#but i like the horse ribcage and also ori

[curiosity-killed]

torn between “Ori should be even bigger” and “It’d be nice to be able to see all of them on the same canvas”

[avaria-revallier]

Chapter 7: A soft landing

Chapter 1 -start here

Chapter 6

Bella hurried back to the clearing as fast as her injured leg would let her. The bag with the herbs pressed against her aching ribcage.

When she reached the clearing she could only spot Dwalin and Nori. The thief was about to leave while Dwalin only stared at his back with an unidentifiable expression. Did she miss something?

“Dwalin? What happened?” she asked from behind him, feigning ignorance.

Of course Gandalf had showed up. The trolls turned to stone and the others were on their way to inspect the troll hoard. They wouldn’t have much time to rest. Maybe a few hours before Radagast turned up and with him the orcs and wargs. Luckily, she had already grabbed her backpack when she fetched the herbs.

“Bella! Let me get Oin to check you over. Where does it hurt? Come here, sit for a moment! Are you thirsty? Shall I get you some water?” Dwalin grabbed the bag from her arms and gently nudged her to a log nearby.

“I am fine, really. Just bring me to the others. We are no longer safe here.” Determined, Bella grabbed onto her brother's forearm.

She was half leaning on him and half dragging him into the direction Nori went off to earlier. Bella was right, he realised. They were no longer safe. If the trolls had come down from the mountains then even the main road was no longer safe.

Together they made their way toward the cave Fili and Kili had spotted. Gloin and Nori were busy burying a small chest. A smile stole itself on her lips. That small stinking chest had given her quite the headache back in Shire. So much gossip over such a small amount of gold. This was nothing compared to the treasure hall of Erebor.

Sitting down near the entrance, she held her face up in the sunshine. The warmth made her forget the pain in her body for a while.

A shadow fell over her and as she opened her eyes she stared directly into the deep blue eyes of the dwarven king. Bella took her time examining his face. He would look so much better with a smile on his face. Instead, he was frowning once again.

“How may I help you, master Oakenshield?” giving her best not to wince while standing up she asked him with a steady voice.

This whole situation was new for her. The dwarven king had never really cared for or about her before. He had even wanted to leave her with lord Elrond! Truly strange… Well, it might have been her fault as well as she had stuck to Gandalf for the better part of their travels before and only kept whining about her home and all the comforts she had to leave behind. How shameful of her! They had lost their homes and hadn’t left them willingly.

A pang of guilt hit her stomach. She had been so wrong in the past. This was a good enough reason to improve the present. She would have to improve herself to change their fate and hers at well.

“Well,” he started, averting his look from her intensive staring, “Here! Just take it… Might be your size.” He rumbled low while shoving a small leather sheath in her arms.

Sting. He had found her trusted traveling companion. The small sword lay reassuringly in her palm.

“Thank you.” she breathed.

Joy flooded her heart and mind. Later, she would blame her further actions on her brain malfunctioning at that very moment.

“Thank you so much, Thorin!” lunging forward, she embraced the stern king, giving him a big kiss on his cheek before happily making her way towards the grey wizard.

Thorin stood there. Petrified. Did she just? She did… She…

A muffled snicker followed by the thudding sound of a hand colliding with the back of a head confirmed his fear. She did!

‘Oh Mahal! This was more than confusing. Were hobbits such affectionate beings? Yes, that must be the case. She would have done the same for every other member of the company,’ his own train of thoughts made him angry.

“Nori! Gloin! Hurry up!” he grunted down the cave, turning his back at his nephews.

Those two rascals were still snickering and hiding the fact rather poorly. Bofur on the other hand laughed openly. Dwalin looked at him as if he had been the one kissing the lass. Mahal, how the burglar had already changed his cousin.

Dori, Ori and Gloin returned, having packed their rations and gear. Sadly, only four ponies and Gandalf's horse were left. The rest must have bolted when they had been busy fighting and, well… trying not to get eaten.

