The King, The Burglar and The Guardian

Chapter Twelve

Word count - 1,812

Ch - 12

Miles and miles away from Rivendell, orc scouts scurry up to their master with a nervous step. "The Dwarves master. We lost them. We lost their trail when we were ambushed by Elvish filth, we were..."

A deep growl echoed through the forest as the beast of an orc spoke, "I don't want excuses. I want the Dwarf king's head!"

"We were outnumbered, there was nothing we could do. I barely escaped with my life." The pathetic orc spoke, fearful of his leader's rage.

"Far better had you paid with it." Azog reached for the scout and threw him to the pack of wargs. His shrieks didn't last long.

"The Dwarf scum will show themselves soon enough." The pale orc addressed another scout that was shielding itself behind the first, "Send Word, there is a price on their heads!"

At the command of their master, the orcs rode out into the night on their beasts to retrieve the head of the long lost king under the mountain.

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In Rivendell, Gandalf stayed behind to discuss something important with Elrond. Bilbo and Balin were quick to leave the room. Adelaide wandered the halls a few paces behind the two, listening in to their conversation. Though it wasn't purposeful. Before long, she could smell a fire burning somewhere, the smell of cooked meat crawled its way into her head, making her so incredibly hungry.

She dragged her left hand against the walls of Rivendell. The rock was smooth and clean. How she wished it was the walls of her cave. She had grown to miss the simplicity of her life not four months ago. Before this, she had spent very little time with any dwarves. Now, she's had her fill of them.

The very dwarf she was thinking of cleared his throat from behind her. She hadn't heard him behind her. When she turned, he was a few feet back from her, standing in the shadow of the ivory pillars around them. The silver beads in his hair shone like stars in the inky darkness of his hair. His eyes were allouring, so bright and precious. She wondered what they looked like when he smiled.

He tilted his head to the side, gesturing off to a hallway away from Bilbo and Balin. "Come" was all he said, or perhaps it was an order. She walked with Thorin at a slow pace. Her legs were much longer than his. He stood just above her elbows. If she were to stand face to face with him, he would have a glorious view of her bust.

The jingle of his beads hitting each other in their silence was the only thing the woman could focus on. Her steps were almost inaudible compared to his stomps. The moonlight trickled into the hallway through holes cut into the ceiling, providing Adelaide to look up at the stars while in the tense situation. She wondered if that was their purpose, purely for stargazing.

Once Thorin decided they were far enough away from any prying ears, he stopped walking and stood facing the woman, his back against the wall. He felt too small when looking up to her, so he crossed his arms trying to look as intimidating as possible.

Seeing this, Adelaide almost broke into a smile, but instead thought it would be in her best interest to just stay silent and wait for what he has to say.

"I was wrong. In Hobbiton. I was wrong when I told you you'd be no help to us."

'He is apologising? I didn't know dwarfs knew how to do that.'

Adelaide must not have hid her confusion very well, as the king spoke again.

"You have shown to be a valued member of this company. Saving Ori and defending my nephews when I couldn't. I was wrong about you, Adelaide."