#the hobbit x oc

[warriorofthought]

Ice Bear

Summary: You always were close to Lindir but he suddenly finds your present disturbing and that hurts you. Can you both come to good terms back again?

Word Count: 2023

Warnings: a bit hurt and sad feelings

Linder X Reader

In the serene woods of Riverdale, amidst the whispering leaves and the soft glow of moonlight, Lindir, the gentle minstrel of the Elves, found himself entangled in an unexpected situation. He had always been known for his kindness and compassion, but lately, he found himself feeling overwhelmed by the attentions of an ardent admirer.

As Lindir strummed his lute beneath the ancient mallorn trees, he sensed the presence of You approaching. With a courteous smile, Lindir welcomed you but his heart sank as You began to speak.

"Lindir," You began earnestly, "I must confess, I find myself drawn to your presence more than ever. Your melodies enchant me, your wisdom inspires me. I... I feel as though I cannot bear to be apart from you, as I was a child I was often by you, I miss that."

Lindir's heart fluttered with discomfort, for while he cherished You as a friend, he did not share the same romantic feelings. With a heavy heart, Lindir gathered his courage to speak his truth.

"Y/n" Lindir began gently, "I am deeply honored by your affection, but I must confess that I feel you have become... too clingy."

Your expression faltered, a flicker of hurt crossing your features. "Clingy? I... I only wish to be close to you, Lindir. Is that not what friends do?"

Lindir sighed, his fingers tracing the delicate patterns of his lute. "Indeed, friends do share a bond of closeness, but there must also be space for individual pursuits and interests. I fear that your constant presence leaves me feeling suffocated, unable to breathe freely."

Silence enveloped them like a shroud as You processed Lindir's words, his gaze cast downwards in contemplation. After a moment, he looked up, his eyes filled with remorse.

"I had not realized," You murmured, your voice tinged with regret. "Forgive me, Lindir, if I have caused you discomfort. I only wished to express my admiration for you."

Lindir's heart clenched with regret at the pain in your voice, but he knew that honesty was the only path forward. 

A flicker of hurt crossed your features, like a shadow passing over the moonlit glade. You stood silent for a moment, your gaze fixed upon the ground, before finally lifting his eyes to meet Lindir's.

"I have understood your words, I'm sorry for disturbing you" you murmured, voice tinged with sorrow. 

Lindir's heart ached at the pain in your voice, but he knew that he could not retract his words. And so, with a heavy heart, he watched as you quickly turned and walked away, disappearing into the depths of the forest like a fleeting shadow.

Days turned into weeks, and still, there was no sign of You searching for him. Lindir wandered the woods of Riverdale, his heart heavy with regret, longing for the familiar presence of his dear friend. But try as he might, he could find no trace of you, as if you had vanished into the mists of his memory.

And so, beneath the canopy of stars, Lindir played his lute, the echoes of his melodies mingling with the sighing of the trees. For even as the silence between them grew, he held onto the hope that one day, their friendship would bloom anew, like a flower blossoming in the wake of winter's chill.

_______________________________________

A few weeks later 

Lindir manage to spot you as you do your usual duty and steps up to you. Your attention is immediately drawn to him as you hear him. You quickly look away and tried to leave but he steps into your way.

"don't you dare to step closer, i don't want you near me" you utter a bit too rough, the Sight of him brings pain.

Lindir stops moving and his heart sinks for a moment. You truly don't want to let him come any closer and it hurts Lindir more than he wants to show. He finally understands that his words had hurted you more than he thought.

"So..." He replies with a mixture of hurt and sadness in his eyes trying to come up with a conversation. "You would have wanted to keep spending time with me and see me and hear my stories like we used to?"

"Have I ever said I don't want that?"

Lindir is quiet for a moment as he lets these words sink in. He realizes how stupid he has been. Maybe things could go back to how they had been. Maybe you are not truly gone from him after all.

"Can I ask you something?" Lindir says as he slowly walks closer to you. "Will you please let me tell you one last story? I still know so many and I was saving at least one for you. You never got to hear it. Will you please let me do that?"

You slowly nod " is it about the ice bear?"

Lindir notices how much you are opening up to him at the mention of a story he wishes to tell you and it warms his heart.

"Indeed it is." He says and looks at you. A moment of silence passes and he then looks at the floor, as if preparing himself. "Shall I begin?"

"yes" you nod and sit down on a nearby bench.

Lindir is quiet for a long moment. He is really glad you want to hear his story, even after he messed up so much. And he wants to make it up to you for it.

"Once, very long ago, there was a group of elves who lived in a far remote area within the forests. And they loved to explore these woods. One day, they stumbled on a cave that was very deep within the depths of the woods. They explored the cave and soon began to be surrounded by a lot of ice."

Your eyes slowly move over to him.

"As they went deeper, they soon noticed that they were becoming surrounded by more and more ice. It was as if the cave was a large freezer. The deeper they went, the tighter the ice became.

But they were brave and went all the way down until they reached a huge chamber that was filled entirely with ice. In the middle of the room, they saw something that startled them immediately."

"the little ice bear?"

Lindir is silent for a second, surprised that you already know most of the story. However, that does not bother him.

"Yes, indeed. It was a tiny little thing, so small that it fit in the palm of your hand. It was lying on its side and barely moving. All the elves were worried that it was going to die because it was freezing.

Then, something unexpected happened. The little ice bear moved its head and suddenly it looked directly at them."

Your eyes slowly show a little bit of your excitement.

Lindir notices a hint of excitement in your eyes. He continues with the story.

"Everybody was shocked at first. But the elf who had been exploring this cave the most got closer with a gentle and cautious approach. He had always loved animals of all kinds and he could not stop himself from trying to save the ice bear. He moved closer and carefully picked up the little bear.

His touch seemed to have an immediate and magical effect, as the very ice that surrounded the bear began to melt. And the little bear regained its breath."

"Wow" you mumble

Lindir smiles at you, realizing that you are enjoying his story more and more.

"Indeed. As the ice vanished, it became visible that the cave was more like a freezer and the ice was like magic frozen on this animal. All the elves were completely astonished at what they could see.

In the end, the elf that had held the small bear in his arms decided to take him with him back to the woods. Since that day, the little ice bear and the elf were inseparable."

"They are friends now?"

"They are not just friends now. They are bonded for the rest of their lives. The ice bear is actually very clingy towards the elf and likes to ride on his shoulders. The elf always loves to pet him and even has given him a name."

Lindir pauses for a moment and then leans a little bit closer to you and speaks softly. "Would you like to know the name he gave him?"

You nod.

Lindir leans even closer, his voice almost a whisper by now. He can tell that this story is hitting a spot in you.

"The elf called the little ice bear 'Icely'. They are so bonded and so close now that it is as if they cannot be separated. Icely is always with the elf and the elf can never be sad because Icely will always be there to cheer him up."

"that sounds nice"

"And what if I told you that that small ice bear reminds me of someone?" He asks you. With a glance, you understand who he is referencing.

"Of who?" You ask, trying to hide your curious feelings.

“It's the one I care so much about and the one that deserves all the kindness and love I have to give. The one I miss every day after you started to avoid me."

"You." He answers softly. "I feel as if we are like the elf and the bear. We cannot be separated. Maybe what happened between us before was so hurtful, but now I am not ready to let you go either. I will never leave you and I will always be here for you whether you wish to admit it or not." He sighs slightly, a bit sad.

"I cannot explain the feeling. Whenever I am with you, I do not feel sad because you are there. Even when I do not have the best day, you make it brighter and happier simply by being there.”

Lindir gets a bit closer to you and he talks softly. His tone is sincere and his eye contact is full of kindness.

“I have told you the story of my friends to tell you this: you are my little ice bear. You are not a burden for me, I promise, i will never tell you something like that so rough, i will be softer."

"Lindir" your voice finally soft again and it drifted through the air like a whisper carried on the wind, "I have missed you."

"Y/n" Lindir breathed, relief flooding through him like a river breaking free from its banks, "I feared I had lost you forever."

You look at him with a hesitant smile, your gaze soft and searching. "I needed time to... to process our conversation, your words were a bit hard for me" you admitted, your voice tinged with vulnerability. "But I realize now that I cannot bear to be apart from you, Lindir."

A surge of warmth flooded Lindir's heart at your words, and he reached out to clasp his hand, their fingers intertwining like the branches of two trees intertwined in a forest glade.

"Nor can I bear to be apart from you, y/n" Lindir confessed, his voice barely more than a whisper carried on the breeze. “ You have always held a special place in my heart, a place of light and warmth amidst the shadows."

Your eyes widened with surprise, your gaze locking with Lindir's in an unspoken exchange of understanding. And then, with a tender smile, he leaned forward, and hug you in a gentle big warm hug that spoke volumes of the love that had blossomed between you both.

Underneath the canopy of stars, amidst the whispering leaves and the soft glow of moonlight, Lindir and you found solace in each other's arms, their bond strengthened not by words alone, but by the depth of their shared affection. And as they danced beneath the silvered sky, their hearts entwined like the branches of two trees reaching for the heavens, they knew that their love would endure for all eternity, a beacon of hope in a world shrouded in darkness.

[cascade05]

Is anyone else obsessed with poetic compliments?

Like… not just calling someone pretty but…

“His hair was like snow and his skin like frost. He looked like a creature made of porcelain moonlight with eyes like glistening stars. Words could not describe how ethereal he looked when basking in the moon’s gentle glow,” she spoke softly.

“And I remember him that way. A man made of stardust, a man who looked to be the very moon itself...”

“I find him in the moon because that was always what he was to me. The moon, soft and gentle. He was brighter than anyone else, as if he belonged in the heavens not on earth as a man, but in the sky as a celestial body.”

“He is the moon in the sense that his pure and beautiful…”

She swallowed thickly, voice soft and tender as she spoke again. “And he is the moon in the sense that he is far out of my reach,” she whispered, a single tear falling from her eye.

And not just saying you like someone’s strength or that you think they’re handsome but…

“You say that as if you don’t look like a fallen star.”

“What do you mean by that?”

She smiled softly, kissing the tip of his perfect nose as her hands moved down his neck then to his shoulders.

“Dark,” she whispered, kissing his jaw, “perfect,” she kissed his neck, “and pure,” she kissed his throat softly.

“It’s as if the sky fell onto earth,” she whispered, her lips ghosting along his throat as her hands skipped over his wounded chest and gently moved against his stomach.

“A man made of steel and rock, my own meteor,” she breathed against him, kissing his collarbone.

“My own piece of heaven.”

Cause shit like that just makes me 🫧🫧🫧🫧🫧 frreeal

[tamurilofrivendell]

Where We Go From Here | Thranduil & Calithil

Characters: Thranduil & Calithil (OC daughter) Supporting/Mentioned Characters: Legolas & Caleniel (OC wife) Summary: Calithil’s beloved mother has been killed and, in the weeks that follow, her father finds a little strength through his own grief at various moments to comfort his daughter. Content: Grief. Violence/death etc. Translations: adar (father) // pîn ithil (little moon) // sellig (my daughter) // ionneg (my son) Read on AO3

Shadows danced upon the walls in the flickering candlelight. The chill in the air did nothing to truly affect her phyiscally but Calithil felt it in her bones nonetheless. 

That very night, her beloved mother, Caleniel, Elvenqueen of the Woodland Realm, was slain. It was all Calithil could do to stand there in the throne room, awaiting her father’s return, and not break down into floods of ugly tears. The only thing that kept her from dropping to her knees and weeping in the most un-princess-like fashion imaginable, was her older brother Legolas, standing beside her, gripping her hand in his own.

He was standing as still as a statue, facing the entryway, but she could feel him trembling. 

The word had come back about the fate of the Queen, carried through the forest ahead of the King and his soldiers. Calithil felt as if she had been thrust into a nightmare. Not even five hours ago, she was sitting in the library reading a book of poetry, only mildly worried about her parents’ return journey from Rivendell. It was such a standard thing, so commonplace and routine, that she did not even think that something quite so dreadful could ever happen. Especially not surrounded by so many of their people, their best warriors. All of the details had not yet reached the Woodland Realm and Calithil did not know whether she would prefer to be kept in the dark or not.

Maybe if she learned no more about it then she could pretend as though none of it had actually happened. She could pretend that her mother - her beautiful, strong, loving mother - was alive.

There was a sudden commotion and in strode her father, his pace fast and furious. His face was like thunder but she could see the fresh sorrow shining in his eyes. He would not show it here, not like this, she knew that... and she had to do the same. She squeezed Legolas’ hand tighter, telling herself to be strong and she felt his gentle comforting squeeze in return.

“Father.” Legolas stepped forward then, dropping her hand. Calithil clasped her hands in front of her to avoid fidgeting.

“Calithil.” Thranduil boomed, ignoring Legolas for the moment, not even looking at her. “Leave us.”

Briefly stunned, she blinked back at him. “But adar-” Calithil started, abruptly cut off by her father as he turned his gaze of steel upon her.

“Now.” His voice echoed through the room, hanging heavy in the deafening silence that followed.

Ducking her head just slightly, Calithil’s expression creased into a frown. She glanced at her brother, who blinked back rather helplessly, and then she turned and fled.

“Was that entirely necessary?” Legolas quipped, gritting his teeth as he turned from the door his sister had just retreated through, and back to his father.

Thranduil looked furious but Legolas knew that fury was not due to either of his children but was aimed at the filth that had ambushed the travelling royal cavalcade and taken the life of the King’s treasured wife.

Thranduil turned his gaze to his son, raising a brow. “What?” He asked, as if he had no idea what Legolas was talking about. It was very evident that Thranduil was using a great deal of energy to appear as calm as he was.

Legolas held back a scoff. Emotions were running understandably high and he didn’t want to make things worse for his father... but he was hurting too. His sister was hurting too. They had just lost their mother.

“She worships the ground you walk on, father.” Legolas muttered, watching his father bid his guards to come closer from down the walkway.

“You would prefer your sister be privy to details of the murder of her own mother?” Thranduil wondered, making a big show of his attention being elsewhere but his voice was taking on more malice with each passing second, his composure slipping. He had only wanted to keep it up long enough to get his daughter out of the room and now his grip on it was deteriorating.

“If I am expected to be, surely so can she.” Legolas replied, a rush of grief flooding through him as he thought about his mother being executed. He did not relish knowing the details but he knew that he must. “She is stronger than you give her credit for.”

“Would you wish me to describe to her the length and colour of the knives that plunged so deep into the flesh of your mother’s body that she was immediately beyond any and all help?” Thranduil continued as he rounded on his son, glaring down at him.

The throne room had fallen utterly silent, all eyes upon the King and the Prince. The grief even from the staff was unmistakable.

“Would you wish me to explain to her that it happened so quickly that not even I could reach her in time?” Thranduil continued, tears beginning to collect in his eyes, threatening to fully betray his anguish to everyone in the room... though none of them would think any less of him for it.

“Do you wish, my son, for me to look into the eyes of your sister and tell her that I, her own father, am responsible for her mother’s death?” He snapped finally, the tears spilling down his ivory cheeks. “That your mother was targeted and taken from us simply for being my Queen?”

Legolas said nothing, simply allowed his father to release it all. He already knew that sometimes his father’s more delicate emotions could come out veiled in frustration or anger. His mother had always told him that Thranduil’s bark was far worse than his bite and sometimes all you had to do was wait for the storm to pass all by itself. Legolas had learned the art of this quite well... letting his father feel whatever he was feeling before letting it out in his own way.

He knew that this, right here and now, was about his father’s grief... that it was about his father’s guilt.

Legolas also knew that Thranduil had sent his sister out the way he had as some means of protecting her, much like he always did, but Legolas knew that there was no shielding her from this.

His father loved him deeply, he knew that, but he had always seemed to want to keep an extra blanket of security over his youngest child. Legolas, too, wanted to protect his sister but they could not protect her from everything... especially not this.

“Do not shut her out, adar.” Was all Legolas said once his father was done. He gazed back at Thranduil, eyes full of empathy for him and of sorrow for himself. He stepped forward and placed a comforting hand upon his father’s shoulder. “Do not shut either of us out... you are not to blame and you are not alone.” Then he turned and left the room, retreating to the royal chambers to drown in his own grief.

A week later, Calithil had retreated to one of the lower levels, sitting beside a waterfall that flowed through the underground hall from somewhere above. She held her hand out, letting the water flow over her fingertips. Usually, such a simple thing would bring her a little joy, but not today.

She still felt cold. Two whole weeks without her mother had been hell on middle-earth. How was she supposed to do an eternity this way?

Legolas had gone out into the forest. She had not wanted him to leave her alone here but she knew that this was one way that helped her brother to work through things. It kept his mind distracted and busy. Calithil was not going to deprive him of anything that would take away just a little bit of distress from him.

She sat down upon the ground and sighed, closing her eyes and listening to the water. She didn’t know what to do. She felt so alone. Calithil had seen her father once since that night, at dinner, but he had not come again. She heard he had shut himself away in his chambers and answered to no one and nothing.

So she was surprised, to say the least, when she opened her eyes after sensing another presence, and found Thranduil himself standing there a short distance away. His gaze was fixed on the waterfall, the way the moonlight shone through it from a crack in the vast ceiling.

Calithil did not speak. She did not know what to say. If her father wanted to talk, he would do so. She wondered briefly if he was unhappy to find her here. Perhaps he too had been seeking privacy and peace outside the confines of his room.

She was debating whether or not to take her leave when he finally spoke, turning to look upon his daughter. “I have always enjoyed the solitude of this particular cavern.”

It wasn’t the first thing she expected him to say to her but she just nodded. His words made her wonder if she had been right and that he wished to be alone here. Calithil rose from the ground, inclined her head out of respect, and turned away in the direction of the exit.

“Calithil.” His voice was gentle, tinged with sadness and regret.

Her footsteps stilled and she turned around again, looking back at him. At the broken image of her father. Thranduil stepped towards her slowly, reaching out for her. He gently cupped her face in his hands, thumbs brushing her cheeks, looking into her eyes as if he were committing every part of her to memory. For some reason, it broke her heart.

“My little moon.” He murmured, thinking to himself that she was the very image of her mother.

The tears came then as Calithil fell forward, collapsing against her father’s chest as his arms circled her and held her close. He stood there with her for a long while, letting her cry it out in his firm embrace.

“The forest is changing.” Legolas stated, striding into the private royal dining hall and shaking his head, having just returned from his seclusion in the woods.

Thranduil’s mouth pulled into a thin line as he thought about the darkness that had been descending upon his beloved forest. “I am aware.” He said evenly.

“Changing how?” Calithil asked, looking up from the bread she had been picking at. She was not truly hungry but she had just been happy that her father had been leaving his rooms and spending time around her again.

Legolas turned to look at her and opened his mouth as if he were going to answer but he was rather abruptly cut off before he could even get a word out.

“It is nothing for you to concern yourself with.” Thranduil said, his tone leaving no room for discussion as he focused on his wine.

Calithil frowned but she said nothing. She sat for a moment longer in the tense silence that followed before she stood, pushing her chair back with enough force to show that she was frustrated, and then she turned and stalked from the room and away down the hall.

She could hear the soft arguing that sparked up between her brother and father behind her as she went. She heard Legolas saying her name and sighed heavily as she retreated to the royal chambers.

Calithil was tired of her father cutting her out of everything. He had been doing it since the night her mother died and she was growing upset with his back and forth moods and of him keeping her at arms length this way.

Nobody had even really spoken to her of what happened that night. She had had to glean what information she could from various sources around the halls, but all she truly wanted was for her father to talk to her about it.

She just wanted him to talk to her.

Another week had passed and Calithil had slept for three days in her mother’s chambers. Curled upon her mother’s large bed, feeling like a little child again, Calithil could feel those pesky tears once more but she did what she could to keep them at bay. It made her angry... that her mother had been taken from this world in such a brutal way.

Suddenly, the door opened and Calithil sat up, some distant part of her mind telling her that it was her mother, that she was home... but of course that was impossible.

