Something in the Night

Chapter Six

Nina bit back a wince as she shifted in her saddle once more. For one used to walking and unused to riding, she had no idea how stiff her legs could actually be until she'd spent two hours astride the pony that was now hers, thanks to the generosity of the elves and their king.

But, she kept her discomfort to herself as she kept her mind focused on her task and her eyes focused on the dwarf leading the way along the narrow road out of Rivendell. The Misty Mountains rose in the distance, their peaks swirled in a grayish-white mist that occasionally seemed to gleam pink or violet from the sun.

"Tell me," Dwalin's pony fell into step alongside hers, "why are ye here, lass?"

"How many times need I explain it?" She held his gaze even has her fingers tightened about the smooth leather reins she held. "I've no love lost for the orcs and if I can help you, I will."

"No love for orcs, eh?" His eyes narrowed slightly. "Why?"

It was a foolish question, really. Who didn't despise orcs? They were abominations, interested only in killing. If it wasn't for her personal stake in the matter, she would despise them just the same. But, as much as it galled her to admit it, she needed them to a certain extent. Well, needed their gold anyway. The bounty on Thorin's head would keep her comfortable for some time to come. And while she knew she couldn't trust the orcs, nor could she fool herself into believing Tarog would pay the bounty without a bit of persuasion on her part, her options were limited and she did need the money.

And since she knew at some point, someone would ask her a variation of this question, and since she'd had time to prepare herself, she merely shrugged and said, "It's quite simple, really. They destroyed my village. And if I have a chance to kill one, I take it and do so with a smile."

"And where is this village?"

"Just west of Bree. I've been on my own ever since that night and if you don't mind, I'd rather not speak of it."

"Why?"

"Dwalin!" Thorin broke in sharply, glaring at him over his shoulder. "Leave her be."

Nina held Dwalin's stare easily. "If you absolutely must know, I lost my family that night. All of them. Slaughtered like sheep for no reason. So, you'll forgive me if I'd rather not relive that night."

With that, she pressed her knees gently against her pony's side and nudged it ahead of Dwalin. Let him think—let them both think—recalling her story upset her so much she needed some time to herself.

Thorin, however, slowed his pony so he eased back into step alongside her. "Pay him no mind."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Dwalin." He nodded toward the glowering dwarf behind them.

"I thought I already was doing that."

He just stared at her for a long moment, almost as if surprised by her flippancy and she wondered if he suspected something was amiss as he continued to just stare. This was the closest she'd been to him and in the warm sunlight of the clear afternoon, and it then that she realized his eyes were no quite the same steel blue they'd been in Rivendell. Instead, today they were paler. Paler and almost shimmering, like aquamarine in the sunlight. And for one breathless moment, she forgot she hated him, forgot why she was there with him and what she planned to do.

No, for that one breathless moment, she was once more standing in the snowy darkness, just beyond the steps of the Lake Master's ramshackle house, wishing with everything she had that Thorin would notice her. That he would see her and in the instant he did, he'd be smitten with her just as she'd been smitten with him.