The quiet one (Thorin Oakenshield love story)

Chapter 8: Rivendell Part 1

Violet

I looked over the valley in amazement. "It's so beautiful..." Bilbo said next to me. I looked up at him and nodded. I heard Thorin growl in anger behind me. "Was this your plan? To seek refuge with our enemy?" Thorin asked looking at Gandalf. "You have no enemy's here Thorin Oakenshield. The only ill will here is that you bring upon yourself." Gandalf said. "You think the Elves will give our quest their blessing? They will try to stop us." Thorin said. "Of course they will. But we have questions that need to be answered. If we are to be successful, this will need to be handled with tact and respect and no small degree of charm. Which is why you will leave the talking to me." Gandalf said as he walked past Thorin and I to the head of the company. Thorin looked incredibly displeased and wasn't moving. I hesitantly grabbed his arm and gently tugged on him to come. He sighed and gave in, following me.

We walked across a large bridge into Rivendell. We where greeted by an elf who seemed to know Gandalf. "Mithrandir!" He said with a smile. "Ah, Lindir!" Gandalf said. As they spoke the dwarves started whispering to eachother I faintly heard Thorin whisper to Dwalin, "stay sharp."

"I must speak with Lord Elrond." Gandalf said. lindir shook his head, "lord Elrond is not here." "Not here? Where is he?" Gandalf asked. Sudden the horns we heard earlier sounded again, we all saw armed elven soldiers coming across the bridge rapidly. "Ifridî bekâr!" (Hold ranks)" Thorin yelled. "What does that mean?!" I asked bilbo. Suddenly Thorin's arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me closer to him. "Draw arms." He said. I pulled my sword as told. "Gandalf" Lord Elrond greeted. They started speaking in elvish. I noticed Thorin's arm was still around my middle and I blushed and pulled it off. I noticed that Elrond looked at us before speaking, "Strange for Orcs to come so close to our borders. Something, or someone, has drawn them near." He said. "Ah, that may have been us." Gandalf said. Thorin then stepped in front of me, Elrond looked at him with recognition. "Welcome Thorin, son of Thrain." He said. "I do not believe we have met." Thorin said. I felt no threat so I quietly put my sword back. "You have your grandfather's bearing. I knew Thror when he ruled under the Mountain." Elrond said. "Indeed; he made no mention of you." Thorin said. Elrond ignored the rude statement and began to speak elvish to Gandalf. Suddenly I felt Gloin pushing me forward, "What is he saying? Does he offer us insult?!" He asked. I looked back at him and shook my head. "No, master Gloin, he's offering you food." Gandalf said. "Oh...in that case lead on." Gloin said. I walked along with the rest of the company being leaded by Lord Elrond. As we walked I noticed an Elf walking right next to me. I glanced up at him to see him looking down at me. My eyes widened and I shot my gaze back to the ground.

