Stay With Me [Thorin Oakenshield]

Chapter 7: Rivendell

Louisa awoke to the rays of sunlight shining brightly on her face. She smiled contently and curled up in the soft sheets. Though she prided herself in having adapted to life on the road quite nicely, she couldn't deny that she had missed this: waking up without aching joints and without instantly having to be on edge. 

She had just decided that she would relish in this luxury for a little longer as there was a knock on the door. The hobbit groaned in frustration but threw the sheets off her to get up nonetheless. „Just a minute!", she called out to whoever was waiting at the other side of the door. She quickly grasped a morning robe and pulled it closed around her form to appear a little more decent. She had gotten used to sleeping in the midst of fifteen men but she normally didn't do so in a dress. Much less one that was quite as revealing as this one.

She scurried over to the door and pulled it open to reveal her dear friend from the Shire. „Oh, good morning Bilbo! What can I do for you?", she greeted happily. Bilbo smiled at her although he seemed a little unsettled by her indecent appearance. "Good morning, Louisa.", he responded good-naturedly. "I was just wondering if you would like to come with me, explore a bit. We've both been very focused on not dying as of lately and haven't talked much, so I thought we might catch up on that while we can.", he suggested. 

Only then did Louisa realise that she had been missing their talks as they had indeed spoken very little these past few weeks. They had both been trying to adapt to the new situation in their own ways and had somewhat neglected each other in the process. 

A smile spread on her face at his invitation and she nodded her head eagerly. „I would love to. Just give me a moment, I should probably get dressed before heading out.", she accepted with a glance at her gown. Bilbo blushed and shifted uncomfortably. „Ah, yes, um that might be a good idea. I'll just... wait over there.", he said awkwardly, pointing towards a balcony near them. Louisa smiled at his shyness and responded: „Thank you, Bilbo. I'll be sure to be quick." 

She was true to her word. The hobbit didn't take long to rejoin him and admire the view. „It's beautiful, is it not?", she asked softly, not tearing her gaze from the sight. Bilbo hummed in agreement. „Yes it is quite overwhelming. I knew that Rivendell was said to be stunning but I hadn't expected this. Which is why I'm so eager to discover more of it.", her friend responded with a smile spreading on his face. „Well then, what are we waiting for?", Louisa asked with a grin of her own.

The two of them spent the entire morning exploring the village. Eventually they came upon a statue that displayed something on a cloth. Louisa inched closer, curious to see what it was. She gasped as she saw the broken sword that lay before her. 

„What is it?", Bilbo asked, not recognising the relic. „This is Narsil", Louisa said. Bilbo furrowed his brow at her, still not recognising the name. „Which means...?", he trailed off. Louisa took a quick glance at him before turning towards the painting across from the statue. She stepped closer as Bilbo followed her gaze and stared up at it in a mixture of awe and terror. Letting her gaze wander she saw Sauron illustrated, wielding the one ring. Beneath him cowered Isildur, lifting the very same broken sword that lay behind them in an attempt to defend himself. She felt like she could almost hear the screams, almost feel the terror of that day seeping through the painting. „One ring to rule them all.", she muttered, not noticing how transfixed Bilbo seemed to be by the illustration of the ring. 

„Narsil was the sword that Isildur used to cut off Saurons finger and defeat him by taking the ring of power. The stories say that it was broken during his fight against Sauron but that didn't stop him from fighting. Quite the contrary actually.", she explained. Bilbo furrowed his brows. „What about the ring? What happened to it?", he asked. Louisa looked at him surprised. „Have you not heard the stories?", she inquired to which he merely shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. „Not in detail.", he responded. The woman sighed but accepted his explanation. „Well, I suppose it's not a topic the people of the Shire talk about a lot.", she admitted before continuing.