Honour For Bastards

Chapter 4 - Fires and Past Lives

Night had fallen and the Company were spread out over a cliff that over looked the Low-lands. Many were asleep aside from Gandalf, Balin, the Durin brothers, and Laire. The latter three we siting around the fire in a comfortable silence. Bilbo, who had been attempting to sleep next to Bombur, sighed in frustration knowing no sleep would come with the racket the Dwarf was making. Bilbo had discretely slipped off to give his pony an apple, when a bone chilling screech echoed across the valley. 

"What was that?" Bilbo squeaked, scurrying over to the fire.

"Orcs." Laire spat, her eyes not shifting from the arrow fletching she worked on in her hands. 

Another screech flooded their ears and some of the others began to wake, Thorin included.

Bilbo looked around with wide, horror filled eyes, "Orcs?"

"Throat-cutters. There'll be dozens of them out there. The lowlands are crawling with them." Fili explained, his face a mask of seriousness.

"They strike in the wee small hours, when everyone's asleep. Quick and quiet; no screams, just lots of blood." Kili said hauntingly. 

As Bilbo looked away fearfully, the brothers glanced at each other and began snickering to themselves.

"I suppose a night raid is a joke to ye, then?" Laire asked, her tone void of emotion. 

The brothers bowed their heads in shame and looked at her apologetically. 

"We didn't mean anything by it." Kili mumbled.

Before Laire could respond, Thorin broke in harshly. "No, you didn't. You know nothing of the world."

Thorin stormed off to the edge of the cliff as all eyes followed him. It wasn't until Balin walked up behind Kili did their attention deviate.

"Don't mind him, laddie. Thorin has more cause than most to hate orcs. After the dragon took the Lonely Mountain, King Thror tried to reclaim the ancient dwarf kingdom of Moria. But our enemy had got there first. Moria had been taken by legions of Orcs lead by the most vile of all their race: Azog, the Defiler. The giant Gundabad Orc had sworn to wipe out the line of Durin. He began by beheading the King."

Laire kept her eyes on Thorin's back, watching it stiffen ever so slightly as Balin told the tale. She'd heard it through her father and some of the other Rangers.

"But the pale orc? What happened to him?" Bilbo asked at the end of Balin's recount.

"He slunk back into the hole whence he came. That filth died of his wounds long ago." Thorin spat, walking back past the Company.

"What about ye, lassie?"

Laire looked up from her spot to Dwalin who was looking down at her questioningly .

"What about me?" 

"What happened to you that ye hate Orcs so much?"

"I thought everybody hated Orcs?" Laire responded, deliberately avoiding the real answer. 

"True, but ye 'ave got that look in yer eye, lass. Somethin' happened."

Laire looked down and sighed, noting that the rest of the Company had turned their attention to the exchange. "Yer all just dying to know about me, aren't ye?"

"You can't blame us for being a wee bit curious, lass." Bofur commented.

Laire heaved out a heavy breath then nodded, "Fair enough, but I'll warn ye, it's far from a happy tale." 

When no one objected, Laire continued, "Well I suppose I should start right at the beginning; my father was a Ranger, like myself, and he was patrolling along the roads near one of the Dwarf kingdoms. He never told me which one and ye'll figure out why. He came across a carriage being attacked by a small pack of Orcs, the guards were outnumbered so my father risked his life and saved them. Turns out the carriage was holding the lord of the kingdom and his daughter who'd just returned from meeting her future husband. The lord was eternally grateful for his act of bravery that he offered him a place in his halls for as long as he pleased. So my father returned and dined with them that night, but what the lord didna see was that his daughter had taken a shining to me father. A tall, dark, and handsome stranger, hours of talking and wine later... she brought him back to her chambers where they spent a more... intimate night together. He left the next morning before she woke and never saw her again. Until nine months later, when she gave birth to a daughter."