#Company of Oakenshield x Ruth Telvanni | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

fandomficsnstuff · 2 years

Text

Unexpected Company - 1

(Warnings: Some mentions of fighting and blood but that’s about it)

For the words in bold, if you want to know 100% what they mean, here’s the website I use, some of the words may have more than one meaning so I suggest picking one that fits best with the entire sentence: https://www.thuum.org/translator.php

Notes: This is platonic only! It is a prequel to A Chance Encounter but can be read alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ruth groaned weakly as she began to wake up, the ache in her entire body slowly taking over and she felt almost paralyzed with pain, yet she managed to sit up, eyes opening, her vision blurry but slowly it began to become more clear. She looked around with confusion, trying to figure out how she came to be in what looked like a Snow Elven structure in the middle of the Rift, judging by the trees. Ruth slowly stood up, only to stumble, grunting in annoyance as she fell to the floor and her legs failed her, the flecks of gold in her eyes shimmering in anger. As she turned to look at her own legs to glare at them, she realized the different clothes she was in, her eyes widening as different scenarios piled through her mind, all centered around why she had been dressed by someone.

Just as she heard footsteps approaching, she forced herself to her feet, silently moving to hide behind a wall, out of sight as the door opened and a woman, some sort of elf judging by the tip of her ears, walked in, a frown visible on her face as she saw the empty bed. She hesitantly closed the door and the second Ruth heard the door click, she sprung forward, pinning the woman against a wall, one of her hands locked around the woman’s throat as she glared at her, squeezing just enough to scare the woman without killing her or making her pass out. “Where am I?”

“R-Rivendell…” the woman’s voice was wavering as she stared at Ruth with wide eyes, tears beginning to form in them but Ruth didn’t even seem to care, applying a little more pressure to the woman’s throat, hearing her gasp and whimper in fear “who took my clothes?”

“No one-”

“Don’t lie to me, and I might not snap your neck” Ruth growled, the golden flecks coming to life in her green eyes, the woman had tears running down her cheeks by now “I’m not lying! You fell from the sky!”

“Who dressed me?!”

“L-Lady Arwen-”

“Who in the name of Oblivion is ‘Lady Arwen’?!”

“Lord Elrond’s daughter-”

“And who the fuck is that?!”

“P-Please just let me go-” the woman begged as she sobbed, Ruth’s face softening and she began to loosen her grip, until she heard more footsteps. Ruth flipped the woman around, moved back and grabbed a dining knife by an unused set of dinnerware and a plate, holding it to the woman’s throat as the door opened, revealing a man with brown hair and an elderly one dressed in gray robes. “Who are you?... Answer me!”

“I am Lord Elrond, this is Gandalf the Gray-”

“I’ve never heard of a ‘Lord Elrond’! Lie to me and I slit her throat” Ruth warned, the woman whimpering again, the old man stepping forward with his hands raised. “We’re not going to hurt you-”

“No? Then stop lying and tell me where I am!”

“You are in Rivendell-”

“I’ve been to every single part of the Rift and there’s never even been a mention of some place called ‘Rivendell’. I swear on the Nine I will slit her throat” Ruth warned, the tip of the otherwise dull blade pressing harder into the woman’s throat. “You fell from the sky as a wolf… then you changed back, your clothes in tatters around you, you were unconscious” the man claiming to be ‘Lord Elrond’ spoke, Ruth frowning at him, her grip loosening slightly yet the woman didn’t dare move “where am I?”

“Please, let her go… You should rest” Lord Elrond spoke softly, Ruth scoffing softly “I hold a woman you know hostage and you tell me to ‘rest’?! Where in Oblivion are my weapons?! My pouch?!” Ruth demanded, the woman in her arms was shaking with fear by now. “We will fetch them for you, but first you will let her go” the man in gray spoke softly, gesturing to the woman and Ruth narrowed her eyes on him. “Who sent you, hm? The Morag Tong? The Dark Brotherhood?? Or perhaps it was Maven Black-Briar?!”

“None of those people sent us” the old man stated softly, Ruth nearly flinching as he took a small step closer to her, backing up with the woman still in her arms. “And you, what in the name of Meridia are you? Some sort of High Elf?... And you? His steward?”

“I am Gandalf the Gray-”

“Never heard of you.”

“P-Please let me go…” the woman begged softly, Ruth looking at her before letting her go and pushing her away, the dull knife pointed at Lord

Elrond and Gandalf as the woman ran out sobbing, her feet backing up slightly to get further away from them. “We are not going to hurt you-”

“Then tell me where in Tamriel I am! Where did you take me, hm? Cyrodiil?”

“This is Middle-Earth…”

“What kind of name is that?! I’m not talking about which hold, I’m talking about which continent! Which province am I in?” Ruth growled, the two men exchanging confused looks before looking back at her. “There is no place called Tamriel here…” Gandalf admitted softly, Ruth scoffing with a smirk “so what? I traveled across two worlds? Hm? I just happen to exit Apocrypha in another plane of existence?”

“Put down the knife and we can figure all of this out-”

“And what? I have people to look after! I don’t have time for this” Ruth snapped, Gandalf sighing softly with a sympathetic look, taking a small step closer to her. “You are scared… wounded… let us help, we mean you no harm. We only want to help you” something in his soft voice made Ruth’s gaze turn a tad softer, the knife still raised yet she had loosened her grip on it a little. Gandalf saw this and took another small step towards her. “We only want to help” he stated once more, taking another small step towards her “you are in Middle-Earth. I am Gandalf the Gray, this is Lord Elrond. You are in Rivendell, many elves live here-”

“What kind? You’re clearly not Dunmer or Bosmer or an Altmer… are you some kind of-... mix?? An elf and a human?... You’re definitely not a Snow Elf.. I’ve met the last living Snow Elves and you’re nothing like them.. so what are you, hm?”

“Lord Elrond is the High King of the Ñoldor and captain and herald of Gil-galad. You are currently in Lindon, Rivendell lies within Lindon” Gandalf spoke softly, still taking brief and small steps towards the frightened woman. “You fell from the sky in the shape of a large wolf, I can show you where you landed before you passed out and returned to your former self-”

“I want my things first, my pouch” Ruth stated quickly, Lord Elrond and Gandalf sharing a brief glance and Lord Elrond nodded, leaving the room as Gandalf seemed to be the one who could talk the woman down. “What was the color of the fur?”

“White and timber-”

“The eyes?”

“Gold, shining gold.”

“Fuck… you’re telling the truth, aren’t you?” Ruth asked in a quiet voice, the man gently nodding his head as he gave her a sympathetic smile. “If you’re telling the truth… what did it look like when I changed back into a human?”

“Like a black mist clouded over you, turning your skin charcoal black-”

“Stop. I-...” Ruth slowly lowered the knife, stumbling back to sit down on the bed, staring at the ground in shock. “Tell me everything about this place, this world. I need to know everything…” she murmured, Gandalf nodding softly with a sad look in his eyes.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Ruth looked out over the landscape from her room, arms crossed over her chest, hands on her upper arms under her shoulders, as though she was hugging herself, trying to feel some sort of comfort. As the door opened she looked over her shoulder, seeing Gandalf walk in and slowly make his way towards her as she turned her gaze back out over the rest of Rivendell. “What did you find?...”

“There is no mention of ‘Tamriel’, ‘Nirn’, ‘Aedra’, ‘Daedra’, ‘Dragonborn’ or ‘Sithis’ in any record I could find” Gandalf reported softly, Ruth closing her eyes as she nodded, sighing. “What about Lorkhan?” she asked, Gandalf gently shaking his head, making her nod once more. “So it’s true, then… I’m stuck in this world?” she asked softly, turning her head in the direction of Gandalf without looking at him, the old wizard nodding softly as he walked closer “I’m sorry, Ruth, I looked everywhere I could, every possible place I could come to think of-”

“It’s okay… I believe you” she muttered, gently shaking her head as she ran a hand over her face in passive frustration. “Lord Elrond has been looking as well, though he has come up empty handed himself” Gandalf added, Ruth turning to look at him, frowning. “He looked? Even though I haven’t been a grateful guest??”

“Lord Elrond recognizes your fear, he knows you are frightened and scared-”

“I’m not scared-”

“So holding a knife to a woman’s throat is a daily occurrence for you?”

“By Sithis… I’m stuck here… at least I won’t hear the Night Mother’s voice again…always sent chills down my spine” Ruth muttered the last bit as she turned and faced Gandalf, leaning against the railing as she looked down at the floor. “Where is Lord Elrond?”

“I believe he is conversing with Lady Galadriel who has come to visit” Gandalf stated softly, Ruth nodding and looking up at Gandalf briefly before digging through her pouch, taking out a sapphire, turning it in her hand before looking at Gandalf “can you take me to him? I think my apology is long overdue” she murmured, Gandalf nodding, knowing that Galadriel’s visit was more pleasure than business. He led her up the many stairs to where Elrond was with Lady Galadriel, Ruth hesitantly approaching, gently clearing her throat, glancing at Galadriel before looking at Lord Elrond, approaching and holding out her hand with the sapphire in it. “I always carry it around with me, it was a gift from-... it was a gift, I like to think it’s what has been giving me so much luck, other than my mistress Nocturnal…” Ruth stated softly, Lord Elrond frowning at her in confusion, prompting Ruth to gently roll her eyes and look down. “I know in the two months I’ve been here I-... haven’t exactly been kind, or a good guest. This is my way of apologizing, please accept it, my arm is getting tired” she joked lightly, looking back up at Elrond who hesitantly took the sapphire.

“Gandalf told me of what you did, looking for clues about my world… Thank you. It means a lot to me, even though I may be awful at showing it” she added with a small smile before stepping back and placing her hands behind her back. “Thank you, for trying to help despite how terrible I’ve been, if you or Gandalf ever wish to know more about my world or-... me… you barely have to ask…” Ruth stated softly, looking at Galadriel and bowing her head in respect before leaving, her cape flowing behind her, Gandalf smiling at both Galadriel and Elrond before following Ruth to her room, the two of them sitting down and just by the look on Gandalf’s face, Ruth knew.

“So, what do you want to know…?”

“Everything you can tell me, about you and your world.”

“That is asking a lot, to know about me… but you have earned it” Ruth decided before sighing, leaning back in her chair. “Alright.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ruth was reading with Arwen when Elrond arrived, Ruth standing up and smiling at him, his lips quirking up in a small smirk at the drastic change from her behavior two years ago, when she first woke up in the strange new world, though she still loathed small-talk, or at least she pretended to, opting to teasing people instead of engaging in actual small-talk. “An orc party has invaded our lands-”

“I’m ready” she stated with a smirk, smiling at Arwen as a goodbye before leaving, Lord Elrond somewhat surprised, and yet not. The was a fiery young thing, always more than happy to take up arms when asked, and when asking was not needed. Over the two years, she had gotten more laid back and easy, accepting her new way of life with a calm and welcoming attitude, yet he knew it wouldn’t last. She was young, full of fire and life. She was a warrior through and through, and staying dormant was bound to make her miserable, the lack of excitement often spurring her into frustration and despite her allowance to shift whenever far enough away from Rivendell, it never seemed to be enough, it never seemed to sate her appetite for adventure. She relished in the opportunity to wield her blades and bow, it was on the verge of recklessness but Elrond had soon learned that she was far more capable than her small stature let on, and kinder than her mind allowed her, her heart shining through from time to time, showing a kind side to battle her stern and uncaring side. When Elrond caught up to her, she was already mounted atop her steed, the dark horse fixing it’s blood red eyes upon him, as though it had the sentience to know who he was and understand him on a humane level. She rode out amongst the elves as though she was one of them, her bow and arrows flying with the wind as they hit orc after orc, always reaching it’s mark and one of those marks, who was already carrying an elven arrow in the shoulder, stumbled back, falling back behind a rock with a dragonbone arrow in it’s forehead. When she grew tired of her bow, she jumped off her horse while it was still in full gallop, landing on the ground in a roll and when she got up, her dagger pierced that of an orc she stood in front of, the orc squealing with pain as she removed the knife and cut it’s throat, black blood splattering over her face in a small line and she turned around and cut down the orcs on foot, getting her red hair coated with the black blood of the orcs, chest heaving as she was done and every orc and warg was either dead or fleeing, Ruth blowing some loose hair out of her face as she grinned.

As she heard a horse approach, she looked up at Elrond, a grin still on her lips and he couldn’t help but smile a tiny bit. “Would you like to stay and feast?”

“Gods no, I’d rather join Molag Bal in Coldharbour than taste these again” she stated, Elrond smirking at her, knowing that she had already tasted orc and warg in her wolf form and had found it more than distasteful. She saddled up on Shadowmere, patting the horse’s neck before steering it towards Elrond, a frown suddenly grazing her features and she looked around, Elrond frowning at her sudden shift from happy to worried. “What do you smell?”

“People… they-... smell differently than elves or humans…” she admitted, Elrond taking a brief breath before turning his horse around “let’s greet our guests” he mumbled, Ruth nodding and she followed along back to Rivendell, her horse in the front as the elven horn echoed in the valley. As she rode towards the circle of men, she spotted one she recognized, Gandalf, yet she focused on the oddly small men accompanying him, she circled the small men, just as the others did, yet she caught their attention more. The black horse with blood red eyes, it’s rider a woman, not an elf, but a woman, her hair kissed by fire, a large birthmark on her cheek, her eyes green yet shining with gold, black blood splattered across her freckled face as she circled them, taking note of everything she could about them. As Elrond joined them, Ruth stopped her horse right in front of one of the small men, one with-... an ax in his head… As Elrond rode up beside her, he smiled at Gandalf, greeting him as he got off his horse, looking up at a still guarded Ruth who did the same, her eyes once again finding the small men, most of them staring up at her with their mouths open, prompting Ruth to give them a confused frown before walking towards Gandalf after Elrond had greeted him.

Gandalf smiled at the red haired woman, opening his arms and she gladly accepted the hug “Ruth my dear, I am happy to see you still here, I feared you may have left already” he stated once they parted, Ruth chuckling “left? Gandalf you know this place would fall apart without me” she teased, glancing at Elrond who lightly rolled his eyes. She turned around to look at the smaller men, tilting her head at them “so these are what you call ‘dwarves’? Don’t look very clever to me” she teased, some of them beginning to rile up, making Ruth chuckle briefly. Elrond glanced at Ruth before approaching the small group, one of the dwarves walking forward, clearly he had distaste for the elven lord. “Welcome, Thorin, son of Thraín” he stated calmly, the smaller man looked like he was trying not to attack Elrond with that big hammer of his “I do not believe we have met” he stated, his eyes glancing at Ruth who smirked at him. “You have your grandfather’s bearings. I knew Thror when he ruled under The Mountain” Elrond spoke up, keeping a passive tone to his voice but the mention of this ‘Thror’ seemed to rile up Thorin “indeed? He made no mention of you” he stated coldly, Ruth’s smirk slowly fading and she glanced at Gandalf with one raised eyebrow, Gandalf sighing and shrugging subtly before the two of them looked back at the exchange.

Elrond spoke something in elvish and there was a silence, until a red haired dwarf walked forward, raising his weapon and riling up his companions “what is he saying? Does he offer us insults?!-”

“No, Master Gloin, he is offering you food” Gandalf stated softly, Ruth once again smirking at them as they seemed quite stunned, a tense atmosphere settling over everyone and Ruth stepped forward. “Trust me, I was shocked too when he actually was kind to me, and I did a lot more than just show up without invitation like you” she stated briefly before turning to Elrond “if you ever need another bow…”

“I will call for you, Lady Telvanni-”

“Oh Molag’s balls” she murmured in annoyance, leaving the small group, Gandalf quite amused at the exchange and although he wasn’t showing it, so was Elrond.

#Unexpected Company #A Chance Encounter #Company of Oakenshield x Ruth Telvanni #The Hobbit #LOTR #Skyrim Fic #The Hobbit fic

7 notes · View notes

fandomficsnstuff · 2 years

Text

Unexpected Company - 13

(Warnings: Angst, blood, fighting, some creative skyrim insults)

Notes: This is platonic only! It is a prequel to A Chance Encounter but can be read alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Oi! You-”

“Shut up, Alfred” Ruth mumbled with annoyance as she pushed past Alfred, hurrying down the steps to the old wizard. “Gandalf!! What happened to you? By Talos you look horrible” she fussed around Gandalf, the old man placing his hand on her shoulder “I’m fine, my dear-”

“You’ve gotten a new staff?”

“Where’s Tho-”

“In the mountain. Smaug’s dead… I collected his soul last night- Gandalf wait!” Ruth hurried after the wizard, managing to stop him, a frown on her brows as she looked at Gandalf with pure worry “something’s wrong with him, Gandalf, he’s gone mad, as though he’d glimpsed the Evergloam… he’s dangerous, he-... nearly threw me off a walkway and into the depths… I-I don’t care about that but he’s far gone, Gandalf” Ruth stated as she hurried after him. “Who’s in charge, Ruth?” Gandalf finally asked, the small woman sighing before looking around, catching Bard’s eye and waving him over. “It’s Bard, he took the people to Dale, he’s in charge of them… I’m going to the mountain, Gandalf…”

“Ruth-”

“I know what you’re going to say, but-”

“Ruth!.... There is a storm coming, a war unlike many others… they will need you, they all will” Gandalf warned in a quiet voice so Bard couldn’t hear them, Ruth gulping as her eyes grew a bit wider with concern. “How bad?... How many of my daedra and aedra would I have to pray to?” it was a question with another meaning that Gandalf already knew of, he knew Ruth didn’t pray directly before anything, she’d name her Aedra in the face of something far stronger than she had expected, far more powerful than her. It was a question about how much she should prepare.

“... All of them” Gandalf muttered darkly, Ruth swallowing thickly before nodding “I won’t enter the mountain, but I have to be there for Bilbo” she stated softly and with Gandalf’s nod, she was turning around, whistling briefly and saddling up on Shadowmere once the horse arrived after being summoned, riding towards the mountain, riding to a small overlook where she got off, getting comfortable on a rock and sending Shadowmere away until it would be night, so the black horse would blend in.

-----------------------------------------------------------

It was night when Ruth saw a single light, no more than a candle, be lit atop the gate, her eyes wide and she saddled up on Shadowmere, riding as fast and as silently as she could, practically jumping off of the horse right where the broken bridge was. “Bilbo?” her voice was a strained whisper, waiting with worry until she saw his curly hair poke out over the top of the wall, Ruth letting out a brief sigh “wait there” she ordered before jumping from stone to stone, climbing up the broken rocks and jumping over them, crouching down next to Bilbo. “You came” Bilbo whispered, Ruth almost scoffing but instead she just sighed, gently shaking her head at him with a smirk “of course I came, I told you I would” she whispered before peeking over the side as Dwalin and Balin walked by, watching them leave before looking around, seeing the rope laying next to them, taking it and tying it to a metal ring, hurrying as much as she could without making too much sound. Ruth sprung behind the pillar as she heard a voice, silently pulling up her hood and mask, almost becoming one with the silence as she listened intently, already recognizing the voice as Bofur.

“You should be inside, out of the wind.”

“No I uh-... I needed some fresh air, the place still stinks of dragon” Ruth rolled her eyes at Bilbo’s words, her entire head nearly rolling along with her eyes but she stayed put in the shadows. “The elves have been moving their archers into positions… the battle will be over my tomorrow’s eve” Ruth frowned at Bofur’s words, fighting against the urge to peek her head out from behind the pillar to look at him, they stood no chance at winning unless they had something major up their sleeve… perhaps they still thought that Ruth would side with them no matter what? The thought tearing at Ruth’s heart, her eyes closing briefly as she let her head resting against the cold stone pillar, her eyes opening to stare up at the stone ceiling above her. “Though I doubt we will live to see it” Bofur’s words made Ruth’s eyes snap open, her head lifting off the pillar and she felt her heart stop for just a brief moment at the thought of them dead…

“No, these are dark days..”

“Dark days indeed… no one could blame a soul for wishing themselves elsewhere… Must be near midnight, Bombur’s got the next watch… it’ll take a bit to wake him, though with Ruth I guess you’ll have no trouble avoiding that” Ruth’s eyes snapped open at this, she slowly and silently moved out from hiding, pulling her mask down while her hood stayed up, her sad eyes on Bofur as he stopped when Bilbo called his name. “I will see you in the morning” Bilbo promised, Bofur giving him a sad smile “goodbye, Bilbo… goodbye, Ruth-”

“It’s not goodbye, Bofur… I promise you that, it’s not goodbye and it’s not farewell” Ruth stated with a wavering voice, the kind dwarf giving her a soft smile before walking down the stairs. Ruth swallowed the lump in her throat and walked over to the rope, making sure it wouldn’t slip before throwing it out over the edge “you’ll be back before dawn, I swear it… if that’s what you want” Ruth stated softly, turning to Bilbo who gave a brief nod, Ruth nodding in turn, pulling up her mask and making sure Bilbo made it down safely before climbing down herself, giving a brief whistle, Shadowmere galloping over and Ruth helped Bilbo, although he was rather reluctant, up on the horse before saddling up herself, turning Shadowmere and galloping off towards Dale in haste. Ruth stopped just outside of Dale, saddling off, helping Bilbo down but then she just stood there, Bilbo frowning at her with confusion “what are you doing?”

“Waiting for when you’re done, I’m joining you in the mountain…” Ruth muttered quietly, Bilbo hesitating before he nodded and hurried into the city of Dale, Ruth waiting, looking over her shoulder at the mountain.

---------------------------------------------------

The last thing any of the dwarves expected, Bofur especially, was to see Ruth sitting on a stone by the barred gateway into the mountain, sitting inside of it as she was sharpening the dwarven sword she had found and kept as her own, her red hair pulled back in new braids that revealed all of her face, dirt washed from her face and her armor repaired where any damage had been. She looked up at them, an unsure look on her face but she sighed and stood up, placing the sword down on the stone she had been sitting on before turning to face the dwarves, and hobbit, once more. “I told you all that I was not as stupid as to turn away the people who have a care for me… I’m here, Thorin, my blade and bow are yours as long as you don’t command me to do anything like killing innocent people or attacking those who haven’t attacked you, I’m done with that life… I’m done with death and the killing of innocent people. I’ll kill if I have to, to defend you and my new friends, but not if those lives aren’t in danger” Ruth stated harshly, Thorin glaring at her with distaste but Balin ignored his new king, walking over and hugging Ruth who eagerly hugged him back, the other dwarves joining, either hugging her or patting her on her shoulder, Bilbo walking up to her with a small smile, Ruth smiling down at him.

Ruth flinched ever so slightly as Thorin fired an arrow at the feet of the great elk that the elven king was riding, causing both him and Bard to halt and Ruth glanced at Thorin before forcing herself to look down, keeping her mouth closed to silence a snarky remark that waited on her tongue. “I will put the next one between your eyes” Thorin’s words made her roll her eyes, the other dwarves cheering as Ruth just leaned against the stone wall, arms crossed over her chest as she just waited for this to play out until Bard showed him the Arkenstone. As the elven army drew back their arrows, almost all of the dwarves dodged, all except Thorin and Ruth, Ruth watching him with concern, her eyebrows knitted together with worry as she watched for his reaction. She continued to watch him as the Arkenstone was revealed, her eyes finding Bilbo’s through the others as they began to riot, calling the elven king and Bard thieves, Thorin’s expression growing darker as he muttered out his belief that this was a mere trick, an illusion, a lie, Ruth sighing softly and she looked down, shaking her head with disappointment until Bilbo stepped forward. “It’s no trick… the stone is real” Bilbo stepped forward, his eyes moving to Ruth for a brief second, seeing her give him a subtle nod, making him look back at Thorin. “I gave it to them” Bilbo admitted calmly, his eyes once again moving to Ruth as Thorin slowly turned to look at him, Ruth giving yet another subtle nod, making Bilbo look down briefly. Ruth knew how much it hurt, he may have trouble coming to terms with it or admitting it out loud, but it was obvious that he loved Thorin, much more deeply than a simple friend, it was obvious, and what was also obvious was the return of that love, Thorin’s eyes holding tears as he looked at Bilbo, “you?”

“I took it as my 14th share” Bilbo admitted, Ruth glancing at Filí, his eyes meeting hers and it was as though he realized that she knew. She knew and she helped him and she showed no regret. Ruth forced herself to look away from Filí and back at Bilbo, her hand clutching the hilt of her dwarven sword, prepared for the outburst the sick king would without a doubt make. “You would steal from me?”

“Steal? No. No, I may be a burglar, but I like to think that I’m an honest one… I’m willing to let it stand against my claim-”

“Against your ‘claim’?... ‘Your claim’.. you have no claim over me, you miserable rat!” As Thorin stepped closer to Bilbo with anger, Ruth was quick to jump forward, walking in front of him to stand by Bilbo’s side, giving Thorin a sad look as she looked at him, how far he had fallen from the honorable king under the mountain. “I was going to give it to you… many times I wanted to but-....”

“But what, thief?”

“You’ve changed, Thorin” Ruth piped up, her jaw clenched as she stared at him through the small silence “the Thorin I met in Rivendell would never have gone back on his word, and he would never have doubted the loyalty of his kin, or his love” Ruth stated harshly, Thorin scoffing at her “do not speak to me… of ‘loyalty’!... Throw them both from the rampart!” Thorin’s order went unheard, the king looking around, trying to shove Filí towards Ruth but he refused, Thorin looking around with desperation before grabbing Ruth by her hair and pulling her towards the edge “then I will do it myself! Curse you! Cutthroat!” Thorin yelled as he nearly shoved her over the edge, holding on to her by her hair in a tight grip as Bilbo and the others tried to make him let go, Thorin ending up with Bilbo in the other hand, trying to shove him off as well as Ruth was practically hanging over the edge, Thorin’s grip on her hair being one of the few things that kept her from falling down onto the stone below. “IF YOU DO NOT LIKE MY BURGLAR AND DRAGON-SLAYER THEN PLEASE, don’t damage them. Return them to me” Gandalf’s voice echoed almost as Ruth’s would at times, her green eyes moving to Gandalf in desperation as she hung over the edge, Thorin’s grip on her hair loosening a little and her own hand was slipping on the rock she was clinging to. “You’re not making a very figure as King under the Mountain, are you, Thorin, son of Thrain?” Gandalf’s words made Thorin let go of Bilbo, the only bad thing about it was that he let go of Ruth as well, a small yelp escaping Ruth’s lips until someone grabbed her by her wrist, Ruth looking up to see Filí holding onto her, pulling her up and over the wall as soon as she was able to hold onto the stone without slipping or falling. As she was back on steady ground, on her knees, she clutched her scalp in pain, Filí kneeling down by her side, helping her up and hurrying her towards the rope that Bilbo was already crawling down with. Filí briefly put his hand on her head but when he felt something wet, he retracted his hand, eyes wide as he saw a few drops of blood on his glove, his heart racing as he watched her crawl down after Bilbo, jumping over the rocks and boulders and broken stone until her feet was on the steady ground, both Gandalf and Bilbo hurriedly checking her scalp, Gandalf’s fingers stained with a little bit of blood and it was obvious that he was fuming and boiling with anger at the revelation.

Ruth watched as Thorin paced atop his wall, going back and forth and for a brief second it was as though he’d finally cave in and accept to ‘buy’ back the Arkenstone, until that raven landed in front of him, his announcement of war making Ruth shake her head. “You cannot have war, Thorin!” Ruth shouted, though the sounds of marching feet made her turn, seeing an army come over the hill and Ruth sighed, gently shaking her head even more, following after Gandalf and Bilbo as the elven army turned to face the new army in front of them, Ruth getting out her bow, ready to fire it if need be, listening with a grim expression as Gandalf stated that Thorin was the more agreeable compared to his cousin, who just so happens to be leading a great army from a tactical advantage point with the sun at their back to blind those below, who just so happens to include everyone else. Before Ruth could march with the elven army, Gandalf grabbed her elbow, pulling her back, just to her anger “no, no I will not risk the life of someone like you, my dear Ruth-”

“‘Someone like me’ was born to kill countless dragons, I think I can handle a few short men with even shorter tempers” Ruth growled, Gandalf shaking his head, holding onto her as she yet again tried to join the army. “I told you a great war was coming, Ruth, you will need every one of your aedra and daedra-”

“I cannot let anything happen to that elk!” Ruth spat with worry, Gandalf frowning, making Ruth sigh “it’s Hircine, Gandalf! I am sure of it…”

“You must stay here, if not for yourself, then for Bilbo and I” Gandalf pleaded, Ruth glancing at the great elk before groaning, Gandalf letting go of her as he knew she’d stay, although she was rather reluctant, her eyes locked onto the army as large goats barged through the front lines. “What in Oblivion is-” Ruth stopped herself, Gandalf and Bilbo both frowning at her as she cringed, the corners of her nose turning up in disgust. “What? What is it?” Gandalf’s voice was filled with worry and as soon as Ruth got over the disgusting smell, the same worry was covering her own features as she looked at Gandalf “orcs, wargs… I-I can’t even- there’s something else, Gandalf, I don’t know what it is b-but it’s-... it’s s-something with dirt and I-...” Ruth stammered, unable to figure out how big the army was depending on the scent she smelled.

As the earth began to shake, Ruth’s eyes grew even wider, locking onto where the rumbling came from and when the giant worm spouted out of the ground, she nearly fainted, her eyes so wide that Bilbo was sure they’d fall out of her head at any time, face so pale it was as though she had been drained of all her blood and had been dead for weeks. “Akatosh, Mara, Stendarr, Zenithar, Dibella, Arkay, Julianos, Talos, Kynareth… Nocturnal guide me and shadow hide me. Sithis aid me, Nightmother watch over me…” at the last word, before Gandalf or Bilbo could stop her, Ruth ran forward, standing in the line with the elves as the troll like things came running towards them, her arrow nocked, drawn and let loose in sync with the other elves, even the elven king was somewhat shocked, the fire his son had described was finally revealed in her eyes, her arrows never missing their mark but the second she saw that Dale was slowly being attacked, her sync broke and she broke away from the front line of the elven archers, the elven king catching her whistling and soon after a dark steed appeared, as black as tar, eyes as red as blood as it came galloping towards the small woman who was unfazed by it’s crazed movements, the way it frantically threw it’s head around like it had gone mad, it’s teeth unnaturally sharp and the elven king almost thought it’d trample the small woman but instead she just held out one hand, a single hand, and when the horse ran past her, he realized that she had gripped onto the horse and thrown herself over it. The elven king’s eyes continued to grow wider when he saw that the horse was already halfway to Dale, faster than any creature he had ever come across.

Ruth rode past Bilbo and Gandalf, reaching Bard and even riding past him, even though he rode as fast and hard as he could without killing his horse, the man from Lake-Town staring with wide eyes at her as she practically flew past him. As Ruth reached far into the city she jumped off of Shadowmere, her dwarven sword out as well as her last dragonbone dagger, both of the weapons moving in sync as she moved towards a voice she recognized, cutting down an orc before it could reach Bain, the boy’s eyes wide open in shock as he looked up at Ruth. “Where are your sisters?!”

“I-I can’t find them-”

“Get the elderly and children to safety but do NOT risk your life! I will find them” Ruth shouted over the chaos, cutting down another orc as she ran in the other direction, continuing to cut down orc after orc as she hurried towards the screams of Sigrid and Tilda. Ruth cut the throat of an orc that was running after them, pushing it away and dodging the attack of the other orc, spinning around behind it and cutting the back of it’s neck before pushing it to the ground, sinking her sword into the orc’s back while it was laying down, Ruth panting from the running and fighting but the second she heard more footsteps she pulled her sword out of the dead orc and almost decapitating Bain but she stopped at just the right second, quickly lowering her sword, placing a hand on Bain’s shoulder as she pushed him towards his sisters “NEVER sneak up on someone while they are fighting, not all react quick enough to stop themselves” she warned harshly before hurrying the three children away. “Where’s Da?!”

