The 15th Member

11

It was far too close for comfort but we all managed to get inside of the gigantic house where Gandalf proceeded to going into detail about what was really chasing us.

"A Skin Changer?" I asked in disbelief, I don't know why I wasn't already use to the impossible being very much possible by this point. It seemed as if every bedtime story, every silly song, was right about everything. There really was a Goblin King, and stone giants that fight in the rain and now skin changers, men who can change forms into various animals.

And just our luck we were locked in his cabin style home.

Everything around me was humongous and as a half elf that's saying something.

Between us sleeping most of the day away and running we now sat in the pitch darkness. Gandalf lit a lantern and those who were tired laid amongst the hay and let their eyes close.

Thorin sat down on the hay and pulled me on top of his lap.

"I promise that one day we will stop running." He spoke in a tone so low I knew he said it for my ears only. I looked into his steely eyes and saw the glimmer of hope as he said it.

I kissed his lips and he didn't protest, then I laid my head on his shoulder.

. . . . .

"So you are the one they call Oakenshield." The giant of a man spoke. "Tell me, why is Azog the Defiler hunting you?"

Sometime in the night he had let himself into the home and slept alongside us. To me he seemed more animal that man as tufts of hair sprang along his arms, chest, and face.

He seemed to be a very well mannered master of the house considering he chased us before, as he now made his way around the table serving everybody large mugs of drink.

"You know of Azog?" Thorin asked as he turned a bit to look at him. "How?"

Fíli, who was sitting next to me patted my hand as if to comfort me from the sight of Beorn the skin-changer. I gave him a small smirk of thanks and slowly ate as I listened to Thorin and Beorn talk.

"My people were the first to live in the mountains." Beorn said calmly, "before the orcs came down from the north, the Defiler killed most of my family, but some he enslaved."

I noticed the large metal shackles that wrapped around his wrists, my heart fell for the gentle man standing in front of me now.

"...not for work you understand, but for sport." He continued. "Caging skin-changers and torturing them seemed to amuse him."

"There are others like you?" Bilbo questioned, maybe he hadn't heard the stories as I had, but I knew full and well that skin-changers were all but extinct.

"Once there were many."

"Now?" Bilbo pressed on.

"Now there is only one."

I looked to Thorin and then to Gandalf, no one seemed to know how to react or what to say.

"You need to reach the mountain before the last days of Autumn." Boern said as he looked at Thorin, Gandalf agreed "you are running out of time."

"Which is why we must go through Mirkwood."

I gave Thorin a worried look but he didn't seem to understand why. I knew as well as anyone at this table of the extreme hatred Thorin has for Thranduil. The Mirkwood Forest is considered that Elven kings land, and if we are caught in the Mirkwood we would indeed have to answer to Thranduil.

"A darkness lies about that forest, foul things creep beneath those trees." Beorn sounded seriously.

My stomach grew hollow, too many bad signs were lining up already toward the Mirkwood and I did not want to travel through it.

In my worry I missed something about Orcs and a Necromancer but caught the rest, "I would not travel there except in great need." Beorn said with finality.

"We will take the Elven road." Gandalf admitted. "Their path is still safe."

I closed my eyes not wanting to see Thorins reaction as realization was beginning to sink in.

"Safe, the wood elves of Mirkwood are not like their kin, they are less wise and more dangerous." Beorn said.

I looked at him an he looked at me, I knew his words weren't an insult on my Elven family back in Rivendell but rather a warning.

"But it matters not." He spoke once more.

"What do you mean?" Thorin asked. A shiver ran down my spine as i felt him now standing directly behind me.

"These lands are crawling with orcs, their numbers are growing, and you are on foot."

The company looked about the table as if silently asking one another what we should do.

"You will never reach the forest alive." Beorn said as he suddenly

Stood. "I don't like dwarves they're greedy, and blind to the lives they deem lesser than their own."

He got close to Thorin and yet my Thorin never budged as he stood tall with his arm crossed over his chest.

"But Orcs I hate more." Beorn finished, "what do you need?"

. . . . .

On ponies Beorn had given to us we went on our way, like he said, we were running out of time.

We rode all day not stopping once until we reached a dark tangle of tree branches that seemed to form some sort of gate.

"The Elven gate" Gandalf acknowledged. "Here lies our path through Mirkwood "

"No sign of the orcs, we have luck on out side." Dwalin replied.

We freed the ponies so that they could go back to Beorn. And Bilbo mentioned how the forest seemed disease ridden and sick, he was right.

I did not want to go through the forest before and now more so than ever, but I knew it was our only way if we wanted to get to the Lonely Mountain in time.

Thorin placed his hand at the small of my back, my face must have deceived me. "I will protect you." He said.

I smiled up at him, "and I will protect you."

He give me one of his rare smiles that was hidden behind his beard but shone through his eyes.

But our sweet moment was cut short as Gandalf announced that he still needed his horse.

"Surely you're not leaving us." I pointed out.

"My dear Maecel, I would not do this unless I truly needed to."

Thorin pulled me back to his side and we all watched as Gandalf mounted the horse he rode here on. He gave us specific instructions to stay out of the darkest shadows, stay together, and to stay on the Elven path NO MATTER WHAT.