Strings Attached

No matter what Thorin said, Dís will go to Ravenhill and…
Wait a minute. Why should I go to Ravenhill? Why should I fight? I endanger everyone! They are trying to protect me, ignoring their own safety…
Dís will go to Ravenhill.
No, I will not. Why am I on this quest? How come you can command me?
Because I am an author. And I want you to go to Ravenhill.
I refuse. You have no power over me anymore.
So you want to run? To hide from your destiny?
I... Mahal help me, I shouldn’t be here!
We’ll see.

Tango sounds.
Thorin dances onto the stage, holding his grandfather’s cloak and crown in his arms. Continues dancing tango, pretending he is holding a maiden.
Dwalin comes.
Dwalin: “They are dying there!”
Thorin: “The gold is above the dwarves!”
Dwalin: “You are not your grandfather! Wake up!”
Thorin: “Leave, or I will kill you.”
Dwalin leaves.
Dís dances onto the stage.
Thorin: “Didn’t you want to go to bed?”
Dís: “Bed, bed I couldn't go to bed
My head's too light to try to set it down
Sleep, sleep I couldn't sleep tonight
Not for all the jewels in the crown…”
Thorin: “But there are no…”
Dís: “I could have danced all night, I could have danced all night
And still have begged for more
I could have spread my wings and done a thousand things
I've never done before…”
Thorin: “I can see it now! The gold is poisoned! It’s beauty... is a lie! Sister, you saved me! You showed me the truth! We will fight!”
Dís (suddenly normal): “Lets fight for our people!”
Huge fight. Fourteen dwarves come running in.
Legolas (merrily): “Caradhraaaas, Caradhraaas. Mountain that touches the sky that’s Caradhraaas, Caradhraaas.”
Gandalf (shouts): “Wrong movie!”
Light out.

Maybe…
Maybe they will not fight, after all. There is just fourteen of them, surely Thorin can’t think they would stand a chance.
Dís didn’t want to fight. But at the same time she longed for fight, to defend what is theirs… hers. Erebor.
She gulped when she saw the armies that came to their defeat.
This would be madness…
“Will you have peace... or will you have war?”
“Brother…” she whispered.
It seemed.. there will be a peace. At last.
But then the raven came, with the first ray of sun.
“I will have war.”
Dain is here.
Darn.

I am, once again, looking upon the dwarven city.
The term “city” used loosely. Cave, more likely.
Rather spacious cave, I will give them that, but after all... just a cave.
Just imagine what must be going on in there (I have been there, in another life). The dwarves getting ready for battle. Trying on various armor, each heavier than the one before. Each more ornate than the one before.
I seem to recall an extensive armory in the city. Cave.
So the dwarves are eager to fight?
Fortunately, Aulë doesn’t let them come back from the Halls.
Lucky us.

Now, where was it?
Thorin needed it. They needed it. She needed it…
For her brother, of course. And Fíli… and Kíli. Her sons are so young, she can keep it for them. Until they are old enough.
No! What is she thinking! Arkenstone belongs to Thorin!
…
That’s stupid. Just because he is her older brother? She is a lady, she deserves better…
Wait a minute. Something strange is going on. What dark power is in play here?
…
Everybody searches for the Arkenstone.
They will bring it to them. To Thorin... and to her…
“Have you found anything yet, Bilbo?”

Dís never believed she will see Smaug with her own eyes.
When he attacked Erebor she didn’t see him. Hearing – and smelling him – was enough.
And now he was here.
All the boasting was forgotten.
Mahal, he was huge! And he spit fire!
It seemed impossible. This nightmare… can’t be happening!
But it was.
Dís suddenly felt like she is… not dressed properly.
Wearing trousers... like every other dwarven maiden on the road?
She should wear dress now.
For the biggest moment of her life. Facing the dragon.
She is a princess, after all.
She should be seen as such.

