook her head and moved back against the wall leaning against it. She ran her hand through her hair and watched carefully.
"He said he's an expert! Hey hey." Oin yelled happily.
Several of the dwarves laughed. They knew the old dwarf had heard wrong.
Aranduriel shook her head.
"Me?" Bilbo squeaked. "Oh no no no no no. I've never stolen a thing in my life." He was panicking, how could they think of such a thing? He had never stolen a single thing in his entire life and he never wanted to start now.
Balin shook his head and let out a sigh. "I am afraid that I will have to agree with Mr. Baggins here. He is hardly burglar material."
Bilbo nodded his head in agreement with what Balin had said.
"Aye, the wild is no place for the gentlefolk that can neither fight nor fend for themselves," Dwalin said gruffly.
Aranduriel ran a hand through her hair in frustration. If they didn't train him in fighting there would be no way that the young sandy-haired hobbit would be able to protect himself in the wild.
Bilbo continued to nod his head agreeing with Dwalin.
They began to fight among themselves. Some thought that Bilbo would not be able to handle the task that was being given to him and some thought that he would be able to handle it.
Gandalf stood up to his full height casting a shadow onto the company and the wall. "Enough!" He yelled in a powerful voice. "If I say Bilbo Baggins is a burglar then a burglar he is."
Aranduriel pushed herself off of the wall and grabbed his arm lightly.
Gandalf looked down at her and nodded his head. "Thank you." He told her softly in elvish.
Aranduriel nodded her head and went back to her spot. She leaned against the wall again and closed her eyes.
"Hobbits are remarkably light on their feet. They can pass unseen by most if they choose to. and while the dragon is accustomed to the smell of dwarf, the smell of hobbit is all, but unknown to him, which gives him a distinct advantage. You asked me to find the fourteenth member of this company and I have done just that. There is a lot more to him than his appearance suggests, and he has a great deal more to offer than any of you shall ever know, including himself." Gandalf said, looking at the hobbit.
Thorin let out a sigh. He knew that Gandalf wouldn't have picked the hobbit if it wasn't for a good reason. He had after all brought Aranduriel on this quest. "Very well. We will do it your way."
"No, no, no," Bilbo said nervously.
"Give him the contract," Thorin told Balin.
"Please," Bilbo said, still pleading with them to not give him the contract. He didn't want the contract.
Balin pulled it out of his traveling clothes.
"Alright, we're off," Bofur said with a smile.
Balin handed the contract over to Bilbo. "It's just the usual summary of out-of-pocket expenses, time required, remuneration, funeral arrangements, and so forth."
Bilbo looked at Balin nervously. Was he really serious about that? "Funeral arrangements?" He slipped into the hallway to read the rest of the contract over.
Thorin leaned toward Gandalf. "I cannot guarantee his safety."
"Understood."
"Nor will I be responsible for his fate."
"Agreed."
Aranduriel looked at the wizard at Thorin. She could hope that Thorin would rethink his option of not being responsible for Bilbo if he did join on this quest. If Thorin didn't do so, she would make sure that Bilbo was well looked after. She wasn't going to allow Thorin to leave Bilbo unprotected.
"Incineration?" Bilbo asked, looking into the room.
Aranduriel looked at Bilbo and saw the color had left his face.
"Oh, aye. He'll melt the flesh right off your bones in a blink of an eye." Bofur said, looking at Bilbo.
Bilbo lost his breath.
"You alright laddie?" Balin asked, looking at a quite breathless hobbit.
"Uh yeah…. feel a bit faint." He said putting his hands on his knees trying to catch his breath.
"Think of a furnace with wings," Bofur said, trying to be helpful.
"Air I need air."
"Flash of light, searing pain, and then poof you're no more than a pile of ash."
Bilbo tried to take a deep breath to compose himself. "Nope." He fell to the floor.
"Ah, very helpful Bofur," Gandalf said to the hatted dwarf.
Bofur looked a little bit sheepishly at Gandalf. He hadn't expected him to faint, at least not like that.
Aranduriel walked past the group and slowly picked the hobbit up into her arms. She shook her head and brought him into one of the rooms that had a remaining chair in it. She carefully placed him in the chair. She didn't know why Bofur was trying to scare the hobbit lad, but it was most likely going to stop Bilbo from going on this quest. She moved his hair from his face and shook her head. She hadn't expected Bilbo to faint due to a simple harmless joke. She let out a soft breath, closing her eyes in worry. Perhaps this wasn't something that Bilbo couldn't handle. Perhaps they would be doing this on their own without a burglar.
Gandalf came into the room. "I will talk to him once he awakens." He told Aranduriel, patting her on the shoulder.
Aranduriel nodded her head and left the room. She knew that Gandalf might be able to get Bilbo to agree to such a thing. She slipped into the other room where the dwarves were still drinking whatever was the life of Bilbo's wine and mead. She leaned against the wall with her eyes closed. She heard Gandalf talking to Bilbo which meant that the sandy-haired hobbit had woken up. She felt a pair of eyes on her. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked over and saw the blue-eyed blond-haired dwarf who had questioned her earlier.
