A Willing Heart

Seventeen

Fennhill was a large town, making Greenbanü almost seem as if it had been merely a hobby town for Lialam when he’d been alive.  For after all, Greenbanü had been founded by his own grandfather when he fled some unknown city in the east.  

Fennhill, on the other hand, was a grand town that seemed more like a city such as Dale had been.  Having traded with Dale for decades, many of the residents displaced by Smaug had settled in Fennhill and other neighboring towns.  It sat on a lush green hill overlooking the Wilderlands, making it almost seem out of place in an area that had pockets of barren landscapes and patches of green forests.  It was guarded on all sides by high stone walls behind a moat.  It had its share of goblin raids but most, if not all, had been stopped at the gates.  

As we entered the town, it was business as usual for all.  No one would have ever known that today was Durin’s day, the most important day for the dwarves for it marked the dwarven new year.  Jürgen told me that the ceremony was small and intimate, and only dwarves would be present.  He and Bernd would join the rest during the dinner celebration afterwards.  

But even the festivities would have been frugal at best if it weren’t for the generous gift from some unknown benefactors who were providing the food and drink.

“Do these benefactors have any idea how much dwarves eat and drink?” I asked, laughing.  “They may just need to dive into their coffers a bit more to cover all that by the time they’re done.”

“Yes, I imagine so,” Jürgen chuckled.  “But the dragon still lingers in everyone’s minds, so I doubt there will be as much cheer today as there would have been had the wedding been performed in Erebor.  But still, there will be some happiness.  It is a wedding after all.”

I stopped walking for a few moments.  Bernd had gone ahead with most of the guards towards the inn where he and the rest of them, including Jürgen were staying.  I was to stay at the Willow Inn, they said, where the king’s family was staying.

“Is it really that bad, Jürgen?  Do the dwarves really have nothing?”

The older man sighed. “They fled Erebor with only the clothes on their backs, child.  They weren’t able to carry any of their treasures.  They were lucky to escape alive.  You should know that.  You stayed with them when they were camped just outside Greenbanü.”

He was right.  But I'd been too distraught then to have noticed anything outside of my mother's tent as she lay dying.  “And now they wander the wilderness looking for work where they can find it, not knowing where to lay their heads at night to rest?  Is this the future you and Bernd want for me?  A future of uncertainty?”

“Frigga, I thought we talked about this.  These are your people, and ever since you learned who you really were, Greenbanü ceased to be your home.  You know it, and I know it.  Everyone knew it,” Jürgen said, sighing. 

“I’m afraid, Jürgen,” I whispered.  “But if my real mother were still alive, I don’t think I’d be feeling like this.  So alone.”

“I only want you to be happy,” Jürgen exhaled wearily.  “Do you want us to turn back?”

“I don’t want to turn back,” I said as I shook my head vehemently.  “But I’ve got no one  to turn to among them, Jürgen, and it scares me to not only be homeless, but to have no one to turn to.  I’ve always had you and Bernd.  And Inge.  With the dwarves, I won’t have anyone.”    

“You won’t be alone, Frigga,” Jürgen said. “There are people who do care for you.  You do know that, don’t you?”

Before I could answer, Bernd shouted for us to hurry.  I forced a smile and began walking hurriedly towards Bernd and the rest of the men, a part of me eager to begin my new life yet another part of me dreading it.