So, this is the first chapter of the sequel to Lionheart. I do not own any of the characters or anything else, besides Reyna and whoever else I create and Ibilissa, of course. All credit goes to J.R.R. Tolkein and those who created the Hobbit Films. Enjoy :)
The young man knew something was amiss when he saw the dark smoke spiraling acrossed the blue midday sky. He made his way towards the source of the smoke on foot. The young man had left Ash, his mount, behind in Rivendell. He refused to risk the horses's well-being in his travels through the Misty Mountains. Lord Elrond had been very hospitable, as the young man had been to Rivendell several times before. The Lord of Rivendell had informed him that the Company had left just a few days before the young Bender had arrived and were making for the Misty Mountains.
The young man had lost their trail, but he had no doubt that something had happened when he saw the large amount of smoke. He made his way up the grey, rock path, his brown boots hardly making a noise as he went. The young Bender had his hood pulled up to conceal his face from any unwanted observers. He found himself at the side of the mountain and walked over to the rock wall. He noticed a buried entrance and scowled. He removed his hood, exposing his short, bronze-colored hair. His amber eyes glinted with anger and disgust.
"Goblins." he spat. He had realized that this had been one of the numerous entrances to the Kingdom of the Goblins that were hidden throughout the Misty Mountains. He hated the vile creatures with all his being. And he gathered pretty quickly that they had been the reason that the Company had went off the grid.
The young Bender smelled the smoke much stronger here, and could see that the origin of the thick, dark smoke was nearby. He followed the scent and came upon a dead warg. There were signs of struggle and a chase. Not good, he thought nervously. He ran through the forest, following the trail. He came to a clearing and his amber eyes widened in alarm. The place was all but destroyed. There were several fallen trees, including one that lay precariously on the edge of the cliff. There was still fire burning around him, though not much. The great cloud of smoke had been created by burning grass and leaves. And then there were the bodies. Many dead orcs and wargs were left to rot around the clearing. The orcs never did care for their dead. Or cleaned up their messes. The young man walked over to where the fire was still burning. His eyes glowed bright orange and the flames went out.
He checked around the area and walked up to a dead warg. He pulled out an arrow that had been lodged into the beast's head. He had never seen an arrow like this one before, and decided it must have been one of the Company's. It was not one of the red-fletched arrows that Reyna used, so whose was it? It was unusual for dwarves to wield a bow. They preferred heavy axes and swords. The young Bender then remembered the dwarf that Reyna had told him about. One that used a bow. What was his name? Kili? Yes, that was it.
The young bender was uneasy because of the sheer number of dead orcs and wargs spread around the clearing. He investigated the battleground further. He knelt down when he came across something that did not quite fit. He picked up the small object and dusted the dirt off of it. It was a wooden pipe. It had dwarven runes and symbols carved into it. The company had definitely been here. But the arrows and the pipe had been the only evidence that suggested that they had been in this place. No dwarven bodies were among the dead orcs, so that meant everyone had survived the battle, including Reyna. He released a sigh of relief.
The young Bender inspected the treeline, searching for the trail of either the fleeing Company or that of the orcs that pursued them. He shortly found the trail and smiled. Orcs never were good at concealing their tracks. Which made it all the more easy for the Benders to hunt them down.
The young man was not naive, however, and realized that the orcs were rising. The situation had become larger than Reyna or the other Benders had comprehended. Something evil was stirring, the young man could feel it deep down inside of him.
He hurried down the trail and followed it a ways. He came upon a point where more orcs and wargs had joined the main party.
"No, no, no." the young Bender said, breaking out into a dead run. He had to find the company. They were in much more danger than they thought. The young Bender decided that he would have to send word back to Ibilissa. This had become much larger than just a quest to reclaim a lost home. It was the beginning of a war.
************
Reyna pushed a stray strand of her black waves behind her ear, absentmindedly. She was relieved to know that everyone was safe for the moment, but she was aware that they would not stay that way. Gandalf pulled her aside, so that they could talk privately.
"You're injured." the Grey wizard observed. Reyna's sapphire-blue eyes darted around to make sure that none of the dwarves were eavesdropping.
"Yes..." she admitted reluctantly. There wasn't much hiding anything from Gandalf. The back of Reyna's red shirt was stained even darker crimson because of the damage inflicted by the goblin's whip. Her leg was torn up from her fight with the White Warg and was bleeding badly.
"It doesn't matter. I'll be fine. We need to get off the Carrock and put as much distance between us and the orcs as possible." Reyna insisted.
"Doesn't matter?" Gandalf scoffed in disbelief. He still had yet to get used to the Benders' total disregard to their self-being. Reyna looked at him with pleading eyes.
"Please, Gandalf. You know I'm right. We will not wind up traveling too far anyways. All of us are exhausted from lastnight's events. I do not wish to be a burden." she coaxed. Gandalf huffed in defeat.
"I suppose. But we are not leaving until we bind your leg." the aging wizard said. Reyna smiled slightly.
"As you wish." she said.
