Slowly but surely they all made their way down the narrow pathway to the Elven dwelling. Coming to an even narrower bridge they were forced to cross it in pairs, all the while taking in their surroundings and gawking at its wondrous beauty. The dwarves still had their weapons drawn for fear of attack, they were unnecessarily on edge if the elves had wanted them dead or captured they would have done it already.
The only ones of the large group not agitated and fully relaxed and unarmed were Gandalf, Bilbo and Braerka. She watched as Bilbo looked around enthusiastically, his head flitting from left to right, his eyes wide; he didn't want to miss a single detail. She admired his keen interest; few people who travel stop to take in the beauty around them, she was glad he was taking all of it in.
They finally came to a stop in the open courtyard across the bridge and she was glad for it. She could barely stand and felt that she would collapse soon. The dwarves remained on edge and suspicious of the inhabitants; they kept their weapons drawn.
They waited a few moments before an elf greeted them, "Mithrandir..." he said loudly, descending the stone steps.
"Ah, Lindir" replied Gandalf, thankful someone he knew had come to welcome them; his eyes however where searching behind the elf.
The entirety of the group behind the wizard watched the exchange intently with keen eyes, wary of the elf; they instinctively drew closer to each other. Braerka by now had moved up to the front and stood beside Gandalf; Lindir turned to her.
"Well, well, if it isn't the Shepherd of the Forest!" he said snidely, she didn't appreciate the surprised tone and ignored him when he raised his hand to shakes hers.
"Nice to see you too, Lindir!" she answered, glaring at him and allowing his hand to drop back to his side. She had never liked him he was too self-centred and cared not for others opinions. Although it had been 25 years since their last meeting, she could clearly see the unease with which he still regarded her.
Slightly shaken, the dark haired elf returned his attention to Gandalf. The wizard took a second to acknowledge what had just happened; he viewed Braerka with confused eyes. She knew he had many questions now, as would the dwarves. She would have to answer to them sooner or later; later seemed ideal.
Lindir began speaking in elvish, to keep the dwarfs out of their conversation, but Braerka knew the language well and listened.
"We heard you had crossed into the valley, why?" the elf began.
"We must speak with Lord Elrond..." replied the wizard, speaking in the common tongue to give the dwarves a little reassurance as to what was being said.
Lindir sighed, "He is not here..."
"Not here? Where is he?" asked the wizard, not about to turn around and leave.
It was then that the familiar sound of elven horns sounded. Turning sluggishly Braerka felt unsure of what would ensue; she was anxious for the dwarves and how they would respond. Gandalf turned with her as the sound of clapping hooves grew nearer. Braerka noticed the company tense and move closer again.
The smile that had decorated Gandalf's face quickly faded when he saw the approaching band of elves showed no sign of slowing.
Thorin was then immediately shouting orders to them, "CLOSE RANKS!"
All the dwarves moved into a very compact crowd, an unsuspecting Bilbo was yanked to the centre and the others bundled around him.
The mounted elves galloped across the narrow bridge and began circling the small group, looking down on them. Braerka thought them cruel to do so, what they were doing now was far from welcoming and more threatening; they knew rightly of the strained relations between dwarf's and elves and they were only making it worse.
They finally came to a stop.
"Gandalf!" said one of the elves. It was Lord Elrond; he was clad in burgundy armour and looked the same as he had all those years ago. Again they spoke in elvish; she stood translating subconsciously as they did.
"My friend, where have you been?" began Gandalf.
"We were hunting a stray pack of orcs that had come up from the south, we slew a number near the hidden pass..." he answered, dismounting his horse and approaching Gandalf; he embraced him warmly.
"Strange for orcs to come so close to ours borders, something has drawn them near." He said handing as orcish sword to Lindir who reluctantly took it. Elrond then turned to regard his guests.
"That may have been us I'm afraid" the wizard told him, gesturing to them.
Lord Elrond observed them then perked up noticing a familiar face. He took several steps forward before gently placing his hands on Braerka's shoulders. He spoke to her in elvish.
"It is good to see you are alive, old friend! Tell me, what have you been doing the last 25 years?" he asked her. She noticed Gandalf give her a queer look, she was certain it had something to do with the '25 years' part.
Much to Gandalf's and the rest of the company's surprise she responded in fluent elvish. "Oh you know, this and that, not much really."
Elrond smiled, he laughed a deep throaty laugh before continuing. "Getting into all kinds of trouble no doubt! You were always good at that!"
The pair laughed, the dwarves looked on with puzzled expressions, it made her realise how little they really knew about her; they had no idea.
Elrond then gave her a hard friendly slap on the back which caused her to flinch with pain; she had forgotten about her broken ribs.
