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Mending the Broken Pieces	By : LadyLaran Category: Lord of the Rings Movies > Het - Male/Female Views: 13506 -:- 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 - I’m glad I wasn’t hunted down for the cliffhanger I left last week. I felt for sure I’d be in huge trouble for it, but it seemed the chapter was enough to merit forgiveness. I hope this chapter will be worth your wait!

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

Chapter Thirty-eight – Dragon Tale

When Hawthorn returned to consciousness, she found herself in a dimly lit room that was fairly quiet and carried the faint scent of having been recently aired out. She must have made a sound because within a moment of waking, she recognized all of the faces belonging to her company standing around her. None of them spoke, allowing Thorin a chance to question her softly.

“Ukradel, how are you feeling?”

“The dragon,” the hobbit gasped, trying to sit up but was gently pushed back onto the bedroll she was laying on.

“Calm yourself,” Oin said quietly, gesturing for everyone to sit down and not crowd her so much. “The dragon has been handled and is no longer a threat to anyone. Answer the question Thorin asked, child. How do you feel?”

“My head hurts,” she admitted truthfully. “My back aches too.”

“You didn’t break anything, but it was a near miss. Your encounter with the damned worm didn’t do you any favors. Your sprained your wrist somehow, have a concussion, and you’ll be bruised from shoulder to hip for a while,” he reported.

“He hit me with one of his front paws and forced my staff away from me,” the lass said softly. “My wrist started throbbing almost right after it happened.”

“That would be how you sprained it then; we weren’t sure how you had done it since you hit the wall with your back,” Oin commented, helping her drink some water and gave her a few sips of the pain relief mixture he had created after the confrontation with the dragon.

Thorin angled himself so that she could rest her head in his lap in comfort while he began to speak of what had happened, knowing she wanted to know.

“After Karc came through, speaking to us of Smaug’s survival and the weakness you two had found, I monitored our bond in case you might need our aid. I realized something was wrong when you went from being nervous and somewhat afraid to absolutely terrified.

“We hurried down the hallway to find Smaug pinning you against the pillar; I didn’t even have to give the order, Kili had already let the arrow fly.”

“He hit him in the eye,” Hawthorn said softly, recalling that moment. “It made him back up enough where I could draw my sword and try to hurt the other one.”

“You didn’t try, lassie, you succeeded. That little stinger of yours went right into that other eye, and you kept a solid hold on that little letter opener. You still had it in your hand when you went flying,” Dwalin said. “Scared us half to death when you did it too.”

“I thought my heart would stop,” Thorin admitted, gently running fingers through her hair. “Oin went directly to you so he could get you to a safe spot while the rest of us went after the worm. Despite not being able to see, the vile thing still was able to smell us coming but I think our fewer numbers worked to our advantage. He had a difficult time trying to track us as well as he would have if he could have seen us.

“Kili found a vantage point and kept trying to aim for the spot Karc told us about, but his arrows weren’t long enough to hit Smaug in the heart. All of us were trying to get him to rear up enough so Kili could target it, but Fili and Ori eventually found the solution to the problem.”

“What happened?”

“I got knocked down a hill of gold by the tail, took Ori with me at the same time,” Fili admitted. “It caused a small avalanche, which uncovered a rather long pike.”

“I’m not familiar with what that is,” the hobbit admitted.

“It’s a very long spear with a sharp blade at the end,” the blond prince told her. “It’s used against cavalry units during battles to get them off of their horses and onto the ground to even out the odds. It’s not something our armies used back then so it was probably meant as a commission for a human army.

“Anyway, Ori and I picked it up and had to climb our way back up the hill. Mahal was watching over us because Uncle Thorin and Dwalin had the beast in the perfect angle so he couldn’t scent our approach. We moved under him, and both of us thrust that pike into the vulnerable spot. I couldn’t have done it alone; Ori’s strength was what was needed to end the worm’s life.”

Hawthorn could see the blush on the scribe’s face and pride on his brothers’ faces, and she smiled.

“Two dragon-slayers in our company,” she said quietly. “We’ll have to write odes and songs for you both. Was anyone hurt?”

“Nori has a few broken ribs,” Thorin answered. “Bofur two broken fingers, and the rest of us are bruised but nothing life threatening, thank Mahal.”

The hobbit was quiet for a moment, then smiled as she reached up to rest the palm of her hand against her betrothed’s jaw.

