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Mending the Broken Pieces	By : LadyLaran Category: Lord of the Rings Movies > Het - Male/Female Views: 13613 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own "the Hobbit" nor do I make money from this story. Tolkien and Jackson are the ones who own the characters and world.

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Author’s Note – Now that we’re out of Rivendell, we’ll be moving forward in other areas as well as romance. By the way, I received a request from a reader needing help on a research paper she’s doing for class. She has put together a poll for people to take regarding fan fiction – why we read and write it. I took it last week, and it’s short so please take the few moments needed to take the poll. It’d really help a student out. The link is here, please remember to take the spaces out since certain websites don’t like links. The poll will be open for a month or longer before she has to take it down. Thank you, everyone, for helping her! http: //www.survio. com/survey/d/A0X3G7B3E3X8T2M7Q

Disclaimer – I do not own “the Hobbit” nor do I make money from this story.

Chapter Nineteen – The Misty Mountains

The group traveled through what remained of the night and a good portion of the next day. They were at the foot of the mountains when Thorin called a halt, ordering them to set up camp. Hawthorn pulled off her pack before going to find firewood so they could be warm and fed tonight. She stacked up a fair amount, bringing it back so Gloin could get a fire going, and then went to gather more.

Ori fell in step beside her, loading himself up with wood as well. She gave him a small smile, focusing on her task.

“I think we made good progress today,” the dwarf commented. “It doesn’t seem like it because we’re on foot, but I spotted our position on the map Balin had when he and Thorin decided to check on where we currently are. We went further than I expected.”

“That’s good news,” she answered. “Truth be told, I dread crossing the mountains. I’ve never had to climb anything larger than the hills we have in the Shire, and it’s making me nervous.”

“You need to let Thorin and Oin know,” Ori told her. “This way everyone knows to keep an eye on you in case something happens.”

“I don’t wish to be a burden,” Hawthorn informed him, only to be cut off by the other.

“Helping a novice during her first trek across the mountains isn’t a burden; it’s a matter of safety. We don’t want anything happening to you,” he pointed out. “Traveling across mountain terrain isn’t always easy so having someone watch for you is a blessing, even with my over-protective brothers doing the watching.”

“All right, I will speak to them in a little while, I promise,” she answered, knowing he had her safety at heart.

“Thank you,” he chirped to her, giving her a smile that made her feel better.

The pair returned to camp, spotting a few others bringing firewood too. Hawthorn set her load down, then went to speak to Oin about the issue she was about to face. He listened to her for a moment before nodding, calling Thorin over.

“Is everything all right,” he asked, looking at the pair before Oin gestured at Hawthorn to speak.

“I told Calon-Tad that I’ve never climbed anything larger than the hills in the Shire,” she began. “Truth is, I’m rather anxious about crossing the mountains because I’ve never done this before and also worried about how my hip and leg will hold up.”

“The herbal mixture you were given in Rivendell, does it have any side effects,” the dwarf lord asked.

“Nothing outside of alleviating the pain and relaxing the muscles there when they get too tight, which contributes to the pain she had from the healed breaks in the bones,” Oin answered, having discussed this with the elven healer when Elrond had first given the new remedy to the hobbit.

“If she takes it in the morning, it wouldn’t hinder her ability to safely move in the mountains?”

“It shouldn’t; she’s shown no signs of grogginess, dizziness, or impaired judgment when she’s taken it so she should be just fine,” the healer told him. “Elrond and I both kept an eye on that when she started taking it so we would know what side effects the new tonic. caused”

“Make sure to take it after breakfast,” Thorin suggested to her. “This way pain can be kept under control before it flares too badly and hinders your mobility. As far as your inexperience with mountain terrain, I would like you to stay between Gloin and Dwalin tomorrow. They can keep an eye on you in case the path we walk becomes too narrow or treacherous.

“We will not be rushing through this leg of our journey because mountain paths can be difficult even for the most experienced of travelers. If you find yourself having difficulty, Hawthorn, please let someone know so we can help you.”

“I will, Thorin, I promise,” she answered, feeling a little relieved when he smiled at her.

“Thank you,” he replied, escorting her to a small stone she could sit on with some comfort.

Like the others, he had realized that sitting on the ground made it difficult for her to rise so the company often tried to find a log or stone for her to sit on during the evening hours before it became time to sleep. Hawthorn had tried not to fuss over their actions and after the discussion about duty of care with Balin while in Imladris, she had finally accepted that they would try to see to her comfort as much as possible while on the journey.

“Thank you,” the hobbit said, watching as he went to fetch two plates from Bombur when the company’s cook called out their meal was ready.

Thorin returned a few moments later, handing her a plate of potatoes, sausage, and some vegetables she remembered the elves had insisted on them taking. She gave the dwarf a small smile, watching as he took a seat to her right, before starting to eat her meal.

The evening hours passed swiftly and pleasantly, and Hawthorn enjoyed it a great deal before resting. Her bedroll had been placed between her uncle and Calon-Tad, and she was grateful because the two dwarrow radiated heat. The wind was cold, and she knew it would only become more so as they began the climb through the mountains the next day. She took comfort in the presence of her heart family, sleeping fairly well before waking when Balin’s watch ended by calling for the group to rouse to start the day.