“He’s on his way, I saw him, he’s on his way, Tilda-”

“Did you see him??”

“Yes, he’s fine, he’s a great swordsman and an even better archer” Ruth comforted Tilda as she hurried the children through the streets, cutting down every orc that got in the way, until the three children stopped, Ruth almost running past them if she hadn’t noticed. “What are you-”

“Da!! Da, we’re here!!” Sigrid called out and Ruth looked up finding Bard fighting in the old market, Ruth almost smiled until she heard the heavy steps coming behind them, Ruth turning and placing the three children behind her, the sword held out towards the troll as she backed up with the children, the golden flecks in her eyes roaring to life as she glared at the creature, faintly hearing Bard yell out for his children to get down, Ruth’s eyes shining bright blue, the sound of the cart coming closer and closer and finally, just before she dodged, three words left her lips.

“Fus Ro Dah” the troll flew back just before Bard’s cart could hit it, the creature hitting the pillar behind it, hitting it’s head as Bard flew towards it with his sword, piercing the creature’s heart and Ruth smirked as she stood back up, seeing Bard look at her with wide and shocked eyes, Ruth blushing slightly “I uh… may have a little bit of magic in me… just a small bit, though!” Ruth assured them, Bard still staring at Ruth as he slowly approached his children “you call that ‘a little bit’?!”

“Well, I mean-... I could have used fire” Ruth murmured, Bard letting out a brief breath of both shock and relief with an awestruck smile, Ruth grinning before ushering his children towards him “I have to get back…” Ruth’s eyes trailed to Tilda, tears forming in her eyes as she looked back at Bard. “Don’t make my mistake… make sure they’re safe before thinking of anything else… no parent should have to bury their children” Ruth stated softly, Bard giving a brief nod of understanding before ushering his children to safety, Ruth nodding to herself, wiping away a few stray tears before whistling, Shadowmere galloping towards her and the second she was saddled up, she rode towards the mountain, Shadowmere trampling any orcs that he came across, Ruth cutting the throat of the rest.

Ruth let out a yell as she jumped from Shadowmere, pinning down an orc and piercing it’s throat with her sword, quickly pulling it out and swinging it at another orc that tried to attack Dain from behind, the dwarf turning around with shock, staring at the red haired woman, her fiery eyes gleaming with gold and he just stared at her, as though transfixed. “Where is Thorin?? Has he come out yet?”

“No-”

“Son of a mudcrab and whisp mother!! Skeever faced bastard!” Ruth growled before attacking another orc viciously, beating it to death with her sword instead of cutting the orc, Dain watching in shock as black blood splattered across her face as she was seething with anger. “That horse-faced, arrogant, slimy slaughterfish! Daar Mey Lost Nid Zin!” the ground shook with Ruth’s words, Dain staring at her with an open mouth and wide eyes. “What’re ye?”

“A pissed off woman” Ruth growled before cutting down another orc, letting out a brief whistle and saddling up on the demonic horse when it came, Ruth riding towards the mountain with anger, Dain falling back and it wasn’t long until the last remainder of the dwarves were by the mountain, forming a much thinner line than before, trying to remain alive and Ruth was seething with anger, saddling off of her horse and sending the demonic horse off, turning to look at Dain, who was already looking at her, looking away when he realized he had been staring. Ruth looked back towards the army in front of her, advancing. “Akatosh, Mara, Kynarath, Arkay, Dibella, Stendarr, Zenitharr, Julianos… Talos…” Ruth whispered before getting out her bow, nocking an arrow, drawing the string back in preparation.

----------------------------------------------

Tags:

@starwarsloverpizza

#Unexpected Company #A Chance Encounter #Company of Oakenshield x Ruth Telvanni #Skyrim #Elder Scrolls: V #LOTR #The Hobbit #The Hobbit fic #Skyrim fic

4 notes · View notes

fandomficsnstuff · 2 years

Text

Unexpected Company - 9

(Warnings: Singing! Fluff, happy times but angst and also hint at what could have been a SA… skip over that bit if you’re uncomfortable<3)

Notes: This is platonic only! It is a prequel to A Chance Encounter but can be read alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ruth was quiet as she lingered in the shadows by her company’s side, her eyes being the only thing peeking out under her black armor and hood and mask and yet they could not be seen, the golden flecks in her eyes invisible, her footsteps silent and she eyed the window they were meant to get up and through. “Alright, form a stai-”

“No” Ruth whispered softly, tilting her head at it before turning to Thorin “at least let me open it first, wait for my signal” she whispered, Thorin thinking it over before nodding, Ruth looking at the window once more. She quickly sneaked forward, looking around before making a run towards the wall, she set off on it, doing the same on the other wall next to it until she was high enough up to grab onto the windowsill. She looked back at her company before turning back to the window, holding on with one hand as she reached into her satchel, pulling out a single lockpick before hanging near where the windows met when they were closed. Ruth narrowed her eyes as she quickly and carefully managed to jam her lockpick in between the two windows at the very bottom, slowly sliding it up until she heard a gentle click and with that she withdrew her hand that held the lockpick and carefully pushed open the windows, crawling inside. Ruth quickly looked around before turning back to the window, looking down at the shadowy bump of the dwarves waiting for her.

She couldn’t help but smile as she pulled down her mask, cupping her hands around her mouth and whistling briefly and quietly, seeing the dwarves begin to form a stairway up to the window, Ruth pulling her mask back up and stepping aside as dwarf after dwarf carefully tumbled inside. She grinned under her mask at Thorin who smirked at her “didn’t know you had it in you” he joked quietly, Ruth scoffing “don’t offend me, King under the Mountain, or I’ll scorch off your eyebrows” she teased, smirking before approaching the weapons rack and taking a pick of the sword lining the rack. She frowned lightly as she tried the weight of them in her hands, displeased with them but giving them to Kilí nonetheless, giving him a worried look but he forced a smile “I’m still as handsome as ever” he teased, Ruth rolling her eyes “dear Talos, his mind has gone” she teased back before returning to the rack, picking up two short swords that would have to do, about to test the weight of them in her hands when she heard a tumble and clanging, her eyes wide as she heard Kilí fall down the steps with the weapons, the iron banging against iron and wood almost made her cringe with how loud it was.

As she heard approaching footsteps and threw one of the swords at Thorin who caught it, holding it out but before he could use it, it was at his throat, Ruth grimacing as she was forced to drop the sword as well, glaring at the guards. As one of them reached to pull her hood down and mask off she caught his armored wrist in her hand, eyes glaring at him as she squeezed and squeezed until the guard tried to pull away, and she let him, a small dent in the shape of her hand being left on his armor. As they were being shoved through the streets, Ruth willingly pulled her hood down, revealing the fiery-red hair that had finally dried, her mask being pulled down to reveal the rest of her face, her head held high as none of the guards dared shove her after she crushed a guard’s armor. “What is the meaning of this?!” Ruth looked towards the voice and nearly grimaced at the horror she assumed was a human being, a face not even a mother could love, especially not Ruth’s Night Mother. “We caught ‘em stealing weapons, sire.”

“Ah, enemies of the state, eh?” State? How in the name of Sithis was this small lake town a state?? “A desperate state of mercenaries, if there ever was, sire-”

“Hold your tongue” Ruth growled out loud, slowly stepping a little forward, glaring at the two of them. “You have no idea who you’re speaking to. None of us are petty, common criminals, least of all Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror, a man more worthy of your respect than any other man you will ever meet, not that I suppose you’ve met many kings, by the looks of it” Ruth stated loudly, a few townsfolk snickering at her last comment “so I don’t fault you for not recognizing one when you see him” she added with a smirk. Thorin slowly stepped forward, standing at Ruth’s side “we are the dwarves of Erebor” he announced loudly, people beginning to murmur and whisper amongst themselves at the revelation. “Got a reputation, do you?” Ruth whispered, a stone cold look on Thorin’s face as he glanced at her, but she saw the amusement he hid at her comment. “We have come to reclaim our homeland” Thorin added, the murmuring growing louder and more shocked, Thorin stepping a little closer “I remember this town in the great days of old… fleets of boats lay at harbor, filled with silks and fine gems… this was no forsaken town on a lake, this was the center of all trade in the North! I would see those days return! I would relight the great forges of the dwarves, and send wealth and riches flowing once more from the Halls of Erebor!!” people cheered after Thorin’s speech and Ruth smirked, about to joke a little to Filí who she stood beside when a familiar voice spoke up.

“Death! That is what you will bring upon us! Dragon-fire and ruin, if you waken that beast, it will destroy us all…”

“You can listen to this naysayer but I promise you this: if we succeed, all will share in the wealth of the mountain… you will have enough gold to rebuild Esgaroth ten times over!!” The people once again cheered at Thorin’s words, Ruth smirking, giving him a subtle nod when he looked at her, Thorin giving a subtle nod in return. “Why should we take you at your word, eh? We know nothing about you. Who here can vouch for your character?” Ruth immediately stepped forward, hands clasped behind her back as she looked at the different people, head high.

“I will vouch for him, I will vouch for each and every one of these people. I’ve traveled far, across countries and men such as Thorin Oakenshield are rare. If he promises the people of Laketown gold, I believe him! He is a man of honor, and there are so few left” Ruth stated, turning to look at Thorin who bowed his head gratefully, Ruth giving him a subtle nod in return as the people cheered with joy around them as she stepped back to the others. “All of you! Listen to me! You must listen!! Have you forgotten what happened to Dale? Have you forgotten those who died in the firestorm?!” Bard yelled, Ruth frowning as she glanced at Thorin, quietly asking if she should reveal her nature but he gently shook his head, not wanting to risk her getting her head chopped off by paranoid people when they learned she literally had the soul of a dragon in her and could breathe fire. “And for what purpose? The blind ambition of the Mountain King, so riven by greed, he could not see beyond his own desire!” Bard shouted and Ruth glared at him, golden flecks breathing to life and she almost marched towards him but Balin gripped her arm, holding her back, even though he knew she could rip it off with a single movement, she proved that at Beorn’s lodging and in the cells of Mirkwood when she bent the hard metal of the bars by merely kicking it a few times. “Now, now! We must not, any of us, be too quick to lay blame… let us not forget that it was Girion, Lord of Dale, your ancestor, who failed to kill the beast!”

“It’s true, sire. We all know the story; arrow after arrow he shot, each one missing it’s mark..”

Ruth watched with narrowed eyes as Bard approached Thorin, ever so slightly shaking his head “you have no right. No right to enter that mountain-”

“He has every right” Ruth stated loudly, moving out of Balin’s grasp before he could stop her, the old dwarf sighing heavily in defeat. Ruth approached Bard, glaring lightly at him “he is the only one with the right” she added before looking down at Thorin, giving him a subtle nod and he turned to face the two on the stairs. “I speak to the Master of the Men of the Lake. Will you see the prophecy fulfilled? Will you share in the great wealth of our people?... What say you?” Thorin asked both loudly and softly at the same time, Ruth’s eyes locked onto the Master of Laketown as he pointed at Thorin, “I say unto you;... Welcome! Welcome and thrice, welcome, King under the Mountain!” people began to cheer and Ruth smirked over her shoulder at the dwarves, watching them run over, some even hugging her as much as they could as they cheered “I know, I know, I have a gift with words” she teased, chuckling lightly as Bofur chuckled “aye, ya do lass, think Filí agrees” he stated with a wink and Ruth frowned, looking at Filí who was helping his brother inside at the Master’s beckoning, her eyes on the blonde, braided mane of hair, almost rooted in place if it wasn’t for Bilbo gently ushering her inside.

As a feast was being held, Ruth was already holding a mug of ale, laughing with Bifur, Bofur and Bombur, having no idea what Bifur was saying but the few translations she heard made her snort with laughter, head tilting back. “No! They asked you to sing??” Ruth asked with amusement as she looked at Bifur, the dwarf talking and Bofur laughed “he says; aye and a song I gave them” Bofur translated and Ruth laughed, sipping the rest of her ale before putting the mug down “by Talos! At least it could have been worse” she stated with a smirk, the dwarves looking at her with expecting eyes and she blushed, unsure if it was the alcohol or being stared at. “Well, I may or may not have joined the Bard’s College, I learned to play the lute and-”

“You can play?!”

“Very poorly and-”

“Filí! Nori! Find a lute somewhere!!” Bofur shouted and Ruth’s eyes grew wide “you want me to play the lute?”

“And sing if ya can!”

“I don’t know any songs from this world!”

“Aha! So yer can sing!” he stated and Ruth instantly paled, Filí hurrying over with a lute he had found, Bofur shoving it into Ruth’s hands. “I’m not singing in front of strangers-”

“Sure, why not?? You’ve bested countless dragons and ya can’t sing a single song??” Bofur teased, Ruth glaring at him before turning around on the bench, her back to the table as she began to gently pluck at the strings, making sure none of them were off-key, which quite a lot of them were. “Stendarr’s mercy, when was this last used??”

“No idea.. Hey!”

“Bofur, don’t-”

“Master of Laketown! When was this lute last used?” he asked loudly and chatter died down, Ruth slowly turning to the glare of Bofur who realized his mistake too late. “Lute? The lovely lady can play? Well why didn’t you say so? Everyone quiet down! Let the lady play!”

“Oh it’s really not ne-”

“I insist” he stated with a smirk, Ruth palling before sighing and nodding “why in the name of Mara do people always use that as though it holds any weight” she murmured with annoyance before humming along and tuning the lute with her humms. “Well uh, a lute makes it quite limited what I can play… Bofur!” the dwarf paled, Ruth smirking at him “why don’t you help me out?” she asked, Bofur nodding, making Ruth nod “good! Go on and pick a song! I’ll try and keep up!” she stated with amusement, Bofur nodding and standing up on the table, clearing his throat before smirking as he thought of a song, smirking at his fellow dwarves as he began to stomp his feet on the table, the dwarves all laughing at the song they knew, while Bilbo rolled his eyes briefly as he sat with a slightly smirking Thorin, the two sitting so close that their thighs touched, despite the rest of the bench being empty, and Ruth may or may not have seen Thorin’s hand on Bilbo’s thigh, higher up than what would be considered normal for friends. Ruth picked up on the rhythm as the other dwarves joined in with their fists and boots stomping the floor and table.

“Blunt the knives, bend the forks

Smash the bottles and burn the corks

Chip the glasses and crack the plates

That’s what Bilbo Baggins hates!

Cut the cloth, tread on the fat

Leave the bones on the bedroom mat

Pour the milk on the pantry floor

Splash the wine on every door!

Dump the crocks in a boiling bowls

Pound them up with a thumping pole

When you’re finished if they are whole

Send them down the hall to roll

That’s what Bilbo Baggins hates!”

Everyone in the hall cheered, Bilbo rolling his eyes once more and Ruth laughed “what about the one you sang in Rivendell?”

“You remember that one?”

“Of course!” Ruth cheered, the people cheering for more and Ruth once again got ready with her lute, smiling up at Bofur who gave her a nod as he began once again to stomp in rhythm with his feet, Ruth quickly picking up.

“There’s… An inn, there’s an inn there’s a merry old inn, beneath the old gray hill.

And there they brew a beer so brown the Man in the Moon himself came down one night to drink his fill.

Ooh

The ostler has a tipsy cat that plays a five-stringed fiddle.

And up and down he saws his bow,

Now squeaky high!

Now purring low…

Now sawing in the middle! So the cat on his fiddle played hey-diddle-diddle

A jig that would wake the dead

He squeaked and sawed and he quickened the tune

While the landlord shook by the Man in the Moon

‘It’s after three!’ he said

Now

Quicker the fiddle went deedle-dum-diddle,

Dog began to roar,

The cows and the horses stood on their heads, the guests all bounded from their beds and danced upon the floor.

The round Moon rolled behind the hill,

As the Sun raised up her head,

She hardly believed her fiery eyes for it was day, and to her surprise… They all went back to bed!”

People laughed and cheered and Ruth joined them, stretching her fingers as she laughed. “Are you alright?” Filí asked through his laughter, Ruth nodding and smirking “haven’t played in years! Sang in even less” Ruth admitted with amusement, her laughter quickly ending as the Master of Laketown stood up “and she sings!! Come now, my dear, sing for us!” he encouraged and Ruth grimaced before awkwardly laughing “I’m afraid the songs I know are less spirited except for one and it’s rather short in comparison” she admitted, the Laketown Master waving his hand as he sloppily gulped down his brandy “come now dear! You are not getting out of this one now” he teased, Ruth forcing a brief laugh as she nodded and looked down at the lute, her smile vanishing “evidently not” she murmured before clearing her throat, awkwardly glancing around her.

“Oh, there once was a hero named Ragnar the Red who came riding to Whiterun from ole Rorikstead…

And the braggart did swagger and brandish his blade as he told of bold battles and gold he had made.

But then he went quiet, did Ragnar the Red when he met the shieldmaiden Matilda who said;

“Oh, you talk and you lie and you drink all our mead

Now I think it's high time that you lie down and bleed”

And so then came clashing and slashing of steel as the brave lass Matilda charged in full of zeal.

And the braggart named Ragnar was boastful no more…

When his ugly red head rolled around on the floor!”

Ruth sang as she played her lute, people cheering afterwards and Ruth blushed as she laughed, unaware of the look the Masterof Laketown gave her. “The singing wolf!” Gloin proclaimed as he raised his mug, the entire hall following as they echoed the title, Ruth blushing even more “you’ve had too much to drink, Gloin” she teased over the cheers, Gloin scoffing “enough is never enough!” he shouted cheerily and the dwarves all raised their mugs in agreement, Ruth shaking her head with amusement before standing up, handing Bofur the lute. “Now if you will all excuse me, I need some air but I leave this wonderful lute in Bofur’s instrumental hands!” she stated loudly, people cheering and she leaned down with a smirk “hope you can sing” she teased before shaking her head, making her way outside, closing her eyes in bliss at the cold air that nipped at her cheeks, raising her head towards the sky as she stood outside the hall where the feast was going on, the pathways over the water completely empty and the moon was almost high in the sky.

Her moment of tranquility was brought to an end by an approaching presence, Ruth smiling politely over her shoulder at the Master of Laketown. “Come out for some fresh air as well?” she asked politely, the man chuckling quietly “you’re very talented, my dear” he stated softly, Ruth internally cringing at the nickname but she smiled politely once more at him “thank you, sire, though if it was without the merry band of friends I travel with, I fear it would have been much more dull” she stated with amusement, the man humming as he kept looking at her, Ruth shifting uncomfortably “can I perhaps help you with something?” she asked politely, the Master of Laketown nodding as he approached “your husband must be lonely without you…”

“I uh-... I remain unmarried… don’t believe I’ll ever marry but-.. what was it that you needed?”

“So… you’re pure?”

“Excuse me??”

“You have no husband… have you remained pure?” he asked as he kept approaching her, Ruth taking steps back with furrowed brows and narrowed eyes “I don’t believe that’s any of your business-”

“Such a pretty young thing like yourself… I can only imagine that you’ve remained pure all this time… waiting for the right man to give it to…”

“I think you need to back up, please. What I do in my private life has nothing to do with you and I would prefer to leave it at that-” Ruth was caught off guard as he reached for her and pushed her against a wall, her eyes open wide in shock, clawing at him as he began to feel around her armor. “GET OFF OF ME!” Ruth roared, fear coursing through her veins and for the first time in a long while, she was horrified, her hands desperately pushing him away until he grabbed her head and knocked it into the wall behind her, her vision blurry as she felt dizzy, half-asleep as she heard a grunt of annoyance “how do you get this blasted thing of- who’s there?! Leave! This is none of your business!” he yelled out into the darkness after hearing something fall over, a silence meeting him and Ruth, finally getting her bearings, brought up her knee into his groin, slapping him, her nails scratching along his fat cheek, pushing him away and onto the ground in anger, her entire body shaking as she stared down at him with wide eyes, even as Filí arrived to hold her back she tried to advance on the shocked and horrifying Master of Laketown when he saw her glowing eyes. “Ruth, no. No! Ruth, think it through-”

“I have!!” she snapped with a growl, trying to pry Filí off but when she looked back at where the Master had been, she saw an empty place, anger coursing through her along with an unfamiliar feeling of fear. “GET OFF ME! DON’T TOUCH ME! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, HM? HE WAS MINE!” Ruth shouted loudly at Filí who didn’t even flinch, a frown on his brows as he studied her “you would have killed him-”

“YES! And you took that from me! He should die for the way he touched me! Grabbed me! Talked to me-”

“Ruth?” She looked towards the dwarves who were all staring in confusion and shock, Ruth only realizing that she was crying when she felt the wet tears run down her cheeks. “To Oblivion with you!! Molag Bal damn you! You can take your contract and tear it apart! Sithis strike you all down! All of you!” Ruth shouted with a wavering voice before hurrying away from them, disappearing around a corner where she continued to hurry along the waters. The dwarves all tried to follow her, rounding that same corner to see her steer away a boat, looking over her shoulder at them with pure and utter anger, her eyes too far away to see the fear in them.

“What happened?!” Thorin asked, Filí watching with a frown as she became a mere dot on the water surface, already so far away. “I-... came outside to check on her and the Master of Laketown was on the ground…. he tried to- Ruth was going to kill him I-... I stopped her, she was going to slaughter him, I could see it in her eyes-”

“Perhaps she had a good reason” Dwalin huffed out in anger and annoyance, Bilbo frowning with concern. “We can’t just-.. let her leave, can we?”

“She broke her contract, she’s on her own now” Thorin muttered coldly, Bilbo frowning at him “you don’t mean that” he murmured, Thorin glancing at him, his gaze softening with an unspoken love for the hobbit, before he remembered who he was, his quest, and thus he walked back inside, Bilbo shaking his head as the others slowly followed. “Bilbo?” Balin asked, gesturing inside but Bilbo shook his head “no, no I’m going to wait for her…”

“She won’t come ba-”

“Of course she’ll come back, Balin, we’re her friends and as angry as she may be, she wouldn’t break her contract or abandon us when she knows she’s the only one who can assure Smaug’s death” Bilbo argued, Balin sighing as he walked over and gently placed a hand on Bilbo’s shoulder, studying him before nodding and sitting down, Bilbo frowning at him with confusion “I’ll wait with you” he murmured, Bilbo nodding and sitting down as well.

------------------------------------------

Tags:

@starwarsloverpizza

#Unexpected Company #A Chance Encounter #The Hobbit #Skyrim #LOTR #Company of Oakenshield x Ruth Telvanni #Skyrim fic #The Hobbit fic #Elder Scrolls: V

4 notes · View notes

fandomficsnstuff · 2 years

Text

Unexpected Company - 4

(Warnings: Fighting, blood, arguing, angst on Ruth’s part, think that’s it for now)

Notes: This is platonic only! It is a prequel to A Chance Encounter but can be read alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ruth let arrow after arrow fly, using the arrows as daggers in between firing them, whenever a goblin came too close. Her back stood to Gandalf’s as she fired her bow, a smirk on her lips as every arrow hit it’s mark, and not a single one missed. Ruth placed her bow behind her back, taking out two of her daggers instead, running forward and jumping, plunging the two daggers into a goblin that tried to attack Filí from behind, the dwarf turning around, wide eyes fixed on the goblin that Ruth cut open, kicking it in it’s stomach to get it off of her daggers, swiftly turning around and throwing one of them, hitting a goblin square in the face. As quickly as she had appeared, she was gone, Filí catching a glimpse of her sliding under the legs of a goblin while cutting it’s legs with her remaining dagger, taking the dagger out of the dead goblin and combining the two to cut off the heads of two goblins at the same time. As Gandalf ordered them to follow him, Ruth threw her dagger at a goblin as she ran towards him, the dagger stuck in the now dead goblin’s face and before the creature could even fall to the floor, she had run past it and grabbed her dagger while doing so.

Ruth was one of the fastest out of the dwarves, it was obvious, yet she time and time again let herself fall to the back of the line, cutting down a goblin that got too close to the others before running ahead again to do the same, her eyes barely green anymore, her eyes furiously glowing a bright gold color as she followed after Gandalf, killing any goblin she could find. She used her bow to beat the goblins off the path if she didn’t have time to nock, draw and let loose an arrow. She ended up near Oin as he swung his hammer around, hitting several goblins in a matter of seconds and she laughed briefly, patting his shoulder as she ran by him after he stopped “perfect, Oin!” she called out as she walked backwards to face him, smiling and laughing as she turned back around, her bow gone once more as she used her daggers to slice and cut every goblin in her way as she encountered them.

As she was rejoined with Gandalf she grinned up at him, laughing briefly as he patted her shoulder when she ran past him, continuing to slay every goblin she could reach. As she reached a bridge with no end she barely stopped, realizing almost too late but by then Gandalf had reached her and held onto her, making her steady once more and she looked up at him, chest heaving as she panted for air, his eyes locked onto the golden shimmer that got brighter in her eyes, yet he didn’t have time to try and calm the woman down when suddenly the bridge began to swing, Ruth’s eyes wide yet she quickly adjusted, moving to the front of the swinging bridge once some of the others had jumped off, her dagger piercing the heart of another goblin before Gandalf pulled her away, urging her to jump when he did. And she did. She landed in the arms of Filí who quickly let her go, the woman grinning at him before continuing onward, a laugh leaving her when Gandalf gave the dwarves a giant boulder that they began to push, her eyes locked on it as it rolled down and crushed every goblin it went near. Ruth panted heavily as they reached a bridge, all of them crossing when suddenly the goblin king appeared, crushing that part of the bridge and separating them. Gandalf ended up in the front as the dwarves backed up, Ruth quickly joining him, still smirking, her daggers were stained with goblin blood. “You thought you could escape me?” the goblin king swung his… club? Cane? Whatever it was, the king swung it at Gandalf, making him stumble back, only being caught by the dwarves, and Ruth’s eyes glowed the dangerous color of melted gold, the corners of her nose tugging up as she glared at the king.

“What are you going to do now, wizard?” Ruth was growling by now, the goblin king looking at her with confusion at the wolf-ish sounds leaving her and while he was distracted she threw a dagger at him, hitting him in the eye and he recoiled, reaching for his eye but he never managed to reach it, Ruth’s dagger cutting across his stomach in a large swing, making him fall to his knees and when he did, she pulled out the dagger, the king’s eyeball still hanging onto it and she flicked it off without a second thought, glaring at the goblin “that’ll do it” he muttered and Ruth flew forward again, using both daggers to swing at the neck of the goblin, as much of the neck as she could reach. A large wound began to slowly pull itself open and Ruth stepped back as the goblin king fell on his face in front of her, the red haired woman still panting for air as adrenaline coursed through her veins, liquid fire running through her, setting every nerve alight.

The bridge began to shake as it began unstable from the weight of the goblin king landing harshly on it, Ruth trying to stabilize herself and as the posts holding the bridge up snapped, she grabbed onto Gandalf who held onto her as well, a scream leaving her lips as she flew down with the others on the bridge, her eyes wide and the gold had gone back to be nothing more than flecks in her eyes. As the bridge, through some kind of miracle, landed on a small slope that got smaller and smaller, it barely dropped at all, Ruth standing up and helping Gandalf stand up, backing up and grinning at the sight of the bridge and the dwarves somewhat intact. “By Akatosh!” Ruth laughed, still panting, Bofur laughing “well, that could’ve gone worse” just as the words had left his lips, the goblin king landed on top of them, Ruth’s eyes wide and her hand briefly covered her mouth in shock before she hurried over to help them out as they groaned in pain and annoyance “you’ve got to be joking!” Dwalin exclaimed in anger and annoyance. “Jinxed it” was all Ruth said as she helped Bofur out from under the goblin king, the dwarf looking up at her with confusion until he saw her small grin, a laugh starting to bubble in his chest as he watched her continue to help the dwarves out.

As she helped Kilí back up on his feet, his eyes grew wide as he looked past her, Ruth following his gaze and her eyes grew wide as well. “Uh, Gandalf?” she called, all the dwarves looking in the same direction as her and when Dwalin said they couldn’t fight them all, Gandalf oddly enough looked at Ruth. Ruth noticed and shook her head with a frown “not this many and not up close, not when I feel Masser’ and Secunda’s tug this strongly” she admitted, Gandalf nodding “then only one thing can save us now, daylight” he muttered and Ruth helped the other dwarves up before running behind them, making sure none was left behind as they hurried towards their only salvation. As they passed a small hole off the side of the pathway they ran through, Ruth stopped, frowning at the empty space behind them, as though she was seeing something, but before she could dwell on it further, Bombur dragged her along with them and out of the cave, into the sunlight that nearly blinded her when she reached it. She continued to run and run and run, her eyes finally adjusting to the light and she kept running.

She leaned against a stone as the others stopped, Gandalf counting out loud, turning to Ruth and letting out a sigh of relief “Ruth, that makes fourteen…”

“Fourteen?? Where’s Bilbo?” Ruth asked with worry, still barely able to get enough air to her head without passing out, yet she stood up to run back, her hand being caught by Filí “there’s too many of them-”

“But Bilbo could be there! He can’t fight them all alone!”

“Neither can you” Filí whispered softly and Ruth frowned at him, her eyes locked on him as she studied him, the soft expression in his eyes. It was an expression she hadn’t seen in a long time, even though she was only 32. It stunned her, to see this much care towards her in another person’s eyes, and so she nodded ever so slightly, Filí letting go of her hand with a nod. “Maybe he made it out, he’ll be here soon, right?” Ruth asked Gandalf, the elderly wizard narrowing his eyes at her for a brief moment “what do you sense?” he asked, Ruth being quiet before giving a gentle shake of her head. “I can’t, it’s-”

“Too close and too crowded with the stench of goblins, I know” he murmured. “Curse the halfling! Now he’s lost?!”

“I thought he was with Ori-”

“Don’t blame me!”

“Well, where did you last see him??” Gandalf asked urgently, Nori stepping forward “I think I saw him slip away when they first collared us” he said, Ruth frowning in slight annoyance “and what then?? Tell me!-”

“I’ll tell you what happened… Master Baggins saw his chance and he took it. He has thought nothing of his soft bed and warm hearth since first he stepped out of his door… we will not be seeing our hobbit again. He is long gone-”

“Shut up!” Ruth growled, all eyes turning to her as she glared at him, fists clenched and shaking in anger. “How dare you… how dare you say that?! Of course he’s thinking about home!! This isn’t something he’s done before! Yet he’s never turned back, he’s never run away in the middle of the night! He’s brave, and brave people will never back down from helping others and that’s what you need, help!”

“And you’d know?!”

“My daughter knew and it cost her her life!” Ruth shouted in anger, her eyes growing wide in realization. She closed her mouth and gulped, tears filling her eyes as she continued to stare with wide eyes at Thorin for a few seconds longer before looking around at the others. Her gaze moved to the ground as the area around them was filled with silence, her eyes closing and she forced her head up “Bilbo he-... he may miss home, but he knows that this is where he should be, right now. This is where he is going to be and he will see it through, because unlike you, he knows what it means to do something for others” Ruth snapped before turning around and walking off, as far away from them as she could, eventually sitting down on a stone once she was out of their sight, her eyes fixed on the ground as she was in between sobbing and destroying everything in front of her.

Without her permission, tears began to stream down her cheeks, she tried to wipe them away but they were without end, anger coursing through her at the lack of control she felt, until she smelled it. Like a rotting wolf that had died months ago, it made the corners of her nose curl up in both confusion and disgust, until her eyes went wide. She hurried back to the others, panting as she arrived “we have to run” she ordered, Gandalf taking in her worried expression and he nodded “run!” he shouted, the other dwarves were confused at first until they heard the howls. Ruth quickly ran to Bilbo and grabbed him, giving him a boost to get as close to Gandalf as he could. Ruth was one of the first to reach the edge, her eyes wide and without saying anything she ran past the others, the way she came “trees! Into the trees!” she shouted both over her shoulder and to the others, her eyes wide as she helped a few of them up into the trees. Ruth climbed up into one of the trees along with Kilí and Filí, helping the latter up onto the same branch as her, holding onto him when his foot slipped, resulting in Filí and Ruth being practically pressed together as the wargs ran past them right under their feet, Ruth’s eyes closing in relief at making it in time. She quietly leaned away from Filí, signaling towards the top of the tree and the brothers nodded, trying as quietly as possible to climb up, until a warg spotted them, jumping up and nearly getting Ruth’s leg, making her yelp and forget about stealth. “Akatosh, Dibella, Julianos, Kynareth, Arkay, Mara, Stendarr, Zenithar, Talos… Aak Mu… Lorkhan…” Ruth muttered, holding onto a necklace that had been under her armor, her eyes closing briefly until she was done saying each name.

