The Skin-Changer's Daughter (Hobbit Fanfic)

The Armoury and The Master

The dwarves quickly resolved to break into the armoury and steal the weapons they needed. I refused to go with them. They were being foolish, did they not realise that once we reached the mountain there would be plenty of weapons for us? Aleron and I remained behind. Bain tried to stop them leaving but to no avail, they had headed for the armoury.
~{<>}~
Suddenly, Bard came bursting through the door.
"Da," said Bain "I tried to stop them..."
"How long have they been gone?" Asked Bard urgently. Bain mumbled something incoherent to me.
"We must find them," Bard said.
"We shall come with you," I said, speaking for both myself and Aleron.
Bard nodded to us and we followed him out of the door, beginning the search for the dwarves.
~{<>}~
We were headed for the armoury when we saw the dwarves being lead in a group by the city guards.
"Oh no," I heard Bard whisper to himself before turning around to follow them.
~{<>}~
The dwarves were brought before the town hall, awaiting for the master to pass judgment upon them. Suddenly, a man came striding out of the doors. He was rotund, with receding ginger hair and a thin moustache. I guessed this was the master. Behind him was a sneering little rat of a man whom I gathered to be his servant.
"What is the meaning of this?" The master asked.
"Caught them stealing weapons sire," said the leader of the guards.
"Ah," said the master, leering down at the dwarves "Enemies of the state, eh?"
Valar, this guy's even more annoying than Dori, I thought to myself.
"A desperate bunch of mercenaries if ever there was sire," said the servant.
"Hold your tongue!" Barked Dwalin "You do not know to whom you speak!" Everyone went silent around us.
"This is not common criminal!" Continued Dwalin "This is Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror!" Thorin stepped forward.
"We are the dwarves of Erebor," he said "We have come to reclaim our homeland." The master looked shocked. Thorin strode forward, addressing the master as well as the crowd that had gathered. I stuck close to Bard and Aleron, standing as far to the back as possible.
"I remember this town in the great days of old," said Thorin "Fleets of boats lay at harbour, filled with silks and fine gems. This was no forsaken town on a lake, this was the centre of all trade I the north!" The crowd hung on to his every word.
"I would see those days returned," continued Thorin "I would re-light the great forges of the dwarves and send wealth and riches flowing once more, from the halls of Erebor!" The crowd let out a cheer.
Oh Valar, what are you doing Thorin? I thought to myself. Bard could stand it no longer, he pushed to the front of the crowd and let out a shout.
"Death!" He yelled "That is what you will bring upon us. Dragon fire and ruin." He pushed past the dwarves and stood eye to eye with Thorin.
"If you awaken that beast, it will destroy us all," said Bard.
"You can listen to this naysayer," interrupted Thorin "But I promise you this, if we succeed, all will share in the wealth of the mountain." The crowd began to chatter excitedly.
"You will have enough gold, to rebuild Esgaroth ten times over!" Shouted Thorin. The crowd cheered, Aleron and I remained silent.
"Listen to me!" Roared Bard "You must listen!" The crowd went silent.
"Have you forgotten what happened to Dale?" Continued Bard "Have you forgotten those who died in the fire storm?" The crowd began to chatter around us, seemingly realising their guilt.
"And for what purpose?" Asked Bard "The blind ambition of a mountain King, so riven by greed, he could not see beyond his own desire!"
"Now, now!" Interrupted the master "We must not any of us, be too quick to lay blame." Bard paled slightly.
"Let us not forget," the master continued "It was Girion, Lord of Dale, your ancestor, who failed to kill the beast!" The crowd chattered around us, clearly beginning to be swayed by the master's argument.
"It's true sire," sneered the servant "We all know the story. Arrow after arrow he shot, each one missing its mark." I could see anger welling up inside Bard. He strode up to he was staring down at Thorin.
"You have no right," he said to Thorin "No right to enter that mountain."
"I have the only right," said Thorin. Thorin turned away from Bard to look up at the master.
"I speak to the master of the men of the lake," he said "Will you see the prophecy fulfilled? Will you share in the great wealth of our people?" The master and the crowd went silent.
"What say you?" Urged Thorin.
"I say unto you," said the master "Welcome! Welcome! And thrice welcome! King under the Mountain!" The crowd around us cheered loudly.
"Thorin!" I screamed. The dwarf turned to look at me as I pushed through the crowd. The dwarf could tell I was seething with anger but remained as calm as ever.
"What do you want, Eleana?" he said, his tone strangely cold.
"I don't trust them. The master, nor his sneering weasel of a servant. They could betray us Thorin, hand us to the orcs or lock us away in the blink of an eye!" I could feel everyone's eyes on me, the crowd began a low murmur. The master cleared his throat and Thorin turned to him.
"Who is this woman?" The master asked. Thorin turned to me, a cold look in his eyes.
"Nothing but a she-elf who has been a burden to our company from the start," he spat. I staggered backwards, as if I had been punched. The Thorin I knew would never have said such a thing.
"Thorin," I said "What has happened to you? You have changed, and not for the better at that. You trust this coward, who's only interest is the gold. I trust Bard. He smuggled us into Laketown, clothed and fed us as well as offering us the best weapons he could find. He could have left us to be torn apart by orcs, but he didn't. And now you turn your back on him, after all he did for us." There were tears of anger in my eyes. Thorin's face was blank for a moment before turning to anger.
"What would you know, she-elf?" He spat. I gritted my teeth and stared at him defiantly.
"I know how to tell a good and honest man from a liar and a coward," I snarled "And a man who turns his back on his friends. I said I knew where my loyalties lay, now I am not so sure."
