Beside the Undying Fire

Chapter 17

Another rough night.

As I had expected.

I got up immediately, I did not waste time lying around.

I walked over to the bucket of water, looking down in it. My face had nearly fully healed.

I attempted to cup some water with my hands, but immediately cringed when the cool water hit the gash on my hand.

I shook my head in disappointment as I walked towards the hand-carved dresser in my bedroom.

I stripped out of the shirt I slept in and grabbed a dark blue waist-length shirt with long sleeves. And black, skin tight pants. I dropped them a second later as I looked down on my side.

There it was. The painful reminder.

I shook the thought off and dressed in the shirt and pants.

I checked my hair, and reexamined my face.

I left once again, after I grabbed my sword and placed it in it's holder.

Work had begun, the clings of the Dwarves' hammers against the mountain echoed all through. I wandered halls once again.

I walked until there was a tap on my shoulder.

I turned to see Ariannell.

"I'm sorry about last night." I said before she could say anything.

"I know what you are feeling, Madeira." She grabbed my hand, putting it onto hers and covering it with her other.

"To be fair, Ariannell, you know nothing of it." I insisted.

"You're upset! I know you are! I know you!" She explained. "Because love is the most unfair thing in this world."

Other Dwarves rounded us as we talked.

"Please keep it down!" I whispered. "And I have not a feeling of love within me!"

She placed her hands firmly on my shoulders. "One thing or another is bothering you, Madeira. And I believe it's a sensation in your heart. One which grabs a hold of you when you least expect it. Everything they say, everything they do, every part of their being keeps your heart beating. It's as if a spark of a bright, piercing flame in your untempered heart ignites, and you feel it every day, every second you're with them." She looked deeply at me. "This was passed down through generations in my family. They went with their hearts, and you should do the same."

"That's not the case, Ariannell." I said, slightly holding back the urge to cry.

I had that blaze of flame, only as Thorin was around. That spark ignited, I didn't like it. But it still allowed me feel as if I'd won.

I'd wondered where Ariannell had gotten this. She was a fair bit older, with no beard and still appeared to be young, but slightly aged, perhaps she was part something else, just as I was.

She really did help me after I lost my parents, even before. She was wise, and did her fair share in life. Which is most likely why she smiled so bright. She encouraged me, but kept a distance as she knew I liked to keep things to myself.

She was around 32 years older than me, but had the heart of a Dwarf my age.

She had light blonde hair and grey eyes, she was my height, perhaps a bit shorter.

"You know what you must do, but your mind won't allow you to say it. Keep it within your heart, but do what needs to be done. The outcome may change your life; for better or for worse. But do try, love." She let go of my shoulders.