Ruth watched with wide eyes as a giant white warg walked forth, a white humanoid creature on the back of it and Ruth groaned, looking at both Filí and Kilí “your world sucks, you know that?” she asked in a hiss, looking back at the creatures with worry. She looked over her shoulder at Gandalf, pleading eyes and he softly shook his head, a frown forming on her brows at this “Hircine Fen-”

“No!” Gandalf shouted at her, her eyes wide in shock and confusion but she turned them back to the creatures, the ‘wargs and orcs’ as they launched forward. As the trees began to tumble, Ruth’s eyes once again grew wide as she tried to hold on, jumping from tree to tree with the others, until the last tree, she barely made it but Gandalf reached out his staff and she took it, holding onto it as she reached for another branch and when she had it, she let go of the staff. Ruth crawled up the tree, holding onto it like a monkey.

“This world sucks” she muttered again, glaring up at Gandalf who despite the situation actually chuckled briefly, nodding ever so slightly “at this moment, I agree, my dear Ruth” he murmured, Ruth managing a brief chuckle and smile, before her smile vanished and her chuckle died down as the wargs tried to jump up the tree, making it shift and tilt as they tried to topple it over the edge. As Gandalf began to create burning pine cones, Ruth looked up at him, once again with pleading eyes and as he created more and dropped them to the other dwarves, he finally nodded, making Ruth nod as well. Ruth managed to make it a little further down the tree, finding an opening without any branches that could catch fire. Her eyes began to grow a goldish-yellow, like the burning flames below and as a band of wargs made it through the fire, a smirk crossed her lips. “Yol, Toor Shul!” a wave of fire left her lipe, searing the wargs, making them howl with pain as the flames stuck to their fur, searing it away and eating at their flesh, some of the wargs throwing themselves off of the cliffs as they tried to run away from the fire attached to them. The dwarves laughed and cheered and as Filí took her by the shoulders as he cheered and laughed, she blushed, grinning at them until the tree began to shift until the moving weight of them jumping up and down made the tree almost fall, Ruth clinging to the wood at the sudden shift.

As Ruth watched Thorin get up and run towards the orc she frowned at him, confused as to why that orc was so important to kill that he’d throw his own safety out the window. “Thorin! Thorin don’t!” Ruth snapped, groaning in annoyance as he ignored her, her hands and feet trying to get up so she could go after him but she slipped, barely hanging onto her branch, wincing at the pain in her fingers as they scraped along the bark as they slowly began to slip. Ruth gritted her teeth as all she could do was hold on and listen to the sounds of Thorin as he was losing the battle with the white warg and the orc atop it, her arms not daring to try and pull herself up, fearing that the shifting weight would finally make it snap. As she heard the sound of Bilbo yelling as he tackled one of the orcs, Ruth gritted her teeth, taking the chance and lifted herself up slowly, gripping onto the main trunk of the tree to help herself up the rest of the way before the branch would snap. She stood up and there was a brief second where her eyes turned a misty blue, three words left her lips in a whisper and in the blink of an eye she slid under one of the wargs, her dagger slitting it’s throat as she went. The orc on top of the warg fell as the warg died under it, her daggers quickly landed in the orc’s chest and throat before she pulled them out, hurrying back to stand besides Bilbo as the rest of the company began to attack as well. “Check on him, take his wrist, use your fore and middle finger to find the middle of his wrist, press them in tightly, if you feel a small bump, however small… he’s alive” she ordered, Bilbo nodding and doing as told, hurrying over “you might not-” Ruth was cut off as an orc charged at her and she dodged, using the moment to thrust her daggers into the gut of the orc, pulling them out and repeating the motion with one dagger while the other pierced the neck from the side, the orc dropping to the ground as she pulled out both blades. “You might not find it on your first try, but any tiny bump against your fingertips” Ruth called out, Bilbo nodding, trying again and again, about to shake his head when he felt it, grinning at Ruth as she took down another warg “he’s alive!!”

“Good! Now stay with him!” she ordered, Bilbo frowning “but-”

“You’re his last defense right now!” she snapped over her shoulder, Bilbo nodding as he stood up, his sword in his hand as he stayed by Thorin’s side, watching the others fight, Ruth trying her best to kill everything that tried to get past her to both Thorin and Bilbo. As Ruth spotted Bilbo being thrown back, she killed the orc she was fighting, hurrying over to him and standing in between Bilbo and the white warg and orc, the golden flecks in her eyes shining, like breathing into an almost dead fire, spurring it to life. “Haalvut Niin, Ahrk Hi Fen Dir” she muttered harshly, her daggers stained with orc blood, both raised out at her sides, as though extending the range of the shield she cast over Bilbo and Thorin with her body. Ruth saw the orc snarl at her, preparing his warg to attack. And yet he never got the chance. Giant eagles came to the aid of the Dwarves, wizard, hobbit and assassin, Ruth’s eyes wide in shock and wonder, her feet stumbling back a little, mouth open in awe at the creatures as they picked up the orcs and wargs and threw them over the edge. Ruth smiled briefly at the sight, grinning when an eagle came flying towards her and Bilbo. Ruth quickly put away her weapons and jumped to the side as the eagle grabbed Bilbo, in the process quickly grabbing onto the wing as she jumped swiftly pulling herself on top of the eagle, holding on with a big grin, cheering and looking out at the others, laughing and grinning from ear to ear.

As dawn once more began to break, she was still grinning and chuckling as she flew beside the ones she had traveled with for only two days now. Her eyes closed in bliss and she let go with both hands on the eagle, taking in as deep a breath of air as her lungs allowed, grinning at the feel of the warm sun on her skin, the feeling of her hair flying behind her due to the wind. She felt bliss as she held onto the eagle, eyes opening as it dived down a waterfall, tears filling her eyes yet it had nothing to do with the wind that whipped against her cheeks until they reddened. She let out a small sigh as she saw a perch nearby, a sad smile on her lips but she accepted the end of the flight. She was one of the first to be let down and the second she saw Thorin, she rushed over, kneeling down by him, worried eyes scanning over his body and face, searching for any sign of life. Gandalf hurried over beside her, his eyes scanning Thorin for any sign of life while Ruth closed her eyes, splaying her hands out over his body and leaning back on her heels. A warm glow began to emit from her hands, the color of a flickering candle, it’s light forming into a ball that ribbons flew out of, encasing Thorin’s body as a faint chiming noise emitted from the magic. Thorin’s body began to glow with an outline of that warm, candlelit color, Ruth’s nose slowly starting to bleed as she scrunched her brows together, as though having a headache and when Thorin slowly opened his eyes, she lowered her hands, the warm light fading, the chiming sound gone as she nearly slumped to the ground, wincing as Gandalf caught her. “Haven’t done that in a while” she murmured jokingly, her head buzzing as Thorin spoke and Gandalf answered, the dwarves all staring at her in shock, especially when a nearly dead Thorin stood up with the help of Dwalin and Kilí, Gandalf helping Ruth stand up herself, giving her a somewhat dirty cloth to wipe her nose, which she took with a thankful nod.

“You!” Ruth’s head snapped up at Thorin’s voice, the cloth slowly being lowered from her still bleeding nose, her brows scrunched together in a frown as she watched Thorin slowly walk towards Bilbo as he talked. “What were you doing? You nearly got yourself killed! Did I not say that you would be a burden? That you would not survive in the wild… that you had no place amongst us?...” Ruth clenched her jaw tightly, watching with anger until she saw Thorin step towards Bilbo “I have never been so wrong in my entire life” he breathed out as he hugged Bilbo, Ruth smiling softly, raising the cloth back up to her nose, wiping away the rest of the blood since the bleeding had stopped before giving Gandalf the cloth back, watching him back it away as the dwarves cheered a little for Bilbo and Thorin. “But I’m sorry I doubted you-”

“No, I would have doubted me too… I’m not a hero or a warrior,” he looked at Gandalf “not even a burglar,” he then looked at Ruth who smiled at him “or a feared dragon-slaying assassin,” he added, some of the dwarves chuckling along with Gandalf and Ruth. Ruth watched the eagles fly away with a sad smile, small tears in her eyes while the others were transfixed by the mountain they saw. Gandalf walked over to her, gently placing a hand on her shoulder, making her flinch in surprise but she didn’t tear her eyes away from the eagles. Her hand was clutching her necklace in a tight grip as the tears in her eyes continued to grow. “You know what hurts my kind the most? The ones with the actual soul and not just the blood of a dragon?... we have no wings…” Ruth almost whispered, as though the mere thought would be enough to make her break down. “We don’t belong in the sky… we don’t belong on the ground… I was warned before my flight, thought nothing of it but-... now I’d give my life for a single flight around all of Skyrim…” Ruth admitted, looking down before clearing her throat and wiping away her tears. “Right, I-... I-I need to hunt so you lot walk ahead and I’ll catch up” Ruth stated loudly, all the dwarves, and Bilbo, turning to look at her with frowns “hunt? It’s past dawn-”

“Yes… now-... I need to get my mind off-... certain things” she stated softly before crawling down the peak, the dwarves soon following yet the second her feet touched the ground, she moved in the opposite direction of them, Gandalf urging everyone to keep moving and not worry yet Bilbo frowned as he was dragged back, watching her body disappear into the woods.

-------------------------------------------------------------

It was midnight when Ruth returned, carrying a deer over her shoulder and two rabbits, the dwarves and Gandalf cheering, welcoming her back, she even caught Thorin giving her a brief, subtle nod of thanks, Ruth smirking as she watched the king look back down at Bilbo as they sat together, not too close, yet not too far apart either. As the others began to prepare the food she had brought, Ruth walked over to Gandalf, sitting down next to him, her eyes locked on the dwarf king and brave little Hobbit, a smirk on her lips. “Fifty Septims for that they’ll kiss at least once during this entire thing” Ruth whispered, Gandalf looking towards what she was looking at, huffing out a brief chuckle, gently shaking his head “I would not bet against what I would bet for” Gandalf murmured, Ruth grinning from ear to ear, giggling briefly as she watched Bilbo hesitantly place his hand, very briefly, on Thorin’s shoulder in a comforting way, nervously retracting it like he was scared of overstepping a boundary. “Oh yeah, at least once” she murmured before chuckling, standing up and walking over to the others, sitting next to Filí who gave her a bowl of stew that she eagerly ate.

------------------------------

Tags:

@starwarsloverpizza

#Unexpected Company #A Chance Encounter #Company of Oakenshield x Ruth Telvanni #LOTR #The Hobbit #The Hobbit fic #Skyrim fic #Skyrim #Elder Scrolls: V

5 notes · View notes

fandomficsnstuff · 2 years

Text

Unexpected Company - 2

(Warnings: None really)

Notes: This is platonic only! It is a prequel to A Chance Encounter but can be read alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ruth followed behind Elrond and Gandalf, in front of Thorin who eyed her with suspicion, unlike the other elves, she wasn’t dressed for a fine dinner. She was dressed in the same armor she wore when he saw her the first time, atop that horrifying steed with it’s blood red eyes piercing his soul and chilling his blood whenever it looked at him. The black armor appeared to be made mostly out of leather, yet it didn’t crease like leather did when she walked, it was smooth as fabric, dark as night with a strange symbol on her chest, a bird with it’s wings stretched out over it, nearly touching a circle, the entire image itself being a circle with the round wings. Her boots matched her armor, they had spots of dirt on them but she had clearly cleaned the underside of them to not track dirt all over Rivendell, her hands bore fingerless gloves and a single white ring that appeared to be carved from bone with a wolf’s head, her entire body except her fingers and from her chin and up was covered in the soft-looking armor, it was almost like a second skin if not for the cape and small ‘skirt’ around her hips that reached barely the middle of her thighs.

She sat down on Gandalf’s right side, almost in front of Elrond. She got out a small journal once they began to eat, scribbling away on the pages, leaving her food untouched as they ate and talked, and Thorin noticed it, narrowing her eyes at her with suspicion. Sure, it wasn’t the most… ‘meaty’ food, but it was food. What kind of person doesn’t eat? And it seemed Gandalf noticed as well, gently nudging her with his elbow, catching her attention as he finished chewing “not hungry, my dear?” he asked, Ruth glancing at her food, cheeks turning a dusty shade of pink as she looked at Elrond, who was smiling softly at her “you know I hunted this morning, why do you keep putting food out for me on such occasions when you know I’ve already hunted, Elrond?” Ruth asked with indifference, the elven lord smiling softly at her once more “in the case you get hungry again, I’m not keen on my guests going hungry” he stated softly, glancing at Thorin who didn’t miss the double meaning behind his words. Ruth nodded and sighed softly “very kind of you, thank you” she stated softly, gently bowing her head, Elrond bowing it in return, saying a single word in elvish, Ruth giving him a soft smile before going back to writing in her journal as they talked of the swords they had recently acquired, Ruth’s eyes on the dwarves, a grin on her lips as they sang and enjoyed themselves, Ruth following along with the song of some inn, enjoying the upbeat atmosphere.

--------------------------------------------

Ruth gently knocked on the door to the room she knew all the dwarves were staying in, their laughter and songs stopped and soon the door opened, revealing Ruth who was carrying a large basket with all kinds of cooked and prepared meat. She was quickly invited inside and she laughed at their eagerness “I figured since none of you ate much at the dinner that you preferred meat, I hunted these myself” she announced softly, giving the large basket to the largest of the dwarves whose beard was braided in a ring, a smile on her lips at the sight. She smiled as a footless dwarf walked over to her, dressed far more fancy than the others and Ruth tilted her head at him. “Thank you, they might not say it but-”

“No need” Ruth stated in a casually, the small dwarf smiling and extending his hand, which Ruth shook briefly “Bilbo Baggins, at your service” he briefly bowed his head and Ruth chuckled “Ruth Telvanni, at yours” she bowed her head in return, Bilbo smiling at her before gesturing to the large fire they had made “do you perhaps want to join us?” he asked softly, Ruth taken aback despite almost lighting up at the offer “uh… I’m not sure I-... you know what? I would love to, thank you Mr. Baggins” Ruth bowed her head again, deciding to give small-talk and the new company a chance. Bilbo led her towards the others and once again they went quiet, Ruth awkwardly smiling at them, gesturing to an empty spot “can I sit?” she asked softly, the dwarves all exchanging glances that all led back to the half-empty basket, which led them to nod, Ruth sitting down. “So, Ruth, tell us a little about yourself” a dwarf with blonde hair asked with a small smirk, Ruth awkwardly looking down as she cleared her throat before looking back up again “well uh… I’m not from around here” she stated softly, awkwardly glancing at Bilbo and his feet, cheeks growing red at the uncomfortable small-talk she was a part of now “actually I was surprised that elves and dwarves look they way they do here” Ruth stated and gestured to Bilbo’s feet, the man frowning at his feet “I’m not a dwarf” he stated with confusion, Ruth blushing “y-you’re not??”

“No, I’m a Hobbit.”

“A Hobbit? What’s a Hobbit?”

“Me.”

“I’m sorry we-.. don’t have Hobbits where I’m from, I’m sorry” Ruth spoke softly, Bilbo frowning as though her explanation only made him more confused, as did the rest of the company she was in. “And where are you from, then?” Thorin asked gruffly, Ruth narrowing her eyes at him before sighing and nodding softly “Tamriel. I grew up on the island of Solstheim, though I’m an Imperial. I was taken in by a Telvanni mage when I was around four” she stated briefly, Thorin raising an eyebrow at her as though he was subtly telling her he was aware of her lying, which she wasn’t. “Well if you didn’t want an answer, you shouldn’t have asked” Ruth snapped annoyed, the two of them staring each other down until an older dwarf with white hair and beard cleared his throat “well, what about your parents?”

“No clue, my master never bothered to look for them” Ruth stated casually, the old dwarf frowning “your master?” he asked with concern, Ruth nodding “yes, my master Neloth. Though he’s my master only in title” Ruth assured him, seeing him nod with a more relaxed smile. “That’s good to hear. My name is Balin, this is Dwalin and this is Filí and Kilí, Oin and Gloin. Over there we have Dori, Nori and Ori, next to them is Bifur and Bofur and lastly we have Bombur” Balin pointed to each dwarf as he said their named, Ruth bowing her head once he was done, smiling at them “a pleasure to meet you all” she stated softly, smiling at them, seeing Filí smile back at her with a bigger grin than the others. “So, what’s Solstheim like?” Bilbo politely asked, a smile on Ruth’s lips as she chuckled, this being a small-talk topic she was comfortable with “ashy. It’s next to a large volcano which erupted decades ago, the land is still covered with ashes, but there are some snowy parts. One quickly learns how to avoid the ash-storms. But other than that, it was quiet for a while, not a whole lot going on but I loved to explore the old ruins on the island, my master used to scold me when I was younger because of how dangerous it was, he didn’t want to lose his most promising student” Ruth stated with amusement, Bilbo and most of the dwarves smiling as well. “What kind of ruins?” Filí asked, Ruth blushing as she cleared her throat and got a little more comfortable on the floor “uh, Dwemer ruins… they’re an ancient race of elves where I’m from, incredibly intelligent, without a doubt the most advanced race to ever walk Nirn, they made creatures of metal that still guard the ruins! They were so advanced that those metal creatures are still able to walk around, move without ever getting rusty, repair themselves and everything” Ruth explained with eagerness, seeing some of the dwarves on the edge of their seats, eager to hear more.

“Well? Go on then!” Ori said with excitement, Ruth giggling lightly as she nodded and crossed her legs as she faced them to be more comfortable. “The ruins are these beautiful underground structures, far beneath the earth! Metal and stone carved together in beautiful patterns, almost everything is made of stone or metal. The seats, tables, beds, the stairs are carved from the stone that’s also the floor, metal thrown about after centuries of earthquakes and the passing of time. It’s one of the most beautiful sights that I’ve ever seen. There’s also an underground city, entirely of dwemer make, giant glowing mushrooms casting a light blue glow over everything, raw Aetherium ore running through the ground like small rivers. Aetherium is the most rare and powerful ore there is, using any pickaxe will never yield any reward, yet the dwemer had a special way of harvesting it, a way that is lost to everyone now since they disappeared. Small houses are all strewn about the giant underground cavern and in the middle of everything… a city, a real, large city! A glowing orb hangs over it, it’s called the ‘sun beneath the earth’, it casts a bright yet dull orange glow, covering almost the entire cavern! Ebony ore also runs through the ground, popping up here and there for one to mine, their metal creatures walk around the place with purpose, attacking any intruder! The only thing that dulls the beauty of it are the Falmer and how they’ve mixed it with their own structures…”

“What are they?”

“They were once elves, but now they’re almost like another race. They were once called Snow Elves, the most beautiful out of all the elves, pure white skin and hair, pale eyes… now what’s left of them has become the Falmer, horrid creatures… nothing like the Snow Elves I met-”

“You met other elves?”

“Of course, Skyrim is flooded with them! Jarl Balgruuf has a Dunmer as his guard and housecarl, the man selling horses outside of Windhelm is a High Elf as well as his wife, Windhelm has a section called the Gray Quarters where the Dunmer lives. Solstheim is mainly populated by Dunmer, I think that besides myself and the Skaal there’s only a handful of humans, not many humans choose to live on the island since it’s a freezing, ash-filled island under the nordic governing” Ruth stated with a shrug, smiling at the small men. “So, you’ve traveled a lot?”

“Absolutely, I’ll admit it’s mostly been doing other people’s work but I love the exploration I get out of it. I’ve killed giants, mammoths, trolls-”

“Could have used you not too long ago” Kilí stated jokingly, a few of the dwarves chuckling, Ruth smirking “should have just sent a letter! Especially if it’s dragons” Ruth added the last bit with a small chuckle, expecting the company to laugh but instead it grew deadly silent, making the young woman frown. “I-.. did I say something wrong?...”

“You’ve-... killed a dragon?” Bilbo asked confused, frowning as he looked at her with slightly narrowed eyes, Ruth shrugging lightly, clearing her throat awkwardly “uh… a few.. yeah-”

“How many?”

“Excuse me?”

“How many dragons have you slain?” Thorin asked again more sternly, Ruth narrowing her eyes at him before shrugging shyly. “I lost count… why?” she asked nervously, the company all exchanging glances, Bilbo being the only one to speak up “how? How did you kill a dragon?” he asked softly, as though there was a motive behind his questions but he wasn’t sure if he should reveal what it was. “I-.. killed it? I just-... you know, an arrow in the eye or in the heart or-.. something…” Ruth muttered, the dwarves murmuring amongst themselves until the tallest one spoke up, Dwalin. “She’s lyin’-” he was cut off when Ruth pulled out a dagger made entirely of some sort of bone with a black metal handle and shaft, twirling it effortlessly between her fingers before holding it up so the flames lit up the features “it’s made from dragonbone” she stated with a slight glare “I’m many things, but not a liar” she muttered, twirling the knife once more before gently handing it to Balin who examined it, his eyes wide in shock as he looked up at his company before handing the dagger back to her “she’s right… it’s bone… stronger bone than any I’ve ever seen, it has to be from a dragon” he murmured, the company once again growing silent as they all stared at Ruth, making her scoff lightly before standing up “told you I wasn’t lying… by Sithis, I offer food and is insulted” she murmured and got up, leaving without another word. Bilbo sighed at the others before standing up and hurrying after her “they didn’t mean it-”

“Perhaps, but perhaps they ought to learn to think before they speak, I will be called many things but never a liar” Ruth muttered bitterly as she kept going, Bilbo sighing as he picked up the pace once more to keep up with her, for a short woman, her legs took surprisingly long steps. “Gandalf said we’d meet someone who could kill a dragon” he called out after her, a few steps behind her as he stopped, seeing the red haired woman stop as well, Bilbo panting a little after practically running after her. “He said we’d need an assassin, someone who had experience with dragon-slaying, who would know what to do and how to do it… is that you?” Ruth sighed softly at his question, turning around to look at him “what did he call it? The dragon-slayer?”

“Something with ‘Kin’-”

“Dovahkiin?”

“Yes!... Is that you…?” Bilbo asked again and Ruth sighed, running a hand over her face in frustration before giving a subtle nod. “He said you’d join us… that you- you were the only one who could make sure it stayed dead” Bilbo added and Ruth sighed, walking a few steps towards him, eyeing him, studying the brave little face he put on. “I might join you…”

“Thank you-”

“If we can all agree on something. First; if you want to know anything about me, ask me and not Gandalf. Second; I get to talk to the dragon first, without anyone there to interrupt everything-”

“What-”

“And third; if I say no to a question, it means ‘no’. Don’t go behind my back and ask Gandalf or try to go through my things or figure out a way to get an answer, I have the right to privacy. I’m willing to talk about many things but if I say no, it means I will not change my mind and the second any of them disrespects that, I will leave, let you all be burned by the dovah” Ruth stated harshly, Bilbo nodding softly with a frown “if all of them can agree on that, I will join you, though I think they’ll need some convincing. If they act polite, perhaps I’ll ask to join you… now if there’s no further questions, I need to hunt.”

“Hunt? It’s nearly midnight-”

“Exactly” Ruth muttered before walking off, Bilbo looking at her as she walked away before turning around and walking back to the company to try and begin to convince them.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was morning when Ruth heard a knock on the door, a frown on her brows as no one bothered her this early in the morning when she hunted the night before. She got up from her bed and walked over, finding Bilbo, her lips stretching into a smile and she stepped aside, letting him in. As Ruth closed the door, Bilbo noticed a large bruise on her face, a frown forming on his brows and he gestured to it, making Ruth reach up a hand and graze it before smiling at him “nothing to worry about, hunting accident” she stated softly, walking over to her bed and sitting down, Bilbo awkwardly walking over, looking around the bare room. “How long have you been here?”

“About two years.”

“Two-.. a-and you-... never thought to decorate the room or-... does Lord Elrond not allow it?”

“He does, I’m just not used to-... I guess, getting comfortable, though I have many of my materials here such as dragonbones. When I’m home I’m always on the move, I’ve rarely slept a full fortnight in any of my houses except my farm” Ruth admitted, Bilbo blinking in shock “I’m sorry, ‘any’ of your houses? You have more than one?”

“I built three of them myself. The other ones are in the cities where I’ve helped the jarls and been made Thane” Ruth stated with a small shrug, Bilbo nodding once, awkwardly looking down with a small frown, making Ruth smirk at him “I don’t use any of them, I built them for someone but-... they’re gone. Now I use them as small stops in between my journeys, I rent them to my housecarls so they can live peacefully, if that’s what they choose” Ruth stated with a shrug, Bilbo was unable to hide his small smile at that. “You’ve got all these houses, and you’ve given them away?”

“Housecarls do a great service, they’re sworn to me, I want them to have a place of their own, where they can rest… the biggest problem was always decorating though” Ruth added the last bit in a joking tone before standing up “have you talked with your friends?” Bilbo nodded, following Ruth out of her bedroom, leading her down some steps towards the courtyard. “I have, actually. Thorin is willing to speak with you” Bilbo announced, Ruth nodding with a small smirk “‘willing to speak to me’... let me guess, he’s some sort of noble?”

“King, actually.”

“Hm, figures” Ruth mumbled, Bilbo frowning at her, making her smirk and lean down, lowering her voice as she spoke in a joking tone “I’ve met enough royals to know they’re usually very arrogant and think everyone is at their mercy” she whispered jokingly, giving Bilbo a wink before coming to a halt when she saw the naked men jump into the water fountain, laughing and having fun. Bilbo’s cheeks darkened and when he looked up at Ruth she just shook her head with amusement. “Just like the Companions…” she murmured, walking down the steps, meeting Elrond and his son on the way. She passed the two with amusement, heading straight for the men, giving a quick whistle that made them all turn around, wide eyes staring at her as she looked unfazed. “Where can I find Thorin?”

“Are you going to join us?”

“In e saw Thorin, his hands folded behind his back as he looked over the landscape in a very majestic way. “Brooding, are we?” Ruth asked jokingly, the fountain or on your journey?” Ruth asked with amusement, Filí blushing a bright beet red, making Ruth chuckle as she followed Dwalin’s finger, going in the direction he had pointed her in. As she walked down the small steps, shThorin turning to see who had spoken, his eyes fixed on the bruise on her cheek, making her shrug as she walked up to stand beside him “hunting accident” she explained, Thorin turning to look back out over the landscape “you must not be a very good hunter then…”

“Ouch, well it is harder when they actually fight back” Ruth stated with a smirk, watching him frown ever so slightly at her, making her chuckle. “I was wondering if perhaps you’d want someone with actual dragon experience on this journey? Of course, if you don’t want a woman on your team you can just try your hand at it, but if you want to do it properly, I suggest you accept my offer” Ruth stated with a shrug, Thorin looking at her with confusion, unsure if he should be offended or annoyed, a mix in between that almost made Ruth laugh. “So, what do you say? Will you hire an assassin that is the best in not one, but two worlds?” she asked confidently, Thorin glaring lightly at her “you’re very confident-”

“I have every reason to be. Give me my contract, and I’ll do it, with only one exception” Ruth stated with a frown, Thorin raising a single brow at her, making her scoff “I get to talk to the dragon first-”

“Talk?!”

“Yes, talk. You know, a conversation?”

“I know what ‘talk’ means!”

“Really? You’re not doing it well. Listen, give me this contract and I swear on the Night Mother, it will be done… if I am allowed my one condition besides the rules I told Bilbo. Gandalf was right when he told you of me, and I have every reason to be as confident as I am, he will be far from my first dragon kill, and he won’t be the last” Ruth stated in a softer voice, looking him up and down before walking away “you have until dawn to decide, preferably an hour before the sun rises” she called out, walking past the others who were getting dressed and dry from their wash in the water fountain, most of them blushing and covering themselves as she strode by, not even looking at them.

-----------------------

Tags:

@starwarsloverpizza

#Company of Oakenshield x Ruth Telvanni #The Hobbit #LOTR #Skyrim fic #The Hobbit Fic #Unexpected Company #A Chance Encounter

5 notes · View notes

fandomficsnstuff · 2 years

Text

Unexpected Companny - 12

(Warnings: Angst, a little bit more angst, annoyed Ruth, Ruth actually being intimidated by someone and some slight fluff)

Notes: This is platonic only! It is a prequel to A Chance Encounter but can be read alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ruth was silent as she stared out into the darkness, small fires had been lit on the path towards the ruins of Dale and Ruth felt her heart ache, the thought of those poor people, drenched and cold and starving, forced by the cold night and exhaustion to be camping out in the open with barely anything to start a fire with, so far away from the shelter those ruins would bring them. “Yer’re alright lass?” Balin’s voice making Ruth smile briefly before sighing, shaking her head and looking down “yes, I just-... for years I’ve been serving Sithis but now I-... I’m tired of death… of that life… of Sithis…”

“Yer’ve talk ‘bout it before, what is it?” Balin asked softly as he walked over to her side, Ruth hesitating before nodding to herself. “Sithis is.. another name for Lorkhan. This side is-... darker. I’m a member of something called the Dark Brotherhood, we’re in service to Sithis… I wasn’t lying when I said I was an assassin, one of the best if not the best. The Dark Brotherhood is a creed of assassins. I’m the highest rank aside from Sithis and the Nightmother herself…” Ruth admitted, turning to look at Balin who gave her a sad look, Ruth sighing at it. “I’m a thief and a murderer and a cutthroat, Balin, I’ll admit that, but I’m many other good things, I’m a friend, I have people who look to me for guidance and I send money to the orphanage in Riften and I’m-... I’m also-... I’m also a mother..” Ruth trailed off with a distant look in her eyes, Baling taking a few steps closer to her. “The young girl you saw in Mirkwood forest?”

“My little girl…” her voice almost broken as she spoke, tears building up in her eyes and Balin damn near cried himself at the sight. “How long ago did she-... pass?” Balin’s own question made his voice waver, his teary eyes studying her. “A year before I ended up here… She-...” Ruth stopped herself, her throat closing up as she let out a choked sob, shaking her head yet she forced herself to remain stoic, her knuckles white as she gripped the edge of the half-wall, jaw clenched. “I’m so sorry lass, I really a-”

“Stop, please just-... stop… it’s all I heard after, how sorry everyone was, how tragic it was for such a young girl to-.... I realized that no matter how many times people said it, it didn’t bring her back… I still saw her everywhere… the tree I first saw her at, her bright smile when I said I’d t-... take care of her…” Ruth trailed off before wiping her eyes, clearing her throat before looking down at Balin “I’ll never see that again, I know that… but I-... I-I can’t-...”

“It’s alright lass, I understand. If yer ever want ter talk…” Balin trailed off, Ruth nodding with a sad smile “thank you, Balin” she spoke softly as she put her hand on his shoulder, Balin giving her a sad nod before walking off, Ruth turning back to look out into the distance, her eyes moving to the newly revealed stars, fresh tears forming in her eyes as she smiled softly “sleep tight, Lucia…” Ruth mumbled, kissing the tip of her fingers and turning them to the sky, holding her fingers over one of the brightest star she could find before turning around and walking back inside the mountain.

--------------------------------------------

“It is the King’s Jewel… AM I NOT THE KING?!”

“In title only” Ruth spat with anger, everyone present turned to look at her with wide eyes, even Thorin, in his sickly state, was thrown off balance by her words. “What? WHAT DID YOU SAY?!”

