tolkien

The water lapped at my boots as I reached down to help an elderly woman to shore. Her hand was icy cold and gripped my wrist in a strangle hold. She fell to her knees with a sob, trembling. "Everything is gone." A floating barrel bumped against my leg as I reached for the next person and the next. Smaug was dead. Not long after reaching the edge of the lake Tauriel, Legolas and I watched the dragon plummet from the sky shot down by Bard's black arrow. I'm the reason the elves weren't there before Smaug's attack. Did Bard's children die because Legolas and Tauriel weren't there to save them from the Orcs? What of Kili who needed Tauriel's elven healing magic to recover from his poisoned wound? These were just a few of the questions that circled around in my head as more and more people stumbled onto the shore. The sun broke over the eastern ridge, the bright rays striking against the surface of the water. Ducking my head, I squinted and searched the floating debris for anyone else in

“Lady Adelaide!” The quill in my hand slipped, drawing an ugly black line across the page. I scowled at the ruined text and puffed out my cheeks. Lord Aelfric didn’t appear to notice and strode into my room. “Lady Adelaide, your friends have escaped.” I rubbed a hand over my face, his words barely registering. “What?” Maybe getting up early to write wasn’t the best decision. I was exhausted from the party the night before. I turned to look at Aelfric. I plunked the quill on the desk and balled up the ruined page into a tight ball. “The dwarves have escaped.” The elf repeated firmly to gain my attention. His words struck like a hammer blow. Escaped. The Company left without me? Tears stung my eyes as I realized what it meant. I’d been abandoned. Why? “Care to elaborate, my lord?” “The dwarves were able to open their cells. No one knows how.” Aelfric shook his head. “They gained access to the underground tunnels, using the empty wine barrels as watercraft to flee. My king, is livid

I’d been locked in the guestroom for three days with only the occasional visit from Lord Aelfric to break up the monotony. He even brought me parchment and ink so I could write. His attentiveness made me slightly uneasy. Elves were typically aloof from humans so why did he go out of his way to visit me? Shaking my head, I banished the thought. It didn’t matter. I was more worried about the others locked in the dungeons. The elves wouldn’t mistreat the dwarves, but I didn’t like Thorin being locked away like an animal in a cage. Especially knowing he was angry with me for hiding the truth about my origins. He shouldn’t be angry. Claiming to be from another world isn’t something you spring on someone without really knowing them. How did I know he’d believe me? I paced around the sitting room, my footsteps muffled by the thick rug covering the stone floor. Where was Bilbo? The guard mentioned nothing about a Hobbit being captured with the rest of the Company. I pressed my index finger

A gloomy pall hung over Mirkwood, seeping beneath my skin causing me to shiver. Of course, that had less to do with the spooky atmosphere and more to do with the spiders I knew skittered somewhere in the forest. My eyes darted around the skeletal trees, noting the clawed hands of the limbs draped with spiderwebs and bearded moss. The moment I set foot on the elven road a dizziness washed over me, churning my stomach into a tornado of nausea. After a few minutes of trudging along I couldn’t take it anymore. Bracing against a tree root, I closed my eyes willing the disorientation to pass. When I opened them Bilbo and the dwarves were gone. I fought down a surge of panic. How could they have vanished so quickly? Hurriedly scanning my surroundings, I spotted them ahead just around the bend. I rushed to catch up, only to trip over a tree root and fall flat on my face. Wincing, I slowly lifted my head. Pain throbbed through my wrist. I really hated this place. Scrambling upright I cursed

Blue sky stretched overhead, a cloudless expanse that made me feel small and insignificant. Fall sunlight shone on a herd of black and white ponies and the sight of them galloping in the lush green field stole my breath away. I hovered beneath the shade of a large oak tree watching them. It made me miss my own pony Stardust who had vanished months ago in the chaos of the troll battle. I hope she wasn’t killed by an orc pack or a wild animal. The others were inside with Beorn trying to persuade him to offer the company supplies for the rest of their journey. Given his hatred of dwarves, I expected the shapeshifter to be a hard sell. Leaning back against the tree, I sighed. Not that I could discount Beorn’s feelings entirely. Gold fever caused an entire spectrum of chaos. Give me a library full of books over treasure any day. I inhaled a lungful of crisp air and rubbed my arms; the elven tunic barely combated the chilly air. I’d left my coat inside thinking I’d be alright without