"You are injured!" he gasped in the common tongue, "Lindir! Bring her to the Houses of healing, make sure she is well!"
She was about to protest when she remembered her little chat with Kili on the way down. She had promised him she would see a healer a soon as possible. She found his worried face among the dwarves, he returned the look; his eyes pleaded with her to go and keep her promise.
She smiled and winked at him, he smiled in return. She knew she needed the help as much as she didn't want to accept it, but she had made a promise, she always kept her promises.
At the urging of the Elrond she was escorted up the stone steps and away from the dwarves. She hoped to see them soon, and hoped that they played nicely with the elves, that some bond of trust could be made even for a short while.
~\/*\/~
Braerka was quickly led down the open airy hall of Rivendell to the 'Houses of Healing' where she was left in the care of Nadia. The she-elf had stripped her down to her undergarments and given her belongs to another elf to bring to her assigned chambers.
Nadia then lay her down on the soft bed and examined her from head to toe, discerning the extent of the damage. Braerka felt very uncomfortable and exposed; yes she understood it was a necessity that she be almost nude, and yes she had been naked before, but never with onlookers. She liked to keep to herself and never understood the point in intimate pleasure. She preferred to be alone, 'The 180 year old virgin!' she thought, cracking a weak smile.
Nadia then left her abruptly, "I will be back soon" she had called to her leaving the room.
Braerka lay in silence for a few minutes and then sat up. Then noticed a mirror in the corner of the room; she eased herself up and limped over to it. She considered her reflection, her beautifully placed curves had been the source of many a bad night for her, men couldn't seem to resist. She looked terrible, exhausted; black rings were starting to form under hers eyes and she was dirty covered in muck and blood, she had never looked so close to her real age.
She turned and beheld her perfectly toned abdomen; it was marred with blue and purple bruises marking the location of her broken ribs. 'I'm lucky I don't have a punctured lung!' she thought. She then moved her gaze to her lower leg, the actual bite mark was all but gone, very feint teeth marks were the only indications that it had ever happened. But then why was it causing her so much pain, 'must be infected or something' she assumed.
Nadia then returned carrying bandages and salves, accompanied by two other elves, this only made Braerka more uncomfortable, the last thing she wanted was more people looking at her almost naked form. Nadia was annoyed that she had moved and ushered her to lie on the bed once again.
Braerka sat unsure and unable to relax. She watched as the other elves helped Nadia put together a concoction; they added herbs to the mixture, valerian roots among them. It was a sleeping draught. Nadia took it and offered it to her, like with Oin's pain draught she eyed it warily.
"Drink it, it will help" Nadia said, encouraging her. Braerka so desperately needed sleep, she could feel it; her eyelids were heavy and she felt like there was an invisible weight holding her down and slowing her every movement. But then again she would rather be awake and aware of what was happening.
She looked at the healer; she saw in her eyes a growing impatience and that if she didn't drink the remedy soon Nadia wouldn't hesitate in forcing it down her throat. So she drank it, unlike Oin's tonic it had a sickly sweet taste to it. Seconds later she began to feel light-headed and felt her extremities becoming numb. Nadia eased her down into a sleeping position.
"Sleep well" Nadia told her. Then her eyes closed and all was black.
~\/*\/~
As she slept her mind wandered, jumping to points in her life she hadn't thought about in decades.
The first she saw was her first day at the Assassin's stronghold. That day had been uneventful; mostly her trying to run away and being dragged back every time; they had ultimately locked her in a cell as she was becoming so troublesome. The scene replayed a few times before moving on.
Next she was at her initiation ceremony, she and several others stood at the top of a long hall. Years had passed and she had grown into a young woman, the child she had been was long gone and only memory at that point. But still she remembered Thorin and his words of wisdom, they guided her every step. They were handed their very first official contracts that day, she remembered it clearly. The scene morphed before her eyes once again.
She stood in an abandoned underground hollow, holding a tiny blue crystal in her hand. It was the day she had found the Soul Reaver. That had been an adventure, her assassination target had fled and attempted to hide in the hollow near Fangorn forest but he had failed. She had found him easily, ended his life swiftly and on her way out found a room full of wondrous treasures the crystal being among them.
Again the picture morphed, only this time it showed more recent happenings. The unfurling of the events with the trolls, being chased by wargs not long after, speaking with the dwarves and hobbit; it all played in her dormant mind.
She then saw something she didn't recognise, not a memory from the past or present but rather a figment of her imagination or possibly the future. She stood in a battlefield, the ground strewn with the dead and stained red with their blood. The battle was still raging all around her, she watched as the masked warriors met their ends at each other's hands. She felt a sudden wave of panic come over her and then she was running, but from what?
