Daughter of The Darkness

Chapter 23

The company traveled the rest of the day at a steady walking pace. Everyone seemed full of hope and confidence. They all traveled a good distance before they came to a small clearing in a patch of woodland. A river ran a few metres away and a group of starlings sang it the tree tops. They flew away when all the dwarves dumped all their bags on the ground with bangs and clangs.

Elfreda took the bread from her pack and ripped it up into chunks. She threw them on the floor, the birds soon returning for an easy dinner. Once they had finished they looked at her an bobbed up and down to say thank you. They then fluttered up to her.
"I don't have any more!" she laughed. The starlings tweeted in disappointment and flew away. Elfreda then joined the rest of the company and sat with Bomber to make a fire. The large dwarf struggled to chip the flints to start a spark. He grumbled and cursed under his breath.

Chuckling to herself, Elfreda stood up and walked over to a fallen tree and picked up some moss. She then broke off a branch with a small hole in the side- she did check if anything was living in it first. Sat back next to Bomber, she lay the wood out on the floor.

Placing the log on the floor, she put a small twig in the hole. Surrounding the twig with her hands, Elfreda rubbed the twig up and down. The log started to smoke so she quickly put the moss around it and continued rubbing the twig. Elfreda then blew into the smoke and it started to catch fire. With a little more encouragement, the log caught fire.

Bomber looked at her and raised his eyebrows.
"I used to help the blacksmiths," she admitted shrugging her shoulders with a smile.

Thorin was watching a few meters behind them.
"You helped everyone with everything!" he stated. She turned around to look at him and winked. They both remembered how she would take the role of anyone who was sick or ill in the halls of Erebor, no matter who they were.
"Your kin cared for me when I was in need, all I can do is return the favour,"

By now, Bomber had a blazing fire going and was preparing the food with the help of Bofur and Bilbo. A stew began to bubble from the cauldron which hung over the flames. The smells filled everyone's nostrils and made their stomachs rumble.

Elfreda stood up and picked up her bow. She turned to leave when Dori spoke to her,
"Miss, where are you going?"

She turned to look at him
"I'm going to get my dinner, oh please call me Elfreda I do not want to be any different from any of you!"

Bofur looked up from the stew and said " but there's plenty here, you can have Bombers second helpings!" When he said this, Bomber glared at his cousin and hit him over the head with his ladle. Bofur yelped and rubbed the back of his head with his hand, glaring back at his cousin.

Elfreda laughed and shook her head " no, I do not wish to interfere with your food, besides Bomber needs to keep his energy up!" Bomber did not understand and went back to his cooking.

Alone by the river bank, Elfreda sat on a rock under a willow. She slipped out of her boots and socks. She massaged her tired feet and rolled up her trouser legs so the cotton came up to her knees. Elfreda unbuttoned her cloak and hung it over a branch of the tree as well as unbraiding her hair. Running her hands through her hair, she stepped into the river. She shivered as the cool water washed over her legs. Scooping the fresh water up with her hands, Elfreda washed her face and wiped away the dirt and the grime of Goblin Town.

Something moved behind her. Placing an arrow in her bow, Elfreda was ready to turn, her heart pumping fast and so loudly that she could hear it.

Quick as a flash she turned in the water, poking her arrow directly onto Kili's nose. He was wide eyes and startled.
"What are you doing?" she shouted " I could of killed you!"

Kili took a step back and raised his hands "sorry, our uncle told us to keep and eye on you to stop you from disappearing again," he stuttered. Elfreda raised her eyebrows and dumped her bow on the shore then put her hands on her hips. It clattered to the ground. She bent her head to the side.
"I don't think he meant for you to get so close," she laughed "and what you mean our uncle?"

Kili took another step back and called out for Fili to come out of hiding. He crept out of the bushes. The dwarf walked slowly up to his brother and gave him a brotherly glare with a punch in the shoulder.

"Never mind! Come on you two can help," Elfreda said, looking at the two dwarves with a secret smile burning on her inside.