Chapter 6: Coriann
Hey everyone! If you want to know more about Coriann, please read "Daughter of Middle Earth," by Taleweaverinfinity .
Several days later, Rhonwen woke up to an early morning. She lept out of her warm bed onto the freezing cold stone floor. She shivered and walked to the window. The sun was shining brightly. Swiftly, she turned and made her bed before pulling on a thick tunic lined with fur. The shivering eventually subsided and the warmth returned. Then she braided her hair neatly before peering out into the hall. She sighed relieved. A mischievous look crossed her face and she smirked. She hadn't seen Fíli or Kíli last night being told by Dís to rest and recover more of her strength, but she had managed to beat them this morning.
Carefully, she closed her door and tiptoed down the hallway and opened the door to Fíli and Kíli's room and peered in. There was a mess of blankets covering the sleeping brothers. Fíli was snoring as usual. Rhonwen closed the door and continued down the hall. She found Dís making her way to the Feasting Hall and joined her.
Dís was quiet, not saying much, though she wore a smile on her face. Presently, they reached hall where the dwarves swarmed around, finding places to sit. Soon, Fíli and Kíli came in, their hair more or less in an orderly fashion. As strange looking dwarf sat with them with hazel hair and a stubble for a beard. About the same height of Fíli, Rhonwen guessed that they might be cousins.
After the meal was over, Rhonwen went to her room to mend some tunics. They weren't hers, only Dis had needed some help and she had nothing else to do, since Fíli and Kíli were busy with that dwarf. She thrust the needle in the tough leather so hard that it pierced her fingertip. Immediately, it went to her mouth as she suck at the sore spot till it stopped bleeding. She looked at her work. She was nearly done. She finished off and laid it to the side, stood, and gazed out of the window. Fíli and Kíli were her only friends here and since they were busy with that cousin-sort-of-thing, she was alone.
Suddenly, she heard footsteps coming up the corridor. She knew that stride. A mischievous grin appeared on her face. She ran to the door and closed it. Above it was a shelf mainly used for holding weapons, but she had a habit of leaving them near her bed in easy reach. She reached up and hoisted herself onto the platform. And none too soon, for the door opened and Kíli entered. He took one step into the room and was knocked down by Rhonwen who leaped down on top of him as he entered. They hit the floor with a crash.
Rhonwen rolled off the startled dwarf and sat next to him as he opened his eyes and shook his dark hair out of his eyes. "What--why?" he asked, totally confused.
She laughed. "I wanted to get back at you for ignoring me earlier."
"So you were at breakfast!"
"Of course! Where else would I be? Besides, I beat you today," she finished with an insolent smirk on her face.
"Ha! I doubt it."
"I did too."
Kíli shook his head as he stood up. He reached down and pulled Rhonwen to her feet. "Come on. I want you to meet someone."
Rhonwen raised her eyebrows, but said nothing.
Kíli pulled her into the hall and down the corridor where a sharp bend cut off the view of the passage way. Near the bend, Kíli whistled sharply. Nothing happened. He whistled again and the sounds of running, pounding feet were heard coming towards them.
Fíli and the other person Rhonwen had seen with the brothers crashed into Kíli knocking him to the ground again. They landed with a thud on the stone floor. Rhonwen smirked and then reached down, pulling Kíli out of the tangle of bodies on the ground.
When they all stood, three of them panting and laughing, Fíli said, "Rhonwen, may I introduce my twin sister, Coriann?"
Coriann bowed and spoke. "Coriann, at your service."
Rhonwen bowed and said likewise. Then Fíli and Kíli started laughing for no apparent reason. Rhonwen looked at Coriann and said sarcastically, "I pity you, having such idiotic brothers."
Coriann laughed, "I thank you for your pity, but there is simply nothing to do about it."
"Oh? I can think of many ways to fix the problem, many of them quite gruesome."
Coriann laughed and sobered down, as did her brothers. Then she looked at the dwarf standing in front of her and stared. Rhonwen instinctively reached up and touched her own chin. Kíli knew this to be a habit of hers, being insecure. He reached out and pulled her hand down, his fingers slipping into hers and not letting go. Coriann saw the motion, but glanced back at Rhonwen. She was as tall as Coriann, though with thick curly hair the color of burnished gold and eyes as dark as emeralds that sparkled and flashed as the light reflected on them. But most of all, Coriann realized that she didn't have a beard.
"Why don't you--" she didn't continue out of mere politeness.
"Have a beard?" Rhonwen finished for her. "My mother was only half dwarf, her mother being of the race of Men."
"Ah I see." There was an awkward silence.
"I think she's fine without one," Kíli and Fíli said together in her defence. Coriann smiled and hugged Rhonwen while saying to her brothers, "Of course she is! And she doesn't have the trouble of being mistaken for a male dwarf."
Rhonwen hugged her back with a smile and laugh and then they headed down the hall, Coriann and Rhonwen in front, Fíli and Kíli behind them. Rhonwen glanced over her shoulder at Kíli and smiled. He smiled back as they continued down the hall.
As they walked down the hall, a half gasp escaped Coriann's lips. Fíli rushed up behind her and supported her from behind.
"Again?"
"Aye. Fíli, I can't walk right now."
He picked her up in his arms and strode quickly down the hall with Kíli and Rhonwen at his heels. He kicked the door to Coriann's room open and placed her gently on her bed.
"Get my pack, Kíli. There's a small green pouch in it. Get that and a bring it here." Kíli followed his sister's instructions and handed her the pouch. Coriann opened it and took out a leaf that she placed in her mouth and chewed up. Slowly, the look of pain subsided from her face, but it remained as white as a sheet of paper.
"I need to send a message off to a friend. I'll be right as rain in a bit. Fíli, where did my writing utensils go?"
"Mum put them in the cupboard. Hold on."
Fíli went and retrieved the writing utensils and placed them on the bed beside Coriann. She smiled at him and then motioned for them to leave the room. They left quietly and the door clicked shut behind them.
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