From The Ashes

24

"Where do you fit into this?" Alassëa turned and looked behind herself. She had been absentmindedly wrapping cloth around some food which had managed to survive the waters and the fire. Legolas had stood motionless surveying everything around him with indifferent blue eyes. His gaze eventually landed on Alassëa, for lack of anything else to do he approached her silently and sought to questioning her.

Alassëa looked confused. Putting the item in a basket she pulled the handle over her arm and shifted her weight from the sudden heaviness on one side. "I'm not too sure." She answered in a measured tone. Legolas tilted his head to the side ever so slightly over her words. "I was a Healer, a friend, now I suppose like everyone else I'm just lost." She shrugged and commenced walking past him.

"We found the remainders of the orc group which attacked you." His voice was rather void of any emotion. Alassëa stopping by his side looked to the hills in front of her, whereas he stared to the greying waters and busying people.

"Hm, I suppose it was and is a bit much to ask of you to have believed us in the first place." Her eyes flicked up to look at the taller male by her side.

Legolas turned his head and looked down at her coolly. "We aren't accustomed to listening to outsiders."

Alassëa tilted her head to the side and raised an eyebrow. "We're brothers and sisters in arms, Legolas. You should have listened." With that she turned and walked off, though she passed Bard who gave her a worried glance. He had spied the seemingly serious conversation happening between the two and hadn't interrupted them, though he wished to direct Alassëa to looking out for the children.

"Where will you go?" Legolas asked while looking to Bard as he made his way over.

"There is only one place," Bard replied hesitantly while readjusting his grip on the bundle of wood he had in his arm before moving off.

"The Mountain?" Alfrid's voice was really the last thing which Bard wished to hear right now as he not only left Legolas in his standing position like a statue, but also caught up with Alassëa. "You are a genius, sire."

Alassëa shot him a look. "Idiot."

"We can take refuge in the Mountain." Alfrid continued while shooting a look Alassëa's way. Her eyes naturally narrowed in return as she stood from sorting out the basket of wrapped food. "It might smell a bit dragon, but the women can clean that up."

"You do realise, you idiot, that to get into the Mountain you are going to have to somehow bypass its owners?" Alassëa stated bluntly.

"If there's any left alive in there." Alfrid replied while eyeing her up and down.

"You do not know dwarves very well." She whispered while her eyes narrowed. Turning she looked to the basket at her feet before sending a sidewards look in Alfrid's direction. "And for your information, I am not doing any cleaning, and I highly doubt any of the women here present will wish to either."

"You're taking to speaking on behalf of them?"

"They've lost husbands, brothers, sisters, children, their homes, all they have ever known. Do you honestly think the first thing they want to do after a long march is to clean up after ungrateful, uncaring, snide people like you?"

Alfrid at this point was slowly losing his nerve and went to reply only to get a look shot at him by Bard which showed that though he didn't wholly agree with the words Alassëa had used, he did agree with her to a point. With a shrug, Alfrid decided to let this conversation slip and dissipate into the air. "It'll be safe, and warm, with stores; food, and clothing. And the odd bit of gold." He continued on with his earlier thought process before Alassëa interfered.