“You call yourself a King, but a King is nothing without his people… That stone is the birthright of you, that is correct, but also of your people, you’re not the only Dwarf left, Thorin! You’re not the last line of Durín and-” Ruth was cut off as Thorin grabbed her throat roughly, holding her by her throat over the ledge of the walkway before anyone could react, Ruth gasping for air as she clung to his hand and wrist as Thorin almost growled at her, the pressure making tears form in her eyes and she coughed violently when Bilbo and Balin caught her while Dwalin tore Thorin away. Ruth clutched her neck with wide eyes, the golden flecks coming to life, a warning to the newly crowned king and it was as though he was out of his sick state for a brief moment, eyes wide in shock at what he had just done, what he was about to do, but before anyone could say anything, Ruth stood up and stomped down the long, long walkway to leave the hall as soon as possible.

Bilbo soon found her packing what little she had, a new dwarven sword tied to her hip as she placed some dwarven knives in her pockets, about to leave when she saw Bilbo in the doorway. “Ruth-”

“He’s sick, Bilbo. You have to get that jewel out of here, somehow, out of the mountain” Ruth whispered the last bit as she looked around, sighing when she saw it was just the two of them. “If you need my help getting out, or getting that cursed thing as far away from here as possible, light some sort of fire on the wall atop the gate, alright? Anything, a small fire, a candle, and I’ll be there, the people of Lake-Town will be making their way to Dale for shelter, and I’m going to help them” Ruth whispered, Bilbo hurrying after her when she sped past him towards the broken gate. “But you can’t-”

“Thorin is sick-”

“He would never actually hurt you-”

“No but I may hurt him!!” Ruth snapped, her voice echoing in the large, empty halls and Ruth sighed when she realized, lowering her voice instead of continuing to shout. “I know you have a deep care for him, Bilbo, deeper than just a friend-”

“I-I’m- No I’m not- no-”

“It’s alright Bilbo, I don’t care… but it won’t be long until he does something like that again and next time-... next time he may not even stop, or there may not be anyone there to stop him… if you need to get out, you know what to do, and if you can’t light a fire for some reason, just-... shout out ‘Dovahkiin’” she added, Bilbo swallowing thickly, nodding as he stood by the broken gate, a few steps and he’d be out of Erebor with her. Ruth smiled at him and kneeled down. “You’re brave, Master Baggins, you took on a dragon, wargs, orcs… you should be proud of yourself and who you have become, you’re a good man, Bilbo… don’t let this place corrupt you, your love for Thorin might be the only thing that can save him” Ruth muttered before patting his shoulder and leaving, just in time for Filí to see it and try to run after her, Bilbo stopping him. “Filí, no-”

“But-”

“No, she has to do this, Filí. Thorin is-... sick and he almost-” Bilbo cut himself off, reminding himself that Filí’s mother was Thorin’s sister, his tongue halting in his mouth. “She’s not abandoning us, she’s going to Dale to help the survivors” Bilbo added before looking at Ruth who saddled up on the demonic looking steed that belonged to her, it’s red eyes never truly familiar, black as night as it rode towards Dale and then further towards the burnt Lake-Town where the survivors were gathering themselves.

Ruth reached the wandering people in a matter of minutes, halting her horse in front of the line of people who all froze when they saw her horse. “Bard? Where’s Bard?” she called out, the people murmuring between themselves, whispering, and it wasn’t long until Bard reached the front of the line, unable to hide his shock at the sight of her. “Ruth?”

“Your son and your daughters-.. a-are they-”

“They’re alive and well.”

“Bless the Nine” Ruth murmured with relief before saddling off her horse, taking a few steps towards him as he eyed her with caution. “Has Thorin sent you?”

“No, no I left on my own. I know you’re seeking shelter in Dale, I want to help, genuinely” Ruth stated softly, Bard eyeing her before nodding, Ruth giving him a nod in return “what can I do? Shadowmere is the fastest steed in the world, anything you want brought to Dale in haste, I can take” Ruth admitted, Bard looking over his shoulder at his daughters, Ruth giving a brief nod “I can take them both… make sure they’re safe in Dale and then ride back here? Take some of the elderly so they don’t have to walk?” Ruth offered, Bard nodded, beckoning his daughters over and Ruth walked over to her horse. Tilda walked up to Ruth with worry, the red haired woman smiling softly at her “don’t worry, Shadowmere would never harm any of you” she promised before lifting the girl up on the front of her horse, in front of the saddle. She saddled up and then had Sigrid saddle up behind her, both of the girls glancing nervously at their father before holding on for dear life as Ruth rode away towards Dale with them.

As soon as they were off and safe, Ruth rode back, bringing back the elderly and the children and the wounded, those who would have trouble during the long march, and it wasn’t long until mostly all of them were settled, the rest having declined or simply didn’t need it. Ruth rode towards Bard, turning her horse to walk alongside him. “I can hunt, if you need food” Ruth stated softly, Bard nodding, Ruth about to ride off when she glanced back down at Bard “if you see a light, any light, a candle, fire, any light at all atop the gate of Erebor while I’m gone, tell me” she almost ordered before riding off to hunt.

----------------------------------------

Ruth returned later in the night, galloping through the streets with a sour look on her face, practically jumping off of Shadowmere, leaving the black horse in the show and ash covered streets as she hurried into the building Bard was currently in. “Bard?” she called out, the man soon appearing, the hope lighting up his features until he realized she was empty handed. “No food?...” his voice was quiet, Ruth shaking her head with a defeated look in her eyes, genuinely sorrowful for her lack of food to bring back. “I’ve looked everywhere that wouldn’t take me too far from here, Bard, there’s nothing to hunt… I can’t find any clean water to drink either, I’m so sorry-”

“It’s alright, Ruth…” Bard mumbled softly, patting her shoulder before walking past her, Ruth hesitating before turning around to face him with a sigh “wait!... There’s-... other things I can do” Ruth admitted, Bard frowning as he turned and walked back to her, confusion evident on his face, making Ruth sigh again “I can help the wounded… where are those with the most severe injuries? If I can care for them, you could use your people and the rest of your supplies on the other wounded” Ruth stated softly, Bard narrowing his eyes at her before nodding, leading her to another room with people who were moaning in pain, crying and whimpering as they were bleeding, burnt and cut, Ruth nodding before sighing. “Alright… you can-... if you don’t trust me, you can watch me do it… Sithis, you might need to watch it anyway” she murmured, looking around before walking over to a woman with a burnt leg, her clothes melted against her skin and Ruth grimaced at the sight as she examined the leg carefully. “This will hurt” Ruth warned, looking at the woman for permission, the woman in turn looking at Bard and when he nodded, Ruth placed her hands on the worst part of the woman’s leg. Soon a warm light began to flow from her hands, like the color of a candle being lit, a light chiming noise filling the air as the light moves like silk ropes through water, wrapping around the woman’s leg and Ruth’s hands and soon the woman’s cries died down, the chiming slowly fading as Ruth retracted her hands slowly, inspecting the now healed burns, frowning at the woman despite her smile “it’s healed, but you will have trouble for the rest of your life with it… but it’s healed and any pain you have should be gone within the hour… I’m sorry I-I can’t do more I-” Ruth was cut off as the woman flung herself at her, wrapping her arms around Ruth as she sobbed and thanked her, Ruth looking with pleading eyes at Bard who stared in shock, making Ruth awkwardly clear her throat, uncomfortable with the stranger’s arms around her. Bard finally realized and he kneeled down, gently prying the woman from Ruth “we should let her help the others, Bertil, go on and rest” he urged, the woman nodding before laying back down, Ruth quickly standing up, giving an awkward nod to Bard as a thanks before moving on to the next person.

-----------------------------------------

Ruth grimaced as she finally saw the elf king, about to quickly retreat when she heard an arrogant voice that belonged to someone who clearly thought themselves above all. “You” his voice called and Ruth halted, cheeks burning as she turned around, clearing her throat awkwardly “hi…” she gave an awkward wave before awkwardly walking closer “you were in my dungeons, if I remember correctly...”

“Yeah- I mean; ‘yes’, uh, you are correct… good locks on those! I mean I broke only Talos knows how many lockpicks a-and I’m a master at picking locks a-and-” she stopped as the elf king just stared at her, making her awkwardly glance at Bard. “Uh… I’ve never been good with royalty, Lord- I mean-... sir? O-Or…? Especially not the ones that intimidate me and you intimidate me and it’s not easy to intimidate me so I’ll just stop talking now and meet you at the foot of the mountain since I heard that Bard wanted to try and talk to them and I’ll just leave now” Ruth babbled before hurriedly taking her leave, the elven king watching her with narrowed eyes as Bard watched her with a frown as well. “What a peculiar young woman… though I see none of the fire in her that my son described…” he muttered, Bard frowning at the king, almost offended on Ruth’s behalf. “She helped kill Smaug, her arrows pierced his scales and they were not Black Arrows, her poison weakened him enough for me to kill the dragon, I’d say that’s fire enough” Bard stated briefly before leaving to meet the elven king at Erebor as well.

Ruth rode alongside Bard towards the mountain, a frown on her brows as they both stopped outside what was no longer a gate, but a wall, her eyes finding Filí’s and for a second she felt… cold. But she snapped out of it when Bard spoke up, “hail Thorin, son of Thrain. We are glad to find you alive beyond hope, I had nearly thought our mutual friend, Ruth, had been the only one to make it out alive” Bard announced, Ruth taking a deep breath when Thorin’s glare landed on her briefly, judging her, demeaning her with the silence. “Why do you come to the gates of the King under the Mountain armed for war and with a traitor at your sid-”

“‘Traitor’?! Why you son of a mudcrab and a wisp moth-”

“Ruth!” Bard warned, Ruth snapping her head towards him, Shadowmere reeling a little in step with Ruth’s anger, her grip on the reins turning her knuckles snow-white but she looked away and stayed silent as Bard and Thorin conversed, her own mind reeling, until Bard punched the stone wall, Ruth frowning at him as she watched him saddle back up, riding back to Dale without another word, leaving Ruth in between two choices, her eyes wide as she looked between them, unsure of what to do until she heard Filí’s voice. “Ruth, come on… you’re one of us-”

“SHE IS NOT WELCOME HERE! The traitor! A lowly cutthroat!”

“You threatened to throw me off a bridge while you were choking me!” Ruth snapped and yelled loudly, everyone atop the wall going quiet, most due to the confusion, all but those who had been in the throne room when it happened. “What are you ta-”

“Ask Balin, or Dwalin, or Bilbo, if you want answers, Filí… I’m done being used by the mouse hiding in his mountain-”

“Ruth, please” Bilbo’s voice made her hesitate, her jaw clenched and she glanced at Thorin, almost asking Bilbo, ‘what about him?’. Bilbo glanced at the king before giving Ruth a pleading look, making her sigh and shake her head as she looked down briefly. “Should any of you call for me, I’ll be there in a heartbeat, I’ll gladly defend all of you until my death, but I won’t sleep under the same roof as a man who has gone mad and no longer knows himself, if only because it pains me to see a friend so off course” Ruth stated softly yet in a loud voice, turning to look at Filí with sad eyes “I’m not one to turn my back on those who care for me, but I cannot do this” Ruth stated softly, Filí giving a brief and stiff nod, making Ruth nod in return before turning Shadowmere around, galloping after Bard and into the city of Dale.

--------------------------------------------

“The sword should be a part of you, your grip won’t be too hard, or too light. It’s your arm now, and you must treat it as such. Show me how you grip your swords” Ruth ordered, the line of men and young boys holding out their swords, Ruth walking closer as she inspected them, adjusting their grips one by one until she was satisfied and walked back to her previous spot, where they could all see her. “You there, what’s your name?” Ruth called, a young boy stepping forward, gulping nervously “A-Ash…”

“Ash, how old are you?”

“I’ve seen seventeen winters, ma’am-”

“Seventeen?...” Ruth asked with a frown before sighing, gently shaking her head, knowing this was the best these people had. “You are young, you have more strength than you realize. Attack me.”

“W-What?”

“Attack me” Ruth stated again, the boy nervously looking around before charging at her sloppily, swinging his sword as though it was a hammer and Ruth swiftly dodged him. “It’s not a hammer, Ash. Remember, it’s a part of your arm, an extension. Now, stand side face-”

“What?”

“Sideways. You’ll be a smaller target. You’re young and skinny, which is good, makes you even harder to hit. Now, lift your sword- no not that much- yes, there. How is the weight?”

“It’s alright…”

“Don’t lie to me.”

“I-It’s quite heavy…”

“It’s as heavy as it needs to be, Ash” Ruth turned to look at the rest of the men she was supposed to train, all of them lined up and watching carefully, even some of the women were watching on the sidelines, making Ruth smirk. “Women! All who will fight for your homes, families, your children and mothers and sisters and brothers, step forward! Pick up a sword, let’s show the men how to fight, shall we?” Ruth teased loudly, practically all of the women picking up a weapon and walking to stand in a line behind Ruth as she gestured. “All of you, watch. Ash, try and attack me again” Ruth demanded and the boy did as told, attacking and Ruth easily evaded him, teaching both the women and men, making sure that her voice was loud and clear as she spoke, so no one could misunderstand her words. Bard watched from the sidelines, leaning against a pillar, arms crossed over his chest as he watched, smirking ever so slightly as he watched her. She was good, the sword she held moved like water, smooth and agile despite it’s cumbersome exterior.

“Much better, Ash. Now, I go right, and you go left, understood?” Ruth asked, the boy nodding and swinging to the left, Ruth jumping aside, unlike what she had said, and instead pointed her sword at Ash’s throat, looking around at the people watching her who wanted to learn. “Never, EVER, let the enemy lead you. Or you’ll end up like poor Ash here, waiting to be buried” a few people chuckled at her words, Ruth smirking at Ash, patting his shoulder as she removed her sword. “You have a good form, Ash. Your footwork needs to be better but you have talent. Now this is a bastard sword, do you know what that means?” Ruth asked as she handed him another sword, the boy shaking his head shyly, making Ruth give him a comforting smile “it means it can be used as a longsword and a regular sword, you can use both hands or one hand or swift in between the two” Ruth explained, letting the boy take the sword and feel the weight in his hands. “Now, attack me again, this time remember, you can use both hands or only one” Ruth reminded the boy, the young boy nodding and attacking as she had showed him earlier, Ruth dodging and teaching the rest while Bard had a tiny smile on his lips. “I haven’t seen you smile like that since ma” a soft voice spoke, Bard turning to look at Sigrid, his cheeks turning more red but he still looked back at Ruth as she trained the others and taught them how to wield weapons.

“I don’t know what you mean-”

“She’s pretty-”

“Sigrid-”

“I know you love ma, but she’d want you to move on, da… talk to her” Sigrid encouraged before moving along, Bard looking down in thought before looking up at Ruth, seeing her smile and playfully nudge Ash as she ordered everyone to slowly try and begin to fight each other, walking in between the pairs to study them and correct them, a faint smile on Bard’s lips as he watched.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Tags:

@starwarsloverpizza

#Unexpected Company #A Chance Encounter #Skyrim #Elder Scrolls: V #The Hobbit #LOTR #Skyrim fic #The Hobbit fic #Company of Oakenshield x Ruth Telvanni

3 notes · View notes

fandomficsnstuff · 2 years

Text

Unexpected Company - 11

(Warnings: Angst, fighting, blood, more angst)

Notes: This is platonic only! It is a prequel to A Chance Encounter but can be read alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Lure him to the forges, we kill the dragon… and if this will end in fire, we will all burn together”

“We may not have to…”

“What are you saying, Master Baggins?”

“We need Ruth, who better to kill a dragon than a dragon?”

��And how do you propose we summon her in these vast halls without burning alive or being eaten by Smaug?”

“We’ll call for her, she’ll come…”

--------------------------------------------------------

Ruth was panting for breath as she hid behind a wall, sweating, legs aching from running so much after each arrow she had fired, she winced briefly at the pain in her side and as much as she battled against it, she needed a break, just a small one, a brief one, just a few seconds and-

Her train of thought was broken as she weakly heard a voice, her ears straining, making her hear it more clearly, Bilbo’s voice and something about forges. Ruth nodded to herself, took another deep breath and then she picked up the pace once more, this time moving as far down as possible without diving through a vast sea of gold.

--------------------------------

“Do you think she heard us?” Thorin asked as he panted for breath, Bilbo nodding, swallowing to wetten his dry throat before looking at Thorin. “She hears… like a wolf… she heard me. We just have to keep leading her” Bilbo panted out, Thorin nodding before running once more, Bilbo groaning quietly but he quickly caught up with Thorin, occasionally shouting as loud as he could in the hallways, his voice echoing off the stone and gold, knowing it’d draw both dragons to their location, but at least Ruth could fend him off.

------------------------------

“Thorin!!”

Ruth jumped from the ledge, landing next to Dwalin, taking his ax and swinging it at the counterweight, hitting it once more and watching it fall down, giving the ax back to Dwalin as Ruth stumbled back a little, holding her side as she winced, retracting her hand and finding some blood on it, just in time for Thorin get back up on the ledge, Ruth quickly following after him and Nori, Dwalin right behind her, his eyes landing on a large cut on her left side, almost by her hips, the fabric she wore being cut in two and he saw the start of a small burn. She almost stumbled as she reached the large forges with Thorin and Nori, her knees giving out and she fell to the stone floor, Dwalin, Bilbo and Balin quickly rushing to her, about to help her up when Ruth held up a hand to stop them, picking herself up with all her remaining strength, using Dwalin to steady herself before standing on her own, nodding to them. “The plan’s not gonna work. These forges are stone cold” Dwalin pointed out, Thorin looking at an exhausted Ruth, silently asking her for help but she shook her head “my throat is raw and sore, Thorin…” she rasped, Thorin closing his eyes briefly in regret, Balin walking over to him. “I’m afraid even Ruth’s fire would not be enough, Dwalin is right. We’ve no fire hot enough to set them ablaze” he pointed out, Thorin smirking at the idea “have we not?” he murmured before turning to where Smaug was, the deep mine below, and Ruth instantly grabbed Bilbo and sloppily dragged him behind one of the pillars as Thorin taunted Smaug, Bilbo frowning at her “what are you doing??”

“I told you… we’re not fireproof” Ruth muttered with a small smirk, covering Bilbo with her body, shielding him just as Smaug’s fire burned, the warmth of it alone was capable of burning a person alive. The second the fire died out, Ruth once again dragged Bilbo out of hiding and practically shoved him as far away from the angered Smaug as possible as Thorin shouted out commands to his people before turning to Ruth who was staring at Smaug as he tried to break through. “I saw the arrows, I saw his blood run down his scales… how?”

“The dragons of this world are nothing like the dragons from mine, so I thought, only a dragon could wound a dragon in this world” she murmured, Thorin smirking and patting her shoulder “you are brilliant, Ruth!” he stated with glee, Ruth forcing a smirk despite how tired she was “and don’t I know it? Now come on! All we have to do is keep him at bay long enough” Ruth hurriedly moved away with Thorin, the Dwarf king frowning at her, making her smirk at him “every arrow was poisoned with the most deadly poison I have, it’ll affect his heart and blood, it’ll slow him down” Ruth admitted, Thorin smirking at her. “Go with Balin” he ordered and Ruth nodded, running into the room where she found Balin pouring different kinds of powder together. “What can I do to help?”

“Sit down, lass-”

“What? No, Dwalin!”

“Yer need yer strength! Yer the only one able to even wound Smaug” he pointed out, Ruth sighed heavily before nodding, walking over in the corner and sitting down, leaning back against the wall. “Promise me, you won’t leave me here if I fall asleep, don’t continue the fight without me” Ruth stated harshly, Balin nodding, taking a brief second to glance at her and nod “I promise-”

“Swear to me on something that matters to you” Ruth stated softly, Balin nodding “I swear on the Arkenstone and on my King, Thorin Oakenshield” he stated, Ruth nodding, leaning her head back as she closed her eyes. Ruth’s eyes snapped open at the sounds of yelling and shouts, finding Balin and Oin throwing some kinds of explosives at Smaug, ropes around his neck as Bombur and Bifur was in some of them, landing harshly on the ground and Ruth sprung up, Balin about to stop her when she ran into another room, Dwalin following, finding her almost undressed “what’re ya doin’ lass?!” Ruth didn’t even stop undressing at his voice, merely glancing over her shoulder at him before continuing. “You’ll see, now leave me to undress!” she snapped, Dwalin hurrying out of the hallway, ignoring the sounds of bones breaking repeatedly and groaning, like someone was in pain but was trying to muffle themselves, heavy pants of breath mixed with brief cries leaving their lips. Dwalin and Balin reluctantly left the hallway Ruth had gone into, hurrying to the Hall of Kings as Thorin had ordered.

As the stone crumbled under Bilbo’s feet, he felt it give out under him, being thrown to the side amongst the broken pieces of the pillar and platform, his body almost hitting the ground yet at just the last second, something warm and hard wrapped around him, rolling around with him before letting go of him, Bilbo stumbling onto his feet, stumbling back as he stared into the eyes, the golden eyes he’d glimpsed in Ruth’s eyes. Bilbo’s own eyes went wide as he stared at the creature as it raised to it’s full height. Bilbo was taken back to Beorn’s house, the massive creature that had saved them from Beorn’s beast form, crashing into it and wrestling it while they got to safety. Yet he had never seen it up close, never seen it’s towering form looking down at him, the massive hands, long claws and large feet. He flinched as it reached for him, feeling it’s large hand wrap around him as it began to run on three of it’s limbs, the fourth one holding him close against the thick hide and fur of it’s chest. Bilbo let out a yell of surprise as the creature suddenly jumped, it’s body landing on stone, sliding down it while it’s free, clawed hand dug slightly into the stone above them to make sure they weren’t going too fast, Bilbo clinging to the creature, eyes wide as he looked over it’s shoulder, seeing Smaug.

The creature was panting as they reached through the doorway, Smaug breaking through above and the creature began to run as fast as it could to get away, giving up halfway there and letting go of Bilbo, dropping him so he landed on his stomach and was covered by the large tapestry, his eyes quickly moving to the creature, finding it hunched over and crouched down, like a wolf hiding in the tall grass as it crept up on it’s prey. He had no idea what possessed him to do so, but he gently reached out for the creature “Ruth?” His voice was a quiet whisper but the creature’s golden eyes moved to look at him without it actually moving it’s head. ‘You think that you can deceive me, Barrel-Rider?!... You have come from Lake-Town… This is some sort of scheme hatched between these filthy Dwarves and those miserable tub-trading Lakemen! Those sniveling cowards with their long bows and Black Arrows! Perhaps it is time that I paid them a visit!’ Before the creature could even react, Bilbo had come out of hiding, hurrying towards Smaug. “This isn’t their fault! Wait! You cannot go to Lake-Town!” Bilbo shouted, the creature standing to it’s full height before running over, moving in front of Bilbo, letting out a horrifying roar as Smaug moved closer ‘you care about them, do you? Good, then you can watch them die!’ Ruth let out another roar at the dragon’s words, growling and chasing after the large dragon for a few steps before stopping when it heard Thorin’s voice, calling Smaug over, taunting and mocking the creature. Without Thorin or Bilbo noticing, the creature slipped into the shadows, almost stumbling like it had been wounded.

It was first when Bilbo ran back inside the mountain that he noticed the creature’s absence, panic flooding him as he began to look round the massive halls in the Hall of Kings, Thorin joining him once he saw the panic on Bilbo’s face. “What is it?”

“Where’s Ruth??” he asked, Thorin looking around, running down one of the halls while Bilbo took the other, searching behind each pillar until he came across her. Red hair sticking to her forehead as she was leaned against the wall in the corner, eyes close, knees tuck lazily up to her chest. “Master Baggins! Over here!” Thorin’s voice echoed and Bilbo hurried over, eyes wide when he saw the still Ruth, her red hair messy and dirty, her entire body rid of clothes with sweat running down her body. “Ruth? Ruth??” Thorin leaned towards her and gently shook her shoulder, seeing her wince and groan in pain, making him quickly draw his hand back. “Bilbo, cut a cape from the tapestry” he ordered and gave Bilbo one of his knives, the Hobbit doing as told while Thorin stayed with Ruth, her eyes barely open yet it was clear that she tried to stay awake. “Smaug?..” her voice was weak, Thorin hesitating before looking down, about to answer when Bilbo returned with the cloth and Thorin’s dagger, Thorin helping Ruth to get the cloak over her, just in time for the others to arrive.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Ruth was sitting with Balin and Dwalin as they treated her wound, her eyes lighting up at the sight of the rest of the company having arrived, finally. “Balin!” Bofur’s voice rang out, Ruth standing up and turning to face them. “Ruth!” Filí was next hurrying over to her, like he wanted to hug her yet he stopped himself at the last second. “You’re still alive” he noted, Ruth chuckled briefly and rolled her eyes “you didn’t think a little dragon could kill me, did you?” she teased, hugging him despite his hesitation, unaware of the blissful look on Filí’s face when he felt her wrap her arms around him.

It wasn’t long before everyone was put to work, again, to find the Arkenstone, both Balin and Dwalin having to argue heavily with Thorin to make sure Ruth had time to rest, despite her protests saying that she was capable. Her eyes locked onto Thorin as he ordered everyone around without actually participating, eventually having enough of it, turning around and walking off, right past Bilbo. She walked to the top of the main entrance, slowly walking by all the debris and ruin, a sad look in her eyes, eventually sitting down with a small groan, covering her face in her hands, her elbows on her knees as she took a deep breath, unaware of the footsteps nearing her, only realizing them when he was standing in the doorway. Ruth looked up to look at Bilbo, finding him awkwardly walking towards her “are you alright?”

“Just… I’m fine… are you? You don’t look alright” Ruth noted with a frown, gesturing with her head to the rock across from her, Bilbo hesitantly sitting down on it. “You can talk to me, you know… or we can just sit here and brood together, it’s up to you” she added, Bilbo doing that weird nose thing as he looked off to the side, as if reliving through a memory of his before looking around, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a stone Ruth easily recognized. Both Bilbo and Ruth just sat there as Bilbo examined it, Ruth eventually reaching her hand out, Bilbo hesitantly giving her the stone, watching as Ruth leaned back and studied the rock. “You’ve-... you’ve stolen things before, right?”

“Yes…”

“Gems too?”

“Too many to count.”

“So… h-have you ever seen a gem like that?” Bilbo asked, Ruth frowning as she looked it over before sighing, leaning her arms on her knees as she turned the rock in her hands before shaking her head. “This isn’t a gem… it’s-... like the Eye of Magnus… powerful with magic we’ve yet to understand, out of our control despite our best attempt at taming it… And with how Thorin has been acting? It’s like a Hagraven has put some kind of spell on it… it feels… cold. Not cold like a rock but… I feel a coldness in me when I hold it, like it’s beauty is merely a scam, a front for what is truly hiding underneath…” Ruth trailed off, Bilbo nervously leaning a bit forward “such as?”

“Madness. Thorin can never get his hands on this, do you understand?” Ruth asked sternly, handing the stone back to Bilbo who nodded and placed it back into his pocket, Ruth giving him a sympathetic look. “I know you have a deep care for him, Bilbo… and I’m not saying that man is gone, all I’m saying is that he’s buried deep within that sea of gold, and it appears nothing can save him… be his lighthouse and beacon, a love like yours is much stronger than any magic” Ruth stated softly before getting up and leaving before Bilbo could say anything.

---------------------------------------------------------

Ruth was looking out over the ledge on the broken gate, shuffling footsteps approaching her yet she recognized the smell, a small smile forming on her lips as Filí stood next to her, glancing nervously at her before looking out over the still burning Lake-Town. “How many died?” Ruth asked softly, Filí gently shaking his head as he leaned on the stone on his arms, Ruth sighing at his silence. “Is he dead? Is Smaug dead?”

“Yes… Bard shot a Black Arrow at him, the legends were true about the scales, Bard’s arrow pierced Smaug’s chest and-... for a brief while I thought it worked… Smaug flew up in the sky but then he-... dived back down, about to rain fire down on us but it was as though he just-... died…” Filí admitted, Ruth sighing, running a hand over her face “my poison worked…” she murmured, gently shaking her head “it just worked too late” she added, Filí frowning at her “you-... how could you have poisoned the dragon?”

“My arrows were dipped in the deadliest potion I’ve ever made during my years of servitude to Sithis and my Brotherhood, I-... didn’t expect him to be so large but each of my arrows were dipped in the poison-”

“Your arrows pierced him?!”

“They’re made from dragonbone, Master Dwarf” Ruth stated with a smirk, glancing at him before looking back out over the burning lake “I should take my leave-”

“What??”

“I’ve done my part, Filí-”

“But we need you!” Filí’s pleading words made Ruth turn to face him, sighing as she nodded towards the halls of Erebor “I won’t stand by while Thorin falls further into his sickness. He’s sick, Filí, he’s no longer a man bound by honor and friendship, he’s greedy and arrogant…” Ruth muttered before gently shaking her head, turning to leave when Filí grasped her hand, Ruth frowning at him with confusion. The two of them stared at each other for a few seconds, Ruth frowning with confusion and concern at Filí pleading gaze. “Amrâlimê…”

Ruth frowned at the word, taking a few steps towards Filí, her hand still in his as the dwarf looked up at her with pleading and begging eyes. “I-... don’t know what that means…” Ruth admitted softly, Filí looking almost sad and defeated, yet he didn’t let go of her hand. “Don’t leave… please” he whispered softly, Ruth’s eyes widening when she realized what it had meant. “You-...” Ruth trailed off, Filí stepping back with defeat at her shocked expression, letting go of her hand, about to turn around and leave when Ruth gently took his hand in hers, just as he had done with her. “I won’t go… I’m not as foolish as to turn away from someone who cares about me… no matter how deeply” Ruth muttered softly, giving a shocked Filí a small smile, leaning down and gently kissing his cheek, hearing his breath halt, his eyes wide and heart thumping in his chest as he felt her lips against his cheek. Even as Ruth leaned away, gently placing her hand on his shoulder as she walked off, he was still in shock, Filí gently cupped his cheek where her lips had been.

---------------------------------------

Tags:

@starwarsloverpizza

#Unexpected Company #A Chance Encounter #Skyrim #Elder Scrolls: V #The Hobbit #LOTR #The Hobbit fic #Skyrim fic #Company of Oakenshield x Ruth Telvanni

4 notes · View notes

fandomficsnstuff · 2 years

Text

Unexpected Company - 10

(Warnings: Angst, blood, fighting, anger)

Notes: This is platonic only! It is a prequel to A Chance Encounter but can be read alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ruth was quiet as she walked towards the tip of the mountain, debating if she should actually try and make her way inside, fulfill her contract despite what she said last night, the memory making her clench her jaw in anger, mostly aimed at herself for leaving the way she did, saying the things she did… As her thoughts continued to run free Ruth grew more and more angry with herself, her pace increasing until she ended up on a cliff overlooking the mountain. It was tall, her mind trying to wrap itself around the fact that it was bigger than the Red Mountain, taller than the Throat of the World. Ruth looked over her shoulder at the town on the lake, hoping to see a boat follow the same path as hers but she was too far away. She began to gather some stones, finding whatever scrap branches and dry leaves she could, throwing it into the circle of stones she had made and kneeled down, holding her hand out over it and after a few seconds, smoke began to rise, Ruth leaning back as she sat back down, the morning sun bathing her in it’s orange glow and she closed her eyes, silently hoping they’d see the smoke and at least investigate, shame coursing through her and she couldn’t even hold her head up a little bit high.

