Land of Loss and Love; Thranduil Love Story (On Hold)

Understanding Dawning

     "You need to reach the mountain, before the last days of autumn." Said Beorn, and I felt my ears prick up. Mountain?

      "Before Durins day falls, yes." Pointy replied. Der-in, I mouthed the word.

      "You are running out of time."

      "Which is why we must go through Mirkwood."

      A shiver flushed through me, pins and needles skittered through my arms and legs. The name itself sounded creepy, and images flashed through my mind. Grey bark and blue eyes.

      "A darkness lies upon that forest, fell things creep beneath those trees. There is an alliance between the orcs of Moria and the necromancer in Dol Goldur. I would not venture there except in great need." Necromancer, at least that I understood.

      "We will take the elven road, their path is still safe."

       "Safe? The wood elves of Mirkwood are not like their kin. They're less wise and more dangerous." Elves too now? "But it matters not."

       "What do you mean?" I looked over to find that GL had moved away from the table and now faced Beorn with bewilderment on his face.

       Beorn's voice grew deeper. "These lands are crawling with orcs, their numbers are growing, and you are on foot, you will never reach the forest alive." There was an eerie silence, then Beorn stood up, startling me. The man was frightening, something... off, about him. He continued, each word increasing my nerves, "I don't like dwarves. They're greedy, and blind. Blind to the lives of those they deem lesser than their own." I held my breath. "But orcs I hate more. What do you need?"

       An agreement was made, horses were saddled and as we stood outside in the shade of Beorn's house I looked around and counted and, as I thought, there wasn't enough horses.

       "Am... Am I joining you?" I had the realization this was the first I had ever really said anything to these strange men, that wasn't drunken gibberish. "I've never ridden a horse, but I'd like to try."

      The dwarves continued dressing their horses but it was GL who replied. "You are not coming." He didn't look at me, neither did the others, but the curly one had a sad face. They must have talked about me when I had fallen asleep. Well duh, of course they would.

       "I-I have no place to go!" I shouted, desperate fuming.

       "Because, you are a stranger, and you have given us no reason to trust you."

       I gaped. I wanted to argue, to yell, but it was a good point. Despite it though, I couldn't be stranded. "If you didn't want me to come, you shouldn't have let me know where you are going." I think I heard that in a movie somewhere, but didn't remember.

       I didn't get the response I expected. GL whirled toward me his face a mask of fury. I took a step back as he started prowling over to me. "You would dare deceive us-"

      "Now, now Thorin." Pointy came over to my side, and he stopped but didn't look less furious. Thorin, I took note of his name. "You can not be angry at the girl for listening. Besides," He gazed at me through the corner of his eyes. "She makes a valid point."

      "We do not know who she is! We cannot trust her-"

       "My name is Aeolus." I finally bellowed, making sure they all heard me, and the other men looked to me. "I got drunk last night and somehow ended up on the mountain." I went on, lowering my voice deciding to leave out the magical mirror bit. "I don't know how I got here and I don't know where I am. All I know is that I don't know how to get home," Don't do anything stupid. My mothers empty words echoed,  the sense of finality setting over me. I hadn't seen my family in three years, and none of them had contacted me in months. They wouldn't know I was gone. Not for a long time. "And that I really don't want to."

       There was silence as they thought, then all of the dwarves grouped together in a huddle and started talking out of ear shot. I sighed, I no longer had a choice, and I hoped I was convincing enough. The tall man stayed next to me, observing them silently, and the curly haired one scuttled over to stand beside him, apparently having no say in the matter. 

       "What are your names?" I asked them, I couldn't quite keep calling them Pointy and Curly. The tall man had to look down, I was only 5'6" after all.

      Curly looked over at me, his hair bouncing. "My name is Bilbo. Bilbo Baggins." And I smiled. It was a cute and simple name.

       "How wonderful to meet you Bilbo, I want to thank you for saving me on that mountain, I honestly don't know what I would have done if you hadn't taken me with you." The small man blushed, and I couldn't help but feel a sisterly love for him. I peered up at the tall man, "And you would be?"

      "My name is Gandalf, Gandalf the Grey. And I am a wizard." His voice was old and rumbly.

      "A wizard?" I said surprised. Dwarves, bear-men, orcs, necromancers, elves, and now a wizard. My reality was starting to get a bit skewered. "Would you know anything about portals?" Their brows furrowed as they looked at me curiously, and I started to wonder if I shouldn't have said anything.

      Before either of them could respond the dwarves broke up, and turned to face us. Thorin was detached when the elderly one I pictured as a grandpa finally spoke. "Alright. Seeing as you know too much already, and have given us no reason to not trust you, you may come. Being that we do not have a contract for you, you are only a guest and have no right to any payment. We'll also be needing to ask you a few questions."

      "Ask any questions you like." I doubted our money was the same anyways.

     "Right then, so. You are a human yes?"

     "Yes, that's right."

     "And not any magical being?" The whole group of dwarves seemed thoroughly curious now.

     "No. Not at all."

     "Then what of your hair!" One of the other dwarves shouted, and given by the number of heads that nodded along this was clearly what they had wanted to know all along.

     I had almost forgotten about it to be honest. "Oh! This is just coloring. I changed it this color."

     Mumbles of interest throughout, it was enough.

     "Your people must be very talented then. As none we have seen can replicate to such likeness." It was GL, still glaring at me, it wasn't meant as a compliment.

     "Yes they are actually. Some of them spend their entire lives studying hair." I could see the genuine interest they all had, but they held back their questions. From what I could tell, GL was the leader, and they probably didn't want to upset him more by being any kinder than they needed to be.

     Just had to give it time.

     "So, where are we headed?"

      It turns out they were headed to a mountain that was once their home, that now had a real dragon inside. I didn't know what they were planning to do, I didn't know how they could move a dragon, what Durin's day was, or where the mountain was, but I was excited to at least be going.

        "Well," I breathed when they finished explaining. "This sounds like an adventure."

Only two more chapters to Thranduil! So excited!