The views just keep going up! I'm so glad people are enjoying this story and are taking the time to read it, follow and write reviews for it! Honestly, I'll never be able to say thank you enough but it seriously means a lot to me and makes me so happy!

Thank you to: SamanthaJane13, hillyjmalts and lostfeather1 For Following me, I hope you enjoy the story.

After this weekend updates will slow down because I'm going back to school and only have three weeks left until my GCSE mocks! But I will still try and upload weekly or more often if I can! I hope you enjoy the chapter! Chapter 10, double digits! WAYYYYY! So happy that I've even got this far! Plus this ones a bit longer!

Chapter 10 - Stone Giants and Firewood

Aella bounded down the elven hall, excited to show her new clothes and her gifts off to everyone. She burst through the door and into the room where all the dwarves where sat and ready to go as soon as she returned. They were all having their own conversations with each other but fell silent when Aella crashed through the door smiling but instead of making her marvelous entrance she tripped over her feet and fell on her face.

"I am Okay! She said to the floor and the dwarves couldn't hold their laughter in anymore and so practically hooted at her clumsiness.

"Oh lass! You can face off wargs and orcs but when it comes to a door you fall flat!" Bofur chuckled gaining another roar of laughter from the company at his joke and even from Aella as she scrambled back to her feet. Soon the laughter died off though when they noticed her new clothes.

"So lads, what do you think?" She asked holding her arms out and doing a small twirl which also ended with her tripping up slightly but she managed to regain her balance before she fell again. She felt giddy with happiness and when the company didn't say anything but instead took a sharp intake of breath at her appearance she raised an eyebrow. "What? Oh come on don't do the dress thing, I'm wearing trousers?!"

"Aye you are, very tight trousers." Nori said not taking his eyes off her figure. The other dwarves hummed in agreement and Thorin's mouth was hanging open slightly. Aella crossed her arms and tried to pout her lips to cover her smile and small blush.

"Thorin? What do you think?" Aella asked, smirking a bit knowing she was teasing him slightly by the innocent tone in her voice. The company dragged their eyes off Aella to look at Thorin who kept staring and a growing blush which was so far being concealed by his beard.

"You... you look more and more gorgeous everytime I see you..." He said looking her directly in the eyes. Her eyes widened and he cursed himself mentally and looked away from the company over what he just said. Fili and Kili started to snicker at their uncles comment but when he turned back around and gave them a warning look they shut their mouths.

"Come on, let's leave this place." Thorin said back in his usual stern tone. The company filed out after them until it was just Aella, Fili and Kili in the room. One shared look between them though and they all burst into laughter again.

The company traveled through Rivendell in silence so that no one would try and stop them, it was still early in the morning so there wasn't many people about anyway. They slowly made their way back up the stone steps. She passed Bilbo who was staring back at Rivendell longingly with a sad smile on his lips.

"Be on your guard; we're about to step over the edge of the Wild. Balin, you know these paths; lead on." Thorin said noticing that Bilbo had stopped "Master Baggins, I suggest that you keep up."

The company continued their journey, hiking over ranges and rivers through the wilderness until they got to a small pine forest, with a suitable clearing for camp. The sky was already black with little white dots showering the night.

"We camp here for tonight. Oin, Gloin get a fire going."

"Okay, but this fire will use the last of our firewood." Gloin replied, knowing that it had been a long day and everyone was tired and needed rest. All except one. Aella was still bounding around the clearing trying to help out as much as she could glowing in the darkness of night. She was the only one in the company with any form of energy, which was probably because her body had been trained to work for a long period of time with little sleep.

"Aella." She instantly looked over at Thorin from where she was helping Balin set up camp. "Would you go and collect some firewood for us." Aella nodded at him, smiling that she was being helpful and ran off into the forest.

Thorin sighed and sat down by the growing fire, he was becoming to attached to that girl. She was so kind and happy but was also fiery and fierce in battle.

She would make a great queen... What?! You cannot afford to think like that, yes she may be beautiful and funny and kind and fiery and capable and... Stop! You are on a serious quest to reclaim your homeland and kill a dragon! You cannot let your feelings distract you, and even if you did fall in love with her, which you have not, she would probably not reciprocate those feelings. And even if she did, which is very unlikely her being her, than your people would probably never accept her as one of their own. Well Dis would probably love her, but everyone else? No they would think shamefully on the pairing. She's a skinchanger not a dwarf, she's... she's a monster... You must not let your feelings for her escalate any further, you must leave her alone from now on. You must not try to do anything or say any form of flirtatious comment to her again, you are a king for gods sake. Pull yourslef together and stop thinking about her.

