Unexpected Assistance (A Hobbit Fanfic)

Chapter 5 - Flying Arrows

It was the light streaming through the large round windows of Bag End that woke Demetria from a fitful sleep. Half of the dwarves were already packed and ready to leave, but some were still left sleeping in various piles around the room. Destan and Erion had disappeared, most likely to discuss their plans for the quest, but Faenor remained asleep against Demi's back.

Demi wiggled her shoulders slightly in an attempt to wake her sister, and Fae responded with a drawn-out groan, "Is it time to leave already?"

"No, I think we have a short time yet, but wasn't there an archery competition you wished to partake in?" Demetria yawned.

Fae leapt to her feet almost immediately, all traces of sleep gone, and Demetria let out a small squeak of surprise as she fell backwards into the armchair.

"Yes!" Faenor cried with glee. "How could I forget? It's time to wipe the smile off of that smug dwarf's face."

With a sudden burst of speed, Fae crossed the room to where Kili was still asleep and almost entangled in his brother's arms. Gently (well gentle by Faenor's definition) she kicked the dwarf in the side and his eyes shot open.

"Morning, Dwarf," Fae smiled devilishly, "I believe you have an archery competition to lose?"

***

The competition itself was interestingly set up in the limited space of the garden of an unaware (and still asleep) Bilbo Baggins. Demetria had collected a variety of apples and the on-looking dwarves had watched in awe as she placed them around the garden and then lifted her hands towards them. The ground beneath the apples rose until they were each on an individual pedestal of earth with a range of heights at a range of distances.

"Here's how this works," Faenor began as she drew back the string on her unloaded bow and turned to point it at Kili, "you shoot the apple that Demetria tells you to and whoever hits it first wins that round. It's about accuracy, but also speed."

Kili nodded, drawing his own bow and collecting an arrow from the pile at the two competitors' feet. As they both loaded their bows, Faenor turned to Destan and Demetria, who were stood with dwarves that had decided to watch from a few feet away.

"Where's Erion?"

Destan gestured to the open door of the hobbit hole as he replied, "Talking to Thorin before we leave, I'm sure we'll hear glass smashing or something of that sort if it gets ugly though."

Fae nodded and returned her focus to the task at hand, but not before sending a sly wink towards Kili, "You ready, dwarf?"

"Born ready," he shot back.

"As was I," Faenor laughed, "but, lucky me, I was born a few millenniums before you, so I think the advantage is still mine."

A rare moment of silence descended upon Bag End until... "Top left!"

The soft melodic sound of Demetria's voice filled the air and a dazed smile crossed Kili's face. Then, bows twanged and arrows flew and the apple fell from its pedestal with an arrow in its centre. The remaining Guardians cheered in triumph and Fae smiled.

"Got to be faster than that, I'm afraid."

This continued for a few rounds and, in Kili's defence, he didn't lose every time. Eventually though, Faenor lowered her bow.

"Right, let's make this interesting. Last round has a twist and it is all or nothing, are you in?"

Kili grinned, "You're on."

"Destan," Faenor called out with a wicked smile, "come over here will you?"

With no further prompting necessary, the Guardian simply walked directly past Fae and picked up an apple, walking out of the gate and a considerable way down the road until he deemed himself far enough away to actually challenge his sister. When he became an almost unrecognisable figure in the distance, he turned back to the company and placed the apple on his head with a grin that almost matched the devilishness of Faenor's.

"Destan trusts me to not shoot him in the face," Faenor said cockily, "but who trusts you?"

Ignoring his urge to gulp, Kili looked around at the faces of his company, stopping when he reached Fili. The two brothers stared at each other calculatingly for a second before Fili nodded and began to walk past Kili, patting him on the back and scooping up an apple.

"Don't ruin my face," he called out as he aligned himself with Destan, taking a deep breath to try and calm his shaking nerves.

Faenor loaded her arrow and pulled back the string. "On your count, Demetria..."

Once again, silence. The dwarves now stood with their full attention focused on the pair, the company seeming considerably more concerned than the Guardians that were still slouching against the side of the hobbit hole.

"Fire!"

Thorin and Erion emerged through the open door, Erion already groaning in disapproval. One apple fell to the floor with an arrow shot perfectly through its centre.

Luckily for Kili, Faenor was not a sore winner, but she did allow herself a smug smile as she flicked her eyes towards the dejected looking dwarf. Apparently put off by his uncle's presence at the door, the arrow that was meant to be flying towards Fili's head was now solidly embedded in the apple tree just behind his intended target, only a short way away from the apple itself. Grinning, Destan picked up the apple that had been on his head, removing the arrow from it and biting heartily into the fruit before walking back down the road and through the gate to deliver the arrow back to its owner along with a swift high five.

"We have no more time for your childish games, we're leaving; now," Thorin's voice was commanding and authoritative, and the members of the company who had stuck around to watch the competition hurriedly secured their packs on their bags and readied themselves for departure.

"Considering it would probably not be in your best interest to go all the way to the mountain on foot," Gandalf spoke, gesturing to a small herd of ponies behind him, "I have provided a few more companions for your journey."

Rushing over to the ponies to pick their steeds, the company broke from their ranks. Two of the animals in particular stood out as, near the back of the herd, there were two full sized horses that towered above the ponies. Eyes widening, Demetria immediately rushed over to a sleek black mare, pressing her forehead against its own and stroking the animal happily as it made small noises of pleasure.

"Actually, my dear," Gandalf cleared his throat and Demetria turned, "those horses were intended for Erion and Destan as they are tall enough to require something slightly larger."

Demi, in response, maintained direct eye contact with the wizard as the earth beneath her began to rise until she was eventually the perfect height to be able to easily get on the large horse. With a smile, she turned to stroke the horse's nose before mounting it and looking back at Gandalf to see his response.

Erion laughed and shook his head. "I don't mind, Gandalf, she can have her; you can tell she is already attached. I will just have to fight Destan for the other one."