An Unexpected Journey

Chapter Nine: Annoying Wizards

Thalia laughed softly riding past Dori who was cursing under his breath, she pulled her hood closer to her head as she ignored the rain that fell from the sky; the blonde grinned as she heard Dori ask Gandalf to stop the rain.

“It is raining, Master dwarf, and it will continue to rain until the rain is done,” the wizard said looking back at Dori, he frowned at him for a moment before turning to face up front while Dori muttered under his breath; he looked at his brothers who shrugged as they continued to move forward.

“What about you Thalia?” Bofur asked making Thalia laugh and shake her head, she was surprised that he had remembered that she could probably also stop the rain that had been pelting them all morning; she glanced at Gandalf, who seemed far from amused that they were asking her.

“Sorry Bofur… I’m not allowed to mess with things like that,” Thalia said making Bofur chuckle and nod his head recalling what she had said about the limitations to her magic; Thalia had made it clear that there was only so much that she could do.

The group travelled on in silence as the rain continued to fall heavily as Gandalf started talking about the other great wizards of his order; Thalia wasn’t sure if anyone had asked but she wasn’t interested in listening to what he said.

“You don’t seem to like the wizard,” Thorin said pulling back to ride with the blonde, his dark blue eyes watched her curiously as they rode in silence for a moment as she looked back at Gandalf.

“I don’t trust him… he knows more than he’s letting on and that worries me,” Thalia admitted making Thorin nod his head, he looked back at Gandalf who was talking with the hobbit about the wizards of his order and their importance.

Thorin couldn’t help but agree with what she was saying, it was clear to everyone that Gandalf seemed to have his own agenda when it came to this quest.

“You don’t seem to trust him either… at least not completely,” Thalia said looking at Thorin, she tilted her head as he took a deep breath; she was glad that she wasn’t the only person who didn’t completely trust the wizard.

Thorin sighed as he nodded his head as he looked ahead of them, he knew that she was right and they both didn’t trust the wizard for very similar reasons.

“He reminds me of the Greater Good back home… thinks that by keeping you in the dark is for the best but it always ends up being for the worst,” Thalia said annoyed making Thorin raise an eyebrow at her, he couldn’t help but find what she often said interesting especially since it didn’t make much sense to him.

***

The rest of the day was spent riding in the rain and Thalia was relieved when they finally came to a stop; she wrinkled her nose as climbed of her horse and brushed she wet hair from her face.

Fíli smiled at Thalia walking past her and into the cave where they would be spending the night, she nodded at him as she leant against his horse; she chuckled watching Dori move about as he started to prepare dinner.

“Thalia… I was wondering if I could speak with you alone,” Gandalf said making Thalia look over at him, she frowned as she eyed the wizard warily before she nodded her head.

Thalia still didn’t trust him for anything in the world but she knew that if he wanted to talk to her in private then it had her curious.

Thalia stepped away from her horse as she trailed her hand down it’s back, she could already feel some of the company looking at the curiously including Thorin; his hand resting on his blade as he watched her disappear with Gandalf into the forest that surrounded their camp.

“What is it you want?” Thalia asked glancing around, she couldn’t shake the bad feeling of being alone with the wizard after what he had done; Thalia crossed her arms and held her soaked coat close to her body so that she could attempt to stay warm.

“I was curious about your powers… have they been working well since you arrived?” the wizard asked curiously, he watched Thalia wondering if she would talk to him about them; he was curious about them but doubted she would open up to him about them at all.

Thalia watched him before she nodded her head, she took moments when she could to carefully test each of her abilities to ensure that she hadn’t lost her powers; it would only bring a lot of trouble if she had even if she knew how to fight.

“They work fine,” Thalia said shortly as she stayed a good distance from Gandalf, she didn’t trust him and she doubted that she would for a long while until he proved himself to her; there was something about him and his secretive ways that she didn’t like.

Gandalf frowned at her short answers, he nodded his head as he watched her as if expecting her to speak more about her abilities that he knew nothing about.

“Is that all? I promised Dori that I’d help with dinner tonight,” Thalia said staring at Gandalf, she could sense what he wanted and she wasn’t going to give it to him; she smiled softly to herself as he nodded his head and allowed her to leave.

***

Thorin watched as the company started to settle down to sleep, his eyes looking over those who were willing to follow him on this quest and it made him wonder if they were truly prepare for what that meant.

“Don’t think so hard… you’ll give yourself a headache,” Thalia mused sitting next to Thorin, she was surprised at how ease it was for her to get along with the dwarf king; they had spent most of the day talking and she had truly enjoyed his company as much as the other dwarves.

Thorin chuckled as he nodded his head, he hadn’t questioned Thalia about anything of her world since she seemed more willing to talk about it if she opened up herself instead of being questioned.

“What did Gandalf want earlier?” Thorin asked looking at Thalia, he couldn’t help but be suspicious of her true reasons for speaking with the wizard even if it was clear to everyone that she didn’t like Gandalf; she was pretty clear on the fact that she truly didn’t trust him.

“He wanted to ask about my magic… idiot thought I’d tell him all about my powers,” Thalia said rolling her eyes and glared over at the wizard, who was sat away from the pair; he looked far from happy that she hadn’t opened up to him about her magic.

Thorin looked over at Gandalf, the wizard didn’t like to be in the know about anything especially when he was the one that everyone turned to for answers but now he wasn’t.

“You really don’t trust him do you?” Thorin said turning his attention back to Thalia, he could already tell that if she didn’t like the wizard then she could be a great ally to the dwarves as the quest continued.

Thalia nodded her head, there was no way that she could ever trust someone who ripped on the void between their worlds and not only stole her but had been stealing from her for a while as well.