Thorin’s Pov…
I was woken up by the sound of someone being sick, just outside the tent; groaning, I sat up and looked around the dimly lit space, to find Valin missing from her bedroll. I could not help but chuckle; I stood and went to her side. She was slumped behind a tree, still releasing the contents of her stomach when I moved behind her. She did not even hear me approach, as she was otherwise engaged. I gingerly gathered her hair and held it away from her pale neck, with one hand and with the other; I rubbed her back in a soothing manner. She jumped slightly at my touch, but her mind was eased when I announced my identity to her.
Several minutes later, she stopped being sick and stood up weakly; I held her around the waist as she leaned on me. “I am never going to drink again” she moaned out, almost painfully and I laughed; “That is what we all say, but yet, we still drink when the time comes” I told her and she groaned again, before hiccupping. She immediately covered her mouth, in fear that she would be ill once more, but it did not happen and she sighed, almost in relief. “Come, let us get you cleaned up before we wake the rest of the camp” I said, moving to walk towards the creek, but she did not move with me.
“What is the matter Valin?” I asked and she clutched her stomach; “I do not feel very well” she moaned out and I chuckled before bending down and grabbed behind her knees; keeping my hand on her back as I lifted her effortlessly. I walked with her toward the creek, and the previous night’s conversation came to my mind; “Valin, do you remember anything from the night before?” I asked as I looked down at her. She was silent for a moment, before shaking her head, “No, what happened?” she asked, looking up at me, innocently. I gave a weak smile before shaking my own head.
“Nothing important, you drunkenly danced around the fire with Thrain and was singing, quite off-key might I add” I told her and she covered her face, which was going red with embarrassment.
“It was quite amusing” I told her with a chuckle; “Stop it, it is quite embarrassing to hear this” she muttered and I smiled. We had reached the creek and I could now see the crystal, clear waters as it rushed over smooth grey stones; the early morning light casted a dim glow over everything. I sat her down on the water’s edge, and moved to cup some of the cool water in my hands, “Wash out your mouth” I ordered as I brought my hands to her lips and she took it into her mouth, slowly. After she swished it around a bit, she quickly spits it out on the grass; “That is fowl” she murmured, just loud enough for me to hear and I chuckled once more.
She stooped down beside the water and cupped some of the refreshingly, cool liquid in her hands before washing her face with it. I looked at her carefully, one thought kept crossing my mind; she does not remember who we said to one another the previous night. That thought made me frown. “Thorin, when do we leave?” Valin asked as I looked into her eyes, “As soon as I can wake my cousins and brothers” I replied with a smirk. I heard someone approaching and Valin and I looked up to see Aden stumbling through the trees towards us. “Good morning” he greeted as he came to stand by us, “And to you, Aden” I spoke, as I moved to stand; “Did you sleep well, Aden?” Valin asked. “Better than most” Aden responded with a small chuckle. “Most of the men woke in the middle of the night to be sick” he explained; “Good, that means that we will be able to leave shortly” I said. “Aden, help Valin back to our tent when she is finished, I have to go wake the men” I told him, before walking back to camp and to my cousins’ tent.
Valin’s Pov…
I watched as Thorin walked away and looked over at Aden, who had suddenly produced a wooden cup from his bag. “Here, finish washing up, I’ll go get something for you to change before we leave again” he offered kindly and I nodded and watched the boy scurry away. I filled the cup with some water and washed my face and mouth properly before moving behind a tree, near the water. I looked around carefully before beginning to strip out of my tunic and pants, my feet already bare; leaving on my thin chemise before moving towards the water.
I slowly waded to the center off the river, where the water only reached my waist; it was a bit chilly but I only needed to wash up. I heard someone approached and ducked under the water, only peeking up a bit, to see Aden holding a bag and my sword in his arms. “I brought your things, Thorin says to hurry, we can make it to the place within two hours” Aden called to me and I nodded, before swimming towards where the water is very shallow before getting out. Aden turned around, blushing as he saw me exiting the water and I smiled at his back. “You can go, Aden. I have my sword, I should be fine” I told him and he nodded before running off, not once looking back.
I smiled fondly as he disappeared from sight, before turning to my bag and finding an appropriate change of clothes. I stripped out of the wet chemise and dried myself before dressing in another and putting on a fresh pair of pants with a pale-green tunic. I combed out my hair quickly before putting it into a loose braid to the side, I packed up my things, and grabbed my sword. I walked back to the camp site to find that the tents had all been packed away and the men sat around several small fires, eating breakfast. Looking around, I realized that there was a small group of only women. I did not know there were other women here. I walked towards where I last saw Thorin and I tent, only to bump into one of the men. “Apologies, Thorin is over there with the boy” he spoke and I simply nodded before turning on my heels and walking towards the direction he had pointed out.
