Run It Back Again (Part 1)

Chapter 7

We travelled for many uneventful days or weeks.  In the mean time, Fili and Kili kept their distance, but they stayed close enough to keep an eye on me.  Eventually, I began to regret pushing them both away the way I did.  After all, they both seemed like they were going to be the greatest cousins in the world.  Finally, I decided to go back and talk to them after 3 days.

"You aren't mad at me, are you?"  Kili chuckled as he answered.

"Are you kidding?  All Fili's thought about is you, thinking you were mad at us!"  He couldn't hold back his laugh.  "No...  We understand how we upset you.  We nagged for too much information."  I smiled as Fili nodded in agreement.

"But, are you mad at us?"  I shook my head.

"No...  I'm sorry about that, by the way.  I was just..."  I sighed.  "I've been dealing with a lot lately."  He smiled kindly at me.

"That's okay, Era...  We understand entirely."  He paused, seeming lost in thought.  "Can we call a truce and choose to be friends?"  I smiled, feeling happy for once in 45 years.

"I don't see why not..."  I stuck out my hand, which he took and shook.  Kili and I shook hands as well, and I couldn't help but smile as Fili pulled up beside me while Kili rode on the other side.

"Welcome to the company of Thorin Oakenshield, Era.  Here, everyone who joins is welcome."  I smiled back.

"Thanks, Fili."  Looking ahead, I couldn't help but notice Skyrena's stare.

*Skyrena's Pov-

"She seems to be getting along perfectly with the lads..."  I turned and noticed Thorin was watching them as well.  I shrugged.

"You aren't still considering allowing one of them to marry her, are you?"  He shrugged as he lead his pony a little ways.

"Only if she's stuck here...  I just wonder what lead to her..."  I blushed as I realized what he meant.

"She said that we married before the battle that cost us your life..."  He nodded and glanced over at me.

"I'm just wondering why I never married you before...  Especially if we were to have a daughter just like her."  I blushed a little.

"You always have your reasons, Thorin...  Maybe you always thought it'd be best to wait until you thought you were ready."  He heaved a sigh and glanced back at Era, who was now chatting with Fili and Kili.

"That doesn't seem like reasoning enough..."  I looked back at her and smiled slightly.

"She reminds me of you in so many ways...  She's bold and always looking to make things right."  He smiled as he looked back at me.

"And yet...  She's as beautiful as you."  I blushed and turned back to the road ahead of us.

"In a reckless sense..."  He chuckled as we continued on.

*Era's Pov-

"What was that?"  I jerked awake and looked around, recognizing the screeches coming from the woods.

"Orcs..."  With a start, Thorin and Skyrena woke up and looked around the camp as I noticed Bilbo talking to Fili and Kili.  I felt around for my sword and got up, careful not to step on anyone.  As I looked around, I heard Kili laugh.

"Worried we'll be attacked, Era?"  I turned back and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Maybe...  I don't necessaryily like Orcs any more than anyone around here."  He held himself a bit higher.

"Don't worry...  We'll protect you."  I rolled my eyes as he and Fili continued their conversation with Bilbo, telling him lies as a joke about Orc night raids.  I couldn't help rolling my eyes and approaching them, my hand inches from my sword.

"No, they would make a lot of noise...  They always do when they attack.  They just can't keep quiet."  Bilbo shifted his weight nervously as I jumped when I felt a hand on my shoulder.  It was Thorin, who stilled my hand before I could unsheath my sword.  He glared at the two.

"You think a night raid by Orcs is something to joke about?"  The poisonous tone in his voice made me shiver as both boys stopped smiling.

"We didn't mean anything by it..."  Thorin released my arm as Skyrena climbed a tree, staring off into the distance.

"No, you didn't...  You know nothing of the world."  With that, he started off.  I swallowed hard as I made sure my sword was safely tucked away.  Balin came over and smiled politely at us.

"Don't mind him...  Thorin has more reason to hate Orcs than most in Middle Earth."  I couldn't help but sit down on the hard ground and cross my legs, like I always did as a child when Balin would tell me stories.  He shook his head as he continued.  "After the dragon took Erabor, we left for Moria, hoping to take the old dwarvish kingdom.  But, our enemy got there first."  I listened as Balin told me about the first battle Mother and Father ever fought together, intrigued by the details.  When he finally finished, I found myself smiling, proud of who my parents had been.

"And the pale Orc..."  We all looked at Bilbo.  "What happened to him?"  I watched as Thorin come back and settle back down.

"That slump crawled back into the hole hence he came...  He died of his wounds long ago."  I caught Gandalf's gaze and looked out towards Skyrena, who was still high in the tree.  I knew what Gandlaf feared:  Arzog was alive, and he was hunting us down...  I swallowed hard and, crawling under my furs, I went back to sleep, only to have the nightmare that haunted me so often as a child.

I was running through some woods, too scared to look back.  A wolf howl frightened me so much, I found myself screaming.  Behind me, a huge, pale creature on a white wolf chased me, holding someone's head.  The face of the person kept shifting until it shifted into Thorin's then Skyrena's face.  As I fell over a root, I couldn't hold back the scream that escaped my throat as the pale Orc lifted his blade...