“You did it, fy brenin. Erebor is yours once again, and your people will have a safe place to call home,” she murmured. “Now comes the difficult part.”

Thorin’s eyes shone brightly as he rested a hand over hers, holding it in place. He could sense the joy she was feeling, and it just made his own happiness at being here that much richer.

“What difficult part is that,” Kili asked.

“Rebuilding,” the king answered. “There is much to do in the coming days, and we are few in number. Ori, see if you can find some writing materials. I need to send a message to Dain for supplies and aid until our people come from the Blue Mountains. I also need to inform Dis of our victory and tell her to proceed with the plans to bring our people home.”

“Will he come without the Arkenstone,” Gloin asked, not too pleased with their absent cousin since Dain should have been here with them for all of this.

“With the dragon gone, I imagine he will not find it too much of a hardship to answer my call now. As far as the stone is concerned, we’ll find it when we can.”

“I caught a glimpse of it, but I didn’t have time to go after it because Smaug stayed so focused on me,” Hawthorn murmured. “Thorin, that room is too full of mathoms. How much of that is due to your grandfather’s illness?”

“I am not certain, but I believe most of it is due to his greed,” the king answered grimly. “I imagine the rest of it must be from Dale so we’ll have to check everything for maker’s marks. Knowing Grandfather, everything he put into the treasury was documented so we’ll need to find the ledgers and compare what’s in there against the mess in the treasure hall. I want what isn’t ours to go to their rightful owners; Dale will need its wealth returned when the time is right.”

“Something needs to be done about how much is sitting in there,” the hobbit murmured as the company talked amongst themselves for several moments. “That gold will draw another dragon to us if we’re not careful.”

“That is my greatest fear and concern right now,” Thorin admitted. “There is so much to be done to rebuild, and it will take a long time to get the treasure sorted and handled as well as breaking down the worm’s corpse before it desecrates my mountain further with its stink.”

“Mithrandir might have ideas for us on the treasure issue,” she suggested. “If his task went well, hopefully he’ll be here soon and you can talk to him about your worries. I know dragons have some form of magic, and the idea of Smaug leaving a taint here is frightening.”

“I want to find weapons and armor to ensure everyone here has what they need in case of problems, and then I’m going to lock the treasury down until Gandalf arrives,” he answered. “Oin, Balin, and I were speaking of similar worries earlier.”

“When you write your sister, remind her to stop by the Shire. I don’t know if my letter to uncle helped to open negotiations, but I know there’s extra seed stock and other items that will go a long way to helping Erebor and Dale during planting times,” she suggested.

“I shall do so,” he assured her as Ori returned. “Rest now, ukradel, and heal. There’s a great deal I want to show you when you are better.”

Hawthorn smiled, drifting off to sleep once her dwarf had given her a kiss. For the most part, her dreams were happy ones but there was always someone close by to soothe her in case shadows tried to haunt her rest.

The next day, the hobbit woke feeling a bit better mentally though her body was screaming at her in pain. She had a feeling that movement would be difficult until the bruises on her back healed, but she was resolved to do whatever she could to help get the company settled and things ready for rebuilding.

“Good morning, Miss Hawthorn,” Bombur greeted from the cooking fire that had been set up in the hearth.

“Good morning, Bombur,” she called back, struggling to sit up. “How long did I sleep?”

“You slept through the day yesterday after the discussion,” the heavy dwarf replied, going to help her sit up on her bedroll and allowing her to lean against the wall to brace herself. “Oin woke you occasionally to make sure you were all right.”

“Strange, I don’t remember him doing that,” the hobbit admitted, accepting a bowl of porridge.

“He said you might not; you were sleeping rather heavily but responded to the questions he asked so he didn’t seem too concerned.”

“Where is everyone,” she asked, realizing it was just her and Bombur in the room.

“Thorin, Balin, and Ori went up to the area where the ravens roost,” he answered, stacking supplies neatly. “They want to make sure it’s safe for the returning birds and see if any messages were sent. The lads and Dori have gone to see if any bedding has survived since we’re going to bunk here until the living quarters are cleaned and repaired. Bofur, Oin, and Bifur are on a scavenging hunt for anything we can use here. Nori, Gloin, and Dwalin are searching for anything useful in the treasury since Thorin wants us to have armor and weapons on hand for emergencies.”

