To the Shadows that Cry Witch || Kíli Durin

Chapter XII - Not much has changed but there's no Wi-Fi now

Warnings: Mentions of Minor and Major Injuries from last chapter.

Smultronställe (Definition): A special place discovered for solace and relaxation.

(Noun / Origin: Swedish / smUl·tron·'stel·e)

"Kate! What did I say about wearing your bandages?"

I sheepishly turned around to face a weary Bilbo, a guilty smile on my face. Heaving a sigh, he marched over, pointing expectantly at the discarded bandage roll on the table next to me as he passed, continuing around the furniture to reach the stove across from where I was sitting.

"How was the market?" I asked him as I reached for the roll. Watching him heave a sack onto the table, I began wrapping the material around my right palm. Well, as best as I could with the splint on my left hand.

Erard had revisited the day after Bilbo had dragged him over to help us, slinging along with him a bag full of equipment he had curated from his medical supplies. He spent an hour or so kindly showing us what everything was and how to use it. I had received many bandages that now covered the majority of my skin that was visible, along with a splint he had fashioned out of small, thin planks of wood that he bound in place with yet more bandages around my damaged wrist. My ankle only received a wrap of some type of sturdy material, since Erard had considered it unnecessary for it to have a splint as well.

Kay received just as many bandages, along with one around her head for the large gash on her forehead. She definitely wasn't a big fan of it, since it made her look as if she was wearing a white bald cap, which I of course kept cackling about, much to her dismay. According to her extreme annoyance, it was preventing the hot injured main character look she was trying to achieve, which obviously made me cackle harder. Finally, Erard had given us both a bag of herbal tea to help alleviate any aches, and each small pot of some type of salve, which he instructed us to use on any open wound, once a day.

Bilbo on the other hand, had spent that time preparing a hefty luncheon, as part of his thanks to Erard, making sure the doctor didn't leave without a full belly of his best sandwiches and seed cake.

Now it had been three days since Erard's visit, and thanks to him, we were speedily on the mend. Fast enough to the point that I didn't feel the need to wear my bandages as much (apart from the splint), much to Bilbo's frustration. Though it was me forgetting to most of the time, living with an adhd brain and all. My small recollection of events was interrupted as Bilbo began answering my question:

"Not too bad." He said as he emptied the sack of its contents. "Not bad at all, in fact. The weather has improved tremendously since that nasty storm, not a cloud in the sky the entire time I was there!"

I grimaced at Bilbo mentioning the storm, recalling the unfortunate events that Kay and I had endured. Though I quickly shoved them away as I focused on Bilbo as he rambled on about his experience at marketplace.

"– and got some tremendous pork from Barrowes' stall, fresh this morning. Should be perfect for this evening's dinner!"

"It looks amazing." I commented as he unwrapped the large slab of meat from its casing of brown paper and twine. "What do you suppose would go with it?"

Once again Bilbo went off on a tangent, this time about sides and vegetables. Getting up from my seat, I made sure to make responsive hums and small comments as the hobbit spoke. I picked up the bowl of buttermilk icing I had left on the windowsill earlier and brought it over to the kitchen table, placing it next to the now cool cakes. I had baked two Victoria sponge cakes that morning, deciding that as I healed, I would bake as part of my thanks to Bilbo for letting us stay, and to Erard for his kindness and help – that is, as long as I could remember the recipes. Bilbo handed me a jar of freshly bought jam and I got to work slathering it on the cake halves along with a whipped cream I had made miraculously from scratch. I could see Bilbo eyeing up the cakes with a hungry look, so I made sure to speed up a little to make sure I was finished soon, so we could have it for pudding.

Bilbo and I were chatting away about different types of pastries when Kay ducked in through the doorway from the dining room. You couldn't tell easily, but you could see a slight tension in the way she held her expression, giving me the impression that she was worried or very confused about something. I waited until she made eye contact with me, before tilting my head slightly in question. She darted her eyes at Bilbo, then back at me, indicating that she would talk to me later. I discreetly nodded my head in agreement and turned back to slathering my cake in an atrocious amount of icing, dropping the subject until later. Bilbo continued with his ramblings about dinner, and Kay soon joined in on helping him prepare it, the conversation turning to how to cook pork properly.

The cakes were a success. Bilbo and Kay's delicious dinner had filled us all and we finally moved on to trying one of my sponge cakes. By the time Kay and I had finished our slice, Bilbo was onto his third, any compliments practically turning to murmuring chants as he stuck another forkful in his mouth. I snorted at the scene before me, thanking the now chipmunk-faced hobbit as I picked up some pots and took them to the sink. I also brought the second cake for Erard to the pantry, placing it on a plate with a large bowl on top to keep in the moisture. The next half hour whirled by as we washed everything up, Bilbo insisting that I only dried up to not soak my splint whilst in exchange I made him agree to leave some cake for tomorrow.

Laughing at whatever was said, Bilbo disappeared off to his wine cellar, and I quickly took this opportunity to interrogate Kay about earlier as I beckoned her towards me.

"What's going on? Are you ok?" I whispered.

"Yea course, I'm doing fine. It's just..." She trailed off, before silently signalling me to follow her. I did so, following behind as she led me from the kitchen through the parlour to the front entrance. "You haven't noticed anything strange appear in your room, have you?" Bilbo's whistling echoed through the house as she led me deeper into the oak hall. I shook my head in reply, saying that I hadn't been in my room all day.

Bilbo had decided that, because we were supposedly staying a while, he would give us both our own privacy by lending me the guest bedroom we stayed in the first night and turning the spare room into guest bedroom No.2 for Kay, who was leading me there right now.

Opening the door, she waited for me to follow through before closing it. Leading me over to a chest, she hauled the wooden lid open and pointed inside. I leant over, only to see something I thought impossible. I looked at Kay with wide eyes, before reaching in and hauling it out onto the floor between us. We both stared incredulously until I spoke.

"Well, that's not supposed to be here."

Thanks for reading, see you next week for Chapter 13!