Rue (A Thorin Oakenshield/Hobbit Fanfiction)

17

Rue knew she would sleep for days. It felt as though a century of exhaustion had reached it's height, and it came crashing down the second she and Beorn entered Radagast's home. The place was built into the natural hollows of a rather large tree, and although it was cluttered and chaotic, it was charming. She gazed at the many spell books and jars of who knows what surrounding her, but she was much too fatigued to be deterred. The wizard led the pair into his spare room, the three of them barely squeezing into the small space.

"I'm afraid I only have one other bed, and it will most certainly not fit the two of you." Radagast said, wishing he could do more to ease their comfort.

"It's alright." Beorn replied, looking at Rue. "As a thank you for my freedom, you shall rest first. I'll keep watch."

"You owe me nothing." Rue smiled back, but she did not deny the gift. "Though I doubt there is a need to keep watch."

"No, there is not. Powerful spells surround my home, disguising it from any Orcen gaze. You are safe here. Either way, the rabbits stand guard, just in case."

Rue looked to Beorn, a strange look sliding across her features. "Not normal rabbits, of course." She said, though it was posed more as a question.

"No. Rhosgobel rabbits." The Skin-Changer's face lit up with delight at the response. Rue knew he was a lover of all life in Middle Earth, with the exception of Orcs. She assumed he had never seen the rare breed before, for he was surely excited at the prospect.

"I should like to meet them, if our host is so gracious and willing. That is how I will pass the time."

"He will not hurt them, I promise." Rue added to warm the wizard to the idea.

"Of course not! Yes, yes! I'll take you to them." Radagast said, ushering Beorn out of the room and outside the house. Before closing the door behind him, he yelled over his shoulder, "Get settled, dear! We shall speak in the morning!"

Rue did as she was told, falling into a deep sleep in mere minutes. Meanwhile, Radagast had led Beorn to the rabbits, which caused the Skin-Changer to crack a grin as they pooled at his feet.

"Beorn," The wizard began, causing him to look up. "You call her Rue, yet that is not her only name."

Beorn inched closer to the wizard, his words shocking him. "We agreed on the title when she arrived in Dol Guldur, over a century ago."

"Then she does not have her wits about her."

"She has wits, but not her memory." Beorn corrected, his voice a little stern. "We spent over a century in Azog's dungeons, and she remembers nothing of her life before. Bolg, the Defiler's son, caused her a head injury upon capture that compromised her."

"So Gandalf was right." Radagast took a whiff of his pipe. "Talia Rue Ashenstone, the Butcher of Beasts, Lady of Dale, and Queen Under the Mountain still lives after the battle for Moria."

Beorn blinked at her many titles. The information overwhelmed him. "She is married to Thorin Oakenshield, I presume."

"Yes."

"So that's why Azog wanted her." The Skin-Changer said, piecing his knowledge together. "If she is married to the sole heir to Erebor, then she not only has information regarding the King, but of his plans with the Mountain."

"Precisely!" Radagast shook his pipe in Beorn's direction. "Gandalf the Grey and I have conferred for many moons over the evil that lurks in Dol Guldur, that which has spread and infected this very forest. Now that we know Azog the Defiler still lives, it only confirms our suspicions. Gandalf has asked Thorin to lead a quest for the mountain, to reclaim it for Smaug. He cares for the dwarves, yes, but it is not only for them. If Azog was to succeed in eradicating the line of Durin, and the mountain was lost, then it gives our enemy the advantage of the east. The witch kingdom of Angmar would rise again, and evil would sink it's teeth further into Middle Earth."