Not Forsaken

Chapter 21

The company came to the top of a rocky outcrop, some old decrepit buildings scattered around. "We make camp here for the night!" Thorin commanded as the ponies came to a halt. Luliana hesitated for a moment, not feeling right about this place.

Gandalf was already walking around the area, looking at the buildings. Luliana could see he was nervous as well. She dismounted and quickly approached him. "Gandalf," she said to him quietly, "I do not like this place."

He looked down at her frowning. "Neither do I." He was looking around at the buildings. "A farmer and his family lived here..." He trailed off. Turning, he shouted to Thorin, "I think it would be best if we move on. We could make for the Hidden Valley."

Thorin stomped over to him, seemingly angered by his words. "I have told you already! I will not go near that place!" he sneered at Gandalf.

Luliana made a quick exit, not wanting to get involved in that argument. The dwarves were already setting up camp, so she reluctantly started to do the same. The Hidden Valley, she thought. Imladris. There were elves there, she knew. Not dangerous, not as the elves of the woodland realm. She did not understand why Thorin would be so opposed to going there. She knew that the map Thorin carried of Erebor had some sort of mystery contained in it, who better to help than the elves, she thought?

As she was in mid-thought, Gandalf went storming out of the camp. "I've had about enough of dwarves for one day!" He shouted.

"Gandalf?" Luliana called after him. He had not even turned around. Oh no he is not! Her thoughts suddenly screamed within her. He can not simply leave me here with all these dwarves! "Gandalf!" Glancing over at Bilbo, she realized he must have been thinking the same thing. They looked at each other, worried.

Luliana looked over at Thorin who was angrily shouting out orders. She decided it would be best to busy herself around camp. She most certainly did not want a confrontation with him when he was angry. Although, she thought to herself, he is terribly good looking when he is angry. She smiled to herself, allowing her gaze to follow him, peeking through her hair at him as he stomped around camp. It made her heart flutter, the same as the butterflies that never seemed to leave her stomach when he was around. He must have felt her gazing at him, for he looked over at her. She quickly looked away, continuing to busy herself about the camp.

It was dark now, and Luliana searched around, worried, for Gandalf. He still had not returned.

"Where do you think Gandalf is?" Bilbo asked her, coming to stand next to her. "Do you think he will return soon?"

She shook her head slowly, "I do not know. I have never seen him so irritated." She thought for a moment, "I do think he will return. He would not leave us." She smiled at Bilbo, hopeful.

"He sure has been gone for a long while. I hope he returns soon. I do not like this place." Bilbo looked nervous. More so than usual.

"Neither do I," Luliana replied. There was something about this place, although she did not know what. She looked around at the rest of the company, oblivious at what she, Bilbo and Gandalf had felt. There was something dark about this place, something dangerous.

Luliana scanned the camp for Thorin, and she spotted him sitting alone, sulking. Did he regret arguing with Gandalf? She wondered? Or was he angry that Gandalf has dared question him in front of the men. She supposed it was the later. Stubborn, Thorin was, to a fault. But she loved him just the same. She hadn't realized it quite yet, but her heart was now bound to his. She would died for him in an instant, without question. While Thorin may have been stubborn to a fault, Luliana would discover in the days to come that she was loyal to a fault.

"Bombur, have you saved any supper for me?" Luliana asked, a twinkle in her eye, as she watched the enormous dwarf sneaking another bite of the stew.

"Aye lass! There's plenty for all!" He grinned at her through a mouthful of food. "Here ya go lass! And take Thorin his, would ya? He hasn't eaten yet. Don't want our king going hungry now, it'd make him fouler than he already is." He said the last part quietly, almost whispered to her.

"Ah, no we wouldn't ," Luliana answered him, giving him a wink. "Wish me luck now, that he does not bite off my head!" She laughed, and walked towards the dwarf King with their supper.

"I have brought you your supper, my king." Chirped Luliana, glad for the excuse to speak to him.

He looked up at her, glaring for a moment, but the glare quickly melted into a small smile. He looked up at her through his thick brows, deep blue eyes twinkling as the light of the fire shine upon them. She suddenly felt herself go  weak in the knees. He was absolutely majestic, she thought to herself. She awkwardly shoved the bowl of stew at him, fearing she would drop it whilst admiring him. "Thank you." He said. The deep baritone of his voice rumbling through every fiber of her being. She quickly sat next to him, fearing she would faint at any moment.

They sat quietly for a few minutes, enjoying their meal. Thorin stared intently at his bowl of stew, as if it was the most interesting thing in the world, while Luliana simply poked at her own. Each wanted to speak, but neither could find the words to start the conversation.

Finally, Luliana decided to speak up. "You and Gandalf had quite the disagreement earlier, didn't you?" She waited nervously for a response, unsure of wether or not she should have brought up the subject.

Thorin sighed deeply. "Aye," he said simply. He continued studying his stew.

"Well, um...." Luliana started nervously, "do you want to...uh,... talk about it?" This is going badly, she quickly thought to herself.

Thorin looked at her, obviously annoyed at the topic. "No. I do not wish to speak about it. Gandalf was being unreasonable. Clearly the fault is his own." He grunted, and went back to his nearly empty bowl.

Luliana sat there a moment longer, and decided that he had probably had enough of her company for the evening. He was nearly unbearable when he got to brooding, she thought. She got up quickly, and went back to where the others were. She was not aware of the deep blue eyes that followed her, nor the look of disappointment on Thorin's face. He had not meant to snap at her, but he had no way to explain to her at that moment his deep hatred of the elves.

As he continued his brooding, Fili burst into the midst of the camp. "TROLLS!" He shouted, quite out of breath. "They have taken some of the ponies, and Bilbo has gone to retrieve them!"

"WHAT?" Thorin roared. "Where is your brother? Where is Kili?" Thorin was on his feet, said in hand rushing toward Fili.

"He is watching out for Bilbo," Fili answered.

"Du Bekar!" Shouted Thorin. "Take up your weapons!" The dwarves quickly armed and followed Fili to where the trolls were gathered.

Luliana grabbed her weapons as well, intending to follow the others. "No. Not you." Thorin ordered roughly. "You are to stay here."

"And wait for other trolls to come and find me alone? Absolutely not!" Luliana shouted back at him, utterly incensed that he would suggest such a thing. "I pledged my loyalty to this quest, and i do not intend to sit here and simply do nothing, Thorin!"

He glared at her, and quickly followed the others, Luliana at his heels.