Her father stood in the doorway, tall and imposing as ever, but gazing at her with a grief in his eyes so deep that she could have drowned in it.

She sniffed and lay back down again, squeezing her eyes shut. There was a silence and she half expected him to leave but the bed shifted and when she opened her eyes again, she saw her father sitting beside her, looking down at her with tears shining in his eyes.

“Forgive me, little moon.” He murmured, regret cutting through him like a knife. “I do not mean to be so cold.”

Calithil was quiet for a moment as he brushed his fingers gently through her golden hair. “It’s okay.” She said softly, blinking up at him.

Thranduil shook his head. “No, darling... it is not.” He sighed, shifting to carefully lower himself so that he could lay down beside her. Thranduil studied her face, fingers combing through the ends of her hair as they lay there in silence for a few moments. Calithil’s eyes drifted closed again, feeling like a little elfling but there was a great comfort in it.

“I miss her...” She whispered, unable to help herself, keeping her eyes shut in an attempt to ward of the tears that once more threatened to fall.

Thranduil sucked in a little shaky breath. “I know, pîn ithil, I know.” There was another slightly drawn out silence. Thranduil’s fingers continued to tangle comfortingly through his daughter’s hair. Just before she drifted off into the welcoming embrace of sleep, she heard his voice again. “So do I.”

Four weeks later, Thranduil had done his best to be less distant and more present for his daughter. His wife would not have wanted him to push them away, their beloved children. He knew this, and yet Thranduil still longed to allow himself to drift away into the embrace of complete and utter misery, allow his grief to swallow him whole, pull him down beneath the waves and never surface.

Still, he persevered.

“I can’t do it!” Calithil whined, letting the sword she was holding clatter to the ground with a heavy sigh. “It is too difficult.”

Thranduil, standing before her holding his own sword, gave her a look of disapproval. “You have barely tried, sweetheart. Pick it up and let’s go again.”

She stubbornly shook her head. “No.” He had been making her do this for five days and yet she still simply could not.

Thranduil raised a brow as he eyed his daughter. “Calithil.” His tone was low and there was a dangerous bite in it that she had heard many times before.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Why do we have to do this anyway!” She complained, staring at him. “What am I going to have to fight in these halls?! Nothing.” She finished, folding her arms in front of her as if the conversation was over.

Thranduil, however, would not concede. He blinked back at his stubborn daughter, her expression the very image of her mother when he had done or said something to affront her.

This thought only spurred him on.

“And what if you are outside of these halls?” He asked, spreading his arms in question. “What then?”

Calithil gave him a funny look, tilting her head as she looked at him. “Ada, I am never outside of these halls without you.”

“And neither was your mother, Cali!” He finally snapped, losing his temper.

Calithil froze and went silent, staring at him for a long moment. Grief and guilt both curled together in her gut as she looked at her father, his face no longer a mask of cool detachment.

She realised, then, that he wanted her to learn the skills to defend herself because he wanted to limit the ways that she could be put in a position to get hurt. Her mother had been a skilled warrior and yet she had still been taken down. What of Calithil? What if she were travelling to Lothlorien with her father’s caravan and they were set upon? Would she have more luck on her side having to sit in the centre, being defended, or would she have more luck being able to wield her own weapon?

Calithil pressed her mouth into a thin line to try and hold back the tears she felt as she was witness to her father’s deeper emotions, and then she bent down to pick the sword back up again.

She nodded. “Show me again.”

Thranduil stood quietly for a moment, watching her with pride, and then he offered her a soft smile, eyes shining as he took up a stance before her.

Legolas and Thranduil were sitting in the family room when Calithil walked in.

Thranduil looked up from his book and followed her movements across the floor. “Where have you been?”

“Sleeping.” Calithil muttered simply, receiving a frown from her father and finally drawing Legolas’ concerned attention.

“You have been doing that a lot.” Legolas said, tilting his head at her.

“And what of it?” Calithil barked back, walking over to the  large chair beside the extravagant fireplace and throwing herself dramatically down upon it.

Thranduil raised an eyebrow as he watched her. She was often the very image of her mother but in this moment she struck him as very much the image of himself. A perfect blend of himself and Caleniel, the both of them were.

“The Eldar do not need to sleep as deeply as you have been, nor the same amount as mere mortals do, Calithil.” Thranduil stated calmly, turning his gaze back down to the book in his lap. “I believe it is time that you return to your meditations. Enough time has passed.” He made a point with his tone, perfectly aware of the reason his daughter had been subjecting herself to such deep sleep so very often, where her dreams and even her senses were far more shut off than was necessary.

Because of her mother’s death. She was doing her best to shut herself off as much as she possibly could.

Legolas frowned, glancing down at his hands briefly, before he looked back up at his sister. “Cali...” He murmured, keeping his gaze on her before she looked up again.

“What?” She asked after a beat.

Legolas stood and moved over to his sister, sitting on the arm of the chair. “You are sleeping your days away. You are still barely eating, do not think we have not noticed.”

She frowned up at her brother. “So what?” She snapped, drawing her father’s gaze once more.

He lifted his head with a frown. “Cali.” He warned, letting her know that her tone was unnecessary.

She sighed, looking down and clasping her hands in her lap. “Sorry...” She whispered.

Thranduil set his book aside and rose from his own chair, graceful as ever, and floated across the room towards his children. He crouched down in front of Calithil’s chair, his hands moving to close over hers.

“Beautiful daughter... look at me.” He said softly, watching her eyes lift to meet his own. There were tears shining in them.

He smiled sadly. “Your mother would not want you to neglect yourself... neither of you.” His gaze lifted to meet his son’s, who he knew was pushing himself to the point of punishing out in the forest. Legolas lowered his gaze guiltily. Thranduil gave another sad little smile and sighed, removing one of his hands from his daughters and reaching out to take one of his son’s.

They sat like that - father, son, daughter - for a while, before Thranduil found the strength to finish what he had been saying.

“She has left this world for the next and, whilst we are allowed to feel sad about that, drowning in such anguish is not acceptable.” He gave Legolas a look to shut him up when he noticed his son opening his mouth to speak. “And I know that I, too, am guilty of this, yes.” He admitted, sighing again.

“Listen to me.” Thranduil continued. “Sellig. Ionneg. We three remain. And we three must endure, we must persevere.” He looked between the two of them, his entire world wrapped up in these two beautiful beings. “And so we shall. Together.”

[faeriichaii]

Hija de la Luna - Chapter l

A/N: OK so I think I finished my first chapter yay!! It's not proofread yet, maybe I will do it tomorrow and erase any mistakes I might have made :) I really hope that you who reads this will enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing it <33

⇢ ˗ˏˋ Warnings: my English lmao ࿐ྂ ⇢ ˗ˏˋ Words: 3k ࿐ྂ ⇢ ˗ˏˋ Gaihith ~ Little Dove ࿐ྂ ⇢ ˗ˏˋ Halwûna ~ Sweet One ࿐ྂ

The wind feels cold on my skin, as I looked up into the sky. Stars are dancing above, telling stories that are still unknown to most habitants of middle earth. Which one is the one to lead me to my destination? Which one leads towards a happily ever after for the upcoming journey? My eyes are roaming the entirety of the sky, when they settle on a small star that silently twinkles a little bit differently then the rest of its brothers and sisters. A smile forms on my lips, as I pull the hood of my cape lower and take a better grasp of my bag, which holds all of my necessities for the long travel days. I follow the small path of grass and stone, passing various different houses with small round doors.

The houses are built into the hills and are rather tiny in comparison to the ones I normally pass by. Taking a glance up at my destination, I come to an abrupt halt. In front of the door stands a rather short man. The top of his head seems to be bald, however, the sides are filled by his frizzy grey hair. I slowly start to ascend the small stone path that leads to the house and stand behind him. He is not that much shorter than me, only about maybe a couple inches. He turns around and I can see a proud beard adores his face. His bushy eyebrows scrunch together, as he musters me from head to toe. By closer inspection, it was obvious, that he was indeed a Dwarf. “Didn’t think our 15th member would be a lass.” Before I get the chance to say anything, he turns back towards the door and rings the bell.  After a short while of standing outside with the dwarf, whose name I still haven’t learned, a Hobbit opens the door. “Dwalin, at your service.” The dwarf in front of me says, before bowing slightly. The hobbit looks confused for a split second, before turning his attention to me. “Oh uhm- Melody, at your service.” I slightly bow, like Dwalin did mere seconds ago. “Hmm.” The hobbit suddenly tightens his bathrobe, still looking confused and slightly angered. Did we disturb him? “Bilbo Baggins, at yours.” With that, Dwalin enters through the small hole into Bilbos house. Following him, I also step inside.

“Do we know each other?” Bilbo asks us bewildered. “No?” Dwalin hands him his weapons and continues to walk into the home. “I’m sorry for the intrusion Mr. Baggins. Didn’t Gandalf mention anything to you?” At that, Bilbo looks at me like I grew a second head. “Did you say Gandalf?” I nod softly and smile sympathetically at him. It must be very confusing and overwhelming to suddenly have people barge into the comfort of your own home. He shakes his head in order to get rid of his thoughts and puts Dwalins stuff on a small bench by the door. “Well uhm- Do come in. I didn’t expect any visitors, but would you like some tea?” Bilbo asks, as he looked rather appalled at Dwalin who seems to be eating the dinner he had prepared for himself. Sitting down opposite of him, I take off my cloak and lay it down on my lap. “I don’t need anything, thank you.” Nodding to himself, Bilbo sits down beside the dwarf. “Why exactly are you here? Both of you?” “We are a part of- “Before I get to finish my sentence, the doorbell rings again. “That’ll be the door.” Dwalin says, mouth filled with potatoes.

Standing up, Bilbo leaves to let in the next person. “Balin, at your service.” Can be heard softly in the dining room, before Dwalin smiles and stands up to join them both at the door. “Brother! I didn’t expect you to be here so early.” The laughter of the men begins to grow louder, as they approach the long table once more. I muster a friendly smile at the new person who entered through the archway. His hair is as frizzy as Dwalins, however it almost is as white as snow. His beard was long grown and has a slight curl upwards at the ends. “Hello there lass, I expect you are our 15th member? The Oracle?” “Yes, my name is Melody. It is nice to make your acquaintance.” Both of them sit down at the table. “I’m Balin, Dwalins older brother.” He gives him a pat on the shoulder, while they continue to eat away. “So, I heard that you are actually an Oracle? Is that true?” Oracles are very rare to come by. Most of my kind hide their identity due to the fact that we are very sought after. They tend to hide within the realm of the Elves, because the resemblance between us is almost identical. However, the ones that did not have enough time to hide away were killed or imprisoned for the rare gift of future telling we hold. Soon there were only a few left, which lead to the believe that Oracles were creatures, who never even existed to begin with.

“Yes, I am. If you want me to, I can read a part of the future that awaits you.” I say with a smile adorning my face. Normally I would not offer to read the future for other people, considering the various outcomes I have received couple of times. When they are not quite happy about the reading I give them, they tend to blame me for what will happen. Even though I am just the bearer of the things that might happen, not the reason behind it. The prophecies I receive are the ones that are most likely to be the course of the future. Most people still tend to overlook the fact, that the future can still be changed, even after I show or tell them what I see. “I think you will have plenty of opportunities to share your gift with us.” Balin says before taking a big bite out of a bread he and his brother found in the pantry.

The tumult at the door makes me shift my attention towards the hallway again. “Has it been cancelled?” “No one told us.” Two different voices say, as they seem to be talking to Bilbo. “No, nothings been cancelled.” “That’s a relief.” Suddenly two younger dwarves barge into the room. One with blonde hair that is adorned with a few braids and the other with brown unruly locks. Both come to an abrupt halt, when their eyes land on me. “So Gandalf really found an Oracle.” The blonde dwarf observes, while throwing an arm around the shoulder of the other one. “Kili are you alright? You should stop gawking at her as if she’s a wild animal ya know?” At that Kili coughs slightly into his hand to hide his embarrassment. “Well, Fili and Kili. At your service.” They both say, before bowing slightly. “I’m Melody, it’s nice to meet you.” I smile welcomely at both dwarves. “Shove this in the hallway, otherwise we’ll never get everyone in.” Suddenly Balin and Dwalin stand up and grab the table in order to move it to another location. “Should I help you in anyway?” I ask while grabbing my cape, as well as my bag. “Don’t worry Gaihith, we will handle it.” Kili answers, receiving a laugh from his brother. Raising an eyebrow at the foreign word, I walk towards the door to lay my things by the other items on the bench.

The bell rings again as I walk back towards the company. Taking my seat again I see Bilbo walking around frantically. “No. No. There’s nobody home!” He screams outraged, while throwing the stuff in his hands away to all the other baggage at the door. Giggling slightly, I look at the dwarves around me, that begin to make themselves comfortable after bringing out more food. “So, are you really an Oracle?” Kili asks curiously, while taking a seat beside me. “Balin asked me the same question, but yes, yes I am.” “So you can see our future together?” A smirk adorns his stubble adorned lips. Looking into his brown eyes I blush softly at the flirtatious remark. “Unfortunately, I prefer to not look into my own future. Prevents me from missing out on some funny accidents that could happen.” “But you really can tell the future? How?” Fili leans forward to take a better look at me from the seat beside his brother. “There are different methods. Some are very precise and can tell the future up to two weeks in great detail. Others are more vague and can be seen years in advance. The simplest method is reading the tea leaves. That mostly tells the future for a few hours.” Finishing my tea, I look at the leaves. Showing the cup Fili, I point at each leave and what it indicates. “This leave is the amount of people that will stumble through the door in a few seconds.” Filis eyes widen before standing up and walking towards the door, but before he could even reach the threshold, the round green door opens and in fell the rest of the dwarves. Gandalf stands behind them, before crouching down and walking through the door himself.

He waves at me, before turning his attention back to the seizing Hobbit. “How did you know?” Kili looks at me with astonishment. “Hmm could have guessed it through pure luck.” Dwalin grumbles while munching on some cheese. I roll my eyes at his statement, having heard this sentence way too many times in the past. As the rest of the dwarves fill into the room and the pantry, it gets livelier. “Melody I am so happy that you decided to join Thorins company on the quest to Erebor.” I stand up to take Gandalfs hand and greet him properly. “I did take a quick look into both possible futures of mine and I must say, I would be missing out on a wonderous time if I would have chosen not to join.” He smiles brightly before taking the other empty seat beside me. The dwarves begin to sing a song, throwing around plates and cluttery, while Bilbo tries his best to make sure nothing breaks on the way from the cupboard to the long wooden table. Gandalf leans towards me. “Have you already started to look into the future of the company?” I fish out my journal in which I try to keep track of all the results of my variously used methods for future telling. Opening the page I wrote on the last time, I scoot closer towards Gandalf.

“The outcomes vary so incredibly much. I have a rough idea of things that will happen pretty soon but…” I take a deep breath before pulling my long hair over my pointy ears. “I couldn’t extract any information or input on how the adventure will go on. The end of the journey seems grim but also bright. This leads me to believe that there are possible deaths. I know there is a way to prevent this from happening, however I am not entirely sure how. I even used the cauldron with all it’s power, but nothing really detailed was shown. I even looked into the crystal ball but the only thing I saw was that…” The image of the ball on my table yesterday night flashed into my memory again. I was sitting at a chair in front of the small crystal, hovering my hands above it to try and take a peek into the future that awaits me during the journey. The only image that was produced was me hysterically crying on the ground while holding another person. I couldn’t identify the person, still can’t. However, their death seems to have a grave impact on me and apparently also the end of the journey.

“If you want me to try again, I have the ball with me.” “Hmm if you wouldn’t mind, I think it would be best if you test the practicality of the ball on Thorin and look into his future.” Looking around I try searching for him. “It seems like Thorin hasn’t arrived yet.” Gandalf mentions loudly, taking a sip from the small red wine he just received. “Hey Melody, don’t you want to eat something?” Kili suddenly asks me. “Hmm? Oh well what do you have to offer me?” He hums in thought at my answer and looks around the table. “We got almost everything your heart could desire on the table.” Letting my gaze travel across the fully stacked table, I spot some fruits and bread. “I would like some fruits and bread.” “Coming right up Halwûna.” Confusion spreads across my face. Did he just call me another foreign word? Is it dwarvish? Handing the items to me I thank him for his kindness. “What did you just call me?” I ask him after a bit of thinking if I might have heard the word before. “Hmm?” He looks puzzled at me while eating the food he had on his own platter. “Ah.” I take a napkin from beside my plate and hand it to him. “You’ve got some sauce on your cheek.” A soft pink adores his cheeks as he takes the cloth from my hand and wipes away the remnants of the food from his face. “All better?” I smile at him and give him a nod.

A sudden ring disturbs the lively atmosphere, as everyone staggers to their feet. The dwarves form a line at the door in order to greet the last guest. I follow them and take my place right by Bilbos side. Gandalf opens the door and takes a step to the side, in order to make room for the last guest. “Gandalf, I thought you said this place was easy to find.” The atmosphere shifted the moment Thorin steps into the small confinement of the hobbits house. He brings a kind of authority to the group, one can even tell from a far distance that he is made to be a king. “I lost my way around here. Wouldn’t have been able to find the door if it wasn’t for the mark.” “A mark? What mark?” Bilbo frankly looks at his door, however no mark was visible. Thorin takes a look at the hobbit. “You must be our master burglar.” Bilbo is about to protest, however Thorins attention lands on me next. “And you must be the Oracle Gandalf found.” His eyes scrutinize me for a few seconds, before he moves inside properly and lays his stuff neatly on the pile of weapons and bags that were already on the bench beside the door. The rest of the company greets him with kindness while slowly beginning to settle down at the table again.

The kings’ eyes travel across the company, before stopping at me. “Do tell me, are you really able to look into the future?” His eyes examine my attire, brown pants with over knee leather boots for save travel. My off-white blouse hangs loosely over my shoulders and arms while the brown corset clings to my body and keeps the blouse somewhat in place. My long brown hair is mostly kept out of my face by two small braids at either side of my face, which connect at the back of my head again. A few weeks ago, I also cut myself bangs, that now frame my face perfectly.

“Yes, of course I can do so King Thorin. I also apologize for not introducing myself earlier, my name is Melody.” I give him a kind smile before continuing to speak. “I had a talk with Gandalf earlier and we both came to the conclusion to test my gift with you, if you wouldn’t mind that.” His eyes squint at me before mentioning me over. “How exactly do you think this will work?” “I brought my crystal ball for this journey. This gives me the chance to look into the future in great detail, however the ball only can go up to two weeks from now on.” “Very well.” He settles down in a chair. I take the crystal ball out of the bag and place it on the table in front of Thorin. The ball is clear on the inside, so I am able to directly look at Thorin if I would look through the orb. “Please place your hands on each side of the ball, but do not touch it.” Raising an eyebrow at me, his sceptical gaze wanders over to Gandalf. “Are you sure she is an Oracle? I mean it is said that they are just mere fiction.” Biting down on my lip in order to not snap at his rudeness, I place my hands on top of his. “I would rather you see for yourself if I am the real deal or not of instead asking Gandalf for his guidance on this matter.”

His eyebrow raises as he gave me a pointed look, before settling his gaze on the object in front of him. The silence in the room was deafening as every person looks expectantly into the crystal ball. Slowly some fog starts to form inside the orb. The fog begins to vanish in the middle and a picture starts to form. Thorin sat atop his horse, riding at the front of the company. Suddenly he turns around and Bilbo runs towards him and Balin, a letter in his hand. Not any letter no. “He hands you the contract that he had to sign earlier.” “A contract?” Bilbo stares at the picture with scrunched up eyebrows. “I have to sign a contract?” “We will talk about it in great detail later master burglar.” Thorin says, his gaze never leaving the images inside the crystal ball. The picture changes and shows him resting at the fire with the others. Kili and Fili seem to make a joke towards Bilbo, which Thorin seems to not enjoy as much. “You talk about the experience you had with Azog and the fight that happened.” Looking at him for a split second I can see his blue-grey eyes shimmer with hatred at the mention of the name. “Would you like me to continue?” “No that would be enough.” He retreats his hands from the crystal ball and his gaze lands on me. “Welcome to the company Melody.”

