The Hobbit | The Lost Bender {Book 1}

17 | Explanations

{Myrna POV}

The group had fallen silent, Gandalf leaning back as he started to explain.

"Sauron is the one who cast this curse upon you. The curse under the people. The curse of the elements."

I gasped in disagreement. "It isn't a curse! Don't you dare say that it is a curse! I love my powers! It gives me strength! Why can't we show them what we can? We can help the defenceless people after we save Smaug!"

The grey wizard shook his head. "I wish it was that easy, but it isn't."
I sighed, trying to calm down a bit.

"That isn't the problem. The problem is that the people are sickly afraid of you, and the Orcs want you for your powers. They want to enslave you. Elements are the one thing that no one can truly fight, so they want you two for war. If you had showed your powers whilst we were attacked back at the open fields by Orcs, they would've known and tripled the amount of trackers hunting us down. At the moment, they only hunt for Thorin. Let's keep it that way."

I frowned. "Why are the people afraid of us?"

Gandalf sighed. "Several reasons. Your powers are immense, so they tend to back off. They are scared that you will hurt them, use your power against them. Second of all, Smaug has put you into an even worse light. Not that they know that Smaug is a Bender, but because their hatred and fright towards the elements only has grown."

I rested my hands on the cold stone table.

"What do we have to do?"
"Personally, I think the best idea would be to find a way to get rid of the curse."

We turned to Saruman, who was sitting in his chair uncomfortably.
"Do you mean Smaug's drake form?" I quizzed.
"No. The bending in general. This is way too dangerous, for everyone."

I shook my head.
"No. No the bending makes me who I am."
"A reckless rebel, you mean." My eyebrows lowered into an angry gaze.

"Excuse me?! Who do you think you are, speaking to me like--"
"Silence!" Gandalf exclaimed. I rolled my eyes.

"You are okay with him talking to me like that?! Who does he think he is? My father?!"

I shut up as Gandalf gave me a warning gaze.
"I think it's better that you two leave the Company to search for the third bender. You should head to Mirkwood. It would seem logical if they hid the Airbender there to make the freeing of Smaug nearly impossible. It is sure that those two events are related with each other." Rigmor swallowed.

"Alright. So we have to leave then."
"Yes, if the timing seems right. Don't let them see you slip away, or questions might be asked."
I shared a look with Rigmor. Her eyes were sad.

"Okay."
"Then I declare this meeting over!" Saruman muttered, standing up and walking away without looking at anyone again.

"He is angry..." Rigmor mumbled.
"Unsatisfied, yes. But you know why?" Gandalf asked, tilting his head a bit.
"He is afraid of you two. That means you're a threat to him."

I hummed. "Why don't we show him some of what we are capable of, hm?!" I said, a devious smirk forming onto my face.
"My fists are itching, I want to bend--"

"Stop, no time for useless banter. Saruman is on our side, after all. It's time for you to gather your things. Elrond spoke to me about a few gifts I should hand to you."

I turned around to look for the brunet Elf that was just mentioned, but no one was left instead of us and the Elven lady. "A map of Greenwood, or Mirkwood as it is called now."

I took it from him. "Be careful. The paths of a cursed forest can be treacherous. Don't let yourself be fooled. You two should rest now and get ready to go."

"Hurry up!" Thorin barked towards me just as I hoisted my backpack over my shoulders.
"Calm down your majesty." I said sarcastically, giving him an annoyed look.

The Dwarf shook his head. "You shouldn't be so rude towards your king, girl." I huffed and opened my mouth to return with a sassy comeback, but he had already walked away.

"Ready?" Rigmor asked, a tiny shimmer in her eyes as she spotted the Hobbit a few meters away.
"You are, for sure." I said, giving her a knowing smirk.

"Oh, I know that look." she said, fearing what I might say.
"Hmhm..." I teased, wiggling my eyebrows suggestively.

We stepped over the path, waving at Elrond and Lindir.
"Thank you for your hospitality!"
"You're most welcome!"

Those Elves were the little few who had been nice to us during this trip so far.
"How are we supposed to leave those Dwarfs?" Rigmor whispered as we overlooked the Company in front of us.

Sure, Thorin and the princes had been a pain in the arse, but the others were extremely nice. "I don't know, Rig. I don't know if we can. They seem so defenceless sometimes. For example, how can Bombur possibly defend himself?"

Rigmor shrugged. "No idea. I doubt he'll survive long. What about little Ori?" "He is sweet. I don't want him to get hurt." I said.

The road before us was steep, so I decided to walk behind Rigmor for now. The silence gave me some good moments to overthink the situation. Another bender was out there, that was for sure. Well, if they weren't dead already...

Also, we needed to leave the Company and find out what this evil Sauron enemy is. Suddenly, I stopped in my tracks. "Rigmor. Where is Gandalf?"

"He isn't coming with us, I think. At least, not for now. He'll be busy enough with other stuff. Come on, let's go."

We walked for hours before I spoke up again, making sure not a Dwarf could eavesdrop on us.

"What if we sneak away at night?"
"But there will be someone on watch tonight. He'll see us."
"Not if one of us takes the watch." I said.

"But then there is no watch left as soon as we are gone."
"If they are in a cave, what could possibly happen?"

Rigmor didn't seem convinced.
"Just... We'll think of something, okay?"

I nodded lightly.
"Whoa..." I looked up, my jaw dropping in awe.
Right before us, the Misty Mountains had emerged.

"Those are immense."
Fog surrounded the peaks to emphasize the height of the colossal rocks.
"How are we ever going to get through here?"