Over the Mountains // Thorin Oakenshield

Chapter 2

It was before the crack of dawn when Thorin awoke. He saw that Dwalin and Balin were waking up as well. He moved over to rouse his nephews... only to see that they weren't where they had been when he had fallen asleep. He looked towards the door.... their weapons were still there so they must be around there somewhere.

Finally making his way around the entire house, he made his way into the kitchen, only to find that his nephews were up and talking in whispers with Persephone at the kitchen table. There was a pile of biscuits and slices of bear meat on the table. He guessed that either his nephews or Persephone had gone hunting because he knew that there wasn't any food in the hobbit hole.

"Morning uncle," Fili whispered, "Hungry?"

Thorin walked over and considered the food, "I trust that it wasn't one of you two who hunted down this bear?" he asked of his nephews.

Kili smirked, "not nearly uncle! If we had, we would have been the ones on the plate, not the bear. Persephone did."

"Where did you find a bear in hobbiton?" Gloin inquired, speaking before Thorin could.

"I actually found it before I got here," Persephone replied, "Gandalf warned me that Dwarves are always hungriest in the morning and at night so I came prepared."

Balin smiled as he sat down, helping himself to a biscuit, "Well that is incredibly sweet of you dear."

"I'm glad I could help," persephone said, smiling.

"And it's so good!" Kili said, a little too loud so that everyone present shushed him, including Persephone.

"Where did you learn to make this anyway?" Fili asked, biting into another biscuit.

The room was swallowed into silence and Persephone refused to meet anyone's gaze. from the way her shoulders were hunched and her eyes averted, they knew that something was wrong.

"I'm going to go prepare the ponies," she muttered, almost too quiet for them to hear.

Before Kili and Fili could object, she got up and left the hobbit hole.

"What did I say?" Fili whispered.

"it's not what you asked laddie," Balin said, "I think it just reminds her of something painful. We should let her be."

"What if it isnt something she should keep to herself?" Kili whispered. "Sometimes its better to talk about things than keep it to yourself."

Balin shook his head, "I spoke with Gandalf last night... apparently she had a twin brother who was killed when they were young... It might have something to do with that."

"oh," the two brothers whispered, at once quieting down but feeling guilty.

Thorin looked over his shoulder at the window. Walking over to it, he crossed his arms and looked out. The sun was barely rising but he could make out the slender silhouette of Persephone as she began to saddle the ponies who all whinnied at her cheerfully.

He saw her approach his pony and smirked, knowing that the horse would probably cause her trouble. His pony was just as stubborn as he was. Instead, the pony considered her a moment, obviously sensing her mood and brushed its shaggy head against her chest. A small smile appeared on the girl's face and she hugged the horse's noble head as he brushed his nose against her stomach.

"I'm alright," he could hear her say.

TIME SKIP

When they stopped to rest that evening, Persephone stuck close to Bilbo, not wanting him to feel uncomfortable or left out. He helped her unsaddle the horses and rub them down so that their sweat wouldn't itch while the others prepared camp.