Why was he looking at her? Did he think that she was going to hurt them? She slowly took in his features. She had to admit that he was a strong-looking dwarf, but he was also rather young, was he even supposed to be going on this quest? She couldn't understand why Thorin was allowing two very young dwarves who probably never seen battle go out on this quest and they would probably see much more than they probably ever should. She saw the braids that hung by his ears which meant that he was next in line for the throne. Her eyes went wide. She realized the dwarf that was looking at her was the heir to the throne after Thorin the heir to Erebor. She hoped that it wasn't going to be the case.
Her ears twitched when she heard Bilbo shuffling out of the room that he was in with Gandalf. She turned her head before she went out of the room. She passed Balin and Thorin who were talking to one another. She walked into the room that Gandalf was in. She looked at him and saw the look that he had on his face. She crossed her arms. "My friend, he decided not to go on this quest?" She asked in elvish. She was concerned about what was to come for them if they didn't have someone who didn't smell of a man, dwarf, or elf.
Gandalf looked at her. "He has changed for the worse. He used to be in love with adventures and now he has decided that there are far more important things here in the shire." He explained to the elvish woman shaking his head sadly.
Arandureil shook her head. "There is still a good chance my friend will come. He has adventure in his blood does he not?" Her brows raised, remembering a little of what he had said not too long ago before her listening in was interrupted by the blond-haired dwarf who had been staring at her.
"Yes, he does. But it appears I might have been wrong about him."
Arandureil kneeled next to him. "I am sure that he will choose to join us, Gandalf. The Shire will not be able to hold him here forever. He most likely would like the adventure, but he wasn't expecting all of these dwarves and an elvish maiden here. He was taken by surprise. I am sure. I would be the same way." She patted him on the knee.
"You agreed to it wholeheartedly."
"Yes, I did." She said standing up."I want to prove my worth. This is the only way I can do that, Gandalf. My father wouldn't think I was able to handle things on my own. I want to be on my own and not in Imladris for the rest of my days until it is time for me to go into the West with the rest of my Kin." She shook her head.
Not even an hour later the dwarves had made their way into the room. Gandalf had left the room to sit in the hall.
Aranduriel had moved towards the hallway and accidentally bumped into Fili. "I am sorry." She whispered to him softly, meaning it too.
Fili gave her a look of confusion. He didn't know what to think of the elf that had apologized to him. He didn't know what to think of her yet, she was too nice. She knew his uncle which meant she knew quite a bit more than what was being let on. He didn't know what the story was between his uncle and Aranduriel, but he was going to find out. He wasn't going to let this just be another thing pushed away and forgotten. He watched her remove the burgundy coat that she wore revealing the brown vest and white tunic she wore underneath. He caught a glint of red that was around her neck. What was that? Was that something that her people always wore? He wasn't sure since this was the first time that he had seen an elvish maiden. Fili found a place to sit down.
The dwarves began to hum.
Kili passed Gandalf and Aranduriel who were sitting in silence.
Thorin began to sing the tune.
Far over the Misty Mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away 'ere break of day
To find our long-forgotten gold
The other dwarves join Thorin in singing this tune. Making the tune even more heartbreaking.
The pines were roaring on the height
The winds were moaning in the night
The fire was red, it flaming spread
The trees like torches blazed with light
Aranduriel felt her breath hitch in her throat as she quickly moved away from Gandalf leaving her coat behind next to the old wizard. This was something she hadn't forgotten. They only sang part of the song and not the full song. She knew the full song fairly well and she couldn't even bear to listen to what she had heard.
She made it out the door ducking so she couldn't hit her head off of the round door frame. She closed the door behind her and walked to the bench that was at the side of the hobbit hole. She sat down and let out a sigh. Her ears twitched when she heard someone with loud footsteps coming her way. She knew that it was a dwarf, slowly she looked over and saw that it was Thorin.
His cold blue eyes were on her, he was trying to read her like a book, but it wasn't going to be easy to read a woman that he hadn't seen in a long while. He couldn't understand why she wanted to help them on this quest. She didn't have anything to gain except for having a lot of trouble with her kin. He pushed the thought from his mind as he looked at her. He did miss seeing her, but what her kin had done was unforgivable, something that he would not easily overlook.
Her gray-blue eyes locked onto his blue ones. "Is there something that I can help you with Oakenshield?" She asked, tilting her head to the side and crossing her arms. She couldn't understand why Thorin was staring at her in such a way. In a way that he was trying to read her or something.
"Why are you coming with us? A company that won't trust you because you are an elf." Thorin spat at her, his arms were crossed as he looked at her.
Aranduriel tucked a strand of her partially curly hair behind her ear. "You have to have some kind of faith in me, Thorin Oakenshield. I am not Thranduil. I am not going to turn my back nor listen to the stories that are told by each side." She shook her head. "This rift shouldn't be there. Our races used to be great friends, and now because of this rift is affecting the two of us." She stood up and looked down at him. The moon had disappeared behind the clouds.
