✓ | Forget-Me-Not ~ Fili FanFiction / Hobbit FanFiction / Fili FF

「 Chapter 7 」

The sun was quickly climbing the sky as the dwarves began to free each other out of the sacks.
Gandalf and Oakenshield examined the petrified trolls and had a concentrated conversation.
Nobody paid any attention to the unexpected visitor in the form of another dwarf. So Ilèyn was trying to untie the tight knot on the sack with her teeth when someone approached her.
"Let me help you with that." Ilèyn looked up and straight into the blue eyes of a young blond dwarf. The other of the two Ilèyn had seen with Bilbo in the woods before the troll business. Many braids adorned his long hair, even his mustache was finely braided and decorated with metal rings. The dwarf undid the tight knot and Ilèyn could quickly slip out of the sack.
"Thank you." she said curtly, threw the sack on the ground and walked past the dwarf towards the forest. Her weapons had to be lying somewhere. She had to get out of here as soon as possible before anyone started asking questions.
"One moment!" someone called after her sternly. Ilèyn stopped as if caught. Damn...
Slowly she turned around. In front of her stood thirteen dwarfs, a hobbit and a wizard. The facial expressions ranged from questioning, suspicious, unfriendly to aggressive.
Thorin Oakenshield stepped forward, the eyes of his companions followed him.
"Who are you?" he asked roughly. The leader of the company eyed Ilèyn closely.
Ilèyn looked from Thorin to Gandalf and to Bilbo, who was hiding a little behind the group. He was probably still afraid of her.
"Answer him!" uttered a grim-looking dwarf. It was the dwarf who had just thrown unfriendly things at her head. Only now did Ilèyn recognize the numerous tattoos that spread from his hands to his head.
The dwarf cleared her throat uncertainly.
"Well..." she started "My name is Ilèyn."
"Ilèyn and further?" asked a dwarf with light gray hair, which was wrapped around his head in an elaborate braided hairstyle.
The dwarf raised her eyebrows when she looked at him.
"Nothing and further." she replied coldly.
The wizard had not moved so far, he kept looking Ilèyn up and down without showing any movement in his face.
For a brief moment no one said anything.
Now the brown-haired young dwarf stepped forward, next to Thorin.
"She shot the trolls to free Bilbo, uncle." he said to Oakenshield.
Ilèyn's gaze flicked back and forth between him and Thorin. Uncle? Did she hear right?
"So what?" replied Oakenshield poisonously "That doesn't prove anything." His gaze rested on her again. Ilèyn withstood him without any problems.
"What ... what are you?" A dwarf with a truly extraordinary hairstyle that looked like a triangle on his head began to speak.
Ilèyn looked at him when she replied: "I'm a dwarf. Can't you see that?"
Loud laughter rang out, only Gandalf still didn't move.
"You are small, that doesn't make you a dwarf!" someone from the group called.
"She looks like an elf woman!" another snorted.
At this statement, Ilèyn saw concern flare in the wizard's eyes. Burning anger began to flare up inside her. She pressed her lips together so as not to shout out loud.
The dwarves were still laughing.
"I think that's enough." the wizard intervened. "There is no reason to be offensive."
"I don't need any help from you!" Ilèyn said enraged to the wizard. She whirled around and wanted to go straight back into the forest, pick up her weapons and go back to Carrot, which she had to leave alone the whole time.
In addition, if there would come one single another stupid comment from those idiots she couldn't guarantee to not knock Oakenshield's arrogant skull off his shoulders in front of everyone present.
"Ilèyn." the wizard said calmly, "Please wait." The dwarf turned around again and saw the wizard approaching.
"I have to apologize for the indiscretion of my companions." he began diplomatically.
"But it was all the truth!" called one of the dwarfs and earned a punishing look from the wizard.
"We're all just wondering what brought you here and why you are helping us."
Ilèyn found it hard to tell the truth now. To tell in front of the assembled crew that she was hired as a bounty hunter, to kill Thorin Oakenshield would be the worst possible answer.
"I'm trading." she said tersely, "With... leather goods." She took out the pouch in which the money from her last assignments was. She looked around. Slow nod. Only Gandalf frowned. She returned his skeptical look briefly and then continued, "I've already sold everything I had with me in Bree. Now I'm on my way back to the mountains in the east."
All or nothing. If the dwarves were really on their way to the Lonely Mountain, Ilèyn now officially had a reason to accompany the group. Whether that was a good idea would have to be found out in the future.
"Is that so?" Thorin spoke again.
Ilèyn put her combat knives back, shouldered her quiver, and picked up her bow. Now she walked slowly towards the dwarf king until she came to a stop directly in front of him. The fact that he was taller than her didn't bother Ilèyn at all, she glared provocatively at him.
"It's the truth." she hissed. There was an uncomfortable tension in the air as dwarf and dwarf exchanged evil looks.
"That would clarify that." Gandalf hurriedly intervened, "Ilèyn, why don't you come with us? It is dangerous to travel alone on the great east road."
Ilèyn stepped away from Thorin and gave the wizard a friendly look.
"Your offer honors me, I would be very happy to come with you for part of the way."
None of the present seemed to be enthusiastic about it, but no one contradicted the wizard. Even Oakenshield let the discussion rest and walked past Ilèyn from the clearing without another word. Ilèyn let the money bag dance around in her hand.
"We should look for the troll lair." he said loud enough that all the dwarfs ran after him, followed by Gandalf.