It was at least two hours before Ruth heard it, the clanging of metal and armor, hanging over someone, and that someone was climbing up a hill towards the small fire. Ruth sighed softly and lowered her head almost in shame as she heard the footsteps come closer, closer, closer, then stop. “Ruth?” Bilbo’s voice made her look up and she smiled at him with a sad smile “hello Mr. Baggins” she stated softly, standing up and kicking some dirt and sand over the tiny fire, snuffing it out as Bilbo moved over and hugged her tightly, much to her surprise. “We thought you’d left!” he exclaimed with joy, Ruth grimacing as she put on an awkward smile “sorry to disappoint” she mumbled half-jokingly, Bilbo turning around with a large grin to look at the others, his grin fading when he saw that he was just about the only one happy. Ruth walked towards Thorin, sighing softly before shrugging “I’m sorry, for leaving, for what I said, I have never, ever broken a contract or-... a-and I-I know it’s not about me but I feel ashamed, as I should be… it’s no excuse but, my explanation is that-.. he-..”

“It’s alright lass, we figured” Dwalin stated softly, Ruth looking at him, nodding with a sad smile before looking back at Thorin “if I may, I’d like to join your company once more. No contract, no signatures needed… I’d like to join as a friend…” Ruth dared, everyone holding their breaths but Thorin smiled gently “it would be an honor to have you” he stated and Ruth let out a brief breath of relief, Balin being the first one to walk up with a grin and pat her on the back, the others following as they walked past her and Ruth soon followed into step with Bilbo, smiling at him “you look adorable, very fierce indeed” she stated softly, Bilbo looking down nervously “I-... I thought-”

“I’m kidding, Bilbo. You truly do look very handsome, and I’m not making that up, and I think Thorin is of the same opinion. It’s a good thing too, wouldn’t want something to hurt our burglar” Ruth spoke softly with a small pat to Bilbo’s shoulder, seeing him blush as he nodded and cleared his throat as he looked around “or our assassin.”

“Don’t think I am anymore, at least not right now… right now I’m just someone who wants to make sure her friends have their home back” Ruth stated softly, smiling down at Bilbo who gave her a sweet smile in return.

After walking for a long while, Bilbo, and the others, had shed their newly acquired armor, Ruth walking in silence and when she saw the city of Dale, her throat closed up with worry, her movements halted and she stared at the ruined city. “What is this?” Bilbo’s question made her eyebrows knit together with worry, her ears blocking out the others talking, listening for any kind of sound other than her companions, her heart dropping when she came up with nothing but silence “Dovah Yol Ahrk Sos, Nid Fen Filok Dinok…” Ruth mumbled with a frown “melts the hardest of metals… even stone” Ruth added with worry before looking over her shoulder at Thorin. “How big is the dragon, Thorin?”

“I thought you were the expert?”

“To be an expert I need details” Ruth rationalized, Thorin nodding before walking over so the entrance to Erebor could be seen, his finger gesturing to the crashed entrance, Ruth nodding ever so slightly “okay…” she murmured, following the others as they made their way towards Erebor, her nostrils picking up scents they were unaware of. Smoke, burning wood… burning flesh… and dragon. By the Nine, she could smell it, the raw power, the almost fiery soul that hung in the air even years after it had conquered both the City of Dale and Erebor.

Ruth seemed to climb up without struggle, Bilbo frowning at her as he panted for air. “Are you not tired?”

“Are you?” she teased, Bilbo scoffing and continued to climb, groaning ever so slightly as he heaved for breath, eventually Ruth stuck a hand down to him and after a few seconds he took it, expecting a quick tug to get him further up but instead she nearly carried him, practically pulling him over her shoulders like a cloak and when he held on, she continued to climb. He could feel that this actually made it more difficult for her but it was nowhere near the strain he had been under before. As they reached the shaft of the ax, Bilbo jumped down, awkwardly clearing his throat as he nodded “thank you” he stated curtly, Ruth chuckling “at your service” she stated with a smirk and bowed her head, as she had done in Rivendell, Bilbo ever so slightly smirking at her as he watched her continue onward, quickly catching up with her.

Ruth smiled as they reached the ledge where the hidden door was meant to be, her eyes glancing over the edge and all the way down, grimacing “well… could be worse” she mumbled, Bilbo frowning and looking over the ledge with her “how could that possibly be worse? The fall will kill us if we slip” he pointed out, Ruth shrugging casually “don’t slip” she offered, Dwalin, Bombur, Bifur and Gloin each either smirked in amusement or gave a tiny chuckle. Ruth watched with worry as her company desperately tried to find some way inside, her arms crossed over her chest, hands nervously clutching her arms as she watched with a frown, looking behind with worry, watching the sun set, heart thumping in her chest as she bit on her lower lip, glancing at Bilbo who seemed equally worried. “Ruth? Ruth, come here!” the red-haired woman sprung forward at her name, approaching Thorin who pointed at the stone “what can you do? Can you do something?”

“No, I’m so sorry Thorin but-... i-it’s not a normal mountain, there’s deep magic here, I can feel it. You won’t break through by force” Ruth tried to plea with worry, Thorin gently shaking his head as he looked back at the others trying to break through the mountain wall with their weapons, Ruth stepping back with equal amounts of sadness and worry, one of her hands clutching her necklace tightly, her knuckles turning white in the tight grip. As the sun finally set, Ruth closed her eyes in regret, sighing softly and looking down, stepping away from the others, looking at the ground in thought, trying to think of something. Anything. Anything that could open the door, split open the rocks, make the keyhole reveal itself, her mind so hard at work that she hadn’t heard the others begin to leave. Ruth continued to stare at the ground until she saw something, a sliver of moonlight barely lighting up her boots, her eyes growing wide as she turned around to face the others, shocked to find only Bilbo. “Where are they?”

“Whe- they left, Ruth” Bilbo explained, Ruth shaking her head “no, no no no make them come back! We haven’t lost the light, Bilbo!”

“What are you talking about-”

“Moonlight! Moonlight is still light and we have until midnight to open the door!!” Ruth revealed, Bilbo’s eyes growing wide “did Thorin take the key with him?”

“No, no he dropped it-”

“Find it! I’ll find the keyhole, it has to be visible now” Ruth exclaimed with joy, rushing past him to the rock face, carefully looking around, looking at each and every hole and nook and cranny that it could be in. Her fingertips ran alongside the rock, over the moss that grew there, all the way to the ground, she even searched along the rocks under her feet, desperate to find the key hole. Just as she was about to get up again, she saw some boots she recognized, looking up at Thorin who gave her a soft smile, stretching out his hand and she gladly took it, allowing him to help her stand up, her eyes gleaming with joy as she watched him place the key where it was meant to be placed all along. Ruth watched with halted breath as Thorin turned the key, his hands placed on the rock wall and she let out a breath of relief when it opened. Her smile faded once the others began to walk inside, a smell she recognized pouring out of the now open corridor, burnt flesh, rotting bones, burning smoke, the metallic scent of coins upon coins upon coins. And fire. By the Gods, the fire. She could practically feel it burning her skin, crawling it’s way up, eating and consuming more and more of her the longer it was allowed to burn. “Ruth? Are you alright?” Ruth snapped out of her daze and looked at Bilbo, forcing a smile as she nodded and slowly made her way inside. “Yes, sorry, just-... you know, hyper sense of smell” she murmured, Bilbo frowning confused at her “well, what do you smell then?”

“Ancient smoke that has long since died out. And metal, like coins, and… rotting bones and burnt flesh, along with fire and-... possibly… dragon” Ruth admitted with a forced, calm facade, Bilbo blinking before frowning, looking away from her in thought. “But don’t worry, you have the deadliest person with you in the entire world- or well, two worlds” Ruth stated softly before turning to look at Balin “prep him” she almost ordered before leaving, both Bilbo and Balin confused “what does that mean?”

“No idea-”

“Tell him what he needs to get!” Ruth called out, both Balin and Bilbo flinching “keep your voice down!” Bilbo hissed at her, even though he knew she was probably too far away to hear him, unless he yelled of course. Ruth slowly walked down the hallways, her footsteps soundless and before she walked out into the open, she kneeled down. It wasn’t long until Bilbo caught up with her, frowning as he watched her take out several of her arrows and dip them into a round vial, just the tip. “What are you doing?” he whispered, Ruth glancing up at him before looking back down, as though the procedure required all of her attention to be done correctly. “Poison-”

“Poison?!”

“Keep your voice down! And yes, poison, might as well give ourselves a boost if there really is a dragon here” Ruth whispered harshly before gently dipping the last of the arrows she had pulled out into the vial, putting a cork back in it, making sure it was tight, and then she placed it in her satchel. “So, what’s the poison made of? Will it be enough?”

“Well, it’s made from Nightshade, Deathbell and a human heart so, I’d hope so, it’s fast acting and long lasting, it’ll take hours for the poison’s effects to wear off and with the damage it’ll do to both the organs and blood vessels then I’m quite confident it’ll kill the dragon… sooner or later” she added quietly, Bilbo’s eyes nearly falling out of his head. “‘Sooner or later’?-”

“Let’s just get the damn thing you’re here for” Ruth mumbled, staying crouched down for a few seconds longer before finally standing up. She walked alongside him, bow ready with an arrow nocked and if he didn’t know any better, he’d think it was an ordinary arrow, of course a very strange arrow because it was made of bone, but still an arrow, not a single drop of poison on it, and yet he knew better. As Bilbo actually knocked on the stone, like it was an open door, Ruth rolled her eyes, raising a single brow at him before walking further out onto the platform, her jaw dropping at the sight of all the gold that littered the halls like mountains and rocky hills. “Nocturnal bless me…” she muttered quietly, her eyes wide as she stared at it, barely able to force her eyes away to look at Bilbo “uh… you-... you know what that stone looks like, right?”

“Not exactly, Balin said it’s white and bright… and that there’s no mistaking it…”

“‘White and bright’, by Talos… okay, we’ll-… split up” Ruth decided, jumping down onto the piles of gold before Bilbo could protest, his eyes nervously watching her as she quietly moved over the gold, her feet barely making a sound as she wandered off over the golden fields of wealth. Ruth peeked around each corner as she searched, picking up different jewels and gems, only to put them back down again with a frown. She had seen thousands of jewels before, many of them being unique, but none stood out, none was the unmistakable bright stone that the dwarves searched for and longed after. It was as though hours passed before she heard a sound in the distant halls, the directions she left Bilbo in. Rattling of coins rolling against each other, golden goblets clashing against golden plates and expensive jewelry rolling over bright gems, her ears straining for any other sound and it was then she heard it, something moving along the coins and gold. Ruth immediately began to move back towards Bilbo, moving as fast as she could without making too much noise, the sound of a booming, dark voice filling the halls as it collided with the coins that fell from a height after being lifted up by something. Ruth spotted the scales of the dragon, her eyes wide at the size and her breath halted. Bilbo was nowhere to be seen, something that both made her sigh in relief and crumble with worry.

Ruth’s eyes widening in shock at the sheer size of the dragon, even it’s head was almost the size of Alduin himself, her throat went dry as she stared in horror, her eyes scanning the place, looking for Bilbo. As the dragon lifted it’s head, Ruth quickly hid behind a pillar, peeking out to look for Bilbo, her heart beating rapidly against her chest as she looked around for Bilbo, her worry for the small Hobbit overtaking her own self-preservation. Ruth used the sound of the coins rattling to hurry closer, hiding behind another pillar, her eyes widening even more at the sight of the entire head, not just what was buried under the wealth it slept with, her heart nearly stopping and she internally gave a brief prayer to Akatosh. The halls echoed with it’s booming voice, Ruth desperately trying to look around for Bilbo, her movements almost frantic as she moved from hiding spot to hiding spot, coming closer and closer to the dragon, unwilling to attack until she knew Bilbo was safe. As coins rattled, both Ruth and Smaug looked in the direction, Smaug almost slithering through the sea of wealth as Ruth tried to keep up, her arrow nocked and ready to be fired the second Bilbo was out of the way, the second this massive creature couldn’t harm a person she’d begun to care so deeply for. Ruth was almost sweating as she hid behind a pillar, listening to the booming voice of the dragon, clinging to each word and her heart nearly gave out when she heard it say ‘there you are’. She listened to each of Bilbo’s words, silently making her way higher up to get a better view, eventually kneeling down on a platform after making her way up it’s stairs. Ruth frowned as she tried to look over the beast, barely able to hear Bilbo over the sound of her own heart rapidly beating in her chest.

Ruth flincheed and drew back her arrow as the dragon began to move, her eyes widening as she saw Bilbo look around, spotting her on the ledge and shaking his head violently while Smaug didn’t look at him, Ruth reluctantly lowering the arrow with confusion. “What in the name of Talos are you doing?” she whispered quietly, mostly to herself watching intently as Bilbo faced Smaug as the dragon almost displayed itself, it’s vanity like a crazed river, flowing out in fast pace and shaking everything it hit, crushing it or forcing it with the current that’d without a doubt crush whatever it had dragged up. ‘You seem familiar with my name, but I don’t remember smelling your kind before… nor do I understand why the scent of a wolf and dragon clings to you… who are you and where do you come from, may I ask?’ The way the voice echoed around the halls on it’s own sent a small shiver down Ruth’s spine, her hands unsteady for a moment before she managed to calm herself by taking a deep breath. Her fingers ached to pull the string back and let the arrow fly at the dragon, she was a good shot, she’d be able to hit it in it’s eye, or it’s mouth when it opened it to talk, she could do it. And yet she didn’t, trusting Bilbo and his utter stupidity.

Ruth’s balance was thrown off by a crumbling pillar that shook the mountain, her eyes wide as she tried to steady herself, holding her bow and arrow in one hand while trying to use the other one to balance herself, her feet somehow managing to carry her away from the falling pillar and onto another ledge, leading her to an already fallen pillar, sliding down it and into a pile of gold which wasn’t as soft as it looked, Ruth grimacing as she landed on the piles of hard metal, wincing as she pulled herself up yet she had no time to rest, quickly standing up and hiding behind a pillar just as the dragon almost flew past her, down the vast halls of Erebor. Ruth hurried under some stairs, finding Bilbo hiding there as well and she silently moved over, nearly scaring the hide off of the Hobbit when she placed her hand on his shoulder, Ruth placing a finger over her lips when he looked at her. Ruth felt her lips curl up in anger at Smaug’s words aimed at Thorin, her fingers lightly drawing the string back but Bilbo placed a hand on her arm, shaking his head, Ruth reluctantly lowering it once more. “Stay here” he whispered, Ruth about to stop him when he ran forward towards a glowing gem, Ruth’s eyes widening in realization. Balin was right, there was no mistaking it once you saw it, the jewel as bright as Magnus on a cloudless day, it was breathtaking but Ruth wasn’t given even a second to admire it, the entire mountain rumbling and shaking as Bilbo went flying through the air, Ruth about to follow when a large figure blocked her path, running in front of her, slithering like a giant snake, it seemed to go on for ages and Ruth felt a sense of dread when she realized, it was just the tail, just the tip of the tail on this massive beast.

Ruth urgently kneeled down, taking out the vial with poison and practically bathing the tip of her arrow in it, coating it with another layer of poison before packing her things away and following Bilbo and Smaug down the hill of gold. ‘I am almost tempted to let you take it… if only to see Oakenshield suffer. Watch it destroy him… watch it corrupt his heart and drive him mad… but I think not. I think our little game ends here… so tell me, thief, how do you choose to die?’ the second the jaws of the dragon snapped together, Ruth sprung forward, almost revealing herself until she noticed the confusion on the dragon’s face, no body hanging from his teeth so somehow, Bilbo had avoided them, but he would have no time to move, fire engulfing where he had been standing and Ruth sprung forward with tears in her eyes. “NO!!” her scream echoed in the halls and Smaug whipped his head around to see Ruth staring at the scorched floor, eyes wide as her entire body shook with anger and regret, wishing she had taken the shot before, firing the arrow that was still nocked on her bow-string. Slowly she turned to look at the large dragon, tears clouding her vision but not enough to obscure her sight as she stared at the dragon. ‘You…’ Smaug’s tone was almost amused, as though he had a feeling another presence had been inside his mountain and was glad to be right. ‘What are you… another thief that Oakenshield sacrificed for his stone?’

“No…”

‘Then who are yo-’

“I’m the woman who’s going to kill you” before Smaug could process her words, an arrow pierced the dragon’s eyes, Smaug raising his head as he let out a roar of pain, flames spewing from his mouth as he recoiled and staggered back, his head briefly turning to the high-above ceiling in shock and agony. He swung his large head at a pillar, the stone breaking and crumbling but the arrow had snapped in half in the process, the pillar falling to the floor, breaking and shattering but when Smaug looked at where the woman had been, she was gone. Smaug roared and spewed fire everywhere he looked, his massive claws on his wings crushing everything beneath him when he roughly placed them on the stone. ‘You think you can defeat ME?! My scales are IRON!’

“And my arrows are your bones!” Ruth shouted before firing another shot at the dragon’s neck, the arrow actually managing to pierce the hard scales, the dragonbone not even breaking in the process, Smaug recoiling once more, roaring as he swung his head in the direction she had fired from, finding it empty already. “My bow is blessed by Auriel and my daggers are the bones of a dragon!” Ruth screamed with anger as she fired another arrow, this one tearing a hole, albeit a small one, through Smaug’s wing, narrowly escaping the fire he spewed towards her. She hurried up the steps and onto a platform that he could see, she saw his eyes wide and actual shock in them, shock that she was able to actually wound him and horror at the possibility of what she else could do. “And you think you can defeat ME?! TRY YOUR BEST!! I AM A DAUGHTER OF AKATOSH, THE CHAMPION OF HIRCINE AND THE SERVANT OF NOCTURNAL. SITHIS IS ON MY SIDE, YOU OVERGROW LIZARD!!” Ruth screamed as she fired another arrow at Smaug, his large body unable to move away in time, resulting in the arrow landing and piercing a small area of his large, massive shoulder. “COME AND TRY!!” Ruth screamed, the sound of her voice almost having a thunder behind it, echoing and shaking the very mountain as she nocked another arrow, her eyes still full of tears as Smaug stared at her with horror. ‘What are you?!’

“Your kin” Ruth growled before firing another arrow, hitting the same eye she had pierced before, hurrying down a hallway, hoping it’d lead to a high platform that she could use for another attack, the sounds of Smaug roaring and crying out in pain booming through the mountain and Ruth was distracted by it, the sound of a dragon in such pain nearly tugging at her heart. Nearly. But it was enough for her to look towards the entrance she had come from, bumping into something and when she turned with an arrow nocked on her bow, her eyes went wide at the Hobbit she saw. “I-... the f-fire…” she whispered, Bilbo with his hands raised as he looked at her, Ruth quickly lowering them, kneeling down and wrapping her arms around Bilbo after dropping her weapons, closing her eyes tightly, causing a few tears to run down her cheeks. “By Talos, never do that again!” She hissed as she parted from him, Bilbo nodding “don’t plan on it” he murmured, Ruth nodding before standing up, grabbing her weapons, putting her arrow back in her quiver and wiping the tears from her cheeks, sniffling briefly before clearing her throat and nodding. “Now let’s go, I think I pissed him off with the two arrows in his eye” Ruth mumbled, guiding Bilbo away from the roaring sounds of a furious Smaug. “You-... maneged to-”

“Eyes don’t have scales, Bilbo” Ruth stated with a brief smirk as they both continued to run, Ruth mainly leading with Bilbo keeping up with her. “Come on, up the stairs” Ruth urged, Bilbo running ahead as Ruth looked behind her to make sure Smaug was nowhere near them before following, hearing another voice. Ruth sprinted up the steps, seeing Thorin blocking Bilbo with his sword, a frown forming on her brows as she hurried towards them. “What are you doing?! We’re not fireproof! For Oblivion’s sake, Thorin, MOVE!” Ruth growled, the sounds of a wolf growling behind her words yet it didn’t seem to faze him. Slowly, Thorin went to point his sword at Bilbo but Ruth pulled him back and took his place, stare down at Thorin as the tip was right by her chest, he could run her through before she had time to react. Slowly she walked back as Thorin advanced, Bilbo ending up beside her as he tried to talk Thorin down, calling his name in hopes it’d snap him out of this trance. Ruth’s eyes trailed off to the side, her breathing picking up as she saw the serpent-like creature as it slowly advanced, Ruth swallowing thickly before looking at Thorin “Thorin… move” Ruth whispered softly, the Dwarven king turning to face the dragon when most of the others showed up, Ruth instantly nocking an arrow and she actually saw hesitation in Smaug’s eyes. Slowly, Ruth walked to stand in front of the dwarves, her arrow still aimed at Smaug as he halted when he saw this. “Dragonbone does not burn, Smaug” Ruth warned but Smaug growled and began to advance in speed towards them. ‘But YOU will!’ he roared and Ruth quickly lowered her weapons and grabbed Bilbo dragging him after the others as they all fled and jumped off the ledge, the stone shielding the flames as they burned overhead, Ruth wincing at the slight fire that had caught onto her leg but was quickly slapped out.

As they ended up in the small room, Ruth stopped at it’s entrance. “Ruth, come on!” Thorin commanded, Ruth turning to smirk at him “I’m no longer hired by you, Thorin, you can’t command me-”

“It’s suicide!!”

“We have to go-”

“Bilbo!”

“Didn’t you see her arrows?! They pierced his eyes and scales! I’d argue that she’s the only one out of all of us who stands a chance against that thing!” Bilbo shouted, the other dwarves looking at Ruth with awestruck eyes, their mouths half open and Ruth blushed “would you hurry on?!” she snapped before running back into the hallway they had come from.

--------------------------------------------

Tags:

@starwarsloverpizza

#Unexpected Company #A Chance Encounter #Skyrim fic #Skyrim #Elder Scrolls: V #LOTR #The Hobbit #The Hobbit fic #Company of Oakenshield x Ruth Telvanni

4 notes · View notes

fandomficsnstuff · 2 years

Text

Unexpected Company - 8

(Warnings: Angst, sadness, self-loathing, a tiny bit of light stuff)

Notes: This is platonic only! It is a prequel to A Chance Encounter but can be read alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ruth was as quiet as she could be as she held her breath under the water, clinging to the underside of the barge and when Bard knocked twice on the floor of it, Ruth emerged, gasping for hair and dragging herself up and out of the water, shaking her head, much like a dog, to try and shake the cold off. “Molag’s balls!” She hissed, her entire body shaking from the cold as she briefly pulled herself up on the barge, laying down on her back, lips quivering ever so slightly and Bard frowned at her “are you sure you can do that again? Your lips are blue…”

“Maybe I’m finally turning into a Dunmer… Master Neloth would be pleased” Ruth muttered jokingly in a quivering voice before nodding and sitting up “it’s cold… but not ‘Sea of Ghosts’ cold” she stated with a smirk before looking ahead, seeing the tollgate, making her groan briefly “where did you say your house was?”

“In the middle of the town, it lies in between some other houses and a tall bridge-”

“Like a dot in a circle?”

“Like a dot in a circle” Bard confirmed, Ruth nodding before sighing, taking a deep breath and exhaling. “Do me a favor if I can’t join you through the town, and put out the fire in the fireplace if you have one, if not then just open a window?”

“Deal” Bard whispered, signaling that they were getting too close to the tollgate and so Ruth rolled her eyes in annoyance but willingly dived back into the water. She held onto the underside of the barge until muffled voices traveled through the water in waves and Ruth kicked off from the barge, staying underwater until she found what appeared to be a secluded spot she could surface in. As her head was finally above water, she gasped for air, running a hand over her face to wipe off the freezing water. She looked around and when she saw no one around, she began to climb up the side, battling against her numb fingers until she reached the top of the unstable looking house. She pulled up her mask and wringed out her soaked hair before pulling up her hood, concealing both her face and hair as she kneeled down close by, watching Bard as he greeted someone who took some papers he gave them as she tried to regain some feeling in her hands. Ruth watched as someone took the paper before Bard could take it back, her eyes narrowing and she quietly took out her bow, nocking an arrow as she listened in on their conversation and the second the barrels began to be tilted to drop out the fish, Ruth drew the string back, eyes locked on the man in black who had given the order, Bard nervously glancing in Ruth’s direction as he tried to get them to stop. Just as Ruth was finally about to let the arrow fly, the man held up his hand and ordered his men to stop, the string of Ruth’s bow was still drawn back but she eased it up a little.

As the command to raise the gate was heard, Ruth lowered her bow and arrow, placing the arrow back in it’s quiver as she kept herself crouched down, watching the barge cut through the water at a slow pace, her silent footsteps keeping up as she moved from roof to roof, avoiding the setting sun by hiding behind chimneys, practically floating within the shadows and Bard began to worry as he lost track of her, his nerves beginning to sizzle with worry but he kept a stoic face. As he stopped his barge and began to tilt out the barrels with fish covering the dwarves, he heard a soft thud, like a cat landing on a feather pillow, and when he turned, his eyes grew wide as he saw her. Ruth was crouched on top of the edge of his barge, resting on the tip of her toes until she straightened up and soundlessly stepped down, bowing gracefully as the other dwarves, and Bilbo, were now out of their barrels. “How-... how could you-”

“I’m the master of the Thieves Guild, a powerful agent of Nocturnal, the head Nightingale and leader of people who work in the shadows to do the bidding of a higher power” Ruth explained calmly as she walked over to Bilbo, giving him a hand out of the barrel and patting his shoulder, cringing under her mask as she recoiled her hand and looked at it “you smell like fermented mudcrabs” she muttered half-jokingly. She gave a brief nod to the man Bard paid, walking over and handing him a coin made of pure gold, patting his shoulder with her non-fishy hand before turning to Bard “I’ll catch up.”

“What?”

“I don’t-... fit in-”

“And we do?” Bilbo asked with amusement, Ruth glancing between them before groaning, pulling down her mask and her hood to reveal her still wet, fiery-red hair, giving them a scowl before turning to the man they had given the fish and paid. “Got something that could work as a cloak?” she asked, the man quickly looking around before pulling up a large blanket used to cover materials to hide them from the frost, Ruth nodding, giving him two gold coins before wrapping the cloth around her shoulders, giving a brief nod to Bard and the others.

Ruth walked alongside the others, a little ahead of them to not make the dwarves and Bilbo stand out too much, her gaze cast over her shoulder to Bilbo who was looking around in shock. “This, Mr. Baggins, is the world of Men” Thorin stated before continuing forward, Ruth glancing around before reaching for Bilbo and gently shoving him along with a hand hovering over his back, her green eyes glancing around her to make sure no one was watching. “It’s like if Riften, Morthal and Dawnstar had some sort of offspring” she murmured as she kept walking, a tiny smile forming on her face until a guard noticed them, ordering them to stop and she nearly rolled her eyes “Molag be damned…” she murmured before hurrying along with the others, taking off the blanket she used as a cloak and pulled up her hood as she ran, pulling up her mask. As a guard nearly caught Bofur, Ruth jumped up on him, her legs over his shoulder as she tipped herself forward, the guard falling over and she rolled off of him, kicking him in the face to knock him out before grabbing an oar and using each end of it as she knocked out two other guards, a grin on her lips as she watched Filí and Kilí trip another guard. As a last guard came at her she used her foot to kick up a pot, catching it and using it to knock the guard unconscious before dropping it, dragging him into a dark corner behind several crates, using some fishing net to cover him just in time as she saw more guards become suspicious of the area. She glanced around and the second she saw a dark corner, she moved to it, standing as far into the dark shadow as she could, even Bard had a hard time seeing her.

Ruth had to strain herself to not laugh at Bard’s comment about the guard’s wife, a grin on her lips as she quickly moved out of the shadows to join the others, her eyes meeting Bard’s and she pulled down her mask and hood, revealing the amused grin on her lips as she chuckled “thank you, by Talos you remind me of Inigo” she murmured with a chuckle, gently shaking her head as she continued after the others. Ruth continued to grin until a boy approached, saying something about the house being watched and without a second thought, Ruth pulled up her hood and mask, covering her face as she turned to Bard “window or chimney?” she asked quietly, Bard glancing at her before nodding “neither, the lavatory” he whispered and she nodded, her amused smirk hidden under her mask, her feet taking her the opposite way of where the boy had emerged from. She silently found her way to the top of a house, crouching down on the roof as she watched Bard and his son make their way to his house, her eyes locking onto each and every person who was signaling that they were on their way home, her feet silently moving her along the spine of the roofs, taking many detours to remain hidden and unseen, mapping out the small town as she went along.

She watched Bard’s house intently and when she saw his son knock twice on the wall to signal to the dwarves, she managed to walk along a rope to the house, dropping down and using her feet to swing her towards the platform where Dwalin was slowly emerging from the lavatory. Ruth landed on her feet, gracefully and silent, and pulled down her hood and mask as she heard Dwalin threaten the young boy and push away his hand when he tried to help. “Don’t worry about him kid, he’s secretly a big softie-”

“RUTH!” at Dwalin’s hissed warning, Ruth just chuckled, ruffling the kid’s hair before approaching the lavatory, helping Bilbo out along with some of the others, one of those including a sickly Kilí. “Da, why are there dwarves coming out of our toilet?”

“Will they bring us luck??”

“With a hobbit and an assassin, it’s double luck” Ruth called out as she walked up with a drenched and shocked Bilbo, a smirk on her lips as she walked up the stairs. She made sure all the dwarves, and Bilbo, were up and in the house but when she turned she froze. Her eyes were wide as she stared at the youngest one of Bard’s two daughters. “Ruth?” Bilbo asked softly, glancing between the young girl, who had no idea what was going on, and Ruth who was staring with a look of absolute horror on her face. “Ruth…?” Filí voice seemed to snap her out of it and she looked back at the girl briefly before looking down, clearing her throat and forcing a smile at the girl, stretching out her hand “I’m so sorry about that. What’s your name?”

“Tilda…” she young girl gently shook Ruth’s hand, the red-haired woman nodding and turning to the other one of the two girls “Ruth Telvanni,” she shook the other girl’s hand “Sigrid” the oldest girl muttered, Ruth nodding before clearing her throat and looking at Bard’s son. “You’re the man of the family, aren’t you?” she asked with a kind smirk, stretching her hand out and shaking the kid’s hand “Bain” he introduced with a shy smile, Ruth nodding “a pleasure to meet you all, your father’s an excellent archer” she stated with a smirk, the children sharing an excited smile before looking at their father who was smiling softly at them, one of his hands ruffling the hair of his son.

-----------------------------------------------------

Ruth was sitting next to Bilbo by the fire when Tilda hesitantly approached, carrying clothes in her arms that she first offered to Bilbo before turning to Ruth. “Miss?” she asked, Ruth looking up at her before smiling softly, gently taking the clothes in her arms “thank you. I’m sorry if I scared you earlier, I didn’t mean to” Ruth stated softly, Tilda nodding with a kind smile “father says I probably reminded you of someone…”

“You did… she was beautiful too” Ruth leaned in and said, the young girl blushing “what was her name?”

“Lucia, she was about your age…”

“‘Was’?... Did she die?...”

“No, sweetie, but I’ve been away from home for two years, almost three now… she’d be twelve now” Ruth stated with a sad smile, Tilda frowning “do you miss her?”

“Every time I breathe..” Ruth admitted softly, Tilda giving her a kind smile before walking away, Ruth turning her eyes back to the fire, Bilbo frowning at her with sad eyes. “I thought-”

“I’m not going to tell her that a girl her age who looked just like her died because of a negligent parent” Ruth whispered softly, continuing to stare into the fire, Bilbo giving her a sympathetic look “negligent? You said you were defending the city…”

“I was… but I should have been inside the city, making sure she reached safety… not standing on the front lines, shooting my bow as if nothing could go wrong” Ruth admitted harshly, the corners of her lips curling up in disgust and Bilbo knew it was aimed at herself and no one else. “It’s not your fault… you were defending the city she was in, preventing the enemies from breaking through the gates and storming the city, the city she was in…” Bilbo whispered softly, Ruth looking at him with sad eyes before sighing softly “thank you, Bilbo… but I think it’ll be a few years before I ever see it that way, even though I know it’s true” she admitted before standing up, turning to Bard, her new clothes in her hands and Bard gestured to another room, Ruth following and walking inside, coming out shortly after in a dress, her damp hair hanging around her face, a few loose braids barely holding on as she gave an awkward smile, trying to get comfortable in the new clothes. “I uh-... long time since I wore a dress” she admitted awkwardly when the dwarves stared at her, clearing her throat before allowing Sigrid to take her armor to hang it up to dry. “U-Uh be careful with it, I-... okay thanks” she murmured as she saw that Sigrid barely needed any help in making sure the armor was hung up correctly, Ruth nodding softly before sitting back down by the fire, unaware of Filí staring at her with a slack jaw.

