Bring Me With Her

Eaten Alive

The sun was shining, but it did nothing to brighten Thorin's day. He just couldn't help but wonder how. How could it be so hard to keep the peace with someone he loved so much? No, with someone that he loved more than anything his eyes have ever beheld? How could she say the things that she said? And how could it be so easy for Thorin to give it right back to her? How could Talia be the one who could make him feel like his life was perfect, yet also be the one to get under his skin like no one ever has?

He knew what he promised, he knew...but it was just so much easier said than done. It was like he didn't know her anymore. Or was this who she was this entire time? No. No, it wasn't. Thorin knew better than that. If that was who she truly was, Talia would've left him back at his mountain the second she had begun to sense the approach of his madness. He just couldn't believe it. What that Ring was doing to her. It was happening so fast. For the past three days, it just felt like she was a completely different person.

She was so irritable. Thorin could hardly say a word to her without getting some kind of backlash. She was manipulative. There were those few times when Talia could be kind to him, and even tell him that she loved him...when it was convenient for her. It took him a while to finally see that was what her entire relationship with Gollum was made of. When it was convenient for Talia, that was when she sympathized with the creature, and appeared to trust him. When it didn't, well, Thorin practically expected it now. He expected her to spit out cruel words, to insult and humiliate him.

The three of them were currently walking along a stream, with Gollum taking the lead, and Talia walking behind him. Thorin couldn't even look back at her anymore, unless he was in the mood for her to yell at him for staring at her. But the yelling wasn't enough for him to just walk on and assume that she was casually and safely walking behind him all day long. He knew that she was beginning to slow down. He had to make sure she was doing alright, whether he wanted to deal with her sharp tongue or not.

Thorin looked ahead to see that Gollum was crawling his way a little too far for his liking. "Don't be getting too far ahead of us, wretch!" he threatened. Finding patience had been extremely difficult for Thorin as of late. He was already taking enough from Talia, and he was no longer in the mood to tolerate anything from Gollum.

"Do you really have to do that?" came Talia's voice, and Thorin turned around to meet the scowl she had on her face.

"What?"

Talia rolled her eyes. "You know what. Why do you have to run him down every time you speak to him? It's really starting to get old." she said, clearly annoyed already.

Thorin was completely blank-faced. She wanted to talk to him about tossing insults? Had she been deaf to her own tongue this entire time? The Dwarf king didn't hesitate to step forward. "Because that's what he is, Talia. There is nothing left in him but lies and deceit. You forget that it's the Ring he wants. It's all he cares about." he snapped.

Talia narrowed her eyes. "You would say that, wouldn't you? You have no idea what the Ring has done to him. What it's still doing to him." she argued.

Thorin shook his head. "And what? Are you going to save him now? He is beyond any help you could give, and you know it!" he seethed.

"Oh? And you've never been beyond help before?" she challenged.

Thorin's eyes flared at that, knowing perfectly well what she was referring to. "You have the audacity to compare me to him?" he nearly shouted.

"Well, you weren't so different when I think about it. The way you behaved, you were an animal with fancy clothes on!" she snarled.

"You BITCH!" It came out instantaneously, before he could even think. He was so tired of her. She had crossed the line so many times, and after bringing up a part of the past that she knew he was ashamed of and using it against him, he just finally had enough. What did he have to say or do to make her stop?