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Fic: Musings on the Nature of Stories, Part IV
This one is a bit shorter, but not as short as the first chapters!
Disclaimer: Tolkien. Peter Jackson. Need I say more? There are quite a few lines from TH: AUJ in here, which of course belong to Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro.
Fili is not quite as horrified as Ori is about the green stuff. Dis is a strict mother and even though dwarves may survive off of meat and roots more often than not, that doesn’t mean she didn’t keep her own garden and grow the occasional vegetable. The leafy stuff tastes a bit weird though.
The elves have been more than accommodating, besides the food. As soon as Thorin accepted the invitation to dinner, much to Gandalf’s obvious relief and Lord Elrond’s equally obvious amusement, two dark haired elves showed the company to an area of the house where they could rest and saw to it that pillows and blankets were provided for them. Which was all very fine since none of them had any thought to sleeping in an elvish bed, whatever that entailed.
The dwarves were politely told that dinner would be in an hour and someone would be along to show them the dining room. Thorin himself received a more formal invitation to dine with the Lord Elrond and Gandalf, which Fili thought was right and proper and which Dwalin groused about for the next hour, until they were shown to the dining room and realised that it was right beside where Thorin would be. Fully in site of the rest of the company and unlikely to be carried off by elves.
It was still a very strange place. There were aspects of Rivendell that seemed almost dwarven in design and certainly the rock carving was impeccable. Unfortunately, when Fili and Kili attempted to sneak off to explore a bit, Balin gave them a glare that would have rivaled anything their uncle could manage and told them not to wander off. It was a bit unfair. Did Balin really think these elves would kidnap them or some such? Fili didn’t think they were the type, but the stories he had heard as a young dwarf said otherwise. He’d never really put much stock in those though.
Though the food was acceptable, if lacking in the animal variety of sustenance, the music was intolerable.
‘Sounds like birds dying,’ Kili muttered in his brother’s ear, half-way through dinner. Fili snorted so loudly the musicians stopped playing and Balin glared at them again from his place beside Bilbo.
The Hobbit, Fili noted, still seemed to be in awe of everything. And he was very aware that Mr. Bilbo Baggins had in fact wandered off on his own earlier, without a single look from Balin in protest. Fili thought that was a bit unfair. Why, the Hobbit was the most vulnerable of the group and there he was wandering around the elvish city all on this own!
‘We should sneak out later,’ he turned to whisper in Kili’s ear once the music resumed.
Kili was concentrating on picking apart the tart on his plate. ‘With eleven watchful pairs of eyes?’
‘Ori doesn’t count,’ Fili put in.
Kili gave his brother a hard look. ‘Dwalin counts for ten.’
‘Good point. But don’t you want to see this place?’
‘Yes,’ Kili agreed. ‘Right, we wait until the others bed down. Maybe Dwalin won’t take first watch.’
‘Sounds like a plan,’ his fair haired brother agreed.
Dinner seemed to be nearing the end and the musicians finally stopped their playing and retired somewhere else in the house.
Suddenly Thorin, Gandalf and the elven lord rose from their seats. ‘Balin,’ Thorin’s voice rang out over the quiet. Balin drew himself out of his chair with a sigh. ‘See to the others,’ Thorin said to Dwalin.
Gandalf, Balin and Thorin were lead from the dining room by Elrond. No one noticed Bilbo trailing along after them except Fili and Kili. They would have followed too, at least at a secretive distance, except Dwalin chose that moment to be his tall intimidating self and slung an arm around their shoulders, physically steering them down the hall towards the rooms the dwarves had been given.
‘So much for that,’ Kili muttered under his breath. Fili sighed.
‘Is all right with you boys?’ Dwalin’s voice thundered above them. He released them only after he was certain they weren’t about to scamper off after their uncle.
‘Course!’ Fili said, a little too forcefully.
‘Certainly! Kili echoed, equally as strong.
Dwalin raised an eyebrow and stopped so suddenly in the middle of the hallway that the younger dwarves practically ran into him. The rest of the company was already several dozen steps ahead.
‘You wouldn’t be thinking of sneaking off tonight for explore, now would you?’ the warrior asked.
‘Us?’ Fili said, looking more innocent than a toddling babe.
‘Never,’ Kili promised.
Dwalin humph-ed, clearly disbelieving. ‘You be staying close tonight, the both of you. And don’t think I won’t say the same thing to young Ori. These are elves, lads. They aren’t to be trusted and you should know that better than most. Thorin will tan your hides if he catches you sneaking off. And if you’re thinking of trying that out later, I’d advise against it.’
Fili couldn’t quite stop himself. ‘Why’s that?’
Dwalin glared. ‘You don’t think your uncle’s like to sleep tonight, do you? We’ll be gone by morning, quick as can be; soon as he gets the answers he needs from that elven lord.’ Apparently believing this would be incentive enough to remain out of trouble, Dwalin left them standing forlornly in the hall as he headed off to join the others.
‘So much for a rest,’ Kili muttered.
‘There’s always the wood elves,’ Fili reminded his brother. ‘They’re the ones we really want to meet, right?’