[dragons-and-dwarves-are-nice]

To the Shadows that Cry Witch /// Chapter 21

RAAAAHHHHHHHH WE'RE BACK AND ONLY ONE CHAPTER LEFT AND I CAN FINALLY MOVE ONTO PART 3. The Easter holidays have just started for me so I now have three full weeks to put into the last chapter. This one could be classed as a filler chapter but there's a lot they gain that links to the future so stuff doesn't just appear 'for the plot' - the girls need their hardcore character development before the journey. Enjoy! <3

Summary: Magic was real, but it came at a price. So when two girls end up in the one place they never thought they could reach, strange things began to happen. Good or bad? That's up to them to find out.

Tags: Kili x oc/reader - Fili x oc (POV to be written soon) - Thorin's company × ocs/reader (platonic) - fluff - angst - EXTREME slow burn - crack - Bagginshield

Word Count: 8527

Warnings: Nothing I can think of.

Taglist - comment or message to be added!

Want some background music? Check out my Soundtrack Playlist!

Now available on Wattpad and AO3 (please let me know if links aren't working)

< Chapter 20 // Chapter 21 // Chapter 22 >

Part 2: Chapter 21 -

Interesting Concept. Poor Execution.

Brontide (Definition): The low rumble of distant thunder. (Noun / Origin: Greek /ˈbrän‧ˌtīd)

Bag End, Hobbiton, The Shire – T.A. Monday, 27th March 2940 of the Third Age (Monday, 5th Astron, 1340 in Shire-reckoning)

4 MONTHS LATER

“I’m so happy you allowed me to accompany you three! It’s not every day I’m able to spare time for trip like this.” Gladiola smiled gratefully at the three of us.

--

After begging Bilbo to let us travel to Bree for a good month, he finally let up, but only agreed if we went in the spring, strongly insisting we wouldn’t survive the night if we had travelled in the deep winter.

“Bree is a hundred and thirty-five mile trip, meaning it would take a minimum of four days to get there. Meaning that we would have to camp in the freezing cold, because the only proper shelters are at least three detours from the path!”

We had instantly agreed, when we had realised the actual distance, deciding to wait until late March when the weather would be warmer.

Aa couple days before we left, Mrs Greenfoot had walked in on us packing when she was dropping off some spare socks she had knitted. After telling her where we were going, she instantly pleaded to let her go with us, saying how she heard Bree had some fabrics that she was dying to get her hands on, and how her husband was going to be at home full time for the next two weeks, so it would be a perfect opportunity for her to go. We said yes after persuading a reluctant Bilbo, and she shot off to pack, which led to now – on our fourth day of walking.

“Oh I really do hope the markets have what I want. I promised Menegilda I would make her a new dress for her birthday.” Gladiola rambled on as she took in the fields and forests ahead of us, her pace picking up with eagerness.

“I’m sure they will.” Replied Kay, grimacing at the feeling of her aching legs. “It’ll ruin the reputation they’ve built of they don’t.”

“Hopefully.” She sighed. “What are you all hoping of finding?”

“Every dangerous object under the sun apparently.” Bilbo spoke up before us. Stuffing his hand into his pocket, he pulled out a small piece of paper and handed it over.

Taking it, Gladiola quickly scanned the list, her face morphing into surprise and shock at the same time. “Swords?? Why would you need swords?” she queried, handing it back.

“To scare off half the town, in my opinion.” Bilbo grumbled, clearly not happy with the reason we had dragged him so far. “If I didn’t want to go for some of that wine they make, I would’ve said no on the spot.”

“Well, we would’ve gone ourselves if that was the case.” I jived back.

“We just want to know that we can protect ourselves if we ever decide to try and find our way home.” Kay explained.

Bilbo slowed his pace for a moment, as something seemed to dawn on him. “Oh.” He said quietly, a tiny quiver of dejection on his face. “Yes, home. I forgot about uh.. that.” Though he quickly shook that mood off, jogging slightly to catch up.

“Plus,” I added in an attempt to alleviate the mood. “we wouldn’t be looking to own one if we didn’t think it looked insanely cool.”

And with that Bilbo sighed, back to his usual exasperated mood.

--

The wall surrounding Bree stretched high above us as we neared the wooden gate, its intimidating nature emphasised by the two-storey stone turrets that flanked either side like a pair of unmovable sentries.

Gravel and dried mud crunching underfoot, we took the last few steps, before shuffling to a stop in front of one of the towering doors. Taking a couple steps forward, Bilbo reached up and gave the surface a few hard raps, before coming back to stand beside us.

A moment passed, and only the birds and the rustling of leaves from the nearby trees could be heard, when a muffled rattling sounded from behind the door. A small hatch near my eye level swung open, revealing the wrinkled face of a man, who, at the sight of us, morphed it into a sour scowl, a stark contrast compared to the warm sun that was beating down on our backs.

“Who’re you?” he barked, his croaky and adenoidal voice matching his unpleasant demeanour perfectly.

When neither me or Kay began to speak, Bilbo quickly piped up, stretching up on his toes to try and see the gatekeeper. “Um, hello?” he called out.

The gatekeeper, quickly stepped back and slammed the hatch shut, before a creak resounded from further down, opening another hatch that was the perfect level to speak with the hobbit, giving me a very strong sense of déjà vu.

The hobbit stepped forward towards the open hatch. “We’re here to stay at the Prancing Pony, for a week.” He explained politely. “To visit the market.”

“Oh?” croaked the gatekeeper with half a smirk. “And what are you here to buy, exactly?”

Bilbo didn’t hesitate to flap the list in front of the old man’s face. “Whatever we need.” He said sternly, before stuffing the paper back in his pocket. “I have visited before, you know.”

Looking between me and Kay, then at the hobbits, his eyes narrowed. “Two hobbits and a pair of human girls, together. That’s not something you see every day.” He muttered, reminding me a lot of a certain Hogwarts caretaker, and I half-expected to see a dupe of Mrs Norris jump out of nowhere. “Tell me, how do you know each other?”

“They’re his daughters!” A voice called out, and the three of us spun around in surprise to face a nervous looking Mrs Greenfoot. “Adopted, of course. And I’m a family friend.” She added with a sheepish smile.

The gatekeeper took his time to eye us all up slowly, his bloodshot eyes scouring whatever he could. Seemingly unable to spot anything he counted as suspicious, he quickly disappeared again with a grumble, the hatch shutting with a snap. Seconds later there was a loud groan, and the door he used to speak through slowly began to open. When the gap was wide enough, the gatekeeper stepped out from behind it, revealing his mousy grey hair and tattered brown tunic and trousers. Raising a wrinkly hand, he impatiently beckoned us forward, quickly scouring the area outside as we stumbled in, before he pushed the gate shut.

Bilbo diligently led the way as we trekked down the main street, dragging Mrs Greenfoot to walk beside him.

“What in Yavanna’s name are you doing??” The two of us heard him cry in a whisper. “People are going to ask even more questions if we call them my daughters! How am I supposed to come up with a story about that???”

“Well go with the story you already have! Because it’s the one you’re going to have to run with for now, Mr Baggins.” She hissed back with a smirk.

Deciding to pointedly ignore the storm brewing in front of us, I turned to the view of the building in front of us. “Very Tudor-like.” I mentioned, admiring the dark beams that contrasted against the cream walls, along with the jettying of the upper floors that stuck out, and the metal grid panes that decorated the windows all around.

Kay hummed in agreement as she walked beside me, the both of us in awe of the once-fictional town that spanned across our view.

“It’s nice to see it not pouring with rain and caked in mud like the movies.” She whispered. I eagerly agreed, very happy about not having to fight my way through several inches of horse-trodden mud.

Grasping our skirts, we twisted between people and horse-drawn carriages, finally stopping in front of a relatively large building, the carved wooden sign hanging above us revealing itself to be the one and only Prancing Pony, and the two of us craned our necks to look up and admire the famous building Reaching an arm out, Mrs Greenfoot hauled the hefty wooden door open, and the four of us took our first steps into the inn.

Approaching the bar near the door, I watched Bilbo wipe the thunderous look on his face, turning away from where he was scowling at Gladiola to face the bartender approaching us.

“Good afternoon!” The man called, leaning his round body over the counter to take us all in with a hearty smile. “The name’s Mr Butterbur, but you lot can call me Barney. What can I do for the four of you?”

“Two rooms, if you please.” Answered Bilbo, reaching into his pocket for the right amount of coins. “Preferably split one and three.”

“Ah, you got lucky!” said Mr Butterbur, sticking his hand under the counter to bring out two keys. “You came at the right time – travelling’s picking up again now that winter’s over.” He handed the keys to Bilbo. “Rooms 5 and 6. Say, will you lot be coming down for dinner? I have a feeling it’ll be quiet this evening and we’re serving roast beef and potatoes.”

“Yes, that’ll be lovely.” Replied Gladiola with a warm smile.

Thanking the bartender once again, we set off, crossing the sparsely populated room of tables, considering it was only late afternoon, and up the narrow, creaking stairs on the other side. It didn’t take long to walk down the upper hallway to find the matching rooms, Bilbo handing us our key before he unlocked the door of his own room, insisting the separation was basic courtesy.

Evening came round quickly, our time spent downstairs in the tavern. Bilbo, Kay and Gladiola were currently sat at a table by one of the windows, and I was up by the bar, sipping a steaming tankard of tea on a rickety stool as I waited for Mr Butterbur to refill Bilbo’s wine.

“Say, I don’t suppose you know a place that could sell weapons?” I asked.

He was quiet for a moment, only raising a bushy brow as he peered down at me. Slowly, he set the refilled cup of wine down, before taking a rag out to wipe the surface. “Depends, what kind of weapons are you looking for?” he said lowly.

“Oh, nothing too dramatic.” I waved dismissably. “My friend and I are looking to venture out by ourselves at some point, you see. And we’re looking for something that’s durable and efficient, but easy to get used to, that beginners can handle.”

He seemed to lighten up again, throwing the cloth down as he braced both of his arms on the bar, eyes darting around in thought.

“Are you sure you two want to do that?” he asked with a stern but gentle look. “I’ve never been, but I’ve heard the Shire is one of the safest places you can live, the world outside? Not so much. Besides, you wouldn’t want to leave your dad alone, now would you?”

I blinked. “My – ?” I spun on my chair, looking at our table when my eyes made contact with Bilbo’s, who already seemed to be staring over with light concern on his face. “Oh! He’s no – yea, he’s uh, only been our.. ‘dad’ for a few months though.”

“Even more reason to stay!” Mr Butterbur said, reaching over to poke my shoulder slightly. “You don’t want to go breaking his poor heart right after he opened it up to let you both in!”

I turned back towards the bar, a solemn look falling upon my face as I stared at the tankard in my hands. “I know it’s just…” I heaved a long sigh. “I had a family,” My voice quavered as I looked up at him with wide eyes. “No, I have a family. I wasn’t brought here by choice, I –” I pressed my palms over my teary eyes as the events from the last six months hit me all at once. “I don’t know how we got here and I can’t get us back.” I cried.

“Hey, hey,” he murmured gently, laying a hand on my shoulder. “I don’t know what the two of you have gone through, but it seems that you’re distressed about the sudden change and you don’t even realise it.”

Blinking through the blur of tears, I looked up at him. “I have a bit. Bilbo’s found me crying at night over it more than once, but I’ve been telling him it’s nightmares of the night he found us.”

“A bad night?” he asked, smiling gently under his moustache.

“Very.” I replied with a wobbly grin. “I don’t think I’ve ever been that terrified before.”

He looked me up and down concerned, eyeing the large pink scar on my hand as I stared at it. He went to open his mouth, when he was interrupted.

“Oi Barney!” A man called from one of the tables nearby. “Don’t suppose we could get another round of mead?”

“I’ll bring ‘em round in a minute!” he called back, before turning to me once more. “Well you two have certainly had an experience, from what I can put together. But,” he lowered his voice again. “coming from a stranger, the best thing you can do, until you can find a way to get back, is to just carry on, and keep your hobbit dad company. Or, you know, find him a spouse – depends on whether he’s the bachelor type or not.”

I choked on my drink at the last statement, looking over at the hobbit with a grin. “Well whoever manages to charm him is gonna need a very strong metaphorical hammer.” I laughed. “Cuz that hobbit has enough stubbornness and resilience to rival the walls of Helm’s Deep.”

Mr Butterbur let out sharp laugh, almost spilling the tankard of beer he was filling. “Helm’s Deep! Blimey, you two must’ve done something insane to persuade him to take you in.” He chortled as he began lining up mugs of mead. “Anyway, you were asking about weapons, and I know of a guy that has a stall in the market square, name it and he’ll probably sell it.”

I perked up at the new subject. “Okay, what area of the square?”

“North-east corner, the blacksmiths.” He replied. “Ask for a man named Seathan Marshsteel. Tall, burly guy with a long dark beard and wavy hair, normally tied in a bun or something. Could be mistaken for a dwarf if it weren’t for the fact he’s over six foot.” He described with a chortle. “He’ll know what to give you, but best you go in the early hours, so the good stuff doesn’t get snagged first.”

“That’s great, thank you so much!” I exclaimed, finally getting up from the stool. Turning to face him fully, I gave him the sincerest smile I could. “And thanks for the advice, too.”

He waved a large hand in dismissal. “Don’t mention it. I prefer conversations with the emotional sober, than the emotional drunk.”

Giving him a laugh and a wave, I returned to the table with Bilbo’s refilled drink and my own, relaying the information Mr Butterbur had given me to Kay. The rest of that evening was spent in that corner, eating roast beef, potatoes and vegetables along with the rest of the taverns patrons, before retiring to bed for the night, ready for the next morning.

--

The murmurs of people and trotting of hooves were yet to be heard when I woke the next morning, only the chirping of the early birds, the occasional pair of footsteps scuffling beneath our window along with the crackle and pops of the dying fire across the room could be made out as I blinked the sleep away from my eyes.

I laid there for a while, staring up at the ceiling cast in dark shadows by the glowing embers as Kay and Mrs Greenfoot slept on. It still felt a little strange not having my phone on the bedside table, the calm piano of my alarm floating through my ears. The battery died on the fourth night after arriving at Bilbo’s, and I had cried endlessly, reality setting in as a realised that the only potential way of contacting my family was gone, unless we found a way back. I was mostly terrified of not being able to see their faces, but managed to calm myself slightly when I went through my small collection of polaroids and found a couple family portraits. I had stored them in the envelope stuck on the back page of my grimoire, for safe keeping but also as a way of keeping them near me for good luck. Going back through the polaroids, another stroke of luck hit me as I had found a polaroid of Kay and her mum, along with her dog Barkley, that I had taken on one of her birthdays, the two of them smiling at their dining table next to a cake glowing with candles, and the large dog laid by their feet. I had slid it under her door that night, deciding to give her some time alone with it. She had come to breakfast that next morning not saying much, only quietly thanking me before settling into her meal.

Coming back to the present, I decided it was time for me to get up. I took my clothes to the bathroom, slipping on a set of light briefs and a vest top over my underwear, an extra layer to battle the early spring chill, then sliding on my shift and finally my pale green summer kirtle.

Kay and Gladiola had roused from their sleep by the time I was sat on my bed sliding my socks on. I gave them a quick ‘Good morning’, before lacing up my trusty modern walking boots, and walking out the door to go knock on Bilbo’s.

The hobbit was already up, calling through the door that he would meet us downstairs for breakfast. I returned to my room to wait for the other two, before taking the stairs down.

We got lucky that the tavern served an early breakfast, the four of us able to down the meal and get out the door when there was still only a few people wandering the streets. The sun hadn’t fully risen either, the rays only managing to shine through the gaps of buildings and alleyways, highlighted by the fading mist as the jettying upper floors kept parts of the street within the dark blue shadows of the early hours.

“– well I would like to see if they have any rolls of lace as well.” Chirped Gladiola, chattering away about the fabrics and lace she wants to try and find, and that if she got commissioned to create some more outfits with the new fabrics, she might be able to afford a new sewing desk. “I’ll be refusing any requests from your relative Lobelia, Mr Baggins. You know what she said the other day? Marched right up to poor Melba and asked her why she was wearing dishrags right in front of her friends!” she exclaimed.

“She did what?!?!” Kay shrieked in outrage.

“I know! I’m surprised you Bilbo haven’t done something to sever her from the family tree!” Gladiola said as she turned to him.

“Believe me, it’s the one thing I want.” He grumbled. “I’ve had far too many of my possessions vanish only to appear in her parlour.”

After listening to the two of them slag off Bilbo’s relative, we had finally arrived at the market. People were still sparse, only a few meandering the stalls whilst some sellers were still setting up shop.

Using the east-rising sun as a reference, Kay and I headed towards the north-east corner, with Bilbo hot on our heels. We waved goodbye to Gladiola, who ventured off with her coin purse towards the colourful fabric stalls on the other side. Walking up the path past stalls selling everything from arrays of meat to bed linens, the smells of metallic blood, spices and cloth filled our senses as our eyes set on a grey canopy propped up by wooden posts attached to a building with a blacksmiths sign hanging from it. Underneath was a counter that was part of the wall, the stall actually being part of the building itself. Approaching the counter, we peered into the shop. Weapons of all kinds lined the walls, even more hung on the racks stuck in the middle of the room like aisles, or on the ceiling like stalactites. The fire in the corner was burning bright, along with the torches lining the walls, filling our nostrils with the strong smell of smoke and the warmth of hot steel, so we figured someone was in.

Kay leant over the counter to try and look around, before calling out.

“Hello?”

A bang resonated through the air, followed by a string of hissed curses. It wasn’t long until a figure appeared hunched from behind one of the tables, clutching and rubbing to back of his head as he muttered under his breath. He gave it one last rub, before standing straight and stretching his back. Placing down the small hammer in his hand, he turned to face us with a frown, though it quickly turned to one of slight surprise. He matched the description Mr Butterbur had given me: Quite tall, about 6’3, well built and muscular, with thick wavy almost black hair, half tied up in a loose bun, with a beard reaching halfway down his chest. He was wearing a pair of loose trousers tied with a thick belt and a baggy tunic rolled up at the sleeves, and covered in patches of soot and grime, his time in the forge on clear display.

Eyeing us up and down, he took his time wandering over, using a cloth to wipe his calloused hands down whilst his face held an expression of poorly concealed confusion. The look increased tenfold as Bilbo peeked over the edge, resting his forearms on the wooden surface to prop himself up. Reaching us, he plopped the rag down, bracing his arms on the counter as his pale blue eyes took the three of us in.

“Can I… help you?” he queried, an accent similar to an Irish one strong on his tongue as he squinted at us, looking as if he couldn’t wrap his head around what was in front of him. I tried not to cough when the smell of smoke increased tenfold, rolling off him in waves.

Nodding, I slapped the list I had taken from Bilbo earlier on the counter. “Yes,” I affirmed eagerly. “We were hoping if you had anything on the list in stock.”

Taking a moment to look between me and the piece of paper, he slowly reached out, pulling the list towards him and picking it up, before grasping the spectacles that hung from his neck by some string, and sliding them on.

He spent about twenty seconds flitting his eyes between us and the list, covering it in black fingerprints until he lowered it a looked down at us over his glasses.

“You three aren’t from around here, are you?” he remarked, his deep, throaty voice resonating through the chill, morning air. “I don’t advertise outside the town unless I speak to you personally, so who told you about me?”

Slightly taken aback by the man’s cautious demeanour, I stepped in the explain. “Uh – we were recommended to visit you by Mr Butterbur?” I managed out, gesturing in the direction of the inn. “from the, uh, Pr-”

“- The Prancing Pony, I know. We’re well acquainted.” He said with a small smile though quickly returned to eyeing us up. “Tell me, what do two young girls and a hobbit want within the weapons trade. You don’t look experienced to me.”

