Hope ↠ LOTR

IV. Friends

"I can't believe the trolls are real," Merry remarked from where they stood inside the circle of trolls.

They decided to take a few minutes to rest until they continued to head after Frodo and towards Rivendell. The Black Riders were no longer on their tails and they didn't have an injured Hobbit that required them to make haste to Lord Elrond anymore.

"Did Gandalf really do this?" Pippin asked while he knocked against one of the trolls, turning around to Athena questioningly.

"Technically it was the sun, but it was Gandalf who broke the stone and allowed the sunlight to reach the trolls," she explained to him.

Her, Aragorn, and Sam were sat beside the campfire and rummaging through what food they had in the bags while Merry and Pippin weaved their way through the three stone trolls that towered over them. Bilbo had told them all stories about the quest to retake Erebor, but seeing the remnants of the journey was entirely different to simply hearing about it.

"I'm glad the trolls are gone now. I don't want to think about what they'd do to poor Bill," Sam commented before stretching his hand out towards the pony and lightly stroking his nose.

"Hold on a second, didn't Bilbo say it was you who was supposed to be watching over the ponies when they got taken?" Asked Merry.

Athena was about to take a bite of her apple but stopped when his question left him, guilt crossing her features as she thought about his question. It was true, the ponies had been under the watch of her and her friends but they had abandoned their posts and allowed the ponies to be taken.

"Maybe," she responded unsurely before she took a bite out of her apple.

"Don't put all the blame on her! I heard that she wasn't the only one who was supposed to be watching them," Pippin defended her, "there were two others. F— what were their names again?" He muttered under his breath while he tried to recount their names, there had been a lot of Dwarves in the company and the young Hobbits found it difficult to keep up with all the members.

"Fili and Kili. Their names were Fili and Kili," Athena told him quietly, swallowing the lump of apple and then lowering it from her mouth. Her appetite was gone at the mention of the two friends that she had lost sixty years ago. Though it had happened a long time ago the wound was still fresh in her heart.

"I'm sorry, I forgo—" he attempted to apologise but was cut off by her.

"We should be heading off now. Hopefully some horses will find us on the way."

Everybody finished off what little of their food remained before standing up and continuing on their path. Athena felt a hand squeeze her shoulder, looking over at Aragorn who sent her a sympathetic smile before walking ahead of her, the others following closely behind.

─────────

A few days later they reached Rivendell, the sun high in the sky and basking the valley with its rays of light. Horses that were no doubt sent by Arwen had found them on the road and sped up their journey. When they arrived they dismounted their horses, Athena and Aragorn helping the Hobbits off theirs.

"It's good to see you all made it in one piece," a familiar and wise voice greeted them.

They turned their heads to see a towering figure clad from head to toe in grey, his hat missing from his head while he smiled down at them all.

"Gandalf!" The Hobbits cried out in glee at seeing the missing wizard alive and safe.

"Where have you been? We had begun to think you weren't returning," Athena asked him.