Dance Of Darkness And Light

Chapter 9: Dark Foreboding

Chapter 9: Dark Foreboding

Thorin wasn't happy when he came from the meeting, he wasn't happy the following morning either which in turn made all of the dwarves on edge. He wanted to speak alone to the others first so Linshara left them to their devices and mostly aimlessly wandered around Rivendell, as Gandalf and Elrond had a meeting with a Lady Galadriel and a Saruman the White. Linshara assumed the latter was another wizard of Gandalf's order, while she wasn't quite sure who Galadriel was. It was a meeting she was to be called into later in the day probably to discuss everything again and to learn how confronting the dwarves with the truth went.

She thought back on the past several weeks and her time in Middle Earth. To say she wasn't changed and affected with events and people she'd spent time with would be lying. Gandalf, he was a friend she could almost say she fully trusted, almost like a mentor even, despite their vast differences. Elrond, it was as if a fellow Jedi was with her, a Seer. The fact he was an elf and used a wholly different way to utilize his abilities didn't matter. Those two made the pain of being stuck here and cut off from everything and everyone she'd known a bit more bearable.

The dwarves though, they impacted her the most. Almost as if there was one whom she could relate a part of her with. Young Ori made the scholar part of her feel alive again, their conversations always left her invigorated. Balin, old, kind and almost a father figure, something she'd barely remembered from her youth, before she'd joined the Jedi Order. Kili, young, cheeky, audacious dwarf that warmed her heart with his antics and inquisitiveness, almost like a younger brother, reminding her that she was still young.

A small smile etched itself into her features as she thought of Kili while she walked.

Bofur, sweet, cheeky and kind Bofur. He showed her she could still maintain her composure and control while allowing herself to laugh and be amused, to accept that she still felt, behind the guarded exterior. As her thoughts drifted to Fili, she realized that what he elicited was conflict. A conflict between fondness and fear. Fili was a spirit akin to her own, that much had become clear. A man who was torn between responsibility, loyalty and desire. He made her realize that she was too. While he advocated a measured approach, would it be enough to not lose herself to the Dark Side?

She stopped suddenly in front of set of step, sensing a presence. It was a dual one. One of tumultuous and repressed feelings mixed together. One governed by an extremely sharp mind and a fierce heart.

Looking up, she found the stormy blue eyes of the dwarf king. "Thorin."

He slowly descended the steps, looking every bit a king. "Linshara." He nodded in greeting.

~He's come looking for me...~ she thought as she waited for him to join her, "I take Lord Elrond has read the map?"

He clasped his hands behind his back, "he has." His tone was clipped and measured.

She fell into slow step with him as he lead the way into a more secluded area, "when do you wish to leave?"

There was a dark shift within him, she could feel it, "you will not be continuing with us, Lady Thannis."

~You feel betrayed...~

"I see. May I ask why?" She kept her tone even and neutral. Linshara had no intention of staying behind.

He turned to face her, while his face was a careful mask, his eyes darkened and she could see the rage in them. "You curried your way into this company with lies and deception. A traveller of the stars? Bah! You spun your trickery on Gandalf as well! I will NOT have it. You will not corrupt my men with your influence." His composure though, was slowly breaking.