Chapter 12

By the time Abigail reached the camp, her anger had subsided slightly, guilt taking its place. Once again her temper had gotten the better of her. Even though he was being a complete ass, she shouldn't have said all of those things. Of course, this wasn't going to help the tension between the two. Knowing there was nothing she could do about it now, she set about gathering up her things.

The more she thought about it the more she didn't regret what she'd said, but the way she'd said it. Thorin had always had a tendency to be hypercritical of the people under his charge, choosing to focus on their failures rather than on their accomplishments. It had always been her job to gently remind the prince to value the work of those around him. The events at Erebor seemed to have strengthened those negative tendencies'. In any case, however, she should not have yelled at him, especially in front of the company.

A few minutes later she heard distinctly dwarfish footsteps coming towards the camp. At first she thought it was Thorin, coming to tell her off, but there was no aggression in the pace of the footsteps. She turned to see Balin emerge from the tree line. It was a relief to see that it was him. Abigail always had a soft spot for Balin, and since he seemed to be one of the few voices of reason on this quest, she naturally gravitated towards his company.

Without speaking, Balin came to sit by the fire. They stayed like that for a few moments before Abigail could hold it no longer.

"He's furious isn't he?"

"He'll be fine." He said, waving his hand dismissively.

"Being away from you changed him, in a way it hardened him. He became our leader; he became the person we needed."

She thought back to what Gandalf had said. She wondered if he might have been right.

"Gandalf said something like that, he said that Thorin wouldn't have become what he needed to if I'd been with him. That's why he didn't tell me Thorin was alive."

"Well, Lass, I couldn't hope to speak for the likes of Gandalf the Gray but I do know, he has a reason for everything he does." Balin spoke softly "But whether or not he's right is another matter entirely."

"Maybe Thorin was right, maybe I shouldn't have come." She said miserably.

"That's nonsense." Balin replied instantly "If it weren't for you today, Kili might well have died at the hand of that troll. And whether Thorin shows it or not, he will not soon forget it. None of us will."

"Thorin feels I abandoned him and his people. Do you think that too?"

"I think that day was hell, I think we all lost people we cared about. I think you had no reason to believe that Thorin was alive. So no, I don't blame you."

"But he does."

"Give it time, it may be that the two of your will never be what you were. But he does still care for you, even if he refuses to show it." Balin said, then continued when he saw the skepticism on her face "When that Troll grabbed you, he was the one fighting the hardest to escape his bonds."

Abigail considered what he'd said.

"But that's enough of that for now. Come, we can come back for the supplies later. Last I saw the others were looking for the troll's cave, no telling what could be in there. I would hate of miss it."

Although she dreaded the thought of having to see Thorin again, she knew it couldn't be avoided. She grabbed her weapons and followed Balin back in the direction of the trolls.

*O*

She'd forgotten how bad troll stench was. Her whole stomach quivered whenever she drew in breath. From the looks of things, the trolls had been here for a while, piles of things were left everywhere. Disturbingly, however, the smell was somewhat familiar. She'd been kept in a place much like this the last time she'd run into trolls. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Gandalf watching her closely. She quickly shook the memory out of her head, not wanting to think of that time. Despite herself she had to smile at the dwarves. Gloin, Bofur and Nori were hard at work digging a hole to burry some of the treasure.

"We're making a long term deposit." Gloin explained.

Abigail covered her nose with her hand and began looking for anything she could use. In the end she picked up some arrows and a small dagger of elven make. Thorin, who hadn't looked at her once since she'd been there, called for them to leave the cave. Just as she was about to leave she saw Gandalf stoop to pick something up. She came to stand beside him and saw that it was a sword, one unlike any she'd seen before. It was a small shapely thing, elven made and sharp to the point.

"Perhaps it is meant for a dwarf child?" She asked.

"Perhaps it was made for a hobbit." Gandalf replied thoughtfully.

