Bring Me With Her

Familiar Face

Barking. That was what woke her up that morning. Talia got out of bed to see that Siggy was barking at some squirrel through the window. The young woman came and closed the blinds and brought the dog away from it. Talia blinked the sleep from her eyes, furrowing her brows as the memory of last night's dream came back to her.

She couldn't exactly tell where she was, or if she was even technically "there". Whatever was happening, the atmosphere was pitch black to the point where one wouldn't even be able to see their own hand waving in front of them.

It came out of nowhere. A voice. There was no figure to which it belonged, it was as if its owner was the very air around her. Talia could tell that it was masculine, deep, and...dark. It sounded even more sinister than Smaug. The young woman felt like it could have swallowed her whole. The voice didn't say any words that Talia could make out, all she could remember was feeling like a larger force was watching her right before she blinked.

Talia shook her head. Forget it, it was just a stupid nightmare. The young woman was bringing Siggy back to her bedroom when she remembered it was tonight. The neighborhood party. The young woman had to admit that she did not want to go, but Howard had miraculously convinced her a while back to say yes. He and his wife had found a babysitter for their son that night and they promised her a "night of fun".

Talia had been pacing around her room for hours, wondering what she was supposed to do. She had barely socialized with anyone since coming home, and though she knew all the neighbors, they always talked to her like they were walking on thin ice. She seriously had no idea how Howard was going to keep his little promise. "Sweetheart." The young woman looked up to see her mother at her door. "I'm heading out!" she said, causing Talia to furrow her brows. "I have a business trip to go on, remember?"

Talia closed her eyes. "Oh. Right."

Her mom sighed. "Talia, I know that things have been hard for you lately. But, try actually calling someone and getting out of the house. You might surprise yourself." she smiled. Talia gave the best smile that she could, and nodded. "I'll be back soon. Howard will be by every now and then to check on you."

Yeah, right. Talia thought. "Soon" was the word her mother used whenever she had the plans to extend her trip however long she wanted, especially now that Talia was a legal adult. It was clear that her mother felt the need to have a break from her, and was using Howard as a free babysitter in order to ease any kind of guilt she was feeling. The young woman rolled her eyes. It really didn't bother her the way it did when she was in high school. Now...she actually felt relieved to have her own break from a mother who no longer wanted to be a parent.

Once her mom was out the door, Talia went through her closet. She picked out a simple knee-length black dress to wear, and she slipped it on. Talia had never really liked dresses before, but now she found herself feeling...pretty, for a certain amount of time. She pulled a small front piece of her hair back and tied it down. Then she ran her hand across the silver chain around her neck, the chain that held...Thorin's bead.

He had given it to her on his sickbed as a Dwarven symbol of his love for her. The young woman never took it off. She took the bead in her hands and held it close to her heart. Talia closed her eyes as the image of Thorin's rare smile appeared in her mind's eye. What was about to turn into a smile came to be a frown when she thought about their last moment together.

She shouldn't have doubted him. The fact that he was even able to tell her how he felt with words should've been enough proof of his love for her. Yet, she had still doubted him all the same. Talia thought that she couldn't trust him, and was convinced that she needed time away from the mountain before going back to Thorin. However, she made the terrible mistake of saying that out loud. Thorin had overheard her talking and...it had caused quite a few regrettable words to be spoken.