Bring On The Wonder[Thorin Oakenshield]

Chapter Ten: Consequences

A week has gone by. No one had come to visit the woman, besides Bilbo, Gandalf, Lord Elrond and few other elves that brought the half-breed food and water. The wizard had managed to convince the dwarves to stay around for now; but most of them - including Thorin were growing quickly impatient. Time was of the essence. Bella laid in bed, starring at the ceiling; she felt useless. Lady Galadriel ordered her to remain on bed rest for the next couple of weeks. Bella groaned in frustration and disappointment - mostly in herself for allowing that filthy creature to get close to her like that, and attack her. She wouldn't be in this predicament. The woman was sure the dwarves would not be waiting around for much longer.

Bella was surprised Thorin hadn't ordered the others to leave already. Why they still remained her in the elf valley was beyond her. He had the answer he needed to find the hidden door into the mountain. There was nothing left here that was holding the dwarf king to stay put, so why was he? Thorin barely trusted her as it was. He knew nothing about her and mostly that was because she didn't want anyone to know who she really was. The young woman could still hear Thorin's harsh words repeat in her mind. She might have been unconscious at the time but she still heard every single thing he said and it hurt her more then she liked to admit. Not wanting to spend another minute in this bed, Bella was determined to be able to walk as fast as she could; she was part of that company and she was going to be with them until they reached their destination.

The young woman pushed herself off the bed and instead of landing on her feet like she had envisioned and she collapsed onto the cold stone floor. Groaning in protest she began dragging herself across the floor until she found a railing she could grab hold of to pull herself back up. The half-breed hopped on her one good leg down the hall, peering behind pillars; making sure no elves spotted her and continued on when the area was clear. Bella finally made it outside and breathed in a breath of fresh air. She was leaning against the solid ledge, giving her hurt leg a rest and was careful not to put too much pressure on it so she wouldn't collapse again. She was determined to walk on that leg as fast as she could before she got left behind. 

Once she felt rested, she decided to follow the path down that led away from the home of the elves and the woman was once again hopping on one leg, praying she wouldn't trip or fall. She finally made it down to the bottom of the path. Bella peered through the bushes, seeing the water slam into the rocks with great pressure. "What are you doing out here?" Thorin's voice thundered from behind her. 

Bella jumped at the sound of his voice, but she managed to keep herself from falling over. " I needed to get some air." Bella stated, her tone laced with annoyance as she ignored the pain she was feeling that was shooting up her wounded leg. The dwarf was watching her suspiciously. He remembered that elf with the ugly hair, had said she would be on bed rest for weeks before she would be able to walk; how she was on her feet now was beyond him. 

" Shouldn't you be resting right now?" Thorin questioned her in a serious tone. 

"I'm fine." The young woman answered a little to quickly then she should have.

"Are you now? Then lets head back." Thorin challenged, motioning for her to go first. Bella had a feeling she knew what he was trying to prove and she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of showing she was useless. 

"Thank you, but I prefer to stay down here for awhile. I've been cooped up in that home for a week, you understand." Bella lowly growled, the pain in her left leg was getting only more unbearable. 

"And I said, we are leaving. You're well enough aren't you. We've wasted enough time in this cursed land. " Thorin spat, as motioned for her to go once again. Bella took a moment to gather her nerves and put all her focus into not making herself look like a fool in front of the leader. The half-breed stepped with her right foot first and then she moved her left leg and limped on that foot so she wouldn't put to much pressure on it. Thorin's eyes looked down, to watch how she was walking; taking note of her limp and waited for her to collapse on the ground. Bella had made it passed the dwarf, when a low whimper came from her; she wasn't going to be able to keep this up, the pain was to much and when she went to place her left foot down again, her whole leg gave out on her and she fell to the ground. " Your fine, are you?" Thorin grumbled at her, still standing a few feet behind her. The woman laid their for a few seconds, ignoring the leader. Thorin was about to say something else when he heard her soft cry's and his tense face relaxed and he walked towards her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Bella are you alright?" 

"Don't touch me!" Bella shouted as she smacked Thorin's hand away and she started crawling away from him up the path. 

"Bella stop, let me help you." Thorin ordered as he continued to follow her.

"I don't need your help. It's not as if you care." She sneered at him. Thorin took somewhat offense to that notion. 

"Bella. Just let me help you, you are not going to make it up that hill by yourself in your condition." Thorin retorted, trying to remain calm but the woman wasn't making this easy for him.

"You sure you wouldn't rather have just let me die." Bella barked, looking up at him. remembering everything he said in the cave. Thorin turned away and looked back at her, seeing the pain that covered her face and then he saw the blood that had leaked through her clothing. Her stitches must have come undone. 

" Your bleeding." Thorin pointed out, as he stepped towards her again, only for her to struggle to get away from him. 

"And? What. You suddenly feel concern for my well-being?" 

"You are so stubborn!" Thorin hissed in annoyance. He walked towards and with no problem picked her up off the ground and began heading up the path with the woman shouting in protest.

"Put me down!" She ordered. "I won't be left behind." 

"Left behind? No one's leaving you behind Bella." Thorin stated as he continued up the hill. Not long after he reached the entrance of the elven home and headed down the hall, towards the healing room he found lord Elrond and the elf with the ugly hair speaking to each other, and Thorin gladly interrupted their conversation rudely. "Her wound needs rebinding. And see to it that she stays put this time." Thorin ordered as he shot both elves a look and he left the room; shutting the doors behind him. 

Thorin had gone to find the rest of the company. He knew his men were growing painfully impatient with every second they spent in this horrid place. After a long debate Thorin managed to convince the others that they were not going to leave until the woman was back on her feet. He didn't want to admit it, but he had a feeling they needed this woman more then they realized. The hobbit and wizard were mildly surprised by this, but didn't disagree. As much as he didn't like it, she was part of this company and he wasn't about to leave her behind now, even if it did take her a few weeks to recover.