Finding my way Home

Of Dwarves and Dragons

Disclaimer: any characters that are recognizable do not belong to me. I make nothing from any of my works.

"Were you sent here by that disgrace of an Elf King Thranduil to ambush us?" The one that appeared to be the leader growled at Melora.
That name, Thranduil, bounced in Melora's head. Why did it seem so familiar? But she couldn't dwell on that now; her thought was to keep the children safe. This man had such hostility in him, and she would let no harm come to the children. "Ambush!" Melora exclaimed, "If anyone is ambushing anyone, it seems it would be you and your friends."

"See here," The dark-haired man started, and while Melora was taller than him, his fury caused her to hesitate.

"Now, Laddy," a white-haired man started. I believe there may be some misunderstanding," he added as he stood beside the angry man, smiling at Melora and Tilda. Just then, the door opened, and Bard walked in with Bain and Sigrid. Bard read the room and then looked at Tilda and Melora. "Are you both alright?" he asked as he came to stand beside Melora, noticing she had Tilda behind her protectively.

"Dwarves came out of the plumbing, Da," Tilda informed him. The happenings in the home did not faze her, "Will they bring us luck?"

"Dwarves," Melora echoed.

"Aye, what did you think we were, pointy ears?" A slightly taller dwarf asked her.

"Short men," Melora stated in a matter-of-fact voice. The noise coming from the lot was loud, and Melora almost wanted to cover her ears. It was causing her head to hurt. Bard had told her that elves often had better hearing than those of other races in
Middle Earth, and for the first time since she had been here, she wished that they didn't.

"Enough," Bard barked, noticing the face Melora was making on top of he didn't want to alert the whole town. He was hosting a band of smuggled dwarves.

"Let's get to business," the black-haired dwarf said as he focused back on Bard. You promised us weapons."

Well, that is the last thing they need, Melora thought as she moved herself and Tilda back. "Let's finish supper; I bet your Da and siblings are hungry. The unexpected guests will also want food." Tilda nodded, and you both moved back to the stove. You hoped it was quieter there; you feared it wouldn't be silent until they chose to move on. Dinner was an exciting affair, Melora thought to herself. It seemed that the Dwarves were grumbly and untrusting. The smaller companion offered shy smiles to her and entertained the children with tales from the Shire. Melora gathered that was where he came from. Bard ushered his children off to bed soon after dinner. Melora was still observing the company, it looked as if one of them had sustained some injury and needed medical assistance. Melora knew there was no hospital in this world, and she didn't think Laketown boasted any medical facility. Bard had left the sitting room and returned with blankets for the dwarves before stopping to speak with her.

"Are you going to be okay bunking with the girls tonight?" he asked her softly. She usually slept in Sigrid's room, but Bard thought it best to let the fourteen dwarves stay there for the night.

"Yes, I will be fine," Melora assured.

"Don't stay up too late," Bard told her as he left for bed. She rolled her eyes good-naturedly. It wasn't long before the dwarves left toward the bedroom for what she presumed would be sleep. Before they all left, the one who seemed to need medical attention turned to her. "Was it hard for you?" he asked softly, and Melora was a little confused.

"Was what hard for me?" She asked as she didn't know what he meant.

"Choosing to love someone who was not an elf?" he asked, his eyes imploring, "To love someone outside of what others may have chosen for you?" He continued.
It took a minute, and then a lightbulb seemed to go off in Melora's head, "I'm not; I mean, Bard and I are not together," she told the dwarf kindly, "I needed a place to stay; he kindly offered until I got back on my feet."