“Which is exactly the problem.” I stated firmly. “We aren’t. And therefore we want to learn how.”

He slowly regarded the three of us with a look, and I prepared for the disappointment of his potential refusal. “Ok,” he sighed, tapping his soot-covered fingernails rhythmically on the wood. “How long are you here for?”

At our silent confusion, he raised a brow expectantly.

“Uh?” Kay vocalised, her eyes dazed in confusion. “A week? We’ve got six days left.”

“And why?” I added. “Do you need time to make them?”

He shook his head. “No.” He stated, baffling us further. Sighing, he began explaining. “None of you look like you’ve seen combat during any day of your lives, so, my proposal is in exchange for six days of dinners at the inn, I give you six days’ worth of basic training.”

Surprised, I slowly turned towards Kay, eyes wide and eyebrows raised. She eyed me back, and grins began to slowly grow on our faces. We turned to confirm the deal, when the hobbit I had forgotten was between us spoke up.

“H-hold on!” he cried, pointing a finger to emphasise his point. “You don’t know any of us. How do we know we can trust what you’re saying?”

Seathan rested on his elbows so he could lean over the counter to face the grumpy hobbit. “Do you trust Mr Butterbur?”

“Mr-” Bilbo sputtered. “We barely had one conversation with him!”

“He did seem nice though.” Kay butted in, and Bilbo whipped his head at her in outrage.

“And it’s a fair deal.” I added, watching in amusement as Bilbo comically flips his head between us, shock evident on his face. “I’ll make you Victoria cakes weekly in return.” I quickly added.

Grumbling under his breath, he eventually gave in. “Fine, they,” he emphasised, pointing to the both of us. “trust the bartender.”

“Then you can trust me.” Seathan replied warmly with a deep rumble of a laugh. “You won’t learn quickly on your own – so meet me outside the inn at 7 o'clock each morning and I’ll give you a rundown of everything. We’ll have breaks at lunch, and finish in time for dinner.”

“Woah, are you sure?” Kay held up a hand to slow him down, brows furrowed in confusion. “Why are you offering this to us so quickly? We’ve only just met you.”

Seathan pushed himself up from his elbows with a grunt, towering over us as he stood to his full height. “My daughters.” He revealed bluntly. “My wife’s not big on me sharing this but they asked the same thing you did. I said no, and they were injured in a small goblin ambush during one of our travels.” A sombre look fell over his eyes. “They have since recovered, but that guilt has weighed on me ever since, therefore I’ve wanted to offer training to girls and women when they’ve been given no opportunity to do so before.”

Kay nodded slowly, happy with the explanation. “I’m sorry to hear that – I’m glad they’re ok now. So we’ll meet you tomorrow?”

“Come round sometime after luncheon today if you can.” Seathan requested. “The sooner I can get swords in your hands the better.”

Thanking him, we wandered back into the depths of the market, it’s scents dominating our senses once again as we scanned for our other hobbit companion.

---

That morning whizzed by as fast as we would allow it, our nervous excitement for the afternoon sending a slightly uncomfortable buzz through our stomachs, the thought of what was to come prominent on our minds as we scarfed our ham and lettuce sandwiches down. We had changed outfits as well – I now sat in my cream blouse and baggy brown corduroy dungarees, and Kay in her black tank top with some loose, pale brown trousers that closely resembled cargos, and a knitted cardigan slung on top. Sure, it looked a little modern, but we hoped the earthy colours would keep people’s interest away

When we had finished, we wandered outside, only to find Seathan waiting beside the door, instead of where he said he would be by the blacksmiths. Pushing himself off the wall he slowly strode over, no longer donned in his apron, choosing to only remain in his slightly sooty shirt and dungarees.

“You girls ready?” he questioned as he pulled his curls back to tie them with a piece of cloth. Shifting a little, he looked behind us. “Where’s your hobbit friend?”

Still a bit hesitant about his forwardness, I gave him a simple reply. “He doesn’t want to come – said he had planned this week for relaxing and wine tasting.”

He gave a nod as he chuckled. “Fair enough.” He remarked, and beckoned us along as he began trapsing down the now bustling street, the two of us following not long after.

Leading us down a wide alley just before we hit the market, he led us through some of the residential housing, that slowly turned from the fusty smelling, overhanging town houses that were packed together like sardines, to detached cottages with front gardens lined with crudely woven branches to act as fences, goats, donkeys and the odd cat mulling about the small patches of crops in each one. The town was fully alive now, the sun passing midday as everyone got on with their jobs and chores, voices and shouting echoing from down each passage as we trekked past. We were thankful that the early spring weather had allowed the sun to dry out the large mud patches that would’ve otherwise sucked up our poor shoes, watching the solid cracks and chunks grow in size the closer we got to the more rural neighbourhoods.

Rounding one last cottage, we came face to face with the open countryside, the grass long and swaying in the gentle breeze, with the occasional oak tree sheltering a few livestock from the 12 o’clock sun. Climbing over a rickety fence, Seathan brought us to our destination. A large patch of grass had been shortened – about half the size of a football field, and somewhat recently if the loose grass piles and faint smell of freshly cut grass mixed with the usual stink of livestock said anything. Down one of the edges were several wooden posts that had been hammered into the ground, branches and planks nailed on to make them look like human dummies, covered in chips and gashes where they had been practiced on previously. Down another side were some makeshift archery targets; wooden circles cut from tree trunks with white and red paint hastily slapped on in rings.

Eyeing up the equipment, I blindly followed the sound of Seathan’s footsteps. When they stopped, I turned my head to face him, about to ask what was to happen, only to flail my arms out in an attempt to catch the wooden sword that was flung at my face. Managing to grab it at the very edge of the hilt, I darted my wide eyes to the towering man to watch him chuck another at Kay, who had watched my floundering and was prepared enough to catch it with ease.

Picking up a slightly larger wooden sword, he weighed and swung it around as he approached us. “Ok. We’re going to start out with some wooden swords.” He held up a hand as Kay opened her mouth. “And before you protest, I would much rather you get bruises from these rather than deal with a mutilated limb from an actual sharpened sword.”

Pouting, Kay snapped her jaw shut, and we both trailed after him into the centre of the field.

“Now,” he began, turning to us, signalling for us to place our swords down as he did the same. “I know you two won’t gain the arm strength for swinging swords overnight, so we’ll start with some footwork so you don’t twist the wrong way and fall on your own weapon.”

The next couple hours were spent with us practicing out foot spacing and placement, Seathan reaching down to twist our ankles slightly every once in a while, shouting which way to put our feet when spinning around to face potential enemies as we spun and twisted to each end of the field. It oddly felt like I was back in my ballet classes, learning how to walk on the tip of my toes for the very first time again.

Eventually we were able to pick up the swords, learning how to use our arms alongside our feet as we twisted and turned to block his mock attacks that got stronger and stronger each hour, the man insisting that defence was the first and most important thing to learn when it came to combat.

Sweat was running down both of our backs by the time Seathan had called it a day, the sun now nearing the treeline in the distance as the breeze began to cool the moisture on our skin, sending chills down our backs.

“Ughhhhh I feel so muckyyyy.” Kay groaned as she chucked her sword back in the makeshift chest under one of the nearby trees, holding her arms out in front of her as she tried to pick her cardigan up with the tips of her now mud-stained fingers.

“Tell me about it.” I grumbled, exhausted as I reached down to grab the half-filled water tankard, given to us by a lovely woman who had seen us being worked to death by Seathan, who had actually introduced herself as his aforementioned wife. When she had suspiciously asked what we had used to pay him, she had sighed knowingly when we revealed it was several dinners.

“He only asks for that because I don’t let him.” She had muttered amusedly to us as she refilled one of the animal troughs for us to wash our hands in. “He’d be down there every other night stuffing his face otherwise – says Barney’s steak is a god-send. I told him throwing up on customers after eating it all would have an enormous impact on his business’s reputation.”

After chatting to the friendly woman for a few minutes, we were soon ushered up by Seathan, who had hardly broken a sweat at all that day – ‘the pros of working with a kiln every day, you build a resilience to heat’ he had remarked proudly.

Trudging back through the now-calmer town, we wearily made our way back to the Prancing Pony.

---

“By Yavanna, look at the state of you two!!” Bilbo had cried when we walked in, the hobbit gawping at our less-than acceptable appearances. “Yuv’got – mud. Everywhere!” he sputtered, gesturing at our clothes. “Go change, now.”

Snorting at his antics, the two of us dashed up the stairs of the inn, disappearing before we could watch the seething hobbit turn on our slightly nervous teacher.

When we returned having changed into our original clothes from this morning, we joined the two hobbits and Seathan at the table, who we’re all currently waiting for us to arrive before eating the fresh plates of dinner placed in front of them. We sat down and began eating whilst Seathan was recounting what he had taught us as he scarfed down his well-earned meal.

“– yea, they’re getting the hang of it quite quickly!” he stated with a proud grin. “Could say we’ve got a couple of naturals on our hands.”

I smiled back. “I’m just glad we weren’t thrown under the bus straight away, otherwise I would’ve given up.” I joked, but my joking was immediately stopped at the feeling of my throat jamming up, and I clenched my teeth, digging my nails into my palm as I tried not to make it obvious.

Seathan paused, his fork halfway to his mouth as he glanced at me with a bewildered look. “What’s a bus?”

Staring at him, I remained silent waiting for the invisible hands to stop choking me, and he began frowning as he noticed my cheeks turn a slight pink. I flinched slightly as I felt Kay’s foot kick my shin, and my airway opened once again, and it took me a lot of strength to not heave on the spot. I quickly darted my eyes over to see Kay staring at me, silently staring at me as she realised what was going on. Facing the other three, who were looking at me with curious looks, I racked my brain for an excuse.

“Oh! It’s uh.. just a saying where we’re from.” I laughed nervously, still trying to hide my excessive breathing. “We have different names for transport there. Like, um, a carriage is, obviously, known as a carriage, ha ha, but we have nicknames for it, like bus, or.. or car for short?”

A few moments of silence of passed as they processed my rambling.

“Bus is a strange word to call a carriage.” Muttered Seathan, furrowing his brows. “But, if that’s what your lot have named it, then I won’t be one to judge.” He shrugged before returning to stuffing his mouth with potatoes. Bilbo and Gladiola were already back to eating, used to our strange words and sayings by this point.

I glanced at Kay, only to see her glaring at me with raised eyebrows. I narrowed my own back at her mockingly, raising my tankard of tea to my face. “It’s not my fault we’re stuck with medieval people.” I muttered from behind it.

All I got was mashed potato flicked at my forehead in return.

---

The following five days flew by, Seathan putting us through intense training that was far more gruelling than we thought. I mean, c’mon, doing ten laps around the field is a tad bit excessive, plus, arms wield swords, not legs.

I regrettably voiced those thoughts to our teacher, who then proceeded to have us do push-ups and lifting heavy tools he brought from his shop every hour, much to our frustration. He also asked if there was anything else we wanted to learn the basics in – I had said archery, after enjoying it a few times at festivals and residential trips with school or the girl-guiding groups I was in. Kay had excitedly said she wanted to learn throwing axes. And then proceeded the extra push-ups and benching, Seathan insisting that if we wanted to learn a practice that required a hell of a lot of arm strength, then it will have to be a daily task of exercise for as long as possible before we got to our full strength. I collapsed in protest at that.

By the time Monday rolled around, the two of us could barely pick up a fork to eat, and Gladiola fretted over us as she helped shovel food onto our forks, whilst Bilbo glared daggers over the table at an amused Seathan, muttering under his breath about the ways he was going to set the man’s giant beard on fire.

---

“Oh, you two are going to have to show me what you’ve learnt on the way back!” exclaimed Gladiola as she folded our belongings into our packs, due to our arms and legs still unfortunately incapacitated. “And make sure you give that man the biggest thank you for what he’s done – not just anyone is willing to give up their time for strangers.”

“Yes mum.” Was all Kay groaned, voice muffled from where she was face-planted on her pillow. Slowly rolling over with a prolonged whine, she faced to where I was splayed out like a starfish on the next bed over. “We’re gonna die before we even reach the evening.” She mumbled, face half scrunched by the pillow.

“Now don’t say that.” Lectured Gladiola, whipping Kay’s ankle with a sock as she pattered by with the copious amounts of fabrics and ribbons she had bought, only receiving a short grunt in response. “We’ve got a four-day travel ahead of us, and with that mood, I’ll be forcing you both to carry mine and Bilbo’s packs.”

Slowly pushing herself up, copper strands still stuck to her face, Kay swung her legs over the bed. “Fine.” She mumbled. “We’re up.”

“Good.” Gladiola replied with a smile. “We should have left ten minutes ago, so Kate if you don’t get up we’re leaving you behind.” She half joked as she hauled our packs out the doorway.

“Girlie, c’mon.” Added Kay as she shook my ankle.

Reluctantly, I pushed myself up the best I could, trying to ignore the agonising aches all over my body as I laced up my boots and followed the two out the door.

---

“Now remember, you have to do the exercises I’ve given you at least an hour every day, and memorise the tips I’ve given you for hitting enemy’s weak spots.” Seathan lectured, handing us two sheets of parchment. “I’ve written them down here, and I’ve also thrown in some blunt steel swords so you can upgrade when you both feel ready to.”

Accepting the objects gratefully, we pushed some coins into the man’s hands so he could reward himself with some extra meals, thanked him profusely as we stood by the entrance gate to Bree, trying our best to ignore the lingering stare of the gatekeeper as he peered suspiciously at us.

“Oh, I almost forgot!” said Seathan, marching hurriedly over to a long leather pack that was propped against the wall surrounding the town. Returning to us, he loosened the strings of the pack and pulled the contents out.

“Here’s a set of throwing axes for Kay, and a bow and arrows for you, Kate. I also threw in some polish, oil, and tools for sharpening the blades of the axes and arrows, along with replacement strings for the bow and whatnot.”

“What?!?!” we both said consecutively.

“We can’t accept that –” “It’s too much! – ”

“I paid for it.”

Freezing, the two of us slowly turned until we faced Bilbo, who stared back, before sighing.

“You two can’t be taught all that and expect to leave with hardly anything.” He explained almost nonchalantly, pulling out the crumpled list we had written. “You wouldn’t have gotten anything on your list.”

A beat passed, before I flew down and scooped him up into my arms.

“WHAT THE – ” he sputtered.

“Father.” I said. He froze.

“Father.” Kay repeated, reaching over to continuously pat the curls on his head.

He whipped his head between us with panicked eyes. “WH- I’M NOT YOUR DAD – PUT ME DOWN!”

“Told you he adopted them.” We heard Gladiola mutter to Seathan.

Eventually placing him down, the two of us knelt down to drag him into a hug, despite his grumbling.

“Thank you.” Kay whispered. “For everything.”

With a sigh, he settled, reaching up to wrap his arms around us both. “You’re welcome, but for the love of Yavanna don’t make me regret any of it.”

With matching cheshire grins, we assured him we wouldn’t, before clambering up excitedly to receive the pack of shiny new weapons from Seathan. And within a few minutes, we were waving a hearty farewell to the blacksmith, yelling our goodbyes and thanks until he disappeared behind the closing gate.

Walking through the trees, we chattered away endlessly about the events of the past week, failing to see the two pairs of glowing blue eyes, watching us from the treeline.

---

2 MONTHS LATER

A couple months had passed since we had arrived back in the Shire, and a lot had happened since then.

We had shown Gladiola the techniques we were taught during the evenings when we were on our return trip, and she had pleaded that we taught her kids, saying how they had always wanted to play knights when they were younger. A couple weeks in, Kay and I had stumbled across a clearing on the outskirts of Hobbiton, surrounded by trees and seasonal wildflowers with a scenic view of the town from where it was further up one of the hills. It was a perfect spot; close enough to Bag End where Bilbo could sit on the bench by his front door and watch us, but the trees made it private enough for us to set up targets to practice both our weapons training, along with our magic, without the risk of someone stumbling upon us.

The most exciting part, however, was meeting Bertin Grubb, who owned the pony stables across town. After seeing the lean muscle we had begun to develop on our arms from the training, he had offered us a job assisting him with caring for the ponies, figuring we were tall and strong enough to handle the animals when they were being stubborn. It took a while getting used to, having to bend down excessively to use the small hobbit-sized wheelbarrow, or the rake with a handle too short for two girls at least twice the height of the average hobbit. But he eventually managed to get us some suitable enough, and we thoroughly loved every second, excited to finally be able to pay Bilbo back for everything he had done, especially when doing a job as fun as ours.

 Except for shovelling the horse crap.

It stank.

---

Bag End, Hobbiton, The Shire – T.A. Friday, 5th May 2940 of the Third Age (Highday, 15th Thrimidge, 1340 in Shire-reckoning)

The sun was barely rising when Kay and I got up, readying ourselves for an early shift when we received a letter that Bertie had received two new animals and needed the extra hands earlier than normal.

Trudging down the path as the birds sang their morning song, we munched on the poached eggs buns Bilbo had shoved into our hands as we were about to step out the door, before he had promptly marched back to bed for a well-earned lie in.

Blinking away the sleep from my eyes, I mumbled a conversation with Kay as we walked between the hedges lining the path. Soon enough, we neared the stables, only to see a frantic looking Bertie, who seemed to be nervously waiting for us whilst tightly clutching his cap between his short fingers by the wooden archway leading in. When his wide brown eyes landed on us as we rounded the corner, he cried out in relief.

“Oh thank Yavanna you’re here!” he cried, jogging over to us. “A friend of mine found them wandering the outskirts looking all muddy and he begged me to take them cause they were eating his crops but they’re so large I don’t know what to do with them! I –”

“Woah, woah! Hey!” I raised my voice slightly to cut off his rambling. “What do you mean large? What are they?”

“Horses!” he wailed, dragging his hands down his face. “Giant! Horses!”

Kay perked up, trying to look through the archway. “Really? Can we see them?”

Bertie looked up at her with a sweaty forehead and hopeful eyes. “That’s the thing.” He laughed meekly. “I was hoping you two could take charge of them? I’m afraid I might get stepped on if I go near them again.”

Following Bertie into the stables, he led us to the end stalls, to where there were two of possibly the tallest horses I had ever seen in my life.

One was patterned like a cow, black and white patches covering it’s body, the other pitch black, with only small, pure white socks colouring the ends its fluffy hooves, and a singular white star-like stripe running down its head.

Feeling like one of those girls in those magical horse novels, I slowly approached the black one, its features resembling those of a Shire horse – fitting, considering where we were. Kay’s looked like a Clydesdale, and I watched from the corner of my eye as she neared it, wonder glinting in her eyes as she offered her hand. I followed with my own, looking up at the beast that towered over me, the top of my head barely reaching its snout despite my tall height, as it’s black eyes peered back down to meet my own dark brown ones.

“Now you know why I can’t look after them myself.” Bertie half-laughed, flitting his eyes between the two animals, keeping his distance from the two animals as he watched, scuffing his heel against the floor like he wanted to bolt. “They’re girls, so hopefully won’t be territorial or anything that could cause issues with the ponies.”

I snorted. “I’m pretty sure you’ve just given the ponies two empresses to worship – they’ll probably follow them around the pasture like loyal minions whenever they’re together.” I grinned as I faced the poor hobbit, who looked on the verge of trembling.

He took a shaky breath. “Ok, well, you can do what you like with them, just make sure they don’t go mental and destroy half the place. Please.”

“I doubt they’ll do that.” Piped up Kay, who had now managed to start stroking the snout of her horse. “If you managed to get them here without a fuss, then they should remain docile.” She gave him a reassuring smile. “Hopefully.”

After that, Bertie quickly wrapped up the conversation, clearly desperate to get elsewhere so he didn’t have to face the two powerhouses bunking in the stables next to each other. He had mumbled about finding saddles and equipment large enough for them, before quickly scurrying off.

Turning back to face the horse in front of me, I reached up to gently place my hand on its sloping snout. “What’re you naming yours?” I asked, turning to her.

