Raven: An Unexpected Adventure

Ten

Raven

Buckland, by the Old Forest

Mid-October 2958

"Peace, son of Fundin, we do not mean to meddle, only to inform you that there are young ears present. I believe that you would concur, they do not need to listen to such arguments." Raven turned on her heel and fled from her hiding space.

Trust the Els to reveal her presence to her aunts. Elladan and Elrohir always put her safety first. Although she appreciated their protection, Raven cursed under her breath at them. She would have had to be stupid not to sense the growing tension. Now, thanks to the Els she'd likely never get to hear what was separating her warring aunts. Raven hurried around the corner, darting out of the camp. After the argument, and especially her discovery, she didn't want to go back. She couldn't handle a day of pickling in tense silence. No, what she wanted, what she needed, was time to herself away from it all.

"Raven!" she heard Fíli shout out behind her, and she redoubled her efforts. She surged forward, hearing his footfalls behind her as she darted through the camp. A few dwarrow called out behind her, but she kept going. Although they all had training, Raven knew the land. She'd spent all her life, all but trapped, on the farm and she knew all of its secrets. She darted up the road, around the hill and then into the woods; zig-zagging in an effort to lose him all the way. She was light on her feet but, behind her, Raven could still hear Fíli pounding through the bush.

"Raven, stop! I just want to talk." Raven hesitated, and it was all that Fíli needed. He sprang forward, his hand closing around her arm as he burst out of the bushes, and for a moment she flinched back. She saw his hurt, but he didn't let go.

"I don't know what you want me to say!" Raven burst out, tears stinging her eyes.

"Shh, don't worry, not about that." Fíli's hands moved to cup her cheeks, wiping away the tears that had fallen from her eyes. "I'm not here to be upset with you, Raven. I promised you before I'd always be on your side, and I am. I just don't want you wandering off and getting hurt."

"But why do you care if you're ready to leave?" Raven demanded while Fíli drew her to him. "You promised me you'd stay, but then you also promised that if my Ma wants you to leave, you would. So, were you lying?" Fíli gently rubbed her back as her tears kept coming, soaking the fur on his jacket.

"We never lied to you. Dís, Dwalin, and I, we will always be here for you, Raven. We will never, never, abandon you. If your Amad doesn't want us in her life then, we will respect her choice. But, listen to me, Raven, we will never forsake you. Not if you want us here because that will be your choice." Fíli promised.

"But that's not what Dís said. She talked about my training too. Isn't that about me? Isn't that my decision? But she said that it was all up to Ma!" Raven protested, anger bubbling up inside of her as she drew back to look at Fíli in panic.

"It's true, Dís did promise to respect your Amad's feelings, but you're right, your training is your affair, not your Amad's. We can talk about that, if you want. But, you should know, we won't leave you behind. If you want to come, you'll always have a place with us. We'll train you, and teach you about dwarrow society. You'll have a place with us, as part of my family, Cousin. Always." Fíli promised, but Raven frowned, still confused about how they could keep both of their promises.

"But then, I'd have to choose. If my Ma doesn't want to come, I'd have to choose between you." Raven whispered, recoiling and Fíli sighed.

"You might." he admitted and Raven nodded, swallowing hard.

"If I chose you, would we go all the way back to Erebor?" Raven asked, meeting his gaze and reading the truth there.

"Probably. It's safest there for us and we have our own duty to our people." Fíli replied. Raven exhaled, moving away and leaning against a nearby tree. If it came to a decision then, whatever she chose would be final. She couldn't move between them. It would be too far.