‘We’ll be staying clear of their lands, if uncle has his way.’
‘Fastest way to the Mountain is through the Greenwood. Those are wood elf lands. They won’t like us trespassing, not if what Thorin’s stories say is true.’
Kili began to trudge down the hall towards the sound of dwarven laughter. ‘Why wouldn’t they be?’
Fili followed, but he leaned in close and dropped his voice. ‘You don’t ever wonder about all those tales we were told as dwarflings?’
‘About?’ his brother prompted, also dropping his voice. He slowed his feet too so it would take longer to reach the company.
‘All of it.’
‘You think perhaps the elders are lying about the dragon?’ Kili asked, incredulous.
‘Idiot,’ Fili hissed; no cruelty in his voice. ‘No, of course not. But there are two sides to every story. You ever wonder what the other side is?’
The dark haired brother shrugged. ‘Well, seems the ones about orcs and wargs was true enough.’
In the flickering light of the hallway lanterns, Fili’s fair face darkened. ‘Don’t remind me. Thorin may be awake tonight in fear of the elves, but I won’t sleep with the images of warg riders and hideous monsters in my head. I’ll be glad if we don’t see any more of them before this quest is through.’
‘Here’s hoping,’ his brother echoed.
‘You lads going to stand out there all night?’ Bofur’s voice boomed down the hall.
‘We’re coming,’ they echoed together and hurried down to the end of the hall to the room set aside for them. Bofur already had a fire going, with what looked like carved wood from a piece of furniture and was roasting a sausage over the open flame.
‘Meat!’ Kili cried and made a grab for it.
Bofur pulled it away. ‘It’s not done yet. And you’ll be waiting your turn. This one’s for Bombur. He’ll waste away if he’s not fed soon.’
‘Doubtful,’ Fili muttered.
Kili snorted and then the others were chortling with laughter too.
Which is how Thorin found them when he returned with Balin an hour later. ‘Well?’ Dwalin asked.
Thorin’s eyes were dark and haunted and even Balin looked uneasy. ‘We leave before dawn. Best get what sleep you can now. Dwalin, you and I will take the watch.’ Dwalin nodded in agreement.
‘We’re leaving already?’ Ori asked.
‘Indeed, young dwarf. We have many leagues to go and not much time to get there. Now get some rest,’ Balin told the others.
Fili slide himself closer to his brother. ‘Not much time to get there? What do you think he means by that?’
In the firelight, Kili shrugged. ‘They won’t tell us for asking. But if we’re leaving in a few hours, I’m getting some shut eye while I can. We can worry about all that tomorrow when we’re walking again.’
***
To Be Continued
Disclaimer: Tolkien. Peter Jackson. Need I say more? There are quite a few lines from TH: AUJ in here, which of course belong to Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro.
Fili is not quite as horrified as Ori is about the green stuff. Dis is a strict mother and even though dwarves may survive off of meat and roots more often than not, that doesn’t mean she didn’t keep her own garden and grow the occasional vegetable. The leafy stuff tastes a bit weird though.
The elves have been more than accommodating, besides the food. As soon as Thorin accepted the invitation to dinner, much to Gandalf’s obvious relief and Lord Elrond’s equally obvious amusement, two dark haired elves showed the company to an area of the house where they could rest and saw to it that pillows and blankets were provided for them. Which was all very fine since none of them had any thought to sleeping in an elvish bed, whatever that entailed.
The dwarves were politely told that dinner would be in an hour and someone would be along to show them the dining room. Thorin himself received a more formal invitation to dine with the Lord Elrond and Gandalf, which Fili thought was right and proper and which Dwalin groused about for the next hour, until they were shown to the dining room and realised that it was right beside where Thorin would be. Fully in site of the rest of the company and unlikely to be carried off by elves.
It was still a very strange place. There were aspects of Rivendell that seemed almost dwarven in design and certainly the rock carving was impeccable. Unfortunately, when Fili and Kili attempted to sneak off to explore a bit, Balin gave them a glare that would have rivaled anything their uncle could manage and told them not to wander off. It was a bit unfair. Did Balin really think these elves would kidnap them or some such? Fili didn’t think they were the type, but the stories he had heard as a young dwarf said otherwise. He’d never really put much stock in those though.
Though the food was acceptable, if lacking in the animal variety of sustenance, the music was intolerable.
‘Sounds like birds dying,’ Kili muttered in his brother’s ear, half-way through dinner. Fili snorted so loudly the musicians stopped playing and Balin glared at them again from his place beside Bilbo.
The Hobbit, Fili noted, still seemed to be in awe of everything. And he was very aware that Mr. Bilbo Baggins had in fact wandered off on his own earlier, without a single look from Balin in protest. Fili thought that was a bit unfair. Why, the Hobbit was the most vulnerable of the group and there he was wandering around the elvish city all on this own!
‘We should sneak out later,’ he turned to whisper in Kili’s ear once the music resumed.
Kili was concentrating on picking apart the tart on his plate. ‘With eleven watchful pairs of eyes?’
‘Ori doesn’t count,’ Fili put in.