There was nowhere to run from the pursuing orc pack. They were trapped on the edge of a cliff, night a dark cloak over the valley. Thorin scrambled up into the boughs of a dying red pine tree. His foot narrowly missed being chomped off by a Warg’s sharp teeth. Bark scraped Thorn’s palms as he clawed his way up to the highest point he could reach. He lay Adelaide carefully on the thickest point of the tree limb where she wouldn’t fall. The branch creaked beneath his additional weight but held. He rested his back against the trunk of the tree, trying to catch his breath. How had the orcs found them so quickly? The Goblin King’s message could not have reached the creatures so quickly. Thorin’s stomach plummeted in sharp realization. Not unless the orcs were somewhere nearby, and the Goblin King knew it. A clever trap had been laid for the Company. A pinecone dropped into his hands from above, burning with the wizard’s magic. He hurled the projectile with perfect aim, knocking an orc

The company tumbled through the air and landed in a pile on a rickety platform. Sharp pain shot through Thorin’s head as he lifted himself up to his knees, shoving Bombur’s leg off his shoulder. A swarm of goblins descended upon them almost immediately overwhelming him before he could draw a weapon. The cave had been a trap. It was a bitter revelation for Thorin as he was dragged to his feet. He looked around and spied Adelaide unconscious at the edge of the platform, blood trickling down her temple. Her left wrist was turned at an awkward angle. Thorin was prodded forward viciously by a group of goblins, preventing him from going to her. He had no idea whether she was dead or alive. Dwarves possessed a hearty constitution and the plunge into the mountain left him with a mass of bruises. Thorin’s entire body ached from the fall, but his concern was solely for Adelaide who appeared severely injured. The rocks they crashed into on the way down were hard enough to shatter the bones of

Mountain winds gusted through the camp sending sparks spiraling up from the campfire. I huddled deeper into my coat grateful for its warmth. After sunset, the temperature had dropped several degrees even though it was the height of summer. We were camped on a hilltop overlooking a distant mountain range to the north. Heavy storm clouds hovered on the horizon, the scent of rain a sharp tang in the air. A pot of soup bubbled steadily over the fire, the rich scent of vegetable broth and steaming meat causing my stomach to rumble. Prior to leaving Rivendell, the dwarves had raided the kitchens for supplies. Since there were no towns or villages on our path it turned out to be a wise move. Thorin stood off by himself, smoking his pipe. I yearned to go to him, but a sudden shyness held me back. Our relationship had changed drastically during our stay in Rivendell, and I wasn’t sure what it meant. The dwarf king no longer treated me like a burden however I knew he was less than thrilled to

Chapter 14 A beam of sunlight struck Thorin’s eyelids waking him. He blinked against the sudden brightness, and reached up to cover his face, or started to when he realized something solid rested on his shoulder. He turned his head, greeted by a mass of mahogany hair surrounded by a sweet face. His heart gave a jolt to see Adelaide curled snuggly against his side. He felt a surge of protectiveness for the scribe. She looked so small and fragile in the early morning light; her slender fingers sprawled over his heart. They were in a gazebo in the garden, stretched out on a bench covered with pillows. Thorin smiled and extended a hand to caress her cheek. Her skin was incredibly soft and smooth under his callused fingertips. Last evening, Adelaide had wanted a moment’s rest from dancing and ended up falling asleep instead. Hours of pacing through Lord Elrond’s home had finally caught up with Thorin too. He never intended to drift off beside her. He was surprised no one had woken them

Aeriel and I entered the great hall where it seemed all the elves in Rivendell had decided to gather. They clustered in orderly groups along the edge of the room, the center taken up by formal dining tables that spanned the length of the hall. Arched windows spanned both sides, open to the warm evening air. More elves gathered on the mezzanine murmuring quietly amongst themselves. I searched for the company, spotting Kili, Fili, and Oin standing near the front of the hall before a table on a raised dais. They were dressed in freshly pressed tunics, their hair braided neatly. Excusing myself from Aeriel I wove through the center aisle to reach them. “I see you boys dressed for the occasion.” Kili tore his attention away from a female elf threading through the crowd with a tray of wine and gawked. “By Mahal’s scraggly beard, the elf maids worked wonders on you.” He circled me, taking in the form fitting dress, and neatly arranged hair. “Uncle’s jaw will drop in astonishment when he