He would have to tell Ori once again to leave the record for this day blank! He wouldn’t need to be reminded of the shame when he had to cry out that they had parasites…

A crashing sound and loud cursing made him draw his sword and whirl around to face the possible threat head on.

Bella smiled. It had been ages since she had seen the brown wizard. He was still the same Radagast she remembered. A bit skittish, but full of love for the animals around him. The rabbits pulling his sled had always fascinated her. Curious, she stepped nearer. One of them lifted its head, looking into her eyes.

The dwarrows were still discussing whether to trust the newcomer or not. Sure, Radagast might have made quite the entrance, screaming and cursing, and the stick insect in his mouth along with the nest in his hair were rather off-putting, but he was a kind soul and not one to be corrupted.

The rabbit nuzzled its head into her hand and after a short while she was surrounded by the furry lot. They were gentle as if they knew of her injuries. Suddenly, the ears of their leader perked up and his nose twitched nervously. The wargs. How could she forget that?!

“Watch out!” she managed to scream, before the first ugly monster broke through the bushes and launched at Thorin.

It was killed quickly and now everyone shifted their attention towards the approaching enemy. Well, not all the attention. Gandalf shouted at Thorin and Thorin shouted back at Gandalf demanding to know who else would have known about their quest. She saw the look the leader of the company gave her. It made her heart freeze.

“I will draw them off!” Radagst offered.

“These are Gundabad wargs!” Gandalf warned his friend.

“These are Rhosgobel rabbits. I’d like to see them try!” the brown wizard puffed proud.

They ran and hid. The ponies were nervous and Bella's heart pounded against her damaged rib cage like it had been doing once long ago. This was exciting and nerve-wrecking, but it made her feel alive!

At the very moment when Thorin nodded at Kili to shoot the approaching warg together with its rider, Bella nearly jumped out herself. She was more than ready to take on the enemy once again. Dwalin held her back by gently grabbing her arm. He was right. Kili could handle this. He was an amazing archer and a great fighter. He needed this experience to grow. It would be good for him.

“Where are you leading us?” she could hear Thorin’s whispered question towards Gandalf.

Thorin surely wouldn’t like the answer and Gandalf knew this fact as did Bella, so he kept silent. They came closer towards the large rock formation that marked the entrance to the secret passageway into the hidden valley. Well, the last few hundred meters were open terrain. There was no way to hide anymore. Running would be the only option.

She prepared herself mentally for the pain that soon would be raging in her entire body. Each step had sent a wave of pain through her body, but the occasional breaks while they were hiding made it easier to catch her breath. The last part on the other hand would be not as forgiving. Maybe they would be lucky and lord Elrond would suddenly appear, together with his hunters.

Taking a deep breath, she readied herself to sprint whenever Thorin would give the signal. Without a warning, two tattooed arms lifted her off the ground and placed her on the last remaining pony.

“Why d-” Thorin's signal interrupted her question.

Kili and Fili slapped the frightened pony to encourage the poor thing to run even faster. Howls, barks and several orders cried out in black speech followed, leaving the rabbit sled alone.

The pony was definitely faster than she would have ever been on foot, injured or not. Still, it was way too frightening to break through the two wargs ahead, let alone blindly jump into a small opening between the stones. Panicked, the steed looked around, searching for a way out. A warg used this chance to jump at them, its jaw wide open. In a split second, the pony decided between being eaten by a warg and jumping into a cave, the cave being the winning option.

The sudden movement made Bella lose her grip and she slipped off of the back of the pony, landing on her backside. An arrow flew past her, grazing the warg’s ear. This distraction gave her enough time to scramble back onto her feet and limp as fast as she could towards the passageway.

Kili cursed while Fili changed his direction, running past her. Thorin cursed as well, but far more creatively than his nephew. Dwalin roared while swinging his battle axes. ‘How she had missed this before?’ she wondered, Bombur and Bifur had already vanished into the opening. Bofur helped Ori and Dori while Nori sent another one of his knives flying before jumping down as well. Balin had the nerve to lecture his brother not to be reckless and ‘cut the crap while you are still able to’. Oin and Gloin must also already be down there as she could hear them shouting for the others to come down.

