A Heart of Gold

Chapter 10

"Stop defending her, Ren... She's not our mother; She's never been our mother." The man, who was named Alvor, walked away from them. The younger one called Ren called Helga ma... Mother... She was a mother?

What secrets have you been keeping from us? He thought. He watched as the youngest one lead Helga in the direction where he and Gandalf came from. He didn't mean to eavesdrop, but he had to admit that being here gave him a sense of calmness. He had to take his mind off of things; the quest, being in elvish territory, and most of all, Helga's biggest secret. But it seemed that being a dragon rider -that tribe of wildlings near their mountain, wasn't the only secret that she kept. Thorin analyzed the face of the younger one, the one called Ren, and tried to compare his face to Helga's. He didn't find any trace of Helga in him at all... Well, except for the thin lips, but that was about it. It did not make sense how this boy had brown hair, and how she has blonde. But then again, it must be from the father. He remembered that Helga did have an intended before Smaug's attack.

That will mean that the both of them...

"Before the wedding?" He muttered to himself. Her tribe was indeed wild, just as the stories about dragon riders said. They live with beasts, so they must act like them. He has no idea why the news of her sons startled him more than he was supposed to as the leader of the Company, but the only thing he's sure of is why Helga wanted to avoid Rivendell as much as possible, and that was her sons.

But why was she afraid of facing them?

So many questions in his mind about this woman. Who exactly was she?

"So what happened when I was gone?" She asked Amren as they walked along the gardens, arm hooked around his elbow and his hand placed on top of hers.

"Well, Alvor is coping well. He's a soldier here in Rivendell," He said, explaining. "He's one of the best and there are rumors that he'll be captain soon. Although, he'll be on guard duty tonight."

"And I expect that he takes this job seriously?" Helga asked and Amren nodded.

"Indeed. He stands still like a stick when he's on guard duty. You'd think he fell asleep standing." Amren said, laughing. Helga, too, allowed herself to laugh.

"Well, h-how about you," She timidly asked. "How are you?" She asked him, and Amren smiled.

"The Head Healer offered me to study by him as an apprentice, although I haven't said yes, yet. I don't know if I should." He said, his voice becoming low and they came into an abrupt stop. Helga looked at Amren and smiled widely.

"Clearly, you must be joking! You should definitely say yes!" She exclaimed, and Amren smiled.

"Really?" He asked.

"Of course! Do you know that your uncle Hosue was the head healer of our tribe?" She asked and Amren smiled.

"You might have mentioned that." He said, smiling.

"It runs in the family, trust me." She said as she continued to walk.

"Then what happened to you when you were my age?" Amren asked and Helga gave him a wide grin.

"I did absolutely nothing when I was your age!" She exclaimed as they both headed for the balcony that overviewed the waterfalls.

"Really? I find that hard to believe." He said and Helga just shook her head.

"Then tell me, my dear, what exactly do you think did I do when I was your age?" She asked him, her big smile dropping when she saw that his shoulders had slumped and his mood had turned melancholic.