Strangled Heart (Thorin Oakenshield x Reader) (The Hobbit)

*16* Apart *16*

Ambrosia's POV

I stumble up to the gates of Rivendell, towards two guards. I walk into their line of vision, catching the two of them off guard. 
"Princess Ambrosia!" One of them calls out in surprise as I approach them. I nod in their direction, walking past them with Nightwing behind me. 

Nightwing whinnies behind me as we walk along the bridge to the castle, and I look behind me to see her shifting uncomfortably from the weight of the two shrunken warg pups on her back. I stop, letting her walk beside me. I reach onto her back, lifting one of the sleeping wargs off of her and into my arms. Then, I grab the other warg and lift them into my arms. 
Holding both of the warg pups in my arms, we begin to walk towards the castle once again. I glance down at the pups, taking in their features.

Both of them have untamed black fur, one more curly than the other. They'd be almost identical if it weren't for the darker black spots around around one of the pup's eyes and the dark black freckles on the other pup's face. 

I glance away from the pups to see that we've arrived at the castle's golden door. The guards open the doors without question, and I walk inside. Nightwing trots away and towards the stables. 

Still cradling the pups, I enter the throne room. Adar looks up from his throne in surprise, startling the two children resting on his lap. 

"Ambrosia!" They exclaim. 

Avaline and Joshua jump off of my Adar's lap and run towards me, Adar slowly following them. Avaline and Joshua cling to my legs, beaming up at me. I smile down at them before glancing back up at Adar. His eyes are questioningly trained on the pups in my arms. I meet his eyes for a moment, mouthing, 'I'll explain later.'

He nods, and I look back down to Avaline and Joshua. 
"Avaline! Joshua! I take it you're liking Rivendell?"

Avaline begins jumping around excitedly next to her older brother, exclaiming, "Yeah! Grandfather taught us how to ride horses!"

Grandfather?

I glance up to Adar, raising an eyebrow. He simply gives a small smile in response, a bit of joy in his eyes.

"That sounds like fun," I look back down at the two children, who detach themselves from my legs. 
"How about we go out to the gardens and play?" I suggest to the two children. Without another word, they bolt out the door. Only their excited screams can be heard echoing down the hallway. Adar walks over to me, and we begin down the hallway. 

"Grandfather?" I begin, giving him a questioning look.

He looks over to me with a small smile. 
"They took to calling me that after you left," He poorly explains. He must still be surprised by the nickname.

"Shouldn't you be with the others?" He asks, his face turning serious as we continue walking.

I shift the two pups in my arms uncomfortably, their weight beginning to make my arms sore. Taking a deep breath, I recall to him the events of that evening. He nods along with my story, eyes widening once he hears of my pledge to the company.

"You've pledged your life to them, then ran away?"

I nod sheepishly, feeling ashamed as I stare down at the pups in my arms.

"I know that they would not have let me continue with them. And I need to bring these two to Galadriel as soon as I can." I defend, trying to cover up my shame. 

"You know, or you think?" Adar asks, giving me a knowing look. 

I stay silent. 
Had I really known that they would not allow me to rejoin them? Or was Adar right? Was I.. afraid to face them? I've faced fiercer armies on my own! So why does the thought of their rejection make me so afraid? Why did I run away?