A Better Place - The Hobbit Fanfiction

Alternate Entry Thirty-Four - The Ruse

We were going to the Sea of Rhȗn, a journey that, not to ease my marital strifes, would take four weeks to walk, but since we would be briskly riding, should take only two and a half. The elves did not invest in ponies, and my little Villy was not meant for this sort of travel, so Villy stayed happily warm in the elves' stables and I rode double-much to my protest-with a variety of people as we traveled.

"You are surprisingly compliant, he says," Tauriel translated Visilyen's words for me almost the moment he said them, as he was my caretaker for the day. "Considering the cold. And your apparent lack of saddle-sores, as you do not, to our knowledge, ride enough on a regular basis to avoid them when traveling long-distance as we do now."

"Oh I've got a cream," I said, to answer his second observation. "Dila taught it to me. I guessed I'd need it, once Thranduil told me how far we were going."

Tauriel's slender, auburn eyebrows rose. "Do you now? You will have to teach us how to make it."

I snorted. "As if you don't have your own magical concoctions." We had to raise our voices a bit to be heard over the low rumble of the horses over frozen sod and snow, or at least they had to raise their voices for me, but conversation wasn't so difficult, and it passed the long hours in the saddle the same way humming did when one was entrenched in something as tedious as knitting.

"And what of the cold?" She lightly smiled. "Do you have a concoction for that as well?"

"Don't you see how many blustering layers I've got on?" I demanded. "Wool upon more wool, two hoods, three sweaters and a coat, and two pairs of mittens and you can't even guess how many socks I've got on."

Those who understood me chuckled, and a moment later so did the rest as their translation arrived. As we traveled, I asked my co-rider to stay close enough to the royal pair-having come with us, though I guessed from Thranduil's expressions that Legolas's presence was not necessary-that I could watch them as I hadn't done before, to practice sitting with the firmly high posture they sat with, the smooth gestures, the slow blink of one who could simply not be bothered by the warbling of whoever was speaking. These traits showed more astutely with Thranduil, but Legolas was still his father's son.

I often-though not every night-took my suppers with them as well, asking questions and listening to the conversely lengthy or terse answers. Thranduil had a great many things he wished to impart upon me as well, such as the terms for 'Men', 'elves', 'we', 'king', and 'war', so if my elves carried on a conversation about such things I could appear to take part, with my cobbled but correctly pronounced words and phrases, and our listeners could hear that my words dovetailed with those of 'my people', even if my people knew otherwise. He and Legolas also taught me things which I hadn't had the opportunity to learn, even living in his house during my visits. Things such as when to ask for water to wash, and to allow others to pull out seats for me, and which silverware to use first, and where to put my napkin at different times, and how to walk up stairs in a fancy gown, and how high to hold that gown.

I asked Thranduil how he knew so much about gown-holding. He gave me that slow blink of his pale eyes and I tried not to chuckle.

Ostensibly, I, as Thranduil's daughter, was brought with him to visit this surreptitiously rebelling nation so I could grow accustomed to traveling and such ambassadorial meetings as these. The travel I was in truth unaccustomed to; the ambassadorial meetings were no new experience-in service to Dain I'd seen everything from his weekly attending of matters the common people brought before him to him barking down the complaints of one noble who had infringed on another noble's rights. As he was technically the ruler of the Iron Hills as well, though one of his relatives now ran the country in his name, I had also seen him bellowing to those other important people when he summoned them over some point he felt they had not properly understood through ink and parchment. It was a long way to have to come for a scolding, but I hoped they did some cordial visiting as well, as opposed to arriving only for their brother or uncle to make the halls echo, causing the very walls to bellow down upon the poor unfortunate.