There and Back Again: A Girl's Tale

Chapter 5 The Wilds and The King

Chapter 5 The Wilds and The King

Thorin and company were to wake before dawn broke. There was room enough for all of the guests to sleep comfortably in Bag End, which he was glad for. There would be few comforts once they started their long trek toward the Lonely Mountain.

He himself had refused a bed and instead sat up in an all be it cushioned, comfortable chair next to the fireplace in Master Baggins' sitting room. His mind was too disturbed for slumber right away.

When he closed his eyes, he saw the bodies. Mounds upon mounds of his slain people. He saw them burned after the dragon had done with them. He saw the dead in stacks on the battlefield of Moria. His grandfather's head dangling from the hand of that vile, wretched creature. Rivers of blood and heaps of gore. Thorin was a haunted dwarf and the phantoms of his past never did go quietly.

His thoughts strayed to the girl as he sat up after everyone else was dreaming. He thought of the way she had silently wept while listening to their song. What had touched her so , he wondered?

Thorin was ill at ease with her joining his party. He could not banish the feeling that she would become important, and the uncertainty of t all put him on edge. He wanted to know who she was, where she came from, and the mystery of it unnerved him.

Origins were important to dwarves. Great tapestries were sewn and displayed to honor one's heritage. A dwarf would never abandon their own. Exile, yes, should the crime be severe enough, but never a babe or small child who could not fend for themselves. Even those in exile still retained their identity. Thorin could not imagine growing up without knowledge of his lineage.

Elwen's lack of ancestral knowledge did not seem to affect her the way it might have others. She was bold as brass and, in her own way, very kind where others may have been timid or bitter. He imagined someone with no family to honor could be cruel, for they would have no one to hold them accountable or to disappoint. Elwen was not cruel; she proved that when she had raced to the halflings side when he fainted. She'd taken Bofur, Fili, and Kili to task for laughing and done all she could to comfort the hobbit.

And she's no coward, he thought, unable to keep the small smile from his lips. While Bilbo Baggins had panicked at the thought of a dragon, Elwen had lifted her chin and nodded stiffly. She was frightened, any sane person would be, but she signed the contract and pledged her loyalty to the company despite her fear. That was bravery. Who had taught her such things if not her kin?

Thorin felt his eyes begin to droop. He let himself slip off to sleep at last, his dreams quiet and filled with the shadows of a mountain he had not seen in a long, long time.

Elwen had never ridden a horse before.

The thirteen dwarves were all on ponies with Gandalf on a full grown horse. She got a young mare, not quite a pony, but nowhere near the size of Gandalf's beast. She probably could have ridden a lager animal but was grateful for Annabelle. When she told the group a bit sheepishly that she'd never ridden before, no one had seemed concerned.

"Then you had better learn quickly," Thorin had replied gruffly, and they were off.

Elwen was relieved that the horse did most of the work for her, so she was able to enjoy the view. The Shire was breathtaking in the sunshine. The landscape was incredibly varied and each place was as beautiful as the last. They rode over lush green fields and rolling hills dotted with houses. The farmer's fields looked swollen with crops. The Shire seemed a very nice, happy place to live, and she found herself envying the luck of hobbits.