Thorin's Vow - the Hobbit

CHAPTER FIVE

The glow was soft but the shadows sharp. The liveliness of the dwarves in the next room could be heard but went unacknowledged by the current company — occupants frozen in time, captured by their own thoughts and the awkward tension of things that must be said.

Twin pairs of blue eyes stared as the hobbit seemed to breathe life back into himself through the vapors of a teacup. Unhurried and seemingly unburdened by the night's past few minutes, he sipped as if he had not a care in the world.

She knew better.

Small fingers coiled around the antiquated mug with a strength that belied his calmness. A lifeline, his tan knuckles were pale holding the steaming cup close to his body, his shoulders hunching to hover above his solace.

"I'll be alright, let me just sit quietly for a moment."

"You've been sitting quietly for far too long!" The wizard exploded into the waiting space, feet racing one another in a pointless contest as he paced across the worn rug. "Tell me, when did doilies and your mother's dishes become so important to you? I remember a young hobbit who always was running off in search of elves and the woods, who'd stay out late, come home after dark, trailing mud and twigs and fireflies. A young hobbit who would have liked nothing better than to find out what was beyond the borders of the Shire." He stopped and pinned the hobbit with a pointed glare. "The world is not in your books and maps, it's out there."

"You dare?"

The rage was evident in the speaker's tone and Gandalf's back straightened so quickly and to such a degree that a loud hiss escaped through his clenched teeth.

"You come into his house, his home, uninvited and unwanted and precede to utterly disregard anything and everything that he has attempted to say this entire evening. You have the audacity to bring guests — I use that term very loosely — and take advantage of a hobbits hospitality." Velvet were her words, poorly concealing the barbs honed with her caustic temperament. Unkempt grey brows sloped together above narrowed eyes as the wizard's mouth readied for war but she would not have it.

"No!" Like a whip, her voice cracked through the tense space, punishing in its order and finality. The hobbit hole ceased all sound, even the dwarves in their personal merriment were hushed now.

"I cannot cast Judgment upon you, for you are neither one of the offenders for which I have been Called," she moved then, long legs slinking slowly around to stand in front Gandalf while blocking his view of the hobbit huddled in the chair. "But I will not stand idly by as you choose to guilt and manipulate — using the memories and experiences of a child — one whose aid you require."

The old man was practically vibrating with his indignation.

"I do not claim to be the leader of this merry band of misfits, nor will I ever. However, both you and Rómestámo agreed that it would be in the best interest for both of us if I tagged along on this quest of meddling and misplaced pride—"

"Now just—"

"Ah ah, one moment. Now, truths about this outrageously long nature walk aside, I promised the blue wizard that I wouldn't interfere with your business unless undeniably necessary so I would like to only say this once but knowing you I will most likely have to repeat myself — get out."

"I beg your—"

"I do believe you were intending on sleeping here, were you not? Without asking for permission." The normal visage of her eyes changed to the all too familiar encompassing blackness. However, this time it evolved.

Dark lines sprouted from even darker orbs, snaking across her temples like creeping vines and swept across her cheek bones, an ashen shadow following; skin changing color and sinking in on itself as it pulled tight across the bones in her face.

Onyx pits now sat where eyes once did.

Startled, he choked; a strangled gurgle cut off abruptly as his shoulders met the wall in his haste to back away from the creature before him. The face in front of the wizard resonated with his memory of corpses, their aged and decaying skin stretched and dried across its ivory canvas. Anything remotely human was now gone — a wraithlike creature in its place.

"Get out." As if sensing a winter chill, his old bones ached as they rattled and hummed in the confines of their human cage. His magic quivered as her voice rushed over him — laced with something distinctly other. "I do believe there is an inn nearby. Isn't that correct Master Baggins? They should have more than enough room to house an old man and his company." Disdain nearly dripped from the last word as she tipped her head, bright strips of hair falling against her cadaverous cheek.

"Oh! O-oh, yes!" Though the question was rhetorical, the individual addressed did not seem to notice the underlying implication and answered quickly, shifting his wide-eyed gaze between them. Authwen peered over her shoulder, features suddenly devoid of the strange and dramatic markings as she smiled, causing his open mouth to snap shut and duck down to his drink once more.

"Wonderful!" A single clap punctuated the disturbingly cheerful phrase, at odds with the atmosphere of the sitting room. "Gandalf, would you mind gathering up the ducklings that are most assuredly not eavesdropping from the kitchen? It's quite late and we've overstayed our welcome. I'll be right along behind you, don't worry, but first—" and pivoting to eye the utterly gobsmacked hobbit fully, the woman asked a question that really had nothing to do anything — but everything to do with something.

"May I tell you a story, Master Baggins?"

A/N: Hi. Wow, um, it's been a while. A long time actually. I apologize for my prolonged absence - but here's a totally random update! It's ridiculously small. But I hope you like it and don't be afraid to let me know what you think!