Looking up at the pink snout that was trying to nibble at her hand, she pondered for a moment. “Mmm, something like Calhourn maybe.”

“Nice.” I complimented. “I thought you would’ve gone for something like Moo Moo.”

She snorted. “That’s something you would go for.” She paused. “But it is a strong contender. Perhaps I’ll have it as a nickname.” She turned to me. “What’re you gonna choose?”

“Spleens.”

“No.”

“Ok, how about Felony?”

“Better, cooler, sounds like a name, but maybe choose something more… socially acceptable.”

I grunted in annoyance. “I want a name that disturbs people when they hear it – it’ll be a good conversation starter.”

“It’ll also be a good way to start the conversation of creating Middle Earth’s first mental asylum.” Kay deadpanned. “You can name something like your first pet cat Spleens, but not a horse that you could be riding into battle and potentially have written down in history.”

“But it’ll be the most remembered.” I pouted.

“And the most judged. Now, save the poor horse her dignity and give her a nice name.” she demanded.

“Doo Doo Daggins.”

“I swear to god.”

“Ok! Ok!” I giggled, petting the horse’s snout as she nudged at my hand. “Something fancy then.”

She nodded. “Yea, maybe something that relates to something you do? I don’t know – your witch stuff has a lot of fancy words in it.”

My eyes lit up. “Ohh! What about Hecate!? It links to my practice, and could be some type of dedication to her as a deity!”

Kay raised her brows. “That’s actually not bad. You gonna give her a nickname?”

I pondered for a moment. “Yea. Spleens.”

Kay just sighed.

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

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See you at some point for the last chapter of Part 2! Also please comment if you want to be added to the Taglist <3

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@opheliasdrowningg @mrsdurin @g1gglef1t @qmabailor @saturnnie-03 @emstar07 @geewoo-ko @phanryesworld @stuckupstucky @rebeccao03 @wiccan-potato24 @ellessecretobsession @thepixiechicks @triostarz

(Message me if your tag isn’t working)

[judyfromfinance]

I need help finding a fanfic!

Please it was a The Hobbit/Modern!OC insert. The OC was a Latina and I’ll be honest, I read it more so as a reader insert because there’s not a lot of Latina Reader Inserts in general.

I believe the main, and probably only pairing was Fili/OC.

I don’t remember what it was called. I remember bits and pieces from the work. Her and Bilbo were besties because they were the outsiders in the group. One night she talked about strawberries with Bilbo. She also dies and comes back when fighting Azog (from the scene at the end of the first movie.) she drew a dick on the wall in Mirkwood Kingdom??? I think. She made tortillas for Thorin in Rivendell.

It’s also finished! But I can’t find it.

Somebody help me 😭

[ribboniest]

starchild , part 1

It was another sunny day in Rivendell, and it was going great for Evelyn as the leader of Lord Elrond's army.

It's been 3 years since she was chosen as the general of the army, and she couldn't be happier.

When she first came to Rivendell, all she had left from her past life was a name. Evelyn. That's what her dad called her.

Her last memories from her dad was him fighting for his life while telling her to escape.

It's been years, she's 21 now and she was only 6 when the orcs attacked their house; yet she remembered that night as if it was just last night.

Her father gave her a map, as he heard the orcs getting closer:

"Evelyn, I need you to listen to me one last time. You need to get on the road with your pony and DO NOT STOP until you reach Rivendell. When you arrive, ask for Lord Elrond. Trust him just like you trust me, alright? He knows me, and he'll help you."

you knew something was wrong. Even though your father was full of surprises, he had never spoke like this. Like it was your last moments together...

- dad?...

Her father took her into his arms as he put a dagger into her hands, a real one.

- here you go, a real dagger like I promised. You know how to use it. Now, leave. And whatever you see and hear, DO NOT turn back. I love you Evelyn, my starchild.

-dad... when will I see you again?

-you'll see me and your mother whenever you look at the stars.

And that was his last sentence as he made Evelyn leave.

When young Evelyn arrived at Rivendell, Elrond immediately took her under his wing. He trained her to be the most skilled soldier in Rivendell. when she turned 18, she was chosen as the leader of the army. And life was going great, even though her dad wasn't there anymore. He and her mother, were the stars she looked for every night.

Every day went by a normal routine for her, and today wasn't supposed to be an exception, right?

[thethreeeyed-raven]

⋆♱ LOTR/THE HOBBIT ♱⋆

navigation

🕷️fluff | 🕸️angst | 🐈‍⬛suggestive | 🪦platonic

⋆♱ Aragorn II Elessar ♱⋆

🕷️ • after the storm | x gn!reader x boromir [🪦]

⋆♱ Boromir of Gondor ♱⋆

nothing yet

⋆♱ Faramir of Gondor ♱⋆

nothing yet

⋆♱ Kili ♱⋆

nothing yet

⋆♱ Legolas Greenleaf ♱⋆

🕷️ • 🕸️ • i think you are beautiful | x fem!elf!reader

⋆♱ Thorin Oakenshield ♱⋆

nothing yet

⋆♱ Thranduil Oropherion ♱⋆

🕷️ • 🐈‍⬛ • eyes | x dwarf!reader

⋆♱ Fili ♱⋆

nothing yet

@lost-in-fiction-like-ur-mom • @fangsp1der-2099 • @knight-of-flowerss

[runesandramblings]

"To The Ends of The Earth"

Word Count: TBD / ongoing

Content Warnings: none, follows the events from The Hobbit so there will be the expected violence from the movies

Pairings: KilixOC

Themes: crossover Marvel x Tolkien, romance, fanfic, canon-ish events

Summary:

In the wake of The Blip, the multi-verse has expanded knowledge of the universe in ways no one thought possible. For the first time, journeying between realms and realities is a tangible possibility.

Ex-SHIELD agent and Avenger, Lilith Lenore, is hiding from her past, shunning the life she once led. But when an offer from a wizard of another world is extended, she cannot refuse.

Chapter 4: The Hobbit

My head was spinning as I trailed behind Gandalf. Dragons, mountains full of gold, creatures called orcs, and small people that he referred to as hobbits. And dwarves, who were also small people, yet somehow they differed from hobbits. It was a lot of information to process. I was used to strange creatures by now, but this was an entirely new level of strange. 

We had been following a narrow, dirt path for the better part of an hour. As I looked around I realized that the path had begun to widen, and the trees were beginning to thin. It appeared we were coming out of the woods and heading into a town of some kind. Small vegetable stands and carts lined the street, although I did not see anyone nearby behind or around the fixtures. As we continued the carts turned into buildings, smaller than would seem fitting for the average human. I was only five feet even myself, and looking at the door to a tavern titled ‘The Green Dragon’ I felt as though I’d hit my head on the way in. I quickly turned my attention from the changing surroundings to the wizard in front of me. I still had a million questions burning in my mind.

“So, we’re going to see a hobbit,” I started, putting an emphasis on the unfamiliar word. 

I could see Gandalf’s head bob in acknowledgement in front of me. 

“Yes.” 

“To come with us, and some dwarves, to fight a dragon,” I continued.

Gandalf nodded again. 

“Yes, that is correct.”

“The dragon is in the mountain where the dwarves used to live. The dwarves need to retake the mountain because…” I trailed off. “Why do the dwarves need the mountain?” 

“The mountain is impenetrable.” He began. “Anyone who is able to successfully take the mountain would have a foothold that is not easily challenged. The orcs are always looking to gain an advantage in Middle Earth. If they are able to take the mountain, or worse, if they are able to persuade Smaug to their side, they might become an even deadlier force.”

I nodded, still putting the pieces together in my mind. 

“Can a dragon be persuaded?” I asked.

“Not all of them.” Gandalf said. “But Smaug is no ordinary dragon.” 

“And the Saran guy-” 

“Sauron.” He corrected. 

“Sorry, Sauron.” I repeated. “You said this all connects to Sauron somehow? The guy with the rings?” 

I saw his head bob up and down again in front of me. He never turned, keeping his gaze and attention focused on the path ahead of us. I heard a light chuckle as he continued. 

“More or less. Sauron has been gone for many years, but the orcs that serve him are ruthless, vile creatures. They exist to kill, torture, and destroy. They are always growing in number, and they will never stop ravaging Middle Earth. A hold like Erebor could prove to be deadly in their hands.”

“And why do you think the outcome of this could affect other worlds, like mine?” I asked, still uncertain of how this all connected to me and to my home.

I nearly crashed into Gandalf as he came to a sudden halt in the middle of the road. He turned around to face me finally, and rested his hands on the top of his staff as he spoke. 

“A seer in our world has had a vision of Sauron’s return. We do not know how, or when. It seems Sauron's return to power is inevitable. By ensuring the dwarves retake Erebor, it is a crucial step in slowing him down. 

"In her vision, she saw a future where the dwarves failed to reclaim the mountain. In that future, Sauron wields the ring and destroys Middle Earth as we know it. He grows to be so powerful that he ventures out of our world and into others. Think of it as a domino effect. We cannot stop the pieces from falling, but we can make certain that they do not fall too quickly.”

I stared at him for a moment, absorbing all of the information. 

“I see.” I said simply. It was the only thing I could think to say. “And I thought the infinity stones were complicated.” 

Gandalf chuckled again as he turned to continue down the path. 

“I am not sure what infinity stones are, but given what you’ve accomplished in your world this should be right up your alley.”

“I hope so.” I said, following behind him, though not as closely this time. “I’ve never dealt with dragons before, though.” 

I heard him chuckle again. 

“Neither have I, my dear.” 

The path we followed narrowed again as it wound around, leading us into a separate part of town. Green, grass covered hills began to appear on either side of the road, and they stretched down the winding trail as far as I could see. Each small hill had a round, colorful door in the center. As I looked closer I saw windows and chimneys. I felt my mouth gaping as I realized they were houses. 

“Interesting, isn’t it?” Gandalf asked, as though he had read my mind. 

“Very.” I said, looking back and forth between the small hill-homes that dotted the countryside.

 As we approached I began to see what I could assume were the hobbits. They darted back and forth, between the homes, within small gardens, and up and down the path beside us. As they passed several gave Gandalf a kind nod, and myself an unwelcoming, wary stare. None of them came close enough for me to be certain, but it appeared they stood no higher than my chest. They were all dressed similarly, in short cropped breeches, jewel colored vests, and, to my surprise, no shoes. 

“Hobbits?” I asked quietly, hoping I was not speaking loudly enough for the peculiar little people to hear. 

“Yes.” Gandalf answered. “Very kind folk. I have always enjoyed the company of hobbits.” 

I followed him in silence for a few more moments before he came to a stop in front of one of the small homes.

“Here we are.” Gandalf said, gesturing to another short, winding path. It led up to one of the strange, round doors set into the side of a hill. At the top of the path, sitting on a bench outside of a green door was another hobbit. He was smoking a pipe as he leaned back against the bench. I had a feeling Gandalf was about to uproot his entire morning. 

“Wait here.” He said, gesturing for me to stay. “I will be right back.” 

I nodded absentmindedly, scarcely noticing his absence as I continued to take in the sights around me. A few more hobbits passed as I stood awkwardly at the end of the path. I nodded kindly to a few of them. Each one hurried past, not a single one willing to return my greeting. 

“Not very friendly, evidently.” I mumbled as another hobbit passed quickly, avoiding my gaze.

Before I had the chance to sit down in the grass, Gandalf reappeared.

“Come along, Lilith. We have much to do before this evening.” 

He walked past me, not stopping to see if I was following, and continued back down the road in the same direction we had just come.

“That was it?” I asked, falling in behind him. I looked back at where he’d come from and saw the hobbit he’d been speaking to was gone.

“For now.” He said. His pace quickened and I found myself having to jog to keep up. “We will be back. I have a few errands in the meantime.”

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Intro

[omgsquee2001]

Chapter 1: Beorn and the Dream

~~~~

Bilbo peeked over some rocks on a high ledge and watched Azog and his Warg Scouts running along a ridgeline not far away, occasionally stopping to smell the air in their pursuit of the Company. Not finding anything, they continued on their way. Suddenly, Bilbo heard a snarl from the side, and ducked behind the rocks. He peeked out and saw a large bear watching Azog from another pile of rocks, snarling softly. Bilbo sneaked away in slight fear of the creature. Bilbo made his way down the rocks to where the dwarves and Gandalf were waiting to hear Bilbo's report. The company braced as they heard scuttling coming towards them. They visibly relaxed as they saw it was only Bilbo. Alrún stood up from where she had been sitting on the rocks.

"How close is the pack?" She asked. Bilbo panted, trying to catch his breath as he stood in the middle of the Company. 

"Too close. A couple of leagues, no more, but that is not the worst of it." Bilbo said, fear in his voice. Dwalin looked at the Hobbit. 

"Have the Wargs picked up our scent?" He asked urgently. Bilbo shook his head. 

"Not yet, but they will; we have another problem." Bilbo said, trying to bring up the bear like creature he saw. 

"Did they see you? They saw you!" Gandalf accused. Bilbo shook his head, becoming impatient. 

 "No, that's not it."

Gandalf smiled and turned to the dwarves.

“What did I tell you? Quiet as a mouse. Excellent burglar material." Gandalf said. The dwarves chuckled loudly in appreciation of Bilbo. Alrún sighed in exasperation. 

"Will you listen- Will you just listen?" She said loudly, causing everyone to go silent. She looked at everyone. "He's trying to tell you there is something else out there." She said. Bilbo looked at her and nodded in thanks. The dwarves looked worried. Gandalf's face fell in realization. 

"What form did it take? Like a bear?" Gandalf asked. Bilbo nodded. 

“Ye..." Bilbo paused and looked curiously at Gandalf. "Y-yes. But bigger, much bigger." Bilbo said. Alrún looked down in thought. She thought that she knew someone who was a bear form her past. She vaguely remembered the creature.  

"You knew about this beast?" Bofur asked Gandalf, snapping Alrún out of her thoughts. She watched the Wizard as he turned and walked a few steps away. The Company broke out into argument.

"I say we double back."

"And be run down by a pack of Orcs?”

Gandalf broke the argument. 

"There is a house, it's not far from here, where we might take refuge." He said. Thorin looked at Gandalf with distrust.

"Whose house? Are they friend or foe?" Thorin asked. Gandalf shook his head slightly. 

“Neither. He will help us, or he will kill us." Gandalf said. Alrún sighed in dismay and closed her eyes. The dwarves looked at each other in dismay. Alrún opened her eyes and looked at Gandalf. 

"What choice do we have?" She asked. Suddenly, a roar split the night behind them. It wasn't the familiar roar of an Orc or a Warg. This was the roar of a very angry bear. Mizim rose her head to the sky and sniffed the air. She lowered her head, her ears pressing flat against her head as she growled. Gandalf looked at the company, slight fear flashing before his eyes. 

"None."

~~~~~~

The company went running through plains and across streams. Morning had since broke, the sun lighting the path for the Company, however, also making them visible to their enemies. 

"Come on!" Gandalf shouted, leading the way. The others trailed behind him, with Mizim taking the rear. She was prepared to engage the bear in battle to protect the company. As the Company ran through a forest, Azog and his Orcs are raced through the forest too. Azog urged his party on. Both groups stopped suddenly when an ear-splitting roar sounded nearby. Alrún's breath sped up in fear of either being caught by Azog again or becoming breakfast for the new arrival. "This way, quickly!" Gandalf shouted, urging the Company on once again. As the dwarves panicked and ran, Bombur looked on in shock until he was pulled along by Alrún. 

"Bombur, come on!" Alrún shouted. As they exited the forest, they spotted a house surrounded by a hedge in the middle of a plain.

"To the house! Run!" Gandalf shouted. The Company ran across the plain. Bombur outran all the rest of them in his fear, surprising the Dwarfs. In some cases, fear worked wonders. They ran through a gate in the hedge.

"Come on, get inside!" Gandalf shouted. They ran to the front door of the house, however, it was closed. Bombur, who reached the door first, threw himself against it but fell flat on his back when the door didn't budge. The rest of the dwarves caught up and began throwing themselves against the door, trying to open it. Gandalf looked back as a massive bear broke out from the edge of the forest and ran towards them. 

"Open the door!" Gandalf shouted. 

"Quickly!" Thorin urged. He pushed through the dwarves pressed against the door and managed to raise the exterior bolt, opening the doors. The entire company bolted inside the house and they tried to slam the door shut, but the bear had already gotten its head in the door. As the bear roared and tried to push the door open, the dwarves yelled and strained to close it. Bilbo pulled out his sword and pointed it unsteadily at the bear.  Gandalf looked on in apparent amusement. The dwarves yelled as they pressed against the door.

"Come on, lads!" Dwalin shouted. With a final heave, the dwarves managed to close the door and drop the bolt across it. They sighed in shock, fear, and tiredness.

"What is that?" Ori asked as he moved away form the door, breathing heavily. Gandalf looked at the young Dwarf. 

"That...is our host." Gandalf said. Alrún, the dwarves and Bilbo turned to Gandalf in bewilderment. "His name is Beorn, and he is a skin-changer." Gandalf said. Alrún's eyes widened at this. She had only read stories about them in the libraries of Erebor. Skin-changers were extremely rare. There were very few left in Middle Earth. Skin-changers had the ability to change from an animal form to a human form. "Sometimes he's a huge black bear; sometimes he's a great strong man. The bear is unpredictable, but the man can be reasoned with. However, he is not over fond of dwarves." Gandalf said. The dwarves looked at each other in dismay. Ori peaked out a crack in the door, listening as the heavy breathing of the bear grew farther and farther away.

"He's leaving!" He said in astonishment, turning to face the others. Dori rushed over and pulled his younger brother away from the door.

"Come away from there! It's not natural, none of it. It's obvious: he's under some dark spell." Dori said, clearly unnerved by the situation. Alrún looked at Dori. 

"Don't assume things, Dori. We don't know that." She said. For some reason, she felt the urge to defend the Skin-changer from the accusations made by the Dwarf. 

“She's right," Gandalf said. "He's under no enchantment but his own. Alright now, get some sleep, all of you. You'll be safe here tonight." Gandalf said. Alrún sighed and placed her hand on Mizim's side, walking with the wolf to a larger spot in the house where Mizim could keep her friend warm and protect her.

~~~~~~

Night had soon fallen, plunging the plain into darkness. Azog and his company watched as Beorn walked around, observing his land. One of his Orcs comes up to Azog.

"*Bu margi hum. Guri shugi khozdayil anugi takurni ka Dalfbred." The Org urged. Azog shook his head. 

"*Shâ. Hulim nari arangish." Azog said. He was smart enough to not tread on a Skin-Changer's territory, especially Beorn's. Azog angrily walked away from Beorn and the house, and his Orcs followed. They walked back to where the rest of their group was, several Wargs were fighting each other.

"*Zadgarimid ru mong." Azog said, breaking up the fight between the Wargs. Azog and his Orcs all snapped to attention when they heard a sound, and they pulled out their weapons. Another large, pale Orc astride a Warg ran up to them, and the Warg stopped inches from Azog, growling at his face. Azog stood without flinching, although he snarled. The pale Orc, Bolg, was holding a weapon shaped like a sharp spinal column, and he had iron plates embedded in his skull and chest. 

"They are gathering in Dol Guldur. The Master has summoned you!" Bolg said in Black Speech. Azog growled in anger.

~~~~~~

*Bu margi hum. Guri shugi khozdayil anugi takurni ka Dalfbred = Attack them now. Kill the Dwarf filth while they sleep and take the Half-Breed.

*Shâ. Hulim nari arangish = No. The Beast stands guard.

