Star-Crossed

Chapter 49

It had been a good two days now, she'd been eating whatever the hell that was growing on that bush and was just about to give up when she heard it. The glorious roar of hope. She looked up from her spot, nestled down beneath some brush to avoid detection. There he stood, the great brown bear. Beorn. She needed to get to him, safety was with him. He could help her. 

Movement caught her eye. She watched as a curly mop of hair ducked behind a large boulder. Bilbo! She made a mad dash to the next bush, they had to be just over the ridge. She could make it, sure as dwarves had beards. She just had to get there... which would take some time... and Beorn probably scared the poor Hobbit. This is gonna be a long day, Beuren thought to herself. 

She almost laughed as she watched the dwarves run form Beorn. It was quite comical, to be perfectly honest, until he nearly caught Ori. Beuren raced forward, shouting and drawing attention to herself. The bear turned from the cottage where he'd been violently trying to get to the dwarves. They'd been able to hold the door partially closed so he couldn't get in, but he was strong, very strong. Beorn was barreling towards her now, much too fast for her liking. Beuren turned on her heel, racing back into the woods. 

This was not at all how Gandalf had wanted this to go, Bilbo could tell just by looking at the wizard's face. In fact, it was going the exact opposite of how he'd wanted it to go. His instructions were clear, wait for his signal, come out in pairs.

"What are they doing?" Gandalf huffed quietly. 

"You didn't give them a signal." Bilbo whispered back as two more dwarves emerged from the house. The Wizard glowered at the Hobbit, who offered a shrug in response. 

Their host had grown even more irate as the Sons of Fundin joined the Brother's Ri and the Sons of Durin. He wasn't fond of dwarves. Greedy and selfish, they had feuded with the Skin Changers on a number of occasions over who laid claim to the Mountains in the North. That ended however, after the Orcs came. 

"Dwarves!" He glared at Gandalf. "These are not welcome guests in my home, Gandalf." 

"Wait!" A shout echoed from behind their host. Beuren in all her sunburt, broken nosed glory, came trotting up a narrow path through the waist high grasses. "Hold on." She bent over, hand on her knees as she panted for breath. "They're...with me..." she motioned towards the dwarves. "Mahal why'd you chase me so far!"  

"Milady Beuren." In two long strides he was beside her, lifting her petite body into his arms. "It has been an age!" 

"Many ages, yes, indeed." She panted as he returned her to the ground. "Beorn, I'd like you to meet my friends," She pointed towards the dwarves. "This is Bifur, Bofur, Bombur." The three dwarves smiled, bowing to their host. "Oin and Gloin." Both bowed. "Nori, Dori, and...where is he? Oh, Ori." Nervously, Ori bowed to Beorn, though it looked more like he was cowering. "The Sons of Fundin, Dwlain and Balin." The brothers bowed deeply. "And my nephews, Fili and Kili, and Thorin..." She hesitated. "My husband." She said slowly. Beorn furrowed his brow, looking down at Beuren. 

"Husband?" Then he paused, remembering their conversation from long ago. "Not..." His voice trailed off. 

"Mmhmm." She added awkwardly. "The one and only." 

"Interesting." Beorn mumbled. "Yes, well, inside. I shall prepare breakfast."

They were all seated around the towering dining table. Beorn held a large pitcher in his hand; fresh milk was poured into the tankard of each guest. Beuren began drinking without hesitation, the others were skeptical, as was usual of Dwarves. Beuren made herself at home, filling her plate with the foods that were in the center of the table, Kili watched his aunt scarf down a biscuit, if she could eat it then it had to be fine. 

"So you are the one they call Oakenshield. Tell me, why is Azog the Defiler hunting you?" Beorn said, everyone's eyes turned to Thorin. Beuren choked on her food. Dwalin slammed his open hand between her shoulders, dislodging the food. 

"What?" Beuren snapped, looking at Thorin. "Azog caught you?"

"Yes, you should have seen Uncle!" Kili started. Thorin's eyes grew large. He shook his head, warning his nephew, who didn't catch the hint. "He leapt into battle, fighting him Warg and all! The Warg got the better of him though...almost killed him."

"YOU DID WHAT?!" Thorin cringed. "What were you thinking?!" She threw a biscuit at him. "He could have killed you!"

"Sorry to butt in," Balin piped up. "But I can't help but notice that you are not surprised that Azog is even alive." She froze. "Is there something you've been keeping from us?"

"Are you accusing me?" She hissed.

"Yes, he is." Thorin said with a frown set on his face. "I noticed it too." Beuren was at a loss for words. 

"You knew about him too!" She glowered at Gandalf. 

"I had a suspicion, I didn't know anything." She opened her mouth to argue. "Let us remember that you refused to talk about that day. You only said an Orc killed him not which orc." It was silent. 

"Well, this is awkward." Kili muttered, taking a gulp from his tankard. Fili glared at him. "Bad timing?"

"Terrible." Beuren answered, rising to her feet. "I'm going for some air."

"No, you're not! You are going to explain!" Thorin boomed.

"To explain what?" She roared. "I was banished from my homeland, you told me never to come back! What did you just want me to waltz in and tell you he was alive? Send you a letter?" Beuren stormed out of the house and into the garden. Thorin chased after her.

"You should have-" Dwalin placed himself between his King and the door. 

"Hey, hey, she has a point, let her be." Thorin huffed, turning from his cohort. "Let her breathe and try again later."