Price of Battle ➝ The Hobbit ✓

Part One

Ooh. First chapter of a new fanfic. Here we go! :)

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PART ONE~

Arien let out a sigh, leaning back and resting her head against the plastered wall of her chamber. The white-washed walls shone with a golden hue as the sun began to sink low in the horizon, shafts of hazy sunlight filtering through the open window.

The girl was brought out of her thoughts as a soft whistle erupted from below her bedroom window. She frowned, wondering who it could be, and leapt from her cot. She hesitantly approached the window and glanced down, raising her hand to her forehead to shield her eyes from the glaring sun.

She squinted and searched the grounds, and a grin suddenly broke out on her face, her eyes lit with delight, as she caught sight of the young dwarf, Fili, standing below.

His long, blonde plait blew about him in the soft breeze, and she caught his lips move as he shouted something up to her in a gentle voice.

Arien only just caught his words before they drifted off with the wind. "D'you want to come and do some training in the forest?"

Arien's smile widened and, spinning on her heel, she bounded from the window without replying. The girl dived under her bed and gathered in her arms a simple wooden box. She dragged it out and threw the lid open in excitement, pulling out an intricate sheath. Entwined vines and flowers adorned the hilt that peeped from the scabbard, and she gripped it steadily before leaping up and drawing it with a hiss.

A feeling of delight and excitement sent shivers down her spine as she watched the razor-sharp edges of the sword glimmer in the shafts of sunlight that fell through the open window.

Arien nodded in approval and fastened the sheath around her waist, sliding the blade back in it's place.

She leapt hastily back over to the window, squinting, to see Fili tapping his foot impatiently against the ground below. He glanced up and raised an eyebrow, and Arien gestured to him that she was going to climb down. He nodded, searching about him to make sure they were alone.

Arien took a deep breath, throwing a quick glance at her closed bedroom door, before hesitantly sliding one leg through the opening of the window. Grabbing tightly onto the latch, she sent through the next leg, pushing the window open wider, so she sat dangling several metres from the ground. She closed her eyes, breathing deeply, before ducking under the shutter and leaping off, landing heavily on the ledge below without stumbling. Clouds of dust swirled about her feet from the impact. Panic suddenly hit her in the gut and she spun round, remembering the window to which the ledge was attached. Luckily, the deep crimson curtains were drawn across the glass; nobody knew of her escape.

She glanced down at the ground warily, but pulled her eyes away as a dizzying sensation began to take hold of her. Fili was stood below her, his arms outstretched, glancing up with concern.

She gulped loudly, bracing herslef, before letting her body slip off.

Arien landed on the ground with a small thud, the sheath slamming against her leg, and she stumbled forward slightly, to be caught by Fili's lean arms.

She breathed a long sigh of relief and the dwarf let go of her, stepping back to examine her for any injuries.

"You okay?"

Arien nodded, suddenly out of breath, and they both glanced at each other in amusement, letting out a small chuckle.

"I don't think I'll be doing that again," Arien muttered, and they both walked towards the forest, grinning, as the pale disk of a sun slipped out of sight in the horizon.