✧

𝔇𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 & 𝔖𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰

Naerien found herself thinking of Estel as she trekked on into the valleys of the mountains, limping behind Thorin and Mithrandir, who were leading the company. She was keeping up rather well, all things considered, and she had little trouble walking in step with Balin, who would every so often give her a look of mild concern. Whether it was concern over her well-being or grief over the fact that she may slow them down, the she-elf didn't quite know.

She could clearly remember the day the young Dúnedain boy crossed her path. He was no more than three years old — a mere infant for an elf — and he was all-but alone in the world of elves, the only other mortal being his mother, Gilraen. She could clearly remember the unadulterated grief on the Dúnedian woman's face — a grief that matched the elleth's own, and Naerien took pity on her and her son. They had both gone through tremendous hardship at the hands of the Darkness. Gilraen had just lost her husband Arathorn, Naerien had lost her brother Celebrenon. It was over this grief that they slowly bonded, growing to appreciate the solace that came to each other's silent company.

It had been far too many ages since the she-elf had seen any children, so it was only natural to take a sort of interest in the boy, who quickly grew to be well known amongst the elves of Rivendell. Estel, despite his name meaning "hope", had (and still) lacked any and all prospect of being a respectable and regal ward of the Lord of Rivendell. He was rebellious and reckless, brash and brazen, and only listened to a select few among the elves. Imladris had come to love their little son of men, however mischievous he had been. His behavior had most definitely not been helped by the Elrondion twins, Elrohir and Elladan, who, when not out slaying any orcs they came across, would teach the young boy all they knew, from pranks to swordplay.

"What is on your mind, my Lady?" An old yet impossibly strong voice asked from beside her. She blinked, finding Mithrandir walking in step directly to her right. "If I may pry," he then added after a brief silence.

Naerien offered him a small, minuscule smile. "Estel," she replied softly; the wizard chuckled.

"You are incredibly fond of the boy," he observed. The look on her face made him continue hastily, "which is no bad thing. I believe that the company of children is infinitely better than that of grown men."

"Or dwarves," she added with a soft chuckle, her eyes wandering up to Thorin Oakenshield, who, though inspired by the sight of Erebor, had awoken in a terrible mood that day, as if there was some foul taste in his mouth.

The Grey Pilgrim laughed softly in agreement. "Although I do not blame him. Not one month ago we started with the goodwill and provisions of Imladris. Now we have not but the tattered clothes on our backs."

"And our lives," she reminded, glancing at him, "It was only by miracles and your guidance that we have that much. And it just may be only by those things that we will get through Mirkwood." Something shifted in Mithrandir's eyes. In the shadow of his large-brimmed hat, Naerien could have sworn that it was guilt. "But you are not accompanying us through Mirkwood, are you? That is where you plan to leave us."

"I have not decided upon that quite yet," he admitted, keeping his voice down so the dwarves would not hear. "I always meant to see you all safe over the mountains, and with a large amount of luck, and a few miracles, I have done it. But there are many just as great — perhaps even greater concerns in this world other than Smaug. Some rather pressing business has just recently come to my attention—"

"So that is it, then?" Thorin's question was one of quiet disbelief, as if he could not comprehend the words coming out of the wizard's mouth. He had evidently heard the conversation, and so had Bilbo and the rest of the dwarves. Mithrandir pursed his lips in annoyance. "You get us over the mountains and then abandon us to finish this quest alone?"

"I am not going to disappear this very instant," Mithrandir argued sharply. "I can help you out of your present predicament, and I need a little help myself," he continued. His tone was more gentle now. "We have no food, no baggage, and you do not know where you are. And even if I did, I am confident in the Lady Naerien's knowledge of Middle-earth," he gave her another swift look through his bushy eyebrows. "I would not leave you to wander through Wilderland alone. Much has changed in the East since the dragon took Erebor."

After this, the company's mood seemed to worsen. Most of the dwarves took to grumbling and giving the wizard dirty looks when they thought he wasn't looking (of course the wizard was aware of them, however). Kili, Ori, and Bilbo looked utterly dispirited, while Thorin's scowl seemed deeper and longer than usual. He spoke no words and interacted with no one except for Balin or Dwalin when necessary. Mithrandir, meanwhile, seemed to be oblivious to these things (though Naerien knew this wasn't true) and continued on, leading them into the grassy plains of Rhovanion.

The river Anduin could be seen roughly a dozen miles behind them now, winding through the Wilderland like a tremendous serpent. Looking up only slightly, the company could see the looming, never-ending darkness that was Mirkwood. The thought that Mithrandir would not be there to aid them through the great wood was not a pleasant one. Naerien found herself wondering if they would be able to do it by themselves. She thought that even her knowledge, which she had a great deal of, would stand useless in the face of such a dark place.

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"That was incredibly foolish, you know."

"Excuse me?"

The she-elf turned to the leader of the company, having found him storming on several feet ahead of the rest of them. "Charging down the Pale Orc by yourself. Without the Lord of the Eagles to recuse us, you would have died."

"I should have expected an elf to call what I did foolish," was Thorin's reply.

Naerien scoffed. "Because it was. You knew you were severely outmatched by Azog and his orcs. Why on Arda would you march into certain death?"