The journey resumed once breakfast was eaten and the camp was struck, and Hawthorn found herself walking with Dwalin in front of her and Gloin behind her. She felt a bit more relaxed but kept a sharp eye on where she put her feet as the path began to climb.

The company stayed on the path for several days, maintaining the order of the line throughout the day, but the journey became difficult when the weather changed. The temperature dropped, which was felt even more sharply when a storm broke. Wind and rain buffeted the group, and Hawthorn stayed as close as she dared to Dwalin and Gloin. Both steadied her when her feet slipped, ensuring she didn’t fall off of the path.

“Look out!”

The hobbit looked up, biting back a scream of terror when a large boulder came flying their direction. She pressed herself against the stone wall, ducking as much as she could, and the lass could feel two heavier forms pressing against her to try to protect her from the projectile.

“Take cover,” she heard Thorin bellow after Balin and Bofur both shouted something about this being a thunder battle.

Blue eyes widened, seeing the massive stone figures, and her voice barely drifted up to her two protectors through the din of the storm and fight.

“Storm-giants, blessed Yavanna watch over us please,” she pleaded, feeling terrified of what was going on around her.

“Come on, lass, we can’t stay here,” Dwalin said as he and Gloin nudged her to keep moving.

What followed seemed like something out of a nightmare as the stone beneath their feet came to life. She trusted her uncle and Dwalin, letting them help her out of danger, but she was utterly terrified as she made the jump to safety. Her heart ached when she heard Thorin scream out his nephew’s name, and the ache eased only when the missing dwarrow were soon revealed.

“Where’s Ori?”

Hawthorn’s heart jumped into her throat when someone called out they’d found him and realized he was clinging to the cliff, trying to find a foothold. It took a second to realize that there was no way to reach him by hand, and she poked Dwalin.

“Use this to pull him up,” the hobbit told him, handing her staff to the dwarf.

The bald male nodded, taking the staff and positioning himself properly to pull the scribe up. Dori stood behind him, bracing him when the end of the staff reached Ori so he could grab onto the wood and mithril weapon. Dwalin pulled the slight dwarf up with a roar, and Nori grabbed his brother once his feet hit the path and ensured he was pressed against the stone wall beside the path.

“Nice thinking,” Dwalin told Hawthorn, handing her the weapon back.

“Good job on getting him pulled up,” she answered, taking her staff with shaking hands. “This storm is getting worse.”

The warrior tilted his head, hearing a shout from ahead of the line and nodding.

“Someone’s found a cave,” he told the lass. “We’ll be able to get out of this soon. Stay close to Gloin and me.”

“I would be a fool not to,” she told him, making him chuckle. “Someone once said hobbit feet could handle nearly any terrain; it makes me wonder if they were with the hobbits during their wandering days because I doubt they’d say that if they knew how poorly my feet are handling wet stone right now.”

“We’ll never know,” Dwalin answered, keeping a sharp eye on the battle raging around them.

A short while later, once Dwalin and a few others had examined the cave to ensure it was empty, Hawthorn found herself within the shelter that had been found. She set her pack on the stone floor, shivering as she did so. Oin noticed the motion and winced, touching her cheek to find her skin was too cool for his liking.

“Check to see if you can find a dry change of clothes in your pack,” he told his daughter. “Change and then wrap yourself up in your blankets to warm up. I don’t want you catching ill.”

Hawthorn found dry clothing to change into and did so once the company turned so that she had privacy to slip into the dry garments and place her throwing knives and dagger back into their proper places on her person. Once done, Dori helped spread her soaked cloak and coat out as well as her clothing to help it dry overnight. After she sat down, putting her sword and staff beside her, Gloin surprised her by pulling her hairpins out and undoing every braid except her courtship one and began combing through the heavy hair to help it dry.

She tucked the pins into her heavier coat pocket that she had donned earlier, knowing she would use it and her blankets to sleep in given how cold she was right now. She relaxed as her uncle continued to comb out her hair, redoing her family and guild braid before braiding the rest of it in a heavy braid to keep it out of her eyes. Once he was done, Thorin settled beside her and redid her courtship braid since it was looking rather messy compared to the work Gloin had done on the rest of her hair.

Dori gave her some jerky and cram to nibble on, and she barely managed to finish that before she fell asleep. The hobbit didn’t wake as Gloin and Thorin positioned her carefully on her bedroll, tucking her blankets snugly around her before going to their own bedrolls to try to rest.

The comment about odd blue light woke her, and she reached for her sheathed blade as well as her staff when she realized both her sword and Thorin’s were glowing. The hobbit tried to climb to her feet and only had time to scream once when the floor opened up beneath them, dropping the company into darkness.

Author’s End Note - :Ducks the flying vegetables and miscellaneous items thrown at her: Yes, cliff hanger but the chapter lost its momentum when I tried to push it further into the mountain. I would rather have smaller chapters with solid quality than larger chapters that really drag and irritate the pacing of the tale. Anyway, please remember to check the link posted at the beginning of the chapter. Thank you for reading and please let me know what you think! See you next time! ~ Laran
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Mending the Broken Pieces