"You know nothing," Thorin growled, seething with anger "Go back to your Bargeman." And with that he turned his back on me, and in that instant my heart shattered. I felt tears welling up in the corners of my eyes and my throat constricted with emotion.
"Thorin," I whispered hoarsely. The Thorin in knew wouldn't have done this, the gold in the mountain was already tempting his heart.
"Leave!" He shouted "And let me never be cursed to see your face again!" My bravery finally buckled, I turned tail and ran at full speed in the direction of Bard's house.
"Eleana!" I heard Bard and Aleron shout. I could hear their footsteps falling heavily behind me as I ran. I raced up the stairs leading to Bard's front door before bursting through it in a hurricane of clothes and tears and frustration. I fell upon the floor crying hopelessly, my back against a table leg. I wanted Thorin. Not the Thorin I had just seen but my Thorin. The Thorin whose eyes lit up when he smiled, the Thorin who kissed me and hugged me. The Thorin that loved me.
~{<>}~
"Eleana?" Came a child's voice. I opened my eyes, which were swollen from crying, and looked up. Little Tilda was stood at her bedroom door in her nightgown, looking at me.
"What's wrong?" She asked. She came over to me and sat down beside me. I put my arms around the child, hugging her.
"You wouldn't understand Tilda," I sniffed "It's grown up stuff."
"Is it that dwarf?" She asked.
"Which dwarf, Tilda?" I said.
"The one you were kissing earlier," she said "Did he hurt you?" A fresh wave of tears began to pour down my face.
"Yes Tilda," I whispered as tenderly as I could manage.
"Sigrid said da cried like that after ma died, I was only a baby so I wouldn't know," she said. The child seemed sad at the thought of the mother she probably hadn't even known.
"Don't worry," I whispered to the child "My mother's dead too." Tilda turned around and smiled at me. She took a handkerchief out of the pocket in her nightgown and gently wiped my eyes with it.
"Tilda?" Came Sigrid's voice.
"I'm in here Sigrid," called Tilda. Sigrid poked her head around the bedroom door to see the two of us sat on the floor. I turned my face away, embarrassed that I should be crying so uncontrollably.
"Come back to bed, father will be home soon," ushered Sigrid.
"But she's crying," said Tilda. I sighed and turned to face Sigrid.
"Oh," sighed Sigrid. She came out of her bedroom and picked Tilda up off the floor. She then helped me to my feet and offered me a seat at the table. I sat down with little Tilda on my lap. Sigrid then put three mugs on the table before filling the kettle an placing it on the hearth.
"Will da be home soon?" Asked Sigrid.
"He was right behind me when we left," I said "I suspect he won't be long."
Sigrid smiled and poured the tea. She put milk in it before pushing a mug towards me.
"Drink up," she said "Tea's a good remedy for a broken heart. Well, it's a start anyway." I let out a soft chuckle.
"I heard you and Tilda talking from our room," Sigrid confessed.
"It's fine," I said before taking a sip of tea. Suddenly, Bard burst through the door.
"There you are," he gasped. He then went back outside.
"You can stop looking, I've found her!" We heard him yell. Bard came back inside and took put another two mugs on the table before filling them with tea and milk. I heard Aleron's footsteps coming from outside before she burst through the door, already in a full rant:
"If you dare scare me like that again I will rip your bloody... Eleana?" She stopped when she saw how red and sad my eyes were.
"Oh Valar," she whispered. She came up to me and engulfed me in a hug, crushing poor Tilda.
"Let go, you're crushing us!" I gasped.
"Oh sorry," she said, immediately pulling away from the two of us. She sat down on a chair next to me and looked at Bard. Bard was looking at his two girls.
"Go to bed," he said "You can take your tea with you." I pushed my chair back so Tilda could get off my lap. Both Tilda and Sigrid went and hugged their father.
"Goodnight da," both said.
"Goodnight Tilda, Goodnight Sigrid," said Bard. He kissed both on the tops of their heads and ushered them back to their room. Tilda looked back at me before running back to me and hugging me tightly.
"Everything will be okay, I promise," she whispered to me. I kissed the child's forehead before allowing her father to take her to her bed.
"Goodnight," Tilda mouthed at me before Bard took her through her bedroom door. I turned back to Aleron, who had fallen asleep with her tea mug  still in her hand.
"Honestly," I muttered to myself before going over to the window seat and resting my head against the cold windowpane. I heard the girls bedroom door shut and Bard's footsteps crossing the floorboards. I heard him tut at Aleron before coming to me. I was drawing on the window mindlessly, lost in thought. Bard put his hand on my shoulder. I looked up at him.
"You can have my bed for the night if you wish," he offered. I shook my head and went back to staring out the window. Bard smiled weakly at me before taking off his coat and placing it around my shoulders. I turned around to see him clambering into his own bed.
"Thank you," I whispered hoarsely, my voice sore from crying. Bard smiled kindly.
"Goodnight, Miss Eleana," he said.
"Goodnight," I replied. I pulled Bard's cost closer around me before falling into a troubled sleep.
Authors Note:
Hi, sorry if this chapter is really depressing. This took me ages to write, 2246 words! This chapter was a bit of an emotional one for Eleana, sorry if my writing sucks. I was listening to some depressing stuff while writing this (specifically 'Love the way you lie' by Eminem feat. Rihanna) so I turned out to be quite a sad one. Let's hope everything turns out okay like Tilda said but I'll just see what happens. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, next one coming up as soon as possible.
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MoonsongMarauder xxx