The scene began to blur and distort as she ran. The combatants in battle didn't seem to notice her as she sped past them. She suddenly stopped coming to an impassable stone wall, she turned her eyes meeting a raging tunnel of fire, all behind her was gone and only the searing heat and blinding light remained. She tried to run again but she wouldn't move, she heard an ominous voice call her name through the flames and then all was silent and dim.
~\/*\/~
Then she woke up, a light layer of sweat upon her skin. She was breathing heavily and it took her a while to notice where she was. Sitting upright in the bed in her own chamber, she allowed the silky covers to fall off her, revealing the bandages that encased her belly. Nadia had done everything while she was sleeping and had done a good job of it; before sitting up would have caused her great agony but now it was normal, there was no pain.
Slipping out of the bed she noticed her ankle was also bandaged and the rest of her was clean. She cringed at the thought of the elves washing her by hand, but then she hadn't been in a position to refuse it.
Standing up she took a moment to gain her balance as she still felt the effects of the sleeping potion working on her. After she walked over to the balcony on the other side of the room, a strong breeze was blowing it cooled her greatly. She stared out at the horizon, the sun was low in the sky, had she slept all day?
She then remembered about the dwarves then began to wonder where they were and how they were getting on. Then her mind once again focused on the dream, she hadn't experienced a dream like that in a long time. It was so vivid and real; chilling, like a warning.
As she made to go back into the room she heard the door begin to open, not wanting anyone else see her naked-or anywhere close to it-she jumped at the bed and pulled the covers up around herself.
A she-elf entered holding a parcel, Braerka immediately relaxed and stood when she recognised who it was.
"Arwen?!" she said, walking up to her old friend and taking her in bear hug. It had been so long since their last meeting, of all the people in Rivendell it had been Arwen she missed most.
"It has been too long Braerka!" she said, returning the hug awkwardly, still holding the parcel. Braerka had forgotten she was wearing almost nothing and at that moment didn't care.
She then allowed her friend to walk into the room before closing the door behind her. Arwen looked at her then handed her the parcel, her expression said, I didn't pick it, don't murder me!
Braerka tore back the wrapping and understood her friends plead. It was clothing, which she was thankful for, but the form it took wasn't appealing to her.
"A dress?" she said, looking to Arwen her expression was of friendly amusement, her smile was endearing. "You expect me to wear a dress? No, where are my own clothes? My bag?"
"They were beyond saving, old and tattered, covered in blood, we are currently making new ones for you, your bag... I'm not sure honestly. Your weapons are with the dwarf's. And Braerka you have to wear this until then..." Arwen explained, making sure to bring her attention back to the outfit.
Braerka lifted the green dress by the shoulders and examined it shaking her head in revolt.
"No, Arwen you know me! I have never worn a dress before in my life and I am not about to start!"
The she-elf walked back to door not meaning to stay long, "Yes I do know you, if you don't want to wear it walk around as you are!"
Braerka then suddenly remembered that she wasn't wearing anything in the way of clothes and she subconsciously pulled the material close to her at the thought.
"That's what I thought!" Arwen said smiling, she turned and left.
Braerka once again considered the dress and unwillingly accepted it. She slipped it on, it fit like a glove; the silky satin like material clung to her frame perfectly. It was long and flowed all the way down to her toes. She looked at herself in the mirror in the corner of the room and fixed herself.
She breathed deeply, looking at her reflection, "Here goes nothing!" she told herself before leaving the room to search for her new friends.
~\/*\/~
It wasn't long before she came across Elrond and Gandalf speaking alone, quietly in a hall. She approached them nervously and cleared her throat to announce herself. They stopped acknowledging her arrival and stepped apart from each other, she got the feeling they had just been talking about her.
"My, my you look lovely my dear!" gasped Gandalf. Elrond simply nodded in acceptance grinning at her. Had he been the one who chose it? She cringed embarrassed by the compliment: she never knew how to reply.
"You are looking well might I add! Since I last saw you anyway..." he began, "the dark haired dwarf will be pleased to see you are recovering! He has asked about you many times."
She thought for a moment, dark haired dwarf? She thought to herself, he could mean Thorin, but wouldn't he have just said that, no she assumed it must have been one of the other dark haired dwarves, but that left Bifur, Bofur and Kili. Bifur couldn't even speak westron, and Bofur had shown no interest, she ruled both of them out, so that left only Kili. She smirked coming to the conclusion; he really did seem to care.
"Well you do clean up well!" said a voice from behind them, they all turned and were greeted by Thorin. He was wearing his usual attire minus all the heavy armour. He looked much younger without it too, she concluded.
Braerka smirked a little but said nothing. An awkward silence took them for a short moment before Elrond motioned them onwards with the promise of dinner. She followed closely behind them trying to hide herself, she was conscious that everyone would soon see her, and that questions would no doubt be asked.