"Because if I was going to die, it would be with a blade in my hand, not slipping off a fallen tree to my doom," he retorted, turning to her.

"No, you did it because you were angry and you wanted revenge," she countered. "Thorin, your company needs you. Without you on this quest, it is folly. You shouldn't have so recklessly endangered your life like that."

"And what would you know of it?" He questioned, his voice almost a snarl. She detected that he didn't like the way she was speaking to him and she understood his reasoning. To him, she was just another elf who sat around Rivendell reading books and playing the harp. Who was she to talk to confront him? But despite his naivety, his words spurred her heart's anger.

"I know far more than you," she hissed, glaring down at him.

"How could you know of the responsibilities of a leader?" He demanded. "How could you possibly know of the burning desire for revenge? Azog the Defiler murdered my grandfather, the king of my people, and caused my father to vanish into madness. I had the opportunity to avenge them, so I took it."

"Don't you dare speak to me of revenge, Thorin Thrain's son Oakenshield," she hissed, her anger having risen so suddenly within her that, had she acknowledged the feeling, it would have frightened her. "You have no idea what I have seen, what pain and torture I have gone through. If you wish to speak to me of revenge, wait until every last thing you ever loved is taken from your grasp, your family, your home, your people, and you are left alone in a world you don't belong in."

Thorin was stunned to silence as she stalked away, fists clenched and tears blurring her vision. Her heart was pounding with pent-up rage and sorrow and she had just exploded upon him — something she hadn't intended to do. But it was too late now. They did not speak to, nor did they even look at each other for a long while after that.

But the sun was setting for a second time since the company of Thorin had passed through the Misty Mountains. She had slipped under the vast mountain range, leaving the landscape in a dim eventide. They had found a small grove of birch trees to stop under and they were happy to no longer be out in the open. Gloin was setting a fire, sparks flying from his flint and steel as he struck them against each other. Fili and Kili, along with Ori, were lying side by side nearby, already asleep. The rest of the dwarves were huddled around the small fire, some lying down in an attempt at sleep and others talking in hushed voices. Bilbo and Naerien were sitting by each other's side, the half-ling slowly drifting off, while Mithrandir, meanwhile, was sitting outside of the circle, blue smoke rising steadily from his pipe as he stared pensively at the fire. What was on his mind was an utter mystery to all those who wondered.

The she-elf's eyes were trained on Thorin's shadowed form as he sat alone. While the others (save the wizard) were now in varying stages of unconsciousness, the dwarven prince was wide awake, the shadows cast by the dancing flames seeming to deepen the hardened look on his bearded face. Naerien wanted to approach him, though she wasn't quite sure what to say...and she was also too much of a coward to do so. She instead wondered what he was thinking about, if he was turning over the words from her outburst or if he had simply dismissed them.

In the darkness, their eyes met for a brief moment, his dark gaze illuminated only by the flickering fire. It may have been a trick of the shadows, but she thought she saw a look of understanding within his oak irises. But the she-elf, no matter how hardy, couldn't bear to hold his gaze, so she looked down and let out a soft huff.

A gentle pressure against her side caused her to look down, and she found that Bilbo had fallen into a deep sleep. He was lying against her, a peaceful look on his face as he either had a pleasant dream or no dream at all. The she-elf smiled gently down at the hobbit, who seemed quite content on curling up into her side. She rested her head against the tree she was leaning against, breathing deeply in the cool night air.

Slowly but surely weariness set into her bones. She drifted off, forgetting her troubles and her fears of what the future held for her, Thorin, and the company. The crackling of the fire, the song of the crickets, and Bombur's snoring all faded away as she slipped off.

She didn't notice the continued stare that Thorin had set on her, watching the she-elf and the hobbit rest peacefully for the night. He had, in fact, been considering her words, in every possible way she could have meant them. He didn't know who she was, that was certain, but she was much more than he had first believed. Thorin didn't know if he would be able to fight his pride enough to say it, but, deep down, he had a feeling that he and Naerien were not all that different.

But not he, nor the she-elf, nor even the wizard, fully, was aware of the danger and trouble to come, of the perils of Mirkwood, of the great Darkness rising from the fortress of Dol Guldor, or of the sleeping dragon, lying in wait atop his mountain of gold. They were unaware of the long, sinister shadows that were creeping forward from the darkest parts of Arda that were threatening to consume every civilization and blot out the light of the sun.

For Thorin and his company, those things were rather far away; and for that night they did not worry. They simply slept, leaving their troubles for the trying days ahead of them.

a/n: yay! The end of Act One!! This is really exciting for me y'all 😂 Is this kinda a filler? Yeah, kinda. Is it still important? Yeah, I'd say so. Less journeying and more emotional stuff. And some fluff  ^-^
Please, please, please let me know what you all think of this first act! Comments are like fuel to a writer's fire, seriously. I would greatly appreciate it.
Lastly, and importantly, I will be putting this book on temporary hold so I can focus on another book of mine. It's called Immortals, and it's an X-Men fic. If you like Marvel, I would love it if y'all would check it out and let me know what you think. Shameless plug, I know 😂 doesn't hurt tho
Hope y'all are having a good day/night wherever you are. I appreciate all of you 💕