Not Forsaken

Chapter 16

The pair walked on quietly, side by side. Luliana scanned the horizon with a watchful eye. She had brought her bow and quiver, in case she came across any game. Doubtful, she thought to herself, Thorin's heavy boots thudding beside her. Behind them, she could hear the rest of the company, rowdy as ever. No chance of this bunch
sneaking up on anything, she thought, slightly annoyed.

"How do you find the journey so far, Miss Luliana?" Thorin asked, trying to make conversation.

"Very well, I suppose," she said, still looking around her. She still tried to avoid eye contact, her heart beating wildly in her chest. She did not look to find herself alone with Thorin so soon into the journey, and was attempting with all her might to keep her wits about her.

"Have....have I done or said something to offend you, my lady?" Thorin asked sheepishly, glad his men were not around to catch the tone in his voice. He hated to show any emotion or weakness around them. He was also glad that at this moment, Luliana was not looking at him. Worse than disappointing his men would be for her to see the blush that had crept hotly up his neck to his cheeks. This would never do!

"No," Luliana answered slowly. "Why would you think that?" She had suddenly stopped walking, glancing at him quickly. She began to move ahead again, suddenly feeling awkward, unsure of what she was seeing on his face.

"You have not spoken a single word to me today. It is as if you are avoiding me. Are you not?" Thorin asked, too eager for her response to attempt to conceal his concerns.

"I did not think it was my place to approach you, my lord. You are the leader of this company, as well as our king." she finally answered. She was attempting to be as formal as she could be, unsure what this dwarf was after. I wish he was after me, her thoughts rudely interrupting her. Would you STOP! She silently screamed inside. Thorin then looked at her, a puzzled look on his face, and she feared he had seen right into her mind. Her face reddened, as she quickly turned away, urgently studying the outcropping of rocks they had come upon.

"Did you find something?" Thorin asked.

"Uh, ....no. It is.....nothing." She blurted out, continuing on ahead.

"Luliana," Thorin said, quickly catching up to her. "There is no reason to address me so formally. A dwarf lord I may be, but a king in title only. I have no kingdom, and do not require such loyalty from you."

"But are not your men loyal to you? Do they not regard you as their king?" She replied, looking earnestly into his eyes, reading him. "When I agreed to this quest, I also pledged my loyalty and my service to you, my king. And our king you are, whether you sit upon a throne or not. It is who you are. It is in your bearing, seen in your loyalty to your people. You are a servant leader, one who is loved and respected. So no, not a king in name only, Thorin son of Thrain, but a king in deed. One who is most noble to serve alongside his people. Can you not see that?" Luliana looked at him, and realized that among all the peoples of middle earth, none had a king so worthy of honor.

He simply looked at her, a forlorn look on his face, brows furrowed in disappointment. "I am nothing more than a lowly dwarf lord without my kingdom. But aye, my men are loyal to me, as well as to this quest. I would see the day that my...that our people were great once more."

"Even without a kingdom, as you say, you still carry yourself as a king. You have retained your honor even to this day, and have earned my respect because of that." Luliana replied, imploringly. "You do yourself a disservice, my lord. You are worthy of so much more honor than you allow for yourself."

He offered her a hint of a smile. "Do you respect me, then?" He said coyly. "You have yet to learn of my stubbornness, my lady. We will see then if I shall still retain your respect."

"Ah," she replied, looking up at him through her long lashes, making his heart skip a beat. "Do you forget, my lord, that I am also part dwarf? What of my stubbornness? You may find it rivals your own!"

She hadn't meant to, but she realized that she was openly flirting with the handsome dwarf king. She was amused at the look on his face, and could suddenly detect the flush that had once again risen in his cheeks. They both looked away from one another, quickly.

"Right then," said Thorin, clearing his throat awkwardly. "Let us move on."

They had not scouted much farther when Luliana shot out her left hand, stopping Thorin dead in his tracks. "Shhh!" She whispered, suddenly staring ahead, quietly sliding an arrow from her quiver. He could not see what had caught her attention, and so he was obliged to just stand there. Like a fool, he thought bitterly to himself. She let the arrow fly, hitting her mark. It was a small deer, but would make for a fair amount of meat, she thought.

"Well done!" Said Thorin with admiration.

"It is in my contract, is it not?" She asked, pulling out her knife and heading toward her prize.

He stood there for a moment, admiring her wit, and skill, as well as some other...things as he finally followed her. "ENOUGH!" He growled to himself, ashamed at his own thoughts.

"Did you say something?" Luliana asked, turning back to look at him.

"Nothing." He lied. He was certain she would not maintain any level of respect for him if she could read his thoughts. It was a good thing she was not part elf, he thought, most irritated with his behavior.

Once he had reached her, she had already begun gutting the animal. He could see that it was something she was well used to, her hands moving with such speed and skill. "Bombur will be very pleased for your addition to the evening meal, although I fear he will not allow for leftovers." Thorin groaned.

Luliana looked up, smiling. "No, I should think not!" She quipped. "He has quite an appetite! He eats for at least two dwarves, does he not?" She considered where they were for a moment, still not having found a suitable camp for the night, and too far from the rest of the company. "I am nearly finished here. We will need to
carry it with us until we find camp. I can then continue to cut it into manageable portions." The small woman then hoisted the animal up and over her shoulders, looking quite a sight. The deer was nearly as big as herself.

"Please, allow me to carry it," begged Thorin. She looked much to small to carry the animal far.

"I made the kill, I will carry the animal, thank you." She answered sharply, enough that she could see Thorin flinch slightly. "I'm sorry," she quickly apologized. "It is just what I am accustomed to doing. I have been on my own for quite some time, please remember. I am used to doing things for myself."

"I see that you certainly do have a bit of dwarvish stubbornness, lass." He gave her a cheeky grin. "Remind me to never cross you."

"You best not!" She said to him jokingly. "Let us continue, my king. I would not want to see your garments spoiled by this creature anyway." Luliana shot him her own cheeky smile, her eyes bright and sparkling, despite her bloodied hands and tunic. She had thought well enough to leave her cloak with her pony, and good thing. She did not fancy trying to scrub deer blood from the thick wool. Thorin was breathless for a moment, beholding this dwarf woman, for that is what he thought of her as, no matter her heritage. She was beautiful, he thought. Her hair hanging around the front of her, her eyes sparkling as the sun, her small, refined features. Even with a carcass over her shoulders, bloodied up to her elbows, she was the most lovely sight he had ever seen.

"Thorin, are you alright?" She gave a slight smile, noticing the appreciative way he was looking at her. "We really should continue on. It will do us no good to find camp for the night if you continue to stand there and stare at me!" She teased him, knowingly. She certainly was flattered. So flattered, in fact, that she forgot all about her feet, tripping gracelessly over her own two feet. She managed to fall disgracefully on her face. Certainly no queen! She berated herself.

"Bugger!" she cursed, quite out loud.

"Luliana!" Thorin rushed to her side. "Are you alright? Are you sure you can manage?"

"Yes!" She shot back quickly, climbing awkwardly to her feet. "There was just ...a rock... Or something." She re-positioned  the dead animal, thinking what a pathetic sight she must be, covered in blood with a dead animal on her. "Let's go." She said, defeated. So much for that, she thought to herself. What use is it to even trying to flirt with such a gorgeous creature, when I look no better than a troll?!