"Talia. Talia." The young woman woke to Bofur lightly shaking her arm. She groaned in protest. She did not want to get up. Talia reluctantly opened her eyes as Bofur told her that they were about to move out. As Talia was getting her things together, she could hear one of the Dwarves stopping just behind her.
"You. Burglar." a deep voice called. Talia turned around in disbelief. There was the leader, standing tall and proud before her, giving her what she noted to be his famous glare. "Do not think I didn't see you nearly fall off your pony earlier. Your lack of sleep has made you unstable." he growled.
The young woman narrowed her eyes. He really has no idea how stupid he sounds, does he? "Wow. Thanks for the tip, Captain Obvious. That helps me...oh wait, it doesn't. You just wanted to make a point. Well, you've made it, you can get out of my face now." she snorted and turned back around to zip up her backpack.
"Who are you to tell me what to do?" he snapped, causing her to look at him again. As he began to step towards her, she stepped back...until she backed into a tree. Thorin closed in on her until they were practically nose to nose, both of them glaring. "I am the leader of this company, and you are no higher than the help. You are nothing. You think you've made friends? Ha. They won't be there once I've come for you. They won't stop me." he hissed.
"Is that supposed to be a threat?" she snapped.
"That is a warning. You will never question my authority again."
"You want a bet, Stupid Dwarf?" she challenged. Thorin's eyes flared with fury. He looked like he wanted to hit her, and Talia would be lying if she didn't admit that she was anticipating a blow.
"You had better start being more careful, or I will make this journey a misery for you." And with that, he walked away, but not before stopping after a few feet. "Because you nearly fell off your pony, that makes you incapable of riding. You will ride with me for the rest of the day." he sneered, and continued on his way.
Talia's jaw practically hung all the way to the core of Middle Earth. WHAT? WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED? She couldn't believe what he'd just said. She couldn't. Thorin would seriously exercise his "authority" towards her by practically punishing himself at the same time?
Wait. There had to be more to it than just that. There were other ways that Thorin could make her miserable without having to be so close to her. Then it hit her. He was trying to tear down her own image. He was trying to make her appear weak in front of everyone else. He was trying to prove himself right. That she never should have come, and was completely incapable of taking care of herself.
Talia was so angry, she nearly punched the tree to the side of her. She wouldn't do it. She would do everything she possibly could to avoid this. It wasn't just the fact that her small reputation with the company would suffer. She didn't like Thorin. She didn't want to ride with him.
The girl thought about asking one of the others if she could ride with them, until it occurred to her that what Thorin had told her was annoyingly correct. The others were loyal to him, not her. They would do whatever the leader told them to do. Talia could see some of the Dwarves mounting their ponies already. She was screwed.
"Burglar! Here. Now." Before she could back away, Dwalin came up behind Talia, and took hold of her arm and walked her towards the leader.
"I suggest you do as he says, lass. Don't make a fuss out of it." the warrior snarled as they got closer. When they approached Thorin's pony, there was practically a staring contest between the two.
"Get on the horse." he demanded.
Talia scowled. "Hell no. I will walk the rest of the way without shoes before I spend hours of the day within centimeters of you." Thorin nodded to Dwalin, and the warrior put his arms under Talia's armpits, and lifted her up. "Hey! Put me down!" she yelled.
"I'm sorry about this, lass, but you brought this upon yourself." he told her, though he didn't sound too sorry. As they got closer to the pony, Talia began to squirm and resist.
"No! Stop! Stop!" she cried. With that, Dwalin did. Something was wrong. This was no cry of protest. This was a cry of fear. Even Thorin furrowed his eyebrows, wondering what had just happened.
Dwalin was the first to break the silence. "What was-"
"Shut up! I'll get on myself!" she shouted.
Talia began to walk slowly towards Thorin and his pony, with Dwalin still at her back. Thorin was surprised when she actually walked past and around him. Then she stopped. Thorin and Dwalin saw her looking into the pony's eye, trying to keep her cool. Thorin remembered seeing her do that with her own pony at the beginning of the journey. Then it dawned on him.
"You're afraid." he said bluntly.
Talia turned her head and narrowed her eyes, but didn't say anything...at first. "So? What do you care? Everyone's afraid of something." she retorted.
Thorin raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Well, would you look at that everyone! The burglar is afraid of horses! She must have assumed that we were walking all the way to the mountain!" he announced.
The older Dwarves laughed at Thorin's remark, but some of the others just looked at each other and anywhere else but Talia. The young woman said nothing and gave a look of indifference. She didn't resist when Dwalin lifted her once again and onto the pony.
Thorin climbed up behind her, causing her to glare. "One day, I'm gonna find out what you're afraid of." she hissed. She didn't get a response, the Dwarf king merely began to lead everyone else down the road, as if her words were meaningless.
Talia leaned as far forward as she could, her muscles tense. She didn't know how long she would last. She was so tempted to just jump off the pony and walk, but figured that since Thorin's meaty arms would be on her in a heartbeat, it wasn't worth it. As she continued to think about how awkward this was, she felt Thorin's arm wrap around her and press her to his chest. Even more awkward.
"Uhh, what are you doing?" she asked wryly, trying to resist.
"The only reason you're up here is because you're sleep deprived. Put it together." he snapped.
The young woman looked up at him and scowled. "Yeah. Like I'm actually gonna fall asleep against your oh so comfy metal armor. And you really think you can expect me to trust you like that after you practically threatened to come after me? That was stupid of you." she grimaced.
Thorin didn't respond, but Talia could have sworn she saw him stick his nose even further in the air. She tried to sit up again, but Thorin was having none of it. He kept her pressed firmly against him, her resistance clearly not being a problem for him. "Stupid Dwarf!" Talia irritatingly growled. Thorin really didn't seem to like that, because his hold on her became crushingly tighter.