Thorin's mind went crazy over Aella and he found himself denying his love for her even though in his heart he knew that it wasn't true. And he felt horrible for even thinking that she was a monster. Skin changers had a horrible reputation of not being able to control themselves when they turned, and of serious bloodlust and they were unpredictable. But not Aella, she was different from the stereotype, she could control herself and it was still her just under a different skin. Granted when he saw her fight she had wildness in her eyes but he was certain that she would never hurt a member of his company, she had so far only protected them and gotten them out of all the many tricky situations that they had already found themselves in.

Thorin was snapped from his thoughts though by Bombur who was waving a bowl of steaming rabbit stew in front of his face. He took the bowl gratefully trying to brush off the fact that he hadn't been paying attention. He muttered a small thank you to the dwarf and started to tuck in to the warm tasty liquid that instantly heated him and stopped the rumbling that was coming from his stomach.

"Does anyone know where Aella is? I've got a bowl of stew for her here, can someone take it to her please." Dori stood up with his hand raised and he was about to volunteer but was cut off by a much louder and deeper voice.

"I will, thank you Bombur." Thorin had stood up, had taken the bowl from the dwarf and had walked off into the woods in the direction that Aella had gone before anyone else could react.

Thorin walked through the trees for what felt like ages when he heard her voice and saw a small golden glow passing through the trees. He slowed down as he nearer the smaller clearing that she was walking around, and placed his feet carefully so he could watch her without her knowing of his presence.

His breath hitches at the sound of her singing, her glow illuminating a small area around her as she moves around the edge of the clearing. Aella bends every now and then to pick up firewood, unknowingly giving him a better view of her ass in her tight trousers. She picks up suitable kindling and collects it in her arms, standing up strait, the view gone from his sight.

Aella was humming the tune of the song that she sang in Rivendell, only letting words pass her lips at the chorus.

Goodbye my lover, Goodbye my friend,

You have been the one, You have been the one for me,

She was contently picking up more firewood until she had a stack of twigs and logs that reached her chin in her arms. Despite singing the sad song that dragged her back to the memories of her brother, Aella looked surprisingly cheery. Like she was remembering everything good that her brother brought into her life and how she was lucky to be still alive, and that she knew he was still there.

Aella ended the song and Thorin was suddenly aware of how long he had watched her and that he still had to deliver her stew which was probably getting cold. He moved forward and screwed his face up when a twig snapped under him. Instantly Aella dropped the wood in her arms and her bow was out, loaded with an arrow and pointing right at him. Her eyes narrowed as she looked into the darkness and instantly felt stupid and on edge that she had not realized there was someone watching her.

"Who's there?" She asked sternly, pulling the bow string back even further when a shape moved in the shadows. But her bowwas instantly lowered when Thorin stepped out with one hand up in a surrender and the other carrying a bowl of stew.

"Oh, it's only you." She sighed in relief and a warm smile found its way back onto her face as she saw the dwarf. She became instantly aware of her heart fluttering in her chest along with the butterflies that had made their home in her stomach. She was alone with him again, and as a human. "Sorry if I've taken too long, wait, how long have you been there?" She asked raising an eyebrow, but her heart just beat even faster and a blush grew on her lightly freckled cheeks when he answered.

"Truthfully? A while. I couldn't take my eyes of you, your voice is gorgeous and I meant what I said back in Rivendale. You do get more and more beautiful everytime I see you, and this is no exception." He walked towards her almost stalking her. Aella stepped back with every attempt that Thorin made to close the distance between them. He placed the bowl of stew on the floor and strode towards Aella, who was still walking backwards with wide eyes.

Aella watched as he walked towards her his eyes full of lust and she tried to step backwards but was met by a tree and stupidly she turned to look at what was stopping her from moving further away. When her head whipped back around Thorin was stood so close that their feet were touching, and Aella's chest heaved. Her mind flashed back to the first time this happened and she remembered how she ran away like a scared little girl. She would not be scared this time, his feelings were clear and she couldn't keep rejecting him, she couldn't keep pushing her attraction away. So she didn't resist when Thorin's hands gently took her wrists and moved them up to above her head, passing both to one hand where he held them gently above her head, making sure not to hurt her.

Aella grew bolder and closed her briefly when she pushed her body flush against him. Aella heard him take a sharp breath and she smirked when she saw that he was blushing. His free hand went to carress her sides and his other soon gave up holding her hands above her head and joined the other but instead he stroked his thumb along her jaw line watching as his thumb traced the bone. Suddenly his head woke from its daze and snapped back to reality. He remembered what he was doing and how close they were to the company, and more importantly his nephews.

