The Fifteenth Member (Thorin Oakenshield/OFC)

Chapter 45

I woke up to darkness. I couldn't see a thing and I was freezing cold. The fire was long gone, not even the faintest embers remained. My teeth were chattering and I pulled the covers around me tighter, attempting to warm up. Where was Thorin when I needed him? Our current room was facing east and the curtains were open yet there was not even a hint of dawn yet. The sky was black and cloudless, the stars were bright and the moon was full. A fresh blanket of snow covered the ground, glittering under the light of the night. I grabbed a heavy robe, put it around my shoulders, and went out onto the balcony. Wani, still fast asleep on her mattress, didn't even stir when I opened the door to go outside. There was no temperature change, the air outside was just as cold as the air inside. There must be a window open. I inhaled deeply, fresh, crisp mountain air flooding my lungs and a soft wind gently blew my tangled hair away from my face. For the first time in many years, I felt at peace. I no longer needed to hide my tail from everyone, I had found my true love, the war was over and peace had come at almost no cost, there was little to no chance of me loosing the children sheltered inside me, and I had been accepted as the future queen by my people. My only heart ache now was that I have to spent a week without seeing my beloved but I turned my thoughts away from that and focused on the view in front of me. Untouched snow covered the mountainside, clinging to the branches of the evergreen trees. Everything was still, not even a single shadow moved and there were no tracks of any kind in the pristine blanket covering the earth. I slipped my arms into the sleeves of the robe and pulled it around me before leaning on the stone railing. The stone was not unbearably cold and the robe helped a bit so after awhile, I got used to it.

I didn't realize how much time had passed until I saw the first streaks of dawn of the horizon.

"Oops." I muttered, "Too late to go back to bed now." I had trouble sleeping when I knew there was light outside so I decided to stay and watch the world wake up. Before the sun came out, I saw a herd of white-tailed deer in the clearing right below my balcony. Six in total, two males and four females. One of them was absolutely huge, not as big as Thranduil's elk of course, but this was a deer! His antlers were very elaborate, like the type one would see on the wall of a bar, and he was at least twice the size of the other bucks. The six of them grazed quietly for several minutes until one of them heard something. She froze, her head shot up and she sniffed the wind. It did not take her long to decide that there was indeed a threat. She bolted, her tail held high like a white flag, catching the attention of the other five, who followed suit without question. They bounded soundlessly into the trees, vanishing among the foliage in mere moments. Seconds later, a huge, tan cat wandered into the clearing. I did not know much about mountain predators, but I did know that this big cat was a threat. It was larger than Dain's war pig, it moved with great speed and agility, making no sound and leaving only very faint paw prints despite its great size and therefore weight. From what I could see, it had huge teeth and even bigger claws that left marks of their own in the snowy soil. It didn't spend long in the clearing. The big cat took one look at the tracks the deer had left and ran in the general direction that they had. Interesting. I would have to ask someone about that thing.

As the sun continued to rise, it lit up the Long Lake in the distance, causing a glare that hurt my eyes so I was forced to retreat inside. Only to find Wani standing right by the door, her arms crossed and a foot tapping on the floor. She had made no sound that I was aware of so it scared the living daylights out of me to find her standing not three feet away.

"How long have you been there?"

"Long enough. You should know better, wearing nothing but a thin nightgown and a bathrobe out onto your balcony in the middle of a winter night!"

"I woke up freezing cold and there was no chance of me getting back to sleep without waking you up with the chattering of my teeth!"

"You should've woken me then! It's part of my job to make sure you stay comfortable without......" She trailed off when I gasped, "Look, I'm sorry but you're my best friend and I don't want you to bear the sadness of losing not only your first but your second child too! Now come lay down. The appointment isn't until midday."