Lake-Town was awfully quiet at night, only a few citizens walking around aimlessly. I had always thought the town to be joyful, parties after parties, people being friendly and welcoming. Instead the Lake-Town was slowly crumbling, houses in desperate need of fixing. Smaug had left a devastating effect on the people of the town. The situation would not be this bad if only they had someone honest to lead them. The Master of Lake-Town was known to be greedy as he loved gold more than his life. Dwarves greediness was nothing compared to the Master's.

We tried sneak our way to the armory but most of the dwarves had a hard time moving without a sound. Their footsteps were strong and powerful, echoing back in the dark. I heard low curses all around the company as they tried their best to stay quiet. I tried to keep my movement silent as well but I had a hard time concentrating on my steps. Thorin had a strong grip around me and I could feel his breath close to my neck. "We could move better, if you would just let me go," I tried saying him. He responded by only pulling me closer to him. It amazed me how this brute made me feel emotions unimaginable. I felt fire burning inside of me as I thought about kissing him, to feel his strong hands around me. "Stupid thinking," I mumbled quietly, trying to calm my mind.

Luckily we managed to sneak close to the armory without being seen. "What now?" I whispered to Thorin. The armory was not guarded but I could not see any way in without making any noises. I felt Thorin breathing close to my neck, making me shiver, as he said "Now we climb." With a slight nod from him, the company managed to create a ladder by climbing to each-other shoulders. I tried to hold back laughter as I asked the mighty king "Are you really going to climb up that?" He chuckled, replying " And you too, my love." I wanted to fight back and argue that his idea was nonsense but my mind was empty. Thorin had just called me his love. For a brief second I wanted nothing more than to be his true love, but that was never going to happen. I knew that Thranduil was looking for me as we speak and he would stop at nothing to find me. One part of my heart wanted for the selfish elven king to find me, to get me back to his castle. The other part of my heart had already decided that it belonged to the brute in front of me. I sighed as Thorin pushed me close to the dwarves and told me to climb up.

As I reached the last one of the dwarves, I realised that the window from what I was supposed to climb in, was still to far up and I could not reach it. The brutish dwarf under me, Dwalin, asked with a strong voice "What is it? We haven't got all day, laddie." I sighed and told him the problem. Dwalin started to laugh and suddenly threw me up in the air, leaving me plenty enough time to grab hold of the edge of the window. I felt small, like I weight nothing more than a small feather.

I slowly climbed in, trying to get my breathing under control. Those dwarves made me feel alive, always surprising me. I wanted all of my days to be like that, full of adventure. Soon enough most of the dwarves were in, leaving only a few behind to guard the door.

They started to collect different weapons, trying to get as many as possible. I tried to do the same. We were done quickly and headed downstairs, when Kili fell making a lot of noice. Thorin cursed under his breath as we heard the guards voices outside. We were caught.

Thorin slowly pushed me behind me as the guards directed us to the eyes of the Lake-Town's Master. He was in his night-gown, eating a piece of chicken. I despised the Master from the first look. He was enjoying a midnight snack while the people of this town starved. "What is the meaning of this?" he asked. Thorin explained himself and the reason why we were all here. I noticed the Master's face change after Thorin mentioned gold.

"If we succeed, all will share in the wealth of the mountain!" Thorin yelled. The people of the town cheered loudly. The Master of the Lake-Town nodded approvingly. Nobody listened to Bard, who had come to bring the journey to an end. He told the people about Smaug, about how it will all end just like it did in Dale. I knew that he could tell the truth but we had to try. It was Thorin's birthright to claim the mountain and destroy Smaug.

"And who are you?" asked the master suddenly, looking at me. Thorin quickly took my hand in his and said "She is my one." I noticed all the dwarves smiling and nodding approvingly. "What?" I asked the King. "Not now," he whispered.

The master lead us to the hall of his home and soon enough the tables were covered with food and beer. "Enjoy and soon we will have all the wealth we need!" he said. I wanted to yell at him, tell him what a bastard he was, but I could not. We needed his help if we wanted to get to Erebor. I felt as if the quest to reclaim the dwarven kingdom was mine too, even if I was kidnapped at first.

All of the dwarves seemed to have a nice time laughing and having a nice meal after a long time. I, on the other hand, was in deep thought. Thorin's words ringed through my head. What did he mean by his words? I watched as he talked to the Master of Lake-Town at the other side of the room. "You know, eyeing him won't help, laddie," said Bofur, who had taken a seat next to me.

"I know."

Bofur handed me a plate of food, "Eat, you need as much strenght as you can get. We will leave tomorrow." I nodded and started eating. "He is right you know, the hardest part is yet to come," said a deep voice behind me. Noticing that the voice belonged to Thorin, I asked "What is the one?"

He sighed and asked me to meet him outside when done with the meal. I stood up and said "Done." He tried to argue but I walked outside.

"Let's go," he said as he took my hand. "Where?" I asked as the King started to pull me to a dark alley street. I laughed and said "What are you doing? Trying to kill me in quiet?"

Next moment I was pushed against the wall. I felt Thorin's body close to mine as his forehead slowly touched mine. "Do you really want to know, why I called my one?" he asked me as his breath slowly tickled my face.