The Prophecy

Rock Battle

"Zarina, wake up."

Zarina woke up to the voice of Bofur, calling her to start getting ready. She sat up, stretched her arms and watched the Company gathering their belongings. It was still dark, the sun showing nothing but a golden lining on the mountains on the horizon. The previous night Thorin mentioned to the Company that they would leave before dusk, to avoid the elves stopping them from leaving. With a soft groan she started getting ready. Zarina looked around to see where she could change into the other clothes the elves gave her, for she was still wearing the dress. When she saw that there were no rooms nearby, she realized that it would take too long to go search for one. It would also put her at risk to be seen by an elf, who would alert Lord Elrond about their departure.

That left her with only one option. She whistled sharply, getting the attention of the Company, "Unless you all would like me to travel in this dress, I suggest you all turn around a brief minute so that I can get changed." The dwarves, not used to having a woman around, stared at her in confusion, not completely understanding what she was asking of them. Zarina felt a blush coming along, "Please?"

Thorin quickly came to her rescue when realizing that he heard her correct, "Everyone turn their backs, give her some privacy!"

The dwarves and Bilbo immediately obeyed his order and turned their backs on Zarina. She felt a wave of relief wash over her and smiled thankfully at the leader, although his back was turned on her. She quickly made use of the privacy that was given to her and slipped out of the dress. The rustling of fabric filled Thorin's ears and he fought against the urge to imagine what she looked like, undressing behind him. He wouldn't mind it if she travelled in that dress, though. His eyes would draw to her constantly and he would take in her appearance, his eyes lingering on her curves and hips. Thorin shut his eyes tightly to forget the picture of her in that dress. It was a distraction and he couldn't afford it.

Zarina nearly threw the new clothes on her, not getting a good look at it yet, "Done." She announced and one by one the dwarves turned around, looking straight at her to see what they'd miss.

A few dwarves', including Bilbo's eyebrows rose when seeing her new armour. It was a complete forest green Elvish set of leather armour, that seemed to be strong enough to prevent an arrow from being shot into her. All the extra plates and markings on the armour, as well as all belts and buckles, were made of gold. Finally, she wore a pair of dark brown leather boots that reached all the way up just below her knees. Indeed, if it wasn't for her height, she could've been an Elvish warrior.

"We should get moving..." Thorin ordered, but his last word trailed off a bit too much, Fili and Kili noticing and, knowing their uncle, chuckled silently under their breaths at his loss of more words. Thorin allowed Zarina to walk in front of him, only to regret it later for his eyes would linger on her figure and rare...

The Company packed up and tiptoed their way out of the great town of Rivendell, without any elves seeing them. As they put a fair distance between them and the town, Zarina, who was now walking right behind Blain, turned around to look at it one more time, not knowing when she will get the chance to see it again. The waterfalls remained to be magnificent and she hoped that the image would forever remain in her thoughts.

"Be on your guard; we're about to step over the edge of the wild. Balin, you know these paths, lead on." Thorin ordered from the front of the line, where they were traveling up a narrow ledge of the mountain. He noticed Zarina stopped to look back and an unsettling feeling formed within him. What if she discovered her place there in Rivendell? He had no doubt that the elves would welcome her there, for she spoke their language and she would fit right in, despite her height. He called out to her, drawing her out of her thoughts, "Keep up, Zarina. We know not what awaits us further on this path."