“A dwarvish windlance…” Thorin’s whispered words made Ruth look up and away from the flames, frowning at Thorin before standing up, the skirt of her dress in one of her hands as she gently approached, looking out the window that Thorin was staring out of. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost” Ruth muttered to Thorin, Balin approaching “he has… The last time we saw such a weapon, a city was on fire… it was the day the dragon came. The day that Smaug destroyed Dale. Girion, the Lord of the City, rallied his bowmen to fire upon the beast… but a dragon’s hide is tough. Tougher than the strongest armor… Only a Black Arrow fired from a windlance could have pierced the dragon’s hide… and few of those arrows were ever made. The store was running low when Girion made his last stance…” Balin explained, Ruth frowning in light confusion. “Why would you need a special arrow? I’ve cut armor from a dragon’s hide and scales, made arrows of their bones…”

“But we are not in your world, Ruth… had the aim of Men been true that day, much would have been different” Thorin stated softly, looking at Ruth who frowned and gently nodded. “If-... I may not be able to fulfill my contract then, Thorin” Ruth stated with worry, Thorin giving her a rare smile “your contract is to kill the dragon, have you ever failed at a contract?”

“Never.”

“Then you will not fail us now” Thorin stated softly, Ruth swallowing thickly before nodding, looking down until Bard spoke up. “You speak as if you were there…”

“All dwarves know the tale” Thorin rationalized, Ruth looking down, clenching her jaw before sighing softly, leaving and walking down the steps to sit by the water, running a hand over her face in frustration, the thought of failing not only her contract, but the faith her new friends had put in her… it made her doubt herself in ways she had never doubted herself before.

It wasn’t long until Bard walked down the steps to the water, looking around before kneeling down next to Ruth. “Contract?” he asked quietly, Ruth nodding ever so slightly, forcing a smirk on her lips despite not feeling like it “you’re housing an assassin and a thief” she teased lightly, Bard scowling lightly at her and she sighed, shaking her head as she looked away, almost in annoyance. “If I wanted you dead, you would already be it and if I wanted to steal from you, you wouldn’t even be aware of what I would have taken. I haven’t had a human or beast-race contract for a year before I arrived here, which was almost three years ago now. I’m not here to steal from you or kill you, the only one I’m setting out to kill is that dragon, a kind friend guided those dwarves and Bilbo to me… it’s not the first dragon I’ve slain” Ruth admitted, turning to look at Bard with cold eyes “so thank you, for your hospitality, but if you’re going to treat me like a monster, I’d rather set off to kill the dragon now, and be done with it” Ruth stated briefly and in a cold tone before standing up “no one is around to see, lift the weapons out of the water whenever you want, but they’re not going to be pleased with them” she informed, on her way up the stairs when Bard stood up and turned to face her “how could you know?”

“Which part? The weapons, my company’s disapproval or the lack of people around?”

“All of it…”

“I saw something hanging from the boat and into the water, something long and wrapped in something clearly meant to hide it, hence: weapons. I know they won’t approve because they’ll think of it as lesser and useless. And the lack of people is obvious: if one stays out here too long, their balls will freeze off” Ruth walked back upstairs, Bard scoffing ever so slightly with a surprised smile on his lips before pulling the weapons out of the water after looking around.

----------------------------------------

Tags:

@starwarsloverpizza

#Unexpected Company #A Chance Encounter #The Hobbit #The Hobbit fic #LOTR #Skyrim #Skyrim fic #Elder Scrolls: V #Company of Oakenshield x Ruth Telvanni

3 notes · View notes

fandomficsnstuff · 2 years

Text

Unexpected Company - 7

(Warnings: Sad stuff, a lil’ bit of fluff, angst, blood and a little bit of fighting)

Notes: This is platonic only! It is a prequel to A Chance Encounter but can be read alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ruth couldn’t prevent a laugh spilling from her lips as she heard Filí, again, try and kick the barrs down, the dwarf stopping with a frown, trying to look into the cell next to his own “are you laughing?”

“Absolutely” she admitted, chuckling and shaking her head as the others continued to fight to get loose. “Don’t you want to get out of here??”

“Of course I do. But we’ll get out soon enough, I’m an agent of Nocturnal, my dearest Filí, it means I’m a master at lockpicking” she bragged with a smirk, Filí frowning “I thought they took away your dagger?”

“They did, yes. But I’m not talking about jimmying the lock with my dagger and praying to the Nine that it works” she teased before sitting down with her back against the wall that led to Filí’s cell. “Perhaps I just want another peek at Dibella’s male counterpart” she added teasingly, Filí frowning in confusion “what?”

“The handsome elf” she added with a small chuckle, unaware of Filí scowling “who? The ugly blonde one with blue eyes??”

“Yes, the ugly blonde one” Ruth stated with amusement “he’s handsome-”

“He’s an elf!”

“And you’re a dwarf. We all bleed if we cut ourselves. Besides, I might have a thing for blondes, if Serana is to be believed” Ruth admitted with a sad smile, hearing Filí sit down in his cell beside her. “Serana? Who is that?”

“A woman I traveled with… as beautiful as a dark night with the moon lighting the path ahead… I traveled with her quite a lot, went almost everywhere with her… She even helped me with my beast-blood when it became too much at times, had her by my side until-” Ruth cut herself off, Filí noticing the sad tone her voice had before she stopped talking. “What you saw in the forest… you called it Lucia…”

“I mentioned I had a daughter… you can make your own deductions” Ruth murmured coldly, leaning her head against the cold stone of her cell, Filí being silent for a few more seconds before nodding to himself, not that she could see it, anyway. “What was she like?...”

“Sweet… Kind… I took her in” Ruth explained in a soft voice, tears in her eyes as she had a sad smile on her lips. “What did your husband have to say about that?” Filí asked slightly joking, hoping she wouldn’t catch onto the real answer he was asking for, and she didn’t, or at least if she did, she didn’t mention it. “No husband” Ruth chuckled “never married, don’t think I ever will… I have had offers but-... no offers from anyone I truly loved” Ruth admitted with a small shrug before sighing softly. “What about you? A wife waiting for you to return? A sweetheart, maybe? Fifty children?” Ruth asked with a smirk, hearing a brief chuckle “no, no… nothing like that” he murmured, Ruth chuckling lightly “look at us, two single people in cells” she mused with amusement before groaning as she stood up, moving over to the lock of her cell, kneeling down and searching through her small satchel. “What are you doing??”

“Well if you want to stay a while longer, just say so” she teased, Filí grinning at her, even though he couldn’t see her. Ruth placed her tools into the lock, a frown forming on her brows as she focused, until the sounds of footsteps made her hurriedly recoil and hide her tools away. She frowned as Thorin was shoved back into his cell, standing up from the floor and grabbing gently onto the bars, peeking through them to frown at Thorin as he said he rejected the king’s offer of not only release, but help in their quest. “You have the brain of a mudcrab, Thorin” Ruth hissed across the cells to him, the majestic king already majestically glaring at her, making her scoff as she kneeled down once more. “These locks aren’t like those in Skyrim or Solstheim,” she announced before getting her tools back out and placing them into the lock “and I don’t have the Skeleton Key, so if I break all my lockpicks,” she stopped her motions to look at Thorin, a completely serious look on her face “then I’m seriously going to shout you to Oblivion and back” she muttered and continued with her ministrations, slowly attempting to pick the lock as best as she could when working with a new kind of lock.

---------------------------------------------------------

Ruth let out a yell of frustration as yet another lockpick broke, standing up and kicking the cell door with fury, continuing to do so until a small dent was left in the bars, growls leaving her lips with every inhale and exhale, the golden flecks in her eyes coming to life as she paced in her cell. “Well?”

“What do you think, Kilí?! Almost all my lockpicks are broken! Molag be damned!!” Ruth shouted as she kicked the cell door once more, her breath carrying louder growls as she continued to pace like a caged, wild animal in a cramped space, the cage far too small for it’s large body. “Dur Daar Fahliil, Dur Niin!! Zu’u Fen Krii Niin Fod Zu’u Kren Stin!” Ruth roared, kicking the cell door one more time before pacing once again. “Ruth-”

“Shut up!”

“Ruth, it’s me, Bilb-”

“FUCK OF-” Ruth shut up when she turned around, seeing Bilbo stare at her with a single eyebrow raised, her cheeks turning dark red as she saw the keys in his hands, making her clear her throat awkwardly. “Well… you know-... n-no one likes to be put in a cage and I- you know what just get the door open” Ruth stuttered, Bilbo doing just that with an amused smile on his face, making her roll her eyes “yeah yeah” she murmured in annoyance as she began to join the others, about to follow them up the stairs when Bilbo directed them in the other direction, Ruth following down the steps quickly, keen on getting out of the place as soon as possible, her footsteps like that of a cat’s as she sneaked past the drunk elves that had fallen asleep, her body moving like a shadow on the wall as she was right behind Bilbo, inspecting the large barrels, tilting her head before looking at Bilbo with a smirk, Bilbo nodding to confirm her suspicions as she walked along the barrels, inspecting the floor and the lever Bilbo stood near, excitement bubbling in her chest and at Thorin’s command, she practically jumped in. As she peeked her head out of the barrel, she saw Thorin and Bilbo share a brief look, their hands almost interlocked but Thorin walked away from Bilbo to get into the barrels as there was barely any left, leaving Ruth packed into a barrel with Filí, a large grin on her face as she tried to keep down her giggles. “Haven’t done this since I was eleven” she whispered eagerly, Filí frowning at her “done wha-” he was cut off as the floor tilted and the barrels rolled down and into the water, their barrels poking up after briefly being under, Ruth almost laughing as she wiped the water from her face. “That” she stated with a smirk, Filí grinning from ear to ear, his eyes trailing to her lips and he felt his heart leap into his throat, but before he could lean in, Ruth looked away from him, watching Bilbo fall back first into the water after them, being pulled up and hanging onto the side of a barrel, a chuckle leaving her “at least this water isn’t as freezing as on Solstheim” she called to him, chuckling and laughing in the barrel with Filí who tried not to let his disappointment show, though it was quickly replaced with shock as Ruth wrapped her arms around him just as the barrel tilted over a small waterfall.

As the barrel popped back up, Ruth parted from him, grinning from ear to ear as she laughed “didn’t want you to fall out, trust me, I learned that after my first try” she admitted with amusement, turning so she could use her hands to paddle the barrel further down the river, though there wasn’t much need for it. Her smile vanished as she saw the gates being closed, brows furrowing in a frown, a small wince leaving her as the barrel bumped into several others, being shaken around by the other barrels following and bumping into the barrel she was in. Ruth let out a small grunt of pain, clutching her chest where the still fresh wound was and when she removed her hand, she saw faint stains of blood that had soaked through her armor, making her place her hand back onto the wound, trying to press down to stop the bleeding, Filí noticed and he quickly helped press down on the wound. As orcs began to arrive, Ruth gently pushed Filí hands away from her wound, picking up a nearby rock and turning around, throwing it at an orc, hitting it in the eye, making it fall back, hit it’s head and fall into the water with a squeal and the second it bumped into the barrel she was in, she wrapped her arm around it’s neck, jerked and released it as a crack was heard, holding onto it just long enough to grab one of it’s daggers and it’s sword, giving the dagger to Filí who immediately threw it at an orc trying to kill Kilí, Ruth using the sword to cut into an orc that tried to jump on them, in which they succeeded, they just weren’t alive, their corpse being pushed off by the dwarves it landed on.

As Kilí was crippled by an arrow, Ruth’s eyes grew wide, immediately climbing out of the barrel, dodging an orc and cutting off it’s head, hurrying up the few steps to Kilí, about to help him up when an orc fell from behind her, her eyes wide as she glanced at it before looking in the direction of the person shooting the arrow, finding the blonde elf from before, his eyes locked onto him and for a brief second she halted, before hearing Kilí groan. Ruth shoved Kilí into the barrel with Filí, jumping up and pulling the lever to open the gate, hearing the barrels tumbling out and she rushed up on the landing to the other side, seeing them fall over the small waterfall and before an orc could strike her, she dropped the sword and jumped down from the wall to some of the boulders below, jumping across a few others before diving head first into the water, holding her breath as the water engulfed her. Once she was under, she swiftly turned herself around, her feet in front of her so her head wouldn’t bash against any stones, her body being carried quicker towards the barrels and once she reached one with Dwalin in, she grabbed onto it, holding onto it like Bilbo, wincing at the pain in her chest as she felt the wound tear open again at the strain it was put under.

As smaller waterfalls approached, Dwalin reached for Ruth but it was too late, the barrel briefly going under and when it popped back up, Ruth wasn’t holding onto it, some of her blood staining the side of the barrel before being washed off by the merciless water that ran around them like a forest fire. “Ruth! Where’s Ruth!?” Dwalin shouted to the others before killing an orc that tried to jump on him, his eyes scanning the water until he saw red, literally, he saw her red hair floating along the violent current and when it was close enough, he reached into the water, grabbing the last piece of cloth that was hanging onto her, what was once a cape, and hauled her up, grunting as he pulled her into his barrel. He continued to wield his weapon until he passed it on, looking down at an unconscious Ruth, gently slapping her cheeks to try and wake her up but nothing seemed to work. As more rapids approached, he held onto her, trying his best to keep her head afloat as much as possible, her blood beginning to stain his soaked clothes, a process of being stained by her blood, having it washed off as they went through more violent rapids and then being stained once more.

As the blonde elf landed on his head, his hand automatically moved to cover Ruth’s head, glaring up at the elf as he used him like a stool before moving on, his eyes burning holes into that blonde hair before he quickly checked on Ruth, uncomfortable with how pale she were, her lips devoid of any color. As they finally reached the shore, Dwalin carefully pushed Ruth out onto the stone before crawling out himself, picking her up and carrying her to a more flat surface where Bofur and Oin quickly approached once they saw her pale face, Bilbo following with worry. “Ruth? Ruth??” Dwalin gently slapped her cheeks, grabbing her by the jaw and shaking her head, Bofur about to scold him when suddenly Ruth coughed up water, rolling onto her side as she coughed and heaved for air, continuing to cough up water. “Yer not gettin’ rid of us that easily, lass” Dwalin mused, Ruth looking over her shoulder at him, nodding with a few more coughs leaving her “and here I was hoping on the Nine” she murmured with sarcasm, coughing as she tried to stand up, her wound aching painfully and she stumbled for a brief moment before standing back up, pushing away any hands that tried to help her stand. Her eyes moved to look around for Kilí, finding him and hurrying over with a frown. “On your feet-”

“Kilí wound needs binding” Ruth snapped before turning back to Kilí, pushing away his hands to try and inspect the wound, only to have him mumble it was nothing and push her away, making her roll her eyes. “There’s an orc pack on our tail, Ruth. We’ll keep moving” Thorin reminded her and she sighed softly, nodding before reaching behind her and into her satchel, pulling out a small, light blue flower, handing it to a very confused Kilí, Ruth attempting to shrug but her shoulder prevented her from doing so, making her wince “for the pain-”

“I’m not in any p-”

“Either eat it or I’ll shove it down your throat” Ruth muttered annoyed, standing up, watching as Kilí hesitantly began to chew the flower, until he winced, about to open his mouth and spit it out when Ruth shook her head “ah-ah, close that mouth and eat the damn flower… and warning; it tastes like Skeever piss” she added with a smirk, Kilí frowning at her before watching her take out a purple flower that, besides the color, was identical to the one he ate, watching her eat it without wincing. “How can you not taste that?” Kilí asked with shock, Ruth smirking at him “this one just tastes like honey” she stated with a shrug, Kilí glaring at her as she gave him a brief wink before turning around, about to address Bilbo when her face turned into a frown, most of the dwarves noticing. “What? What is-” Bilbo didn’t get to finish his sentence as Ruth spinned around after picking up a branch, an arrow piercing it immediately, her eyes wide as she looked up at the figure, the golden flecks in her eyes breathing to life in annoyance. “Do it again, and you’re dead” the man stated and Ruth threw the branch to the ground with annoyance.

“Excuse me, but-” Balin stopped briefly as the arrow was pointed at him, but he persisted when the arrow didn’t pierce his skull “you’re from Laketown, if I’m not mistaken. That barge over there, it wouldn’t be available for hire, by any chance?” Balin asked, the man slowly lowering his bow and Ruth nodded to herself, placing a hand over her wounded chest, wincing at the feel of her blood still slowly pouring out from the torn skin and flesh.

Ruth watched as he rolled the barrels onto the barge, Balin trying to negotiate a price, attempting to flatter the man’s wife and before the man said anything, Ruth knew, she just knew by the look on his face. “Aye, she was…” he trailed off, Ruth swallowing thickly before stepping forward, not meeting the man’s gaze even though he stopped what he was doing to look at her. “How old are your girls?” Ruth asked softly, forcing herself to look up at him, giving him a sad smile as he watched her with mistrust “fifteen and eleven” he admitted, Ruth’s unable to stop the breathless smile that formed on her lips as she looked down, nodding softly. “My little girl would have been eleven last year…” she murmured, the man frowning even more at her and she forced herself to look up again. “You don’t want to help us, it could put your girls in danger, I know that… but I’m asking you, as a mother myself, if you would please help us? We can pay” Ruth asked softly, the man studying her before giving a brief nod, making Ruth let out a sigh of relief, nodding to herself “thank you, what’s your name?”

“Bard…”

“Bard… thank you, Bard” Ruth looked over her shoulder and nodded the others over, the dwarves murmuring as they began to get on the barge “what was your daughter’s name?” Bard asked softly, Ruth smiling blissfully before gently shaking her head, watching the others pile onto the barge. “Lucia…”

“How did she die?...”

“Does it matter? She’s gone… has been for a few years now…” Ruth whispered, eyes almost empty aside from the tears in them “I’m sorry..” Bard muttered, Ruth nodding softly “haven’t really told it to anyone before I-I mean I’ve mentioned her but-… I suppose it’s easier to talk to strangers than with those we know..” she murmured before getting onto the barge, Bard following soon after.

--------------------------------------

Tags:

@starwarsloverpizza

#Unexpected Company #A Chance Encounter #Skyrim fic #Skyrim #LOTR #The Hobbit #The Hobbit fic #Elder Scrolls: V #Company of Oakenshield x Ruth Telvanni

5 notes · View notes

fandomficsnstuff · 2 years

Text

Unexpected Company - 6

(Warnings: Arguing, a lil’ bit of fighting, hint at the romance in A Chance Encounter and a hint of angst)

Notes: This is platonic only! It is a prequel to A Chance Encounter but can be read alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ruth frowned at the dead trees that greeted them, her hands clutching Shadowmere’s reins a little tighter. “Dilon Ahrk Vodahmin, yet we must pass through anyway…” Ruth mumbled with a frown, taking a deep breath before saddling off of Shadowmere, her eyes lingering on the entrance to the forest before turning to Shadowmere, her forehead against the horse’s neck “Bo, Ru Stin Erei Zu’u Bel Hi” she whispered, the horse rearing it’s head but obeyed her command, turning around and running off like a man horse would, bucking and moving faster than what should be possible. “W-What exactly do those words mean?...” Bilbo asked shyly, Ruth smiling as she placed a hand over the wound under her armor, gently rubbing the sore skin as it had already begun to itch, signaling the healing. “Well, the last thing I said was ‘go, run free until I summon you’. What I said before was ‘dead and forgotten’” Ruth explained calmly, smiling at Bilbo’s confused expression. “It’s called ‘Dovah Tinvaak’, ‘Dragon Language’ in the normal tongue. Many of the dragons from my world never learned the common tongue, or Tamrielic, as we call it. Dragons often see it as being beneath them, they’re dominant and destructive, craving power like it was skooma… they have a severe urge to dominate mankind, or destroy those who won’t allow themselves to be cattle, yet they have no interest in actually ruling over the people they enslaved” Ruth explained in a simple tone, her eyes moving around the area, until she saw a creature she recognised on a hill far away. She couldn’t help but smile, raising her hand in a brief wave, hearing the distant roar in return, making her smirk. “By Talos I’ve missed other people with the Beast-Blood” she murmured, turning back around to join the others as they set their ponies loose.

“Not my horse, I need it!” Ruth turned around with a frown, seeing Gandalf walk over to his horse, confusion filling her as she hurried over “Gandalf?-”

“Zu’u Ov Hi Voth Niin, Dein Niin Nahlaas, that is the contract I’m giving you” Gandalf muttered softly, Ruth frowning at him before nodding and standing back “I’ll complete it… we’ll talk of my reward when you return” she stated calmly, placing her hands behind her back, the frown gone from her face even though she was riddled with worry. Her gaze turned to the forest and she took some other steps towards it, her frown returning and her hands unclasping from behind her back as she hesitantly walked through the ‘gate’, looking around with great intrigue. “This seems as old as the Dwemer…” she murmured, running a hand up the carved and overgrown pillar, tilting her head lightly “or like the Snow Elves… like it was carved by them long ago and forgotten about… Overgrown and taken back by the turning of time…” she mumbled as she continued to inspect the structures. As the rain began to fall she tilted her head back and closed her eyes, the water running down her face, over the scars that ran through her skin, subtle and thin. The droplets ran over the birthmark on her cheek, making it appear like it was shimmering, the drops blending in with the freckles that were gently flicked across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. Kilí smirked at his brother when he caught him staring, gently nudging his brother’s shoulder, snapping him out of the trance he was in. “She’s not married” Kilí reminded his brother, Filí frowning and lightly shoving Kilí away, the younger dwarf smirking with amusement.

As the other dwarves joined Ruth and walked past, the woman opened her eyes as she looked at them, following behind them, walking a bit in front of the two young dwarven brothers, Kilí highly amused as Filí mostly stared at the back of her neck as though it’d get her to marry him.

-------------------------------------------------------------

The deeper into the woods they went, the more light-headed Ruth felt, her eyes closed for a few seconds, a frown on her brows as she tried to ground herself and keep going, a hand on her wounded shoulder as she continued alongside Balin after having fallen into step with him. “You alright lass?” he asked in a tired voice, Ruth wincing ever so slightly as she gently shook her head “I feel like I had another night with Sanguine…” she murmured, Balin frowning at her, making her give a tired smile “he’s a daedric prince in my world, they’re sort of like gods but more-... self-serving. Many of them are cruel and-... Talos, I can’t think” Ruth murmured, running a hand over her face in frustration, looking to her side to look at Balin, only to find him not there, her frown deepening and she looked around, seeing Balin several paces in front of her, instead of right next to her. “We found the bridge!” Ruth hurried forward, seeing the collapsed bridge she groaned quietly, gently shaking her head as she looked down, hearing the others talking in the background as she stood next to Bilbo.

“I could-... no, no…” Ruth murmured, Bilbo frowning at her “could what?” he asked in a tired voice, Ruth closing her eyes as she tried to keep herself grounded. “I could-... use one of-… like-... like the fire one I used when we were in that tree when-… but-... I-I’m too dizzy…” she murmured, Biblo nodding before guiding her to a rock to sit down, Ruth giving him a thankful nod before running a hand over her face again. As Bilbo left her side for whatever reason, Ruth looked up, looking at the dwarves, about to protest when Bilbo moved to climb the vines to get over but the words died on her tongue. Tears filled her eyes as she almost stumbled towards what she was seeing, passing through the dwarves almost as though she was in a trance. “Ruth, wh-” Thorin was cut off when Ruth pushed him away as he tried to stop her. Ruth neared the small girl she was seeing, kneeling down in front of her, the dwarves watching with worry as she slowly raised her hand up to the empty air. “Lucia?...” Ruth murmured softly, a smile almost making it’s way onto her lips but it quickly turned into a look of horror when the sweet little girl became charred and burnt. Ruth almost flew up as she took several steps back, a look of complete and utter horror on her face, her breath caught in her throat as the charred body stumbled a few steps towards her.

Ruth continued to stare at the sweet little girl as her charred body walked towards her, until someone grabbed her arm and turned her away, her eyes meeting Thorin’s confused and worried frown and she quickly looked back, seeing nothing but air. She let out a heavy breath in shock, more tears blurring her vision as she stumbled back a few more steps, Filí reaching for her but the second his hand touched her she recoiled with anger in her eyes “don’t touch me” she growled quietly despite the obvious tears in her eyes. “What did you s-”

“None of your damn business!” Ruth snapped at Bilbo, walking towards the vines with purpose and anger. Before the dwarves could grab her, Ruth jumped onto one of the vines, holding onto another as she nearly lost her balance, her eyes feeling heavy but she was unsure if it was from shock because of what she had seen or the enchanted water. “Ruth! What are you doing?!”

“Getting across!” she snapped with annoyance, taking a shallow breath before hesitantly and slowly making her way towards the other vines, clinging to whatever she could. As she began to feel sleepy, her feet slipped and she let out a brief yelp as the vine she was standing on swung out from under her feet. She held onto a vine as her feet barely touched the water. Ruth winced at the pain on the left side of her chest, the muscles straining to keep her above the water, making her grit her teeth before managing to pull herself up. Ruth hesitantly began to swing her legs, looking up at where the vine was attached before continuing to swing herself until she had enough momentum to let go and land on the other side of the river. She winced at the pain in the left side of her chest, one of her hands reaching up and covering the wounded area before looking up at the others “Bilbo next, he’s lighter” she shouted before willingly dropping her head back down on the ground, letting out a heavy sigh as her eyes closed, her burnt little girl visible even with her eyes closed, making her open them again, staring up at the horrid forest tree-tops, her heart felt like it had been ripped from her chest all over again.

As Bilbo landed next to her, he seemed out of sorts, shouting something to the others and when his voice trailed off, Ruth looked up, spotting all the dwarves trying to climb over, all at once. “Molag’s balls” Ruth grunted in annoyance, wincing at the still fresh wound as she sat up, her eyes on the ground before sheepishly glancing at Bilbo. “I’m sorry, about… you know, being snappy and… yeah…”

“What did you see…?”

“Someone I would give my life to see smile one more time…” Ruth murmured softly before forcing herself to stand up, Thorin landing where she had been laying. She glanced at him before looking down, deciding that unlike Bilbo, apologizing wasn’t the best thing right now, with how hot-headed everyone was because of the sickness of the forest. Ruth turned to look around to try and get her bearings when she saw a white elk, almost blinding her, her eyes wide as she stared open-mouthed at it, unaware of Thorin raising his bow, she only noticed when the arrow flew and scared the creature off. She frowned at Thorin almost with envy, Bilbo noticing and frowning at her “what?”

“It was Hircine… I wish I was faster than Thorin…” Ruth mumbled, Bilbo growing even more confused “why? Who is Hircine?”

“He’s from my world… he’s the daedric prince of the hunt and the father of were-creatures… I once talked with him, after killing a white elk… the elk’s spirit appeared where it died and Hircine talked through it…” Ruth mumbled, tilting her head lightly at where the creature had been standing before Thorin scared it off, a smile forming on her lips, slightly noticeable before vanishing “perhaps I’m not as far away from home as I thought… ” she murmured before turning to look at Bilbo, giving him a sad smile before turning around when she heard a splash, her eyes wide as she hurried over to the edge of the water, about to reach in when Bilbo pulled her back “don’t! It’s the water!” he whispered harshly, Ruth frowning as she retracted her hand, giving Bombur a worried glance before helping the others get him safely out of the water.

------------------------------------------------------

Ruth stumbled back and out of the way as the other dwarves began to fight amongst themselves, her feet nearly slipping but she caught herself on a tree, her brows furrowing as she slowly turned to look at what exactly she had placed her hand on, her eyes widening at the sight and she turned to the others “Bofur! Dwalin!! LISTEN TO ME!” she roared, the ground shaking with her voice as thunder could be heard above, everyone turning to look at her and she stumbled a little before gesturing to the cobwebs on the trees and everywhere around them. “We need to get out, now-”

“We’ve lost the path-”

“Doesn’t matter!! Frostbite spiders live here, can’t you see their cobwebs?! I’ve seen what those creatures can do to a person, we need to get out of here-”

“And how do you propose we do that, hm?? We’ve lost the path-”

“Then we run and don’t stop!! None of us can fight right now! Bombur is unconscious and we’re at each other’s throats! We need to move before-”

“You know nothing of what we need to do! You’re a woman! Know your place!!” Thorin growled, Ruth’s eyes widening as she took in his words, her lips curling up in anger but before she could do anything, to everyone’s shock, Filí punched Thorin square in the jaw, everyone quiet as the King recoiled, his face turned and his jaw already red. “Filí, what-”

“Don’t talk to her that way!” Filí growled, taking a few steps away from his uncle, ignoring the others but before anyone could do anything, the sounds of something with multiple legs crawling towards them made everyone on edge, Ruth unsheathing her daggers but she barely had time to use them before something grabbed her and pulled her up, Ruth letting out a brief scream as she was dropped from the height after being dragged away from the others, being dropped into multiple cobwebs, coating her in the sticky substance and before she could get her bearings, she was encased in a cocoon, struggling to get free until she felt it tightened even more around her as more layers were wrapped around her. She felt herself being hung upside down, all the blood rushing to her head, making her dizzy until her eyes closed, her burnt daughter scorched into her mind as she was silent, taking the time to ground herself before she made any attempt at freeing herself. She almost began to move, trying to wiggle her arms out so she could use the dagger she hadn’t dropped in the forest to cut the webs but the second she moved she felt something pierce her side, her eyes wide as she felt her muscles cramp up, her movements forced to come to a halt as she hung there for several minutes. She almost allowed herself to close her eyes, until she heard something cut through some sort of robe, the feeling of falling taking over and as much as she could, while the venom wore off, she smiled, she even smiled as she landed harshly on the ground, the air almost being knocked out of her. She struggled to get out, using her one dagger, gasping for air as she finally cut through the webs, feeling hands help pry her free of the sticky webs, helping her up on her feet.

Ruth used one of her daggers to cut through one of the spiders that had followed them, stabbing it multiple times before throwing it at another spider, hitting it square in the face and when she ran by she dragged it out, gliding under a third spider, cutting it under it’s belly, from the end to the tip of it’s head, her feet nearly stumbling but she kept up with the others. When Thorin announced they were in the clear, Ruth let out a breath of relief, about to smile when she heard footsteps, not the spiders crawling, but actual footsteps. “Molag’s balls” she murmured in anger, her daggers piercing a few more spiders that came too close but the second she turned around, an arrow was pointed at her face.

Ruth took in the man behind the bow and arrow. Striking blue eyes, blonde hair and slightly pointed ears, the adrenaline slowly leaving her body like boiling water, evaporating as she straightened up a little instead of being ready to fight, already knowing that not even she could heal an arrow through the eye, despite previous attempts at an arrow through her head. Her pale cheeks were slightly pink from running and fighting, her dark birthmark by her right cheekbone was a darker red wine and brown than what it was normally, sweat running through the color like water over a rock, dipping briefly into the scar on her cheek that went through her birthmark. The flecks of gold in her eyes slowly dimmed to the background, letting the green in her eyes stand out more than the gold. As Thorin moved a little at her side, the arrow was pointed at him next, the man with piercing blue eyes narrowing his eyes ever so slightly at Thorin. “Do not think I won’t kill you, Dwarf. It would be my pleasure” he stated roughly, Ruth glancing at Thorin briefly before letting out a quiet sigh, hanging her head as she almost just accepted her fate, subtly hiding one of her daggers in her pouch, so only one of her daggers could be seen and felt. Until she heard Kilí struggling, she turned around, glancing at the elf who pointed his arrow at Ruth, her eyes glancing back and forth between the arrow and Kilí and just before she decided to risk it, a woman came forth, elegantly taking more than one spider on and killing them. Ruth took a subtle inhale and caught a whiff of the woman’s scent, her eyes seeing the tip of her ears and her mind searching for the proper term that Elrond and Gandalf had taught her for female elves. ‘Ellith’, if she remembered correctly.