"Aella..." He mumbled but still continued to trace her face and neck with his thumb "We should get back to camp, they'll wonder where we are... We shouldn't -" Aella placed a finger to his lips and their eyes met.

"Hush. Don't say anything, otherwise I'll end up running away like before." She whispered bringing her hand down to rest on his chest whilst the other tangled into his raven hair.

"Are you sure?" He asked but before he could say anymore, Aella closed the gap between them and entered them both into a searing kiss. Thorin's eyes were wide in shock at her sudden actions but they soon flickered shut when he relaxed into her lips. But it was all over too soon when Aella pulled away and rested her forehead to his.

"I'm sure." She said with a smile and he pulled her into another kiss. This time much more passionate and he brushed his tongue along her lips lightly and she opened them for him, letting him deepen the kiss even further. Thorin's hand slid under the back of her tunic and pulled her into him even more. He lifted her off the ground effortlessly and placed her gently on her back on the grass and lent over her, their lips never leaving each others. His hands roamed over her body, stroking every dip and curve, whilst she tangled her fingers into his fur and explored his muscular back through the fabric of his clothes.

"Your trousers are far too tight for my liking Aella, I am finding it harder and harder to concentrate on our quest. All I can think of is you and the lovely view of your backside." He broke the kiss and moved down to her neck placing smaller kisses as he moved down to her collar bone, occasionally nibling the skin.

"S-Sorry.." Was all she managed to say as he moved a hand under the small of her back and pulled her torso to his. However their bodies froze and their eyes flashed open when they heard a familiar voice.

"Uncle?" Kili's voice traveled through the forest to the clearing. They could see him shuffling around in the darkness occasionally tripping over and cursing at himself and the plants. "Uncle? I've been sent to get you and Aella back to camp." He said again. Aella and Thorin were both staring at him, and they both looked at each other.

"Shit." Thorin muttered when they made eye contact and he instantly rolled off her. Tidying his clothes, and reaching out for the bowl of stew, and handing it to Aella who was sat cross legged on the floor sorting out her own clothes and trying not to giggle.

Kili finally stumbled into the clearing kicking and cursing under his breath at a bramble branch that had attached itself to him. But turned with a smile when he saw them sat on the ground next to each other.

"Ah! There you are! Balin asked me to bring you to back to camp because we're all going to sleep now." He smiled at them and then became curious "What have you been doing, you've been gone for ages?" He asked them flicking between their faces.

"Um, just talking." Thorin said a little too quickly in his attempt to act casual and Kili just raised an uncertain eyebrow at him, so Aella stepped in with her improvisational skills.

"The stew is fantastic by the way." She smiled but Kili only frowned.

"But you've barely touched it. Aren't you hungry?" Kili asked and then something clicked in his head as he looked at their flused faces and Aella biting her lip to stop from giggling, and the fact that her tunic was pulled out of place to reveal her shoulder with small tiny blue mark appearing on her neck next to her freshly messed up braid that fell over her exposed shoulder. "Oh..." He said, suddenly smirking mischievously at the pair. "Well I'll leave you too it, but we expect you back soon, Aella you're taking the first watch with me by the way." He winked at the pair and bounded off.

"Wait I'm coming with you!" Aella said and scrambled to her feet and ran after Kili, before any real damage could be done by the princes tricks, trying not to spill stew on her. Thorin just stay sat dumbfounded and he mentally slapped himself over his actions.

So much for leaving her alone. Now look what you've done! God knows what havoc Kili will create with his information. This is going to end badly, especially if Kili tells Fili, or anyone for that matter, which he most certainly will.

Kili spent the night shift interrogating Aella about his uncle and what happened between them. At first she managed to stay silent and only answered with 'No', but eventually he broke her down and she ended up spilling about everything that had happened and even about the time after the trolls. She instantly regretted telling him because when Kili woke Fili to swap nightshift, she heard him tell Fili everything which just gained Aella a smirk and she knew she was in trouble.

The next morning the company was muttering and she kept getting smiles and smirks thrown at her. The brothers had clearly managed to tell everyone but none of them seemed to be ridiculing Thorin, only her.

After they left and started back on their journey the small forest turned to grassland and then back to rocky mountains. It was getting late and they were walking along a thin rocky pass through the mountains. They were crossing the Misty Mountains and the trail was narrow and dangerous, with a cliff on one side and a sheer drop on the other. There was a fierce storm in the air and lightning and rain flashed all around them, soaking the company.