The hobbit approached Ilèyn.
"You..." he stammered "Thanks. For the help, again." He held out his hand.
Ilèyn let her gaze rest on the peace offer for a moment, then gave the hobbit a firm handshake.
"You're intelligent for a hobbit, Mr. Baggins." she said to him as they both turned to go. Bilbo just replied with an incredulous laugh.
"You are not a trader, with all due respect." he said immediately.
"Indeed not." confirmed the dwarf.
"It is no coincidence that we have met for the second time, Ilèyn." He looked at her intently.
"You're right about that." replied Ilèyn. "But let me calm you down." She fastened the leather pouch with the coins back to her belt, where she felt for the piece of leather in the pocket of her doublet. "You are not the reason why I am here."
Whether this statement reassured the hobbit or not, Ilèyn made no difference. She overtook him and followed the group to a cave that reached deep into the rocky wall that rose into the sky in front of them.
It was very close to the place where Ilèyn had left Carrot, which probably explained the many uprooted trees around it. She turned to find him, but a shock awaited her. A piece of the rope was still hanging on the big branch, but it looked as if Carrot had run away during the night or during the day.
"Damn it!" Ilèyn cursed loudly "That can't be..." dejectedly, she looked for traces of the pony, but the ones she found were already too old for Carrot to be around. Depressed, the dwarf returned to the group without mentioning that her pony had been lost.

Some of the dwarves were just about to explore the troll lair. Ilèyn preferred to stay outside, where the air could still be breathed easily.
Gandalf also decided to descend into the cave, as did Oakenshield.
Ilèyn sat down on a mossy stone and let her gaze wander. The rest of the dwarfs around her kept glancing at her suspiciously. At some point she lowered her gaze, took arrows from her quiver and examined the fletching. Ilèyn feathered her arrows herself and checked regularly that everything was still intact.
She didn't looked up when she noticed someone had approached.
"You're an excellent shooter." Ilèyn recognized the brown-haired dwarf by his voice. She snorted in amusement.
"You never saw me fight. How do you know?" she said coolly.
"Two shots, two hits." The dwarf crouched down next to her. "I think you shoot great." Ilèyn looked next to her and directly into the beaming face of the dwarf.
"Well," Ilèyn put her arrows back in her quiver. "Hope that you will never have to serve as evidence."
"You said you were a dwarf." Ilèyn rolled her eyes. This dwarf was really tough to get rid of. At that moment, the blond dwarf came up, who had helped Ilèyn earlier out of the cotton sack.
"I think it's obvious, isn't it?." she replied monotonously.
"You are our size." the dwarf continued "But you look very different from other dwarf women." Ilèyn did not answer.
"Kili, what is this here?" the blonde intervened and approached.
"Take a look at her, brother." Kili began to speak louder. Ilèyn looked up and met the examining gaze of the blonde who was looking down at her.
"She doesn't have a beard. And she's way too thin." Kili straightened up again. "And her hair. No jewelry, just these simple braids and everything hidden under her cloak."
"I know what I look like, Mr. Dwarf!" Ilèyn said, getting up from the stone. Kili and his brother were taller than she too, but that didn't make her statement sound any less grim. "I would be grateful if you could take care of your own business in the future." Her hand was now resting on the short knife on her belt.
The blond dwarf registered this and pulled his brother away from Ilèyn a little.
"I think this is the end of this conversation." he said, giving Ilèyn a suspicious look.
"So you are Thorin Oakenshield's nephews." she grumbled darkly.
"What if it were so?" asked Kili peevishly.
"Calm down, brother." sighed the blonde and put a hand on the brown-haired dwarfs' shoulder.
"Mind your own business?" he then asked.
"He seems to be in a pretty bad mood." Ilèyn said, amused. A mischievous grin crept onto her lips as she saw the anger because of her statement in Kili's eyes. The dwarf pushed his brother's hand off his shoulder, turned, and strode off. Thorin, Gandalf and the others had just left the cave. Ilèyn watched him go until she turned her gaze to Kili's brother.
"And you are?" she asked quarrelsome.
The blonde did not respond her provocations.
"You already know my brother Kili... my name is Fili."
Ilèyn took her hand from her knife.
"Hold back your brother. He wouldn't have pestered me with questions for much longer." Ilèyn said reproachfully.
"You would do well not to stand against those who free you from your predicament." Fili replied critically.
"I've already said it and I'll say it again, I don't need your help."
Dwarf and dwarf looked at each other suspiciously.
"Something's coming!" Thorin called suddenly from further back.