Chapter Three

Yori pulled her knees in as close as possible as she sat in one corner of Master Bard's home. Their harrowing escape from the Elfish prisons into the river, and then subsequent battle with the orcs left her tired, wet and cold. The Elves forcing her to get rid of her padding and extra pant layers prior to throwing her in a cell had not helped. The week they were stuck in the Elven prison had not been pleasant or warm, for her at least. Bilbo suggested it was her lack of body fat to keep her warm.

Thankfully none of the others seemed to notice how large her clothes looked on her now, or they were simply ignoring it. Given how they had all been acting since Beorn's she was not sure which it was.

The whole group had been strange. Oin constantly bugged her about any injuries. Bombur offered her some of his food. Dori practically shadowed her, something he had not done since she was a Dwarfling. And Fili actually helped her when traversing some of the worst parts of the forest.

At first she thought they had overheard her conversation with Bilbo, but surely they would have called her out on being female. So she figured the forest had messed with their heads.

Of course the trip into Lake Town on Bard's barge had not helped to warm her up, nor the smothering via fish to sneak them in and then small swim to his home, coming up through the toilet. At this point she wondered if she'd ever be dry again.

She had contemplated snagging one of the blankets, but there weren't that many to go around and some of the others looked like they could use them more. Poor Kili had lost a lot of blood from the arrow hit, and Ori's lips were almost blue.

There had been a small argument when Bard showed them the 'weapons' he promised. Personally she thought it was generous of the man to offer them. From what little she saw of the town she doubted anyone but the guards kept any weapons like they were used to. Sometimes she thought her people were too short sighted about the world, expecting things of people they knew nothing about. Really, if they expected swords and axes they should have stipulated that when making the deal in the first place.

Now they were waiting for night to fall, getting what rest they could before they would break into the armory to get the weapons they needed. Bard had slipped out for a bit, leaving his children to watch over them.

Personally she could do with a nap, but she was just too cold to fall asleep.

Suddenly two strong arms scooped her up like a child carrying her over towards the fireplace before dumping her next to Kili. Pushing up from the floor she didn't manage to get far before an arm and a leg covered her, trapping her against a warm hard body under a blanket. Heat flushed through her cheeks and up to her ears in embarrassment. She opened her mouth to speak only to get cut off.

"Sleep. Uncle is only allowing a few hours," Fili ordered sternly, his chin resting on the top of her head.

Unable to move she willed herself to calm down, the heat seeping into her and lulling her to sleep.

XOXOXO

Fili had watched her as she shivered alone in a corner. He had waited for her brothers to do something, but the other members of their company always sidetracked them. Once he had settled Kili by the fire to warm up he had had enough.

Stalking over to her curled up, rather pathetic looking form, he swooped her up into his arms, vaguely surprised with how light she was, and set her next to Kili before trapping her with his body wrapping them both in a blanket.

"Sleep," he ordered gruffly, not willing to listen to any arguments at the moment. "Uncle is only allowing a few hours."

Thankfully she complied, though he did find the blush spreading from her cheeks to the tips of her ears endearing. Holding her small form close he mentally cursed at how cold she felt. Clearly the padding she had worn before protected her a great deal from the cold, while her current clothes did very little in the way of providing warmth. Tucking her head under his chin he narrowed his eyes in warning as Kili grinned mischievously at him from his place next to the fire. Rolling his eyes he decided to try and get some rest himself, finally relaxing once he felt Yori's breathing even out. Drifting to sleep his mind noted how strangely comfortable holding her was.

XOXOXO

Balin grinned as he watched Fili settle Yori down to sleep between himself and Kili. He and the others decided to push the lad a bit, mainly by distracting her brothers and forcing him to deal with her shivering form.

Nori had figured it out quick enough, though did not protest. Unlike Dori who glowered when he realized their plot, his eyes keeping close watch on the slumbering duo in case the prince tried anything. Ori looked so confused, but ultimately grateful that someone had taken care of Yori. She had to be freezing in those thin clothes, most of her layers having been confiscated by the Elves.

Of course he'd been impressed with the amount of weapons she had stuffed in her extra padding. Even his brother seemed intrigued by her arsenal. It was just a shame it was discovered prior to their imprisonment.

XOXOXO

Bilbo had been planning on forcing Yori in front of the fire and then wrapping her tightly in his blanket, now that he'd managed to warm up a bit, but Thorin kept thwarting him. Blasted Dwarf found a way to distract him with inane questions or simply turning him around every time he moved!

When he saw Fili take matters into his own hands he realized what the other had been up too. Eying him thoughtfully he came to the conclusion that Thorin, and indeed some of the others from the looks of it, had eavesdropped on his conversation with Yori back at Beorn's. It would explain their sudden interest in her welfare as they traveled through Mirkwood. Though he did wonder why they said nothing about it.

When bright blue eyes met his own hazel orbs he raised a brow in question, only to receive one in return. Huffing he turned away from the irritating Dwarf and settled down for his own nap. Confounded Dwarves and their stubbornness!

XOXOXO

Thorin's lips twitched as he watched Bilbo walk away from him in a huff. The Hobbit had figured them out and no doubt was irritated at their stubbornness. Aw well. He should know enough about Dwarves by now to get over it.

His eyes drifted over to the forms of his nephews and Yori.

When he had returned from his trip to find out what had occurred to force Fili into a betrothal with the then thought of male, he'd been furious. How dare this upstart trick his family in such a way? Granted he'd also been angry with Kili for performing such an insult in the first place. As she had told the burglar, it had been bad. He made sure his nephew would never commit such a disgraceful act again.

Still he had certainly not treated the young Dwarf kindly after the fact. Really he should have known something was up when Dis didn't go into full on war mode. Something she would have done if her babies had been tricked into something she did not approve of. It irked him his trusted advisor also knew and refrained from telling him. Most likely on Dis' order.

Not that he could blame him. Even he didn't dare cross his sister.

Now that he knew the truth though, he would need to reconsider his own plans. Originally he had thought to buy off the debt of honor once they had Erebor back. But considering what she went through these past years, he doubted Fili would ever be able to find a female as strong and loyal as this one. And his heir would need someone like that by his side.

Of course they would have to be watchful for whatever plan she already had. This was Nori's sister after all, and he would not underestimate her. Had she not proven resourceful enough to fool an entire kingdom into believing she was male?

However those plans could wait. First they needed to kill Smaug and reclaim Erebor.