Warnings: Thorin is an ass, baby Elladan hurts himself
Word count: 1907 (but about 300 of it is the song)
Other: Timeline's all messed up buuuuut I wanted baby Arwen.
Requested: noope
You learn why dwarves are considered such terrible house guests.
The ruckus the dwarves were making made you glare down from the window you were standing next to. It was bad enough that they were bathing in one of your fountains, they were making such a ruckus that you were sure they had frightened off all the birds in Rivendell.
"Now I understand why dwarves are called the wrist houseguests you can possibly have." You muttered more to yourself than anyone else, but Elrond heard you.
"Come now, ninglor nín (my waterflower), they are not that bad." You raised a brow to him but decided not to say anything, just continued folding the baby clothes that had just come back from the wash. The gentle colors of greens and blues were delicate to the eye and made you smile as you slid your fingers on the soft fabric.
A cry from the edge of the room gathered your attention. You sighed, placing the shirt back onto the pile. You picked Arwen up yet again, she has gotten spooked by the ruckus yet again. This was the fourth time this evening, and you were starting to get truly angered. You didn't actually care about the fountain, it could be cleaned, but scaring your daughter was not something you could guite stomach. You were almost ready to storm onto wherever they had made their camp and give them a few, carefully considered, heavy words.
You started humming slowly, trying to soothe her, remembering the song your mother used to sing to you when you were small:
The leaves were long, the grass was green,
The hemlock-umbels tall and fair,
And in the glade, a light was seen
Of stars in shadow shimmering.
Tinúviel was dancing there
To the music of a pipe unseen,
And the light of stars was in her hair,
And in her raiment glimmering.
There Beren came from mountains cold,
And lost he wandered under leaves,
And where the Elven-river rolled
He walked alone and sorrowing.
He peered between the hemlock-leaves
And saw in wonder flowers of gold
Upon her mantle and her sleeves,
And her hair like shadow following.
Enchantment healed his weary feet
That over hills were doomed to roam;
And forth he hastened, strong and fleet,
And grasped at moonbeams glistening.
Through woven woods in Elvenhome
She lightly fled on dancing feet,
And left him lonely still to roam
In the silent forest listening.
He heard there oft the flying sound
Of feet as light as linden-leaves,
Or music welling underground,
In hidden hollows quavering.
Now withered lay the hemlock-sheaves,
And one by one with sighing sound
Whispering fell the beechen leaves
In the wintry woodland wavering.
He sought her ever, wandering far
Where leaves of years were thickly strewn,
By light of moon and ray of star
In frosty heavens shivering.
Her mantle glinted in the moon,
As on a hilltop high and far
She danced, and at her feet was strewn
A mist of silver quivering.
When winter passed, she came again,
And her song released the sudden spring,
Like rising lark, and falling rain,
And melting water bubbling.
He saw the elven-flowers spring
About her feet, and healed again
He longed by her to dance and sing
Upon the grass untroubling.
Again she fled, but swift he came.
Tinúviel! Tinúviel!
He called her by her elvish name,
And there she halted listening.
One moment stood she, and a spell
His voice laid on her: Beren came,
And doom fell on Tinúviel
That in his arms lay glistening.
As Beren looked into her eyes
Within the shadows of her hair,
The trembling starlight of the skies
He saw there mirrored shimmering.
Tinúviel the elven-fair,
Immortal maiden elven-wise,
About him cast her shadowy hair
And arms like silver glimmering.
Long was the way that fate them bore,
O'er stony mountains cold and grey,
Through halls of iron and darkling door,
And woods of nightshade morrowless.
The Sundering Seas between them lay,
And yet at last they met once more,
And long ago they passed away
In the forest singing sorrowless.
(Song of Beren and Lúthien: by Tolkien, not mine)
A soft knock sounded from the door, and you sighed. The door opened slowly, and Lindir peeked his head in.
"My queen?" You lifted your head from your daughter just as she started to drift asleep. You kept swaying your body gently, trying to rock Arwen into a deep sleep. Her eyelids were already drooping, it was a matter of moments now.
"Yes?" Your voice was just as quiet as the advisor's as you kept rocking the little elleth.
"The boys have run out again." You shook your head, nodding your thanks.
"Could you check the stables? I am quite sure we will find Elrohir there. I will find Elladan." Lindir nodded and disappeared from the door, leaving it slightly open.
- -
The dwarves were sneaking back from the fountain, muttering to each other, content. Bilbo had joined them a moment ago, now a little less uncomfortable as they were all dressed. The conversation flowed loud like it always did, and they almost missed it. A small sniff that came from their right.
But the sniffle managed to gather their attention. Little Elladan was laying at the bottom of a staircase, his shoulders jerking slightly with his barely audible sobs. He had probably fallen down the stairs, as his knees were skinned and his hands were cut up and bleeding. Nothing seemed to be broken, but the small elf was clearly frightened and in pain.
