Reyna stepped in front of Thorin protectively. She had went from "just managing to hold it together" to "I will freaking kill you" in a heartbeat. Dwalin raised a broken branch and tried to charge at the man that was pointing an arrow right at Reyna's face. The man changed his angle and shot the branch that the dwarf had been gripping. It hit dead-center and Dwalin stopped his charge in shock. Kili prepared to throw a rock, but the strange man just shot that out of his hand. While he was distracted, Reyna notched an arrow of her own and was pointing it at him. He hastily nocked another arrow himself and the two stared each other down.
"Do it again, and you're dead." the man warned the others.
"Kinda hard to kill them with an arrow through your head." Reyna spat. The man was tall and had dark eyes and hair. He was glaring at Reyna, daring her to make a move.
Balin caught sight of the barge floating in the river behind the newcomer and walked forward, cautiously.
"Excuse me, you are from Laketown, if I'm not mistaken? That barge over there, it wouldn't be available for hire by any chance?" the wise, old dwarf asked. Reyna reluctantly lowered her bow, and the man did the same. He moved away from the dwarves and boarded his barge.
"What makes you think that I will help you?" he asked. As Balin bargained with the bargeman, Reyna walked over to Kili and Fili. Fili was supporting his brother carefully, an arm acrossed his back.
"How are you feeling?" Reyna asked Kili, concern clear in her voice. He shrugged.
"How are you?" he countered. Reyna shook her head, but didn't answer.
"Listen you two, please do not tell anyone about it. Thorin is busy enough right now without having to be worried about me." she said quietly. They immediately protested.
"Rey, that is a serious injury!" Fili whispered.
"He should know!" Kili added.
"No, he shouldn't. There's no time for it, and he will only be worried. It's not worth it, you know I won't slow you down." Reyna pursuaded. Kili and Fili exchanged glances and then looked back at their friend. They nodded slightly. They did not want to let this slide. This wasn't one of those times where Reyna was hiding a scratch, a bruise, or a small orc attack. It was more serious than that.
Reyna smiled at them gratefully.
Any further conversation was cut off when the strange man spoke up. He must have made a deal with Balin, because the company began to board his barge.
"Alright, I know you are all dwarves, but who's the girl?" the bargeman asked. Reyna narrowed her eyes and was about to make a sarcastic remark, when Thorin beat her to it.
"The maid." he said. It was intended to be a joke, and the others burst out laughing. Reyna, the maid? After she had just saved every one of their asses? Now that was a funny thought.
The bargeman was obviously not convinced. Would a maid be perfectly willing and capable of killing him? He didn't think so. Reyna turned beat red and stormed over to Thorin.
"The maid?!" she hissed angrily. Thorin looked slightly intimidated, but held his ground.
"He cannot know who you truly are. It would make quite the splash if the Lionheart made an appearance in Laketown. He doesn't believe it anyway." Thorin said in a hushed tone, so the man could not hear their conversation.
"But seriously, the maid? Are you sure that the elves did not make an impression on you?" she asked sarcastically. Now Thorin was mad.
"Just get on the barge." he growled. Reyna chuckled and joined the others on the boat.
YOU ARE READING
The Oncoming Storm (Book 2 in the Lionheart Trilogy)
Fanfiction★ I suggest reading the first book, Lionheart, before you read this one★ Reyna Stormbringer had hoped that after facing goblins, orcs and even the occasional cave troll, that she and the company would have faced the worst of what their quest had to...
