An Unexpected Romance

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

I woke the next morning to a warm hand on my shoulder.

"Ariel, wake up." Kili's soft voice drifted through the purple hood pulled up around my ears.

"Wot?" I slurred, my throat dry and my lips cracked.

"Breakfast."

"Breakfast!" I said, suddenly delighted. I sat up and pushed back my hair.

Kili watched me, smiling as I rolled up my sleeves.

"What are you lookin' at?" I teased.

He just shrugged and looked away, stupid grin still stuck on his face.

I laced up my boots and put away my sleeping roll. Stealing glancing at the dwarven heir next to me, I realized that had never been able to fully appreciate.. How beautiful he was.

Kili's bone structure was the perfect foundation for his tan complexion. His jawline was brushed with stubble that accented the rich color of his dark hair. Oh, his hair. It fell into his eyes when he turned too quickly or bent over, it splayed onto the ground when he slept. All I wanted to do was run my fingers through it.

And Kili, .. Kili knew he was handsome. He knew he had the looks to make a girl go weak in the knees. But he didn't know that he was beautiful.

I stood, fastening my cloak around my neck. Kili followed close behind, pulling on his armor as we walked to wear the others sat, talking and eating cheerfully. I almost wished he wouldn't put on that bulky over shirt and arm guards.

I didn't spot the man until I was sat at the huge table, sharing a chair with Dwalin. He was massive, much bigger than I'd expected. He was bare-chested, wearing only a vest and pants of fur that almost matched his unruly hair and sideburns. There were silver bracelets glinting on his wrists and countless scars criss-crossing his skin.

Beorn, I realize. The Skin Changer.

"Lady Dwarf," He said, inclining his head to me. "Can I get you anything?"

I smiled, taken aback by his soft but rough tone. "Something to drink, if it is no trouble, Master Beorn.

A small smile crept onto his face. "So polite." He said, reaching for a pitcher.

"You are the one allowing us refuge from our enemies in your home. I hardly feel we have the privilege to be anything but grateful to you." I said honestly.

"Always with the charm." I heard Dwalin mumble.

Beorn looked at me thoughtfully. "What is your name, my lady?"

"Ariel." I replied, bowing my head respectfully.

"Ariel." Beorn repeated my name and smiled softly. "Lady Ariel, you remind me of my daughter." He began to pour me a glass of milk, a far away look in his eyes.

"Where is she now?" I asked. "Your daughter?"

Beorn snapped up and turned away from me. The chatter around the table quieted as he murmured, "Dead."

My lips parted, but no sound came forth. All the men of the company looked at me, like I had said the most terrible thing possible.

"I'm so sorry." I whispered. "I didn't mean--"

"Think nothing of it." Beorn remarked with his back still turned. "Drink, Lady Ariel. You need to keep up your strength."

I felt awkward and kept quiet while the talking resumed.

"So you are the one they call Oakenshield," Beorn mused soon after, looking at Thorin. "Tell me, why is Azog the Defiler hunting you?"

"You know of Azog?" Thorin sounded surprised. He was leaning stubbornly against a wall. He had probably refused to sit in a chair that wasn't a dwarfs. "How?"

"My people were the first to live in the mountains.. before the Orcs came down from the North." Beorn said. "The Defiler killed most of my family."

"Your daughter.." I whispered.

"Yes, Lady Ariel. My daughter."

He took a breath and continued. "Some, however.. he enslaved."

It was only then that I realized what I thought were bracelets.. were the remnants of chains.

"Not for work, you understand." The Skin Changer nearly spat. "For sport. Caging Skin Changers and torturing them seemed to amuse him."

"There are others like you?" Came Bilbo's voice.

When had the Hobbit joined us?

"Once there were many." Beorn said, pouring Oin more milk.

"And now?" Bilbo asked.

"Now there is only one."

He set down the pitcher and looked at Thorin. "You need to reach the mountain before the last days of autumn."

"Before Durin's Day falls, yes." Gandalf confirmed as Beorn sank into a chair.

"You are running out of time."

"Fantastic observation." Grumbled Dwalin beside me. "I hadn't noticed." I elbowed him in the side and he kept eating.

"Which is why we must go through Mirkwood." Gandalf said.

I sat up straight. Mirkwood? No one had mentioned Mirkwood. The mere thought of the deep, dark woods made me feel claustrophobic.

Beorn shook his head. "A darkness lies upon that forest. Fell things creep beneath those trees. There is an alliance between the Orcs of Moria and the Necromancer in Dol Guldur. I would not venture there except in great need."

"We will take the Elven Road." Gandalf said, like that made it all better. "There path is still safe."

"Not safe enough." I whispered, taking a drink.

"Safe?" Beorn scoffed. "The Wood Elves of Mirkwood are not like their kin. They are less wise and more dangerous."

Thorin had stood and was pacing the floor beyond the table.

"But it matters not." Beorn said, making Thorin stop and turn back to us.

"What do you mean?" Asked the Prince.

"These lands are crawling with Orcs. Their numbers are growing, and you are on foot. You will never reach the forest alive." Beorn stood and made his way towards Thorin.

"I don't like Dwarves." He said, ducking under a ceiling beam. "They're greedy.. and blind. Blind to the lives they deem lesser than they're own." Beorn stooped to pick up a white mouse that Bofur had shooed off his arm.

For a moment I thought Beorn would kill the creature, and then I realized he never would. Beorn was gentle. He was a father.

With the mouse in his hands, he looked at Thorin. "But Orcs I hate more. What do you need?"

"Horses." Thorin said. "We need horses."

***

Beorn had shown us outside to where he kept his ponies and helped us saddle up quickly.

I tied my bag onto the saddle and mounted. Beorn stood next to me, watching closely.

"Be safe, Lady Ariel." He murmured.

"And you, Master Beorn." I leaned over and kissed his cheek. "May the stars be with you."

He look confused, as if he could not understand my thanks.

"Go now, while you have the light. Your hunters are not far behind." He told us. Beorn slapped the horse, and off we went, riding towards the forest of Mirkwood.