"You know nothing of the stories." He hissed at her, narrowing his eyes at her.
Aranduriel's eyes widened. She knew this story well thanks to Thranduil telling her the last time he had visited Rivendell, which was a long time ago. "So you are going to allow this rift to pull apart the friendship we have?" She questioned softly, feeling so torn. How could Thorin Oakenshield, a friend of hers for over a hundred years, say such hurtful things? She was hoping that this was not going to ruin her friendship with him.
"The friendship we have is gone." He said to her his hands gripping tightly at his sides, trying not to lash out at her. "We are not friends anymore." He then left her standing outside alone under the clouding skies to think of the conversation that the two of them had. He still didn't like the idea of having her there in the Shire and knowing of the quest. It bothered him a lot to know that she knew almost everything about this quest. But what bothered him the most was what Gandalf knew about her. What was the old wizard hiding?
Aranduriel let out a sigh, the conversation didn't go as planned. She felt horrible that Thorin was not accepting her friendship anymore. He was allowed to let it go. She sat down and rested her head on her hand, she tried not to cry, and a memory over a hundred years came back to her.
Flashback
Thorin knew that elves were leaving and he wasn't about to let the elven maiden that he had met leave without giving her something. He had made his way around his people trying to find Aranduriel. He saw her about to get onto her horse."Aranduriel!" He called out to her, as he continued to make his way to her.
Aranduriel stopped and turned to see Thorin. "Thorin." She said with a smile.
"I have something for you." He told her as he tried to catch his breath.
She smiled at the thought. "Thorin you didn't have to." She told him softly, she thought that Thorin was sweet. It made her smile that Thorin wanted to give her something.
"Hold out your hand." He said with a smile.
She held out her brown leather-clad hand.
Thorin placed something small into her hand. He slowly closed her hand so she didn't drop it. "I made it for you specially. A reminder of our friendship."
Aranduriel looked at Thorin in shock. "Oh, I cannot take this."
"Take it. It was made for you." He said with a smile.
Aranduriel removed a necklace that she wore around her neck that held a ring on it. It was a ring that her grandmother had given to her. She put it carefully around his hobbit hole this close to your heart." She told him with a small smile. She was giving up a very special thing to Thorin so he would remember their friendship.
Thorin bowed his head.
Present day…
Aranduriel wiped the tears that had fallen from her eyes. She hoped that Thorin still had the necklace that held the ring on it as a sign of her friendship still on it. It scared her that Thorin might have gotten rid of it. She looked down at her hands. She took many breaths in the hope that she would calm herself. But so far that was not helping her. She hummed a little bit slowly, beginning to calm some before she broke out into a soft song. She hadn't sung in so long that she thought that she might have lost her voice.
Far above into the sky,
The Gods' tears fall from their eyes
The angels fall. Demon crawl
For in the night, we fight for you
And in our hearts, we follow the truth
And as the battle rages on and on
Our war cries echo far and strong
The old war call a somber song,
With shield and sword, you must go on.
Ravens soar. Dragons roar.
For in the night, we fight for you
And in our hearts, we follow the truth
And as the battle rages on and on
Our war cries echo far and strong
A song is enough
To change the world
And make it alright in the end
I'll sing it for you
To mend your lost soul
And make it right in the end
She turned her head knowing that someone had joined where she was while she was singing. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw Fili standing there. What was he doing out here with her?
"That song…" He said, looking at her, locking his blue eyes with her gray-blue eyes.
"It's a war song. But it also pledges who I am." She simply stated as she looked away from him. "I know that your uncle doesn't trust my kind, but I am doing it because I want to. I didn't see it as fair to see so many people lose their homeland within a short amount of time and have to travel to find a new place to call their own." She let out a sigh.
Fili had thought that it was strange to have an elf care, but he could tell that she meant it. She was going to be true to her word.
"You don't trust me either do you?" She questioned, as she looked up at him.
"I don't, but I have to trust Gandalf's choice in picking you to be our guide," Fili said, as he took a long drag from his pipe of Old Toby.
Aranduriel nodded her head and moved past him.
"Where are you going?" FIli asked, as he sent a questioning look towards Aranduriel curious of where she was going.
"To rest. Our quest begins at dawn. That means rest is needed to continue on it." She said as she went back into the hobbit hole. She found a room where the dwarves would not be bothered by her being there. She curled up in one of the chairs and began and began to drift off to sleep.
Fili watched her go in. He had to admit that she was a different elf than what he had heard in the stories that his uncle had told him. She was certainly someone that he was going to have to learn more about for sure and on this quest he was going to learn more about her that was for sure. He was going to be willing to do that for sure. He wasn't going to let this past stuff that was being hidden by both her and his uncle remain hidden. He wanted to know what this was all about.
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This is the end of chapter 3. I hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter. I tried my best to add enough detail to this chapter. I think that this chapter is probably the longest one that I have written. Please let me know what you think of who she should end up with. I am aiming towards Throin, but I'm not fully sure about the idea of her being with Thorin. So please leave me a review and let me know what you think. I hope to have a new chapter soon. Until next time.