“I hope they find my staff,” she commented after swallowing a bite of the breakfast she’d been given.

“Dwalin said something about looking for it when he and Nori left earlier,” Bombur shared, turning his head when they heard voices in the hallway.

A few moments later, Thorin, Ori, and Balin entered the room and smiled when they saw Hawthorn was awake.

“Good morning, Miss Hawthorn,” the scribe called out.

“Good morning, Ori,” she replied, finishing her breakfast. “I was told everyone is busy today. How did you task go?”

“It went well; the roost is still secure and in good repair,” Thorin answered, slipping out of his coat and laying it on his pack. “There was a message from Dain this morning; he will be on his way soon with troops and supplies.”

“That’s good news,” she said with a smile, handing the empty bowl to Bombur. “Extra hands to help around here will be useful with everything that needs to be done, but I have to ask is it wise to allow them in after Dain refused to help Thorin reclaim the kingdom?”

“Agreed,” Balin replied, sitting down. “There’s a lot to be done; that’s for certain and having Dain’s people here will help get things moving properly. In regards to the concern you raised, it will be fine having him and his people here. I can understand why he didn’t want to put his people at risk against a dragon, and Thorin understands too even if he had been angry about our cousin’s decision.”

“That’s good to know; I didn’t want to see any more problems develop because of these otusiders. Will some of them want to stay once the help is no longer needed,” she asked.

“It’s possible,” Thorin answered, sitting down beside her. “After the worm’s attack, the Iron Hills took as many of our people as they could without straining their resources – mainly our elderly and a few of the nobles who did not want to spend time in exile in the wild. The rest went with us as we wandered. I hated that we had to split up like that, but the decision was not mine to make and our own resources were precariously low.

“I don’t mind the return of the ones who had no alternative but to take advantage of Dain’s welcome, but the nobles are ones I would much rather not return to Erebor as I have no doubt they will want to continue to maintain their positions and status.”

“I can understand not wanting them around because they weren’t there to help you support your people during Durin’s Folk’s exile from Erebor,” she commented. “Are there other reasons to not wanting them here?”

Thorin’s jaw worked for a moment as he struggled to pull his thoughts together, and Balin answered the question since this was something he had discussed with Thorin and Dis.

“They very much prefer to keep to the way Thror ran things when he ruled here; they were able to become very wealthy and cared nothing for the people they were supposed to help lead. Thorin has plans that would be against what they would want.”

“Indeed, which is why I plan on appointing my advisers and council before any of the old gray-beards can think of returning,” the king said. “They will not come with Dain since it means they would have to work, but I expect them to return around the time my sister arrives or slightly after.”

“How much trouble can they cause?”

“While most of the nobles would be pleased I found my One, these particular gray-beards would do all they could to hinder our marriage,” Thorin told her. “Despite the fact that Mahal created Ones, they would argue that there would be no way a hobbit could be mine.”

“Rather ignorant,” she commented. “Yavanna is Mahal’s wife, and She is the Mother of my people so saying I can’t be your One is saying they don’t accept the Green Lady as the wife of your creator.”

Thorin smiled at that, heartened by her reminder that they honored their creators by their own pairing.

“You are correct, ukradel,” he said gently. “I will remind them of this should they make their way to Erebor and seek to cause turmoil over our bond.”

“A bond I can never regret having; you saved my life yesterday. I couldn’t move, and he could’ve killed me at any moment,” she whispered, looking frightened.

The dwarf arranged himself to sit beside her, wrapping an arm gently around her shoulders, and tugged her to lean against him. He pressed soft kisses to her hair, letting calmness and reassurance pass down the bond to her. It was still a learning process, but he had recently figured out how to ease her fears by using the link that was growing between them.

“I would never let anything happen to you,” Thorin promised quietly. “You were so incredibly brave, Hawthorn, and I am proud of you. Thank you for going in there to find his weakness and finishing the task Kili started.”

“Thank you for coming to my rescue,” she said, looking up at him.

“Always,” he promised again, kissing her softly before resting his forehead against hers.

The growing bond between them thrummed with joy and contentment as the couple simply enjoyed the chance to be together. They were quiet, uninterrupted by the returning dwarrow, and were content to simply stay close together for the moment.

Author’s End Note – I hope this was an update all of you enjoyed! Thank you for reading; please let me know what you thought of the story! ~ Laran
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Mending the Broken Pieces