 *Zadgarimid ru mong = We will kill them on the road.

~~~~~

A mouse scampered across Beorn's chessboard, which had pieces shaped like bears. The dwarves were sleeping all throughout the house. Some goats chewed on hay. Alrún, who was laying beside Mizim, Thorin laying across from her, was tossing and turning. Her breath was labored, sweat dripping down her forehead. She saw flashes of flames. A dark figure appeared from the flames. The dark figure spoke words that Alrún couldn't understand. It was in black speech.

*Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatulûk, agh burzum ishi krimpatul.

The thing that terrified Alrún the most, was she saw herself. Standing in a dress made entirely of fire. 

She didn't feel like her normal self. She felt, almost evil. She enjoyed watching as she rose her arms and the flames dispersed, engulfing Middle Earth. She heard a dark voice whispering in her mind. 

You will be mine, Alrún Eníredis. You will give me your powers. And together, we will rule together over Middle Earth, you by my side as my Queen. 

Alrún felt drawn to the voice. More images of her flashed before her mind. Her subjects bowing before her as she reined with an iron fist. 

Alrún

Alrún

Alrún!

She gasped and jolted awake. Thorin was kneeling by her side. Mizim was also awake, checking in on her friend. Alrún tried to catch her breath, gasping for air. Thorin looked down at his lover in concern. 

"Are you alright, my love?" He asked. Alrún sniffed and nodded, her eyes darting around before landing on the familiar face of her lover.

"Y-yes, I'm fine, Thorin. Just a nightmare." She said. Thorin sat beside her, pulling her into his side. 

"Did you have the same vision you had when we left the Shire?" He asked. Alrún rested her head against his shoulder, shaking her head. 

"No. This was, different," she stared into the darkness of the home, lost in thought. "Someone wants my powers, Thorin. I don't know who it is, but they felt evil, like all the dark creatures and magic of this world combined into one. They told me that I would give them my powers and we would rule over Middle Earth," she glanced at Thorin in fear. "I'm scared, Thorin. I feel like something terrible is going to happen." She said. Thorin sighed and pulled her into a gentle kiss. He stroked her cheek with his thumb gently as he pulled away. 

"Alrún, I promised when I asked you to marry me that I would protect you with my life. I won't let anything happen to you. I will protect you. You will touch that Stone and you will awaken your powers, like you were always meant to do." He said. Alrún smiled gently at him. Thorin gently pressed his lips against her forehead. "Get some sleep, Azyungâl. Should you have anymore nightmares, I will protect you from them." Thorin promised. Mizim gave a soft sigh as she rested her head against her paws and fell asleep once more, content in knowing that Thorin would protect Alrún. Alrún sighed and closed her eyes, falling asleep once more in the comfort of her lover's arms. 

~~~~~~~

*Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatulûk, agh burzum ishi krimpatul = One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.

~~~~

Tag List

@mrsdurin

~~~~

//Bum, bum, bum!! Alrún hears the voice of the necromancer. Find out what happens next in ‘Chapter 2: Dol Guldur and Mirkwood’.

[faeriichaii]

Hija de la Luna - Prologue

A/N: I have been thinking about writing this for such a long time and finally I came to the conclusion to just do it!! So yeah this will be a Kili x OC story (: Please give me a lot of feedback and if there are any mistakes, just let me know!!

Warnings: None :)

Warmth engulfs my fingers as I take a sip from the herbal tea that the waitress just served me. The liquid has a bitter taste to it as it travels down my throat and engulfs my whole body in its warmth. Tiny leaves are still swirling around in the cup, trying to tell me what will be awaiting me in the next few hours while I sit around in the tavern. People begin to crowd the place, start dancing and talking about their day, leaving the stress of the workload they carried around behind. The smell of alcohol mixes with the fragrance of the various foods that get carried out from the kitchen. I take out my leather-bound journal to look at the previous signs that led me to this specific tavern at this specific time of day.  A wonderous adventure awaits. A task to save a kingdom from the wretched claws of an enormous beast. These specific images have been haunting my dreams since a couple of weeks. Always the same ones. A wise man will lead the way to the beginning of the story. A story that was never seen before. A company filled with various characters take their opportunity to get back what is rightfully theirs.

I finish my herbal tea and take a look at the leaves at the bottom of the cup. A smirk forms on my lips as I grab a pen from my satchel, that was draped over the backside of my chair. The man that leads the way to the journey is none other than… “Gandalf, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” I say without looking up, knowing already that the man is sitting across from me. A smile plastered his lips as he makes himself comfortable, letting his staff lean against his chair. “Well, I am sure that as a so-called Oracle, you already know why I am seeking you out?” Looking at him I give him a soft smile back. “There were several signs that tell me about an upcoming journey. Why do you need me for their travels though?” “It is very simple…” Gandalf takes out an old map and lays it out on the wooden table. “You know the tale of the dragon that stole Erebor and destroyed the kingdom. The king has made the decision to reclaim their territory and I was sent out with the task to find the remaining members of the company.” I raise an eyebrow at that. Dragons are known for not letting go of their treasure so easily, so how on earth do they think they could accomplish this?

Gandalf leans closer towards me, making sure nobody is listening in on our talk. I pull the hood of my cape further down, trying to conceal as much of my identity as possible. “Melody, I chose you as the 15th member of Thorins company. You will be their personal Oracle to ensure that their travels will be as harmless as possible.” A hum leaves my lips. His words echo in my mind. I am supposed to lead them safely to the end of their story? “Gandalf, you do realize, that I can’t foreshadow the entire journey, right? I am able to take a look into the future but even the smallest details can change the course of their journey. What if I predict something entirely wrong? I mean it’s just-“ “I already know how your future telling normally goes Melody. I am aware that you can foreshadow certain events but not all. I still wish for you to join the company.” With that Gandalf puts away the map and stands up from his chair. “I’m sure that when you come to a decision you will be able to find the right place and right time to join in on the adventure.” He smiles softly, before taking his staff and making his way out of the tavern. Gandalf asks of me to be the Oracle for the party. Do I accept or not? I wish to find the answers in the stars tonight.

[dragons-and-dwarves-are-nice]

To the Shadows that Cry Witch /// Chapter 20

*Rises from the dead* Good evening. So I honestly should've put this fic on hiatus because I haven't updated in a hot minute (cough3monthscough). But having to hand in a Presentation, Essay, Video AND portfolio, all within two weeks of each other kinda made me forget lol. Uni is so hard pls send help. Anyway, I've made this one longer to make up for lost time, and I decided this won't be the last chapter of Part 2, I'm now planning on doing two more to fit in everything I've planned, and the good thing is that I have no work to do for the next 2 weeks so I can just work on this non stop. Hopefully you'll be seeing me again soon lol. Enjoy! <3

Summary: Magic was real, but it came at a price. So when two girls end up in the one place they never thought they could reach, strange things began to happen. Good or bad? That's up to them to find out.

Tags: Kili x oc/reader - Fili x oc (POV to be written soon) - Thorin's company × ocs/reader (platonic) - fluff - angst - EXTREME slow burn - crack - Bagginshield

Word Count: 8465

Warnings: Paranormal encounters, swearing, being chased by giant snakes if you aren't a fan of that.

Taglist - comment or message to be added!

PLEASE START FROM THE BEGINNING IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY OK LOVE U

Want some background music? Check out my Soundtrack Playlist!

Now available on Wattpad and AO3 (please let me know if links aren't working)

< Chapter 19 // Chapter 20 // Chapter 21 >

Part 2: Chapter 20 -

Yer a wizard. Sorry, witch.

Minatory (Definition): Having a menacing quality; Threatening. (Adjective / Origin: Late Latin /ˈmɪnət(ə)ri )

Bag End, Hobbiton, The Shire – T.A. Friday, 18th November 2939 of the Third Age (Highday, 28th Blotmath, 1339 in Shire-reckoning)

“Annnd, there we go.” Kay huffed, both of us letting out a sigh of relief as we lowered a passed out Bilbo into his armchair. Lifting the blanket that was drying by the fire, I shook it out, before draping it over the unconscious hobbit, tucking it over his shoulders.

We both took a step back, waiting for him to wake up, when a fist impacted with my shoulder.

“OW!” I cried, bringing my hand up to rub at the spot. “The hell was that for?!”

Kay shoved a finger in my face, glaring up at me. “That – was for levitating me! Upside-down of all things!”

“It’s not like I wanted to! And I didn’t expect for it to actually work!”

All she did was grumble, crossing her arms as she stared at Bilbo.

“…  You can do the same at one point in return?” I offered.

“Oh, I will be, just you wait.”

I sighed in exasperation, before focusing on the problem at hand.

“Should I make some tea? For when he wakes up.” I suggested.

“Yea, that’ll be nice. I’ll stay here in case he wakes up.” She replied.

I nodded, turning on my heel and wandering through to the kitchen. Hooking the kettle over the open fire, I prepared three mugs along with some tea leaves in a straining bag. Staring at the exposed bricks lining the fireplace, I let my mind wander as I tried to figure out what to say, my hands absentmindedly turning the mug as I listened to the kettle’s whistle grow louder.

Within 5 minutes I was done, and just in time, as I managed to walk back through just when Bilbo had begun to stir. Lowering the tray onto the small table by the fire, I knelt down in front of Bilbo’s chair, his steaming mug of chamomile in my hands.

His eyes flickered open, blinking rapidly as he tried to adjust to the low light. Spotting us, he gasped as he shot up, everything seemingly coming back to him.

I quickly shoved the mug towards him, and that managed to calm him down slightly as he settled back into his chair, bringing his hands from beneath the blanket to take the hot beverage from my hands.

Taking a small sip, he lowered the tea onto his lap, and took a deep breath.

“What,- in Yavanna’s name… where you doing!!?”

I gave him straight lined smile, clasping my hands together.

“That’s the thing.” I said, shrugging as my eyes focused on the fire. “We don’t know.”

He spluttered, his head jerking back in confusion and frustration. “Wh – d – don’t know?? What do you mean you don’t know??”

Kay shoved at my shoulder as she sat down on the floor next to me. “What Kate was meant to say,” She explained, deadpanning at me before turning to the poor hobbit. “Was that it was an accident, we were joking about something and she didn’t mean to send me floating into the ceiling.”

Bilbo frowned so hard that his eyes had scrunched shut, placing his mug on the table. “And what, pray tell, could you have possibly been joking about that made Kay levitate into the air.”

I nodded slowly as my eyes darted around in thought. “About sending her floating into the ceiling.” I stated, shrugging as if it was obvious.

Bilbo dropped his head into his hands with a loud groan of anguish, whilst Kay drew her lips between her teeth to try and hide her smile.

I fiddled with my fingers, watching as Bilbo’s head rose back up, dropping back onto the cushion of his armchair as he stared into space, his eye-bags looking more prominent than ever.

“Okay, just.. fetch one of your cakes, I need to eat something after all that.” He sighed, closing his eyes.

I quickly replied with an ‘ok’, getting to my feet and strolling over to the pantry, retrieving the cake, then to the kitchen to get three plates, forks and a knife.

Handing Bilbo his slice of cake, me and Kay sat down on the armchairs opposite, placing our own plates on our laps. Minutes passed where only the crackling of the fire and clinking of forks against plates could be heard. But it wasn’t long before Bilbo spoke up again.

“Do you really not know what’s going on?” He asked, tilting his head slightly as he looked over at us.

Kay shook her head. “This is just as new to us as it is to you. We’re trying to figure out why, but it’s been difficult.”

“I can imagine.” He replied. “If I started accidentally levitating things, I wouldn’t dare to show my face until I knew how to control it.”

“We have somewhat managed to control it, though” I added.

“Oh, I know that.” Bilbo reassured with a shake of his head. “Otherwise Kay would still be stuck to the ceiling.” He joked, much to Kay’s chagrin.

“You don’t need to worry about us, though.” I said, voice muffled by a mouthful of cake. “I know we’re ‘barely adults’ according to you, but we do have some idea of how to look after ourselves.”

Bilbo nodded. “I’m sure you can, but then again, you said yourselves that you don’t know how to navigate this world properly. I just want to make sure you’re both safe. The Shire is a very comfortable place to live, but once you step out its borders, I can guarantee you two wouldn’t last a day.” He stated, prodding his knee with his finger to emphasise each word.

Kay raised her hands in mock surrender, “You’ve got us there.” I pointed a finger at her in agreement whilst staring at the rug.

“But…” I raised my head to look at Kay as she spoke. “Could we possssibly go to the forest? To try and figure this all out??” Bilbo instantly deadpanned. “It saves us accidentally blowing a hole in your wall!”

He reeled back. “You can do that?!?!”

She nodded. “Well – I haven’t, exactly.” She straightened up, pointed a finger at me. “But Kate has!”

I whirled round, a betrayed look on my face. “Are you trying to rat me out?!”

“YOU BLEW A HOLE IN MY WALL?!?!” cried Bilbo.

“NO! I BLEW A TREE UP, NOT YOUR HOUSE!” I cried back.

“WHY WOULD YOU NEED TO BLOW UP A TREE!”

“I DIDN’T MEA – ugh, I can’t be asked with this.” I groaned, rubbing my face. “Look, I didn’t do it on purpose, it was in self de – no, right, I picked up a stick, and accidentally knocked it against something, which caused a spark to fly out the end and blow up a tree.”

The hobbit tossed his hands into the air. “And my day just keeps getting weirder and weirder.” He breathed a deep sigh. “Ok fine, you can go to the forest, BUT, I’m going with you.” Kay groaned from beside me. “No, none of that. The last time I let you both out on your own, you almost froze to death after going for a midnight swim, I’m not having that happen again.”

We both slumped in our chairs, nodding reluctantly. Satisfied, Bilbo nodded to himself, before standing from his chair and walking slowly to the door.

“Right, well – I’m off to bed. We can discuss this further over breakfast tomorrow.” He paused in the doorway, twisting around to look at us both. “And uh.. thank you,” He said, gesturing to the tea and blanket in his arms. “For taking care of me.”

We both nodded at him with a smile, Kay muttering a ‘You’re welcome’. He returned the expression, before disappearing into the hallway.

“Well, that went a lot better than I thought.” Said Kay, turning to retrieve her own tea.

My head jerked around instantly from where I was facing the fireplace, my face twisted in both confusion and offence. “Easy for you to say. I almost got kicked out because you made him think I was renovating his home!”

“Well that sounds like a you problem, doesn’t it?” She said over her shoulder as she walked towards the doorway.

I went to retort, but quickly noticed which direction she was going in. “NUH UH, don’t think I haven’t forgotten what I said earlier.”

Kay stopped, punching the air in frustration. She spun around, inching towards the doorway. “But it’s so pointless!” She whined. “And it disappears when you’re around anyway!”

I looked over my shoulder, squinting my eyes at her. “Are you saying ghost hunting’s pointless? I am both shocked and offended.” I mockingly turned my nose up at her, walking through the doorway to my room. “And about to sacrifice your Hello Kitty.”

Footsteps followed me instantly. “If you do I’m sacrificing Toothless.”

I paused, my hand on the doorknob to my room. Glaring over my shoulder, I pouted grumpily, before twisting the handle and stepping in. “Fine, I’ll smelt your jewellery down instead.”

I could practically feel Kay gape at me as she lightly punched my shoulder. She walked over and sat on my bed, watching as I rummaged through my drawers. “What are we doing in here anyway, I thought we were sleeping in my room?”

“That–” I grunted as I struggled to reach under a pile of stuff. “-is a good question – aha!” I pulled out my small wooden chest. “But I thought I would bring this to try and work out how to protect us.”

Kay sighed, crossing her arms as she looked up at me. “Okay, so, you know how to do that?”

“Of course.” I replied with a grin. “Protection spells are the first thing you should learn about as a practitioner. It’s witchcraft 101.”

I unhooked the clasps on the box, opening it up and picking something out and handing it to Kay. She took it in her hands looking at it confused. “The protection is a Christmas bauble?”

“It does look like one, but no, that’s a Rowan cross.” I explained, taking it out of her hands and lifting it up to the candlelight.

The object consisted of two dark twigs, specifically from a rowan tree, tied in a cross by some thick, woolly, red string that formed a diamond, with dried rowan berries glued to the centre of the shape. At the end of one the twigs was a red ribbon, tied so it could be hung up.

“They’re normally hung in doorways, to ward off negative energy and wrong-doers.” I gestured to my doorway, Kay turning to spot an identical cross hung on a nail on the wooden beam. “I did it the week I had the thing appear in my wardrobe, and luckily, it seems to be working.”

Kay turned back round, eyeing the cross in my hand, before quickly snatching it. “So I just hang this in my doorway and it’ll go away?”

“Maybe,” I said, uncertain. “It’s already activated, but I doubt it’ll be strong enough to get rid of it, so I want to see if it’ll upset it, so it can show itself and we can work out what it is for sure.”

Kay nodded, slinking off the bed to join me on the floor. “Okay then, show me what to do.”

I held up the cross. “We’ll start, by hanging this in your doorway.”

---

Loud knocking echoed through the hallway as I hammered the nail into the beam of wood above Kay’s doorway. Kay was deeper in the house, near Bilbo’s room, to check if he had been woken up by the noise. The final bang resounded through the still air, and she peeked one last time round the door, and saw the Hobbit remain in a deep sleep, much to her relief. Pulling the handle until she heard the door close with a soft click, she returned to watch me as I hung the cross, the almost-black branches contrasting strongly against the warm wood as it hung in the centre of the beam. Taking a step back, I nodded in satisfaction, walking over to the chest of drawers to put down the hammer we had nicked from Bilbo’s gardening tools, before turning to Kay.

“This will hopefully do something whilst we wait for the right moon phase to come round.” I said. “Or it’ll upset it and you end up being haunted for the rest of your life.”

“It better not,” Kay replied. “Otherwise you’ll be having a permanent roommate until it’s gone.”

Soon enough, the candles around the room were blown out, all except one, that currently sat on the vanity, its flickering casting the odd shadow here and there.

We both laid there under the covers in our nightgowns, Toothless and Hello Kitty in hand, glancing around diligently, looking for anything out of the ordinary. When almost an hour had passed by, we slowly settled down to the sound of the crickets outside, burrowing deeper into the covers as sleep threatened to take over. I had just closed my eyes for a minute, trying to rest them as faint colours danced behind my eyelids, when the crickets went quiet. Thinking Kay had gotten up to close the window, I pressed myself further under the covers. That was, until a hand shot out and latched onto my arm.

I jumped out of my skin, eyes shooting open, only to be met with darkness. It felt deathly cold, the candle had somehow gone out, and, what was hopefully Kay, was currently gripping onto me like a lifeline. Luckily, the curtains had drifted apart from the wind slightly, and the glow of the waning crescent in the sky shone through the cracks. Thin wisps of smoke from the extinguished candle floated in front of where I was laid on my side, facing the wall. Following it to try and spot the candle, my eyes moved across the room, when they flicked into a corner. I would’ve missed it completely, if it weren’t for the rattling breath it let out.

It just stood there, looking half solid but casting no shadows, it’s long thin arms held straight up in the air as it stared with deep hollow sockets and a gaping mouth hanging open wide enough for me to almost fit my head into. It had no teeth, no eyebrows or hair, just dark, grey, dusty skin. All it did was stand there. And stare. And I couldn’t move.

All I could do was stare back.

It felt like hours as I sat there half-laid on my elbow, feeling the ache settle into the joint but unable to move. It wasn’t moving either, not even one of its long, sharp-looking fingers twitching as it held its appendages up as if it had been stretched up with invisible chains.

Kay wasn’t moving either, but was shaking profusely, her hand imprinting into my skin as she gripped onto me like a vice. I wasn’t any better, the thing in front of me making all my paranormal experiences from my childhood seem like a joke.

It wasn’t until Kay’s nails dug in that I moved, keeping my eyes locked onto the ghostly creature as I reached behind me, and gritting my teeth, dragged the pillow from behind. As soon as I felt Kay’s hand release my arm, I shot up and launched it as hard as I could at its face. The pillow soared through the air, and within a second, the creature had vanished into thin air, the candle on the vanity flickering back to life before the pillow even hit the wall.

It dropped to the floor with a muffled thump as light enveloped the room once again, and we both sat there, staring at the corner with wide, terrified eyes. A creak sounded from within the house’s structure, snapping us out of the trance as warmth swept back in.

