World's apart (Thorin Oakenshield fanfic)

Chapter 20. Close, yet so far away

'Master Baggins! What are you doing?' I asked. Bilbo was wandering off the path and I couldn't have that. 'We shouldn't follow this, we should leave the path behind and find our own way!' the hobbit shouted. Everyone started mumbling. I had a bad feeling about this forest. There was something in here that clouded my mind, even though we had only been here for a few hours. I heard voices everywhere and I saw things that I knew weren't there. 'Why do you think we should leave the path?' I asked, my eyes crossing as I tried to find out which of the two hobbits in front of me was the right one. 'It said so on a stone! We should listen to it' Bilbo said and it echoed through my mind. 'We don't know who wrote that down lad' Balin answered before I could say anything.

It hold on to a tree near the path and lowered myself on a rock. 'What's happening?' I growled when my heart started spinning violently. Balin was right, we didn't know who had written it down but leaving the path couldn't be worse then staying on it. 'Follow the hobbit!' I declared. Everyone got up from the ground and followed the hobbit into the forest. 'Where are we going?' 'I don't know. I can't see the sun.' Someone snorted. 'The sun? Who cares about the sun? We need food!' someone shouted. There were so many trees. They popped up all around me. When I thought I was following closely behind Bilbo he suddenly appeared a few feet away from me. 'What is wrong with this forest?' I asked but got no response. I could see my Company walking in different directions.

Not one of them followed another. We were all splitting up. 'Stay together!' I tried to shout but it sounded more like a whisper to my own ears. Bilbo frowned and stopped in front of me. I didn't realize and bumped into him. He looked up at me with glassy eyes. We had made the wrong decision. 'Bilbo, what did the message say exactly?' I asked. Bilbo started chuckling. 'You know you look silly when you are trying to sound serious? You should see your face right now.' Before I knew it I was laughing along with him. I couldn't help it and I didn't know what was wrong with me. Bilbo tried to catch his breath. The Company had gathered around us and was laughing along. 'Y-you know... You know what?' Bilbo mastered to say. I wiped a tear away from my eye. 'What is it burglar?' I asked.

'It said to leave the path and not to climb the trees... but I I I... I think we should climb them just to have more fun!' he blurted out. And without thinking I walked towards a big tree and started climbing it. 'What are you doing? Bad dwarf! Get your ass down here!' Bilbo tried to sound stern with me. 'Try to catch me master hobbit!' I shout back and continued upwards. I was close to the top and when I stuck my head up above the leaves the wind hit me in the face. The sun was almost down and I could see the Lonely Mountain from here. My mind wasn't as clouded anymore and this was the first time I felt how tired and hungry I really was. I took a deep breath of fresh air and I felt like myself again. I could feel something pulling on my leg and I pulled the hobbit up by his collar.

As soon as he breathed the fresh air in as well his eyes weren't glassy anymore and he frowned. 'I think the person who left the message tried to trick us' he stated. I nodded in agreement. Apparently my whole Company had followed our lead because soon they were all up here with us. 'What else did that message say lad?' Balin asked, a concerned look on his face. 'Apart from leaving the path and not climbing the trees... Let's see... Oh, I remember. That we should kill the white stag.' 'Then we shall leave the stag in peace when we see it. We better not take any risks from now on.' The Company mumbled their agreement. I turned my head and saw something moving down, into the forest. It looked like an eagle, but it had something on it's back.

I rested my hand on my chest. The pain was back. I hadn't felt it when we were down in the forest, but up here I could feel the pain once more. I could swear there had been something, or rather someone, on the eagle's back. And then I realized she hadn't left Middle-Earth. That could be the only explanation for the ache in my chest. When the woman had arrived here in our world there had been a bright, green light. This time, in Rivendell, it had only looked like a green cloud. That wizard was up to something, using my One for one of his plans. 'We keep moving!' I shouted and climbed back down.