Dwalin turned around, a grim expression on his face, grabbed Kili and Fili, each on one arm and jumped down as well. Thorin was still waiting for her at the entrance, his sword ready. Bella quickened her speed and prompt stumbled, falling into the dwarven kings arms and pulling him down with her.

She landed rather soft on top of Thorin. Her eyes tightly shut, she didn’t dare to move. Carefully, she opened her eyes slightly, only to look into the King's face. It was rather dark in the cave. She wasn't able to make out the expression on his face. In a rather poor attempt to separate herself from Thorin, Bella placed her hands on his chest. She tried not to think too much about how muscular he was. Slowly, she started to separate herself from him, wiggling around trying to find a position that wouldn’t hurt too much. Bella tried not to put any weight on her injured legs or any other parts of her that were hurting. Well, the only part not hurting at the moment was her head, but she could feel a headache rising.

Two big, strong hands on her hips made it impossible for her to move any further. The dwarven King had held her down in this rather shameful position.

Thorin took this chance to search her body for injuries. He grunted, displeased as she flinched under his touch. Somehow it made the King angry to see her hurt. And somehow, it felt nice to have her near. Bella started shifting again. She didn't know what exactly she was supposed to feel at this particular moment. It felt great to be able to be so close to him. But at the same moment, she felt a pang in her heart. This was not her Thorin. And this was not right.

She opened her mouth, ready to give him a piece of her mind when a growl from behind interrupted her. In the first second, she thought it was a warg, but then the growl evolved into a wave of dwarven curses spoken in Khuzdul. Gently, two arms wrapped around her from behind, easily lifting her up from Thorin. She recognised the tattoos on the arms. The warmth on her hips disappeared. Her body reacted to the sudden cold with a shiver while her heart winced to be separated from her One.  

Her brother held her protectively in his arms, standing with his back towards his king and putting himself between her and Thorin. She knew that dwarrows were protective, but she never thought that Dwalin would defy his king. This was a completely new experience for her. She didn't want to be in between the two of them, she didn't want to be in between anything. If she hadn't known what would have come next, maybe she would have stayed with Lord Elrond.

A furry body slid down into the cave, taking all the unwanted attention of her and presenting a way for Thorin to hide his embarrassment.

How in the world could he have let down his guard in such a critical moment? His palms still felt the softness of her body. There was something familiar in the way they touched, but he was quite sure he had never seen the hobbit lass before. Still, when Dwalin separated her from him, he wouldn't have liked anything better than punching his best friend in the face and getting back what belonged to him.

To get his mind off those strange thoughts, he shifted his attention towards the dead warg. An arrow was plunged into the throat of the monster. Separating the arrow from the body, he inspected it.

“Elves!” he spat out.  

As if to answer his angry grunting, the sound of a horn broke through the cries from outside. The company started fidgeting nervously, looking for a way out. Up and out of the cave was not an option and Thorin nearly sighed with relief when Bofur shouted that there was another way. It was a narrow pass seemingly leading deeper into the mountain, but it was rather bright, so maybe, just maybe, they had a chance.  

The passageway was too narrow for Dwalin to both carry Bella and fit through it himself at the same time. So, he had no other possibility than to walk behind her, lending her a helping hand and steadying her whenever she staggered. Whenever he wasn’t fast enough to catch her and, as a result, she would crash into a stone wall with a hollow thump, he would wince. Not being able to help her nearly drove him insane. His mood dropped with every passing second.

Seeing how Thorin looked at her with that worried, sad and longing look made him angrily clench his fists. He had no right to ogle his sister like that!

“It is as beautiful as I remembered.” She mumbled under her breath.

Dwalin wouldn’t have heard it if Thorin hadn’t lifted his head as soon as she opened her mouth. Both of them looked at each other in confusion. Had they heard right?

In front of them, a beautiful valley lay. The valley of Imladris where  the last homely house was. The tattooed warrior grumbled a curse in the wizard’s direction. To guide them right towards those damned elves! Thorin seemed to have the same thoughts. He finally stopped looking at Bella and glowered at the grey-hatted man.

