Instead of helping to pack up bags and gather provisions, I had elected to sit at the base of one of the climbing trees I had grown to love over my stay at Beorn's cottage. I would have actually been up in the trees, but lately heights had been making me want to vomit. As a matter of fact, quite a few foods had been doing the same. But at present, neither of those factors were the cause of the awful twisting feeling in my stomach.
It was the forest.
Every single time I glanced in the direction of the dark wall of trees on the horizon, I was struck with this awful feeling deep in my bones. It wasn't quite apprehension or fear, not really, but finality. It felt like whatever would transpire in that forest could be the end of the quest. The end of the line for all of us.
"Gehyith, look what I found as I was packing our things." I jumped and turned to Thorin, glad that he was there to pull me out of my rut.
He slid down the tree and took a seat next to me. In his hands was my leather sketchbook. I hadn't had much chance to use it, what with being chased by Azog the Defiler among other things. I could feel myself crack a smile and I turned to Thorin, as if to ask if I should open it. He nodded again.
"I don't believe you've ever shown me your artwork." I put my hand to my heart in mock hurt.
"I thought you said I was artwork, Gimlelul?"
"Well, I can see you didn't believe me the first time I said it. I may just have to tell you again." he leaned towards me and began planting kisses along my jaw. I playfully smacked him on the shoulder.
"Not here! Not now! We're due to be leaving soon!" Thorin sat back with his attempt at a fake pout (which looked rather ridiculous on him) and nodded to the sketchbook again.
I undid the three straps holding the book shut. Most of the early pages were drawings that I had done when I was a young woman. Most of them were of flowers or of places around Hobbiton. As I went on, I pointed out the drawings of what I had thought dwarves looked like back then.
"How old were you when you drew this? Gehyith, this is amazing!" he threw his head back in a fit of laughter and accidentally smacked it into the tree behind us.
I chuckled as I lifted myself onto my knees and planted a kiss on his injured head. Satisfied that he was alright, I curled up into his side and Thorin put an arm around my shoulder. I opened the book again and continued flipping through the pages (making sure to gloss over any art related to elves).
As I continued flipping the pages, I noticed a few pop up of places from our journey such as the home of the Great Eagles. There were even a few sketches of The Company. Some were of stories being told around a campfire at night, Bombur cooking for the rest of us, Beorn's cottage, and then the pictures of Thorin. There not as many as I thought, but they were by far the most detailed drawings in the whole book.
"I must have done most of these ages ago. Before we were... Before we were courting I suppose." I felt Thorin's chest rumble as he let out one of his rare, but beautiful, chuckles.
"So you loved me even then?" I nodded.
Thorin pressed his lips to the top of my head, "I was the same way with you, Gehyith. We are more alike than we could have ever imagined."
Content in each other's presence, Thorin began muttering details of the remainder of our journey to himself. I looked back down at the book for a moment and there it was. Not too far from the back of the book was one page that contained a drawing of my brother's face. I remember this picture. I had done it on one of our quiet evenings before we had entered the Misty Mountains. Bilbo had been a different Hobbit then. As had I.
I was about to call Thorin's attention to the drawing (which I tore out of the book) when a voice absolutely dripping with sarcasm and exasperation cut me off, "It is wonderful that you've found love, sister dear, but Gandalf wants us to all meet up in front of the cottage. Beorn has agreed to lend us some ponies to aid us on our journey." I nodded and tucked the sketch of my brother back into the book. I will just have give it to him later. I turned and offered Thorin a hand to help him up.
The three of us walked back towards the cottage in rather uncomfortable silence. I cast another glance towards the forest but I shook myself and grabbed on to Thorin's arm.
Everyone will be just fine. If the forest was anything like Arwen's stories from years ago, we didn't have all that much to worry about.
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A/N: Sorry for the long hiatus! I've been super busy with school. Enjoy this little bit of fluff before the angst and shenanigans begin!
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The Shire's Deadly Flower
Hayran Kurgu"He looked rugged and dangerous. He looked like a king." The sister of Bilbo Baggins has been raised to be a high society hobbit woman all her life. However, she has been learning of the outside world just as long. She is particularly interested in...
