Two Young Hearts - (The Hobbit)

Two: Friends

Bain had been seeing Neisa and had been talking for a long while. They were friends, though Bain wanted to be more than a friend to her. She stopped herself from having those thoughts. Bain had picked up a patch of flowers for her, holding her favorite's in her hands. his sisters watched from a view, just as their father had asked.

Bain was afraid someone might like her before he told her he liked her like he did. Bard didn't want Bain to be hurt when she didn't like him the same, or if what happened to Bard's wife happened to Neisa, and Bain would be to hurt.

"Will da be made if Bain keeps spending time with her?" Tilda asked Sigrid.

 "No, Tilda. He just wants them to remain friends." Sigrid told her.

Bain saw Neisa walk out of her house and wipe her hands on the rag that hung on her green dress. She grabbed a small pot of water sitting outside, bringing it in right away. She took it back in and went back out quickly afterward.

"A lady should not be fighting but preparing for her family. They are to let the men lead and have children until they reach a boy." Her father said.

He was a strong man. Bain had once seen him when he was younger. He was once surrounded by 6 kids, 5 boys, and a girl. Neisa was holding the baby all those years ago, as that is what her father thought a lady should do. It was only 5 years ago, making Neisa 9 at that point.

"A lady does not have a place! She has just as many rights as men! Or at least she should. I do not want to be a wife who prepares for a man and takes care of their children while their husband hunts! I want to be the one to hunt! I do not want to be a wife of someone who will be as you, having their wife carry children and do work at home. There is more to a lady than cooking and cleaning and birthing children!" She shouted angrily.

"You may think so, but your part is as a wife and mother. You shall not be a lady to read and teach their daughters as so!" He shouted. 

"I was taught by your sons to be a lady who does what she thinks is best. I am not going to stay at home and do things for their husband and children. I can take care of myself, as can my husband." She took her cloth from her belt and walked away stubbornly.

He walked to her, holding her arm tightly. "Let me go!" She demanded.

 "I will not have my daughter be a lady of her own. You will marry and have children in only a few years. That is how it works." She took his strong hands off her arm. 

"Than I will change how it works." She walked away in her light green dress, snow falling onto her eyes. Bain walked to her father, him watching Neisa walking away.

"She is a lady of her own," Bain spoke sternly.

 "You must be Bain, son of Bard. Well then, Bain, if she is to marry a boy such as you, then show her what a lady shall do." She spoke sternly. 

"Marry? Nay, that is not in my head, nor hers! And what a lady shall do? She is already in that part. She wants to be a lady who is herself. She does not want to be a housewife. She may want marriage or children someday, but she does not need to prepare for that now." Bain spoke.

"Who are you to say? No mother and a father who has been arrested?" Her father spoke. 

"She is a lady of pride!" Bain spoke stubbornly, then leaving. "NEISA!" Bain shouted as he raced after her. She turned around, her hair flipping. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. 

"You're the greatest friend ever!" She said hugging him tightly. He smiled.

"Really?" He asked happily. He handed her the flowers once they broke apart. "I found them. I thought you would like them." She smiled at him, taking the flowers lightly into her soft and delicate hands. 

"I love them, Bain!" She exclaimed.

"Neisa?" He spoke to her in the dim of night. "Yes?" She asked him when she looked at him. "I-I think I want to be... m-more than friends." He stuttered. She smiled lightly, not showing her perfectly straight teeth. She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, then going off with the flowers.

Bain looked straightforward and stood there without moving. He smiled finally, just as she entered her home. She closed the door and her back fell against the door, slipping to the ground in happiness. She looked at the flowers and grinned. "A lady may have love." She said smiling.

Bain went home and closed the door lightly. "Kissed her?" Bard said standing up. Bain couldn't stop smiling. 

"She kissed my cheek." He said with a grin. His father smiled upon him at his expression. 

"How was it?" Bard asked with a smile.

 "Different. A good kind of different." He said smiling. "

I'm sure it was," Bard said rubbing Bain's hair. Bain was still standing with a smile.

"He was quite confused on what words to speak," Sigrid said as she opened a container and poured some flour into a cup. "He said he wanted to be more than friends. Poorly." Bain looked at Sigrid. 

"You try telling someone." He said with a smile. 

"I would never need to." She said as she put the container back.

Neisa had sat down eating, smiling at her own self. "You are late." Her mother spoke sternly. 

"With the prince again." Her younger brother spoke. Neisa turned her head to her brother. 

"Hush!" Her father spoke. 

"Bain?" Her mother asked. 

"Yes, Bain," Neisa replied. 

"We don't want you around him." Her father said.

"Nonsense! He and I are friends!" She said standing up. 

"She kissed his cheek!" Her brother said. 

"I said to hush!" Her father shouted. 

"Yes, I did. Maybe I want to be more than friends! But he is the prince of Dale, I am Neisa, daughter of Grayler, I shall not end my days with him, whether I desire it or not." She said quickly. 

"You shall not see him!" Her mother spoke.

"He is my friend. Why is that a problem?" Neisa asked warily. 

"He is more than a friend, I am sure of it. Or you may wish!" Neisa scowled. She yelled, then ran out.