literature

Thorin's Heart ~ Chapter 7

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Chapter 7 ~ Fire and Flight

The day grew long and everyone seemed quiet as they made their way to the Misty Mountains.  Gandalf finally met up with them later. The silence seemed deafening. The dwarves left Thorin at peace with his loss of her and somehow his grief bore into them.  The weight of the world seemed to be on their shoulders.

A silver winged hawk took flight above them and they knew she had sent Aidan to be his guide.  They were happy for their King but knew she was something that would not be discussed.  Even their strongest and most admirable leader had a weakness.  

They traveled onward, knowing the dangers that lie ahead. Now their lives, his life, seemed more precious. It seemed something that could not be thrown away so easily because of a promise that seemed too linger in the air around him. He had a life to fight for.

In Rivendell, Kale sat on her bed with wet eyes staring into the sinking evening sun.  She knew she had to be strong for them both, but at any moment she felt she would slip.  She sent Aiden with him not as a guide but a window to her soul.  With enough concentration and a clear mind, she could see fragments of him through the beautiful bird’s eyes.  A gift no one, not even her father or brother, knew of.  

At a very old door built in the side of the misty mountains a very handsome and majestic elf stood.  He was blinded by love and was on a mission to destroy what had destroyed him.  There was nothing else that Rafe knew he could do but to help throw Thorin into the jaws of fate.

“What’s an elf doing in our realm here?” hissed a one-eyed goblin guard that had slunk just inside the cave as the rain began.  

“Calm down maggot!  Tell your sleez of a goblin king that I have news of dwarves traveling over his mountain.”

“And what’s it to us?” The goblin spat.

“Some are of the Durin bloodline and from my understanding have a pretty expensive price on their head. They’ve come to steal your king’s riches,” He added.

“And what is the price of such news to be traded.”  

“Their deaths!” Rafe added and then quickly rode away.

The goblin chuckled again and slithered down the hole making his way to the main hall.  He wrapped an old rusty chain around his wrist. He held on tightly as he was zip lined through the darkness.  Such news would make him a higher rank in the eyes of the Goblin King. The fact that they were Durins may make him his right hand guard.  He squealed loudly, crossing his disfigured fingers in hope.

Thorin’s first night without her was cold, so cold. He found no rest the night before with her lying in his arms savoring every precious moment and he had hoped sleep would find him this night.  He fed Aiden a few scraps that he had left over from his meal. He felt a small amount of comfort knowing he was with them.   A pack of hungry wolves stood out of the light’s edge that left the dwarves, and especially Bilbo, on edge.  But Gandalf was not too worried.

“Take rest my friends for we are in the protection of wolves’ company tonight.” As he said this he looked at Thorin and he knew they were hers.

Thorin’s shocked expression left Gandalf reluctantly having to explain further on a subject he knew was off limits.  

“I believe she would have sent an army to be your protector if she wielded such power.”

And with that the dwarves laughed and a small almost unnoticeable smile came to Thorin's face.  He was so proud of the one that choose him.  Why he could not fathom, but the feeling of love that stirred inside him was making him feel stronger.

The next morning, Kale had to be reminded to eat.  Food had no taste anymore.  She had left Thorin’s empty room and was now under the protection of her father.  The absence of her brother made her feelings of uneasiness worse.  She seemed to be a ghost, floating around with no hope of finding what she had lost.  At times her father would see her staring into the distance. She would not even notice his presence in her room.  The hope of Thorin’s return was the only thing he had to cling to.
 
The next day seemed a lifetime away already.  Minutes drew on like hours, and hours like months.  The dwarves spent much time climbing rocks and hanging onto ledges to help a fallen Bilbo. Every slip or the smallest of his trips would crush Kale’s nerves. She was exhausted from searching every terrain, bush, or moving creature within miles of him for any danger that lurked there.  It began to cause her painful headaches.  

Then the rain started.  The group had made their way onto the mountains and the wind and rain showed no mercy.  Stone giants made from the mountains very rock hurled boulders at each other as the confusion began.  The mountain began to crack and crush as it fell apart.

The dwarves did not even now what had hit them as they began to fall.  Clinging to life itself, they were able to get to their feet but Gandalf was parted from them.  He encouraged them to keep going and he would find another way.   Later that night, they found shelter in a cave from the storm.  The wolves were long lost and Aiden had found shelter in a nearby tree close to their door.  That was the last Kale saw of her king for days.

Brakin woke Kale in horror as her bed was covered in blood.  She sat up quickly and wiped her nose.

“My God, what’s happening to you,” He cried brushing away matted hair that had stuck to her face.

“I’m ok.” But no words could comfort him.