We approched a garden looking area and an Elven woman approached me. "Lord Elrond has asked me to give you a room to stay in for the night, since you've been sleeping with all the dwarves we assume you need a break." She said with a kind smile. "O-okay...thank you" I said. I followed the woman away from the ground and down a beautiful walkway. "So, what is your name?" She asked. "Violet..." I said. "That's a beautiful name," she said. "Thank you..." I said. I looked up to see a large hallway with various double doors going down the hall. One pair where white with stained blue wood carvings on the doors. "This is your room." The woman said as she opened the door. Needless to say I was astonished by what I saw. The room had a high rise ceiling that had white see through drapes cascading down and around the bed. The bed was massive, at least for my size it was. "You may look around the room, there is a dress that should fit you that you can change into. When you get changed please give me your clothes and I will wash them and give them back in the morning. I looked at the woman, she was beautiful, almost white blonde hair braided intricately, she had honey brown eyes and flawless skin. "Thank you..." I said. "Oh, and you can take a bath if you wish," she said pointing to a door that probably led to a bathroom. "Okay, thank you very much." I said softly. She smiled at me before leaving. I closed the door and turned around. I looked down at my clothes and now realized they really where extremely dirty. I pulled off my boots, looking at my small smooth feet. I proceeded to take off my pants and sweater. I walked to the closet and inside found a strapless short white dress with a blue flower design...the flowers happened to be violets. I grinned slightly before starting to put it on. I stopped and thought for a moment. "I should probably bathe...wouldn't want to dirty the dress..." I said to myself. I laid the dress on the bed and went over to a door that had a glass doorknob. I opened it to see a beautiful white bath tub. I turned on the water and quickly filled the tub. I took off my underwear and bra before slipping into the tub. "Wow...this feels nice..." I said, before actually fully smiling for the first time in months. I proceeded to wash my hair intensely since it was greasy and dry. I rinsed it out then scrubbed the dirt off of my body. I felt rather disgusting since the water turned a light brown color from the dirt. I drained the water and refilled it with clean water. I sunk down into the water until my nose was just above the water. I stayed like that for a while until I felt my stomach growl. I got up out of the tub and dried myself off. I got changed and put on the dress and was happy that it fit perfectly, however it was quite short. "Well I guess I won't be bending down until we leave..." I muttered to myself. I looked at my boots and decided I didn't want shoes. I quickly tied my hair in a simple braid and left the room. I walked down the hall, looking at various statues. I then heard the dwarves yelling and loudly joking. I followed the noise and found them. I looked over a ways away and saw Gandalf, Thorin and Lord Elrond sitting at a separate table. "Violet, please. Come join us." Lord Elrond said standing. I nodded and quickly hopped to the table. A man pulled out a chair for me and I realized it was the same elf that was starring at me earlier. I sat down, next to Gandalf and across from Thorin. "You look lovely, was everything to your liking?" Lord Elrond asked me. "Y-yes everything was wonderful." I said with a small smile to be polite. "Good, now, Gandalf, may I see those swords you mentioned earlier?." He said turning to Gandalf. Gandalf nodded and I watched him and Thorin pull out their swords. Thorin handed him his first. "This is Orcrist, the Goblin Cleaver. A famous blade, forged by the High Elves of the West, my kin. May it serve you well." Lord Elrond said. "And this is Glamdring, the Foe-hammer, sword of the King of Gondolin. These swords were made for the goblin wars of the First Age..." He said looking at Gandalf's. I thought for a moment back to a sword I grabbed when we where in the Troll cave, I knew it was elvish but I didn't know what it was. I slightly raised my hand, "e-excuse me?" I said quietly. Thorin, Gandalf and Lord Elrond looked at me. "Yes?" Lord Elrond asked. "Can you look at a sword for me?" I asked sheepishly, nervously shifting in my seat. "Oh course," I nodded, "I'll be back." I said before quickly getting up and running back to my room. I pushed open the door and grabbed the sword still in it's case. I never drew it once, even to look. All I knew was I liked the handle, it had black iron on it with red engravings. I carried it back to the table and handed it gently to Lord Elrond. "Oh my..." He said. I instantly felt worried. "W-what?" I asked. He drew the sword, I was astonished as I saw a shiney silver blade with carvings to look like fire going up the blade. "This is Pyra." He said. "P-Pyra?" I asked. "The Dragon slayer. It's blade is I breakable and can cut through even the toughest dragon scales." Lord Elrond said. "It will not disappoint you Violet, I assure you." He said said handing it back to me. I couldn't help but smiled and nod. "Wow..." I whispered as I sat back down and looked at the sword. "When did you grab that?" Thorin asked. "Oh, I saw it leaning against the wall in the troll cave and I liked the Handel...so I grabbed it. Never looked at it." I said. Thorin nodded then looked at Lord Elrond. " How did you come by these?" Lord Elrond said. "We found them in a troll hoard on the Great East Road, shortly before we were ambushed by orcs." Gandalf said. Lord Elrond raised an eyebrow, "And what were you doing on the Great East Road?" He asked. None of us answered but Thorin looked perturbed.