Why must dwarrows be so bloody stubborn, wary and suspicious of each and every person they meet?! Bella had found herself in the middle of a small circle built out of muscles, sharp axes and rumbling growls. She could only shake her head at their overprotective behaviour. Lord Elrond would have never allowed harm to befall his guests. Here, in the last homely house, they would be just as safe as in Beorn's hut. A smile lightened up her face as she thought of the large man who was gentler than anyone could have ever imagined.

She shifted her attention back when the sound of a horn sounded in the distance once more, announcing the return of the elven king. The circle tightened around her even more. Gandalf watched their actions with amusement and when Bella locked eyes with him he chuckled at her distressed expression.

Thorin muttered something to Dwalin, too quietly for her to understand. But the two dwarves nodded in grim agreement, not letting the elves out of sight.

Lord Elrond returned with his hunters not a second too late. Lindir seemed a bit troubled by the gruff and dirty company that appeared on their doorstep. Led by Gandalf the Grey of all people! The exchange of greetings, compliments and courtesies gave Bella a chance to remember the lessons of elven language she had all those years before.

“Lord Elrond, it is good to see you again. May I request to visit your infirmary?” fighting her way out, she glared at Fili and Kili trying to pull her back.

The dark-haired elf lifted one brow at her request spoken in elvish. The pronunciation was not bad and gave evidence that she had been learning the language for quite some time. Lord Elrond looked at Gandalf. It was a  long, questioning look. The wizard only shrugged and searched his pockets for his pipe weed.

“Of course, little one. But you have to promise me to tell me all the exciting details of your journey over dinner. We hadn’t had a hobbit here in forever, and especially not one traveling with the dwarves, no less.” He smiled, waving Lindir over.

The king’s attendant picked her up with ease, earning a surprised and an acknowledging squeak from the hobbit and an angry uproar from the company. Threats, insults and crude curses were thrown at the elves until Gloin stormed forward, swinging his weapon to daunt the elf holding Bella. It didn’t work. Lindir only looked down at Gloin with an unchanged countenance.

“Food,” Bella hurried to say, “he offered us to stay for dinner, freshen up a bit and rest.”

The adrenalin slowly vanished from her system. The pain returned, stronger than before, and Bella wished for nothing more than a hot bath, a change of clothes, some food and a soft bed.

Dwalin stepped forward in an intimidating manner. He pushed Gloin aside and straightened his back. With his arms crossed, he looked up and, in his eyes, she could see the gleam of an idea. The idea to kick Lindir into the hollow of the knee and snatch her from his arms.

“What are you planning to do with my sister, elf?” his voice was deep and threatening.

Lindir only raised an eyebrow, looking down he smiled coldly, “If you happened to notice, your ‘sister’ is seriously injured.”

Dwain’s hands twitched as if he wanted to deliver the first punch. Right in that moment Fili and Kili appeared on each side of the warrior. They looked determined.

“We will come with you.” Fili decided, while Kili nodded agreeing, “Can’t let you alone with them!”

Bella smiled. It was not convincing and far away from reassuring, but from her position, held by Lindir, she was finally taller than all of the members of the company. They looked worried up to her, big pleading eyes and protective sternness in their faces. They meant it, she realized. Tears started to fill her eyes, not out of pain, but happiness. Even Thorin fidgeted from one leg onto the other, trying his best to not meet her eyes. He stared at Lord Elrond, but still observed her out of the corner of his eye.

“That is very sweet of you, but I do prefer to bathe alone,” Bella chuckled.

Her chuckle quickly changed into a cough and a few drops of blood blemished Lindir’s perfectly white robes. The elf frowned displeased down at her. With a sharp nod towards his king, he hurried off to the healing quarters, taking her with him. Over Lindir’s shoulder, Bella could catch a glimpse of Thorin’s expression. Was that jealousy hidden behind the usual frown?

Chapter 8

@stuckupstucky

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