Reyna walked back over to where the rest of the company was gathered. She dug through her bag until she found some bandages. She grabbed her waterskin. The Bender could not heal herself the way she had Thorin, but she had to at least clean the wound. This would hurt. She distanced herself from the others, so that they wouldn't get worried. She sat down, her wounded leg stretched out in front of her.
She had uncapped the container and had been about to clean out the wound when Kili and Fili walked over. They saw her torn-up leg and their eyes widened. Reyna had been hoping to avoid this. She always enjoyed the company of the brothers. But, she didn't need them worrying about her. When they saw what Reyna was about to do, Fili yelled over his shoulder:
"Oye, Bofur, get over here!"
"Damn." Reyna hissed. So much for keeping it on the down-low. The brothers only meant to help, they didn't understand why Reyna hadn't asked for help.
"I'm comin', I'm comin'. What's all the commotion about.... oh." Bofur said as he pushed through the dwarves. When he saw Reyna's injuries, his lips formed into the shape of an o.
"What happened?" Bofur asked, much too loudly. Every dwarf (and hobbit) in the company turned to look at Reyna. She put her head in her hands, embarrassed. Bofur knelt down beside her and took the waterskin out of her hand.
"Let us help, lass." he said. Reyna shook her head in exasperation.
"I had it under control." she insisted. Out of the blue, Bofur poured the water over the gashes. Reyna muttered some swear words under her breath and Kili and Fili sat down besides her to comfort their friend.
"I can see that." Bofur commented sarcastically, his strong accent evident. He then dressed the wounds and Kili and Fili helped Reyna to her feet.
"We should get going." Thorin said. The dwarves muttered and complained. All of them were tired, but they obeyed Thorin's command. The lead dwarf walked over to Reyna, his dark eyes showing the concern he felt.
"Are you able to walk?" he asked. Reyna looked at him and raised an eyebrow.
"Is my leg missing? No. I can walk." she said stubbornly. Thorin chuckled.
"Sometimes I think you are as stubborn as a dwarf."
"No, that would require me to rashly charge at the enemy alone." Reyna quipped. Thorin cracked a smile, slightly bitter about the joke. Reyna slung her bag over her shoulder and grimaced as it put pressure on the gashes in her back. She ignored the pain and put her bow and quiver over her shoulder as well. The rest of the company gathered what little supplies that they had been able to salvage. Fili patted his sides and looked inside his pocket, wearing a confused expression.
"It appears that I have misplaced my pipe." he observed, a frown on his bearded face. Reyna and Kili shrugged and finished gathering their things.
"Head out." Thorin ordered. It was early morning when they left, following the narrow pathway that ran down the side of the Carrock. Reyna took her usual position in between Kili and Fili as they walked single-file down the side of the great stone structure. They had to be careful, as some parts of the path were missing. In other parts, they had to climb over boulders that had fallen onto the trail. It was not easy going for Reyna. The bandage on her knee was tied tight, to stem the bloodflow. She was quite annoyed that she couldn't bend her knee in the slightest. The young Bender walked behind Fili with Kili behind her and they helped her keep her footing. One slip and they would plummet hundreds of feet towards the ground. They finally came to the bottom of the large structure, after hours of careful travel. They continued on, walking on rocky, uneven ground. There were some scraggly trees and shrubs here or there, but it was mostly grey rock walls that surrounded them.
They eventually came upon a river that was carved into the rock and Thorin called a halt.
"We'll rest here for the night." he stated. The dwarves all groaned with relief and plopped down on the ground. It was early evening by the time they stopped and every single one of them were exhausted. Reyna shrugged off her bow and quiver and sat them next to Fili and Kili. She began to walk off, bag in hand when Fili spoke up.
"Where are you going?" he asked. Reyna rolled her eyes. Leave it to dwarves to notice every little thing you did.
"To wash up." she said bluntly.
"Ooh." Kili said, wiggling his eyebrows jokingly. He had the usual mischievous look in his dark brown eyes. Any lady that was not used to the dwarves would have been highly offended. Luckily, Reyna did not think of herself as a lady and had spent a lot of time with the dwarves. Fili smacked his brother upside the head and the three burst into laughter. Reyna shook her head and walked downstream some. The dwarves would respect her privacy, even Kili. When all was said and done, they were actually quite chivalrous.
Reyna peeled off her tattered clothes and stepped into the river. The water was cold and stung as it flowed over her injuries. She scrubbed the dirt and blood off of her skin and washed her hair. When she was clean, she dried herself and pulled on a new change of clothes. She wore a royal blue tunic and dark grey breeches. She pulled on her black leather boots and her silver eagle pendant hung from her neck. It was a relief to be clean for the first time since she had been in Rivendell.
Once she returned, the rest of the men followed suit and Reyna stayed in the camp. She decided that they could risk a small fire and gathered what wood she could find. Starting a fire would never be a problem for Reyna. Her eyes glowed bright white and a flame burst to life. She sat back and found what little food they still had. She started to cook the meat and potatoes and sat back, waiting for the others to get back. They finally did, and by that time, dinner was ready. They all sat around the small fire, eating and talking quietly amongst themselves. Reyna was describing an adventure she had gone on with a few of her friends to Kili and Fili.