Kili gave his brother a hard look. ‘Dwalin counts for ten.’
‘Good point. But don’t you want to see this place?’
‘Yes,’ Kili agreed. ‘Right, we wait until the others bed down. Maybe Dwalin won’t take first watch.’
‘Sounds like a plan,’ his fair haired brother agreed.
Dinner seemed to be nearing the end and the musicians finally stopped their playing and retired somewhere else in the house.
Suddenly Thorin, Gandalf and the elven lord rose from their seats. ‘Balin,’ Thorin’s voice rang out over the quiet. Balin drew himself out of his chair with a sigh. ‘See to the others,’ Thorin said to Dwalin.
Gandalf, Balin and Thorin were lead from the dining room by Elrond. No one noticed Bilbo trailing along after them except Fili and Kili. They would have followed too, at least at a secretive distance, except Dwalin chose that moment to be his tall intimidating self and slung an arm around their shoulders, physically steering them down the hall towards the rooms the dwarves had been given.
‘So much for that,’ Kili muttered under his breath. Fili sighed.
‘Is all right with you boys?’ Dwalin’s voice thundered above them. He released them only after he was certain they weren’t about to scamper off after their uncle.
‘Course!’ Fili said, a little too forcefully.
‘Certainly! Kili echoed, equally as strong.
Dwalin raised an eyebrow and stopped so suddenly in the middle of the hallway that the younger dwarves practically ran into him. The rest of the company was already several dozen steps ahead.
‘You wouldn’t be thinking of sneaking off tonight for explore, now would you?’ the warrior asked.
‘Us?’ Fili said, looking more innocent than a toddling babe.
‘Never,’ Kili promised.
Dwalin humph-ed, clearly disbelieving. ‘You be staying close tonight, the both of you. And don’t think I won’t say the same thing to young Ori. These are elves, lads. They aren’t to be trusted and you should know that better than most. Thorin will tan your hides if he catches you sneaking off. And if you’re thinking of trying that out later, I’d advise against it.’
Fili couldn’t quite stop himself. ‘Why’s that?’
Dwalin glared. ‘You don’t think your uncle’s like to sleep tonight, do you? We’ll be gone by morning, quick as can be; soon as he gets the answers he needs from that elven lord.’ Apparently believing this would be incentive enough to remain out of trouble, Dwalin left them standing forlornly in the hall as he headed off to join the others.
‘So much for a rest,’ Kili muttered.
‘There’s always the wood elves,’ Fili reminded his brother. ‘They’re the ones we really want to meet, right?’
‘We’ll be staying clear of their lands, if uncle has his way.’
‘Fastest way to the Mountain is through the Greenwood. Those are wood elf lands. They won’t like us trespassing, not if what Thorin’s stories say is true.’
Kili began to trudge down the hall towards the sound of dwarven laughter. ‘Why wouldn’t they be?’
Fili followed, but he leaned in close and dropped his voice. ‘You don’t ever wonder about all those tales we were told as dwarflings?’
‘About?’ his brother prompted, also dropping his voice. He slowed his feet too so it would take longer to reach the company.
‘All of it.’
‘You think perhaps the elders are lying about the dragon?’ Kili asked, incredulous.
‘Idiot,’ Fili hissed; no cruelty in his voice. ‘No, of course not. But there are two sides to every story. You ever wonder what the other side is?’
The dark haired brother shrugged. ‘Well, seems the ones about orcs and wargs was true enough.’
In the flickering light of the hallway lanterns, Fili’s fair face darkened. ‘Don’t remind me. Thorin may be awake tonight in fear of the elves, but I won’t sleep with the images of warg riders and hideous monsters in my head. I’ll be glad if we don’t see any more of them before this quest is through.’
‘Here’s hoping,’ his brother echoed.
‘You lads going to stand out there all night?’ Bofur’s voice boomed down the hall.
‘We’re coming,’ they echoed together and hurried down to the end of the hall to the room set aside for them. Bofur already had a fire going, with what looked like carved wood from a piece of furniture and was roasting a sausage over the open flame.
‘Meat!’ Kili cried and made a grab for it.
Bofur pulled it away. ‘It’s not done yet. And you’ll be waiting your turn. This one’s for Bombur. He’ll waste away if he’s not fed soon.’
‘Doubtful,’ Fili muttered.
Kili snorted and then the others were chortling with laughter too.
Which is how Thorin found them when he returned with Balin an hour later. ‘Well?’ Dwalin asked.
Thorin’s eyes were dark and haunted and even Balin looked uneasy. ‘We leave before dawn. Best get what sleep you can now. Dwalin, you and I will take the watch.’ Dwalin nodded in agreement.
‘We’re leaving already?’ Ori asked.
‘Indeed, young dwarf. We have many leagues to go and not much time to get there. Now get some rest,’ Balin told the others.
Fili slide himself closer to his brother. ‘Not much time to get there? What do you think he means by that?’
In the firelight, Kili shrugged. ‘They won’t tell us for asking. But if we’re leaving in a few hours, I’m getting some shut eye while I can. We can worry about all that tomorrow when we’re walking again.’
***
To Be Continued