“I don’t think the cross worked.” Kay whispered shakily.

“… Let’s go sleep in my room.”

--

The Next Day

Silence was all that could be heard, except for the clinking and scraping of utensils against plates and bowls. Kay and I sat slumped at the kitchen table, deep bags under our bloodshot eyes as we squinted at our half-eaten breakfasts.

Bilbo was quite the opposite, looking as chipper as ever after a full nights-sleep as he finished the last few mouthfuls of his meal with a satisfied huff. Untucking the napkin from the collar of his night-shirt, he placed it on the table, looking between us with a smile.

I tried my best to hide a wide yawn behind my hand whilst placing my fork down, unable to finish the meal, when he piped up.

“So, who fancies going down to the market today? I heard there’s a new flower stall being set up.”

All I could do was push my plate away, dropping my head down onto the table with a loud ‘thunk’. Kay wasn’t any better, her head tilted back as she slowly fell asleep in her chair.

The hobbit let out a sigh. “Couldn’t sleep?”

All he got was a groan in response.

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

Bag End, Hobbiton, The Shire – T.A. Friday, 23rd November 2939 of the Third Age (Hevensday, 3rd Foreyule, 1339 in Shire-reckoning)

“Bilbo, are you sure you want to go with us?”

Kay and I sat on the rug by the front door, wrapped up in several layers of winter-wear – gloves, shawls, knitted scarves and all. We were preparing to leave for the forest, determined to figure out our wands in a safe environment, said objects hidden in our deep skirt pockets. Earlier, as we were sat lacing up our boots, a shivering Bilbo had walked through the door, ingredients for dinner in his bag. Within a second he had demanded to go with us, refusing to budge and reminding us of the agreement from five days ago. Which led to now.

“Yes, I’m perfectly sure!” he grunted from where his head resided in the large chest down the hallway, looking for his scarf. “We made an agreement, and even if we didn’t, I’m certainly not leaving you two to wander into the fog when the clouds have been threatening to snow all week!” He stormed past us, flinging the scarf around his neck, simultaneously hitting me in the face with it from where I was sat, sending Kay into a fit of laughter as I spluttered about. Swinging the door open to reveal the foggy evening scene outside, he gestured expectantly. “Hurry now, it’ll be getting dark in a couple hours.”

Grabbing the leather messenger bag containing my Grimoire and a few other materials, we were ushered out. The freezing chill hit us almost immediately, like Jack Frost had decided to practice acupuncture with a thousand ice needles. Twisting my scarf, I pulled part of it over my head whilst bunching the rest around my chin until it reached my nose.

Walking down, the two of us stood by Bilbo’s front gate, waiting as he struck a match, lighting the same lantern he had used when he found us in his bushes, bringing forth a flurry of those not-so-great memories. Stuffing the matchbox in his pocket, he pulled the door closed, before following the short path down to us.

Reaching us, he held an arm out, gesturing down the path. “Alright,” he said, his voice muffled by the scarf. “I don’t know where you guys want to go, so lead the way.”

Kay looked at me expectantly, and so, I begun to retrace the steps I had taken that eventful night.

---

The sun had already begun to set when we arrived, and I noted that the forest looked at lot less intimidating during the daylight hours. Rounding a relatively dense pack of bushes, I came across a very familiar sight.

Rotting splinters of bark and branches littered the ground, along with the fallen half of the tree, now slowly being covered with moss and rotting leaves that had fallen in the last few weeks of Autumn. Memories from what happened a month ago came flowing back, and I grimaced when my eyes finally landed on the jagged stump, sticking out the ground like a giant clawed hand with a hundred sharp fingers.

I turned to face the others, gesturing with my hands in a half shrug. “Well this is where it happened.”

Kay stared at the stump with wide eyes. “Ok, I’ll admit I was exaggerating when I said you blew it up. I didn’t think you actually did.”

Bilbo was silent. His eyes were practically bulging out of his head as he gawked at the scene in front of him. “How?” Was all he could utter, the whisper barely heard over the chatter of the forest.

“That’s exactly what I’ve been asking myself this whole time.” I said equally confused, wandering over to another familiar tree. “I found my wand, and was making my way back, when I turned around, knocking it against this tree.” I acted it out, pretending to hit something against the tree, my hand lining up with a very obvious burn mark embedded onto the bark, like someone had set off a firework in close proximity next to it. “Then - ” My hand pointed from the burn, over to the broken stump. “Voila, tree bomb.”

“Bomb?” Bilbo said perplexed.

“Think firework, but with a bigger explosion, and use it as a weapon.” Explained Kay from beside him.

All the poor hobbit could do was look up at her in horror, before looking between us both warily. “And – And that thing, can create something like that?”

I nodded. “But only if you choose to. This was a complete accident.”

Bilbo nodded silently, looking as if he was going to faint again. But he suddenly seemed to calm down, fiddling with his fingers whilst peering up at me apprehensively.

“Do you… think you could do it again? But smaller?”

Both of our mouths fell open in shock, before I let out a guffaw.

“Bilbo Baggins! Are you secretly rebellious?!” I gasped out.

His ears flushed a deep red. “No! I – I just-” He dropped his head bashfully. “This all just reminds me of when I was younger, and of Gandalf and his fireworks.”

“Mhm sure.” Said Kay, putting her hands on her hips as she looked down at the pouting hobbit. “Well we’re not going to blow up another poor tree, but we could show you something else? I’ve been meaning to try out my wand for ages now.” She reached into her skirt pocket, pulling it out.

I pulled out mine, weighing it in my hand as I thought of what to do next. “Can you think of any spells for wands?” I asked Kay as I walked over.

She shrugged. “Only the ones we wrote down from you-know-what. It worked the other day.”

I tilted my head in confusion. “You-know-what?”

“You know, the story about magic from our place that we can’t talk about because we get strangled by air?” She replied.

I nodded in realisation, then my eyes moved about in thought, before I slowly turned my head to a small pile of dead leaves nearby. Kay darted her eyes at me, following my line of sight before they landed on where I was looking.

“What are you thinking – ?”

I lifted my arm up and pointed my wand. “Incendio.”

“Absolutely not.” The pile of leaves burst into flame. “KATE FOR FUCKS SAKE.”

She stormed over to the pile, stamping on it until all that was left was a pile of blackened smouldering leaves. “Being a borderline pyromaniac does not give you an excuse to set everything on fire!”

All I did was smile impishly in response, hiding my wand behind my back. “Now you try.”

Kay huffed, pointing her own wand whilst thinking about her next move. I skipped over to Bilbo, who seemed like he was struggling to keep himself upright.

“You okay? We sorta forgot about you for a second there.” I said softly, crouching down to be more eye-level with him.

He blinked, seemingly snapping himself out of something. “O-oh, yes! It’s just not every day you gets involved in something as interesting as this.”

He gestured to my wand with a far-away look, and at that moment, he looked almost smaller, burying the lower half of his face into the thick scarf wrapped around his neck as he stared. Though in a flash he was shaking his head. “But you two have something you need to do, right?”

I blinked at his sudden mood-swing, but quickly let it go. “Oh, yes, we do.”

I reached to my hip, swivelling the messenger bag to the front of my body and flipping it open. Grabbing my Grimoire out of one of the pockets, I flipped through the pages as Bilbo tilted his head to try and read the words from his angle. Finally landing on a page, I came across an old envelope I had stuck in. Lifting the flap, I pulled out a piece of lined paper, torn from Kay’s notebook days earlier containing the list of spells we had tried to recall. It seemed silly, that spells from a book series would work, but they did, and we weren’t complaining.

Unfolding and smoothing the thin sheet out, I scoured the list, noting down the ‘safe’ spells we had circled. Whilst Bilbo looked over my shoulder at the paper, I called out to Kay. “Alright! I guess we’ll start you out with the easiest first spell.” Scouring the area, my eyes landed on a small log and I pointed at it. “Try levitating that log.”

Kay took a stance, before taking a deep breath, setting her stern eyes on the log. Reaching her wand out, she waved it with a swish and a flick, muttering the charm under her breath. Soon enough, the log began to rise, fallen leaves sliding off and floating to the ground as it hovered in the air.

Kay screamed in excitement, throwing her hands in the air as she beamed at her accomplishment. She whirled around to face us, the log dropping to the ground with a thud as she did. “Did you see that?!?!” she squealed, jumping on the spot as her hands cupped her face in shock.

I nodded enthusiastically, whilst Bilbo simply gawked at the now unmoving log.

“Tha – how? How did yo – That was incredible!” he gasped.

Kay nodded dramatically, her copper hair flopping over her face as she did. She quickly beckoned me over, and I handed the list to Bilbo.

“I don’t suppose you could read out the circled ones?” I said, pointing at the words. He looked up, nodding with a nervous smile.

Thanking him, I brought him with me to stand between me and Kay. Raising my wand, I tried out the levitating spell, watching in excitement as the log rose once again, before slowly lowering down. Then me and Kay both raised our wands, waiting for Bilbo to read out the first spell.

“Okay, so Ag – oh Yavanna what in Middle Earth does that say?? Ag – Aguam – A-goo-ah… men..tee??”

“Aguamenti?” Kay suggested.

“Yes, that!” He replied.

“Ok,” I said. “let’s do that one.”

Pointing our wands ahead, we both said the charm. It didn’t work at first, which was expected, but Kay managed hers on the second try, water shooting out like a jet and giving the bush several metres away a shower. I managed on my third try, but we both found it difficult to get it to stop, but after pulling our wands away while visualising the intention of stopping, it worked.

Turning to Bilbo, we both waited patiently for the next challenge. Drawing his attention away from the large puddle we had created in front of him, he scoured the list.

“Right, well erm…”

---

The spell trial went almost perfectly, the log now lost amongst the bushes after I’d flung my wand about too hard and sent it flying. Some spells had been easy to do, the two of us managing them after the second or third try, but, as expected, the more complex ones took longer, taking up to twenty tries at certain points, and some were straight up impossible to do.

After realising that not all of them could be done, we tried our best to improve the basic ones as much as we could. I exceeded with the fire spell, pointing my wand around and setting random leaves and dead bushes on fire, whilst Kay was more skilled with water, following me around as she shot at each fire I set, putting them out before they grew, and also threatening to shoot me in the face if I carried on.

--

Darkness was already setting in as we decided to head back, the couple hours if spellcasting draining us more than we expected. Bilbo held out his lantern, watching as I excitedly lit it with a spell, and we began our trek back.

We had travelled back about a quarter of the way, when Kay caught up with me.

“Hey, I don’t suppose we could go to the lake?” She asked, and I faced her with a curious look. “ I want to visit where I found my wand, and see if I can figure out what happened to me.”

I nodded, and looked to Bilbo who was ahead lighting the way. “Hey Bilbo?” I called out, receiving a humin response. “Could we quickly pop to the lake? We just wanna check something out real quick.”

He let out a sigh, but reluctantly gave in. “Fine, but we must be no longer than ten minutes. I want to make it back to make dinner on time.”

Thanking him, we sped up, speed-walking until we hit the main path, taking a few detours that would take us the long way to Bilbo’s house, that would also pass the lake.

By the time we got there, it was already dark, the sun setting earlier in the deep winter months. Approaching the black water, it had already began to re-freeze, new ice expanding from the half melted sheets from last night, one that was so cold, the three of us took shifts waking up to add wood and stoke the fires around the house all night.

Frosty reeds swayed in the icy wind, the breeze biting at our exposed skin more than ever as we peered into the rippling depths of the lake.

“Girl I am glad I didn’t have to drag you out in this weather.” I mumbled to Kay, keeping out of earshot of the hobbit who was currently stood on the path part-ways up a bank, about ten metres away.

“I am too. Neither of us would’ve survived that night if it was like this.” She replied with a shiver.

“Do you remember anything that happened between you leaving and waking up?” I questioned.

Kay was quiet for a moment. “…Not really, I remember what I had already told you, but everything after that had gone black, like I was back in that void we ended up in, on the bridge back in our world.” She paused. “Actually, it’s not much, but there were a couple times when I could feel myself try to wake up, once when I was stood at the edge, and the other when I was at the bottom of the lake. But it was all blurry, like someone was holding up a TV covered in frosted glass on the other side of a room I couldn’t reach.”

“Are you two going to take long?” Bilbo called over the wind, holding his lantern up higher for us to see better. “We do really need to get back.”

I gave him a thumbs up, turning back to the water as I stepped onto the familiar small pebble beach, standing just where the miniscule waves lapped at the tips of my boots. Kay soon joined me, trying to look beneath the surface with the limited light.

“I don’t think we’re going to find anything tonight.” She sighed, dejectedly. “Actually, I don’t think we’ll be finding anything for a while, because I’d rather eat a mouthful of raw chicken covered in dog sick than swim outside in December. Or January. Or February, for that matter.”

“I agree.” I mumbled back, side-eying the frozen death-trap in front of us. “Let’s just go back and stick our hands and feet into the nearest fire. We can figure this out another time.”

I went to turn back, when Kay shot out her hand to latch onto my arm for what felt like the hundredth time.

“Do you have a personal vendetta against this arm or something?” I poked, facing her. “At this point we don’t need matching tattoos cuz your handprint will do just that.”

All she did was slap at my shoulder, silencing me whilst refusing to look my way as she reached out to point across the water.

“What? – ” Another slap. I quickly quietened down and squinted at the darkness in front of me. Though I didn’t have to look for long.

Looking across, the bank at the opposite end of the lake would’ve been lost in darkness, if it weren’t for the large blue shape glowing from where it sat in the grass.

I instantly felt fear pierce down my spine as recognition hit me in the chest, but confusion wormed its way in as I took a closer look at the shape. No wings, or legs, just one long body, and amongst the coil of scales, a head covered in a multitude of bony and sharp-looking spines.

A snake.

And – excuse my language – a real fucking big one at that.

Like, thirty, fourty feet long?? And body thick enough for me to not even wrap my arms around it! And from beside me, I heard Kay whisper out one word.

“Basilisk.”

I slowly began to back away. “Yea, Basilet’s get the fuck out of here.” I hissed, tugging at her arm.

Luckily, it hadn’t seen us, the light of Bilbo’s lantern blending in with the street lanterns that flickered up in the hills, and said hobbit was not noticing a thing, too busy staring up at the stars as he waited.

The pebble beach rose slightly at the end where it met the grass, so I tried my best to take a huge step up it as silently as I could. Kay went to do the same, but was still staring behind her at the snake, and her foot didn’t go as high, scraping against the small bank, causing some pebbles to dislodge, their noise carrying across the water as they fell.

We both froze, tensing at the sound, stock still as we waited for the last pebble to finish its journey down. When it was silent again, we both slowly turned to see if it had heard us. It hadn’t, and it carried on hunting for something in the tall grass.

We both let out a sigh of relief, most of the tension leaving our body as we silently began making our way over to Bilbo.

The hobbit was still staring at the night sky, his hand raised as his finger absentmindedly pointed up and moved about slightly, most likely trying to make out the constellations. He slowly turned on the spot, not seeing the wooden fence post next to him, and the lantern collided against it, letting out a loud ‘clank’ that echoed through the crisp air.

The snake’s head shot up, detecting the soundwaves. Flicking it’s tongue out, it scoured the area for only a moment, before its slitted eyes were on us. Bearing its glowing orbs into ours, the three of us had a staring match for the next few seconds. I blinked, and in a flash, it lowered its head. I blinked again, and it was already sliding into the water. Directly towards us.

“Ok, we’ve got to go.” I stated shakily, and shot my hand out to grab Kay, hauling her forward, and the both of us began sprinting.

Clambering up the hill, my hands dug into the mud and gripped onto slippery grass blades until we reached the path, where I reached my arm around the waist of an unsuspecting Bilbo. He let out a yelp as I snatched him up, almost dropping the lantern in his hands.

“What. Are. You. Doing????” He strained out as his arms and legs jumped up and down with each step.

“Just uhhh – ” I heaved between breaths. “Me and Kay decided to race back?? Didn’t want to leave you behind.”

“Well at least give me a warning next time??” He scolded, and I gave him a nod in reply, before speeding up as much as I could with the extra weight.

Up and up the winding paths we ran, skipping some as we jumped and scrambled up the banks between to try and make short-cuts. At this point the snake had crossed the lake, breaking the water without a ripple as it slithered up the banks, gaining speed with every second.

I slipped on the icy ground over and over as we sped up the path, my panic causing my clumsiness to increase tenfold, and only having my non-dominant arm free didn’t help. To our luck, we rounded the corner, losing sight of the creature, but not losing sound as a guttural hiss pierced the air.

“What was that?” Bilbo demanded, his own nerves starting to settle in as he tried to twist in my arms to look behind.

“No clue.” Kay quickly replied from just behind me, the noise motivating her to speed up even more, her hand pressing against the back of my shoulder blades as she helped usher me along.

“Uhh, I think you do?” he jabbed back.

“We don’t have time for this, cmon!” Kay pushed, exasperated at Bilbo, who only replied with an arched brow.

The warm light from Bilbo’s windows soon appeared, and we pushed the last bits of adrenaline to get us up the garden path and slam against the circular door, swinging it open and crashing onto the floor in the doorway.

The moment didn’t last though, as I was up in a flash and hauling the door shut, pressing my back against it. Flailing my hand out, I beckoned for Kay to come over.

She did, joining me by the small circle window next to the door, the two of us trying to peer through the pieces of paned glass into the darkness outside.

We both stilled as our sights set on the blue glow that grew brighter and brighter on the left, and it wasn’t long before a large head came into view, the snake’s entire body lowered to the ground as it slowly slid silently along the path in front of Bilbo’s fence.

It slowed as it neared the gate, and the two of us lowered ourselves until our eyes were just peeking over the top, thankful that the entrance hall wasn’t lit as we hid in the darkness of the house.

I caught movement in the corner of my eye, and peered to the left, only to see Bilbo stood at the opposite window, frozen with wide eyes as he stared out at the creature. Panic shot through me, as I realised his face was on full view in the window. And it seemed Kay had realised the same thing.

“Bilbo!!” she hissed as quietly as she could. The hobbit darted his head towards her, face full of fright. She waved her hand up and down, gesturing for him to lower himself from the window. “Get down!”

He did so, taking one last look at the creature before he darted down out of sight. I kept an eye on the window, watching the snake as it took one last look around, apparently deciding to call it a day, and turned, just like the winged creature had done with me, returning back down the hill, twisting and slithering until it disappeared over the edge and out of sight.

I let out a sigh of relief, slumping against the wall as I slid to the floor.

“Whuh – What??” Poor Bilbo was now hyperventilating, his mouth gaping open and shut as he tried to stammer out the words that caught in his throat.

Kay stood up, walking over and offering a hand, only to be met with Bilbo raising his hand to stop her. She did so, and we both watched as he quickly calmed his breathing, easing himself onto his feet. Bending over slightly with his hands on his hips, he took a few calming breaths, furrowing his brows as he blinked rapidly.

Kay went to open her mouth, only getting a sound out when Bilbo’s hand shot out again.

“No, no. I’ve seen quite enough.” He stated, looking up at the both of us sternly. I felt dread settle in my stomach as I watched a flurry of emotions cross the hobbits face. “I was quite happy with the magic, but this – this.” He gestured at the door with a flop of his arm. “I just – I’m going to bed.” He rubbed his hand across his face tiredly as he made his way down the hallway. “Goodnight.” He rounded the corner, leaving us in the entrance hall.

All we did was stare frozen at the door he left through, and I could feel my hands start to twist in my lap. A hand tapped my shoulder, and I looked up to Kay stood over me.

“C’mon,” she mumbled. “We need to go to bed too. We can worry about him in the morning.”

I nodded silently, feeling more unease settle in about the possibilities of tomorrow, praying to whatever Deity I had ever given offerings to that the worst wouldn’t happen. Getting to my feet, I slipped off my shoes and outer layer of winter wear, and trailed after Kay.

--

I didn’t get out of bed the next morning, too anxious to face the hobbit, fearing the worst outcome, which was us becoming homeless.