Later on in the night, I ended up staying with Gandalf, Thorin and Lord Elrond, however Bilbo and Balin joined us. We all walked into what seemed like a cave with a stone table. Lord Elrond looked at Thorin, who frowned. "Our business is no concern of elves." He said. Gandalf huffed irritated, "For goodness sake, Thorin, show him the map." He said. Thorin stood as stubborn as ever, "It is the legacy of my people; it is mine to protect, as are its secrets." He said. Gandalf rolled his eyes, "Save me from the stubbornness of Dwarves. Your pride will be your downfall. You stand here in the presence of one of the few in Middle-earth who can read that map. Show it to Lord Elrond." Gandalf said. Thorin did nothing. "T-Thorin..." I said tugging his coat, "maybe you should show him...he's the only one who can read it..." I said. Thorin sighs and starts to hand him the map. Lord Elrond took it and opened it up. "Erebor. What is your interest in this map?" He asked looking at Thorin. However before he could speak Gandalf interrupted him, "It's mainly academic. As you know, this sort of artifact sometimes contains hidden text. You still read Ancient Dwarvish, do you not?" Gandalf asked. We watched as the moon hit the map, and words started appearing. "Moon runes. Of course. An easy thing to miss." Gandalf said. I stepped back and stood by Bilbo, "this is all very interesting." He said. I nodded agreeing. I listened back into what Lord Elrond was saying. "Well in this case, that is true; moon runes can only be read by the light of a moon of the same shape and season as the day on which they were written." He said. "Can you read them?" Thorin asked. "These runes were written on a Midsummer's Eve by the light of a crescent moon nearly two hundred years ago. It would seem you were meant to come to Rivendell. Fate is with you, Thorin Oakenshield; the same moon shines upon us tonight." Elrond said. "Stand by the gray stone when the thrush knocks, and the setting sun with the last light of Durin's Day will shine upon the keyhole." He finishes. "Durin's day?" Bilbo asked. "It is the start of the dwarves' new year, when the last moon of autumn and the first sun of winter appear in the sky together." Gandalf answered. "This is ill news. Summer is passing. Durin's Day will soon be upon us." Thorin said, with a grin look on his face. "We still have time." Balin said. "Time? Time for what?" Bilbo asked. "To find the entrance. We have to be standing at exactly the right spot at exactly the right time. Then, and only then, can the door be opened." Balin said. Lord Elrond looked to Thorin. "So this is your purpose? To enter the mountain?" Elrond asked. "Yes, what of it?" Thorin asked. "There are some who would not deem it wise." Elrond said. I watched Thorin snatch the map back, "who do you mean?" Gandalf asked. "You are not the only guardian to stand watch over Middle-earth." Lord Elrond says looked at Gandalf.

We went back out to garden and Gandalf left to speak with Lord Elrond. Bilbo went elsewhere and Balin went back to the company. Thorin looked at me, "well, at least we know a deadline." He said sitting down. I nodded and shuffled my feet, not sure what to do. I watched Thorin look down at my feet. "Violet," he said. "Y-yes?" I asked. "Are you full hobbit?" He asked. "No...I'm not. I'm not a hobbit at all actually." I said. He looked at me surprised. "What are you?" He asked. "My mother was an elf..." I said quietly. Thorin sighed and nodded, "well that explains the feet." He said with a smile. I nodded, feeling a blush go across my face. "You know, you are quite beautiful." Thorin said. My eyes widened and I looked at him, "r-really?" I asked. Thorin nodded and stood before walking close to me. I felt his hand cup my cheek. "Quite astonishing." He said in his low baritone voice. I panicked and backed up, quickly tucking some hair behind my ear. "T-thank you..." I said quietly, not daring to look at him. "I'm sorry if I did something wrong..." He said. I shook my head, "n-no, you didn't it's me...I'm...I'm going to bed. Goodnight!" I said before running off towards my room.