"Are you sure he's ready for a sword? He might impale himself before an enemy."

"That is why he needs a teacher." He said pointedly.

She paused for a moment to think about it. It seemed such a strange thought to teach the hobbit. She'd have to start with the very basics but she could do it. She remembered the promise she'd made at the beginning of the journey. Perhaps this would help keep him safe.

"Okay." She agreed "I'll do it."

She took the sword from Gandalf and headed out of the cave. She saw the hobbit sitting on a rock not far from the entrance of the cave. She went over to him and sat down beside him.

"I was just catching my breath; can't say I've ever smelled anything like that before."

"Not much compares to the stench of a troll." She smiled.

"You've had other experiences with trolls?" Bilbo asked.

"Some." She replied vaguely but before he could ask any more questions Abigail handed him the sword "Here, this is for you."

Bilbo looked aghast for a moment before he replied "I can't take that; I've never used a sword in my life!"

"And I truly hope you never have to. But this journey is dangerous, you need to know how to defined yourself. Besides this is an Elvish sword which means it will glow blue when orcs or goblins are nearby."

He still didn't look convinced.

"I'll teach you everything you need to know myself, I promise."

Finally, after another moment of hesitation, he took the sword. Abigail gave him a reassuring smile.

"We'll start training tonight when we make camp."

Suddenly her ears picked up on a rustling noise in the distance. Whatever it was it was moving fast and coming straight towards them.

"Somethings coming." She called out.

All at once, everyone drew their weapons and were at the ready.

"Stay together now, arm yourselves." Gandalf said.

The bushes parted to see a bundle of large rabbits pulling a cart behind them. On the sled was a short, stoutly built man dressed in brown furs. Much to her surprise she recognized the man, the wizard.

"Thieves, fire, Murder!" Radagast shrieked, coming to a stop.

"Radagast, Radagast the Brown. What on earth are you doing here?" Gandalf asked, coming forward in hopes that a familiar face would calm the man.

"Gandalf? I was looking for you, somethings wrong. Somethings terribly wrong." The little wizard said.

Gandalf looked around at the company who still had their weapons at the ready. With a small motion of his hand he beckoned Radagast away from the rest of the group. Collectively, everyone lowered their weapons and relaxed a bit. Abigail lowered her weapons too, looking around for Bilbo. She found him standing off to the side, holding his sword awkwardly.

"Okay, your first lesson starts now. If you want to wield a sword, you have to know how to hold it." She said, taking the sword from his shaking hands "Hold it firmly, but not too tightly."

He looked at her with wide eyes.

"If you hold it to tightly, you'll lose it as soon as your blade makes contact with anything." She modeled how she wanted him to hold it, it was a fine piece of craftsmanship.

Bilbo took the sword back and tried to copy what she'd done and after a small correction, he done. His face opened up with a smile.

Suddenly, there was a howl in the distance.

"Was that a wolf? Are there-are there wolves out there?" Bilbo asked hopefully.

"That was no wolf." Abigail replied.

Just then a Warg jumped out of the woods, strait into the midst of the company. Thorin was the first to action, he raised the sword he'd found in the troll's cave and killed the beast. However, on its heels was a second Warg. Within seconds it was down as well thanks to an arrow from Abigail and Kili.

"Warg-Scouts! Which means an Orc pack is not far behind." Thorin shouted.

"Who did you tell about your quest, beyond your kin?" Gandalf closed in on Thorin.

"I've told no one. Who did you tell?" Thorin raised his hand to gesture at her.

"We're being hunted."

"But who wou-" Thorin started to ask.

"Right now I think we have bigger problems; wouldn't you agree?" Abigail interrupted.

"I'll draw them off." Radagast said.

"These are Gundabad Wargs; they will outrun you." Gandalf dismissed.

"These are Rhosgobel Rabbits; I'd like to see them try."


Hope you liked it, I know this was not the best chapter but here it is. Let me know what you think so far!