“It’s not ok, Kale.  You’re not ok.  And this is my fault. I should never have let this go on like it did.  I have failed you.”

“No, Ada.”   She sunk on her knees and joined him where he had slunk to the floor.

“My life is short and will pass like a breeze blowing by that has kissed your face.  The only happiness I have ever known is the love that I have for you and Rafe.  I never knew if life would offer me a precious gift like you had with Lieta.  I know in my heart you would have never given that away.  Your bond was too strong, until it was ripped from you.  Please do not feel pain for not taking it from me.”

He sighed and regained his feet as she wrapped her arms around him. He then carried her to get cleaned up.

Rafe returned that night and everyone rejoiced.  No one asked him where he had been, they just knew that such an escape was needed.  He found his way to Kale with a bright smile.  She sighed; thankful he had come back to her.  To Rafe, the air seemed sweeter and the drink richer, as it had been ridden of dwarves.  The very thought made his stomach churn. He would sleep well tonight with thoughts of the dwarf’s fate.  Kale was her usual lost and distant self but really tried to be happy for her best friend’s birth celebration.
Elrond presented Arwen with an Evenstar Pendant as beautiful and as old as time. It was meant to protect and guide her on her journey of life.  The night seemed long as music and laughter filled the air and everyone seemed to grow happier.
 
All Kale wished to do was escape away to her room, or better yet, to the arms of her beloved.  Aiden was still searching the mountain and had not found him.  She tried not to worry and hoped that they had found a safe pass under the mountains.  Dwarves were good at that, right? That was second nature to them, a part of them, she had convinced herself.

“There you are.” Rafe said gladly.  She turned around startled and realized that she had wandered far from the excitement and made her way to the little bench where she had found Thorin lost in his thoughts the day she had thought he left. It felt like so long ago.

“Yes, here I am, alone” she whispered.  

“You are never alone! Thorin’s a fool,” he countered.  “Everyone knows it!”

“Stop it, Rafe” she said sharply.

“Ok, ok, truce, I’m sorry, truly,” he said holding her chin up.  “I just couldn’t fathom the thought of losing you and I just don’t know how on earth he could’ve done it.”
 
She looked up at him sadly with not even the strength to explain or defend Thorin. Rafe saw that he had done damage.  

“Let’s go back to the party ok? Please forgive me,” he said kissing her hand.  He knew time would be his only ally to win this.

Far from the party, away from the comfort of Rivendell and the warmth of her arms, Thorin and company fled from the mountains.  They had been held prisoners after being discovered sleeping in the cave.  The goblins had taken them to the Goblin King and they had finally escaped with the help and return of Gandalf.  They barely made it out with their lives and into the clutches of yet another enemy, Azog, the pale orc, and his gang of wargs and orcs.  

Azog was a monstrous pale orc that had killed Thorin’s grandfather in the battle of Moria.  He had vowed to wipe out the line of Durin and had a very large price placed on Thorin’s head.  The Goblin King had already sent for him seeking such an award and alliance with the infamous orc.  They had them cornered, where they had climbed high in trees, when Aiden finally found them.  The wargs, terrible wolflike creatures, where trying to knock the group out of the weak branches. Gandalf suddenly began to ignite pinecones and helped the dwarves send fireballs down upon their enemy.  Fire filled Kale’s eyes as Aiden sent her the images. Her goblet of sweet red wine hit the floor.

Kale held her head as the confusion began. They were in trouble and she was useless to him, until she remembered the Carrock.  

“Aiden the Carrock, get help Aiden,” she screamed.”  

The music had stopped and everyone looked up and around for Aiden, confused and worried.  They knew the Carrock was home to a race of very large eagles on the opposite side of the Misty Mountains but could not wrap their minds around what was going on.

Brakin had joined Rafe checking on Kale. They were both helpless and worried as she seemed to fall apart in their very grasp.

“Kale, talk to me, what is it?”  

“They’re in trouble, trapped,” she cried.

“How do you know this?” Rafe insisted.

“I have Aiden’s eyes,” she whispered.

They sat her on a bench and got her a glass of water.  They tried to talk to her but she blocked their voices trying to concentrate.

She stood releasing from their grasp.  Anxiously worrying and pacing trying to get air and then she started to scream. “No!”

Aiden was returning and far from him with sharp eyes he could see Thorin being brutally attacked by the white orc and crushed in the mouth of his warg.  Thorin had climbed off the tree to challenge his greatest enemy and was being crushed by them.  She could hear his cries of pain echo in her mind. It sent chills of panic and shock through her.  She felt every blow. The larger eagles were ahead of him and they began swooping in to save the dwarves.  She held on long enough to see Bilbo come to his aid, saving his life, and then an eagle swooped in to save his hurt, broken body.  They lifted him high in the air in the eagle’s talons and then blackness took over and Kale fainted.

