Curse of the East (Fili/The Hobbit Fanfiction)

Chapter 48 - The Bargain Is Struck

We walked silently down a wide street, fires on either side of us to light our way; and make it easy for me to see the large tent that stood at the bottom of the hill, in the middle of what was probably a marketplace long ago.

"So are you going to tell me what happened to your neck?" Bard asked at last, and I instinctively reached up and pulled my hair back over my shoulders in an effort to conceal the bruises I had nearly forgotten about. He waited, but when it became clear I didn't intend to answer he continued. "I noticed them when you were knelt beside the fire talking with Bain; I think he may have noticed them too." He paused. "So what happened?" I sighed, raising my shoulder up in a half-shrug.

"Breaking someone of the Dragon Sickness is no easy task." I admitted at last. "It's a tricky business, and there were risks I was well aware of going into it." His pace faltered, and I slowed to match him.

"Thorin did that to you?" He said slowly. The question was there in his voice, but the look on his face told me he believed he already knew the answer.

"No." I replied, feeling a strong need to defend him despite the technicalities. "Smaug did this to me. Thorin returned to himself because he would not let me die. He saved me, and I saved him. That is all." He didn't look totally convinced, but he said nothing else so I chose to simply let the subject drop. Nothing else was said, and after about five more minutes of walking we reached the marketplace.

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As I approached the largest tent, with Bard on my heels I could hear muffled voices coming from inside. One of the voices belonged to the Elven King, and once I had drawn close enough I realized with a start that the other voice was familiar to me as well.

Gandalf was here. Why would he bother returning now? He would hardly be of much use to us when it came time to start fighting. And after having abandoned us months ago, leaving us to fend for ourselves in a forest none of us could begin to imagine the true danger of. We had gone to prison, well, they had gone to prison and we risked our lives trying to get out again. Kili had nearly died, we had faced a dragon, and battled Dragon Sickness all on our own; and now he was here, having for some reason decided he still mattered to us. Like he could strike deals on our behalf. Just the thought of it made my blood boil.

"So tell me, Mithrandir," King Thranduil was saying, "Where are these... Orc armies you speak of?" He was asking the question, but the tone of his voice made it abundantly clear he didn't believe a word the old wizard was saying. I almost laughed, Gandalf was still rubbish at convincing our allies to help us when we needed them most;at least some things never changed. "And why should I help defend this accursed rock?" I rolled my eyes, ducking beneath Bard's arm and pushing the tent flaps aside. I stepped inside, and moved right past the guards; who looked like they might stop me until Bard stepped in behind me. Apparently they trusted him.

"The wizard does not speak for us," I declared as the King's surprised eyes landed on me. "His words may be true, but he does not know even half the things I do about what is to come." I could feel Gandalf's steely, disapproving gaze burning into the side of my face but I refused to even spare a glance in his direction. "The armies are coming, they move quickly though they do it beneath the earth.With the assistance of creatures that all of you have long-since forgotten about. Creatures that haven't been seen at all in this age I believe." My voice was cold, but I saw a small smile work its way onto the King's face as the wheels began turning behind his icy eyes. He turned and walked slowly toward me, circling me several times.