And here she goes again, thought Dís.
As if it was not enough of this… elf. The look at her face as she took athelas from Bofur’s hands… was almost ecstatic.
“I can save him!”
Alright, so she did save Kíli.
But she certainly didn’t have to drug him.
She didn’t have to try so hard to impress him.
She would’ve done a better job of that if she made sure no orc would get close.
Thankfully, Kíli still could count on his mother.
Dís didn’t try to impress anyone. Still she managed to make sure Tauriel knows her place.

After they were caught stealing from the armory, the people of Laketown got to the square. Mainly because of curiosity.
The dwarves were standing proud, Dís kept safe in the middle of them.
She hated it.
The mood of people was quite dark. Are they in danger?
“Promise them gold,” she whispered to Thorin.
He had them wrapped around the finger in no time. The mob got drunk... on a promise of gold. Noone could lay a hand on the dwarves now. The people didn’t listen.
Gold, gold, gold was all they could think of.
And they call dwarves greedy.

Dís disliked Bard from the first time she saw him. Unfortunately they needed him. And fortunately he needed their money.
So now they were stuck on this little boat, listening to stories of greatness of Laketown… before the dragon came.
Bard was certain of one thing. Everybody was.
The reason why the dragon came.
It was because of the dwarves.
It was their fault. Their crime was greed.
(And that coming from the man who took nearly all their money.)
Guilty without a process.
And if that was not enough…
He stuck them into barrels and buried them in fish.

So the elves decided to stick them into prison.
How typical.
Dís frowned.
It was not smelly and cold prison, but one would expect as much of the elven folk. The cells were... well, not spacious and comfortable, but at least clean and reasonably well kept.
But... they were cells, obviously.
And Thranduil only wanted to see Thorin, and that for a short time.
How long is he going to keep them here?
But the worst thing in here is… that one.
The one... that walks in starlight.
She comes out of the darkness… to steal Kíli’s heart and soul.

Mirkwood was dark and evil looking. Gandalf told them to stay on the road… before he decided to go somewhere else, do something more exciting than to guide the company through a dangerous, elven infested wood, Dís thought darkly.
Her other part wondered how come she got ideas like that – Gandalf was not responsible for them, he was helping them on his own accord and without a reward.
And he helped them some more.
“I got this,” she pulled the thingy out of her pocket. “So we won’t get lost.”
“Wha’s that?” Dwalin wondered.
“The wizard called it… a compass.”

Is Thorin alright?
Dís was almost insane with worry. He didn’t move at all... and the eagle was carrying him so carelessly…
She will be in much better mood soon, after it will be sure Thorn is fine.
And they will see the Mountain.
Their home.
She wouldn’t be in such a good mood, though, if she knew…
The dragon was woken from his slumber. From a nightmare. Nightmare… of loosing his precious possesion.
Smaug angrily puffed.
Noone will take the Arkenstone away from him! He will not part with anything that is his!
He won’t be without it. Ever.

The last days were not good.
Rivendell was nice, but their food was bland.
The trek to the mountains was long and tiring.
The mountain giants were absolutely the worst. Dís thought she might have lost Fíli… And atop of all that… the comfortable cave they've chosen for rest looked too good to be true.
It was.
Now they were dragged through tunnels full of gruesome skeletons…
It was so bad it was almost bizarre.
“We will eat you,” scowled one of the goblins at Dís.
She suppressed the urge to offer him ketchup.
Yes, she was way too tired.

All that – unnecessary – running made her feel even more angry. But Gandalf didn’t want to hear anything about fourteen dwarves being able to take down some twenty orcs on wargs, no.
So they had to run, and run some more. And then... run yet a bit more.
They were hunched below a huge rock now, keeping quiet. So the damned warg scout wouldn’t know…
Dís coughed.
And things... got more interesting!
Shooting and hacking, running and getting ready to fight…
But then… they had to hide again. In a hole. And keep quiet.
Dís coughed.
An elven horn sounded.
Darn.