Talia grunted in response and gritted her teeth as she felt like she was being suffocated. She refused to cry out. She refused to beg for mercy. However, he wouldn't stop. He was waiting, waiting for her to surrender to him. Talia was close to gasping for air when it came to her.
The young woman got ready to raise herself up. Sucking in bits of air, she used as much force as she could as she pushed back and smacked the back of her head right into Thorin's adam's apple.
Thorin immediately released Talia and brought his hand to his neck, coughing in both pain and shock. "Oh, I'm sorry, you didn't like that?" Talia asked with narrowed eyes. "Well guess what? I don't enjoy being suffocated either, you sasquatch!" she snarled.
Talia gasped as Thorin grabbed her bun and harshly pulled. "What did I tell you about being careful, Burglar? You think this is cruel and unusual punishment? I can make sure that you suffer before this quest is over, and trust me, it will end with you screaming for mercy." he hissed right into her ear. The leader then shoved her head away hard, and then gripped her body once again, holding her tight against his chest.
Talia grunted when she was released, refusing to show how much Thorin's grip really hurt. "You think I'm afraid of you? You think that Gandalf hasn't told me anything about this quest? You boys were so desperate for the right kind of "burglar", you had to go to a different universe. I know you won't do anything to me because like it or not, you need me. I wouldn't even be here right now if you didn't." she said the last part slowly, letting the information sink into his mind.
She was met with silence. Talia saw Thorin gritting his teeth as he refused to look at her. He stuck his nose in the air once again, and he did not release his hold on her.
When she saw that their little chat had ended, Talia huffed and crashed her head into his chest. She wouldn't admit that the armor had hurt her head, and she finally closed her eyes. She figured that if she could get to sleep, she wouldn't have to think about him. To her own surprise, Talia could actually feel herself drifting off, and then nothing.
...
Thorin gave a sigh of relief when the burglar finally went to sleep. He seriously thought his entire being was going to explode, his blood was boiling so hot. This was far from his favorite form of punishment, but he figured that since they were on the road, this was the best way to set her straight.
He still didn't understand. Why didn't she back down? She was willing to go so far as to bring out a side of Thorin that he had always been able to keep in check. Until now. Thorin had never threatened a woman before. Not ever in his life. Though he didn't show it, he didn't feel proud or dominant...if anything, he felt ashamed that he failed to control himself. Yet, he couldn't believe that his threat still didn't silence her! Thorin could see that he was getting to her, yet she refused to yield.
Most women he knew, his own sister included, were not afraid of challenging the men, but they knew where to draw the line. They knew when to cut the argument, and either come out winning or losing. This woman didn't know when to quit. If he didn't have a company behind him, he probably would never have gotten her on the pony.
It wasn't that he couldn't physically do it himself, he would lose his patience when it came to her verbal abuse. This woman had spirit, he'd give her that, but that fire she has in her tongue could get her into trouble one day. Thorin had yet another reason to complete this quest. Once it was done, that would be the last they'd see of her. She would be out of his life forever. And he couldn't wait.
"That went over well." Balin came riding next to the leader about an hour after the burglar had fallen asleep.
Thorin smirked. "She's on the pony, isn't she?"
Balin looked her over before looking back to his king. "Now would be a good time to bury the hatchet, you know."
Thorin gave him a look of disbelief. "I couldn't reason with this woman even if I wanted to. She's stubborn beyond words, her pride blinds her, and she refuses to give in even when she knows she's been defeated!" he hissed.
Balin only smiled. "That sounds an awful lot like someone I know." The leader was speechless. He should be angry at Balin for even thinking of comparing her to him. But how could he be if he knew it was true? "Look at her, laddie. Give her a chance." He'd said that once before, so Thorin finally decided to have a real look at the woman he was holding on to.
She looked different while sleeping. The burglar generally had a pleasant face, he'd admit that. A very pretty girl, when she wasn't scowling. She had olive skin and dark brown hair that glowed copper in the sun. She had a slender, yet broad figure, and Thorin had noticed that she did have some muscle in between the skin and bones. Maybe she wasn't completely weak. Although she claims to be tall for a Terran woman, the burglar was a good five inches shorter than he was, and he could lift her the way he would a small Dwarfling.
What Thorin really noticed when she was awake were her eyes. Thorin had never heard of brown eyes being described as fierce and piercing, but this girl's were. Her eyes could burn a hole into anyone if they weren't careful. He wondered if they looked softer when she was happy. He had a feeling that he would never find out though.
When Balin cleared his throat, Thorin realized that he'd been staring. "Well?" he asked, as if he wanted to hear his finalized report.
"She doesn't look like the same person." he admitted.
"That's probably because she's not angry, which she normally isn't." Thorin scowled at that, to which Balin laughed.
"Anything else?" the Dwarf king asked, rolling his eyes.
"While you're asking," Balin began, "she has a remarkable smile." Thorin cocked an eyebrow, and rolled his eyes once more. What did that have to do with anything? "Don't try to pull that over on me, Thorin. I know you think she's pretty, and I'm sure that many people think so. But when she smiles, she's stunning. It's as if, she's made all the grief and angst vanish, if only for a little while. Think about that, and what you're missing." he stated, and allowed himself to fall behind with the others.
Thorin couldn't understand what made his old friend make such a remark. So what if she had a pretty smile? That wouldn't get his home back. That wouldn't set the tables of multiple families, and even if it did allow some happiness, it wasn't like it was permanent.
No. He wouldn't think about this. He did not like the company burglar, and he really didn't want to grow fond of her on the way either. No. There was a task at hand. She would do what she promised, receive her payment, and take her spiked tongue far away from him. He took one last look at the burglar's peaceful face, and only hoped that they would get to the mountain sooner than he thought.