Ya'aburnee

Easier Than Lying

Olivia sat with Gandalf near a warm fire, cold snow dusting the town. She was glad to be back with her teacher. It reminded her of the months before the company had set out, when it was just the two of them, her learning new spells, and how to use a sword, Gandalf pretending to be more annoyed with her than he was. She had grown a lot since then. The last months had sobered her. She was not all smiles, like she used to be. "You're beginning to suspect that you were not given the full truth," Gandalf said after some time.

Olivia nodded. "The elves... they all keep foreshadowing my death." She shook her head. "Gandalf, who wielded this sword before me?"

Gandalf sighed. "I suppose it is time you know. Her name was Kit. Many ages ago, back before Erebor had even been founded, Aulë had brought a human woman from another world. She was given an order, to protect the line of Durin. Clearly, she succeeded with her task... But... much like you, she had not been told the entirety of her task. And like you, she began to suspect that there was something more than the simple instruction she had been given. She had fallen in love, with the dwarf she had been sworn to protect. But he fell to dragon sickness, and although the line was saved, he banished her, in his madness, forgetting that he loved her also..." Gandalf trailed off. "No one knows exactly why... But her bloodline was meant to join with the bloodline of Durin. But alas, it is said she was banished to starve in the wilderness, dying unloved in the cold... But... I know she made it home. She was meant to die, but I found her. I could not bestow upon her the ability to return to her love, but I helped her find her way north, and then back through a crack into her own world..."

Olivia looked down, picking at her hands, nervous Everything was falling into place. "So it is on purpose, then...? My feelings?" She swallowed nervously.

"Aulë always knew, since long before you were ever born, that you would be the one. Thorin's One." Gandalf explained.

"One?" Kili had explained it to her, but she wanted to be sure.

"Star-crossed. Destined to be with one another, by fate."

Olivia huffed out a dry laugh. "I never believed in fate. It never seemed to be too kind to me." She picked at the callouses on her palms.

Gandalf smiled at her sadly. "It was through your tragedy that you saw each other. Even though he did not know your story, he would not have connected with you the same way without your shared pain. And you would not have been so drawn to him."

She was silent for a long while, before she spoke, voice breaking. "How do I save him?"

"You do not have to," Gandalf told her, worrying for her safety. "If you do nothing, you will be sent back to your world, with no consequence. I will ensure your safe passage."

She shook her head. "No. Even if it kills me... I cannot leave him, Gandalf." She looked up at him. "I will not." She breathed out a sigh, hopeful tears filling her eyes. "And I shall hope that for once in my life, fate is kind. And perhaps one day, I can forgive him, and I will finally know peace."

***

It had gotten late, and Gandalf had implored her go and get some rest. She was directed to where Bilbo had been sent, gently tip-toeing into the room, the Hobbit, readying to leave stopping and staring wide-eyed as she entered. "You're going back," She stated casually, sitting down on one of the cots.

"Yes..." Bilbo said hesitantly. "You're not."

"No." She sighed. "I think I'll have a better chance defending Thorin here... as counterintuitive as that may seem." She had to be as close to Ravenhill as possible.

"No, I understand. I know you well enough to know that you've thought a lot about whatever you're doing."

She smiled wryly. "Too much..." She muttered.