Kay wasn’t any better, having got up before the sun even rose to make us tea, disappearing back to my room before Bilbo could even stir. We were now both sat on the wide window ledge, cushions behind our backs, as we stared over the bushes of Bilbo’s garden and out across the rolling hills in the distance, listening to the morning birdsongs that floated through the blanket of mist that coated the ground, and drifted between the open windows along with the chill. We remained like that until lunchtime, wrapped in blankets and talking quietly, until there was a knock at my door.

The two of us turned our heads to face Bilbo as he stuck his head around the door, his eyes darting around slightly as he barely made eye-contact. We both waited silently, too nervous to speak.

Seeing that we weren’t going to talk first, Bilbo took a deep sigh, and stepped into the room, one hand still on the door.

“Look, I –” he began, rubbing his forehead. “I know last night I was… frustrated, but I know what I saw wasn’t your fault. It’s just that – it’s just, I feel like there’s always something going on with you two, and don’t get me wrong! What happens is harmless most of the time! But there have been points where my mind just…” he took a deep breath. “All of this overwhelms me, and I just want to know that you’re safe, I’m safe, along with everyone else. Because if this home ends up becoming dangerous, I don’t know if I can keep on pretending it’s all fine. Do you two understand what I’m saying?”

We both gave silent nods in reply, solemn looks on all of our faces as we absorbed his words.

“Now don’t you two go thinking that I’m blaming you for any of this.” He said, giving us a pointed look. “And it’s not like I haven’t enjoyed getting to know you both, and the trail of crazy things you’ve left behind since the moment you got here.” He gave a smile, walking over to where we were at the window. “Just tell me next time something like this happens, because I know you’re as clueless as I am about all this, if your research in those books you brought say anything.”

We both faced him fully, confusion on our faces.

“Wait, you’ve read my books??” I questioned.

He rocked back and forth on his heels, raising his eyebrows and nodding. “I’m very good at cleaning, I’ll have you know.” He lectured, waving a finger at me. “And you’re not very good at tidying your books away.”

I sighed at myself, a sheepish look on my face.

“The two of you are dealing with things completely unheard of in Middle Earth, from my knowledge anyway, Yavanna knows what someone like Gandalf has seen in his lifetime.” He mumbled to himself. “So this won’t be your eviction notice, for now.” He paused as he gave us a look, until a smile slowly rose onto his face. “Now up! You’ve missed breakfast, second breakfast, and elevensies, and at this point, you’ll be missing luncheon! How you two haven’t turned to skeletons yet is beyond me.” He nagged as he pattered away to the kitchen. A pause went by. “I know you two haven’t moved yet!” he called out, sending us into a frenzy as we chucked our blankets off and sped-walked after him.

--

Bilbo made sure to make a hearty luncheon, filled with pork pie, scotch eggs, tomato soup and vegetables to snack on. Most of it was spent chattering on about local events, and the latest gossip. At one point it was even interrupted by Erard ringing the bell, which caused me to shoot out of my seat to check if Bilbo hadn’t accidentally eaten the batch of cupcakes I had made for the doctor, much to the disgruntled mumbling that he ‘would never do such a thing’.

The meal was finished off with a slice of poppy seed cake, and as we were washing up, Bilbo turned to me, asking if he could discuss last night’s events with us.

“I thought we had already done that?” I asked, confused.

“Yes, but..” Bilbo trailed off in thought as he swept up the last of the crumbs on the table. “during my.. ‘accidental snooping’, I came across some methods for um.. spiritual protection, was it?”

I nodded slowly, choosing to forget that he had sneaked a look at my stuff. “Mhm, what did you want to know?”

We all sat down at the now clean table as he continued speaking. “I couldn’t help but wonder about how you’re going to.. deal with that-” he jabbed a finger at the window. “-thing. Considering you both ran from it, I’m taking a guess that it isn’t friendly.”

“Things.” Kay said quickly.

He blinked in confusion. “Excuse me?”

“Things.” She repeated nervously. “There’s two of them.”

The poor hobbit’s frown lines deepened on the spot, his eyebags seemingly darkening as he slowly dragged a hand across his face.

“Remind me to never take what I see as the whole thing with you two.” He groaned from behind his hand. “Or I’ll be in an early grave by the time I’m sixty at this point.”

“C’mon Bilbo.” I jived as I leaned back in my chair. “We wouldn’t let that happen to you.”

“I starting to find that hard to believe.” He sighed in response, staring at the window with tired eyes.

“Anyway,” Kay started, quickly moving the conversation on. “I’m guessing you want to know if were able to stop it.”

He nodded. “Get rid of them, even. I’m relatively okay with what’s going on, considering I’ve been expecting crazy things the moment I dragged you both in, but if anyone around us got any idea that two humans from… elsewhere, were causing a noticeable disturbance, they wouldn’t be so lenient. I mean, you saw how everyone was in the first few months, including myself!”

I grimaced. “Yea, getting twice as many stares and whispers as we did is definitely not on the agenda.”

“Don’t even get me started on my reputation in town!” he blurted. “I’d be the source of rumours until the day I die, I tell you!” he quickly realised his words. “U-Uh not that it matters more! Anyway! Anyway, what I was saying before.” He flapped his hands around as if the brush away his last comment. “I saw something hanging above Kay’s doorway, and uh..” he pointed his finger in the direction of Kay’s room slightly, eyes flitting hesitantly between us and the doorway. “I was wondering what that was?”

“Oh! That’s a.. rowan cross?” Kay answered, eyeing me for confirmation, to which I nodded.

Bilbo nodded, almost sighing in relief.

“What?” I prodded playfully. “Did you think it was a Satan symbol or something?”

He scrunched his face in confusion. “What’s a Satan?”

“Uh… nevermind.” I said, dropping the subject before we instilled more fear into him. “The Rowan Cross just works as a ward for nasty spirits and people, but it won’t work against those things forever, until we figure out what they are, and I don’t think we ever will, unless we can find someone who can help us or give us some ideas.”

Kay perked up slightly. “Like Gandalf?”

I nodded, rubbing my lip in thought. “He could probably help, but it’s not like we know where he is.”

Kay slumped in her chair with a huff at the reality, until a thought came to her mind. “We could… wait to see if he shows up?” she suggested, with a hardly detectable tone of ‘You know what I’m talking about, right?’. I gave her a subtle look of realisation.

“I guess.” I said as ideas came to mind. “And we could improve our skills in the meantime? See if the use of magic can draw him to us somehow?”

Kay nodded in excitement, whilst Bilbo sat trying to decipher the conversation.

“Wait what?” he said in confusion. “You want to wait until Gandalf comes here? How do you know he will?”

“No idea.” Said Kay with a shrug. “But it’s our best shot without wandering into the wilderness and straight up dying.”

“In the meantime..” I piped up as the two turned to me. “I don’t suppose at some point during the next few months, we could take a trip to Bree?”

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

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[myloverrunsthin]

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Also available on quotev: https://www.quotev.com/story/12032648/Mortal-Children/16

[tamurilofrivendell]

Heart of Stone | Chapter 3

previous chapters: 1, 2,

AO3 LINK

pairing(s): Thranduil x Tamuril (oc) storyline: Tamuril was in love with Haldir but the battle at Helms Deep took away all hope she had for the future. She struggles with her grief and tensions eventually run high when she shares a moment with Lord Elrond she feels she cannot come back from and flees Rivendell, hiding herself away in the Elvenking Thranduil’s Halls. chapter summary: Tamuril and Thranduil have a brief moment under the stars. She spends time with her best friend Nessa but the two run into trouble when they take their horses riding.

The evening passed slowly. The stars had long been up in the sky by the time Tamuril ventured back out of her chamber. She lingered in the hallway for a moment, listening, but couldn’t hear much of anything. It seemed everybody had retired for the night and she found herself breathing a sigh of relief. It’s not that she didn’t appreciate that she had people there, people who cared, who wanted to look out for and look after her, but it was so exhausting pretending. To put up a front, just to stop everyone from worrying that she was about to slip off the earth and fade into nothingness.

In the back of her mind, she knew it meant something that she cared enough to do that, to try and hide it from the ones she cared about, but another part of her thought it sounded nice. Slipping away. Disappearing. Extinguishing her unhappy, lonely existence. 

Making her way to the gardens, Tamuril breathed in the cool night air. She enjoyed the dark much more than some of the others in Rivendell, finding the cover of it and the light of the stars comforting. She could spend a long time looking up at the sky during the night and she sometimes did just that. She remembered stargazing with Haldir up in the trees and a slight smile ghosted its way across her face before her heart felt too heavy in her chest and she had to sit down, legs suddenly shaky at the memories. 

His smile when she’d turned her head and caught him looking directly at her, watching her as she watched the heavens. The blush that had coloured his cheeks when she’d done so. He was easily thrown off balance, that elf, easily embarrassed and Tamuril had found it adorable. So endearing. 

A shaky breath escaped her at the same time she became aware that there was somebody else nearby. The slight clearing of a throat as Tamuril turned her head.

Thranduil.

She prayed that he hadn’t heard the way her breath had stuttered out of her in agony and she prayed that he hadn’t seen the way her legs had been unable to keep her upright. One look at his face told her that he had.

“Your majesty.” She turned her head again, looking out over the river. “I thought everybody was abed.”

“Hm.” Came the thoughtful hum in reply, careful footsteps padding ever closer across the grass. Shuffling beside her as he seated himself on the bench. Silence. 

She had nearly had about as much as she could take and was about to stand and go elsewhere when he finally deigned to speak to her. 

“You appear restless, Lady Tamuril.” 

She nearly scoffed at that but managed to hold it back. Being impolite to the King of Mirkwood was probably not a very good idea.

“Yes.” Was all she said, allowing another silence to fall over the pair. She stared up at the sky again before turning her head to the side to look at him, finding his eyes already fixed on her. “What?” She found herself half snapping.

The corner of Thranduil’s mouth twitched as if a smirk was fighting to appear or as if he were going to laugh but Tamuril told herself she must have simply imagined it.

“It would appear there is fight in you yet.” He said simply, holding her gaze for another long moment before he too turned to look skyward, watching the stars.

Tamuril was left without the power of speech as she blinked back at him. His words made her realise that he too had been watching her, aware of her condition, and he had seen what she too had only slightly touched upon. That, buried inside, she was not completely gone.

Another quiet followed, this one not quite so uncomfortable as the last. There was something in the tone of Thranduil’s voice that made Tamuril feel… seen? Heard? Understood? She wasn’t entirely sure if she had the words to describe it but she didn’t mind it.

“You might like to try telling that to Lord Elrond.” She couldn’t help but quip, this time seeing the ghost of a smirk appear on Thranduil’s lips.

“There is no telling Lord Elrond much of anything, I have found.” Was his reply. 

The two of them were not enemies, nor were they exactly friends. Thranduil respected Elrond and thought him to be a strong ally. But Thranduil didn’t believe he had enough wisdom in him to treat Tamuril’s little problem the way it necessarily needed to be treated. Thranduil thought himself to be much more knowledgeable in this particular situation, though he himself didn’t truly enjoy thinking about it either so he wasn’t really planning to help as such. It would only make his own mind wander and he spent a great deal of energy making sure that didn’t happen. Thranduil’s wife had been killed, much like Haldir, and he was pretty sure that the only thing that had kept him going all this time was his son. Tamuril had no such tie, though something in her seemed reluctant to fully let go. He told himself not to dwell upon it. It wasn’t his problem, after all. Elrond did not have his wife with him and hadn’t for a good many years, their parting bitter and very sad, but it wasn’t the same thing. They would be reunited at once as soon as he sailed across the sea, sometime soon he was sure, now that the War was over. After all the loose ends had been tied up in Middle Earth, the last ship would set out. 

Thranduil sat in amicable silence with Tamuril for another short while before he rose and took his leave, trailing back through the halls to the chamber he’d been designated for the duration of his stay in Rivendell.

Tamuril stayed on the bench for a long while, her thoughts twisting and turning, but not over Haldir. She was finally granted some respite it seemed, and she eventually drifted back to her own chambers feeling a little lighter than before, curling up in her bed and allowing sleep to slowly take her away.

The next afternoon, Tamuril took her leave of Arwen, who was going to lunch with her father to catch him up on her trip to Lothlorien. She had been invited to join but she didn’t feel up to facing Elrond’s pitying smile that day.

She was walking around the gardens again, when she found Nessa and Lindir sitting on the grass laughing together.

Nessa was Tamuril’s best friend. The two had practically grown up together, though Nessa was fully elven and a couple hundred years older. They had been joined at the hip most of their youth and Nessa had joined Tamuril on one or two trips to Lothlorien over the years, where she had promptly taken to flirting up a storm with Haldir’s brother Rumil. Nessa was the troublemaker of the pair but Tamuril wouldn’t have it any other way. Though she had taken to spending a lot of time alone since…. well.

The pair on the grass noticed her before she could slip away and beckoned her over. Tamuril didn’t have the heart to refuse as she walked across the grass and took a seat at the edge of the blanket they were sitting on, offering a smile.

“How are you today, my lady?” Lindir asked kindly, smiling gently at her. 

Tamuril forced up a small smile of her own. “I am well, thank you, Lindir.”

Nessa nudged them both with an elbow as they sat either side of her. “Lindir was just regaling me with the tale of those dwarves again.” She giggled.

Tamuril shook her head. “You’re obsessed with that one, Nessa. He must surely be tired of telling it.”

Lindir smiled brightly. “It’s no bother.” He assured her, shrugging. “It makes the lady laugh.” A pause. “Though I do believe that is entirely due to the fact I nearly got hit in the face with the mashed potatoes.”

Nessa burst out laughing again, picturing it in her minds eye. “I wish I could have seen it!” She chuckled, clutching Lindir’s arm.

The way his cheeks flushed slightly didn’t escape Tamuril’s notice but she didn’t draw any attention to it. She had long ago gleaned Lindir’s feelings for her best friend and she had never betrayed his secret. He was her friend too, after all.

Lindir eventually excused himself to help Elrond with some duties, padding away across the gardens and up to the main entrance. Nessa watched him for a brief moment before she turned back to Tamuril. “How are you? Really?”

“I am well.” Tamuril said simply, giving Nessa her best impression of a smile. 

Nessa threw Tamuril a withering look that told her she didn’t believe her but she didn’t say as much. “I was thinking about taking Elkin out today.” Nessa continued on smoothly, talking about her horse. “Would you like to join me?”

Tamuril hadn’t been out riding in a while. She had visited her horse in the stables but she hadn’t taken him out, not really in the mood. She wasn’t sure that she was in the mood right now either but something inside felt like it was pushing her. Prodding her towards agreeing. She found herself focusing on it, nodding as she looked back at her friend. “Yes, of course. I would love to.”

Nessa seemed over the moon at the affirmative response and somehow that was enough for Tamuril. She stood and followed Nessa towards the stables, the other talking animatedly about her day, doing her best to distract Tamuril’s thoughts. Nessa hated seeing her best friend in such a state but she was at a bit of a loss as to what she could do to help. She had never experienced anything of this sort in her entire life. In truth, Nessa hadn’t experienced much of anything. She lived a sheltered existence in Rivendell and often acted as though she were many hundred years younger than she truly was, leading many to believe Tamuril was the oldest of their duo. Tamuril thought maybe it was her human side overshadowing her elven one but she never really gave it much thought.

“Hey there, girl.” Tamuril smiled as she reached out a hand, patting her horse, Willow, on the nose. The horse whinnied in response as Tamuril moved to ready the animal for a ride. Nessa was already upon Elkin, both rider and beast seeming impatient to be away, so Tamuril went as quick as she could and then the four of them were away, riding out of the gate and over the bridge.

Tamuril had to admit that it did help somewhat. The wind in her hair as she rode Willow across the ground, side by side with Nessa and Elkin. There was a feeling of freedom in it and Tamuril found herself relishing in it, even daring to smile, a real one. She and Nessa raced across the plain, going further than she had intended to travel, but feeling loath to turn back and return home. Under the dimming late afternoon sky, she felt free, even almost… happy.

“We should head back.” Nessa said after a while, slowing Elkin down. 

Tamuril made a face. “Oh, not just yet. Come on! Let’s just go and sit over there for a while.”

Nessa relented as she turned and noticed the look on Tamuril’s face. The brightness of her eyes. The ever so slight pink tint across her cheeks. The beginning of a smile tugging the corners of her mouth. “Alright.” She chuckled herself, jumping off the horse and leading him to a good grazing spot. Tamuril dismounted and followed suit, moving over to sit beneath a pretty tree by some rocks, Nessa moving beside her.

She had to admit, it was good to be out. It wasn’t as if she spent all her time cooped up in her rooms. She got out in the gardens and along the walkways, the river, and every now and then she drifted along towards the Hall of Fire, though not so often these days than in the past. This was different though. 

The two passed the time talking sparingly, taking in the surroundings, and sitting in comfortable silence. Before she knew it, Tamuril was opening her eyes to darkness. What had happened? It took her a second to realise that Nessa had been shaking her awake and a second longer to realise that she had fallen asleep and it was now evening. 

“What–” Tamuril began but she was promptly cut off by Nessa’s hand clamping down over her mouth.

“Shh!” The other hissed.

Tamuril frowned, about to protest as she clasped her fingers over Nessa’s with the intention of ripping the hand away. Then she froze, suddenly hearing it.

The vile words being spit out in black speech somewhere close by. Too close for comfort. Tamuril didn’t understand what was being said but she didn’t need to. How could they have been so foolish? To get caught out here with orcs, no weapons, nothing. Tamuril looked around and noticed that the horses were nowhere to be seen. Had they bolted? It was the only explanation she could come to as she pressed herself to the rock, turning to take in Nessa’s strained expression.

Her friend looked absolutely terrified. They had ridden out here many times in the past but never in dark and never when orcs were close. Did anybody even know they were this close to the borders? After the War was won, all had gone chasing after those nasty creatures who had escaped, intent on wiping them out once and for all. This small band seemed to have evaded detection and were now obviously on a hunt of their own. They were too close to Rivendell but Tamuril and Nessa were too far from it. Especially on foot.

Nessa turned, grasping her arm and gestured behind them. She made it clear that they had no choice but to sneak away, steal through the grass back the way they had come and make a run for it. Tamuril nodded in agreement. There was nothing else for it. She peeked up over the rock once more, able to pick out their disgusting figures a short distance away. Wincing, she did her best to move soundlessly, which was sometimes harder for her than for the other elves she knew. Even Elrond. Tamuril always suspected she had less elven blood in her than even he did. 

As the two picked their way across the ground, Tamuril’s foot connected with an unseen trip hazard buried in the dark grass and she was crashing to the ground before she could even stop and think. A yelp of surprise flew from her lips before she could stop it and the deafening silence that followed weighed heavy on her entire being. Nessa sucked in a breath as the orcs suddenly began to cry out and then came the unmistakable sound of them drawing weapons and running in their direction.

“Get up! Move!” Nessa grabbed Tamuril’s arm, yanking her onto her feet, the time for silence and stealth long past.

The two ran as fast as they could, panic increasing as the sounds from the pursuit behind them only grew louder. Another scream was ripped from Tamuril’s throat as something sharp nicked her ankle and she went tumbling back down to the ground, landing hard.

Rolling onto her back, Tamuril found herself suddenly face to face with a dirty blade and dark eyes, hungry for the kill.

Time started to move in slow motion as Tamuril’s head started to feel full of concrete. She found that she didn’t feel anything as she stared down the length of the blade. She didn’t even feel the urge to move, to run, to get away. Her limbs felt heavy and she lay there, unmoving, waiting for the sword to pierce her skin.

Then the sound of a horn pierced loudly through the night.

A spear found its home in the chest of the orc that was focused on Tamuril. Hooves thundered and a group of elves from Rivendell tore across the field, slaying the rest of the orcs as they attempted to flee.

A horse came to a stop beside her and Tamuril lifted her chin, meeting the stern grey gaze of Lord Elrond.