The Northern Mountains

~Twenty One~

twenty one

Jon held Hartlyn close as they rode the Great Eagle through the clouds. He kept his dark eyes closed and his face buried in her fire like hair whilst the redhead gently stroked her fingers over the large hands resting on her stomach.

However, her sharp, emerald eyed gaze was on an unconscious dwarf king. She could see his fading aura and sense his life draining away from his horribly injured body. Hartlyn ignored the panicked cries from both his nephews and the rest of the company, instead of the Mistress of Death running through ideas in her mind on how to prolong his life just a little bit longer.

With her so focused on Thorin and Jon on her, neither noticed the filthy man with steel coloured eyes staring in shock at the two, but mostly at the redhead.

He couldn't believe that after so long in the dark surrounded by gross, disgusting creatures, he'd finally be breathing fresh air, but not only that... He'd be setting eyes on his best friend's daughter, his goddaughter.

The night was stolen by the dawn, it breaking over the horizon as rays of light shone on them all.

There was a large pile of rocks jutting out and up into the air amidst a small forest, which is when the Eagles began to descend, the first carefully laying the dwarf king.

Still unmoving, one by one, the Great Eagles, allowed their dwarves to disembark, as well as Gandalf and Bilbo, then Jon and Hartlyn and finally the black-haired man.

He stood beside the former Night's Watchman, apart from the others, as the Queen of the Northern Mountains slipped through the company like a shadow, her hand already in her bag and reaching for the very things that had soothed her paying and healed her days ago.

Balin seemed to notice that Hartlyn knew of a way to help his king, and he had the sense to trust her, especially after seeing the power she just showed, saving them from the orcs twice now.

The white haired dwarf swiftly but gently pushed aside the dwarves, allowing Harltyn to come close, to which she gave him a small smile.

Besides the two men and the Istari, everyone held their breath when the Mistress pulled up one side of her skirt to reveal the beautiful, bejewelled dagger strapped to her thigh and the dwarves all struggled not to react when she reached forward to cut Thorin's blood soaked tunic from his body, the rising sun glinting off the polished silver blade, now stained red.

With its removal, Hartlyn was now able to see the wounds on the tall dwarf's chest.

The redhead drifted her hand over each injury, judging which was more or less dangerous than the last and choosing which would be healed her tears and which with a wave of her hand.

After, with two more flicks of her wrist, one to clean away the blood and the other to repair his now decent tunic, Hartlyn ignores the gasps and wide eyed stares of shock and awe before looking directly into Balin's eyes,

"I am about to do something I will extremely enjoy, but also something you will not appreciate..."

The older dwarf frowned until the Queen of the Northern Mountains pulled back her arm and slapped the unconscious Thorin as hard as she could.

Balin spluttered until the tall dwarf shot up with a sharp gasp

Hartlyn smirked, before standing and made her way back to her king, the company parting for her. She didn't feel quite settled until she was back in Jon's embrace and it wasn't until then that she finally looked at the newest member of their little group.