Ruth let out a brief sigh of relief when Kilí was pushed towards them, alive and unharmed, though rather shaken up it appeared. “Search them” Ruth rolled her eyes and gave the dagger to the elf that approached her, the blade in her hand as she offered the elf the handle, clearly giving it instead of threatening with it. The elf frowned, hesitantly taking the dagger and after inspecting it, the elf gave it to the one who had pointed an arrow at Ruth and Thorin. He seemed quite confused as he inspected the weapon, a frown forming on his face as he tried to figure out what the dagger was made from, and when he realized it was bone, he tried to figure out what kind of bone. Ruth couldn’t help but smirk as Filí had dagger after dagger after dagger removed, each hidden one being taken away and when finally, after over a handful of daggers were taken, he turned to see who he felt was staring at him, finding Ruth on the verge of chuckling but she tried to hide it, looking away from him, the sight making Filí smile ever so slightly, until his last hidden knife was being taken away as well. As a sword was placed in front of Thorin, Ruth took a small step towards the two, glaring lightly at the elf, the two of them locking eyes until he ordered something, Ruth being shoved with the others, thus breaking eye contact.

As Ruth was shoved into a cell, she still held her head high, turning around to face the cage-door being closed in her face, her eyes on the elf that had pushed her inside. She was sure that she could get through, she had lockpicks, and should they fail… she knew Hircine would aid her, after all, it was him she had seen in the forest, right? As she was debating letting the wolf out of the door, she noticed that he was still staring at her, almost as though he was studying her, and if she didn’t know better, she’d say he was almost admiring a piece of art, a statue of Dibella, a Sybil in the Divine goddess of beauty’s temple, a lover admiring their love’s face and thanking their stars for the sight. But Ruth did know better, yet she held his gaze, never wavering, never looking away. He was handsome, she had to admit that, he was tall, those piercing blue eyes almost making her breath hitch and she was almost, almost, sad to see him leave, her eyes locked on his form as she stepped closer to the bars, watching him leave until she couldn’t anymore.

--------------------------------------------

Tags:

@starwarsloverpizza

#Company of Oakenshield x Ruth Telvanni #Skyrim fic #Unexpected Company #A Chance Encounter #The Hobbit #Skyrim #Elder Scrolls: V #LOTR #The Hobbit fic

4 notes · View notes

fandomficsnstuff · 2 years

Text

Unexpected Company - 5

(Warnings: Blood, injuries, tiny fight, mention and hint of nakedness and some itsy bitsy tiny fluff)

Notes: This is platonic only! It is a prequel to A Chance Encounter but can be read alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bilbo watched with large and shocked eyes as he got a glimpse of not one, but two creatures. One was some sort of wolf or bear, he couldn’t quite make it out, the other… the other he made out as clear as day, as much as he could with it being something he’d never seen before. It was at least seven feet tall as it stood on it’s hindlegs, shoulders slouched as it’s chest rose and fell heavily, indicating that it was panting. With every breath it took, it seemed to growl. It’s head was the shape of a warg but leaning more towards the wolf side of it, it’s ears pinned back as it bared it’s teeth at the orcs below. A loud roar left the creature’s throat alongside the roar from the other creature, the sound traveling in the direction of the orcs, a warning. It’s long arms ended in giant hands with claws, it’s feet similar in appearance but clearly the feet leaning more towards the wolf side and not the overly large hands the creature had. The fur covering the thick hide was a mix of white and light brown, a timber color as there was a hint of orange by it’s neck and on it’s snout, eyes gleaming through the darkness in a dangerous gold color. Bilbo nearly thought it actually saw him, his heart stopping but since it didn’t attack him, he figured it must have looked past him instead, even though it oddly felt like it was looking at him. The second the creature looked away, he hurried back to the company. The large wolf-like creature growled quietly, the bear-like creature beginning to move away from the ledge, the wolf looking in the direction of where Bilbo had been, silently making it’s way over.

The conversations and whispers stopped as they saw the large head peek over the rocks, it’s teeth still showing, each breath carrying a growl as it looked down at them with glowing eyes. All the dwarves readied themselves for battle, even Bilbo did as Thorin protectively pushed him behind him, a hand over Bilbo’s as he was ready to defend the hobbit he had begun to care so deeply for, but as another roar was heard from the other creature, the wolf-like creature bared it’s teeth in that direction and as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone, and at Gandalf’s request, they ran, despite their pleas to wait for Ruth who had gone ‘hunting’. They ran for miles and miles until they saw a house in the middle of a field. As they furiously tried to open the door, banging on it and trying to break it down, Bilbo looked back, seeing the bear creature run at him and for a moment he froze, his eyes wide and he almost thought this would be it. This would be how he died. Until the wolf creature he had seen before came running, jumping up and barrelling against the bear, knocking it to the side and soon the two of them began to brawl, roaring, sounds of heavy footsteps were tumbling around the two as they struggled. The bear finally got free as the others managed to get inside, it’s snout barely making it before the wolf creature caught up, grabbing one of it’s hind legs with it’s absurdly long arms, dragging it back from the door before crawling on top of the creature, biting into it’s neck as the dwarves watched in shock. The wolf looked up, it’s golden eyes locked on them and finally, when it roared directly at them and they saw the sharp teeth that were stained with blood, they shut the door and barred it. They heard brief sounds of struggle from outside until finally it sounded like the bear walked away, the growling of the wolf quieting down. A loud roar left the wolf-like creature and the dwarves all flinched inside the house. They heard a large thud outside and when they finally dared to open the door to peek outside, they saw Ruth. Naked as the day she was born with black mist around her before eventually almost sinking into her until it was gone.

Slowly a small pool of blood began to form under her and Gandalf quickly pushed the others aside, Bilbo looking around the large house until he found a large piece of cloth that would cover most of Ruth, running back to Gandalf and handing it to him. Gandalf draped it over Ruth before gently turning her on her back, pulling down the fabric just enough to see her chest but still covering the most intimate parts of her. Three long, jagged lines were dragged across her chest, like the claws of a giant animal had scratched her. Gandalf picked her up to carry her inside when Thorin and Dwalin stood in his way. “What are you doing? Get out of my way!”

“She is cursed, she could turn into that thing at any moment and tear us all apa-”

“Stand aside, Thorin Oakenshield! She is under no curse and if she truly wanted you dead, she would never have used as much magic as she just did to save your life, now stand aside!” Gandalf ordered, his voice darkening, as did the small spot he stood in, the shadows growing bigger and finally, when he was eventually let inside, he rushed to lay her down on some hay, looking over the wounds with great worry. “What is she?”

“You can ask her yourself… if she survives this…” Gandalf snapped at Thorin, Bilbo being the only one who dared to get close enough. “Will she be alright?”

“I believe so… though the wound needs to be cleaned immediately, Bilbo, see if you can fi-” Gandalf was cut off as Bofur hesitantly kneeled down next to him, leaning over to inspect her wound before grimacing, turning to look over at Oin with a pleading look and finally, the dwarf hurried over to assess the wounds. Just as Oin reached to touch the wound, Ruth woke up, her eyes wide, they almost glow, and she gripped his arms, brows knitted together as her eyes was shut tightly in agony, her lungs barely able to take enough air in for her to speak or scream, tears building in her eyes and at first, no one knew what to do, until Thorin hurried over, Dwalin following, helping his king hold down Ruth’s arms to Bofur and Oin could work, Bilbo frowning as he tried to calm her down. “It’ll be alright, it’s alright” he tried to soothe but the second Oin placed some kind of salve on her wound, she screamed, tears running down her cheeks, her eyes opening, the green almost gone, overshadowing by the glowing gold that the beast before had shown, Oin recoiling but before he could stand up, Thorin and Bofur both yanked him back down, Oin looking at his king in shock. “Help her” he ordered, Oin gulping nervously before nodding, continuing to treat Ruth’s wound as she screamed and cried in pain at having the herbs and salve pushed deeply into the wounds and along the edges of the sore and torn skin. Once it was finally over, she just laid there, tears still running down her cheeks as she could barely keep her eyes open, her body covered in sweat as she was barely able to take a full breath of air and fill her lungs, wincing every time she tried.

Gandalf hurried over once they were done, practically shoving Oin away as he kneeled down next to her, looking her over as her eyes lazily moved up to look at him, then moving to Thorin who had let go of her, but not left. Slowly and weakly her hand made it’s way to his, she was barely able to do anything but let her fingers graze his, as a thanks, her eyes closing without her permission as she finally fell asleep.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Ruth could distantly hear the sound of Gandalf’s voice over the murmuring of the dwarves and the sound of metal and wood clashing, her eyes still shut and mind half asleep.

“Good morning-”

“Who are you?”

“I’m Gandalf. Gandalf the Gray-”

“Never heard of him. Do you belong with the wolf?”

“That I do, her name is Ruth, she’s a skin changer. I’m a wizard. Perhaps you’ve heard of my colleague, Radagast the Brown. He resides in the Southern Borders of Mirkwood.”

“What do you want? Only the she-wolf is welcome here.”

“Well, simply to thank you for your hospitality, you may have noticed that we took refuge in your lodgings last night, And to thank you for accepting our dear friend, Ruth, into your home where she can rest-”

“She tried to kill me-”

“Yes, I am aware she can be… different, when she takes on her sh-”

“I like her. I don’t like you-... who is this little fellow?”

“Ah, well, this would be Mr. Baggins from the Shire.”

“He’s not a dwarf, is he?”

“Why no, no, he’s a Hobbit. A good family and an unimpeachable reputation. Our mutual friend Ruth thought he was a Dwarf as well.”

“A halfling and a Wizard. I find it hard to believe you travel with someone as powerful as the she-wolf… how come you here?”

“Oh, that is that we had a bad time of it, from goblins in the mountains.”

“What did you go near goblins for? Stupid thing to do.”

“You are absolutely right, no it was terrible-”

Ruth frowned as she opened her eyes, hearing more shuffling of feet and some weapon being raised with chains rattling. At first it hurt to just turn her head, but soon she was able to lift her head up from the hay, wincing in pain at the agony in her chest, her hand coming up and gently touching the wrapped wound. She looked around and saw some of the dwarves tumble out and she frowned, standing up and wrapping the fabric around her. With it halfway down her upper arms and pulled tightly around her to shield her chest, it reached just above her knees. She heard the dwarves mumbling and as she followed the sound of their voices, she heard one of the two voices she had heard just moments ago. “Is that it?”

Ruth stumbled out into the light, wincing in pain, squinting her eyes as she walked further towards the gray blur she hoped was Gandalf. She stopped once her eyes adjusted to the light, her eyes coming upon a figure she didn’t recognize, but she recognized the smell. His mouth was half open and he stared at her with his brown eyes, wide in shock as she shyly looked down at her almost naked state. “I uh, hi” she mumbled, watching as he slowly lowered the ax as though he was in a trance, no longer on guard of the dwarves as he saw her. “I uh, I don’t think we’ve been introduced properly, I-I don’t know how much you remember-”

“Everything…”

“Oh, well, good. You’re a great hunter, I’m impressed by you” Ruth stated with a light shrug as she took a few steps closer, his eyes landing on the fresh wound on her chest, eyes growing even wider in realization. Ruth followed his gaze and shrugged, smiling at him “don’t worry about it… I’m sorry if I gave you one of these… I-...”

“You stopped me.”

“Yes…”

“Tried to kill me…”

“Yes… that too…”

“Are you married?”

“Yes-... wait what?” Ruth asked in shock, her eyes wide as she stared up at the large man who just kept staring at her. “Uh… no…” she admitted shyly, the man gesturing to her ring, making Ruth’s cheeks turn beet red as she cleared her throat awkwardly “yeah, I uh, it helps, you know… keep control…” she admitted, walking a few steps more forward towards him. “So… I’m Ruth Telvanni, my master calls me Sayla and I don’t like the title of ‘Lady Telvanni’... what about you?”

“Beorn…”

“Beorn, it suits you. I uh… you haven’t uh.. happened to see my clothes, have you? Or possibly a large black horse running around? Blood-red eyes? Sharp teeth? You know, a ‘chills your bones with just one look’ kind of horse?”

“Forest…”

“Forest, good, he’s close by” Ruth muttered, awkwardly pursing her lips before nodding to herself, backing up a little “I’ll uh, go and actually put some clothes on-”

“You’re pale-”

“Yeah I know, I-”

“No, you’re pale” Bilbo spoke up, Ruth frowning at him with confusion “I know, there isn’t a whole lot of sun on Solstheim and-”

“I think you need to sit down…”

“What? I’m fine…” Ruth murmured, feeling her leg almost give out under her, her knees buckling and a pair of arms wrapped around her, her eyes shutting briefly before she opened them and looked around, wincing at the pain her wound caused her “I need to get my clo-”

“You need to rest” Filí stated almost harshly, Ruth glaring lightly up at him, trying once again to stand when her knees once again didn’t allow her, her head spinning as she tried to will her body to give her a tiny amount of strength “I’m naked, I-”

“I have some clothes” Beorn stated softly, nodding inside of the lodge and Filí nodded, picking Ruth up, who was blushing beet red with embarrassment, and carrying her inside, Kilí, Oin and Bofur following closely. Ruth winced as Filí gently placed her on the hay while the others searched for the clothes Beorn had talked about, finding a large tunic and hurrying over to Filí. “Here, put this on” he murmured, glancing at the others who quickly left again, leaving Filí alone with Ruth. “I’ll help you sit up, you can slid it on over your covers” he advised, Ruth scoffing quietly “‘covers’... it’s like a handkerchief for that guy” she half-joked, Filí smiling in amusement “it still suits you” he teased, Ruth chuckling briefly before wincing at the pain in her chest. As Filí helped her sit up, she pulled the tunic over her head, rolling her eyes at the large hole for the head that nearly showed all of her cleavage. Filí helped her stand up, the cover she had used dropping from under her, the tunic almost reaching her feet, making her scoff “Molag’s balls I feel like a twig in this” she muttered and winched, looking down at herself and then up at Filí who was clearly trying to hold in a laugh. “Laugh and I swear on the Nine I’ll headbutt you” she threatened but Filí knew she didn’t mean it. He grabbed her arm from her healthy shoulder and put it over his shoulders, guiding her to the kitchen area and up on the large bench, her feet just about reaching the ground.

It wasn’t long until the others walked inside, Beorn heading straight towards Ruth and Filí who sat beside her, his own feet not even touching the floor. “Did you eat when we hunted?” he asked softly, Ruth smiling ever so slightly but winced as she tried to shrug “thought you said you remembered” she teased lightly, Beorn merely letting out a small grunt as he looked around the kitchen that was perfectly sized for him “I remembered you…”

“I’m flattered… but no, these orcs are nothing like those from my world… they taste like what I imagine Sheagorath’s brain is like…” she murmured with disgust. Ruth smiled up at Beorn when a large plate with some bread, honey, strawberries and nuts were all placed in front of her. “Thank you, Beorn, very kind of you” Ruth muttered softly as she began to eat, unaware that Beorn was watching her with soft eyes, the other dwarves shifting uncomfortably, making him snap out of his daze. His gaze turned to Thorin and instantly it turned cold again, picking up a jug with milk, pouring it into the mugs offered to the dwarves, and Ruth of course. “So, you’re the one they call Oakenshield… tell me… why is Azog the Defiler hunting you?” he asked darkly, Ruth glancing up at him before looking over her shoulder at Thorin, thinking things over before looking back at Beorn, wiping her mouth with her hand as she finished chewing. “Doesn’t matter, does it? And this honey is really good, you collected it yourself?” Ruth asked in an attempt to change the subject, Beorn’s cheeks turning red under the tufts of hair on his cheeks, a small nod leaving him and Ruth nodded. “You know of Azog?” by the Nine, why couldn’t he accept Ruth’s sly attempt to change the subject? “How?” Thorin asked, looking over at Beorn and Ruth’s eyes fell to the metal cuff around one of his wrists, Ruth’s gaze turning sad as she gently shook her head at the thought of him being held captive, she saw the scars on his chest and at first assumed they were earned in battle, but now, another possibility made her lose her appetite. “My people were the first to live in the mountains… before the orcs came down from the north. The Defiler killed most of my family… but some he enslaved…”

“You don’t have to talk about it, you know… I-I mean you’re free to if you want I just-”

“Thank you, Lady Wolf” Beorn stated softly and Ruth nodded, clearing her throat as she stood up from the bench, or rather, down. She was a small woman, smaller than Gandalf but taller than even Dwalin. “I uh… yeah I’ll get my clothes from Shadowmere” she mumbled, leaving on still unsteady legs, letting out a heavy breath as she got out of the house, eyes shutting for a brief moment in relief at escaping the talk of dead families…

Ruth whistled and Shadowmere quickly came galloping from the forest and towards the house she stood at the edge of, Ruth smiling at her old friend, greeting it by petting it’s neck before walking over to the side of it, taking off her satchel and clicking her tongue as she walked over to some bushes and a fence. Shadowmere followed her, almost standing guard outside while Ruth got dressed in her usual armor, still wincing at the pain on the left side of her chest. Once she was done, she patted the horse’s neck and clicked her tongue twice, Shadowmere almost nodding before turning around and disappearing somewhere once more as Ruth walked inside again.

She was tightening her fingerless gloves when she walked back up to the table, smiling at Beorn and handing him the large tunic “thank you, for lending it to me, though I don’t think it’s my size” she joked lightly, Beorn giving a rare half-smile and a brief chuckle as he accepted the tunic, a white mouse in his other hand and Ruth smiled. “A friend of yours?” she asked, Beorn surprised at her genuine joy at seeing the small creature, so he lowered his hand so she could see it better, her hand reaching out and gently petting it’s small head with only a few of her fingers. “Does it have a name?”

“No…”

“Hmm… a cute thing like that has to have a name… what about…” she turned to smirk at Thorin with mischievous eyes before grinning up at Beorn “Noriht?” she asked, Thorin glaring lightly at her but Beorn actually laughed, Ruth smirking over her shoulder at Thorin, gesturing to Beorn with a shrug “he thinks I’m funny” she teased, some of the dwarves trying their best to not laugh at the tiny mouse being named ‘Thorin’ but spelled backwards. “Lady Wolf, you are welcome to return any time you wish… you are welcome to hunt on my lands and welcome to stay and spend many nights…” Beorn muttered with a blush, Ruth grinning up at him, smiling as she nodded “thank you, Beorn, Lord Bear. It’s very kind of you to offer. If I’m around these parts again, I might just see if you’re still alive” she teased with a smirk, Beorn humming briefly as he placed the mouse gently down on a chair, glancing at the dwarves to see Filí with an annoyed expression. “Perhaps if I see you again, we could be on a first name basis?” she lightly flirted, smiling at him before turning around to face Thorin “I take it we’re leaving?” he nodded, Ruth nodding as well “I’ll get onto Shadowmere, not really keen on walking at the moment” she said with a shrug, giving Beorn one last smile before walking outside, Beorn watching her leave with a slightly open mouth, Filí rolling his eyes with more annoyance.

-----------------------

Tags:

@starwarsloverpizza

#Unexpected Company #A Chance Encounter #Skyrim fic #The Hobbit fic #The Hobbit #LOTR #Skyrim #Company of Oakenshield x Ruth Telvanni #Elder Scrolls: V

5 notes · View notes

fandomficsnstuff · 2 years

Text

Unexpected Company - 3

(Warnings: Fighting, some arguing, blood)

nce Encounter but can be read alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ruth was already putting on her weapons as she heard the knock on her door, walking over and opening it, leaving it open as Balin walked in, frowning at the sight of her packing. “Leaving, are we?”

“You’re late, the sun is already up” she replied coldly despite it still technically being sunrise, Balin frowning at her before walking over to a nearby table, splaying out a contract that already had another name on it, ‘Bilbo Baggins’. “Quill?”

“Yes, thank you” she stated casually, walking over with a dagger in her hand, the same dagger she let him examine. She nodded as she read it over, placing the dagger on the table beside the contract as Balin got out a small quill and ink, giving her the small quill which she used to sign the contract with, signing ‘LADY S. TELVANNI’. She blew on it before handing everything back to Balin, taking her dagger, putting on a small satchel on her left in the far back of her hip, turning around to face Balin. She gave him a brief smile before walking past the shocked dwarf, Balin hurrying after her as she somehow knew where the dwarves, and hobbit, were conversing, showing up in her usual armor. “She signed it?” one of the dwarves asked, Balin nodding as he lifted up the signed piece of paper that was folded by now. “And I’ll fulfill it once my end of the deal is finished” she stated with a shrug, the dwarves staring at her with frowns, all except Balin and Thorin, and Bilbo, but he wasn’t a dwarf, despite her earlier assumption. Ruth narrowed her eyes on them before looking at Thorin.

She decided against telling them, since that should be Thorin who did so, and nodded “let’s go, Gandalf can catch up later, he’s quite sturdy, for an old man” she murmured the last bit jokingly even though it wasn’t meant for anyone but herself, about to walk towards the hidden passage they had come from when a voice stopped her “that’s it? You-... you don’t have anything else?” Filí asked in shock, Ruth frowning at him before shaking her head, patting the back of her hip where her satchel was hiding under her cloak “got everything I need” she stated with a shrug before moving once more, the others beginning to follow her.

Ruth smirked as she heard the steps leading up to where Gandalf, another wizard and the two powerful elves were conversing, Bilbo frowning at her sudden smirk, as though she had heard something quite amusing, something they couldn’t hear.

“My lord Elrond, the dwarves… they’re gone, so is the Lady Telvanni”

“Always hated that title” Ruth murmured to herself, still smirking as she kept walking with her new companions.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ruth narrowed her eyes as she tried to see through the heavy rain and wind, her hood pulled up, mask covering half her face as she trudged over the sharp edges of the rocks, her steps calculated. Until the stones beneath Bilbo crumbled. She practically jumped over to him as he nearly fell, grabbing him by his vest before he could tumble over the edge, struggling to pull him back, letting out a breath of relief when he was finally safe. Or well. safer. She gently patted Bilbo’s shoulder as he looked at her with wide eyes, her hand on his shoulder, guiding him further along the slippery rocks. Ruth almost let go of Bilbo, sure he had found his footing, until she saw the giant boulder being hurled at them. With one hand she grabbed her amulet and with the other she used it to pull Bilbo as close against the rocks as she could, almost covering him with her body as the boulder his the mountain they were climbing shattering into more boulders of smaller sizes, raining down on them and one even hit Ruth’s shoulder, a small cry leaving her lips at the pain it caused, her arm nearly dropping to her side in hopes that she could avoid the pain of holding it up, but she kept it over Bilbo, continuing to keep him safe. “This is no thunderstorm, it’s a thunder-battle!” Balin’s words made Ruth frown in shock, her gaze turning to him as she finally let Bilbo out from the shield she had made over him using her body. “Thunder-battle?! What in Sithis’ name is a thunder-battle?!”

“Look!” Ruth followed Balin’s finger and her eyes grew wide. “Kaan Ahrk Ek Su’um…” Ruth mumbled with wide eyes. “Well bless me, the legends are true… giants! Stone giants!!” Bofur exclaimed just as a massive giant of stone revealed itself, throwing another giant boulder at another giant. Ruth quickly pulled Bilbo away from the edge, practically shoving him against the wall as she flattened herself against it, the path they stood on was shaking and to Ruth’s shock, they were on the knees of another stone giant. Her mouth hung open in shock at the revelation and as the knees parted and the giant stood up, she clung to the wall, everything shaking and moving as she barely had any stone to stand on, most of it having been broken off by boulders and rocks falling from the air.

As the giant began to fall, it’s head falling past them all, Ruth held on, her eyes wide as the knee they stood on quickly began to fall towards another rock face, Ruth making a split decision to hurriedly cover Bilbo with her body to shield him from the impact, the back of her head knocking against the hard stone, her red hair already growing darker with her red blood as the stones crumbled around them. As the giant fell towards the depths, Ruth held onto Bilbo, her hand holding onto the edge at the giant almost dragged him down with it, yet the piece of fabric that was stuck to it broke apart from the rest of the clothes, leaving Ruth to hang off the edge with her hand locked firmly around Bilbo’s hand, the pain in the back of her head throbbing and pounding within her skull, making her grit her teeth, yet she held on. “Where’s Bilbo and Ruth? Where are they??”

“Here!” Ruth shouted out, looking up at the dwarves who all tried to pull Ruth up, and she almost let them, until she felt her grip on Bilbo slip because of the water. “Get Bilbo!” She snapped, Thorin jumping off the side and onto a small ledge, grabbing Bilbo and pulling him up to the others who helped him up. Thorin was about to help Ruth when her hand slipped, a scream leaving her lips as she dropped down to another ledge, this one smaller and more narrow, her fingers barely able to fit onto it. Thorin gave his arm to Dwalin who held onto him, Thorin leaning down and grabbing hold of one of Ruth’s hands, helping her up the slippery rocks and when he himself nearly slipped, Ruth grabbed onto his arm in a rough grip that could bruise him “I got you, I got you” Ruth murmured as she held onto him as he regained his footing. Once the king was steady again, Thorin’s hands next began to help Ruth climb back up with the help of the others once Bilbo was safe, the two of them climbing up together. “I thought we’d lost our burglar and dragon expert!” Dwalin stated with a hint of relief as Bofur pulled down Ruth’s hood and looked over Ruth’s head wound as much as he could with the rain and thunder. “He’s been lost ever since he left home, and she; she is too reckless. Neither of them should have come, they have no place amongst us” Thorin spat, Ruth glaring at him as Thorin led Dwalin into a small cave, the others following, Bofur trying to help Ruth get up but she shoved his hands away, standing up, helping Bilbo up before leaving with the others.

Once they were inside and shielded from the storm, Ruth glared at Thorin from afar as Bofur began to look over her wound, the kind dwarf noticing her glare and sighed softly “he didn’t mean it-”

“He doesn’t strike me as a man who says anything without meaning it” Ruth interrupted, Bofur sighing again before looking her wound over again “it’s bad… you’ll need stitches… hold tight and-”

“No, it’s fine-”

“It needs to be closed up-”

“I’m alright, I’ve suffered worse…”

“It won’t heal, it’s not safe” Bofur insisted and Ruth’s gaze softened as she looked at him, eventually nodding and sighing, helping part the waves of red hair so he could actually work on the wound. “You’re taking this well” Bofur noted after making the first few stitches and not seeing her flinch, Ruth sighing softly “told you; I’ve been through worse… can you see with the light?” she asked, Bofur groaning and wincing a little before shrugging “I’ll have to make do-” he was cut off as Ruth lifted her hand, a shining ball of light floating in her hand, blue and white light, it was almost as blinding as staring directly at the sun, but it cast enough light that Bofur could work without trouble. The dwarves stared in shock at the sight, Bilbo’s mouth hanging open, Ruth’s cheeks growing a shade darker but she ignored them until Bofur said he was done, leaning back and as Ruth lowered her hand, the light vanished. “What was that??” Dwalin asked in shock and slight anger, possibly due to some fear in him. “Magic-”

“You have magic?!”

“I don't like to use this kind of magic, but I can kill dragons, so…” Ruth muttered as the answer before standing up, cupping the back of her head before letting her hand drop, sitting as far away from Thorin as she could, catching him looking at her with a much softer expression, as though trying to apologize with just that, but instead Ruth just looked away. All the dwarves continued to stare at her and she turned her gaze away, using her soaked cloak to cover her shoulders and a little bit of herself, like a tiny blanket, leaning her head against the stone. It wasn’t long until everyone was somewhat settled, Bofur deciding to keep watch first, moving over to sit next to Ruth who was still awake. “You need rest if you want that wound to heal as quickly as possible” he whispered, Ruth looking around before sighing, gently shaking her head “I’m alright-”

“It’s not about if you’re tired or not” Bofur interrupted, Ruth looking at him with soft eyes before nodding with a sigh, standing up and attempting to look for a place to sleep, spotting one next to Filí and so she moved over, laying down, trying not to lay too close to any of them but she fell asleep faster than the others had, her eyes closing with exhaustion.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

The first thing that raised Ruth from sleep was Thorin’s voice but before her brain could catch up, the floor under her moved and she began to fall, as though a latch was opened. She grunted every time she fell against the walls, her arms covering her head instead of trying to cushion her falls, not wanting to make her head wound any worse than it already was. As the tunnel they had all been thrown around in came to a stop, she was one of the last to fly out. She let out a grunt as she landed on top of someone, eyes closed briefly as she winced at the soreness of her body, lifting her head up and opening her eyes to see Filí under her, his cheeks beet red as he smirked at her “quite a predicament we’ve found ourselves in, eh?” he asked half jokingly, Ruth rolling her eyes and scoffing, leaning back and trying to get Bifur off her back, grunting as she finally got him to roll over, allowing her to sit up. Before she could even stand, an army of small, riekling looking orcs poured out from only Mara knows where, grabbing the dwarves and her one by one, practically shoving her away and into a line with the others that were being shoved. “Get off me you disgusting things!!” Ruth roared, a part of the mountain shaking with her voice but everyone was too preoccupied to notice, one of the falmer sized creatures reaching up and gripping her hair in between it’s clawed hair, the sensation of the hair being tugged around the wound on her scalp making her yelp and cry out in pain. She managed to break loose but still moved forward, drops of blood covering the creature’s hand from her wound that had been torn open once more.

Ruth continued to fight against their hold, all the way to the platform she and her new companions were led to, their weapons dropped in a pile, all except the dragon-bone daggers the company knew she kept on her, which she had apparently managed to hide away. Her glare fixed onto the creature that sat on it’s throne, crushing some of the creatures to get off it, approaching them. “Who would be so bold as to come armed into my kingdom? Spies? Thieves? Assassins?!” Ruth awkwardly glanced around at the mention, catching Bofur’s gaze, giving him a subtle shrug before looking back up at the creature. “Dwarves and a woman, your malevolence” Ruth scoffed at the nickname, not loud enough to be heard by anyone else but those right against her, those being; Bofur, Filí and Kilí and Gloin. “Dwarves?!” the ‘malevolence’ asked shocked. “We found them on the front porch” one of the smaller ones stated, the overly grotesque one gesturing to them “well don’t just stand there, search them! Every crack. Every crevice!” he ordered, the creatures swarming them all, ripping things and weapons from the dwarves, tearing Ruth’s cape in two so only a small bit of fabric hung from her shoulders, several of them trying to find a weapon on her body yet they found none, confusion evident on their faces. “My malevolence! This one is unarmed!” one of the shouted, the king narrowing his eyes at her, gesturing for her to be brought forward. “Unarmed, you say, hm? What are you?” he asked and gestured to Ruth who rolled her eyes, freely stepping forward as the creatures pushed her to do so “well, as the riekling said; a woman” Ruth stated with a shrug, smirking up at the ‘king’ as he glared at her “you’re no dwarf!”

“Well observed.”

“What are you?!”

“Depends on who you ask.”

“What does that mean?!”

“Well, it means; it depends on who you ask.”

“Are you mocking me?!”

“Nope” Ruth answered in a calm and casual manner, this ‘malevolence’ staring at her, unsure if he should entertain her or kill her immediately. “What are you doing in these parts?!”

“Decided to tag along with this lot, thought it’d be a nice change of scenery-”

“I mean what are you doing in my kingdom?!”