"Naneth?" He kept calling for you, but you were too far away, busy looking for him on the other side of the kingdom to hear. Most of the dwarves didn't react, but Bilbo could see the unease on Balin's, Gloin's, and Bombur's faces as the little elf just continued crying.
He shifted himself to a seated position, rubbing his knees with his hands. It was a bad idea as the pain flared and caused him to cry harder. Bilbo couldn't stand idly by anymore and pushed himself through the dwarves.
"What do you think you are doing?" Thorin growled, trying to catch Bilbo by his arm, but the hobbit dodged, turning around to face the leader of the company. His blue eyes were ablaze with hatred, but Bilbo didn't startle like the group thought he would. He stood his ground, even faced with the king's anger.
"It's an elf." He hissed, and Bilbo gave him a glare that surprised the dwarves. They didn't know the hobbit had it in him.
"He is a child, Thorin! A child and he's hurt. I don't give a rat's ass about your grovels with the elves. It's clear that he's in pain." Bilbo stated clearly before hurrying to the elfling.
Bilbo walked towards the little elf with gentle steps, not wanting to startle him.
"Everything okay?" He asked, knowing full well it was not, but he thought it was a good way to start.
"N-No. I tripped and scratched my hands. Naneth will be angry with me." Bilbo could guess that he was talking about his mother or father judging by the way his head bent down as he spoke.
"I think that they will just be happy that they find you." Bilbo tried to console the young elf, and he lifted his head up, cheeks wet with tears.
"You think so?" He asked voice filled with hope, and Bilbo nodded, opening his mouth to answer but didn't quite get the time as you stormed into the area, eyes blazing.
When you finally reached a part of Rivendell you could hear Elladan's cries, and your heart froze. You took off immediately to the direction you could hear him from, and as you approached from the shade of the alcoves above, you could see him at the bottom of a staircase, minding his hands and knees. Your anger flared when you saw the dwarves standing a bit away, doing nothing but just staring at your young son as he cried.
"Some men you are!" You huffed as you appeared into the clearing, eyes blazing with anger and hands on your hips.
"Naneth!" Elladan cried and rushed to you as fast as he could with his hurt knees. You scooped him up and inspected him quickly, wiping the tears off his face with your thumb. Your eyes never left the band of dwarves in front of you, some looking nervous, some apologetic, some hostile.
"I cannot believe the nerve on you! I welcome you to our house, and how do you repay me? Making such a ruckus that it keeps my young daughter awake, scaring her every time she tries to sleep. And now just stand and stare at my son who is scared and clearly in pain." Some dwarves had the decency to look at least a bit shameful as you scolded them like they were only a couple of children. Bilbo had a hard time hiding his smile, having to bite the inside of his cheek as you continued to berate the group.
When you finally finished, you took a deep breath in and fixed Elladan's position in your arms, hoisting him higher. You didn't want to stick around for longer, so you turned around, giving one, last disapproving look towards the group of dwarves. As you walked away, Elladan rested his head against your chest, eyelids already drooping slightly.
"Master Baggins, if you would follow me." With your son safely in your arms, you gave a hidden smile to a nervous-looking Bilbo.
"I'm sorry, I know I'm supposed to be in bed. But I wanted to see the stars." Elladan muttered against your chest, his little fingers fiddling with the shoulder straps of your gown.
"I know sweetness, it's okay. We'll go and see the stars some other day, now it's time to get to bed." You whispered gently, glancing over your shoulder to see that the hobbit was still following, looking like he was walking to his death.
You left, leaving the dwarves to snicker amongst themselves at the situation Bilbo had gotten himself into, but he who laughs last laughs loudest. You invited Bilbo to stay in one of the guest bedrooms that were usually reserved for royal visitors. The hobbit tried to trudge down your offer with stuttering words, but you weren't having any of it.
"M-My lady, I possibly cannot accept."
"Master Baggins. My son is almost sleeping in my arms and I have to clean the wounds before i can put him to bed. I would rather get him to bed than argue with you over matters of hospitality. Please, take the room." When you put it like that, Bilbo had no way of saying no anymore and "had to" spend the night on a down mattress and a soothing waterfall just outside his window, as his companions lay in their bedrolls on the cold hard ground.
(Karma is a bitch.
Or at least a protective mama elf is.)
(I think this turned out quite cute, even though Thorin acts like a complete ass.)
But hey, I'm back, darlings! I don't know how my writing will kick off, but it seems quite promising right now. I will do my best to get back to my normal updating rhythm.
Requests will open on Friday 22th, as I am out of ideas and hoping that some of yours will kickstart my brain. I don't know how many I will take, but be ready to send yours in then! I will post a part into this book when they open, and delete it when they close. Request rules and other stuff you should know are on part 2.