Thorin floated over clouds, mountains, and rivers in the clutches of a great eagle.  His body ached and he could not seem to open his eyes.  His thoughts were filled with her as he felt the wind on his face and he knew he was safe.  How could he have been so reckless?  His desire for revenge for the pale orc that caused the death of his grandfather so many years ago almost cost him his own.  He would have been parted from her forever, a price he could not afford to pay.

He heard Fili scream his name and he thought of his nephews.  Like his own children.  His sister's sons. His sons.  His heart as well.

He thought of better days, basking in the warmth of her smile, the taste of her kiss. Her touch that could send a fire through him that only she could extinguish, and make burn more intensely at the same time.  His thoughts were only of her as he slowly began to lose consciousness.

Kale woke on her bed, her father and Rafe on the chairs around her.  She was shaking with anxiety but dared not wake them.  It had been a long night filled with horrible dreams of the pale orc that threatened to kill her Thorin.  Was he ok? Was someone helping him?  Were they safe?  How hurt was he?  Every blow to him hit her just as hard.  Her head pounded and she seemed so thirsty.  She could not see anything, her connection lost.  She prayed and prayed, hoping everything was ok.  

On the Carrock deep inside, Thorin lie bandaged, bruised, and broken on a bed.  The bed was soft as the ones in Rivendell and the rooms as nice and elaborate.  They belonged to the gliders that use to ride the eagles long ago.  Until they slowly faded with time just like their beloved eagles were beginning too. The eagles had no use for such rooms but kept them nice and neat remembering their masters long ago.

Gwaihir, Lord of the Eagles, was a gracious host, but seemed unwilling to have any other part in this journey that had a dragon waiting at the end.  Such folly would jeopardize their race.  The race of eagles only had one female left, and even she had stopped laying eggs nearly a hundred years ago.  They would not endanger themselves for another.

Gandalf respected Gwaihir and thanked him for their aid, food, and lodgings.  He knew he must not anger their host because they could be there for some time.
 
Gandalf made his way to Thorin’s room.  The cuts were deep and he imagined he had many broken ribs and perhaps a collapsed lung.  He was in bad shape, far worse than he imagined.  And then a thought hit him.  Could Gwaihir, grant him one more favor that would lead him opposite the lonely mountain?

Kale had unwilling explained everything to her father and Rafe.  They both seemed amazed at such a gift.  They seemed to breathe better since the connection to Aiden had been lost.  The precious hawk had done his job well. She just hoped he was ok. Not knowing if Thorin was alive and well was killing her, cutting away at her very soul.  

She was finally alone in her room when she heard the horns of Rivendell.  She ran to her balcony. All the elves were pointing to the sky. She followed their gaze.  Coming from the east were three large eagles she had seen in her vision.  She heard them whisper her name and she stiffened.  They were coming for her.  He was much worse than she feared.  She ran inside pulling on her hood and throwing some clothes in her satchel before she slid it around her neck.  She quickly retrieved her bow and put it around her as well.  Nothing else in the room held much value except the ring of his that she had on her finger and her flute that Rafe and her father carved for her long ago. She grabbed it quickly and looked around one last time before she ran for the balcony.

Brakin and Rafe rushed into her room and ran after her.  She looked back just in time to tell them she was sorry and then the wind from one of the great eagle’s wings almost knocked them down.  They stood there screaming her name begging her to return as they joined the other two in the sky.  They stood there helplessly until she was out of sight.  

Two things lingered in her mind as they took her to the Carrock.  First, she was going to see her beloved and hold him until he was on the mend and second, she was flying.
It broke my heart to see Thorin being hurt in the movie version of The Hobbit. I had to connect Kale to saving him and ultimately give them more time together. Aiden disappears after this. I would love to go back later and write him in more. The hawk did his job and then was forgotten ~ bless his heart ;)

And yes my eagles' home is the Carrock <3

Inspiring Music ~ Running Up that Hill ~ how convenient that I found a youtube with RA in the video :love: [link]

Chapter 8 ~ Stolen Moments [link]

Chapter Selections Gallery: [link]
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Oh wow!! That was intense!!! I've seen the movie in theaters & now own it, so I know what happens. I knew Thorin would be ok, but I still waited with baited breath, "What's gonna happen?!! Will they be ok?!!". Bless Rafe's heart. I can see that he wants Kale's pain to end, but he doesn't see that it will ultimately hurt her more trying to get rid of Thorin. As always: soooooo good!! I agree with fmpm this would have made the book & the movie waaaaay better.