I found Thorin with Aden, bent over and tending to a small brown dove. “Thorin, Aden” I called and they both turning and looked at me; “What happened to it?” I inquired, pointing to the feathered creature in Aden’s hand. “I found it yesterday, its wing was damaged” Aden said softly, as he stroked the dove’s head tenderly. The creature, simply nuzzled its beak into the boy’s hand and I smiled softly at it. “Valin!” I heard someone shout and I immediately turned towards the sound, it was Thror. “Yes?” I asked and he thrusted a plate of bread and sausages into one hand and a mug of ale into the other; “Eat, we are leaving soon” he practically ordered and I nodded before he walked away.
“I refuse to drink this” I muttered into the cup and Aden and Thorin laughed, I rolled my eyes before sitting in the grass beside them. Completely focusing on eating the bread and sausage and not drinking the ale. “If you are not going to drink it, do not waste it” Thorin scolded jokingly as he took the mug from me and downed it, himself. “Here, and bring her some water” he ordered a passing man, “Yes Jarl” the man said as he took the now empty mug away. Mere moments later, he returned with a cup of water for me; “Thank you” I told him, before taking a sip of the cool liquid and he nodded in response before leaving us. “Thorin, who are the other women here?” I asked him, my eyes darting over to the group that sat, eating. “They are some of the best shieldmaidens I know, outside of the village. One of them is Dain’s wife, Fregya” he explained and I nodded, looking over to them once more before finishing eating.
“Okay Lads, Lassies! It is time to move out if we want to get there before midday” Bain shouted and there was suddenly a flurry of activities. Everyone properly doused their fires, strapped their bags to their horses and got rid of any evidence that we were there. My plate and cup were taken away and I was ushered to my horse, I mounted Vana and waited for Aden to put his bird away before climbing on behind me. Once the Jarls were ready, we moved out. I somehow found myself in the group of women and Fregya was riding beside me. “You are Thorin’s lass?” she asked and I looked at her, “I believe so” I said, softly and she smiled; “You are, in all my years, I have never seen the man so smitten with a woman” she giggled and I felt my face heat up some. “And by the look of it, you are too” another woman mused, causing them all to laugh and my face to turn scarlet with a blush. I joined them in several conversations along the way and we became friends quickly, I even learned a few things from them.
Thorin’s Pov…
I smiled as I looked at Valin, who was deep in conversation with Fregya and the other women; “Look at him, absolutely smitten, he is” Bain laughed and my brothers as well as Dain laughed. “What?” I asked, my eyes darting quickly to Valin, who was currently looking at me. I sent her a smile and she blushed before looking away, making me smirk, and the other women laughed as well. “Exactly” Bain chuckled and I rolled my eyes.
“What should one do, if they tell someone they love them, but that person forgets?” I asked them and the laughter stopped and they looked at me. “You told her you loved her?” Thror asked and I nodded; “What did she say?”, “When did you do this?”, “Where was I?” they asked.
“Yes, I told her that I loved her. She said she loved me as well. Last night and Thrain, you were skipping around the fire, drink and singing, horribly might I add” I answered them all.
They chuckled at the last bit, then Thror spoke; “But, was she not drunk last night?” he questioned and I nodded. “You fool, tell her you love her, when she has her wit about her. It was the lass’ first time drinking after all” Dain scolded him, chortling. “I want to, but I fear that-” I began but was cut off by Thrain’s scoff; “Do not be foolish, tell her you love her and she will feel the same. Drunk word, sober thoughts, little brother” he stated and I nodded; “I will” I promised.
We rode on, and within the hour, we reached a large camp. We had reached the Grey Stone, I dismounted and the men all did the same; “Aden and Valin, stay close” I spoke, my voice automatically losing its fond tone and adopting one of a stern Jarl. They both moved to my sides and we walked to a very large tent, at the heart of the camp; this was where the Jarls will speak on the morrow.
I pushed back the flap and entered, Valin and Aden slipped in after me; followed by Bain, Dain and Fregya. There were seven other Jarls here, there were only nineteen in total; eighteen, after I killed Jarl Dustin and his heir. Their wives and sons were also with them; we all looked around the ‘room’ and my eyes landed on someone. She was on the arm of a Jarl; I froze as she turned and her eyes locked with mine and her lips curved upward into a smile. Mela was here.
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SURPRISE!!
I know it's been forever since my last update and I'm sorry. My dad was in the hospital and it was serious. Thankfully, he's alright and back home now. So, that means you all get an update.
I hope you all liked this chapter, please don't forget to vote, comment and share. Thank you all for the support so far.
XxNikkyxX