Returning Home: A Hobbit Fanfiction

Chapter 27 - Don't Drink The Water

~~ Elena ~~

It had started out as a normal enough day. Well, normal for yet another day spent traveling through a dark and murky forest, where it seems like every living creature has it out for you. Food supplies were starting to get low, but they had enough for a ways yet, they just had to remember to ration them.

They had plenty of water, having rationed that from the very beginning, so while things were not the best they could have been, they were not the worst either. There'd even been a bit of a bright spot when Fíli had been declared injury free by Óin and was able to return the sling to the healer. He'd been more than happy to lose the restricting device.

And there had been no signs of any of them losing their wits, or anything similar to that that they had witnessed in the movie. Everyone seemed as sane as they had been at the beginning of the trip, although they didn't necessarily mean much for a lot of them. 

 And then they had come to the river. The black look of it, and Beorn's warnings, kept them from touching it, although they quickly realized that they had no way to cross until Bilbo spotted the boat at the opposite side of the river. Kíli was able to secure it with a hook attached to an arrow he shot at it, and they were able, with the aid of Óin and Glóin, to pull the boat over to them, although it nearly floated away from them in the current twice.

Then there was the new problem regarding their noticeable lack of oars. They ended up solving that problem by having Fíli throw another hook across the river, so that it latched onto one of the trees, and held fast, thus allowing them to use the rope to pull themselves across.

Thorin ended up deciding that the small boat could hold perhaps four of them at a time, and no more, and that as the heaviest, Dwalin and Bombur should go last. He was about to order Elena and Celia to get in the first boatload when Elena noticed her twin shaking her head subtly but determinedly when Thorin glanced their way.

His lips tightened and his eyes narrowed thoughtfully, but he didn't say anything. The two princes seemed to have picked up on it as well, for they didn't protest when it was announced that they and the two girls would be one of the last to leave, only glancing at each other thoughtfully.

Most of the journey went without incident. Bilbo was one of the first to cross, along with Thorin, although he did not look very happy about it. He may be a Took, but he was also a Hobbit. And Hobbits are not known for their ability to swim. Indeed, few, save for perhaps those who grow up beside the waterfront, such as the Brandybucks, are able to do so. 

But when it came to them, Celia sent Dwalin ahead with her sister in her place, saying that it might be better if there was a lighter occupant in the last boat. Dwalin looked at her hard for a moment before grunting in agreement, stepping into the boat with the others.

They cast off, though not without Elena looking back at her worriedly, resolving to wait right at the edge of the bank to help, if need be. They, too, arrived safely, and sent the boat back to her sister and Bombur.

All too soon, they were loaded up, and the remainder of the Company began to tug on the rope, pulling the boat towards them. Elena stationed herself close to the edge, Fíli following her, although she made sure she was on stable ground, and not about to slip and fall into the river. He shot her a glance, obviously wondering if she thought something was going to happen. She licked her dry lips, watching the faint forms of her sister and the Company cook grow closer. 

"Don't touch the water," she whispered, trying to keep her voice down. "But be prepared to do an emergency rescue without touching the water, if necessary. I'm trying to remember the trigger, and I think it might be a deer, or something like that. So just keep an eye out for anything that looks different."