"-Then we found Caden hog-tied, hanging upsidedown from a tree. Ella and I were laughing so hard, we almost failed to miss the orcs that were sneaking up on us." Reyna said, the three of them laughing at the story. The sky began to darken and Reyna remembered something with a start. She stood up and stretched her sore muscles.
"Hey, Bilbo, come here." Reyna called to the hobbit. The little hobbit looked up at her confused, but did as she asked. He got up from his spot near Gandalf.
"Bring your blade." Reyna added. He shrugged and picked up his sword.
Reyna led him a distance away from the group, before turning around, a hand on the hilt of her sword. Bilbo watched her, a confused expression on his face.
"What are we doing?" he asked curiously.
"Well, I am fulfilling my promise. I'm going to teach you how to wield your sword." Reyna said with a small smile.
"Oh, um, alright." Bilbo said, looking both nervous and excited. Reyna put a hand on the small hobbit's shoulder, a warm smile on her face.
"Relax. You'll do great. And it is best to remain calm when fighting. First thing, stay on the balls of your feet." she began.
Thorin watched Reyna teach Bilbo the basic techniques as he sat beside the fire. His nephews sat down near him, matching smiles on their faces.
"She's a good person." Kili commented as he watched Reyna train Bilbo. Fili and Thorin nodded in agreement.
"I thought that the Goblins were going to kill her, back there." Fili said, his tone revealing how nervous he had been at the time. Thorin looked down.
"She would have let them too, if it meant we could escape." he said somberly. He saw the worry and dismay in his nephews' eyes.
"How can she not care about what happens to her?" Kili blurted out. In the background, they heard Reyna say:
"That's it! Now try it faster."
She was teaching Bilbo one of the sword drills that she had learned when she was a trainee.
"Reyna believes that the lives of her friends and loved ones are more important than her own. This is partially why she is called Lionheart. She would do anything for us." Thorin replied. The three of them looked uneasy and worried.
"I just hope she understands that we need her here, with us." Fili said quietly, voicing Thorin and Kili's thoughts as well. They nodded in agreement.
"What do you know about what happened to her parents? Apparently it was pretty big, if she had the Great Goblin out for her blood." Kili said. Thorin sighed and looked down at his hands.
"To be truthful, very little. All that Reyna told me is that her family had been attacked by a combined force of Goblins and Orcs. There had to be something more to it, though I do not know what." Thorin said. The brothers took in this information silently.
"Will she ever tell us? What happened, I mean." Fili asked. Thorin nodded, though he did not look too sure himself.
"Yes, in her own time. There's one thing that I know for certain. Whatever happened that night was something big, a game-changer. Something that changed Reyna as well. I would not press the matter." he said. The two brothers nodded in unisine.
Reyna and Bilbo returned to the campsite. They both looked worn out, but had big smiles on their faces.
"How's it coming?" Thorin asked, his business face back on.
"He's doing great. A little more practice and Bilbo will have the orcs running back to Mordor." Reyna bragged, a hand on Bilbo's shoulder. The hobbit blushed and looked down at his large feet. The rest of the company chuckled.
"You are fortunate to have such a fine teacher, Master Baggins." Gandalf said. This time, it was Reyna's cheeks that reddened. The dwarves chorused their agreement. Reyna just shook her head and went to sit down where she had left her bag. Kili and Fili got up from their spots acrossed from Thorin and settled down next to Reyna.
"I just hope it will be enough." Reyna said, more to herself than to the brothers. Kili and Fili propped themselves up on their elbows to look at her.
"What do you mean?" Fili asked, confusion etched into his young features.
"What if it's not enough? Even with Bilbo knowing how to defend himself, I can't always be there to protect him, or all of you. What if I slip up one of these times? One of you could get hurt. What if I fail?" Reyna questioned, worry and a trace of fear in her voice. The brothers looked down
"Well, if we always focus on all the 'What if's', we'll lose site of what's really important. Yeah, something might happen. But everyone here was aware of the risk when they joined this quest. We can take care of ourselves, Rey. You don't have to worry." Kili said. Reyna and Fili stared at him in shock. Had that bit of wisdom really just come out of Kili's mouth? Kili laughed at the stunned looks on their faces.
"What, I have my moments." he defended. Reyna and Fili laughed and lay back down.
"I guess you're right." Reyna said, staring up at the millions of stars that shone in the night sky above them.
"You had to guess?" Kili scoffed. Fili and Reyna laughed.
"Goodnight, you two." Reyna said, her eyelids becoming heavy.
"'Night, Rey." the two brothers said in unisine. They soon fell asleep as well, leaving their troubles behind. For the moment, anyway.
Alright, there was Chapter 1. I hope you liked it, even though it was a bit short. I have begun to lay "Easter Eggs", or hints towards events or other things that may happen in the story. So, keep an eye out for them! Let me know what you think :)
-Vega8282