Loyalty, Honor, and a Willing Heart

Chapter 12 - On the Road Again

Next sunrise found them well on their way. The Company departed from Imladris in a fresh morning, full of hope and in a far better mood than when they arrived there. For most of them it was a more than needed refreshment, as they were traveling with almost no rest at all since the Blue Mountains, and that was months ago. The only thing to blur their mood was that Gandalf would not be with them, as he had to attend a meeting of the White Council – seemingly his boss was about to reach Imladris that day.

At first there was a little bemusement for the dwarves, as the three women found out in the worst moment that they had to ride and none of them had the slightest idea of what to do with a horse or pony. If anyone had thought of this, they could have at lest tried to learn the basics back at Imladris, but it was completely out of her minds that it would be necessary, as they found the dwarves on foot and none of them ever had a need to use a horse as transportation; on the other hand, no dwarf nor elf would ever guess that they didn’t ever ride a pony before

“Be at easy, Lady Iris, you will get the knack of it right away.”

Bilbo was caringly trying to ease Iris’s fear of falling down the pony Elrond lent to her. She laughed.

“Bilbo, dear, please do not call me a lady! I go embarrassed, it is not used in my world for some hundred years already!”

It was his time to go embarrassed.

“But then, how should I beckon you respectably? You definitely are not a lady – I mean, a girl, if you feel it suits you better – that should not be treated the most respectably way one could.”

“But Bilbo, you already treat me with all respect someone can dream of! As a matter of fact, sometimes you are even more respecting than you should, do you know?”

He considered what that could possibly mean, but things didn’t quite fit.

***

Lily and Ellen had had a long conversation the night before, after the dance incident. The elf was amused by what she thought she had seen and wanted Lily to confirm her suspicions, but the dwarf-lass was reluctant to open herself to her aunt, and also still angry at Thorin mentioning the dance they had as a lesson to his nephews. Now, with them trying to balance themselves on the pony and the horse, Ellen touched the subject again.

“Lily flower, dear, you don’t have to be shy at your aunty! You know I have always been at your side, don’t you?”

“Yes, Ellen.” The girl answered, quietly.

“When have I ever messed up with anything that you really wanted?”

“In alphabetic or chronologic order?”

They both laughed at their internal joke. Then Lily got serious again, lowering her eyes to the reins of her pony.

“Aunty, I know what I feel for... someone... but I’m not so sure about him. No more.”

“You know we are among people who have different customs and traditions from what we are used to, don’t you?”

“Yes, I fancy, but how different?”

“I dare say different enough for strong feelings to be misunderstood; the dwarves have a different way of showing they care for someone. They must show they are strong and protective, and it can sometimes be mistaken for harshness or bad temper, specially in more mature ones, if you take what I mean. Another point is that in our world it is more usual that a woman waits for the man to take the initiative, and this is not quite so with the creatures of Mahal. A miner may find a jewel, but it is the jewel who chooses to be with her guardian, because she is not his property.”