The Valar Child: The Desolation of Smaug

Chapter 11 - Lord of Silver Fountains

Hildar

I was not going through the sewer, and I stoutly maintained my position when Bard tried to tell me it was the only way. Beren finally told him to give it up, and that I could enter the house through the front with them. After all, I was the only one who looked like I belonged. I still pulled my hood up, and walked very close beside Beren. Careful of his shoulder, of course. "Da!" shouted a voice and I turned around. A young boy came running up and faced Bard. That was when I gathered that this was his son. "Our house! It's being watched!" he warned. I gritted my teeth and muttered something in Khuzdul. This drew the boy's attention, and he stared at me. "Did you just speak in another language?" he asked.

"She spoke in the ancient tongue of the dwarves, Bain. It's nothing to get excited about," Beren told him. That was when he noticed him.

"Beren!" he said happily and he gave the man a hug. I watched this show of affection with a smile on my face. When Bain was done hugging Beren, he looked at me. "She's unlike any woman I've ever seen here," he whispered, but I heard it. Looking away, I could feel the heat coming back into my cheeks. Bard noticed as well and began to lead Bain away.

"She's not from this land, Bain. She's traveled far," Bard said as he led us up wooden stairs to a house near the end of town. I noticed two men fishing just below us, and Bard saw them too. He took an apple from the basket that Bain was carrying and tossed it down to them. "Tell the Master I'm done for today," he said, and I realized that he knew he had been watched. I smirked. The man was intelligent. The door opened and we entered his house.

"Da!" said a voice and I saw a little girl run to Bard and hug him.

"I was getting so worried about you," another, older girl said, as she embraced him.

"I am fine. Girls: Sigrid and Tilda, I want you to meet Hildar. She'll be staying with us for a time," Bard introduced. The two girls looked at me and I smiled back at them. They were pretty, with light brown hair and blue eyes. Definitely the daughters of men. Beren put a hand on my shoulder and this drew their eyes.

"Beren!" the older girl, the one called Sigrid, said and she ran to him. Beren hugged her with one arm, but he kept the other on my shoulder. "It's been a long time!" Sigrid said.

"Just three years," Beren told her with a smile. When Sigrid was done with Beren, she turned to me.

"Where are you from, Hildar?" she asked me.

"I was raised in the Blue Mountains, on the other side of the Misty Mountains, but, I was originally born in the Wilds, near Dunland," I told her. She nodded her head, but that was when I felt something touching Gurthang. Spinning around, I grabbed the fragile, small hand of Tilda. She looked paralyzed with fear at my reaction, but I quickly let her go. "Sorry, Tilda? But, I wouldn't touch the sword again," I warned her. She swallowed and nodded her head. That was when he heard the sound of heavy, wet feet marching up the steps. Dwalin was the first to appear.

"Da? Why are there dwarves coming out of our toilet?" Sigrid asked uncertainly.

"Will they bring us luck?" Tilda asked and I had to laugh. The dwarves all glared at me, but I did not care. Her innocent question was amusing.

"Please find them some dry clothes," Bard asked his daughters. They began to search for clothing, blankets, and other things to make them comfortable. I helped Kili get comfortable with his leg, and I also aided Oin in taking a look at it.

"I think I can grab it. The shaft," I told Oin. My fingers were smaller and quicker than his, and he had to concede that to me. Kili gripped my shoulder and I looked up at him.