“Well, we didn’t know it was your kingdom until that latch of yours made us tumble down here, until then we didn’t know so you can’t fault us for ignorance” Ruth stated casually, “very well, if you will not talk, you will squak!!” he announced, every creature in the cave jumping up and down in joy and Ruth just rolled her eyes “I’d like to see you try” Ruth stated with a smirk, undeterred as she looked up at the large creature. “I’ve been through much worse things than a half-goblin half-falmer can put me through” Ruth hissed with anger before smirking at him again, straightening her back as though it was with pride “do your best” she stated softly. “Bring up the mangler! Bring up the bone-breaker! Start with the female!” he pointed at Ruth and she had half a mind to just bite him. “Wait!” Ruth turned in shock at the sound of Thorin’s voice, her eyes widening as she saw him step forward, his eyes locked on hers for a brief while before he turned to look at the odd and grotesque creature who was pleasantly surprised to see him. “Well, well, well, look who it is. Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror, King under the Mountain!” the creature bowed mockingly, his subjects squeaking and laughing and Ruth gritted her teeth briefly before turning to Thorin “Thorin, I can handle the pain, don’t-” Ruth was cut off as the ‘goblin king’ began to sing, the corners of her nose scrunching up as she winced a little, scoffing quietly “well that’s flatter than Maven Black-Briar’s sense of humor” she mumbled, cringing at the horrid singing. As the ‘king’ sang, a goblin picked up Thorin’s sword to inspect it, unsheathing an inch of the blade and instantly is squealed and threw it to the ground, every creature hurrying away from it, the king crawling over his own people, squashing them into mush as he pointed at the sword with shaking hands “I know that sword! It is the Goblin-Cleaver! The Biter!” the king shrieked in horror, Ruth frowning at Thorin with a hint of confusion before reminding herself that these were the goblins in this world, not the weird distant cousins to the rieklings that she knew of. Though when it came to intelligence, they didn’t stray that far from these kinds of goblins.

Ruth winced as she was suddenly whipped, the golden flecks in her eyes flaring to life and she caught the whip as it came at her again, grabbing it with both hands, the tip of the whip cutting through the fabric on one of her fingerless gloves, tearing apart the skin in a single, large line that went across the back of her hand. She tugged on the whip, making the goblin fly forward and she headbutted it, turning around and strangling another goblin that had jumped on Thorin, using the whip to pull the creature away, closer to the edge before eventually pushed the creature over, turning around to whip another cre

ature and kick it, using the whip to wrap around the creature’s neck, tugging it towards the edge she stood nearby and pushing the creature over it, turning back to the other goblins, two dragon-bone daggers in her hands and she smirked. Ruth flew at the goblins holding Thorin down, stabbing their shoulders, cutting their throat, burying the blades in the back of their skulls as she pulled them away from him. Until two goblins barrelled at her, tackling her to the ground, pinning her arms down as the other raised a dagger above her head as she struggled against it’s grip. Just as Ruth thought it’d pierce her eye as it went down, a blinding white light blasted them all away, everything being silent for a few seconds, as though the light itself had both blinded her and made her deaf.

----------------------------------------------------

Tags:

@starwarsloverpizza

#Lotr #Unexpected Company #A Chance Encounter #The Hobbit fic #Skyrim fic #The Hobbit #Company of Oakenshield x Ruth Telvanni

5 notes · View notes

fandomficsnstuff · 1 year

Text

Unexpected Company-Final

(Warnings: Fluff, angst, fluff, more fluff, some more angst and fluff:3)

Notes: This is platonic only! It is a prequel to A Chance Encounter but can be read alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ruth was grinning as she watched the small Hobbit children run around and play, Bilbo noticing as he had arrived with a cup of tea, handing it to Ruth as she thanked him quietly before looking back at the children. “Do you miss it?...” Bilbo asked softly with a faint smile, Ruth continuing to watch them play with a small smile on her lips. “I never had Lucia for that long, really, only about two years… I saw her under a large tree in Whiterun, begging for money… the second I had housing, I adopted her… she was just a young girl, six years old if I remember correctly…” Ruth trailed off, tilting her head a little before grinning at one of the young girls who waved at her, Ruth eagerly waving back with pure adoration and love. “And you’ve never-... thought of having one of your own?”

“No… I can’t have children” Ruth admitted softly, turning to smile at Bilbo, enjoying the way they could freely talk without the fear of stepping over a boundary. Ruth picked up the tea cup and sipped it lightly, Bilbo looking down into his cup, Ruth frowning with a sad smile at the sight. “He loved you, you know…” Ruth stated softly, Bilbo nodding without looking up, Ruth sighing lightly at the sight, putting down her tea cup. “What’s the next stop?” Bilbo asked quietly, finally looking back up at Ruth and she gave a light shrug and a smile. “Beorn. I’m going to hunt with him for the next few days after I’ve arrived, I’ve promised to tell him about the beast-blood from my world.”

“I believe he’s got his eye set on you” Bilbo teased lightly, Ruth scoffing and rolling her eyes “and he knows I’m not interested. The second I am, I’ll let him know” Ruth stated with a smirk and once more, a silence filled the room besides Frodo playing, Ruth sipping her tea quietly as Bilbo studied her with sad eyes. “You’re wrong, you know… about what you said at their funeral…”

“How would you know, Master Baggins?” Ruth asked with remorse, Bilbo sighing “because I know you, Ruth. You come here at least a few times every single year, especially after the tree… you helped me plant that tree even though you got nothing out of it yourself. You visit both Dale and Erebor to see how they are doing, you helped Balin take back the mines of Moria. Every single thing you do is filled with love and care, so why shouldn’t you be able to love someone like I loved-.... like I loved Thorin?” Bilbo asked softly, Ruth staring at him with a small frown before sighing and looking down, running a hand briefly over her face. “Perhaps one day… but it seems like a distant possibility… I’ll stick to wandering, for now… On my way to Beorn I’m going to meet Gandalf at the Prancing Pony, so I should probably get going, after Beorn I’m going to Erebor and Dale” Ruth stated softly, drinking the rest of her tea before getting up, Bilbo standing up as well “it’s been a pleasure as always, tell Gandalf that the Bucklebelt children are still asking about his fireworks, and say hello to Bard for me” Bilbo stated softly, Ruth chuckling, nodding at Bilbo before hugging him and walking down the few steps to the small gate parting ways with Bilbo before saddling up on Shadowmere who waited outside.

----------------------------------------------------

Ruth couldn’t help but laugh as she sat near the table where Bard and his daughters were, his son off somewhere with a girl he had begun to know, Bard both weary and happy about it, Ruth chuckling at his concern, gently nudging his shoulder with her own. “Don’t worry so much, Bard. You’ve raised a good man, I just feel bad for all the others girls once they see he’s already taken” Ruth joked, Bard smirking with amusement, his head down but the second Ruth looked away, he looked back up at her, pleading eyes begging her to not look at him so he could admire her a little longer. “Dale is doing well, Bilbo sends his regards. Will you begin to build Laketown back up again, it’s been ten years already” Ruth asked, looking back at Bard who acted like he had just now looked at her, eyebrows raised casually as he shrugged and looked out over the people laughing and drinking and feasting. “We have plenty from the mountain but so far, no one has expressed that they wanted to return to live on the lake” he admitted, Ruth humming as she took a sip of her ale from her mug before lowering it “perhaps they just need to get settled properly, ten years is sometimes not enough for some people to stop looking over their shoulder” Ruth stated with a shrug, turning to look back at Bard who was already looking at her.

“You know from experience?...”

“No, I’ve never stopped.”

“Stopped what?”

“Looking over my shoulder” Ruth admitted calmly, Bard frowning at her with sadness “you fear for your life?...”

“How do you think I’ve stayed alive all this time?” Ruth asked with amusement but when she saw that he was genuinely concerned, she sighed, placing her mug on the table and smiling softly at Bard “I’m alright. Really, I am. Besides, I had a great teacher besides Master Neloth, he made sure of this when he found out that I wanted to travel and explore” Ruth stated with a brief chuckle,, shaking her head as she looked back out over the celebrating people, her eyes finding Sigrid and Tilda, her smile turning into a fond one as she watched them. “Tilda is a grown woman now, isn’t she?... And Sigrid?” Ruth asked softly, looking at Bard who smiled fondly at her “being the Lord of Dale makes the boys keep a distance” he admitted, Ruth chuckled “she’s a beautiful, kind woman, the men will flock around her all the same, they just learn to be more discreet” Ruth teased, Bard just smiling softly at her. “I was wondering if perhaps you’d take a walk with me?” Bard asked softly, almost as though he prepared himself for rejection and Ruth’s smile faltered, a frown forming on her face as she sighed. “Bard, you’re a lovely man, you really are. You’re humble and kind and it helps that you’re quite easy on the eyes… but I-I can’t… I won’t grow old with you, Bard, it’ll be centuries before I even start to feel the touch of age weaken my bones. And I wouldn’t be a good mother to your children or a wife to you, I can’t just-... settle down, it’s not me” Ruth muttered softly, Bard nodding with embarrassment, yet he still gave her a forced smile “I’m easy on the eyes?” Ruth rolled her eyes at his question, a scoff leaving her as she smirked, shaking her head with amusement “Talos have mercy” she joked lightly, smiling at Bard who smiled back at her.

----------------------------------------------------------

Ruth was smiling as she gently petted the horses in Beorn’s garden, the giant of a man watching her from a distance, unsure of how to even approach the woman, even though it wasn’t the first time she had visited. “Do you still have Niroht?” Ruth asked softly as she looked over her shoulder at him, Beorn snapping out of his trance, picking his work back up, collecting some of the honey as he gently shook his head, Ruth humming quietly with a small and brief frown. “Too bad… I guess not all things last” she stated softly, petting the horse again before turning and walking over to the other beehive, helping Beorn collect the honey, Beorn staring at her with a half open mouth, Ruth smiling softly at him. “You know what I told you, Beorn…”

“You’ll outlive me” he noted, Ruth nodding with a sigh before turning to fully look at him. “I don’t want to outlive someone I care about enough to marry, and besides, I can’t have children, Beorn, and if I remember correctly, that’s a big part of marriage” Ruth stated with a hint of sadness before picking up the bucket with honeycombs and walking inside the large cabin, Beorn following close behind after with his own bucket. “Why do you think you cannot have children?” Beorn asked softly, Ruth halting before putting the bucket down, turning with a sigh and giving him a pleading look, Beorn nodding and letting the topic go, Ruth letting out a brief sight of relief.

-------------------------------------------------------

Ruth was smiling as she watched the young child Bilbo had taken in, only thirteen now, an age Ruth thought of as a young man but apparently the aging was quite different in this world. “Forty-seven years of visiting and you still knock when you come to visit” Bilbo stated, mostly to himself but it made Ruth smile, turning to look at him “Master Neloth would have my head if I ever forgot my manners” she teased, Bilbo chuckling briefly, handing her a cup of tea, following her line of sight to the young boy. “Wouldn’t hurt if you learned small-talk either” he pointed out, Ruth scoffing quietly “and give up the endless silence? Never” she teased, Bilbo sitting down next to her, watching the young boy he had taken in a year ago, she had met him last year, yet not gotten to properly take a look at him and meet him. “So, he’s-... around eight in human years?”

“I believe so, yes” Bilbo admitted, Ruth humming quietly, sipping her tea as she leaned back into her seat. “So, you’ve not married yet?”

“Have you?”

“Not the point-”

“I’ll never marry, Bilbo” Ruth reminded him quietly, looking down into her cup of tea as Bilbo sighed “because you can’t have children… have you ever had a child, aside from Lucia?”

“No-”

“Then how do you know?” Ruth was silent before sighing, glancing at an occupied Frodo, standing up, putting her tea down and lifting up the tunic she had on instead of her armor, showing him three nasty, large scars on her right side, Bilbo frowning at the gruesome sight, even though they were already healed. “I was attacked, another werewolf had gone mad while I was out traveling. It was just after I had my own beast blood and I survived, killed the poor madman but-... I managed to drag myself to the nearest city, the healers said-... they were surprised I was even alive, half of my side was torn open and I could barely stand, I had lost so much blood… apparently one of the parts of me that was torn open was what would allow me to bear children. They told me they could save my life, but it was too damaged to ever truly work” Ruth admitted, trying to keep a casual facade but it was obvious she was on the verge of tears as she sat back down and picked up her tea, taking a brief sip of it. “Anyway, I won’t marry, so it doesn’t matter” Ruth stated with a shrug before sighing, continuing to collect the honey in silence while Bilbo stared at her with a mix of emotions in his eyes, the more prominent one being sadness.

“I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have asked-”

“Oh stop it, Bilbo. We’ve known each other for forty-eight years, I think you can stop apologizing for asking something by now… I’d just prefer to talk about something else…”

“You hate small talk.”

“I do. But I could tell you of Skyrim instead, I don’t count that as small-talk” Ruth stated with a smirk, Bilbo nodding with a small smile, giving her a nod, Ruth grinning as she put her tea aside and leaned forward, her elbows resting on her knees. “So, have you ever heard of something called Draugr?” she asked with a smirk.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ruth chuckled as she watched Gandalf show off his ‘fireworks’ to the other hobbit children,Ruth chuckled as she watched Gandalf show off his ‘fireworks’ to the other hobbit children, her gaze turning to Bilbo as he retold tales of his adventure to the young children. As the cake was brought out, the children ran off, making Bilbo get up and walk over to sit next to Ruth, who smirked at him, making the old hobbit frown “what? What is it?” he asked, Ruth continuing to smirk “this is quite the party, Bilbo Baggins… which reminds me,” turning around, she picked up something from the table itself that she was leaning her back against. It was wrapped in cloth with a loose string around it, something hard underneath. Bilbo frowned as he unwrapped it, his eyes widening and a grin stretched across his lips at the sight.

“I carved it myself…” She admitted with a smile, Bilbo holding up the carved pipe, perfect and precise, a crown with a real, tiny white gem carved into it, above a carved sword with dragon wings, his eyes turning to Ruth who grinned at him. “I thought it’d be a nice gift, for your 111th birthday… t-the symbol below the crown is Akatosh’s symbol, my chief divine… and above it-”

“Thorin’s crown with the Arkenstone…” Bilbo muttered, fingers crazing over the carvings with tears in his eyes, his arms wrapping around Ruth in a tight hug, the woman flinching at the sudden contact, hesitating before returning the hug. “Last time I visited you complained about your old pipe, so I thought you could use a new one on your way to Rivendell” Ruth stated casually, Bilbo frowning at her, making her smirk “did you honestly think I didn’t know?” she asked with amusement, Bilbo looking around which made her chuckle “I haven’t told Frodo or Gandalf, that should be you. I’m coming with you. It’s been too long since I’ve seen Lord Elrond” she admitted with a smile, Bilbo giving her a soft nod “you are more than welcome” he stated warmly, Ruth giving him a brief nod “good, because I’m thinking that we go through Mirkwood-”

“Ruth-”

“And then we take the mountain pass-”

“Absolutely not!” Bilbo exclaimed, making Ruth laugh, leaning back against the table connected to the bench she sat on, her stomach beginning to ache from how hard she laughed. “Ruth chuckled as everyone began to cheer for Bilbo, her elbow nudging his side before nodding toward the platform “go on, give them a speech. I’ll be in your house, I’ve had enough ale” she stated, patting his shoulder before getting up, the two parting ways as Bilbo got up on the platform to give his speech, the ring twirling between his fingers in his pocket, his eyes locked on Ruth who he could glimpse when she opened the door to his home and bowed down to walk inside. The thought of walking alongside her as she rode on Shadowmere, towards the beautiful Rivendell his heart longed for, the mountains, the rising sun and the views… it made his heart ache, only strengthening his decision as the ring slipped over his finger behind his back.

#Unexpected Company #Ruth Telvanni #The Hobbit #The Hobbit fic #Skyrim fic #The Elder Scrolls: V #LOTR #A Chance Encounter #Thorin Oakenshield company x Ruth #Skyrim

6 notes · View notes

fandomficsnstuff · 2 years

Text

Unexpected Company - 14

(Warnings: Fighting, blood, multiple character deaths, angst, sadness)

Notes: This is platonic only! It is a prequel to A Chance Encounter but can be read alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ruth was grinning from ear to ear as she cut down orc after orc, an ax landing in the skull on an orc she was fighting, killing it and Ruth gripped the ax with a brief laugh, turning around and seeing Filí, a smirk crossing her lips as she threw the ax into the air, caught it and then threw it directly towards Filí, the dwarf dodging just in time to see it lodge itself into the neck of an orc behind him, his lips stretching into a grin as he looked back at her before taking the ax and throwing it onward. As a brief shriek could be heard, Ruth looked up, frowning at the creature with a metal ball with spikes for hands, hanging by a chain, it’s eyes torn out and it had chains tearing at it’s sockets in whatever direction the orc on top wanted. Ruth immediately ran towards it, making sure to come up behind the creature, jumping up and crawling up, cutting the orc’s throat as she reached the top, pulling it over the side and sitting down in the seat, grabbing the metal chains and using them to steer the giant creature towards the army of orcs, the creature swinging the metal balls around, killing as many orcs as she could, unaware of Filí staring at her, his mouth slightly open in a smirk and he was practically drooling at the sight of her fighting and steering that giant creature as though it was just a horse.

Ruth looked towards whoever had laughed and she laughed when she saw Bofur on top of another creature, steering it as well and when they locked eyes, both smirked and steered the creatures towards the orcs, laughing with amusement and adrenaline. Ruth’s laughter was cut short as the creature tripped on itself, Ruth barely jumping off in time before she got crushed and thrown into a mix of orcs, instead she landed on something partly hard and partly soft. And moving quite fast too. As she opened her eyes she saw Filí, a frown forming on her brows in confusion and he smirked “quite the predicament, eh?” he asked teasingly, just as he had done on the Front Porch in the Goblin Kingdom, Ruth rolling her eyes as she held onto the carriage like thing so Filí didn’t have to hold onto her, a small scoff leaving her lips “so, what exactly are we doing?” she yelled over the sounds of battle, Balin glancing over his shoulder at her “we’re going to kill Azog!”

“This day just gets better and better” she mused, laughing briefly with them before continuing to hold on, readying her sword as they approached the army. “THIS THING IS AMAZING!” Ruth yelled with joy as the carriage was driven over a short hill, cutting off the head of no less than six trolls with clubs, Ruth cheering and laughing, turning to Filí and hugging him as she cheered. “By Talos, I want one” she joked cheerily, still holding onto Filí so she wouldn’t topple over, which almost made Filí heart explode, his hands on her hips under the excuse of not wanting her to fall off as one of the largest creatures cut them off course, Ruth holding on tightly to Filí and the edge of the carriage as it toppled and wobbled from side to side and bumped into rocks on the frozen lake, her hands clutching him and holding onto him until it was somewhat stable. Ruth parted from Filí and he almost let go of her but she shook her head “hold onto me” she ordered before turning to face the thing, her bow out and she nocked an arrow, drawing the string back, unsure of where to even shoot as Filí had an arm wrapped around her waist from behind. “Ruth, Kili! Shoot it!!”

“Where in Oblivion should I shoot it?!”

“In it’s jambags!!”

“It doesn’t have any jambags!!” Kili shouted, Ruth firing her arrow as the thing reached for them, making it recoil as it’s hand now had an arrow through it. “Hang on lads, I’m coming!!” Ruth let out a cheer as Bofur knocked down the creature attacking them, a grin on her lips as he landed on the ice after knocking both creatures down. “Bofur you mad genius!!” Ruth shouted as loud as she could, still cheering as she grinned from ear to ear. She turned around to grin at Filí, his cheeks beet red as he grinned at her, his heart thumping in his chest as he looked at her, his hands on her waist as he held her close, his throat dry and he damn near kissed her if it hadn’t been because of her moving in front of him quickly, drawing her string back with an arrow and firing it, another arrow soon following and then another and another. She laughed briefly, hugging Filí as she did, until she saw the wargs, and again she let go of Filí, Ruth firing her bow as much as she could with the entire carriage bumping up and down and to every side imaginable, two of the rams already lost and Ruth was almost hit by an orc’s sword, Filí blocking it and Ruth stabbed it’s gut with an arrow before nocking it and firing it at the warg, piercing the head and making the warg stumble and crash into the ice, throwing the orc through the air, Filí cutting off it’s head as it landed near them while they drove by.

“Ruth!”

“I’ll stay with Balin-”

“Like hell ya will lass, now go!” he urged, Ruth frowning at the old dwarf, glancing behind her at Filí who was holding his hand out, Ruth groaning as she moved away from Balin, grabbing Filí hand, letting him guide her over the shaky rails and onto the ram in the front, his sword cutting down a warg before jumping up in front of her, cutting the chain. Ruth clung to him like sweat as he rode, her face buried in his back to prevent herself from looking back at Balin. “Akatosh, Mara, Arkay, Kynareth, Stendarr, Zenitharr, Julianos, Talos, Dibella” Ruth chanted over and over again into Filí back. She continued to hold onto him as the rams went up further, finally jumping off when he did, her sword going through an orc’s face as she did, Ruth landing with a roll, the sword following and in one smooth motion she cut off the head of the orc in front of her, panting heavily for air as she got up, looking around before pointing to one of the rams. “That, is nothing like a horse or dragon” Ruth managed to wheeze out, Filí turning to her with a smirk “you’ve been on a dragon?”

“Filí, is that really so surprising to you?” she asked teasingly, laughing briefly before turning to Thorin, walking over and she saw the shameful look on his face, opening his mouth to apologize but Ruth just hugged him tightly. “Welcome back, Thorin Oakenshield, son of Thrain, son of Thror” Ruth whispered before parting from him, her hand on his shoulder as she did, giving him a smirk “forgive me f-”

“Done, now can we please just kill Azog?” Ruth asked teasingly, stepping back “I’m beginning to get really tired” she added half-jokingly, Thorin turning to look at the towers at the mention, Ruth following his gaze, frowning when she saw it was empty, listening to the ideas that Azog could have fled. “No, no he’s still here…” Ruth murmured before turning to look at Thorin, listening intently as he sent Filí and Kilí to scout out the towers. “I’m coming with y-”

“No, I need you here-”

“What? No! I-”

“We have company” Ruth’s argument was cut short as she turned to Dwalin, getting out her bow and nocking an arrow as she looked in the direction he was looking. “Goblin mercenaries, no more than a hundred.”

“Well, that should be easy” Ruth muttered honestly, turning to look at Filí with worry as Thorin sent them off. “I’ll see you soon” she muttered, Filí giving her a brief nod with a soft smile before he turned around and hurried off, Ruth turning to stand with Dwalin and Thorin, one of her arrows flying as the goblins attacked and she began to fight. “How much do you know of dwarves, Lady Telvanni?” Thorin asked while fighting, Ruth frowning, having changed to her sword instead and she glanced at Thorin before cutting down a goblin. “The dwarves in this world? Not a damn thing, why?”

“They only love once in their entire lives” Thorin revealed, Ruth frowning at him with confusion but before she could ask further, a goblin tried to swing it’s weapon at her, Ruth dodging, cutting open it’s gut as she moved out of it’s way, the motion of her sword continuing as she cut the goblin’s gut and the throat of another goblin.

After the last goblin had been slain, Ruth was pacing back and forth unaware of Bilbo’s presence until he spoke and revealed the trap, Ruth’s eyes growing wide in realization. Tears filled her eyes as she saw the blonde hair of Filí being dragged, her heart racing as she jumped over the wall and onto the frozen ice, a scream tearing through her throat when she saw the blade go through him and for the first time, the arrow that flew from her bow missed, the tears in her eyes clouding her vision, the ice cracking with the sound of her voice as she screamed, running over the ice as fast as she could without falling as she watched his body drop. She hurried towards Filí as he laid there, his eyes open, mouth agape and she held her breath as she slowly turned his head to look at him, finding his eyes moving ever so slightly and she let out a short breath of shock and relief. Kilí had already gone, leaving Ruth to kneel by Filí’s side as she tried to press down on his wound without hurting him too much. “You’re okay, you’re okay, w-we just need to-... t-to stop the bleeding a-and you might’ve hit your head too so you can’t fall asleep right now, okay? You ca-”

“Could you ever have loved me?”

Filí’s whispered words made Ruth stop and stare at him, her heart thumping in her chest as she held her breath while she just stared at him before giving him a brief nod. Ruth leaned down and gently pressed her lips against his cheek in a brief kiss, Filí managing to raise his hand, his gloved fingers briefly stroking her cheek as he let out one last breath, a word following his lips as he went still in her arms, a word she had only heard him call her once before. The gold in Ruth’s eyes shimmered like a roaring fire, her hands moving around Filí’s body until she found his throwing knives, taking a few of them before forcing herself to stand and leave his body there, hearing the sounds of stone crashing and crumbling and when she got closer, she heard the song of metal clashing against metal. As she got closer, she saw the blonde hair of an elf she recognized, a large orc advancing towards him and before Ruth could even think about why, she charged ahead, running over the stone as it crumbled when Thorin threw an orc over the edge of the frozen waterfall, the orc turning around as it crumbled, the elf unaware of an orc sneaking up on him from behind when suddenly, one of the throwing knives Ruth had taken from Filí was flying past both the big orc and the one sneaking up behind the elf, killing the smaller orc as the rest of the bridge was collapsing, the large orc falling back and was pinned under rocks and boulders, surely killing it. Ruth didn’t even glance at the elf before running back the way she came, her feet hurriedly taking her towards the top of the waterfall where a giant troll and Thorin were.

Ruth made it up just in time to see Azog swinging a giant rock at Thorin, Ruth about to hurry towards them, an arrow nocked on her bow when Thorin’s voice called out. “No! Warn the others!” His voice carried over the fighting and Ruth slowly turned to look behind her, her eyes widening at the new army that was fast approaching, her throat dry as she lowered her bow and arrow in a moment of shock. As the sound of ice cracking could be heard, Ruth looked back towards Thorin and Azog, raising her bow, an arrow nocked on the string as she waited, the tip of her arrow following Azog’s movements, waiting for the right moment to present itself. And present itself, it did. Ruth fired her arrow, the tip piercing and going clean through Azon’s leg, right in his knee and she heard him cry out and stumble briefly, allowing Thorin to get a chance to cut Azog on the arm, though the white orc moved away just in time, earning him a deep cut instead of a severed limb. “Looks like someone took an arrow to the knee” Ruth mumbled with a smirk, her eyes moving back towards the new army, another arrow nocked on her string, ready to be let loose when the sounds of eagles calling out made her turn, her lips spreading into a grin, not one of joy or happiness or surprise, but like a little kid seeing something so extraordinary that they can barely comprehend it, a look of wonder in her eyes as she quickly put away the arrow, briefly throwing the bow over her shoulder as she let out a whistle, waving to a man with some brown outfit atop the eagle. The eagle flew down lower and Ruth let it sweep her up, carrying her in one of it’s feet, allowing her to shoot her bow whenever she could, her arrows killing more and more orcs and her grin grew even bigger at the sight of a large bear she knew, the familiar scent spurring her on even more. Ruth nocked three arrow on her bow, drawing the string back and aiming for the orcs that overran the bear, her eyes narrowing as she steadied her aim and then let loose, seeing three orcs fall off of the bear, giving it more mobility and Ruth continued to grin, the eagle flying up higher and when she saw another one head towards her, but much lower, she tapped the eagle’s foot, the large bird understanding and opening it’s foot, Ruth falling down on top of the eagle, holding on tightly.

Ruth’s good mood was dampened when she heard a faint groan, the smell of blood, human blood, filling her nostrils and a sense of dread crashed over her like a forceful wave. “Take me back to the waterfall!” Ruth demanded with a wavering voice, the eagle obeying and turning around, flying back towards the waterfall and Ruth had never wished for wings more than now, her hands clutching the eagle’s feathers tightly with worry and the second it was safe, she jumped down, wincing at the pain in her feet from the large fall, her feet stumbling as she ran towards the scent of human blood, her eyes wide as she saw them. Ruth’s eyes were wide, her steps completely halted as tears filled her eyes, the golden shimmer dying down and fading as all adrenaline evaporated from her, her body heavy and numb at the same time as she lazily dragged her feet towards the two of them, unsure if she should interrupt what she was seeing. Thorin’s hand was on Bilbo’s cheek, Bilbo’s hand clutching Thorin’s and she could hear faint, soft words being exchanged between them, opting to shut them out to give them privacy as she watched with a trembling lip as Bilbo leaned down, kissing the cold lips of the man he loved, Thorin’s gloved thumb gently stroking Bilbo’s cheek, smearing a small amount of blood on it. Finally, Thorin’s hand dropped from Bilbo’s cheek, the Hobbit parting from the dwarven king, rocking back and forth as he leaned down to lie next to the dead king, pointing the sky, whispering about the eagles as though the king still drew breath, trying to hold back his sobs, unaware of Ruth who was slowly and quietly approaching. As Bilbo leaned away from Thorin, sitting next to him as he finally began to let the sobs out, he felt an arm wrap around him.

Bilbo leaned into Ruth’s embrace, clinging to her as he sobbed openly, Ruth’s eyes full of tears as she bit her lips together to not cry, holding back sobs in an attempt to stay strong for Bilbo’s sake, her eyes locked on the dead Thorin. Ruth parted softly from Bilbo, leaning over and gently closing Thorin’s eyes, the sight making Bilbo sob even harder and Ruth quickly embraced him once more, rocking back and forth with him, closing her eyes as she let a few tears roll down her cheek. “Nol Derek Rok Peyt, Wah Zin Rok Mah. Thur, Thorin Se Faal Strunmah, Neh Vodahmin. Neh Aan Jun, Nuz Faal Molaag Thur Se Naan…” Ruth whispered as she felt Bilbo, the Hobbit lifting his head from her shoulder, frowning at her with confusion. “‘King, Thorin of the mountain, never forgotten. Never a king, but the strongest king of all’... in dragon language, there are two types of words for king… one is Jun, the most commonly used word, and then there’s Thur… Thur is only given to the strongest ones, a rare honor…” Ruth explained softly, Bilbo leaning his head back into her shoulder as his sobs began anew, Ruth continuing to hold him.

------------------------------------------------------------

Ruth stared helplessly at Filí as he laid there, her face void of emotion and one could be forgiven for thinking she didn’t care, but the silent tears that rolled down her cheek disprove it, her eyes a storm of emotions as she just stood there, staring at him after having paid her respect to Kilí and Thorin. It wasn’t long until Gandalf walked over, almost everyone had left, everyone but Bilbo, Dwalin, Balin, Gandalf and Beorn, the old wizard walking over to Ruth, placing a hand on her shoulder, Ruth finally letting her emotions show as she let out a shaky breath. “Ruth-”

“I feel ashamed…” she admitted quietly, Gandalf frowning at her with both confusion and concern. “What on earth for?”

“For not loving him back… he loved me and I couldn’t love him back…”

“That is not your fault, it is not even a fault to begin wi-”

“Master Neloth was always cold… I never felt any love from him… then I met a woman named Serana, I thought I loved her but it turns out I was so starved of love that I was overwhelmed when I received the smallest amount of kindness, she helped me see that, became a good and dear friend… but other than that, I’ve never really-... felt-... love… and he loved me… he loved me and I couldn’t love him back…” Ruth muttered in a wavering voice, her eyes still locked on Filí’s pale face, as though it’d make everything okay. “He deserved to be loved, Gandalf… and I couldn’t give it to him… do you know what he asked me just before he died? He asked if I ever could have loved him… and I said nodded yes but the truth is-... I don’t think I’ll ever truly love…” Ruth added in an even more quiet voice, swallowing thickly as she dared to tear her eyes from Filí’s face, looking up at Gandalf and fresh tears formed in her eyes when she looked at him. “I couldn’t give him the one thing he deserved the most, not even as he was dying… I lied to give him a quiet passing… that is what I’m ashamed of…” Ruth admitted before forcing her emotions back inside of her, turning away from Filí’s body, practically storming out of the chamber.

--------------------------

Tags:

@starwarsloverpizza

#Unexpected Company #Skyrim fic #Skyrim #Elder Scrolls: V #The Hobbit #LOTR #The Hobbit fic #A Chance Encounter #Thorin Oakenshield x Ruth Telvanni

2 notes · View notes