Author's Note: Sorry for the delay! Let me know what you think! Should I continue this all the way through the plot of the Hobbit? I enjoy hearing from you guys! Enjoy!
The reunion of the Dwarves was not as joyous as Kili thought it would be. He could tell how happy they all were that the mountain was reclaimed, for the moment, by their company. Regardless of this victory, however, there was a tension that hung in the air. Bilbo was being very cautious around them, almost secretive. And Thorin was not himself. Kili was used to his Uncle being stern at times but he had never seen him like this. Thorin had made it a habit to disappear into the halls of treasure more often than seemed necessary.
Despite Thorin's strange behavior, the others were glad to see that Kili had recovered and ask, fervently, how it was possible. They bothered Oin, poking and begging, wanting desperately to know how he did it. Embarrassed, Oin admitted he had nothing to do with Kili's recovery. "It was the Elf maiden," he said.
"The one from the forest?" Dori asked.
"Aye, that one," Oin nodded. "Ya shoulda seen it!"
As Oin recounted the events of the healing, greatly exaggerating many of the details, Kili sat apart from them by a fire with his brother.
As he stared into the fire he remembered her hair. He felt the warmth and thought of her skin, and the short time he had gotten to enjoy it. He looked up, the stars smiling back, and his heart ached. Only the cold stone beneath him failed to remind him of her. For the first time, he found no comfort in the surrounding rock walls. He longed for something warmer, something more flexible than stone. He wished to feel the soft earth beneath his boots and to smell fresh, green grass.
He shook his head, trying to rid himself of these desires without much success. What was wrong with him? She had gone from him, back to the forest. If she had not rejoined the ranks of Mirkwood Elves, surely she had been thrown into a prison cell for treason or something more fickle. It was hard to know what was possible with a king such as Thranduil.
It would be so much simpler if he could just forget her, let her go, and admit to himself that there was nothing to gain from pursuing these feelings. He felt childish. He felt powerless.
It would be so much simpler but he couldn't bring himself to deny what he felt. And so he didn't. Kili smiled to himself and felt his cheeks burn; he would not refuse himself the simple pleasure of thinking of her. His mind reached backward, if only to relive the few hours they had in Lake-Town and remember the smoothness of her hands and the curve of her smile.
No amount of gold would ever match her worth. He had found his own gold, his own treasure, in the fiery haired maiden.
Down below, only a half-day's travel away, the fiery haired Elf was tracking the Dwarves. She placed her hand in a boot print and wondered if it was his. Even if it wasn't, she pretended it was. Her eyes found something reflective among the rocks, catching the moonlight in a peculiar way. She bent to pick it up and rolled it around in her hands a couple of times. The Dwarven runes stared back at her. The rune stone was still warm. It was in her pocket as she continued toward the Lonely Mountain in quick, graceful strides.