A Ruby's Shine (Thorin Oakenshield X OC)

131. Aftermath

Sorry for giving you all such a long wait on this last set of chapters! I am going to be completely honest.... I forgot that there was still a set of chapters to be updated and I feel like such an idiot right now lol. Well, yet again I will say, sorry for the long wait. At least you get, like, a ton of chapters. I really expanded on this ending point of A Ruby's Shine.

Thorin's POV

I held tightly onto my Ruby as she broke down in my arms, her tears running down the armor on my shoulder and onto my neck as her wails of pure grief seemed to stab right into my heart as I closed my eyes, sharing in her agony with her, uncaring of the filth from her armor that was staining my armor and my exposed skin. My poor Ruby looked like walking death, every inch of her covered in layers of drying or wet mud and orc blood, giving her a rather horrifying look. Her silvery Mithril armor has no shine to it, as the metal is coated in layers of mud and blood, giving it an off brown red color. Her hair is stiff and solid with dried mud, sticking out unnaturally and making cracking sounds as she tried her best to bury her head in my shoulder more, to hide from the world, from her pain.

I was worried about the hoarseness of her voice, she clearly strained it horribly and is only doing more so as she wailed out her pain. I felt so... helpless, there is nothing more I can do to help her than hold onto her as she releases her pain.

The words Azog spoke... The insanity I saw for but a moment in my love's eyes... It worried me, I was so much more worried for Philomena's mental health than I am her physical health. The last time I saw such a look in another's eyes...

Was the day my grandfather decided to try to reclaim Moria and his head ended up at my feet.

Was the last day I saw my father.

Both of them carried such a lost, insane, and hopeless look, just like the one I saw in my love's eyes. I closed my eyes tight as I hugged Philomena tighter to my chest, as though I could create a barrier between her and the outside world. If what I heard is correct... then I can fully understand why my love was pushed to the brink of her sanity. To hear that you were the cause of your kind's demise... no soul should ever have to bear such knowledge and I can only pray to Mahal that Philomena will find her peace with it. But it may take many, many moons before Philomena is ever herself again... but I have to believe she can overcome this. She is one of the strongest, bravest people I know.

She stood before a dragon and talked calmly to Smaug as he tried to incinerate her.

She stood before Gold Sickness me without fear and made me see reason.

And, to save me from death, she tackled Azog around the neck, knowing the orc could turn his arm and stab her through the exposed points of her armor in such a move, while fighting to cut through the armor on his neck with her two obsidian blades. Yet, she still did it, even with all the strain upon her mentally.

I looked up from holding Philomena tight to see the massive cougar she rode in on approaching. While I cannot read animals and this creature certainly made me wary, I was rather surprised as the cougar sat down carefully on the ice beside us, trying to keep as close to Philomena as it could, offering her body heat. I have seen such actions in the wild, it's like the mountain lion sees Philomena as her cub, I guess the cougar is a she, at least by it's actions. The mountain lion laid it's head down on it's paws, watching Philomena in a way I could only describe as saddened as Philomena continued to wail, to sob, and cry out in incoherent words that I only caught parts of.

Staring at the cougar, a realization hit me as I looked around the nearby skies for the familiar sight of Philomena's white winged friend, only to see nothing. Fairfin never flew far from his sister, he even told me once that Philomena may have raised him, but in his mind she is his sister and he would protect and care for her because she protected and cared for him. I looked around the skies, wondering if Philomena sent Fairfin off to do something else in the battle when the cougar let out a low, mourning crooning sound and I met it's eyes in the fading light of the sun, seeing the cougar staring at...