"Hold on!" Thorin yelled, but was barely heard over the roar of the thunder. Aella was walking in between Fili and Bilbo. The rock beneath Bilbo's feet began to crack and crumbled down into the chasm below, he would've fallen with it if it wasn't for Dwalin who managed to pull him back.

"This is no thunder storm! It's a thunder battle! Look!" Balin cried and pointed into the sky where a massive boulder was hurtling through the air and it hit the mountainside above them causing rocks to rain down around the company as they clung to the rock. A stone giant ripped itself from the mountainside and stood in the rain, throwing boulders at others of its kind.

"Well bless me, the legends are true. Giants! Stone Giants!" Bofur shouted almost in awe, wheras Aella was terrified. She wanted to fly away, she could fly away if she wanted. She could easily turn into a bird and fly far away from here. But she couldn't. Although she hadn't signed a contract, she felt part of the company and Gandalf had asked her to protect them when he was away doing other things. So she couldn't just leave them. But she had also grown to be good friends with almost every member of the company, and Thorin, well she didn't want to think about Thorin at that moment so instead she focused on facing her fear and getting the company out of this situation alive.

That was when the ground moved beneath them, and they were lurched forward. She watched as the usual happy and mischievous faces of Fili and Kili turned to terror as they were separated from each other by the legs of the Giant that they were now apart of. Aella closed her eyes and gripped the rock with all her might, she didn't want to watch what was happening around her, she just wanted to concentrate on staying on the rock, and looking around would most likely terrify her and she would fall and possibly die if she didn't change in time.

Her eyes only opened when she felt Fili grip her hand and shout. They were headed towards the mountain at a fast pace, luckily there was a platform but that didn't ease her fear, she was certain they'd be crushed by the giant.

"Jump!" Fili shouted at her over the noise, he held her hand tightly and they jumped with the rest of the dwarves that were on their leg and landed on the platform in ahead. She sat their gasping, shocked that they had made it.

"No! Fili! Aella!" She heard Thorin's voice boom as him and the rest of the company ran round the path and sighed in relief when they realized they were all right. Thorin came to help her up and she brushed her self off, but suddenly worry came over her features.

"Where's Bilbo" She asked shaking.

"Where's our burglar?" Dwalin chorused before spotting him hanging onto the path for dear life, he instantly knelt down to help haul him back onto the trail along with Aella and a few of the other dwarves. But it was not enough, so Thorin swooped down and helped push him back up and into the arms of Aella whilst Dwalin helped him return back onto the path.

Aella pulled him in tight and he gripped her tunic pressing himself to her shaking in fright and probably from the cold as well. His eyes were wide and Aella whispered reassurances to him whilst she cradled him to try and comfort the hobbit.

"I thought we'd lost our burglar." Dwalin said, relieved.

"He's been lost ever since he left home. He should never have come. He has no place amongst us." Thorin said spitefully but regretted his outrage when Aella shot him a glare from where she was still comforting Bilbo. "Dwalin!" He called and left to inspect a cave with the warrior dwarf.

The company followed in after and Aella walked in last after the hobbit. "Thank you." Bilbo whispered but she shook her head. "Don't worry I'm just glad that you're still with us." She smiled at him, and left him to set up her bedroll and to finally lie down after all the 'excitement'. She was looking forward to the warmth of a fire but Thorin denied it, and so she had to try and sleep in the cold of a mountain cave.

She was enjoying her sleep and her muscles were regenerating their strength. But her peaceful sleep was interrupted suddenly. One moment she was happily dreaming about Thorin and the next her world was upside down and all she could see was rocks and the other falling dwarves. They fell through a chute and slid down a tunnel before making their painful landing in a wooden cave. Aella being one of the first to fall was immediately squashed by the majority of the company, and as they were struggling to get up, a hoard of goblins charged towards them and ripped them off each other.

Aella tried to fight back along with the rest of the dwarves, and started to throw punches, but they were outnumbered and were quickly shoved into a group and dragged along a rickety wooden bridge. Balin pushed her into the middle of the company along with Thorin to try and hide them.

"If they find out you're a woman... and don't let them know you're a skin changer. Mahal knows what they'll do to you if they find out." The elderly dwarf looked at her worriedly. Images flashed through her mind at the thought and fear began to fill her stomach.

Okay I lied. There isn't really goblins in this chapter but there will be in the next one! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! The next one will probably be up tomorrow or the day after depending on when I get the chance to write it! So stick with me and sit tight!

I love hearing what you thought of the chapter, what you think I could improve on, future ideas for the plot and if you enjoyed it so please leave me a review, I'd really appreciate it!

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Review for double digit chapters and also because, you know, they help me out loads!